Just yesterday we came across a listing for Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy A52 5G from a Saudi Arabia retailer. Today we have more confirmation for its imminent launch as the phone’s official support page is live on Samsung UAE. In addition, the Galaxy A72’s support page has also gone up.
Samsung Galaxy A52 5G and A72 4G support pages
Apart from the two images, we don’t get any specs of the devices. We do know from rumors that the A52 5G will offer a 6.5” Super AMOLED display with FHD+ resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. The Snapdragon 750G is touted to sit at the helm alongside 8GB RAM and 128GB of expandable storage.
Samsung Galaxy A52 5G (right) and A72 4G (left)
Other specs include a 64MP main camera alongside a 12MP ultra wide and two 5MP modules for macro shots and depth data. 4,500 mAh battery with 25W charging. Yesterday’s UAE retailer listing showed a SAR 1,650 price tag for the Galaxy A52 5G, which converts to $440/€365.
The Galaxy A72, which will also be available in a 5G version should offer a larger 6.7-inch FHD+ display with a 90Hz refresh rate (120Hz on the 5G version). The 4G model is expected to release with the Snapdragon 720G chipset while the 5G model should get an upgrade to the 750G like on the A52 5G.
Both the Galaxy A52 and A72 4G variants are expected to launch in India soon.
Source 1 • Source 2 (both in Arabic) | Via (in Dutch)
Samsung has sold 590,000 devices from its Galaxy S21 series, a report from South Korea revealed. The numbers are the highest since the Galaxy S8 (620,000 units).
For the first month of sales, Galaxy S21 moved nearly twice as many units as the Galaxy S20 last year.
Representatives of the analyst company Atlas Research & Consulting, sitting behind the report, revealed the major reason was Samsung’s ability to expand its 5G presence while keeping low price tags, especially compared with the previous series.
The basic model of the Galaxy S21 started from KRW990,000 (about $870), while the vanilla Galaxy S20 cost nearly 20% more – KRW1,248,500 or over $1,100.
Samsung Galaxy A31
Samsung’s also had another reason to celebrate – its Galaxy A31 midranger became the best-selling phone on the domestic market.
Demand for low-end models in 2020 was unlike any other period – people preferred affordable mobile devices to stay connected during COVID-19.
CEO Madhav Sheth already revealed that the Realme 8 will have a 5,000 mAh battery with 30W Dart Charge, so you’d expect the Realme 8 Pro to go faster. And this could be the proof – FCC documents detailing a Realme RMX3081 have surfaced, which appears to be the Realme 8 Pro 4G.
The docs show that a 65W charger will be used to fill the phone’s 4,500 mAh battery (typical capacity). That matches the specs for the company’s SuperDart chargers and if the Realme 7 Pro is any indication (it has the same battery capacity), a full charge will take only 34 minutes with the battery going from 0% to 43% in the first 10 minutes.
RMX3081 – potentially the Realme 8 Pro – details from FCC documents
The phone will launch with Realme UI 2.0 out of the box, that is the company’s Android 11-based firmware. Again, this is the 4G version of the Realme 8 Pro, we expect to see a 5G version as well. Unofficial info suggests that the 4G model will be powered by the Snapdragon 730G.
The Realme 8 Pro is not focused on performance – it is all about the camera experience and the other half of Realme’s dual flagship strategy after the Realme GT launch yesterday. The company has already confirmed that the 8 Pro will have a 108 MP main camera based on the ISOCELL HM2 sensor (1/1.52”, 0.7 µm native pixels, 9-in-1 binning). The vanilla Realme 8 and the GT both have 64 MP main cams.
Realme has not set an announcement date for the 8-series just yet.
T-Mobile announces a new platform for enterprise customers. It is launching three new products that leverage T-Mobile’s 5G network and a partnership with Dialpad. Among the products announced, T-Mobile will begin offering “Home Office 5G Internet” plans that compete with cable providers.
It will also be getting into the cloud-based collaboration business that can replace an office-based PBX, video and voice conferencing, and integrates with Office 365 apps. Finally, there’s a full enterprise solution that includes unlimited 5G data.
Starting with T-Mobile’s Home Office 5G, this will come with a dedicated 5G router. With the way T-Mobile is wording this, it looks like Home Office 5G is a dedicated internet connection for office work that’s designed for customers whose regional internet connection may be slow or unreliable. A Home Office 5G line will start at $90 per month and depending on tower congestion, they may be throttled after 50GB of usage during the month. As well, video streaming will be optimized for 480p resolution. This is certainly not a plan to replace your home internet.
T-Mobile Collaborate is a work platform that’s meant to replace a typical office PBX (switching phone box system). With more employees working from home, this solution would let businesses set up video meetings, conference calls, and would let employees transfer calls to other departments of the business. All these solutions are cloud-based so they virtualize the way an office communicates within or across departments.
T-Mobile Home Office 5G router
Collaborate will also integrate with Office 365 apps to further leverage an existing office suite subscription with Microsoft.
Finally, Enterprise Unlimited requires an account with 11 mobile lines or more. This will come with unlimited 5G/4G data, 10GB of tethering per line (after which you’ll be reduced to 3G speeds), and it comes with access to T-Mobile’s Collaborate.
These plans certainly do not cater to consumers, and the Home Internet 5G will not replace a home internet plan since there’s a data cap. These solutions may be beneficial for some small and medium sized businesses who might pay a lot to receive business internet and landline services, which are always priced at a significant premium compared to consumer plans.
It’s interesting to see how corporate solutions are changing to serve businesses who have switched to working almost completely from home. Mobile carriers might continue to take business from regional service providers as 5G becomes more and more able to support massive data infrastructures. We should see a jump in home 5G internet in the coming years.
XDA Senior Member kacskrz may have uncovered a complicated rebadging scheme for Xiaomi/Redmi/Poco flagships by snooping through build configurations. This is all centered around the new K40 series.
We already saw in FCC docs that the Redmi K40 will be sold as the Poco F3 globally. However, these new findings suggest that the K40 will be renamed “Xiaomi Mi 11X” for the Indian market instead of using the Poco brand.
