Author: Sahil Kapoor

MediaTek Launches Helio P70 With Enhanced AI & Camera Capabilities

MediaTek is a Taiwanese micro chip manufacturer that provides chips for smartphones, HD-TV’s and wireless communication devices. Recently, they launched the Helio P70 SoC which is the successor to the popular Helio P60. The Helio P60 was seen on devices like Oppo F9 Pro and the budget champion Realme 1.

Supported Configuration

The Helio P70 is a 64-bit Octa-Core processor with a max frequency of 2.1 GHz which is up to 13% faster than the Helio P60. It is based on the ARM Cortex-A53 & Cortex-A73 microarchitecture and uses the 12nm production process which makes it faster and power efficient. In terms of camera support, the Helio P70 offers support for 32 MP and 24 MP + 16 MP camera sensors. It means, any smartphone featuring the processor can use this camera configuration either on the front or back of the device. It can also process a max video resolution of 2160p.

Oppo Realme 1 With Mediatek Helio P60

The Helio P7 supports both LPDDR3 and LPDDR4x high frequency RAM. It can be paired with up to 4 GB of DDR3 RAM or up to 8 GB of DDR4x RAM. It also supports eMMC 5.1 and high speed UFS 2.1(Universal Flash Storage). In terms of Graphics, it has a Mali-G72 GPU with a max frequency of 900 MHz and max display resolution of 2160 x 1080 px. The processor can carry Dual 4G Volte SIMs and supports Bluetooth 4.2 low-energy, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac and GPS.

Key Changes

The Helio P70 has a a multi-core APU (Accelerated Processing Unit) with a maximum frequency of 525 MHz. When combined with the Mediatek’s NeuroPilot, it delivers 10-30% more AI processing than the Helio P60. An APU is simply a combination of CPU & GPU which allows for faster data communication resulting in greater processing power and performance. Mediatek’s Neuropilot makes use of “Edge AI”, which means the processing is done on the device rather than relying on a fast internet connection or cloud service. It makes the AI faster and keeps user data private as the data always remains on the device. The new Helio P70 is more power efficient and is up to 35% less power hungry than the Helio P60.

Also read: Amazon Great India Festival: Top Smartphone Deals

To sum up, the Helio P70 looks like a promising SoC for mid range smartphones. But, we are yet to see smartphone manufacturers to incorporate the latest chipset in upcoming handsets to see it’s real life performance.

October 24, 2018
Amazon & Qualcomm Partner To Bring Alexa To More Headphones

Alexa is Amazon’s virtual assistant which was first seen in 2016 on the Amazon Echo & Amazon Echo Dot smart speakers. Alexa can interact with humans via voice commands making searches easy and natural.

Widespread Alexa

Amazon is partnering with Qualcomm to bring Alexa voice assistant to more wireless earphones. Qualcomm will develop and manufacture new embeddable chips for other manufacturers who can incorporate them into their earphones. The chip will provide these earphones with Amazon’s voice assistant.

One similar concept is Apple’s AirPods with voice assistant capabilities. Apple AirPods allow users to interact with their virtual assistant Siri by a simple tap. Even Google allows other companies to integrate their Google Now virtual assistant into their wireless earphones. The latest example of it is the Nokia True wireless Earbuds & Pro Wireless Earphones.

Earlier this year, Sony announced that a lot of their earphone models will support Alexa assistant after a software update. Companies like Bose and Jabra also have a few Alexa supporting earphone models in their portfolio. Qualcomm has already showcased a chip that can be integrated by 3rd party manufacturers to attain Alexa support. Qualcomm also said that the partnership with other manufacturers will help them drive down the costs and adoption of their chips. These chips will open up a whole new market for Qualcomm. Hence, they can diverge into other markets and decrease their revenue dependence on mobile phone processors.

This is a bankable future option for Qualcomm. Although, it requires patent licensing and regulatory fees from companies like Apple. At a recent conference held in Hong-Kong, Qualcomm announced they are also working with action camera makers like GoPro to incorporate Qualcomm chips in their devices. Qualcomm expects to achieve $ 5 billion in revenue from non-mobile sources in 2018. This expected revenue will make up for 20% of their sales revenue which according to analysts will be $ 22 billion.

October 24, 2018
Xiaomi Black Shark Helo Launched With 10 GB RAM
Black Shark is a sub-brand of Xiaomi and they make gaming focused smartphones. Recently, the company has launched their second smartphone, the Black Shark Helo. The Black Shark Helo has a front & rear glass build with RGB lights and green color accents. The power button and the volume rockers are placed on the right side of the device.

