Xiaomi is building its own smartphone factory for 5G flagships

The World 5G Conference is taking place in China and Lei Jun, Xiaomi CEO, held first of many speeches by high-profile executives on stage. During the keynote, he revealed the company is in the last stage of building its 5G factory, which will see the development and production of 5G flagships. The plant is expected to be finished in December. The factory will be located in the Beijing Economic and Technologic Development Zone and will serve as an in-house plant only for flagships. It will have large-scale automated production lines to increase the efficiency in production, as well as...

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Galaxy Note10 in red and pink is now available in the US

Just in time for the holidays, Samsung has made two new hues available for the Galaxy Note10 in the US. These are Aura Red and Aura Pink. For now, they are exclusive to the Korean company's own online store, where you can pick them up unlocked, or with a carrier contract, where your choice is between Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, and US Cellular. The unlocked price starts at $949.99, but with an eligible trade-in that could go down to as little as $689.99. You can also use Samsung Financing to pay $28.75 per month for the handset for two years, with 0% APR. At the moment the...

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Xiaomi's latest patent shows a foldable phone with quad-cameras

Xiaomi's got a foldable smartphone in the works since late last year but hasn't offered an update on its availability yet. More recently, two other patents for foldable phones have surfaced, one for a dual-hinge tri-section folding phone with three cameras, and another for a clamshell design like the new Moto Razr. On Tuesday, another patent was listed on China's CNIPA for a foldable phone with three sections and four cameras. Remember, just because a patent is filed by an OEM it doesn't mean the design will become a real product. The following mockup was posted by Dealntech...

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Samsung Galaxy S11 may have 120 Hz display

On a Twitter thread, @UniverseIce posted screenshots of the hidden menu from a Chinese build of One UI Beta 2.0 - which was just seeded to Galaxy Note9 users less than a day ago. The menu was spotted on the Chinese build of the Beta. Here's the English version: pic.twitter.com/UX1xT4BgtP— 🄾🅇🄸🅁 (@OXIR16) November 20, 2019 The menu contains three options for how it will use the 120 Hz feature. One keeps the screen at 60 Hz, another will always keep it at 120 Hz, and the last one turns on the 120 Hz feature and automatically switches back and forth from...

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Android's camera app exploit can be used to spy on users

An exploit has been found regarding Google's default camera app along with numerous other camera apps from different vendors. A team of security researchers have found a way to access the phone's storage to bypass Android's permissions and although most phones have already been patched against it it's good to know for those that use side-loaded apps or custom ROMs with no updates. Google makes third-party apps request permission to access the phone's photos and videos as well as accessing the default camera app but researchers were able to get permission on a rogue app without the...

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Apple releases Smart Battery Case for the iPhone 11 series

Apple has released its Smart Battery Case for the latest generation of iPhones. This includes the iPhone 11, the iPhone 11 Pro and the iPhone 11 Pro Max. The Smart Battery Case, as the name suggests, is a case with an integrated battery that perpetually charges the phone until the battery in the case drains. Once that happens, the phone switches to using its own battery. Apple claims you get 50% additional battery life with the case on top of the already excellent battery life on these new iPhones. You also see the battery level for the case in the iOS battery widget. This is...

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Realme X2 Pro Master Edition hands-on: glass like brick and concrete

Realme has partnered with Naoto Fukasawa again for another unorthodox rendition of its flagships. You may remember his earlier work, the Onion and Garlic Realme X. For the new flagship, Fukasawa moved away from food and drew inspiration from architecture. The Realme X2 Pro Master Edition comes in two "colors" - Red Brick and Concrete. We put colors in quotes because the end goal here is not the hue but the soft-touch finish. The material of the back is still frosted glass, however a custom painting and sanding process (consisting of 32 separate steps) has transformed it into...

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Samsung Galaxy A51 nets Bluetooth certification

The Samsung Galaxy A51 has been collecting the required certification from various agencies for the past weeks ahead of what appears to be an imminent launch. We recently also got out first renders of the phone which revealed it will boast a centered punch-hole display and L-shaped quad camera setup. The latest clue comes from the Bluetooth certification agency which signals that we are closer to the official release. The device passed with the SM-AF15F/N model numbers and the only notable info that we got from the listing is that the phone will feature Bluetooth 5.0...

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Google Pay expands availability in 17 countries, 62 new banks now supported

The Google Pay availability has expanded to in 17 countries. A total of 62 banks across the globe now support the cashless payment platform, including countries in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Australia 86 400 Canada Peoples Trust Company Chile BCI Czech Republic Air Bank a.s. UniCredit Bank Czech Republic and Slovakia, a.s. Denmark BankNordik BankNordik (Faroe Islands) Basisbank Betri Bank (Faroe Islands) Borbjerg Sparekasse Broager Sparekasse Dragsholm Sparekasse Dronninglund Sparekasse Fanoe...

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Honor V30 teasers focus on 5G connectivity as the phone visits Geekbench

The Honor V30 and V30 Pro will be unveiled next week - on November 26 - so predictably both the teaser campaign and the leaks have picked up. Here's a photo of the V30 flexing its 5G connectivity as it downloads a 1.6GB game update. Official teaser image of the Honor V30 Honor also posted a couple of teaser images for the upcoming phones, which really focus on the 5G. Honor V30 5G teasers focus on the next-gen connectivity Meanwhile, the Honor V30 5G was also spotted in Geekbench. The phone will be powered by the latest Kirin 990 5G chipset and this particular unit...

