Update (01/21/2020 @ 5:50 AM ET): New renders of the Galaxy Buds+ show off the new earphones in different color variants. Scroll to the bottom for more information. The article as published on December 19, 2019, is preserved as below.
Samsung is hard at work preparing the next 3 smartphones in the Galaxy S line up: the Galaxy S11, S11e, and S11+. We know this because multiple leaks have revealed the designs, displays, and camera specifications. Alongside the new smartphones, though, Samsung is seemingly preparing to refresh the Galaxy Buds, the company’s truly wireless earbuds. The new earbuds are expected to be called the Galaxy Buds+, and they’ll provide a major upgrade over the current Galaxy Buds with the addition of active noise cancellation. Famed leaker Evan Blass and Samsung news site SamMobile have previously revealed the existence of the new wireless earbuds, with the latter even linking to an alleged support page for the new product. Now, we’ve uncovered the strongest evidence yet for the existence of the new Galaxy Buds+, thanks to the Samsung SmartThings app.
Galaxy Buds+
SmartThings is Samsung’s brand for its home automation suite. The latest version of the Android app for SmartThings, version 1.7.41-25, rolled out on the Google Play Store this week. We decoded the APK to examine its resources and discovered new animations for a product called “budsplus.” Multiple lines of code in the SmartThings app clearly mark “buds” and “budsplus” as different products, so it’s safe to say that these animations are for the new Galaxy Buds+. The animations show the charging case and the wireless earbuds, confirming that the basic design of the Galaxy Buds+ is unchanged from the current generation Galaxy Buds.
Besides the name and design, the SmartThings app doesn’t reveal any other information about the new wireless earbuds. We can’t confirm if they support ANC. We don’t know if they’ll have onboard storage. We don’t know what colors will be available, what the price will be, and when they will launch. It probably won’t be long before the full specifications of the Galaxy Buds+ leak through online retailers, though.
New 2020 Smart Home Products from Samsung
Apart from the new wireless earbuds, the latest version of the SmartThings app also contains strings pertaining to several of Samsung’s upcoming 2020 smart home products. The strings describe an “easy setup” process for a new air purifier, refrigerator, and oven.
<string name="easysetup_prepare_2020_air_purifier_button_guide_1">If your device buttons are icons, press the one shown below.</string>
<string name="easysetup_prepare_2020_air_purifier_button_guide_2">If your device has both %1$s and %2$s buttons, use the %3$s button.</string>
<string name="easysetup_prepare_2020_air_purifier_confirm">When AP is blinking on your air purifier, press the %s button.</string>
<string name="easysetup_prepare_2020_air_purifier_icon"><u><font color=#3695dd>Does your device have icons for buttons?</font></u></string>
<string name="easysetup_prepare_2020_air_purifier_main">On your air purifier, press and hold the %1$s or %2$s button for more than 5 seconds until %3$s appears.</string>
<string name="easysetup_2020_refrigerator_confirm_top">When AP is blinking on your refrigerator, press the %1$s button until %2$s appears.</string>
<string name="easysetup_qr_oven_lcd_main">"Scan the QR code on your oven's screen."</string>
<string name="easysetup_qr_secondary_button_confirm">Add device without QR scan</string>
At IFA 2019, Samsung confirmed they were working on new smart home products such as these, so we’re not surprised to see these strings appear in the SmartThings app. We can probably expect several of these products to be unveiled at CES 2020 next month.
Update: New renders of the Samsung Galaxy Buds+ show off color variants
Leaker @IshanAgarwal has shared renders of the Samsung Galaxy Buds+ in the three color variants it will be available in.
p class=”dropcap”>In a bid to curb the misuse of facial recognition technology, the European Commission has revealed that it’s considering a ban on the use of facial recognition in public areas for up to 5 years. While the use of facial recognition is on the rise, the European regulators want time to draft rules to prevent the technology from being abused. As per a recent report from the BBC, the European Commission has set out its plan in an 18-page document which suggests that new roles will be introduced to strengthen existing regulations regarding privacy and data rights.
The document talks about imposing obligations on both developers and users of artificial intelligence and urged EU countries to create an authority to monitor the new rules. If the ban is implemented, the Commission will develop “a sound methodology for assessing the impacts of this (facial recognition) technology and possible risk management measures could be identified and developed.” This new proposal comes at a time when politicians and campaigners in the UK are calling to stop the police from using live facial recognition for public surveillance. The campaigners claim that facial recognition technology, in its current state, is inaccurate, intrusive and infringes on the individual’s right to privacy. A recent study has also suggested that facial recognition algorithms are far less accurate at identifying black and Asian faces compared to white faces.
