Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano features lower powered Tiger Lake UP4 CPUs & 1.35mm travel keyboard

When Lenovo announced the new 13 inch 16:10 flagship ThinkPad X1 Nano in late September 2020, a few things were left in the dark. For example, the exact release date. In the press-release, Lenovo did not give us a release date beyond the 4th quarter 2020, which by now would mean December. Depending on the locale, even an early 2021 looks increasingly likely. The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 1 is not listed in Lenovo’s PSREF database yet, which is an indicator that availability is more than a few weeks away.

Availability was not the only question we had about the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano 2021. For example: Which CPUs are used in the ThinkPad laptop? The spec-sheet only mentions “Intel 11th Gen Core i CPUs”, meaning Tiger Lake. Reminder: There are actually two kinds of Tiger Lake U processors, UP3 and UP4. The UP3 CPUs have a TDP of 12 to 28 W, while the UP4 processors can consume 7 to 15 W.

Another interesting area for us was the key travel of the vaunted ThinkPad keyboard. Lenovo ThinkPad laptops originally had a key travel of 2.5 mm. Over the last decade, Lenovo has reduced it to 1.8 mm on most models. The current Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon, bigger brother of the X1 Nano, goes a stop further down to 1.5 mm. But the X1 Nano is even thinner and much lighter and the competing Dell XPS 13 9310 only offers 1 mm of key travel.

We have reached out to Lenovo about both topics and got a clear answer: As for the processor, the X1 Nano features the lower-powered UP4 Tiger Lake variant, with the Intel Core i7-1180G7 as the fastest chip. It can reach the maximum TPD of 15 W. This is an interesting choice and the X1 Nano is seemingly one of the first laptops with these processors. Also, it might provide a differentiation compared with the upcoming Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 2021 if that uses UP3 Tiger Lake.

The key travel of the 95 % keyboard is meanwhile also reduced to 1.35 mm – the lowest amount for any Lenovo ThinkPad laptop yet, though of course still more than what Dell’s XPS 13 offers.

MINISFORUM EliteMini UM700: A mini-PC with an AMD Ryzen 7 3750H APU for US$539

MINISFORUM has unveiled another mini-PC, following on from the announcement of the EliteMini Box X400 earlier this month. MINISFORUM has called its new machine the EliteMini UM700, and it is already available to order for US$539 directly from the manufacturer.

The entry-level model comes with 8 GB of SO-DIMM RAM and 128 GB of M.2 2280 storage. However, prices rise to US$669 for 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage. All models come with the AMD Ryzen 7 3750H though, like the X35G that MINISFORUM announced earlier this year.

The Ryzen 7 3750H offers four Zen+ cores and can boost up to 4.0 GHz on a 35 W TDP. The 12 nm APU also includes AMD’s Radeon RX Vega 10 GPU, which has 10 Compute Units (CUs) and can boost to 1.3 GHz.

The EliteMini UM700 has three video outputs too, along with four USB Type-A ports and dual Gigabit Ethernet connections. Alternatively, you could use the built-in Intel WiFi6 AX200 module, which also offers Bluetooth 5.1 connectivity. Additionally, there is a 3.5 mm combined headphone and microphone jack on the front of the device.

MINISFORUM aims to begin shipping the EliteMini UM700 next month. All orders will come with Windows 10 Pro pre-installed. The machine itself measures 128 x 127 x 46 mm and weighs about 0.5 kg.

The Huawei P50 series will be available in limited quantities because of the scarcity of the Kirin 9000 chipset

Although Huawei has already received some licenses to trade with US companies, it cannot purchase high-end chipsets from Qualcomm, with Huawei restricted to Qualcomm’s 4G chipset portfolio, instead. Equally, Huawei cannot produce new Kirin chipsets through companies like TSMC, leaving it at a loss when it comes to releasing new flagship smartphones. 

The P50 series is thought to be Huawei’s next flagship series, but it may be in short supply because of Huawei’s inability to source new 5G chipsets. According to The Elec, Huawei plans to use its HiSilicon Kirin 9000 SoC, which debuted on the Mate 40 series.

