Chinese Tech

According to recent rumors circulating around China's tech media, Huawei may be obliged to skip updating its Mate series of premium phablets in 2021. However, the latest word is that this launch is back on. Then again, the 50 series' debuted might still come much later than usual.

The Android OEM Vivo has applied to trademark what is most likely the name for its first ever tablet with the European Union's intellectual property office (EUIPO). This may indicate that the device will be launched soon, probably in the same market. It is rumored to have a battery of about 8,000mAh in capacity.

OnePlus, Meizu and Asus are just some of the members of the Mutual Transfer Alliance, a new group that allows its members access to a new, Bluetooth-independent method of localized file-swapping between devices. The option is getting increasingly popular, and may get even more so should Samsung take it up as a new leak suggests.

The Mi Mix 4 will reportedly launch next quarter, as Xiaomi looks to release its second Mi Mix handset this year. The Mi Mix 4 will allegedly not come cheap though, and could be even more expensive than the pricey Mi 11 Ultra.

The eminent leaker Digital Chat Station claims to have spotted a prototype for ZTE's second-gen under-display camera (UDC) Android smartphone. The device was allegedly snapped alongside a demo of Visionox' InV See Pro, this company's latest UDC panel apparently destined for ZTE's cutting-edge device.

The POCO X3 GT is on its way to market, having passed through the FCC. The upcoming POCO handset is another Xiaomi re-brand, this time of the China-only Redmi Note 10 Pro. The POCO X3 GT will feature a Dimensity 1100 SoC, a 120 Hz and a 5,000 mAh battery, among other compelling components.

Motorola has now debuted its newest device, the Moto Defy. The Defy is a rugged phone born from Motorola's partnership with Bullitt Group. It offers mostly mid-range specs but excels at being a rugged phone, with an IP68 rating, MIL-SPEC 810H certification, and a chassis designed to withstand harsh environments.

Xiaomi's next tablet series has arrived on the EEC, following several leaks last month. The so-called Mi Pad 5 series is expected to arrive this summer, and will receive a global launch.

In February, Xiaomi stated that the Redmi Note 9 Pro would receive MIUI 12.5 in late Q2 2021, a period that we are now in. However, the device has just received a new upgrade, and it only contains Android 11. For some reason, Xiaomi has decided against bringing MIUI 12.5 to the Redmi Note 9 Pro yet, for some reason.

Honor has launched its latest 50-series smartphones today (June 16, 2021) as premium mid-rangers, which might make some fans wonder where the flagship counterpart has got to. However, the brand's CEO also confirmed that this device, the Magic 3, is on its way. It is now slated to debut in the third quarter of 2021 with the top-end Snapdragon 888 processor.

Honor has finally released its new set of devices in China. The phones, the Honor 50 SE, Honor 50, and Honor 50 Pro offer powerful sub-premium chipsets as well 108 MP main cameras, at a starting price point under the equivalent of US$400. They'll also make the trip over to Europe in the near future.

Huawei usually launches premium mobile devices known as the Mate series in the third quarter of the year. However, according to the latest word from the Chinese media, an upgrade for the current 40 line will not be forthcoming this year, as the OEM may prefer to focus on the P50 series and existing customers instead.

OnePlus has announced that it is merging its operations with Oppo. The two companies are owned by the same parent company and had already merged their R&D teams five months ago.

The Huawei P50 series is expected to debut in August. Much has been said about the range-topping Huawei P50 Pro+'s expected 200x zoom. A set of images have now surfaced online, with a claim to being camera samples from the device. We're leery, though.

Huawei has not started shipping the Watch 3 or Watch 3 Pro to people yet, but it has already furnished the pair with a software update. The update brings several features to the two smartwatches, albeit only those that Huawei advertised at launch.

Realme has released its Watch 2 and 2 Pro to the European market today (June 16, 2021), during an event also rumored to reveal the OEM's first-gen laptop. This did not transpire as anticipated, although the launch did show the brand is making further inroads on these ambitions, as well as those for the smart home market.

Realme has now brought its performance-focused affordable premium phone, the Realme GT 5G, over to the global market. Europe, specifically. The Realme GT 5G offers a Snapdragon 888 and up to 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB while bearing a lithe €369 price tag for now.

