Chinese Tech

Huawei uses a massive 1/1.54" sensor on its ultra-wide-angle shooters, but has been unable to pair it with a lens that can provide an industry-competitive field of view. Things are expected to change with the upcoming Mate 40 Pro, however, as a new leak claims the phone will sport a new, innovative lens type.

Xiaomi continues to support the aging Mi A1 with software updates, but this month's security patch does not include any new features. Sadly, this confirms that any chance to receive Android 10 via the official channels is now gone. However, a stable Android 10-based LineageOS build for the Mi A1 should arrive this summer.

Confirmed by Honor to be called the Honor X10, the mid-range handset has been spotted at the TENAA. Featuring a Kirin 820, a 4,200 mAh battery, quad cameras and a notch-less display, the Honor X10 may well prove a compelling option when it is released later this year.

Meizu's trailers for its upcoming 17 flagship phone have also incidentally confirmed numerous rumors about this device. However, there is 1 leak it has yet to acknowledge: the one concerning an additional Pro variant. An eminent leaker now allegedly claims that it does exist, and will come with at least 1 special feature.

An updated list of Google Play-certified devices suggests that the Redmi K30 Pro is coming to India as the Redmi K30 Pro after all. Meanwhile, the Redmi K30 Pro will be released globally as the POCO F2 Pro. With the Redmi K30 the POCO X2 in India, what on earth is Xiaomi doing with its branding currently?

Xiaomi has announced its release schedule for MIUI 12, and it includes forty devices. Arriving on handsets as old as the Mi 6, MIUI 12 will start rolling out at the end of June. Beta enrolments start today, though.

HiSense is better known in the US and global markets as a maker of TVs, however the company also makes other products including smartphones and tablets. While it makes regular smartphones it has just launched a new range of smartphones featuring color E-ink displays as well as a new E-ink tablet.

Huawei recently rolled out an official EMUI 10.1 update for owners of the Huawei Mate30 and Mate30 Pro devices. EMUI 10.1 introduces a number of new features like Celia AI and MeeTime, which try to make up for the loss of integrated Google services.

Lenovo has started selling the IdeaPad 5 laptop with a Ryzen 4000 APU from AMD inside it. The 14-inch model with an AMD Ryzen 5 4500U can be had for a price starting at US$649.99 in the US, while shoppers in the UK can go for a cheaper 15-inch variant with the Ryzen 3 4300U chip from £404.99 (US$501). Lenovo customers in Germany are spoiled for choice.
Update: Ryzen 5 4600U, Ryzen 7 4700U, and Ryzen 7 4800U options also available in some countries.

A few hours ago, Xiaomi launched the Mi 10 Youth Edition in China. The phone features a Snapdragon 765G, a 5x optical zoom periscope lens, up to 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Base price tag? Under US$300.

The Mi Note 10 is branded as the Mi CC9 Pro in Xiaomi's home China, and the phone is now receiving the stable Android 10 update after months of waiting. The update carries the software version number "MIUI V11.1.1.0.QFDCNXM" and is a 2.7 GB download.

Meizu has confirmed that its upcoming Snapdragon 865-based premium device, the 17 5G, will launch on May 8, 2020. In the meantime, it is hyping the new phone up with a series of posters capturing its more compelling specs. They include a 4500mAh battery that charges at 30 watts (W).

The X50 was the first Realme phone to launch with the Snapdragon 765G SoC and this brand's updated UI. Now, it has been refreshed with a version that starts cheaper than the original phone in its home market. However, it still rocks a 120 hertz (Hz) refresh rate for its 6.57-inch display.

The alleged pre-sale price and post “early bird” deal price for the GPD Win Max handheld computer have been leaked ahead of its Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign. The prices, which are for the Chinese market, are mentioned as 4,999 yuan (US$706) rising to 5,799 yuan (US$819) for those who don’t take advantage of snapping up the GPD Win Max early enough.

Xiaomi has reportedly filed a patent for a wholly new kind of phone design with the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA). This property allows for the top part of its screen to swivel all the way around so that its main cameras can point in either direction. Accordingly, its display is divided along the line of this novel moving part.

OPPO has filed an intriguing new trademark with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). Based on the series of products it appears to be associated with, it may turn out to be a new phone. However, there are other possibilities for the new moniker.

The Edge+ is Motorola's first flagship phone to have wireless charging. Now, a matching accessory from this brand is available on the US market. It can charge the Edge+ at 15 watts (W) and boasts the "thermal management" necessary to do so safely.

