5G

Tipster @TheGolox recently claimed that Samsung is working on Exynos chips for desktop. If true, this would mean that we might soon see another entrant in the ARM on PC space, alongside the Snapdragon 8cx and Apple M1.

Huawei is slated to launch its flagship P50 smartphone series in early 2021. According to a new leak, its vanilla model will have 5 rather different rear cameras, arranged in a new slim housing. It has been worked up into high-end renders that also show quad-curved displays and singular punch-hole selfie shooter.

Honor had set the date of its event to unveil its upcoming flagship phones, the V40 series, on January 18, 2021. However, this has now been pushed back until January 22. In the meantime, it has released posters confirming the appearance of at least 1 of these phones and set up a new online store in its native China.

OPPO may have set a rough date for the launch of its 2021 premium smartphone series, likely to be called the Find X3 and X3 Pro. At the opposite end of its mobile-device spectrum, the A93 5G has debuted with Qualcomm's latest 5G-for-the-masses SoC. It offers decent specs, including 8GB of RAM and a headphone jack, for about US$310 in China.

The iQOO 7 is the world's second Snapdragon 888-based phone in the world, although it is only available to order in China at present. These sales kicked off today (January 15, 2021), an event its OEM now claims made it 200 million yuan (~US$30.86 million). Its new OS update also upgrades its touch-sampling rate to no less than 1000Hz.

Samsung recently made a PR gaffe when the marketing team unintentionally tweeted about the Galaxy Unpacked event from an iPhone. The post was taken down in short order, however.

Samsung has made the Galaxy S21 Ultra official, alongside its smaller S21 and S21+ siblings. Its heretofore well-leaked specs is housed in a fresh case design with a metallic rear camera housing and an otherwise matte finish. The OEM also confirms its newly-acquired S Pen compatibility, new 108MP main shooter and Knox Vault security features.

With its Snapdragon 690 SoC and 90 hertz (Hz) FHD IPS display, the HTC Desire 21 Pro 5G has stepped into the ring with the OnePlus Nord N10. However, while that phone is destined for multiple markets, its new rival has only debuted in its native Taiwan to date. Its price there works out much higher compared to its competition, however.

Nubia has confirmed that its RedMagic series of premium Android gaming smartphones will get a new generation in 2021. This new device's first teaser reveals that its 4500mAh will be capable of charging by up to 120 watts (W). It is also likely to launch with the top-end Snapdragon 888 processor.

Motorola is said to have a new premium phone in the works with the code-name "Nio". It also has a rumored model number (XT2125), which has shown up on the Federal Communications Commission, (FCC) website. This new leak may thus confirm the device will launch soon with a 20 watt (W) power brick and a 5000mAh battery.

Samsung's high-end Exynos 2100 SoC is finally here. Some of its features include an ARM Cortex-X1 CPU core clocked at 2.9GHz, an ARM Mali-G78 GPU, integrated 5G modem that supports sub-6GHz and mmWave networks, and more. It will debut alongside the Samsung Galaxy S21 series on January 14.

TCL has launched a new low-cost 5G smartphone called the TCL 20 5G. It comes with a 6.6-inch FHD IPS LCD panel, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 690 chipset, 6GB of RAM, three rear cameras and a 4,500mAh battery that can be charged at 18W. The smartphone is up for sale in Italy for €299 (US$363) and will be available in other regions soon.

Samsung has announced that it will launch the Galaxy S21 flagship series on January 14, 2021 in India. However, interested consumers in this market can now "pre-reserve" one of these phones ahead of this date with a special "VIP Pass". Doing so reportedly gets the buyer a free case worth the equivalent of ~US$52.

Mac Otakara is quick on the draw in 2021 with its Apple rumors. The latest concerns the next generation of iPhones and how they will look. These devices will apparently still have a notch, although it will shrink somewhat in this new generation. They may also turn out not to be as slim as the 12 series, although this might well be no bad thing.

LG has seen revenues and operating profits in the last quarter of 2020 (4Q2020) higher than for any preceding final quarter in the OEM's history. Similarly, it has broken its operating-profit record for the whole of 2020. It made a total of ~US$57.9 billion in 2020, which kept its revenues above the $55 billion mark for four years running.

