Huawei overtakes Apple to become world's second-largest smartphone company

Huawei overtakes Apple to become world's second-largest smartphone company

According to a new report from market research firm Counterpoint, Huawei has surpassed Apple to become the second largest smartphone company in the world. The Chinese firm achieved the feat consistently for the month of June and July. The first spot was retained by Samsung. The report also notes that August sales for Huawei are looking strong as well, so it won't be a surprise if the company completes a hat-trick. The report also revealed the best selling models in the month of July. While and captured the first two spots, and came in third and fourth. Other devices that made it to the list include , and . While Huawei climbed to be the worlds second largest brand overall, it is surprising to see none of its models breaking into the top ten rankings, the report said. This is due to a multiple SKU portfolio that currently lacks a true hero device. While having a diverse portfolio allows Huawei to fight on multiple fronts, it does little to build overall brand recognition; something Huawei badly needs if it is continue to gain share. |

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Essential Phone is essentially impossible to repair

Essential Phone is essentially impossible to repair

After many delays, the has . If so far you've been on the fence about buying one, here's a new detail that may or may not help inform your decision. The Essential Phone is almost impossible to repair. This has been revealed by iFixit through a thorough teardown of the device. The Essential Phone scores 1 out of 10 on iFixit's repairability scale, where 10 means easiest to repair. As you may know, the handset is made from premium materials the frame is titanium, the back plate is ceramic. The use of such exotic materials may be to blame for the fact that you'll need to freeze the phone in order to get inside it. The good news is that, where screws are used in the assembly, they're all standard ones. The battery is secured in place with repair-friendly stretch-release adhesive, but that's kind of pointless because it's incredibly hard to get to. The Essential Phone hides nearly invisible seams inside, and a lot of adhesive too. Its USB-C port is soldered to the motherboard, which makes it difficult to replace and remember, it may be subject to extra wear because of the lack of a 3.5mm headset jack. All in all, when you encounter any type of hardware issue with this smartphone, you're probably going to want to replace it, since it's this difficult to get into and fix. The full teardown, complete with the entire nitty-gritty, can be found at the Source link below.

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Meizu has sold more than 200,000 M6 Notes

Meizu has sold more than 200,000 M6 Notes

Since announcing the on August 23 and beginning its sales on September 1, Meizu has reportedly sold more than 200 thousand units through its online and offline channels. The maker is urgently trying to replenish stock so that it can continue to sell the popular M6 Note. The Meizu M6 Note is priced reasonably at 1,699 CNY (220) for the 4GB RAM + 64GB storage model, 1,299 CNY (165) for the 3GB+32GB model and 1,099 CNY (140) for the 3GB+16GB model. The Meizu M6 Note has a 5.5-inch 1080p display, Snapdragon 625 and a dual camera setup consisting of a 12MP main snapper and 5MP f/1.9 secondary one.

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Oppo A71 quietly launched with octa-core CPU, 13MP camera

Oppo A71 quietly launched with octa-core CPU, 13MP camera

Oppo has quietly updated its A series of smartphones with a new device. Dubbed , the phone is listed on the Chinese company's Pakistan and Malaysia websites. The handset is powered by Mediatek's MT6750 SoC with octa-core 1.5GHz processor and Mali-T860 MP2 GPU. The A71 sports a 5.2-inch HD display, and comes with 3GB RAM and 16GB internal memory. The device features a 13MP main camera and a 5MP shooter on the front. Measuring 148.1x73.8 x7.6mm and weighing in at 137g, the phone packs in a 3,000mAh battery. The device is currently available for purchase in Malaysia. It carries a price tag of RM858, which currently translates to $200.

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Huawei's SuperCharge tech will be certified by TV Rheinland

Huawei's SuperCharge tech will be certified by TV Rheinland

Fast charging has become an increasingly popular feature on smartphones and makers love to one-up each other. To make sure consumers receive a safe product, Huawei has partnered with TV Rheinland to certify Huaweis SuperCharge technology. TV dates back to the 1800s and has been inspecting and certifying everything from steam boilers to elevators ever since. And now, one of the most powerful fast chargers around. SuperCharge relies on two extra pins in the USB-C port on its phones to deliver 5A at 4.5V. The low voltage keeps the phone cool during charging, the high amperage fills up the battery faster. These connectors have been programmed to automatically stop charging if they come into contact with water, which prevents a short circuit. Even when everything is fine, a SuperCharge phone and charger are in constant communication to select the optimal voltage and current to fill the battery quickly and safely. says VP of Handset Business, Bruce Li.

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Xiaomi Mi A1 is official with stock Android

Xiaomi Mi A1 is official with stock Android

Xiaomi held an event in New Delhi to announce its latest dual-camera device. Called Xiaomi Mi A1 its hardware is identical to the . However A1 stands for Android One and the phone is powered by stock Android 7.1.2 Nougat. The Mi A1 features a Snapdragon 625 chipset, built on the 14 nm process, coupled with 4 GB RAM and 64 GB storage. The LCD measures 5.5 and sports Full HD resolution. At the back the phone has dual cameras, similar to the flagship setup with a dual-tone LED flash. The fingerprint scanner is also there, but on the lower side, we see an Android One label, placing the phone in the portfolio of Googles affordable devices for developing markets. Under the hood is a 3,080 mAh battery, charged through USB-C. The stock Android means Xiaomi is launching the device without MIUI 9, but the Chinese manufacturer is keeping the MIUI camera app. The phone also arrives with promises that the OS will be updated to Oreo by the end of the year. The Mi A1 will be one of the first phones to get the Android P sometime next year. The Xiaomi Mi A1 comes in Black, Gold or Pink and costs INR14,999 (just under 200). It is going to be available in 37 countries across the globe and sales are starting on September 12 in various online and offline stores.

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Sony Xperia XZ1 and XZ1 Compact on pre-order in Germany

Sony Xperia XZ1 and XZ1 Compact on pre-order in Germany

Pre-orders for the and have hopped over the channel and are now live in Germany. You can pick between , and (the first two offer SIM-free phones, the third one has info on contracts). Deliveries are expected in late September, color choices are Black, Silver and Blue. Whichever store you pick, the big XZ1 is 700 while its XZ1 Compact sibling is 600. If you order a phone by September 22, you can get a free pair of h.ear wireless headphones one of 2,300 h.ear on 2 or one of 1,200 h.ear on 2 Mini. The latter costs 220 on its own, so its quite a deal (but only the first 3,500 customers will get a pair). We have hands-on impressions from both the and the , if you want to know more about them.

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