Our US Buyer's guide is out - check it out

Everyone familiar with the smartphone world knows that the US market is a lot different from the rest of the world. A lot of the major global players aren't present at all and there are often price swings between devices that also sell elsewhere. It means that much of the global shopping advice doesn't apply to US customers and we believe that introducing the US market buyer's guide will go some way towards fixing that. We compiled a list of phones that you can find in the US and will work with all (or almost all) of the US carriers. We've kept it simple - no gray import as the situation...

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Best US market phones of 2021 - buyer’s guide

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Oppo Find N sells out in China, resale value soars

The hype around Oppo’s Find N foldable is reaching new levels after limited quantities of the foldable sold out in China in mere seconds during its first online sale. Reports from China via IT Home are that resale prices on the secondary market have ballooned to CNY 9,299($1,457) for the 8/256GB model and CNY 12,000 ($1,880) for the 12/512GB trim. As a reminder, the retail pricing of the baseline model is CNY 7,699 ($1,206) while the top-end version costs CNY 8,999 ($1,410). Oppo Find N resale pricing (images: via IT Home) Oppo Find N is expected to go on open sale in China next...

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MediaTek benchmarks the Dimensity 9000: faster CPU than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, slower GPU

MediaTek has gotten bold – it published a video showing a Dimensity 9000-powered device running various popular benchmarks, throwing the gauntlet at Qualcomm. Long story short, the Dimensity wins the CPU battle, but loses the GPU battle. The margins are pretty slim in both cases, though. The video kicks off with AnTuTu (v9.0.7) and the MediaTek chipset posted a score of 1,017,488. We knew pretty early on that the chip will break the 1 million points barrier, but so did the Snapdragon. The Realme GT2 Pro also ran AnTuTu, but that was weeks ago so it may have been an older version, making...

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Stable One UI 4 update for Galaxy Z Fold3 and Z Flip3 resumed

Samsung has resumed its stable One UI 4 release for the Galaxy Z Fold3 and Z Flip3 in South Korea. As a reminder, the update was suspended over numerous bug and bad usability reports form early adopters. The new build comes with the BUL4 build number and is said to iron out all mishaps from the previous releases. South Korean Fold and Flip users will once again serve as soak testers for the latest build and if all goes well the release will spread to other regions. When and if the update reaches your device, it’s always good to back up all your data beforehand just in case you run into...

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Honor Magic Fold to have Snapdragon 8 Gen 1

Mediatek issued a press release earlier this week, confirming at least four major smartphone manufacturers will bring phones with Dimensity 9000 in Q1 2022. Today Honor took it to Weibo to assure its fans a phone will come with the flagship SoC. In the meantime, leakster Digital Chat Station revealed the upcoming phone will not be foldable. The Honor Magic Fold (name still pending) will also arrive in the first months of the new year, but it will be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip. The Dimensity 9000 is a proper flagship chipset, built on the 4nm process. It is the first...

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Apple assembling new chip design team in Southern California

Over 9 months after it announced its new Munich-based chip design plant, Apple has begun hiring engineers with experience in the modem chips and wireless semiconductor business in Irvine, California. A recent Bloomber report confirms the development and specifies Apple is looking for people with experience in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi semiconductors, wireless radios, radio-frequency integrated circuits and wireless system-on-a-chip designs. This marks yet another clear sign that Apple is hard at work on transitioning away from Qualcomm modems and wants to develop its own in-house wireless chips...

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Oppo patents a phone with under-display camera, display on the back

Oppo has been developing under-display cameras since late 2019, but is yet to release an actual smartphone, available for purchase by consumers. The company has just been granted a patent from WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organisation) for a device with a UD camera and a small screen on the back, next to the main cam setup - whether it is a part of the Find X4 series or not, we’re yet to learn. The patent has been approved by CNIPA (Chinese National Intellectual Property Association), but just now it is approved for global use. Acquired by LetsGoDigital, it also reveals the...

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