As per a report from Reuters on the matter, Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai has backed the temporary ban on facial recognition till regulators are able to come up with rules to prevent its misuse. Pichai took to the stage at a conference in Brussels and said, “I think it is important that governments and regulations tackle it sooner rather than later and give a framework for it…It can be immediate but maybe there’s a waiting period before we really think about how it’s being used…It’s up to governments to chart the course.”
However, Microsoft’s President Brad Smith, who is also the company’s chief legal officer, spoke against the prospective ban. Smith cited the benefits of facial recognition in some instances such as NGOs trying to use it to find missing children and said, “I’m really reluctant to say let’s stop people from using technology in a way that will reunite families when it can help them do it.” Smith further added that the blanket ban on facial recognition was like using a meat cleaver instead of a scalpel to solve potential problems. In support of his argument, he also said that there “is only one way at the end of the day to make technology better and that is to use it.”
Back in February last year, a report from Canalys revealed that the Indian smartphone market showed the highest global growth. At the time, Chinese OEM Xiaomi held the top spot in the country, with a 29.9% market share. Samsung took the second spot at a market share of 25.8%, while Vivo and OPPO took the third and fourth spots, with a market share of 10.5% and 8.2% respectively. Later in the year, a report from analytics firm Strategy Analytics revealed that Samsung was slowly catching up with Xiaomi, with a market share of 26.3% in Q2 2019, to Xiaomi’s 28.7%. Now, a recent report from IDC reveals that both Samsung and Xiaomi have seen a rise in market share in the country, while Realme has lost some ground.
As reported by the Economic Times, the report reveals that Xiaomi and Samsung increased their market share following the festive season from September to November 2019. However, Realme’s shipments peaked in September at 16.74%, declining to 9.3% and 8.23% in November and December last year. In a statement regarding the report, Upasana Joshi, associate research manager for client devices at IDC, said that Realme saw a jump in September due to the fact that most of the purchases took place online during the festive season. Since Realme is an online-heavy brand, it saw a jump in sales during the season. But the company soon lost traction in the following months.
Xiaomi and Samsung, on the other hand, saw a significant bump in sales due to the launch of the Redmi Note 8 series and the Galaxy M30s. A Xiaomi spokesperson also revealed that the October-December quarter was good for the company and it sold over one million Redmi Note 8 series devices in the country within a month of launch. Samsung also managed to increase its market share from 16.19% in September 2019 to 19.85% and 21.08% in October and November, respectively. Its online share also jumped up from 10.3% in September to 18.77% in November, as per the IDC data. Along with Xiaomi and Samsung, Vivo also managed to revive its overall market share in November, bringing it up to 16.92% from 14.31% in September 2019. However, its online market share peaked at 12.69% in October and dipped down to 9.58% in November.
Update (01/21/2020 @ 3:45 AM ET): Samsung has launched the Galaxy Note 10 Lite in India. Scroll to the bottom for more information. The article as published on January 3, 2020, is preserved as below.
We’ve been tracking the Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite and Galaxy Note 10 Lite for a while now. The first rumors of Samsung working on “Lite” versions of the Galaxy S10 and Note 10 popped up back in October. Since then, information and leaked renders have slowly trickled in, but today Samsung made both devices official ahead of CES.
Galaxy S10 Lite
Galaxy Note 10 Lite
Display
6.7-inch Full HD+
Super AMOLED Plus Infinity-O Display
2400×1080 (394ppi)
6.7-inch Full HD+
Super AMOLED Infinity-O Display
2400×1080 (394ppi)
* Super AMOLED Plus display creates ergonomic design with thin and light display panel by adopting flexible OLED technology.
* Screen measured diagonally as a full rectangle without accounting for the rounded corners; actual viewable area is less due to the rounded corners and camera hole.
Camera
Rear
Triple Camera
– Macro: 5MP, F2.4
– Wide-angle: 48MP, Super Steady OIS AF F2.0
– Ultra Wide: 12MP, F2.2
Triple Camera
– Ultra Wide: 12MP, F2.2
– Wide-angle: 12MP, Dual Pixel AF F1.7 OIS
– Telephoto: 12MP, AF F2.4 OIS
* May differ by model, color, market and mobile operator.