Recently, OnePlus CEO Pete Lau made a public commitment to improved cameras in the upcoming 9 flagship series, thereby fanning rumors that these phones would launch with Huawei-esque Leica co-branding. However, a reliable tipster now seeks to quash this idea, claiming the original leak behind it is false.

OPPO released a Lite version of its Find X2 flagship in 2020. Now, Evan Blass asserts that this phone is getting a successor. However, fans of the OEM might find it eerily familiar on its launch, as it will not be a brand-new device, but a renamed Reno5 5G.

AnTuTu’s price-performance charts for December make for good reading for Xiaomi. The new Mi 11 tops the most-expensive smartphone table while sub-brand Redmi has the top spot in the three cheapest charts. However, the Realme X50 Pro 5G prevents Xiaomi from commanding all five charts by heading up the 3,000-4,499 yuan list.

The Motorola One 5G Ace, aka the Moto G 5G, has been launched in the United States. It features a 6.7-inch LTPS IPS LCD panel, three rear cameras, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G chipset, 4GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and a 5,000mAh battery. The device will be available for purchase starting January 14 and retail for US$399.

SlashLeaks now claims that an OPPO device newly discovered on Geekbench 5 is the upcoming Find X3 flagship. This is most likely because of the Snapdragon 888 SoC that it, according to this new listing, runs on. Then again, its reportedly stellar performance on AnTuTu has not exactly been replicated here.

Not only is the Oppo A73 5G a 5G smartphone for under 300 Euros (~$368), but it also scores points with a very long battery life.

The 5G version of the Pixel 4a launched in just one color: black. Unless, of course, you went with the Verizon-exclusive white option instead. However, Google has now announced it is releasing unlocked SKUs of device in both colors from January 28, 2021.

Xiaomi has released the global variant of the Note 9 5G — Note 9T. The Note 9T aims to make 5G affordable thanks to the MediaTek Dimensity 800U SoC. The Note 9T also offers dual 5G standby, a 48 MP triple-camera setup, and a 5,000 mAh battery with 18 W fast charge. Early bird customers in Germany get to avail the base variant of the Note 9T at €30 discount.

OnePlus last updated its premium 8T smartphone on December 29, 2020. However, this version of OxygenOS caused a strange issue in which videos on the device would pause out of nowhere. The OEM has just re-released the same update to address this, leaving it otherwise unchanged.

The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) has announced a raft of Honorees and Best Of winners for its CES 2021 Innovation awards. The first category includes 8 smartphones, of which the LG Wing is a slightly obvious choice. Meanwhile, the Ryzen 5000 series has picked up one of the main prizes.

Lenovo has brought 5G connectivity to the IdeaPad series with the IdeaPad 5G. The IdeaPad 5G, which is also available in a 4G variant, is based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Compute Platform promising always-on connectivity and up to 20 hours battery life. The Lenovo IdeaPad 5G also comes with Alexa Show Mode for hands-free, full screen interaction via voice commands.

Samsung's answer to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888, the Exynos 2100, will officially be unveiled on January 12. Preliminary tests have revealed that both chips perform on par with each other. The Exynos 2100 will make its debut alongside the Samsung Galaxy S21 series on January 15.

The iQOO 7 is an upcoming Android flagship reported to have blown past the Huawei Mate 40 Pro and Xiaomi Mi 11 on benchmarks ahead of its launch. Its brand has been on Weibo to hype it up again, this time with details on its audio system, which has apparently been developed in conjunction with Monster. This teaser may also hint at a BMW Special Edition for the phone.

Honor's first phone of 2021 is said to be powered by a MediaTek chipset. However, according to a new report, its next launch after that may feature a Snapdragon processor instead. Now that it is out from under the Huawei umbrella, it can partner with Qualcomm to make "normal" Android phones again.

AnTuTu has published its midrange smartphone performance chart for December, and it is looking somewhat stale with the typical Dimensity (Redmi 10X) and Kirin (Huawei Nova 7) phones jostling for position. However, a potential Redmi K40 sporting a Snapdragon 7-series SoC could soon be in competition to be the fastest midrange smartphone.

OnePlus has made its newest batch of affordable smartphones available in the United States and Canada. The OnePlus Nord N10 5G will retail for US$299 and the OnePlus Nord N100 for US$179. Both phones can be purchased via T-Mobile and its subsidiary Metro in the coming days.