The OnePlus 8 Pro is scratching the US$1,000 mark, a far cry from OnePlus' origins. Undoubtedly, you get a high-quality smartphone for the money, but is OnePlus' latest smartphone still a bargain? Arguably not, but that does not preclude the OnePlus 8 Pro from being good value for money.

Huawei has two flagship series, the P and the Mate series. Typically refreshed yearly in Q1 and Q3 or Q4 respectively, the Mate series is not due until September at the earliest. However, rumour has it that Huawei is reviving the Mate S, a device that it last released in 2015. The new flagship Mate is due to arrive as early as next month, too.

Realme is said to have an X3 series of smartphones in the works. It is also rumored to have a "SuperZoom" variant. This heretofore-unexplained moniker has been confirmed through its official telecomms certifications, suggesting we will find out all about it soon.

Popular navigation app HERE WeGo is now available for download on Huawei's Play Store alternative AppGallery. The application has been around for a long time offers several useful features such as turn-by-turn navigation, a voice assistant, and offline maps.

With MIUI 12 rumoured to be available from MIUI 12, Xiaomi has decided to push another Android 9.0 Pie-based update to the Mi Note 10 and Mi Note 10 Pro. While Xiaomi has pledged to update the CC9 Pro to Android 10 by the end of this month, the arrival of the latest update for EU handsets all but ends hopes that they were in line for the same treatment.

TCL launched its latest 10-series of smartphones earlier in April 2020. Now, it has announced that the Pro variant of the same has won some prominent awards. In addition, the OEM's PLEX phone has also won similar gongs, as has 1 of its Wi-Fi routers.

Oranth is a company that makes smart TV equipment, some of which are sold under the brand-names of other OEMs. It has announced that a new 4K series of the same will run on SoCs supplied by HiSilicon, a division of Huawei also responsible for more premium Kirin smartphone chipsets.

Huawei has ditched the design of the FreeBuds 3, according to leaked renders of new TWS earbuds published by WinFuture. Featuring a white design, silicone tips, ANC and a compact charging case, the FreeBuds 3i will likely be pitched as AirPods Pro competitors.

Rumour has it that the Mi Mix 4 has been sighted on Geekbench, complete with 10 GB of RAM and a Snapdragon 865+ processor. While the Mi Mix 3 is long overdue an upgrade, there is no truth to this latest Mi Mix 4 rumour.

Tipster @evleaks outed what appears to be an official render for Huawei's purported Y8S smartphone. The midrange device takes a lot of cues from the Huawei Y9, with a similar design and camera setup. The device looks likely to take the fight to Xiaomi's Redmi Note 9 lineup later this year.

News of the Redmi K30i from Xiaomi has only just started appearing and now an alleged first promo image has been leaked. The budget 5G smartphone from the Chinese manufacturer looks exactly how a “lite” version of the popular Redmi K30 5G would look like. However, the K30i only has one camera on the front.
A noted Xiaomi tipster has stated that the supposed K30i promo image is a fan render.

The specifications for the upcoming Xiaomi Mi 10 Youth Edition smartphone have been posted online along with an official render of the device. The Chinese-language documents reveal a frequency of 2.4 GHz for the processor, which suggests it will be Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 765G powering these colorful smartphones.

It’s believed that Xiaomi will soon be releasing the Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite, the Redmi Note 9, and the Redmi Note 9 Pro smartphones onto the European market. The Lite version of the Xiaomi Note 10 has been in and out of the news lately, and it is expected it will come with a large battery and penta-camera setup on the rear.

Mobvoi - the OEM behind the TicWatch line of wearables - has unveiled its latest product, the Cololight. It consists of hexagonal LED panels that can be connected and thus arranged into a variety of patterns at the user's discretion. Its starts at a pack of 3 lights and their necessary components for US$59.99.

Huawei has debuted the Nova 7 SE, 7 and 7 Pro today (April 23, 2020). These phones closely resemble the Honor 30 devices from the front, but their rear panels are a different matter. Each variant has a 4-camera array on its back, each of which has its 64MP main shooter.

Huawei's latest tablet is the MatePad 10.4, a slate with a 2K display with the diagonal length it is named for. It is powered by the Kirin 810 and has 4GB or 6GB RAM options, which come in Wi-Fi only and Wi-Fi or LTE SKUs. The OEM has revealed that its starts at 1899 yuan (~US$269).

The Mi A3 has already received three Android 10 updates but both were filled with bugs. Xiaomi is now sending out yet another build to the phone with the version number "V11.0.14.0.QFQMIXM", and it appears to fix most of the bugs from previous updates.

