Chinese Tech

Xiaomi has now kickstarted the Android 11 rollout for its lineup, starting with its current flagship phones, the Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro. Android 11 builds are now being rolled out to owners of the global Mi 10 model. There are some caveats, of course, however.

The Huawei Mate 8 is still receiving software updates, nearly five years after its release in November 2015. The latest update brings the July 2020 set of security patches and a battery abnormality detection feature. The update is rolling out now to Chinese handsets but should make its way to global handsets, too.

Another innovative Xiaomi smartphone patent has seen the light of day, with the device in the patent drawings featuring an interesting solution for both the front and rear cameras. Xiaomi has integrated a dual pop-up camera system in this concept that leaves the case of the smartphone completely camera free.

After releasing the Realme 7 and Realme X7, Realme is set to launch a cheaper device that will go against Xiaomi's Redmi 9 in an attempt to win some market share in that high-volume market segment. Details of the Realme 7i have now leaked in full, and it keeps up with the competition rather exquisitely.

The M7C smartwatch by SMAWATCH includes a GPS module, a touchscreen display, a heart rate monitor and a host of workout modes for US$30. The SMAWATCH M7C is available from AliExpress.

Huawei has started teasing EMUI 11, with the company focusing on greater connectivity and usability for its next in-house OS. EMUI 11 will be unveiled on September 10 at HDC 2020 alongside HarmonyOS 2.0 and potentially some new hardware, too.

The new Redmi SonicBass Wireless Earphones are accessories of the 'neckbud' variety alluded to in a leak earlier in 2020. Now, the brand has finally launched them in their first market, Nepal. They will cost the equivalent of about US$17 in this country on their imminent release.

A report out of China has claimed that Xiaomi is planning on adding more transparent products to its range, with a 27-inch Mi Display monitor that utilizes an OLED panel from Samsung possibly being the next device in line. The Chinese OEM just recently launched the transparent 55-inch Mi TV Lux.

The Semiconductor Manufacturing Internal Corporation (SMIC) is in the same business as TSMC, if not quite at the same level of complexity or noteriety. The US administration has reportedly threatened it with a blacklisting along the same lines as the one handed to Huawei. This is reportedly linked to the company's alleged connections to the Chinese national military.

Realme has made a successful foray into the true-wireless (TWS) earbud market recently. Then again, none of its products have have the sought-after spec of active noise cancelling (ANC). A new leak suggests it is coming in a new set soon, and that their launch will take place in India.

A renowned Twitter leaker suggests that OnePlus has no plans to release a Pro version of the OnePlus 8T. The information falls in line with an earlier leak that tells us about some of the phone's specifications. OnePlus will likely replace it with an affordable smartphone.

Poco has now launched its latest mid-range, the Poco X3 NFC. The Poco X3 NFC has its sights aimed right at the OnePlus Nord and delivers on the hardware with a 120 Hz display, Snapdragon 732G, quad-rear camera setup, and massive 5160 mAh battery—all at a starting price point of €229.

Xiaomi has released two new 32-inch and 43-inch smart TVs as a part of its Mi TV 4A Horizon Edition series in India. Both TVs run Xiaomi's Patchwall UI out of the box and come with several pre-loaded applications. Prices start at INR 13,499 (US$191) and (US$213) for the 32-inch and 43-inch version, respectively.

Thanks to the UGREEN USB C 2.5" hard drive enclosure, turning old HDDs and SSDs into external storage solutions is very easy to do, not to mention affordable. At less than US$25, this accessory supports drives up to 6 TB in size and transfer rates of up to 6 Gbps.

Realme rose to be a top 5 hearable (or audio wearables with a smart component) brand in research on the Indian sector of this market during the first quarter of 2020 (1Q2020). Now, a new Counterpoint Research report on the same space for 2Q2020 has found the OEM has taken the No.1 spot in its TWS earbud sub-sector. Its success is based on the increasing affordability of the devices in question.

The Mi Mix 3 5G was stuck on MIUI 10 for ages but has now risen from the ashes in spectacular style, with Xiaomi finally sending out the MIUI 12 update to owners of the phone in Europe. The update does not bring Android 10, however.

Vivo has been showing off an interesting new prototype smartphone that can offer users different-colored back panels thanks to the utilization of electrochromic technology. The rear of the Vivo smartphone, which looks like a modified S7 5G, is clad in smart glass, enabling it to switch colors from blue to purple and eventually silver.

