Our Honor 20 Pro video review is up

Honor's latest self-numbered lineup is a duo this year. The Honor 20 and Honor 20 Pro build on the success and design of the Honor View 20 from earlier this year. The Honor 20 and 20 Pro are slightly different. Both phones have what it takes to compete with a flagship device: a large display, huge battery, flagship chipset (Kirin 980), and a four-camera system with versatile uses. However, the display is where Honor cut costs by using IPS LCD instead of OLED panels. The hole-punch 32MP selfie camera also eliminates the need for a pop-up mechanism or notch. Both phones have a...

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Samsung launches Galaxy Note10 VIP pre-orders in the Philippines

Samsung's Unpacked event for the Galaxy Note10 is still more than a week away but the company has announced a VIP pre-order program that can set you up with some extra goodies. First, you have to register and then use your unique 4-digit PIN to complete the registration and reserve a Galaxy Note10 smartphone. Everyone who orders one through the VIP program will be able to choose between three options. Option A gives you a special gift worth PHP 29,999, option B offers two special gifts and a store coupon worth PHP 4,000 and option C grants you with a special gift and a store token...

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nubia Z20 telephoto samples surface, could this be 20x hybrid zoom?

The co-founder of nubia shared two more photos taken with the upcoming nubia Z20 this time boasting the image quality of the telephoto camera. Here are the two shots. Normal photo • telephoto sample Unfortunately, he didn't go into details in its Weibo post so we don't know how many times the zoom the nubia Z20 is capable of. Some suggest that this is a 20x hybrid zoom since the number 20 is a theme here. Earlier the parent company ZTE bragged about the 20x hybrid zoom of the Axon 10 5G, so it makes sense for the nubia Z20 t share that feature. Source (in Chinese)

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Justice department reaches settlement to approve T-Mobile and Sprint merger with conditions.

We have been following this story for the last few years. We've known that Sprint and T-Mobile were interested in merging since rumors began rumbling back in 2016 with plans falling through at least a couple of times. Even at that time, the reason for merging was similar - Sprint couldn't survive as the no. 4 carrier on its own. Today, the US Department of Justice's Office of Public Affairs has announced its approval for the merger of T-Mobile and Sprint with conditions. Five State Attorney Generals have reached an agreement that would do two things: Expedite the nationwide 5G rollout for...

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SoftBank announces second Vision Fund with focus on AI advancements

Japanese conglomerate SoftBank announced the launch of its Vision Fund 2 with the help of Apple, Microsoft, Foxconn and several financial institutions. The aim of the private investment fund is to continue the development of AI-based advancements in perspective start-up companies which could one day result in products used by millions of consumers across the world. According to its press release, the Japanese firm is planning to invest north of $38 billion while the combined first-round of funding from its partners is expected to reach $108 billion. Apple, Foxconn, Microsoft as...

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MediaTek Helio G90 announcement scheduled for July 30

MediaTek is gearing up to release its first gamer-centric chipset kicking off the brand new Helio G-series on July 30. The manufacturer plans to introduce the G90 SoC at an event in Shanghai. Seeing how gaming phones are gaining momentum this move would position MediaTek in the forefront for future budget gaming devices. While we don't have any concrete specs of the new chipset, speculations point to an overhauled Helio P90 which is an eight-core CPU built on a 12nm process. The main difference with the new G90 will likely come in the GPU department although nothing has been officially...

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PUBG Mobile Lite reaches India

PUBG Mobile Lite has been expanded to yet another country with the lightweight version of the popular game now available in India. As the name implies, the Lite version is designed for budget devices with less than 2GB of RAM while the app itself is just 400MB big. PUBG Mobile Lite features a smaller map than the original - only 60 players and games usually last around 10 minutes. The rest is pretty much the same aside from graphics optimizations. This version is supposed to run well on less powerful devices while delivering similar to the original gameplay. You can download the...

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ZTE nubia Red Magic 3 review

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Huawei to use more Kirin chipsets in bid to reduce Qualcomm reliance

According to hardware suppliers for Huawei, the company is looking to reduce its reliance on Qualcomm and MediaTek chips by replacing them with its in-house HiSilicon SoCs. The company's own chipsets are expected to power up about 60% of Huawei devices in the second half of 2019. For comparison, in H2 2018, less than 40% of the Huawei phones used Kirin SoCs while H1 2019 the firm used its chips in about 45% of the devices. So in the second half of 2019, over 150 million Huawei handsets will adopt Kirin SoCs given the projected 270 million shipments for 2019. Huawei has adopted its...

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Huawei Mate 20 X (5G) arrives in China on August 16

Huawei just detailed the launch of its first 5G phone - the Mate 20 X (5G) in China. It will come with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage and cost CNY6,199 ($900/€810). It's currently up for pre-orders on VMall, with sales commencing from August 16. The Mate 20 X (5G) isn't much different from the Mate 20 X announced last year. The Mate 20 X comes in 6GB/128GB memory configuration and packs a 5,000 mAh battery with 22.5W fast charging, while the 5G version is offered in 8GB/256GB configuration and ships with a 4,200 mAh cell supporting 40W charging. Source (in Chinese)

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ZTE Axon 10 Pro's 20x hybrid zoom demoed

ZTE has already listed the Axon 10 Pro 5G for pre-order on JD.com, and now the company took it to Weibo to showcase the capabilities of one of the biggest features of its flagship - the 20x hybrid zoom. In a blog post, the company posted a series of images going from the ultra-wide-angle mode through the regular and then going telephoto at 5x, 10x and 20x. ZTE Axon 10 Pro 1x • 3x • 5x • 10x • 20x zoom Much like other smartphone companies, ZTE is playing the marketing game here. The 3x zoom is actually a photo from the regular camera with a 48 MP sensor as 1x is the...

