Xiaomi seals the deal with Meitu to launch selfie smartphones in the future

345

While many have known Meitu as the famous China photo editing app, the company also produced selfie-focused smartphones which did not produce great results, leading to the current business takeover by Xiaomi.

As Meitu isn’t as successful when it comes to smartphone sales, the partnership with Xiaomi will lead to Xiaomi being in charge of the hardware business such as the R&D, production and sales of the brand while Meitu focuses on the camera software. This is in efforts to reach out to more female consumers by offering better camera in the future smartphones for better selfies and photography.

The business takeover did not require any spending from Xiaomi, but instead they offer to pay Meitu 10% of the gross profit gained from the Meitu smartphones for up to five years. After that period of time, Xiaomi is expected to start paying a fixed licensing fee of $10 million per year to Meitu.

The partnership sounds like a wise choice made by both companies, as it will allow both companies to reach out to wider market and maybe create smartphones that will excel in both performance and camera. Though nothing has been said on when the future phones of these two companies will be released, the selfie smartphones will probably be seen next year onwards.

meitu
selfie smartphones
xiaomi


This Xiaomi security camera can spy on other video feeds

294

UPDATE –
Xiaomi has released an official statement on the issue: “
Xiaomi has always prioritized our users’ privacy and information security. We are aware there was an issue of receiving stills while connecting Mi Home Security Camera Basic 1080p on Google Home hub. We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused to our users.

Our team has since acted immediately to solve the issue and it is now fixed. Upon investigation, we have found out the issue was caused by a cache update on December 26, 2019, which was designed to improve camera streaming quality. This has only happened in extremely rare conditions. In this case, it happened during the integration between Mi Home Security Camera Basic 1080p and the Google Home Hub with a display screen under poor network conditions.

We have also found 1044 users were with such integrations and only a few with extremely poor network conditions might be affected. This issue will not happen if the camera is linked to the Xiaomi’s Mi Home app.

Xiaomi has communicated and fixed this issue with Google, and has also suspended this service until the root cause has been completely solved, to ensure that such issues will not happen again”.

Smart home security cameras are supposed to make you feel safe, but not when your camera feed is accessible to others.

A Reddit user recently found a security bug when his Xiaomi Mijia security cameras showed feeds of other homes when he viewed them on his Google Nest Hub via voice command. These feeds are in black and white with distortions, but you can still see some of them quite clearly.

Android Authority
 then reached out to both Google and Xiaomi for clarifications, in which only the former has responded so far. A Google spokesperson said, “We’re aware of the issue and are in contact with Xiaomi to work on a fix. In the meantime, we’re disabling Xiaomi integrations on our devices.”

It is likely that the fault falls on Xiaomi’s end or Google wouldn’t have been so quick to disable the support for Xiaomi. Either way, Xiaomi better come up with a solid explanation or things might just blow up.

google
Google Nest Hub
xiaomi
Xiaomi Mijia


Xiaomi to set foot in Spain on November 7

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Although Xiaomi’s series of smartphones are arguably one of the most value for money products for smartphone consumers, availability still remains an issue. As many fans as the company has garnered worldwide, the availability of its handsets are pretty much only limited to a handful of regions so far. Xiaomi has no doubt been working hard to bring their devices to new regions, and Spain will be next.

Xiaomi’s Senior Vice President Wang Xiang has posted up a teaser on his Twitter account announcing the brand’s launch in Spain, which will happen via a launch event in Madrid on November 7. Spain marks Xiaomi’s first breakthrough in the Western European market, which has been dominated by Apple and Samsung thus far.

There hasn’t been mention of which Xiaomi smartphones or products will make their way to the Spanish market in conjunction with the launch one week from now. Chances are that Xiaomi’s major and more popular smartphones will see a Spanish debut, such as the Mi Note 3 and the Mi 6. Xiaomi’s Mi Home products, which rarely see the light outside China, will unlikely be sold in Spain.

One of Xiaomi’s major smartphone markets is South East Asia, which includes Malaysia. Which device do you hope to see being sold here in Malaysia?

launch
mi 6
mi note 3
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Xiaomi set to launch “new series” of selfie smartphones on November 2

293

2017 has so far been treating Xiaomi good, with the company announcing a bunch of still affordable but fairly impressive smartphones. Xiaomi does not intend to rest of its laurels, and has posted up a teaser for something that will be unveiled this November 2 in India. Could it be a series of smartphones?

Redmi India has posted the teaser on Twitter, stating that a brand new series will be coming our way, with a #YourBestSelfie hashtag, which might suggest a whole new line of upcoming handsets that are selfie centric. The logo in the teaser image is a giveaway though, largely hinting at a MIUI 9 launch as well.

India is probably Xiaomi’s most important market for its smartphones after China, which tells us that it is possible for the Chinese manufacturer to launch brand new smartphones in India instead of China. There hasn’t been rumors so far regarding a whole new series of Xiaomi handsets, but anything is possible in the world of technology.

Are you looking forward to Xiaomi’s new selfie smartphones? Or are you waiting for MIUI 9 software?

india
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Xiaomi showcases its own under-display camera technology

353

OPPO Vice President Brian Shen took to Twitter to post a video showcasing a prototype smartphone with an
under-display selfie camera
 yesterday. Rival Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has now revealed that it too is working on similar technology.

The video posted by Xiaomi on its social media pages shows the selfie camera on the prototype device stays completely hidden under the display panel. Xiaomi says this is made possible thanks to a patented method that involves making the display transparent without reflecting light even when the screen is completely black.

Do you want a sneak peek at the future? Here you go…introducing you to Under-Display Camera technology!
#Xiaomi

#InnovationForEveryone

pic.twitter.com/d2HL6FHkh1

— Xiaomi (@Xiaomi)
June 3, 2019

Xiaomi’s under-display camera technology will allow the company to equip its future smartphones with a 20MP resolution selfie camera with a 5P lens right under the OLED display panel. Needless to say, this approach will provide a much better viewing experience when compared to the punch-hole displays that we have seen so far. Once more companies come out with similar technology, we may finally be able to say goodbye to notches and punch-holes in smartphone displays.

The company hasn’t announced any details regarding exactly when it plans to launch a smartphone featuring the technology. It is possible that the under-display camera technology may be integrated into the Mi Mix 4, which is expected to be made official sometime in the fourth quarter of the year.

smartphones
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Xiaomi shows exactly how their in-screen selfie camera works

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You’ve heard of OPPO and Xiaomi’s upcoming phones with in-screen selfie cameras – they’re arguable one of the most exciting smartphone innovations this year, bringing with it a classy solution to the need for a truly bezeless display.

After showing off their new invention, Xiaomi – or more specifically senior vice-president Wang Xiang – has taken to Twitter to explain exactly how the in-screen selfie camera works, and it’s pretty cool.

Xiaomi’s Under-Display Camera Technology could be the ultimate solution for a Full Screen Display coexisting with a front camera! RT if you love it.
#InnovationForEveryone

pic.twitter.com/8e7EdEBn8J

— Wang Xiang (@XiangW_)
June 3, 2019

According to Wang Xiang, the top portion of the display – where the camera is – is layered with a low-reflective glass that has “high transmittance”,  that when activated allows the 20MP lens to take in as much light as possible for good image quality.

When not in use, the screen allows “light emitted from OLED” fills the gap to complete the image of the content you’re viewing – effectively concealing the camera.

Android Authority points out that with this new tech, it begs the question of image quality – the liken it to early generations of in-screen fingerprint scanners and their less-than-impressive reliability. Of course, the scanners are now better than ever, at least in time, in screen selfie cameras will get better and will be the standard for smartphones in the future.

android
in-screen camera
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Xiaomi is slowly breaking into the Korean market

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The smart device giant, Xiaomi is going to officially enter the South Korean market by launching their Korean language version of their homepage which they created at the end of May which introduces its flagship products and official sales channels in Korea.

There is also speculations that Xiaomi might set up a physical office in Seoul to make it easy to manage the Korean market directly from within. Initially, they sold their products last March through local distributors Nanjing Youmi Electronics Technology and Koma Trade. When asked what Samsung and LG’s opinion on Xiaomi’s entrance to their territory, they said that it would not be easy for Xiaomi to break into the market. An official at a local electronics company added that the company is popular among the younger audience but would not affect the market that is loyal to the local brands.

The official also said that looking at Huawei’s performance in Korea and Xiaomi being the second-largest Chinese electronic maker, they would face the same obstacles competing with Samsung and LG if they decide to launch there.

korea
lg
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Xiaomi releases software updates after being accused of invading user privacy

293

A recent
Forbes
 report has implied that Xiaomi has been invading user privacy and collecting their data. Xiaomi has now refuted that claim with its own statement.

In the report, Gabi Cirlig, a cybersecurity researcher discovered that his smartphone has been tracking his usage and the data collected was sent to remote servers and rented by Xiaomi. Despite being in an incognito mode, most of his websites and search engine queries were tracked.

The researcher also pointed out that Xiaomi’s claim that the data was encrypted during transfer is not as secure as one would think. He could decode information using an easy encoding method — converting encrypted data into readable information in a matter of seconds.

In a statement posted on May 2, Xiaomi said, “We feel they have misunderstood what we communicated regarding our data privacy principles and privacy.” The company continued by explaining how aggregated data is collected and that these data will still be collected even under incognito mode.

“Furthermore, this is a common solution adopted by internet companies around the world to improve the overall user experience of various products, while safeguarding user privacy and data security.”

Still, the amount of ‘invasion’ does give individuals a reason to be worried. After all, Cirlig discovered that even Xiaomi’s music player app is also collecting information on his listening habits in addition to collecting data of the phone that could specifically pinpoint to the phone itself and ultimately, its owner.

In an attempt to soften the blow, Xiaomi finally added software updates for the Mi Browser, the Mi Browser Pro and Mint Browser. These updates will allow all its users to switch off the aggregated data collection if they want to.

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Xiaomi patents a phone that charges via solar power

679

Slapping a solar panel on a smartphone to charge it sounds like something a bright-minded middle-school kid would conceive about – and that’s not a bad thing, I’d like to think that’s how cool things get created.

The folks at Xiaomi seem to be getting in touch with their young, overly-optimistic selves by patenting a device that charges using the power of the big ol’ sun.

Image credit: WIPO

The patents show that just below the double-camera system at the back is a sizeable solar panel – and we assume you’re supposed to plop your phone face down under light to charge it. We doubt it’s going to charge it very quickly like conventional method do, but we reckon this helps maintain your battery levels while you’re out and about so you won’t find a dead brick of a phone when you need it.

Plus, Android Authority says that this is part of Xiaomi’s eco-friendly-centric efforts – which makes sense since you use less power to charge your phone. There’s also a chance that we’ll see it come with reverse charging capabilities too.

