Qualcomm has recently released its latest chipsets, the Snapdragon 7 Gen1 chip, and the Snapdragon 8+ Gen1 flagship. The latter promises to offer 10% better performance in comparison to the Snapdragon 8 Gen1. AnTuTu has shared the benchmark scores of an unknown device that is powered by this chip. So far here is what we know about this mysterious device.
Snapdragon 8+ Gen1 has performed well in the benchmark test
The first device set to be powered by Qualcomm’s latest flagship will arrive with a refresh rate of 120Hz, up to 18GB LPDDR5 RAM, and 512GB UFS 3.1 internal storage. The smartphone recorded 266,524 on the AnTuTu CPU test while in terms of GPU, memory, and UX tests, it recorded 468,846; 194,987; and 187,804 points respectively. It recorded a total score of 1,118,161.
The Snapdragon 8+ Gen1 SoC has one 3.2GHz Kryo Prime core, three 2.75GHz Kryo Gold cores, four 2.0GHz Kryo Silver Cores, and Adreno 730 graphics. As per AnTuTu, the memory and UX scores are similar to the current performance offered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen1 chip, however, the CPU and GPU scores have improved by 20,000 to 30,000 points in total.
While the predecessor was a good chip, the phones that are powered by it heat up a lot, and it consumes a lot of battery life while gaming, and multitasking. The latest chip is built with TSMC’s 4nm process and will not heat up as much and it will also be more efficient in terms of battery consumption.
It will be a busy week next week as there are going to be a couple of interesting smartphone launches, all of which will be hosted by different brands. Two of them will be in-person conferences while one of them will be an online conference. Oppo and Redmi will carry out the physical launches while Infinix will launch a device online.
There are a total of six smartphones that are set to launch, the Chinese events will also include the launch of other products. Let us take a look at the devices that are set to launch this week:
Upcoming smartphones this week:
Infinix Hot 12 Play:
The Infinix Hot 12 Play will be launched by the company in India on the 23rd of May. The smartphone is expected to be announced at 12 PM via social media. Considering that the device has already been officially launched in Thailand, the specs of the phone are already out.
The Hot 12 Play will arrive with a 6.82″ HD+ LCD display with a 90Hz refresh rate and it will be powered by the MediaTek Helio G35 chip. In the optics department, it will feature a 13MP+AI lens dual camera setup on the rear and an 8MP selfie shooter on the front.
It has a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, a microSD card slot, a 3.5mm audio jack, a USB Type-C port, a 6,000mAh battery with support for 18W fast charging, and Android 12 OS.
Oppo Reno 8 Series:
Oppo has scheduled a press conference in China for the 23rd of May, it will begin at 7 PM CST and it can be live-streamed on Weibo and other Chinese platforms. The company has confirmed that it will launch the Reno8 Series at this event.
The lineup has three devices, the Oppo Reno8, the Reno8 Pro, and the Reno8 Pro Plus. The base model arrives with an MTK Dimensity 1300 chip while the Pro and Pro Plus versions will be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 7 Gen1 and MTK Dimensity 8100-Max chips respectively.
The Pro variants will all have Oppo’s custom MariSilicon X NPU that debuted on the Find X5 Series earlier this year. Each model has a different design than the previous series. Apart from the smartphones, Oppo will also launch the Oppo Pad Air.
Redmi Note 11T Series:
Redmi has scheduled its launch event for the 24th of May in China, the brand has officially confirmed that it will be unveiling the Note 11T Series at this event. You can watch the live stream on Weibo and other leading Chinese streaming platforms from 7 PM CST.
The lineup is expected to feature two models, the Redmi Note 11T Pro and the Redmi Note 11T Pro Plus. Both will be powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 1300 and Dimensity 8100 chips respectively.
In addition to this, they will flaunt LCD displays and the display of the Pro Plus will be top-notch as it has been given an A+ grade by DisplayMate. Apart from these phones, Redmi is expected to launch the RedmiBook Pro 2022 Ryzen Edition and Xiaomi Band 7.
Which of these launches are you looking forward to the most? Let us know in the comments below!
A number of Xiaomi phones are now getting three years of Android updates and four years of security updates. People are keeping their phones for a longer period of time, so everlasting or long-term software support is becoming speedily essential.
So thinking of all this, the only way to know whether a company will send software updates to a particular device and for how long, is to check its update and security policy.
