New Oppo phone might arrive with Snapdragon 870 chipset

Qualcomm is about to launch the Snapdragon 875 chipset in December, and we expect a “lite” version of the flagship platform to tag along. It would be the logical successor of the Snapdragon 765 series and would act as a more affordable chip that can offer pretty similar performance. The leakster that goes by the (machine-translated) name Digital Chat Station revealed Oppo is developing a smartphone that will have that new chip with a working name Snapdragon 870. The new chipset by Qualcomm will be able to reach 3.2 GHz speed of the CPU, and we assume this will be only one...

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EMUI 11 could be Huawei’s last version of EMUI before Harmony/HongMeng OS

Ever since reports surfaced that Huawei was working on its own operating system called Harmony OS (also known as HongMeng OS), rumors swirled that the company would eventually replace Android with it. Huawei eventually refuted that the OS wasn't intended for smartphones. Of course, this was before the Huawei ban was issued by the Trump Administration. Huawei officially announced it last August. A new report from MyDrivers cited an interview with Wang Chenglu, Head of Software Development at Huawei Consumer Business Group. In this interview, the question of how EMUI 11 and HongMeng OS was...

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LG Wing lands at AT&T on November 6

Today AT&T has finally announced some launch details for the LG Wing on its 5G network. The phone was unveiled in mid-September, and in the US it went to Verizon first, but AT&T and T-Mobile were always meant to follow. Now we have the skinny on AT&T's plans. The LG Wing will be available from the carrier starting on November 6, for a full retail price of $1,050. You can split that over 30 months, resulting in a monthly installment of $35. Or, if you have a qualifying device to trade-in, you can purchase the Wing for as low as $11.67 per month, which adds up to a total of just...

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OnePlus Watch reportedly further delayed

Earlier this month, OnePlus teased a OnePlus smartwatch is on the way and “just a matter of time”. Although OnePlus didn’t have a concrete announcement or release date for such a device, a new report suggests the smartwatch project was “indefinitely delayed” – this according to Max Jambor via Voice. The same leaker contradicts his own report from a while back that suggested the OnePlus Watch would be announced in October. In 2016 first rumors about a OnePlus Smartwatch surfaced. At the beginning of the month, OnePlus itself have a hint at the OnePlus 8T Launch Event that a smartwatch...

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Huawei nova 8 series phones certified with 66W charging

Huawei is rumored to update its nova line soon and we’ve seen evidence of the nova 8 series in certifications and leaks. We’re expecting no less than three models with the nova 8, nova 8 SE, and nova 8 Pro. Now, we have a new listing on China’s 3C agency revealing the charging capabilities of the vanilla (JSC-AN00) and Pro (TN00) models. Both models will feature 66W charging thanks to their HW-110600C00 charger which is the same brick that comes on the Mate40 flagships. 3C listing The nova 8 is expected to come with a 90Hz OLED display while the Pro will get a 120Hz OLED panel. They...

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XDA partners with F(x)tec to make a phone that runs LineageOS and Ubuntu Touch OS

XDA has been around since the dark ages of smartphones and has proven a fertile ground for mods – including CyanogenMod. Now the XDA team has decided to get in the driver’s seat and make a phone of its own. It partnered with F(x)tec to build the hardware so it can focus on the software. Fittingly, it chose LineageOS, the phoenix that rose from the Cyanogen ashes. But that’s not all, Ubuntu Touch OS is supported out of the box. The team managed to get HDMI out working (over USB-C), so you can hook up a large monitor and peripherals to turn the phone into a Linux desktop. Ubuntu can...

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Poco F2 Pro long-term review

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Amazfit GTR 2 and GTS 2 go global, UK and US get them first

Amazfit introduced the GTR 2 and GTS 2 in China last month. Today the wearables finally escape the domestic market and set off for the United Kingdom and the United States, before covering the rest of the world. Device Price UK Date of arrival US Date of arrival Amazfit GTR 2 £159 / $179 October 30 October 30 Amazfit GTS 2 £159 / $179 November 15 November 1 You will be able to purchase the Amazfit GTR 2 in Obsidian Black only, while the GTS 2 will come in Midnight Black, Desert Gold, Urban...

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The UK is banning sale of carrier-locked phones from December 2021

British wireless regulator Ofcom will ban carriers from selling locked phones starting in December next year. Such phones can only operate on their parent network unless they are unlocked – a process that usually costs around £10 and involves a long waiting time in some cases. About half of users who tried to unlock their phones faced difficulties. That discourages people from switching carriers when their contract runs out, according to the regulator. Hence the ban, which “will save people time, money and effort – and help them unlock better deals,” according to Ofcom’s connectivity...

