Category: Cell Phone

Galaxy S11 ‘Final’ Design Reveals Stunning New Display

Samsung’s Galaxy S11 has leaked substance, leaked smarts and leaked potentially game-changing upgrades. But the latest leak confirms exactly what will catch everyone’s attention first: style. 

Unsurprisingly, it stems from prolific Samsung insider Ice Universe who has revealed the “final version” of the Galaxy S11 display after obtaining a cover used as a reference for accessory makers to produce screen protectors. And the surprise is it shows a phone which essentially has no bezels at all. 

In fact, the only downside to this “final version” is it confirms the Galaxy S11 will still have a hole punch for the camera. That said, it has been centred (which I find more aesthetically pleasing) and the camera module itself has been shrunk to take up less space. It’s also worth saying that while hole punch displays may not ideal, they avoid the delicate motors which power pop-up cameras which have been used by rivals. 

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Furthermore, this eye-catching display looks like being the finishing touch on a very impressive phone overall. 

In addition to its vanishing bezel, the Galaxy S11 display will run at a buttery smooth 120Hz display and incorporate a supersized fingerprint sensor. The camera has also been completely overhauled with an eye-popping resolution and 5x optical zoom and the batteries significantly enlarged because 5G will come as standard. Downsides? Be prepared to wave goodbye to the headphone jack. 

With an earlier release date than ever before, Samsung is clearly chomping at the bit to get the Galaxy S11 into our hands. And I don’t think anyone will complain about that. 

VIVO X30 SERIES LAUNCHED WITH SAMSUNG EXYNOS 980 & 60X ZOOM CAMERA

After weeks of leaks and teasers, the Vivo X30 series was finally announced today in the Chinese province of Guilin. The smartphones pack a high-end camera setup along with the latest Samsung Exynos 980.

VIVO X30 SERIES LAUNCHED WITH SAMSUNG EXYNOS 980 & 60X ZOOM CAMERA

Vivo’s X30 series comes with a large 6.44-inch AMOLED display with 800 nits brightness (tops at 1200 nits) featuring a camera punch-hole design. According to the phone maker, this is the smallest camera punch-hole at just 2.98mm.

Photography wise, we find a total of four rear cameras. These include a primary 64MP shooter (Samsung GM1 sensor / 1.6 micron pixels / F1.8) paired with an 8MP ultra-wide angle lens, a 32MP telephoto sensor and the star of the show: a 13MP periscope lens for a maximum 60x zoom.

The camera setup allows the smartphone to cover most common focal lengths used in professional photography. We indeed have a 135mm equivalent mostly used for portrait photography and for indoor sports, followed by a 50mm lens, also common for portraits; a 26mm equivalent lens for general use and an ultra-wide 16mm focal length for that extra coverage.

Finally, as cameras are concerned, we have 32MP selfie snapper with f/2.45 aperture (no focal length revealed here).

As we previously mentioned, the X30 series isn’t just about photography. The smartphones will indeed be the first to equip Samsung’s Exynos 980. A processor based on a 8nm manufacturing process and featuring an Arm A77 CPU architecture. It does of course support 5G as well, more specifically dual-mode 5G NSA / SA; a more advanced tech than NSA-only 5G.

Other features on the Vivo X30 include a 4350mAh capacity battery with 33W fast charge support and NFC. We also find a GX optical screen fingerprint recognition system, which increases the photosensitive area by 61%, imaging information by 30% and signal-to-noise ratio by 41%; meanwhile unlock time is just 0.29 seconds.

Software wise, the smartphone runs the Funtouch OS 10. The new OS coming with a refreshed design, it’s 75% more secure compared to previous editions and 80% less prone to app crashes.

The Vivo X30 series is available in two versions: X30 and X30 Pro. The X30 Pro models include all the features mentioned above, while the standard X30 does not pack the 60x zoom lens nor the improved fingerprint scanner.