Like many other smartphone companies, Xiaomi wants to be the best in terms of software updates. This is essential for two reasons. One, it’s a way to make their phones contend well on the market and, secondly, to make sure users’ data on their devices is safe.
In September 2021, the Chinese tech company twisted its update policy, adding one more year of software support and an additional Android update.
According to the updated policy, Xiaomi will provide three main Android updates and four years of security updates to its devices. Smartphone security updates are essential as they reconstruct different types of software bugs and faults.
Xiaomi needed to offer three Android updates and four years of security updates on its phones, and it is doing just that — starting with the Xiaomi 11T series.
I want this to be the case with the Mi 11 series as well; the Mi 11 Ultra needs more updates.https://t.co/UG38yUjUns
Xiaomi phones that will get four years of security updates
These are the Xiaomi phones that will receive long-term software support from the company:
Regular Xiaomi series: Xiaomi 11T, 11T Pro, 11 Lite 5G NE, 12X, 12, and 12 Pro.
Redmi Note series: Redmi Note 11, 11s, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro 5G.
Redmi K series: Redmi K50 and K50 pro
It’s quite easy to advise everyone to buy a device with long-term software support but it’s only fair to identify that these devices don’t come with a low price. That’s the price you should be ready to acquire if you want to use a phone that will have support you for a longer period of time.
If you love Xiaomi’s phones and want to continue using their devices, buy any of the mentioned devices.
Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has alleged that its top Indian executives have faced threats of “physical violence” and coercion during the interrogation process by India’s Enforcement Directorate as per Reuters.
Officials from the ED have warned the former managing director of Xiaomi India, Manu Kumar Jain, and Chief Financial Officer, Sameer B.S. Rao, and their families of “dire consequences” if they did not submit statements as desired by the agency, Xiaomi’s filing dated the 4th of May stated.
Enforcement Directorate calls charges baseless
The ED has termed these allegations as untrue and baseless. “The officials of Xiaomi India deposed their statements before ED under FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act) voluntarily in the most conducive environment on various occasions. The statements were deposed by them on the basis of documents/information provided by the company during the course of the investigation. Their statements corroborate with the written replies submitted to ED and the materials on record,” the agency public stated.
ED said that there was no official complaint filed by the authorities of Xiaomi at any point while statements were being officially recorded. They also added that there was no coercion or threat to the company’s officers at any stage.
Xiaomi has been under investigation since February, last week the Indian agency seized nearly $725 million from the company’s India bank accounts claiming that it made illegal remittances abroad in the name of “royalty payments.”
Xiaomi has denied any wrongdoing, it claims that the payments in question were legit. On Thursday, a judge heard Xiaomi’s lawyers and put on hold the ED’s decision to freeze its assets. The next hearing is set to be on the 12th of May.
The Chinese company has alleged intimidation by the ED on multiple occasions when the company’s top executives appeared for questioning in April.
Jain and Rao on certain occasions were threatened with “dire consequences including arrest, damage to the career prospects, criminal liability, and physical violence if they did not give statements as per the dictates of” the agency, according to the filing in the High Court of Karnataka.
The executives “were able to resist the pressure for some time, they ultimately relented under such extreme and hostile abuse and pressure and involuntarily made some statements,” it added. Xiaomi declined to comment citing pending legal proceedings. The top executives did not make any comments with respect to these accusations.
Jain is now Xiaomi’s global VP and is based out of Dubai, the company is the top smartphone seller in India with a massive 24% market share in 2021 as per Counterpoint Research. It employs 1,500 people in the country.
The issue over remittances:
Manu Kumar Jain, former MD of Xiaomi India
Tax inspectors raided Xiaomi’s India offices in December, upon receiving information from tax authorities, the ED began to review Xiaomi’s royalty payments.
The agency earlier last week said that Xiaomi India remitted foreign currency to the tune of 55.5 billion INR to entities abroad without “availing any service” from them.
“Such huge amounts in the name of royalties were remitted on the instructions of their Chinese parent group entities,” the agency said. Xiaomi’s court filing alleges that the ED “dictated and forced” Xiaomi India CFO Rao to include a sentence as a part of his statement “under extreme duress” on the 26th of April.
The line in question is, “I admit the royalty payments have been made by XTIPL as per the directions from certain persons in the Xiaomi group.”