* User memory is less than the total memory due to storage of the operating system and software used to operate the device features. Actual user memory will vary depending on the operator and may change after software upgrades are performed.
Battery*
4,500mAh (typical)
4,500mAh (typical)
* Typical value tested under third-party laboratory condition. Typical value is the estimated average value considering the deviation in battery capacity among the battery samples tested under IEC 61960 standard. Rated (minimum) capacity is 4,370mAh. Actual battery life may vary depending on network environment, usage patterns and other factors.
OS
Android 10.0
The Galaxy S10 Lite and Note 10 Lite are actually very similar, which is a little weird. The regular Galaxy S10 and Note 10 are quite different, but the Lite versions have a lot in common. Both devices feature triple rear cameras, 32MP front cameras (in hole punch), 6/8GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, 6.7-inch AMOLED Full HD+ displays, in-display fingerprint scanners, and 4,500mAh batteries.
Galaxy Note 10 Lite
That’s a lot of the key specifications, but there are a few things that differentiate these two phones. The most obvious difference is the Galaxy Note 10 Lite has the S Pen. Samsung barely mentions it in its announcement, but the fact that you can get the S Pen in a more affordable device is pretty cool. Another big difference is the processor. The Note 10 Lite features Samsung’s Exynos 9810 chipset, while the Galaxy S10 Lite has the newer Snapdragon 855 SoC.
As mentioned, both devices feature triple rear cameras, but the specifications are different. The Galaxy Note 10 Lite has a 12MP main, 12MP Ultra-Wide, and 12MP telephoto. The Galaxy S10 Lite features a 48MP main, 5MP macro, and 12MP Ultra-Wide. The cameras are also positioned slightly different with the Note 10 Lite having a square bump and the S10 Lite is more of a rectangle.
Galaxy S10 Lite
One small difference is the display panel. The Galaxy Note 10 Lite’s display is Super AMOLED, while the Galaxy S10 Lite’s display is Super AMOLED Plus. The color options are different as well, with the Note 10 Lite being available in Aura Glow, Aura Black, and Aura Red, and the S10 Lite being available in Prism White, Prism Black, and Prism Blue.
Samsung did not share the exact release date of either phone just yet, but the Galaxy Note 10 Lite will cost €599 and the Galaxy S10 Lite will be €649. The S10 Lite has slightly better specifications, but it doesn’t have the S Pen. That’s really what the choice comes down to. What do you think of Samsung’s Lite phones?
Update: Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite launched in India
The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite has been launched in India and will be available in Aura Glow, Aura Black, and Aura Red colors. The phone will cost ₹38,999 (~$548) for the 6GB variant and ₹40,999 (~$576) for the 8GB variant. Pre-bookings for the device begin from January 21 at 2 PM IST, while sales begin from February 3 across major retail stores, online stores, and Samsung.com. You also get a 3.5mm wired earphone from Samsung included in the box.
2019 was a pivotal year for OPPO on the global smartphone market. The OPPO Reno 10x Zoom was actually my favorite phone of that year thanks to its impressive haptics and stellar image quality in an all-around great package. With the company’s commitment to becoming more than just a smartphone brand in 2020, I’m excited to see what they’ll come out with next. One of their newest smartphones, the Reno3, was just announced late last month, but given that it hasn’t launched outside of China yet, it’s effectively a 2020 device. Before we check that device out, we wanted to test its immediate predecessor, the Reno2. The mid-range OPPO Reno2 launched in Europe back in October, and we’ve had quite a bit of time to gather our thoughts on it.
Before delving any further into this review, it’s important to note that my thoughts on ColorOS will mirror that of Zachary Wander’s in our OPPO Reno Z review. I am really not a fan of ColorOS, but based on what I’ve seen, OPPO seems to be taking community feedback to heart. ColorOS 7 based on Android 10 looks a lot more acceptable, and I’m itching to try it out myself. But the mid-range OPPO Reno2 is here – now – and it runs ColorOS 6.1. Is it worth consideration before the Reno3 launches internationally? Does OPPO have much to improve upon for the next phone? Here’s what I think of the Reno2.
About this review: I received the OPPO Reno2 from OPPO on the 16th of October 2019. OPPO is a sponsor of XDA, but they did not have any input on the content of this review nor did they read it before it went live.