Price wise, the Vivo X30 8GB/128GB will go for 3298 yuan ($470) and 3598 yuan ($515) for 8GB/256GB. Meanwhile the X30 Pro 8GB/128GB will cost 3998 yuan ($570) or 4298 yuan ($615) if you want the 8GB/256GB variant.

Galaxy S10’s Android 10 and One UI 2 Update is Here

Samsung is delivering an early holiday gift to owners of the Galaxy S10 in the US. Reports of the Android 10 and One UI 2 update showing up on S10 devices have surfaced this morning.

At this time, the update does not appear to be widely rolling out to all US models of the Galaxy S10. Instead, at least one of our readers with a T-Mobile Galaxy S10e is getting the update, as are another few with T-Mobile S10 devices over at reddit and the Samsung Community.

We aren’t seeing anyone yet with the update on AT&T, Verizon, or Sprint. There are some in Canada receiving the update, though, so this is a wider rollout than just T-Mobile in North America.

UPDATE: At least one of our readers on Xfinity Mobile has received the stable Android 10 update!

UPDATE 2: It’s official! T-Mobile just posted changelogs for the update across its S10 line. The builds you’ll see are as follows – Galaxy S10 (G973USQU2CSKP), Galaxy S10+ (G975USQU2CSKP), and Galaxy S10e (G970USQU2CSKP).

UPDATE 3: We’ve got a reader in the comments with the update on Sprint!

UPDATE 4: Verizon S10 units getting the update now too!

The builds arriving are G973USQU2CSKP, G973UOYN2CSKP, and G973USQU2CSKP. The update weighs in at almost 2.4GB.

If we do see Samsung and its carrier partners begin pushing stable Android 10 over the next couple of weeks, this would be the earliest we have seen Samsung get a big update out. We saw major improvement earlier this year with the release of Android 9 to the Galaxy S9 and Note 9 lines, but this is another month before that schedule. We’re still in 2019! Let’s hope Samsung can bring it home.

Hands-on with the first TCL-branded smartphone, the TCL Plex

TCL may not be the most familiar name for those that are more interested in the smartphone market, but the company is responsible for making smartphones for both the Alcatel and BlackBerry brands. You may also be somewhat familiar with TCL’s TVs. Now, the company is entering the smartphone market with its own brand, and its debut smartphone is the TCL Plex.

It’s a mid-range smartphone, but it’s leaning more towards the higher end of that range. It features a Snapdragon 675 with eight Kryo 460 cores and a max frequency of 2GHz, as well as an Adreno 612 GPU. It has 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, so it’s well-equipped for a mid-ranger. It also brings TCL’s NXTVISION display technology, with support for HDR and image enhancement technologies, which should make it pretty good despite being an LCD display.

Unfortunately for U.S. customers, the TCL Plex is only available in Europe, and it costs €329. We’ll be doing a full review over the next couple of weeks, but for now, check out our first impressions in the video below.

REDMI K30 DOESN’T HAVE A SINGLE PILL-SHAPED CUTOUT, BUT TWO DISTINCT PUNCH HOLES

Earlier this week, Xiaomi took the wraps off the Redmi K30 in 4G and 5G flavors. The new premium mid-range devices come with the hard mission to surpass the K20 / Mi 9T popularity. Both the variants come with 6.67-inch LCD IPS panels with whopping 120Hz refresh rates. Furthermore, it came with a pill-shaped punch hole for the dual selfie snappers. Now, according to several reports from users who are exploring the new smartphone secrets, it seems the space between the two cameras is actually masked through software. So instead of a single pill-shaped punch hole, we have two separate camera cutouts.

According to a number of reports coming from Weibo, MIUI is masking the empty space between the two front cameras. If you go into the display options menu and choose to hide the cutout, you’ll be able to spot the empty space for a brief moment. Users are adventurous in Android, and it’s not a surprise to see that some of them managed to force the display to completely ignore the space between the two snappers. Therefore, through modding, it permanently shows the dual punch-hole design.

