Google’s Senior VP says he isn’t asking for iMessage on Android, but for RCS to work on iPhone

Last week, a report from WSJ highlighted the mental health effects of teenagers who feel outcast by their friends who use an Android phone. The report gathered lots of attention over the weekend and Google’s Senior VP Hiroshi Lockheimer Tweeted against peer pressure and bullying as a way for Apple to sell products. Following the weekend that the topic was discussed at length under the SVP’s Tweet, Lockheimer tweeted again with some thoughts and clarifications about the ordeal. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max To start, Lockheimer makes clear that Google isn’t...

Honor Magic V is the first folding phone with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset

The first folding phone powered by Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset is here - welcome the Honor Magic V. It comes with a large 7.9-inch main folding screen that can close completely flat for added protection and a 6.45-inch cover screen with 120Hz refresh rate and a 2560 x 1080px resolution (21:9 aspect). The external screen’s dimensions are much closer to what you’d see on a regular smartphone which should make typing and other everyday tasks that much easier. Honor stressed the importance of having a usable cover screen on the Magic V and even compared its solution on...

Realme 9i is official with Snapdragon 680, big battery

Realme 9i just made its official debut in Vietnam. The phone is on sale now for VND 6,490,000 ($290/INR 21,200) in two colors - Blue and Black, and in a single 6/128GB configuration. You can expand the 128GB of memory through a microSD card and add an additional 5GB to the RAM by deducting it from the built-in storage. The Realme 9i uses a 6nm Snapdragon 680 chipset and a 6.6-inch FHD+ IPS LCD that can refresh from 30Hz, through 48-50-60Hz all the way to 90Hz. There's a 16MP selfie camera and a triple camera on the rear - a 50MP f/1.8 wide and a pair of 2MP sensors - one macro and...

iQOO Z5 gets Android-12 based Funtouch beta update

In October, iQOO shared an Android 12 update timeline for some of its handsets and the iQOO Z5 was supposed to get the beta version of Funtouch 12 last month. After a slight delay, iQOO is now distributing the release. Once again, this is a public beta version of the software we are talking about so the final, stable release should arrive soon enough. Those who have access to the beta program can download the 5.08GB package with build number PD2148F_EX_36.9.2. Looking ahead, we expect the iQOO 3 to get its beta software by the end of March. Via

The Oppo Pad will support 33W fast charging, gets a 3C certification

Oppo has been so busy with the hotly anticipated Find N that it hasn’t had time to launch its first tablet, the Oppo Pad. Preparation for the launch of the slate is still ongoing though, as evidenced by the recent certification by the 3C. It shows that the Oppo Pad (OPD2101) will support 33W fast charging (11V, 3A), however, it is not clear if such a charger will be included in the retail package. Its cousin, the Realme Pad, did come with an included charger. The Realme slate only goes up to 18W, though. The Oppo tablet will be larger and more powerful – rumored specs include a...

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G launches in India with Exynos 2100

Samsung announced its Galaxy S21 FE 5G last week on the global stage and now the phone has officially made its way to India. There’s one key difference between the global model and its Indian counterpart - Samsung went with its in-house Exynos 2100 SoC instead of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888. The rest of the spec sheet is identical between the two phones. You get a 6.4-inch 120Hz Dynamic AMOLED 2x panel with a centered punch hole for the 32MP selfie cam. The phone boots Samsung’s latest One UI 4 on top of Android 12 and also comes with a triple cam setup on the back. The main shooter is a...

Watch the Honor Magic V announcement here

The day has come for Honor to unveil its first foldable phone, the Honor Magic V. The event will be livestreamed starting at 11:30 UTC from a stage in China. This is billed as the global launch for the V and Honor is indeed welcome to sell its phones globally. However, we don’t know where the Magic V will be sold – in China certainly, maybe in Europe too? This information is typically reserved for the final slides of the presentation. One of those slides was caught in a spy photo (presumably during a rehearsal), which suggests that the V will be quite pricey. Honor did tease a few...

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE hot take

The long-anticipated Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is finally here and it has some big shoes to fill, its predecessor being more than well-received by the Android community. The new phone brings key improvements, but several delays mean it may not be arriving at the best possible time and may struggle to replicate the success of its predecessor. From killing the flagships to joining them The idea behind the original "Fan Edition" was to offer a premium set of features and powerful hardware at a lower price point. And although the launch price of the Galaxy S20 FE wasn't exactly low, it did come...

