Huawei Freebuds Pro 2 review

Huawei's latest flagship TWS earphones - the Freebuds Pro 2 - come as a natural evolution of the first Freebuds Pro. They are co-engineered with Devialet and having spent considerable time testing them we are now ready to share what we hope will be some useful impressions. We had the Silver Blue set, which is definitely the belle of the ball - there are also Black and White options for more traditional looks. Picking a bold color for an accessory usually means it will be an accent in one’s apparel, and in this case, the Freebuds Pro 2 in Blue are definitely a head-turner. The case...

Nothing Phone (1) update brings UI and charging improvements

Nothing is rolling out version 1.1.2 for the Nothing OS (1) for the Phone (1). It's a minor update but brings some useful improvements to the phone. The always-on display feature will now by have the custom schedule on by default. This means the feature will automatically turn itself off at night. The user can still manually change this to be on all the time but it's no longer the default behavior. Change log. Note the lighter shade of gray for the background in the updated version. This update also added an option to make the fingerprint icon appear when the display is...

Top 10 trending phones of week 30

Nothing's phone (1) kept its crown as the most popular phone in our database for the third week in a row, while Google's Pixel 6a is once again the runner-up. The gap is much smaller this week, though, so we might see a change at the top in week 31. In third we have the Asus Zenfone 9, which made its official debut and finally ended the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra's streak of consecutive bronze medals. The Samsung flagship settled for fourth, just edging the Redmi Note 11 and the Galaxy A53. There are three Apple smartphones in the final four positions, with the iPhone 13 Pro Max...

Realme Pad X in for review

The Realme Pad X just arrived and we decided to do our customary unboxing before we start the review. Lucky for us, it came with the Realme Pencil and the Smart Keyboard, which are normally sold separately. The Realme Pad X was unveiled back in May but only became global a few days ago. The tablet comes with a USB cable and a 33W charger. The tablet starts at INR17,999 ($225/€220) for the Wi-Fi-only 4/64GB model, and INR25,999 ($325/€320) for the 5G 4/64GB model. The Realme Smart Keyboard is priced at INR4,999 ($63/€61) and the Realme Pencil is INR5,499 ($69/€68). Realme Pad X...

Week 30 in review: Zenfone 9 and MatePad Pro 11 official, Pixel 7 leaks

Another week down, let's recap it. The most popular story of the week concerned the camera sensors on the upcoming Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro phones. They'll have the same Samsung GN1 sensor in the main, and Sony IMX381 in the ultrawide camera as the current Pixel 6/6 Pro. But both 7-series Pixels will get bumped to a new autofocusing 11MP Samsung 3J1 selfie module, while the Pixel 7 Pro will upgrade its zoom camera's sensor from the IMX586 to the GM1. The Asus Zenfone 9 is official. It's deliciously compact, but that doesn't impede its performance or its battery endurance. The phone has a...

Huawei Mate Xs 2 in for review

Huawei brought the new foldable Mate Xs 2 back in May, and we were reporting on the ground with first impressions and hands-on experience. Back then the device was in limited supply but now Huawei is bringing it to the store shelves and we got our hands on one unit. The Mate Xs 2 ships in three colors, and our unit is White. The finish on the back is leathery but since the phone folds outwards, the color is more of an afterthought. Still, it feels nice on the hands when the Mate is unfolded. We love how thin the phone is in its base - it is just 5.4 mm, with the camera bump doubling...

Weekly poll: is the Asus Zenfone 9 the perfect phone for you?

Now this is a rare beast – the Asus Zenfone 9 is a small phone with a large battery and a powerful chipset. It really is a beast, in our review it outperformed the Exynos-powered Galaxy S22, SD 8 Gen 1 powered Xiaomi 12 and others. This was in Performance mode and the phone can’t last long at full throttle, but Asus’ new vapor chamber cooling system handled the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset better than expected. The Zenfone 9 measures 146.6 x 68.2 x 9.5mm and weighs 165g. For comparison, the Galaxy S22 is 146 x 70.6 x 7.6mm and 167g (though that is with a battery that is 600mAh...

