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Oppo A94 5G announced with Dimensity 800U and 30W charging

Just a week ago Oppo brought its Reno5 Z 5G in Singapore and now the phone has made its way to Europe as the Oppo A94 5G. It’s still powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 800U bundled with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage for a base price of €359.

The A94 5G brings a 6.43-inch AMOLED screen with FHD+ resolution and a punch hole for the 16MP selfie camera. The panel also comes with an integrated fingerprint scanner. The camera department is headlined by a 48MP main shooter alongside an 8MP ultrawide snapper and two 2MP modules for macro and depth data.

Oppo A94 5G

There’s a 4,310 mAh battery with 30W charging while the software front is covered by Android 11 with Oppo’s ColorOS 11.1 on top. The A94 5G comes in Fluid Black and Cosmo Blue colors and will go on sale starting May 3.

Realme Q3 is coming next week with a glow in the dark logo, will be cheaper than rumored

The Realme Q3 series will be unveiled next week and the company’s slogan, “Dare to leap”, will be painted on the back of the phones with phosphorescent paint that will glow in the dark. The teaser clip below was posted by Realme’s Vice President, Xu Qi Chase.

The VP also called the Realme Q3 the “thousand yuan king”, which contradicts the leaked price of CNY 2,000. The current Q2 series falls in the CNY 1,000-1,500 range ($150-230).

The company expects the new Q3 series to surpass the current Q2 models, which have proven to be quite successful and have reached 1 million sales.

From what we’ve heard from rumors so far, the Realme Q3 will feature a 120 Hz screen, a Dimensity 1100 chipset and a 4,500 mAh battery with 50W fast charging. As Realme loves teasers, we expect to get some official info on the phone before next week’s reveal.

As a reminder, we’re also expecting the Realme 8 5G to go official next week (the Q3 themselves should feature 5G as well).

Source 1 | Source 2 (in Chinese) | Via

It’s official: Samsung Galaxy M42 5G is arriving on April 28 with Snapdragon 750G

Earlier this week, a report claimed that Samsung will launch the Galaxy M42 5G in India in April. Today, Amazon.in confirmed the smartphone will be introduced on 28th of this month and set up a promo page on its website for it.

The page also includes a few images which reveal the Galaxy M42 5G’s design and some features. The smartphone will pack a notched display and sport a square-shaped quad camera setup on its back.

We don’t see a fingerprint reader on the Galaxy M42 5G’s rear panel, and neither is it embedded in the power button located on the right-side frame, meaning the smartphone could come with an in-display solution, which means the M42 5G will pack an AMOLED panel.

Under the hood, the Galaxy M42 5G will have a Snapdragon 750G SoC, although the RAM and storage aren’t revealed.

Amazon also tells us that M42 5G will come with Samsung Pay and Knox Security.

Galaxy M42 5G will come with Knox Security and Samsung Pay

While Samsung is yet to detail the M42 5G’s specs sheet, previous rumors and leaks claimed the smartphone will feature a 64MP primary camera, a 6,000 mAh battery, and will cost between INR20,000-25,000 ($270-335).

With the official announcement still over 10 days away, you can expect to learn more about the Galaxy M42 5G in the coming days.

Source

Oppo A54 and A74 5G launching in India next week

Oppo will launch two smartphones in India next week – the A54 on April 19 and the A74 5G on April 20.

The Oppo A54 is powered by the Helio P35 SoC, runs Android 10-based ColorOS 7.2 out of the box, and has two memory options – 4GB/64GB and 4GB/128GB.

The smartphone’s built around a 6.51″ HD+ LCD with a punch hole in the upper-left corner for the 16MP selfie camera. And around the back, we get a triple camera setup comprising a 13MP primary, 2MP depth, and 2MP macro units.

The A54 also features a side-mounted fingerprint reader and ships with a 5,000 mAh battery charged through a USB-C port at up to 18W.

The Oppo A74 5G, on the other hand, has a Snapdragon 480 chip at the helm with Android 11-based ColorOS 11.1 and 6GB RAM and 128GB storage.

The A74 5G sports a 6.5″ FullHD+ 90Hz LCD and packs a 5,000 mAh battery that draws power via USB-C port at up to 18W.

The camera department includes five shooters – a 16MP selfie unit inside the punch hole with the camera island on the back housing 48MP primary, 8MP ultrawide, 2MP macro, and 2MP depth modules.

The Oppo A74 5G also features a side-mounted fingerprint scanner and supports dual-mode 5G (SA/NSA) and it will be priced under INR20,000 ($270/€225) in India.

Source

VMWare Will Support M1 Macs Soon, Offering More Ways to Run Windows

Mac users should have another way to run Windows 10 on their M1-equipped devices soon. VMWare product line manager Michael Roy tweeted yesterday that, if everything goes well, the company will reveal its plans for Apple’s silicon next week.

The not-quite-announcement came shortly after Parallels added support for the M1 chip to version 16.5 of Parallels Desktop for Mac, which means people who own Apple’s latest hardware can now run Windows 10 on Arm on their devices.

Progress update coming soon… Next week probably :)The @VMwareFusion account is well monitored but Legal has issues with us talking about future stuffs… So we’ve been largely quiet about it, but we’re working through that.April 15, 2021

Roy actually made a few jabs at Parallels in his tweets about VMWare’s plans for M1 support. He said: “Yah… It’s uncharted waters, so everyone is treading lightly… Like, you can’t even BUY Windows for ARM, and folks using it who aren’t OEMs could be violating EULA… we’re not into doing that for the sake of a press release…”

He isn’t wrong. Microsoft doesn’t currently sell Windows 10 on Arm to the public. The company offers Windows 10 Home, Windows 10 Pro, and Windows 10 Pro for Workstations on its website. (Though there are other ways to get Windows 10 for free or cheap.)

