2021

Xiaomi 12 Pro torn down and reassembled on video

Xiaomi recently unveiled the 12 and 12 Pro in China with Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipsets and the new flagship is featured in a teardown video posted by WekiHome on YouTube. The teardown reveals that the 12 Pro’s build is very much “glass sandwich” structurally. After breaking through the adhesive seal around the rear panel of the glass, we can see the...

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G gets Android 12-based One UI 4 stable update, S21 series receiving it in China

Samsung recently rolled out the Android 12-based One UI 4 stable update for the Galaxy S10e, S10, and S10+, and now it's the Galaxy S10 5G's turn to receive the One UI 4 upgrade. The update comes with firmware version G977BXXUBGULB and the usual Android 12 and One UI 4 goodies. It also bumps up the Android security patch level on the Galaxy S10 5G...

GSMArena's 2021 in numbers

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Samsung to unveil the Exynos 2200 on January 11

The Exynos 2200 is coming sooner than expected – the new flagship chipset with AMD graphics will debut on January 11. This is the week after CES and the rumored date for the Galaxy S21 FE launch. Of course, the FE will use the older Snapdragon 888 and Exynos 2100 chipsets, depending on the market (more specs here). This new chipset will be reserved...

iQOO 9 Pro to bring Samsung E5 LTPO AMOLED, ultrasonic fingerprint scanner

The latest iQOO 9 Pro teasers are in and they are all about the upcoming flagship’s display. The phone will come with a curved Samsung E5 AMOLED panel of the LTPO 2.0 variety refreshing at up to 120Hz and with a 1,000Hz touch sampling rate. The teasers also confirm a 2K resolution which is a marketing term used to describe QHD+ panels in China. The...

Vodafone and Three are bringing back EU roaming charges along with EE in 2022

It’s not just EE, the other two major British carriers will also reinstate roaming fees for those who travel in the EU – there will be £2 a day fee if they want to make calls and use data. This will apply to new customers and those upgrading their plan. Vodafone is set to start collecting the fee from January, EE was also looking at the first month...

Vivo Y21T full specs sheet leaks, confirms resemblance to Y33s

The vivo Y21T is expected to launch on January 3 with a Snapdragon 680 chipset. We suspected it is not an entirely new handset, and we were right - it is indeed the vivo Y33s with a Qualcomm chipset and some other minor changes. The full features list of the Y21T appeared online, revealing the company changed the selfie camera and the SoC and slapped...

Samsung Galaxy Fold and Note 10 series also receiving stable One UI 4

Samsung is continuing to seed its stable One UI 4 update to more of its devices and the latest ones on the list are the first-gen Galaxy Fold and Galaxy Note 10 series in both its 4G and 5G trims. Samsung’s firsts foldable gets the F900FXXU6GUL9 update build which is reported by users in France and also comes with the December 2021 security patch....

Realme GT 2 stops by Geekbench with Snapdragon 888

Realme GT 2 series is launching on January 4 and we’ve come to expect three devices based on leaks. One of those was just spotted on Geekbench and its the vanilla model bearing the RMX 3310 identifier. It packs a Snapdragon 888 chipset at the helm aided by 12GB RAM and managed scores of 1,125-points on the single-core test and a 3,278-points outing...

Original Samsung Galaxy Z Flip also joins the One UI 4 party

Samsung brought a late Christmas gift for many Galaxy users and pushed the (fixed) One UI 4 to the Note20 and S20 series, the S10 lineup, and the latest foldables. We can also report the original Samsung Galaxy Z Flip in its LTE and 5G variations is joining the One UI 4 party for good measure. The update was spotted in Italy and Switzerland, and...

Tecno Spark 8 Pro announced with 6.8” LCD, Helio G85 chipset

Tecno’s Spark 8 Pro was quietly announced earlier today as expected and it brings a large 6.8-inch screen with MediaTek’s midrange Helio G85 chipset and a decently sized 5,000mAh battery. Spark 8 Pro’s display outputs FHD+ resolution and comes with a punch-hole cutout for its 8MP selfie cam. The back features a ridged design and triple camera setup...

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra dummy pictured in the wild, 1TB variant is coming

Yet another round of images of the upcoming Galaxy S22 Ultra in the wild has arrived. As before, this isn't a real phone but rather a dummy, but it nonetheless serves the purpose of illustrating what the phone would look like. It would be nice to see a set of images of the real Galaxy S22 Ultra, only to see the proper cameras in their place. Still,...

vivo Y21T to launch on January 3 with Snapdragon 680

The vivo Y21 launched in India back in August, and now it will get a mightier sibling, called vivo Y21T. According to sources, it will come on January 3 with a triple 50MP camera and a Snapdragon 680 chipset with LTE-only connectivity. Looking at the leaked specs, the Y21T could very well be the vivo Y21s (or the vivo Y33s), but with a Qualcomm chipset...

