Samsung to develop folding displays for Google, Oppo, and Xiaomi

A new report from The Elec reiterates a previous report from December that noted vivo, Oppo, Xiaomi, and Google would all be releasing a foldable device. Today’s report doesn’t mention vivo, but it does mention that Samsung is developing folding displays for Oppo, Xiaomi, and Google. The new report details some of the specifics about each OEM’s folding display and its supposed sizes. Starting with Oppo, the display in question is said to open from top to bottom, which means the device will have a clamshell form factor. The external screen will be between 1.5 to 2-inches, so we imagine the...

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Watch the Realme Narzo 30 Series launch live

Realme confirmed the Narzo 30 Series launch date last week, and now the time has come. The event will see the debut of the Narzo 30A and Narzo 30 Pro 5G smartphones as well as the Buds Air 2 TWS earphones. It all starts at 12:30 PM IST / 07:00 UTC and we’ve provided a stream through Realme’s official YouTube channel. The Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G will be the first phone of the Narzo series with 5G connectivity, while the Narzo 30A is advertised as “a powerful budget gaming ninja” and we expect a similar design to the Narzo 20 smartphone. The Realme Buds Air 2 are going to arrive...

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Samsung allows 100-day return window for Z Fold2 and Z Flip 5G in the US

Samsung is enacting a new way to entice customers to try one of the company’s foldable smartphones. Samsung will let anyone who purchases a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 5G or Galaxy Z Flip 5G to “Buy and try” either of the phones, extending the return period to 100 days. If you purchase a Galaxy Z Flip 5G for $1,200 or a Galaxy Z Fold2 5G for $2,000, Samsung will offer you a 100-day return window to decide if you’re not happy living with a Samsung foldable. For reference, Best Buy’s return window for smartphones is 14 days (with a restocking fee if opened) and Samsung’s online store allows a...

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Two Nokia smartphones receive Android Enterprise Recommendation certification

Today’s news from HMD arrives for Android Enterprise users. The company is announcing two Nokia phones’ certifications as officially recommended Android Enterprise compatible smartphones. The Nokia 5.4 receives the ‘AER’ (Android Enterprise Recommended) stamp of approval running Android 10. Meanwhile, the Nokia 8.3 5G receives the same recognition with its most recent Android 11 update. Nokia 8.3 5G The Nokia 8.3 5G finally received Android 11 earlier this month and the company says that its rollout was completed on February 7. The Nokia 8.3 5G currently retails in the US for $599...

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Samsung Galaxy M62 is the F62 for the rest of the world, launching on March 3

Last week, Samsung announced the Galaxy F62 for India, with a huge 7,000 mAh battery. The phone went on sale a couple of days ago in the subcontinent, but if you live elsewhere and were interested in this model, here's some good news for you. The Galaxy F62 is leaving India next week, only it will arrive in other markets as the Galaxy M62. Why the need to use two different letters to depict the same phone in different countries? We don't know, but it's not like Samsung is the only company doing stuff like this. Anyway, the M62 is going to launch in Malaysia on March 3, as the above...

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Huawei now accepts third party apps for its wearable devices

In the world of wearables, it seems like you can either get great battery life or a decent selection of third party apps. Huawei's watches have so far been solidly in the former camp (unlike Wear OS devices and Apple Watches which are both in the latter). But that's changing, as Huawei is now allowing third party apps for its smartwatches. It's interesting to consider whether Huawei's newfound focus on wearables and audio accessories was perhaps, at least in part, driven by its issues with smartphones (deriving from the US government's various bans on the company). Either way, we're happy...

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Apple supplier will reportedly start manufacturing mini-LED panels for iPads in March

Rumors that Apple will transition its iPad line to mini-LED panels have been circulating for quite a while now – the (rumored) launch was originally targeted for late 2020, but that was pushed back to this year. And it may finally be happening. DigiTimes reports that Ennostar will start mass producing mini-LED panels at the end of this quarter (i.e. March). This lines up with the unofficial info that new iPad Pros (11 and 12.9 inch) will be unveiled in March. The Pro tablets are said to be the first to adopt mini-LED, to be followed by MacBooks (the upcoming 14 and 16 inch MacBook Pros,...

