Latest Articles
OnePlus finally gets the camera right on the OnePlus 9
The OnePlus 9 series comes with a Hasselbrad-branded camera, and as it turns out, this might just have been what the company needed. Read on!
A lot of us on this website have followed along with OnePlus for the entirety of its corporate journey so far. A company that started off with a singular yearly release has evolved into one that spans multiple products across a few product segments. With the OnePlus 9 series, the spotlight may no longer be as focused on the regular OnePlus 9 as it has been on the regular variants in the previous generation, but it still warrants a closer look, only if to see how far OnePlus has come along.
OnePlus 8T Review: The T upgrade that makes sense
The OnePlus 8T is finally here, and it brings along a few changes that make it a phone worth your time. Read our review to know more!
The OnePlus 8T is here, bringing over a refresh to one of OnePlus's more popular smartphones in recent years. This year, there is no Pro to be found, so the entire task of upholding the mid-cycle refresh rests on the shoulders of the OnePlus 8T.
OnePlus 8 Review - Not Enough to Beat the OnePlus 7T
The OnePlus 7T successor is here in the form of the OnePlus 8. With spec upgrades and a mesmerizing color scheme, can the OnePlus 8 truly succeed the 7T?
The OnePlus 7T was released alongside the OnePlus 7T Pro flagship in late 2019 as the half-yearly upgrade to the OnePlus 7, but a fairly big upgrade for the markets that were stuck with the OnePlus 6T. In my eyes, the OnePlus 7T was a classic: a practical smartphone in the premium category that cuts out the gimmicks for a tight and cohesive product experience. Several other team members here at XDA also echoed the same thoughts, judging it as one of the best value flagships of 2019. And now comes the OnePlus 8, promising to pick up where the 7T left off and run across the last mile.
How Qualcomm Brought Tremendous Improvements in AI Performance to the Snapdragon 865
Qualcomm made huge jumps in AI performance with the new Snapdragon 865 SoC. We analyze the changes that Qualcomm made to accelerate machine learning.
It seems like we can’t go a day without seeing “artificial intelligence” in the news, and this past week was no exception in no small part thanks to the Snapdragon Tech Summit. Every year, Qualcomm unveils the plethora of improvements it brings to its Hexagon DSP and the Qualcomm AI Engine, a term they use for their entire heterogeneous compute platform - CPU, GPU, and DSP - when talking about AI workloads. A few years ago, Qualcomm’s insistence on moving the conversation away from traditional talking points, such as year-on-year CPU performance improvements, seemed a bit odd. Yet in 2019 and with the Snapdragon 865, we see that heterogeneous computing is indeed at the helm of their mobile computing push, as AI and hardware-accelerated workloads seem to sneak their way into a breadth of use cases and applications, from social media to everyday services.
Qualcomm Announces Snapdragon 8c and 7c for Always On, Always Connected PCs
At the 2019 Snapdragon Tech Summit, Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon 7c and Snapdragon 8c compute platforms for Always On, Always Connected PCs.
Last year, Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon 8cx 5G platform, the world’s first 7nm SoC for laptops, in an attempt to capture the growing market of hybrid, thin-and-light always-connected personal computers (ACPCs). This was the latest in a series of Qualcomm chips for ACPC as the company had previously tested the waters with the Snapdragon 850 and Snapdragon 835 Mobile PC platforms. While we saw Snapdragon 835-powered Windows 10 ACPCs as early as 2018, the Snapdragon 850 was even better tailored for Windows on ARM, which was brought about by concerted effort from Microsoft and Qualcomm. Now, at this year’s Snapdragon Tech Summit, the ACPC chipset portfolio is expanding with the announcement of the new Snapdragon 8c and Snapdragon 7c mobile PC platforms.
Qualcomm Announces Snapdragon XR2 5G Platform for VR and XR Headsets
At the 2019 Snapdragon Tech Summit, Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon XR2 platform with 5G connectivity for VR and XR headsets.
Virtual Reality is still an evolving industry, and as the years have gone by, we’ve seen various OEMs experiment with different solutions and form factors. From headsets utilizing the phone's internals like the original Gear VR to dedicated solutions like the Oculus Go, it seems like mobile VR in particular has been able to capture enough attention and market share to keep evolving and iterating. Qualcomm has been at the forefront of this space directly and indirectly by supplying the chipsets to both dedicated headsets and phones used in "cardboard" or slot-in solutions. It was with the Snapdragon XR1 announced in 2018, though, that we saw this concerted effort really come into focus, and over 30 devices powered by the XR platform have been launched since then. Today at the Snapdragon Tech Summit, Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon XR2 5G, a direct successor bringing much-needed updates to their eXtended Reality platform.