Weekly poll results: iQOO 10 series shows promise, but limited availability is a huge issue

Is 200W charging power too much? No, it’s just right for some of the voters in last week’s poll. However, the iQOO 10 Pro has problems of a different nature – availability. That same issue extends to the vanilla iQOO 10 as well. iQOO is more of a regional brand, its products are available mainly in China and India, leaving out a lot of potential buyers. Parent vivo is certainly not a regional brand, so it can spread iQOO out to new regions if it wanted to, but that is not the strategy it has chosen. However, this means that even though nearly half of voters are interested in the iQOO 10...

Madhav Sheth: Realme will launch a sub-INR15,000 5G smartphone, enter new consumer categories in H2 2022

Realme launched the Pad X in India a few days ago with a bunch of other AIoT products, including the Watch 3 and its first PC monitor, dubbed Realme Flat Monitor Full HD. On the sidelines of the launch, we spoke with Mr. Madhav Sheth - CEO of Realme India, VP of Realme, and President of Realme International Business Group - to learn more about Realme's product roadmap for H2 2022. Sheth told us that in the coming months, Realme will launch at least four new products in India, including a 5G smartphone in the INR10,000 ($126/€123) to INR15,000 ($190/€185) category, which, the Indian CEO...

OnePlus 10T's battery size confirmed, will charge faster than 10 Pro

The OnePlus 10T is launching next week, and OnePlus has already revealed its design and key specs, including the SoC, cameras, RAM, storage, and screen refresh rate. Now just a few days ahead of the unveiling, OnePlus has detailed the 10T's battery. OnePlus has announced that the 10T will pack a 4,800 mAh battery, which is 200 mAh smaller than the 10 Pro's cell but supports faster charging. The OnePlus 10 Pro supports 65W charging in North America and goes up to 80W in other regions, but the 10T will support 150W charging, which, OnePlus says, will juice up the 4,800 mAh cell from 1-100%...

Tecno Camon 19 Pro review

Omdia: Apple, Samsung and Honor win in Q2, overall market loses

Per Omdia's research, the global smartphone market in Q2 of this year was worse off than in Q2 of 2021, and worse still compared to Q1 of 2022. There were a total of 293.7 million smartphones shipped in the months April through June, compared to 307.7 million in Q1, and 303.3 million in Q2 2021. Samsung led the market in Q2 with a total of 62.2 million phones shipped, in front of Apple's 48.9 million. Omdia points to the solid performance of devices like the Galaxy A13 and the Galaxy S22 series. On Apple's side, there was strong brand loyalty and a higher interest in the iPhone 13 series,...

Samsung's new 'Repair Mode' will keep sensitive data safe while your phone being serviced

It’s standard practice to reset your phone when dropping it off at the service center for repairs – otherwise you risk sensitive data (photos, accounts, etc.) getting into the wrong hands. This creates an additional hassle of having to back up your data first and restoring it after. Samsung has introduced a solution to this problem – Repair Mode. This will be accessible through the Battery and Device Care screen in the Settings. Once activated the phone will reboot. The mode will hide all personal data, including photos, messages, accounts and even apps (only the default installed apps...

The beige Galaxy Z Fold4 actually looks nice as seen in leaked renders

Was anyone worried when they heard the word ‘beige’ as a color name for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4? Very few people would say that beige is their favorite color, but the actual hue will look quite nice, especially when paired with a gold hinge and trim. Here is a preview, courtesy of Evan Blass who published renders of three of the four colorways for the Z Fold model. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 in Beige (leaked render) • Galaxy Z Fold3 in Phantom Silver After beige, let’s look at the stalwart Phantom Black color. Well, maybe “Phantom Black”, maybe it will have a different name – it...

