Oppo Reno5 Z 5G announced: Dimensity 800U, 6.43" AMOLED screen, and 48MP quad camera

Oppo has added a new member to its huge Reno5 lineup, dubbed Reno5 Z 5G. The Oppo Reno5 Z 5G has a Dimensity 800U SoC at the helm with 8GB RAM, 128GB storage, and Android 11-based ColorOS 11.1. The smartphone is built around a 6.43" FullHD+ AMOLED screen with a fingerprint reader underneath and a punch hole in the upper-left corner for the 16MP selfie camera. Around the back, we get a quad camera setup comprising a 48MP primary, 8MP ultrawide, 2MP macro, and 2MP monochrome units. The smartphone comes with camera features such as Ultra Night Video, HDR Video, Dual-View Video, Focus Lock,...

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45% of new Meizu 18 users have switched from Apple phones

Meizu has launched two Snapdragon 888-powered flagships in early March, and the devices were made available globally last week. The Meizu 18 and Meizu 18 Pro are now selling at over a dozen retailers, and according to the company, 45% of users who buy the phone have switched from an Apple phone. The statement appeared on Meizu’s official profile on Weibo, where the company welcomed the new users. It can easily track new users because a Meizu phone can work only after registration is done within the Flyme ecosystem. The data was acquired from online retailers like JD.com which...

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Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 may have a smaller outer screen

Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Z Fold3 may have a shockingly small outer screen, much smaller than the one its predecessor sports, according to a new rumor out of Asia. If this is accurate (and that's a big if), then the device will sport a 5.4" outer display with a resolution of 816x2260. That's exactly the same resolution as the Galaxy Z Fold2's outer screen, just in a much smaller package. Or - hopefully - it's just a typo and was supposed to say 6.4". Except the Z Fold3 outer screen size which I haven't heard just yet, rest are match perfectly with what I heard and leaked (refering to...

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Samsung to stop making Exynos-powered Galaxy S20 FE 4G, switch to Snapdragon

Samsung launched its very own 'flagship killer' type device, the Galaxy S20 FE, last year with two SoCs - the in-house developed Exynos 990 for the 4G version, and the Snapdragon 865 for the 5G model. Recently we've seen a Galaxy S20 FE 4G with the Snapdragon chip doing the rounds in benchmarks, and now a usually reliable leakster says this is basically the future. As in, Samsung will stop making the Exynos-powered Galaxy S20 FE 4G, and use the Snapdragon "865+" for this model instead. Galaxy S20 FE will release the Snapdragon 865+ version, and Exynos990 stops production.— Ice universe...

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Our OnePlus 9 video review is out

While it’s easy to get starstruck by its Pro sibling, the OnePlus 9 is a capable alternative at a lower cost. You’re looking at quite a gap, especially in the US where (for some unknown reason), the base 8/128 GB version of the 9 Pro is not available. This means you can have the vanilla phone for $730 or the 12/256 GB Pro for $1,070. Availability issues cut the other way in Europe. The OnePlus 9 (priced €700) is coming soon and you have to put in a €100 deposit to reserve a place in the queue. Actual sales will start in 13 days. In contrast, the OnePlus 9 Pro (€900) is ready to ship in 24...

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Huawei Mate X2 review

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LG will update select phones to Android 11, some will even get Android 12

LG made the difficult decision to leave the phone business, but it will not leave its current users out in the cold. The company will continue rolling out Android 11 updates for select devices as confirmed by LG’s South Korean website. Work on the Android 12 update continues as well, however, LG has not revealed which phones are expected to receive it (the recent flagships, presumably, but how recent?). The company warns that timing and availability will vary by country (and depend on Google’s testing and deployment procedures). Security updates will continue to be released. However,...

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OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro get minor update with camera and battery life fixes

Only a few days after the 11.2.2.2 update for the OnePlus 9 series, the company has put out a new update – OxygenOS 11.3.3.3. This one is much smaller, but is important nonetheless. It’s currently rolling out in India for the OnePlus 9 Pro, the North American and European rollouts should be close behind. The OnePlus 9 update will follow soon as well. Oxygen OS 11.3.3.3 update notification for the OnePlus 9 Pro (image credit) The main improvements in 3.3.3 are related to the camera and reducing standby power draw. The rest of the update is focused on improving stability. One user...

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Latest Pixel 5 update brings camera fixes, connectivity and GPU improvements

Google’s Pixel 5 was never a performance champion. In fact, the Snapdragon 765G-powered device managed to score below similarly equipped phones from other brands in our own benchmark testing. The latest Pixel 5 update now brings improvements across the board including performance optimizations in graphic intensive apps and games. Google Pixel Security Update for April 2021 The April update also brings third-party camera quality improvements, solves VPN connectivity issues and brings system and UI optimizations. Apart from Pixel 5, the new update is also bringing the same additions...

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Leakster: Oppo will introduce two inward-folding phones, vivo has one in the works

Oppo showcased its first foldable phone prototype in early 2019, but hasn’t actually released or even announced a finished product yet. This is set to change this quarter – leakster Digital Chat Station reported that Oppo will launch its first foldable in Q2. Now DCS is back with more details, clarifying that there will be two models from Oppo – one with an 8” display and one with a 7” display. Both will have an inward folding design. The 7” model was reportedly close to mass production in January, so it should be the first to arrive in stores. Oppo's original foldable design...

