Tag: MWC 2018

Vivo APEX Has A Hidden Front Camera

Vivo showcased a smartphone with an in-screen fingerprint scanner at CES 2018. At the ongoing MWC 2018, the company has announced a new concept smartphone with an impressive screen to body ratio. The Vivo APEX FullView is the first production smartphone to achieve this ratio. The smartphone has minimal bezels on all four sides. In fact, the uses a retractable mechanism for the front-facing camera.

However, the company hasn’t revealed the exact tech specifications, pricing, or the availability of the Vivo APEX.

Features:

The Vivo APEX also offers an in-screen fingerprint scanner with a much bigger footprint. Unlike the Vivo X20 Plus UD, half of the screen portion of the Vivo APEX acts as a fingerprint scanner. The device comes with 1.8 mm bezels on three sides with 4.3 mm bezels on the bottom. In fact, it does not have a microphone, instead, it uses the SounCasting technology similar to the one found on the Mi MIX, which turns the entire display into a speaker.

The 8 MP front-facing camera uses elevating mechanism, which rises within 0.8 seconds whenever it is required. The phone uses OLED display, which might use the similar fingerprint scanner unit from Synaptic.

The device also offers a new system in package (SIP) technology to integrate the DAC with three amplifiers, which reduces the space of circuit board up to 60%. The reduction in the circuit size has enabled the company to fit in a larger battery.

Alex Feng, Senior Vice President of Vivo said:

APEX is an iteration of our constant pursuit of setting new industry standards and to deliver the ultimate mobile experience. From breakthroughs in audio, photography to In-Display Fingerprint Scanning Technology, Vivo has remained committed to realizing our vision for future smartphones. What we showcase in this concept phone is only a fraction of our innovation pipeline. We will continue to explore all possibilities to bring the best possible experiences to our consumers.

February 26, 2018
Nokia 8110 4G Officially Launched At MWC 2018

Nokia launches a refreshed version of the infamous version of the Nokia 8810 with 4G capability. The company calls the Nokia 8810 4G as the vacation or weekend phone. However, for the phone of this calibre, it packs powerful internals and an impressive design.

Design:

The Nokia 8110 4G comes with unique curved design, with a swappable keypad cover, which comes in black and banana yellow colour. However, the device will be available from April 2018 for an average price of 79 Euros.

The Nokia 8810 4G takes the design hints from the original Nokia 8810, which was launched in 1998. The phone comes with a T4 keypad with a replaceable back panel. The design does bring back the nostalgia feelings back into 2018.

Specifications:

The Nokia 8810 4G comes with a 2.4-inch display with 240x 320 px resolution. Under the hood, the smartphone is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 205 1.1 Ghz dual core chipset with 512 MB RAM and 4GB onboard storage. However, the smartphone does memory expansion using an external SD card.

The phone comes with 2 MP primary camera with an LED flash, with VGA quality video recording capability. The phone packs in a user replaceable 1500 mAh battery with micro USB port for charging and data syncing. However, there is no front-facing camera on the phone, which is little disappointing.

The device supports dual SIM cards with support for 2G, 3G and 4G LTE networks. In fact, the 4G data can be wirelessly shared using the built-in WiFi hotspot feature. Unlike the Nokia 8 Sirocco, the Nokia 8810 does retain the 3.5 mm headphone jack.

The smartphone runs on custom Smart Feature OS, which comes with Google Maps, Google Assistance and Google Now. In fact, it also features apps like Facebook and Twitter. Additional apps can also be downloaded via the app store.

February 25, 2018
Samsung Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9+ Launched At MWC 2018

After weeks of multiple leaks, Samsung has launched the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ at an event in Barcelona. The design, specifications, and a lot of the features were leaked ahead of the launch. The Galaxy S9 is priced at US$ 719.99 for the unlocked version in the US. However, the starting price of the Galaxy S9+ is US$ 839.99. The smartphones will go on sale on the 16th of March globally. In India, the devices will be launched on the 6th of March and go on sale on the 16th of March along with the rest of the world.

The Samsung Galaxy S9 and its bigger sibling, the Galaxy S9+ succeeds the Galaxy S8 and S8+ as the 2018 flagship phones. Unlike the previous generation smartphones, the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ have more differences than just the display and battery sizes. Samsung has made the Galaxy S9+ a bit more feature-packed to justify the higher price tag.

