Chinese Tech

According to a famous leaker, the next generation of mid-tier mobile device might be ready to move up to the type of display formerly exclusive to much more high-end smartphones. The first of these upcoming smartphones is allegedly to be launched by Xiaomi with a new panel from TCL's CSOT with the requisite LTPO technology that can adjust its own refresh rate for potentially improved battery life.

Competition on the Chinese handheld console market is getting fierce as yet another maker presents its large-screen model. AOKZOE's console is powered by a Ryzen 7 6800U with Radeon 680M iGPU and it looks to handle popular games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Forza Horizon 5 quite well even at high video presets running in 1920 x 1200.

The freshly-launched Nova Y90 has a camera hump that might be familiar to Huawei fans, although the rest of its chassis might be less so. The new design contains a new-ish Qualcomm 4G/LTE-only processor, which drives a 90Hz display and runs EMUI 12 out of the box. Therefore, this Nova might be intended for international markets on its release.

With the new Poco X4 GT, Xiaomi has now joined the exclusive list of OEMs offering MediaTek Dimensity 8100-powered phone on the global market. The Poco X4 GT is firmly-focused on raw performance and delivers that at a flagship level while costing less than €300 for early adopters.

Ahead of its July 5 global debut, new leaks have now revealed details of the Asus ROG Phone 6, including major specifications and expected pricing of the gaming phone in Europe. The ROG Phone 6 will debut with a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 and could be the first phone to do so.

Qualcomm recently launched the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 as a mid-cycle refresh of the regular Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. Not one to be left behind, rivals MediaTek have now replied in kind, with the announcement of the MediaTek Dimensity 9000+.

It's been nearly a year since the Xiaomi Pad 5 series debuted in China. The Xiaomi Pad 6 is in development, of course, and new information has now surfaced about an enigmatic tablet that will likely be powered by a MediaTek chipset.

Launch details of the Xiaomi 12 Ultra have now been revealed in a new leak from Chinese sources, with the flagship phone said to be the first to bear Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 flagship chipset. Sadly, though, it appears the Coke-style Leica logo will be a miss.

Featuring magnetomotive shoulder triggers, the Poco F4 GT was launched a while ago as Xiaomi's first gaming-focused smartphone for the global market. It appears to do a horrid job at actual gaming, though, if a new test is anything to go by.

Vivo is now rumored to launch a Lite variant for its X80 premium mid-range Android smartphone series. Its specs remain unknown at present, although it might prove as good a reason as any for the OEM to take the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 SoC up. At the other end of the X80 spectrum, its top-end Pro Plus model is now projected to gain global availability in late 2022.

The Asus ROG Phone 6 is scheduled to launch on July 5. After confirming the presence of a 165 Hz AMOLED screen on the phone, Asus has now teased significantly improved cooling and thermals for the ROG Phone 5's successor.

The Mi Band 6 was incredibly popular last year and it appears its direct successor, the Xiaomi Band 7, toes a similar line. Currently only available in China, Xiaomi has now confirmed that it has sold over a million units of the smartband, less than a month after it made its debut.

The latest version of Huawei's in-house operating system, HarmonyOS 3.0, has emerged in the form of its first-ever Developer Preview. The new beta is already compatible with smartphones, phablets, tablets and foldables. However, the list of devices capable of downloading and using it is not long, being confined to some of the OEM's latest high-end devices at present.

The Xiaomi 12 Ultra is all but confirmed to make its debut next month. Apparently, though, the flagship will not arrive alone but will be joined by at least two other premium phones: the Xiaomi 12S and Xiaomi 12S Pro.

Hisense today launched a new music player, the Touch Lite. Armed with an octa-core Qualcomm processor and 4 GB of RAM, and a 5.84-inch E Ink display, the Touch Lite runs on Android. Essentially, it operates as a standard Android handheld with a monochrome E Ink screen.

The iQOO 9 Pro is a 2022 Android flagship smartphone rated to charge fully in as little as 15 minutes thanks to its 120 watt (W) power brick. However, its successor is now projected to exceed it in this regard, thanks to a new, 200W charging brick. It is also now predicted to launch in mid-2022 with a vanilla 10 sibling in tow.

Xiaomi sub-brand Poco has now confirmed the official launch date of its next smartphone, the Poco F4. The Poco F4 will be joined by the Poco X4 GT at the launch event, with that phone expected to be a rebranded Redmi Note 11T Pro for the global market.