The Black Shark Helo has three virtual navigation keys on the screen and dual front firing stereo speakers. The device has a single front facing camera and dual rear cameras. For securely unlocking the smartphone, it has a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor.

Specifications

The Black Shark Helo has 160mm x 72.25mm x 8.7 mm dimensions and weighs 190 grams. It has a 6.01 inch AMOLED screen with 2160 x 1080 px resolution and a pixel density of 402 ppi. The display is a 430 nit brightness panel with the contrast ratio of 60000 : 1 and 18:9 aspect ratio. The Black Shark Helo runs on the 2.8GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 845 CPU along with the Adreno 630 GPU. It is available in multiple variants with different RAM & ROM combinations
which are:
- 6GB RAM + 128GB ROM
- 8GB RAM + 128GB ROM
- 10GB RAM + 256GB ROM
The Black Shark Helo uses high speed UFS 2.1 Storage and dual channel LPDDR4X RAM. It has a 4,000 mAh non user removable lithium-ion battery with 18 W Qualcomm Fast charge 3.0 support. Talking about the camera sensors, the dual rear cameras have a 12 MP, 6-piece lens, f/1.75 aperture equipped sensor and a 20 MP, 6-piece lens, f/1.75 aperture equipped sensor with dual-LED flash. The front camera uses a 20 MP, 5-piece lens, f/2.2 aperture equipped sensor. The rear cameras can capture 2160p videos @ 30 fps, 1080p videos @30fps, and slow motion 720p videos @120fps whereas the front camera records 1080p videos @ 30fps. The smartphone also supports camera features like portrait mode, countdown selfie and Smart Beauty modes.

In terms of connectivity, the Black Shark Helo supports dual NANO-SIM 4G VoLTE, 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0. For charging and data transfer, the smartphone makes use of the built-in Type-C USB port.

Gaming Features

The Black Shark Helo has two liquid cooling pipes to keep the temperatures under check even while playing resource exhausting games. Moreover, it has a dedicated SHARK button on the left side which when slid up closes all the background apps and puts the smartphone in to SHARKSPACE mode for gaming. The Black Shark 2 has a green and black color scheming, both in terms of physical looks or the custom-UI. Pressing the power and volume up button simultaneously starts screen recording which can be uploaded or streamed on websites like YouTube or Twitch.

For aesthetics, the Black Shark Helo makes use of RGB lights which are present in the rear Shark logo and LED strips that are integrated in to the side bezels. The RGB lights are a in high demand within the gaming community and users will surely appreciate the cool look on the smartphone. The company has also showcased a lot of gaming accesories for the Black Shark Helo like the Bluetooth Gaming Earphones and removable Bluetooth Gaming Controller.

As the name suggests, the Gaming controllers use Bluetooth technology to connect with the smartphone and they have an inbuilt battery which is a plus point for gamers as it wont quickly drain the Black Shark Helo’s built in battery.

Box Contents

Beside the Black Shark Helo itself, the box comes bundled with a glass screen protector, hard plastic case, USB Type-C to 3.5 mm adapter, Type-C charging cable and the 18 W fast charger along with some quick start guides.

Black Shark Helo Price & Availability

Also read: Amazon Great India Festival: Top Smartphone Deals

The Black Shark Helo in Extreme Night Black color is available for pre-order in China right now but the reservations are only open till 10 AM on October 30 for the first batch of devices. Notably, the top of the line 10 GB RAM/256 ROM variant is not yet listed for sale. The price of available variants is as follows:
- 6 GB RAM + 128 GB ROM – ¥3199 (around Rs. 33,800/- )
- 8 GB RAM + 128 GB ROM – ¥3499 (around Rs. 37,000/- )
The device is currently available in China and we wish Xiaomi will launch the Black Shark Helo in India soon.
October 24, 2018
Amazon Great India Festival: Top Smartphone Deals

The Amazon Great India Festival Sale is back. It goes live today and is the perfect opportunity for those who missed out on the amazing deals during the first sale. A lot of products including smartphones will be available at great discounts & offers and here is a list of the same.

iPhone X

Apple’s last year flagship, the iPhone X has a 5.8 inch Super AMOLED display with 458 ppi pixel density . It runs on the Hexa-Core 2.39 GHz Apple A11 Bionic chipset and is powered by a 2,716 mAh battery. The phone has 12 MP + 12 MP dual rear cameras and a 7 MP front camera.

Regular Price: Rs. 91,900/-

Amazon Great India Sale deal price: Rs 74,999/-

OnePlus 6T

The OnePlus 6T is set to launch on the 29 October and will have a lot of revolutionary features. The smartphone will have an in-display fingerprint sensor and a water drop notch display. The OnePlus 6T will run on the Snapdragon 845 and will have a 6.41 inch Super AMOLED Display.

