Chinese Tech

Realme has outlined its launch event for a new phone that will have the brand's largest battery yet. It has been confirmed to be a new member of the C series, and will go live in Indonesia late in July 2020. Its new teaser also shows it has a square rear camera and a waterdrop notch.

MIUI 12 will start reaching 23 devices from next month, Xiaomi has confirmed. The list features 17 Redmi smartphones, including the Redmi Note 9 and Redmi Note 8 series. The POCO F2 Pro and Pocophone F1 have made the cut too.

Xiaomi is pushing ahead with MIUI 12.1, the successor to MIUI 12. MIUI 12.1 has already been issued to beta testers, some of whom have outlined what to expect from the next version of MIUI.

The Redmi Note 8 remains stuck on Android Pie and MIUI 11, and it appears its journey towards attaining MIUI 12 and Android 10 has hit yet another bump. It's not the only phone in similar straits, however, with the Redmi Note 7's update also hitting a snag.

Xiaomi has issued a raft of new MIUI 12 updates to the Mi 9T, Mi 9T Pro, Redmi K20 and Redmi K20 Pro. Xiaomi latest OS has now arrived on Russian versions of the Mi 9T and Redmi K20, while MIUI 12 has also been rolled out to more global models. The rollout of MIUI 12 has been expanded for Indian versions of the Mi 9T Pro and Redmi K20 Pro too.

The Realme 6i finally has an Indian release date. It will be unveiled on July 24 via an online event. The phone is expected to feature a 90Hz screen, a MediaTek Helio G90T SoC, and a quad-camera setup. Prices are expected to start at INR 11,999 (US$160).

OnePlus' official Instagram handle has put out a teaser that hints the OnePlus Buds' price. The TWS earbuds will be released alongside the OnePlus Nord on July 21, and promise to deliver up to seven hours of battery life and support charging at 30W.

Xiaomi has announced that random Redmi Note 7 users have been selected to receive the Android 10-based version of MIUI 11. The global beta stable update will go through a short testing period before other owners of the global variant of the Redmi Note 7 can start enjoying the operating system upgrade.

Xiaomi has announced the new Redmi AirDots 2 earphones, which will be officially launched on July 22. The TWS earphones are currently priced at 79 yuan (US$11) during the crowdfunding stage. The budget earphones offer Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity, virtual assistant functionality, and they weigh in at just 4.1 g per earbud.

The Redmi Note 9 is now available for purchase in India. It comes with a 6.4-inch FHD+ LCD panel, a MediaTek Helio G85 SoC, up to 6GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage, a 5,000mAh battery that can be charged at 22W, and a quad-camera array at the back. Prices start at INR 14,999 (US$200) for the base variant.

Chinese security researchers discovered that the firmware of fast chargers can be corrupted to deliver higher charging parameters, thus damaging the devices connected to them. A charger affected by a BadPower attack can melt or even set on fire the handset/external battery it is supposed to charge.

The Redmi Note 9 smartphone is scheduled to launch in India on July 20, and if a new rumor about the device is to be believed, it looks like Xiaomi fans in India will be able to get their hands on at least a RAM heavyweight champion variant of the Redmi Note 9.

The new Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 5 fitness tracker is now available on Amazon US and at a reasonable price, too. US shoppers can pick up the Mi Smart Band 5 from US$49.98, which is similar to the price of the wearable in Europe. However, buyers should be aware that this is the non-NFC variant of the smart band.

Xiaomi launched the Redmi 9C globally a few days ago, and it appears the phone is set to make its way over to India. Surprisingly, however, it may not be released under the Redmi brand, with new information indicating a Poco rebadge.

IFA 2020 will be a heavily pandemic-adapted, mostly virtual event with few actual real-world attendees. A Realme executive has confirmed that the brand will have a presence at this show in any case. It will take that opportunity to make a "big announcement" during the conference.

The premium appearance of the 13-inch Chuwi CoreBook Pro is hiding some dated specs, but at least the price seems fair. Surprisingly enough, this model integrates a quality 3:2 IPS screen with 2160 x 1440 resolution and 100% sRGB color gamut, but apart from this, the hardware specs are so 2016, with an Intel Core i3-6157U CPU, 8 GB of DDR4 RAM and 256 GB SSD.

The Android 10-based MIUI 12 update for the Redmi Note 7 Pro smartphone is now in its beta testing phase for the India ROM. Devs have asked owners to be patient during the testing period, but it seems the Redmi Note 7 Pro will be brandishing a stable version of MIUI 12 in the not too distant future.

