Category: Cell Phone

A few days ago, it was revealed that Samsung would debut a new lineup of phones. This new lineup, the Galaxy F series, is billed to offer camera-centric devices in the budget segment. It appears Samsung will kick off the series with the Galaxy F41 and details of the phone have now surfaced.

According to a report by GSMArena, the Galaxy F41 will be powered by the Exyno 9611. Samsung has thrown that chipset into a whole bunch of its budget phones, with devices like the Galaxy M31, Galaxy M31s, Galaxy A51, Galaxy A50s, and Galaxy M30s all using the same SoC. The phone will also come with 6 GB of RAM.

A leaked user manual of the Galaxy F41 also revealed some important details. For one, the phone appears to sport a waterdrop notch and not a hole punch as one would expect. The display is an FHD+ AMOLED as expected but bezels look to be on the large side—larger than is typical with new phones in 2020.

The Galaxy F41 will offer a triple-cam setup at the back, with a 64 MP main camera joined by an ultra-wide-angle shooter. It’s unknown what the third camera is. Other features include a rear-mounted capacitive fingerprint reader, dual speakers, and a headphone jack.

Supposedly, the Galaxy F41 could be a rebranded Galaxy M31. That looks viable, too, as some features appear to be the same on the two phones. Both phones happen to look incredibly similar, too. 

We gave the Razer Phone 2 top marks when we reviewed it in 2018 on account of its 120 Hz display, high-quality DAC, 8 GB of RAM and expandable storage, among other positives. However, few would have predicted the device to receive such poor software support.

Razer launched its second smartphone running Android 8.1 Oreo in October 2018, despite the release of Android 9.0 Pie two months earlier in August. It took Razer until late February 2019 before it started upgrading the handset to Android 9.0 Pie, and until April for AT&T to upgrade its devices to Google’s then-current OS.

Android 9.0 Pie is where the Razer Phone 2 remains though, almost 19 months on from its last OS upgrade. Razer still delivers software updates to the Razer Phone 2. The last update contained the September 2020 set of security patches, which makes the Razer Phone 2 more up to date than many smartphones. Conversely, Razer is yet to confirm plans to bring Android 10 to its most-recent handset.

Considering the time elapsed since the device’s last OS upgrade, it would seem unlikely that the Razer Phone 2 will ever receive Android 10. Oddly, the original Razer Phone received two OS upgrades, but that low bar sadly seems out of reach for its successor.

The Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra is arguably one of the best smartphones on the market at the moment. It smashed its way through the AnTuTu Android smartphone performance benchmark, managing a score of 646,730 points, and the Xiaomi device also sports the highest-rated camera system on DxOMark. It’s a premium device that comes with a 120 Hz OLED screen and a Snapdragon 865 processor. The only problem for fans of the powerful product is that it is only currently available in China…for the time being.

However, there are hints of a global release coming for the Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra, such as the fact that a Mi Community blog post has detailed how three Mi fans can win the opportunity to get a good look (and feel) of the high-end smartphone courtesy of Andrew Wong, who just happens to be the Xiaomi Iberia country manager. To get the chance to test out the Mi 10 Ultra, fans should follow Wong’s Twitter account, and then reply to his post about why they should be selected to try out the smartphone.

This certainly indicates that Xiaomi might be considering a Spain or Europe release for the Mi 10 Ultra, but a comment at the end of the relevant blog post suggests an even wider release could be on the cards: “Oh…but if you don’t live in Madrid, don’t worry that this doesn’t end here, we already have another ULTRA surprise to come in the next few days [sic].” It seems the Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra is going on tour while the Chinese OEM gets the opportunity to gauge public and fan response to the device before risking an international launch.

Current pricing in China:

8 GB + 128 GB: 5,299 yuan (US$783/£607/€660)

8 GB + 256 GB: 5,599 yuan (US$827/£641/€698)

12 GB + 256 GB: 5,999 yuan (US$886/£687/€748)

16 GB + 512 GB: 6,999 yuan (US$1,034/£801/€872)

LG has unveiled the Wing, its attempt at a new smartphone form factor. The Wing is the first example of the company’s ‘Explorer Project’ series, which it will use to showcase unusual smartphone designs. The Wing certainly fits that description with its fold-out secondary display. The Wing is not a foldable smartphone like the ones that Samsung has released in the last eighteen months, but its secondary display is not detachable either as LG’s Dual Screen accessories are.