Offer: Prebook on Amazon and get free Bullet Headphones worth 1,490 and an additional Rs 500 cashback.

Click here to get the OnePlus 6T offer

Redmi 6A

Xiaomi’s cheapest offering, the Redmi 6A has a 5.45 inch LCD display with a 295 ppi pixel density . It runs on the Quad-Core Mediatek Helio A22 chipset and is powered by a 3,000 mAh battery. The phone has a 13 MP, f/2.2 aperture equipped rear camera and a 5 MP front camera. The device is available two varints: 2/3 GB of RAM paired with 16/32 GB ROM which is expandable upto 256 GB via a microSD card.

Flash Sale today at 12 PM

MRP: Rs. 6,999/-

Amazon Great India Sale deal price: Rs. 5,999/-

Click here to buy the Xiaomi Redmi 6A

Honor 8X

Honor recently launched the mid-range Honor 8X smartphone in India. It has a 6.5 inch IPS LCD display with 396 ppi pixel density. It runs on the Octa-Core Hisilicon Kirin chipset and is powered by a 3,750 mAh battery. The phone has 20 MP + 2 MP dual rear cameras and a 16 MP selfie camera. The device has 4 GB of RAM paired with 64 GB of ROM which is expandable up to 256 GB via a microSD card.

MRP: Rs. 17,999/-

Amazon Great India Sale deal price: Rs. 14,999/-

Click here to buy the Honor 8x

Redmi Y2

The Redmi Y2 has 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. The handset has a 5.99-inch HD display with a resolution and 1440 x 720 pixels. The device’s display has an 18:9 aspect ratio and a rear fingerprint scanner for securely unlocking the phone. The phone has 12MP+5MP dual-rear cameras and a 16MP selfie camera with AI capability. It is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor. It has a 3080 mAh Li-Ion battery.

MRP: Rs. 13,499/-

Amazon Great India Sale deal price: Rs. 10,999/-

Realme 1

Realme 1 is the first smartphone that is able to compete with Xiaomi’s budget-oriented devices. The Realme 1 has a 6 inch IPS LCD display with 402 ppi pixel density. It has the Octa-Core P60 processor and a 3,410 mAh battery. The phone has a 13 MP rear camera and an 8 MP front selfie camera. The device has 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of inbuilt storage which is expandable up to 256 GB via microSD card.

Regular price: Rs. 14,990/-

Amazon Great India Sale deal price: Rs. 11,990/-

Galaxy A8+

The Samsung Galaxy A8+ has a 6 inch Super AMOLED display with 411 ppi pixel density. It runs on the Octa-Core Exynos 7885 chipset and is powered by a 3,500 mAh battery. The phone has 16 MP rear camera and dual 16 MP + 8 MP front cameras.

Regular Price: Rs. 41,900/-

Amazon Great India Sale deal price: Rs. 23,990/-

Redmi 6 Pro

The eldest sibling of Redmi 6 Series, the Redmi 6 has pro has a 5.84 inch notch LCD display with 432 ppi pixel density. It has a huge 4,000 mAh battery and runs on the Octa-Core Snapdragon 625. The device has 12 MP + 5 MP dual rear cameras and a 5 MP front-facing camera. The Redmi Note 6 is available in two storage variants: 3/4 GB of RAM paired with 32/64 GB of inbuilt storage which is expandable up to 256 GB via a microSD card.

Regular Price: Rs. 11,499/-

Amazon Great India Sale deal price: Rs. 10,999/-

Honor 7C

The Honor 7C has a 5.99 inch IPS LCD display with 269 ppi pixel density. It has a non-removable 3,000 mAh lithium battery and runs on the Octa-Core Snapdragon 450. The device has 13 MP + 2 MP dual rear cameras and an 8 MP front-facing camera. The Honor 7c is available in two storage variants: 3/4 GB of RAM paired with 32/64 GB of inbuilt storage which is expandable up to 256 GB via a microSD card.

Regular Price: Rs. 9,999/-

Amazon Great India Sale deal price: Rs. 8,499/–

Honor Play

The Honor 7 Play has a 6.3 inch IPS LCD display with 409 ppi pixel density. It has a non removable 3,750 mAh lithium battery and runs on the Octa-Core HiSilicon Kirin 970. The Honor Play has 16 MP + 2 MP dual rear cameras and a 16 MP front facing camera. The Honor Play has 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of inbuilt storage which is expandable up to 256 GB via a microSD card.