There isn’t a ton of hardware that supports Windows 10 on Arm, as Intel and AMD models are more popular. The Lenovo Flex 5G, Microsoft Surface Pro X and Acer Spin 7 are among what’s out there, but surely the Mac does brings the potential for more compatibility.

On Mac, that support has to arrive via tools like Parallels and VMWare, however, because Apple doesn’t offer an equivalent to Boot Camp on Macs featuring its custom chip. That means it’s important for those utilities to perform well on M1.

Hopefully that won’t be a concern. Parallels said its performance improved with the jump to the M1, and Roy tweeted that his MacBook Air “is currently running 5 VMs, each with 4 cores and 8GB of RAM and not breaking a sweat” with VMWare’s utility.

We’ve reached out to VMWare for more information about when it’s looking to add support for the M1 chip to VMWare Fusion and what it has planned for Apple’s custom silicon in the future. We’ll update this post if the company responds.

Apple’s Spring Loaded event: rumors, news, and announcements

The event kicks off at 1PM ET / 10AM PT on April 20th

Contributors:

Verge Staff

Spring has sprung and with it, the first Apple event of the year. The company successfully brought custom Arm chips to its Macs last year, and now it’s continuing its product updates with an event called “Spring Loaded.” Outside the obvious coiled metal connotation, the name suggests another jam-packed day of announcements.

And Apple does have a lot of products to address. The Apple TV was last updated in 2017 but is rumored to get support for 120Hz displays, a new processor that could make it a more capable Apple Arcade machine, and a redesigned remote. The iPad mini is also expected to finally receive some love after sitting idle since 2019. Reports point to a larger display and updated internals for the small tablet.

New iPad Pros will reportedly get a speed boost with a new chip similar to Apple’s M1, a Thunderbolt port for faster transfers and compatibility with more devices, and support for 5G. The larger 12.9-inch Pro may also be the first Apple device to feature a Mini LED display, though a display and component shortage could limit how many tablets Apple is able to produce and sell.

There’s plenty of other hanging threads, too: the long-rumored AirTags could show up, Apple may have a new podcast strategy, the Apple Pencil could get a redesign, new AirPods could make an appearance, the MacBook Pro might finally get its ports back, and there are always plenty of opportunities for surprises.

We’ll be watching live and keeping you updated here with everything Apple announces.

BlackBerry 5G smartphone with physical keyboard (2021 model)

OnwardMobility is about to release its first BlackBerry smartphone with 5G support and a physical keyboard. Take a look at the first concept photos.

The Canadian smartphone manufacturer BlackBerry is at the beginning of a new era. Last year, the Chinese licensee TCL announced that it would stop selling BlackBerry phones. The 4 year license agreement had come to an end. Obviously, this raised many questions about the future of the Blackberry brand. It soon became clear that the American company OnwardMobility has taken over the license rights.

OnwardMobility issued a press release stating; “In the first half of 2021, we will release a 5G BlackBerry Android smartphone with physical keyboard in North America and Europe.” For the design and manufacture of the BlackBerry smartphones, the company started an exclusive partnership with Android smartphone maker FIH Mobile Limited, a subsidiary of Foxconn.

Last month, the financial newspaper Nikkei Asia published an interview with Peter Franklin, the CEO of OnwardMobility (and former Microsoft employee). The publication revealed that the new BlackBerry smartphone will not only include 5G support and a physical keyboard, OnwardMobility also intends to integrate a “top-of-the-line camera”. This is somewhat remarkable, as the camera has never been a real spearhead for the BlackBerry business smartphones.

Of course, OnwardMobility will also pay extra attention to data protection and privacy. For this, the help of an external cybersecurity company is called in. More details will be revealed in the coming months, Franklin reported.

BlackBerry Key 3 with triple camera

Based on all the information available to date, graphic designer Jermaine Smit, aka Concept Creator, in collaboration with LetsGoDigital, has designed a BlackBerry 5G smartphone with a physical keyboard. It is the BlackBerry Key 3, the successor to the BlackBerry Key 2 – released by TCL in 2018.

Where its predecessor still had a dual camera, the Key 3 designed by Jermaine is equipped with a triple camera. The distinctive design with curved display and a narrow bezel for the front camera has remained intact – as shown in the following YouTube video.

Unfortunately, as yet, few details are known about the specifications of this new device. We are also still in the dark about the model name. Since it will be OnwardMobility’s first BlackBerry smartphone, no comparison material is available either. Naturally, the company will try to honor the strengths of BlackBerry, in order to be able to offer the business user a valuable Android alternative.

However, it is still unknown what this will look like in practice – apart from the fact that a physical keyboard is chosen, in order to increase productivity. This will certainly be a feature that many loyal BlackBerry users will appreciate. It will also be the brand’s first 5G phone.

Three-and-a-half months have now passed from 2021. If the company manages to stick to its initial schedule, the new BlackBerry phone will be officially announced for the American and European markets within three months from now. In time, the device will also be released in Asia. As yet, no information is known about the pricing.

BlackBerry over the years

BlackBerry was very popular among business users for years and was able to distinguish itself from other brands with its own software and the implementation of a physical keyboard. Due to increasing competition, the Canadian manufacturer decided to stop producing BlackBerry smartphones in 2016, after which the focus shifted to intelligent security software and services.

TCL took over the license for the production and sale of BlackBerry smartphones. Due to disappointing results, TCL decided not to renew the agreement after a period of four years.

OnwardMobility, on the other hand, still sees plenty of opportunities for the characteristic BlackBerry brand. Partnered with FIH Mobile Limited, the company is committed to reviving BlackBerry. In the coming period we will undoubtedly hear more about the new BlackBerry 5G smartphone.

