Category: Cell Phone

OPPO patents a phone with a round pop-up selfie camera

The pop-up selfie camera is a prominent alternative to the display notch or punch-hole camera. It keeps the upper part of a smartphone screen free of either and deploys a front-facing shooter at need. These modules are usually small square modules that rise from the top edge of a device using motors at need.

However, there are a couple of departures from this shape out there, particularly the wedge-cam found in the first- and second-gen Reno and Reno 10x Zoom. Now, it seems their maker OPPO has patented a new idea along the same lines. 

This document had been filed with the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) earlier in 2020. It depicts a triple-rear-camera phone with a selfie camera found in a semi-circle peeping over the top bezel of its display. Further diagrams show that the rest of this shape seems to be present in an internal housing that is also attached to the main cameras.

These illustrations also suggest that the front-facing shooter is deployed via a spinning action, controlled through a release mechanism on one side. Therefore, OPPO may launch a phone with this unique type of pop-up in the near future.

This find has also led to speculation that the same device will be a new Reno with this series’ rumored next-gen 15x Hybrid zoom. However, nothing of that sort is certain at this time.

Global EMUI 11 beta opened for Huawei MatePad Pro

EMUI 11 for Huawei P40, Mate 30, and MatePad Pro series has already reached the stable version in China. On the other hand, Huawei has P40 and Mate 30 series also testing beta EMUI 11 in Europe. There’s one more device that now opened for the test of this latest EMUI version.

Huawei has announced EMUI 11 beta tester recruitment for the Huawei MatePad Pro tablet in countries including:

Kuwait

Egypt

Jordan

Philippines

Malaysia

Thailand

Users in these countries can apply for EMUI 11 beta applications and once selected they’ll start receiving the beta build via OTA.

To sign for the EMUI 11 beta, you’ll need to download the Huawei beta application on your eligible Huawei device.

iPhone 12 Pro Max Reviews Show Conflicting Camera Results

We recently shared a review of the iPhone 12 Pro Max from Marques Brownlee who showed that in his testing, the larger sensor and stabilizer did not contribute to noticeably better images. However, the results from other reviews don’t necessarily agree.

The Verge has released its 12-minute video review of the iPhone and in it, they show some results that make the iPhone 12 Pro Max look much better than its competitors.

The updates to the iPhone 12 Pro Max will be most noticeable in low light, as the new sensor is larger and therefore able to absorb more light than the sensors on the other iPhone 12 models or many other popular smartphones like the Google Pixel 5 or the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.

“In sunlight and other bright light situations, the photos from the 12 Pro and the 12 Pro Max look identical to me,” the Verge states, in agreement with MKBHD’s review. “And photos from all the major flagships are starting to look the same.”

However, that new sensor has higher ISO capability than its iPhone contemporaries: the iPhone 12 Pro has a maximum ISO of 5808, while the 12 Pro Max can reach ISO 7616.

“It’s when the light gets dimmer than the 12 Pro Max starts to stand out,” the Verge continues.

In addition to the above image that shows significantly less noise on the iPhone 12 Pro Max, The Verge also found that in low light conditions where the iPhone 12 Pro, Note 20 Ultra, and Pixel 5 all switched to Night mode (where the camera melds multiple exposures together to create one better quality image), the iPhone 12 Pro Max did not.

This result is in direct conflict with Brownlee’s findings.

In a review from photographer Austin Mann, he also reports that the iPhone 12 Pro Max produces noticeably better results in low light.

“The larger sensor can collect more candlelight, the bigger pixel size keeps the grain smoother without sacrificing detail, and the sensor-shift OIS keeps the image sharp despite my handheld camera shake,” he writes.

CNET seems to lean more towards what MKBHD found in his review, stating that while on paper the specifications on the iPhone 12 Pro Max look impressive, the real-world results were not particularly definitive.

“The Pro Max does take pretty great photos in low light,” CNET states. “But when comparing photos with the regular 12 Pro, the differences don’t jump out right away.”

Just like Brownlee reported, CNET agrees that this result is less of a strike against the Pro Max, and more of an indication of just how good the regular iPhone 12 cameras are.

In a review from MrWhosetheBoss, his results show noticeable differences between the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro even with more available light than what other outlets reported.

“The fact that it can process more light means it can gather just a bit more information,” he states. The side-by-side example below shows a clearly different result between the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro.