As expected, the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ look extremely similar to their predecessors. The bezels are slightly thinner but, it is hard to differentiate between the two generations, at least from the front. To the back of the devices is where you see the difference. While the Galaxy S8 and S8+ were two of the most successful Android smartphones of 2017 and were lauded for their looks, there was an issue with the design.

Due to the decreased bezels, Samsung had to move the fingerprint sensor to the back of the phone. However, the execution left a lot to be desired as the sensor was placed next to the camera module. It looks like Samsung took the criticism into consideration. The Galaxy S9 and S9+ come with a fingerprint sensor placed below the camera module. This is a much more ergonomic placement for a rear-facing fingerprint sensor.

The Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ have a new feature similar to Apple’s Animojis. It is called AR Emoji. Basically, the smartphone captures the face data, analyses it, which allows users to make animated versions of themselves. These can later be customised further.

Samsung Galaxy S9

The Samsung Galaxy S9 has a 5.8 inch Super AMOLED display with a 2960 x 1440 px resolution. This translates to an 18.5:9 aspect ratio, which means it is slightly taller than the usual bezel-less smartphones.

Depending on the market, the Galaxy S9’s chipset will vary. For the US and South Korean market, the S9 will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset. The Galaxy S9 and S9+ are the first-ever smartphones launched with the new flagship chipset. For the rest of the world, it will be powered by the new Exynos 9810 chipset. Coupled with the chipset is 4GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage. Similar to a lot of Samsung smartphones, the storage will be expandable up to 256GB via a MicroSD card.

Out of the box, the Samsung Galaxy S9 will run Android 8 Oreo out of the box with Experience 9.0 on top. Powering the smartphone will be a 3000 mAh battery, just like the Galaxy S8. The smartphone will have QuickCharge 4.0 compatibility and support wireless charging. Similar to its predecessor, the Galaxy S9 also has an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance. The Galaxy S9 also has a dual stereo speaker system tuned by AKG and Dolby surround sound.

The Galaxy S9 has a single Dual Pixel 12 MP sensor with dual /1.5 and f/2.4 apertures. In bright lighting conditions, the camera will use the f/2.4 aperture, while the wider f/1.5 aperture is used in dark lighting conditions. It also captures 720P videos at 960fps and 4K videos at 60fps, similar to the Apple iPhone X. On the front of the smartphone is an 8MP camera with an f/1.6 aperture and records 4K videos.

Samsung Galaxy S9+

As is with its smaller sibling, the Galaxy S9+ has the same screen size as the Galaxy S8+. It sports a 6.2 inch Super AMOLED display with a 2960 x 1440 px resolution.

Under the hood, it will either be powered by the Snapdragon 845 chipset or Exynos 9810. This will again depend on whether it is being sold in the US, South Korea or rest of the world. Unlike the Galaxy S9, the S9+ will be available in 6GB RAM/64GB storage, 6GB RAM/128GB storage and 6GB RAM/256GB models in major markets across the world.

Out of the box, the Galaxy S9+ will also run Android 8 Oreo out of the box with Experience 9.0 on top. Powering the smartphone will be a 3500 mAh battery, just like the Galaxy S8+. The smartphone will have QuickCharge 4.0 compatibility and support wireless charging. Similar to its predecessor, the Galaxy S9+ also has an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance.

The main difference between the two S9 models this year is in the camera department. Unlike its predecessor, the Galaxy S9+ has a dual-camera setup on the back. The Galaxy S9+ has one wide-angle 12MP camera with an f/1.5 aperture and the other is a 12MP telephoto lens with an f/2.4 aperture. The telephoto lens is the same one found on the Galaxy Note8, which means it has OIS. On the front of the smartphone is an 8MP camera with an f/1.6 aperture and records 4K videos.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9L8T7o-mrM[/embedyt]

February 25, 2018
Nokia 8 Sirocco Launched For EUR 749 At MWC 2018

Nokia has officially launched the Nokia 8 Sirocco edition at MWC 2018, which will be available from April 2018 for 749 Euros. In fact, this is the most premium smartphone that supports Android One Programme.