OPPO Reno2: Device specifications
Specifications
OPPO Reno 2
Dimensions
160 x 74.3 x 9.5 mm
Display
6.55″ FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED
6th Gen Gorilla Glass
SoC
Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G
RAM & Storage
6GB + 128GB UFS 2.1
8GB + 256GB UFS 2.1
Battery
4000mAh with VOOC 3.0 fast charging
USB
USB Type-C
Connectivity
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac support
Bluetooth 5.0
NFC
Fingerprint Scanner
In-display
Rear Camera
48MP Sony IMX586, f/1.7, 0.8μm, PDAF, OIS
13MP, f/2.4, telephoto with 5X hybrid zoom
8MP, 116° wide-angle camera
2MP mono sensor
Front Camera
16MP, shark fin rising design
Android Version
ColorOS 6.1 on top of Android 9 Pie
Hardware and build quality
The OPPO Reno2 features a unique design with an all-glass curved back. It has a blue shimmer on each of the edges and in the center, which becomes more prominent based on how the light hits it. The triple camera setup lays flush with the glass, and an “O-Dot” helps the device level flat on a table, avoiding a common complaint of curved phone backs. While glass is probably the worst material to make a phone back out of from a pragmatic point of view, OPPO made the most of it by making the design as beautiful as can be. Glass also adds weight, though not as much as you would expect in this case of the OPPO Reno2 as it feels pretty lacking in weight.
The OPPO Reno2 is very much a fingerprint magnet, and if you’re using it caseless, you’ll be wiping down the back of it every few minutes. It otherwise looks fantastic, which makes it a shame that the included case covers up all of the wonderful things that the design gets right. The OPPO Reno 10x Zoom’s included case left a cut-out for the middle section of the device, but the OPPO Reno2’s doesn’t. The included faux-leather case covers up pretty much anything that shimmers blue. It’s not a very nice looking case either – I’d have preferred a transparent gel silicone case or a sandstone one like the one that’s included with the Reno 10x Zoom.
Left: OPPO Reno2 // Right: OPPO Reno 10x Zoom
The frame of the phone is made of hard plastic, with a USB Type-C port, speaker grille, microphone, and a headphone jack on the bottom. You read that right – a headphone jack. Bonus points to OPPO for that one. There’s another microphone at the top, along with the phone’s pop-up camera. On the right side of the phone is the power button, while on the left is where both of the volume keys lie.
The display itself is a 6.5-inch AMOLED 1080p panel, and thanks to the pop-up camera, it’s a complete no-notch experience. Content is uninterrupted by a notch or cut-out, and the display is completely edge-to-edge. The phone is pretty hard to use one-handed, though the phone is light so you might be able to manage. The phone’s lightness also contributes to the fact that it does feel somewhat cheap, though that’s more of my personal preference than anything else.
Presentation-wise, the phone comes in a pretty long box with a VOOC charger, cable, and earphones. The included earphones are just your standard 3.5mm ones and are of low quality.
Pop-up camera
The OPPO Reno2 has a “shark-fin” pop-up camera at the top of the device, which houses the selfie camera. It slides up on an axis as opposed to directly up or down. It looks pretty cool and feels durable, and it has a bit of a wow-factor that managed to catch the attention of multiple friends. It’s my favorite style of pop-up camera, that’s for sure. There are no fancy colors highlighting the edges like on the Redmi K20, nor is it the fastest popup in the world, but it works and it stands out. You can use it for face unlock too, though that will obviously be slower than the in-display fingerprint sensor.
OPPO Reno2 Display
One of the selling points of the OPPO Reno2 is its entirely bezel-less, no notch experience display. We touched on this briefly already, but the experience deserves its own section. While I don’t really have a huge problem with notches, it’s always better to not have one. Watching Netflix or playing games on an uninterrupted display cannot be understated, though keep in mind that there’s pretty much no actually-native content for this particular screen aspect ratio. At least on Netflix and on YouTube, you can pinch to zoom in and fill the display, though you’ll be cutting off some of the top and bottom of the content you’re watching as a result. As for games, I’ve not found any games that have had trouble resizing to fit the display.
