My top 5 phones of 2020 - Vlad

2020 in the rear view mirror? Good riddance! Looking back on the year, like some of my colleagues, I also have thoughts about the best smartphones of the year. So this is my own Top 5, but with a couple of twists. First, I decided to stick to phones I’ve used extensively this year, and ignored ones I just played with for a few days or less, as well as ones I haven’t even touched. So all of these opinions are based on spending some quality time with each of these devices. That’s why you won’t see anything from OnePlus or Google or Apple on the list - I simply haven’t used them enough and...

Source: https://www.gsmarena.com/my_top_5_phones_of_2020__vlad-news-46966.php

Weekly poll results: makers need to drop the 2MP cameras and keep chargers in retail packages

The new smartphone feature that most people are excited about is the under display camera. The first such phone arrived earlier this year, but 2020 also saw the rise of some questionable design trends. Trends that our readers do not want to see continued into next year – that was the topic of last week’s poll. Useless camera modules emerged as the most hated feature of modern phone design. Depth sensors, vague “AI sensors” and even macro cameras bring little to no utility and they don’t make phones look better or more desirable, contrary to what designers may think. A close second...

Source: https://www.gsmarena.com/weekly_poll_results_makers_need_to_drop_the_2_mp_cameras_and_return_chargers_to_retail_packages-news-46967.php

Xiaomi demos its Wi-Fi 6E AX6000 router by pitting the Xiaomi Mi 11 against the iPhone 12 Pro Max

Xiaomi recently made its first Wi-Fi 6E router official. The Mi Router AX6000 is priced at CNY 599 (about $91) and is currently available for reservation in China and will be going on its first sale on January 8. It is chuck-full of next-get Wi-Fi features, which we will mention shortly. However, it's difficult to properly get a sense of the new technology, without a practical illustration. In a short clip, Xiaomi did just that, placing the Mi Router AX6000 in the center of a huge stadium and then testing the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max and the recently-launched Xiaomi Mi 11 for Wi-Fi speed at...

Source: https://www.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_demos_its_wifi_6e_ax6000_router_by_pitting_the_xiaomi_mi_11_against_the_iphone_12_pro_max-news-46996.php

2020 Winners and Losers: LG

We won’t beat around the bush here, LG hasn't been going so great on the smartphone scene lately. Some sort of re-imagining is definitely in order and we have already seen early signs that the Korean giant is trying to take a new course one way or another. Winner: LG Velvet 5G The LG Velvet family offer a great example of LG's ongoing course-correction. First off, there is the "Velvet" moniker itself, which was a great move to try and get a fresh start by effectively killing-off the faltering "G" line of flagships and transforming it into something new. The LG Velvet 5G arrived...

Source: https://www.gsmarena.com/2020_winners_and_losers_lg-news-46863.php

Motorola Moto G Stylus 2021 looks quite different in a new set of renders

Back in November, we learned that Motorola is planning a successor to the 2020 Moto G Pro, also know as the G Stylus in the US. That original set of hardware specs was more-recently followed-up by what we believed was a bunch of renders of the phone, courtesy of an Amazon listing slip-up. Or at least, so we thought. Whether intentional or not, it seems that those images were not authentic or at least not representative of the final device that is to be the G Stylus 2021. That's the current working theory, as put forward by reputable leakster @OnLeaks. Reading into the new leak...

Source: https://www.gsmarena.com/motorola_moto_g_stylus_2021_looks_quite_different_in_a_new_set_of_renders-news-46997.php

nubia smartphone with Snapdragon 888 appears on Geekbench

The Xiaomi Mi 11 unveiled earlier this week is the only smartphone in the market right now with a Snapdragon 888 SoC, but more are on the way as a bunch of Android phone makers have already confirmed their plans to launch SD888-powered smartphones. nubia is one of them as it has confirmed in will launch a Z series smartphone with Snapdragon 888. While we await more details about it, a nubia smartphone bearing model designation NX669J has popped up on Geekbench with the Snapdragon 888 SoC, 8GB RAM and Android 11. While a Z series flagship is the only one confirmed by nubia to have a...

Source: https://www.gsmarena.com/nubia_red_magic_6_specs_geekbench-news-46995.php