This X-branding will carry over to the Redmi K40 Pro as well, which will be known as the Xiaomi Mi 11X Pro. Note that these are not related to the Redmi 10X and 10X Pro. Anyway, here comes a plot twist.
The top of the line Redmi K40 Pro+ will instead be dubbed the Xiaomi Mi 11i, perhaps a sequel to India’s Mi 10i (itself based on the Redmi Note 9 Pro 5G). That seems a bit fast considering that the first Mi 10i units were sold two months ago.
The Mi 10i and K40 Pro+ are not that dissimilar – both have 120 Hz displays, 108 MP cameras and 33W fast charging, but the “Mi 11i” is a huge upgrade in processing power (Snapdragon 888 vs. 750G), also the display switches from IPS LCD to Super AMOLED.
Note that the code name actually says “haydn_pro_global” – that suggests that the Mi 11i will actually be sold in the international markets, which will make things even more confusing. Also, this is the first we’re hearing of the K40 Pro+ going global (the Poco rebranding only covered the vanilla and Pro models).
The Samsung Galaxy A52 5G has not been officially announced yet – that is expected to happen later this month – but a retailer in Saudi Arabia has put the phone on sale already, listing the full specs and everything.
The A52 5G has a 6.5” Super AMOLED display with 1,080 x 2,400 px resolution. We’re not seeing a refresh rate listed but it should be 120Hz (the rumors were right about everything else). The fingerprint reader is built into the display and the whole thing is guarded by Gorilla Glass (we’re not 100% clear on the version).
The Snapdragon 750G is the brains of the operation, as expected. It is hooked up to 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB storage and there’s a microSD slot for up to 1 TB more (the dual card slot has a hybrid design). Only one memory configuration is listed, but that’s something that varies by region.
Samsung Galaxy A52 5G (in Black)
Anyway, the Galaxy A52 5G has a 64MP main camera that can record 4K videos. Next up is a 12MP camera (presumably ultrawide) and two 5MP modules (macro and depth is our bet). The selfie camera has a 32MP sensor.
The phone’s 4,500 mAh battery is charged over USB-C at 25W. There’s no 3.5 mm headphone jack by the looks of it, but the phone does have NFC.
Note that the OS version is listed as Android 10, but we believe this to be a mistake – the phone ran Android 11 when it went through Geekbench.
The retailer is charging SAR 1,650 for the Galaxy A52 5G, which works out to $440/€365. This matches the rumored prices. There should be a 4G model as well, but that one isn’t showing up yet.
(Pocket-lint) – OnePlus is expected to announce four devices on 8 March, including the OnePlus 9, OnePlus 9 Pro, OnePlus 9R – or OnePlus 9E as it as also been called in rumours – as well as the OnePlus Watch.
With three devices expected for the OnePlus 9 series this year though, what will be the differences between them and which one will be the right one for you?
We’ve compared the rumoured specifications for the OnePlus 9 Pro, OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9R to see how they are expected to stack up against each other.
Design
9 Pro: Curved display, punch-hole camera, rectangular camera housing, waterproofing
9: Flat display, punch-hole camera, rectangular camera housing
9R: Flat display, punch-hole camera, rectangular camera housing
The OnePlus 9 Pro is expected to have a curved display, while the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9R are expected to come with a flat display.
Though the OnePlus 9R’s design hasn’t leaked as heavily as the OnePlus 9 Pro and OnePlus 9, all three are expected to come with a punch hole front camera positioned in the left corner, while a rectangular camera housing – like the OnePlus 8T and OnePlus Nord – are expected on the rear.
It’s been claimed two lenses will be larger on the rear camera, with the OnePlus 9 rumoured to have a triple rear camera and the OnePlus 9 Pro rumoured to offer a quad rear camera. It’s currently not clear what the OnePlus 9R could offer, with only a main camera detailed in leaks, so this could be the main point of differentiation between it and the other two OnePlus 9 models.
An IP68 water and dust resistance has been claimed for the OnePlus 9 Pro. It is thought the other two models will not offer official waterproofing. Based on the display size rumours, the OnePlus 9 Pro will be the largest of the three OnePlus 9 devices, while the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9R will be around the same size, with the 9 possibly fractionally larger.
Display
9 Pro: 6.7-inch, Quad HD+, LTPO, 120Hz variable
9: 6.55-inch, Full HD+, 120Hz
9R: 6.5-inch, Full HD+, 90Hz
The OnePlus 9 Pro is rumoured to offer a 6.7-inch display and it’s been said it will have a LTPO display that supports a variable refresh rate. The OnePlus 9 is said to have a 6.55-inch display with a 120Hz refresh rate, while the OnePlus 9R is said to have a 6.5-inch display with a 90Hz refresh rate.
It’s expected that the OnePlus 9 Pro will have a Quad HD+ resolution screen, while the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9R are more likely to offer a Full HD+ resolution. All are expected to have an AMOLED panel for bright and vibrant colours and deep blacks.
The OnePlus 9 Pro and OnePlus 9 are also expected to offer a peak brightness of at least 1100nits and support for HDR10+, like the OnePlus 8T. It is not yet clear if the OnePlus 9R will also offer these attributes. As mentioned, the OnePlus 9 Pro is expected to sport a curved display, while the 9 and 9R are expected to have flat displays.
The OnePlus 9 Pro and OnePlus 9 are both rumoured to run on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset, while the OnePlus 9R is said to have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 690 under its hood – which is the same as the OnePlus Nord N10 5G.
In terms of RAM, the OnePlus 9 Pro and OnePlus 9 are expected to come in 8GB and 12GB options with storage options of 128GB and 256GB, while the OnePlus 9R has been rumoured to offer 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.
Both the OnePlus 9 Pro and OnePlus 9 have been reported to offer 4500mAh battery capacities, while the OnePlus 9R is said to have a 5000mAh cell. It’s thought the 9 and 9 Pro will support 65W fast charging, but it’s not clear if this will also appear on the 9R model as yet. Wireless charging has also been mentioned, but again, it isn’t clear if this is just for the Pro or for the 9 Pro and the 9. We don’t expect it on the 9R.