Brightness wise, the OPPO Reno2 is perfectly usable in moderate sunlight, which is about the best it gets in Ireland. Just as it gets bright though, it also gets dark, and because it’s AMOLED, darks are really dark. It’s not an exceptional, HDR experience with any of the other bells and whistles you may have come accustomed to such as a 90Hz refresh rate, but at this price range, it doesn’t need to be.
Even better, the OPPO Reno2 comes with a pre-applied plastic screen protector. It’s not the highest quality mind you, but it protects the screen so I’ve got no real complaints here. There’s nothing really visibly off about it, and it feels nice to the touch as well.
ColorOS 6.1 on the OPPO Reno2
ColorOS 6 is a thorn in the side of Android enthusiasts who may own an OPPO smartphone, and it’s no exception for me either. ColorOS 6.1 is not enjoyable for me to use, looks ugly, and has some really strange quirks. It’s pretty inconsistent in its design, features that sometimes don’t make sense, and if you want to move away from it, you can’t unlock the bootloader and flash another ROM. Before I get into it though, it’s worth noting that OPPO has made a commitment to greatly improving its Android experience going forward with ColorOS 7. It takes a more stock-Android approach, which I’m sure many will appreciate.
But aside from that, ColorOS 6.1 actually does a decent job with the hardware that it has, even if it doesn’t look the prettiest. The battery lasts long and performance is more or less indistinguishable from a flagship handset. Apps don’t really lag, animations are fluid, and games run very well. The software behavior oddities do mar the experience a little bit, but if you can get past this, then the OPPO Reno2 is very usable. I personally switched over to Nova Launcher as soon as I got the device, which alleviates me from having to deal with a whole portion of ColorOS. I didn’t notice many differences between ColorOS 6.1 and 6, though I did pick up on the fact that screenshots are instantaneous on ColorOS 6.1 – that is, you don’t need to hold down the volume button and power. Just tapping them together at the same time will take a screenshot.
The OPPO Reno2 isn’t really marketed as a gaming smartphone, though the chipset which powers it, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G, is. The 730G features a higher clocked GPU, support for anti-cheat extensions, HDR gaming support, and the X15 LTE modem with Wi-Fi 6 support. From Call of Duty Mobile, to PUBG, to even Citra for Android the OPPO Reno2 handles a lot of what you’ll throw at it. You won’t be playing a lot of 3DS games, admittedly, but you’ll be able to play pretty much anything on the Google Play Store with maybe a slight reduction in graphics fidelity in some games. Animal Crossing: New Leaf was surprisingly playable, which is honestly more than I expected from a mid-range chipset. If you can bare the occasional lag, Pokemon X and Y are playable as well.
Overall, I had no problems running games on the OPPO Reno2. There was nothing that was really unplayable, as everything ran smoothly even if the graphics needed to be downgraded a little bit. OPPO’s Game Space springs into action whenever you launch a game, which aims to optimize performance, make it easier to answer phone calls while playing, and more. Gaming on the OPPO Reno2 is overall a pleasant experience and is surprisingly viable for pretty much all games that you can throw at it. It’s not the best in the business, but it doesn’t have to be at a much lower starting price than the flagship gaming competition.
OPPO Reno2 Battery and App Management
An0ther ColorOS 6.1 addition was a much-improved power consumption analysis menu. In previous versions of ColorOS, you couldn’t even view the total screen on time since last charging, so this change comes in better late than never. The battery on the OPPO Reno2 is pretty good, and it’s one thing that ColorOS seems to get right. The 4,000 mAh battery in the OPPO Reno2 coupled with the power-efficient chipset means that you’ll have, more or less, all-day battery life. I didn’t have any trouble making it from morning until night, and the 20W VOOC fast charger in the box gets me from 0% to 50% in about 30 minutes.
My typical use case consists of a lot of Snapchat, Facebook Messenger, Reddit, Twitter, and other typical apps. I’ve used my phone as a laptop replacement at times, but I’ve had no trouble getting through a day on the Reno2. At worst, I may have had to top it up a bit in the evening, but with the help of the aforementioned fast charger, that’s not really an issue.
That’s not just my experience, though. Take a look at some battery stats below, which Zachary Wander, who also has the device, shared with me.
