T-Mobile reportedly lays off "hundreds" of Sprint employees with severance packages

On Tuesday, Tech Crunch reports that T-Mobile held a conference call with almost 400 attendees. The call, led by T-Mobile Vice President James Kirby, notified these employees that their work was no longer needed. Sprint's inside sales unit (BISO), one that focuses on making sales with small businesses across the US, is reportedly being eliminated. In the call, the employees were told that some 200 new positions would be up for grabs at T-Mobile, and the employees were strongly encouraged to re-apply. Otherwise, these newly notified employees will still have work for two months and will be...

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Nokia 8.3 5G to launch soon appears in Amazon Germany listing

Nokia's first 5G phone was announced back in March following MWC's cancellation. However, it wasn't clear when Nokia would begin selling the new handset. It was initially reported that Nokia would launch the 8.3 5G in the UK and other parts of Europe sometime in July. The Nokia 8.3 5G was listed on Amazon's German website, which could suggest the phone is headed to European markets in the near future. The Nokia 8.3 has its marketing graphics listed, but the phone isn't yet available for sale. Perhaps we could expect an earlier launch than originally anticipated. The Nokia 8.3 5G...

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Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 may not be available for a while after its announcement

Samsung has long been rumored to be planning the unveiling of the Galaxy Fold 2 at the presumptive August 5 event during which the Note20 family will also become official. However, it now seems like the new Fold may not be released shortly after that, unlike the new Notes. The Fold 2's software development process hasn't reached the first version of its bootloader yet, which means the software is far from ready to be finalized. That is in contrast to the builds for the Galaxy Note20. Additionally, from another source comes news that production for the Fold 2 will only start in...

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Qualcomm announces Snapdragon 690 chipset with sub-6GHz 5G, Wi-Fi 6

Qualcomm is announcing its first 6-series Snapdragon mobile chipset with support for 5G networks. The Snapdragon 690 is built on the 8nm process and is the successor to the Snapdragon 675 and this new chipset is paired with the an X51 modem. This chipset is part of Qualcomm's intention to make 5G "more affordable for consumers worldwide". HMD, LG, Motorola, Sharp, TCL, and Wingtech are all expected to announce devices running this new chipset. The new Snapdragon 690 will support SA, NSA, and global 5G bands if they are sub-6Ghz. Qualcomm didn't decide to include mmWave support for the 690,...

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Motorola's foldable Razr is $500 off until June 21

Motorola's foldable rebirth of the Razr brand had everything going for it - the brand cachet, the nostalgia play, the sexiness of foldables... until, that is, Samsung announced the Galaxy Z Flip, which has the same form factor but is a much better device in everything but its smaller outside display. Oh, and did you know the Z Flip is also slightly cheaper? Well, it used to be. Right now, Motorola is running an intriguing promo in the US. You can just straight-up buy a Razr from its website for $999. That's $500 off the usual selling price, and basically one third off. As far as...

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OnePlus x Fortnite: 90fps Performance Review

Not long after Epic Games announced that it will be releasing Fortnite on the Google Play Store, the company forged a partnership with OnePlus, wherein the latest OnePlus 8 series phones were to be the first smartphones to run the incredibly popular battle royale title at 90fps. Fortnite on mobile ran at only 30fps when it first launched on Android back in 2018. Later in 2019, the game was updated to support 60fps but only on select Samsung devices. That has been the case since, with Samsung having the only Android phones that can run Fortnite in 60fps, with all other Android phones being...

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Qualcomm announces Snapdragon 690 chipset with sub-6GHz 5G, Wi-Fi 6

Qualcomm is announcing its first 6-series Snapdragon mobile chipset with support for 5G networks. The Snapdragon 690 is built on the 8nm process and is the successor to the Snapdragon 675 and this new chipset is paired with the an X51 modem. This chipset is part of Qualcomm's intention to make 5G "more affordable for consumers worldwide". HMD, LG, Motorola, Sharp, TCL, and Wingtech are all expected to announce devices running this new chipset. The new Snapdragon 690 will support SA, NSA, and global 5G bands if they are sub-6Ghz. Qualcomm didn't decide to include mmWave support for the 690,...

