Tech talks#4iQoo5G, Nokia, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip, Realme C3
Published on 3/Feb/2020
1.
iQoo 5G Phone Teased in India, Virat Kohli Could Be Using It Already
iQoo is set to enter India this month
iQoo has started started teasing the launch of its 5G phone in India. The new development comes just weeks after the brand announced its arrival in the country. iQoo, which was launched as a sub-brand of Vivo in China back in February last year, is set to enter India later this month as a separate legal entity. In addition to the official teaser indicating the imminent launch of the 5G phone, a YouTube video has suggested that star cricketer Virat Kohli was already spotted using the upcoming iQoo phone.
The teaser that has been posted by the iQoo India Twitter account shows the brand's logo with a “coming soon” tag. The teaser tweet also highlights 5G support on the new smartphone. Separately, iQoo has made a dedicated website that would include further details about the upcoming offering in the coming days.
Aside from the teaser image, YouTube channel RevAtlas has uploaded the video speculating Virat Kohli using the new iQoo phone. The over four-minute video is based on a tweet posted by ESPNcricinfo earlier on Monday that featured Kohli's image with a smartphone.
The narrator in the video mentions that the smartphone could be the iQoo Pro 5G Edition that was Launch in China back in August last year, given the design surfaced on the image that is inline with last year's model. However, considering the hardware of the iQoo Pro 5G Edition that included the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus SoC, it is not likely to be the smartphone entering the India market.
iQoo India Director - Marketing Gagan Arora in a conversation with select media persons last month started that the new iQoo smartphone that would be launched in India in February would come with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 SoC. The executive also mentioned that the phone would have a “best in class technology” related to battery and support 5G networks in India. Moreover, the smartphone would come with 44W Super Flash Charge fast charging technology.
Vivo had unveiled the first model under its iQoo sub-brand in China last year that was called the Vivo iQoo. However, for the India market, the brand doesn't want to be associated with Vivo and debut as a separate legal entity with a distinct office space located in Bengaluru. It would continue to use the manufacturing facility that produces Vivo smartphones, though.
The exact timeline for the iQoo smartphone launch in India is yet to be revealed. Nevertheless, considering the ongoing developments, it is likely to be announced soon.
2.
Nokia 5.2 Alleged Hands-On Images Leaked, Reveal Quad Rear Cameras With Ring-Like Designs
Nokia 5.2’s leaked live images show a waterdrop notch on its display.
Nokia brand-licensee HMD Global has scheduled an event on February 23 in Barcelona, where the company is expected to launch a host of smartphones. As per the rumour mill, the Nokia 5.2 will be among the new phones that will break cover later this month. Now, live images of an upcoming phone said to be the Nokia 5.2 have surfaced online. The leaked images show the Nokia phone packing quad rear cameras arranged in a ring. Over at the front, the phone can be seen sporting a familiar Nokia design with a waterdrop notch at the top.
Tipster Evan Blass, who goes by the alias @evleaks on Twitter, shared the hands-on images of the upcoming Nokia phone. He notes that the phone depicted in the images carries the codename 'Captain America'. However, the question mark after the ‘Nokia 5.2' name suggests that the actual name of the phone might turn out to be something else.
The alleged Nokia 5.2 is seen sporting a circular camera module with a ring-like arrangement of lenses. The module has four radially positioned rear cameras and a dual-LED flash module sitting at the centre. The rear panel has a curved profile and appears to have a glossy finish. Over at the front, the phone can be seen flaunting a familiar design with a waterdrop notch and a thick chin at the bottom with Nokia branding. The leak mentions that the Nokia 5.2 packs 6GB of RAM accompanied by 64GB of internal storage, but more configurations might be in the pipeline as well.
Nokia 5.2 is said to be priced at $180 (roughly Rs. 12,800), while its release date is pegged to fall somewhere around March 4. The release date sounds reasonable, given the expected February 23 launch of the phone. However, the fresh leak contradicts with a previous report. Back in 2019, alleged hands on image Nokia of a 5.2 poppedup online, however, that phone had three rear cameras instead of four. Moreover, it was said to have been codenamed ‘Nokia Daredevil' and was tipped to pack the Snapdragon 665 SoC.
3.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip Leaked in Alleged Hands-on Video, Reveals an Uncomfortably Tall Display
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip is said to go official on February 11
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip will soon break cover as the company's answer to Motorola Razr (2019). Merely days after appearing in leaked renders and getting its entire specifications as well as pricing leaked, the Galaxy Z Flip has now appeared in an alleged hands-on video. The video leaves little to the imagination when it comes to showcasing the phone's clamshell foldable design and its small cover display that sits alongside the dual rear camera module. But the first thing that comes to mind after seeing the Galaxy Z Flip unfold is how uncomfortably large the phone actually is, thanks in no part to the super tall aspect ratio.