The Kirin 9000 offers eight cores separated into three clusters. The prime Cortex-A77 core offers the best single-core performance with a peak clock speed of 3.31 GHz, while three additional Cortex-A77 cores can reach 2.54 GHz. Huawei has complemented these Cortex-A77 cores with another four Cortex-A55 cores, along with a Mali-G78 MP24 GPU. The Kirin 9000 is one of the first chipsets to be built on a 5 nm process, too.

Ultimately, the use of the Kirin 9000 in the P50 series may explain why Mate 40 series devices are so few and far between. Huawei will have access to components from LG Display and Samsung Display though, with both companies having been granted trading licenses by the US government. However, the P50 series will still arrive with Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) instead of Google Mobile Services (GMS), which means no Play Store or Google account integration.

The Huawei Mate X2 visits the TENAA – Kirin 9000 chipset likely in line for 5G foldable smartphone

Huawei has certified the Mate X2 with the TENAA in China. Specifically, the Chinese company has approved the TET-AN00 and TET-AN10, which appear to be two SKUs of the same device. Details about the Mate X2 remain sparse, but the TENAA offers a few nuggets of information about the upcoming foldable smartphone.

On the one hand, the TENAA confirms that the Mate X2 will launch with Android. This means that Huawei will release the device on EMUI 11, rather than HarmonyOS. The Mate X2 will also support up to 66 W fast charging, as we previously reported. Both models will support dual-SIM connectivity, too.

Moreover, the Mate X2 will be a 5G device. Huawei cannot currently source 5G chipsets from Qualcomm, so we suspect the Mate X2 to arrive with the Kirin 9000, along with the forthcoming P50 series.

The TENAA does not describe any other elements of the Mate X2, nor does it offer any pictures of the device. However, Huawei is expected to equip it with an 8.03-inch and 120 Hz display. The Mate X2 should arrive in early 2021.

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.

Leaked Google AMD Raven Ridge Chromebook spotted with a Ryzen 3 3250C processor and 4 GB of RAM

A new Google-branded Chromebook has appeared on the Google Play Console, which should signify its impending release. Google has not released a Chromebook since the Pixelbook Go, although the company continues to sell the Pixel Slate in some markets. Google opted for Intel at the hear of both of those machines, but it has gone with AMD for this new model.

According to the listing, Google plans to release the device with an AMD Ryzen 3 3250C, a dual-core processor with four threads and a peak clock speed of 3.5 GHz. The Ryzen 3 3250C also features a Radeon RX Vega 3 iGPU. The Google Play Console listing also confirms that the machine has 4 GB of RAM, and a 1,920 x 1,080-pixel display with a pixel density of 160 PPI. Sadly, the screen will have a 16:9 aspect ratio, and a diagonal size of 13.7-inches.

The listing states that Google has codenamed the Zork, which last reared its head in April. The Google Zork has been benchmarked on Geekbench over one hundred times since then, including with processors like the Ryzen 7 3700C, the Athlon Gold 3150C and the Athlon Silver 3050C. There is also a reference to an AMD 3015Ce version of the Google Zork, along with models that have 8 GB and 16 GB of RAM. Google may not release all these models, but we would expect the company to offer the device with 4 GB, 8 GB and 16 GB of RAM as it currently does with the Pixelbook Go.

Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro teams up with MIUI 12 for advanced screen-viewing technology as tipster also leaks impressive camera details

It seems Digital Chat Station is keeping a close eye on the Xiaomi Mi 11 development and has offered up a couple of new tidbits about the expected Pro variant of the series, which may or may not even be named the Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro. Apparently, the main lens can convert images (via 4-in-1 pixel binning) to “approximately 50 MP”, which suggests the camera will be 192 MP or even 200 MP.

The tipster further states that the Mi 11 Pro’s telephoto sensor may also utilize 4-in-1 pixel binning to produce 12 MP images, suggesting that there is a 48 MP telephoto lens onboard, although Digital Chat Station is unsure about this particular detail. There is no further information offered for the regular Xiaomi Mi 11, although it was recently rumored that the likely Snapdragon 875-powered flagship would sport a 48 MP ultra wide-angle lens.