References to what may have possibly been a Lenovo Legion 5 SKU powered by the AMD Renoir Ryzen 4000 and the NVIDIA RTX 2060 have surfaced on the Lenovo BIOS Simulator Center and a driver download page. However, that SKU is not seen in the PSREF indicating that it may have been shelved mid-way. The PSREF spec sheets also seem to indicate the Legion 5 SKUs powered Ryzen 4000 as having nearly double the battery life compared to their Comet Lake-H counterparts.

iQOO just unveiled its latest gaming smartphone in the form of the iQOO Neo3. It comes with a 6.5-inch 1080p 144Hz HDR 10-ready IPS LCD panel, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 SoC coupled with up to 12GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage, a 4,500mAh battery that supports 44W wired charging, and more. The device will be available for purchase in China next week. Prices start at CNY 2698($380) for the base variant.

A recent leak concerning an alleged Redmi Pad 5G tablet depicted a very attractive device at an almost unbelievable price. A well-known tipster has taken a closer look at the leaked image and believes its contents are fake. The Redmi Pad 5G was billed to bring 5G connectivity, a Snapdragon 765G SoC, and 30 W fast charge for just 1,999 yuan (US$282).

Details about the upcoming Redmi 10X smartphone from Xiaomi have been published, and it seems this will be the Chinese market version of the Redmi Note 9. The entry-level phone will cost 1,499 yuan (US$212) and comes with a Helio G85 from MediaTek. No specific release date has been revealed yet, but it will likely come to market soon.

The OnePlus 8 Pro tops out at US$1000, and one would expect a problem-free user experience. Just like the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, however, the phone seems to suffer from a green tint display issue—albeit only on some units.

Meizu has issued a new media campaign in order to draw attention to the launch of its next premium phone, the 17 5G. It is based on an image that may or may not confirm an important aspect of the supposedly Snapdragon 865-powered device's design. The OEM does indeed seem to be banking on this aspect of the 17 to build sales.

A future Xiaomi device could be host to the company's first-ever all-screen fingerprint sensor. A few images posted on Twitter showcase the tech in action, indicating that it is development. There is no word about when it will make its debut, though.

Vivo-owned iQOO is all set to unveil its newest flagship in the form of the iQOO Neo 3. The device will come with a 4,500W battery that supports wired charging at 44W. It takes about an hour to charge the battery completely.

Xiaomi is taking on the zoom credentials of Huawei but on a budget. Aping the 5x optical zoom camera in the Nova 7 series, Xiaomi is bringing a periscope lens to the Mi 10 Youth Edition. Capable of 5x optical zoom and up to 50x digital zoom, the Mi 10 Youth Edition will be the first smartphone to ship with MIUI 12. Do not mistake it for the Mi 10 Lite, though.

Xiaomi's last tablet was the Mi Pad 4 that was released back in 2018. That has left fans of the series in the lurch, making Samsung's Galaxy Tab and Huawei's MediaPad lines the only viable Android alternatives. Things may be about to change, however, as Xiaomi is rumored to launch a new tablet, the Redmi Pad 5G, next week.

Update: Amazfit has finally announced a launch date for the X: April 28, 2020. This 92-degree curved wearable was first introduced as a concept device in 2019. Now, however, it is ready to become a reality via its upcoming Indiegogo campaign.

Expected to be launched on April 23 alongside the Nova 7 series, the MediaPad 10.4 and MatePad T8 are intended for different audiences. While hands-on and marketing pictures of the former have shown its mid-range credentials, the MediaPad T8 is definitely an entry-level tablet.

It seems likely that Xiaomi will release the very affordable Redmi Band onto the European market as the Mi Band 4C. The fitness tracker has been spotted in registration certificates as the Mi Smart Band 4C, but some detective work has unearthed the evidence that points to this wearable simply being a rebranded Redmi Band.

Nubia has launched its latest smartphone, the Play, during an online event today (April 21, 2020). This Snapdragon 765G device has a 6.65-inch screen with a refresh rate of 144 hertz (Hz). It has 8GB of RAM and a solidly mid-range price.

The Poco F2 is coming, and it's touted to be rebranded Redmi K30 Pro. Interestingly, it's also said to eschew 5G support entirely, which could help Xiaomi keep the phone's pricing even below the already impressive Redmi K30 Pro. Perhaps, at US$400?`

OnePlus has slashed the prices of its 2019 flagships in India. The OnePlus 7T Pro will set you back by Rs. 47,999($626) instead of Rs. 53,999($704). Similarly, the OnePlus 7T's cost has dropped from Rs. 37,999($495) to Rs. 34,999($456). The offer is only valid on OnePlus India's official website.