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Xiaomi Mi 8 now comes in a 8GB RAM/128GB storage model
Xiaomi has launched a new 8GB RAM/128GB storage variant of the Xiaomi Mi 8 in China. It will go on sale today for CNY 3299 ($479).
Xiaomi has launched two Qualcomm Snapdragon 845-powered flagships so far: the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S and the Xiaomi Mi 8. (The company's Black Shark subsidiary has also launched a Snapdragon 845-powered gaming phone, but it doesn't run MIUI.) The Pocophone F1 will be another Snapdragon 845-powered Xiaomi flagship, and the company is developing even more phones as well. The key differentiating factor with the Xiaomi flagship phones is availability. The Mi Mix 2S is available in a few international markets (excluding India), while the Mi 8 remains a China-only phone for now.
Xiaomi launches the Xiaomi Mi Pad 4 Plus with a 10.1" display, Snapdragon 660, and a 8,620mAh battery
A report by MySmartPrice states that Xiaomi is developing a new Android tablet named the Xiaomi Mi Pad 4 Plus. It will have a 10-inch display.
The Xiaomi Mi Pad series of affordable tablets has always provided great value in terms of specifications and pricing. Availability of the Mi Pad series can be an issue as Xiaomi tends to sell them mostly in China, but they remain the go-to choice for buyers looking for an affordable Android tablet that does not have outdated specifications. The Xiaomi Mi Pad 4 was launched in China in June as the latest iteration of the Mi Pad series with an 8-inch WUXGA (1920x1200) IPS display and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 SoC. Now, Xiaomi has made the Xiaomi Mi Pad 4 Plus official.
Vivo Y81 launched in India with 6.22-inch notched display and MediaTek Helio P22 SoC
Vivo has launched the Vivo Y81 in India, a budget phone which is powered by the 12nm MediaTek Helio P22 SoC. It has a 6.2-inch HD+ notched display.
The budget and lower mid-range price segments in India are quite competitive right now. With phones such as the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro, Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1, and the Realme 1, it's difficult for other companies to undercut the established competitors in this market. With the launch of the Vivo Y81 in India, Vivo is aiming to do that, but a preliminary look at the specifications leaves us skeptical as to whether it will be able to take on phones that have better specifications.
We recently made a comprehensive list to track upcoming and unreleased phones by major vendors. OPPO is due to launch at least four new phones: the OPPO F9, OPPO F9 Pro, OPPO R17, and the OPPO R17 Pro. The company has been teasing the OPPO F9 Pro for a while, and specifications of the OPPO F9 have also been leaked. OPPO's F series is the mainstream mid-range series, while the R series are upper mid-range/pseudo-flagship series. Now, the OPPO R17 has been listed on the company's official Chinese website, revealing most of the specifications for the phone.
Xiaomi Mi 3, Xiaomi Mi 4, & Xiaomi Redmi 4X get Android Pie (Android 9) ports
The Xiaomi Mi 3/Mi 4 (device code-name: cancro) and the Xiaomi Redmi 4X (santoni) have received nearly stable AOSP Android Pie (Android 9) ports.
Google released Android 9 Pie for the Google Pixel/XL and the Google Pixel 2/XL last week. The latest version of Android comes with significant improvements including a new gesture navigation system, a new Material Design theme, Digital Well-being, privacy and security improvements, and more. In terms of updates, the Essential Phone is the only third-party Android phone to have received the Android Pie update so far (in fact, it received it on day one). Other smartphones eligible for the Android Pie beta program should be receiving updates in the next few weeks, but for those smartphones that are not due to receive official updates especially quickly, there is always the development community to help.
HTC U11/U11+/U11 Life (Android One) & U12+ confirmed to get Android Pie
HTC has announced that the HTC U11, HTC U11+, Android One variant of the HTC U11 Life, and the HTC U12+ will receive the Android Pie update.
The stable version of Android 9 Pie was officially released on Tuesday for the Google Pixel/XL and the Google Pixel 2/XL. On the same date, Essential rolled out the Android Pie update for the Essential Phone. The OnePlus 6 is currently on Android Pie beta 3, while the Nokia 7 Plus just received Android Pie beta 4. An alpha build of Android Pie has leaked for the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S, and we should be receiving more news soon for other smartphones eligible for the Android P beta program. On the other hand, companies like Samsung, Huawei, LG, and HTC didn't participate in the Android 9 Pie beta program. HTC has now revealed which of its phones will receive the Android Pie update.
