Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 gets a 103 DxOMark score, highlighted by 108 photo score

DxOMark were quick to give the freshly announced Xiaomi Mi Mix 3's dual camera a detailed run. Xiaomi's latest and greatest posted a combined score of 103 which breaks down as a 108 photo and 93 video score. For reference, the combined score of 103 matches the Samsung Galaxy Note9 but sits below the iPhone XS Max (105) and Huawei P20 Pro (109). The photo score of 108 more or less matches the Galaxy Note9's 107 photo score. DxO highlighted the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3's reliable and fast autofocus - in both stills and video - the dual camera's wide dynamic range and accurate white balance,...

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Watch the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 event live here

The season for the slider smartphones begins with the launch of Xiaomi Mi Mix 3. The device will be unveiled today at an event in Beijing, China, taking place between the walls of the Forbidden City. We are already at the venue to learn everything about the Mi Mix 3, and here's how you can watch the event that starts at 2 PM local time or 8 AM CEST. The new Xiaomi flagship will arrive with 5G capabilities and up to 10 GB RAM, the company confirmed. It will have a 24 MP AI front-facing camera, hidden behind the screen that can pop up with a simple slide. That allows the screen to...

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Google will require OEMs to provide regular security updates. or else

Android devices have had a problem facing the platform for its entire lifetime (and you've heard this word on more than one occasion): fragmentation. Google's now discontinued Nexus devices and Pixel hardware are all updated promptly and regularly by Google. Other manufacturers might take much longer to update phones. Google has put a few things into place to lessen the problem of fragmentation by doing things like releasing Project Treble (mandatory on all hardware released with Android 8.0 and above), and Google has already done a lot to get OEMs to provide more regular security...

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OnePlus 6T reportedly passes Verizon certification

OnePlus is set to launch its mid-cycle refresh after the OnePlus 6 next week in New York City. The company will announce the OnePlus 6T and rumors have surfaced that the GSM unlocked device for the US could support Verizon bands and T-Mobile will possibly sell the device in-stores. The news comes from PCMag.com where sources claim that the OnePlus 6T has indeed passed Verizon's certification process so that the unlocked model could be activated on the carrier. Should this be true, it would mark a milestone for OnePlus presence in the United States - which is a big deal for any Chinese...

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Samsung teases the Galaxy A8s with a camera hole in the screen

In a recent change of strategy, Samsung decided to start implementing new tech into the mid-range lineup if it's available, rather than withhold stuff so flagships can get it first. And with the recent quad and triple camera Galaxy A9 (2018) and Galaxy A7 (2018) smartphones, it looks like the company is already executing its plan. And to top it off, the company just teased the arrival of Galaxy A8s at the end of the Galaxy A9s and A6s announcement event. The new phone will be a first of its kind with a hole in the upper left corner of the display. The hole is for the front-facing...

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Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 photographed in the wild with 6GB of RAM, 128GB storage

Xiaomi has shown off the Mi Mix 3 on several occasions now, but this isn't one of those times - these are spy shots of the phone, perhaps the last ones before the grand reveal tomorrow. There's little we don't already know, but there are still interesting things to note in these photos. The RAM capacity is 6GB, which is usually enough, but Xiaomi has officially confirmed that the top-specced model will have 10GB of RAM. Going by the CPU clock speed, the chipset is a standard Snapdragon 845 (and not a Snapdragon 855). Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 specs It will run MIUI 10 based on Android 9...

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Huawei Mate 20 RS Porsche Design hands-on

Huawei announced too many Mate 20 phones at this year's event to keep track of but one stands out with luxurious design and steep price tag - the Mate 20 RS Porsche Design. It's a follow-up to the Mate RS Porsche Design, but unlike that one (which was an original design), it's based on the Mate 20 Pro. The Mate 20 RS Porsche Design has identical internals and screen with the de-facto flagship, but a far flashier appearance and a much richer retail package. After all, that's the least Huawei could have done when slapping a price of €1,695 for the base configuration. Mate 20 RS...

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Italy fines Samsung and Apple due to firmware updates that slow performance

The Italian Competition and Market Authority (AGCM) opened an investigation against Samsung and Apple over claims of planned obsolescence. That was in January and the investigation has now closed - both companies were found guilty. Samsung and Apple were slapped with a €5 million fine each. AGCM concluded that "the release of some firmware updates of mobile phones that have caused serious malfunctions and significantly reduced performance, thereby accelerating the process of replacing them." The companies got in trouble in part because they were too pushy when prompting users to...