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Xiaomi sold more than 10 million phones in a single month

385

The 10 million figure from the likes of Xiaomi isn’t very surprising, but the company has set a new record for itself. Xiaomi has made history once again, selling more than 10 million units of smartphones, all in a single month. Xiaomi’s CEO Lei Jun has previously revealed that the company has shipped a total of 23.16 million smartphones in Q2 2017, which makes this current record even more impressive.

Just last week, the Chinese manufacturer has boasted more than 1 million handsets sold in India via a huge sale held by local online retailers. This shows Xiaomi’s significant presence in Asian markets. Along with Xiaomi’s announcement on MIUI forums, it has also opened the 7th Mi Home store in India, to cater to the huge smartphone consumer market.

Xiaomi is also currently in discussion to dive in deeper into another potential market – our neighbors Indonesia. The company has recently unveiled the Mi Note 3 and the Mi MIX 2. It has also rebranded the Mi 5X for an Android One counterpart known as the Mi A1. Let’s hope that Xiaomi will continue to succeed.

10 million
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Xiaomi teases a new powerbank with USB Type-C port

381

Roughly half a year ago, Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi went to launch the Mi Powerbank Pro, claiming it to have faster charging speeds. The 10,000mAh Mi Powerbank Pro also sports a USB Type-C port instead of a micro USB port. Today, Xiaomi has uploaded a teaser on its Weibo page, which is said to be of a powerbank as well, to be unveiled on September 21 next week.

The teaser image, which has a figure “100” on it, hints at the different USB ports that the new powerbank will be featuring. The “1” resembles a USB 2.0 port, the first “0” a USB Type-C port and the second “0” a micro USB port. And below the “100” reads a Chinese idiom that is an equivalent of “killing two birds with one stone” in English. Based on what we’ve seen, we can expect a new Mi powerbank with the earlier mentioned ports, though we’re not sure whether the the powerbank can be charged via the micro USB and the Type-C port simultaneously.

When it comes to capacity, it is highly likely that the new Mi powerbank will be packing at least 10,000mAh, considering the fact that the Mi Powerbank Pro features the same capacity, and that the company already has 16,000mAh and 20,000mAh powerbanks. What do you think of the teaser so far?

Source:
GizmoChina

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Xiaomi teases a possbile Redmi Note 4 for tomorrow's launch

332

Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi has expanded its products to the western market, taking on dominant veterans such as Apple and Samsung with their affordable and value for money devices. The company has also managed to pull off an impressive performance in the Indian market, with the Redmi Note 3 being the highest shipped phone in the history of the country’s online market. The folks at Xiaomi aren’t planning to rest on their laurels just yet as the company will be launching a new Redmi handset tomorrow.

While we’re almost certain that Xiaomi will be unveiling the Redmi Note 4 tomorrow, we can’t guarantee for sure. But based on Xiaomi’s announcement on its MIUI forums, which include boasting sales figures of the Redmi Note 3, it’s highly likely that the Redmi Note 4 will be seeing the light of day tomorrow. Another speculation will be the Redmi 4, the Note’s smaller counterpart.

Rumors for the specs of the Redmi Note 4 so far tells us that the handset will be sporting a 5.5-inch display and a Mediatek Helio X20 processor, though the Malaysian variant might be sporting a Snapdragon chipset instead. The Redmi 4 on the other hand, is rumored to feature a 1080p diplay at 5 inches, plus a Snapdragon 625 processor with 2GB/3GB RAM variants. Are you using a Redmi or a Redmi Note? Let’s hope Xiaomi won’t disappoint us tomorrow.

Source:
MIUI Forums

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Xiaomi teases its upcoming Razer Phone competitor

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Xiaomi, one of China’s top smartphone makers is taking the competition to the next level. The company has been rumored to be making gaming smartphone, which has its launched date set for 13 April next week. Black Shark, a gaming giant which is working with Xiaomi on this handset has released a teaser, giving us a quick glimpse on what to expect next Friday.

Dubbed as a Razer Phone competitor according to the handful of rumors so far, what we do know is that the Black Shark smartphone is slated to pack the all powerful Snapdragon 845 processor with up to 8GB of RAM and 256GB of onboard storage. The display is said to be of 120 Hz refresh rate. Black Shark didn’t reveal much in the teaser. All that is seen is a semi silhouette of a smartphone with rounded corners and a power button on the right. It is likely that green will be the theme color of the phone, based on the teaser. The tagline in Chinese translates to “Born to Compete”.

Judging from Xiaomi’s long run of making affordable and budget handsets, it is safe to say that this gaming smartphone will be cheaper than the Razer Phone. Other rumors also point to a controller for the phone which will either be bundled or sold separately. Let’s see what Xiaomi and Black Shark has prepared for us next week!

black shark
gaming
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Xiaomi teases the launch of a new flagship device with dual-camera setup

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Xiaomi has just released a teaser on their Twitter account that seems to point to a release of a new flagship phone with a dual-camera setup. Speculations are going around which mentions that it could be the launch of the Mi 5X handset or it could be the launch of the highly-anticipated Mi Mix 2 phone.

On the tweet, they posted a picture with two circles which are similar to a dual-camera setup with the hashtags #FlagshipDualCamera and #XiaomiGlobalLaunch and a September 5 launch date. This could be pointing to the Mi 5X phone that was only launched in China which spots dual-camera on the rear. Taking a closer look at the image posted, it shows that one of the circles are bigger than the other, indicating that one of the lenses will have a smaller aperture than the other which even more solidifies the assumption that it is the Mi 5X.

RT if you know which product we will launch!
#FlagshipDualCamera

Save the date: 5 September, 2017
#XiaomiGlobalLaunch

pic.twitter.com/o4yjHebpbe

— Xiaomi (@Xiaomi)
August 28, 2017

We will just have to wait for the 5th to come around before we actually know which flagship are they launching. The Mi 5X retails in China for about CNY 1,499 (RM963.17) which is a very decent price for it to be considered a flagship.

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Xiaomi teases launch of Redmi Note 9S set for this March 23 – possibly an affordable entry to the new Redmi Note 9 series

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Xiaomi has been on red-hot fire so far this year, with launches of impressive products like the Mi 10 series and the Redmi Note 9 series.

The latter competes in the mid-range department and has two horses in the race – the Note 9 Pro and the Note 9 Pro Max. What was seemingly left out of the launch was possibly a more affordable version of the Note 9, the Note 9S, as Xiaomi later announced the
gazetted
 launch date of the smartphone.
 We say possibly because the ‘S’ moniker could really mean anything, but considering the main variants were the ‘Pro’ and ‘Pro Max’ we doubt the Note 9S could be a level ahead.

The company took to social media to tease the product’s official poster boasting what looks to be a square camera module housing four lenses. The Note 9 Pro Max has a 64MP main lens, while the Note 9 Pro has a 48MP shooter – so it’s unlikely for the Note 9S to sport a camera that has a lower resolution than 48MP.

The bigger two variants come equipped with a Snapdragon 720G chipset – so being the more affordable variant, we could possibly see the Note 9S come with a Snapdragon 600-series chip instead.

Plus, since it’s a Note device, we can expect it to have a large display as well – maybe not the 6.67-inch FHD+ panel we get with the main entries, but maybe something smaller. ‘

It’s not long now until the phone is officially launched in the country – we’ll keep you updated on the latest updates on Xiaomi Redmi’s latest offering.

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Xiaomi teases Mi A2 arrival by end of this month

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It is going to be an exciting quarter, as Xiaomi has teased over Twitter that the successor to its popular Mi A1 will be announced soon. Like the Mi A1, the Mi A2 is still likely based on the popular Mi 6X that was announced last month in China, which comes with a Snapdragon 660 processor supported by either 4GB or 6GB RAM, 64GB or 128GB of storage.

Are you a big fan of
#MiA1
? You will love this…
#Xiaomi

#AndroidOne

#2isbetterthan1

pic.twitter.com/aLlfothn9g

— Mi (@xiaomi)
July 16, 2018

The Mi A2 will sport the same dual 12MP+20MP camera setup as the Mi 6X, which is now an upgraded sensor from the Mi A1 with both sensors featuring a f/1.8 aperture. Instead of running MIUI, the Mi A2 will run Android One, which we have come to love when reviewing the Mi A1 back then, it will come with regular security updates directly from Google and eventually get two years of major Android software updates.

Previously, the Mi A1 launched at a rather attractive price tag of RM1,099, and we should expect Mi A2 arrive at a slightly higher price tag with its upgraded internals, but let’s just wait patiently for Xiaomi to announce the device throughout the end of July, it sure is an exciting month ahead.

mi 6x
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Xiaomi teases the Mi Max in series of video ahead of launch

281

Xiaomi has uploaded a trio of short videos, showcasing and exposing the Xiaomi Max in full. While the videos seem like they’re plainly flaunting the looks of the device instead of promoting any of its specific specs, it’s probably a waste of time watching it, though they only total up to less than three minutes. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered, really.

The series of videos are in Chinese as expected, with everyone dressed in traditional Chinese costumes. But the main character is definitely the Xiaomi Max itself, and from the looks of it, the handset is definitely more than worthy to be called a phablet in 2016. Based on the videos, the phablet seems to sport a pretty slim profile for its size.

We’ll definitely be looking at a colossal 6.4-inch display of Full HD resolution. Underneath the hood lie specs which are of the mid-range spectrum. The Xiaomi Max, according to a recent TENAA listing, will feature a Snapdragon 650 processor with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of expandable storage via micro SD. In typical Xiaomi fashion, we’ll be expecting the Xiaomi Max to remain exclusive to the Chinese market before heading to Malaysian shores. Nevertheless, Xiaomi will be launching the phablet later today so stay tuned!

Source:
 Xiaomi (YouTube)

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Xiaomi to introduce a Hatsune Miku-themed version of the Redmi Note 4X

314

With Xiaomi looking to
launch the Redmi Note 4X
 on next week,  Xiaomi has been teasing its fans that the Redmi Note 4X will be accompanies by “an unexpected idol”. Today, the MIUI forums have finally come clean and it appears that the Redmi Note 4X will have a special Hatsune Miku-themed model as well.

Officially dubbed the Redmi Note 4X Hatsune Miku Special Edition, this particular model of the phone will sport Hatsune Miku’s iconic teal colour scheme. In addition to that, all phones that are part of the special edition will come with a unique code found at the back of the phone. On top of the device, those who purchase this phone will also net themselves a Mi Power Bank and a soft protective case, both of which are themed after Hatsune Miku as well.