Just one day later, Rao withdrew this statement by claiming it was “not voluntary and made under coercion.” Xiaomi has said in a previous media statement it believes its royalty payments, “Are all legit and truthful” and the payments were made for “in-licensed technologies and IPs used in our India version products.”
Xiaomi believes that it is being targeted since it is based out of China.
The ED stated company execs did not file any complaints during the recording of statements, “The officials of Xiaomi India deposed their statements before ED under FEMA voluntarily in the most conducive environment on various occasions,” the ED mentioned.
Xiaomi’s write petition said CFO Rao wrote a letter on the 25th of April stating that “he was not being permitted to file a retraction” of the statement that he was coerced to make.
The Karnataka HC in its order dated May 5, barred Xiaomi India from making royalty or other payments to companies based outside of India. The court also stayed the ED’s seizure of the company’s assets worth 5.55 billion INR. The matter is set for further hearing on the 12th of May.
Xiaomi has just released the Redmi Note 11 Series worldwide earlier in February 2022. The company appears to have already moved on to teasing its fans and preparing them for the launch of the Redmi Note 12 Series.
The latest teaser arrives courtesy of Redmi‘s CEO Lu Weibing. He shared an image on Weibo, in which the company hints at the announcement of the Note 12 Series. The lineup will launch in China first and it will be better than the recently released Note 11 Series.
The teaser shared by Redmi CEO Lu Weibing
As per the announcement post, Lu also mentions that since 2021, Redmi has taken the decision to launch two Redmi Note Series devices on an annual basis. This started with the Redmi Note 10 Series that was launched in China in H1 of 2021.
The Note 11 Series came out in H2 of 2021. The CEO specifies that the company launched the Note 10 “performance powerhouse” series earlier this year in order to cater to the user base that prefers speed over everything else. The Note 11 Series on the other hand offered an amazing camera experience for those who love to take pictures.
Redmi’s new strategy:
Redmi will be adapting the same strategy of launching two devices on a yearly basis, one of which will be performance-centric and the other camera-centric. The Redmi Note 12 Series will be the first to launch in H1 of 2022 whereas the Redmi Note 13 Series will be launching in H2 of 2022 and will be more ‘fashionable’.
Redmi Note 11 Series
In concluding the post, CEO Lu responded to dedicated Xiaomi users that Redmi had received feedback from all users and that the naming scheme of the brand had become confusing along with the brand’s market launch strategy.
The Redmi brand is now willing to hear suggestions from fans and netizens with respect to the name of its next Note Series.
Currently, the top suggestions are “Redmi Note 12″, Redmi Note 11T”, “Redmi Note 12X”, and the “Redmi Note 12T.”
We will have to wait and see which name Xiaomi and Redmi opt for its next Redmi Note Series. We can expect the new lineup to release in May or June of 2022.
The Xiaomi 12 Lite has officially been leaked, the first images surfaced on Weibo and showed off the amazing design of the device. It has flat edges similar to Redmi’s Note 11Series. Though it is slim and carries the Lite moniker, the device carries a powerful 108MP primary camera.
Xiaomi has not kept it a secret that it will be launching a Lite version as the budget device in the 12 Series. Judging from the images, the Xiaomi 12 Lite looks similar to the other devices in the lineup, it carries a large camera module with two smaller lenses below.
The primary sensor is a 108MP one, in all likelihood, the same ISOCELL HM2 sensor that the Redmi K50 Pro and Note 11 Pro 5G had. We are not yet sure if it has OIS either. It could feature an 8MP ultrawide sensor and a 5MP macro sensor. The leak claims that the frame of the device is made from plastic in contrast to the metal frames seen on the other 12 Series phones.
The 12 Lite has a 6.55″ display with an FHD+ OLED panel with a refresh rate of 120Hz and an integrated fingerprint scanner. The phone has a design similar to an iPhone, it will be powered by the Snapdragon 778G chip, have a 32MP selfie shooter, and stereo speakers. The device runs on Android 12-based MIUI 13.
The leaks have surfaced now, however, we are not sure when the Xiaomi 12 Lite is scheduled to launch.
Xiaomi held a massive launch event wherein it unveiled a lot of products for the Indian market. One of these products was the Xiaomi Pad 5, this tab launched all the way in August 2021, finally, the tablet has made its way to India.