Note to editors : The product images in this publication are created in collaboration with Jermaine Smit, aka Concept Creator. These 3D renders are for illustrative purposes only, this product is not for sale. The images are copyright protected. Feel free to use these materials on your own website, please be so respectful to include a source link into your publication.

Ilse is a Dutch journalist and joined LetsGoDigital more than 15 years ago. She is highly educated and speaks four languages. Ilse is a true tech-girl and loves to write about the future of consumer electronics. She has a special interest for smartphones, digital cameras, gaming and VR.

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE vs Galaxy S20 FE: What’s the rumoured difference?

(Pocket-lint) – Samsung is rumoured to announce the ‘Fan Edition’ – also known as FE – of its Galaxy S21 later this year, succeeding the Galaxy S20 FE.

The Galaxy S20 FE is a fantastic device, offering many of the great features of the Galaxy S20 but for a lower price thanks to a couple of compromises, and there have been several rumours suggesting the S21 FE will follow in those footsteps.

How is the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE expected to compare to the Galaxy S20 FE though? We’ve put the rumoured specifications for the S21 FE up against the S20 FE so you can see.

Design

S21 FE: 155.7 x 74.5 x 7.9mm, TBC
S20 FE: 159.8 x 74.5 x 8.4mm, 190g

Rumours suggest the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE will look similar to the Galaxy S21, with a centralised punch hole camera at the top of its flat display, a plastic back and an IP65/68 water and dust resistance.

Leaked renders show a triple rear camera with the housing positioned in the top left corner, and flowing into the frame of the device. It’s said to measure 155.7 x 74.5 x 7.9mm.

The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE meanwhile, takes its design cues from the Galaxy S20. It too offers a centralised punch hole camera at the top of the flat display though, as well as a plastic back and waterproofing.

There’s a triple rear camera on the back, within a housing in the top left corner, but the housing is more of an island, differentiating it from what is expected from the Galaxy S21 FE. It measures 159.8 x 74.5 x 8.4mm and weighs 190g, which means the S21 FE could be shorter and slimmer if the rumours are accurate.

The S21 FE is said to be coming in gray/silver, pink, violet, and white colours. The Galaxy S20 FE comes in blue, red, lavender, mint, white and orange.

Display

Galaxy S21 FE: 6.4-inch, Full HD+, 120Hz, HDR
Galaxy S20 FE: 6.5-inch, Full HD+, 120Hz, HDR

According to reports, the Samsung Galayxy S21 FE will have a 6.4-inch display with a Full HD+ resolution. It’s also expected to have a 120Hz refresh rate, though it is not currently clear if it will offer a variable refresh rate, like the Galaxy S21 range.

As mentioned, the display is expected to be flat and it will no doubt be a Super AMOLED panel with support for HDR, like the S20 FE offers.

The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE has a slightly larger 6.5-inch display than what is reported for the S21 FE, though it has the same Full HD+ resolution and it also has a 120Hz refresh rate. The refresh rate is not variable on the S20 FE though so if the Galaxy S21 FE offer variable, then this will be one of the differences aside from size.

Hardware and specs

Galaxy S21 FE: Qualcomm Snapdragon 888/Exynos 2100, 5G, 128/256GB
Galaxy S20 FE: Qualcomm Snapdragon 865/Exynos 990, 4G/5G, 6/8GB RAM, 128GB storage, microSD, 4500mAh

The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is expected to run on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset, or the Exynos 2100, though no rumours have suggested this as yet. Instead, the rumours have claimed the S21 FE will be a 5G device, run on Android 11 and come in 128GB and 256GB storage options.

There’s no word on whether microSD will be supported, but given the S21 range doesn’t offer microSD, it is possible the S21 FE won’t either. Currently, no rumours have detailed RAM or battery capacity for the S21 FE.

The Galaxy S20 FE 5G handset runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, while the 4G model runs on Exynos 990. There is a choice of 6GB or 8GB of RAM on board, both of which have 128GB of storage, as well as support for microSD.

In terms of battery, the Galaxy S20 FE has a 4500mAh capacity so we would expect similar from the Galaxy S21 FE.

Camera

Galaxy S21 FE: Triple rear
Galaxy S20 FE: Triple rear
- Main: 12MP, f/1.8, 1.8µm, OIS
- Tele: 8MP, f/2.4, 1.0µm, OIS, 3x optical
- Ultra-wide: 12MP, f/2.2, 1.12µm
- Front: 32MP, f/2.2, 0.8µm, FF

The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is rumoured to come with a triple rear camera, though there are currently no specifics on what sensors might be on board. It’s likely we will see the same main camera as the Galaxy S21, along with a telephoto and ultra wide angle lens, but the resolution and pixels could be different on the latter two lenses, like the S20 FE did compared to the S20+.

The Galaxy S20 FE has a triple rear camera, made up of a 12-megapixel main sesnor with an f/1.8 aperture, 1.8µm pixels and optical image stabilisation, which is the same as the S20+ offers. It also has an 8-megapixel telephoto lens that has an f/2.4 aperture, 1.0µm pixels, OIS and 3x optical and there is a 12-megapixel ultra wide sensor with f/2.2 aperture and 1.12µm pixels.

The front camera on the Galaxy S20 FE is a 32-megapixel, f/2.2 aperture, sensor. We’d expect similar on the S21 FE.

Price

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Pricing for the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE hasn’t been rumoured as yet, though we’d expect it to fall around the same ballpark as the S20 FE and certainly cheaper than the Galaxy S21 range.

The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE starts at £599 in the UK for the 4G model and £699 for the 5G model. The 4G model isn’t available in the US, but the 5G model starts at $699.99 in the US, with the 8GB of RAM model costing $769.99.