The alleged hands-on video was shared on Twitter by concept designer Ben Geskin (@BenGeskin), who is said to have lifted it from Instagram. The video shows the upcoming Samsung foldable phone in its dazzling pink colour option that has shades of purple as well. It is quite evident from the get-go that the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip is quite chunky compared to the Motorola Razr (2019) even in the folded state. But when it is unfolded, it appears to be significantly taller, thanks to the 22:9 aspect ratio Samsung is going for. The person handling the phone clearly appears to be struggling with the sheer size, and it is going to be a tough task for users trying to reach for content in the upper half of the screen.
A 6.7-inch (1080x2636 pixels) HDR10+ Infinity Flex screen with a centrally-positioned hole-punch takes the centre stage. And thanks to an extensive leak that surfaced recently, we know almost everything about the Galaxy Z Flip's internals prior to its official unveiling at the Galaxy Unpacked event on February 11. The upcoming foldable phone is said to pack a 1.06-inch (116x300 pixels) Super AMOLED cover display with Gorilla Glass 6 protection on its rear panel for checking time and notifications.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip will reportedly be powered by the Snapdragon 855+ SoC ticking alongside 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. The dual rear camera includes a 12-megapixel main shooter with an f/1.8 lens, assisted by a 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle snapper with 123-degree field of view. On the front is a 10-megapixel snapper with an f/2.0 aperture and autofocus support as well. The highly anticipated phone is said to come equipped with a 3,300mAh battery with 15W wired charging and up to 9W wireless charging support.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip price (expected)
As for the pricing, the Galaxy Z Flip will reportedly set buyers back by EUR 1,500 (roughly Rs. 117,600) in Europe, or $1,399 (roughly Rs. 1,00,000) in the US as per a recent tweet by technology analyst Jon Prosser (@jon_prosser). The phone is said to go on sale starting February 14 in Europe, but there is no word regarding its region-wise availability in markets such as India yet.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip specifications (expected)
A 6.7-inch (1080x2636 pixels) HDR10+ Infinity Flex screen with a centrally-positioned hole-punch takes the centre stage. And thanks to an extensive leaks that surfaced recently, we know almost everything about the Galaxy Z Flip's internals prior to its official unveiling at the Galaxy unpacked event on February 11. The upcoming foldable phone is said to pack a 1.06-inch (116x300 pixels) Super AMOLED cover display with Gorilla Glass 6 protection on its rear panel for checking time and notifications.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip will reportedly be powered by the Snapdragon 855+ SoC ticking alongside 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. The dual rear camera includes a 12-megapixel main shooter with an f/1.8 lens, assisted by a 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle snapper with 123-degree field of view. On the front is a 10-megapixel snapper with an f/2.0 aperture and autofocus support as well. The highly anticipated phone is said to come equipped with a 3,300mAh battery with 15W wired charging and up to 9W wireless charging support.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip price (expected)
As for the pricing, the Galaxy Z Flip will reportedly set buyers back by EUR 1,500 (roughly Rs. 117,600) in Europe, or $1,399 (roughly Rs. 1,00,000) in the US as per a recent tweet by technology analyst Jon Prosser (@jon_prosser). The phone is said to go on sale starting February 14 in Europe, but there is no word regarding its region-wise availability in markets such as India yet.
4.
Coronavirus: Samsung to Shut Flagship Store in China Amid Virus Outbreak Fears
Outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus in China could hamper the global smartphone supply and demand
Samsung Electronics will temporarily shut down its flagship store in China amid growing fears of the spread of the Novel Coronavirus, company officials here said on Monday.
Samsung will close its flagship store in downtown Shanghai until Sunday, the company said. The 800-square-metre store, the largest Samsung store in China, opened last October and sells various products, from smartphones to tablets.
"We decided to temporarily close the store for safety," a company official said. "The operation of the store will depend on the situation in China", Yonhap news agency reported.
Apple announced on Sunday it will close all retail stores and corporate offices in mainland China amid the rapid spread of the novel virus.
Industry observers estimate that the outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus in China could hamper the global smartphone supply and demand.
According to market researcher Strategy Analytics, global shipments of smartphones may be 2 percent less than expected this year because of the coronavirus outbreak in China.
The world's No. 2 economy makes 70 percent of all smartphones sold on the planet.