Cameras
9 Pro: Quad camera, Hasselblad partnership
9: Triple camera
9R: 64MP main camera
The OnePlus 9 Pro is rumoured to offer a quad rear camera and it has been suggested there will be a Hasselblad partnership for the Pro model. The OnePlus 9 is said to have a triple rear camera, and the OnePlus 9R is said to have a 64-megapixel main camera, but no further details have leaked.
For now, there haven’t been any leaks to suggest what the camera systems on these three devices will offer in terms of megapixels and sensors, but it’s likely the Pro will have a focus on the camera and offer more in this department than the other two 9 series devices.
As mentioned, all three OnePlus 9 devices are expected to have a punch hole front camera.
Price
9 Pro: Around £799/$899
9: Around £599/$699
9R: Between $400/£400 and £599/$699
Pricing hasn’t been leaked for the OnePlus 9 devices as yet, but the OnePlus 8 started at $699 in the US and £599 in the UK when it launched, while the 8 Pro started at $899 in the US and £799 in the UK, so we would expect the OnePlus 9 Pro and OnePlus 9 to be priced similar.
The OnePlus 9R meanwhile will be cheaper than the OnePlus 9 Pro and OnePlus 9, but we would expect it to be more expensive than the OnePlus Nord. We therefore expect the OnePlus 9R to sit somewhere between £379 and £599 in the UK and $400 and $699 in the US.
Conclusion
Based on the rumours, the OnePlus 9 Pro will offer a curved display, a larger display, variable refresh rate, more capable camera and waterproofing over the regular OnePlus 9. It might also have faster wired and wireless charging support.
The regular OnePlus 9 meanwhile, could offer a higher refresh rate display, possibly more capable camera, a higher RAM and storage option and a more powerful processor over the OnePlus 9R, based on the leaks.
The OnePlus 9R will no doubt be the cheapest of the three 9 Series devices, but it’s expected to be less powerful. It is rumoured to come with a larger battery capacity than both the OnePlus 9 Pro and the OnePlus 9 though. All three are expected to be 5G capable.
T-Mobile has been busy hawking its 5G network, recently spending many additional billions to expand it, which makes it kinda awkward that it’s also been caught telling users to turn off 5G to save battery life (via Sascha Segan). Didn’t Verizon just make this same gaff mere days ago? It sure did. But instead of learning from the example, T-Mobile appears to have pulled a hold-my-beer: where Verizon told users to switch to LTE, many of T-Mobile’s support documents tell users to go all the way back to 2G.
In case you’re not aware, switching to 2G (which T-Mobile handily tells you how to do) will make your phone next to useless as a data device: the maximum theoretical speed you could get from a 2G connection would be around 1Mbps (though many top out at closer to 256Kbps). Even 1Mbps is 25 times slower than what the FTC considers to be acceptable broadband speeds, and 300 times slower than the average 5G mid-band speeds T-Mobile has bragged about.
(Never mind that T-Mobile is also in the midst of phasing out 2G signals for good, though the 2G shutdown has reportedly been postponed to 2022.)
From the support page for the Samsung Galaxy S21 5G. Screenshot: The Verge
T-Mobile probably realized that this kind of advice was not a great look, but the company’s cover-up has also been amusingly slow. Earlier today, it removed the “Toggle from 5G/LTE to 2G” advice from the first example PC Magazine found (the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G), and the second one (the Samsung Galaxy S21 5G) had its support page updated shortly before we wrote these words. It also didn’t take long to find the advice to turn off 5G and/or 4G on the pages for the LG Wing, OnePlus Nord N10 5G, Galaxy S20+ 5G, and the Pixel 4a 5G (which weirdly only mentions turning off 4G, not 5G). That’s likely an incomplete list, but you get the picture: the nudge to pick T-Mobile’s slow 2G network showed up a bunch.
(Here’s a Google Cache version of the first T-Mobile support page from March 1st.)
I will say that T-Mobile is right in one way: turning my phone down to 2G would likely make it so slow that I’d just give up trying to use it, and my phone probably would last a lot longer. If you’re struggling with battery life on your phone, there are plenty of things you can try that don’t involve slamming the brakes quite that hard.
Realme has announced the GT 5G, built with Qualcomm’s top-tier Snapdragon 888 chipset. It comes with plenty of other flagship-esque specs, too, like a 120Hz screen, up to 12GB of RAM, and a 4,500mAh battery with 65W fast charger included. What it doesn’t have is a flagship-like price; it’s on sale in China for 2,799 yuan currently, or about $430.
The Snapdragon 888 is currently Qualcomm’s most powerful processor, announced in December of last year. Samsung has included it in its S21-series phones, and it’s expected to appear in many more Android flagships this year. At the moment, though, only a handful of (mostly pricey) devices are available with it, and with a 100 yuan introductory discount, the Realme GT 5G ties the Xiaomi Redmi K40 Pro as the least expensive of them.
The GT 5G offers a 6.43-inch OLED screen and a triple rear camera array with a 64-megapixel main camera, an 8-megapixel ultrawide, and a 2-megapixel macro camera. It comes with 5G and Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, and sells in three colors, including the striking “dawn” yellow version with a textured racing stripe down the back. While it’s not confirmed whether the GT will be sold outside of China, it might be telling that Realme UK retweeted coverage of the phone’s announcement.
T-Mobile announced some new services for enterprise customers today, including wireless Home Office Internet. Part of a trio of services T-Mobile is calling WFX, Home Office Internet is designed to complement customers’ standard home internet with a separate cellular-based Wi-Fi network. The goal is to provide a reliable, secure connection for business customers without having to worry about sharing bandwidth with the rest of the household.
Home Office Internet is an extension of the LTE-based wireless home broadband consumer service that’s being piloted now, and it works in basically the same way. Users receive a router and can self-install the network. It uses 4G and 5G signals and, like the consumer service, includes a potentially important caveat: customers are subject to deprioritization slowdowns at times when the network is busy. That’s an annoyance for anyone but would be particularly bad for customers trying to conduct business on the network.
