There’s very little we don’t know about the OnePlus 3. The Chinese company’s flagship’s marketing campaign has been boiling up for some time now, and between that and an array of leaked specs it’s only the official launch date we didn’t know.
According to a post submitted by OnePlus on Weibo, it looks like the wait won’t be long, with a June 15 date slated for its final unveiling…
Earlier this month, Huawei took the wraps off its first premium dual-camera equipped flagship, the P9. If a teaser which leaked to Weibo holds any weight, the company is about to introduce similar technology to its sub-brand, Honor’s next phone.
Xiaomi’s co-founder and SVP Liwang Jiang has confirmed on Chinese social network, Weibo, that the company is ramping up production of the Xiaomi Mi 5 ahead of a launch sometime after Spring Festival/Chinese New Year. The device will ship with the brand new quad-core Snapdragon 820 processor.
From the loosely translated page, it seems Xiaomi‘s production of the next flagship is hitting peak levels now to ensure that there’s enough stock for when the smartphone is released next month.
We don’t know much else about the Chinese manufacturer’s next smartphone. There have been rumors, as there always are, suggesting we’ll see a device equipped with a QHD resolution 5.2-inch display, giving it a huge pixel density of 565ppi. It’s also rumored to feature a massive 3,600mAh battery with Quick-Charge 3.0 support, suggesting we won’t see USB Type-C. Cameras are allegedly going to be 16MP and 13MP on the rear and front respectively.
As with virtually all of Xiaomi’s products, the Mi 5 is likely to punch above its price point. Pricing is rumored to be around the $300-$400 range, putting it right at the top of Xiaomi’s product line.
Perhaps more interesting than all the claimed specifications is watching to see if this device launches officially in more international markets. With Huawei stealing its thunder in China, Xiaomi needs to hit back and has been rumored to be planning a US launch at some point soon. With the Snapdragon processor inside, the Mi 5 could end up being its first major international handsets. Of course, that’s just speculation and wishful thinking. But it would be great to finally see the brand officially hit international store shelves.
A couple of days back, rumors emerged claiming that Samsung was working hard to deal with heating problems found while testing the Snapdragon 820 processor in its upcoming Galaxy S7. Although it’s similar to the rumors surrounding the SD810 last year, it was still surprising. Qualcomm stated earlier in the year that its next processor has enhanced performance and efficiency. A stance which the manufacturer was keen to repeat on Weibo having seen those Samsung rumors:
Some recent media reports about Xiaolong 820 rumors performance is not real news.Xiaolong 820 processor all IP modules are to achieve improvement and enhancement, and the use of second-generation 14-nanometer manufacturing process. Xiaolong 820 reached all our design specifications. More importantly, the Xiaolong 820 OEM manufacturers to meet the requirements of its terminal cooling and performance specifications
Qualcomm is no stranger to controversy surrounding the performance of its mobile processors. Last year, the Snapdragon 810 was dropped from the Galaxy S6 before launch, allegedly due to overheating problems. (Qualcomm denied those reports too.) Even devices that shipped with the chip had to under-clock them to deal with the problem, forcing Qualcomm to ship a revised edition. This was a major factor in Qualcomm’s disastrous year. A lack of confidence in new Snapdragon processors, and the rise of competitive lower-priced chips forced the company to make drastic cuts.
The Snapdragon 820, like its predecessor, is facing controversy even before it’s launched, and that’s not good news for Qualcomm. Even if the rumors aren’t true, it won’t do much to inspire confidence in the brand and could lead to a rise in orders from companies like MediaTek and Intel.
HTC has come out on its official Weibo account to post a picture teasing what looks to be a smartphone of some kind. Notably, September 6th would put the announcement during IFA, so the date seems a bit more than plausibly realistic. Also, HTC has been saying since the flop that was the HTC One M9 that it is planning to try and take at least one more stab at the smartphone market…
HTC’s CEO Cher Wang having promised a new “hero product” coming in October, and most recently, images of what is purportedly an “HTC One A9” (otherwise known as “Aero”) leaked out. There’s no way to know if those images are genuine, but if they are, it’s definitely an unashamed copy of Apple’s iPhone 6. They do, however, match up with another image leaked purporting to show the A9.
I guess we’re only a few days away from knowing the truth. Here’s the tease:
When Sony announced its new flagship smartphone back in April, the Xperia Z4, there wasn’t a solid launch date other than this summer for the Japan market. Now, it appears Sony’s team in China has announced a May 26 launch date, meaning we could see the device sooner rather than later outside of Japan.
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Photo: HTC Chairwoman Cher Wang, and Alice Sun’s blog post
A recent rumor that HTC was withdrawing from the smartphone market, and that the company would be offered for sale, have been denied by the company. HTC recently warned of a possible loss in Q3 following disappointing Q2 results.
The rumor was started by a post on the the Chinese microblogging site Weibo by EE Times Chinese analyst Alice Sun, a commentator with a generally good track-record. However, rumors of a denial swiftly followed, and Engadget has now received what appears to be a definitive denial of the sale – though interestingly no specific response is made to the suggestion that HTC is pulling out of smartphones …
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