Flashback: seeing how watch phones turned into smart watches

Smartwatches had more success in space than they did on Earth. That used to be the case, anyway, as wearables market is on the rise these days. We'll now trace their history all the way back to the early gadgets, which weren't all that "smart". You may remember two "3G watch phones" from 2009 - the Samsung S9110 and LG GD910. Having a phone on your wrist was cool, but these couldn't really run apps (not even J2ME). Texting on them was tricky, web browsing was out of the question. And with no Wi-Fi and tiny battery, tethering wasn't really an option either. So what was the...

Read More

Canalys report: India smartphone shipments shrink by half in Q2 2020

Canalys recently put out India smartphone sales statistics for Q2 2020, visualizing the harsh realities of the country’s strict and lengthy lockdown and battle with the COVID-19 pandemic in numbers. During the period, smartphone shipments in the country, as a whole, fell by 48% year-over-year. In raw numbers, that’s a decline form 33 million units in Q2 2019, down to only 17.3 million in Q2 2020. During the nationwide lockdown, smartphones were classified as non-essential goods, prohibiting even giants like Amazon and Flipkart from distributing them within the country. This...

Read More

Realme C11 may be coming to Europe soon

Ever since its announcement at the end of last month, the Realme C11 has been soaking-up a lot of attention within the budget Android realm. A few days ago, the handset managed to arrive in India, as well and its market conquest might not be over yet. According to industry sources, the Realme C11 should be landing in Europe really soon. realme C11, realme' entry level offering will soon arrive in Europe. Will be be available in Mint Green & Pepper Grey color options, and should cost between €100 - €120#realmeC11 pic.twitter.com/ycJ7NG8ePp— Sudhanshu (@Sudhanshu1414) July 18, 2020 The...

Read More

Redmi Note 9 to come with more RAM in India

The Redmi Note 9 announced in April will make its way to India on July 20. It has two memory configurations - 3GB RAM + 64GB storage and 4GB RAM + 128GB storage. But according to a new report, the Redmi Note 9 won't come with 3GB RAM in India and the company will also introduce a new version with 6GB RAM. There's no information on the storage options yet, but we might see the 4GB RAM model along with 64GB storage onboard and the 6GB RAM variant with 128GB storage. Redmi Note 9 The Redmi Note 9 is built around a 6.53" FullHD+ LCD and has a Helio G85 SoC at the helm. It comes...

Read More

Asus Zenfone 7 and 7 Pro allegedly on their way, sporting the SD865 and SD865+, respectively

Chatter regarding an upcoming Asus Zenfone 7 has been floating about for a few months now. Originally, Qualcomm dropped some hints regarding the existence of the device, followed by some extra leaks, that flew slightly under the radar, since they came alongside news of the eagerly-anticipated ROG Phone 3. In a new potential twist, the Taiwanese company might not only be working on a single Zenfone 7 model, but at least a couple. Hints of a potential Pro variant were discovered while dissecting the kernel source code of a mysterious Asus device, bearing the Asus ZF moniker. Asus is...

Read More

Google Nearby Share could be coming to most Android users starting August

It seems that Google is nearing the final stages of testing for its AirDrop-like file-sharing alternative. The source on this is not official, but we have been hearing consistent chatter on the topic for some time and now we have a suggested release time frame. Starting August, all current Android users, running Android 6 and newer, could seamlessly get support for the feature over the air. Source: Android Police The minimum OS version requirement falls in line with what Google has previously shared in relation to the ongoing Nearby Share beta test. The latter is still being...

Read More

Nubia president details next-generation Red Magic 5S cooling system

Now that the speed-binned and overclocked Snapdragon 865+ is already a reality, it’s all but natural to see enthusiastic, gamer-centric devices, like the upcoming Asus ROG Phone 3 and the nubia Red Magic 5S be the first to adopt it. Compared to the Republic of Gamer’s device, there are still relatively few details regarding the upgraded Red Magic 5S. Company president Ni Fei did already tease that it will feature an upgraded cooling system, to make the most out of the new chip. One that we now get to see a rough schematic of. nubia Red Magic 5S cooling solution schematic The...

Read More

Realme X2 256GB storage variant launched in India for INR24,999 ($335)

Realme announced the 8GB/256GB variant of the X2 in India yesterday but didn't reveal its price. However, thanks to Flipkart, we now know it's priced at INR24,999 ($335/€290). The new model is listed on Flipkart and sales are slated to begin on July 21. The 8GB/256GB variant of the Realme X2 will also be sold through Realme's official Indian site from the same date, but it's not listed there yet. Realme X2 The Realme X2 is powered by the Snapdragon 730G SoC and was launched in India last December with three memory options - 4GB/64GB priced at INR 16,999 ($225/€200), 6GB/64GB...

Read More

Oppo A72 5G passes through Geekbench revealing key specs

The Oppo PDYM20 that was spotted on China Telecom's website earlier this week and is believed to be the A72 5G has now popped up on Geekbench, along with its key specs. The benchmark database reveals that PDYM20 runs Android 10 and has 8GB RAM on board, but it's expected to have two more RAM options - 4GB and 6GB. The device is powered by MediaTek's MT6853 chip, that has a base frequency of 2.0GHz. The MT6853 is said to be MediaTek's unannounced Dimensity 720 SoC, which was briefly mentioned on the company's official site. Circling back to the device, the Oppo PDYM20,...

Read More

OnePlus Nord GeekBench listings reaffirm India version has the same specs as the global one

The upcoming OnePlus Nord mid-ranger has been getting a lot of fan attention. In no small part, thanks to the abundance of info on the still unannounced device, from both leaks and official sources, eager to discuss its design and hardware choices. One would think that in such an open environment, there would be little room left for confusion. Yet, an earlier GeekBench leak managed to stir-up some theories and unrest. It listed an odd BE2028 OnePlus device that reported a slightly different motherboard identifier, less RAM, at 6GB and lower CPU clocks than those expected on the OnePlus...

Read More

Samsung Galaxy Note20 shown off from multiple angles in new video

The Samsung Galaxy Note20 arriving on August 5 has appeared in a new video shared by reliable leakster Evan Blass, which shows off the smartphone from multiple angles. As you can see, the Galaxy Note20 sports a display with a punch hole in the center, and around the back are three cameras housed in a rectangular plate along with the flash module in the top-left corner. Samsung Galaxy Note20 Previously leaked CAD renders of the Galaxy Note20 had a fourth camera on the back, but given Blass' excellent track record, it's likely that we'll see the regular Note20 sport triple rear...

Read More