On top of the camera information, the same source also gave up some details about the viewing technologies that should be found in the Xiaomi Mi 11 and Mi 11 Pro, provided by the presence of the latest MIUI 12 firmware build. For a start, users can apparently expect to enjoy the benefits of MEMC technology, which uses motion compensation software to deliver a smoother moving image. There is also mention of “video real-time SDR to HDR and video super resolution” along the same lines as what is offered up by the OPPO Find X2 series, which has been praised for its Ultra Vision display.

Next-gen LG Q-series phones are portrayed as having the most unique camera humps out there

The last few years has seen an inexorable trend toward unremittingly square or rectangular housings for the rear camera arrays of smartphones. These “humps” have become a dominant feature in some 2020 models, and apparently threaten to start engulfing frames as well in 2021. However, one OEM, LG, seems poised to start a new trend instead: the triangular rear camera.

This feature is heavily alluded to in CAD renders with which the blog 91Mobiles has allegedly been furnished. These images are touted as associated with the Q63 and/or Q83, which may turn out to be mid-rangers for the coming year. They distinctly show a generic candybar form-factor (USB type C charging port, bottom-firing speaker grille, side-mounted fingerprint reader and all) but with rear cameras showcased in a triangular module.

The interesting schematics also give the impression that the resulting phone could have a unibody chassis, perhaps made of metal or plastic, with the new hump acting as a “window” (probably made of glass) for the rear cameras. Of these, one is a markedly large concentric circle with 4 smaller ones (up to 3 of which could also be sensors) arranged around it.

Should this leak prove genuine, it may be a refreshing change from the regular protrusions seen up until now. With the Velvet and screen-swiveling Wing, LG has already shown it can pull off departures from typical smartphone looks. Hopefully, this new Q-series phone will prove to be more of the same.

Acer Book RS Porsche Design convertible with 11th gen Core i7 and GeForce MX350 now available in the U.S. for $2000 USD

Originally announced in October, the Acer Book RS 2-in-1 laptop is now shipping in the United States in Core i5-1135G7 and Core i7-1165G7 configurations. The model is notable for being one of Acer’s first Intel Evo certified laptops meaning it will guarantee a laundry list of modern features like Wi-Fi 6, 11th gen CPU, Thunderbolt 4, extra speedy wake/resume times, and more.

As its name might suggest, the Acer Book RS Porsche Design is a high-end laptop designed for professionals and business users in much the same way as an HP EliteBook, Dell XPS, Asus ExpertBook, or Lenovo ThinkPad. The sleek gray design and colors are reminiscent of an Apple MacBook Pro or HP Envy 15 albeit with the added benefit of 360-degree hinges.

Though the Core i5 base option starts at $1400 USD, the $2000 Core i7 option is unique in that it’s one of the few convertibles this year to come equipped with both a Core i7-1165G7 CPU and discrete GeForce MX350 GPU. The Nvidia GPU renders the integrated Iris Xe almost obsolete in many cases and so many other OEMs have chosen not to include it since the Iris Xe alone is usually satisfactory. 

Mibro Air: Xiaomi’s latest smartwatch is now available for a bargain price

The Mibro Air is Xiaomi’s latest budget smartwatch, albeit one that is not all that smart when it is disconnected from a smartphone. The Mibro Air does not support Wi-Fi or LTE, so it receives all its data via a Bluetooth connection with an Android smartphone or an iPhone.

Nonetheless, the Mibro Air also features a heart rate sensor, sleep tracking, customisable watch faces and 12 sports modes. The smartwatch is IP68 certified against dust and water and weighs just 40 g without a strap.

Its 1.28-inch display is also a touchscreen, but there is a digital crown for navigating the UI, too. The display operates natively at 240 x 240 pixels, for reference. Additionally, there is a 200 mAh battery that will supposedly last up to 25 days on a single charge.

The Mibro Air is available to order now from multiple third-party retailers, including AliExpress, Banggood and Gearbest. However, it is cheapest at Banggood, where it currently sells for US$29.99.