OnePlus 7T Review: A Premium, Practical Smartphone without Gimmicks
The OnePlus 7T offers a solid smartphone package that balances premium features with practicality, and cuts out the gimmicks. Read our full review for more!
OnePlus finally delivered its most powerful punch with the OnePlus 7 Pro, doing justice to its "Never Settle" motto. This OnePlus flagship was one of the best smartphones to be released in the first half of 2019, and continues to be used as a benchmark in comparing the performance of several newer releases. OnePlus also launched the OnePlus 7 alongside the Pro variant, a phone that delivered similar performance in a reliable package and a cheaper price tag, but without some of the fancier bells-and-whistles. Now, OnePlus is bringing back those bells-and-whistles with the launch of the OnePlus 7T: the newest SoC, a higher refresh rate display, faster charging, updated vibration motor, and a new triple rear camera setup housed within a unique circular camera module.
Qualcomm announces 5G connectivity for upcoming 7-Series and 6-Series Snapdragon chipsets
At IFA 2019, Qualcomm has announced that their upcoming Snapdragon 7 Series and 6 Series chipsets will be bringing 5G connectivity.
There is no shortage of interesting announcements coming out of IFA 2019, with many key names in the mobile space cluing us in on their upcoming product line-ups. Qualcomm is making some important connectivity announcements of its own, shortly after its Samsung’s latest 5G-capable chipset reveal. The company has revealed that it will bring 5G to multiple tiers of Snapdragon chipsets, expanding 5G connectivity beyond their flagship 8-Series platform. On top of that, Qualcomm has now given a name to their "system-level" approach to 5G connectivity, while also announcing the first fully integrated, extended-range mmWave solution for 5G fixed wireless access.
How Qualcomm is Improving Performance, Gaming, and AI on the Snapdragon 855
The new Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 mobile platform brings great improvements in terms of performance, gaming, and AI, and we break down how they've done it.
At Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Summit 2018, the company announced their newest premium-tier, flagship chipset: the Snapdragon 855 platform. This new product will be at the heart of most of 2019’s prolific flagships, bringing with it the promise of incredible data speeds through the Snapdragon X50 modem. Beyond that, though, the Snapdragon 855 brings a slew of improvements to every system-on-chip block, with some compute units seeing the largest year-on-year performance and power-efficiency improvements in recent history.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 First Details: Kryo 485 CPU, Adreno 640 GPU, New Spectra ISP-CV and More
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 is packed with many improved components over the Snapdragon 845. Here's an overview of the updated CPU, GPU, ISP, DSP, and more.
Qualcomm has officially begun detailing its next-generation Snapdragon 855 mobile platform at this year’s Snapdragon Tech Summit. Announced yesterday, Qualcomm’s newest mobile platform is expected to be at the heart of 2019’s most prolific flagship smartphones, and now we are able to get a glimpse of what the latest-and-greatest of Qualcomm's designs has to offer. Here’s what we know so far.
Qualcomm Announces Snapdragon 675 Mobile Platform
Qualcomm has announced its newest chipset with the Snapdragon 675, bringing a handful of changes and improvements over recent releases in the same tier.
For a few years now, we’ve seen affordable phones become competitive options that are able to satisfy the needs of more and more customers. As OEMs shifted their focus towards emergent markets, cost became a premier concern and mid-range components were put into the spotlight. Qualcomm’s 600 series best exemplifies this shift in enthusiast minds, as its chips found their way into over 1,450 designs according to Qualcomm. The company recently announced a few new chips in the family with the Snapdragon 632 and August’s Snapdragon 670. Just a couple of months later, the company is introducing a slight revision to that last chip with the new Snapdragon 675.
Qualcomm Announces Snapdragon 670 Mobile Platform
Qualcomm has just announced their newest Snapdragon 670 mobile platform, bringing healthy performance bumps and AI capabilities to the mid-range segment.
For a few years now, we’ve seen affordable phones become competitive options that are able to satisfy the needs of more and more customers. As OEMs shifted their focus towards emergent markets, cost became a premier concern and mid-range components were put into the spotlight. Qualcomm’s 600 series best exemplifies this shift in enthusiast minds, as its chips found their way into over 1,450 designs according to Qualcomm. The company recently announced a new chip in the family with the Snapdragon 632, a solid offering that brought some needed upgrades, but fell short of the Snapdragon 710 announced earlier this year, as well as last year’s Snapdragon 660. In order to fill this small gap, Qualcomm has announced another 600 series chipset: meet the Snapdragon 670 mobile platform.
