ARM

Features and some specs of the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro+ (Super Cup) smartphone may have been teased by Xiaomi’s CEO Lei Jun. The executive asked his followers what features are important for a flagship nowadays, with some taking his post as a subtle leak of some of the features for the rumored Mi 10 Pro+ device.

More rumored details about the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S20 Fan Edition (FE) smartphone have started appearing online. Along with a supposed price and launch date, information about the affordable flagship’s specs has also been shared, with the Galaxy S20 FE expected to have a somewhat conservative triple-camera system.

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.

While the Asus Zenfone 7 will be the affordable flagship for the people, Asus is apparently set to launch a Zenfone 7 Pro alongside it, which will offer more features, starting with the more powerful Snapdragon 865 Plus versus the Snapdragon 865 on the regular Zenfone 7.

The upcoming Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra may be Samsung's best smartphones this year, but prices will likely reach north of US$1500. That's a bit too expensive for most, and it appears Samsung is set to deliver another flagship phone that will likely cost right about half of that.

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.

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.

Pine64 has launched a new PinePhone model that comes with a Convergence Package. The device modestly powered device runs an Alpine Linux-based PostmarketOS that has built-in smartphone and desktop modes.

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.

Hardkernel has released its latest single-board computer (SBC), the ODROID-N2 Plus. Equipped with a new Amlogic S922X processor and up to 4 GB of RAM, Hardkernel claims that the ODROID-N2 Plus can offer twice the performance of a Raspberry Pi 4. The SBC is overclockable, too.

FriendlyARM has now made the NanoPi NEO3 available to purchase. Starting at US$20.00, the NanoPi NEO3 comes with up to 2 GB of DDR4 RAM and is based on the Rockchip's RK3328 quad-core ARM chipset. The tiny SBC is smaller than the Raspberry Pi Zero W but offers Raspberry Pi Model 3 levels of performance.

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.

New information has surfaced on the upcoming Asus Zenfone 7. The Zenfone 7 will succeed the positively received Zenfone 6 and will deliver a number of improvements. A launch date remains unknown.

A project has shown how to utilise the Raspberry Pi as an NFC-powered music player. Bringing a degree of tactility to digital music, the project combines an NFC reader with NFC tags to play specific albums, playlists or radio stations on Spotify.

TSMC has outlined its fabrication plans for its 5nm fabrication process and what that means for investors in its latest conference call. It is buoyant about what its 5nm node will mean for next generation mobile chips and says chips using the tech, including Apple’s A14, will contribute around 8 percent to its revenue for the next quarter.

The FunKey S is a tiny retro handheld console based on the design of the Game Boy Advance SP. The device has garnered over US$100,000 in crowdfunding on Kickstarter and supports multiple emulators including ones for the Game Boy, Game Boy Color and the PlayStation 1.

Cooler Master has torn through the funding target of its new Raspberry Pi case, the Pi Case 40. Apparently offering better cooling performance than "any other passively cooled Pi case on the market", the Pi Case 40 retails for just €23 (~US$27).

A Samsung SM-T505 has been spotted on Geekbench 5; based on this model number, it is now projected to be the Galaxy Tab A7 (2020) on its launch. Its new benchmarking results include the novel Qualcomm code-name bengal, which may be a lower-end, albeit new, Snapdragon platform on its own debut.

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.

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.

Apple’s one-time head of Mac development, Jean-Louis Gassée, has posted a blog arguing that it seems inevitable that PC makers will have to switch to ARM-based designs. However, it will require Microsoft to do a lot better with Windows on ARM than is currently the case which includes supporting 64-bit x86 apps and properly port its own software to the ARM architecture.

A potentially game-changing smartphone in the form of the Redmi K30 Ultra is allegedly in the works, and a possible image of the mystery device has been shared by Redmi boss and notorious teaser Lu Weibing. The rumored Redmi K30 Ultra is expected to boast of a powerful MediaTek Dimensity 1000+ chipset.

Xiaomi is now sending out new updates to the Mi 10 and Redmi Note 9. The update for the Mi 10 is a MIUI 12 build, while the Redmi Note 9's OTA is based on MIUI 11. This comes after confirmation that Xiaomi is now opening up the pilot program for global beta MIUI 12 testing on the Mi 10 phones in India.

OnePlus is building the hype machine for the launch of its affordable 5G-capable OnePlus Nord handset with a new Twitter competition. Ten lucky fans will be able to get their hands on one each of the first ten OnePlus Nord 5G handsets to come off the production lines.

Alder Lake is a code-name for Intel CPUs currently slated to come after their Rocket Lake counterparts. These processors' rumors allege a number of notable features, not the least of which is their 10 nanometer (nm) nature, new socket type and big/small core arrangement. A new leak may confirm the latter: apparently, it will be a form of Lakefield's Hybrid Technology, but for desktops.

Xiaomi's poor form with Android One software is well-documented but the latest stunt may be a tough pill for owners of the Mi A3 to swallow. Mi A3 owners across the globe woke up to a new 1.40 GB OTA that appears to have been intended for Mexican models only, and has now disabled dual-SIM functionality on the phones of those unfortunate enough to have installed it.

A new leak has given us a better idea of what the Google Pixel 5 may look like. The square camera module from the Pixel 4 makes a re-appearance, as well as the rear capacitive fingerprint reader from the Pixel 3. There also appears to be only two rear cameras.

The Mi A3 was launched right about a year ago. Going by Xiaomi's usual release schedule, one would expect the successor to that phone, the Mi A4, to be set for launch now. That doesn't seem to be the case, however, as there's been total silence on the phone so far.