The smartphone is constructed from a single block of stainless steel like the Apple iPhone X. This makes the Nokia 8 Sirocco a strong smartphone, as stainless steel is 4 times harder than the Aluminium, with IP67 water and dust resistance certification. In fact, it measures 7.5 mm at its thickest point and 2 mm at it thinnest. This is the first Nokia Android smartphone to support wireless charging.

Specifications:

The Nokia 8 Sirocco has a 5.5 inch pOLED QHD+ 2560 x 1440 px display with 18:9 aspect ratio. The display offers a dual curved design with the vacuum moulding technology with Gorilla Glass 5. The device is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage.

The Nokia 8 Sirocco comes with dual primary camera setup, powered by Zeiss. The primary 12 MP sensor has an f/1.75 aperture with 1.4-micron pixel size and the secondary 13 MP telephoto lens has an f/2.6 aperture. The device has a 5 MP front-facing camera with f/2.0 aperture and 1.micron pixel size. In fact, the primary camera setup found on the smartphone is exactly similar to the Nokia 7 Plus’s camera specifications.

The device does offer additional features like NFC, 4G VoLte, Bluetooth 5.0, and a rear-facing fingerprint scanner. However, this is the first Nokia smartphone to remove the 3.5 mm headphone jack.

February 25, 2018
Nokia 1 Officially Launched For US$ 85 At MWC 2018

HMD Global has launched the Nokia 1 at an event in Barcelona along with a few other smartphones like the Nokia 7 Plus. The Nokia 1, as speculated, is an entry-level Android Go device which will retail for US$ 85 (Rs. 5500 approx.), excluding taxes and subsidies. However, the company has claimed that this a global price. Hence, it is expected to be launched in India at a price of Rs. 5000 or less.

The Nokia 1 will be the most affordable Android smartphone from the company, which right now, is the Nokia 2. While there are no details pertaining to its launch in India, the Nokia 1 will go on sale in April globally. It will be available in Dark Blue and Warm Red colour variants. Along with that, the company will also sell Xpress-on covers priced at $7.99 (Rs. 500 approx.) in Azure, Grey, Yellow and Pink colours.

Specifications

The Nokia 1 4.5 inch FWVGA display with an 854 x 480 px resolution. Under the hood, the Nokia 1 has the MediaTek MT6737M chipset with a 1GHz quad-core processor. This is coupled with 1GB of LPDDR3 RAM and 8GB of onboard storage.

Out of the box, the smartphone will run Android 8.1 Oreo based Android Go operating system. Powering the smartphone will be a 2150 mAh battery which the company claims will deliver up to 9 hours of talk time and up to 15 days of standby time.

Android Go

Google claims that Android Go’s Oreo edition will be a variant of Android Oreo that a manufacturer can just set by ticking off a configuration flag. What this basically does is that it sets up the phone to use the “Go” versions of a handful of Google apps such as the main Google app, Google Assistant, Google Maps, Gmail, and others.

Google claims that the smaller apps and slimmer OS can as much as halve the amount of storage that’s taken up by default on a new phone running default OS.

Conclusion

While the Nokia 1 seems like an interesting phone, the Indian entry-level market has come competition. If it launches at the global price, the Nokia 1 will compete with the likes of Xiaomi Redmi 5A which offers much better specifications at a similar price point. However, this will depend on the pricing of the smartphone.

February 25, 2018
Nokia 7 Plus Launched For EUR 399 At MWC 2018

HMD Global has officially launched the Nokia 7 Plus at an event in Barcelona. It succeeds the recently launched Nokia 7 and will be a global device, unlike the Nokia 7. The Nokia 7 Plus is also an Android One device, which means that it will get Android update support for more than 2 years. It carries a price tag of EUR 399 (roughly Rs. 31,750) and will go on sale in early April in Black/ Copper and White/ Copper colour variants.

While the Nokia 7 had an older design with thick bezels and a 16:9 aspect ratio, the Nokia 7 Plus has an upgraded design. The Nokia 7 Plus has an 18:9 aspect ratio and the design accents similar to the Nokia 6 2018.