The smart/electric car conglomerate Geely has now acquired a major share in the OEM Meizu, thus cementing rumors that the owner of Volvo, Polestar and other brands has an interest in smartphones as well. The merger may prove a lifeline for Meizu, which has fallen far behind others such as Xiaomi and OPPO as of late.

Vivo has already launched vanilla and Pro variants of the X80 series in 2022. Now, the latest leaks suggest the brand has been keeping its best specs in reserve for an impending Pro Plus SKU. They include more high-res cameras - including a possibly brand-new one from Samsung - and the new top-end Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 processor.

Xiaomi looks set to refresh the Xiaomi 12 series with the Xiaomi 12S lineup later this year. The Xiaomi 12S has now made its first appearance on Geekbench, while posting impressive scores thanks to the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 it houses.

The Poco F4 will be a direct successor to the popular Poco F3 that was released last year and will debut with the Redmi K40S's chassis while featuring a 64 MP main camera. Pricing information of the Poco F4 has surfaced ahead of launch, as well as camera samples.

As Xiaomi is gearing up to deliver MIUI 13.5 to a very long list of devices, including the Mi 10T Pro and non-Pro, these two handsets receive an unexpected software update that includes this month's security patch and has over 800 MB in size. Unsurprisingly, there are no new features to talk about.

With all early bird promotions gone, the Doogee S98 Pro is now available worldwide for the regular price of US$439.99. However, while this MIL-STD-810H-rated handset can be acquired with various discounts that depend on the retailer, the local taxes can push the price up for some customers as well.

The Xiaomi Band 7 is the definite successor to the Xiaomi Band 6, and appears to promise improved health monitoring thanks to Goodix's health sensor which delivers heart rate and Sp02 monitoring with high accuracy and low power consumption.

A Xiaomi MIUI 13.5 eligible device list has been put together, and it features over 120 phones and tablets from the Xiaomi, Mi, Redmi, and POCO brands. While popular ranges like the Redmi 10 series and Redmi Note 9 phones are lined up for a MIUI 13.5 update, it appears time is up for the Xiaomi Mi 9 family, the original Redmi Note 8 lineup, and even the best-selling Redmi 9A.

The Redmi K50 Ultra looks set to launch soon as Xiaomi's cheaper alternative to the Xiaomi 12 Ultra, and a new leak from China has now revealed details of the premium phone, with camera information looking particularly spicy.

Honor has already launched premium mobile devices in 2022; nevertheless, it is slated to supplant them with a new device with the refreshed top-end Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 processor instead. According to a Weibo leaker, it is tipped to be a real everything-burger of an Android smartphone.

New information has now surfaced strongly indicating that Xiaomi has shelved all plans for the release of a Poco F4 Pro. Supposedly, the Poco F4 Pro was to be a rebadged Redmi K50 Pro for the global market but will now never be released. The vanilla Poco F4, on the other hand, is nigh.

Weibo leaker Digital Chat Station claims that the Redmi Note 12 will feature a flat screen with a hole-punch selfie camera, a 50 MP triple rear camera array and reuse its predecessor's design. Redmi is expected to unveil the Redmi Note 12 series sometime in Q2, 2022.

The latest Huawei Mate 50-series leak might cast aspersions on the possibility of an upgrade to the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Plus platform for these premium-tier phablets. In fact, the OEM is now tipped to try and detract from that contingency with an emphasis on cutting-edge software and computational photography during its next flagship launch event instead.

Poco has now begun its marketing campaign for the upcoming Poco F4, starting with a letter released to the public yesterday through official channels. The gist of the matter simplified is: the Poco F4 looks set to ditch the performance-focused outlook of prior models in favor of a well-rounded approach.

A new leak has now provided the closest, most reliable look yet at Xiaomi's upcoming flagship phone, the Xiaomi 12 Ultra. The Xiaomi 12 Ultra will arrive with a massive, circular camera module seemingly playing host to four lenses, while also offering class-leading hardware across the board.

Vivo's iQOO brand has built a reputation for launching flagship smartphones with some of the fastest charging rates known to the Android market over the last few years. Now, according to a famous leaker, it has the chance to progress yet further by launching its allegedly upcoming 10 Pro with the new top-end spec in these terms yet again.

Dozens of Xiaomi models are guaranteed to receive the Android 13 update starting later this year when the company begins its rollout. On the other hand, some popular devices from the company look set to miss out, including the Mi 10T and Redmi Note 9 series in their entirety.

