Chinese Tech

A device listed as the Mi 10e has surfaced on Geekbench. While that's already surprising enough, the phone is shown to be powered by an Exynos 990, and actually posts scores typical of the disappointing Samsung SoC.

The Meizu 17 is an upcoming Snapdragon 865-powered smartphone. According to a new benchmarking leak, it will also have 8GB of RAM, whereas its possible Pro variant may have 12. However, this does not explain why the former got better scores than the latter.

Released via its Youpin platform, the Xiaomi EDON is an extendable floor fan that also serves as a humidifier and air purifier. The fan is wireless too and can be used set on the floor.

Xiaomi India is now accepting registrations for its MIUI 12 pilot testing program. At the moment, it is only available for Redmi K20 and Redmi K20 Pro users. Xiaomi says that it will expand the program to more devices and regions in the coming weeks.

Xiaomi has extended the rollout of Android 10 for the Mi A3 to Europe. Sadly, the initial build has plagued some handsets with several bugs, just as early international builds did.

Gole Technology has introduced the Gole11 all-in-one PC, which is also known as the HiGole F11APL. According to the company, the Gole11 is “the world’s cheapest all-in-one”, and it features an Intel Celeron N3450 processor and an 11.6-inch touchscreen with a 1920x1080 resolution. The device has been offered for as little as US$99 to early-bird crowdfunding backers.

Xiaomi India's RF exposure page has confirmed the existence of a new Poco device called the Poco M2 Pro. It will reportedly feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G SoC. We can expect Poco to tell us more about it in the coming weeks as the company has been putting out several teasers on its official Twitter handle.

Xiaomi has been celebrating the sales of over 30 million smartphones from the Redmi Note 8 series, which was launched in August 2019. Redmi general manager Lu Weibing has been talking about the success of the Redmi Note 8 and also delivering news of temporary price cuts for certain models. Apparently, a focus on young users has contributed to the amazing sales record.

A few weeks ago, new information surfaced claiming the Redmi Note 7 would receive the Android 10 update in the first half of May. We're already in May, however, and a new statement from a similar source has now indicated that Redmi Note 7 owners may have to while a while longer; perhaps till the MIUI 12 rollout.

The Mi Mix brand has been left to founder, with the last proper device, the Mi Mix 3, having been released over eighteen months ago. However, Xiaomi has registered a new Mi MIX Weibo account, hinting that it may not have long to wait until the announcement of a new Mi Mix. Could the Mi Mix 4 be almost upon us?

More and more Android OEMs are also releasing wearables these days; now, it seems that Vivo is about to join them. A Twitter leaker claims to have found images, apparently derived from a "patent", showing that this company has designed its first-gen smartwatch.

Xiaomi has reportedly filed a new patent for smartphone displays with under-display selfie cameras. This one depicts them as part of a triple-camera phone, which suggests this tech is closer to real-world use at this point. In addition, the new sensors in question appear better integrated into the rest of the device compared to the OEM's last known IP on this subject.

Today (May 5, 2020), Realme unleashed its 6 Pro on the European market as promised. This event also saw the launch of the 5i, as advertised - as well as the X50 Pro 5G. This much less expected premium phone now sells for just under €600 (~US$652) in the region.

The Xiaomi Mi Note 10 smartphone lineup recently got larger thanks to the release of the Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite variant. The new addition to the series shares the same decent-sized 5,260 mAh battery as the regular Mi Note 10, and Xiaomi has been busy bragging about the various runtimes users can expect from the Lite model.

Marketing videos from Lenovo have revealed a wealth of details about the upcoming Lenovo Legion gaming smartphone. The device features two USB Type-C ports for charging a 5,000 mAh dual-cell battery and the company claims 0-100% charge in 30 minutes. Unusually, the Lenovo Legion smartphone has a pop-up camera on its side.

The OEM Meizu has already confirmed that its upcoming premium smartphone 17-series will come with 30-watt (W) "mCharge" standard. Now, it has hinted at the prospect of a powerbank with the same technology. This would be handy in the absence of the gallium nitride (GaN) charger the phones are also rumored to ship with.

Xiaomi may have already unveiled MIUI 12, but the Redmi Note 8 remains one of the devices still awaiting Android 10. While Xiaomi has confirmed that it will be continuing the rollout of the OS upgrade to the Redmi Note 8 Pro this month, the Redmi Note 8 must wait until July before it starts receiving Android 10.

