Honor X5b and X5b Plus debut quietly

Honor needed no fanfare to release its latest entry-level smartphones – X5b and X5b Plus. The devices are available in several Middle East markets; as the names suggest, they are closely related. Honor did make the Plus slightly better, but similarities are more than the differences. Honor X5b and X5b Plus have an LTE-only Helio G36 chipset and run Android 14 with MagicOS 8.0 on top. The screen is a basic 6.56" LCD with a waterdrop notch, 720p resolution and 90 Hz refresh rate. The selfie camera mounted inside the notch has a 5 MP sensor. Around the back there are 50 MP main...

Google Pixel 9 Pro will be up for pre-orders in India starting October 17

Google introduced the Pixel 9 series in India in August, including the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, and Pixel 9 Pro Fold. But only the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro XL, and Pixel 9 Pro Fold were sold in the country. However, on October 17, Google will launch the Pixel 9 Pro in India, which will be up for pre-orders in India through Flipkart. Its base variant is priced at INR109,999 ($1,310/€1,200). The Google Pixel 9 Pro comes with the Tensor G4 SoC, Android 14, up to 16GB RAM and 1TB storage, and a 6.3" 120Hz LTPO OLED display of 1,280p resolution. The smartphone is fueled by a 4,700...

Poco C75 leaked images show some glitzy color versions

A while back the Poco C75 was certified by the FCC on its way to launch, and today we have our first ever leaked renders to look at. These show the device in all three colors in which it will be offered, and while the black one is reasonably subdued, the other two are all glitzy and glamorous - or at least they're trying to be. As you can see, the phone will come in black, gold, and green. It will allegedly be powered by the MediaTek Helio G85 SoC paired with up to 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and up to 256GB of storage, and will have a 6.88-inch HD+ LCD touchscreen with 120 Hz refresh...

Redmi Note 14 Pro 4G is on the way, key specs outed

Xiaomi already announced the 5G-capable Redmi Note 14 Pro, but now it looks like there will be a 4G-only model as well. This has been certified by the FCC under the model number 24116RACCG - that "G" at the end stands for "global". This model will apparently come with a 6.67-inch 1080x2400 pOLED screen, it will have 8/12GB of RAM, 128/256/512GB of storage, and a 5,500 mAh battery. It will run Android 14 with HyperOS 1.0 on top. At the helm should be a MediaTek chipset, but unfortunately we don't know which one. For reference, the Redmi Note 13 Pro 4G uses the Helio G99 Ultra, so...

Honor announces launch dates for Magic7 series, MagicOS 9.0

Honor just scheduled a couple of big events in China to take place in the following weeks. On October 23, the company will introduce MagicOS 9.0 - its take on Android 15. The interface will first appear on the Honor Magic7 flagships, set to debut exactly one week later, on October 30. The new MagicOS 9.0 will have a new set of AI features, including an AI Agent, an always-on personal assistant aimed at competing with Apple Intelligence and Google Gemini. The service was first demoed at IFA 2024, and we also saw a video of it on an Honor Magic7 phone, revealing an oval-shaped punch hole...

Top 10 trending phones of week 41

Samsung Galaxy S24 FE is once again the most popular device in our database in week 41. And just like last week the Redmi Note 14 Pro+ grabs the silver medal. [#InlinePriceWidget, 13262, 1#] Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra and Galaxy A55 have overtaken the iPhone 16 Pro Max to place third and fourth, while Apple's flagship is down to fifth position. Xiaomi's 14T Pro slid to sixth, ahead of the Redmi Note 13 Pro and Galaxy A15. The Redmi Note 13 came in ninth as another Xiaomi phone, the vanilla 14T grabbed the final position in this week's...

Nothing CMF Watch Pro 2 review

CMF is a Nothing's more affordable sub-brand and it's already released half a dozen products. Last year it launched its first smartwatch a and this summer, a second one was introduced – CMF Watch Pro 2. We spent a few weeks with the wearable and we are finally ready to share our impressions. Design The CMF Watch Pro 2 features a circular display, in a shift from the rectangular screen of its predecessor. Since the original CMF Watch Pro is still available this effectively lets you choose between two different styles. The watch has an aluminum case with a matte finish, giving...

Galaxy A16 5G and MediaTek Dimensity 9400 official, Week 41 in review

Samsung unveiled the Galaxy A16 5G with a record-breaking for the segment 6 years of Android version updates and security patches. Galaxy A16 5G comes in Midnight Blue, Turquoise, and Gray colors. The phone costts €249 in its 4/128GB trim in Europe and shipments are already underway. We saw photos of the Galaxy S25, S25+, and S25 Ultra's display assembly, giving us an idea of the lineup's fronts. We also saw a render of One UI 7's new control (command?) center on the Galaxy S25 Ultra. MediaTek announced the flagship 3nm Dimensity 9400 SoC. It's built on TSMC's 3nm N3E node, has a...

Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Pro renders hint at a slightly upgraded curvy display

Xiaomi is wasting no time when it comes to its popular Smart wearable line. The Smart Band 9 launched back in August and it hasn't been a full year yet since the last Smart Band 8 Pro model dropped. A new Smart Band 9 Pro is allegedly on the horizon and probably right around the corner since unofficial renders of the upcoming device have started popping up. It's a bit hard to discern proper detail from these renders, and that's if they are accurate, to begin with, but it does look like the new Smart Band 9 Pro has a slightly curvy display, or at least display glass, which is...

Weekly poll results: the Xiaomi 14T and 14T Pro are great, but pricing is an issue in some regions

The Xiaomi 14T phones are hot stuff and they drew a lot of interest in last week’s poll. However, the pricing is proving to be an issue in some regions. Not all, some commenters are reporting that they managed to get great deals and are happy with their purchase. Still, the results speak for themselves – the Xiaomi 14T Pro poll is nearly evenly split between people who like the phone and people who think that it is too expensive. We had more options in the poll and (as we suspected), some are just not fans of the HyperOS software. The hardware, however, had few detractors. The...

Huawei Watch GT 5 in for review

The new Huawei Watch GT 5 series is out, and we have both the vanilla GT 5 and the GT 5 Pro. Now let's take a peek inside the box of the GT 5. At first glance, the GT 5 offers a modest upgrade and for the most part, it's true. The GT 5's hardware is largely the same as the GT 4 from last year. It comes in two variants - 41mm and 46mm, built around 1.32" and 1.43" screens, respectively. Huawei managed to shave 0.3mm off the thickness, though. We have the 41mm option, which is a better fit for smaller wrists. The 316L stainless steel body can still handle 5 ATM pressure and is...

Deals: the Pixel 9 series gets discounts plus special offers for Pixel Watch 3 and Buds Pro 2

Amazon Canada has an offer that applies to all Pixel 9 models – you can get $200 off the Pixel Watch 3 and 50% off the Pixel Buds Pro 2, if you buy them alongside one of the new Google phones. We will start with the Google Pixel 9 Pro as this one has the best discount. It’s not automatic, you have to use the code listed below (but it’s also listed on the Amazon page, so it’s easy to copy and paste). The Pixel 9 Pro is on the small side as far as Android flagships go, but has a high-res LTPO display, a 50+48+48MP camera (including a 5x 113mm periscope), satellite SOS and will receive 7...

Samsung Galaxy S24 FE is free at Verizon with no trade-in required

Truly great offers are rarer and rarer these days, especially direct from carriers, but today we have one exception for you. You can now get the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE from Verizon for effectively $0. If you get an eligible plan (Unlimited Welcome, Unlimited Plus, or Unlimited Ultimate), regardless of whether you're an existing customer or a new one, you can benefit from this offer. The way it works is you need to use Verizon's three-year installment plan for the purchase, and the carrier will give you bill credits every month in the exact amount that you were supposed to pay. So, as...

Xiaomi Pad 7 and Pad 7 Pro specs leak

Xiaomi will soon launch two new tablets, the Pad 7 and Pad 7 Pro. The main specs for both have been leaked today in China. If you've been waiting for a successor to the Pad 6S Pro, these aren't that. Instead, as the naming implies, they're meant to replace the Pad 6 and Pad 6 Pro, launched in April 2023. The Xiaomi Pad 7 will allegedly be powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 chipset, and will have support for 45W wired charging. The Pad 7 Pro, on the other hand, will have the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 at the helm, paired with support for 67W wired charging. Xiaomi Pad 6 Both tablets...

Google confirms it halted the Wear OS 5 update for the Pixel Watch and Pixel Watch 2

Google started sending out the update to Wear OS 5 for the original Pixel Watch and the Pixel Watch 2 back in September. However, shortly after the rollout started, a lot of people reported a very nasty issue with these older watches - following the update, the watch would be stuck on a blank screen. Google listened to all of the reports and halted the update's rollout on September 26, but it only confirmed this today in an announcement on its support pages for the Pixel Watch line. The company says it plans to resume the Wear OS 5 rollout for the Pixel Watch and Pixel Watch 2...

iQOO 13 launch date revealed

The iQOO 13 will be launching in India on December 5, a new rumor claims. It's unclear if this will count as its international launch, and also if it will be unveiled in China ahead of that date. The iQOO 13 will sport BOE's Q10 display, the Chinese panel maker's latest and greatest, with 2K resolution, 144 Hz refresh rate, as well as higher brightness, a longer lifespan, lower color deviation, and lower power consumption than competing options. There will also be an ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor. iQOO 12 The phone will be powered by the upcoming Snapdragon 8 Elite...