We have to say that Xiaomi is going through a controversial route with this choice. Apparently, it was a design choice that follows current punch-hole standards. The problem is that Redmi K30 uses an LCD screen, for that reason, the cutout may stick out depending on light conditions. LCD screens can’t reproduce the deep black of AMOLED panels which does not light up the screen when displaying black colors.

Leaked Huawei P40 Pro render shows off significant camera bump

We know that Huawei’s P40 range is slated for a global launch despite Google services lockout, and aside from an alleged specs list that was posted on Twitter yesterday, there has been little else to go on in regards to what the Chinese manufacturer has planned for its upcoming flagship. 

Now, a render has landed on Chinese gadget reviews site GizChina which purports to offer our first real look at the Huawei P40 Pro – even if it is just a side-on view of the handset.

Although the image above is low-res and somewhat pixelated, we’re still able to surmise a few things about the phone’s design that lend more weight to the aforementioned Twitter post by leaker Yash Raj Chaudhary.

The tweet stated that the Huawei P40 Pro would feature the same Waterfall OLED display that was featured on this year’s Huawei Mate 30 Pro, and we can clearly see that the above render shows a phone with exactly that kind of curved screen.

We can also see a fairly significant camera bump on the handset, leading us to believe it may carry a Leica Penta Camera as mentioned in Chaudhary’s specs list. Specifically, a Sony IMX686 1/1.7 inch with OIS, along with a 20MP ultra wide camera, 12 MP (Periscope) telephoto lens, macro camera and ToF sensor. 

Not much else is offered by the render when it comes to tantalising information, however if the image is to be believed, the Huawei P40 Pro will sport a power button and volume rocker along its right edge – just like the P30 Pro. We probably won’t hear anything more concrete until early in the new year.

Samsung Suddenly Exposes Radical Galaxy S11 Upgrades

The Galaxy S11 is going to surprise a lot of people thanks to its truly head-turning new design. But now Samsung has revealed something else about the phone which will get people talking.

Picked up by the eagle eyes of SamMobile and popular Samsung insider Ice Universe, Samsung has made the battery sizes of the Galaxy S11 and Galaxy S11+ publicly available through the submission of these parts for certification at government testing agency SafetyKorea. And its reveals Samsung has stepped up its game. 

Galaxy S11: 4,500 mAh (Battery ID – EB-BG985ABY)

Galaxy S11+: 5,000 mAh (Battery ID – EB-BG988ABY)

These are massive upgrades compared to the Galaxy S10 (3,400 mAh) and Galaxy S10+ (4,100 mAh) which were no slouches themselves when it came to longevity. Interestingly, SamMobile notes that the same batteries will power both the 4G and 5G versions of the Galaxy S11 with the Galaxy S11+ expected to only come in a 5G version. As such, it may be the 4G Galaxy S11 which leads the pack. 

As for buyers on a budget, we already know Samsung is going to equip the entry-level Galaxy S11e with a circa 3,800 mAh battery (ID: EB-BG980ABY) compared to Galaxy S10e’s 3,100 mAh capacity so the whole range is leaping a new level. This couldn’t be better timed given Apple’s big upgrades and it really shows up Google’s absurd Pixel 4 folly. 

For Galaxy fans, Samsung is also cooking up several more headline changes with leaks revealing the S11’s new groundbreaking ‘Hubble’ camera, next-gen memory and supersized fingerprint sensor. 

Furthermore, the Galaxy S11 range is expected to launch earlier than ever before in February, so there’s not long to wait now. Just beware of the Exynos version. 

VIVO X30 SERIES COMING ON DECEMBER 16TH WITH PUNCH-HOLE CAMERA

Chinese phone maker Vivo just announced that the new Vivo X30 series is officially coming on December 16th. The announcement also came in the form of a teaser which gives us the first glimpse at the design of the device.

