Android

Gearbest has confirmed that Xiaomi will be shortly releasing a Mi TV Stick. Building on the Mi Box S, the Mi TV Stick will support 4K HDR, DTS-HD audio, 802.11 ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2. The Xiaomi Mi TV Stick will come preloaded with the Android 9.0 version of Android TV, but it may cost upwards of US$100, making it considerably more expensive than the Mi Box S.

The Google Pixel 4a was initially expected to start at US$399, but a new leak claims the phone could be US$50 cheaper. This would make it cheaper than the iPhone SE, the biggest challenger to the Pixel 4a in the mid-range segment.

Nokia's ultra-budget 1.3 is a phone with a 5.71-inch HD+ display. Despite this, it runs an up-to-date ROM thanks to Android Go, as well as Google's Camera Go. It is now available on the American market for US$99.

The Honor X10 is an upcoming Kirin 820 phone that is thought to be particularly cost-effective despite its 5G status. The OEM has officially announced that it will sweeten this putative detail with a 90 hertz (90Hz) refresh rate for its display. This may make it an especially compelling option in the mid range.

The Galaxy Note 20 phones are less than three months away from launch at this point, and the rumor mill now grinds faster. By most indications, the phones will be an incremental upgrade on the S20 series, but one touted change is expected to significantly improve the user experience.

Amazon has updated the Fire HD 8 with a faster CPU and a bit more RAM. The tablet starts at US$90 for a model with 2 GB of RAM and $110 for a model with 3 GB of RAM. Both variants use a quad-core MediaTek MT8168 at 2 GHz and the same 1280x800 IPS display as prior Fire HD 8 tablets.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 768G is a new 5G mobile processor that has to date appeared in only 1 phone: the Redmi K30 Racing Edition. However, new leaks suggest Vivo is preparing alternatives in the form of the X50 and X50 Pro. They are thought to have rectangular rear cameras and punch-hole displays.

Not only is the Nokia 9.3 PureView slated to launch with a 120 Hz screen and a Snapdragon 865 SoC, but also 8K video capture capabilities and "exclusive Zeiss effects". Expected to feature five rear-facing cameras including a 108 MP sensor, the Nokia 9.3 PureView is due in Q3 2020 according to past rumours.

AT&T variants of the LG V40 ThinQ are receiving the Android 10 update ahead of schedule. It appears to be a staged rollout as the software has landed on only a handful of devices.

Some more rumored information about a potential Xiaomi Mi Mix 2020 smartphone has been shared online. It seems the device could be fitted with Qualcomm’s powerful Snapdragon 865 SoC and boast of a 144 MP main camera. However, it has also been speculated that this high-end flagship from Xiaomi could end up being the Mi 10S Pro.

Going by reports floating around, CEO of Xiaomi, Lei Jun, has been caught using an iPhone on social media. The fact that this is news in the first place is a tad amusing, but it does play right into the joke of Xiaomi aping everything Apple does.

OPPO's Indian division has announced that this OEM's most premium 2020 phones are launching in this country. This series is now being teased via Amazon.in, although a start date for its orders has yet to be revealed.

The Moto G8 is an update for Motorola's mid-range, and it finally includes a real zoom camera. Find out more in our review of Motorola's affordable Moto smartphone.

Redmi Note 8 Pro or Redmi Note 9 Pro? MediaTek versus Qualcomm? Xiaomi's current and last-gen mid-range offerings of choice put up impressive numbers but how do they compare to each other? Well, things aren't quite as clear-cut as one would expect.

There have been multiple reports from Galaxy S20 Ultra owners of their phones developing cracks on the huge camera glass. Some claim it happens even without dropping the phone or any such impact. While the veracity of such claims remains in doubt, Nillkin is already selling a case for the S20 series that offers a dedicated slider for the camera glass.

Some OnePlus 8 Pro handsets have been downgraded to DRM Widevine L3 by a recent OxygenOS update. There is no fix in sight despite being confirmed by OnePlus and fans have been voicing their dissatisfaction about it.