Regular price: Rs. 19,999/-

Amazon Great India Sale deal price: Rs. 17,999/–

October 24, 2018
HTC Exodus 1; Crypto Mining Smartphone Launched

Though HTC’s sales have been plummeting, they are known for making smartphones with revolutionary features. Some examples include: Beats audio integrated smartphones , ultra-pixel camera in their HTC One and the Active edge technology.

Active edge is a feature with which the user can squeeze the smartphone bezels to toggle certain actions like activating Google Assistant and more. It was first seen on the HTC U11 and now can be seen on the likes of Google Pixel 2 & Google Pixel 3. Recently, HTC has released yet another revolutionary smartphone that can mine cryptocurrency like Bitcoin and Ethereum. The smartphone is called the HTC EXODUS 1.

The HTC EXODUS 1 uses blockchain technology to improve security on the smartphone and is also responsible for mining cryptocurrency. Blockchain is a digital ledger which records transactions made in bitcoin or another cryptocurrency which are publicly available.

HTC EXODUS 1 Specifications

The HTC EXODUS 1 has a 6 inch Quad HD+ display with an 18:9 aspect ratio. The phone has 12 MP + 16 MP dual rear cameras and 8 MP + 8 MP front cameras that support natural Bokeh effect. The rear cameras can record 2160p videos @ 60 fps with HTC’s 3D audio recording. The HTC EXODUS 1 runs on the Octa-Core Snapdragon 845 SoC and now has Active Edge 2.

In terms of storage, the device has 128 GB of UFS 2.1 ROM and 6 GB of DDR4x RAM. The device is IP 68 dust & water resistant and supports Single Sim 4G LTE. It has an inbuilt Zion wallet that securely stores the cryptocurrency. The HTC EXODUS 1 runs on Android Oreo and has a 3,500 mAh battery with fast charging support.

HTC EXODUS 1 Price & Availability

Also Read: Samsung’s New Patent To Make The Entire Screen A Fingerprint Reader

The HTC EXODUS 1 has a price of 0.15 Bitcoin or 4.78 Ethereum (around Rs. 70,000). It is available for pre-order now and the deliveries will commence in December 2018.

October 23, 2018
Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 Might Launch With Qualcomm Snapdragon 855

Xiaomi has been boasting a lot of ground breaking features that their upcoming Mi Mix 3 smartphone will have. Xiaomi has already confirmed that the Mi Mix 3 will be the first commercial phone to support 5G connectivity. A teaser posted by Xiaomi suggests that the Mi Mix 3 might have 10 GB of RAM as well.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 855

A recent leak from China claims that the smartphone will run on the Snapdragon 855 processor. It will be the successor to the Snapdragon 845 which is present on most Android flagships in 2018. Additionally, rumors propose that Qualcomm has changed the naming scheme for their processors and the new Snapdragon 855 will have the 8150 moniker.

The leak could be real as in the past, Qualcomm has partnered with Xiaomi to debut new processors. During the Xiaomi Mi 8 SE launch, Qualcomm debuted their Snapdragon 710 SoC. The leaked notice board also reveals some other key details about the upcoming Xiaomi Mi Mix 3. The smartphone has a 6.4 inch display though information about the type of panel is not available. It is powered by a 3,850 mAh battery and in terms of memory & storage it has 8 GB of RAM & 256 GB of storage. However, this might not be the top end variant which will have a higher, 10 GB of RAM .

The leaked notice board does seem real as a Xiaomi Ninebot Mini scooter and a poster of a Xiaomi smartphone can be seen in the background.

The notice board also acknowledges the release date of 25th October which is already confirmed by Xiaomi. According to previous teasers, the Mi Mix 3 will have a sliding display which conceals the speakerphone and front cameras. Moreover, the Mi Mix 3 might have an in-display fingerprint scanner and will record super slow motion videos at 960 FPS.

Also read: Honor Magic 2 Official Images Surface

At the moment we can only wait for the tomorrow’s launch event & let Xiaomi officially announce the Mi Mix 3.

October 23, 2018
Samsung Notebook Flash Launched

Samsung is not the first name that comes to our mind when we talk about laptops, although they manufacture some of the top peripherals for computers including SSD’s, monitors, etc. But recently, Samsung has launched the new ‘Samsung Notebook Flash’ laptop in Korea. The laptop has a beautiful design and is available in various colours.

Design & Features

The Samsung Notebook Flash is a clamshell styled laptop. The top of the laptop has a shiny textured pattern and a cloth like material covers the palm rest and keyboard area. The Samsung Notebook Flash has a retro-styled keyboard with circualar keys instead of conventional square shaped ones. Samsung claims it is inspired by an analog typewriter and the keys have curved key caps. The laptop has the latest 802.11 ac 2 x 2 Gigabit wireless Wi-Fi card that supports download speeds of up to 1.7 Gbps. The laptop also has some enhanced security features. The enhanced security features include Windows hello function that uses an inbuilt fingerprint sensor to unlock the laptop. It also has a private folder that stays hidden till the user unlocks it to browse its data and files.

