CR: Apple is still the top earner in the smartphone world

Even though 2019 is far from the most profitable year for smartphone manufacturers, Apple is still holding on to the majority of profits. According to the latest Counterpoint Research report, the Cupertino based tech giant is sitting at a massive 66% of the total industry profits despite only generating 32% of all smartphone revenues for Q3 period globally. What stands out even more, is the fact that this is before the pivotal holiday period when Apple usually sees its highest sales figures. For reference, in Q4 2018 Apple's profit share hovered in the 80% range and profits for Q4 2019 are...

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Realme X2 goes on sale in India

The Realme X2 launched in India earlier this week will go on sale in the country today starting noon local time through the company's official India site and Flipkart. The smartphone comes in three memory versions - 4GB/64GB priced at INR16,999 ($/€), 6GB/64GB priced at INR18,999 ($/€), and 8GB/128GB that costs INR19,999 ($/€). You can pick one in Pearl Blue, Pearl White, and Pearl Green colors. The Realme X2 is powered by the Snapdragon 730G SoC and runs Android Pie-based ColorOS 6.1 out of the box. The smartphone sports a 6.4" FHD+ AMOLED display that has a fingerprint scanner...

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Realme X50 5G will come with an enhanced version of VOOC 4.0 fast charging

The Realme X50 5G that's expected to arrive next month will come with an enhanced version of VOOC 4.0 fast charging. Realme says this tech will charge the X50 5G's battery from flat to 70% in 30 minutes. While that surely is impressive, it's worth noting that the company hasn't revealed the battery capacity. That said, this enhanced version of VOOC 4.0 will come with intelligent five-chip protection and real-time charge monitoring to balance speed and safety. Realme hasn't revealed the launch date of the X50 5G yet, but it has been drip-feeding us with the information about the...

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Deal: Google Pixel 3a drops to $249.99 unlocked, $150 off

If you're interested in the clean Google Android experience but don't want to splurge on the Pixel 4 or Pixel 4 XL, then the Pixel 3a and 3a XL are probably for you. The mid-rangers launched earlier this year were never hugely expensive, but Best Buy is now offering you a real holiday treat. That's because currently at the retailer you can buy both the 3a and the 3a XL for $150 less than usual. This means the Pixel 3a can be yours for only $249.99 unlocked, while the 3a XL goes for a cool $329.99. At such prices, these phones are an amazing value, but you will need to act fast in order to...

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Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite specs leak ahead of imminent unveiling

For a while now we've been hearing about the Galaxy S10 Lite and Galaxy Note10 Lite, both devices that Samsung is going to launch soon, in a shift of its usual release strategy. Today the specs of the Galaxy S10 Lite have been leaked in Germany, and with them comes news that this model is supposed to become official in the next few days. So what should you expect? Apparently, a 6.7-inch 1080x2400 Super AMOLED touchscreen with 20:9 aspect ratio and a centered hole-punch for the selfie cam. At the helm we'll find the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset, in all regions including Europe -...

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Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ receive third Android 10 beta with January security patch

The Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ are scheduled to get the stable Android 10 update in January 2020 and this may be the last step - a new beta version is rolling out with the security patch listed as "January 1". This is the third beta and its version is FXXU7ZSL9. It's a 365MB download, which mostly contains small bugfixes related to Samsung Pass, screen recording and screen split multitasking (and it brings new versions of the Samsung apps for good measure). Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ receive third Android 10 beta Currently, the update is rolling out in India but it should...

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Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro bags FCC certification

At the begging of the week, we saw more certification details on the upcoming Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro and now the rugged phone managed to obtain yet another seal of approval, this time from the FCC. The new certification reveals a device with the SM-G715FN model number which falls in line with previous specification and benchmark listings. The new listing confirms the XCover Pro will feature dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0 and NFC. We also get more details on the dimensions - the phone will be 160 mm in height and 77 mm wide. The display diagonal is also 160mm which translated to...

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OnePlus 6 series gets OxygenOS 10.3.0 with notch hiding option, 7/7 Pro get a new Open Beta

OnePlus recently released the Open Beta 3 update for its 2018 smartphones - OnePlus 6 and OnePlus 6T. Now the company is seeding a new update for those on the stable channel. OnePlus 6T OnePlus is rolling OxygenOS 10.3.0 for the 6 and 6T which comes with November 2019 Android security patch. It also fixes a few issues and improves camera performance. The new build also brings back the notch area hiding option which can be found under the Settings > Display > Notch display menu. Here's the complete changelog of OxygenOS 10.3.0 for OnePlus 6/6T: System Updated...

