News on Smartphones, April 2021

iPhone 13 

iPhone 13 will use LTPO displays to enable ProMotion high-refresh rate

The power efficiency of LPTO helps enable the iPhone to run at a 120Hz refresh rate presumably without impacting battery life. To date, all iPhones use 60Hz display. The change results in more responsive user interactions, such as when scrolling a list or swiping between pages of the home screen.

Full content and details (external sources): 9to5Mac

iPhone 13 is said to have a dual rear camera setup

It looks like iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini will come with dual rear cameras while the iPhone 13 Pro Max will come with a triple rear camera setup. This is the same as the iPhone 12 series, but the iPhone 13 Pro Max is said to have much larger individual sensors compared to its predecessor.

Full content and details (external sources): Gadgets

More on iPhone

iPhone 14 to have 48MP camera, 8K video, no more iPhone mini from 2022

Apple will stop making the 5.4-inch iPhone mini starting from next year - there will still be an iPhone 13 mini in 2021, but it's expected to be made in lower quantities. Apple needed to reduce iPhone 12 mini manufacturing orders due to lower-than-expected interest.

The iPhone lineup in 2022 will feature two iPhone's with 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch displays and two iPhone Pro's with the same 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch displays.

Full content and details (external sources): GSMArena

Samsung 

Samsung Galaxy A22 5G

According to a Geekbench listing, the phone could be powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 700 SoC. It could be launched soon.

Full content and details (external sources): Gadgets

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE

The upcoming phone will apparently be slightly taller and slightly wider than the main Galaxy S21, with a 6.4-inch display rather than a 6.2-inch one. The rear camera bump, meanwhile, will be connected to the rear casing rather than the metal frame.

Full content and details (external sources): TechRadar

Samsung Galaxy Quantum2 is official with QRNG chip and 5G

The Galaxy Quantum2, which is expected to eventually ship globally as the Galaxy A82 (and sans the QRNG chip), has a 6.7-inch 1440p Super AMOLED with 120Hz refresh rate, a Snapdragon 855+ chipset mated to 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage and a 4,500mAh battery with 25W charging support (and a 15W charger in the box).

The key feature of the Galaxy Quantum2 is its quantum random number generator (QRNG) chip, which is the smallest in the world at 2.5mm squared.

Full content and details (external sources): GSMArena

Huawei P50 prototype photos suggest entirely new camera design

Huawei is expected to launch its P50 series in June with Harmony OS 2.0 out of the box. According to an anonymous tipster, this phone is part of the new P series, and looking at the curved edges, it should be the P50 Pro, however, the camera setup on the back lacks a periscope lens, meaning it could be the vanilla P50 as well.

Full content and details (external sources): GSMArena

Huawei Mate 40 Pro 4G and Mate X2 4G

Huawei will soon start selling 4G-only versions of the Mate 40 Pro and Mate X2 in China. The two devices are listed on Huawei's official website with full specs, but no details about price or date of availability. The Huawei Mate 40 Pro is still cutting edge with a 5nm Kirin 9000 chipset, a potent 50MP 1/1.28-inch main camera, 12MP 5x periscope tele and 20MP ultrawide with PDAF. There's a single 6.76-inch 90Hz OLED of 1344x2772px resolution.

Full content and details (external sources): GSMArena

Google

Google Pixel 5a 5G 

Google Pixel 5a 5G will have the Snapdragon 765G at the helm. It is rumored to get official on June 11, and so far a leak has shown us that it will have a design that's practically indistinguishable from that of the Pixel 4a 5G. Its dimensions make it closer to that phone than to the smaller Pixel 4a too.

Full content and details (external sources): GSMArena

Google Pixel 6

This year's Pixel devices will reportedly use custom Google silicon, according to 9to5Google. As per this report, the upcoming Pixel 6 smartphones — codenamed "Raven" and "Oriole" — will employ this custom SoC (system-on-chip). These devices are part of a platform known as "Slider", which also encompasses future Chromebook devices that will use this SoC.

Full content and details (external sources): GSMArena

Asus

Asus ZenFone 8 Mini 

Asus ZenFone 8 Mini has allegedly been spotted on Geekbench. It carries model number ASUS_I006D, that is associated with the ZenFone 8 Mini. The listing reveals that the smartphone could be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC, paired with 16GB of RAM. 

Full content and details (external sources): Gadgets

Asus ROG Phone 5

Asus ROG Phone 5 arrives for pre-order in India.

Asus introduced its ROG Phone 5 lineup including regular, Pro, and Ultimate last month and while they are yet to hit the market, one of the first countries that will see the gaming series is India.

Full content and details (external sources): GSMArena

Realme 

Realme Q3, Realme Q3 Pro, Realme Q3i

Realme Q3, Realme Q3 Pro, and Realme Q3i have been unveiled in China as the latest budget-friendly 5G phones from the company. Realme Q3 is powered by the Snapdragon 750G SoC, Realme Q3 Pro packs the MediaTek Dimensity 1100 SoC, and Realme Q3i is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 700 SoC. All three smartphone models come with triple rear cameras and a hole-punch cutout for the selfie camera. The new Realme phones are offered in multiple storage configurations and colour options.

Full content and details (external sources): Gadgets

Realme RMX3333

An unofficial Realme, wearing the model number RMX3333 has appeared on TENAA along with very comprehensive specs. It has a 6.43-inch AMOLED of 1080x2400px resolution, an octa-core processor that ramps up to 2.4GHz, 6GB or 8GB of RAM, 64GB, 128GB or 256GB of storage (expandable through microSD) and a 4,220mAh battery.

Full content and details (external sources): GSMArena

Xiaomi 

Redmi K40

The Redmi K40 gaming phone will be the first handset of the Xiaomi brand, dedicated to mobile gamers. While being part of the K40 series, it is an entirely new phone with completely different specs from the currently available ones, and the latest feature we have learned is the top-notch display. Redmi will equip its new phone with an OLED with a 120Hz refresh rate and all the other latest bells and whistles that suit a flagship-tier phone.

Full content and details (external sources): GSMArena

Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra, Mi 11X, Mi 11X Pro

Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra, Mi 11X, and Mi 11X Pro were launched in India through a virtual event that was livestreamed on the company's YouTube channel. The Mi 11 Ultra is the first phone in the Mi 11 series to arrive in India and it is the top-tier variant, as the name would suggest. Mi 11X and Mi 11X Pro are rebranded Redmi K40 and Redmi K40 Pro+ that launched in China in February. All three phones are flagship offerings from Xiaomi and come with triple rear camera setups.

Full content and details (external sources): Gadgets