Chinese Tech

Some more rumored information about a potential Xiaomi Mi Mix 2020 smartphone has been shared online. It seems the device could be fitted with Qualcomm’s powerful Snapdragon 865 SoC and boast of a 144 MP main camera. However, it has also been speculated that this high-end flagship from Xiaomi could end up being the Mi 10S Pro.

Going by reports floating around, CEO of Xiaomi, Lei Jun, has been caught using an iPhone on social media. The fact that this is news in the first place is a tad amusing, but it does play right into the joke of Xiaomi aping everything Apple does.

OPPO's Indian division has announced that this OEM's most premium 2020 phones are launching in this country. This series is now being teased via Amazon.in, although a start date for its orders has yet to be revealed.

Redmi Note 8 Pro or Redmi Note 9 Pro? MediaTek versus Qualcomm? Xiaomi's current and last-gen mid-range offerings of choice put up impressive numbers but how do they compare to each other? Well, things aren't quite as clear-cut as one would expect.

Some OnePlus 8 Pro handsets have been downgraded to DRM Widevine L3 by a recent OxygenOS update. There is no fix in sight despite being confirmed by OnePlus and fans have been voicing their dissatisfaction about it.

Some diligent users on Twitter and Reddit discovered that the OnePlus 8 Pro's camera could see through some thin plastic objects. One simply needs to navigate to the camera app and switch the 'Photochrom' mode on for the magic to happen. The trick, however, works only on a handful of materials that do not have IR shielding.

Realme has let it be known that it is to launch up to 8 new devices or accessories on May 25, 2020. Therefore, speculation is now rife that this event may debut the rumored X3 series. One of them is also now thought to be a gaming phone code-named "Blade Runner".

The Covid-19 pandemic has been linked to the depression of the mobile-device market worldwide over the first quarter of 2020 (1Q2020). However, new official figures from China show that this sector of the same had recovered to a degree by April.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has reportedly certified a new phone from the Xiaomi brand Redmi. This device, with its standard connectivity and 10 watt (W) charging, is currently thought to be called the 9 on its launch. It may do so with a 5000mAh battery, at least.

The "vivo V2002A" is a new device that has landed on Geekbench purporting to run on the Exynos 880 SoC. This heretofore-unknown chipset has 8 cores and has conferred mid-range scores on this apparently upcoming phone. Its model number has also reportedly appeared on the 3C database.

iQOO's upcoming iQOO Z1 managed to get a score of 530,000 on AnTuTu. The phone is powered by MediaTek's newest Dimensity 1000+ SoC, and is expected to launch on May 17th.

Huawei is set to launch its next mid-range phone, in the form of the Enjoy 20 Plus. The Huawei Enjoy 20 Plus will pack in a total of five cameras, but the real star of the show will be the MediaTek Dimensity 800, a 5G-capable 7nm SoC that rivals the Snapdragon 765G.

Motorola has confirmed that the Motorola Edge+ will receive two major software upgrades. The phone was initially promised only one update, much to the annoyance of everyone. Since the device launched with Android 10, it is guaranteed to receive Android 12.

The Honor X10, an upcoming budget phone from the Huawei sub-brand, may start at less than ¥2,300 (~$325). That would make it one of the cheapest 5G-compatible phones on the market, thanks to its HiSilicon Kirin 820 5G. However, this price is still just a rumor.

The Motorola One Vision launched as this OEM's first smartphone with a punch-hole display. Now, it seems it is getting a new variant. Known as the Plus, it has the same size screen as the original, but may not be the same on the inside.

The OEM Vivo has announced a new smartphone, the V19, for its Indian customers. This Snapdragon 712-powered device has a 6.44-inch FHD+ display with dual punch-hole cameras. It starts at the equivalent of ~US$370 (INR 27,990), and will be available from May 15, 2020.

Huawei wearables will no longer work unless you download HMS via the AppGallery instead of the Google Play Store. Unintentional or not, people are unhappy about it.

Poco finally lifted the veil off the Poco F2 Pro. It is a rebranded Redmi K30 Pro that comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 SoC, a quad-camera array at the back, a pop-up selfie camera, 4,700mAh battery, and more. Prices start at €499 for the base variant with 6/128GB of RAM/Storage, and €599 for the one with 8/256GB.

The OPPO Reno3 series was among the first to introduce new Snapdragon and MediaTek 5G SoCs to the market in 2020. Now, a new leak from IceUniverse may show that at least 1 of its successors is in the works. It consists of an image of a phone in which the rear cameras are divided into separate circles, like those of LG's latest release.