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Samsung Galaxy A50 gets camera improvements and July security patch

Samsung rolled out a software update for the Galaxy A50 last month which brought in June 2019 security patch along with new camera features like Night Mode and Super Slo-Mo video recording. Now, the South Korean tech giant has released another update which bumps up the Android security patch level on the Galaxy A50 to July 1, 2019. Additionally, the new firmware brings in a QR Scanner shortcut and some improvements to the camera and Wi-Fi. You can check out the full changelog below. This update, weighing 190MB in size and sporting version number A505FDDU2ASG4, is seeding in India....

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New Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 render shows off keyboard case

While all eyes are on the Note10 line, Samsung is also expected to announce its Galaxy Tab S6 at its August 7 event. We've already seen an extensive series of leaked images and a specs, and now we get another render to add to it. It comes courtesy of Evan Blass and gives us our best look at the upcoming tablet in its laptop formation with the keyboard accessory in a gray color. The keyboard case will attach via a side-mounted connector similar to its Tab S5e predecessor and will also come with a back cover which will likely attach via magnets. The back of the device will be protected...

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Black Shark 2 Pro appears in a live image, visits AnTuTu

Black Shark recently teased the design of the upcoming Black Shark 2 Pro. And now, a live image of this smartphone has surfaced online showing us what it looks like. The image reveals the rear side of the Black Shark 2 Pro is similar to the non-Pro variant. The key difference is that now it appears to house LED strips as we can see the green-colored light emanating from around the Black Shark logo as well as the corners; something similar to what the company teased earlier. Besides, the Pro variant also appears to have more glass on its back than the vanilla Black Shark...

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FC Barcelona-colored Oppo Reno 10x Zoom is now on sale

Oppo unveiled its FC Barcelona variant of the Reno 10x Zoom last week and today the phone finally arrived for sale. The Limited edition appeared first in the Chinese online store, and should follow later today in Europe as well. The price in its domestic market is CNY4,799 (€626), but French, Spanish and Dutch customers have to shed €899. The phone differs from the regular Oppo Reno 10x Zoom only in appearance and retail box. It has a neat blue and red back gradient with a gold team crest. The ColorOS 6 brings a special theme, again in the colors of the legendary Spanish football...

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Huawei nova 5i Pro is official - Kirin 810, quad camera, 4,000mAh battery

Huawei has uneveiled the nova 5i Pro in China - the phone that will likely come to international markets as Mate 30 Lite. The nova 5i Pro has a 6.26-inch IPS LCD of 2340x1080px resolution, a 7nm Kirin 810 chipset, Android 9.0 Pie and a 4,000mAh battery. Huawei nova 5i Pro There are four cameras on the rear of the nova 5i Pro and one on the front. The quad camera is comprised of a 48MP f/1.8 Sony IMX586 main camera, an 8MP ultrawide module, 2MP Super Macro unit and a final 2MP depth sensor. Selfies are handled by a 32MP f/2.0 front-facing camera that's cut into the...

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Samsung opens Galaxy Note10 reservations, offering up to $600 trade-in discount

Samsung has opened reservations for its Note10 phones ahead of the August 7 Galaxy Unpacked event. After yesterday's news that Verizon will offer a free Note10 to those who pre-order the Note10+ 5G, the company is now offering potential buyers in the US a chance to reserve their devices early and save some money thanks to the Samsung Trade-in program. For now, the offers exclusive to Samsung, Apple and Google phones. Those willing to trade-in their Galaxy S10, S10+, S10e or Note9 are eligible for a sizeable $600 discount. In addition Pixel 3 and 3XL as well as iPhone X, XR, XS and XS...

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Moto Z2 Force finally gets Android Pie, but only on Verizon

Back in August last year, Motorola confirmed that it will upgrade the Moto Z2 Force to Android Pie. And after almost a year, the Chicago-based phone maker has finally released the latest version of Android for its 2017 flagship. However, the update is only rolling out for the Verizon version of the Moto Z2 Force, and other models will remain on Oreo. The new build sports version number PCX29.159-21 and likely requires a download of just over 1GB. It brings in the usual Android Pie niceties to the phone like new navigation, adaptive battery and brightness, and UI changes. The...

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Honor 20 Pro is finally launching globally

Honor 20 Pro was announced back in May in the middle of the trade war between China and the United States, with Huawei just being added to an Entity List, putting the future of the conglomerate in question. That was likely why we got no launch date for the latest flagship back then. The waiting is finally over - Honor 20 Pro was just unveiled at a media event in Moscow, Russia. The largest country will receive the phone on August 2, with other markets, including the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Finland, Poland, Malaysia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia,...

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