Samsung is working on a new smartphone to bring into the already very crowded mid-range space, and it's been spotted in the Geekbench online results database today. That's definitely not out of the ordinary - someone at Samsung has a prototype in hand and is running benchmarks on it. What is a bit more interesting than the fact that prototypes are being benchmarked is that this one seems to be powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 888 SoC. That's an odd choice on Samsung's part, first because it's a Qualcomm chip and not one of its own Exynos parts, but also because the Snapdragon 888 is almost...


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Counterpoint: US smartphone shipments fell by 24% compared to Q2 2022
According to market research carried out by Counterpoint, the US smartphone market shrunk by a whopping 24% year-over-year in Q2 this year. That doesn't come as a surprise since this is the third consecutive quarter with declining sales. Manufacturers like Samsung, Motorola and TCL-Alcatel saw the biggest decline in shipments. Samsung's shipments fell 37%, Motorola's by 17% and TCL-Alcatel's by 69%. Interestingly, Apple's shipments shrunk by just 6% despite the bleeding smartphone market, so expectations for the upcoming iPhone 15 series remain bullish, analysts say. Google was the only...


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Xiaomi Pad 6 in for review
Xiaomi unveiled the Pad 5 in August 2021 and finally introduced its successor Pad 6 a few months ago. The tablet is offered in blue, black, and gold colors, and it's the blue model that we've received at the office for review. The Xiaomi Pad 6 comes in a white-colored retail box with a USB-C cable, a 33W adapter, and some paperwork. Supporting accessories such as the Smart Pen (2nd Generation), Bluetooth Keyboard, and Smart Cover are sold separately. The Xiaomi Pad 6 is powered by the Snapdragon 870 SoC and comes with up to 8GB RAM and 256GB storage onboard. It runs Android 13-based...


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AMD announces Ryzen 9 7945HX3D, first notebook chip with 3D V-Cache technology
AMD has announced the new Ryzen 9 7945HX3D, the world's first notebook CPU with the company's 3D V-Cache technology. The 7945HX3D is essentially the 7945HX but with double the L3 cache. While the L1 and L2 cache remain at 1MB and 16MB, respectively, the L3 cache goes from the 7945HX's sizable 64MB to an impressive 128MB for a total of 145MB cache. Introduced first on the Ryzen 7 5800X3D desktop processor last year, the AMD 3D V-Cache technology essentially stacks an extra layer of memory on the CPU die. While most apps show no improvement from the added cache, games tend to...


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Samsung is expecting the Galaxy Z Flip5 and Z Fold5 to outsell their predecessors by 50%
Recently, TM Roh, the head of Samsung’s mobile division, revealed that the company sold just under 10 million foldable phones last year (60% of which were Galaxy Z Flip4s, 40% Z Fold4s). For 2023 the company expects to sell 50% more than that. This means that the target is around 15 million sales, which will keep Samsung the dominant player in the foldable market. Some analysts (Trendforce) are predicting that 18 million foldables will be shipped this year, others (IDC) are saying that the number will be above 20 million. That will mean that three quarters of all foldables sold in 2023...


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Motorola Razr 40 review


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Canalys: Global smartphone shipment down 10% in Q2, Transsion is now a top-five vendor
Global smartphone shipments during the April, May and June months totaled 258.2 million units as per the latest Canalys Smartphone Market Pulse report. The figure represents a 10% decline compared to the same period last year. Despite the sixth straight quarter of negative growth, global smartphone demand is slowly rebounding thanks to industry-wide inventory reductions and rising regional market demand. Samsung was once again the leading smartphone brand in terms of shipments for the quarter with 53 million shipments and a 21% market share. Apple came in second with 43 million...


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Leaked Huawei Mate 60 render shows off the large camera island circle
A couple of days ago the metal mid-frame of the Huawei Mate 60 leaked, showing that the phone will have a circular camera island. Now Digital Chat Station has shared a render of the phone that offers a better look at said island – it reminds us of the Mate 40 series, except the circle is bigger. Three cameras are visible, though the only details we have so far is that Huawei is bringing new sensors and a periscope lens that has been optimized for low-light shooting. Also, the XMAGE label indicates that the image processing will be done by Huawei’s in-house tech. Huawei Mate 60...


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Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 camera samples
Samsung's Summer Unpacked is behind us and we're left with a couple of foldable Galaxies to review. But since reviewing takes place in Headquarters, and the phones are still in Seoul, we figured we'd fill our time with a photo walk around town with the Galaxy Z Flip5. The Z Flip5's camera system is mostly unchanged compared to the previous generation. Short of a small tweak with the selfie camera's lens aperture (the internal one), the rest remains the same in terms of specs. There's a 12MP primary camera with a 1/1.76" sensor and a 24mm-equivalent lens with an f/1.8 aperture. Also...


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Sony PlayStation 5 crosses 40 million sales globally
Sony has announced it has reached the milestone of selling more than 40 million PlayStation 5 units globally (as of July 16, 2023) since it was unveiled in 2020. Sony sold its 25 millionth PS5 unit in the fiscal quarter ending on September 30, 2022, meaning it took the Japanese company just a little over nine months to sell another 15 million PS5 consoles, which is impressive. In a blog post announcing this milestone, Jim Ryan, President & CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), said the brand faced supply chain issues earlier due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making keeping the PS5...


