Tag: MWC 2016

Xiaomi Mi 5 Images Reveal Design and Specifications

The rumours and leaks are coming in hot and fast for LG, Samsung and Xiaomi. These three are the big names that are set to unveil their flagship devices in a couple of days from now at the MWC 2016 in Barcelona. A lot of rumours and leaked images have been surfacing about the Galaxy S7 and the Lg G5 flagships. Today, some new leaked images of the Xiaomi Mi 5 flagship have emerged that reveal design details and some specifications.

The image of the alleged Mi 5 shows it running Xiaomi’s MIUI build 7.6.2.1. interface on top of Android 6 Marshmallow, and the processor is clocked at 2.1 GHz. It also shows that the device feautures 3GB of RAM and 64GB of storage confirming earlier rumours.

Apart from this, the Mi 5 is expected to boast of a 5.2-inch Quad HD display and will be powered by a Snapdragon 820 chipset like many other flagships will be this year. It also suggested the phone will have a 6-element 16MP camera on the back with f/2.2 aperture and 4K video recording.

On the design front, the MI 5 seems to show thinner bezels as opposed to recent renders. It also looks like the phone will not have a 2.5D curved glass. The screen to body ration looks great and you also see a thinner home button at the bottom.

In just a couple of days we’ll know exactly how the Mi 5 as well as the Galaxy S7 and the G5 look and how close the rumours were in terms of specifications. Follow this space for everything on the MWC 2016.

February 19, 2016
Watch the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge Launch via 360-degree Live Streaming

As we get closer and closer to the Unpacked event on 21st February at MWC where Samsung is all set to launch its Galaxy S7 devices, updates about it just keep pouring in. And now, according to the latest announcement from Samsung, this launch event can be watched all over the world via a 360-degree live stream on PCs, Android and iOS devices, as well as on Samsung’s own Gear VR head set.

Watching the event on an iOS or Android device requires the download of Samsung’s official Unpacked 360 View app. For Gear VR users, the Unpacked 360 View app can be downloaded through the Oculus store.

Watching the event in the 360-mode would allow users to choose from four different positions. These include centre stage, stage left, stage right or the auditorium. The event can also be watched on the official website where once again viewers would be allowed to choose from four different camera positions.

So far there have been lots of ‘leaked’ images and renders of the devices, along with specifications. With only three days to go for the official launch, watch this space for more updates.

February 19, 2016
Samsung Galaxy S7 or LG G5: Who Will Win at MWC 2016?

The Mobile World Congress 2016 is just a day away. The technology fest will see some major unveiling and some next-gen tech on display. In the smartphone department, two names have been given a lot of hype for many weeks now, and rightly so. Samsung and LG are both ready to unveil their flagship devices. We’ve heard rumours and leaked renders of both and now it’s time to see which flagship does better based on what we know so far.

Design

Samsung achieved a beautifully crafted phone with the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge and there is no reason why the Korean-based giant would want to steer away from that. From what the renders have told us the upcoming Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge will follow the same design language as their S6 counterparts. Only the standard 5.1-inch S7 will have a curved edge at the back rather than a flat one seen on in the S6. The renders of the devices look great and Samsung may just have another great looking device on their hands.

The LG G5, on the other hand, is likely to go with a more squarish look as compared to the G4. The back may not be as curved as its predecessor. It is also rumoured that LG is incorporating a modular design with the G5. The G5’s modular design, according to rumors, involves a detachable bottom, which will reveal the battery and allow it to simply slide in and out. Not only does this design help in making a thinner looking device, but it also gives easy access to the removable battery. Furthermore, it is also rumoured that the G5 will feature a secondary display above the primary one that will display apps and notifications, similar to the LG V10.

Camera

When it comes to the camera, Samsung has done extremely well in decimating its competition with some superb camera modules in the S-series. The Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge Plus had incredible cameras that won last year. This year, Samsung wants to take its camera up a notch which is why it’s using a new Britecell technology for the Galaxy S7. Rumours peg the rear camera at 12MP with f/1.7 aperture, which means that Samsung is focusing a lot more on quality while the front camera will be at 5MP.

The LG G5 is set to sport a dual camera set-up at the back – 16 MP and 8 MP. Leaked images posted in December show a dual camera fitted under a back panel. There’s also a flash and what looks like a fingerprint sensor below which is also expected to double up as the power button. LG has also done extremely well in the camera department and the V10 is one such phone in LG’s lineup that stands as proof. The cameras on the G5 is said to be developed by Sony.

Hardware

Both the flagship devices are expected to feature top-of-the-line and next-gen specifications. The Samsung Galaxy S7 upon launch is expected to to feature a 5.1-inch Super AMOLED display with Quad HD resolution, a new 12 MP BRITECELL camera with f/1.7 aperture, and a 5 MP secondary camera. Two SoC configurations are expected – one being the new Exynos 8890 and the other being Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820. 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage is expected as well as a MicroSD card slot this time around and the battery is expected to be upwards of 3500mAh. A fingerprint sensor will be housed in the home button.

