Weekly poll results: fast charging is well loved, moreso when it's standards-compliant

Last week’s poll shows that money spent on fast charging R&D was a great investment by smartphone makers. The new batch of battery and charging technologies that will breach the 100W barrier has many fans excited. With a 60% positive vote, support for fast charging is strong. However, the supporters are split almost evenly into two groups – ones that want a standards-compliant charger and ones that value speed above all else. There is a vocal minority that opposes such technologies on the basis that they degrade the battery and reduce its capacity over time. Well, actually not that...

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Flashback: OnePlus X marks the spot where the Nord found treasure

OnePlus launched in December 2013 and by 2015 it was still young and trying to figure out what kind of company it wanted to be and what kind of line-up it wanted to have. Release one “flagship killer” per year and that’s it? The OnePlus X was the first break from the “one phone a year” model. This was a year before the OnePlus 3T introduced the T-series and well before the Pro models came around. The X brought several firsts for the company and even the industry. Today the phone still stands unique in OnePlus’ lineup and while the new OnePlus Nord can be considered a spiritual...

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Galaxy Watch3 Plugin app reveals hand gestures and fall detection

In a typicalXDA-Developers fashion, they did a deep dive into the Galaxy Watch3 Plugin app and found some interesting stuff about the watch itself. And it has nothing to do with the hardware features, design or the physical rotating bezel. This one is all about hand gestures. According to the source code, the Galaxy Watch3 will support hand gestures for answering or dismissing a call. For instance, you will be able to clench and unclench your fist to answer a call and since the device will be equipped with a microphone and loudspeaker, you can do that directly onto the...

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Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra appears in Mystic White shade

We've seen the Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra in two colors - Mystic Bronze and Mystic Black. Now we learn there's one more shade, called Mystic White. You can check out its image below. The Galaxy Note20 Ultra is expected to be announced on August 5 at Samsung's online-only Unpacked event. We haven't heard anything about the flagship from Samsung yet, but a recent leak painted a very detailed picture of what the 2020 Galaxy Note will have on offer. According to the leaked information, the Galaxy Note20 Ultra will be powered by an Exynos 990 SoC in Europe, run Android 10 out of the...

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Interview: Realme's Madhav Sheth talks 108MP camera, phones with notchless displays, and rapid product expansion

After the launch of Realme 6i in India, we spoke with Madhav Sheth - Vice President of Realme and CEO of Realme India - to learn more about the company's future product strategy, the return of smartphones with pop-up selfie cameras, and the company's naming convention. You can check out the full interview below for all the details. Madhav Sheth - Vice President of Realme and CEO of Realme India Realme is currently one of the most active makers releasing new phones every other week. While giving customers the option to get the exact same specs they want without overpaying is...

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Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G to get antimicrobial flip cover

And here's yet another Samsung Galaxy Note20-related rumor - it's just that time of the year. This one is about cases, though, and Samsung's attempt to capitalize on the ongoing pandemic. According to a very reputable source, the Korean tech giant will offer a flip cover case for the Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G that has "antimicrobial coating". The leaked photo shows three cases in different colors, but since they are in the box, we can't really tell what they are made of. It could be some kind of fabric or leather with the said coating. We can also see that there's a transparent strip on...

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Samsung Galaxy A42 5G spotted with 5,000 mAh battery

The earliest rumor about the Samsung Galaxy A42 is that it would be the company's cheapest 5G-enabled handset. About a month later, we stumble upon a listing from the Chinese 3C 3C revealing the battery capacity of the handset. It clearly states 4,860 mAh, but the typical capacity should be exactly 5,000 mAh. That's a hefty charge for Samsung's supposedly cheapest 5G phone. Other rumors suggest that the Galaxy A42 would feature 128GB of internal storage and will most likely make an appearance in 2021 and maybe start off as a 4G only phone for the markets in which 5G isn't yet...

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iPhone 12 launch date revealed, Macs with Apple chips coming in October

According to a reputable tipster on Apple-related stuff, the company is going to unveil the iPhone 12 family on September 8 and the Apple Watch Series 6 will tag along as well. Additionally, the leakster suggests that new iPad Pro, the rumored Apple Glass and MacBooks with Apple's in-house chips will make an appearance on October 27. Although nothing is confirmed, we tend to believe the rumor given Apple's choice of dates in the past. Last year, the iPhone 11 family came to be on September 10, Tuesday and this year's September 8 is on Tuesday as well. Apple likes to keep things on...

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nubia to announce its smartwatch alongside the Red Magic 5S

Nubia made the Red Magic 5S release date official last week and scheduled an event for July 28, but it's only now that the company is teasing its smartwatch. It will arrive alongside the gaming flagship as per this short Weibo post. Nubia also revealed several key design features of the watch. The teaser posters from Weibo For one, the device will come in "soft" 316L stainless steel and aluminum body and from what we can see on the posters and the one render on nubia's official website, it will boast a curved OLED display and what appears to be a rotating Apple Watch-like crown on...

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Samsung Galaxy M51 will pack a 12MP ultrawide angle camera

CAD-based renders of the Samsung Galaxy M51 that surfaced in March revealed a triple camera setup on the back. But separate reports later claimed the M51 will pack a 64MP quad camera setup on the back, and the folks over at SamMobile now claim that the 64MP primary camera will be joined by a 12MP ultrawide unit. The purpose of the other two modules is currently unknown. Samsung Galaxy M51 leaked renders There's no word from Samsung about the Galaxy M51 yet, but a Samsung device sporting model code SM-M515F and believed to be the M51 passed through Geekbench last month, revealing...

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Motorola Moto G Pro / G Stylus review

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Oppo A72 5G goes official with Dimensity 720 SoC and 6.5" 90Hz screen

After announcing the A72 back in April Oppo today unveiled its 5G model, dubbed Oppo A72 5G. But this isn't just a 5G-supporting A72. We are looking at many differences between the 4G and 5G variants. For starters, the A72 5G is powered by the freshly announced Dimensity 720 SoC while the 4G model has a Snapdragon 665 chipset under the hood. Both smartphones pack a 6.5" FullHD+ LCD, but the A72 5G comes with a 90Hz panel as opposed to the non-5G variant's 60Hz screen. While the network connectivity and screen are upgraded, the camera department gets a downgrade. The A72 features a...

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