Instead, the main display can be rotated 90° to reveal a small secondary one. LG has designed the secondary screen to act as an extension for what is being displayed on the main panel. For example, the secondary screen could show media controls while watching a movie or serve as a map when gaming. The Wing is only 10.9 mm thick too, making it only 2 mm thicker than the LG V60. The two devices are roughly the same height as each too at just over 169 mm, although the 74.5 mm width of the LG Wing makes it 3.1 mm narrower than the LG V60. The former weighs 262 g though, making it 49 g heavier than the global version of the LG V60.

The Wing has another trick up its sleeve, too. The device’s main display measures 6.8-inches, above and below which are relatively small bezels. LG has achieved this by including a pop-up selfie camera that sits within the phone body. The latter also houses the earpiece, but LG has included a small cut-out at the top of the main display for when the Wing is in candy-bar mode.

The main display has a built-in fingerprint scanner, too. The display itself is a P-OLED panel that operates at 2,460 x 1,080 pixels in a 20.5:9 aspect ratio. These values correspond to a pixel density of 395 PPI. By contrast, the secondary display measures 3.9-inches and is a G-OLED panel with a pixel density of 419 PPI at 1,240 x 1,080 pixels.

LG has equipped the Wing with a Snapdragon 765G SoC, 8 GB of RAM and a 4,000 mAh battery. The device also has 128 GB of expandable storage and a USB Type-C port that is USB 3.1-compatible. The latter supports up to 25 W fast charging, although you can also charge the Wing wirelessly at up to 12 W. Separately, the Wing lacks a 3.5 mm jack, which may come as a surprise for LG fans.

LG has also included four cameras, including a 32 MP selfie camera. The Wing has the same 64 MP standard and 13 MP ultra-wide cameras from the LG V60, along with a 12 MP gimbal motion camera. The latter has an f/1.9 aperture, a 79.6° field of view (FoV) and a pixel width of 0.8 μm. LG has not included a telephoto lens on the Wing. However, DxOMark remarked when reviewing the LG V60 that the 2x magnification it achieves using its 64 MP sensor is ‘pretty much on the same level as devices featuring a 2x optical tele’ like the Pixel 4 XL.

The LG Wing costs €1,100 and will be available in Europe from November. The device will come in two colours that LG calls Aurora Grey and Illusion Sky.

It has been a few days since @japonton posted hands-on photos with a prototype of the Pixel 5, but they have now delivered yet more glimpses of the upcoming handset. On the one hand, the new photos provide a better look at the symmetrical bezels of the Pixel 5, which will make a change from the Pixel 3 and Pixel 4 series.

On the other hand, they also show that Google will sell the device with 128 GB of storage. This was to be expected, but it will be interesting to see if 128 GB will be the base level for the Pixel 5, or if the company will continue to offer a 64 GB storage option on its premium smartphones.

Little else can be gleaned from the three photos. However, recent FCC certifications suggest that Google will release mmWave 5G and Sub-6 5G versions of the Pixel 5. The handset is expected to launch with a Snapdragon 765G in a colour that Jon Prosser described as black and green. Google is expected to launch the Pixel 5 at US$699 too, which will be a sharp reduction from the prices it charges for the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL.

Xiaomi has been sending out MIUI 12 updates for well over three months at this point. In that period, the company has rolled out MIUI 12 to most of its premium phones, including the previously-ignored Mi Mix 3 5G. For some reason, however, the Redmi Note 8 and Redmi Note 9 Pro series remain on MIUI 11. But not for much longer. 

Just last week, Xiaomi finally rolled the credits on the second phase of its MIUI 12 rollout. The second phase of the rollout saw updates sent out to phones like the Mi Mix 2, Redmi Note 9, and Redmi Note 7. The company has now entered the third phase, and going by previous information, should see devices like the Mi Max 3, Mi CC9e, and Mi Note 3 get the update. Even more importantly, the update should finally arrive for the Redmi Note 8.

Older information indicates that the Redmi Note 9 Pro, Redmi Note 9 Pro Max, and Redmi Note 9S will all get the MIUI 12 update in the fourth phase of the rollout. However, there’s official confirmation that the Redmi Note 9 Pro will start getting the stable MIUI 12 update in certain regions this month. It’s logical to assume that the other Snapdragon 720G-powered phones will also get the update at the same time—and likely as part of the third phase.

Samsung is yet to announce the Galaxy S20 FE officially but its Filipino sub-division did, albeit briefly. Nonetheless, the reliable Evan Blass caught the slip-up, essentially confirming that a full-on launch is imminent. The listing, which has now been taken down, showed the S20 FE in two colours and with 128 GB of storage. Additionally, it confirmed that the device will come with dual-SIM connectivity.