Xiaomi reveals stable MIUI 13 update roadmap

Xiaomi held a big conference yesterday where it announced a bunch of new hardware but it also brought a new user interface for its device portfolio with MIUI 13 for phones, tablets, smart devices and TVs. A day after the big event we get our first list of Xiaomi devices in line for the update. The improvements brought to the new version of MIUI for...

Asus Zenfone 8 and Zenfone 8 Flip receiving Android 12 stable update

Asus has been testing Android 12 on the Zenfone 8 and Zenfone 8 Flip for a few months now, and as promised, the Taiwanese tech company has released the Android 12 stable update for both smartphones before the year ends. The firmware for the Zenfone 8 comes with version number 31.1004.0404.73 and the Zenfone 8 Flip with 31.1004.0404.61. But do note...

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE unboxed and reviewed by retailer buyer in South Africa

Samsung is expected to announce the long-delayed Galaxy S21 FE next month, though conflicting reports have us guessing the launch will take place either during (January 3 or 4) or shortly following CES 2022 (January 11). A customer has already been able to purchase the unreleased phone at a retailer in South Africa. Reddit user u/UnknownWon posted...

Samsung Galaxy Note20 and S20 family (including S20 FE) now receiving One UI 4 with Android 12 update

Samsung is moving fast in the updates world. Just yesterday the company managed to restart its update to One UI 4 based on Android 12 for the Galaxy S21 family as well as the Galaxy Z Fold3 and Flip3 after having paused the rollout for a few days to fix some bugs. And today, only one day later, the company is ready to send out One UI 4 to even more...

Oppo Find X5 or Find X5 Pro gets pictured in renders based on schematics

Yesterday we heard that Oppo might skip the number 4 and its unlucky connotations in Chinese culture, and go straight from X3 to X5 in its Find series of high-end smartphones. Not just that, but apparently there will be no less than three Find X5 branded handsets - we're guessing vanilla X5, X5 Pro, and X5 Lite, since that's what the company has...

Beats unveils limited-edition Studio Buds for the Chinese Year of the Tiger

Beats by Dre has announced a new limited-edition variant of the Beats Studio Buds earbuds to commemorate the 2022 Year of the Tiger in China. The new limited-edition model features aesthetic differences to the standard model. It comes in a red color with golden tiger stripes on the case as well as the earbuds. Aside from that, these are pretty much...

Xiaomi Watch S1 debuts alongside TWS Earphones 3

Xiaomi’s 12 series phones are official but they weren’t the only new gadgets announced on stage. We got a new Xiaomi Watch S1 smartwatch as well as all-new Xiaomi TWS Earphones 3. Watch S1 is Xiaomi’s most premium watch to date with its stainless steel construction, sapphire glass-protected 1,43-inch AMOLED display and third-party app support. Xiaomi...

Xiaomi 12 and 12 Pro debut with Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipsets, Xiaomi 12X comes with SD870

After months of leaks and rumors, Xiaomi’s 12 series is now official with three entries - Xiaomi 12, Xiaomi 12 Pro and Xiaomi 12X. The vanilla model takes a more compact approach with its 6.28-inch screen while still fitting the very best Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip. The 12 Pro bumps up the size to 6.73-inches and also boasts the same SoC but...

Xiaomi 12 and 12 Pro debut with Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipsets, 50MP main cams

After months of leaks and rumors, Xiaomi’s 12 series is now official with two entries - Xiaomi 12 and Xiaomi 12 Pro. The vanilla model takes a more compact approach with its 6.28-inch screen while still fitting the very best Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip. The 12 Pro bumps up the size to 6.73-inches and also boasts the same SoC but it also adds...

Xiaomi introduces MIUI 13 with enhanced security and privacy

Xiaomi had a big event today, filled with many announcements. Lei Jun, CEO and co-founder of the company, has opened the stage with the revealing of MIUI 13 - the latest user interface which will have improved privacy featured and enhanced security. It will also allow multiple Xiaomi devices in one network to cooperate like never before, including...

Oppo certifies three phone designs with rear displays

Oppo finally received a patent for a phone with an under-display camera, and now the company secured the rights on three more designs. All of them have one thing in common: a rear display within the camera island. It is highly unlikely these solutions will be part of the Find X5 series, but we would love to see a revolution in the way we use smartphones,...