According to a renowned leaker, Xiaomi is planning another stab at releasing a foldable smartphone. The new device will feature significantly more impressive specifications than the Mi Mix Fold, which cannot keep pace with the Mate X2 or Galaxy Z Fold2 from Huawei and Samsung, respectively.

Xiaomi has updated the Mi A2 once again, just under a week after it updated the Mi A2 Lite. The new update addresses over a dozen security flaws that Google has outlined as either critical or high.

Honor will launch its new 50-series smartphones on June 16, 2021, which means that some of its members seem to have just beaten this deadline to leak onto Geekbench 5. These new listings might prove that the OEM will introduce a Dimensity 900-powered SE variant alongside the vanilla and Pro Snapdragon 778G-based models.

Leaks concerning a successor to Qualcomm's current top-end mobile SoC, the Snapdragon 888, have only just started to emerge. Nevertheless, there are hints that phone manufacturers have been sent samples of this alleged "895" to test already. According to a reliable tipster, these OEMs have one thing in common: they are all Chinese.

Xiaomi has announced that it will release a new smartwatch to the Indian market soon. This new wearable is called the Active version of the Mi Watch Revolve, and does not appear hugely different from that pre-existing smartwatch. Then again, it may have an updated UI, driven by a new "Watchful Living" philosophy.

The smartphone brands Realme and OnePlus are rumored to be working on phones powered by the Dimensity 1200 SoC: the X9 Pro and the Nord 2 respectively. Now, a Weibo-based leaker insists that they are in fact one and the same, and will be marketed as the latter for international release. Meanwhile, a second X9 Pro with a different processor is slated to be a Chinese-market exclusive.

Realme has set the international launch of its flagship smartphone, the GT, for June 15, 2021. Now, its latest teasers hint that it has an additional new product by the same name to debut alongside it. This prospect is presented alongside images that might show the profiles of not only its rumored first laptop, but a tablet as well.

The June 2021 security patch has arrived for the Mi A2 Lite, courtesy of its V11.0.20.0.QDLMIXM update. V11.0.20.0.QDLMIXM is rolling out now as an OTA, but it may be the Mi A2 Lite's penultimate update.

The Honor 50 and 50 Pro are Android smartphones subject to numerous leaks that purport to out their design and specs ahead of their launch. The latest of these comes from AnTuTu, and may offer an insight into their new SoC, the Snapdragon 778G, for the first time. It also indicates that the Pro variant will debut with a 120Hz display.

MIUI 12.5 has now found its way to over 35 devices globally. Xiaomi's latest OS upgrade should reach even more devices by the end of the month, according to the company's official release schedules.

Realme is all set to enter the highly competitive laptop market. Some renders of the Realme Book has shown up online, and it draws heavy inspiration from MacBooks. While its launch date is unknown, we can expect Realme to sell it for an affordable price.

Currently, Xiaomi's most premium Android smartphones include the Mi 11 Ultra and Mi Mix Fold. However, the renowned leaker Digital Chat Station claims to have information on an impending successor that could blow even these super-flagships out of the water. It will apparently do so with cutting-edge tech such as ultrawide-band (UWB) and under-display technology.

Motorola has launched a new low-cost 5G smartphone in the US. The Moto G Stylus 5G comes with significant upgrades, such as a newer Snapdragon chipset and a new stylus design. It will hit shelves on June 14 and cost US$400.

Realme CEO Madhav Sheth's latest tweet hints strongly at the imminent launch of this company's inaugural laptop. Judging from a possible product teaser included with this post, the machine is intended to be a MacBook clone, along the same lines as the Xiaomi Mi Notebook line. Realme's new take on this category is slated to launch by the end of June 2021.

OnePlus is projected to launch a smartphone with silicon from MediaTek, rather than Qualcomm as usual, later in 2021. Now, the notable tipster Digital Chat Station claims that this phone will have a high-end main camera sensor, as well as an increasingly popular flat display. It may or may not be available internationally on its launch.

All attention may have now turned to HarmonyOS 2.0, but Huawei is not done with EMUI 11 just yet. The company continues to roll out its Android 10-based OS globally, albeit for only a handful of devices. The company now claims that it has delivered EMUI 11 to most devices too, with the remaining receiving the OS in batches.