Specifications

The Nokia 7 has a 5.2 inch IPS LCD display with a 1920 x 1080 px resolution. Nokia 7 Plus, on the other hand, has a 6 inch display with an 18:9 aspect ratio hence, the “Plus” moniker. The Nokia 7 plus also features a dual-tone design thanks to a few gilded bits and pieces. Like the fingerprint scanner ring, the dual-camera casing and the Nokia logo on the back.

Under the hood, the 7 Plus has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 chipset and 2.2GHz octa-core processor. That is coupled with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage which will be expandable via microSD card. The fingerprint sensor is now placed on the back and has the similar colour accents found on the Nokia 6 (2018).

On the back of the 7 Plus is a dual-camera setup powered by Zeiss optics. The primary wide-angle sensor is a 12MP camera with an f/1.75 aperture coupled with a 13MP telephoto lens with an f/2.6 aperture. The telephoto lens will allow for bokeh shots which have now become very trendy. On the front is a 16MP fixed focus camera with an f/2.0 aperture, 1-micron pixels, and Zeiss optics.

Conclusion

At a price of EUR 399 (roughly Rs. 31,750), the Nokia 7 Plus has a lot of competition. If and when HMD Global launches the Nokia 7 Plus in India, it will have to be priced closer to the Moto X4 rather than the Honor View10. However, the price and details for the Nokia 7 Plus in India have not been revealed yet.

February 25, 2018
Huawei Launches The First 5G CPE At MWC 2018

Huawei has launched the worlds first 5G CPE at MWC 2018. However, the availability of the CPE will be limited to North America. The CPE stands for Customer Premise Equipment, which enables the company to test the true potential of the 5G network before the official rollout.

Huawei has partnered with the Canadian telecom company TELUS to implement this technology in Canada. Initially, this technology will be tested with the TELUS employees based on the successful 5G 3GPP mmWave tests that were conducted by the Huawei and TELUS in June 2017.

H Ibrahim Gedeon, CTO at TELUS said:

This trial represents continued progress toward the launch of 5G, as we start to replicate both the in-home experience and network footprint we will see when 5G becomes commercially available in the near future. Wireless 5G services will generate tremendous benefits for consumers, operators, governments and more through the use of advanced IoT devices, big data applications, smart city systems and other technologies of the future.

Dr Wen Tong, Huawei Fellow, and CTO Huawei Wireless said:

mmWave technology will be an important tool in ensuring widespread deployment of 5G technology in Canada. Huawei’s 5G solutions and terminals will enable 5G coverage over a neighbourhood or small community cost effectively. While providing more convenient and high-speed home broadband Internet access services. This friendly user trial will drive the global 3GPP unified 5G standard and build a solid foundation for the 5G early commercialization.

The Huawei 5G CPE utilises 5G gNodeB related elements built by Huawei?TELUS 5G lab. The trail system is based on the 28GHz mmwave band with 800 MHz of bandwidth. In fact, the 5G CPE from Huawei uses the existing technologies like MIMO, F-OFDM, and Polar Code.

With the 5G technology, the company will be able to replace the fibre to home solutions. Huawei calls this as “Last-Mile” solution for the consumers and business. The deployment of wireless 5G solutions will help the brands to reduce the cost of operations. The 5G equipment has smaller footprints compared to the traditional towers. In fact, it helps the requirement of government’s permission to set up new towers.

February 25, 2018

Huawei MediaPad M5 10 Pro Launched At MWC 2018

Thanks to smartphones with 6 inch or bigger display, the market for the tablet has been getting depreciated over the time. However, Huawei has posted a huge 28% YoY growth, which encourages the company to make more tablets. Huawei has officially launched Huawei MediaPad M5 Pro and Huawei MediaPad M5 at MWC 2018. The flagship tablets from Huawei comes with 8.4-inch and a 10.8-inch display with a comfortable to hold-in-hand curved design.

The only difference between the 10.8-inch Pro and non-pro model is the M-Pen. The Pro version comes with a dedicated stylus called M-Pen. This new range of tables from Huawei will be available for consumers from March.

Design:

The tablets come with full metal unibody design

In fact, this might be the first tablet from Huawei to support OIS and 4K video recording capability. One of the front-bezel has a home button with an embedded fingerprint scanner.