Xiaomi did not reveal the actual specifications of the device yet, but rumours are going around that the device will sport an octa-core CPU, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of storage and a 4,100mAh battery. The device will be available in China on the same day the standard Redmi Note 4X goes on sale.

Source:
PocketNow
,
MIUI Forums

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Xiaomi to launch Mi MIX 3 with 10GB RAM on October 25th

347

We have seen leaked images of Xiaomi’s next full screen flagship a few months ago, and it seems that everything we have seen is about to come to live on October 25th. Xiaomi has officially teased the launch of the Mi MIX 3 on its official Facebook page, it shows the Mi MIX 3’s motorised camera module that was inspired from the OPPO Find X, along with a message of teasing the phone to come with a whooping 10GB of RAM.

The unveiling of the Mi MIX 3 is surprisingly fast, considering that we have only seen the Mi MIX 2 four months ago. The Mi MIX 3 is also teased to be the first phone to commercially support 5G networks in our previous report as shown by Xiaomi’s Donovan Sung, while we are sure this might change during the launch, one thing we are sure is that the phone will come with top notch hardware specs, such as a Snapdragon 845 AIE processor, better display and cameras.

Now that we have pretty much every year end flagships in place, can the Mi MIX 3 steal the spotlight from the recent flagship launches? All details will be unveiled in time to come, and we definitely look forward to what Xiaomi has in store for us on October 25th.

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Xiaomi to launch new product at CES 2017 debut

385

CES 2017 (Consumer Electronics Show) is just a little over a month from now, and many tech fans worldwide will be expecting a fresh new line of products from the sea of companies that will be showcasing their stuff at Las Vegas next year. The highly anticipated annual event will be having the presence of Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi this coming January 5th.

Xiaomi has managed to wow fans and tech experts worldwide with the launch and release of its concept smartphone, the Xiaomi Mi MIX, a spec-ed out 6.4-inch phablet which sports an attractive design plus an edgeless display. According to a press release by Xiaomi, the company will be announcing a new product which will show how it is “pushing the boundaries of innovation”. In the same press release, Xiaomi claims to believe in the philosophy whereby high quality products with cutting edge technology should be made widely accesible.

While Xiaomi hasn’t begun expanding to the west end of the world in the US, the company has plans to do so and is already in the midst of conducting the required tests before pushing its devices on an official basis to the US. With a CES debut, chances are that we will be seeing a US expansion pretty soon. Nevertheless, there are little to know clues as to what will the company be showcasing during the convention. Rumors have emerged regarding a Mi MIX Nano, a compact version of the Mi MIX itself,  but we can’t be certain for sure. Are you excited for CES 2017?

Source:
CES

2017
ces
debut
mi
mix
phone
product
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Xiaomi to launch the Mi Note in Malaysia on its July 22nd event

342

We got an email titled “The wait for Xiaomi’s new product ends on July 22” and it is obviously one ultimate product that Mi Fans have been waiting for – the Xiaomi Mi Note, the true that everyone have been waiting for after seeing a number of mid-range devices this year.

Even though Xiaomi did not specifically mention the device, the EDM sent is already predictable as the background features a 2.5D curved glass backplate found on the Mi Note, in this
case

we could expect Mi Malaysia to bring in the standard variant Mi Note that comes with a Snapdragon 801 SoC with 3GB RAM. One of the key improvements that the Mi Note brings is its 13-megapixel optical image stabilization main camera and support for HiFi audio, it also has a bigger 5.7-inch display with a Full HD display.

If our guesses for next week is correct, Xiaomi should bring in the 16GB model of the Mi Note instead of the higher 64GB model, since the company sees lesser demand for higher storage demands on smartphones when we last spoke to them, but at the same time, we did rant to them about how 64GB is becoming a really common storage option for most users here, let’s hope Mi Malaysia listens and offer a higher storage capacity model of the phone here. Of course, we could also do with some Mi Note Pro teaser next week.

launch
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Xiaomi to launch the Redmi Note 4X on Valentine's Day

259

Are you a fan of what Xiaomi has to offer? If you are, you might want to mark 14th of February down on your calendar as that will be the day that Xiaomi launches the Redmi Note 4X in China.

Details of the launch was first revealed on China’s social media service Weibo with an image accompanying the announcement. That being said, Xiaomi has yet to reveal the actual phone itself and the company is unlikely to do so until the launch.

In the meantime, what we do know about the Redmi Note 4X is its specifications. The smartphone is expected to be powered by a MediaTek Helio X20 processor, up to 4GB of RAM, and up to 64GB of internal storage. Additionally, the Redmi Note 4X will come with a 13MP rear camera, a 5MP front camera, a 5.5″ screen, a fingerprint sensor located at the back of the smartphone and a 4,100mAh battery.

Source:
GSMArena

china
launch
mediatek
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Xiaomi to remove Mi brand from its smartphones

612

Xiaomi has been using the Mi brand for many of its devices for a decade, but the company has announced that it’ll be ditching the branding.

Xiaomi removed Mi brand, starting with the Mi MIX 4

For example, the Xiaomi Mi MIX 4 is now known as
Xiaomi MIX 4
. A Xiaomi representative told XDA Developers that that will be the branding format moving forward. We’ll likely see the upcoming
Mi 11T series
 in a new name format — the Xiaomi 11T and 11T Pro.

This is similar to Apple’s unique way of naming its devices – the iPhone X, iPhone XR, iPhone 11, etcetera. Perhaps the strategy is implemented in hopes that consumers will relate products with the company name itself instead of just the ‘Mi’ brand.

Will other products in the ecosystem be affected?

That being said, other sub-brands like Redmi and POCO will still remain as they are. As for other non-smartphone products, we still can’t confirm if Xiaomi will also ditch the ‘Mi’ brand.

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xiaomi


Xiaomi to start selling Mi Air Purifier as first smart home product in India

303

If we were to talk about a big population and a place as polluted as China, India could very well be the next country, a couple of months back Xiaomi introduced its Mi Air Purifier, a connected air purifier that lets you freshen up your room with 10000 liters of fresh air per minute and India customers will be happy to know Xiaomi will be selling the product in their country, India is the first country out of China that Xiaomi starts selling its smart home products.

India is one of Xiaomi’s main focus in its expansion plans, with global VP Hugo Barra spearheading the team, the company has set up its office and RnD center over at India, its smartphones are already giving competitors such as Spice, Micromax and Karbonn a good run for their money with its rich ecosystem, the entry of Xiaomi’s smart home product will eventually set a difference from other smartphone makers and shall we say – India folks do really need an affordable and good air purifier.

In other ways, Xiaomi’s Hugo Barra says that the company is continuously looking for strategic partners and great individuals to help design ground breaking products for the company, Xiaomi has also been reportedly been in talks with a few local Indian companies in manufacturing their products on November last year, which is in attempt to increase its production to support the demand of Indian customers. Release dates and pricing of the Mi Air Purifier are not mentioned in the report however we should be seeing the product popping up soon in Mi India’s website.


Xiaomi to strengthen presence and expansion in India despite patent issues

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In a recent interview, Xiaomi’s president Bin Lin has mentioned that despite of facing patent legal issues in India, the company will continue to strengthen and sell its products in India, in which the company already has plans in setting up almost 100 experience stores across India to sell its products and making it a mainstream brand.

With the recent ongoing Ericsson lawsuit, Xiaomi has took down patent infringing products and had been in discussions on how they are able to resolve this issue. Bin also mentions that patent lawsuits do happen in whichever places you sell smartphones and they are not giving up the Indian market easily despite of such challenges, we also reported back then that the company even has plans to set up a local factory to manufacturer Mi Smart Home products, which was part of the company’s expansion roadmap.

India has been a strong focus for Xiaomi due to its huge amount of population and talents that the company could salvage to further improve the company’s product line up, the company’s popular Redmi smartphones have also give local Indian players such as Micromax, Spice and Karbonn a good run for their money due to its powerful hardware internals and affordable price tag. Till then, our best wishes are with Xiaomi.


Xiaomi tops 2015 Chinese smartphone market

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In the midst of Chinese OEM monopoly in 2015, Huawei has seemingly triumphed over Xiaomi, being the third in number of smartphone units sold worldwide, compared to Xiaomi at fifth place. However, on homeground, Xiaomi still remains king in the Chinese smartphone market.

While it may turn out to be good news for Xiaomi, the Chinese OEM has faced some criticism over its failure to reach its 2015 target of 80 million smartphones, with Huawei surpassing the 100 million mark, placing itself in the elite group alongside Samsung and Apple.

According to Canalys, China’s smartphone market has only grown by 2% in 2015, mainly due to market saturation. Nicole Peng, an analyst from Canalys said that the sale of Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 3 smartphones had helped boost its sales in Q4. The affordable feature rich device which packs a fingerprint sensor, proved to be competitive in China’s year end sales period.

Many other Chinese OEM’s will be giving Xiaomi a tough fight, attempting to dethrone the king of 2015 from China’s top spot. Huawei is tipped to topple Xiaomi, producing a number of premium devices under its belt lately. Vivo, another Chinese OEM, is also expected to rise up this year.

Xiaomi’s market share in 2015 was 15.2%, followed by Huawei at 14.2% and Apple at 12.5%. Which side are you leaning on? Xiaomi or Huawei? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!

Source:
Wall Street Journal

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Xiaomi trolls the Huawei P30 by doubting its necessity

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Its common for a brand to troll competitors, let alone comparing products apple-to-apple. Xiaomi has just done that after the announcement of Huawei’s P30 retail price, as it has posted a screenshot of the launch on its official Facebook page and asking fans bluntly if it was necessary.

Unfortunately, the post has received a number of backlash from its fans, including comments such as not releasing the Redmi Note 7 Pro globally, while most of it being criticizing the company for being rude for posting that statement on its official social media and how inefficient the brand is bringing its phones to the market.

While Huawei’s P30 series does sport a very familiar face to Xiaomi’s flagship Mi 9, which we assume the reason why the latter is reacting to its competition this way, the P30 and Mi 9 are ultimately two different devices targeted at different segment of consumers, and to some it seems unfair that Xiaomi is merely taking on the P30 without anything to prove to its fans.

You can join in the discussion on the embedded post above, at this time of writing it has already received more than 3000 reactions and over 472 shares.

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Xiaomi True Wireless Earphones 3 Pro launched: 40dB noise cancellation and LHDC 4.0

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Alongside the
Xiaomi Civi
came the Xiaomi True Wireless Earphones 3 Pro – the brand’s
newest

noise-cancelling, long-battery life earbuds.

The device looks a lot like the Apple AirPods Pro – it’s got the same ‘Peashooter’-shaped earbuds that are housed in a clamshell case. The earbuds also use silicone eartips and come in three colours – white, black, and green.