Some diligent users on Twitter and Reddit discovered that the OnePlus 8 Pro's camera could see through some thin plastic objects. One simply needs to navigate to the camera app and switch the 'Photochrom' mode on for the magic to happen. The trick, however, works only on a handful of materials that do not have IR shielding.

Realme has let it be known that it is to launch up to 8 new devices or accessories on May 25, 2020. Therefore, speculation is now rife that this event may debut the rumored X3 series. One of them is also now thought to be a gaming phone code-named "Blade Runner".

The Covid-19 pandemic has been linked to the depression of the mobile-device market worldwide over the first quarter of 2020 (1Q2020). However, new official figures from China show that this sector of the same had recovered to a degree by April.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has reportedly certified a new phone from the Xiaomi brand Redmi. This device, with its standard connectivity and 10 watt (W) charging, is currently thought to be called the 9 on its launch. It may do so with a 5000mAh battery, at least.

The "vivo V2002A" is a new device that has landed on Geekbench purporting to run on the Exynos 880 SoC. This heretofore-unknown chipset has 8 cores and has conferred mid-range scores on this apparently upcoming phone. Its model number has also reportedly appeared on the 3C database.

iQOO's upcoming iQOO Z1 managed to get a score of 530,000 on AnTuTu. The phone is powered by MediaTek's newest Dimensity 1000+ SoC, and is expected to launch on May 17th.

Motorola has confirmed that the Motorola Edge+ will receive two major software upgrades. The phone was initially promised only one update, much to the annoyance of everyone. Since the device launched with Android 10, it is guaranteed to receive Android 12.

Samsung will continue to step up its display game with the Note 20 series, according to a new report. However, the entry-level Note 20 will be limited to 60 Hz, and there will be no Note 20 Ultra. Instead, Samsung will position the Galaxy Fold 2 as its new "Ultra" smartphone.

The Honor X10, an upcoming budget phone from the Huawei sub-brand, may start at less than ¥2,300 (~$325). That would make it one of the cheapest 5G-compatible phones on the market, thanks to its HiSilicon Kirin 820 5G. However, this price is still just a rumor.

The Motorola One Vision launched as this OEM's first smartphone with a punch-hole display. Now, it seems it is getting a new variant. Known as the Plus, it has the same size screen as the original, but may not be the same on the inside.

Sony has announced new additions to its SRS-XB line of wireless speakers. Their generation features programmable lighting strips in their IP67 housing and are engineered for "deep, punchy bass" and a 3D surround effect. There are 3 models in this line-up that are available to pre-order from today.

The OEM Vivo has announced a new smartphone, the V19, for its Indian customers. This Snapdragon 712-powered device has a 6.44-inch FHD+ display with dual punch-hole cameras. It starts at the equivalent of ~US$370 (INR 27,990), and will be available from May 15, 2020.

Huawei wearables will no longer work unless you download HMS via the AppGallery instead of the Google Play Store. Unintentional or not, people are unhappy about it.

Poco finally lifted the veil off the Poco F2 Pro. It is a rebranded Redmi K30 Pro that comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 SoC, a quad-camera array at the back, a pop-up selfie camera, 4,700mAh battery, and more. Prices start at €499 for the base variant with 6/128GB of RAM/Storage, and €599 for the one with 8/256GB.

LG has been trying for years to make a buck out of smartphones but the company’s mobile division continues to generate losses. A report out of Korea indicates that it is working on a new smartphone with a literal twist where the main screen rotates into a horizonal position with a hidden secondary vertical display offering additional functionality.

The OPPO Reno3 series was among the first to introduce new Snapdragon and MediaTek 5G SoCs to the market in 2020. Now, a new leak from IceUniverse may show that at least 1 of its successors is in the works. It consists of an image of a phone in which the rear cameras are divided into separate circles, like those of LG's latest release.