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Samsung Galaxy A12 review

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ZTE gives us another sneak peek at its second gen under-display camera

With all the hype surrounding under-display cameras, ZTE debuted the first commercially available smartphone with the new tech on its Axon 20 5G last year. Now, ZTE is giving us another look at its second gen attempt from MWC Shanghai. The brand’s official Weibo account shared two posts detailing the screen of what we assume will be the Axon 30 Pro. ZTE prototype device with second gen UD camera According to the post, the pixels density above the UD camera have been increased twice and now reaches 400ppi making for a more consistent appearance of the panel. In addition, the entire...

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Redmi Note 10 retail box reveals AMOLED display, 48MP main camera

Yesterday we saw the upcoming Redmi Note 10 Pro's retail box and today we have the non-Pro's as well. And as far as retail boxes go, this one is revealing. It shows a render of the phone, details the display as a FullHD+ AMOLED unit and gives away the main camera - 48MP. We know that Redmi will unveil the Note 10 series on March 4, and we expect the vanilla Redmi Note 10, the Redmi Note 10 Pro and possibly even a Redmi Note 10 Pro Max. Redmi has teased the Note 10 series for Gorilla Glass protection, IP52 rating, flat display and light design. One of the three could have a fast...

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Oppo Reno5 K incoming, it’s the Reno5 5G with Snapdragon 750G

Oppo is looking to add another phone to the Reno5 family. According to a leakster on Weibo, a phone called Reno5 K is on its way, but it isn’t entirely new - it is actually the Oppo Reno5 5G with a Snapdragon 750G chipset, instead of the original 765G. Oppo Reno5 K A quick rundown of the specs tells us to expect a 6.43” OLED panel with 90Hz refresh rate and Full HD+ resolution. There is a 32MP shooter with an f/2.4 aperture at the front. On the back we get a 64MP main camera alongside an 8MP ultrawide unit and two 2MP auxiliary sensors. The original Oppo Reno5 5G came...

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Red Magic Watch teased ahead of March 4 launch

nubia is preparing to launch its latest gaming smartphones under the Red Magic 6 lineup on March 4 and it will be joined by a Red Magic smartwatch. We’ve already seen the wearable in a detailed FCC listing and now nubia President Ni Fei shared an official render of the Red Magic Watch with accompanying specs of its display. Official Red Magic Watch teaser The round 1.39-inch AMOLED screen comes with a 454x454 pixel resolution which is fairly standard in the smartwatch realm. The casing appears to be made from metal and features two side buttons one of which comes with a red accent....

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LG denies cancelling its rollable phone

An LG spokesperson has denied Yonhap’s report that the company has put the LG Rollable phone project on hold. “I can firmly deny that any such decision on future mobile products has been finalized,” said the spokesperson to The Verge. The wording is a little vague, the company hasn’t decided to mothball the project, but it hasn’t decided to go forward either. It has a working prototype, which it demoed at CES, however concrete launch plans for a mass market device have not been revealed up to this point. Earlier this year TheElec reported that the company is considering exiting the...

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Kuo: Two new MacBooks with SD reader and HDMI port to come later this year

In a note to investors, popular analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has outlined that Apple is working on two new MacBook Pros that bring back the SDSX card reader and have an HDMI port. Those will hit store shelveslater this year. While not explicitly stated, these could be the rumored Apple Silicon-powered 14-inch and 16-inch Apple MacBook Pros for 2021. This is the second time we're hearing that Apple will bring back the SD card reader on its laptops. It's interesting what kind of port Apple will use for the HDMI. Current MacBook's already have display-capable USB-C ports (Thunderbolt on Intel...

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Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra to pioneer the 50MP Samsung GN2 sensor

Xiaomi is expected to launch the Mi 11 Ultra smartphone with a triple camera setup and a small secondary display on the back. According to leakster Ice Universe, the new smartphone will be the first to implement the 50MP Samsung ISOCELL GN2 sensor, announced earlier today. GN2→Mi11 Ultra— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) February 23, 2021 The Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra was rumored to have a 50MP main, 48MP ultrawide and 48MP telephoto camera units, lending further credibility to the new tip. Xiaomi has been partnering with the Korean company in the last 2+ years, pioneering sensors before they...

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Black Shark 4, 4 Pro and their 120W fast charger get certified by the 3C

The Black Shark 4 and 4 Pro have been teased with 120W fast charging. The official poster went into a bit more detail – 4,500 mAh battery can be filled in under 15 minutes by the 120W charger. And now, thanks to a 3C certification, we have details on the charger itself. The MDY-12-ED is the power brick in question. It tops out at 20V output at 6A current with a note “only for altitude 5,000m and below”. That shouldn’t be a problem as a quick check of Wikipedia shows that there no major cities anywhere near the 5,000m mark. Presumably, this is regarding charging on planes. 3C...