The Redmi Note 10 draws closer to launch. More details of the upcoming Xiaomi mid-range phone has now been revealed, with a notable takeaway being the presence of a 48 MP camera, same as on the Redmi Note 9 and the Redmi Note 8 before it.

A Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra smartphone with an under-display camera has seemingly been leaked in a comparison video. Xiaomi has already revealed the technology in a recent promotional clip; however, it has now been speculated that the under-display camera variant of the Mi 10 Ultra could be launched sooner than what was previously anticipated.
The original source and a longer hands-on video have surfaced.

Huawei's mobile platforms have been notable by their absence from IFA 2020. It transpires that the OEM has decided to delay the launch of its Kirin 1000 platform (which is to be the first of its series to be based on a 5 nanometer (nm) architecture), in order to focus on taking delivery of as much of the silicon it is based on before it is blocked from doing so by US restrictions.

This is how not to design a laptop. If using one port blocks access to an adjacent port, then you know your engineers screwed up somewhere along the process.

TCL has launched its second-gen AiPQ Engine at IFA 2020. It is a platform rated to enhance this OEM's big-screen TVs, particularly those made with mini-LED or quantum-dot LED (QLED). The Engine allows for "real-time audiovisual optimization" based on the content to be reproduced. It is rated to distinguish between different types of AV media thanks to its machine-learned features.

TCL has unveiled its latest form of display technology as part of its IFA Special Edition 2020 presentation. NXTPAPER is an alternative to e-ink that, as its maker claims, "repurposes natural light" to prevent eye-strain while still producing a convincing range of colors. These panels are also touted to improve on contrast, power-efficiency and thickness compared to more conventional screen materials.

Marketing renders of the Huawei Watch GT 2 Pro have been leaked ahead of its likely launch later this month. The Watch GT 2 Pro is somewhat of an iterative update over last year's Watch GT 2 with a more refined design and the adoption of wireless charging.

AnTuTu has been busy compiling its August price-performance charts for Android phones, and there are new leaders in two out of the five tables. The iQOO 3 and Meizu 17 Pro have scored highly enough to remove the Redmi K30 Pro Zoom and Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro from their respective positions, although Redmi still has an incredible 11 smartphones in the charts.

Honor has released its first rugged smartwatch, the Watch GS Pro. With an AMOLED screen, over 100 workout modes and GPS, the €249.99/£249.99 smartwatch should be suited for most eventualities. The Honor Watch GS Pro will be available in three colours and also includes a heart rate monitor, along with a SpO2 sensor.

Honor's answer to the Huawei Watch Fit has arrived. Called the Honor Watch ES, the device features an elongated AMOLED screen, an optical heart rate sensor, a SpO2 sensor and a 6-axis IMU sensor. The Honor Watch ES retails for £99.99/€99.99 and comes in three colours.

Xiaomi has announced that the 98-inch Redmi Smart TV Max will soon be available in yet another flash sale for the immensely popular big television. However, it seems yet again that it will be buyers in China that will be getting great deals on the Redmi Max 98 (19,999 yuan; about US$2,924), as Xiaomi hasn’t revealed any plans to release the device outside of its domestic market.

A company spokesperson has revealed some critical OnePlus 8T specs. It will be the first non-Pro variant to come with a 6.5-inch AMOLED panel clocked at 120Hz. The phone will also ship with a 48MP quad-camera setup. We can expect OnePlus to release the phone sometime in October.

The Redmi Note 9 Pro remains on MIUI 11 but not for much longer. An official source at Xiaomi Indonesia has finally cleared the air on when the MIUI 12 update will arrive for Xiaomi's current Pro mid-range phone. Variants like the Redmi Note 9 Pro Max and Redmi Note 9S should also get the update at the same time.

The Poco X3 will be unveiled on September 7, but the device has already been leaked online courtesy of a hands-on video. A Poco X3 Premium Version also appears to be on the cards.

MIUI 12 is still yet to arrive for the Pocophone F1, months after Xiaomi started rolling out the OS upgrade to numerous devices. Apparently, the reason for the delay centres on overheating issues, which occur even during simple tasks like recording a 4K video or running the screen at full brightness.

A market analyst report concerning the best-selling smartphones of the first half of 2020 has placed the Apple iPhone 11 in top position with remarkable sales of 37.7 million units. The six months have also been kind to Xiaomi, with four Redmi devices, including the Redmi 8A and Redmi Note 8 Pro, making it into the list of the top 10 most-shipped smartphones.