Realme has officially announced that its flagship GT smartphone will finally get a global launch later in June 2021. However, the "price" section of this show may have been spoiled already thanks to an accidental leak of the OEM's EU product page for the device, showing that the phone will start at ~US$668 in the region.

Huawei will upgrade over 100 smartphones and tablets to HarmonyOS, its replacement for EMUI. While the jury may be out on what HarmonyOS exactly is, Huawei should receive some credit for committing to updating devices as old as the Mate 9 and P10, among others. All devices should receive HarmonyOS by mid-2022 at the latest.

Xiaomi has opened MIUI 12.5 to another 16 devices. The additional devices form part of its second batch for devices enrolled on MIUI's Chinese branch. Most of the devices are Redmi handsets, including the K and Note series.

Although not perfect, MIUI 12.5.1 pushes the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro out of the red zone and irons out most of the bugs present in MIUI 12.1.5. The latest Android 11-based update for this handset makes the whole interface snappier and comes with a few changes to the Notes app, new sounds, and more.

The Honor 50 and 50 Pro are slated to launch in mid-June 2021. Prior to this event, however, the OEM has seen fit to release new teasers that confirm prior design leaks for the phones. They appear to confirm the new kind of quad rear camera hump the devices will rock, as well as their color options.

The RedMagic 6R offers the top-end Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor in a more mid range-looking chassis than is usual from this gaming-focused smartphone brand. The 6.67-inch display device will be released via its global website on June 24, 2021, starting at just under US$500.

MIUI code has confirmed the global model name for the new Redmi Note 10 Pro. The device, which has a MediaTek Dimensity 1100 SoC and a 6.6-inch display, is already available in China.

An Oppo A53 user in India has seemingly suffered considerable injuries after the budget smartphone apparently exploded while in his pocket. The rear of the Oppo A53 is completely devastated and there are noticeable burn marks on the case. It seems the 5,000-mAh battery is the likely culprit behind the smartphone blast.

The Redmi Note 10 lineup is Xiaomi's current bread and butter for the mid-range segment. Sometimes, though, newer doesn't mean better, and it appears that last year's Redmi Note 9 may actually edge the Redmi Note 10 in some important performance tests.

New rumors emanating from the Weibo social media platform hint at a phone called the X20, slated to be released by Honor after the launch of its premium 50 series. It may have a 120Hz 6.7-inch display, as well as 3 rear cameras in a vertical off-center housing.

Several specs for the SM8450, Qualcomm's purported next generation of flagship chipsets for mobile devices, have emerged quite recently. Not long afterward, a Lenovo executive has reportedly confirmed that the OEM will develop phones based on this SoC, to be sold under its brand as well as that of Motorola.

Xiaomi has opened a survey for fans to complete in regard to MIUI (Global ROM). The feedback form is short and sweet with focus on MIUI features and bugs. Xiaomi’s own MIUI 12 Global ROM bug tracker is filled with dozens of entries covering a wide range of Mi, Redmi, and POCO devices.

OnePlus is geared to release its next mid-range device shortly. The phone in question, the OnePlus Nord CE, will be available on pre-order starting June 11, and details have now leaked. Notable takeaways include a Snapdragon 750G, a 90 Hz FHD+ AMOLED, and a 64 MP main camera.

Zepp Health has announced that its increasingly popular brands Amazfit and Zepp broke into the top 4 of names in the smartwatch market in terms of shipments for the first quarter of 2021 (1Q2021). They sold nearly 69% more units compared to 1Q2020. Zepp Health brands were also #1 in several countries for the quarter.

Huawei describes its latest FreeBuds 4 as high-sound-quality TWS earbuds with active noise cancellation (ANC). They are also pitched as particularly comfortable earphones, due to their light build and design. They are rated for up to 22 hours of battery life, counting their wireless-charging-enabled case.

Huawei has launched a new high-end tablet in Germany called the Huawei MatePad Pro. It features a 12.6-inch OLED screen, 8GB RAM, 256GB storage, a 10,000mAh battery and HarmonyOS 2.0. It will retail at EUR 799 and will hit shelves on June 13.