Phones with dedicated keyboards are more or less a thing of the past at this point. However, OPPO has patented a new product that may bring them back, albeit on an optional basis. The resulting "keyboard case" has a layout probably chosen for its relatively small footprint.

Huawei will be re-launching the P30 Pro as a P30 Pro New Edition in Germany (and perhaps in other Western markets) with Google Mobile Services (GMS) enabled. This move is being seen as an attempt by the Chinese smartphone major to regain lost ground due to the absence of GMS in the P40 series.

The sale date for the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 ultrabook featuring an AMD Ryzen 7 4800U APU has been announced. Apparently, public sales will begin on May 16 with a pre-sale starting on May 11. The AMD-based Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 was originally expected to be released in April but was delayed, possibly due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Exynos 990 on the Samsung Galaxy S20 has failed just about every test it's been presented with and that trend continues. In a gaming comparison video versus the MediaTek Helio G90T-powered Redmi Note 8 Pro, the Exynos 990-powered Galaxy S20 proves yet again that it shouldn't be an option for smartphone gamers.

An AMD Ryzen 7 4800U inside a Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 device has managed a remarkable Physics Score in 3DMark’s Fire Strike test. The Renoir APU notched up 17,578 points, which puts it far out of reach of the similarly energy efficient Ice Lake Core i7-1065G7 and within shouting distance of the more power-hungry Comet Lake Intel Core i7-10750H.

A couple of rare Xiaomi smartphones are currently being offered for sale: a Xiaomi Mi 6 Mercury Silver Edition and a Xiaomi Mi 7 prototype sample. The special variant of the Mi 6 can be purchased for 19,999 yuan (US$2,831) but you will need to have very deep pockets if you want to get your hands on the extremely rare Xiaomi Mi 7 device.
Update: Xiaomishka believes the so-called Mi 7 is a disguised Mi 8.

Three supposed images of the Xiaomi Mi Band 5 wearable fitness tracker have been leaked. The images originate from a popular Chinese social networking site and feature the wearable in switched-on and turned-off states. There is a distinctly visible capacitive button taking up a good portion of the narrow-bezel display.
Noted Xiaomi tipster believes the images are fake.

Xiaomi has apparently started testing the Android 10-based MIUI 12 ROM for the Redmi Note 8 in China implying a global rollout soon. However, the company has not defined any timeline and whether the rollout will eventually happen or not depends on satisfactory performance of the update during testing

Meizu has already confirmed that it will launch a flagship smartphone called the 17 in May 2020. Now, the e-tail site JD.com has posted a relevant listing in advance of this event. However, it is not for the 17, but an unheard-of T-variant.

The upcoming OnePlus Z will allegedly ship with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765 SoC. Previous leaks hinted that the phone would feature MediaTek's Dimensity 1000 chip. OnePlus may have planned on using a MediaTek chip initially but switched to Qualcomm at the last moment.

Huawei may have filed a new patent for a tablet that is now on the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) database. Given its form-factor, it may be easy to assume that it is the upcoming T8 model rumored to launch soon. However, this new design and the budget slate as leaked thus far show slightly confusing variation.

Security researchers have discovered that Xiaomi's default web browser records and transmits user data to remote servers. It includes potentially sensitive information such as search engine queries and browsing history, and the behavior persists even in the supposedly anonymous incognito mode. A Xiaomi spokesperson has denied allegations of wrongdoing and states that this is standard practice.

Alleged prices for two variants of the European market Xiaomi POCO F2 Pro smartphone have been leaked. The cheapest model starts at €649 (US$711), which is a considerable mark-up from the domestic market, where the phone is known as the Redmi K30 Pro. However, this seems to confirm Xiaomi’s aspirations of emulating OEMs like Samsung and Apple.

Realme introduced its 6-series of phones to the European market at the end of March 2020, albeit with 1 bewildering omission: its Pro variant. Now, the OEM has cleared this up with the announcement of a standalone virtual launch event for this device.

The gaming-phone sub-brand Black Shark has released details of a European launch for its new flagship series. It will be available via open sales in a dedicated web-store from May 8, 2020. In the meantime, fans can enter competitions for various discounts.