At the back, the Huawei MediaPad M5 Pro comes with multiple grills, which houses the quad-speaker setup with Harman Kardon branding. These speakers are driven by a dedicated smart-PA chipset for rich and clear sound. However, do note that the 8.4-inch Huawei MediaPad M5 comes with dual stereo speaker setup.

The company might also release an additional detachable keyboard, which doubles as the case cover. In fact, with this smart case, the users will be able to enjoy 2-in-1 PC experience with a desktop view, with multitasking and file management system. The company also offers a custom stylus called M-Pen, which can be used for sketching and designing.

Specifications:

The tablet comes with a massive 8.4-inch or 10 inch IPS LCD panel with 2560 x 1660 Px resolution. Though the leak does not indicate the chipset that powers the device, it does say that it comes with 4GB RAM and 32GB or 64GB storage. Compared to the iPad mini and iPad Pro, the Huawei MediaPad M5 Pro has 280 and 359 PPI. The display is enhanced with ClariVu, which offers 20% improvement in picture quality.

These tablets are powered by HiSilicon Kirin 960 Octa-core processor with 4GB RAM. The storage option varies from 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB. The tablets come with 13 MP primary camera with an f/2.2 aperture with support for PDAF. For the front-facing camera, the company is using an 8 MP sesnsor with fixed focus and an f/2.2 aperture. However, we have no details on the battery capacity of the device.

Huawei MediaPad M5	RAM + Storage	Price for 8.4-inch	Price for 10.8-inch
Wifi Only	4GB + 32GB	349 Euros	399 Euros
Wifi Only	4GB + 64GB	399 Euros	449 Euros
Wifi Only	4GB + 128GB	449 Euros	499 Euros
WiFi + LTE	4GB + 32GB	399 Euros	449 Euros
WiFi + LTE	4GB + 64GB	449 Euros	499 Euros
WiFi + LTE	4GB + 128GB	499 Euros	549 Euros

Huawei MediaPad M5 Pro	RAM + Storage	Price for 10.8-inch
WiFi only	4GB + 64GB	499 Euros
WiFi only	4GB + 128GB	549 Euros
WiFi + LTE	4GB + 64GB	549 Euros
WiFi + LTE	4GB + 128GB	599 Euros

February 25, 2018

Huawei MateBook X Pro Launched At EUR 1499

Huawei has launched the FullView touchscreen notebook, called Huawei MateBook X Pro at MWC 2018. The Huawei MateBook X Pro will succeed the MateBook X which was launched in 2017. The Matebook X Pro starts at a price of EUR 1499 and goes up to EUR 1899. The company has stated that it will go on sale in Q2 of 2018.

Specifications

The notebook comes with 13.9 inch display with 92% screen to body ration. It uses a low power consuming LTPS touch-screen with 3000 x 2000 px resolution, which offers 20 pixels per inch. The display supports 100% sRGB colour gamut with a maximum brightness of 450 nits and 1500:1 contrast ratio. The display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass for smooth and responsive multi-touch screen experience. The notebook runs on Windows 10 operating system with Windows Hello support.

The Huawei MateBook X Pro comes with the latest Intel 8th generation Intel Core i7 chipset with NVIDIA GeForce MX150 mobile GPU.

The Huawei MateBook X Pro offers perfect diamond cut edges with sandblast finish for a more uniform finish. The notebook is one of the lightest in its category, which weights at just 1.33 KG. Compared to the 13.3-inch Apple MacBook Pro, the Huawei MateBook X Pro is 50% thinner with similar hardware capabilities. Keeping this thin, the notebook also ships with a full sized USB 3.0 port, two USB type C ports and a 3.5 mm headphone jack.

The USB type C port does support Thunderbolts 3, which can drive an external display with up to 4K resolution. The port can also support external GPU like the NVIDIA GTX1080. The company has re-engineered the cooling system on the Huawei MateBook X Pro, which now comes with passive and active mode with temperature detection fans control. It uses the custom Huawei shark fin fan design, which offers up to 20% more efficient.

The Quad speaker setup on the notebook comes with the clear treble tweeter and rich base subwoofer. In fact, The sound profile has been fine-tuned by Dolby Atmos. It has a built-in 4 microphone solution, which offers 360-degree listening without any distortions. The Huawei MateBook X Pro comes with all-day battery life. Which means, the device can offer up to 15 hours of web browsing, or 14 hours of office work or 12 hours of video playback on a single charge.