The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) supplies the silicon on which many OEMs' SoCs or devices are based, Huawei's included. However, the current US administration has issued an executive order that prevents the latter from conducting this kind of business. TSMC has stated that it is complying with the directive.

EMUI 10.1 has reached the Huawei P30, Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro in more countries. Similarly, Magic UI 3.1 has landed in Europe for the Honor View 20. All updates are rolling out as over-the-air (OTA) upgrades.

Xiaomi has lifted the restrictions that it placed on its latest Mi Notebook laptops in India. Unveiled last month, the Mi Notebook 14 and Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition can now be purchased freely directly from Xiaomi or Amazon India.

Xiaomi has released a new raft of updates to the Mi 9, Mi 9 Pro 5G, Mi 10 Youth Edition and the Redmi K20 Pro. The updates should all be arriving now to eligible handsets as Xiaomi continues with its MIUI 12 rollout.

Xiaomi could be working on a possible new flagship as was indicated by a recent Chinese 3C certification. The Xiaomi device, which has a model number M2007J1SC, was later discovered to be codenamed Cas and will be a 5G device with 120 W fast charging support. Xiaomi Cas is expected to be powered by the Snapdragon 865/865 Plus and will also sport a 48 MP triple-camera setup that can take "supermoon" shots similar to the Huawei P30 Pro.

Two separate posts by OnePlus employees have confirmed that the OnePlus Nord will come with six cameras in total, and a 90Hz AMOLED screen. The rear camera will consist of a 48MP Sony IMX586 sensor, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle lens, a 5MP depth sensor, and a macro lens. The phone will be unveiled on July 21 via an online-only event.

OPPO is now slated to release a phone called the A72 5G in China soon. This phone is also thought to be called something like the Reno 10X Mark 2 in other markets. Its model number and yet-to-be-launched MediaTek SoC have appeared in another new leak that may show what they offer the consumer.

A new certificate issued by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (or Bluetooth SIG) confirms in no uncertain terms that Samsung has a device called the Galaxy M51 in the works. Other recent leaks strongly suggest this phone will come with a battery rated for 7000mAh in capacity. It is also possible it will act as an M40 successor in 2020.

The Xiaomi Mi A1 has received a July update. The update is being pushed to devices now and contains a few changes from last month's update.

Alleged images of the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2020 smartphone have appeared online, and they offer an interesting solution to getting rid of the punch-hole cut-out for the selfie camera. The likely fan-made renders show the Mi Mix 2020 clad in marble white and sporting a quad-camera system on the rear.

MIUI 12 China Beta ROM is all set to gain new video calling features on select devices such as the Mi 10 Lite and the Redmi K30 Pro, according to a post by a Xiaomi forum moderator. The post also indicates that Xiaomi will be temporarily stopping MIUI 12 rollout for several devices including the Redmi Note 7 and Redmi Note 8 owing to feature and stability issues. Development for Mi 8 series and others will be suspended from September 5.

The brand equity researcher BrandZ has issued a report in regard to the top 50 Chinese global brand builders for 2020. While Huawei tops the list and Xiaomi manages a powerful fifth position, it’s the owner of TikTok, ByteDance, which has done especially well to power ahead of the well-established Mi brand.

The Redmi X50 smart TV has finally gone on sale and has been priced at just 1,899 yuan (US$272). The TV, which is framed in metal and features a 4K display, offers users the chance to enjoy MEMC picture-smoothing technology on a device with a 97% screen-to-body ratio. The Redmi X50 is the smallest member of the new Redmi Smart TV X Series.
The Redmi X50 has been reduced to 1,799 yuan (US$257).

Huawei is thought to have a new series of slates that consists of the MatePad T10 and T10s in the works. They are linked to the Kirin 710A processor and are, thus, thought to be budget devices on their launch. A new leak on Geekbench 4 suggests that at least one of them has 4GB of RAM and runs Android 10.

Recent EMUI 10 and EMUI 10.1 updates have been causing battery problems on some devices. According to several reports, devices have been unable to charge beyond 60% and have suffered from excessive battery drain.

An Amazfit Band 6 device has been spotted getting its FCC certification, which is something of a surprise considering the Amazfit Band 5 from Huami only recently went by the same agency too. It could be possible that "Amazfit Band 6" might be the US market name for the widely rumored Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 5 Pro wearable.

The Lenovo L10041 will apparently be called the Lenovo A8, according to a listing on the Thai National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Corporation database. A separate TUV Rheinland listing for the Lenovo A8 indicates that the device will feature a 5000 mAh battery.