Conclusion

Based on the rumours so far, the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE will feature a slightly different design to the S20 FE from the rear, keeping in tune with the lastest Galaxy S21 series, though it will look similar from the front.

Speculation suggests the S21 FE will be shorter and slimmer than the S20 FE, pack a slightly smaller display and come with an upgraded processor and possibly some camera upgrades too, even if only in terms of features.

We will update this feature as more rumours appear surrounding the S21 FE, but for now, you can keep track of all the latest in our separate Galaxy S21 FE feature.

Writing by Britta O’Boyle.

The ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G is coming to the US with a 144Hz display and a whole lot more

ZTE has unveiled the Axon 30 Ultra alongside two other 30-series devices — the Axon 30 and Axon 30 Pro — though the Ultra has at least one unique feature: it will be sold in the US and Canada. Exact availability and pricing are still TBD, but we do know that the 30 Ultra has all of the trappings of a high-end Android device. It will offer a Snapdragon 888 processor with 8GB or 12GB of RAM, a 6.67-inch 1080p OLED with adaptive refresh rates up to 144Hz, four rear cameras including a 5x zoom, and 66W fast charging.

The 30 Ultra features a prominent camera bump that houses plenty of pixels, starting with a 64-megapixel f/1.6 main camera with optical image stabilization. There’s another 64-megapixel camera — unstabilized with a 35mm-equivalent f/1.9 lens — and an ultrawide with (you guessed it) a 64-megapixel sensor. A periscope-style telephoto lens is coupled with an 8-megapixel sensor and includes optical stabilization. Unlike the Axon 20 5G, it offers a traditional hole-punch 16-megapixel selfie camera around front; no under-screen camera here, which is a good thing in our book. Video recording from the main camera tops out at 8K/30fps.

ZTE calls the phone’s 6.67-inch display a “borderless, curved” OLED panel with a 95% screen-to-body ratio. It’s protected with Gorilla Glass 5 — as is the rear panel — and includes HDR10 support. It offers adaptive refresh rates of 60Hz, 90Hz, 120Hz, and 144Hz, which it uses depending on the application to save battery life.

Rounding out the feature set, the Axon 30 Ultra 5G includes a large 4,600mAh battery that supports fast 66W wired charging. It ships with Android 11 and offers an in-screen fingerprint reader for biometric unlock.

The step-down Axon 30 Pro still includes the Snapdragon 888 chipset, but features a different rear camera configuration, a non-variable 120Hz screen, and less-speedy 55W charging. The Axon 30 base model is the only one to get the next iteration of the in-display selfie camera, as teased by ZTE earlier this year.

For now, the Ultra looks like a whole lot of phone, but it’s hard to judge just how competitive it will be in the US until we have a confirmed price. When it is available, it’ll be sold online unlocked from ZTE.

TCL aims to build a better budget phone with the 20 Pro 5G

TCL has announced the rest of its 20-series lineup, with the 20 Pro 5G leading the way. Along with the 20L and 20L Plus, the phone joins the two devices announced earlier this year at CES, the TCL 20 5G and 20 SE, all of which prominently feature the company’s display technology. TCL says the 20 Pro 5G and 20S (a regional variant of the 20L Plus) will come to the US this summer, though the company hasn’t confirmed prices yet.

The TCL 20 Pro 5G offers the most advanced specs of the bunch, with some refinements over last year’s good-not-great 10 Pro. It offers a 6.67-inch 1080p OLED with HDR10 support and includes the latest generation of TCL’s NXTVISION technology to identify on-screen content and adjust color, contrast, and sharpness accordingly. The 20 Pro 5G uses a Snapdragon 750G chipset — a step up from the 10 Pro’s 600-series processor — with 6GB RAM, ships with Android 11, and offers a 4,500mAh battery. Sub-6GHz 5G is supported, but TCL says it can adapt to include other 5G bands depending on the carrier.

The 20 Pro 5G will come to the US this summer.

Photo: TCL

The phone’s main camera uses a 48-megapixel sensor with a small but important addition: optical image stabilization. It’s a feature that should help reduce blur in lower-light conditions, and it wasn’t offered on any of last year’s 10-series models.

The standard wide camera is accompanied by a 16-megapixel ultrawide, 5-megapixel macro, 2-megapixel depth-sensing chip, and 32-megapixel selfie camera. For biometric unlock, the 20 Pro includes an in-display fingerprint sensor. We’re pleased to report that the 3.5mm headphone jack remains, and a microSD card slot is available for expansion on the 256GB of built-in storage. The 20 Pro 5G goes on sale tomorrow in the UK, Italy, and Portugal for €549 (about $655).

TCL 20L Plus
TCL 20L Plus

The TCL 20L and 20L Plus are more budget-oriented devices. They both offer a 6.67-inch 1080p LCD, a 5,000mAh battery, and a Snapdragon 662 processor. The 20L offers 4GB of RAM in its base model, while the Plus model starts at 6GB.

The 20L Plus also features a 64-megapixel main camera, while the 20L includes a 48-megapixel main sensor; both devices include an 8-megapixel ultrawide, 2-megapixel macro, 2-megapixel depth sensor, and 16-megapixel selfie camera. Both phones also use circular polarization display technology, so that the screen is visible from any angle when viewing it with polarized sunglasses.

The 20L and 20L Plus go on sale tomorrow in the UK, Italy, and Portugal, starting at €229 and €269, respectively.

Sony Xperia 10 III vs Xperia 10 II vs Xperia 10: What’s the difference?

(Pocket-lint) – Sony Mobile refreshed its phone line up in 2021 with the Xperia 10 III, alongside the flagship Xperia 1 III and the Xperia 5 III during an online event on 14 April.