Talking about the display, the laptop has a 13.3 inch Full HD resolution with a wide viewing angle. The laptop has USB Type C port for charging or connecting to accessories or other USB Type C devices like smartphones. It supports next generation Universal Flash Storage (UFS) cards which are up to 5x faster than regular microSD cards.

Also read: OnePlus 6T First Camera Sample Appears

The Samsung Notebook Flash has a price of 820,000 Won (around Rs 53,000) and will be available in three colour variants: Linen White, Twill Charcoal & Soft Charcoal. The laptop is currently available in Korea but we wish Samsung launches this retro styled beautiful laptop in India as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3R75cyp9dMs

October 22, 2018
OnePlus 6T First Camera Sample Appears

With it’s great value for money smartphones with flagship features, OnePlus has quickly become a brand that needs no introduction. One example of such a smartphone will be the upcoming OnePlus 6T that will launch on 29th October. OnePlus has been constantly teasing the OnePlus 6T’s features, ranging from an in-display fingerprint sensor to an all new Oxygen OS. And recently, the CEO of OnePlus, Pete Lau has shared a camera sample from the OnePlus 6T boasting its the low-light photography capabilities.

The camera sample simply looks fantastic and if this is a true shot taken from the OnePlus 6T, then it will definitely give flagships from Apple & Google a run for their money. Although, it is not clear whether the photo was taken on a tripod or is a handheld shot. The buildings look blur free and the clouds look colour accurate & defined.

On inspecting the camera sample, it reveals the photo has a 13 MP resolution but it lacks any EXIF information. Hence, it is not possible to reveal relevant details like exposure, aperture or manufacturer of the sensor. EXIF (Exchangeable Image File Format) is a standard that specifies the formats for images, and ancillary tags used by smartphones & digicams.

Apart from the camera samples, some key features and specifications of the OnePlus 6T are already available.

OnePlus 6T Specifications

The OnePlus 6T will feature a 6.41 inch Full HD Super AMOLED display. It will have a water-drop notch, according to an official teaser. OnePlus has also confirmed that the new device will do away with the 3.5 mm audio jack but thankfully the Bullets earphones will now be available with a Type-C connector. For securely unlocking the device, it has an in-display fingerprint sensor, which the company claims is very fast.

Also read: Honor Magic 2 Specs Confirmed On TENAA Before Launch

As per reports, it will have a 3,700 mAh battery and will support Dash charging. The OnePlus 6T will have dual rear cameras and a single front-facing camera. Though, exact information regarding the camera sensors is not yet available. The OnePlus 6T will have the same Snapdragon Octa-Core 845 processor as the OnePlus 6. This is the best processor that Qualcomm has on offer for now. The device might be available in two variants 6 GB or 8 GB of RAM along with 128/256 GB ROM as the leaked prices of the OnePlus 6T suggest.

October 22, 2018
Honor Magic 2 Specs Confirmed On TENAA Before Launch
Honor is the sub brand of Huawei Technologies and the company showcased the upcoming smartphone Honor Magic 2 at IFA 2018. The smartphone displayed has a very high screen to body ratio. To achieve this, the company has concealed the front camera, speakerphone and other essential sensors behind a sliding mechanism. The Honor Magic 2 will be the direct competitor to the upcoming Xiaomi Mi Mix 3. The Honor Magic 2 has been scheduled to launch on the 31st of October in China and before it’s official announcement the specifications have leaked on the Chinese website TENAA.

The TENAA listing reveals that the Honor Magic 2 will have a Full HD bezel-less display. It will run on the world’s first 7nm Kirin 980 Android processor that is also present on Huawei’s own Mate 2o series including the Mate 20 Pro, Mate 20 X and Mate 20. In terms of storage, the device will be available in two different variants; 6 GB or 8 GB of RAM paired with 128 GB or 256 GB GB ROM. However, no information regarding expandability is available.
Talking about the cameras, the Honor Magic 2 will have triple rear cameras and a single front camera. The device will also support Huawei’s 40 Watt SuperCharge which is a proprietary technology that charges the device speedily and is similar to OnePlus’s Dash Charge and Oppo’s SuperVooc. The device will support 2 simultaneous 4G VoLTE SIM cards and has NFC support.