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Our Realme X3 SuperZoom video review is up

Our detailed written review of the Realme X3 SuperZoom has been out for a while and now we bring you the video breakdown. As the name suggests, the main selling point of the X3 SuperZoom is its 8MP optically stabilized periscope module which offers 5x optical zoom and up to 60x hybrid reach. There's also an 8MP ultrawide and 64MP main shooter as well a 2MP macro cam, making for a diversified set of shooters for any occasion. Will is here to walk you through what the X3 SuperZoom has to offer and whether or not it's worth it. Apart from the camera array, the X3 SuperZoom boats...

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Counterpoint: Flagship smartphone shipments dipped by 13% in Q1, Apple had 4 of the 5 bestsellers

According to the latest Counterpoint Research report, premium smartphones (those priced above $400) saw a 13% decline in sales for the January - March period on a yearly basis. Apple held a dominant 57% of the global premium market in Q1, followed by Samsung which came at a distant second with 19%. Huawei rounds out the top-three with 12% market share, followed by Oppo with 3% and Xiaomi with 2%. Apple also accounted for 4 of the top-5 premium smartphones on the global market. The iPhone 11 was the runaway leader, accounting for 30% of the sales in the segment. The 11 Pro Max (9%) and...

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Sony adds Xperia 10 II to the Open Devices program

The Sony Xperia 10 II has been added to the company's Open Device program, which is a great resource for ROM developers looking to build AOSP software for the phone or to port custom ROMs. There's one hurdle to clear first - Sony is yet to enable bootloaded unlocking for the Xperia 10 II. That can't be far off, however, as without unlocking the bootloader, there's no way to flash a custom ROM. Anyway, Sony also updated the Android 10 binaries for the old Xperia 10 and 10 Plus models, the Xperia 1 and 5 flagships (again, the 2019 versions) as well as several older...

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Xiaomi releases Android 11 Beta 1 for the Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro

Less than a week ago Xiaomi promised to release Android 11 Beta 1 for the Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro and today the company made good on that promise. The Poco F2 Pro is supposed to get it as well, but that particular firmware has not been published yet. So, if you have a Xiaomi Mi 10 5G or a Mi 10 Pro 5G and are willing to take the risk of running beta software, you can grab what you need from the Mi Forums. You can find the Mi 10 thread here and the Mi 10 Pro thread here. Android 11 Beta 1 now available for the Xiaomi Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro To install Android 11 Beta 1 on your phone,...

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O-Film unveils periscope module with continuous zoom (85mm to 170 mm)

O-Film demonstrated a periscope lens module for smartphones that offers continuous zoom instead of being locked at a specific focal length like current periscopes are. And the module is only 5.9 mm thick. The module can smoothly go between 85mm and 170mm (in 35mm equivalent) with the lens aperture changing from f/3.1 to f/5.1. To put that in perspective, the Xperia 1 II has a 70mm tele lens, the Huawei P40 Pro a 125mm lens and the P40 Pro+ a 240mm lens. O-Film's module will provide 3x to 7x magnification compared to a typical wide camera. The company claims that it can also manufacture...

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Mysterious Honor appears on TENAA, could be the X10 Pro

We've been hearing rumors about more Honor smartphones incoming, including two devices called X10 Max and X10 Pro. While the X10 Max will have a big screen with a diagonal over 7", the X10 Pro is said to have a "normal" size, which is somewhere above the 6" threshold. Honor BMH-TN20 on TENAA A phone with model numbers BMH-TN20 and BMH-AN20 appeared on TENAA with full specs and photos, revealing the Huawei brand is going to launch yet another phone with a periscope shooter. The CPU is listed as 2.58 GHz, which is the rate of the big Cortex-A76 core in the Kirin 985 chipset....