Huawei Mate 50 series coming in September with Kirin 9000S

Huawei will finally bring back the Mate series this September. The Mate 50 series will arrive alongside HarmonyOS 3.0, a new chipset, and possibly even the Aito M5 EV, or Aito M7. The series will feature the Mate 50, the Mate 50 Pro, and the Mate 50 RS. The phones will be powered by the new Kirin 9000S. The chip will allegedly remain 4G-only. Below is a render from reliable Chinese tipster Digital Chat Station, showcasing the reported rear design of the Mate 50 and Mate 50 Pro. This image reportedly shows the difference between the Mate 50 and the Pro (and likely RS). The...

Google Pixel 6a receives its first software update

The Google Pixel 6a that went on sale yesterday is receiving its first software update. However, it doesn't bring in any new features to the Pixel 6a and only bumps up the Android security patch level on the smartphone to June 2022. Considering how Samsung has already begun rolling out the August 2022 patch, we'd have liked to see Google release the July 2022 patch for the Pixel 6a. However, August isn't far away, so we could see Google skip the July patch and release the August security update for the Pixel 6a soon. That said, the software update for the Pixel 6a is rolling out in...

Moto Edge X30 Pro design revealed in official renders

Motorola is bringing the Edge X30 Pro smartphone on August 2. It will have a 200MP main camera and a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, and now we also know what the phone will look like. We have one big lens and two smaller ones below in a small rectangular setup on the back. Moto Edge X30 Pro promo materials The new flagship will support 100W charging rates. Back in March, one GM at Lenovo posted a photo of a 125W adapter on their Weibo, revealing the brick weighs only 130 grams. We expect it to break ground next week and we could even see it in the retail box. The phone is also...

Honor is announcing an entire line-up of new devices on September 2 at IFA

Honor is attending IFA this year, and the Chinese company has just informed us about the details. Honor's IFA keynote will happen both in-person in Berlin as well as online through a livestream. The date is September 2, and the time is 5 PM local Berlin time, a.k.a. CEST, which means 4 PM UK time and 3 PM UTC. Honor says we should expect an entire line-up of exciting products to be introduced at the event. As you can see the invite image features outlines of many different device types: there are phones, yes, but also a laptop, a tablet, a pair of TWS earbuds, and even a house,...

We're answering your questions about the Xiaomi 12S Ultra in a live streamed Q&A session

The Xiaomi 12S Ultra is undoubtedly one of the hottest smartphones of the year, despite its as-of-yet limited reach. And most of its popularity comes from the Leica branded camera system, featuring the biggest sensor ever put into a phone. We've already reviewed the 12S Ultra, and now we are going to do something unprecedented (for us, at least) - a Q&A session about the phone, live streamed on YouTube. It will take place tomorrow, on July 29, at 12:15 PM UTC - that's 13:15 UK time and 14:15 CEST, respectively. During the stream, Will is going to answer your questions about Xiaomi's latest...

Samsung reports record-breaking Q2 driven by skyrocketing Galaxy S22 sales

Samsung posted its quarterly financial reports, and the numbers for the April-June 2022 period look impressive. The Korean company revealed its revenue was KRW77.2 trillion ($59.2 billion), which is 21% more than it was for the same period of 2021. Operating profit was KRW14.1 trillion ($10.8 billion), which is 12% more YoY. Looking at sales in different segments, half of the increased sales came from the Mobile eXperience (MX) division where premium products (namely the Galaxy S22 series) were a lot more desired, compared with the predecessors in 2021. The strength of the US dollar...

HarmonyOS 3.0 unveiled with improved homescreen, privacy and performance

Huawei’s post-Android operating system, HarmonyOS, has reached its third major version. The original was unveiled in mid-2019, then version 2 came and went to to reach 90 million users by September of last year. It is now powering over 300 million devices with a further 170+ million devices using the HarmonyOS Connect platform (a way for third-party companies to build compatible devices). And now version 3 arrives. HarmonyOS 3.0 already made its debut with the reveal of the Huawei MatePad Pro 11, which is expected to reach international markets soon. The new OS has a new look, improved...