Honor Magic 2 Alleged Specifications:
- 6.39 inch (2340 × 1080 px) FHD+ AMOLED Display , 19.5:9 Aspect Ratio
- HUAWEI 7 nm Kirin 980 (2 x Cortex A76 2.6 GHz + 2 x Cortex A76 1.92 GHz + 4 x Cortex A55 1.8 GHz) processor with 720 MHz ARM Mali-G76MP10 GPU
- 8 GB LPDDR4x RAM with 256 GB storage/ 6 GB LPDDR4x RAM with 128 GB storage
- Android 9.0 (Pie) with EMUI 9.0
- 16 MP main rear camera, 24 MP secondary camera, 16 MP Telephoto lens, LED flash
- 16 MP front camera, 2 TOF lenses for 3D face unlock
- Dual SIM
- Dimensions: 157.32×75.13×8.3mm; Weight: 206 grams
- Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz and 5GHz) , Bluetooth 5 , GPS , NFC, USB Type-C
- 3,400 mAh battery with 40W SuperCharge
Also read: Apple Demands Bloomberg To Take Down Chinese Chip Hacking Report

The Honor Magic 2 will only be available in a Black Color variant and will go official on the 31st October. Information regarding price and availablity will only be available after that.
October 22, 2018
OnePlus 6T Ultimate Limited Edition Leaks

OnePlus is all set to launch their latest flagship, the OnePlus 6T. The smartphone was scheduled to launch on 30th October but now has been preponed to 29th October. As Apple has announced their launch event for 30th October. The conflicting dates would steal OnePlus’s thunder and in order to minimise the damage, the company took this drastic step.

Recently a limited edition variant of the smartphone has been listed online on a Swedish retailer, Webhallen. The listing states that only 100 pieces of the OnePlus 6T ‘Ultimate Limited Edition’ will be available. This could be a stunt by the Swedish retailer to gain some attention or an actual variant. As OnePlus has previously launched such limited edition devices. The OnePlus 5T was available in a Star Wars edition and the OnePlus 6 had a limited Avengers edition. If such a device exists it will be available at the top end variant with 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB ROM.

Alleged Specifications OnePlus 6T:

OnePlus 6 Avengers Edition

A lot of the features and specifications of the upcoming OnePlus 6T are already available. For reference:

The OnePlus 6T will have a 6.41 inch Full HD Super AMOLED display. The new device has a waterdrop notch according to the official teaser. The company also confirmed that the new device will not have a 3.5 mm audio jack but thankfully the Bullets earphones will now be available with a Type-C connector. The OnePlus 6T will have an in-display fingerprint scanner for securely unlocking the device.

Also read: Samsung W2019 Flip-Phone With Dual Screens Leaks

According to reports, it will have a 3,700 mAh battery which is a 10 % increment from the OnePlus 6 and will support DASH charging. It will have dual rear cameras and a front camera. Though, precise information about the sensors is not yet available. The OnePlus 6T will have the same processor as the current OnePlus 6 which is the Octa-Core Snapdragon 845. The device will have 6 GB or 8 GB of RAM along with 128/256 GB ROM.

To conclude, we can only wait till 29th October and let the company officially take off the curtains from the highly awaited OnePlus 6T.

October 20, 2018
Samsung W2019 Flip-Phone With Dual Screens Leaks

Samsung has a range of W series smartphones that are exclusively available in China. Here is one upcoming device from the series called the Samsung W2019. It is a flip-style smartphone with modern day features.

Flip Phone in 2019?

The Samsung W 2019 has two touchscreen displays and a T9 keyboard. The smartphone was also seen on TENAA but now has been taken down. The TENAA listing reveals the devices measures 132.9 x 63.2 x 17.3 mm and has a 4.2-inch screen size. It runs on the Android operating system, however the Android version is not specified.

The smartphone supports dual SIM cards and it has a 3,000 mAh battery. The leaked images reveal the volume rocker and power button are on the right side. The Bixby button is present on the left side. Bixby is Samsung’s artificial intelligence based virtual assistant that the user can interact with. No information regarding the processor is available but we expect the phone to have the Octa-Core Snapdragon 845 SoC.

Talking about the looks of the device, it has Rose gold metal construction and a black rear glass panel. Placed on the rear glass panel are the dual rear cameras with LED flash. The front of the phone has 3 capacitive navigation buttons and the Samsung branding up top. The bottom of the smartphone has the micro-USB port, microphone pinhole, and the loudspeaker.

Opening the flip reveals the second screen and the physical keypad. The speakerphone and the front-facing camera are present on the second display. The smartphone also has a lens on top of the keypad which might be an additional camera. There is nothing much to talk about the keypad except the three physical Android navigation keys.

