Smartphones

Asus Boosts Sequel to ROG Phone

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Asus announces a sequel to the gaming-focused ROG Phone-- the predictably named ROG Phone II, an update the company claims is the first smartphone featuring a 120Hz AMOLED display, together with a more powerful Snapdragon 855 Plus processor.

ROG PhoneThe aforementioned display is 6.59-inch, and features both an integrated fingerprint sensor and 10-bit HDR support. Resolution is FHD+ (2340 x 1080), and customers can scale down the refresh from 120Hz to 90 or 60Hz in order to save battery life. Furthermore, Asus claims the touch latency is 49ms, the lowest in any phone yet.

Powering the handset is the Snapdragon 855 Plus, a chipset designed for gaming smartphones promising a 15% faster GPU and higher peak CPU clock speeds. Built using a 7nm processor, the chip generates less heat than previous Qualcomm processors such as the Snapdragon 845, but just in case the ROG Phone II also includes a vapor chamber, heat sink and air vents in order to keep things cool. Also included are 128GB RAM, up to 512GB of UFS 3.0 storage, 48MP rear-/13MP front-facing cameras and a 6000mAh battery.

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LG Intros G8S ThinQ

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LG launches the G8S ThinQ-- a variant of the flagship G8 ThinQ promising "unique touches" popular with target consumers, such an improved camera with a wide field of view and continuous zoom capability.

Thinq G8S

The G8S retains the same triple-lens rear-facing camera setup as the G8. It features a 137-degree field of view, the widest in an LG smartphone yet, as well as continuous zoom, bokeh effects and stabilisation enhancements to video. The front-facing camera also promises improvements, since it uses IR and "3D point clouds" for more accurate face-based unlocking, even in the dark, as well as the simulation of studio lighting in selfies.

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Xiaomi Aims Mi CC at the Young

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Xiaomi sets aim at youth demographic with the Mi CC, a smartphone brand the Chinese company describes as nothing less than "a trendy mobile phone for global young people."

Xiaomi Mi CCThe "CC" part of the Mi CC name stands for "camera+camera," although the announcement press release says it can also mean "chic, cool, colourful and creative." Either way the phones promise "trendy design and camera features," although so far Xiaomi has only points out the camera capabilities of the devices.

The company says the Mi CC will be a flagship for photography and selfies with both front and back cameras, and photographs will be further enhanced through the inclusion of an algorithm powered by the recently founded Xiaomi x Meitu Beauty Lab. Furthermore, the team working on Mi CC is one of the youngest at Xiaomi, and half of it are art majors dedicated to "creating a trendy design for young customers."

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HMD Global Goes Affordable with Nokia 2.2

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HMD Global announces the Nokia 2.2-- a squarely entry-level Android One smartphone featuring what the company claims is AI-powered camera allowing for low-light photography.

Nokia 2.2Being a lower-tier device the Nokia 2.2 has specs to match. It carries a 2GHz MediaTek Helio A22 quad-core processor, 2/3GB RAM, 16/32GB storage (expandable via microSD card) and a removable 3000mAh battery. The 5.7-inch LCD display handles 720p resolution and has a notch housing a 5MP front-facing camera allowing for Face Unlock. Which should come useful, since the device lacks a fingerprint sensor.

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MediaTek Preps 5G Chipset for Phones

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MediaTek is all set for the arrival of 5G with a "groundbreaking" integrated chipset featuring a built-in Helio M70 modem, ARM Cortex-A77 CPU, Mali-G77 GPU and an advanced AI processing unit (APU) to power the smartphones of tomorrow.

Mediatek 5G SoC

The 7nm 5G system-on-chip (SoC) is for 5G standalone and non-standalone (SA/NSA) sub-6GHz networks, and supports connectivity from 2G to 4G to bridge existing network access while 5G networks roll out globally. The single-chip design promises to superior to two-chip solutions, since it allows for more power efficient performance.

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