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OnePlus 9E to bring 90Hz display and Snapdragon 690

There’s a plenty of leaked info surrounding the upcoming OnePlus 9 series and so far we’re expecting at last three phones. The OnePlus 9E (aka OnePlus 9 Lite) will serve as the more affordable member and now greek tech blog Techmaniacs has revealed some of its key specs. These include a 6.5-inch display with 2400 × 1080 pixel resolution alongside a 64MP primary camera and a Snapdragon 690 chipset. The phone will also come with an 8MP ultrawide snapper around the back while the battery is expected to come in at 5,000 mAh. The base variant should come with 8GB RAM and 128BG...

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Oppo will license its VOOC charging technology to third-party makers

Oppo unveiled the VOOC charging technology back in 2014 and has maintained it as a separate branch of fast charging since. This is about to change under the Flash Initiative, which is started in collaboration with accessory maker Anker, chip maker NXP Semiconductors and car maker FAW-Volkswagen. The Flash Initiative will license the proprietary Oppo technology to third party makers. Products with VOOC will be certified for safety and compliance by CTTL, one of China’s largest technology certification laboratories. CTTL has already awarded Oppo’s VOOC tech a 5-star safety rating and it will...

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Realme announces "Dual-platform Dual-flagship" strategy at MWCS 2021, previews GT 5G leather variant

The Realme GT 5G Bumblebee leather variant that appeared in an official poster earlier today was previewed at the ongoing Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Shanghai, China. The smartphone will be powered by Qualcomm's flagship Snapdragon 888 SoC and feature stainless steel VC cooling system for improved heat dissipation and sustained performance. Realme says the GT 5G is based on the concept of GT sports cars, and the leather variant will flaunt a dual-tone leather design using two different kinds of materials. The black stripe on the rear panel will have a glossy "race track" finish,...

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Samsung announces new 50MP ISOCELL GN2 camera sensor with Dual Pixel Pro

Samsung has just announced its new 50MP camera sensor, called ISOCELL GN2. It is a follow-up of last year’s GN1 and comes with bigger pixels, better energy consumption and the entirely new PDAF technology called Dual Pixel Pro. The ISOCELL GN2 sensor's type size is 1/1.12”, which is the largest in a smartphone and has 1.4μm-sized pixels for “exceptionally detailed photographs in regular settings”. Quality images in a low-lit environment are done with the well-known four-pixel-binning technology, simulating a larger 2.8μm pixel. The new sensor also offers the capability to take 100MP...

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Oppo demoes Air Charging on Oppo X 2021 rollable phone

MWC Shanghai is officially underway and Oppo used the event to show out a prototype Air Charger working in tandem with its Oppo X 2021 rollable concept. The short 30-second video shows the phone charging at all times from laying flat on the surface to being at an arm's length away. There’s not much detail as to how Oppo’s implementation works but well-known tipster Digital Chat Station claims Oppo's air charging speeds can reach up to 7.5W speeds. Digital Chat Station clarification Back on April 1, Oppo teased a similar air charging tech called FreeVOOC. That...

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Samsung Galaxy F62 receives its first software update with camera improvements

The Samsung Galaxy F62 introduced last week went on sale in India yesterday and is already receiving its first software update. The new firmware carries version number E625FDDU1AUB4 and requires a download of about 180MB. The changelog says the new build improves the camera's stability and performance while also enhancing the overall device performance. The new update is based on Android 11 with One UI 3.1 on top and is rolling out over the air. You'll receive it once you have finished setting up your Galaxy F62. In case you don't, you have the option to check for the update...

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Realme GT 5G Bumblebee leather variant appears in an official poster

We exclusively shared an image of the Realme GT 5G Bumblebee leather variant a couple of days ago, and yesterday Realme shared a few photos giving us our first look at the GT 5G's glass back version. Today, Realme VP Mr. Xu Qi Chase shared a poster on his Weibo account, giving us a closer look at the GT 5G Bumblebee version. The image doesn't reveal anything new but reconfirms the presence of a 64MP primary camera on the GT 5G Bumblebee variant. Realme didn't reveal the other two cameras' purpose in the setup, but rumors have it we are looking at 13MP ultrawide and 13MP telephoto...

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