Also read: Samsung Working On An In-Display Front Facing Camera

The device is bound for the Chinese market and we will only get more information about the Samsung W2019 once the company officially announces it.

October 20, 2018
Nokia 8.1 Spotted On Geekbench Before Launch

An upcoming premium smartphone from Nokia with the moniker Nokia 8.1 has appeared on Geekbench’s website before it’s official launch. The specifications of the Nokia 8.1 are quite similar to the recently launched Nokia X7 or Nokia 7.1 Plus.

The device has the same processor as the Nokia X7 which is the Snapdragon Qualcomm 710 SoC. It is an Octa-core processor, which according to Geekbench has a frequency of 1.71 GHz that is much less than what it is capable of. Geekbench results also reveal that the device has 4 GB of RAM. The device that was benchmarked might be the base variant of Nokia 8.1 as even the Nokia X7 is available with 4 GB or 6 GB RAM.

Nokia 8.1 Geekbench Score

The device has a single-core score of 1841 and a multi-core score of 5807 even though the processor is not set to its highest clock speed. So if Nokia speeds up the processor the score would improve considerably.

Besides the RAM and processor, not many specifications of the Nokia 8.1 are available as of now. But as it might be an improved smartphone over to the Nokia 7.1 plus, we expect it to have better specifications.

Nokia 7 Plus

For reference, the Nokia 7.1 plus has a 6.18 inch IPS LCD touchscreen with a pixel density of 408 ppi. It has the Octa-Core Snapdragon 710 processor. Four Cores have a frequency of 2.2 GHz and the other four of 1.7 GHz. It has 12 MP + 13 MP dual rear cameras and a 20 MP front selfie camera. The Nokia 7.1 has a 3,500 mAh non-removable lithium-ion battery and supports fast charging. It is available in 4 GB or 6 GB RAM variants paired with 64 GB or 128 GB of inbuilt storage which is expandable up to 400 GB via a MicroSD card.

However, Nokia is yet to comment about the leaked device. For now, we can only wait for Nokia to officially announce the smartphone and bring it to India.

October 20, 2018
Lenovo Launches K5 Pro & S5 Pro In China
Lenovo has unveiled two new phones for the Chinese market, the K5 Pro and the S5 Pro. The smartphones have similar features with a slightly different price tag. Both phones have side-firing stereo speakers and focus on photography.

Lenovo K5 Pro:

The Lenovo K5 Pro is the cheaper out of the two. It measures 155.98 x 74.98 x 7.98mm and weighs 165 grams. The smartphone has a 5.99 inch Full HD display with a 2160 x 1080 px resolution and runs on the Snapdragon 636 SoC. It is available in three memory capacities, 4 GB RAM with 64 GB ROM or 6 GB RAM with 64/128 GB ROM which is expandable up to 256 GB via a microSD card.

Talking about the cameras, the K5 Pro has dual selfie cameras out of which the first one is a 16 MP camera and a second 5 MP depth sensor. The rear camera has a similar setup which has a 16 MP, f/2.0 aperture equipped sensor and a second 5 MP sensor. The rear cameras can shoot 2160p @ 30 fps videos while the front cameras can shoot 1080p videos @ 30fps.

The Lenovo K5 Pro has a large 4,050 mAh battery that can be charged from the USB Type-C port and supports fast charging up to 15W. The device runs on Android 8.1 Oreo with ZUI which is Lenovo’s custom skin for Android devices. It also has a fingerprint sensor for securely unlocking the device. For connectivity, the device has 802.11 Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and a 3.5 mm audio jack. The Lenovo K5 supports dual sim 4G VoLTE and has a hybrid sim slot.

The Lenovo K5 Pro will be available in two color variants Style Black and Elegant Gold. It is available for pre-order in China and deliveries will start from 23rd October. The price of the different variants are as follows:
- 4GB+64GB- ¥998.00 (around Rs. 10,500/-)
- 6GB+64GB- ¥1098.00 (around Rs. 11,600/-)
- 6GB+128GB- ¥1298.00 (around Rs. 13750/-)
Lenovo S5 Pro:

The Lenovo S5 Pro measures 154.5 x 75.45 x 7.7 mm and weighs 170 grams. The device has a 6.2 inch Full HD notch display with a 2246 x 1080 px resolution and runs on the Snapdragon 636 SoC. It is available in two memory capacities 6 GB RAM paired with 64 GB or 128 GB inbuilt storage which is expandable up to 256 GB via a microSD card.