Home Office Internet will be available to businesses starting March 22nd, and at launch T-Mobile says 60 million households will be covered. The company aims to expand that to 90 million households by 2025. T-Mobile didn’t share any updates on the consumer home broadband service, which remains in testing in certain markets.
(Pocket-lint) – Xiaomi has officially launched the global Redmi Note 10 range. The naming convention is rather convoluted, however, as there are a lot of models and a shift in naming based on region.
There’s the Redmi Note 10 at the base of the range, the Redmi Note 10S above that (which, in India arrives as a larger-screen variant called the Redmi Note 10 Pro), and the Redmi Note 10 Pro above that again (which is the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max in India). There’s also a Note 10 5G model (not available in India), which feels like a total departure from the series.
Do keep this naming in mind when looking over the below, as we have run with the global naming and specification. So which of those Redmi Note 10 models is most fitting for you? Here we break down the differences between the four handsets.
Design
Note 10 & 10S: 160.5 × 74.5mm × 8.3mm / 179g
Note 10 5G: 161.8 × 75.3 × 8.9mm / 190g
Note 10 Pro: 164 × 77 × 8.1mm / 193g
All: Side-mounted fingerprint scanner
All: IP53 splashproof design
Although the design language is more-or-less mirrored across each Note 10 model – ignoring the obvious differences in physical size – there are different colour options to help different models stand out.
The main trio of Note 10 devices have an Onyx Gray option, while the Note 10 5G shifts this to Graphite Gray. As you’ll see, the 5G model is largely different from the main trio – and we’re frankly not sure why it’s been made part of the series. Here’s the full colourway breakdown per model:
Note 10 Pro: 6.67-inch AMOLED, 2400 x 1080 resolution, 120Hz
All: central punch-hole front-facing camera
Although front-on the four models look the same, with the punch-hole camera front and centre, they’re different sizes on account of different displays.
The base Note 10 and its 10S counterpart get a 6.34-inch AMOLED with 60Hz refresh rate. The Note 10 Pro bumps this size up to 6.67-inch, with a doubling of the refresh rate to 120Hz – making it the top of the bunch. The Note 10 5G is in-between those, at 6.5-inch and 90Hz.
However, the India versions – i.e. the Note 10 Pro and 10 Pro Max – both feature 6.67-inch displays with 120Hz refresh. Just to add to the confusion.
The rumour for a long time was that the Note 10 series would run on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 732 platform. That’s true – but only for the Note 10 Pro model.
Wind further down the series and the base Note 10 has a Snapdragon 678, while the 10S and 10 5G make a departure for MediaTek hardware instead.
It’s the first time we’ve seen MediaTek’s Dimensity 700 deployed, utilised for its 5G connectivity – which is, of course, only possible in the Note 10 5G model.
Elsewhere there’s a 5,000mAh battery minimum for all models, so great longevity, along with 33W fast-charging (it’s only 18W for the 5G model).
Cameras
Note 10: 48MP main, 8MP wide, 2MP macro, 2MP depth / 13MP front camera
Note 10S: 64MP main, 8MP wide, 2MP macro, 2MP depth / 13MP front camera
Note 10 5G: 48MP main, 2MP macro, 2MP depth / 8MP front camera
Note 10 Pro: 108MP main, 8MP wide, 5MP macro, 2MP depth / 16MP front camera
The main trio of devices features a quad rear camera setup with main, ultra-wide, macro and depth sensor. The Note 10 5G is the odd one out, once again, with a triple rear camera setup – as it ditches the ultra-wide.
The top-end model is the most accomplished, as its 108-megapixel main sensor and 5-megapixel telemacro – similar to what you’ll find on the Xiaomi Mi 11 – are a cut above. The 108MP lens uses a nine-in-one pixel method to produce 12-megapixel results as standard.
The other models are a mere 2-megapixels in the macro department and, we believe, lack autofocus for this particular camera too. This is typical of budget devices, but we would rather this optic was entirely absent – as, from past experience, results are poor.
You’ll see that there’s no optical zoom for any Redmi Note 10, which isn’t a surprise at this price point. But the only thing that we think is really absent is any form of optical image stabilisation – which we highlighted in our Note 10 Pro review, link below.
Conclusion
Pricing: TBC
Clearly it’s all about the Note 10 Pro – effectivly a cut-price version of the Xiaomi Mi 11, which will give it lots of appeal.
Otherwise we find Xiaomi’s choice to release so many Note 10 variants simply confusing. Not to mention the name and spec shift of these handsets in different regions. Oh, and that the 5G model is such an odd-one-out that it doesn’t belong in the series as we see it.
Brush all the other models aside and opt for the Note 10 Pro (Note 10 Pro Max in India) and Xiaomi is onto a winner here. But it really needs to sort out this naming malarkey.
(Pocket-lint) – Redmi is fast becoming a key disruptor in the affordable phones market. The company’s Note 10 Pro, as reviewed here, makes it clear to see why: it’s dripping with specification that puts it a cut above its nearest of competition.
The brand name might not be instantly recognisable to all – Redmi is an offshoot of Xiaomi, hence no surprise the Note 10 Pro is like a watered-down Xiaomi Mi 11 in many respects – but when affordability is your main goal, and it simply functions as well as this, that’s not going to be a major barrier.
So if you’re seeking a phone that costs around a couple of hundred, is the Redmi Note 10 Pro appealing enough to knock the likes of the Motorola G30 out of contention?
Design & Display
6.67-inch AMOLED display, 1080 x 2400 resolution, 120Hz refresh rate
Upon pulling the Redmi Note 10 Pro from its box – here in “Onyx Gray”, which has a soft, almost blue hue about it – it’s comes across as a pretty good-looking slab of glass and plastic. There’s Gorilla Glass 5 to protect the front, and not a mass of bezel cutting into the screen either.
What is cutting into that screen more prominently than most is the punch-hole camera. It’s not even the scale of it – it’s a smaller diameter than you’ll find on recent Motorola handsets, for example – but because it’s got a silvery, shiny ring that can catch light and is a bit distracting. We’d rather it was pushed to the left side, more out of sight, and darkened please.