Qualcomm Announces Snapdragon 632, 439 and 429 Mobile Platforms
Today, Qualcomm has announced the latest generation of chipsets in both brackets, with the new Snapdragon 632, Snapdragon 439, and Snapdragon 429.
For a few years now, we’ve seen affordable phones become competitive options that are able to satisfy the needs of more and more customers. As OEMs shifted their focus towards emergent markets, cost became a premier concern and mid-range components were put into the spotlight. Qualcomm’s 600 series best exemplifies this shift in enthusiast minds, as its chips found their way into over 1,350 designs according to Qualcomm. While the Snapdragon 400 chips have been a Qualcomm best seller, with projects like Android Go finally taking off, the lower-end Snapdragon 400 line also becomes increasingly more relevant to both the masses and enthusiasts. Today, Qualcomm has announced the latest generation of chipsets in both brackets, with the new Snapdragon 632, Snapdragon 439 and Snapdragon 429 system-on-chips.
[UPDATE: Video Summary] OnePlus 6 Speed, Smoothness & Gaming XDA Review: Living up to the Slogan
In this in-depth analysis, XDA explores just how fast and smooth the new OnePlus 6 can be when opening apps, navigating through the UI and playing 3D games.
Check out Daniel's video summary of this article!
OnePlus Bullets Wireless Mini-Review: Good Audio, Comfortable Design, Great Price, and Not Much Else
Check out our OnePlus Bullets Wireless mini-review where we go over the new $69 wireless earphones' various features, design and audio quality!
With the premature death of the headphone jack on various smartphones, we’ve seen a marked emphasis on wireless earbuds and headphones in the past few years. Most wireless earbuds come in one of two formats: the "fully wireless” variants, and those in which both earphones are united by a cord and/or neckband. The OnePlus Bullets Wireless, announced just yesterday, are the company’s fourth generation audio accessory, and they fall in the later category. It’s definitely a crowded market, but OnePlus hopes its added functionality and comfortable design paired with quality audio will carve it a space in the segment.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 Benchmarks and Comparison: As Powerful as Promised, for Better or Worse
Qualcomm invited XDA Developers to its headquarters in San Diego, where we were afforded the opportunity to benchmark the company's flagship Snapdragon 845 system-on-chip. Here are the results.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 was officially announced last December, though its reveal at the annual Snapdragon Tech Summit left us with almost as many questions as answers. While we managed to get a surface-level description of its architecture and capabilities, so far, we’ve had to rely on the company’s internal data -- namely, its quoted year-on-year percentage increments -- to estimate the new platform’s performance. Now, we’ve got benchmark scores.
Google Assistant Reaches Android Auto and Smart Displays from Sony, LG, Lenovo
At the CES 2018, Google announced that the Google Assistant is coming to Android Auto and third-party devices from Sony, LG, and Lenovo.
At the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show, Google took the opportunity to announce multiple developments regarding its smart assistant platform, the Google Assistant. The product-packed, eventful week in Vegas was the perfect venue to advertise connected devices, smart home products, and artificial intelligence, and Google revealed how its AI-powered platform is expanding beyond smart speakers through smart displays and Android Auto.
Nougat-Ready GravityBox v7 Xposed Module Now Available!
GravityBox Xposed Module has returned and is now ready for Android Nougat, available for download at XDA. Theme your ROM like never before with this mod!
With the sudden yet incomplete and unofficial return of Xposed via abforce’s ART submodule, developers and enthusiasts alike began exploring the possibilities that the popular modding framework can bring in 2017. While we are still waiting for rovo89’s full Xposed release (and all the benefits that entails), the recent solution sparked life into the Xposed XDA forums once more, and now we are seeing the return of a sought-after module: GravityBox.
Touch Support is Coming to AOSP Recovery
According to a commit made yesterday to AOSP, touch support might soon be coming to the AOSP recovery for stock-based Android devices, among others.
If you frequent our forums, it's not very likely that you are too fond of the AOSP recovery. Indeed, we are often too quick to jump on our TWRP custom recovery in order to get our custom ROMs, kernels and mods up and running on our new device. However, it's still a very useful tool for anyone needing to get out of trouble.