Chinese Tech

The Red Magic 3 was the first phone to launch in 2019 with a 90 hertz (Hz) refresh rate in its AMOLED display. Now, its maker Nubia has announced a new discount for the phone. But is it worth holding out until its next generation is released?

Huawei released the Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro over two years ago and the phones may just have reached the end of their support lifespans. While EMUI 10 will eventually be released for the flagships, Huawei has now removed them from its official security update page.

OPPO has announced new beta programs to help bring the latest version of Color OS (based on Android 10) to some of its 2018 phones. These are the flagship Find X, the R17 and its Pro variant. Places in these programs are available to users in certain regions only, however.

The ZTE Blade A7 was a decent budget smartphone prospect in 2019. Now, new FCC documentation indicates that its name will be applied to a new device this year. This refresh, unlike its predecessor, will have triple rear cameras and a fingerprint sensor.

The Redmi K30 Pro may have just passed through the CCC, but this is not what Xiaomi's next flagship will look like. Posted on Slashleaks as a render of the K30 Pro, it is nothing more than a fan render.

The Xiaomi Redmi K30, also sold as the POCO X2 in India, offers more than most contemporary mid-range smartphones. Not only does the device have a 64 MP main rear-facing camera and a 120 Hz display, but Xiaomi also sells a 5G model that features a Snapdragon 765G processor. The Redmi K30 5G has many qualities, but it suffers from drawbacks, too.

The release of Android 10 for the Mi A3 is bordering on farcical. Hyped by Xiaomi as one of the first devices that would receive Android 10, the Android One device is still languishing on Android 9.0 Pie. The end may now be in sight for the Mi A3 though, as Xiaomi has given another vague release date for it to receive Google's latest OS.

The Redmi K30 5G impressed us during our recent review, and now the Redmi K30 Pro 5G has reared its head again. This time on the Compulsory Certification of China (CCC), Xiaomi has certified two models, which are likely to be rocking the Snapdragon 865 and at least 8 GB of RAM.

The upcoming Vivo iQOO 3's specs have been leaked just five days before its February 25th launch. It will come with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 SoC, a 6.4-inch FHD+ AMOLED panel that has a refresh rate of 90Hz and a 4,400 mAh battery that charges at 55W. Pricing starts at Rs 35,000 (~$490) for the LTE variant and Rs 40,000 ($560) for the 5G version.

While Xiaomi started pushing Android 10 builds of MIUI 11 to the Pocophone F1 last month, many handsets are yet to receive the OS upgrade. Now the General Manager of POCO India has weighed in on the matter, and his response has seemingly irked some people.

Numerous chipset foundries, TSMC included, use equipment from US-based firms to make their products. Now, the same nation's current administration may be able to leverage this fact in order to stop the supply of silicon to Huawei. This, apparently, is a new tactic to lock the OEM out of the US market.

Xiaomi did not want to wait until review sites post meticulous teardowns of the Mi 10 Pro, so it went ahead and posted an official disassembly video highlighting all the small wonders packed inside the powerful flagship. The first benchmarks, on the other hand, are not so impressive, unfortunately.

Realme has announced that it will add an Indian event to its date for the X50 Pro debut's live-stream from Madrid, Spain. This new show will take place on 14:30, February 24, 2020, or about 30 minutes before the European stream starts. This phone will be the OEM's first top-end 5G device on either occasion.

Yesterday, reports of Android 10 hitting the Mi A3 surfaced around the nooks of the Internet. They were fake, sadly. The Mi A3 hasn't received its Android 10 update, but recent developments point towards it being potentially at hand.

Apple may release a revamped version of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. According to Digitimes, Apple will launch an iPad Pro 12.9 with a triple camera array similar to that found on the iPhone 11 Pro next month, though shipments won't peak until late April at the earliest. However, this rumor should be taken with a grain of salt; there has been a lot of speculation as to the launch of the next iteration of the iPad Pro.

Honor has confirmed that the release of the stable EMUI 10 update for the Honor 9X is at hand. Huawei is also sending out the update to the Mate 20 Lite and P30 Lite but the rollout appears to be extremely limited at the moment.

An OPPO executive has teased its upcoming first-generation smartwatch, revealing that it looks quite like those made by Apple. This device is also to have "3D glass", which may be used to help the wearable's face curve downwards towards its case. It is also now known to have a gold finish.