Realme GT 2 series boasts Samsung Display LTPO screen with A+ DisplayMate rating

Realme is all set to introduce its GT 2 series on January 4 and as we inch closer to said date we get more details. Just a few days ago we got to see the GT 2 Pro Master Edition’s display in a teaser video and today we get plenty of details about the panel’s specs. Realme GT 2 series display specs (images: Weibo) Realme GT 2 series will bring a 6.7-inch...

Oneplus 10 Pro appears in retailer listings, could launch on January 4

OnePlus 10 Pro was confirmed to arrive in January 2022, and the phone is already up for reservations, which is just a feature to notify users when the product arrives. A listing on JD.com said the pre-order is scheduled for January 4, and we think this is also the launch date in China. Smartphone companies usually put their phones up for pre-order...

MIUI 13, Watch S1 will arrive alongside Xiaomi 12 series

Xiaomi will introduce the 12 series tomorrow, December 28. In a series of posts on Weibo the brand also confirmed the new MIUI 13 will debut alongside the flagships, as well as a new high-end smartwatch for business professionals, called Xiaomi Watch S1. Xiaomi Watch S1, MIUI 13 Pad, MIUI 13 teasers MIUI 13 will have a separate version for tablets,...

Tecno will bring Spark 8 Pro on December 29 with 33W fast charging

Tecno Spark 8 arrived back in August, and now the brand revealed a Pro sibling is on its way. The Tecno Spark 8 Pro will be launched on December 29 and will charge at 33W, the fastest ever in the Spark portfolio. The Twitter account of Tecno India posted the teaser, suggesting the “super-fast charger” will fill the battery from 0 to 85% in just one...

Honor Magic V teaser highlights gapless design

Honor’s first foldable smartphone will be announced soon and we’ve already got reports that it will debut with a horizontal fold design and Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset. Today, Honor posted a short video teaser highlighting the phone’s design and we finally got to see its cover screen alongside glimpses of the primary large screen,...

Winners and losers: Xiaomi

It has been a productive year for Xiaomi – it launched over 50 devices and that is just counting the phones. It also did a bit of rebranding by dropping the ‘Mi’ from its premium devices – starting in the second half of this year, the company goes with just “Xiaomi” + model number, just as it has always done in China. The year isn’t over yet, the...

Top 10 trending phones of week 51

Oppo's Find N foldable phone did stay long in the spotlight and after being the most popular smartphone in our database last week didn't even make the top 10 this time around. Instead all eyes are on the Xiaomi 12, which is due to be announced in two days. It leads from the Redmi Note 11 Pro and Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G, which have been in these positions...

Best phone speakers of 2021

What are the best-sounding smartphones to come out this year? Not the ones that are the loudest - that's settled by the numbers in our tests and we already covered it. No, we're talking about the phones that we can listen to with our own ears and truly like what we're hearing. And while some of the phones we've gathered here are objectively loud...

Huawei Watch GT3 review

Huawei has consistently delivered impressive smart wearables for the past few years and it's no wonder we welcomed the Watch GT3 with high expectations. Having spent the better part of a month putting it through its paces we are now ready to share our impressions with you. Spoiler alert: it's very good, an the 2021 smartwatch to have for many a user....

Week 51 in review: Galaxy S22 leaks aplenty, Huawei P50 Pocket is here

Another week down and only one left to go in 2021. It was business as usual, which means a lot of Galaxy S22 leaks. We saw official cases for the Galaxy S22 and S22 Ultra, as well as a look at the new S Pen. We saw the Galaxy S22 series dummies pictured side by side for scale, as well as a reported official poster for the Galaxy S22 Ultra. We learned...

My top 5 phones of 2021 - Kaloyan

We all know this year wasn't great as many things went from bad to worse. The mobile industry suffered from supply shortages that caused cancelled launches and premature discontinuations. But the year 2021 still gave us some incredibly good smartphones, beacons across a sea of incremental upgrades (or even downgrades). I have reviewed, helped review,...

Top 10 most popular reviews of 2021: Q2

It's the end of the year, we are all feeling a bit nostalgic. Having gone throught the most popular reviews of the first three months of the year it's now time to recap what phones of the second quarter got your interest. The Xiaomi Poco F3 review, topped the Q2 chart just barely spilled over into April. It was unveiled alongside the Poco X3 Pro,...