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Latest Samsung Galaxy Watch3 leak reveals its display size and battery capacity

Samsung is rumored to unveil the Galaxy Buds Live and Galaxy Watch3 next month. The Galaxy Watch3 will arrive in two sizes - 41mm and 45mm - and we already know a few of its specs, which include 5ATM water resistance, Gorilla Glass DX, MIL-STD-810G rating, built-in GPS and LTE connectivity. Now thanks to the folks over at SamMobile, we have more specs to add to the list. According to SamMobile, the 41mm and 45mm models will measure 45 x 46.2 x 11.1mm and 41 x 42.5 x 11.3mm, respectively, with the smaller variant sporting a 1.2" display and the larger version packing a 1.4"...

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Rakuten files antitrust complaint against Apple in Europe

Rakuten is yet another company that files an antitrust complaint in Europe against Apple. It follows Spotify and Netflix, which have previously complained about Apple's policies. They argue that the 30% cut that App Store gets for each purchase or subscription is way too high. Apple responds by saying that the 30% tax goes for maintaining and managing the App Store. Rakuten's complaint isn't all that different. The store says that while the App Store takes 30% of each purchase, it also promotes Apple's own Apple Books service. Same with Apple Music and Spotify, the Cupertino-based...

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LG Velvet 5G launches in Europe with €650 price tag, €400 in pre-order goodies

The LG Velvet 5G has reached Europe and it brings pre-order goodies worth €400 - that's more than half of the phone's retail price, €650. The Velvet will be available in Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland and Spain. It's already on the official online store in Italy and should be available in the other countries as well. If you order before the end of the month, you will get the LG Dual Screen accessory, LG Tone Free TWS earbuds and a protective cover for the phone. LG values this package at a total of €400. Italians will be able to claim their goodies here. The plan is to launch in...

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Redmi K40 (or Mi CC10) spotted at the 3C with 33 W fast charger

Considering that Xiaomi launches a new Redmi K generation every six months or so and the Redmi K30 Pro came out in March, we're not far off the Redmi K40 reveal. First things first, though - certifications. The 3C certified a Xiaomi phone with a model name M2006J10C. It will come with the MDY-11-EX charger, the 33W power brick that is bundled with the Redmi K30 Pro along with several other phones. So this could be the Redmi K40 (Pro). Another possibility is that this is the mysterious "CAS" phone, which may become the Xiaomi Mi CC10. It surfaced earlier this month with claims that it...

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OnePlus Nord 5G (aka OnePlus Z) may have four cameras on its back

OnePlus Nord 5G - allegedly the retail name of the OnePlus Z (previously known 8 Lite) - will have a quad-camera, teases leakster Max J. Initially, renders showed a dual camera, then rumors claimed a triple cam, now we're up to a quad setup. Back when the rumors were claiming a triple cam, the breakdown was a 64 MP main (some sources claimed 48 MP), 16 MP ultrawide and a 2 MP module (likely a depth sensor). The fourth module may be a macro camera as putting a telephoto lens on the "lite" model (even if it's not named as such) doesn't make sense. For comparison, the vanilla OnePlus 8 has...

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Doogee S88 Pro has a 10,000mAh battery, Iron Man design cues and a rugged chassis

The Doogee S88 Pro takes some design cues from Iron Man's helmet and packs a massive 10,000mAh battery inside a properly rugged frame. And the phone runs stock Android 10 out of the box. The Iron Man thing is just two eye-shaped LEDs on the back. They are RGB and are used as big bright notification lights. The phone also has two customizable buttons on the side, which can be programmed with three actions each (single and double click plus long press). On the other side there is a fingerprint reader and there is NFC support. Doogee S88 Pro from all sides The...