Priced at US$112 and £89.99 in the UK, the Huawei FreeBuds 3i is the AirPods Pro on a budget. Featuring Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), three microphones and silicone ear tips, the FreeBuds 3i doesn't half look like original AirPods too.

Over a month after launching the Redmi Note 9 Pro and Redmi Note 9 Pro Max in India, Xiaomi has now brought the series to the global market. The Max model has now been rebranded as the global Redmi Note 9 Pro and is joined by a regular Redmi Note 9 featuring a MediaTek Helio G85.

Six months after the release of the widely acclaimed camera-centric Mi Note 10, Xiaomi has launched a cheaper model: the Mi Note 10 Lite, featuring most of the same specifications of the regular Mi Note 10 at the cost of much worse cameras.

Xiaomi's RedmiBook 14 and 16 models are believed to be powered by AMD's new Ryzen 4000 mobility APUs, while the new Mi Laptop 13.3 / 14 / 16.1 and mi Notebook 14 variants might be equipped only with Intel's Comet Lake-H processors.

Here's our first look at what could be OnePlus' yet-to-be-announced OnePlus Z. The hole-punch camera looks a lot like the one on the Galaxy S20, and the device appears to have a non-curved screen. OnePlus will reportedly unveil the phone sometime in Q3 2020.

A 5G smartphone from Xiaomi has recently appeared in the TENAA database that could end up being the rumored Redmi K30i. The device has the model number M2001G7AC and the certification from the Chinese authority confirms this phone will come with a 48 MP main camera, whereas the regular Redmi K30 5G came with a 64 MP main camera.

An XDA contributor claims to have "exclusive" access to info on Realme's 2nd-gen wearable. This product will apparently simply be called the brand's Watch, as with other OEM's answer to Apple's device of this category. The new leak apparently consists of renders and several UI snapshots.

In a surprisingly open interview Ren Zhengfei, the CEO of Huawei, has conceded that HarmonyOS will not be overtaking its US competitors for the foreseeable future. Zhengfei does not want to give up working with the US partners, either.

It has been reported that Xiaomi is working on two new 5G smartphones that will soon be released as the Redmi Note 10 and Redmi Note 10 Pro. The two devices will apparently feature processors from MediaTek’s Dimensity 800 series and should eventually find their way onto global markets, including China and India.

A few months after delisting the Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro from its security update schedule, Huawei has now given its other Kirin 970-powered phones, the P20 and P20 Pro, the same treatment. The devices are missing from the company's official security update bulletin for May and do not appear on either the monthly or quarterly sections.

Initially slated for late Q2 2020, rumour has it that the OnePlus Z has slipped into Q3 2020, instead. Likely arriving a few months before the OnePlus 8T series, the OnePlus Z is expected to be based on the Dimensity 1000, MediaTek's flagship chipset.

The LarkBox measures just 2.4 x 2.4 x 1.7-inches and will cost US$199 when it goes live on Indiegogo in May. The mini-PC will feature 6 GB of RAM, 128 GB of storage and an Intel Celeron N4100 processor.

Following a lengthy wait, Amazfit has released its first smartwatch with a curving display onto the market. Well, more or less: it is being offered as a reward as part of a new Indiegogo campaign. The device starts for US$149 and is currently slated to ship in August 2020.

Hot on the heels of yesterday's launch Xiaomi event comes the Mi 10 Lite Zoom, another Snapdragon 765G-powered smartphone. Accidentally confirmed by Qualcomm in a press release about Quick Charge 3+, the Mi 10 Lite Zoom is seemingly the global edition of the Mi 10 Youth Edition.

Xiaomi's gaming-focused series of phones, Black Shark, run on an Android skin called JoyUI. Today (April 28, 2020), its latest stable version will start to appear as an OTA worldwide. This will occur on the brand's 2020 flagships, the 3 and 3 Pro, as well as their predecessors.

The Realme Buds Wireless are of the 'neckbud' form-factor. Now, it seems the brand has a Pro variant of the same ready to go. A product under this name has been spotted in the hands of Singaporean and Taiwanese regulators ahead of their launch.

Canalys, the international tech market research firm, has released its latest market share stats for the Indian smartphone market. They have noted that the Indian market grew from Q1 2019 to Q1 2020. The data doesn't track the impact of the Indian COVID-19 lockdown on sales.