The Redmi Note 8 was released in India with a starting price of Rs 9,999 (US$130). Xiaomi has slowly but steadily increased the MSRP of the phone over the past few months with the latest—the fifth of such—putting the phone's price tag at Rs 12,499 (US$165).

XDA’s Max Weinbach has more bad news for Samsung fans groaning at the possibility the new Galaxy Note 20 could be lumped with the Exynos 990. Now Weinbach says that Samsung’s Galaxy Fold 2 will be a no show at the upcoming August 5 Galaxy Unpacked Event as had been expected.

Last week, it was revealed that the Mi A2 Lite, Poco F2 Pro, and Mi A3 would receive native call recording as a feature on Android 11. Apparently, the Mi A3 will receive another feature too: native screen recording, which is already present on Android 11 beta builds.

Recent information indicates that the OnePlus Nord may be more expensive than previously thought, but a new leak will stoke the flames of expectant fans. Apparently, OnePlus is working on a new device that will feature the Snapdragon 690 and be even cheaper than the OnePlus Nord.

New information has surfaced, indicating that Google is working on an entirely new phone that will be called the Pixel 4A 5G, with codename "Bramble". This, of course, opens up the possibility of the Pixel 4A 5G and Pixel 5G both using the same SoC.

Details of the upcoming Realme 6i for the Indian market have been accidentally leaked on Flipkart. Fortunately, a tipster managed to screenshot the information before it was taken down. It seems the Realme 6i will sport a MediaTek Helio G90T processor and an affordable price tag to help it take on the soon to be released Redmi Note 9.

Rumour has it that Apple is planning to replace its entire MacBook product stack with ARM models within a year. Apparently, a MacBook Pro 13 with ARM silicon is arriving before the end of this year, which will be swiftly followed by an ARM MacBook Air. 14-inch and 16-inch ARM MacBook Pro models will then arrive by Q3 2021 at the latest.

Renders and specs of the Huawei MatePad T10 and Huawei MatePad T10s have been leaked. The two new tablets from the Chinese OEM feature the 14nm Kirin 710A chipset and from 2 GB to 3 GB RAM depending on the model. No prices have been leaked, but the specs suggest the MatePad T10 and T10s will be budget tablets.

LG flagships are generally considered to have some of the best audio capabilities in the segment but the LG G8 ThinQ managed to disappoint when it made its way over to DxOMark. The LG V60 ThinQ has now also be tested, however, and appears to be a massive improvement across the board.

Asus claimed it would release the ROG Phone 3 and Zenfone 7 in July but while the ROG Phone 3 already has an official launch date, there's been little to no noise about the Zenfone 7. Until now. New information has now surfaced about the upcoming Zenfone 7 and the previously unheard of Zenfone 7 Pro.

According to Redmi product director Wang Teng, Xiaomi is currently working on a new Mi 10 flagship phone. The phone is expected to be the Mi 10 Pro+, going by recent rumors, and could very well break the US$1000 MSRP mark.

Fancy making use of a Raspberry Pi as a smart speaker? Well, two projects have demonstrated the steps for getting the popular single-board computer working with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. The realised projects support wake words and may be a cheaper option than purchasing an Echo Dot or a Nest Home Mini if you have a Raspberry Pi lying about.

The impending arrival of the Redmi Note 9 in India has been teased by Xiaomi India’s managing director. Some may decry the appearance of another smartphone from the Chinese OEM on the Indian market, but Xiaomi has reported that almost 99% of its smartphones and 85% of its Mi TVs are actually made locally.

A report states that MediaTek is on track to release its newest Dimensity 600 chip in the coming weeks. It is intended for low-cost 5G smartphones and is expected to make its debut in Q3 2020.

Qualcomm has now unveiled its newest flagship SoC, the Snapdragon 865 Plus. The Snapdragon 865 Plus offers 10% better graphical performance and a higher peak CPU performance versus the Snapdragon 865, as well as significantly better Wi-Fi hardware, and will debut on the Asus ROG Phone 3.

Samsung is expected to launch its next generation of Galaxy S flagships, the S21 series, sometime in Q1 2021. New information, however, claims that all the Galaxy S21 phones will feature Samsung's in-house Exynos 1000 chipset instead of having some Snapdragon 875-powered models as is typical.

Samsung has confirmed that its next Galaxy Unpacked event will take place on August 5. The event, the first from the company to be held online only, will be streaming from 10 a.m. ET where it is expected that the Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Fold 2 will debut.

AnTuTu has published its latest Android smartphone price-performance charts, and they make for good reading for Xiaomi in particular. The Chinese OEM and its subsidiary Redmi top four out of five charts. The Redmi Note 8 Pro leads the cheapest range while the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro heads the pack in the 4,500 yuan (US$641) and above table.

A report on Weibo has revealed the Lenovo Legion smartphone racking up a huge score on AnTuTu in part thanks to its still apparently non-existent Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus processor. The score of 648,871 points puts the Lenovo Legion way beyond any of the average scores of devices in the Snapdragon 865-dominated AnTuTu flagship performance chart.

Apple is planning to equip all 2021 MacBooks with ARM-based CPUs designed in-house and it looks like this switch could also happen for GPUs. Currently, most AMD laptops come equipped with AMD dGPUs, but, starting with the 2021 MacBook models, we could see Apple solely using in-house GPUs derived from the A Bionic SoCs.

Initial benchmarks of the Huawei Kunpeng 920 ARM processor in a desktop PC do not seem to paint a rosy picture. This particular PC was powered by an 8C/8T Kunpeng 920 soldered onto a Huawei motherboard and running custom Chinese Linux distro called UOS. The Kunpeng 920 was originally designed with server applications in mind, and it looks to be an indication of China's ongoing efforts to reduce reliance on major CPU players such as Intel and AMD.