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Nokia 7.1 review

They say third time's a charm and indeed HMD did right by Nokia's legacy. Once the behemoth of the whole industry, it deteriorated to oblivion, only to be resurrected by Microsoft, and then fall again. Android One turned out to be the platform for Nokia to thrive once more and the latest Nokia 7.1 is the perfect example of how well things are going.

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Google Pixel 3 XL teardown video shows why the notch is so big

JerryRigEverything is back with another Pixel 3 XL video but this time focusing on the internal design rather than the external. As usual, he takes the phone apart piece by piece talking us through the whole process. We can see the Qi wireless charging on the back, the water damage indicators, all the adhesive used to stick the backplate and the battery in place as well as the duo of front-facing cameras. Speaking of which, looking at the size of those two sensors, it's pretty obvious that the notch couldn't have been much smaller. Jerry confirms what iFixit found the other day -...

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Quad-cam Samsung Galaxy A9s and ODM Galaxy A6s debut

It's official - Samsung's first ODM phone was unveiled in China today. "ODM" means that it is made in factories belonging to another company (Wintech in this case). Meet the Galaxy A6s. The Galaxy A9s joined it, which despite the similar sounding name is just the local version of the Galaxy A9 (2018). Samsung Galaxy A6s The Samsung Galaxy A6s has a 6" 1080p+ screen (Super AMOLED, of course) and it is powered by a Snapdragon 660. This is actually an upgrade over the Snapdragon 450 found in the Galaxy A6+ (2018). The 6GB of RAM and 64/128GB storage are a nice step up also. The dual...

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Mi Mix 3 poster shows blue and green colors, confirms rear fingerprint reader

It appears that someone put out a Mi Mix 3 poster a bit too early. The poster doesn't show a lot that we didn't already know but it still confirms cool looking green and blue variants. And we get to see the rear-mounted fingerprint reader. The theory of in-display fingerprint was initially thrown around and since the Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro and Explorer Edition were both equipped with the tech, it sounded legit. But then the first photo of the back panel leaked the other day made us think twice. At least the Mi Mix 3 offers advanced 3D face unlocking tech on the slider so if you are not a...

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Panasonic announces Eluga Z1 and Eluga Z1 Pro with big batteries

Panasonic India launched two upper mid-rangers earlier this month and now introduced two entry level handsets to continue the expansion of its portfolio - Panasonic Eluga Z1 and Panasonic Eluga Z1 Pro pack Helio P22 chipsets, AI Face Unlock, and big batteries. Both devices share the same 6.19" notched screen with HD+ resolution and Dragon Trail Pro protection glass on top. The main camera is 13 MP + 2 MP, while the front-facing shooter is 8 MP, both setups coupled with an LED flash. The regular Eluga Z1 has 3 GB RAM and 32 GB internal storage, while the Eluga Z1 Pro comes with 4 GB...

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The Oppo R17 Pro will be called RX17 Pro in Europe, arrives in three weeks

The Oppo R17 Pro was announced in late August, but it's yet to reach stores. It will finally launch in China on November 1 and in Europe on November 6. For one reason or another Oppo decided that the phone will have a different name in Europe - the Oppo RX17 Pro. Whether the vanilla Oppo R17 will launch as the RX17 is unclear, some claim that it will be the RX17 Neo instead. To be clear, we're talking about a simple name change, the specs will be identical. Oppo R17 Pro - or as it will be called in Europe, RX17 Pro Anyway, the R17 Pro will cost CNY 4,300 in China, which is...

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Counterpoint: Xiaomi tops Indian market in Q3 2018

Counterpoint Research released its three-month report on smartphone shipments in India. According it Xiaomi is in the lead with 27% share, followed by Samsung and vivo with 23% and 10%, respectively. Oppo is taken down to fifth, while Micromax makes a surprising appearance at fourth with 9% shipments between July and September. Company Market share Q3 2018 Market share Q2 2018 Xiaomi 27% 28% Samsung 23% 29% vivo 10% 12% Micromax 9% N/A Oppo 8% 10% ...