Traditionally notebooks use keypad authentication. However, Huawei MateBook X Pro comes with iris scanner + fingerprint scanner + keyboard. A user can use any one of these features to login into the notebook. Like the Apple MacBook Pro, the Huawei MateBook X Pro comes with the one-touch power button, which also doubles as a fingerprint scanner.

The notebooks’ keypad is spill proof, which saves the device from the accidental coffee or water spills. The Huawei MateBook X Pro has the largest trackpad on any notebooks under 14 inch display.

February 25, 2018
LG V30S ThinQ Announced With AI Capabilities

Smartphone makers like Samsung and Xiaomi are getting ready to launch their flagship smartphones with Snapdragon 845 at MWC 2018. However, LG has taken a different route by launching the LG V30 with a new software update as the LG V30S ThinQ. In fact, there is a plus version of the model, which offers 256GB storage.

Though these smartphones have been officially launched, the company hasn’t unveiled the pricing or availability.

What’s new?

The company has stressed a lot on the improved camera capabilities and voice recognition, which were missing on the Lg V30.

The new camera on the LG V30S ThinQ comes with the AI capability called, Vision AI. The vision Ai offers three new features called AI Cam, QLens, and Bright Mode.

LG V30

The AI Cam’s dedicated mission is to analyse the subject, which helps the camera to choose proper shooting mood. These modes include portrait, flower, sunrise, city, animal, and Human. With the machine learning, the AI camera will get better over the time.

The QLens comes handy for those who shop a lot. Scanning a bar-code on the product will get you the complete information about the product. However, this depends on the information provided by the manufacturer. In fact, the company claims that it also shows similar products with the lower price tags. The QLens can also be used to get detailed information on the buildings and landmarks.

Bright mode deals with the low light photography. The combination of the f/1.6 aperture lens and Bright mode algorithms improve the images quality taken in low light situations.

Specifications:

The specifications of the LG V30S ThinQ are almost identical to the specifications of the LG V30 and LG V30+.

The LG V30S ThinQ has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset, a 2.4GHz octa-core processor, 6 GB RAM and 128GB of onboard storage which can be expanded up to 2TB via a microSD card. The smartphone has an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance and MIL-STD 810G rating for durability. The special LG V30S+ ThinQ edition comes with 256GB storage.

The device is powered by a 3300mAh battery with wireless fast charging which supports 3.0 quick charge. The smartphone runs Android 7.1.2 with LG’s UX 6.0+ on top which offers a few customisation options.

The LG V30S ThinQ incorporates a 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC powered by Bang & Olufsen with few sound presets like enhanced, detailed, bass and live. The smartphone also has support for Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) technology for high-resolution audio streaming.

Aside from the rear-mounted fingerprint scanner which also doubles as a home button, LG has introduced few new security features in the LG V30+ such as facial and voice recognition. The voice recognition will even work along with the music playback.

The LG V30S ThinQ features a dual-camera setup at the back. As LG had announced, this smartphone has the first ever inbuilt camera unit to feature a 16MP crystal clear lens made of glass with an f/1.6 aperture and another 13MP wide angle lens with an f/1.9 aperture. The camera features laser detection AF, optical image stabilisation and electronic image stabilisation. On the front side, the LG V30+ sports a 5MP wide-angle camera with an f/2.2 aperture.

February 25, 2018
Xiaomi Confirms Mi Mix 2S Launch

Up until a few minutes ago, the prospect of the Mi Mix 2S launch was uncertain. The renders of the smartphone, although interesting, seemed too different to be real. However, just before the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+, Xiaomi has blatantly confirmed the launch of the Mi Mix 2S on Twitter.

Can you guess what is coming? pic.twitter.com/Gd10g3OsFf

— Xiaomi (@Xiaomi) February 25, 2018

A lot of smartphone makers like posting teasers before the official launch. However, Xiaomi has gone ahead and spilt the beans on its MWC 2018 plans. The company will be launching the Mi Mix 2S with the Snapdragon 845 on March 27th in China. The timing of the move is interesting since we are just a few hours away from the launch of the Galaxy S9 and S9+, which will be the first ever smartphones to run on the Snapdragon 845 chipset.