OnePlus 6, Xiaomi Mi 8, Galaxy Note 9, & more are YouTube Signature Devices
YouTube has launched the YouTube Signature program. The Galaxy Note 9, OnePlus 6, Xiaomi Mi 8, and more YouTube Signature Devices for the best experience.
Earlier today, Samsung stated that the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is a YouTube Signature Device at the Unpacked event. YouTube has now launched a new Device Report website, where the company lists phones that have a best-in-class YouTube experience. The company states that its teams conducts "rigorous testing," and it also works with manufacturers to improve video playback performance.
Nova Launcher 6.0 beta is here with lots of new features
Nova Launcher 6.0-beta1 has been released with many features including an option for icon resizing, search Nova Settings, folder improvements, and more.
Android allows users to change the default launcher in favor of a custom launcher. It's one of the many features that differentiates the operating system from iOS. The AOSP Launcher is simple in terms of features, but custom launchers open a whole new world of features and functionality. Device makers also develop and bundle their own launchers with their custom user interfaces. One of the best custom launchers on Android is Nova Launcher. In November, the stable version of the launcher was updated to 5.5. Now, Nova Launcher 6.0-beta1 has been released with many new features.
LG's mobile division has been going through tough times lately. LG Electronics disclosed that its Mobile Communications division incurred an operating loss of $171.95 million in Q2 2018. With respect to the Indian smartphone market, LG has always found it tough to compete with Samsung at the high-end price segment and with Chinese smartphone vendors at the budget and mid-range segments. In December, the company launched the LG V30 in India, three months after its US launch. The LG G7 ThinQ was made official back in May, and it went on sale in select markets starting June. Three months after the phone's announcement, LG has now launched the LG G7+ ThinQ in India.
Taking cues from OnePlus, Oppo VP resigns to focus on Realme brand
A former vice president of Oppo and head of Oppo's overseas business has officially resigned from Oppo and founded Realme - a new technology brand.
Oppo is the fourth largest smartphone vendor in India, but the company hasn't traditionally been known for excelling in the value smartphone segment. Instead, the company, along with Vivo, has focused on offline marketing and offline retail to sell phones in the mid-range smartphone market, with the F7 being a prime example. This means that its phones haven't been able to compete with vendors such as Xiaomi, Honor, and Asus.
Huawei launches the Huawei Nova 3 and Nova 3i in India
Huawei has launched the Huawei Nova 3 and the Huawei Nova 3i in India. The Huawei Nova 3 costs ₹34,999, while the Kirin 710-powered Nova 3i costs ₹20,990.
At an event in Delhi today, Huawei launched the Huawei Nova 3 and the Huawei Nova 3i in India. The phones are the first in the Nova series to officially make their way to India. The Huawei Nova 3 has high-end specifications including the HiSilicon Kirin 970 system-on-chip (which is a first for the Nova series), while the Huawei Nova 3i is the first Huawei phone to feature the new HiSilicon Kirin 710 SoC.
Korean LG V20 starts getting Android 8.0 Oreo update
The Korean models of the LG V20 are receiving the Android 8.0 Oreo update in South Korea. It brings an improved blue light filter and June security patch.
The stable release of Android P isn't too far away, but device makers are continuing to roll out Android Oreo updates to their smartphones. Eleven months have passed since Android Oreo was made official, but the newest Android version is still installed only on 12.1% of Android devices (combining both Android 8.0 and Android 8.1). Yesterday we saw the US unlocked Samsung Galaxy S7 receive the Android Oreo update. Now, the LG V20---another 2016 flagship smartphone---is receiving the Android 8.0 Oreo update in South Korea.
Oppo F9 and Oppo F9 Pro receive Bluetooth certification, may launch soon
The Oppo F9 and Oppo F9 Pro have received Bluetooth certification. They have the same Bluetooth module as the Oppo F7, which means they use the same SoC.
Oppo is one of the world's largest smartphone vendors. The company is placed in fourth place in the Indian smartphone market. Although Oppo returned to the flagship smartphone space with the launch of the Oppo Find X, the company is more widely known for its F mid-range series (in international markets) and R upper mid-range/flagship series (in China). The Oppo F7, launched in March, was Oppo's first phone with a display notch, and it was powered by the MediaTek Helio P60 SoC. It was followed by the launch of the online-only Realme 1, which shared most of its specifications with the F7, but managed to be significantly cheaper. Now, the Oppo F9 and the Oppo F9 Pro have received Bluetooth certification, indicating that they may launch soon.