Unsurprisingly, the marketing renders on Samsung Philippines correlate with those published by Blass and Roland Quandt. According to a leak earlier this month, the flat display of the S20 FE will measure 6.5-inches and will have a 120 Hz refresh rate. The screen will be a Super AMOLED panel too and will operate natively at 2,400 x 1,080 pixels at a pixel density of 407 PPI.

A 4,500 mAh battery will also be on board, as will 6 GB of RAM. Samsung Philippines also confirmed that the S20 FE will be available in Cloudy Navy and Cloud Lavendar, but we already know that Samsung plans to release the handset in Green, Orange, Red and White, too. Finally, the S20 FE has been assigned the model number G780F and will come in 4G and 5G variants.

For those that have been anticipating Microsoft’s dual-screen Surface Duo, today is the day. The Android phone is now available, but it definitely doesn’t come cheap.

The Surface Duo’s main feature is its two 5.6-inch 1800×1350 AMOLED displays. The phone has a 2-in-1 style hinge that allows it to open into a tablet. In this mode, the full display area has an 8.1-inch diagonal with a combined resolution of 2700×1800.

Other specs include last year’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC, 6 GB of RAM, and either 128 GB or 256 GB of non-expandable UFS 3.0 storage. The Surface Duo runs Android 10 and comes with a bevy of Microsoft and Google apps pre-installed.

Prospective purchasers can buy the Surface Duo either unlocked from Microsoft or from AT&T for US$1399 (128 GB) or $1499 (256 GB).

Along with the official launch, the first wave of reviews of the Surface Duo went live today. Initial impressions are fairly mixed; while many outlets praised the phone’s design and form factor, several found the software to be undercooked, resulting in numerous bugs. Reviewers found that several Android apps simply aren’t designed for dual-screen support, and others exhibit odd and buggy behavior. Even the built-in system tools, such as the keyboard, were found to act erratically.

Considering the hype surrounding the Surface Duo, it’s likely Microsoft will iron out many of these issues in a short time. However, it seems that at launch, the Surface Duo is an expensive phone for early adopters that are fine with testing software rather than enjoying a fully fleshed out dual-screen experience.

What do you think of the Surface Duo? Let us know in the comments below.

Green tint has slowly turned into a popular issue with recent OLEDs. There were reports with the Galaxy S20 Ultra earlier this year, with similar reports coming from OnePlus 8 Pro owners and then iPhone 11 Pro series. The most recent cases were with the new Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, Galaxy Tab S7, and Galaxy Tab S7+. It appears that the issue isn’t just peculiar to the current generation of smartphones, however.

Going by multiple accounts, the Galaxy S10 series also seems to be plagued by the green tint issue. It’s entirely curious, as the S10 series featured 60 Hz panels, unlike the high-refresh-rate panels used on most of the devices that have also suffered from similar ailments. 

It’s unknown what exactly causes this issue. Complaints from a first-hand owner seemed to imply that the tint appeared after installing the latest security update, but there have also been similar complaints from other owners way before this. Again, it’s important to point out that all of the phones with this issue sport OLEDs made by Samsung. Correlation doesn’t imply causation, of course, and the fact that Samsung makes most of the premium OLED panels on the market right now probably skews the odds.

Do you have green tint on your Galaxy S10 or any older Samsung device? Let us know in the comments below.

The LG Velvet comes in two flavours, although a third is on its way. At the time of writing, LG has released a 5G and Snapdragon 765G-powered edition, along with a cheaper 4G model that has a Snapdragon 845. By contrast, a T-Mobile version has the new MediaTek Dimensity 1000C, which also has a 5G modem. All models have that same 7.9 mm thick case though, which does not necessarily inspire confidence as to its structural rigidity, especially if you have watched JerryRigEverything’s recent OnePlus Nord video.

The LG Velvet does flex under severe pressure, but it did not crack or shatter. A small gap between the chassis and display did appear that probably reduces the device’s water resistance, but this test is way beyond what most people would do to their smartphones. Likewise, the LG Velvet did not succumb to burned, either.

Additionally, JerryRigEverything determined that the LG Velvet and its Dual Screen accessory share identical displays. A brief teardown revealed that the screen in the Dual Screen accessory even has a cut-out for an in-display fingerprint scanner, as you can view in the view below. JerryRigEverything opines that LG did this to reduce costs, which makes sense considering the relatively affordable price of the Velvet. We have already reviewed the LG Velvet too, should you wish to find out more about the device.