As promised, the Huawei P30 Pro New Edition is now officially available for purchase in Germany. The device is now a generation old, but it has been freshened up with the official version of Android 10 with full Google services support.

It has been reported that both Xiaomi and Redmi are working on new monitors. A planned 23.8-inch Redmi Display is expected to be even cheaper than the new Xiaomi Mi Display 1A external monitor. Xiaomi’s upcoming range will include gaming and 4K displays, which apparently includes a potential 29.5-inch 4K monitor.

The Mi A3 is now receiving a new update. The update further fixes the issues from previous Android 10 builds, including fingerprint and launcher problems. Most notably, though, it allows the shutter speed to be set to a max of 32 seconds like it was on Android Pie.

A Poco F2 Pro render has appeared in the wild, just a day before its release. It looks a lot like the Redmi K30 Pro, as foretold by earlier rumors centered around the device. The phone is expected to come in both 5G and 4G-only variants, depending on the market.

Honor's upcoming successor to the 9X will be 5G thanks to its Kirin 820 processor. The brand has been hyping the phone on this basis, pointing out that it supports enough new bands to make it viable for years to come. This device's launch date has also been revealed.

The Z1, an upcoming phone from Vivo's high-value sub-brand iQOO, is currently tipped as the MediaTek Dimensity 1000+ version of the Snapdragon 865-powered Neo3 from the same. Its launch date has now been officially revealed, alongside new teasers that show how this phone will look.

It seems possible that Xiaomi could be working on flagship smartphones for a potential Mi Mix 4 series, or at least devices with the Mi Mix moniker. Scant details have been offered by a well-known leaker on Weibo, however, there is mention of a 120 Hz refresh rate for the display which has often been rumored for a Xiaomi Mi Mix 4.

A new version of the Xiaomi Redmi K30 is here, complete with a new chipset and a fresh colour option. Priced at CNY 1,999 (~US$283), the Redmi K30 Extreme Edition features all the good aspects of the Redmi K30 5G but with the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 768G SoC. Essentially an overclocked Redmi K30 5G, the Redmi K30 Extreme Edition will launch on May 14 and will be available in an exclusive "Mint Ice Blue" finish. The device will not launch on MIUI 12, though.

Some recent Realme phones have impressed with their large 5000mAh power-packs at affordable levels. Now, it seems the next generation on may have even better battery life. This OEM has reportedly made a new component with 1000mAh more.

The existence of a new Mi 10 variant, the "Lite Zoom" was inadvertently leaked by none other than Qualcomm not long ago. Now, a new tip asserts that it is headed for a European launch shortly. It may be revealed as an international Mi 10 Youth Edition at such an event.

Redmi is currently linked to the launch of a phone called the 10X. Despite the novelty of this name, recent leaks have suggested that this device has the same specs as the Note 9 from the same brand. However, a new tip contradicts this idea with a different spec-list.

Xiaomi is renowned for being innovative and now the Chinese OEM is claiming a world’s first with the Midian Zero-blu-ray Bedside Sleep Aid Lamp. The device, which is currently going through a crowdfunding campaign, is apparently the world’s first zero blue light bedside lamp. The retail price for the eye-saving light is 329 yuan (US$47).

The Snapdragon 855-powered Mi Mix 3 5G was launched about a year ago. Since then, it hasn't received a major OS update, and remains stuck on Android Pie with no hope for a change of status anytime soon. Even worse, the Mi Mix 3 5G hasn't gotten the MIUI 11 update either, and owners of the phone refuse to take that sitting down.

The AMD Ryzen 7 4800U mobile APU has appeared on 3DMark’s Fire Strike benchmark once again, seemingly as the key component of the upcoming Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 laptop. The Ryzen 4000 chip amassed a huge 19,204 points in the Physics Score, putting it way beyond the Comet Lake Intel Core i7-10750H rival.

A trademark application filed in September 2019 reveals that Vivo is reportedly working on an in-house chipset. It reveals very little about the specifics of the chipset, or even if it is intended for smartphones. It does, however, give credence to an earlier rumor that said Oppo was working on an in-house chip.

The Honor X10 is probably going to be its brand's next Kirin 820-powered phone. A new leak in conjunction with this device has shown how it might retain this SoC's performance in demanding circumstances. This may consist of thermal management involving a relatively substantial amount of graphene.