The Xperia 10 III succeeds the Xperia 10 II that arrived in 2020, continuing to offer just one device in the mid range Xperia portfolio rather than two. In 2019, the range began with the Xperia 10 and Xperia 10 Plus – both of which are included in this feature for reference.

So which Sony Xperia mid-range device is the best one for you? Here are the Xperia 10 III’s specifications up against the Xperia 10 II and Xperia 10 and 10 Plus to help you decide.

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Design

Xperia 10 III: 154 x 68 x 8.3mm, 169g, IP65/68
Xperia 10 II: 157 x 69 x 8.2mm, 151g, IP65/68
Xperia 10: 156 x 68 x 8.4mm, 162g
Xperia 10 Plus: 167 x 73 x 8.3mm, 180g

The Sony Xperia 10 III, Xperia 10 II, the Xperia 10 and the Xperia 10 Plus all share similar design traits, but the Xperia 10 III and 10 II are more premium, offering a glass rear over the metal backs seen on the Xperia 10 and Xperia 10 Plus.

The camera housings on the rear of the Xperia 10 III and 10 II are also positioned in the top left, just like the Xperia 1 III, making for a better design finish than the horizontal housing on the Xperia 10 and Xperia 10 Plus. The Xperia 10 III is also slightly shorter, though heavier than the Xperia 10 II.

All four devices have rounded edges and a tall, slender look though and they all feature a 21:9 aspect ratio display. The Xperia 10 III and Xperia 10 II are both IP65/68 water and dust resistant however, like the flagship Xperia 1 III and Xperia 5 III, while the Xperia 10 and Xperia 10 Plus offer no water resistance.

Sony Xperia 1 III vs 5 III vs 10 III: What’s the difference?

Display

Xperia 10 III: 6-inch, OLED, Full HD+, 21:9, HDR
Xperia 10 II: 6-inch, OLED, Full HD+, 21:9
Xperia 10: 6-inch, LCD, Full HD+, 21:9
Xperia 10 Plus: 6.5-inch, LCD, Full HD+, 21:9

The Sony Xperia 10 II1 and Xperia 10 II come with a 6-inch display, matching the size of the Xperia 10. The Xperia 10 Plus has a slightly larger display at 6.5-inches, though all four models have the same Full HD+ resolution.

The Xperia 10 III and Xperia 10 II differ in terms of panel technology too though. Like the Xperia 1 III, the Xperia 10 III and 10 II have an OLED display for vibrant colours and deep blacks. The Xperia 10 and Xperia 10 Plus both have LCD displays. The Xperia 10 III also adds HDR support over its predecessors.

All four devices have a 21:9 aspect ratio display, as mentioned above, and all of them offer a 60Hz refresh rate. It’s worth noting that the Xperia 5 II, Xperia 5 III and the Xperia 1 III all have a 120Hz refresh rate.

Hardware and specs

Xperia 10 III: Qualcomm SD690G, 5G, 6GB RAM, 128GB storage, 4500mAh
Xperia 10 II: Qualcomm SD665, 4GB RAM, 128GB storage, 3600mAh
Xperia 10: Qualcomm SD630, 3/4GB RAM, 64GB storage, 2870mAh
Xperia 10 Plus: Qualcomm SD630, 4/6GB RAM, 64GB storage, 3000mAh

As you would expect from a succeeding device, the Xperia 10 III improves on the internals of the Xperia 10 II, as well as – naturally – the Xperia 10 and Xperia 10 Plus too. The 2021 device runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 690G platform, supported by 6GB of RAM. That chipset means the Xperia 10 III is a 5G capable device, which is the first for the Xperia 10 range.

The Xperia 10 II runs on the older, but still capable, Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 processor, supported by 4GB of RAM as standard.

The Xperia 10 and Xperia 10 Plus both run on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 processor with 3GB of RAM as standard for the smaller model and 4GB of RAM as standard for the Plus model. Both come with 64GB of internal storage, while the Xperia 10 II and Xperia 10 III come with 128GB.

The Xperia 10 II, Xperia 10 and Xperia 10 Plus all support microSD for storage expansion but the Xperia 10 II will take cards up to 1TB, while the Xperia 10 and Xperia 10 Plus will only support cards up to 512GB. At the time of writing, it was not confirmed if the Xperia 10 III will also offer microSD support.

In terms of battery capacities, the Xperia 10 III wins here too. It offers a 4500mAh battery, compared to the Xperia 10 II’s 3600mAh battery, Xperia 10’s 2870mAh battery and Xperia 10 Plus’ 3000mAh battery. All models offer Sony technologies like Stamina Mode however and the Xperia 10 III also has Sony’s Battery care feature.

Camera

Xperia 10 III/10 II: Triple rear, 8MP front
Xperia 10: Dual rear, 8MP front
Xperia 10 Plus: Dual rear, 8MP front

The camera department is another area the Xperia 10 III and Xperia 10 II improve over their original predecessors, at least on paper. There’s a triple lens rear camera on the Xperia 10 III and Xperia 10 II, consisting of an 8-megapixel ultra wide-angle sensor, a 12-megapixel wide angle and an 8-megapixel telephoto sensor. There’s also a night mode.

The Xperia 10 meanwhile, has a dual camera consisting of a 12-megapixel sensor and an 8-megapixel sensor, while the Xperia 10 Plus has a 13-megapixel sensor and an 8-megapixel sensor on the back.

All four devices have an 8-megapixel front camera.

Sony Xperia 5 III vs Xperia 5 II: What’s the difference?

Price

Sony hasn’t announced the Xperia 10 III’s price as yet, though we don’t expect it to stray too far from the Sony Xperia 10 II, which costs £319 in the UK.

When they launched in 2019, the Xperia 10 started at £299, while the Xperia 10 Plus started at £349, but you’ll likely find them cheaper now.