Motorola is now said to add some more new members to the Moto G series of Android smartphones soon. One of them, the G42, has reportedly emerged ahead of its launch again, and in more detail this time. Then again, some of them sound like a device already on the market in 2022.

Huawei has filed a patent for what it describes as a "detachable electronic device" that can dock onto 2 additional objects with compatible connectors. The new IP's images make it more clear that it is intended to be a "core" of sorts for a display and keyboard that can slot into the machine at the user's discretion. This, then, might be a new take on an emerging modular trend.

New Xiaomi Pad 6 rumors have cropped up on social media that claim the next tablet series from the Chinese OEM will be an all-Snapdragon-powered affair. In addition, there is an early display-related leak, exciting news about the Xiaomi Pad 6 Pro, and even a whisper about a Xiaomi Pad 6 Ultra joining the lineup.

Although it is already June and the May security patch has been around for a while, the MIUI 13.0.6 Global Stable software update for the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro only includes the April security patch. As its description shows, this 262 MB software package does not bring any other noticeable changes.

A new list has now revealed what Xiaomi phones will receive the Android 13 update later this year. Dozens of devices make the cut, with most of them having being released over the past eighteen months or thereabouts.

Some devices from the smartphone company Vivo (and its sub-brand iQOO) already support some of the fastest charging rates in the Android market. Now, a famous leaker indicates that it will upgrade to even faster, 200 watt (W) technology soon. This may involve a power brick that is also compatible with current flagships.

During a press conference in China, Sharp announced the AQUOS XLED F8. The XLED F8 is a 65-inch Mini LED TV, priced at RMB 16999 (US$2500 approximately). The F8 features a 4K 120Hz display with 2160 local dimming zones and an eye-searing 1800-nit peak brightness. Unfortunately, the XLED F8's launch appears to be limited to China at the moment.

Word on the grapevine previously claimed that OnePlus had two flagship phones in the works: the OnePlus 10 Ultra and OnePlus 10. According to a new leak, those two devices may not exist at all and the company will be releasing just one phone with the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1—the OnePlus 10T 5G.

Redmi General Manager Lu Weibing has now reported early sales numbers of Xiaomi's new Redmi Note 11T Pro phones in China. The phones seem to have sold rather well, albeit failing to match up to numbers from the more premium Redmi K50 and Xiaomi 12 series.

It might come as a surprise to many tech fans that Letv is back in the mobile devices market; however, the design of its comeback model, the Y1 Pro, will probably be less of one. The new smartphone has dual rear cameras in an oddly familiar layout, as well as a notch that seems mostly cosmetic, and a platform from Unisoc rather than Apple.

The Xiaomi Mi Band 7 is up for sale in China, and it is likely a global variant of the fitness tracker will soon follow. Owners of the Mi Band 6 (aka Mi Smart Band 6) may wonder if an upgrade is worth the money, which will partially depend on how important a continuous blood oxygen measurement feature is to the wearer.

Honor has launched the 70 (or 70 5G) alongside its Pro and Pro Plus siblings. All three Android smartphones have been unveiled with the same updated design and new Sony IMX800 main rear camera. However, slight compromises have been made with this freshly-debuted vanilla mid-ranger.

OPPO released its first foldable smartphone in 2021, and is now projected to add a second generation of the same device, as well as a first-gen clamshell alternative, in 2022. A famous leaker has now mentioned what might be a product name of the former for the first time, and also offers an update on the OEM's 'X' rollable prototype since its unveiling some time ago.

The Xiaomi Band 7 Pro could be coming soon, according to a few tech leakers. The Pro variant of the Band 7 had been rumored for some time, but Xiaomi has only officially revealed a regular and NFC variant of the smart band so far. It’s rumored that the Xiaomi Band 7 Pro will be unveiled at the same time as the Xiaomi 12 Ultra phone.

Sporting a massive 8,380 mAh battery with 33 W fast charge and a MediaTek Dimensity 700 processor, the Blackview BL8800 and BL8800 Pro are only set apart by the cameras on the back. While the BL8800 comes with a night vision image snapper, its Pro sibling features a FLIR thermal imaging camera.

Xiaomi brought the Black Shark 5 and Black Shark 5 Pro to the market back in March. According to a new leak, the Black Shark 6 series is on the way, and will arrive with Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1.