What’s perhaps the most interesting, or confusing, takeaway from these multiple reviews is that different testers are getting different results. It’s hard to make out why Brownlee and CNET did not report significant differences in their images (and looking at them side by side, it’s hard to disagree with their findings) while the photos shared by The Verge, Mann, and WhosetheBoss show very noticeable differences between the two cameras.

Samsung makes a bid to steal Huawei market share as Galaxy S21 Ultra specs leak

All evidence currently points to Samsung launching its next flagship phone in January, over a month ahead of its usual schedule. Why? Apparently, Samsung is aiming for that early 2021 release date in a bid to steal some of Huawei’s market share.

Reuters reports that Samsung is pushing forward its release of the Galaxy S21 series to be a better competitor in the smartphone market as a whole. On the Android side of things, that means Samsung can grab some extra market share from Huawei while the Chinese OEM is still struggling with restrictions from the US that extend into 2021. Further, an earlier release also gives Samsung a better chance to compete with Apple’s latest crop of iPhones.

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd 005930.KS may launch its flagship Galaxy S smartphones more than a month earlier than expected in a bid to grab market share from Huawei and fend off competition from Apple Inc, three sources familiar with the matter said.

Any advantage Samsung can get going into 2021 is helpful given the performance of the Galaxy S20 series. That lineup performed extremely poorly compared to years past, obviously due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic.

We already have a decent look into what the Galaxy S21 series will offer including a redesign. Beyond that, the spec sheet is also getting some upgrades. Just last night, @UniverseIce on Twitter reported that the Galaxy S21 Ultra will include a 108MP camera and support for 45W charging. On top of that, the display will be a WQHD+ LTPO panel with a 120Hz refresh rate and nearly-symmetrical bezels.

REDMI NOTE 9 SERIES IS COMING WITH A SAMSUNG 108MP HM2 SENSOR – LU WEIBING HINTS

Lu Weibing, President of Xiaomi Group China and General Manager of Redmi Brand, posted a warm-up poster on Weibo today. The poster is to get consumers prepared for Xiaomi’s upcoming 11.11 sales. Technically, the message reminds people that it’s just two days before the massive sales from Xiaomi. However, it also comes with the phrase “November will be exciting”. Ordinarily, November is an exciting month because of the Chinese sales. However, there are speculations that Lu Weibing is hinting towards the arrival of the Redmi Note 9 series in China.

Many people are confused because Redmi already released the Note 9 series globally back in May. However, the company did not release these devices in China at the time. Now, Redmi is getting set to unveil the Redmi Note 9 series in China and it comes with significant changes. From the design to the hardware, this device is different from the global version.

REDMI NOTE 9 SERIES SPECIFICATIONS

According to leaks, this series will have two smartphones, a regular model and a high version. According to @DigitalChatStation, the regular version of this series will come with a 6.53-inch display which has a 2400 x 1080p resolution. The display will have a single punch-hole screen in the upper left corner. We will also have a 13MP front camera as well as a 48MP main rear sensor in a Cantonese matrix triple camera setup. This device will come with a Dimensity 800U processor as well as a 5000 mAh battery that supports a 22.5W fast charge. The Redmi Note 9 regular version will have a dimension of 161.96 × 77.25 × 9.20mmm weighing 200g. ​​​​

As for the Redmi Note 9 high version, here are what we should expect

Display: 6.67-inch micro-curved LCD display with a 2400 x 1080p resolution and a single punch-hole (center). Uses a 120Hz refresh rate + 240Hz sampling rate

Support 30 ~ 120Hz multi-speed transmission.

Front Camera: 16MP front camera

Rear Camera: Quad camera setup, 108mp HM2 main sensor

Processor: Snapdragon 750G SoC

Battery: 4820 mAh + 33W fast charge

Dimension: 165.4 × 76.8 × 9.0mm

Weight: 214.5g. ​​

REDMI NOTE9 SERIES DISPLAY PANEL LEAK SHOWS A VERY SMALL PUNCH-HOLE

According to previous reports, the punch-hole aperture of this device is almost equal to the mainstream flagship devices. The punch-hole aperture will be 3.8mm±. The leak also claims that next year, the apertures of flagship punch-hole will be mostly 2.4mm±~2.9mm±. With a small diameter lens module and 0.7μm cis, selfies will not be a problem.