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Upcoming Sony Xperia mid-ranger pops up on Geekbench with Snapdragon 765

A new mysterious listing appeared on Geekbench and there's good reason to believe this is Sony's next Xperia mid-range smartphone. First off, the model number shown on the score sheet is perfectly in line with Sony's naming scheme. They usually start with a letter representing the year followed by four digits. Since "J" was used for the 2019 Xperias, "K" likely means 2020. The listing has a couple of other interesting tidbits, though. The phone runs Android 10 and has 8GB of RAM. The CPU identifier is also familiar. The upcoming Oppo Reno3 Pro 5G will be based on the Snapdragon...

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Stable EMUI 10 hits 16 more Huawei and Honor phones

Huawei's EMUI 10 is already hitting 2019 flagships, but the company is not planning to stop there. The user interface was in beta for some time, but now a stable version will hit 2018 and 2017 smartphones including the Mate 10 lineup, as well as some affordable midrangers like the Honor 10 Lite and Honor 20i. EMUI 10 poster from Huawei During the first stage of the EMUI 10 rollout, around a dozen phones from 2019 got the build, based on Android 10. The list includes Huawei P30 and P30 Pro, the Nova 5T and Honor 20 that Huawei tries to sell as different devices, and the non-5G...

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Samsung Galaxy S11 trio confirmed to sport 48MP telephoto cameras

Last month we came across a report which claimed that the Galaxy S11 and its Plus variant will sport a quad camera on the back with a 48MP telephoto unit. Now reliable tipster Ice universe says that S11, S11e, and S11+ will feature telephoto units with no less than 48MP resolution. The leakster doesn't go into the details but adds that the Korean tech giant will lead the high-pixel telephoto lens race. Samsung will lead the high-pixel telephoto lens, and the telephoto cameras of the S11e, S11, and S11 + are not less than 48MP.— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) December 19, 2019 The...

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Realme X50 5G's cooling system detailed

Realme is expected to unveil the X50 5G before January 25. The company hasn't revealed the launch date yet, but it's been drip-feeding us with information about its first 5G smartphone for the past few weeks. Realme has already confirmed that the X50 5G will be powered by the Snapdragon 765G SoC and support simultaneous 5G and Wi-Fi connections. Today, Realme sheds some light on the X50 5G's cooling system. Realme says that X50 5G will come with a five-dimensional ice-cooled heat dissipation system and it will cover 100% area of heat sources. The cooling solution will also include an...

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Images of Oppo A91 and A8 surface, a Geekbench scorecard too

Last week we saw a leaked poster that revealed the design and a few specs of the yet-to-be-announced Oppo A91. Now an Oppo phone, bearing model number PCPM00 and believed to be the A91, has passed through Geekbench confirming key specs in the process. Leaked poster revealing Oppo A91 and A8's design and specs Geekbench confirms that A91 will come with a MediaTek MT6771V/CT SoC, 8GB RAM, and Android Pie. The benchmark database doesn't reveal anything else, but thanks to the phone's TENAA listing, we know it will sport a 6.4" FHD+ AMOLED display with a fingerprint reader...

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Samsung's clamshell foldable spotted in live images

Towards the end of October, Samsung gave us an official tease for its upcoming clamshell foldable phone. Since then we've seen countless renders and rumors about the device but now we have our first live look at the next-gen Galaxy Fold. Galaxy Fold 2 display The design comes just as advertised with a tall, vertically folding Infinity-O display with a centered punch-hole cutout for the selfie cam. There's quite some bezel on the sides and bottom but no chin like on the Motorola Razr. The phone is running the familiar One UI experience but we should expect Samsung to add some...

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Oppo lists Reno3 Pro on its website, confirms memory options and colors

Oppo is launching the Reno3 lineup on December 26. We expect a Reno3 smartphone with Mediatek's first 5G SoC and the Reno3 Pro that will have the Snapdragon 765G chipset coupled with the Snapdragon X55 modem for 5G connectivity. The latter was just listed on the company website in all its four colors and two memory options - it will have either 8GB RAM and 128GB of storage or 12GB RAM and 256GB storage. Although this is hardly new info, one variant is missing - the 12/128 GB variant that is currently available for reservations on the JD.com retailer website. Oppo Reno3...

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Nokia 2.3 arrives in India, sales begin December 27

The Nokia 2.3 was unveiled earlier this month, and now it has arrived in India. It's built around a 6.2" HD+ LCD and has a Helio A22 SoC at the helm with 2GB RAM and 32GB storage. However, it does have a microSD card slot, which allows storage expansion by up to 512GB. The Nokia 2.3 runs Android Pie out of the box and being a part of the Android One program, it comes with the promise of two years of version updates and three years of monthly security patches. The smartphone features a dual camera setup on the back which is a combination of 13MP main and 2MP depth sensor units....

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