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Conclusion

Sony simplified its mid-range Xperia in 2020, by only offering one device rather than the two offered in 2019 and that was a good thing. It continued this is in 2021, whilst also adding 5G support and some good upgrades.

The Xperia 10 III offers a more advanced processor, 5G capabilities, HDR support and a larger battery than the devices it succeeds. It also has a better camera capabilities (on paper at least) and a nicer design than the original Xperia 10 handsets.

The Xperia 10 III is the device to buy out of these four, assuming Sony doesn’t price it too high and you are happy to wait for it to hit shelves of course. That said, you might consider the Xperia 10 II if you can find it for a good price now, or 5G and HDR don’t bother you too much.

Writing by Britta O’Boyle.

Sony Xperia 5 III vs Xperia 5 II: What’s the difference?

(Pocket-lint) – Sony announced the third generation of its compact Sony Xperia 5 smartphone during an online event on 14 April 2021, just six months after the Xperia 5 II came to market.

The Xperia 5 II was revealed alongside the Xperia 1 III and mid-range Xperia 10 III and you can read how it compares to those devices in our separate feature, but here we are looking at how the Xperia 5 III compares to its predecessor – the Xperia 5 II.

Sony Xperia 1 III vs Xperia 5 III vs Xperia 10 III: What’s the difference?

Design

Xperia 5 III: 157 x 68 x 8.2mm, 168g
Xperia 5 II: 158 x 68 x 8mm, 163g

The Sony Xperia 5 III and Xperia 5 II share a very similar design, both offering an OmniBalance body with a metal frame with curved edges and corners sandwiched between a glass front and rear panel.

The Xperia 5 III is slighter shorter and 0.2mm thicker than the Xperia 5 II, as well as 5g heavier, but otherwise, the two devices are almost identical in size and appearance.

They also both offer IP65/68 water and dust resistance, a physical fingerprint sensor built into their power buttons on their right edge and a 3.5mm headphone jack. They also have a Google Assistant button and dedicated camera button, as well as a pill-shaped rear camera housing.

The Xperia 5 III comes in Black, Green and Pink colour options, while the Xperia 5 II comes in Black and Blue options.

Display

Xperia 5 III: 6.1-inch, OLED, Full HD+, HDR, 120Hz
Xperia 5 II: 6.1-inch, OLED, Full HD+, HDR, 120Hz

The Sony Xperia 5 III and Xperia 5 II have the same 6.1-inch OLED 21:9 display, with both offering a Full HD+ resolution at 2520 x 1080 and both delivering the same 449ppi pixel density.

There’s HDR support on both the third and second generation models and they both also offer a 120Hz refresh rate with 240Hz touch sampling.

The two displays are also “powered by CineAlta”, which is designed to deliver the same colour reproduction on the screen as the Master Monitor used for films.

Hardware and specs

Xperia 5 III: Qualcomm Snapdragon 888, 8GB RAM, 128GB/256GB storage, 4500mAh
Xperia 5 II: Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, 8GB RAM, 128GB storage, 4000mAh

The Sony Xperia 5 III runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset, supported by 8GB of RAM and a choice of 128GB or 256GB storage. We would expect it to offer microSD support but that wasn’t confirmed at time of writing.

The Sony Xperia 5 II runs the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chipset, also supported by 8GB of RAM, though there’s only 128GB as a storage option. MicroSD support is on board. Both the Xperia 5 III and Xperia 5 II are 5G devices.

There’s a bump in battery capacity for the third generation model, with the Xperia 5 III featuring a 4500mAh cell under the hood. It also offers support for 30W fast charging, wireless charging and reverse wireless charging. The Xperia 5 II meanwhile, has a 4000mAh battery with support for fast charging but not wireless, with a a graphene heat dissipation pad instead to keep the device cool.

Camera

Xperia 5 III: Triple rear camera, 8MP front
- 12MP ultra wide, 16mm, 1/1.7in, f/1.7
- 12MP wide, 24mm, 1/2.6in, f/2.2
- 12MP periscope, 70mm-105mm, 1/2.9in, f/2.3-f/2.8
Xperia 5 II: Triple rear camera, 8MP front
- 12MP ultra wide, 16mm
- 12MP wide, 24mm, 1/1.7in 1.8µm pixels, f/1.7
- 12MP telephoto, 70mm

The Sony Xperia 5 III features the same camera as the Xperia 1 III, but without the additional ToF sensor. That means it offers a triple 12-megapixel rear camera, featuring ultra wide, wide and periscope lenses. The periscope lens offers two different telephoto lengths from the single lens, with the ability to switch between 70mm and 105mm and an aim of delivering better results.

The Xperia 5 II meanwhile, also has a triple 12-megapixel rear camera, though its third lens is a standard telephoto lens with 70m focal length. It has some interesting features on board though, like 20fps burst shooting, real-time eye autofocus for people and animals and the ability to capture 120fps 4K HDR slow motion. The Xperia 5 III offers all these too though, plus a few extras.

Price

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Sony hasn’t revealed the price of the Xperia 5 III as yet, with the device not expected to hit shelves until early summer.

The Xperia 5 II costs £799 in the UK and €899 in Europe. We would expect the Xperia 5 II to fall into a similar ballpark, though nothing is confirmed as yet.

Conclusion

The Sony Xperia 5 III makes a couple of adjustments to the second generation model, with a processor upgrade, a camera upgrade, a battery increase and a storage increase. It also adds wireless charging and support for faster wired charging.

For those with the Xperia 5 II, it’s probably not worth the upgrade to the third generation model unless you are really keen on some of those additions given the Xperia 5 II isn’t even a year old yet.

For those choosing between the Xperia 5 III and Xperia 5 II, the third generation model is the model to go for on paper, unless you can find the Xperia 5 II at a good price when the Xperia 5 III hits the shelves.