A tipster has reported that Xiaomi will be launching three new RedmiBook laptops featuring Ryzen 4000 APUs at some point later this month. The RedmiBook 13, RedmiBook 14S, and RedmiBook 16 will come with Ryzen 5 processors, with speculation settling on the probable selection of the AMD Ryzen 5 4500U as the APU of choice.

The Mate 10 Pro, P20 Pro, and Mate 20 Pro all delivered sub-par selfie cameras, and it seemed Huawei was working on that with its recent flagship phones. The Honor V30 Pro appears to be a deviation from that path, as the phone only recorded scores on par with two-year-old flagships when tested by DxOMark.

It seems Huawei could be planning on refreshing its laptops with Ryzen 4000 mobile APUs. The impressive AMD Ryzen 7 4800H has been specifically mentioned in connection with the Chinese OEM, which is known for offering decent AMD-powered devices with its Honor MagicBook line. An Honor MagicBook Pro powered by the Ryzen 7 4800H would be an attractive prospect.

Unearthed by Linus Tech Tips, this B150 motherboard has not only an LGA 1151 socket but also an embedded NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti. The sort of micro ATX board also has I/O on all four sides and more SATA connections than you could shake a stick at.

AnTuTu has reportedly tested a device with the Snapdragon 865 SoC and a novel Realme model number. This has led to speculations that a true X2 Pro successor is in the works. If so, it might join the X3 and X3 Super Zoom variants on its launch.

Chinese manufacturer Meizu has now launched its flagship phones for the year: the Meizu 17 and Meizu 17 Pro. The phones pack in an assortment of current-gen technology including 90 Hz AMOLED displays, LPDDR5 RAM, UFS 3.1 storage, 30 W fast wired charge, and 27 W wireless charge in a bid to compete against the Mi 10 and OnePlus 8 series.

Redmi is all set to unveil yet another member of the K30 family in the form of the Redmi K30 Speed Edition. It will also be the world's first phone to run Qualcomm's newest Snapdragon 768G chip. The smartphone will be unveiled on May 11th at an event in China.

The highly-anticipated MIUI 12 update will make its way to Xiaomi and Redmi devices starting May 19th. A total of 32 devices will be eligible for the MIUI 12 open beta before the final release hits the airwaves. Users on the beta version of MIUI 11 will get the software via an OTA while those on a stable version will have to sideload it.

Canalys has tweeted a graph showing the global top 10 smartphones in Q1 2020 and all of the positions are taken up by devices from just three OEMs: Apple, Xiaomi, and Samsung. The big winner for the quarter was the iPhone 11 with over 18 million units shipped. There were strong figures for the Redmi Note 8 & 8T and the Galaxy A51 too.

Today, (May 8, 2020) Xiaomi's gaming brand Black Shark has announced the beginning of open sales for its latest generation of flagship phones, the 3 and 3 Pro. These devices pack the Snapdragon 865 SoC, along with some genre-specific hardware tweaks. However, only some SKUs are actually available to order at present.

The prices for Xiaomi Mi 10 smartphones for the Indian market have been revealed and have shocked fans expecting something more affordable. For example, the Xiaomi Mi 10 with 8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage will cost ₹49,999 (US$662). This has led to many comments that smartphone users will be considering a OnePlus 8 Pro purchase instead.

Honor is looking good in the latest AnTuTu chart for midrange smartphones, with the Honor 30S powering into a strong second position with the help of its Kirin 820 chipset. Its score of 364,077 points sets it apart from those behind it, but it is still a long way off the 405,159 points managed by the OPPO Reno3 5G with its impressive Dimensity 1000L SoC.

The arrival of the iQOO Neo3 and OPPO Ace2 into AnTuTu’s latest flagship chart have shaken things up a little bit, but the leaderboard is still headed by the OPPO Find X2 Pro. All of the top 10 smartphones feature Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 SoCs, and the iQOO Neo3 is only the third device so far to manage an average score over 600,000 points.

After months of waiting, the Mi Note 10 is finally receiving its first taste of Android 10. The update carries the version number "MIUI 11.1.1.0.QFDMIXM" and weighs a typical 2.6 GB. It's the global stable beta build, so we expect a full rollout in the near future.

Is it a coincidence that multiple OEMs are now activating the Sp02 sensors in their smartwatches via an update? After Huawei did so with the Watch GT 2, Honor has now rolled out an equivalent firmware update for the MagicWatch 2 that enables blood oxygen saturation monitoring.