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Honor X6a announced with 90Hz display and 5,200 mAh battery
Honor’s latest X-series smartphone is now available in the UK with the Honor X6a. The device is a direct successor to the Honor X6 which launched back in September and it brings a higher refresh rate screen, larger battery and faster charging. Honor X6a Honor X6a is built around a 6.56-inch TFT LCD with 720 x 1,612px resolution and a 90Hz refresh rate. The device is equipped with a MediaTek Helio G36 chipset paired with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage. Storage is expandable via the microSD card slot and the device also sports a 3.5mm headphone jack. There’s a 50MP main cam with an...


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Realme GT5 breaks cover in spy shot
Realme is gearing up to launch its latest GT5 smartphone and we got official confirmation from the brand’s Weibo profile as well as our first look at the device thanks to a leaked spy shot. Realme confirmed the GT5 name yesterday and we now get even more info thanks to reliable tipster Digital Chat Station. Realme GT5 Realme GT5 will sport a 6.67-inch OLED display with 1.5K resolution (1,240 x 2,772px) and a rumored 144Hz refresh rate. The device will sport a centered punch-hole cutout on the top for its front facing camera. We don’t get to see the actual design since the phone is...


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Redmi 12 5G is coming on August 1, key specs revealed
Xiaomi sub-brand Redmi launched the Redmi 12 4G last month, and the company has announced it will unveil the 5G variant on August 1. This revelation comes from Redmi's Indian branch, which said the Redmi 12 5G will make its global debut in India with a grand launch next Tuesday. Redmi hasn't detailed the Redmi 12 5G's specs sheet, but it confirmed some key specs of the smartphone, including a 50MP primary camera, 8GB RAM, 256GB storage, and a 5,000 mAh battery. The all-new #Redmi12 5G sets its Global Debut in India with a grand launch on the 1st of August!So, get set to embrace the...


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WhatsApp now lets you send video messages
Voice messages have been a staple feature of WhatsApp for years now. And so have voice calls. But also video calls. Spot what's missing in this series? Indeed, video messages. Well, they were missing, up until today that is. WhatsApp finally supports sending and receiving video messages. These can be up to 60 seconds long each, and are protected with WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption. Sending a video message has been made intentionally similar to the way sending a voice message works, so that there isn't an additional learning curve. The icon previously meant for voice messages can...


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Google rolls out automatic AirTag alerts for Android in bid to prevent stalking
Back in May, Google and Apple jointly announced that they were teaming up to prevent unwanted tracking through AirTags and similar devices. Today, Google is announcing that the rollout of unknown tracker alerts is now beginning on devices running Android 6.0 and later. Right now, this only works with AirTags, but Google says it's working with tag manufacturers to expand this protection to other tracking tags over time. Here's how it works. If an unknown Bluetooth tracker is separated from its owner and determined to be traveling with you, you will be notified on your Android device. If...


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Lenovo Tab P12 announced with 12.7” LCD and MediaTek 7050
Lenovo launched in Tab P12 Pro 5G back in 2021 and it’s now bringing a non-Pro version nearly two years later. Lenovo Tab P12 features a 12.7-inch LTPS LCD with 1840 x 2944px resolution and a 60Hz refresh rate. The slate is equipped with quad speakers tuned by JBL, a 13MP ultrawide front facing camera and an 8MP rear shooter with autofocus. Lenovo Tab P12 MediaTek’s Dimensity 7050 chipset sits at the helm alongside 4/8GB RAM and 128/256GB storage. Tab P12 also boasts microSD card expansion and a 10,200 mAh battery with support for 30W fast charging. The software side is covered by...


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Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 and Z Flip5 benchmarked
Samsung's latest Unpacked unfolded yesterday, bringing us the Galaxy Z Flip5 and Z Fold5, alongside two smartwatches and three tablets. We had some early hands-on experiences with all of the new devices, but we also ended up with a couple of review units - one of each foldable. We snapped some photos with the Galaxy Z Fold5, before we got to running some benchmarks on the two handsets and it's those numbers that we're here to share now. Both the Flip and the Fold are equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy - the Samsung-specific version of Qualcomm's high-end chipset for...


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Report: iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max to get price hikes
We've already heard a few times that Apple is planning to up the price of its most expensive iPhone, but the latest report gives us a specific number. According to Barclays analyst Tim Long, cited by Apple Hub, the vanilla iPhone 15 and 15 Plus will cost the same, but the Pro could see a price increase of $100, while the iPhone 15 Pro Max could get a $100 or even $200 increase. The price hike goes along with Apple's inside logic that the upcoming 15 series will have the same demand as the current 14 series, meaning it expects the Pros to outsell the vanillas. So Apple is betting that...


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OnePlus Ace 2 Pro coming with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in August
China Joy is an annual digital and entertainment expo, taking place in Shanghai, and this year’s edition saw Liu Fengshuo, President of OnePlus Products Line, speak in front of the audience about the brand’s plans for the near future. The executive revealed the Ace 2 Pro smartphone is coming next month, and it will be powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. He also said the new smartphone will have a “groundbreaking, first in the industry” cooling technology. The new heat dissipation solution will stick to the stacking sheet design, but materials will be different, inspired by...


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Realme GT5 name officially confirmed
Realme unveiled the GT3 in February, and we recently heard that it will be succeeded by the GT5. Those rumors have turned out to be true since Realme has officially confirmed the GT5 moniker as it set up a booth at the China Joy 2023 exhibition in China, confirming the existence of GT5. The brand also confirmed that the GT5 will be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC. While we await more details from Realme about the GT5 series, leakster OnLeaks claims the GT Neo 6 will be marketed as GT5, presumably outside China. That's hardly a surprise since the Realme GT3 is a rebadged GT Neo 5...


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