Smartphones

Xiaomi Intros Mi Mix Alpha Concept Phone

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Xiaomi claims a number of firsts with the Mi Mix Alpha-- a foldable smartphone featuring a "Surround Screen" with a 180.6% screen-to-body ratio, as well as a 108MP camera able to capture 12032 x 9024 resolution photos.

Mi Mix Alpha

The Mi Mix Alpha builds on previous Xiaomi experiments in Full Screen Display smartphones, such as the first Mi Mix device. The foldable take on the concept promises construction in a "one-of-a-kind" combination of titanium alloy, ceramics and sapphire, and has the display make nearly the entirety of the front, side and back. The company says the display can withstand the stresses brought about by bending, while a durable protective layer brings further strength.

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Sony Launches Xperia 5 at IFA 2019

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Sony skips a few generations at IFA 2019 as it announces the Xperia 5-- a followup to the flagship Xperia 1 featuring a display in the same 21:9 aspect ratio, if within a "relatively compact" body.

Sony Xperia 5The Xperia 5 was teased to be small enough to fit "in the palm of your hand," and as such is smaller handset compared to other flagship smartphones. It features a 6.1-inch 2560 x 1080 resolution "CinemaWide" AMOLED display complete with HDR and the upscaling of standard dynamic range content, and includes Dolby Atmos support via stereo speakers.

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Motorola Takes Action With One Action

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Motorola wants to combine the smartphone with the action camera as it announces the One Action-- an addition to the mid-range One series featuring a rear-facing camera with a a 117-degree field of view allowing for GoPro-style shooting.

Motorola One action

At first glance the One Action is similar to the rest of the One range, with a 6.3-inch 1080 x 2520  resolution LCD display complete with hole-punch cutout for a 12MP front-facing camera, even if the unusually tall 21:9 aspect ratio makes it stand out at least a bit. It carries a 2.2GHz Samsyng Exynos 9609 processor, a Mali G72 MP3 GPU, 3500mAh battery with USB-C 10W charging, 4GB RAM and 128GB storage (expandable via microSD). The OS of choice is, as the name might suggest, Android One.

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Motorola Updates Moto E Series With E6

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Motorola announces an addition to the budget-friendly Moto E smartphone series-- the E6, a 5.5-inch handset featuring a fairly basic design, if one offering a "water repellent" coating as well as Android Pie capabilities.

Moto E6

The E6 is smaller than last year's 5.7-inch E5, if with the same 1440 x 720 resolution, making the IPS LCD panel appear slightly sharper. The battery also sees a downgrade, being 3000mAh instead of 4000mAh, but it is actually removable. The processor is improved, being a Snapdragon 435 chip promising a 50% improvement over the Snapdragon 427 inside the E5, while RAM and storage remain identical at 2 and 16GB respectively.

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Oppo Shows Off Ultra-Curved "Waterfall Screen"

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Chinese smartphone maker Oppo takes the battle against the humble bezel to new extremes as it presents the "Waterfall Screen"-- a curved panel extending further around the edges, making an 88-degree fold on both left and right sides of the device.

Waterfall display

The result, at least when one looks at the early prototype directly from the front, is a smartphone with practically invisible bezels. Or, as the company claims, "with the innovative ‘Waterfall Screen’ design, Oppo will soon deliver an immersive visual experience and innovative aesthetic to users.”

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