In terms of features, you get HiFi-level codec, 360-degree spacial audio, adaptive noise reduction up to 40dB, spatial audio, LHDC 4.0, ambient mode, voice-enhancement mode, and more.

Xiaomi claims that you get up to 6 hours of use time with ANC off, or up to 27 hours of battery life with the charging case.

The True Wireless Earphones 3 Pro is priced from CNY699 (about RM452) which isn’t all that pricier than the recently launched
Xiaomi Buds 3 Pro
.  There’s no word yet on when the earbuds will arrive in Malaysia, but we’ll be sure to keep you posted on our website.

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Xiaomi unleashes the Redmi K60 series flagship phones

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The excitement of new flagship phones continues to arrive before the start of a new year, as Xiaomi has took to the stage in China to unveil the Redmi K60 series smartphones, just weeks after the unveiling of the Xiaomi 13 series.

Unlike their numbered series, the Redmi K series are more angled towards gamers and younger audiences, which will arrive at international markets with the POCO sub brand though with slightly different design and configurations. The Redmi K60 series comprise of the Redmi K60 Pro, K60 and the more accessible K60E.

Redmi K60 Pro

Starting at just CNY3299 (RM2,100), the Redmi K60 Pro is powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor that we just experienced on the iQOO 11, it features a 6.67-inch 1440p OLED display that refreshes at 120Hz and offers a peak brighness of 1400nits, the phone comes equipped with either 8GB or 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and has up to 512GB of storage, it has a 5000mAh battery with 120W fast wired charging and 30W fast wireless charging support.

In terms of cameras, it has a triple camera system that comprises of a 50MP Sony IMX800 main sensor with OIS, 8MP ultrawide and 2MP macro sensor, which explains the cheaper price point compared to the Xiaomi 13 Pro, while it has a 16MP camera residing in the punch hole cutout of its display/

What will really attract buyers would be the phone’s color options, as the Redmi K60 Pro features a Kevlar Black case and a special Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team edition (yay as a Malaysian!), and the highest storage configuration model tops out at a relatively affordable price of CNY4599 (RM2920).

Redmi K60

As for the Redmi K60, it resembles the Pro model in terms of design, but what you get under the hood is a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, which is still a rather powerful device for today’s standards, you even get the same storage configuration with the top model having 16GB RAM and 512GB of storage.

The triple camera system of the Redmi K60 has its main camera swapped to a 64MP OIS sensor assisted by the Pro’s 8MP ultrawide and 2MP macro sensor. Interestingly, it has a larger battery size at 5500mAh albeit having a slower wired charging at 67W, while fast wireless charging remains at 30W.

The Redmi K60 starts at CNY2499 (RM1590) for the base 8GB+128GB storage model, while the top 16GB+512GB storage configuration retails at CNY3599 (RM2290), it is probably the best value device among the trio for what you are paying.

Redmi K60E

Although customers may not be able to feel the wrath of Snapdragons, the Redmi K60E is still powered by a very capable Mediatek Dimensity 8200 processor, which we have previously tested on the Realme GT Neo 3 and has blown us away when it comes to gaming performance and power efficiency, the phone has a 6.67-inch 120Hz OLED display that has a slightly lower peak brightness at 1200nits, which to be honest isn’t going to be a day and night difference.

The K60E will have a similar battery and charging configuration as the Redmi K60, while the triple camera system once again swaps out the main sensor to a lower 48MP sensor without OIS, but interestingly, the front camera gets a resolution bump from the other two to 20MP.

The Redmi K60E will start at CNY2199 (RM1400) for the 8GB+128GB model, its top storage configuration of 12GB+512GB will retail at CNY2799 (RM1780).

Overall, the Redmi K series have never ceased to surprise when it comes to cost to performance value, and we definitely can’t wait to see what Xiaomi intends to bring to the international market under the POCO brand.

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Xiaomi unleashes the Redmi Note 12 series in Malaysia

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Xiaomi’s Redmi Note series have always been the undisputed champ in the mid-range phone category, and the company has introduced the Redmi Note 12, Redmi Note 12 5G and the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G to the Malaysian market today.

Starting with the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G, it features a powerful 200MP camera with optical image stabilization as its main shooter, which is absolutely bizarre as this would only have been possible on more expensive flagships, it is supported by an 8-megapixel ultrawide and 2MP macro camera, while the main camera is capable of taking 4K videos at 30 FPS.

Powered by a Mediatek Dimensity 1080 chipset mated to 8GB RAM and 256GB of storage, it has a 6.67-inch AMOLED display that refreshes at 120Hz and supports Dolby Vision HDR, dual stereo speakers that supports Dolby Atmos sound enhancement, and a 5000mAh battery that supports 120W HyperCharge fast charging, which is the first Redmi Note series to achieve that.

The Redmi Note 12 on the other hand comes with two different hardware specifications for the 4G and 5G model, which Xiaomi has employed the Snapdragon 685 chipset for the 4G model and Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 chipset for the 5G model. As for storage, both Redmi Note 12 variants will come with up to 8GB RAM and 256GB of storage.

Both phones feature 6.67-inch panels that refreshes at 120Hz, though they don’t support Dolby Vision HDR like the Pro+, they also feature a single mono loudspeaker instead of dual stereo speakers. In terms of cameras, the Redmi Note 12 employs a 48MP main camera and is assisted by a 8MP ultrawide and 2MP macro camera. The phone is juiced by a 5000mAh battery but supports a slower but still decent 33W charging wattage.

The Redmi Note 12 series will be available for pre-order starting from April 6 to 13, the Redmi Note 12 4G and 5G retails for RM799 and RM1,099 respectively, while the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G retails for RM1,599.

An online exclusive of the Redmi Note 12 with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage retails for RM699, which can be purchased from Xiaomi’s official Lazada and Shopee store for a lower price of RM659 during the pre-order period.

Pre-order customers will receive a free Redmi Smart Band 2 with any Redmi Note 12 series purchase while stocks last, general availability of these phones will be made on April 14 onwards, while customers who purchase the phone after this date will receive a free Redmi Buds 4 Lite.

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Xiaomi has unveiled the Mi 5X that comes with the same camera as the Mi 6

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Xiaomi just had a live stream of their new and improved Mi 5 phone called the Xiaomi Mi 5X. The live stream is currently being broadcast in Chinese, so for those of you that don’t understand the language (my self-included), this article will give you a more compressed information on the specs and details of the phone.

The screen that the phone is equipped with is a IPS LCD 5.5-inch FHD screen, powering it will be the Snapdragon 625 processor, 64GB expandable to 128GB via a microSD card, 4GB RAM, 3080mAh battery Android 7.1.1 out-of-the-box and it will be running on the new MIUI 9. Something very interesting about the camera is that it will be using the same camera seen on the MI 6 however, it will not have OIS although it is available in the Mi 6. Xiaomi also boasts a powerful audio amplifier that is capable of producing 600 Ohms of power, giving you a better and louder sound.

If you did not know already, the camera on the Mi 6 is a great camera, so if you are looking to get the phone mainly for the camera, you could save a bit by just getting the Mi 5X which will cost you 1499 Yuan (~RM950). The phone will come in three colours, Black, Gold, and Rose Gold and will be available on 1 August 2017 in China and the rest of the world at a later date.

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Xiaomi unveiled their first gaming mechanical keyboard

363

Xiaomi is known for releasing unique and interesting products aside from the usual smartphones. With the release of the BlackShark phone, it is their first step into the gaming market and now it would appear that they have a mechanical keyboard to add to their portfolio.

The company is not new to the gaming peripheral market, as they have two Mi Gaming Mouse and two Mi Mouse Pads. The mechanical keyboard comes with a custom game axis, 104-key design, RGB backlighting and is made out of Aluminium. The actuation force of the keys are 3mm and it supports a return rate of 1000Hz. It supports 33 n-key rollover and Xiaomi has said that the button arrangement has been specially designed to support the different finger angles. The RGB lighting can be customized with different effects, allowing users to select light effects like wave, chase and breathe.

The keyboard comes with two-colour keycaps, one made of PBT and the other PC. The keyboard is currently only available in China through their official store or their Youpin crowdfunding platform for 229 CNY (RM136.50)

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Xiaomi unveils the long awaited and gorgeous looking Mi Mix 2

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Even if the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 was leaked just today, the launch of the phone was met with huge excitement as people got to finally see what the Chinese phone manufacturers take on a full display phone that everyone seems to be intrigued with these days. So with that, let’s take a look at what was seen during the launch.

They launched the new Notebook Pro, and the Note 3, but the main star of the show is, of course, the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2, which comes with a beautiful 5.99-inch 18:9 display ratio which looks really gorgeous. Powering it is a Snapdragon 835, 6GB of RAM, 64GB of internal storage and a 3400mAh battery. Thankfully, they remove the vibration mechanism to hear your calls and replaced it with a slit at the very top of the phone where the sound of your voice call will come out from. The microphones on the phone have also been improved, with dual-audio recording mics, this will help the phone to pick up sounds and voices at a much further distance. The price of the Mi Mix 2 will be 3299RMB, there is also a ceramic version of the phone that comes with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage which will cost 4699RMB, colours available are white and black.

If you want to know more about the other products that they announced, you can check out our news section for more details on the Notebook Pro and the Mi note 3.

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Xiaomi officially unveils quad-waterfall display concept smartphone

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It would have seemed that ever since Xiaomi released their Mi Mix Alpha smartphone, with its wraparound display last year, the Chinese giants have put a pin attempting the audacious.

Interestingly, that is not at all the case –
Xiaomi
 took to their official
YouTube
 channel to unveil their bold plan, a quad-curved waterfall display. If you’ve heard of this idea before, that’s because
OPPO
 patented a similar design back in 2019!

A patent is only mark-up drawings after all, but Xiaomi seems to have a more complete image of what their rendition will look like. As we can see from the video, the phone does not appear to have any side buttons, and no ports as well.

This is very reminiscent of the
vivo APEX
 concept phone which also had extreme curved edges, and side buttons were replaced by haptic touch sensors. vivo also cleverly made sure to add grooves to the controls so users can still feel where their volume rockers and power buttons are.

According to reports, Xiaomi has a prototype ready, but it’s not an actually consumer-ready device…yet.

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Xiaomi unveils the bigger Mi 5s Plus

346

Besides the Mi 5S, Xiaomi also has a bigger variant of the phone around. Ladies and gentlemen, meet the Mi 5S Plus.

As the naming convention implies, the Mi 5S Plus is the bigger and better version of the Mi 5S. The phone itself sports a 5.7″ display that appears to be similar to the one found on the Mi 5S. However, unlike the Mi 5S, the Mi 5S Plus does not come with an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, opting instead for a much more traditional rear fingerprint sensor instead.

