First mention of Google “Pixel 5a” appears in AOSP

Google has finally confirmed that a Google Pixel 4a would be arriving on August 3 and even teased the device on Thursday. On Friday, 9to5Google’s own Dylan Roussel spotted a mention of Google’s Pixel 5a. This was spotted in a code change on Google’s Android Open Source Project or AOSP. We are still waiting for the Google Pixel 5, which may not be released until later this year, but now we know that the 5a is now in development. The code change mentions devices since the Pixel 2, along with the version of Android they (launched/will launch) with. The Pixel 4/4a are listed with...

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Netflix gains playback speed settings on Android

Netflix will add playback speed controls to its Android app tomorrow. Once you get the new update, you will be able to choose 0.5x, 0.75x, 1.25x, and 1.5x, aside from 1x of course, which has been the only option up until now - and will remain the default. So if you're a fan of sped-up or slowed-down playback on Netflix, you will need to manually pick your favorite speed for every single title you want to watch. On the flip side, the playback speed options will be available regardless of whether you're streaming something or watching a show or movie that you have previously...

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Galaxy S20 Ultra is $400 off this weekend, other Samsung phones on offer too

If you're in the US and have been eyeing Samsung's Galaxy S20 Ultra but haven't bought one yet, and if you don't mind using it on Verizon, this is definitely one for you. This weekend, Best Buy is taking $400 off the price of the device, if you activate it with Verizon. As usual with these types of deals, you'll have to grab the smartphone on the carrier's monthly installment plan. You will be paying $36.66 each month for two years, bringing the grand total to $879.84, which is the best price we've seen for the S20 Ultra so far. It's not the only Samsung handset that's on offer,...

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Apple smartphone sales growing strongly as global smartphone market declines in Q2

The latest report from Canalys outlines the current state of the global smartphone market at the end of the second quarter of 2020. Although the overall smartphone market has been declining sharply since Q1 of this year due to COVID-19, Apple is the only top smartphone seller that has grown YoY compared to last year. The overall market is down 14% this quarter with 284.7 million (estimated) units sold compared to 331.8 million units shipped in Q2 of 2019. Samsung saw the largest drop this quarter with a 30% decline YoY with Oppo down 16%, Xiaomi down 10%, and Huawei down just...

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Caviar goldsmiths are ready to craft a $23,380 iPhone 12 Pro covered with engraved gold

The iPhone 12 Pro is months away from its official announcement, but if you have $23,000 burning a hole in your pocket then the limitations of time and space do not concern you. No, Apple didn’t go crazy with the pricing, it’s just that Caviar is at it again and it plans to plate the phone with 18-karat gold. Caviar iPhone 12 Pro Victory Pure Gold The Caviar iPhone 12 Pro Victory Pure Gold, a lengthy name worthy of a royal phone, is decorated with floral motifs on the back. They represent the chamomile flower, which is the national flower of Russia. There are also eight 0.48...

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Motorola Moto G9 Plus passes FCC certification

The Moto G9 Plus is an upcoming midrange offering from Motorola which is expected to be announced soon. It already appeared on TUV Rheinland's database which revealed its 4,700 mAh battery and 30W charging. Now, the same phone bearing the XT2087-1 model designation was spotted in the FCC database, the listing filling us in on more of its key hardware features. The G9 Plus will come with dual-band Wi-Fi, NFC and Bluetooth BR/EDR/LE. We can also see the handset will feature FM Radio support and a 4,700 mAh rated battery which bears the MG50 model number. The phone also appeared in a...

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iQOO shows off its 120W fast charger that can fill a 4,000 mAh battery in 15 minutes

iQOO showed off its latest fast charging system, which is capable of hitting 120 Watts. Interestingly, it’s faster than Oppo’s 125W system – when charging a 4,000 mAh battery, it needs only 15 minutes to hit 100% while the Oppo unit will take 20 minutes. iQOO uses a slightly different setup. The charger outputs 20V at 6A, then two charge pumps inside the phone convert that to two 5V 12A currents (these pumps are slightly more efficient too, 98.5%). Oppo’s system uses three charge pumps to convert the 20V 6.25A from the adapter to 10V 12.5A. As you can see, the two companies took...

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Analysts: Huawei lead Q2 smartphone market, but Apple gained the most

With the second quarter well behind our backs, reports from analysts start pouring in. Yesterday Canalys reported that Huawei surpassed Samsung and took the top step, and today two other agencies confirmed the lead switch - Counterpoint Research and Omdia. According to both, Samsung was affected the most by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, its sales going down over 25% on a yearly basis. In the same time, Apple was the only major player to increase shipments both on a quarterly and yearly basis. Omdia's numbers also show Tecno growing, while the rest of the top 10 all...

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Sony to unveil WH-1000XM4 headphones on August 6

Sony confirmed it's hosting an audio-related launch event on August 6 where and it's highly likely we’ll see the debut of its WH-1000XM4 headphones. The keynote is scheduled to kick off at 3 PM UTC and Sony is boasting a #ListenWithSony slogan which confirms the product (or products) will be audio-oriented. Save the date 👉 8.6.2020 👈 Join Sony Electronics’ Live Stream event to watch the unveiling of our latest innovation. #ListenWithSony https://t.co/gLe9EF1hUC pic.twitter.com/9I6Q3DJiEg— Sony Electronics (@SonyElectronics) July 30, 2020 Back in June, we saw a listing for the XM4...