As you can see, his device usage is somewhat heavy as well. His experience of the device’s battery life is that it’s worse than the Reno Z, but still okay. Good battery life is achieved thanks to ColorOS’ admittedly extreme app management, which I find shuts down apps in the background somewhat often. It’s interesting to me that I actually managed to get Steam Guard notifications consistently on the OPPO Reno2 whenever I tried to log in, something that both the Honor 20 Pro and the OnePlus 7/7T Pro struggled with. While it does appear to shut down apps in the background quite a bit, I’m glad to say that I haven’t missed any important notifications or ran into my messaging apps being entirely killed off. That’s a solid plus in the OPPO Reno2’s books.
OPPO Reno2 Camera
The OPPO Reno2’s driving marketing force is its camera, and when I had heard of its photo-taking capabilities from peers who had the device, I was intrigued. Could this have been OPPO’s answer to the Google Pixel 3a? Unlikely to compete completely on photo quality, but an effort nonetheless is what I had this device pegged to be. Sadly I was mistaken, as while it can take decent photos, I find that it all too often misses the mark. There are technically four cameras on the back, though only three are usable. The primary sensor is a 48MP shooter, then there’s a 13MP 2x optical zoom telephoto, and finally, an 8MP wide-angle camera. There is a 2MP B/W sensor as well, simply just to get extra data to be used in image processing. Overall, the OPPO Reno2’s camera is good, but it’s not great and I feel like you can get a much better camera experience in other smartphones at a similar price. Take a look at the image gallery below to get an idea of what I mean.
My biggest gripe with the OPPO Reno2’s camera is how it seems to struggle in low light. Photos in well-lit environments come out looking quite nice most of the time, although with a few exceptions. Day time shots look nice, and pictures have a lot of detail. You can also take wide-angle shots – great for capturing groups or a lot of things in one frame if you can’t step back far from it. The OPPO Reno2 has one major selling point over competitors when it comes to video though, in the form of its super steady video filming. It combines OIS and EIS to stabilize even the shakiest of videos. From my testing, it does a fantastic job as well. Take a look at the video below, where I more or less violently shook my hand for the duration of the recording.
As for the camera UI, I find that it’s easy to navigate and appealing to use.
Miscellaneous
The OPPO Reno2 is, overall, a decent smartphone, but there are still some other characteristics that may go into a smartphone that may not necessarily deserve their own section. One is cellular connectivity. The OPPO Reno2 was noticeably worse in signal strength than the OPPO Reno 10x Zoom, but it did a lot better than both the OnePlus 7 Pro/7T Pro and was a noticeable, albeit small, improvement over the Honor 20 Pro. The bottom line is that you shouldn’t really have any issue with signal on the OPPO Reno2 — if it’s possible to pick up a signal, it more than likely will. For phone calls, it’s perfectly fine, and people on the other end will hear you, and you’ll hear them.
On an audio note, this phone features a single bottom-firing speaker that does the job fine, but it’s not going to blow you away. The headphone jack can also drive my Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 headphones perfectly fine. There are four main audio equalization options powered by Dolby Atmos: Smart, Movie, Gaming, and Music. Smart mode attempts to guess what sort of sound you’re currently listening to and apply the most relevant of the other three modes. I don’t tend to touch the equalizer, so I switched this off when using headphones.
Haptics-wise, this particular device is pretty much middle of the pack. It’s not quite on the level of hearing it instead of feeling it, but it’s close to crossing that line. It’s clear that the vibration engine in this device is one of the corners that OPPO cut in its design in order to lower the price. OPPO is capable of making much better vibration motors, as is the case with the OPPO Reno 10x Zoom. I’m a little bit disappointed in this department as a result.
Conclusion
The OPPO Reno2 is a mid-range smartphone worth checking out if you want a slightly less powerful flagship experience. It’s not that the OPPO Reno2 heavily compromises in one particular department – instead, the company took the approach of reducing every aspect of the device by a small amount. Slightly worse cameras, slightly worse haptics, lower-end chipset, and a price tag of €499 means this device is a solid upper-mid-range smartphone, even if it’s not the best of the bunch. With ColorOS 7 on the horizon as well, much of the software woes associated with it should hopefully be eradicated.
Compare the OPPO Reno2 to other smartphones in a similar price bracket, such as the Google Pixel 3a XL. The Google Pixel 3a XL has the superior software and camera experience, but the OPPO Reno2 offers more versatility in its quad-camera array, along with a faster SoC and storage as well. You could also go for something like the Honor 20, but with the ongoing trade debacle with Huawei, you wouldn’t be blamed for shying away from that option. There are lots of options for alternative devices in a similar price bracket, but none that offer a near-flagship experience on pretty much every level.