5.
Realme C3 to Run Realme UI Out-of-the-Box, MediaTek Helio G70 SoC Confirmed
Realme C3 will pack a dual rear camera setup that includes a 2-megapixel depth sensor
Realme C3 is set to go official on February 6 as the latest entry-level Android phone from the Oppo spin-off. In the days leading up to its launch, Realme has been teasing its specifications to drum up some hype. The company has now revealed that Realme C3 will be the first phone in its portfolio to come pre-installed with Realme UI, a slightly reworked version of ColorOS. Additionally, Realme has also revealed that its upcoming phone will be powered by the MediaTek Helio G70 SoC, and has also shed some light on its dual rear camera setup.
6.
The chat feature on PhonePe was launched a week ago for both Android and iOS devices
In a bid to make it easier for users to have a conversation on the platform, digital payments player PhonePe has launched a new chat feature on the app.
Through this feature, users can now request money or confirm the receipt of payment without having the need of any other messaging app.
"PhonePe chat makes it really easy for our users to send money to their contacts while having a conversation. A user's transaction history on the PhonePe app is displayed in the chat flow, making it a highly engaging experience," Rahul Chari, Co-Founder and CTO, PhonePe, said in a statement.
This also enables users to keep track of their transactions along with the conversation history.
"In the coming weeks, we will enhance PhonePe chat with features like group chat which will make it easy for users to request/collect money from friends and family on the platform," Chari added.
The feature, which was launched a week ago for both the Android and iOS devices, has been rolled out to over 185 million PhonePe users, according to the company.
7.
Google Earth App Now Lets You Stargaze on Your Mobile Device
Now look at the stars right in the palm of your hands, with Google Earth mobile
Google Earth for mobile will now let users get a wide view of the stars in our universe. Yes, the feature that up until now was only available on Google Earth for the Web and Earth Pro, has also made its way for smartphones and tablets. For those who don't know, before the search giant added star imagery to the Google Earth mobile app, the sky around the globe was plain black, which didn't look very realistic. Well, now everything changes.
As per Google's blog post, the company says that because the modern age smartphones and tablets have become powerful, the company has been able to bring the quality of Earth's web and Pro versions to most of these devices, and it won't be something limited to just desktop and Web.
So, how does this new feature work? Well, you simply go to the App storeon your Apple device, or you go to the Google play store on your Android device, and update the Google Earth app to its latest version or install the App if you haven't already. Once done, when you open the app, you'll now be able to see a view of the stars as you zoom out from the globe on your device. Moving on, just rotate the globe to see the beautiful images from our Milky Way galaxy, which by the way has been collected from the European Southern Observatory, depicting the stars as they'd appear to a space explorer at a point some 30,000 miles above the planet.
8.
UFS 3.1 Flash Storage Standard Announced: Promises Improved Write Speeds, Lower Power Consumption
We should see the new UFS 3.1 standard in smartphones by the end of the year, or early next year
JEDEC, the committee that's responsible for setting global standards for the microelectronics industry, has recently published its latest specification for the Universal Flash Storage (UFS) standard. It's called UFS 3.1 (JESD220E), which promises faster write speeds, better power efficiency, and more stable performance under load. It also published a companion standard known as JESD220-3 or UFS Host Performance Booster (HPB) Extension, which offers OEMs the option cache UFS device logical-to-physical address map in the system's DRAM. The UFS 3.1 standard succeeds the UFS 3.0 standard, which only started appearing in devices around mid-2019 with the Samsung Galaxy Fold and OnePlus 7 Pro being among the first devices to adopt it. In all likelihood, we could realistically expect smartphones with this new format to only appear late this year or early next year, at best.
In JEDEC's published announcement, it highlights three new core features of the new standard. These include Write Booster, DeepSleep, and Performance Throttling Notification. Write Booster takes the help of SLC non-volatile cache to amplify the write speed. DeepSleep is targeted at low cost devices, which uses a new low power state by sharing the UFS voltage regulators with other functions. Finally, Performance Throttling Notification now allows the UFS device to notify the host device when the performance is being throttled, due to increased temperature. This should be helpful in delivering more consistent performance, when doing activities such as gaming on your smartphone.
The UFS 3.1 standard still has the same theoretical bandwidth of 2.9GBps as UFS 3.0, but these new features should help it perform more efficiently and use lesser power.
Mian Quddus, Chairman of the JEDEC Board of Directors said, “The new features introduced with UFS 3.1 and UFS HPB will offer product designers greater flexibility in managing power consumption and enhancing device performance.”
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