Recently, two new products of the Redmi Note 9 series officially obtained 3C certification. Judging from the network access information, the two new models of the Redmi Note series should correspond to two versions of the same model, namely the standard version and the Pro version. In addition, the Pro version will support 33W fast charging.

This Redmi Note 9 high version (probably Redmi Note 9 Pro) will be the first smartphone to use the Snapdragon 750G processor in China. The 100-megapixel Samsung HM2 sensor is 1/1.52 inches in size, with a unit pixel area of ​​0.7μm, and supports 9 pixels in one (equivalent to 2.1μm). It is worth mentioning that Redmi previously released the Note 9/Pro series outside China. However, the Chinese version will be very different from the global version.

ONEPLUS NORD N100 (ASIAN VERSION) PASSES BY GEEKBENCH BENCHMARK

The year 2020 will be remembered by OnePlus and its fans. Of course, we’re not talking about the pandemic that ravaged the world during the past months. We are talking about OnePlus expansion as a smartphone brand that ships more than just premium devices. This year, OnePlus introduced the OnePlus Nord as its first mid-range smartphone in years. Back in the last month, we got the confirmation that “Nord” stands for a series of affordable OnePlus devices. The company introduced the OnePlus Nord N10 and Nord N100.

The former is a cheaper 5G smartphone, while the latter is a budget-friendly device, the first one released by OnePlus. During the launch, the Chinese firm didn’t expose its plans regarding global availability. Now, an Asian variant of the device has been spotted on GeekBench. This brings the possibility of an Indian launch.

It’s not a big surprise to see that OnePlus is targeting the Indian markets as well as other markets in Asia. The Chinese firm has been building a solid user base among these markets, and talking about India, once again, it’s one of the biggest strongholds for OnePlus phones. The company has established a solid presence there as a premium smartphone brand. Moreover, the original Nord is also performing well there. For that reason, we can see that the OnePlus Nord N100 is a device that really makes sense in one of the biggest markets for smartphones.

The N100 appeared on GeekBench with model number OnePlus BE2013. Interestingly enough, the very same model number was spotted before on Thailand’s NBTC certification process. This another strong hint of an Asian launch in the coming weeks. For now, the company needs to give an official confirmation about it. However, OnePlus is well known for teasing its launches.

ONEPLUS NORD N100 SPECIFICATIONS

The Nord N100 flaunts a Snapdragon 460 SoC. This is a solid entry-level Octa-Core with at least four Cortex-A73 cores ensuring strong performance. The device brings 4GB of RAM and 64GB of Internal Storage. Moreover, we have a microSD card slot for further memory expansion, a feature that isn’t common among OnePlus phones.

The device flaunts a 6.52-inch HD+ LCD with 1,600 x 720 pixels of resolution and an aspect ratio of 20:9 aspect ratio. This panel brings a top-left aligned punch-hole comprising an 8MP selfie snapper. Moving around to the back we have a Triple-Camera setup comprising a 13MP primary, a 2MP macro, and a 2MP bokeh lens.

The device brings a huge 5,000mAh battery with 18W fast-charging. Other features include Bluetooth 5.1, 4G LTE, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. On the software front, we have OxygenOS 10.5 based on Android 10.

Motorola gives new Moto G9 Power the biggest battery it’s ever put in a phone

Big batteries are always in style, and Motorola seems to have taken that to heart with its newest phones. The Moto G 5G and Moto G9 Power both have large capacities, but the G9 Power includes the largest cell that the company has ever included in a device, with claims of lasting for up to 60 hours on a single charge.

That longevity is thanks to the phone’s 6,000mAh battery, which is a solid 1,000mAh improvement over the G8 Power. Not only is the G9 Power Motorola’s largest phone in terms of battery capacity, but it’s also the final phone in the G9 series which debuted earlier this year. The G9 Power is pretty average when it comes to everything beyond the battery life, with uninspiring cameras and just 4GB of RAM.

Motorola is also announcing a new phone called the Moto G 5G that offers solid specs and affordability along with 5G connectivity. It has similar hardware to the Moto G 5G Plus, but with fewer premium features to help bring the price down. The Moto G 5G’s battery is 5,000mAh, which isn’t as big as the G9 Power’s, but should still last up to two days. Both new devices have Google Assistant buttons and run Moto’s new camera app.

