Honor V40 5G appears in hands-on video, launch postponed to January 22

Last week Honor said it will unveil the V40 5G on January 18 in China, but now the company has announced the phone will be introduced on January 22 instead. Honor cites conference venue and equipment related issues for the delay, but it has promised to begin the sales of V40 5G on January 22 at noon local time. Honor V40 5G will be introduced on January 22 The Chinese phone maker hasn't detailed the specs of the V40 5G yet, however, it shared posters confirming curved screen with a pill-shaped hole for the dual camera and a rectangular camera island on the back. This camera...

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WhatsApp moves forwards the date to accept its new terms to May 15

WhatsApp has announced that it is moving forward the date to accept its new terms and conditions to May 15. The previous date for this was February 8. The company says this is due to all the confusion and misinformation around their latest update and that they are going to use the time to clear up the misinformation around how privacy and security works on WhatsApp. They will then go to people gradually to review the policy at their own pace before May 15. Thank you to everyone who’s reached out. We're still working to counter any confusion by communicating directly with @WhatsApp...

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Xiaomi denies any ties to the Chinese military in response to being blacklisted by the US

Yesterday the US government designated Xiaomi a "Communist Chinese military company", putting it on a blacklist that means US companies and investors are going to be prohibited from investing in Xiaomi (and those who already have are to divest by November of this year). This, mind you, is not the same 'blacklisting' that destroyed Huawei's smartphone market share worldwide, that's a much more complex ban on any US companies, or even companies using US technology, doing business with Huawei. Today Xiaomi has issued the following statement on the matter: The company has been in...

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LG isn't giving up on smartphones

A recent report from Korean publication The Elec announced a dramatic development in tow for next week, namely that LG would announce its exit from the smartphone market. LG begs to differ, however. According to the company's global communicator for consumer tech, Ken Hong, all of this is "completely false and without merit. I won't even justify that rumor with a statement". Which is ironic, because a statement is exactly what this seems to be. Anyway, in case you were afraid that the mobile world would lose LG, rest assured, that's not the case. The company is working on an...

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Sony seeding stable Android 11 to Xperia 1 and Xperia 5 units

Last month Sony brought Android 11 to its Xperia 1 II and now the update has made its way to the 2019 Sony flagships – the Xperia 1 and Xperia 5. The new firmware is already seeding in Russia and South East Asia with the same 55.2.A.0.630 build number for both units and weighs in at around 912MB. Android 11 update for Sony Xperia 1 This update comes a month earlier than what Sony had originally revealed in its Android 11 roadmap which is good to see. Users should be getting the standard Android 11 additions like chat bubbles, overhauled notifications management and one-time...

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Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2 gets major software update

Samsung did not announce a new smartwatch at its Galaxy Unpacked event yesterday but its Galaxy Watch Active2 did get a big new software update in the aftermath of the event. The new firmware brings an onboard Samsung Health app, faster automatic workout detection and home training fitness programs among others. Update changelog in Korean Another new addition is SmartThings Find which helps you locate the watch if it's ever misplaced.The new R820XXU1DUA3 build comes in at nearly 85MB in size and is seeding in South Korea for now though it will soon make its way to more regions...

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Xiaomi releases a list of 27 devices scheduled to get MIUI 12.5

Xiaomi introduced the successor of the MIUI 12 last month, called MIUI 12.5. While it looks like a minor update, the company actually had redone the whole package from within to lower power and memory consumption of the core apps. The company promised “more than a dozen smartphones” will be eligible for the first closed beta, and now it has officially posted the full list of eligible devices. Here it is: Xiaomi Mi 11 Xiaomi Mi 10 Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra Xiaomi Mi 10 Youth Xiaomi Mi 9 SE Xiaomi Mi 9 Xiaomi Mi 9 Explorer Xiaomi Mi 9 Pro 5G Xiaomi Mi...

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Samsung details the ISOCELL HM3 - the 108 MP sensor used in the Galaxy S21 Ultra

The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G introduces the newest 108MP sensor from the company. ISOCELL HM3 features several enhancements over the HM1 (which was used in the S20 Ultra and Note20 Ultra). This includes improved HDR, low light and autofocus performance. Smart ISO Pro is an HDR technology that captures one high ISO and one low ISO shot simultaneously. As both are captured at the same time, this avoids the ghosting of moving objects that is a problem for sequential HDR. Then the two shots are combined into a single 12-bit image. That’s 12-bits per channel, meaning the RAW image...

