Chinese Tech

Just as we completed our review of the A52, Oppo announced ColorOS 11. What is more is that it is coming to the A52 in the fourth quarter. The low-priced smartphone is very similar to the A72. This means that the A52 shares not only the strengths of the A72 but also its weaknesses.

Xiaomi may already be testing Android 11 builds of MIUI 12 for multiple devices internally, according to a new report. It seems that the Redmi K20, Redmi K30 and Mi CC9 Pro are next up for Android 11, as should the Mi Note 10, Mi Note 10 Pro, Mi 9T and Poco X2 by extension.

The Thai regulator NBTC has approved an upcoming Huawei device called the NOH-NX9, revealing that it is in fact the Mate 40 Pro in the process. This model number has also popped up on the EEC and Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) databases, suggesting that the premium phablet will indeed make its debut soon.

Infinix' Note 8 has emerged in recent leaks as a potential Redmi 9 (or Poco M2) challenger. Both phones have the same Helio G80 processor, although the latter's brand is better established. However, the newer prospect has just been approved by the FCC, revealing that it has quad rear cameras and a sizeable battery.

An extraordinary new rumor about Xiaomi claims the Chinese OEM is preparing to launch new external gaming monitors offering 240 Hz and mighty 360 Hz refresh rates. According to one source, prices will start at 999 yuan (US$148), and it is likely Xiaomi’s 360 Hz monitor will be more affordable than the Asus ROG Swift 360 panel.

Insider reports suggest that the OnePlus 8T will be released on October 14. It is likely to be accompanied by the sub-US$200 OnePlus Clover and the OnePlus Watch. OnePlus is yet to officially confirm the date, but we should know for sure in the coming days.

More details of Xiaomi’s Gauguin and Gauguin Pro smartphones have appeared online, leading to speculation that one of them could be launched as a Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite device on the European market and possibly further abroad. This potential Mi 10T Lite would be a sub-€300 (US$355) 5G smartphone with either a 64 MP or 108 MP main camera.
The name "Mi 10T Lite" has been confirmed via the FCC.

The Pocophone F1 has started receiving MIUI 12, Xiaomi's latest OS. Based on Android 10, MIUI 12 for the Pocophone F1 is only being rolled out to Russian handsets for the time being, but it can be downloaded manually.

Xiaomi is now sending out new updates to some of its phones, with the Redmi Note 8 and Mi A2 Lite getting OTAs. For the Redmi Note 8, two updates have been sent, to the global and Indian models of the devices. Owners of the global model of the Mi A2 Lite should now also be getting the September patch.

The Redmi K40 Pro will be Redmi's next-gen premium device, and initial details of the phone have now surfaced. Notable takeaways include a more powerful chipset than the Snapdragon 865 on the Redmi K30 Pro, more impressive camera hardware, bigger battery, and faster charging.

Huawei has completed its EMUI 10.1 upgrade plan in two more regions. All Huawei devices in Africa and the Middle East should have now received EMUI 10.1, shortly before the company starts rolling out EMUI 11, its new in-house version of Android.

Redmi has announced its new A Series of smart TVs for the Chinese market. The series will initially consist of five different-sized devices, with the Redmi Smart TV A55 being the first one to launch. Xiaomi is offering this 55-inch 4K TV, which runs on MIUI for TV, at a special discounted rate of 1,777 yuan (US$262).

Fans of the Mi 9T Pro may have been expecting the upcoming Mi 10T Pro to offer a similar performance-to-price proposition. Those hopes have now been crushed brutally, with a new leak confirming that the Mi 10T Pro will carry an MSRP up to €300 higher than that of last year's Mi 9T Pro.

The OnePlus Nord may not have found its way to the US but OnePlus is apparently set to bring a great alternative after all. New information has now confirmed OnePlus's plans to launch a phone, branded as the "OnePlus Nord N10 5G", in the US, with notable takeaways including a Snapdragon 690, 64 MP camera, and sub-US$400 pricing.

Huawei is currently thought to have a new flagship phablet series that may comprise the Mate 40 and Mate 40 Pro (at least) in the works. Now, one of the OEM's official Twitter channels has released a video indicating that they will definitely be released in the near future. A leaker postulates that this will take place in October 2020.