For specifications, the Mi 5s Plus comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor, either 4GB or 6GB of LPDDR4 RAM, either 64GB or 128GB of UFS 2.0 storage, and a 3,800 mAh battery.

The camera is where the Mi 5S Plus excels at, with the phone sporting a 13MP dual-camera setup. According to Xiaomi, the Mi 5S Plus’ camera system consists of a RGB sensor as well as a monochrome sensor. Both sensors working in tandem results in high quality pictures with minimal noise.

Much like the Mi 5S, the Mi 5S Plus will come in two variants. The 4GB-64GB variant will retail for CNY2,299 (RM1,421), while the 6GB-128GB variant will go for CNY2,599 (RM1,606). Both the Mi 5S and the Mi 5S Plus will be available in China on the 29th of September.

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Xiaomi unveils the Hey+ fitness band, comes with an AMOLED screen

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The Mi Band 3 is the latest fitness band from Xiaomi and it comes with improved features as well as a bigger screen that offers more information at a glance. But it looks like that’s not the only smart band they are releasing.

The Xiaomi Hey+ has recently been announced on their crowdfunding site, Youpin which has already reached its funding goal. Coming in at only 229 Yuan  (RM136.20) and comes with a larger 0.95-inch display with a display resolution of 240 x 120. It is using an AMOLED display and comes with NFC support and is able to record your step count, calorie burns, sleep and other exercises as well. There is no word on an international release but the company is launching the Mi Band 3 here in Malaysia very soon.

If you can’t wait for the release of the Mi Band 3, you can purchase the band from e-commerce sites like Lazada and 11street. However, it does not come with Xiaomi Malaysia’s warranty so you might have to take extra care of it.

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Xiaomi unveils the Mi 5 at MWC 2016

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For Xiaomi’s debut at MWC 2016, the Chinese tech manufacturer has decided to reveal the company’s flagship for the year, the Mi 5.

Xiaomi’s latest flagship will feature a 5.15″ 1920 x 1080 Full HD panel. Taking a page out of the Mi Note, the Mi 5 has a ceramic glass back that is curved on both sides. Interestingly, the Mi 5 has integrated a fingerprint sensor into the home button, much like Samsung’s own S6/Note 5 smartphones.

For performance, the Xiaomi Mi 5 will be using the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820, the processor of choice for flagship-level smartphones of the year. For memory, the Mi 5 will have up to 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM as well as up to 128GB of built-in UFS 2.0 storage.

The camera on the Mi 5 isn’t too shabby either as the phone has a 16MP rear camera with a Sony IMX298 sensor. This gives the Mi 5’s rear camera phase detection autofocus ability as well as a four-axis optical image stabilisation. As for the Mi 5’s front camera, the phone will be using a 4MP, 2 micron large pixel camera, which is the exact same front camera that Xiaomi used for its Mi Note.

Quick charging technology will also be available on the Mi 5 as the phone supports Quick Charge 3.0, allowing the phone to be charged to 80% to 90% capacity in just an hour. As for the OS, the Mi 5 will run on Android 6.0 Marshmallow with the company’s own MIUI 7 skin. Other features on the Mi 5 includes LTE connectivity and NFC.

Three variants of the Mi 5 will be offered when the device is finally released. The standard Mi 5 variant, with 32GB of storage and 3GB of RAM, will retail for RMB1,999 (RM1,292). The 64GB variant will come with 64GB of storage and 3GB of RAM and will retail for RMB2,299 (RM1,487). Lastly, the Mi 5 Pro variant will come with 128GB of storage and 4GB of RAM. This particular variant will retail for RMB2,699 (RM1,745). The Mi 5 will be launching in China on the 1st of March. For regions outside of China, release dates for the Mi 5 will be announced at a later date.

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Xiaomi unveils the Mi A2 and Mi A2 Lite, the next generation of stock Android Mi phones

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Xiaomi has unveiled the successor to last year’s Mi A1 phone simply calling it the Mi A2. The phone line up that comes with a pure stock Android experience which is backed by Google’s Android One program. They also introduced a lite version of the Mi A2 called the Mi A2 Lite.

Following the current design of their other phones, the Mi A2 comes with an aluminium unibody design with a curve back. Finally, the front phone is covered with a 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 5 for the added protection and keeping the phone scratch free for a long time.

With the MI A2, they put a huge focus in the cameras. The back houses a 20MP+12MP sensor with a f/1.75 aperture. They also designed a 4-in-1 sensor technology which allows for better low light capture and reducing noise. The phone will also decide which lens to use based on the lighting of the shot, allowing you to have a worry-free photo taking experience. The front houses a single 20MP sensor that is the same as the back camera with the addition of AI Portrait Selfies. There are two elements to this feature, the AI Segmentation and AI Bokeh. AI Segmentation will allow the phone to understand the foreground and background while the AI Bokeh will adjust the blur based on the information from the AI Segmentation.

The Mi A2 comes with very decent mid-range specs like the Snapdragon 660, 4GB of RAM and 32GB or 64GB of storage or 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage depending on the variant. The 4GB RAM 32GB storage will cost 249 Euro, 4GB RAM 64GB storage cost 279 Euros and the 6GB RAM and 128GB storage variant will cost 349 Euro and comes in Black, Blue and Gold colours.

They also showed the Mi A2 Lite which is a toned down version from the Mi A2 specs. It comes with a Snapdragon 625 processor, 3GB of RAM alongside 32GB of storage or 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. The back houses a 5MP+12MP sensors that have all the features seen in the Mi A2. Powering the device is a 4,000mAh battery which Xiaomi has claimed can last for 2 days.

The phone comes in three colours of Black, Blue and Gold and will retail for 179 Euro for the 3GB RAM and 32GB storage while the 4GB RAM and 64GB storage will retail for 229 Euro.

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Xiaomi unveils the Mi MIX 2S, comes with AI powered cameras that scored 97 on DxOMark

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Xiaomi had a press conference in China today to unveil their updated Mi MIX 2 with the Mi MIX 2S, a phone that comes with a huge screen to body ratio and at the same time offers a beautiful piece of hardware compared to anything they have released.

The Mi MIX 2S is slightly smaller and lighter than its predecessor and the bottom bezel, which still houses the front camera, has reduced in size and the earpiece is in the same location as the Mi MIX 2. The front and back of the phone are covered in glass and there is an aluminium frame along the sides of the phone. The phone comes equipped with a 5.99-inch IPS LCD Full-Screen display which supports FHD+ resolutions.

The Mi MIX 2S comes equipped with a Snapdragon 845 processor and powering the device is a 3,400mAh battery which supports QuickCharge 3.0. The phone will come in three variants, 6GB RAM/64GB storage, 6GB RAM/128GB storage, and the last one which they are calling the King Version, comes with 8GB RAM/256GB storage. All the variants will come with a microSD card slot and will be running on Android 8.0 alongside MIUI 9.5. Other than that, it also comes with Xiao AI voice assistant and support for Google ARCore.

The MI MIX 2S comes with a dual-camera on the rear with a 12MP+12MP setup with the telephoto lens having support for optical zoom. It also comes with AI features like the ability to detect up to 206 scenes and support for real-time language translation and currency. The rear cameras managed to score an impressive 101 on DxOMark’s benchmarks but its overall score put it at 97, which is along the lines of the iPhone X and Huawei Mate 10 Pro.

The Mi MIX 2S comes with a starting price of 3,299Yuan up to 3,999Yuan for the King Version. All the 6GB variants come in black colour while the special edition model has a white ceramic body.

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Xiaomi unveils the Mi Note Pro with Snapdragon 810 SoC and 4GB RAM

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A couple of months back, Xiaomi announced the Mi Note Pro which wasn’t available at that time and the phone has just gotten official, the phone’s hardware internals are confirmed with the following – a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 SoC, 4GB LPDDR4 RAM and a 5.7-inch QHD (2560×1440) IPS Display with 2.5D Glass.

If you are worried with the overheating issue of the Snapdragon 810, fret not as Xiaomi has claimed to solve that issue despite having a slim body profile at 6.95 mm thin, the company uses double layered graphite cooling fins in the phone to dissipate heat of the device. The phone does get warm when under heavy load however with Xiaomi’s patented cooling technology the Mi Note Pro will have its temperature reduced within a few minutes.

In the keynote, Xiaomi presented benchmark results from CFBench and Antutu and reveals that the Mi Note Pro outperforms both the
HTC One
 M9 and the LG G Flex 2, which both have Snapdragon 810 SoCs and the Mi Note Pro gets the performance advantage thanks to its 4GB RAM. The Mi Note Pro is certainly an exciting device as this is the first Snapdragon 810 powered smartphone with the most amount of RAM similar to the ASUS ZenFone 2, which will be launched this weekend. Is the Mi Note Pro as powerful as the company claims in the real world? We shall find out once Mi Malaysia passes us the device.


Xiaomi ups the ante with 100W charger that powers your phone in 17 minutes

329

It’s been a quiet year so far for Chinese tech giants Xiaomi – they’ve released their Mi 9 flagship, refreshed the Mi Mix 3 with 5G support, and while their sub-brand Redmi had also released the Note 7 smartphone. Competitors OPPO, Vivo and Huawei are currently ahead with their 2019 offerings and innovations, so Xiaomi is currently playing catch up.

In doing so, Xiaomi has turned heads by showcasing their Super Charge Turbo tech that puts out a whopping 100W of power. According to Xiaomi, the charger can completely charge a 4,000mAh battery in just 17 minutes.

To put into perspective of how much power that is, current fast charging standards put out wattages of around 50W – max. President of Xiaomi Lin Bin shared videos on Weibo showcasing the capabilities of the charger; at a low battery percentage, the charger puts out about 100W of power; about 70W at 50%; and 55W at 80%.

Xiaomi has also said that for “safety and efficiency”, the charging brick will be fairly large. From zero to 100% – I’d happily take the heavier compromise.

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Xiaomi WalkingPad is most convenient and minimalist treadmill made [UPDATE: Available on Kickstarter]

349

Cardio is a rather important exercise that should be done by everyone, some of you might not feel comfortable jogging in a park or going to the gym to run on the treadmill. Buying a treadmill might not be ideal for some that have space issues. Well, Xiaomi has yet again produced a solution for that with the WalkingPad Mini Smart Treadmill.

It is by far the most minimal treadmill that exists, as it comes with no buttons, but rather a LED display. The entire device is controlled using a smartphone app or a small remote control. The treadmill has a speed range from 0.5 to 6 km/h and it weighs around 28kg and supports a maximum load of 90kg. There is also an automatic mode which will increase the speed of the treadmill when the user moves towards the front of the track and will slow down when it detects the user is moving towards the end of the track. It acts as an easier way to set the speed of the treadmill and also acts as a safety measure so you won’t get launched off the track if you slow down too much.