VIVO X30 SERIES COMING ON DECEMBER 16TH WITH PUNCH-HOLE CAMERA

So, as can see in the image above, the Vivo X30 series appears to feature a punch-hole camera at the front. Meanwhile on the back we find the much teased quad camera setup which includes a periscope lens.

What are more interesting are the speculations by renown Chinese leakers though. According to them the device does indeed feature a 6.5-inch AMOLED display with Full HD+ resolution. We then find a Samsung Exynos 980 SoC with support for 5G cellular networks in Dual-Mode NSA / SA, for a maximum download speed of 2.55Gbps. The smartphone will also feature a dedicated AI button, JoviOS and 33W fast charge technology.

Camera wise, as we know from previous official teasers, the Vivo X30 series will pack a total of four rear cameras. These will include a telephoto lens used to get portraits and equivalent to a 50mm lens; a periscope lens with 5 times optical zoom and 60X digital zoom equivalent to a 1620mm glass on a full frame sensor an ultra wide angle lens, 16mm equivalent.

Meanwhile, the main camera sensor should have a resolution of 64MP; most likely a Samsung ISOCELL GW1 image sensor.

Are you guys looking forward for the X30 series to be released? What would you use the 60x zoom for? Let us know down below!

Samsung Insider Delivers Galaxy S11 Bad News Blow

Samsung’s Galaxy S11 has leaked and leaked again, revealing a truly radical new design. But now we know it’s not all good news for potential buyers. 

In a series of tweets, popular Samsung insider Ice Universe has revealed that the Exynos 990-based Galaxy S11 sold in Europe and Asia will be notably inferior to the Snapdragon 865-based version sold in the US. And that could have serious repercussions for all buyers. 

After lauding the performance of Qualcomm’s newly unveiled Snapdragon 865 by revealing its first benchmarks, Ice lamented: “I hope that the Galaxy S11 all over the world uses the Snapdragon 865 processor. Exynos 990 cannot compete with it. This is the darkest period of Exynos. It has never been so embarrassing.”

Interestingly, Ice has not leaked the Exynos 990’s benchmarks but it is clear we should expect to be underwhelmed. Something Ice made the point of hammering home: 

“I used to be the most determined fan of exynos, but it disappointed me. It was caused by the wrong decision of Samsung’s leadership,” he continued. “This is the price Samsung should pay. Samsung has wasted 5 years on the CPU, and it lags far behind.”

On paper, the good news for US customers is Samsung’s Galaxy flagships all use Snapdragon chips. The problem is, historically, Samsung has not been a fan of releasing two versions of its phones with significantly different capabilities and it has capped both performance and functionality of the faster model in the past to eliminate this. 

Yes, the appeal of the Galaxy S11 stretches beyond raw performance. We already know about its potentially groundbreaking ‘Hubble’ camera, the aforementioned radical design changes, next-gen memory, a supersized fingerprint sensor and much bigger batteries.

That said, if the Exynos 990 is as bad as Ice claims, and Samsung’s track record is anything to go by, then owners worldwide may well find themselves buying a defanged version of what the Galaxy S11 should be. 

Sony Xperia 5 versus OnePlus 7 Pro camera comparison: the unlikely victor

All smartphones come with pretty decent cameras these days, but if you’re looking for a device capable of replacing a dedicated point-and-shoot camera or even a DSLR, you’ll need to pay a bit closer attention to the details.

The Sony Xperia 5 and OnePlus 7 Pro are two amazing flagship smartphones that launched this year. While the specifications offered by the two smartphones look like they should both offer incredible pictures, the best way to see what the results will be is by doing a comparison and showing you how the cameras perform in different situations.

With Sony currently positioned as the leader in digital camera sensors, you would think that the Xperia 5 would easily come away with the win in this comparison. That being said, the OnePlus 7 Pro showed a lot of promise with much-improved image processing compared to previous years.

Take a look at the video and the video gallery to see how these two smartphones compare. The results may very well surprise you.