Week 1 in review: Galaxy S21 FE is here, CES 2022 in the books

Welcome back and Happy New Year! It may only have been seven days in but 2022 started off with a slew of announcements so let’s recap the most noteworthy ones. Samsung finally unveiled the long-anticipated Galaxy S21 FE and it wasn’t that big of a surprise. It boasts a Galaxy S21 series-inspired design, Snapdragon 888 chipset in most regions (Australia being one of the exceptions) and One UI 4 with Android 12 out the box. The camera setup looks to be recycled from last year’s FE model as is the 4,500 mAh battery and 25W charging. Pricing is a bit of head-scratcher at €750/£700 but we’ll...

My top 5 phones of 2021 - Sagar

Yet another year passed by amongst all the chaos and uncertainty that prevailed in many parts of the globe due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which continued to affect the supply chains resulting in delayed or canceled launches of smartphones. However, that didn't stop the brands from launching new phones, and we remained busy testing them throughout the year as we published more than two reviews each week on average. While I didn't get my hands on new gadgets as much as my colleagues at our HQ did this year, as GSMArena.com's India-based Editor, I received quite a few smartphones released...

Weekly poll: did the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE arrive in the nick of time or is too late?

“Better late than never” or “too little, too late”? That’s the inevitable question that surrounds the delayed launch of the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE. Its predecessor sold 10 million units (4G and 5G versions combined), making it one of the best-selling Galaxy phones last year, so this newcomer has big shoes to fill. We’ve been hearing about the S21 FE for about half a year now, but between the pandemic and the global chip shortage, rumors of delays and cancellations quickly started circulating. Well, the phone is very much real, in fact, it’s already on sale in some regions and will...

Flashback: goodbye, BlackBerry, and thanks for all the keyboards

Earlier this week we waved goodbye to the classic BlackBerry devices - all the ones that came before the brand's pivot to Android stopped working on January 4 2022. They can't access the Internet, send messages or make calls, not even to emergency services. This is the end of a legacy that stretches back over two decades with the earliest BlackBerry messengers. Their hardware QWERTY keyboards, advanced instant messaging and serious business attitude made them quite popular in the early noughties. While they supported apps, they had trouble adapting to the new smartphone era....

Weekly poll results: Xiaomi 12 Pro well loved, its two siblings remain in its shadow

Xiaomi gambled that people may be interested in smaller high end phones, but last week’s poll shows once again that larger devices are just more popular. The Xiaomi 12 Pro came out on top with a healthy lead over the alternative options. Some questioned if it’s enough of an upgrade over the Mi 11 Pro, others are tempted by the idea of a “Xiaomi 12 Ultra” (we’ve seen signs that it does exist). Ultimately, the majority of people divided into two camps – those that like MIUI and those that don’t. Xiaomi is known for offering a lot of bang for the buck hardware-wise and the 12 Pro is no...

Sony has a pending patent for a 3D scanner that puts real-world objects into VR

Sony's patent for a 3D scanner that can put real-world objects into virtual reality isn't something new. In fact, the listing dates back to June last year, but since the patent office asked Sony to re-submit the documents with more details and the company has done so, we believe that the tech giant is serious about this endeavour. The patent hasn't been granted yet, but the documents reveal that the 3D scanner might be used to put real-life objects into the virtual world, or it can be used to better blend the real surrounding with the virtual one. Moreover, the user will be able to...

2021 Winners and losers: Asus

Asus has always done things just a bit differently in the mobile space. Looking back at the company's releases for the past year reveals a total of 8 phones. Even fewer actually different models, in practical terms, once we group up all of the different ROG Phone 5 variants and ignore the Snapdragon Insiders demo device. We are actually looking at two "mainstream" flagship phones and a gaming flagship with a later chipset revision. If we had to categorize Asus in recent years, "boutique" manufacturer kind of springs to mind. The selection and availability are rather limited, and so are the...

Tecno introduces the world's first telescopic macro lens for smartphones

Tecno teased its sensor shift IS technology for smartphone cameras back in mid-December and is now announcing a telescopic macro lens that promises to significantly improve not only the quality of macro shots but also the whole experience taking them. This is a telephoto macro lens that extends from the body, as the video below shows, and allows you to take close-up shots without having to get too close to the subject. It offers 5x optical zoom and the end result is comparable to the main camera's, the company claims. That's something we haven't seen before with the current macro...

vivo V23 5G in for review

vivo's mid-range V23 lineup was announced back in November with the V23e 5G launch but the more interesting V23 and V23 Pro models saw their release this week. After we welcomed the Pro we now see the vivo V23 5G join our review queue. Just like the Pro, the vanilla model can change colors thanks to its Fluorite AG Glass rear panel on the Sunshine Gold version. The Stardust Black doesn't do that, mind you. In addition to the changing colors, the soft-touch matte finish is rather grippy and pleasant to the touch. vivo's V series has always been design-centric, but this generation is...