Moto Razr 2022 teaser shows the big secondary screen

Motorola is having a launch party next month where we’ll see the Razr 2022 and the Edge 30 Pro. The classic flagship already leaked multiple times in live photos, teasers, and certifications, but finally, we have a clear official look at the foldable with its big screen. The image, posted on Weibo, reveals a big rectangular screen, taking up the majority of the cover. The rest is left to the camera setup that now brings two shooters, placed horizontally, with the LED flash right next to them. The post on Weibo said the outer screen “can be on par” with the inner foldable panel,...

OnePlus 10T confirmed to have 16GB RAM and 256GB storage

OnePlus will unveil the 10T on August 3, which is confirmed to have the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC under the hood. And today, the company announced that the 10T will come with 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. We have seen OnePlus phones with 256GB of storage before, but not 16GB RAM. OnePlus says 16GB RAM will let 10T's users "juggle up to 35 apps" on their smartphones. However, on its official Indian website, OnePlus says 16GB RAM will allow "effortless multitasking with up to 30 apps open." Whether or not that's true is something we'll find out once we get our hands on a...

Motorola Moto G32's official-looking renders surface showing new color options

Motorola launched the Moto G31 last November, and it is expected to unveil the Moto G32 soon. The company hasn't divulged anything about the Moto G32 yet, but its leaked renders revealed the smartphone's design. The images showed us what the Moto G32 would look like in red and black colors, and thanks to leakster Evan Blass, we now get to see the smartphone in two more colors - silver and gold. The Moto G32 is built around a punch hole display and sports a triple camera setup on the rear, headlined by a 50MP unit. On the right-side frame is the volume rocker and power button, which...

Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro price leaks

Samsung is expected to unveil the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro / Galaxy Buds Pro 2 on August 10 alongside the Galaxy Z Fold4, Z Flip4, Galaxy Watch5 and Watch5 Pro. The new Pro buds will be successors to the original Galaxy Buds Pro which launched in January 2021. Today a new rumor claims to reveal the upcoming pricing of the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro in the US market. They will allegedly cost $229.99, which is $30 more than the Galaxy Buds Pro retailed for when they became available. Original Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro from last year If this pans out, then expect a similar price hike in other markets...

Google Maps brings Street View to India relying on local partners

In a world first, Google is expanding the Street View functionality of Maps to India without having captured any data itself. Instead, it's relied on Genesys International and Tech Mahindra, which have covered over 150,000 km within 10 cities: Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, Nashik, Vadodara, Ahmednagar, and Amritsar. Google says the plan is to expand Street View to more than 50 Indian cities by the end of the year. To use Street View, open Google Maps, zoom into a road in any of the aforementioned cities, and tap the area you want to view. The Street View API has...

Samsung Galaxy A23 5G could cost €300, leak says

Samsung unveiled the Galaxy A23 smartphone back in March, and we established it wasn't a particularly competitive device. Now, a 5G version with a Snapdragon 695 is on its way, and its price in Europe leaked, revealing the company is about to make the same mistake. The Samsung Galaxy A23 5G with 64 GB storage will be available in at least three colors for €300. Samsung Galaxy A23 4G The new affordable midranger is said to have a 5,000 mAh battery with 25W fast charging, according to a listing on FCC. Other specs include Bluetooth 5.0, a microSD card slot and NFC which might be...

Oppo K10 Energy arrives with Snapdragon 778G and 12 GB RAM

Oppo K10 Energy went official today after the phone was spotted earlier this month. The name can also be translated as Lite or Youth or Vitality, but Oppo put "Energy" on the back so we're sticking with that. The phone is meant to be a more affordable version of the Oppo K10 5G with a Snapdragon 778G chipset and is already up for sale in China. This K10 smartphone has a 6.59” LCD with 120 Hz refresh rate and Full HD+ resolution. There is a punch hole in the left corner for the 16MP selfie camera. Around the back sits a 64MP main camera alongside an 8MP ultrawide and 2MP auxiliary...