The bottom line of the OPPO Reno2 is that it is, all around, a mid-range. There are no insane compromises that you have to put up with to use this device, and it’s a pleasant experience for the most part. I didn’t run into any major issues that hindered my usage of it. The OPPO Reno2 is a viable mid-range in pretty much any market, and it’s worth checking out if you’re on the lookout for a new smartphone. You can pick it up in carrier stores in the UK, which may make it easier to show it off to a friend or relative as well if they’re interested.
Along with the launch of the Realme X2 late last year, Chinese OEM Realme launched the Realme Buds Air — an AirPod-like pair of truly wireless earbuds. The new earbuds were released at a competitive price of just ₹3,999, while still offering great sound output and a set of useful features. The Realme Buds Air was an instant success in the country and it seems like the company is now looking to cash in on the newfound popularity with another pair of truly wireless earbuds called the Realme Buds Air Neo.
According to a recent listing on the Taiwanese National Communication Commission (NCC), Realme is now prepping up to launch the Realme Buds Air Neo — a more budget-friendly variant of the Realme Buds Air. While the certification listing doesn’t reveal any concrete information about the upcoming earbuds, we do get a clear look at their design.
For the most part, the Realme Buds Air Neo look a lot like its predecessor with the same Apple-esque design, however, they do feature some minor differences. For instance, the charging cable in the images reveals that the upcoming earphones will feature a micro USB port for charging, unlike the USB Type-C port on the Realme Buds Air. This cost-cutting measure leads us to believe that the Realme Buds Air Neo could be a bit more affordable than its predecessor.
Even though the Realme Buds Air Neo features a similar case design, the budget-friendly nature of the devices also leads us to believe that it may not have wireless charging like the more premium Realme Buds Air. AS of now, we have no information from the company regarding the Realme Buds Neo, but we expect to learn more as and when its launch draws closer.
In December 2019 at the Snapdragon Tech Summit in Hawaii, Qualcomm announced new mobile platforms – the Snapdragon 865 as well as the Snapdragon 765 and 765G – catering to the top and upper-mid tiers of the smartphones. Those chipsets were, respectively, upgrades to Qualcomm’s flagship SoCs – the Snapdragon 855/855 Plus – and the performance-oriented Snapdragon 730/730G. However, a bigger share of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon user base comes via the mid-range chipsets in the Snapdragon 600 series as well as the entry-level 400 series, especially in price-conscious markets like India, China, and other parts of Southeast Asia. Catering to these expectations, Qualcomm has just unveiled three new chipsets – the Snapdragon 720G, Snapdragon 662, and the Snapdragon 460 – at an event in New Delhi, India as upgrades to their existing lineup for the mid-tier and entry-level chipsets.
The key new features that these chipsets bring include Wi-Fi 6-readiness, Bluetooth 5.1, dual-frequency GNSS for accurate positioning, better power efficiency, and improved AI features. As Qualcomm believes the target group for these chips is far from adopting 5G anytime soon, these new chipsets instead bolster 4G connectivity by adding dual VoLTE support on the Snapdragon 720G, for instance.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G
Starting off with the chief chipset being announced today by Qualcomm, we have the Snapdragon 720G, which is evidently an upgrade to the Snapdragon 710/712 mobile platform. The suffix “G” adds the Snapdragon 720G chipset to Qualcomm’s lineup of gaming-focused chipsets with “Elite Gaming” features, which were announced last year along with the Snapdragon 855. The Snapdragon 720G will be manufactured on an 8nm process and uses newer Kryo 465 cores in Arm’s big.LITTLE configuration.
Besides the improvement in performance, the chipset gets a new AI engine that can be leveraged for more efficient gaming, photography, and performance while also improving the responsiveness of the virtual assistants. Meanwhile, the updated Spectra 360L ISP should expedite image processing.
Furthermore, the Snapdragon 720G brings improvements in connectivity by adding support for Wi-Fi 6. The new protocol allows the splitting of the data stream into sub-channels, allowing for more reliable connections. Of course, the feature only works if the router and device are Wi-Fi 6 certified but Qualcomm’s choice does future-proof the SoC. For more accurate positioning, the on-board GNSS chip will support connecting to dual frequencies. Additionally, the chip will be the first to support India’s newly announced satellite positioning system – NavIC.