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Oppo demoes its 125W flash charger, achieves 0-41% charge in 5 minutes

Oppo made a live demonstration of its 125W flash charge system. The phone used in the demo has a 4,000 mAh battery and the new fast charger brought it up to from 0% to 41% in 5 minutes, a full charge took 20 minutes. Compare that to the 65W SuperVOOC 2.0 from last year, which would have needed 30 minutes to charge the same battery. As you’ve probably noticed, the new system isn’t twice as fast despite having twice the top power throughput. This is because the charging speeds decrease as the battery fills up in order to prevent heat accumulation and protect the battery. Speaking of...

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Black Shark 3S unveiled with 120 Hz 6.67" AMOLED display, same Snapdragon 865 chipset

The Black Shark 3S has joined the game and it has picked up a few upgrades compared to the Black Shark 3. The biggest change is that the 6.67” AMOLED display now has a 120Hz mode in addition to the 90 Hz mode of its predecessor. The new panel is capable of 270Hz touch sampling rate (same as before). The display has two pressure-sensitive zones, which can be mapped to different actions. Also, the gyroscope is used to detect flicking motions. You can create game macros too, which trigger several actions in sequence. Voice commands are available as well, so you can start the screen recorder...

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Nokia schedules launch event in China for August 4

Yesterday we got news that HMD Global will unveil several entry and mid-range Nokia phones at IFA Berlin. Now, the brand is teasing another lunch event featuring several new smartphones which will take place on August 4 in China. According to speculations, we should see the Nokia TA-1258 which recently got certified on TENAA. It’s an entry-level phone which packs a 5.99-inch HD+ screen, a single 8MP rear camera and a 3,000mAh battery. It’s powered by the Unisoc SC9863 chipset paired with 3GB and 32GB storage and runs Android 10. Nokia TA-1258 in Gold Sand It remains to be...

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New Oppo Watch goes global with SD3100 chipset, WearOS

Earlier this month Oppo Germany published the specs of the international Oppo Watch, but today we are getting a proper announcement. The global Oppo Watch may share the name with its Chinses counterpart, but has significant differences on the inside. The global Oppo Watch comes with two chipsets - the Qualcomm Snapdragon 3100 Wear, which helps it run Wear OS and the Ambiq Micro Apollo 3, which powers the proprietary system of what Oppo calls low-power mode. The Oppo Watch is available in two sizes, 46 mm and 41 mm, with the first one having a 1.91” AMOLED screen with 402 x 476...

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Realme V5 price leaks ahead of launch, it is around $245

On Monday we’re going to see a new 5G midranger, called Realme V5. The brand has been teasing the device for the past week or so, but today a leak reveals the price of the phone - it will be CNY1,699, which translates to $245/€205. The price tag applies to Realme V5's 6/128 GB variant, but it's not clear if other versions will be available. The teaser also confirms the battery will be 5,000 mAh, although no info on what sort of fast charging will it come with. In the same time the phone with a model number RMX2111 popped up on AnTuTu, scoring exactly 301,380, which falls in line...

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Redmi K30 Ultra is now on TENAA, could arrive on August 14

Xiaomi is going to launch an updated version of its Redmi K30 Pro smartphone, which latest reports say will be named Redmi K30 Ultra. The new device with model number M2006J10C is now on TENAA with full specs sheet and pictures, and we see a lot of similarities with its siblings. However, there is one key difference - the new phone will skip on the Snapdragon 865 chipset and will appear with a new platform, likely by Mediatek. Redmi K30 Ultra on TENAA TENAA usually gives only the CPU frequency, but looking at the 2.6 GHz entry, we are likely looking at the Dimensity 1000+...

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Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra with Exynos chipset passes by Geekbench

The Galaxy Note20 leaks have been coming thick and fast these days painting an increasingly clear picture of what’s to come at August 5’s Galaxy Unpacked event. In the meantime, the Note20 Ultra powered by the improved Exynos 990 has passed through Geekbench giving us an early look at its performance. The device bears the same SM-N986B model number which has been seen before and comes with 12GB RAM. Unsurprisingly it runs Android 10, presumably with One UI 2.5 on top. It managed 928 points in the single-core test and 2,721 in the multi-core department. These scores are comparable...

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Oppo Reno4 Pro unveiled with Snapdragon 720G, 6.5" 90Hz AMOLED screen, 65W fast charging

The fourth generation of Oppo’s mid-range Reno series is going global, though with some alterations. The Oppo Reno4 Pro increases performance across the board compared to its predecessor, the Reno3 Pro, with better performing chipset, screen, camera and battery. Don’t get it mixed up with the Chinese Reno4 Pro though, as there are some major differences, which we’ll get to in a second. To give you the short version, the global Reno4 Pro has a bright 90Hz AMOLED display, a Snapdragon 720G chipset, 48MP main camera and 65W fast charging. Now let’s dive into the details. The 6.5” E3 Super...

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Oppo Reno4 Pro review

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