The leaker Ice Universe claims to have found new AnTuTu benchmarking scores for an unreleased OPPO device, said to be the upcoming Find X3 flagship. Should this be the case, it has beaten the current official #1 in these terms, the Xiaomi Mi 11, as well as the also-rumored fellow Snapdragon 888 phone the iQOO 7 - and by a good margin, too.

The Honor V40 series of flagship smartphones was allegedly to debut on January 4, 2020. However, the OEM has obviously missed this date, and has instead now apparently set it to the 18th of this month instead. The devices may feature waterfall-style screens at this event - not to mention the Kirin 9000 SoC after all.

The LG Wing is one of the most unusual smartphones of the year. The dual-display smartphone offers a very special smartphone concept that is unique until now.

Dell has spruced-up its premium Latitude 9000 series lineup with a design refresh and internal upgrades. The Latitude 9420 comes in both 2-in-1 and traditional laptop form factors. Both variants sport 16:10 displays and are powered by Intel 11th gen Tiger Lake processors with vPro configurations. The new Latitude 9420 also offers an automatic SafeShutter for the webcam and AI-powered Dell Optimizer software.

AnTuTu has published its December 2020 Android flagship smartphone performance chart and the Xiaomi Mi 11 with the Snapdragon 888 has managed to take the top spot away from the Huawei Mate 40 Pro+ with the Kirin 9000. The Snapdragon 888 vs Kirin 9000 results were very close, but the Mi 11’s 2K 120 Hz display tipped the difference.

A new leak from Evan Blass tells us everything there is to know about the Samsung Galaxy S21 series' camera prowess. The Samsung Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21 Plus will come with an identical camera setup with three sensors. The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra will come with five lenses in total, including a laser autofocus module.

Qualcomm has launched its newest 5G-ready Snapdragon 480 chipset. It features an eight-core Kryo 460 CPU clocked at 2.0GHz, an Adreno 619 GPU, and comes with Qualcomm's X51 5G modem. According to Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 480 is expected to make its debut in 'early 2021.'

Poco has teased what could be the long-awaited sequel to its flagship killing Pocophone F1. The “F2” is briefly mentioned in a video thanking fans for a successful 2020 suggesting that we could see a Pocophone F2 in 2021. Unfortunately, early indications are it won’t be quite the flagship killer that made the original famous.

Samsung has officially confirmed that its next Galaxy Unpacked event will happen on January 14 as widely expected. Headlining the event will be the company’s all-new Galaxy S21 range although other upcoming products like the Galaxy Buds Pro are also expected to be announced.

The Xiaomi Mi 11 has already been selling by the truckload in China, where it is currently on sale from 3,999 yuan (€505/US$618/£452) for the 8 GB + 128 GB model. While the Chinese OEM has declared the Mi 11 will be going global soon, those eager to get their hands on one before then can preorder the smartphone from €579 (US$709/£519).

OPPO has adopted a complicated approach to releasing its Reno smartphone series worldwide. The devices might have different SoCs for different markets, for example. However, there is now evidence that the well-spec’d new generation recently launched in China will make it into other countries unmodified.

As powerful as the freshly-launched Mi 11 is, some may have been disappointed when its also-rumored Pro sibling did not debut alongside it. However, the reliable tipster Digital Chat Station asserts that its own launch is still on. It will apparently take place after the Chinese New Year.

The Realme 7 series launched as 2020 phones with a combination of mid-range SoCs and premium specs. Now, there are hints that their maker has replacements for them in the works. They come in the form of new Geekbench listings based on a 5G Dimensity platform.

Xiaomi's Mi 10T Pro is very close to a high-end smartphone, but it lacks features like an AMOLED display to reach the highest honors. Nevertheless, the 6.67-incher scores point with otherwise strong features like 5G, a 144 Hz panel, and a 5,000 mAh battery at a comparatively low price.

2021 is expected to be the year in which the reasonably-priced Galaxy A3x smartphone series goes 5G for the first time. This is now all but set in stone thanks to this device's new Bluetooth certification. Its new connectivity is expected to be accompanied by a 6.5-inch display and 4GB of RAM.