Xiaomi Pad 5 specifications:
The Xiaomi Pad 5 has a 10.95″ LCD display with a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels, a 275 PPI, a refresh rate of up to 120Hz, and a 10-bit panel that arrives with stylus support for the Xiaomi Pen. The display also supports the Dolby Vision HDR standard, a peak brightness of 650 nits, and an aspect ratio of 16:10.
At the helm of it is the Snapdragon 860 chip that has been paired with an LPDDR4x RAM and UFS 3.1 storage. The tab runs on Android 11-based MIUI 13 with MIUI for Pad interface. The tablet is juiced by an 8,720mAh battery with support for 33W charging. Xiaomi bundles the tablet with a 22.5W charger, unfortunately.
In terms of optics, the Mi Pad 5 arrives with a 13MP rear snapper and an 8MP front snapper. It has quad-speakers with Dolby Atmos support, Hi-Res audio support, and Hi-Res Audio wireless support. The tablet does not have a 3.5mm audio jack, microSD card slot, or a fingerprint sensor either.
The tablet supports dual-band WiFi, Bluetooth v5.0, USB Type C, and a pogo pin connector.
The Xiaomi Pad 5 has been priced at 26,999 INR for the 6GB+128GB variant while the 6GB+256GB variant retails for 28,999 INR. The tablet will officially go on sale from the 3rd of May at 12 PM. As part of an introductory offer, Xiaomi is selling the tablet at a discounted price of 24,999 INR and 26,999 INR respectively. It will be available via Mi.com, Mi Home, Amazon India, and other retail stores.
Xiaomi has launched the Xiaomi 12 Pro 5G in India, it is the latest flagship offering from the Chinese smartphone pioneer. The device was first announced in China in December 2021, it eventually made its way to other global markets. In addition to the 12 Pro, Xiaomi also unveiled the Xiaomi Pad 5, Xiaomi Smart TV 5A, and Xiaomi OLED Vision TV.
Xiaomi 12 Pro specifications:
The Xiaomi 12 Pro features a curved E5 LTPO AMOLED display measuring 6.73″, it has received an A+ certification from DisplayMate. It has a QuadHD+ resolution of 3200 x 1440 pixels, 10-bit colors, a DCI-P3 color gamut, a peak brightness of 1,500 nits, and a touch sampling rate of 480Hz. It has an adaptive refresh rate of 1Hz-120Hz.
The Xiaomi 12 Pro is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen1 chip that has been paired with up to 12GB LPDDR5 RAM and up to 256GB UFS 3.1 storage. To keep the device cool, Xiaomi has integrated a large VC liquid cooling system that takes up 2,900mm2 of area.
The device is juiced by a 4,600mAh battery with support for 120W fast charging. Your device can be completely charged from 0 to 100 in under 18 minutes. Xiaomi has also equipped the P1 chip that it has developed on its own, what this chip does is, prevents energy loss while charging the device efficiently. You can also charge the device wirelessly at 50W and 10W reverse wireless charging.
In terms of software, it runs on Android 12 OS with MIUI 13 on top. Harmon Kardon has fine-tuned the speakers for this device and apart from this, there are additional features such as dual SIM support, 5G support, WiFi 6E, Bluetooth v5.2 support, and dual-frequency GPS, NFC, USB Type-C port, and an integrated fingerprint sensor.
Xiaomi’s flagship device flaunts a triple camera setup on the rear with a 50MP primary Sony IMX707 sensor with OIS, a 50MP ultrawide sensor with 115-degree FOV, and a 50MP portrait sensor with 48-mm focal length. On the front, you get a 32MP primary sensor for selfies.
The Xiaomi 12 Pro is available in an 8GB+256GB version and a 12GB+256GB version. They are priced at 62,999 INR and 66,999 INR respectively. Xiaomi has launched the device in Black, Blue, and Purple colors. The first sale of the 12 Pro begins at 12 PM on the 2nd of May via Mi.com and Amazon.in.
POCO has launched another F-Series device, the POCO F4 GT, it is powered by Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen1 chip. The device is a rebadged version of the Redmi K50 Gaming that will be available globally.
POCO F4 GT specifications:
The POCO F4 GT features a 6.67″ AMOLED display with a 10-bit panel and a refresh rate of 120Hz. The display has the capacity to display 1 billion colors and also has high-frequency PWM dimming. In terms of quality, it is top-notch as DisplayMate has given an A+ rating to the device. It has a touch sampling rate of 480Hz.