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Samsung patent reveals flexible tablet design

Samsung is working on foldable phone - that much is no surprise. What might be more intriguing is the following patent, that imagines a flexible table that will bend both inwards and outwards to halve the footprint. The patent was filed with WIPO back in April 2018 and got approved in October. Its description says "Display Device" and reading further along, you learn that the gadget will adapt its user interface to the orientation or the way it bends. Both ends of the flexible panel will have aluminum-magnesium alloy that will stick to each other, probably with some kind of...

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Apple to unveil new iPads, MacBooks, AirPods at October 30 event

If you are wondering what Apple's October 30 event is all about, the notorious Ming-Chi Kuo analyst thinks he has an idea and given his good track record of predictions, he might be onto something here. Kuo says that Apple is going to refresh its iPad Pro lineup, which was always expected to be the main event. Rumors claim that the company will announce new Apple Pencil, Face ID, slimmer bezels, no Home button and USB-C connector instead of Apple's proprietary Lightning port. More surprisingly, Kuo says that the Cupertino-based company is looking to refresh its iPad mini lineup...

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Nokia 8110 4G launches in India

The retro Nokia 8110 4G has launched in India, fashionably late. The phone sells for INR 6,000 on Nokia.com, that's $82/€72 (the same as in Europe). It's available in Black and Yellow (this is the banana phone, after all). The 8110 4G is part of the new breed of feature phones that runs Kai OS, which is quickly growing in India. About a month ago the platform got WhatsApp, also Google is bringing its apps, including Maps and Assistant (yes, the new 8110 has a GPS receiver, but it can't do voice guided navigation). Nokia 8110 4G in Black and Yellow Note that the phone is also...

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Motorola and iFixit team up to let you repair your Moto phone easily

Motorola just partnered with iFixit to make the repairs of some of its phones easier for end-users. The two companies will release repair kits that let you replace you cracked screen or aging battery without resorting to an authorized or third-party service center. It's all part of the #righttorepair campaign that's been going around lately and that's a big step forward. For now, Motorola and iFixit are offering kits to repair your damaged screen and battery for older models only. We hope that the portfolio will grow soon and kits for the more recent Motorola phones will pop up. If...

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Oppo A7 official press render leaks the front panel

Oppo is following keeps pumping mid-range phones, and the next to come will likely be called Oppo A7. It already appeared on TENAA, reminding us of the Oppo F9/Oppo A7x, but with a plain color on the back. Now the first official render popped up, confirming the resemblance of the phones. The source shared some specs along the render that unsurprisingly match the ones TENAA listed - 6.2" HD+ IPS LCD and Snapdragon 450 chipset. The Oppo A7 might come with 3/4 GB RAM and 32 GB storage, but with a microSD slot for up to 256 GB more. Is that the Oppo A7 on TENAA? There...

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MediaTek unveils Helio P70: a faster version of the P60

MediaTek is following up on its AI-centric P60 chipset with a new more polished platform. The Helio P70 promises a 10-30% boost in AI tasks and a 13% improvement on general tasks. That said, things haven't changed that much from the P60. The new chipset is built on the same 12nm process, but it runs both its CPU and its GPU at higher clock speeds. On the processor side, the four big cores, Cortex-A73, now run at 2.1GHz. Meanwhile, the Mali-G72 MP3 GPU is now clocked at 900MHz. There's a table below with more details. The Helio P70 claims to use up to 35% less power in popular games...

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Pixel 3 and 3 XL's Night Sight mode tested before rollout, impresses

The guys over at XDA surprised us with an early test of the Night Sight camera feature that should soon be rolled out to the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL phones. It is supposed to be out sometime in November, but someone from the XDA-Developers forum enabled the feature on the Pixel 3, 3 XL and even on the older Pixel phones. He decompiled the app, switched a value from false to true and recompiled the camera APK for the handset. He was even able to do it on the Pixel 2 XL, which is supposed to get the functionality with a future software update. The results are downright amazing. The photos...

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OnePlus 6T pops up on Geekbench

OnePlus will introduce its next flagship on October 29 and the device already appeared on a German retailer website with specs, photos, and prices. Although we pretty much know what the expect - from the waterdrop notch to the fingerprint scanner under the screen, now we know how the OnePlus 6T will perform, thanks to a Geekbench listing. Unsurprisingly, the OnePlus A6013 with Snapdragon 845 and 8 GB RAM reached scores of 2387 for a single core and 8925 for multiple cores, similar to other SD845-powered devices, including the OnePlus 6. Still, given the benchmarked unit is...

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