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Samsung Galaxy Note9 gets One UI 2 beta (based on Android 10)

The Samsung Galaxy Note9 may be a year older than the Note10, but it is not far behind - just a couple of days after the new model got the second beta One UI 2, the first Note9 units are joining the program as well. Besides the revamped Samsung UI, this update also brings Android 10 with it. If you're not already in, you'll need to download the Samsung Members app and join the One UI beta program if you want to receive this update. Here are a few screenshots from a user that already updated: Samsung Galaxy Note9 running One UI 2 (second beta) As Samsung warns, beta...

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Oppo unveils ColorOS 7 and teases Reno3

As expected, Oppo unveiled its latest Android custom skin - ColorOS 7 today at an event held in Beijing. It brings a major design overhaul with new UI visuals, under-the-hood optimizations as well as enhancements to the Breeno voice assistant and camera features. Starting with the icons, Oppo is bringing a more rounded design combined with lighter colors and support for re-sizing. There's also new wallpapers, system sounds and animations as well as a refined system-wide dark mode. On the performance side, Oppo is bringing enhanced memory optimization which it claims should result in...

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Foldable Samsung W20 5G arrives in China with Snapdragon 855+

Samsung has been doing its W series clamshells in China since 2013, with the latest editions having two touch screens as well as a T9 keyboard. Today Samsung took that to another level with the W20 5G foldable phone in China. Essentially the China Telecom version of the Galaxy Fold 5G, the W20 comes in its own unique paint job and a new chipset. The phone is exclusive to China Telecom and has a Snapdragon 855+ chipset, which is a slight upgrade over the 855 in the original version of the foldable device. The specs of the phone are well known - 7.3" Dynamic AMOLED panel on the...

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Redmi Note 8 Pro arrives in new 256 GB variant

Today, Xiaomi has announced a new variant of the Redmi Note 8 Pro, one that comes with 256 GB of onboard storage. Other than the added storage, the new variant is identical to the existent ones. It comes in Jade Green, Fritillaria White, and Electro-optic Ash. The new memory configuration will debut in the Chinese market. It will run for CNY 1,899 ($270), compared to CNY 1,799 ($256) for the regular 8GB/128GB configuration. It remains to be see if we will ever see an international release of the 256 GB Redmi Note 8 Pro. If you haven't already (and a lot of you have) check our...

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Huawei will charge you $1,000 to replace the Mate X screen

Huawei released the Mate X with an outwards foldable screen at an eye-watering price tag of CNY16,999, which is the equivalent of $2,400 or €2,200. Today the company revealed the repair cost for some of the parts of the device and those aren't cheap either. Unsurprisingly, the display panel is the costliest bit - it will be CNY7,080, which is the equivalent of exactly $1,007 or €909. The next most expensive thing is the chipset, which would set you back almost half as much - CNY3,579 ($510/€460). Detailed price sheet of replacement components for the Chinese market A new battery...

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Realme teases truly wireless headphones ahead of December launch

In addition to bringing the Realme X2 Pro to India and announcing the new Realme 5s, Realme's New Delhi event brought another surprise. Towards the end of the big announcement, Indian CEO Madhav Sheth teased a pair of truly wireless earbuds which he said are coming next month. Sheth explicitly mentioned that Realme is bringing "a few more exciting things" in December. We got a brief glimpse of the headphones, which appear to be in the AirPods mold with a charging case and in-ear design in the company's signature yellow color. We don't have further details at the moment so we'll just...

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Huawei will announce the nova 6 on December 5

Huawei has officially confirmed that the nova 6 is coming on December 5. The company revealed the date of the launch event via its Weibo account. The Honor V30, whic is Huawei nova 6 5G's sister-brand doppelganger, will make its official debut a week earlier, on November 26. The key feature of the nova 6 5G is the dual selfie camera that's precision cut into the display. Huawei has teased that it will offer a regular and ultrawide units. Rumor has it the latter will have a 105-degree lens, which is wider than other ultrawide selfies we've seen on phones, like the Google Pixel 3's...

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Realme X2 Pro arrives to India, Master Edition in tow

After its official unveiling in China and Europe last month, the Realme X2 Pro has now made its way to India. The flagship was introduced at an event held in New Delhi with the aim to tick the flagship at a price point that's pretty hard to beat. In fact, starting at INR 29,999 ($420) the Realme X2 Pro is going to be considerably cheaper in India than in Europe. Realme is also bringing the Master Edition versions of the X2 Pro which were inspired by red brick and concrete and feature a soft-touch glass finish. The X2 Pro lives up to its flagship status by packing a 6.5-inch Super...

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Realme 5s unveiled with 48MP main camera, more base storage and new paint job

The Realme 5s upgrades the original recipe with a new sensor for the main camera on the back - the 48MP Samsung GM1. That's quite a step up from the smallish 12MP sensor of the Realme 5. The other cameras are the same - 8MP 119° ultra wide, 2MP macro and 2MP depth sensor. This is essentially the same camera department as on the Realme 5 Pro. The phone also gets a new paint job - Crystal Red - joining the Purple and Blue versions. Also, the base memory option has been dropped, meaning that the 5s starts at 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage (with a 128GB option). The rest of the specs on...

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