The Xiaomi WalkingPad can be easily folded and tucked away thanks to a wheel, so you don’t have to carry it around. The treadmill is available for funding on YouPin e-commerce website and it will start shipping on 31 May 2018 for a price of $1,699.

[UPDATE] The folks at WalkingPad has announced that the product will be available on Kickstarter starting September 25th for US$499, the weight limit has also been increased to 110KG from 90KG for Western markets. The WalkingPad will be made widely available in November at Amazon for US$599.

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Xiaomi Watch S1 & TWS earphones 3 launched in China

1.2K

During Xiaomi’s event yesterday they announced their latest flagship phone in the form of the Xiaomi 12 series, which was the main highlight of the event, but along with the phones, Xiaomi had also launched two new devices – the Watch S1 and TWS earphones 3.

Xiaomi Watch S1

For the design of the Xiaomi Watch S1, it sports a round design with two main buttons for navigation, and it available in Black or Silver with the option of choosing from a leather or a rubber strap.

As for the specifications of the Xiaomi Watch S1, it has a 1.43″ AMOLED display paired with a full-color 466×466 resolution that pushes at 60Hz refresh rate which is all being powered by a 470mAh battery that Xiaomi claim will give you up to 12 days of typical usage.

The Xiaomi Watch S1 also comes with a
 heart rate sensor, SpO tracking, NFC support, as well as a microphone and speaker for phone calls. Additionally, it
is packed with over
117 different exercise modes and is 5ATM waterproof so you’ll have no problem taking these out for a swim.

The Xiaomi Watch S1 starts at CNY 1,049 (roughly RM688) for the rubber wristband version and the leather strap ones will cost CNY 1,199 (roughly RM787). Currently, the Watch is only available in China with no word on a global release.

Xiaomi TWS Earphones 3

Earlier this year, Xiaomi launched the
TWS Earphones 3 Pro
, but now they have announced the base model, with the TWS Earphones 3 – t
he brand’s newest noise-canceling, affordable earbuds.

The design looks very similar to the original AirPods 2, with the long stem and weighs at around 4.6 grams for each earbud. They also don’t come with the silicon tips that the Xiaomi Earphones 3 Pro has, and they will be able to be pre-ordered in a white colorway.

These wireless earphones give you up to 40 decibels of active noise cancellation along with HiFi audio support and uses pressure-sensitive touch controls to use the device. Xiaomi also claim that these earphones can run for up to 7 hours with the earbuds, and up to 32 hours with the charging case.

The Xiaomi Earphones 3  will retail CNY499 (roughly RM327) but will have an introductory price of 449 Yuan (roughly RM250). It will be available starting from 31st December 2021 only in China with no news on an international launch, so stay tuned for more updates from us.

Soure –
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,
2

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Xiaomi Watch S1


Xiaomi waterproof smartphone coming soon?

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Playfuldroid reported that Xiaomi has uploaded a new teaser for their upcoming event held in Beijing on June 10th next week. They doesn’t obviously announced anything about the event on their teaser, but the four Chinese characters and the graphic do represent water – so does this means the first Xiaomi waterproof smartphone will be arriving soon to the market?

There isn’t any confirmation on this, we need to wait until June 10th to get the exact answer that Xiaomi going to give us.


Xiaomi will finally partner up with Samsung for the Mi 7’s display

278

Rumors of Xiaomi roping Samsung in for the production of its smartphone displays have emerged since before last year, where multiple sources claim Samsung’s involvement with the Mi 5 on its display. But it turns out that the collaboration hasn’t taken place just yet, even with the Mi 6 that was launched earlier this year. But a post on Chinese micro blogging site Weibo claims that the partnership will finally happen with the upcoming Mi 7 in 2018.

It is said that Xiaomi is finally signing a contract together with Samsung to produce displays for the former company’s 2018 flagship – the Mi 7. Samsung has been tipped to make 6-inch OLED displays for the Mi 7. This might be too early to confirm, but chances are that Xiaomi will either go with Samsung or LG, both of which are known for making OLED panels for smartphones.

On top of that, the Mi 7 is also rumored to be powered by a yet to be released Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, which definitely doesn’t come as a surprise to most of us, considering the fact that the company’s past flagships feature the same flagship processors as the rest of the competition. The Snapdragon 845 is said to be built on Samsung’s tiny 7nm process, and the chipset will also power the company’s Galaxy S9 flagship next year.

As always, do take news like this with a huge grain of salt to avoid future disappointment. Will the Xiaomi Mi 7 be more expensive with a Samsung display?

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Xiaomi will be focusing on facial recognition rather than under screen fingerprint sensors

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Next year, we should be seeing phones that have under screen fingerprint sensors from the likes of Vivo who is working with Synaptics to bring this technology to consumers. That seems to be the target for many phone manufacturers but Xiaomi thinks that 3D facial recognition is the future and will be focusing on that.

We should be seeing the facial recognition feature in Xiaomi’s Mi 7 flagship device which is slated to come early 2018, there are also reports that mentioned the facial recognition on the Mi 7 could be as good as Apple’s iPhone X. Qualcomm, Himax Technologies and Truly Opt-Electronics will begin producing the module for facial scanning by the first quarter of 2018, once this technology comes to the Mi 7, it is expected that it will be available on other future devices from the company.

Xiaomi Mi 7 Concept

This could potentially make Xiaomi fans disappointed as we have seen many flaws with FaceID on the iPhone X and now Xiaomi seems to think that they could produce a better facial recognition. What do you think about the Chinese phone giant’s move to go with facial recognition rather than fingerprint?

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Xiaomi will not be present for Mobile World Congress 2017

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Last year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) saw Xiaomi launch its Mi 5 flagship, having Hugo Barra grace the stage to introduce what seemed like the company’s best smartphone at that time. Things will be different this year, as Xiaomi has confirmed that it won’t be making an appearance at MWC 2017 Barcelona.

A Xiaomi spokesperson has spoke to the folks at Tech Crunch, stating that Xiaomi will skip MWC 2017 entirely. This news might turn out to be a double whammy for Xiaomi’s fans, after Vice President for International, Hugo Barra has announced his departure from the company over to Facebook to spearhead the latter company’s virtual reality efforts. Xiaomi’s absence at MWC 2017 will also mean that it will likely not be unveiling any handset during that period of time. So it’s best not to expect a Mi 6 anytime soon.

The Chinese manufacturer did not announce any new mobile device at the recent CES 2017 at Las Vegas either, only unveiling the new super slim Mi TV 4. Xiaomi however, showcased its whole range of devices and products at the tech convention, despite most of them not being available outside its homeland China. The company isn’t the only one who has confirmed not to launch its flagship at MWC this year. Samsung too has claimed that the Galaxy S8 will not see an MWC 2017 launch, but rather, at a later date.

Source:
Tech Crunch

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Xiaomi ZMI 10 20000mAh Powerbank Review: Perfect for the MacBook

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I own an Early 2015 12-inch MacBook and I’m loving it despite of the mere single USB-C port, although it has been a pain carrying those dongles in my bag, I’ve gotten used to them eventually, but what I seriously can’t stand is the less impressive battery life that I’ve come to expect from the MacBook, especially when I’ve been using the MacBook Pro before passing it to my colleague Tarvin. Therefore, I’ve been on the hunt for a power bank that is able to charge my MacBook, while being able to charge other devices I carry along, most USB-C powerbanks I’ve come across tend to claim that they could charge a MacBook, but they could barely cross the 50% charging mark due to the 29W power that the MacBook required. Until a couple of weeks back, I stumbled upon the ZMI 10 Powerbank on Taobao, a huge chunky piece of gadget that not only charges my MacBook properly but also serves as a rather convenient USB hub.

ZMI, otherwise pronounced as ZiMi, is a company under Xiaomi’s ecosystem focused on manufacturing power solutions and cables. The ZMI 10 Powerbank is one of the larger capacity power banks ever produced that is made for charging USB-C devices, rather than using Xiaomi’s aluninum build, ZMI has opted for a polycarbonate material that feels very high quality. Underneath the chassis is two blocks of 10,000mAh cells, which adds up to 20,000mAh in total capacity and is as heavy as a typical 10-inch tablet.

The powerbank has two standard USB ports that supports Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0 voltage standards, a USB-C port that supports both QC 3.0 and the older Power Delivery 2.0 standard that delivers a maximum input and output of 45W.

On the left, we have the power gauge LED indicators and a button that is able to turn both standard USB ports into additional USB ports for your laptop, though it only gives you USB 2.0 transfer speeds, but you really can’t ask for more than this.

ZMI is kind enough to provide two short cables out of the box, a standard USB to USB-C cable and a USB-C to USB-C cable. In addition, you also get a soft pouch for storing the powerbank, now that’s a great value that you don’t often get when purchasing power banks.

User Experience and Performance

Since my MacBook is already a pretty lightweight device, having the ZMI 10 Powerbank in my backpack isn’t too much of an issue despite being a really heavy device. I have to admit that I don’t frequently check on my MacBook’s battery level before starting to work, hence there are times I badly needed to find a socket to charge my MacBook if I need to work out of office, the ZMI 10 Powerbank eliminated that issue. I recall there was one time my MacBook was left with only 2% of battery power, it got charged to 80% in 2 hours, the MacBook’s charge consumed three dots off the battery gauge of the power bank, there were no signs of discharging as I worked through e-mails with multiple Chrome browser tabs opened and streaming Spotify, which typical power banks will not be able to handle.

Read More: WD My Passport Lumen Review

Using the ZMI 10 Powerbank as a USB hub isn’t ideal for large file transfers, I tested it with the WD My Passport Lumen and found a huge drop in performance of 42MB/s in transfer speeds, hence you should only use it for connecting peripherals or perform simple file transfers.

The ZMI 10 Powerbank delivers 30W of power to the MacBook

The ZMI 10 Powerbank does take some time to get fully charged especially when it is completely drained, the USB-C port thankfully supports either Quick Charge 3.0 or PD 2.0 input, which it can take advantage of my MacBook’s 29W AC adapter to get charged in 3.5 hours.

Verdict

The ZMI 10 Powerbank is an extremely useful gadget that I don’t really mind carrying in my backpack for its functionality, while there are similar solutions from companies such as Anker and RAVPower, the ZMI Powerbank is the only power bank that offers the added functionality of a USB hub, while supporting both Quick Charge 3.0 and Power Delivery 2.0 charging standards. The ZMI 10 Powerbank can be purchased over at Taobao at the price of RMB299 (RM189 or US$44), if you aren’t familiar with Taobao purchases, you can also purchase form local e-commerce stores Lazada and 11Street, though you will be paying at a much higher price tag of RM260.

