2020 Winners and Losers: Google

2020 was an interesting year for Google. After releasing its first mid-ranger with the the Pixel 3a in 2019 the company eschewed the flagship segment altogether in 2020. The Pixel 4a, Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5 all use Snapdragon 700 series chipsets and have a total of 8 cameras between them including the selfie snappers. The shift from proper flagship hardware, meant Google doubled-down on software as the core of a great experience. A very "in-character" decision for the search giant, but Pixel traditionalists found it a bit hard to accept. Loser: Google Pixel 4a Going in...

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Happy New Year 2021!

The terribly bizarre 2020 is finally behind us and here we are, hoping for a fresh start. We can only hope the next twelve months will be calmer, safer, and happier. Thank you for being with us through this loooong year that felt like a rollercoaster, but we’re ending on a high. The year has been extremely busy, even from the confinements of our own homes. With hard work and perseverance, we surpassed 1 million subscribers on our YouTube channel, even if we were on the brink of actually closing it after it got hijacked. We posted over 6,100 news articles, trying to filter all the...

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Top stories of 2020: Q4

As the year winds down it's a great time to reflect on the top stories of the past 12 months. This is the fourth and final installment where we look at the stories that shaped this year. It's time to close out the 2020 issue of our top stories. We're looking at the months of October through to December and for the first time ever, this is the time Apple unveiled its phones. After many reports and leaks, the iPhone 12 Pro, 12 Pro Max, 12 mini and iPhone 12 were all unveiled on October 13. It was only the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Pro and 12 that went on sale the week following the event,...

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Android 11 is rolling out to the Xiaomi Mi A3 and bricking phones left and right

As a rule, whenever we talk about new software updates, especially major ones, we advise you to install as soon as possible, in order to get all the new features and security fixes. Sometimes, though, rollouts are botched and updates do bad things to phones. That's exactly what seems to be happening to the Xiaomi Mi A3. The update to Android 11 has started rolling out for this Android One device, but a lot of reports from users have popped up saying that the update is basically rendering their handsets completely useless after installation - this is otherwise known as bricking. So...

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LG Wing update makes it easier to move apps between screens

LG's saying goodbye to 2020 with a bang, releasing a new software update for the Wing that brings some nice user experience enhancements. First and foremost, after installing the new software you'll be able to easily move an app between the two screens by swiping with three fingers. Additionally, app, widget, and folder names are now displayed on the second Home screen, the camera app gains support for scanning QR codes, there's a new screen showing up if you skip the Wi-Fi menu in the Setup Wizard, the 5G icon is now white instead of gray, and you get an expanded wallpaper selection too....

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Xiaomi Mi 11 gets an A+ from DisplayMate, with perfect color accuracy and impressive brightness

DisplayMate has concluded its tests of the Xiaomi Mi 11 display and found it to be an excellent panel – it got a final score of A+, the highest in the DM ranking system, earning a Very Good or higher rating in almost every tests performed. The display has close to perfect calibration when running in sRGB or DCI-P3 modes, it t has perfect 100% coverage of those color gamuts in the respective modes. Auto Color tends to boost saturation and contrast to make images pop, while Saturated mode goes above and beyond and reaches 139% sRGB and 111% DCI-P3 coverage. Spectra for the Auto Color...

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First Huawei P50 Pro model hints at smaller screen, single punch hole camera

The Huawei P50 Pro will be smaller than its predecessor, according to info from @OnLeaks, who published the first tantalizing render of the upcoming flagship. The display will measure 6.6”, which means it’s closer in size to the P40 than the P40 Pro (which has a 6.76” panel). The left and right sides of the display still have a curve with a very tight radius, but Huawei won’t repeat mistakes of the past – there are hardware buttons on the side. This design keeps the phone as compact as possible. It will measure 159 mm tall and 73 mm wide, which is again closer to the vanilla P40 than...

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iQOO 7 runs Geekbench, the 120W charger will fill half the battery in 5 minutes

There’s no time to waste – the iQOO 7 will be officially unveiled on January 11 and the phone still has things to check off its to-do list. It already ran AnTuTu (iQOO mentioned the results in a Weibo post), now it has gone through Geekbench too. Version 5.1.0 of the benchmark specifically. iQOO 7 putting its Snapdragon 888 chipset to the Geekbench test We note this because Qualcomm posted official results for the Snapdragon 888 chipset, but those were done on the 5.0.2 version of the test. Xiaomi also posted official results from the Mi 11, though it neglected to specify the...

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Oppo Reno5 4G announced with S720G chipset, 64 MP main camera and 50W charging

Earlier this month Oppo unveiled the 5G connected duo of the Reno5 and Reno5 Pro. Now the company quietly launched a 4G version of the Reno5. It is fairly similar to its sibling, with some key differences – the connectivity, of course, which that also necessitated a new chipset. Or rather an old one. The phone is powered by the Snapdragon 720G chipset, which was also used in the Reno4 4G from a few months ago. The new model brings several improvements over the 4-series to put it more in line with the other Reno5 models. The Oppo Reno5 4G upgrades the 6.4” AMOLED panel to 90Hz...

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Four more Snapdragon 888 phones are on the way, 888+ allegedly coming in H2 of 2021

The Xiaomi Mi 11 is the first Snapdragon 888-powered phone and Xiaomi will enjoy a short exclusivity period. That will soon come to an end, however, as leakster Digital Chat Station reports that there are a few more on the way. The first is the iQOO 7, which is officially set for a January 11 unveiling. Next up is the vivo X60 Pro+, following the launch of the X60 and X60 Pro, both of which use the Exynos 1080. According to DCS these will be the three 888-powered phones that will be available China in January (Mi 11’s flash sale is scheduled for January 1). Then there’s the Realme Koi...

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"A new Galaxy awaits" says official teaser video for the Samsung Galaxy S21 series

The Galaxy S21 series will be unveiled earlier than usual and the first official teaser video is already out. Titled “A new Galaxy awaits” the short 30-second clip is a stylish rehash of the design evolution of the entire S-series. The video is currently set as “unlisted” on the Samsung US channel. The company is also sending out animated invites for the upcoming event (below). It’s a little abstract, but it appears to be a teaser for the upgraded telephoto camera. The Galaxy S21 Ultra will have a new 10x folded periscope and a 3x standard tele lens, according to the...

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The Xiaomi Mi 10i 5G will be powered by a S750G chipset, have a brand new 108MP sensor

Xiaomi VP Manu Kumar Jain has joined in the teaser campaign for the Xiaomi Mi 10i 5G. He posted a video describing the upcoming phone as an “extension” to the Mi 10, Mi 10T, Mi 10T Pro and even the Mi 10T Lite. That’s quite a family tree. Anyway, the Mi 10i has been specifically designed for India and uses a brand new camera sensor – a 108MP camera, as seen in the numerous teasers that have come out recently. The full announcement will be on January 5. 'i' for #India 🇮🇳Launching the all-new flagship #Mi10i where the 'i" stands for India. 🇮🇳"i" = #MadeForIndia, #MadeInIndia, Customised...

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Cyberpunk 2077 PC game review

Cyberpunk 2077 is the latest title from Polish game studio CD Project Red, the same company that brought us the successful Witcher series. Announced first in 2012, Cyberpunk 2077 went through multiple delays before it was finally launched on December 10 on Windows, PS4, Xbox One, and Stadia. It would be an understatement to say that Cyberpunk 2077 was one of the most hyped game launches in recent memory. While the initial announcement did happen in 2012, it wasn't until the developers showcased the game at E3 2018 when it suddenly exploded in popularity. Then last year, the studio...

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