As promised, the Huawei P30 Pro New Edition is now officially available for purchase in Germany. The device is now a generation old, but it has been freshened up with the official version of Android 10 with full Google services support.

Motorola released its new kind of Razr at the start of 2020. Despite its groundbreaking foldable screen, it was stuck on Android 9.0 (Pie) from its launch. Now, the OEM has finally announced a major software upgrade, custom-designed to suit its form-factor.

Realme has finally taken wraps off its Narzo lineup that is comprised of the Narzo 10 and the Narzo 10A powered by the MediaTek Helio G80 and G70 SoCs respectively. Realme is aiming Narzo at gamers and performance enthusiasts on a budget and has plans to offer more such phones in the future.

The Mi A3 is now receiving a new update. The update further fixes the issues from previous Android 10 builds, including fingerprint and launcher problems. Most notably, though, it allows the shutter speed to be set to a max of 32 seconds like it was on Android Pie.

The Honor 9X Pro is once again equipped with hardware that is more than competitive. In combination with the rest of the equipment, the smartphone would be an absolute hit for 250 Euros (~$271), if it wasn't for the lack of Google Services.

An earlier leak asserted that Google had chosen May 22, 2020 as the launch date for its new mid-ranger, the Pixel 4a. However, an update from the same source now purports to push this event further back into June. It may or may not coincide with a new kind of online conference arranged for Android 11.

A Poco F2 Pro render has appeared in the wild, just a day before its release. It looks a lot like the Redmi K30 Pro, as foretold by earlier rumors centered around the device. The phone is expected to come in both 5G and 4G-only variants, depending on the market.

It was known that a new 5G SoC, the Snapdragon 768G, would be announced today (May 11, 2020) due to the fact the first device to rock it has also been launched. Now, its maker Qualcomm has released more details on it and how it improves on its predecessor, the 765G.

Honor's upcoming successor to the 9X will be 5G thanks to its Kirin 820 processor. The brand has been hyping the phone on this basis, pointing out that it supports enough new bands to make it viable for years to come. This device's launch date has also been revealed.

The Z1, an upcoming phone from Vivo's high-value sub-brand iQOO, is currently tipped as the MediaTek Dimensity 1000+ version of the Snapdragon 865-powered Neo3 from the same. Its launch date has now been officially revealed, alongside new teasers that show how this phone will look.

The Samsung Galaxy S20+ has now been tested by DxOMark. The scores offer a few notable takeaways, including inferiority to the S20 Ultra, an overall lack of improvement over the Note 10+, and the real-world effectiveness of the S20 and S20+'s digital zoom.

It seems possible that Xiaomi could be working on flagship smartphones for a potential Mi Mix 4 series, or at least devices with the Mi Mix moniker. Scant details have been offered by a well-known leaker on Weibo, however, there is mention of a 120 Hz refresh rate for the display which has often been rumored for a Xiaomi Mi Mix 4.

Was a smartphone like the iPhone inevitable? Ken Kocienda, one of its designers doesn’t believe so. Rather, Kocienda argues in a tweet over the weekend that it was “an act of creativity” and that, as such, “It wasn’t inevitable”.

A new version of the Xiaomi Redmi K30 is here, complete with a new chipset and a fresh colour option. Priced at CNY 1,999 (~US$283), the Redmi K30 Extreme Edition features all the good aspects of the Redmi K30 5G but with the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 768G SoC. Essentially an overclocked Redmi K30 5G, the Redmi K30 Extreme Edition will launch on May 14 and will be available in an exclusive "Mint Ice Blue" finish. The device will not launch on MIUI 12, though.

Some recent Realme phones have impressed with their large 5000mAh power-packs at affordable levels. Now, it seems the next generation on may have even better battery life. This OEM has reportedly made a new component with 1000mAh more.

The existence of a new Mi 10 variant, the "Lite Zoom" was inadvertently leaked by none other than Qualcomm not long ago. Now, a new tip asserts that it is headed for a European launch shortly. It may be revealed as an international Mi 10 Youth Edition at such an event.