Tasker Beta adds the popular Paranoid Android per-app density feature
Tasker Beta has added the Display Size action fature. It enables users to modify display density (DPI) on a per-app basis.
Display density is measured in dots per inch (DPI). It determines the size of UI elements on a display of a given device. A higher display density means that users can see more interface elements at once. On the other hand, a lower display density means that fewer UI elements will be visible on the display, and the elements will be bigger. Tasker Beta has now added a Display Size option to change the display size dynamically.
Last week, we exclusively reported full specifications and press renders of the Huawei Nova 3. The Huawei Nova series is Huawei's mid-range smartphone series, and the Nova 3 series slots up below the Huawei Mate 10 series as well as the Huawei P20 and the Huawei P20 Pro. The Huawei Nova 3 went up for pre-order in China before its official launch, and now the company has revealed its pricing. The Huawei Nova 3i, a "lite" variant of the Nova 3, has also been made official.
MIUI 10 Global Beta 8.7.12 now available for 21 Xiaomi devices
Xiaomi has released MIUI 10 Global Beta 8.7.12 for 21 Xiaomi phones, including the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4, Xiaomi Redmi 4X, Xiaomi Mi Max 2, and more.
Xiaomi has been making good progress when it comes to rolling-out MIUI Beta ROMs for its devices. The company has revealed the roll-out schedule of MIUI 10. The company's popular custom user interface comes in two variants: MIUI 10 China and MIUI 10 Global. The China ROM is intended for Chinese users, whereas the Global Beta ROM is intended for a global audience and comes with Google Play services integration. Xiaomi phones that are sold internationally ship with MIUI Global Stable ROM.
New Huawei 10V/4A fast charging adapter gets certified on 3C
A new Huawei Power adapter developed by Astec Electronics was certified by 3C recently. It has a maximum 10V/4A recharge configuration.
Advancements in charging standards have slowed down as of late. Our in-depth comparison of fast charging standards last year led to the conclusion that OnePlus' Dash Charge and Huawei's SuperCharge were the two fastest charging standards on the market. OnePlus' Dash Charge is itself a derivative of Oppo's VOOC charging. Since then, Oppo proclaims that the Super VOOC charging on the Oppo Find X Lamborghini Edition can charge a 3,730mAh battery in 35 minutes -- making it the current fastest charging standard on the market, although it should be noted that it's only available for an expensive limited edition of a single flagship device.
Oppo Find X has no proximity sensor due to Qeexo's EarSense, has Dirac audio, and launches in India today
Oppo has launched the Oppo Find X in India. The smartphone costs ₹59,999 ($875) in the country. The phone uses Qeexo's EarSense technology and Dirac audio.
Oppo has been absent in the flagship smartphone space for a very long time. The company's last flagship smartphone was the Oppo Find 7, which was released back in 2014. After three years of releasing phones with mid-range chipsets, Oppo announced the flagship Oppo Find X last month. Now, the company has launched the Find X in India. The phone will be available for pre-order via Flipkart from July 25, with sales beginning from August 3.
Google Maps now available on the Reliance JioPhone with latest software update
The latest sofware update for the Reliance JioPhone brings Google Maps support. The JioPhone is a KaiOS-powered smart feature phone.
The Reliance JioPhone was launched last year as a "smart feature phone" powered by KaiOS. KaiOS is a fork of Boot2Gecko, which is the community-driven successor to the now extinct Firefox OS. The JioPhone had more capabilities than the average feature phone as it had Wi-Fi, 4G LTE, VoLTE, GPS, and the ability to run limited apps. Last month, Google announced that Google Maps, Assistant, and YouTube would roll out for KaiOS-powered devices such as the JioPhone. Now, the latest software update for the JioPhone brings Google Maps support.
Download LineageOS 15.1 for Xiaomi Mi A1, Samsung Galaxy S5, ZenFone 2, Xperia XA2, Lenovo P2, & OPPO R5/R5s/R7+/R7s
LineageOS 15.1 is now available for the Xiaomi Mi A1, Samsung Galaxy S5, ASUS ZenFone 2 Laser/Selfie, Sony Xperia XA2, and OPPO R5/R5s/R7 Plus/R7s.
LineageOS 15.1 is now officially available for a bunch of new devices including the Xiaomi Mi A1, Samsung Galaxy S5 (multiple variants), ASUS ZenFone 2 Laser, ASUS ZenFone 2 Selfie, Sony Xperia XA2, Lenovo P2, OPPO R5, OPPO R5s, OPPO R7 Plus, and OPPO R7s.