Honor and Huawei's first gaming laptop is here, after many leaks and teasers. The Hunter V700 offers a 144 Hz and 16.1-inch display, along with a choice of Intel Comet Lake-H processors and NVIDIA GeForce GPUs. Honor has housed these powerful components in a comparatively thin chassis, but prices are high.

There are reports that the first MIUI 12 build for the Mi Mix 3 5G has removed 5G connectivity for the device. The EU variant is the only one to have received Xiaomi's latest too, albeit one still based on Android 9.0 Pie. All others remain on MIUI 10, over 18 months after being released.

Realme is set to launch a new set of devices, with the Realme Narzo 20 Pro slated to lead the line. The MediaTek Helio G95-powered Narzo 20 Pro has now made its way over to Geekbench where it recorded scores on par with the older Helio G90T that debuted on the famous Redmi Note 8 Pro.

According to an allegedly leaked patent, the OEM OPPO will follow its first-gen smartwatch with 2 more. One of these drops the Apple Watch style for a round face instead; however, it still appears to have the attractive curved-edge glass of its apparent forebear. However, fans of the square face may not be disappointed either.

The Mi 10T and Mi 10T Pro have visited the FCC, stoking the notion that the devices will be released in North America. The two devices will arrive in Europe too with their high-resolution cameras, near bezel-less displays and other flagship components.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro has received a new update. The update, which is rolling out globally now, brings the device onto the August 2020 set of Android security patches.

Huami has been teasing the second-generation Amazfit GTR and GTS smartwatches, with a new promo poster simply announcing the new products will be “Beyond GT”. There is some expectation that the Amazfit GTR 2 and GTS 2 wearables will feature enhanced health functions that include a blood oxygen sensor.

The Snapdragon 460 is a new Qualcomm processor that has hit the headlines thanks to its putative role in OnePlus' first-ever entry-level smartphone. It seems the OEM Realme is also preparing a device based on the cost-effective chipset. According to a Geekbench leak, it has a surprisingly generous amount of RAM and runs Android 10.

Xiaomi is working on bringing a new 82-inch and 8K TV to market, according to a new report. The TV will even have a 5G modem onboard, allowing for streaming without an Ethernet or Wi-Fi connection.

After ending the second phase of its MIUI 12 rollout last week, Xiaomi is slated to set its sights towards the third phase, with phones like the Redmi Note 8, Redmi Note 9S, Redmi Note 9 Pro, and Redmi Note 9 Pro Max likely to finally receive the MIUI 12 update in the coming weeks.

After an Amazon listing revealed some details of the Mi 10T Pro a few days ago, a new leak how now given even more information about Xiaomi's next premium phone. Notable takeaways include a side-mounted fingerprint reader, the presence of an LCD instead of an AMOLED, and a €550 starting price tag.

Tecno is a smartphone OEM that may be on the rise to challenge other, more readily recognizable names such as LG, OPPO or Realme. Its main brand is Infinix, which has been spotted on Geekbench 5 with a new phone called the Note 8. According to this leak, it rocks the Helio G80 SoC and has 6GB of RAM.

An earlier leak suggested that the increasingly popular wearables brand Amazfit had a second-gen GTR smartwatch in the works. Now, a device of this name has been approved to use Bluetooth 5.0. Therefore, it may not be far away from an official unveiling.

Reports surfaced a while ago claiming that OnePlus would only release the OnePlus 8T later this year and not the OnePlus 8T Pro. Those reports appear to have been inaccurate, though, as the company has now uploaded pages for the OnePlus 8T Pro and what appears to be the OnePlus Clover.

Huawei unveiled its latest update to its Android skin, EMUI 11, at its 2020 Developer Conference. This involved a teaser video that contains a shot seeming to reference 66 watt (W) charging. This goes beyond the current upper limit of phone power-brick speeds for this OEM; therefore, this spec may be destined for the upcoming Mate 40 flagship series.

POCO and Xiaomi have announced some impressive figures for the first sale of the new POCO X3 NFC smartphone. The device, which has prices starting from £199/€229 (US$255/$271), has been snapped up at speed by fans, with 1,000 POCO X3 NFC units selling in just 30 seconds and over 100,000 phones sold in three days.

Display panels that can fold and unfold regularly without damage will probably play a growing role in the electronics of the future. BOE is one company involved in their development and production. Its latest milestone in this endeavor is a panel type it has been working on that can bend with a radius of as little as 5 millimeters (mm), which can now reportedly be made in bulk.