The Moto G9 Power is on sale in Argentina and select European countries with a starting price of €199.99 EUR. It should roll out to more countries in Latin America, India, Middle East and Asia in the coming weeks. The Moto G 5G is also coming soon with a MSRP of €299.99 EUR.

The Nokia 10 PureView is now tipped to be a 2021 flagship with a seriously premium display spec

Nokia has developed a habit of allegedly developing flagship phones and then canning them for nebulous reasons. Now, it may have a new one in the works, which may be aimed at a launch in 2021. This 10 PureView has come up in rumors before, albeit without many additional details.

Now, NokiaPowerUser says it has heard from its sources that the phone is set to rock the Snapdragon 875 SoC. This would probably make it a Nokia flagship in 2021. Then again, it is also slated not to launch until the second half of the year, by which time slightly newer chipsets and devices based on them might have emerged.

However, none of them is likely to make another claim the blog is making for the 10 PureView, which is that it will have a display made with “sapphire glass”. OEMs have not offered this spec since the HTC U Ultra special edition in 2017. (Not that it did that company a lot of good in the end.)

NokiaPowerUser also claims the phone will have the “multi-lens” Zeiss-branded camera system for which its series is known. However, it does not know how much the phone might cost on its putative launch. In addition, the manufacturer itself is yet to acknowledge this new leak.

Google Pixel 5: An overview of the test results

After the 5.7-inch Pixel 4 and the 6.3-inch Pixel 4 XL, Google now takes a step backward: The Pixel 5 uses a 6-inch OLED display with an FHD+ resolution of 2340 x 1080 pixels. In addition, there are 8 GB of RAM, 128 GB internal storage, and the Snapdragon 765G mid-range SoC with an integrated 5G communication module.

Although with its mid-range SoC, the Pixel cannot really compete against the high-end competitors, it still offers more than sufficient performance for everyday tasks. Its 4080-mAh battery is also suitable for everyday use, ensuring a very long battery life for the smartphone.

Android 11 and a very good dual camera system

The Pixel 5 already runs Android 11. In addition there is the promise from Google that the Pixel 5 will be provided with updates of the Android operating system and security patches for at least 3 years. The 3-year time frame starts with the introduction of the Pixel 5 into the Google Store USA, which was in mid-October.

Even though the Pixel 5 only has a dual camera system with a 12.2 MP resolution, it plays among the top as far as image quality is concerned, which is traditionally one of the strengths of the Google Pixel series. The Pixel 5 not only takes very good pictures in daylight, but the results are still impressive in bad light conditions. As in the Pixel 4 XL before, there is again an Astro Photo mode for hobby astronomers. 

However, the Pixel 5 is also not free of faults. For example, we missed the option for storage expansion or a more current WiFi module – the Pixel 5 is limited to the slightly aged WiFi 5 (WLAN 802.11ac). And with its stereo speakers, one of which is hidden below the display, the Pixel 5 also does not impress either, since the sound is very thin.

Motorola Moto G 5G to launch with a Snapdragon 750G, a 5,000 mAh battery and 6 GB of RAM

Motorola has a new smartphone in the works, reputedly codenamed Kiev. While the device has been rumoured for a while, XDA Developers and u/kutlay1653 on Reddit have revealed multiple details, including a hands-on photo. According to the former, Motorola will launch the device as the Moto G 5G; a slimmed-down version of the Moto G 5G Plus that Motorola launched earlier this year.

The Moto G 5G will rely on the Snapdragon 750G, Qualcomm’s new mid-range gaming SoC, along with 6 GB of RAM. Additionally, the device will be available with 128 GB of storage and a 6.66-inch display. According to Mishaal Rahman of XDA Developers, the screen will have a 60 Hz refresh rate and a resolution of 2,400 x 1,080 pixels. There will also be a punch-hole for a 16 MP camera, which will be complemented by a 48 MP Samsung GM1 primary camera, an 8 MP Samsung S5K4H7 telephoto lens and a 2 MP OmniVision OV02B10 macro lens.

A 5,000 mAh battery will be powering the Moto G 5G, too. Motorola is expected to release the device on Verizon in the US, but there will be four models: XT2113-1, XT2113-2, XT2113-3 and XT2113-5. A release date or pricing remains unknown for the time being, though.