The device is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen1 SoC with an Adreno 730 GPU which is 50% faster than the previous generation. It has the LiquidCool 3.0 technology that is made out of two vapor chambers. POCO has retained the shoulder buttons for an amazing gaming experience, these buttons also serve as shortcuts for general use.
In terms of optics, the F4 GT has two Sony sensors, a 64MP with 1/1.73″ aperture, an 8MP ultrawide sensor, and a 2MP macro shooter. It has a 20MP selfie shooter. For the aesthetic appeal, POCO has added the RGB backlighting on the rear giving it that extra ‘oomph’ factor.
The device has a 4,700mAh battery with 120W HyperCharge support. The battery can go from 0 to 100 in 17 minutes which makes it the fastest POCO device yet. There is also a way you can charge your device while playing games, it takes a bit longer to fully charge, approximately 27 minutes, however, it generates lesser heat.
POCO is introducing a premium after-sales service with the device as well which lets users avail of one free screen repair during the first 6 months of their ownership. The device will be available from this Thursday via prominent e-commerce sites and will come in Stealth Black, Knight Silver, and Cyber Yellow colors.
The base 8GB+128GB version costs EUR 600 or 49,000 INR while the 12GB+256GB version costs EUR 700 or 57,000 INR. During the first week, you can buy these devices for EUR 500 and EUR 600 respectively as a part of an introductory offer. POCO has bundled the F4 GT with 2 months of free YouTube Premium membership as well.
Xiaomi has officially launched the Xiaomi Civi 1S in China, the device is a lifestyle smartphone that has been targeted toward Xiaomi’s female user base. It is an upgraded version of the original Xiaomi Civi from late last year and it is not a successor. Let us take a look at the specs of the Xiaomi Civi 1S.
Xiaomi Civi 1S specifications:
The Xiaomi Civi 1S is similar to the original Civi in terms of aesthetics, it has a rounded rectangular camera island on the rear that houses a triple camera system within a triangular fashion along with a horizontal LED flash strip below it.
The Civi 1S’ frame is made of metal and its back panel is made of glass, it measures 6.98mm in thickness and weighs 166g. The rear glass panel has a glossy finish and structures that resemble a diamond underneath. The Civi 1S arrives in four colors namely, black, pink, blue, and silver.
The device has a 6.55″ FHD+ AMOLED display with a resolution of 2400 x 1080 pixels and a refresh rate of 120Hz. The curved panel has a 10-bit color depth, 402 PPI, a touch sampling rate of 240Hz, a contrast ratio of 5,000,000:1 contrast ratio, and a central punch-hole.
The display supports HDR10+ and a peak brightness of 950 nits, it is protected by a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 5.
The Civi 1S is powered by the Snapdragon 778G SoC paired with LPDDR4x RAM and UFS 2.2 storage. Xiaomi provides a 36-month anti-aging certification. The device runs on Android 12 with MIUI 13 on top.
In the optics department, the Civi 1S has a triple camera setup on the rear with a 64MP primary sensor with OIS, an 8MP ultrawide unit, and a 2MP macro sensor. It has a 32MP selfie shooter with autofocus and dual soft light.
The camera arrives with support for CyberFocus human eye-tracking system. This feature first made its debut on the Xiaomi 12 Pro as the Xiaomi CyberDog.
Apart from this, it has Native Beauty Portrait 2.0 for amazing portrait shots and 4G Light Chasing Beauty Technology for makeup. Xiaomi claims that its algorithm works at pixel-level as it makes use of the Generative Adversarial Network.
The Xiaomi Civi 1S is powered by a 4,500mAh battery with support for 55W fast charging and Qualcomm Quick Charge 4+. The device supports dual-SIM, WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, GNSS, NFC, and a USB Type-C port. It has a Dolby Atmos-supported dual-stereo speakers, a linear vibration motor, an in-display fingerprint sensor, and an IR blaster.
The Civi 1S has been priced at CNY 2,299 or 27,098 INR for the 8GB+128GB version, CNY 2,599 or 30,633 INR for the 8GB+256GB version, and CNY 2,899 or 34,169 INR for the 12GB+256GB version. It is available in China from the 21st of April itself.