Lastly, Bluetooth 5.1 and aptX Adaptive should bring high-quality low-latency wireless audio playback to mid-range devices with this chipset.
The table below compares the differences between the Snapdragon 712 and the newly announced 720G:
Qualcomm Snapdragon 712
Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G
CPU
2 x Kryo 360 Performance cores (Based on Arm’s Cortex-A75) @ 2.3GHz
Last year, Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon 665 mobile platform as a more power-efficient option between the Snapdragon 660 and the Snapdragon 670. Now, alongside the Snapdragon 720G, we’re seeing another chipset filling the space between the Snapdragon 660 and the 665 and it has been named the Snapdragon 662.
The Snapdragon 662 features a new Spectra 340T ISP which improves imaging in low light scenarios and can add support for augmented reality features via the camera. The chipset gets Wi-Fi 6 support via Qualcomm’s FastConnect 6100 but the LTE modem has been downgraded. Besides Wi-Fi 6, the chipset also gets support for NavIC. Furthermore, there’s Bluetooth 5.1 along with aptX TrueWireless Surround codec support.
The table below compares the Snapdragon 662 with the Snapdragon 660 and the 665:
Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (sdm660)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 662
Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 (sm6125)
CPU
4 x performance and 4 x efficiency Kryo 260 CPU cores (Up to 2.2GHz)
4 x performance and 4 x efficiency Kryo 260 CPU cores (Up to 2.0GHz)
4 x performance and 4 x efficiency Kryo 260 CPU cores (Up to 2.0GHz)
GPU
Adreno 512
Vulkan 1.0 support
Adreno 610
Vulkan 1.1 support
Adreno 610
Vulkan 1.1 support
AI
Hexagon 680
Hexagon 683
Qualcomm Sensing Hub
Hexagon 686
Memory
Type: LPDDR4/4X
Speed: Up to 1866MHz, 8GB RAM
TBA
Type: LPDDR3/LPDDR4x
Speed: Up to 1866MHz, 8GB RAM
ISP
Dual 14-bit Spectra 160 ISP
Single camera: Up to 25 MP, MFNR, ZSL, 30fps; Up to 48MP
Dual camera: Up to 16 MP, MFNR, ZSL, 30fps
4k @ 30fps video
Spectra 340T ISP
Single camera: Up to 48 MP, HEIF support
Triple camera support
Dual 14-bit Spectra 165 ISP
Single camera: Up to 25 MP, MFNR, ZSL, 30fps; Up to 48MP
Besides the two mid-range chipsets, Qualcomm has also announced the new Snapdragon 460 SoC for entry-level devices and it looks like a successor to the Snapdragon 450. For the first time, Qualcomm has introduced the Kryo branding for the CPUs in the Snapdragon 400 series with new Kryo 240 clusters. Compared to the Snapdragon 450, Qualcomm claims that with the new performance cores in the Snapdragon 460, the CPU gets a massive 70% boost in performance. Further, the chipset has been upgraded with the Adreno 610 GPU – which traditionally belongs to the 600 series – and this brings up to a 60% boost in GPU performance compared to the 450. Overall, Qualcomm says the Snapdragon 460 delivers 2x system performance compared to the Snapdragon 450. It is safe to assume that Qualcomm is gearing users up in the entry-level segment for graphics-heavy or AR-based entertainment and mobile gaming use cases. The new GPU also brings support for the Vulkan graphics API, which is now being adopted by many game developers.
Additionally, the Snapdragon 460 mobile platform brings a new DSP for improvements in AI-related applications, especially associated with voice operations. An improved ISP for smoother and faster image processing also adds support for triple cameras. Further, the new Snapdragon X11 modem increases 4G peak speeds while the chipset also gets support for Wi-Fi 6 and NavIC positioning technology.
The table below compares the features of the Snapdragon 450 and the 460:
The first set of devices with the Snapdragon 720G will be available in the market really soon. Qualcomm announced that devices featuring the Snapdragon 720G will be available within the first quarter of 2020 itself. Officials from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) recently said that some of the phones to come with NavIC support will be made by Xiaomi in India. Interestingly, they haven’t mentioned any other brand which might mean (although I say this with no confidence) that Xiaomi could launch one of the first phones in India with this chipset.
For devices based on Snapdragon 662 and Snapdragon 460, there’s a long waiting period and the first batch of devices will not be available until late 2020.