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Samsung opens Galaxy S21 pre-orders worldwide

If you’re interested in scooping up a brand new Galaxy S21 series phone, you can now place your pre-order. We’ve gathered pricing details for the base variants of all three models for you. The devices will ship in most regions on January 29 though if you pick up one of the exclusive made to order colors it will take an extra 3-5 weeks. As usual, Samsung is bundling freebies with pre-orders up until January 28 which vary by region. In the US, Galaxy S21 and S21+ buyers get up to $200 Samsung Credit to spend on accessories of their choice alongside a free Galaxy SmartTag. German, French...

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iQOO 7 units worth CNY 200 million sold in first sale, update brings 1,000Hz touch sampling rate

The iQOO 7 unveiled earlier this week went on its first sale today and iQOO announced it sold units worth more than CNY200 million, which translates to about $30.9 million. The iQOO 7 comes in two memory configurations - 8GB/128GB priced at CNY3,798 ($585/€485) and 12GB/256GB priced at CNY4,198 ($650/€535). The phone maker didn't reveal the number of units it sold today, but assuming most people purchased the base model, more than 50,000 were moved. The iQOO 7 is powered by the Snapdragon 888 SoC, sports a 48MP triple camera, and packs a 4,000 mAh battery with 120W charging. The...

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Samsung unveils new S Pen Pro, announces support for third-party styluses

Something important almost got lost in the fireworks of the Galaxy S21 unveiling – Samsung is launching two new S Pens, including a Pro model. The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G supports both, in fact, you can use any current or old S Pen (so if you have an old Note laying around, you can use its stylus). The new S Pen is lager in all dimensions, making it more comfortable. This is made possible since the stylus doesn’t have to fit inside a thin phone, instead it is attached to the side of select cases. We should point out that this is a passive stylus (as in there’s no batter inside),...

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Kuo: 2021 MacBook Pros will scrap Touch Bar, bring new design and MagSafe connector

Last month noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo gave out confirmation that Apple’s upcoming 2021 MacBook Air and 13” MacBook Pro will debut with mini LED displays and M1 chipsets. Today we get more details on the all-new 14” and 16” MacBook Pros which are said to bring major redesigns. Kuo shares that the new top-end models will feature a squarer cut design on the top and bottom halves which is a natural evolution of the 2018 iPad Pro and iPhone 12 industrial design. In addition, both models are said to bring back Apple’s MagSafe charging connector which was last seen on Mac laptops back...

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Oppo A93 5G announced with Snapdragon 480 and 90Hz screen

Oppo announced the A93 last year with a Helio P95 SoC, and today the company followed it up with a 5G variant. The Oppo A93 5G is powered by the brand new Snapdragon 480 SoC, boots Android 11-based ColorOS 11.1, and has two memory options - 8GB/128GB and 8GB/256GB. It also comes with a microSD card slot that allows addition of another 256GB of storage. The Oppo A93 5G is built around a 6.5" FullHD+ 90Hz LCD that has a touch sampling rate of 180Hz and a punch hole for the 8MP selfie camera. Around the back, you get three cameras aligned vertically in the top-left corner. This camera system...

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Xiaomi foldable phone prototype leaks in spy photos

Samsung, Huawei and Motorola are already into the market for foldables, and it's only a matter of time before more companies join. Xiaomi looks to be making steady progress in that direction as a Galaxy Fold-like phone with MIUI 12 onboard has been spotted in spy shots in the Chinese subway, wrapped in what looks like a pre-production design-concealing case. We are unsure of the state of the unit pictured, but if it's ready to be taken out in the wild than it's probably nearing the end of its development. Xiaomi foldable phone The image can only tell us this device runs...

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vivo X60 Pro+ is coming on January 21

vivo introduced the X60 and X60 Pro at the end of last month and promised to launch a Pro+ model soon. Today, the company announced it will unveil the X60 Pro+ on January 21 in China at 7:30PM local time. vivo hasn't detailed the specs of the X60 Pro+ yet, but a Chinese retailer released posters teasing Snapdragon 888 SoC, advanced quad camera, ZEISS optics, impressive low-light camera performance, and high quality audio on the Pro+. vivo X60 Pro+ render The vivo X60 Pro+, sporting model code V2056A, got 3C certified earlier this month, revealing 55W charging in the process....

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