The Good

Charges the MacBook, Nintendo Switch or any USB-C devices that requires high voltage

Standard USB ports can be used for connecting USB devices to your PC and MacBook

Power input and output supports both Quick Charge 3.0 and Power Delivery 2.0 charging standards

Comes with a storage pouch

The Not so Good

Heavy and chunky

Charging takes a while

USB 2.0 speeds for USB hub feature

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zmi 10 powerbank review


Xiaomi’s 20W wireless charger will be available in Malaysia soon

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Along with the Mi 9, Xiaomi also introduced a new wireless charging pad in the form of the Mi 20W High Speed Wireless charger which supports the Qi standard.

Prior to this, Xiaomi’s line-up only included a 7.5W wireless charger that came with the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 and the 10W charger with the Mi Mix 3. Xiaomi takes it up a notch by introducing this 20W version which the company claims can fully charge a Mi 9, 3,300mAh in 90 minutes.

The charging pad is compatible with EPP 10W charging and is also equipped with a “dual cooling” system which keeps the pad cool throughout the 90-minute charging period.

The Mi 20W Wireless Charging Pad will be available from April 13 onwards for the price of RM129 on Lazada and Mi retail stores.

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Xiaomi’s 48MP camera smartphone might just be the Redmi Pro 2

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Recent rumours circling around Xiaomi is about the mysterious 48MP camera phone that has yet to be revealed but now, it seems like the Redmi Pro 2 might be the Xiaomi smartphone to house the 48MP main sensor.

The Redmi Pro 2 is expected to launch in January, and according to leaks and speculations, this may also be the first Xiaomi smartphone to come with the punch-hole display that was already seen on Honor View 20, Samsung Galaxy A8s and Huawei Nova 4.

The Redmi Pro 2 will also be shipping with a Snapdragon 675 chipset which was recently launched in October and said to be able to offer great gaming, camera and AI performance. The Redmi Pro 2 is expected to be much better than the Redmi Pro that was powered by MTK chipset.

As for the camera, the phone is expected to come with either a dual or triple rear camera setup as it would be a waste to use a single 48MP lens on the phone without at least a depth sensor. Other speculations include a 6.4-inch display, a glass back, and a lower price tag considering that it’s using a midrange chipset.

As other information has yet to be revealed, we can only wait as more information is leaked as it gets closer to the launch day of the phone.

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Xiaomi’s Black Shark Helo comes with 10GB RAM

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Xiaomi first introduce Black Shark earlier this year as a gaming smartphone to compete with others like Razer, and now they’ve announced the Black Shark Helo, the successor to the Black Shark.

The Black Shark Helo comes with a 6.01-inch 1080p AMOLED display, unlike the predecessor that uses an LCD display. Similarities between both phones include the refresh rate of 60Hz, the Snapdragon 845 processor and the vapor-chamber cooling system. The Black Shark Helo however has an added advantage whereby it also offers 10GB RAM with 256GB internal storage, instead of just the 8GB RAM with 128GB internal storage and the 6GB RAM with 64GB internal storage.

The smartphone also has a dual camera with 12MP sensor with f/1.8 aperture and a 20MP sensor with f/1.8 aperture while the front camera has a 20MP sensor with f/2.2 aperture. The back of the Helo has a backlit logo that is customisable up to 8 options and also a fingerprint sensor. It also comes with 4000mAh battery that supports Quick Charge 3.0.

In terms of gaming, Xiaomi is offering two controllers for those who purchase the 10GB model while the other versions only get one analog stick attachment. The smartphone also has dual front-facing speakers, like the Razer Phone 2 and the ROG Phone, and allows user to have multiple gaming profiles for their games through the Gamer Studio app. Apart from all that were mentioned, the smartphone lacks a headphone jack which is rather disappointing.

The Black Shark Helo will only be available in black, will cost from RMB 3,199 (RM 1,919.80) and is available for pre-order on the Xiaomi China site.

Black Shark Helo
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Xiaomi’s BlackShark gaming phone comes with a PixelWorks video display processor

339

Xiaomi is launching its BlackShark gaming phone today, the phone is the company’s first gaming phone to be launch under its sub-brand, BlackShark. The phone is set to go against the other gaming phones like the Razer Phone and comes with high-end specs to meet all the current-gen gaming needs.

The BlackShark comes with a rugged looking design which might not cater to a lot of people but fits the identity of a gaming phone. Based on a hands-on video that leaked yesterday, the phone comes with a dual-camera setup on the back alongside a flash. On the front, shows a rather large screen and based on its AnTuTu benchmarks, it comes with an OLED FHD+ display and a fingerprint sensor on the front. There are also obvious bezels on the top and bottom of the phone, presumably to give users a place to grip the phone without touching the screen.

We already know that the phone will come with the latest Snapdragon 845 processor, 8GB of RAM and 32GB of storage based on its Geekbench results but it might come with other storage variants as well. However, during the live stream, they also mentioned that the phone has a PixelWorks video display processor, which offers ten times improvement in colour accuracy and offers an always-on HDR experience. It also supports 1 billion colours, giving you richer colours and it offers sharper images thanks to its image rendering technology.

The BlackShark gaming phone will go on sale starting April 20, we are not sure if this phone will come to Malaysia, but we might see some phone vendors bringing the phone in, similar to what they did with the Razer Phone.

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Xiaomi’s double-folding phone leaks again in promo video

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Back in January this year, Xiaomi President Lin Bin posted a
video
 showcasing the company’s upcoming double foldable phone on Chinese social network Weibo. A new promo video of the double-folding Xiaomi smartphone has now surfaced online.

The new 10-second video posted on YouTube shows the device’s double-fold mechanism in action, along with a quick glance at the software. As you can see in the video below, the Xiaomi foldable phone will support swipe-to-go-back gesture. To switch from tablet to phone mode, users will simply have to fold the screen back from both sides.

A recent report had claimed the Xiaomi foldable smartphone would be released sometime in the second quarter of the year. It is rumored to be priced at $999 (RM4,070), which would make it significantly more affordable than other foldable smartphones launched so far.

While no details regarding the hardware specifications of the phone are available yet, reports have revealed that the flexible AMOLED display has been developed in conjunction with China’s Visionox. Apart from Xiaomi, a few other Android OEMs are also expected to launch their first foldable smartphones later this year. Motorola plans to
resurrect
 its iconic Razr as a foldable smartphone with a Snapdragon 710 SoC under the hood.

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Xiaomi’s excellent sales places it in the world top 5 smartphone brands once again

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Xiaomi has been churning out affordable handsets ever since its existence as a smartphone maker. Like most Chinese manufacturers, Xiaomi has always been striving to make smartphones with the most competitive prices out there against the elite like Apple and Samsung. However, the last two years saw the Chinese company plunge in smartphone sales, which has once again been turned around in Q2 2017.

The most recent statistics from the second quarter of 2017 show Xiaomi clinching a spot in the top 5 smartphone brands in terms of sales, just like old times. Samsung still stays in first placing with a total of 79.5 million smartphone shipments, followed by Apple with 41 million smartphones sold. Third placed Huawei is catching up just right behind, inching closer to Apple compared to the same time last year, and OPPO sits at fourth place.

Xiaomi’s return to its respectable position in the top 5 could be due to its impressive yet affordable Mi 6 flagship, alongside various improvements in the entry level and mid range Redmi series of smartphones, which too recently were revealed respectively.

The trendsetter for online flash sales has also proved the concept to work till today, but Xiaomi has been opening up physical stores in select regions to expand its reach to consumers, with many more to come in the future.

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Black Shark 2 is officially available in Malaysia, bringing with it the Snapdragon 855 chipset

379

A new player has entered the gaming phone market in the form of Black Shark 2; the phone will compete with counterparts Razer Phone 2 and Asus ROG Phone.

The Black Shark 2 is different beast altogether. The device is a comes with a 6.39-inch AMOLED display along with “DC Light Dimmer” which Xiaomi claims help reduce eye damage when gaming.

Under the hood, the Black Shark 2 the latest and the beefiest Snapdragon 855 chipset, so it’s without a question that this phone is capable of heavy gaming. Also equipped with the phone are either 8GB or 12GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB of internal storage.

You’ll get a 4,000mAh battery here and the phone supports 27W fast-charging. Xiaomi claims that 5 minutes of charging yields 30 minutes of gaming time.

For a phone that’s made for performance, it doesn’t slouch in the camera department too – you can expect a dual-camera setup at the back with a 48MP main lens, while the selfie camera is a capable 20MP lens.

Housing all these components is a bulky body that weighs 250g and measures 163.6 x 75 x x 8.8mm. For added aesthetic flair, the logo is illuminated and is capable of changing colors. The phone does not have a headphone jack but a Type-C to 3.5mm jack dongle is provided.

Other features include a “direct touch liquid cooling system 3.0” which is supposed to be able to keep the CPU at 14-degrees Celsius. This comes in handy when the phone’s Ludicrous Mode, which overclocks the CPU, keeping the phone at a comfortable temperature.

The phone also is capable of Host Mode which allows you to connect to an external screen via a HDMI cable. A wireless game pad made for the Black Shark 2 is available for purchase and lets you pair with tour phone to play while on Host Mode.

While gaming, you can activate “Gaming Touch” which allows you to customize buttons on your screen to suit your gaming style.

The Black Shark 2 will be available in two colors in Malaysia – Shadow Black and Frozen Silver. The 8GB + 128GB variant is priced at RM2,499 and is available for purchase now on Shopee; while the 12GB +256GB variant is priced at RM2,999 and is available for pre-order on Shopee from today until April 5.

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Xiaomi’s Mi Band 4 renders reveal an integrated touch button

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Aside from Xiaomi smartphones, Xiaomi is also known for its wearables, the Mi Band specifically. Last year’s Mi Band 3 was a hit among consumers, and this year’s Mi Band 4 renders have finally hit the Internet.

Aside from the face that the Mi Band 4 has already received Bluetooth certification and supports NFC, it was also revealed that the band will get the latest Bluetooth 5.0. The latest renders show that the Mi Band 4 will have an OLED display with and integrated touch button.

Image credit: SlashLeaks

Other than that, the Band 4 will have a slightly larger battery size at 135mAh while the previous Band 3 only has 110mAh battery. The Mi Band 4 looks quite similar to the Band 3 otherwise.

The Mi Band 3 currently cost RM120, so we’re expecting the new Band 4 to cost slightly more, but it will probably be less than RM150. On the other hand, if you’re interested in getting the Mi Band 3, there’s about to be a sale tomorrow where you can get it for RM99 on Xiaomi’s official store on Lazada.