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Samsung Galaxy Note20 devices in US start receiving One UI 3.0 beta update

Samsung pushed the early beta One UI 3.0 software to Galaxy Note20 users on Friday and now the interface is going public for users in the United States that own Sprint, T-Mobile, or Unlocked versions of the Galaxy Note20 5G and Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G. One UI 3 update The name of the new interface is One UI 3 and is based on Android 11. According to the update log, there are visual changes to the interface including a blurred background of the notification shade, repositioned volume control sliders, improved stock apps, and background personalization for call contacts. The...

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Samsung Display acquires license to trade with Huawei, but that may not be enough

Starting on September 15 Huawei was cut off from Samsung Display and LG Display, which supply a fraction of the panels used in the new Mate 40 Pro model. Now Reuters and The Elec report that Samsung Display has successfully acquired a license to sell certain panels to the Chinese company. However, that’s not the only hurdle – it’s still not clear if Samsung can actually start shipping displays to Huawei because the US requires all companies involved in the supply chain need a license from the US. The issue appears to be centered around the driver and touch ICs used for the displays,...

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Nokia phones top Counterpoint's Trust Rankings: a mix of update speed and hardware durability

Counterpoint Research has published its report on “Trust Rankings” for smartphone makers, which are based on the four pillars of up-to-date software, security updates, build quality and devices recommended for enterprises. HMD Global’s Nokia phones topped the charts with timely OS and security updates and phones whose durability exceeds the industry average. Here’s how the analysts broke down the results. First, all eligible Nokias are currently running Android 10 - that’s even better than last year when HMD was in the lead again. The only other smartphone maker to boast that 100% of...

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Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite appears in FCC listing with key specs and images

An upcoming Xiaomi smartwatch appeared in the FCC’s database revealing its key specs and design. It’s the Mi Watch Lite which may be launched as Redmi Watch in markets like China and as the name implies its shaping up to be a more affordable alternative to the brand’s Mi Watch which was announced last year. The listing contains a full look at the wearable’s retail box with a snap of its design as well as its key specs on the back. We can see the Mi Watch Lite features a square casing and a single button on the right-hand side alongside a silicone watch strap. Around the back we find...

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TCL 10 5G UW arrives to the United States, exclusive for Verizon

TCL unveiled a trio of smartphones in January but it waited until April to actually launch them for sale. One of the devices was TCL 10 5G with Snapdragon 765G with four cameras and two LED flashes on the back. Now a phone called TCL 10 5G UW is arriving in the United States exclusively on Verizon, although it is not the same device - the new one has three cameras on the back with the main shooter being downgraded. The difference between the first TCL 10 5G and this one is that Verizon enabled the phone for Ultra WIdeband networks with mmWave support. Otherwise, the body is well...

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HMD Global internal document reveals future plans and Nokia 10

An internal document from HMD Global has leaked and it has several key points that are pretty interesting, including the mention of the Nokia 10 - supposedly a successor to the Nokia 9 PureView. The document doesn't go into details around the Nokia 10 and only mentions that it's absolutely forbidden to discuss or leak information regarding Nokia 10. The better part of the document, however, is about HMD's future plans for Nokia as a brand. Of course, reaching the top 3 biggest smartphone manufacturer in the next 3 to 5 years is still on the table but to do so, Nokia wants to be best...

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Google brings new functionalities and gestures to its YouTube app

Starting today, Google is pushing a major update to its YouTube app on both platforms - Android and iOS. The update brings new functionalities, simplified UI and more importantly, gestures. Now you can enter and exit full-screen mode more intuitively. By swiping down on a playing video, the latter rotates into landscape mode and enters full-screen. To minimize the video, you just swipe down. The close captions button is no longer hidden in the three-dot menu and instead is now visible directly on the overlay menu. The same goes for the autoplay button. Both are now easier to...

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Samsung may ship Galaxy S21 series without bundled charger and earphones

According to reports circulating in South Korea, Samsung will follow Apple’s approach of not offering an in-box charger and earphones for its upcoming Galaxy S21 series. Industry insiders, cited by local news outlet ChosunBiz, allegedly confirm Samsung is considering leaving out all in-box accessories for its latest flagship (apart from a UBS-C cable). However, the final decision is still pending. Will full box contents be a thing of the past? Samsung has offered a pair of wired earbuds, USB cable, and charging brick with its S-series phones from the first Galaxy S all the way to...

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Xiaomi Redmi K30S is official with SD865, 144 Hz screen

Xiaomi executives have been teasing the Redmi K30S, and now the phone is finally official. It comes with a 64 MP main camera, Snapdragon 865 chipset by Qualcomm, and up to 144 Hz refresh rate for the 6.67” screen; if all these specs look familiar, it is because you’re looking at a rebranded Mi 10T for markets where Redmi has strong brand recognition. The main difference between the Redmi K30S and Mi 10T is the memory combinations - here, we have 8 GB RAM, coupled with either 128 GB or 256 GB storage. The phone lacks a memory card slot, so that’s all the internal memory...

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