The Note 10 Pro’s rear is plastic, but not in a budget-looking way. Indeed it catches fingerprints in a similar fashion to glass, but it’s easy enough to wipe clean. And Redmi has chosen some pretty classy colour options too – none of the “Pastel Sky” (read: pink and mud-green) nonsense that Motorola opted for with the G30.
The only bother of the rear is that protruding camera bump. Not only is it large, it’s off-centre and, therefore, the phone wobbles about all over the place when laid upon a desk. Not that the main goal of a phone is to use it flat on a desk – you’ll normally have it in the hand – but it’s still a bugbear. A different camera enclosure would have negated this little aspect of the design.
The Note 10 Pro’s side-mounted fingerprint scanner is very neatly integrated, though, and we’ve found it to function very rapidly for logins. There’s also face unlock by using that front-facing camera, should you prefer. Oh, and if you’re still part of the wired headphones gang then the 3.5mm jack will prove a point of appreciation for you too.
And so to the screen. This is one aspect of the phone that really helps to sell it for a number of reasons. First, it’s large, at 6.67-inches on the diagonal. But, more important than that, it’s got a Full HD+ resolution that puts it a step beyond many of its near competitors. Motorola, for example, has dropped to just HD+ in its lower-end Moto G family (so around 50 per cent fewer pixels).
The Note 10 Pro’s screen is AMOLED based, too, meaning it can have an always-on display activated – which illuminates the edges in a subtle fashion when there’s a notification, as one example – for visuals to be available without actively needing to turn the display on.
That screen tech also means deep blacks, while colour is decent. As the software allows a brightness selection for night use we’ve not found the auto-brightness to be of any bother here either – which is refreshing, as it’s been a pain in basically every other MIUI software-based handset of recent times.
The other big feature of this screen is that it offers a 120Hz refresh rate. The theory here is that it can run at double the rate – 120 refreshes per second – to give a smoother visual experience. That can often be the case, too, just not in every single aspect of use. That’s the oddity of higher refresh rates: if you don’t have the hardware-software combination to handle it, then it’ll come a cropper. Thankfully it’s not too bad here, but there are some moments where the ultra-smooth swiping in, say, the Photos app gets stuttery when moving over to a different app instead.
Faster refresh is one of those nice-to-haves, sure, but 120Hz it’s not on by default – and even when you do go to activate it, MIUI describes it as a “medium” level refresh. It’s “low” for 60Hz, apparently, despite that being perfectly fine. And, um, there is no “high” – so the scale doesn’t make huge amount of sense. But it’s all a distraction really, from what’s an otherwise perfectly decent screen.
Performance & Battery
Qualcomm Snapdragon 732G platform, 6GB RAM
5,020mAh battery, 33W fast-charging
MIUI 12 software (over Android 11)
Even with the 120Hz refresh rate activated, the Redmi Pro doesn’t suffer from limited battery life. We’ve been using the phone for the week prior to the launch event as our own device – and in that time there’s usually 50 per cent battery remaining by bedtime. That’s 16 hours a time, so it’s on the edge of being a two-day laster.
The battery capacity is large, which is part of the reason for this longevity, but there’s also the instance of the processor and software combination. With Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 732G platform under the hood the Redmi hits that sweetspot of reasonable performance, limits overheating, and there’s no 5G possibility to grind it down either.
As chipsets go, the SD732 is capable of handling multiple apps, including games without particular graphical insufficiencies, meaning whether you want to run Zwift on your phone, dabble in a bit of PUBG Mobile, or hit some South Park: Phone Destroyer, it’s all within the Redmi Note 10’s reach.
The only slight stutters – and we mean very slight – tend to appear when jumping between apps. That’s when you can visually see a lowering of the frame-rate, hence the question over whether 120Hz is actually all that important here.
Running everything is Xiaomi’s MIUI 12 software, skinned over the top of Google’s Android 11 operating system. We’ve had very mixed experiences with this software in the recent past – with the Xiaomi Mi 11 it was limiting, in the Poco M3 it was irksome – but, oddly, in the Redmi Note 10 it’s caused us no significant issues. We’ve previously criticised Xiaomi’s software for being wildly inconsistent between devices (sometimes even on the same software version), but at least the Redmi gets the upper hand here.
That said, MIUI 12 does need some ‘training’, if you like. By default it battery limits every app, which you need to dig into in individual settings to rectify and ensure there’s no issue with limiting what an app can do and when, or how much power it can or can’t use in the background. However, even with the default option selected we’ve not had notification delays like we did have with the Xiaomi Mi 11. So there’s greater stability here.
In the past there’s been criticism for targeted ads in Xiaomi software, but that’s no proven a bother in this Redmi setup either. Yes, there’s still a separate Xiaomi store in addition to Google Play – which sometimes means apps will update from one, some from the other – but it’s enough in the background and out of the way that you basically needn’t worry about it.
So while we’d usually be criticising the software experience as the thing to hold a MIUI handset back, the Redmi Note 10 Pro actually fares well. In combination with its hardware loadout that makes for a generally smooth experience, too, plus a long-lasting one. Can’t say much better than that.
In terms of cameras the Redmi Note 10 Pro features what it calls a quad rear setup. That’s a bit of a stretch, really, as the depth sensor isn’t really needed or useful at all. And the ultra-wide angle isn’t the best of quality. But that’s most of the bad news out of the way.
The 5-megapixel macro sensor that’s on board is, just like that of the Mi 11, rather good fun. It’s not wildly accurate with autofocus, but at least it offers some. And sharpness isn’t pristine either – but it’s far better than what we’ve seen from umpteen lower-resolution so-called macro sensors on other phones.
The real take-way of the setup, however, is the 108-megapixel camera. If you can really consider it as that. While most makers use a four-in-one pixel methodology to gather more information and produce an image a quarter the size of the headline resolution, this Redmi goes with a nine-in-one pixel method. That means you’ll get 12-megapixel results as standard instead.