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Xiaomi's Mi MIX concept smartphone sold out in a mere 10 seconds

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The Xiaomi Mi Note 2 proved to be a really hot seller after it was sold out in a short 50 seconds during the handset’s flash sale on Xiaomi’s Chinese online store. The feat was achieved roughly a week after the Chinese manufacturer unveiled the Mi Note 2 at its launch event late last month. However, it seems like the company has managed an even greater feat just yesterday, when the Mi MIX sold out in just 10 seconds.

According to Xiaomi Today, the Mi MIX concept phone ran out of stock after its flashed sale opened earlier yesterday. Selling out in a mere 10 seconds would mean that the Mi MIX phablet is Xiaomi’s fastest selling smartphone to date. According to the report, users that managed to grab hold of the handset during the flash sale were only allowed less than a minute to check out, for them to seal the order. Having said that, it is unknown as to how many units of the Mi MIX were made available for the flash sale.

It won’t be a surprise if Xiaomi sold lesser units of the Mi MIX compared to their other handsets, considering the fact that it is a concept phone and is probably more difficult to manufacture. On the other hand, a phone such as the Mi MIX being sold out in 10 seconds wouldn’t be very much surprising either as it is indeed an impressive phone aesthetically and internally.

The second batch of the Xiaomi Mi MIX will be sold on the 8th of November, in typical Xiaomi flash sale format as well. What do you think of Xiaomi’s amazing 10 second feat?

Source:
Xiaomi Today

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Xiaomi’s Mi Note 10 is on its way with a 108MP penta-camera setup

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Xiaomi is reviving its long-gone series — the Mi Note series — with an upcoming Mi Note 10. The last Mi Note we had was the Mi Note 2, and that was about three years back.

Posted on its Twitter account, Xiaomi revealed just few hours back that the Mi Note 10 will be equipped with a 108MP penta-camera setup. However, this may be just the global variant of the Mi CC9 Pro that was said to launch on November 5 in China. The Mi CC9 Pro is also reported to come with a 108MP penta-camera setup that includes the ultra-wide angle lens, telephoto lens and macro lens.

Introducing the world’s FIRST 108MP Penta Camera. A new era of smartphone cameras begins now!
#MiNote10

#DareToDiscover

pic.twitter.com/XTWHK0BeVL

— Xiaomi #MiMIXAlpha (@Xiaomi)
October 28, 2019

However, there are also some contradicting reports that suggest the Mi Note 10 to be slightly different, including a different processor — the Mi CC9 Pro is expected to be powered by a Snapdragon 730G chipset. In addition, the Mi CC9 Pro is also reported to support 30W fast charging.

There isn’t much that is revealed about the Mi Note 10 yet, and its sudden comeback coupled with its unexpected name is also a mystery. But seeing as it’s from the Mi Note series, we should be expecting a rather large device.

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Xiaomi’s Mimoji is the almost-twin of Apple’s Memoji

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Somehow when it comes to technology, there’s bound to be a brand copying another. The most recent one would be Xiaomi’s Mimoji that is similar to — well, you can already guess — Apple’s Memoji.

First of all, let’s not use the word “copy” because apparently, the Chinese company is threatening to sue those who call them a copycat without evidence. So, Xiaomi is following the footsteps of Apple with its Mimoji by not only bringing resemblance to its characters and facial expressions but also its name. Seriously, it’s just replacing the ‘e’ with an ‘i’.

While Samsung’s AR Emoji was slightly too creepy for some of us, Apple’s Memoji was a great feature that iOS users love. It was first introduced back in 2017 with the launch of iPhone X, and with the latest iOS 13, Memoji has gotten more features to allow better accuracy of creating your own characters.

Mimoji has already been around for awhile; the only difference is that while it’s previously all animals, it now has human characters. This new version of Mimoji available with Xiaomi’s new series, the CC9 phones.

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Xiaomi's MIUI 8.2 Global Stable ROM now on the rollout

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It’s one of Xiaomi’s biggest updates yet again, as it brings its own MIUI version 8.2 onto the plate. MIUI 8.2 Global Stable ROM is currently on the rollout to a few selected Xiaomi handsets, before heading out to more devices progressively this coming February 20th.

The new MIUI update will be available as an OTA update. Users can check on the software update via the Updater app on Xiaomi devices. The software update includes a tonne of new features, improvements and bug fixes. For instance, there will be antivirus screenings of apps which are downloaded outside of the Google Play Store, various UI adjustments for toggles, and more. Take a look at the supported devices below:

Currently supported devices:

Mi Max / Mi Max Prime / Mi 4i / Mi 3 / Mi 4 / Mi Note / Redmi 1S / Redmi Note 4G

The following devices will be receiving the update progressively starting from 20th Feb 2017
:

Redmi 2, Redmi 2 Prime, Redmi Note 3 Qualcomm, Redmi Note 3 Special Edition, Redmi Note 4 MTK, Redmi Note 2, Redmi Note Prime, Mi 2/2S, Mi 5, Mi 5s, Mi 5s Plus, Redmi 3/Prime, Redmi 3S/Prime, Redmi Note 4 Qualcomm

The full changelog of the software update can be found at the source link below. Xiaomi has also provided guides to flash the ROM if you happen to be running aged versions of MIUI. Have you gotten your update?

Source:
MIUI

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Xiaomi’s new flagship phone with its specs revealed could be the Mi MIX 4

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Xiaomi recently has a new flagship smartphone that is codenamed as Hercules, and its specs have been revealed by the Editor-in-Chief of XDA Developers, Mishaal Rahman.

Rahman tweeted that the new phone will come with several features, including NFC support and a Snapdragon 855 processor. That aside, the phone will house a triple rear camera setup on its back while it’ll have a single camera on its front.

New Xiaomi flagship – “Hercules”

* Snapdragon 855
 * NFC
 * 3 rear cam + 1 front cam
 * In-display fingerprint scanner
 * Wireless charging

Very early information from source code (can’t say exactly where) – subject to error due to interpretation. Thanks to
@warabhishek
.

— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman)
May 5, 2019

It may be uncertain, but we’re expecting the Xiaomi Hercules phone to be the Xiaomi Mi MIX 4. If so, the phone will probably come with a full screen design like the Xiaomi Mi MIX 3 with a slider.

The alleged Mi MIX 4 will also share some specs with Mi 9 since the Mi 9 also has all the specs listed out by Rahman in his tweet. It remains possible that the Hercules phone might be another flagship phone, not the Mi MIX 4.

Either way, it could be months before this Xiaomi phone is launched, considering how little we know about the phone.

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Xiaomi’s new Mi4c has a Snapdragon 808 SoC and USB-C connector, sadly exclusive in China

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The Mi4i was dubbed as the global phone by Xiaomi. Sure, it has great looks, a sleeker design unlike previous Xiaomi smartphones, but its a step down from its flagship Mi4 in terms of hardware power. Xiaomi is apparently looking to launch a new model called Mi4c, which will share the Mi4i’s design and body however with much more powerful hardware specifications, according to leaks and benchmarks on Antutu, the Mi4c will be powered by a Snapdragon 808 hexa-core SoC and sports a USB Type C connector.

While the phone’s CPU alone is already a huge change over the Snapdragon 615 powered Mi4i, the other hardware aspects of the Mi4c remains the same, such as having 2GB RAM, 16GB ROM, a 13-megapixel main and 5-megapixel front camera, 5-inch Full HD IPS with Sunlight Display and a 3000mAh battery. In addition, the Mi4c will come preloaded with MIUI 7 based on Android 5.1.1, which is Xiaomi’s most updated smartphone software till date.

The Mi4c is unfortunately a China exclusive device and you might be able to get in grey import channels locally, but do take note that the phone will not work with local FDD-LTE bands, and you’ll need to sideload Google services into the phone in order to fully utilize Android. The Mi4c is expected to retail at RMB1099-1299 (RM726-RM852), which is similar to Mi4i and we expect Xiaomi to offer a 32GB model of the phone as well. Let’s just hope Xiaomi will make an international model of this phone soon.

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Xiaomi’s new patent shows a genuine full display smartphone

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Xiaomi filed a patent last month with the World Intellectual Patent Organisation that was published in 5 February, revealing a full screen smartphone with rounded off sides, showing no bezels at all.

Based on the patent, the phone will have a rather unique display because not only is it rounded off to its sides, it’s also rounded off at the top and bottom of the phone. This further realises the full display experience, though one will wonder if future phone cases will affect the phone’s display on its rounded sides.

Aside from that, the patent shows that half the thickness of the phone will be taken over by its screen while the other half will house a USB-C port at the bottom. There also seems to be no physical buttons at all as the patent reveals the phone with smooth sides with no bulges whatsoever. It could be possible that the new Xiaomi smartphone will use haptic feedback like the Meizu Zero for its buttons, meaning that the company will replace the physical buttons with virtual buttons instead.

That aside, the phone also shows no front camera in its patent and no notch or punch-hole display, so we’re expecting a sliding mechanism or a pop-up selfie camera like the OPPO Find X and vivo NEX. On its back, the phone shows a cutout for a dual camera setup with a flash.

While this is just a patent, it will be a rather eye-catching phone if Xiaomi manages to manufacture it. Who knows, you might even get to see this smartphone with full display this year itself.

WIPO
xiaomi


Xiaomi’s new technology allows you to unlock your phone wherever you touch

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Now we’ve all been impressed when the in-display fingerprint sensor was introduced, but to be honest, I initially expected the in-display fingerprint sensor to function in a way that users can actually unlock their phones no matter where they place their fingerprints, not just a specific area like the Huawei Mate 20 Pro or the OPPO R17 Pro. Now Xiaomi seems to be realising my previous expectations as they showcase a new technology.

Xiaomi’s President, Lin Bin posted a video on Weibo and this video demonstrates a newer technology on the in-display fingerprint scanner. The individual in the video shows how he set his fingerprint in the phone and proceeds to unlock the phone by placing his finger at various different areas of the phone.

 Lin Bin stated that the unlocking are is 50mmx25mm, which is a much bigger area compared to what we find on current smartphones. Though the coverage still does not include the whole display, it is a significant improvement compared to the current smartphones’ in-display fingerprint technology.
On the other hand, vivo also came out with a concept device that is named APEX. This concept device is also capable of more than just a specific area for the in-display fingerprint scanner, in which vivo expanded the are to almost half of the phone’s display. However, this is a news back in the beginning of 2018 and there are still no vivo smartphones that are capable of doing so, leading us to believe that vivo might be taking their time in creating a phone with such capabilities.

As for Xiaomi, Lin Bin did say that the company might consider replacing the scanner in future device if fans are happy to welcome the new innovation.

in-display fingerprint scanner
xiaomi