A listing on the Giztop web store (now removed) revealed the full specifications of the OnePlus 8, OnePlus 8 Pro, and OnePlus 8 Lite. While the listing should be taken with a grain of salt, the specs coincide with prior rumors and leaks. Unsurprisingly, the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865. However, the OnePlus 8 Lite will opt for the MediaTek MTK Dimensity 1000. Other specifications (listed below) are decidedly flagship-level.

Apple will not hit its estimated revenue target for this quarter. Citing supply chain restrictions caused by the coronavirus outbreak and falling demand in China, the Cupertino colossus will pull in lower-than-expected revenue. Apple's stock fell 3% in response.

The Honor 9X Pro, the latest mid-range phone from Huawei's sub-brand Honor, is set for a global launch on February 24. However, due to the continuing trade war between China and the United States, the "global" launch is limited to East Asia and Europe. The phone is a solid mid-range handset.

With prices starting at more than US$700, the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro is a rather expensive handset considering the wallet-friendly price tags of its predecessors. However, the Chinese OEM managed to sell more than 28.5 million USD worth of these new flagships in just 55 seconds during the first flash sale session.

A Nubia executive has confirmed that the next-gen device from its gaming-phone brand, Red Magic, will have SKUs with 16GB of RAM. This spec is an upper limit for Android phones currently defined by the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra in 2020. Considering all its other properties, both definite and rumored, this alternative is shaping up to be an attractive potential contender.

Are you wondering whether your Huawei device will receive EMUI 11, the Chinese company's custom version of Android 11? Well, over 30 are apparently eligible, with the P20 series seemingly not making the cut.

Huawei's midrange Honor V30 is set to launch in Europe next week. However, in the aftermath of the phone maker's spat with Google, the Kirin 990-toting smartphone will not feature Google Services, arriving instead with Huawei's homemade HMS suite for maps, mail, and other key functions.

A new listing on the Thailand National Broadcast and Telecommunication Commission's (NBTC) website confirms the existence of the Moto G8 Power Lite. While specifications are still unknown, the handset (which was previously thought to be the Moto Z5) finally has an official name.

Most smartphone enthusiasts don't seem to like MediaTek chipsets. While there are solid reasons for that, performance isn't one of them anymore. For example, the new MediaTek Dimensity 1000L looks to be the most powerful SoC outside the flagship space.

Huawei has been slapped with a trade ban from the US Administration that prevents it from selling to companies based in that country. However, the nation's Department of Justice (DoJ) had postponed it for 90 days by way of a new licensing system. Now, the same body has issued a further extension to the same.

Meizu's next flagship phone series with be called "17th", according to a new leak. It includes a render purporting to show the Plus variant of this line. It has a distinctly Galaxy S20-esque display, whereas the rear panel has a...unique gradient effect that goes from a very bright yellow to a neon green. This phone is also purported to come with the Snapdragon 865 and 3 to 4 rear cameras.

Some recent leaks have asserted that the second-generation Find X flagship phone from OPPO will have a 120 hertz (Hz) refresh rate at a QHD+ resolution. The freshly-launched Samsung Galaxy S20 series has similar properties - however, they don't co-exist in real-world devices. In addition, the X2 is rumored to have some new Sony camera sensors.

While this week has been all about Samsung, Xiaomi and the cancellation of MWC 2020, we may only be a few weeks away from the launch of the OnePlus 8 series. To that end, the OnePlus 8 has now appeared on Geekbench, complete with a Snapdragon 865 SoC and 8 GB of RAM.

iQOO is a Chinese smartphone brand that has made a name for itself in recent years by offering high-end hardware at decent price-points. Now, it has revealed that its next such device is to be called the 3 5G. It will be powered by the Snapdragon 865 SoC and have the next-gen UFS 3.1 storage standard.

Xiaomi is now broadening the rollout of Android 10 to the Mi 8, having begun rolling out the OS upgrade to its former flagship last month. The latest update, V11.0.3.0.QEAMIXM, weighs in at 1.9 GB and introduces a few other fixes, too.

The cancellation of MWC 2020 and the coronavirus may have scuppered the release of the Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro, but that has not stopped Xiaomi from unveiling both in an online event. The Mi 10 Pro has stormed to the top of DxOMark too, but there are some key differences between it and the Mi 10. The Mi 10 has the edge over the Mi 10 Pro in some areas, too.