By using these nine pixels – think of it as a three by three row in a square – there’s the prospect of adding lots of comparison, more colour data, all of which can be processed into a sharp looking shot. Even in low-light conditions the Redmi Note 10 Pro’s results hold up well. We’ve been impressed.
There are limits though. As there’s no optical image stabilisation here, you’ll need a steady hand. And the Night Mode – which uses long exposure to combine multiple frames into one ‘brighter’ shot – doesn’t work well as a result. Without the stabilisation here things just don’t line-up well, making for soft, ‘mushy’ results. MIUI
No, there’s no zoom lens, so you don’t get any optical zoom fanciness, and the camera app is a bit compartmentalised in its approach, but the overall take-away from the Redmi Note 10 Pro’s camera is that the main lens delivers a lot from an affordable device. You could do a lot worse elsewhere.
First Impressions
As we said up top, Redmi is becoming a key disruptor in the affordable phone market. The Note 10 Pro makes it clear to see why: this device doesn’t just have a decent specification, it comes good on delivery too.
There’s more resolution here than on close rival Motorola handsets, the software is more stable than we’ve seen from other MIUI 12 handsets (although Motorola’s approach is clearly better), and that main 108-megapixel camera is most capable unit (although it does output at 12MP by default).
The shortcomings are only few and far between – that punch-hole camera is weird, the lack of optical stabilisation is a shame, and the camera bump (which causes ‘desk wobble’) jars somewhat – making the Redmi Note 10 Pro the most accomplished affordable phone we’ve yet seen in 2021.
Also consider
Moto G30
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Motorola always delivers better on software experience – and it’s the same here – but you’ll have to accept a lower-level processor and less attractive overall design as part of this otherwise well-priced budget handset.
Xiaomi has announced its Redmi Note 10 line, the latest in its phone series that’s titanically popular in India and beyond. As is tradition for the Redmi Note phones, the 10 series brings some high-end features to much lower price points.
The Redmi Note 10 Pro is the main attraction here, with several variants including the Note 10S, Note 10, and Note 10 5G adjusting various specs to meet different price points. The Note 10 Pro’s standout feature is its 6.67-inch 1080p OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate.
The Note 10 Pro also has a 108-megapixel primary camera alongside an 8-megapixel ultrawide, a 5-megapixel “telemacro”, and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. On paper, that puts its camera setup in reach of Xiaomi’s new Mi 11 flagship, though the Note 10 Pro’s 1.55-inch 108-megapixel sensor is a little smaller. The holepunch selfie camera, meanwhile, is 16 megapixels.
Other specs include a Snapdragon 732 processor, 6GB or 8GB of RAM, 64GB or 128GB of storage, a 5,020mAh battery, 33W fast charging, a microSD card slot plus two separate SIM card slots, stereo speakers, a fingerprint sensor in the power button, and a headphone jack. The biggest omission is wireless charging, but that’s not a surprise for a device in this price range.
Xiaomi wouldn’t provide full international pricing details ahead of the launch, but the Indian variant of the Redmi Note 10 Pro is called the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max and starts at Rs. 18,999 (~$260) for a model with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. The non-Max Indian Note 10 Pro is identical but has a 64-megapixel main camera instead and starts at 15,999 (~$220) for the 6GB/64GB model.
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Calling the 2021 Motorola Moto G Stylus the best budget stylus phone feels a bit like a backhanded compliment. There’s more or less just one other contender for that title, the LG Stylo 6, which is too underpowered to recommend. But the G Stylus doesn’t just win by default; it’s actually a well-rounded and capable phone for under $300.
It offers a big 6.8-inch 1080p screen, a generous 128GB of built-in storage, and a Snapdragon 678 processor with 4GB of RAM. Motorola introduced it earlier this year with a $299 MSRP, though it’s now selling for $279 from the manufacturer and other retailers.
Other highlights include a 48-megapixel main camera accompanied by ultrawide and macro rear cameras, a 4,000mAh battery, a “water-repellant” design, and a fingerprint sensor embedded in the recessed power button. It’s a well-rounded set of features for a budget device, even without considering the G Stylus’ headline feature.
The G Stylus includes apps for note-taking, doodling, and coloring.
Moto G Stylus (2021) stylus features
The main selling point is definitely the G Stylus’ stylus, so let’s cover that first. Like the Stylo 6, the G Stylus includes a built-in capacitive stylus tucked into the bottom-right corner of the device. Popping it out brings up a quick menu of shortcuts to stylus-friendly apps.
There’s a note-taking app and a shortcut to take and annotate a screenshot. You can also jot down a quick note without unlocking the screen. It’s a basic set of features — nothing too advanced like what the Galaxy Note series offers — but with a couple of neat bonuses.
With AI, the phone can recognize what you’re trying to draw and turn it into a coloring book template.
First, messaging apps support handwriting-to-text conversion. This is a Gboard setting you can enable on any Android device, but it’s available by default on the G Stylus. Pressing the “globe” icon to the left of the spacebar opens up the handwriting panel. Write your message, and watch it appear in the text line above.
The Moto G Stylus’ other trick is the ability to create cinemagraphs, still images with a moving element. To create one, you’ll basically take a short video clip, holding the camera still. Then you use the stylus to draw on the areas of the scene with motion. The rest will remain frozen as a still image. You don’t necessarily need a stylus for this, but the added precision is helpful. Results can be saved as an MP4 or a GIF. The app does a decent job of stabilizing a handheld image for a more convincing final product, though the resulting clip is fairly low-res. Still, it’s fun to play with.
While the LG Stylo 6’s stylus features felt a little more fun and creativity-focused, the Moto G is a little more no-nonsense. Sure, there’s a coloring book app that does a neat trick of using AI to identify a rudimentary sketch of a cat and turn it into a template for your digital “crayons.” But where’s the animated GIF creator? Or an app that records as you sketch so you can text your friends and show off your mad doodling skills? These things exist in third-party apps, no doubt. But the native feature set feels, for better or worse, a little more grown-up.
The Moto G Stylus features a big 6.8-inch screen.