Writing by Britta O’Boyle.

Sony Xperia 1 III is the world’s first phone with a 120Hz 4K OLED screen

(Image credit: Sony Mobile)

Sony has launched a full refresh of its Xperia phone range, headed up by the Xperia 1 III (the successor to our favourite phone of 2020) and the Xperia 5 III (the follow-up to the five-star Xperia 5 II).

The new third-generation Xperia handsets are virtually identical with almost matching features and specs, but the main difference lies in their screens. The Xperia 1 III sports a 6.5in 4K OLED display – designed for those who like a big screen device – while the 6.1in Full HD+ Xperia 5 III is a little more hand and pocket friendly.

The big draw for both gamers and film fans on-the-go will doubtless be the flagship Xperia 1 III, which according to Sony has the world’s first 120Hz 4K OLED screen. It has a 21:9 aspect ratio for full width cinema and gameplay, and that refresh rate can be set to 60Hz if you want to save on battery life. Plus, there’s even space to throw in extra frames for Sony’s 240Hz motion processing tech which should smooth out any blur.

The OLED on each of these phones is individually factory calibrated with what Sony says is a highly accurate white point to mirror the colour reproduction of the company’s film industry monitors. They also benefit from a mobile version of Sony’s X1 Bravia TV engine for HDR processing.

Sony has continued its commitment to quality sound not only with its support of a 3.5mm headphones socket but also its offering of hi-res audio over wired or wireless headphones. They feature newly optimised audio circuitry aimed at improving loudness by 40 per cent while reducing distortion. Most interesting of all, though, is that it can up-mix your local and streamed two-channel music tracks into 360 Spatial Sound in real-time. That should offer some very interesting insight into Sony’s emerging immerse format.

(Image credit: Sony)

Both handsets are Dolby Atmos-enabled and have front-facing stereo speakers that Sony promises will have enriched bass and a build to reduce vibration. You’ll also be able to appreciate your tracks in 360 Spatial Sound through the speaker as well as headphones.

They are powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 chip and boast a 4500mAh battery that Sony says will remain in top health for a minimum of three years. They come with 12GB RAM and the option of either 128GB or 256GB of storage space.

Naturally, the Xperia III family is replete with the kind of Zeiss photography smarts to make most compact cameras blush. Both the Xperia 1 III and Xperia 5 III come with a 12MP triple lens camera that can handle four focal lengths (16, 24, 70 and 105mm) thanks to what Sony says is the world’s first dual-position telephoto sensor. The company has made advances with its AF tracking, its AI detailing for digital zoom and has added burst shooting of 20fps with autofocus and auto exposure.

Once again there is no support for 8K video shooting, but the phones can capture 4K video at up to 60fps as well as at 120fps for slow motion. There’s also the option of plugging your Xperia into a Sony Alpha camera to use the mobile as a large viewfinder monitor for stills and video.

The Sony Xperia 1 III will come in a choice of Frosted Grey, Frosted Black or Frosted Purple. Included in the box is a new 30W charger which offers a 50 per cent charge for 30 minutes of wall time. The colours for the Xperia 5 III are black, green and pink.

While pricing isn’t currently available, we do know that both phones will launch at the same time in early summer this year along with Sony’s mid-price phone, the Xperia 10 III. It’s a 5G handset, like the others, and it still gets the 4500mAh battery – a considerable improvement on the 3600mAh unit from the previous model.

(Image credit: Sony)

It has a 6in, 21:9, HDR OLED display, coated in Gorilla Glass, and at 154 x 68 x 8.3mm is marginally smaller than the Xperia 10 II. There’s no 360 Spatial Sound but there’s plenty of decent audio specs with support for hi-res audio (wired and wireless), LDAC and a 3.5mm socket.

Under the hood is a slightly lowered powered set-up of the Snapdragon 690 processor, 6GB RAM and 128GB of storage space. It has an 8MP front-facing camera, an 8MP 16mm ultra-wide lens, a 12MP 27mm wide and an 8MP 54mm lens for portraits.

All of the Xperia phones will ship with Android 11.

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Take a look at our choice of the best Android phones 2021

And how about a pair of the very best headphones to go with them?

Sony announces the Xperia 1 III and Xperia 5 III with variable telephoto lenses

Sony is announcing two new phones today, the Xperia 1 III and the Xperia 5 III. Both are the latest in Sony’s campaign to redefine the Xperia brand as a kind of sibling to its well-regarded Alpha digital cameras. As such, the camera system is once again the main focus, and Sony specifically is touting the “world’s first smartphone with a variable telephoto lens paired with a Dual PD sensor” and improvements to its already fast and accurate autofocus system.

Pricing was not announced, but they should both be available in the US “this summer.”

Each phone has the basic specs you’d expect on a top-flight Android phone: three cameras on the rear, a Snapdragon 888 processor, and support for 5G. Actually, the 5G support is worth noting because these Xperia phones will be able to work on 5G networks in the US, something weirdly lacking on the last models. However, they’ll only work on the regular sub-6 networks on Verizon and T-Mobile, without support for AT&T’s 5G network. As is fairly usual for Sony, these will be sold directly rather than via carriers.

The phone also keep the Xperia design language Sony landed on with the original Xperia 1. They’re tall and narrow, with lots of glossy black and small curves on all the angles, giving them the most monolithic look of a smartphone today. I think they look great, but I’m also aware that they’re likely to cost a lot of money when Sony gets around to announcing the price.

In order to establish the Xperia brand, Sony has also been pushing a lot of other nice specs that are relatively hard to come by on other Android phones. The Xperia 1 III has a 4K OLED screen that now supports a fast (though locked) 120Hz refresh rate. There are dual speakers that are 40 percent louder and will work with Sony’s 360 Reality Audio format.