While Samsung continues to dominate the foldable smartphone market, Huawei is set to release a successor to the Mate X. The Chinese company is said to be switching to using an ultra-thin glass for its next foldable too, a change that may do away with the crease that affects the likes of the Galaxy Z Flip and Moto Razr.

Xiaomi has just launched its newest flagship phones, the Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro. The Mi 10 Pro has also been put through the paces over at DxOMark, and posted impressive results that place it at the top of the website's photo, video, and audio leaderboards.

Huawei is now offering the FreeBuds 3 in a new colour. The eye-catching variant continues to offer Active Noise Canceling (ANC) and is now available to purchase in various countries.

The wait for Android 10 on the Redmi Note 8 Pro continues, as does a Widevine DRM L1 fix. While the former remains an unknown quantity, the latter is apparently now in sight. Owners of the Redmi Note 8 Pro must wait at least another month or so before the next OTA update, though.

After meeting earlier this week to discuss the viability of Mobile World Congress 2020, the GSMA has decided to cancel MWC 2020 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus outbreak. Multiple companies have stated they would not be in attendance due to the epidemic earlier this month. In response, the GSMA has outright cancelled MWC in its entirety.

The Xiaomi Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro are upcoming flagships likely to rock the Snapdragon 865 processor. They have been just been certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance, putting their imminent launch beyond doubt. This new approval also drops an interesting extra detail: these phones will run a heretofore-unknown version of their OEM's OS skin.

The Mi A3 should be in line to receive Android 10, with a mid-February release date previously being touted. The company has informed some fans that the OS upgrade may arrive later this week, but we would not guarantee it. On the contrary, Android 10 may be delayed until the end of February, instead.

Recently, a prominent tech vlogger teased a phone with a dual punch-hole camera alleged to contain a groundbreaking 44MP sensor. Now, this device has been revealed as OPPO's Reno3 Pro - but not as its existing fans know it. It has indeed sprouted this improved in-display shooter, but lacks an important marketing point from its original launch.

The Poco X2 was launched just last week but is already receiving its first OTA update. The update comes as the January security patch, and brings some image processing improvements to the phone's cameras, along with a nifty bug fix.

Colour us disappointed. Redmi had been hyping up its next smartphone, only to release a tweaked Redmi 8A. Sadly, the device thought to be the Redmi 9A is actually the Redmi 8A Dual. All Xiaomi has added is a textured back panel, an improved primary rear-facing camera and, as its name suggests, a secondary sensor.

Xiaomi will still be attending MWC 2020 in Barcelona at the end of the month, where it will globally unveil the Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro. The company has promised to take precautions against the proliferation of the coronavirus, the reason for the likes of Sony bowing out of this year's conference. CEO Lei Jun has been showing off some official camera samples for the Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro ahead of their Chinese launch this Thursday, too.

The latest Huawei-related security issue is huge and it's enough to describe it in a few words for everyone to figure out: for over a decade, the Chinese behemoth has been using backdoors intended for law enforcement to access mobile networks — and the sensitive/private information they carry — all over the world.

About a week ago, reports surfaced claiming that Huawei was working on the EMUI 10 update for the Mate 9 and Mate 9 Pro, the company's flagship phone from 2016. Huawei has reportedly now confirmed those claims to be without substance.

The OPPO Find X is considered a particularly innovative ex-flagship phone, as it featured a motorized pop-up module that left both sides of the device completely clear of sensors unless it was deployed. However, a new leak suggests that its upcoming successor will not continue this trend, and will go with conventional, albeit possibly up-to-date, features instead.

Although recent rumors claimed otherwise, it has just been confirmed that ZTE will push aside all the fears regarding the virus that is currently troubling the Chinese mainland and will attend the Mobile World Congress trade show that is scheduled to take place in Barcelona later this month.

The upgrade to Android 10 did not go as planned for some Mi 9T and Redmi K20 handsets, with multiple people reporting high battery drain affecting their devices. While there was a workaround, Xiaomi pulled the build to address other bugs too. Now, the company has restarted the rollout of Android 10 builds of MIUI 11, although you may not notice the difference.

The Kaleido concept mini PC is not really that small, but it sure packs everything you need from a computer. First of all, you do not need a display, since the elongated prism-shaped device integrates a projector, plus it also comes with a foldable keyboard and a sound bar.