Huawei P50 Pro and P50 Pocket's global launch date revealed

Last July, Huawei unveiled the P50 and P50 Pro and followed up with the P50 Pocket foldable smartphone in December. These phones are currently only available in China, but two of them will make their global debut next week - on January 12. This revelation comes from Huawei's Malaysian branch, which posted a few teasers on its Twitter account, confirming the January 12 international debut of the P50 Pro and P50 Pocket. Huawei Malaysia has listed both smartphones on its official site, detailing their specs and features, which are in line with their Chinese counterparts. However, the P50...

Xiaomi Mix 5 Pro to come with a new Surge C2 ISP

Last year Xiaomi introduced its proprietary Surge C1 ISP chip bundled with the Mi Mix Fold and according to a leaked source code, the upcoming Mix 5 Pro will likely make use of the second generation Surge chip. It's still unknown what kind of special features the Surge C2 will bring to the table and there's even a chance that the phone will arrive with the current Surge C1 ISP. What's for sure, the standard Mix 5 won't be getting the C2. The report from Xiaomiui also goes into detail regarding the camera sensors of the two Mix 5 devices. The Pro is said to adopt a 50MP OIS-enabled...

2021 Winners and Losers: OnePlus

OnePlus had a rather turbulent year announcing plenty of changes that await fans and users in 2022 but one of the biggest surprises is that the OEM skipped its T series this year. The OnePlus RT was allegedly comming in December, but that never materialized. And we must say that this year, we feel like there were more losers than winners at OnePlus' camp. So we've picked the highlights from this year, as we usually do. Here it goes. Winner: OnePlus Nord series It feels like the Nord lineup is slowly becoming the leading OnePlus lineup. Last year we praised some of the Nord phones and...

OnePlus 10 Pro to come with 36-month fluency TÜV certification

OnePlus' 10 series event is just a couple of days away so the company doesn't stop teasing its upcoming handsets. The latest post on Weibo talks about a strange new fluency certification from TÜV and the OnePlus 10 Pro is the first phone to pass the tests with flying colors. The certification takes into account various aspects of the hardware and software optimization and ensures smooth operations 36 months after purchase. The post does explain that due to everyone's different usage patterns, experience may vary but generally, the phone should remain snappy in a 36-month...

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G to launch in India on January 10

The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G unveiled earlier this week and went on sale in a few countries yesterday will launch in India on January 10, reports Gadgets360. Samsung hasn't divulged the Galaxy S21 GE 5G's pricing and availability in India yet, but it is already accepting pre-orders for the smartphone through its official Indian website. You can pre-book one for INR999 ($15/€10) and get a Galaxy SmartTag free. Samsung has confirmed that the Galaxy S21 FE 5G will be available in India in all four colors (Olive, Graphite, Lavender, White), but the retail package won't include the...

Madhav Sheth confirms Realme GT2 series global release, more tablets and laptops coming in 2022

Earlier this week Realme announced its latest flagship smartphones - the GT2 and GT2 Pro and now Realme VP and head of Realme International business group Madhav Sheth has confirmed the GT2 series is launching internationally soon. The executive also teased new tablet and laptop announcements set for 2022 as well as plans for bringing its AIoT products to the US. According to Sheth, we should expect an international release of the GT2 series flagships soon which will be held in Europe. The exact date for this launch is yet to be confirmed but we’ll inform you as soon as it emerges....

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G hands-on review

Google infringed Sonos’ patents, US court rules

2022 is off to a rough start for Google. Just a day after the search giant was hit with a €150 million fine by the French National Commission on Informatics and Liberty, the Alphabet subsidiary lost a key court ruling on its home turf which may prohibit it from importing its smart home speakers, video streaming devices, some laptops and Pixel phones if it does not apply workarounds. The United States International Trade Commission ruled on Thursday that Google violated five audio technology patents held by Sonos. The legal battle dates back to February 2020 with Sonos accusing Google...