OnePlus Ace Pro confirmed to come with 16GB RAM

The OnePlus 10T will launch on August 3, and on the same day, OnePlus will also introduce the OnePlus Ace Pro in its home country China. OnePlus previously confirmed the Ace Pro will be powered by the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC, and now the company has revealed the smartphone will come with 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM, making it the first OnePlus smartphone to have that much RAM onboard. OnePlus has also said the Ace Pro will come with UFS 3.1 storage and a 120Hz screen. OnePlus hasn't detailed the entire specs sheet yet, but the Ace Pro's pictures it shared on its official Chinese website...

New official looking Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 renders surface showing all colors

Samsung's next Unpacked event is fast approaching, taking place on August 10. That's when the company will unveil the Galaxy Z Fold4 and Z Flip4, and the latter of those has just leaked again today, this time in new official-looking renders portraying all four colors. Speaking of which, the names of the hues are rumored to be Graphite, Pink Gold, Bora Purple, and Blue. The Flip4 will use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset, and it's rumored to have a 6.7-inch FHD+ 120 Hz folding AMOLED screen inside, a 2.1-inch outer AMOLED touchscreen, dual 12 MP sensors on the back and a 10 MP...

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra rumored to keep the old 10MP 10x periscope module

A month ago a rumor claimed that the Galaxy S23 and S23+ will have the same telephoto cameras as their predecessors (10MP 3x), that will be the case with the upcoming Ultra model as well, according to Galaxy Club. An unconfirmed report claims that the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra will have a periscope with 10x magnification and 10MP resolution. Those are the same basic specs as on the S21 Ultra and S22 Ultra (the S20 Ultra had a 48MP 4x periscope cam). There is still room for image quality improvements, however, Samsung could bring better optics or a lager sensor, for example, certainly...

nubia Red Magic 7S Pro review

Honor pulls team out of India, will continue with a "safe approach"

Honor revealed its team based in India is pulling out. George Zhao, company CEO, revealed the brand will remain in the market but all hands-on personnel is leaving and local partners will represent the brand. The announcement comes as Indian authorities launched a series of probes into Chinese companies, including Xiaomi, vivo, and Oppo. George Zhao revealed the brand will adopt a “very safe approach” in its market presence. He also shared that there has been a lot of work to assemble a local team, but due to “obvious reasons”, it will be disbanded. The news comes as Honor made a...

Watch the Realme Watch 3 and Realme Pad X announcement live

Realme is holding its "1st 5G-LED AIoT Launch" in India today to introduce seven new products in the country - Realme Watch 3, Realme Pad X, Realme Pencil, Realme Smart Keyboard, Realme Flat Monitor FullHD, Realme Buds Wireless 2S, and Realme Buds Air 3 Neo. The event will begin at 12:30PM local time (7AM UTC) and will be live-streamed on Realme's YouTube channel. You can follow it with us by tuning to the stream below. The Realme Pad X, Pencil, Smart Keyboard, and Buds Air 3 Neo aren't entirely new products since they are already available in China. However, the Realme Pad X will come...

Best Buy announces new small-format stores

Best Buy is announcing it is opening new stores, though a whole new retail format. The retailer unveiled its first “digital-first, small-format” store that caters to customers in a way that better caters to changing consumer habits. The new store is contained in 5,000 square feet of retail space, much smaller than the average 38,500 sq feet of its usual “big box” stores. The store has a curated showroom of products across the most popular categories of consumer tech including home theater and audio, computers, headphones, wearables, fitness, smartphones, cameras, smart home, and small...

Moto Edge X30 Pro appears on Geekbench with Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset

Motorola is launching the Edge X30 Pro smartphone with a 200MP camera, and the latest and greatest Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 platform. The confirmation comes from Geekbench, where the flagship was benchmarked and unsurprisingly revealed mighty results in raw performance. The Moto Edge X30 Pro’s result of 1,252 for a single core and 3,972 for multiple cores are in line with other tests we had so far. There will also be a 12GB RAM option and the OS will be Android 12, but the phone will launch in China first with a heavily modified interface. Other rumored specs include 5,000 mAh battery...