Mi Mix 2S Expectations

The back of the Mi Mix 2S is expected to be the same as the Mi Mix 2. It will be made of ceramic which means it’ll be a fingerprint magnet. However, that is a price you have to pay for a device that looks as premium as the Mi Mix 2S. The significant change will be in the camera department. This time around, the Mi Mix 2S will have a dual-camera setup, which could be similar to the one found on the Mi A1, albeit of better quality.

On the front is where Xiaomi will look to one-up the much-famed Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+. The leaked image confirms that the smartphone will have a different take on the notch. The bezels all around the display will be uniform but, the top right corner will protrude a bit.

It will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset coupled with 8GB of RAM and 256GB onboard storage.

February 25, 2018
Samsung Galaxy S9 Launch Video Leaked Ahead Of Official Launch

The Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+, as usual, have almost nothing to surprise us with, at the launch. Over the past few weeks, the 2018 flagship smartphones have been leaked in some shape or form. While the design of the devices has been leaked enough in renders and live images, the pricing is also starting to get clearer by the day. The smartphone will be launched today at MWC 2018.

Renders by @evleaks

The Video

The Video begins by showing the display on of the Galaxy S9, with the multi-window mode. Samsung has introduced to the Samsung Dex, which is an add-on accessory that converts the Galaxy S9 into a PC. After connecting the phone to the Dex accessories. The smartphone can also be used as a trackpad or a keyboard to edit those serious office presentations.

Then comes the camera, the Galaxy S9’s camera now offers live Bixby translation, like the one we have seen on the Honor View10. The new AR capability of the camera will be able to detect the problem with your LAN connection and will help you to fix it instantly.

Renders by @evleaks

The new Galaxy S9 or the Galaxy S9+ also comes with app pairing, which helps you to organize two mostly used apps together as a single entity. Like the Galaxy S7 and the S8, the Galaxy S9 and S9+ are also IP68 certified against water and dust.

The Samsung Knox 3.1 is advertised to secure your data with biometric authentication for the face unlock. However, unlike Apple iPhone X, the device also has a fingerprint scanner, located on the back of the smartphone.

There is a special enterprise edition of the Galaxy S9 and it comes with 24×7 technical support. These smartphones are covered under extended warranty support with up to 4 years of security updates. However, the standard edition is expected to receive two years of software update.

Press Renders

Expected specifications:

The Samsung Galaxy S9 is expected to have a 5.8-inch Super AMOLED QHD+ display with 18:9 aspect ratio, with narrow bezels. Under the hood, the smartphone will be powered by either Snapdragon 845 chipset or Exynos 9810. According to a leak, the device will be offered in two storage options, 4GB RAM/64GB storage and 4GB RAM/128GB storage.

The camera on the smartphone will have a noticeable upgrade. A leak reveals that the device would have a 12 MP camera with a variable aperture from F/1.5 to F/2.4. The mobile is expected to run Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box with Experience UI on the top. In fact, the Galaxy S9+ comes with a secondary dual camera and the functionality of the camera is yet to be known.

February 25, 2018
Doogee V With In-Screen Fingerprint Scanner And iPhone X-Like Notch To Launch At MWC 2018

Doogee is all set to launch its first smartphone with an in-screen fingerprint scanner at MWC 2018. In fact, the Doogee V uses the same technology as that of the Vivo’s recently launched Vivo X20 Plus UD. The smartphone has been officially listed on Doogee’s official website.

6.2-inch Doogee V with in-display fingerprint scanner pic.twitter.com/mqn9w3UjHc
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) January 6, 2018

The Doogee V embraces a unibody glass design with a metallic frame. Similar to the iPhone X, the Doogee V also has a notch on the display which could house the hardware used for “Face ID,” as the company calls it.

Doogee V Specifications:

Doogee V

The Doogee V has a 6.2 inch 18:9 aspect ratio OLED display with 2160 x 1080px resolution. As this device comes with an In-screen fingerprint scanner, there are no physical or capacitive buttons on the front.