For photography, the S5 Pro has dual 20 MP + 8 MP front cameras. The 8 MP front camera also has an infrared sensor which helps to securely unlock the device with face recognition. The rear camera setup has a 12 MP, f/1.8 aperture equipped lens and a 20 MP, f,2.6 aperture equipped lens. The back cameras can shoot 2160p videos @ 30 fps while the front cameras can record 1080p videos. Along with face recognition, it also has a fingerprint sensor.

The Lenovo S5 Pro has a 3,500 mAh battery that can be charged from the USB Type-C port and supports fast charging up to 15W. Like the K5 Pro, it also runs on Android 8.1 Oreo with ZUI. For connectivity, the device has Bluetooth 5.0, 802.11 Wi-Fi and a USB Type-C port.

The Lenovo S5 Pro will be available in three color variants, Blue Ice Crystal, Pure Gold, and Elegant Black and like the K5 Pro pre-orders are open and deliveries will commence on 23rd October. The price of the different variants of the Lenovo S5 Pro are as follows :
- 6GB+64GB- ¥1298.00 (around Rs. 13,750/-)
- 6GB+128GB- ¥1398.00 (around Rs. 14,800/-)
Also read: Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 Launched In India

Lenovo has launched both the smartphones in China for now but we hope these devices will soon be launched in India as well.
October 18, 2018
Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 Leaked With 10GB RAM and 5G Network Support

Xiaomi was one of the first companies to introduce a narrow bezel display smartphone. The Mi Mix 1 was launched in 2016 with extremely thin bezels. It was followed by the Mi Mix 2 & Mi Mix 2s which were launched in late 2017 and early 2018 respectively. With every new generation, Xiaomi managed to squeeze the bezels in their Mix series devices. And now the company is about to launch the latest Mi Mix 3 smartphone. It might have a truly bezel-less display and multiple ground-breaking innovations.

Xiaomi posted a teaser online hinting that the Mi Mix 3 might be the first commercial phone in the world to have 5G support and 10 GB of RAM.

The company has scheduled the launch of the Mi Mix 3 on September 25. Recently the teaser video and the camera samples from the phone have also surfaced online. The video was uploaded on Chinese social media website Weibo. The video focuses on the concealed dual selfie cameras and the bezel-less display that the Mi Mix 3 will have. To achieve such thin bezels, Xiaomi has created a sliding screen mechanism which conceals the speakerphone, front cameras, and necessary sensors.

Mi Mix 3 Camera Samples:

Also Read: Google Boasts Pixel 3 To Be Their Most Secure Phone Yet

The samples show the portrait mode of the phone in action. The photos are taken in a very dark environment so it is hard to judge the camera performance solely on the basis of these images.

However, Xiaomi’s biggest accomplishment with the Mi Mix 3 will be 5G carrier capabilities. Out of all the global smartphone companies they will be the first ones to achieve this feat. Besides the insane 10 GB of RAM that the phone might have, the Mi Mix 3 might have have an in-display fingerprint scanner, an AMOLED display and most probably will run on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 Octa-core processor. It might also support facial recognition as this feature is quickly becoming an industry standard in leading smartphones.

To conclude, we will have to wait till 25th October for Xiaomi to officially announce the smartphone and make all the details publically available.

October 18, 2018
Xiaomi Black Shark 2 Launch Poster Leaks

Smartphone gaming is becoming more popular with each passing day and Xiaomi wants to make the first mover advantage in this segment. Black Shark is the gaming-focused sub-brand of Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi. The company launched the Black Shark 1 gaming handset back in April 2018. And now, the launch poster of the second generation smartphone that is about to launch has surfaced online. The poster reveals the possible launch date of the Black Shark 2 which is scheduled for 23 October.

A lot of leaks about the device have already surfaced online prior to the official launch including the specifications, and a hands-on video. Recently, the Black Shark 2 has popped up on Geekbench’s website. The Geekbench result reaffirms the previously leaked specifications. The device has a 2403 single-core and 8389 multi-core Geekbench result.

The Black Shark 2 has the Octa Core Snapdragon 845 chipset paired with 8 GB of RAM. The smartphone runs Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box. The device is set to get Android 9 Pie soon after its release, according to reports.

The leaked video reveals that the Black Shark 2 gaming handset has a glossy tapered back panel with a center mounted RGB backlit logo like the Razer Phone 2. Additionally, it has RGB LED strips on either sides and a dual rear camera with an LED flash. With the RGB light , the device looks good and might be a hit amongst users who love such exuberant colours.

Also read: Asus Launches Zenfone M1 Max & Zenfone L1 Lite in India

Although the leaked specs and video look genuine, Xiaomi has not commented on the same. We are yet to hear about the official launch date of the device from the company. For now, we can only wish that the device launches soon and makes its way to India for all the gaming lovers who are patiently waiting for the device.

October 18, 2018