The LG G5 is rumoured to come equipped with a 5.3-inch QHD display, sporting a Snapdragon 820 processor and 3GB of RAM with 32GB of internal storage. It’s also suggested that LG G5 might include an eye scanner, USB-C connectivity and a fingerprint sensor.

Features

It has been rumoured that Samsung has been working on an Apple 3D Touch-like feature for the Galaxy S7 devices. The pressure sensitive feature, reportedly called ClearForce, is being developed by Synaptics. If this is true, we may just see apps for Android being updated to include pressure sensitive features as well, much like the apps for iOS. Meanwhile, another set of rumours suggest that the S7 will have Apple Live Photos-like feature which makes tiny GIF-like videos.

A recent teaser video posted by Samsung’s Indonesian page showed that the Galaxy S7 will be waterproof to some extent.

LG is planning to launch the G5 with market disrupting specs and features, according to rumours. Now while one unconfirmed feature involves a modular design with a removable bottom, LG has teased some other features as well such as an ‘Always On’ mode which displays notifications on the screen without having to turn the screen on. A dual rear camera setup and a secondary display will be the other highlights of the G5.

February 17, 2016
Meizu Hints Ubuntu-Powered Pro 5 in New Teaser

Chinese smartphone maker, Meizu, which is known for its high spec- low price flagship killers, is en route to cause quite a stir again at the Mobile World Congress, 2016 this year.

Earlier reports suggested that Meizu will unveil a surprise phone at the Mobile World Congress next week. Now, a recently released teaser suggests that the device in question will be a Ubuntu-powered device.

This teaser went live on Weibo and hints at a variant of the Meizu Pro 5 which will come on board with Ubuntu installed for power users. Specifications of this Meizu Pro 5 is expected to be the same as the Android version of the Meizu Pro 5, and these include an Exynos 7420 octa-core processor and a 5.7-inch display with Full HD resolution.

Further, the phone is expected to come packing a 21-megapixel rear camera with dual-LED flash. At the front, it will come with a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. A 3050 mAh battery will be placed under the hood to provide the hardware the juice it needs, and as reports suggest, it will be offered in two variants. The first will have 3GB of LPDDR4 RAM with 32GB of internal storage, and the other will come equipped with 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM and 64GB of internal storage.

February 15, 2016
HP to Reportedly Unveil a Windows Phone at MWC 2016

Latest reports suggest the company best known in India for making laptops has now plans of getting back into the mobile manufacturing space.

HP which has tried its hand in the market before and now it is being tipped to launch a phone based on the Windows platform. Originally dubbed as the “Falcon”, it is now expected to be called the Elite X3.

According to sources ,the Elite X3 it will be powered by Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 820 SoC, and will come equipped with a 5.8-inch Quad HD display. Sadly, the report says that it will come only with 1 GB of RAM. As far as the rest of the specs go,the phone will have 64 GB of inbuilt storage and the camera setup will be an impressive 20 MP shooter on the back and a 12 MP one on the front.

Probably the most interesting part of the rumour is that it pegs the device for a launch at MWC 2016, which if it indeed is true, would be a great thing for the Windows platform which is seeing its presence in the market diminish with each passing day.

February 15, 2016
LG G5 Unveiling Date Confirmed

After many rumours and leaks, we finally have some concrete news about this LG flagship. The G5 will be unveiled at the Mobile World Congress this month. LG has sent out invitations for an official event on 21st February at MWC in Barcelona.

We have heard a lot about the device the last couple of days. Rumours suggest that the LG G5 may come with a ‘modular’ design. Now before you thing of Google’s Proje ARA here, the G5 is going full modular, and you won’t be able to replace parts as you please. The G5’s modular nature is more to do with design rather than anything else. The design and the ability to still preserve the removable battery is LG’s top priority.

Other than this, it is also rumoured to come equipped with a 5.3-inch QHD display, sporting a Snapdragon 820 processor and 3GB of RAM with 32GB of internal storage. It’s also suggested that LG G5 might include an eye scanner, USB-C connectivity and a fingerprint sensor. Speculation also points to a 21-megapixel rear camera and an 8-megapixel front-facing sensor.

February 4, 2016
Samsung Galaxy S7 to Have the Same Design as Galaxy S6

Right ahead of the Mobile World Congress which kicks off, we have some more updates on the design of the Galaxy S7. If Evan Blass (@evleaks), who has been a reliable source for news in the past, is to be believed, the design of the Samsung flagship would be very similar to its predecessor, the S6.

He also confirmed that a microSD card slot for storage expansion would also be part of S7. The device will have an IP67 rating which makes it dust and water-resistant.

As it had been reported for some time now, the S7 would come in two variants, the S7 Edge, and the flat screen S7. The curved screen Edge is expected to sport a Snapdragon processor with a 5.1-inch QHD screen along with 4 GB of RAM. The other model, the Galaxy S7 will come equipped with a Exynos processor. The devices are expected to be unveiled next month at the Samsung Unpacked event on the 21st of February. Watch this space for latest developments.

January 30, 2016