Moto G Stylus (2021) screen and performance
The Stylus’ screen is nothing fancy — standard 60Hz refresh rate LCD — but it’s a decently bright and large 6.8-inch 1080p display. The phone itself is, naturally, also large and on the heavier side, but the slightly rounded edges of its back panel make it more comfortable to hold than its dimensions suggest. It looks a little ridiculous peeking out of the top of a yoga pants pocket, but this stylus-packing device was never meant to be ultra pocketable.
The G Stylus uses a Snapdragon 678 processor with 4GB of RAM, and this combination feels more than adequate for day-to-day tasks. Apps load quickly, and jumping between them feels snappy. There are some occasional hiccups and slight slowdowns when scrolling through media-rich apps like Twitter, but nothing that feels too frustrating.
Battery life is also good — not outstanding but thoroughly sufficient. Motorola claims the Stylus will get two days to a single charge, which feels like a little bit of a stretch in my experience. More importantly, I had no problem getting through a full day, including two-plus hours of screen time, with plenty of battery life left to spare. Motorola includes a 10W charger, which it calls “Turbo Power” when it’s connected. Charging speeds are more average than “Turbo”: 10 minutes of charge got me an extra 10 percent, and it took about 40 minutes total to bring an 80 percent battery up to full charge.
The Moto G Stylus ships with Android 10 and is expected to get an update to Android 11. Motorola doesn’t say exactly when, but G Stylus owners can keep an eye on the company’s software update page for more information. Motorola’s budget device support isn’t great; the phone will get just two years of security updates, ending in January 2023. Samsung recently announced that even its budget A-series Galaxy phones will now be guaranteed four years of security updates. Hopefully, that’s a policy more manufacturers like Motorola will consider adopting.
The Stylus includes standard wide, ultrawide, and macro rear cameras.
Moto G Stylus (2021) camera
The triple camera on the G Stylus is the same found on the $400-ish Motorola One 5G Ace, with the addition of a dedicated depth sensor. To recap, that includes a 48-megapixel f/1.7 main camera that produces 12-megapixel images, an 8-megapixel f/2.2 ultrawide, and a 2-megapixel macro camera.
There are no surprises here. Like the Ace, the G Stylus is capable of good-quality images in bright light, particularly from the main camera. Downsampling from 48 megapixels to 12 allows it to capture plenty of detail, but if you look close, you’ll see some crunchy-looking sharpening. Colors are reproduced well, without looking overly saturated. As an exception, the camera seems to boost saturation and warmth when it identifies a subject as food. The results are more appetizing, if a little unnatural.
Taken with ultrawide lens
Taken with ultrawide lens
Unfortunately, the ultrawide camera is less good. Even photos taken in bright light show smeary details and some ugly noise. A photo I took of a city street has an unusual purple tint, while a photo from the main camera in the same spot looks much better. This is all evident even at smaller image sizes for social sharing, which is unfortunate. The macro camera is bad, but the selfie camera is a little sharper and better than expected from a budget phone. Win some, lose some.
While the camera system on the Ace was a bit of a letdown, it feels about right on the less expensive Moto G Stylus. You won’t find an amazing night mode or top-notch picture quality here, but for a sub-$300 phone, it does the job just fine.
The G Stylus is a well-rounded budget device, even if you don’t care about its pen-focused features.
The Moto G Stylus is a well-rounded budget phone that also happens to have a stylus. Of Motorola’s 2021 budget devices that I’ve tested so far, this one offers the best balance of features and cost-saving measures. It has a big display, stylus features, good battery life, and solid everyday performance. The cameras, though flawed, are good enough to get by.
This is the obvious choice for someone looking for a budget stylus phone, but I hesitate to recommend it to everyone else. The $299 OnePlus Nord N10 5G offers a faster refresh rate screen, a better camera, and slightly better performance for nearly the same price. If you can afford to spend a bit more, the $349 Google Pixel 4A will offer better software support and a great camera.
If you’re a stylus devotee or even just strongly stylus-curious, the Moto G Stylus is a good choice. But if you’re ambivalent toward the stylus, you might be better off with one of these other options.
The Samsung S21 FE (Fan Edition) will be the cheapest model of the 2021 S-series. How will this phone look like and what are the expected specs?
Last September, Samsung launched the Galaxy S20 Fan Edition, as an entry-level model within the high-end S20 series. The device was equipped with a relatively large display, a large battery, powerful hardware and the latest software. In addition, the S20 FE was marketed significantly cheaper than the other S-series models. It is therefore not surprising that this phone model became very popular. Now that the Galaxy S21 series has been officially announced, the question arises; will Samsung also release a Fan Edition of the S21 this year?
Although the S20 FE was the first Fan Edition within the S-series, it is likely that Samsung will release another FE edition in 2021, in the form of a Samsung Galaxy S21 FE. After all, the previous model was a direct hit and it was also a good replacement for the significantly less popular S10 Lite.
When is the Samsung S21 FE expected?
The timing of the release was also better. The S10 Lite was announced in January. While the S20 FE saw the light of day in September, so it was another half year wait for the new S-series models to be announced annually in February.
It is in line with expectations that Samsung will maintain this release schedule, in other words, an S21 FE will probably be released in the second half of 2021. Just as there seems to be a Samsung Galaxy Note 21 FE in the planning for the second half of the year.
This brings up the question; What can we expect from the S21 Fan Edition this year? Samsung has taken some unexpected steps within the S-series this year. Although flagship smartphones normally only get improved, this certainly wasn’t the case with the Samsung S21.
The S21 adopted various features of the cheaper S20 FE, such as the flat display with Full HD resolution and the plastic back. As a result, the S21 has also been marketed more cheaply than the S20 a year earlier. The first sales results show that Samsung has made the right decision in this regard. The pre-order sales of the S21 series went significantly better than the year before.
Now that the Galaxy S21 is cheaper than the S20, the question remains; what features will the S21 FE get. Which features will Samsung be able to omit to still deliver the same high-end experience, at a lower price level?
Design of the Galaxy S21 Fan Edition
For the time being, the specifications of this new model are still unknown. But now that the Samsung S21, S21 Plus and S21 Ultra have been officially announced, we can already look carefully ahead to the fourth model.