OnePlus 10T to come in Moonstone Black and Jade Green

OnePlus today announced that its upcoming OnePlus 10T smartphone will be available in two colors. The colors in question are Moonstone Black and Jade Green. The Moonstone Black color has a rough textured back glass, somewhat reminiscent of the sandstone finish of the original OnePlus One but with striations instead as seen on certain types of rocks. The Jade Green color, on the other hand, has a smooth, glossy texture. It has the pale, waxy green color, as one would find on the jade mineral. The OnePlus 10T will be launching in New York on August 3. The phone is packing the...

Analyst: the rugged Apple Watch Pro will have a titanium body, shatter-proof display

According to Bloomberg analyst Mark Gurman, Apple will release three new watches this year – the Apple Watch 8, of course, a revamped SE and a rugged Pro watch. The Apple Watch Pro is described as having the first new design since 2018. It won’t be that new, however, as it will stick with a rectangular shape (instead of going circular) and it won’t have flat sides as some rumors have reported. It will be bigger, though, with its display expected to be 7% larger than the 1.9” panel on the Watch 7 45mm. And its display will be more shatter-resistant than current Watches, while its body...

Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 and Redmi K50S Pro memory configurations revealed by TENAA

Two rumored Xiaomi phones have been described in more detail in TENAA certifications. The two phones are Xiaomi’s second foldable phone and what could be its first phone with a 200MP camera. The Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 (22061218C) will have 12GB of RAM and either 512GB or 1TB storage, according to the TENAA listing. This phone will almost certainly be powered by the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. From a 3C listing we know that it will support 67W fast charging (battery capacity is still TBD). According to leakster Digital Chat Station, both the internal and external displays on the Mix Fold 2 will refresh...

OnePlus Ace Pro is also coming on August 3

OnePlus is unveiling the 10T smartphone and OxygenOS 13 on August 3 at 2 PM GMT. However, the company just scheduled another launch three hours earlier or 11 AM GMT (7 PM Beijing Time) in China. The event will see the arrival of the OnePlus Ace Pro - a phone we are pretty confident is the 10T with a different name for the local crowd. OnePlus calls the Ace Pro “the new benchmark for performance” because it will come with a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset. It will also have 120Hz screen, and rumors are pointing towards 150W fast charging, dedicated game mode and ultra-fast memory, probably...

Top 10 trending phones of week 28

There was no shortage of movement in our trending chart this week, but the top remained firmly withing the grasp of Nothing's phone (1). The start of the pre-order campaign gave the Pixel 6a's a huge boost in popularity and it snatched second place as the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is now third for the fourth time in a row. After spending a few weeks in the lower parts of the chart, the Redmi Note 11 is back in fourth, while the Galaxy A53 consolidated its fifth position. The iPhone 13 Pro Max follows, placing just ahead of last week's runner-up - the Xiaomi 12S Ultra. We then have...

Google Pixel 6a in for review

The Google Pixel 6a recently went on pre-orders in over a dozen countries and we've got one for a review. Our unit comes in Sage color, but there are two more options - Chalk and Charcoal. Regardless of which color model you buy, the Pixel 6a's retail package comes with a USB-C to USB-C cable, USB-C to 3.5mm audio dongle, some paperwork, and a SIM card ejector. The box doesn't include a charger, so if you don't have a compatible power adapter already, you'll have to buy one. The Google Pixel 6a is powered by the company's 5nm Tensor chip and also has Google's Titan M2 security...

Week 29 in review: Galaxy Z Fold4 and Z Flip4 renders surface, a bunch of new phones announced

For yet another week, the Nothing phone (1) is dominating our news section but this time around everyone was eager to see what our reviewers had to say about it since the phone went official last week. We finally got the first official-looking press renders of the upcoming Samsung foldables - the Galaxy Z Flip4 and Z Fold4. In other not-so-great Samsung news, the company allegedly decided to scrape the Galaxy S22 FE release in favor of manufacring more Galaxy S22 Ultra units. Xiaomi revealed the Redmi K50i 5G in China with Dimensity 8100 SoC and 144Hz LCD panel. Nubia made headlines...