Weibo tipster @techmeow shared photos of the Motorola E7, along with a settings screenshot that indicates that the phone will feature a Snapdragon 632 and run Android 10 out of the box. If Motorola prices the E7 right, it could compete successfully with the crowd-pleasing Redmi 9A.

Xiaomi smartphone owners with older devices can still get a taste of the Android 10 operating system thanks to custom ROM providers. In this case, the PixelExperience team has added 10 new Xiaomi devices to its list of supported smartphones, including the Xiaomi Mi 5, Mi 8, Mi 9, Mi Mix, and the Xiaomi Mi A2.

The Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 Basic is Xiaomi's latest pair of budget TWS earbuds. Featuring 14.2 mm drivers, Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity and up to 20 hours of battery life, the Earphones 2 Basic retails for €39.99 in the EU and £39.99 in the UK. The earbuds also include touch controls, dual microphones and IR sensors for in-ear detection.

Xiaomi has announced two new electric scooters, along with a Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 special edition of its flagship model. Called the Mi Electric Scooter 1S and Mi Electric Scooter Pro 2, the scooters will go on sale for €399 and €499, respectively.

Xiaomi has fixed the dual-SIM issue that had been affecting some Mi A3 handsets almost as quickly as it caused it. The fix, which arrives courtesy of a new build of MIUI 11, is rolling out now. Understandably, fans and owners of the Mi A3 are unhappy at Xiaomi's repeated missteps with issuing software updates to the device.

Mobvoi has debuted the TicKasa headphones. Although this is only the first product in this category from the band, they have progressed directly to active noise cancelling (ANC) and wireless features. They are Bluetooth 5, have 40 millimeter drivers and have button controls.

Xiaomi has launched the global edition of the Mi Band 5, called the Mi Smart Band 5. Featuring a 1.1-inch AMOLED panel, 11 sports modes and 5 ATM water resistance, the Mi Smart Band 5 retails for €39.99 or £39.99 in the UK. The fitness tracker also has a PPG heart rate sensor and supports up to 14 days of battery life, but NFC, a SpO2 sensor and Alexa integration are absent.

EMUI 10.1 has reached 39 devices, Huawei has confirmed. The number, which includes Honor devices, features recent flagships like the Mate 30 and P30 series. EMUI 10.1 is a modest upgrade over EMUI 10 and is somewhat of a stopgap before the Android 11-based EMUI 11 arrives later this year.

Xiaomi has made its affordable range of Redmi 9 smartphones available across markets worldwide. The Redmi 9 can be had for as little as €149 (US$170), while the Redmi 9C will set you back by €119 (US$135). With its €99 (US$113) price tag, the Redmi 9A is the most affordable smartphone of the lot.

China Telecom has reportedly listed an as-yet unreleased new OPPO phone on its website. It is apparently to be called the A72 5G, and has an SoC represented by an unfamiliar MediaTek model number. According to some other leaks, however, it may also be a Reno 10X Zoom successor.

The Pocophone F1 and the latest Poco M2 Pro are receiving performance and security updates staring today, but there's no sign of MIUI 12 for these devices yet. Poco F1 is already in Phase 2 of the MIUI 12 beta testing, so the stable bits should arrive sometime in August. Meanwhile, the Redmi K20 Indian variant is getting a wider rollout of stable MIUI 12 after having been in beta testing earlier this month.

Xiaomi confirmed a short while ago that it would finally remove the Clean Master app and service from its phones in India, following the ban of the app by the government. The promised update has arrived for the Mi Cleaner app but things may not always be as they seem.

MIUI 12 has arrived for the EU versions of the Xiaomi Redmi K30 Pro and Poco F2 Pro. While the inaugural MIUI 12 update is rolling out to handsets now, there have been multiple reports of the Redmi K20 and Mi 9T handsets failing to upgrade to MIUI 12.

Oppo has launched the world’s fastest smartphone wired and wireless charging systems. Its new wired technology will deliver a 125 W charge while its new wireless charging tech will deliver a 65 W charge. Joining the announcement are a pair of ultra-compact fast charging Super VOOC adapters.

Some alleged Xiaomi Mi 11 renders have started popping up online but fans of the Chinese OEM shouldn’t get too excited about them just yet. Rumored specs for the successor to the Mi 10 include the presence of a Qualcomm Snapdragon 875, a 192 MP main camera sensor, and an unblemished display thanks to an under-screen camera.

The full design of the OnePlus Nord has been revealed ahead of tomorrow's 24-hour pre-order event for the device. Unveiled in two colours, OnePlus has confirmed that the Nord will have an ultra-wide-angle front-facing camera.