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US softens its stance on Huawei, allows cooperation on 5G standards

The saga between the United States and the Chinese manufacturer Huawei took an unexpected turn after the US Commerce Department announced it will allow some cooperation with American companies. Although Huawei will remain on the entity list, now an amendment will allow American companies to disclose US technologies to the Chinese telecom giant without requiring a license if it is for the purpose of 5G standards development. The Commerce Department announcement states that this amendment is meant to ensure that while Huawei remains on the entity list, it will "not prevent American...

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Motorola One Fusion+ arrives in India, sales begin June 24

The Motorola One Fusion+ unveiled last week has debuted in India for INR16,999 ($225/€200). It comes in Moonlight White and Twilight Blue colors and will be up for purchase in the country through Flipkart starting June 24. The Motorola One Fusion+ is powered by the Snapdragon 730G SoC. It has 6GB RAM and 128GB storage onboard and comes with a microSD card slot for storage expansion by up to 1TB. The smartphone runs Android 10 out of the box and sports a 6.5" notchless LCD that has 1080p resolution and supports HDR10. The One Fusion+ sports a 64MP main camera on the back joined by an...

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Nokia signs a contract with Broadcom for delivering 5G chips

Broadcom has signed a contract with Nokia for delivering custom-made 5G chipsets. It is the third major company to pen such a deal after Intel and Marvell back in March. This contract will help the Finnish company to expand its presence and shipments and expects 35% of all 5G products to be with a custom-made chip by the end of 2020. According to industry insiders, Broadcom, along with the other two chip manufacturers, will help Nokia expand its ReefShark-branded platform, used in AirScale radio products while reducing size and power consumption but in the same time providing...

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HTC U20 5G and Desire 20 Pro also announced

We were expecting HTC to announce the Desire 20 Pro and so it did but alongside it we got the U20 5G - a 5G midranger running on the Snapdragon 765G. Both phones come with quad-camera setups, 5,000 mAh batteries and will be initially limited to Taiwan with no word on pricing and global availability yet. HTC U20 5G The U20 5G comes as the latest midrange offering in HTC's lineup and the company's first phone to boast 5G connectivity. It's built around a 6.8-inch FHD+ LCD with a punch-hole cutout for the 32MP selfie cam. It also boasts a 20:9 aspect ratio. Going around the back...

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Realme X3 teased in an official video

Realme unveiled the X3 SuperZoom last month and now it's set to announce the vanilla X3 in India. The company hasn't revealed when it will unveil the X3 and its Indian branch vaguely says the smartphone is "coming soon." Destined to get closer to the Xceptional, Xquisite & Xtraordinary, #realmeX3 is on its way.Coming soon. pic.twitter.com/a9ZMnNVoMb— realme (@realmemobiles) June 15, 2020 Realme hasn't revealed any specs of the X3 either, but Realme's Indian CEO Madhav Sheth posted a video on Twitter referring the X3 as the company's "next flagship." We'll hopefully get more details...

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Honor 9A and Router 3 global launch set for June 23

Honor is ready to introduce its 9A smartphone to global audiences on June 23 as part of its VIP Day launch event. The event will be live-streamed and starts at noon UTC. You can catch it here. The Honor 9A is an entry-level phone with a 6.3-inch IPS LCD, triple cameras and 5,000 mAh battery. It runs on the Helio P22 chipset and is offered in a single 3GB RAM and 64GB storage configuration. On the software side the phone boots Magic UI 3.1 on top of Android 10 and no Google Play Services. In addition, Honor is also unveiling its first Wi-Fi 6+ router dubbed Router 3 which was...

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Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ breaks cover with dual rear cameras

Last week we saw renders of the Galaxy Tab S7 which revealed its design and today we are looking at the images of its Plus variant shared by OnLeaks in collaboration with Pigtou. The Galaxy Tab S7+ looks similar to the regular S7. The selfie camera is placed on the right side of the screen, and around the back is the dual camera setup below which is the S-Pen stylus groove as well as the Samsung logo. Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ CAD renders On the right side of the Tab S7+ is the power button, volume rocker and microSD/SIM card slot, and to the left are the pins to attach the...

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