The Realme 7 and Realme 7 Pro are now official. While both phones offer some incremental upgrades, they are quite similar to their predecessors. The Realme 7 series is only available in India for now, but we can expect a global launch soon.

The AnTuTu midrange smartphone performance chart for August is currently dominated by Redmi, Honor, and Huawei. The Redmi 10X 5G and 10X Pro 5G with their MediaTek Dimensity 820 processors have managed to keep challengers away from their positions at the top, while devices with Kirin chips bring up most of the rear.

AnTuTu has published its flagship smartphone performance chart for August and top position has been snatched up by the Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra. The chart has thoroughly been shaken up lately thanks to some powerful new releases, including the iQOO 5 and the Asus ROG Phone 3 with its Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus processor.

Xiaomi has now kicked off the Mi Pilot program for Android 11. The beta-testing program allows owners of the Mi 10, Mi 10 Pro, and Poco F2 Pro to sign up for early Android 11 builds. As always, there are a few noteworthy stipulations, however.

The Xiaomi Mi 8 SE and Mi 10 Lite have received the call to MIUI 12. Both updates are rolling out as OTAs. The one for the Mi 10 Lite brings the global version of the device into line with the European variant, which Xiaomi upgraded to MIUI 12 in July.

After mulling on the decision for over a month, the Indian Government has finally banned PUBG Mobile. Over 110 other Chinese-origin apps join it, most of which appear to be mobile games from lesser-known developers like NetEase. We can expect the ban to be implemented in the coming weeks.

The first gaming laptop from Huawei and Honor is almost here, and it will be called the Honor Hunter GameBook. The device is scheduled for release on September 16, and Honor has published a teaser video in advance of the laptop's grand unveiling.

The Poco M2 is billed to be the company's newest offering. Not much is known about its hardware, and its name seems to indicate that it will be less powerful than the Poco M2 Pro. It will be released in India on September 8 via an online event.

MediaTek has now officially announced the launch of its latest mid-range gaming-oriented SoC, the Helio G95. The Helio G95 succeeds the Helio G90 and is expected to debut on the upcoming Realme 7, while offering better performance than the Helio G90T.

The Axon 20 5G is finally here in three SKUs and four colours. The world's first smartphone with an under-screen selfie camera has a 6.92-inch and 90 Hz OLED screen, a Snapdragon 765G SoC and five cameras. The Axon 20 5G will be available with up to 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage.

Xiaomi has begun issuing MIUI 12 to the global editions of the Mi Note 10, Mi Note 10 Pro and Mi Note 10 Lite. The updates are available as OTAs and should be rolling out now to handsets.

Prepare your wallets: the Mi 10T is on the way and will be launched around the globe. Xiaomi has now officially teased the launch of the Mi 10T, with the phone slated for a global release while carrying a starting price tag under €300.

The Zepp E is now shipping in the UK and US. The Zepp E is available in two styles, which both feature AMOLED screens, up to 15 days of battery life and a host of sensors. The Zepp E supports Bluetooth 5.0 BLE connectivity, too.
Update: Zepp has clarified its relationship with Amazfit.

Realme has unveiled the eye-catching new X7 series of smartphones today (September 1, 2020) today during a virtual event in China. This launch also introduced a new member of the V line, which is also powered by a MediaTek Dimensity chipset. However, its specs allow for pricing that starts at just 999 yuan (~US$146).

Huawei has updated its EMUI 10.1 upgrade plans in eight regions. The company now claims to have finished rolling out its latest OS in Canada and Western Europe following its completion in Japan. Other regions like Africa, Central Asia, North-Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Russia are not far behind either. The rollout in Latin America is a similar story, also.

Realme has now launched its two newest devices, the Realme X7 and Realme X7 Pro. Both devices are powered by MediaTek 5G chipsets, with the Realme X7's Dimensity 800U matching the Snapdragon 765G and the Realme X7 Pro's Dimensity 1000+ trading blows with the Snapdragon 855.

Xiaomi has now launched a "new" smartphone in the form of the Mi 10 Youth Doraemon Edition. The Mi 10 Youth Doraemon Edition offers the phone in a Doraemon box with a packed-in Doraemon figure and phone case. MSRP remains unchanged from the regular Mi 10 Youth Edition 5G.