The Redmi Note 10 will be launched before the end of the year and more details of the upcoming mid-range phone have now surfaced. Supposedly, the Redmi Note 10 will sport a 120 Hz display, along with a 48 MP camera, and two powerful SoC options.

Huawei has also launched its latest hearables at its ongoing Developer Conference. The FreeBuds Pro have the AirPod form-factor; however, it is also claimed that they have "intelligent dynamic noise cancellation" and active noise cancelling features. The FreeLace Pro neckbuds also have supposedly best-in-class performance in this right, as well as a battery life of up to 24 hours.

Huawei has introduced the Watch Fit, its first smartwatch with a rounded rectangular fact, to more markets at its Developer Conference (HDC 2020). It has many features in common with the equally new Watch GT 2 Pro, but is much more affordable. The wearable is to be made available this month (September 2020),

Huawei has launched its new range of wearables at this OEM's own Developer Conference (HDC 2020). Its flagship is unarguably the Watch GT 2 Pro, which has titanium and ceramic in its casing, as well as a "sapphire" display crystal. It is rated for up to 2 weeks' worth of battery life and comes in Sport or Classic SKUs.

The Mi 10T and Mi 10T Pro have appeared on Amazon Spain, and they are surprisingly cheap considering their specifications. Both smartphones feature the Snapdragon 865, five cameras and a near bezel-less display. However, the Mi 10T Pro is the star of the show with its 144 Hz AMOLED screen, 108 MP camera, 5,000 mAh battery, 8 GB of RAM and up to 256 GB of storage.

Xiaomi will release the Mi 10T and Mi 10T Pro later this month and renders of the more expensive sibling have now been revealed. Notable takeaways include a flat display, a 108 MP camera as rumored, and what appears to be the lack of a 3.5mm headphone jack.

A potential Xiaomi Mi 11 could be released in the first few months of 2021 according to a noted tipster. The premium Xiaomi smartphone, which could end up being the expected Mi 11 and feature an under-display camera, will join an unknown Vivo phone and become one of the first devices to sport the rumored Qualcomm Snapdragon 875 SoC.

Earlier, the prominent chipset manufacturer TSMC announced that it would comply with US trade regulations preventing it from doing business with the OEM Huawei from mid-September 2020 onward. Similarly, LG and Samsung have stated that they will stop supplying the company with display panels on the date in question. Then again, Huawei may still have contingencies for this latest setback.

Huawei is bringing the MateBook X and Renoir-powered MateBook 14 to Europe. The two machines will arrive in October for €1,499 and €849, respectively. However, the MateBook 14 will be the more powerful of the two with up to a Ryzen 7 4800H processor.

Huawei has launched EMUI 11, its latest in-house OS. EMUI 11 is currently based on Android 10, but features numerous changes from EMUI 10 and EMUI 10.1. Huawei has opened its beta program to ten devices too, albeit only those in China for the time being.

A Twitter leak suggests that OnePlus is working on a smartwatch. Earlier reports suggested that it would sport the Oppo Watch's square aesthetic, but the OnePlus Watch will allegedly have a round screen. OnePlus will likely unveil it alongside the OnePlus 8T.

Huawei will drop the AOSP version of Android it is currently shipping on its smartphones in 2021. In its place, the embattled Chinese tech giant will start shipping its smartphones with its home grown HarmonyOS, according to executive Richard Yu.

The second round of the MIUI 12 release schedule has been completed, Xiaomi has confirmed on Weibo. The second batch of OS upgrades has been completed ahead of schedule, but Xiaomi has not finished the rollout of MIUI 12 yet. Older Redmi handsets, like the Redmi Note 5, are still yet to receive the company's latest OS.

Motorola is scheduled to launch its refreshed Razr 2020 later today (September 9, 2020). However, it is already out there in the form of YouTube hands-on and first impressions by prominent tech influencers. Furthermore, Roland Quandt of WinFuture claims to have learned its entire spec list by now.

Poco has launched a non-Pro variant for the M2 series in India, as indicated earlier. The phone is a rebrand of the Redmi 9/9 Prime, albeit with slightly different styling. This means it is powered by the Helio G80 SoC, has 6GB of RAM and quad rear cameras.