WhatsApp chat-specific themes are now rolling out

WhatsApp has been working on chat-specific theme support for a few months now, and the good news is that the feature has finally started rolling out. The bad news is it's only accessible by those who are using the Android beta of WhatsApp. So, while most of us won't get this right away, at least we can take a look and see what we can expect to roll out to every WhatsApp user in a few months or so. Before you say "WhatsApp already has chat themes", yes it does, but the new feature lets you select different ones for different chats. So you're no longer confined to a one-size fits all...

First Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 smartphone is coming next week

Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 chipset back in July, aiming it towards very affordable 5G devices. And Xiaomi confirmed it would be the first to launch a smartphone powered by this SoC. The time has now almost come for the reveal. Said first smartphone powered by the Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 is going to become official on October 16 at the India Mobile Congress 2024. That gives you an idea about the fact that this handset will be sold in India. It's still unclear what the device will be, but given the chip's focus on affordability, we're betting on a Redmi of some sort - most...

Redmi K80 series to bring top specs and higher prices

Redmi's flagship K line is due for a refresh in the coming weeks, and today we have some scattered tidbits of information about it from various sources. First, Redmi's Wang Teng teases the fact that the Redmi K80 series have been "greatly upgraded", not just in terms of performance, but also in another area that he hasn't yet revealed. In this mystery area, the K80 devices will be better than many devices from competing brands, which will be released first. He also hints at the K80 family's release date by saying that people who want to change their phones at the end of the year should...

Here's when the Oppo Find X8 Ultra and Find N5 are coming

Oppo is launching the Find X8 and Find X8 Pro later this month, but the Find X8 Ultra won't be joining them. So if you've been wondering when to expect the Find X8 Ultra to become official, a new rumor gives us a rough time frame, and it's the first quarter of next year. That means Oppo's absolute flagship device will arrive between January and March. During the same period, Oppo is also said to unveil the Find N5 foldable, the successor to the Find N3 from 2023 (the "4" is apparently being skipped due to tetraphobia). Oppo Find N3 If history repeats itself, then the Find N5 will...

OnePlus 13 screen details leak

The OnePlus 13 will be a top of the line flagship device, based on many previous rumors. Its screen will be of the highest quality, and today some new details about it have been leaked in China. The OnePlus 13 will use the BOE X2 panel. It will have "2K" resolution, a 120 Hz refresh rate, and is of course LTPO. The OnePlus 13 will also embed an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor in the display, which should result in faster and more accurate unlocks. OnePlus 12 The display will be gently curved on all sides, as is the latest trend among Chinese smartphone makers. Additionally, the...

Oppo Find X8 stars in video detailing its AI features powered by the Dimensity 9400

Earlier today MediaTek officially unveiled the Dimensity 9400, its new flagship chipset. This has already proven to be quite remarkable in AI tasks, and now a new video highlights some of the AI features it will power. The video stars Oppo's upcoming Find X8, which will use the Dimensity 9400. The device is getting official on October 24 and will launch with ColorOS 15 on board, based on Android 15. This is the software that will power all of the AI features you can see demoed in the video below (in Chinese). Although it's unclear exactly which of these will make it to international...

vivo X200 Pro and Pro Mini top AI-Benchmark chart thanks to Dimensity 9400

Earlier today, MediaTek announced its latest flagship chipset – the Dimensity 9400 complete with its updated Cortex-X925 CPU, Immortalis-G925 GPU and eight-generation NPU 890. The vivo X200 Pro and X200 Pro Mini are expected to be the first devices to launch with the new chip and they already appeared in the AI-Benchmark test propelling them atop the performance ranking charts. X200 Pro scored an impressive 10,132 points score which places it at the number one spot while X200 Pro Mini comes in second with 10,095 points. Both phones offer a substantial leap over the vivo X100 and...

Realme P1 Speed 5G is coming next week, design and processor revealed

Realme launched the P1 and P1 Pro as the first smartphones in the new P-series in April. And last month, the brand introduced the P2 Pro. Today, Realme announced it will add a new member to the P-series on October 15, called Realme P1 Speed 5G. The Realme P1 Speed 5G will be unveiled next Tuesday in India at noon local time. The image we received reveals the Realme P1 Speed's design. It has a punch-hole display on the front and a circular camera island on the rear. Realme hasn't detailed the P1 Speed 5G's specs sheet yet, but the brand confirmed the smartphone will be powered by the...

Redmi's next tablet to be powered by a Snapdragon 8 series chip

Redmi is allegedly working on a new tablet that will be aimed at gamers. Given this fact, it will upgrade its power by using a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 series chipset. The exact one isn't mentioned by the Chinese source of this leak, which makes us (and many commenters over on Weibo) believe it's going to end up being the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3, which is not really a flagship SoC as the naming implies, but more of an upper-midrange offering. Still, that would compare well to Redmi's previous tablets, and signifies a slight move upmarket, even if not by a lot. The brand could also go with the...