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WhatsApp is working on cross-platform chat migration

WhatsApp has a neat feature that allows you to back up your chat logs online, but you can’t access and move the data between iOS and Android. According to WABetaInfo, this might change, as WhatsApp is working on a cross-platform migration, even if the feature is not available yet even to those on the beta channel. There isn’t any timeline when this will be added, but the source said people who have the latest WhatsApp version on the App Store or TestFlight can see the image below. WhatsApp says the main issue for enabling the feature is “difference in data formats” - backups...

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ZTE Axon 30 series will be unveiled on April 15 with 3x 64 MP camera and periscope, S888 chipset

ZTE will lift the veil off its new flagship Axon 30 series next week, specifically on April 15 (Thursday). This announcement comes attached to the first official photo of the Axon 30 Pro that shows off the characteristic shape of the camera island. That island will be home to three 64MP cameras as was teased previously. You can see the 3x 64 label right next to the fourth module on the back – the telephoto camera. By the way, the rumor of a 200 MP sensor proved to be unfounded (admittedly, those rumors were stoked by a ZTE exec). ZTE Axon 30 Pro's first official image, note the 3x...

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Former Nokia and HMD exec Juho Sarvikas joins Qualcomm

Juho Sarvikas has been the driving force behind Nokia smartphones for the better part of the last decade. He was the Chief Product Officer at HMD Global following the rebirth of the beloved smartphone brand, but now the Finn is joining Qualcomm. Starting April 12, Sarvikas will be a VP at San Diego and will be the president of the North American division. Sarvikas' new Twitter bio and cover photo The change was announced by Jim Cathey, president of Qualcomm Global, on Twitter. Sarvikas followed with a retweet, essentially confirming the news, which was warmly welcomed on social...

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Check out the LG Rollable that never got to see daylight

LG is officially out of the smartphone business and with that, we will never get to see its rollable concept phone which was teased at CES 2021. A new listing on Safety Korea, unearthed by tipster @FrontTron on Twitter reveals a live look at the rollable that was not meant to be. The device bears the LM-R910N model number and we can see its curved screen and what appears to be a selfie camera in the left corner. Sadly, we only get a single image of the device in its non-expanded form. LG Rollable listing on Safety Korea The listing fails to mention any specs which we knew...

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Realme 8 gets Starry Mode and tons of camera optimizations with second software update

The Realme 8 introduced about two weeks ago is receiving a new software update with version number RMX3085_11_A.08. It's the second update for the vanilla 8 released by Realme after a build with version RMX3085_11_A.05 was rolled out, which optimized the Ultra Night mode and the touching algorithm. The new firmware further optimizes the touching algorithm on the Realme 8 while also optimizing the power consumption. Additionally, the update brings Starry Mode to the Realme 8 and comes with tons of camera improvements. You can check out the complete changelog of the update below for more...

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Oppo F19 arrives in India, sales start later this week at a slightly lower price than the F19 Pro

The Oppo F19 Pro and Pro+ went on sale in India last month, but their vanilla sibling is a bit late to the party – the Oppo F19 is only now arriving in the country and will go through a very short pre-order period (just a couple of days). The Oppo F19 arrives in India this week The RRP is set at INR 21,000, but as is often the case there’s already a discount applied, so the current price is INR 19,000 ($260/€220). That’s only slightly below the F19 Pro (INR 21,500) and F19 Pro+ (INR 23,500). Note that the Pro+ is currently closer INR 26,000 right now. Like its siblings, the...

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Vivo X70 Pro+ to bring upgraded camera and battery

vivo launched its X60 series in the global scene, but leaksters are already claiming to have the first intel on its successor. According to one tip from Weibo, the vivo X70 Pro+ will have a bigger sensor for the main camera, a bigger battery with fast charging, and will stick to Snapdragon 888 chipset. The top-tier smartphone will be updated with a 1/1.28” sensor, compared to the X60 Pro+ that comes with a 50MP 1/1.31” imager. The battery of the X70 Pro+ will have 4,500mAh capacity and will charge at 66W, compared to 4,200 mAh and 55W specs of the current flagship. Still, we're are...

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Watch realme's TUV Quality Standards Launch Event

Another Realme event is coming and this time TUV Rheinland is joining in. The German certification agency ensures all tested products meet specific quality benchmarks. Realme has also been teasing its Smart Factory on social media and we’re likely getting a detailed look of the facility today. The event starts at 9:30 AM UTC / 3 PM IST and we’ve got the livestream linked below for those of you who want to tune in. We can expect to see the fully automated Realme factory in action which was already shown in a few teasers. These revealed a design studio, smart warehouse which solely...

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Nokia C20 gets Bluetooth certified ahead of April 8 expected announcement

HMD Global has scheduled an event on April 8 where it's expected to announce a bunch of new Nokia smartphones, including the Nokia C20 that has just bagged Bluetooth SIG certification. The C20's Bluetooth SIG listing reveals the smartphone will have four different model codes, possibly for different regions/memory configurations - TA-1352, TA-1356, TA-1339, and TA-1348. Nokia C20 Bluetooth certified The listing also hints the Nokia C20 will have a Unisoc chipset under the hood, but other than that, it doesn't reveal any additional specifications of the smartphone. Previous...

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