The company hasn’t mentioned any details on the chipset or the RAM it uses. In fact, these are the only factors that are yet to be known about the Doogee V. The phone offers a dual primary camera setup with a 16 MP + 8 MP sensor combination, the function of the secondary camera is yet to be known.

The single front-facing camera will also support face unlock. Interestingly, the company has used “Face ID” to describe its facial recognition system. Face ID is what Apple calls its facial recognition system on the iPhone X.

The glass back panel comes with a maze finish with support for NFC connectivity. The smartphone comes with a 4000 mAh Li-ion battery with fast charging support via USB type C Port.

The image also mentions the presence of AI. Along with shrinking bezels and increasing price, many people believe that the integration of AI will be the next big thing in the smartphone industry. Therefore, we will see more smartphones with emphasis on AI in the coming weeks.

February 24, 2018
MediaTek Helio P60 To Launch At MWC 2018

MediaTek is expected to launch a new smartphone chipset the MediaTek Helio P60 at MWC 2018. The MediaTek Helio P60 will be the successor to the MediaTek Helio P30, with improved CPU and GPU processing power.

In fact, the chipset scores on the Geekbench are almost equivalent to the scores of Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 Chipset, which is found on the smartphone like the Xiaomi Mi Note 3 and the Vivo X20 Plus UD. However, the Mi Note 3 scores 1775 points on single-core and 6428 points on multi-core performance, which is slightly better than the MediaTek Helio P60.

Credits: Geekbench

According to leaks, the chipset comes with the features like AI Deep learning, Real Time Bokeh, CorePilot, thermal low power demonstration, power efficiency, and with support for dual 4G VoLte/ViLte with support for wireless charging. However, it depends on smartphone OEM to give access to these features.

The chipset was listed on Geekbench in a test smartphone with 4GB RAM. On Geekbench, it scored 1524 points on a single core and 5871 points on the multi-core. The scores are pretty impressive for the Helio P range chipset. In fact, these scores are similar to the one obtained on a smartphone with the Snapdragon 660 chipset.

Specifications:

The chipset has an 8 core CPU design, with big.Little architecture. The base frequency is listed as 1.99 GHz, which is expected to be the clock speed of the four little CPUs. The chipset might also come improved GPU with energy efficient processing.

Conclusion:

This will be the successor of the MediaTek Helio P30, which was not that of a performer. Finally, MediaTek is launching a chipset with can challenge the Snapdragon counterpart.

February 24, 2018
Huawei P20 With Triple Camera Launch Date Confirmed

Huawei has officially confirmed that the Huawei P20 will be its next flagship smartphone. The smartphone maker has also announced that the smartphone will be launched in Paris on 23rd March 2018. This confirms that only the Huawei P20 Lite will launched at MWC 2018.

The company has released a brief 7-second video, which showcases the landscape view of Paris with 3 circles. This might be the Huawei’s way of saying that, the Huawei P20 has a triple camera setup. The teaser also says “SEE MOOORE ON AI”, which hints towards the possible AI capabilities of the Huawei P20. In fact, according to rumours, the Huawei P20 could be the first modern flagship smartphone with triple camera setup.

Design:

On to the front, the Huawei P20 is expected to have a notch similar to the Apple iPhone X. This means that the smartphone might have a Face ID like facial recognition system using two cameras. The company had claimed that the facial recognition system on its smartphone will be ten times better than Face ID.

Specifications:

The smartphone is expected to have a 6 inch 2160 x 1080 px IPS LCD display with a notch on the top. Under the hood, the smartphone will be powered by the HiSilicon Kirin 970 Octa-core chipset with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. However, we might also see a plus version with OLED display and 8GB RAM.

The smartphone is likely to house a triple lens primary camera setup with RGB + wide angle + telephoto lens combination. On to the front, the smartphone is likely to have dual camera setup. In fact, the dual front-facing camera can aid the facial recognition system as well.

Conclusion:

The Huawei P20 looks like a right successor to the Huawei P10 with improvements like the modern taller display with a notch, triple primary camera setup, and an AI-based chipset. Considering the aggressive pricing by Huawei and Honor in the recent past, it will be intersting to see the price of the Huawei P20. However, whether the P0 will be launched in India is yet to be confirmed.

February 24, 2018