To give a first impression of the possible design of the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE, in-house graphic designer Giuseppe Spinelli, aka Snoreyn, made a series of product renders. The 3D images are designed based on the already available S21 and S20 FE and are cast in a matching Samsung style.
With the Galaxy S21 FE, Samsung will want to appeal to successful youngsters. That is why we have opted for four stylish colors with a light color palette; gray, blue, purple and green. The previous model appeared in no less than 6 sparkling colors, so you can assume that at least several color options will be offered.
Of course, the new Fan Edition is also made dust and waterproof (IP68), as you would expect from a high-end phone. Furthermore, the SIM compartment will most likely be moved to the bottom of the device, as is the case with the other S21 models. Audio enthusiasts will unfortunately have to do without a 3.5mm headphone jack.
What is immediately noticeable about the Samsung S21 FE, designed by Giuseppe, is the camera system. The three available S21 models are characterized by a specially designed camera, where the camera is merged with the frame on the side and top of the device. To make the Fan Edition cheaper, we decided not to implement this design twist in the S21 FE.
The design of the triple camera is comparable to that of the S20 FE. We have chosen to keep the color of the camera module the same as that of the housing. Last year, the camera island got a dark color scheme with a harder contrast, regardless of which color variant you chose.
In terms of camera specifications, we do not expect any major differences compared to last year. After all, the camera of the S21 and S20 is also largely identical to each other. The FE model was equipped with a 32MP selfie camera. The triple rear camera consists of a 12 megapixel wide angle and ultra wide angle camera and an 8 megapixel telecamera with 3x Hybrid zoom and 30X Space Zoom. The S20 FE can record videos in 4K resolution and played back in 8K.
The S21 FE will probably have the same camera configuration as the S20 FE. Additional functions are made possible by the renewed Android 11 OS, in combination with the One UI 3.1 interface. Think of the new features such as Object Eraser and Multi Mic recording, as well as an improved Single Take function and touch autofocus.
Expected technical specifications
The screen sizes of the S21 models have remained the same as last year. The S21 is the smallest with its 6.2 ” display, followed by the S21 Plus with its 6.7” display. The S21 FE will probably feature a 6.5 ”Full HD+ display again – meaning it will be positioned between the base and Plus model in terms of size.
The screen will most likely support the high 120 Hertz refresh rate, but HDR support will likely be lacking. Logically, a punch-hole camera system will again be chosen to accommodate the selfie camera.
Presumably the same Exynos 2100 will be used as with the other S21 models. However, less RAM will probably be built in, but two options may again be offered: 6GB and 8GB RAM. The storage capacity of 128GB / 256GB will probably be maintained.
It will be interesting to see whether the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE will have a memory card slot. With the other S21 models, Samsung has chosen to omit the microSD compartment, so that the options for expanding the memory are limited to cloud storage. Samsung may keep the microSD memory compartment with the Fan Edition, although it is just as likely that it will be left out for cost reasons.
Furthermore, it is in line with expectations that the S21 Fan Edition will also have an extra large battery. After all, this was also one of the strong features of the previous FE model. The S20 FE was equipped with the same size battery as the S20 Plus; 4500 mAh.
If Samsung continues this line, it would mean that the S21 FE will be equipped with a 4,800 mAh battery with support for 25W wired / 15W wireless charging. Since the FE has a slightly smaller screen than the Plus variant, it is likely that this model also delivers a slightly better battery life. The 4,800 mAh battery of the S21 Plus guarantees a battery life of more than 12 hours.
Probably the charger will not be included, the same goes for the earplugs. Samsung has already started this trend with the other S21 models. The official reason for this is that Samsung wants to counteract eWaste. By not supplying a charger / earplugs the environment can be saved.
Unfortunately, Samsung does not leave this decision to the consumer. If the environment is the main driver, why not offer the phone both with and without a charger for the same amount of money – as Xiaomi is doing with the Mi 11. At the end, many do want to purchase a fast charger which now needs to be packaged separately, be shipped separately etc. The environmental benefits will therefore be very limited.
How much will the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE cost?
The Samsung S20 FE 5G (128GB) carried a suggested retail price of € 750 last year, a 4G model was also released for € 650. The S21 models are cheaper than last year and, moreover, are only available with 5G. Most likely, the S21 FE will also be released exclusively as a 5G model, after all, 5G is the future and it will replace 4G in the coming years.
The basic model within the 2021 S-series is available for a starting price of € 850 (128GB). In six months’ time, the S21 will undoubtedly have dropped in price, making it plausible that the Galaxy S21 FE will also be marketed more cheaply than last year. This way, Samsung can prevent the Fan Edition from being even more expensive at launch than the basic model. You may be able to buy the new model for about € 650. By keeping the entry-level price the same as last year, but this time with 5G, the S-series will remain accessible to a wide audience.
For the already available S21 models, Samsung has chosen not to include a charger or earplugs in the sales package. This new trend, initiated by Apple last year, does not appear to have had a negative effect on sales numbers. It is therefore certainly not inconceivable that the new Galaxy S21 FE will also be delivered without a charger and earplugs.
Samsung will probably offer the Fan Edition in a range of standard colors. The S21 Plus and Ultra can also be purchased in various custom colors, which can only be ordered on request via the Samsung website. However, this option is not available for the base model, so it is unlikely that custom colors will be designed for the S21 FE either.
Nevertheless, different color variants will undoubtedly be made available. In addition, Samsung will undoubtedly announce a range of matching accessories, including phone cases made of a variety of materials such as silicone, fabric and leather.
The fourth model in the S-series will probably be announced around September, before then we first expect a new Galaxy Note smartphone. In the coming months, more details will undoubtedly be known about the technical specifications and design of the new Samsung Galaxy S21 FE.
Note to editors : The product images in this publication are created by in-house graphic designer Giuseppe Spinelli (aka Snoreyn). The presented concept renders are for illustrative purposes only. The images are copyright protected. Feel free to use the pictures on your own website, please be so respectful to include a source link into your publication.
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