Flashback: a decade of Microsoft's failed attempts to conquer the phone market

Microsoft and Verizon somehow managed to kill the Kin phones twice. The first generation came out in 2010 and was designed by Danger - the company behind the Hiptop (aka T-Mobile Sidekick). Danger was home to the likes of Andy Rubin and Matias Duarte, which people familiar with Android history should know quite well. We've covered the Kin story before, now we wanted to focus on what happened in the decade that followed. Well, Kin's fate was sealed from the beginning it seems, since the Windows Phone 7 platform was announced in early 2010. Evolution of Metro UI: 2nd gen Zune •...

Flashback: a decade of Microsoft's failed attempts to reconquer the phone market

Microsoft and Verizon somehow managed to kill the Kin phones twice. The first generation came out in 2010 and was designed by Danger - the company behind the Hiptop (aka T-Mobile Sidekick). Danger was home to the likes of Andy Rubin and Matias Duarte, which people familiar with Android history should know quite well. We've covered the Kin story before, now we wanted to focus on what happened in the decade that followed. Well, Kin's fate was sealed from the beginning it seems, since the Windows Phone 7 platform was announced in early 2010. Evolution of Metro UI: 2nd gen Zune •...

Weekly poll: can the iQOO 10 and 10 Pro power their ways into your heart?

Two hundred Watts – 200W! The announcement of the new iQOO 10 series brought the first phone to push that much power over a USB-C cable and into its battery, which can be fully charged in 10 minutes. This is with a 4,700mAh battery on the Pro model and is an impressive technological feat. Compared to the iQOO 9 Pro (which had the same capacity), the full charge is twice as fast (10 vs. 20 minutes). Is that a meaningful change or are we firmly in “diminishing returns” territory? And how do you feel about the new iQOOs in general – that’s the topic of this week’s poll. Pricing...

Weekly poll results: Nothing phone (1) stirs heated debate, but the company needs to prove itself

Last week’s poll shows that Newton’s third law applies to hype as well – for every hype there is equal and opposite hate. And few phone launches this year were as hyped up as the Nothing phone (1). That’s not to say that things are looking bad, necessarily. 1 in 10 people in the poll have already pre-ordered a unit, which means that they had jumped through all the hoops of the invite system. 1 in 3 people are waiting on reviews to make a decision. That’s reasonable considering that this is the company’s first smartphone and only its second product ever. It needs to prove itself, which...

Realme GT2 Explorer Master in for review

Last week Realme announced the GT2 Explorer Master flagship armed with the latest Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset and a bespoke design developed in collaboration with fashion designer Jae-Jung. We’ve received a review device now and these are our first impressions before the review team gets going with its tests. Design is the one aspect where the GT2 Explorer Master definitely stands out from other phones. We’ve got the Travel Trunk model on hand here and it features a distinct look inspired by the vintage luggage carrying equipment. The phone features a light grey vegan leather back and...

Apple diversifies iPhone 14 suppliers ahead of the launch

Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 14 series in September, and to avoid any delays in its launch, the company has diversified its component suppliers, which not only allows the Cupertino-based tech giant to reduce dependence on a single supplier but also have a bargaining position. And, ahead of the iPhone 14 launch, Apple's suppliers' list has expanded since China's SG Micro has passed the quality certifications for the higher-end iPhone 14 models. Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max Word comes from renowned analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who said SG Micro will likely ship the PMICs for the iPhone 14...

OnePlus 10T camera setup revealed officially ahead of launch

OnePlus is expected to release its next smartphone, the OnePlus 10T, on August 3 but it seems that the company doesn't want to wait much longer and unveiled the camera setup of the 10T in a community forum post. There are a couple of camera samples as well. OnePlus 10T camera samples For starters, the 10T won't have the Hasselblad Camera for Mobile as it's not the company's ultimate flagship. That seat is still reserved for the OnePlus 10 Pro. The 10T aims to be an all-rounder at a more affordable price point. Still, the handset will be running a proper camera setup with...