Sony is also enabling a special mode for the USB-C port that allows you to use a special cable to take an HD-resolution video signal from an SLR camera so you can use it as a monitor – much like the Xperia Pro can do with HDMI. That could also make them an interesting option for live streaming.

They’ll come in both dual-SIM and SIM+microSD variants. And there’s even a good ol’ headphone jack and a shutter button.

The Sony Xperia 1 III
Sony Xperia 1 III
Sony Xperia 1 III
Sony Xperia 1 III
Sony Xperia 1 III

Sony Xperia 1 III
Sony Xperia 1 III

Sony Xperia 1 III
Sony Xperia 1 III

Sony Xperia 1 III
Sony Xperia 1 III

Sony Xperia 1 III
Sony Xperia 1 III

Sony Xperia 1 III

There’s also the more standard fare, like wireless charging and a 4,500mAh battery. When plugged in and gaming the phones can redirect power away from the battery to reduce heat. Both phones will ship with Android 11, but as of right now there’s no clear commitment to future software updates.

If you step down from the Xperia 1 III to the Xperia 5 III, you’ll get a very similar set of specs with a few exceptions. It’ll be smaller, of course. The larger phone has a 6.5-inch 21:9 display while the 5 has a 6.1-inch 21:9 display — at 1080p resolution instead of 4K. But it still has support for the periscope-style variable lens.

But again, the big push is on the cameras and here Sony has done quite a bit to improve the hardware. Sony is using three 12-megapixel sensors on the back, and both the main and telephoto lenses support OIS. (The Xperia 1 III also gets a time-of-flight sensor.)

Sony says it has lenses that are the equivalent to 16mm (f/2.2 ultrawide), 24mm (f/1.7 wide), and 70mm (f/2.3 telephoto), but that the telephoto can also reach to an f/2.8 105mm equivalent. That extra telephoto zoom comes thanks to a folded periscope lens design, and the Xperia is physically moving the lens elements to get different focal lengths.

The idea is that photographers will mostly stick to those focal lengths, but should they want to zoom further or use a zoom level in between the Xperia phones will utilize digital zoom.

Sony Xperia 5 III
Sony Xperia 5 III
Sony Xperia 5 III
Sony Xperia 5 III
Sony Xperia 5 III
Sony Xperia 5 III

Beyond the fancy hardware, Sony has iterated on its software. Unlike Google, Apple, and even Samsung, Sony is putting its emphasis on technical features rather than computational photography. It is claiming some improved low-light performance in some situations, but really the main emphasis is on features like autofocus and shooting speed.

These phones can take photos at up to 20fps with focus/exposure readings happening at 60fps. They also support 120FPS 4K in HDR. There’s still eye-tracking autofocus, but this year there’s real-time tracking for that autofocus. In a demo, Sony showed a subject turning around and when their eye was visible again, the camera adjusted.

Sony is finally integrating its pro camera app with the main camera app. There’s the “basic” mode like any smartphone, but it’s now quicker to get to the pro mode. Sony’s pro mode really is angled towards people who use Sony’s cameras, too: the interface is very similar.

On paper, all of this sounds really great. We’ll need to review them to see if these specs can translate to great experiences. Previous Sony Xperia phones have also had great camera hardware specs, but for taking quick shots they have often missed the mark. Treating a smartphone camera as a pro SLR-style camera could limit their appeal.

Sony’s tack with the Xperia line is to pack them to the gills with specs and features that will appeal to photographers and even videographers (there’s an excellent workflow-based video app included). In reality, however, Sony has struggled mightily to gain any measurable marketshare in the US. A lot of that has come down to higher prices than is the norm for even flagship Android phones, but some of it also comes down to availability. Without carrier partnerships or massive marketing budgets, these Xperia phones are more likely to appeal to camera enthusiasts than mainstream Android buyers.

Samsung teases ‘the most powerful’ Galaxy device is coming at its April 28th Unpacked event

Samsung has announced a new Galaxy Unpacked event set for April 28th at 10AM ET, teasing the announcement of “the most powerful Galaxy” device.

The teaser, as is typical for these invitations, isn’t too forthcoming. But given the nature of the announcement and Samsung’s usual release cycle, there are a few hints we can suss out.

First, the description of whatever Samsung is announcing as “the most powerful Galaxy” would seem to rule out a phone, like the rumored Galaxy Z Fold 3. The most generous depiction of a mobile processor — even one as powerful as Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 888 — still isn’t in the same ballpark as a true laptop processor. And despite recent headlines, Samsung is still rumored to reveal the Z Fold 3 at a July event, potentially a replacement for the Galaxy Note’s high-end summer phone release spot.

Samsung’s Galaxy Book lineup of laptops, on the other hand, would fit the bill for a more powerful Galaxy device — and is long overdue for an update. The current models were announced all the way back in 2019 (although they didn’t hit US stores until May of last year), and they still feature Intel’s long-outdated 10th Gen processors. A Galaxy Book refresh that featured some of Intel’s new 11th Gen Tiger Lake chips — or even Intel’s newer 35W H-series variants — would easily take the crown as the new “most powerful” Galaxy product.

Oh, and Samsung is already rumored to be working on a new Galaxy Book Pro line of laptops, which would feature 13.3-inch and 15.6-inch OLED panels, S-Pen support, and upgraded Intel CPUs. One of the new models — the Galaxy Book Pro 360 — is also said to include 5G compatibility.

Lastly, if you wanted to get really creative, the glowing wedge of light seen in the invitation does sort of resemble an opened laptop (if you’re willing to squint a bit). We’ll find out for sure on April 28th, though — assuming one of Samsung’s characteristic leaks doesn’t arrive first.