Weekly poll results: Oppo Find N showered with love

Folding phones seem to have an ever-increasing fanbase and Oppo Find N is no exception despite its single-market availability. W loved our time spent with the compact foldable doing our full review and plenty of you are also fond of Oppo’s first folding phone. Last week’s poll was all about your opinion on the Find N and now that the votes are in,...

Best tablets of 2021

Working, studying and spending more time at home than ever before leads to some unexpected market trends. The tablet market was dormant for years with Apple having an unparalleled lead over competitors yet once 2020 rolled in things began to change. Android makers re-emphasized their efforts in the once-forgotten tablet sphere and we got plenty of...

Anker 547 USB-C charger provides up to 120W of power while teaching you math

Anker has launched a new multi-device charger featuring four USB-C ports. This charger is capable of providing up to 120W at the same time, provided you can do a bit of math. The way this works is that different ports on the charger have different outputs. One of the ports is capable of sending up to 100W of power by itself if it's the only one in...

Apple iPhone 15 Pro to come without a SIM card slot

Apple unveiled the iPhone 13 lineup in September, and the iPhone 14 is still months away from the launch, but rumors around the iPhone 15 have already started doing rounds on the internet, with the latest one claiming Apple will ditch the physical SIM card slot beginning with the iPhone 15 series in 2023. Word comes from Brazilian publication Blog...

Winners and losers: Apple

It was a challenging year for all brands, but Apple ends up an absolute winner. Sure, it ended up a victim of the chip shortages as well and is still having trouble putting all of its devices on store shelves. But those devices are in high demand and when that's said for devices as expensive as Apple's are, you know they are pretty great. Apple grew...

iQOO 9 and 9 Pro to debut on January 5, leaked poster reveals

vivo sub-brand iQOO is getting ready to unveil its next flagship smartphone duo, comprised of the iQOO 9 and the iQOO 9 Pro. According to a leaked poster that surfaced in China today, these will become official at an event on January 5. As you can see from the image below, the iQOO 9 has a racing stripe design and an unnecessarily huge camera island...

Motorola is working on a new foldable Razr

The foldable smartphone space is definitely heating up these days, with more and more companies announcing more and more such devices. Motorola was one of the pioneers of the space, with the original foldable Razr launched in 2019. The 5G followup a year later made much smaller waves, but the company is undeterred and in fact it's already working...

The top stories of 2021: Q1

Welcome to our recap of the top news articles of 2021. We'll start with the main events of the first three months of the year and we'll cover the next quarters in the following episodes of the series. The first quarter of the year was transformative and shaped a lot of 2021. Qualcomm had just announced its Snapdragon 888 in the last month of 2020,...

Lenovo Legion Y90 with 144Hz screen and dual-engine air-cooling is arriving on January 1

The first week of January 2022 is turning out to be busier than expected. We know Realme, vivo, and Xiaomi are hosting launch events on 4th, 5th, and 6th, respectively, to unveil their new smartphones. Now Lenovo has announced it will kick off the new year by unveiling a gaming smartphone on the first day of 2022. Lenovo's new gaming smartphone is...

iQOO U5 announced with Snapdragon 695 SoC and 50MP camera

vivo sub-brand iQOO unveiled the iQOO Neo5 S and Neo5 SE earlier this week, and today the company further expanded its portfolio with the iQOO U5's announcement. The iQOO U5 is powered by the Snapdragon 695 SoC, runs Android 12-based OriginOS Ocean out of the box, and has three RAM options - 4GB, 6GB, and 8GB. It also comes with Memory Fusion 2.0,...

vivo V23 and V23 Pro with color-changing back panels are coming on January 5

Yesterday we exclusively reported that the vivo V23 series with 50MP dual selfie camera will launch in India next month. Today, vivo confirmed that report as it announced the January 5 launch event of the V23 series in India. vivo will unveil the V23 and V23 Pro at the event, and both will come with color-changing glasses, making them India's first...

Xiaomi 12 specs and prices leak

Next week Xiaomi is holding a grand launch for its next flagship smartphone family in China. The 'vanilla' Xiaomi 12 model has already been leaked and teased a lot, and so far we found out it will be a smaller handset than you may have expected - its 6.28" screen enables a 69.9mm width. While the panel is "only" 1080p, it's already rumored to have...

Honor Magic V will be the first foldable smartphone with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1

Just yesterday Honor started teasing its upcoming foldable smartphone, the Honor Magic V. The company hasn't outed any details about it, aside from letting us know that it is in fact going to be Honor's "first foldable flagship", and that it's coming soon. According to a leaked presentation slide that surfaced in China, however, we get another bit...

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