Week 48 in review: Xiaomi 13 series coming, ZTE's Axon 40 Ultra Space Edition is here

The Xiaomi 13 series was supposed to launch this week alongside MIUI 14, but it got postoponed alongside launches from Huawei, iQOO, and MediaTek. We still got some details on the Xiaomi 13 Pro's camera system. It will use the 1-inch type main camera from the 12S Ultra - a Sony IMX898 sensor. The 3x telefphoto camera will have a floating lens, helping it to focus as close as 10cm when needed. We also saw a changelog for MIUI 14 with more customization options, an all-new widget format, a focus on privacy, and more. Corning unveiled the Gorilla Glass Victus 2 with much-improved drop...

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Samsung Galaxy Xcover 5 now getting Android 13 and One UI 5.0

Samsung has been going at breakneck speeds with its Android 13 and One UI 5.0 update rollout. After its successor got the update back in mid-November, the Xcover 5 has now started receiving an Android 13, One UI 5.0 OTA. The package is available for the SM-G525F model in a dozen or so European countries. The OTA update also contains November 2022 Android security patches. The Galaxy X Cover 5 is a fairly unremarkable addition to Samsung's rugged lineup that came out last year. Its spotlight feature, of course, is the ability to survive a 1.5m drop, as well as over 30 minutes...

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Flashback: the rise (and fall?) of the microSD card

The recent shopping spree had us looking at great deals for microSD cards and with that came the sad realization that many of us no longer have a phone with a memory expansion slot. This sent us on a walk down memory lane to revisit the history of the microSD. A few years ago we did a retrospective of the memory card, covering MMC, SD, Memory Stick and the like. Today we want to focus on microSD exclusively because – for better or for worse – this is the card that won the format wars. That’s ancient history now, we have an article from over a decade ago that chronicled the rising...

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Weekly poll: the Honor Magic Vs and the Honor 80 series are here, who's in?

The first two models of Honor’s new 80-series became available in China this Friday. There is also the SE model, which is coming next week, and a new foldable flagship that is still a month away. Have you put any thought into picking one up? We’ll look at the Honor Magic Vs first. Honor’s engineers did some impressive work and dropped the weight from 288g/293g of the original V (the eco leather version weighs a bit more) to 261g/267g. They achieved it by massively simplifying the hinge, which went from 92 elements to just 4. The hinge still allows the phone to close flatand to open with a...

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Weekly poll results: the vivo X90 Pro+ is showered with love

If you’ve been following the FIFA World Cup you will have seen plenty of ads for the vivo X90 series. One of the three models has proven very well liked in last week’s poll while its two siblings were left in its shadow. We’re talking about the vivo X90 Pro+. Over half the people who voted expressed interest. Another quarter of voters can be swayed in its favor if it performs well in reviews against other camera-first phones with 1” sensors. The vivo X90 series at a glance Since the X80 Pro+ was canceled, the X90 Pro+ is an even bigger upgrade over the 2021 series than it...

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Weekly deals: the best smartphone deals from Amazon in Germany, the US, the UK and India

The Black Friday craziness is behind us, so now we can go back to regular browsing for deals – it never hurts to have a look, even if it’s not a major shopping holiday. Here are the best deals from Amazon we picked out for Germany, the US, the UK and India. Germany USA The UK India Germany Apple rarely offers discounts, especially on current models. However, you can save a few euro by going through a different retailer. For example, a 128GB iPhone 14 Plus goes for €1,080 on Amazon Germany, if you pick up the black one. On Apple.com that same unit will cost you...

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