Update (1/2/2020 @ 11:25 AM ET): Xiaomi, OPPO, and Vivo have finally announced that their cross-device file transfer solution will launch in February.
The AirDrop feature on Apple devices is a fast and convenient way of sharing files without any requirement to rely on third-party applications. It has been around since 2011 is one of the reasons why many prefer staying in the Apple ecosystem. Android, too, had had NFC-based Android Beam for several years but it will be deprecated in Android Q to make way for a new and much faster method, called Fast Share, which is inspired by AirDrop. Fast Share was first spotted in Android Q beta and can be expected to become a standard feature with the stable release of Android Q. In the meantime, three Chinese electronics giants including Xiaomi, OPPO, and Vivo have announced they are jointly working on their own cross-UI file transfer system.
The three smartphone manufacturers – Xiaomi, OPPO, and Vivo – have formed an alliance for the development of a new P2P file transfer protocol. The method is likely to be using Bluetooth LE to establish connections and should have transfer speeds in the order of 20 megabytes (MB) per second. Users will be able to exchange multiple file formats and even folders with this solution. Not only will the feature work between two devices from the same brand, but it will also work between devices of any of the three brands in any combination.
OnePlus already has FileDash, a high-speed file transfer system which is limited to just OnePlus devices. Since Vivo and OPPO share the BBK Electronics bloodline with OnePlus, they are likely to bring something interesting to the table.
As per the announcement, the resulting product will have an open development.
OPPO’s engagement with Xiaomi and Vivo benefits Realme
Realme, the company which was branched out of OPPO, will also be reaping the benefits of this alliance. On Twitter, Realme’s marketing head Francis Wang confirmed that Realme is also a part of this alliance. While the tweet does not clarify whether Realme will be a direct participant in this supergroup or only derive benefits from OPPO’s involvement in this venture.
You are right, realme also agreed for cross -brand direct file transfer. https://t.co/WZPMKWHkxG
Originally announced in August 2019, Xiaomi, OPPO, and Vivo have finally announced that their cross-device file transfer solution will launch in February. It will start rolling out first on new Vivo devices. OPPO and Xiaomi have not shared when they will start including the feature. We’re also not sure if the feature will be limited to specific regions or will be available on all devices. Users who have the feature will only need to enable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth or enable it in the settings. If the recipient has the feature as well, the sender will see an icon to signify it.
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Update (01/02/2020 @ 9:05 AM ET): The Xiaomi Mi MIX Alpha has reportedly been delayed indefinitely. Scroll to the bottom for more information. The article as published on September 24, 2019, is preserved as below.
Xiaomi’s Mi MIX lineup was first introduced as a revolutionary product with a nearly bezel-less display. The concept has matured over the generations with the Mi MIX 2 and the Mi MIX 2S. and with the fourth MIX smartphone, Xiaomi is doing something unique and futuristic. The Mi MIX Alpha is another major leap forward for Xiaomi, as it comes with a display that wraps around the edges and continues on to the back. This makes for a two-sided display but without any discontinuity apart from a thin strip for the camera assembly. The Mi MIX Alpha gets a screen-to-body ratio of 180.6%.
The “Surround Display” deployed by Xiaomi makes the Mi MIX Alpha a truly futuristic phone, but there’s a lot to qualm about its durability, especially since you cannot use a case with it. The “4D curved” display on the MIX Alpha is a work of art but we may have to wait to see this mature into a commercial device. Clearly, the display beats the waterfall displays that we’ve seen on the devices such as the Vivo NEX 3.
The Mi MIX Alpha does not have a visible side frame and all of the antennas for the 5G connectivity have been housed within the thin strip. There’s no earpiece either and the smartphone uses ultrasonic vibrations to emulate the earpiece. To keep the Mi MIX Alpha lightweight, Xiaomi is using a titanium alloy for the construction of the smartphone. The bar on the back is made of black ceramic and there’s Sapphire Glass protection over the cameras.
To make up for the lack of buttons, there are pressure-sensitive areas on the sides that function as buttons. These areas can otherwise be used as part of the display. The pressure-sensitive zones can also be used as triggers while gaming. Users will be able to slide a part of the display to increase or decrease the volume.
To prevent accidental touches, Xiaomi’s AI will smartly monitor the orientation of the phone, the accelerometer and use cues from the current app. Xiaomi claims to have mastered palm rejection on this all-screen device, but we’ll wait to see how this works in reality.
The Mi MIX Alpha utilizes the display on the back to run versions of apps like Maps, calculator and more.
The triple camera setup on the phone includes the 108MP Samsung ISOCELL Bright HMX camera sensor that was previously teased by Xiaomi. The camera sensor is four times larger than the 48MP Sony IMX586 sensor. It’s a 1/1.33-inch sensor with a pixel size of 1.6 microns. The output 108MP images are of 12032 x 9024 in resolution and come in at nearly 40MB in size. There’s a 20MP ultrawide camera with a 117º field of view and a 12MP depth sensor. There’s no front camera on the phone, since you can simply flip the phone and use the display on the back as your viewfinder. This essentially gives you a 108MP front camera in practice.
Internally, the Mi MIX Alpha is a Xiaomi flagship that comes with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Plus, with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of UFS 3.0 storage. There’s a 4,050mAh battery on the smartphone and it gets support for 40W Turbo Charging. And of course, the phone comes with 5G support.
Being a concept smartphone, the Mi MIX Alpha will not come to the markets instantly but users will be able to play with prototypes at select Mi Stores in China. The smartphone will only be produced on a small scale to gauge interest from users and will, thus, be priced at CNY 19,999, which converts into a price of about $2,812/€2,560/₹1,99,000. While the pricing may seem outrageous, it does feel justified due to the conceptual nature of the smartphone and bleeding-edge technologies that it comes with. As is with the previous Mi Mix smartphones, Xiaomi isn’t really looking to sell a lot of this smartphone, but use them as vehicles to show the future to end-users.
Update: Xiaomi Mi MIX Alpha delayed indefinitely
Xiaomi had always maintained that the Mi MIX Alpha was primarily a concept smartphone, one that showcased what was possible instead of focusing on only what was feasible like most mainstream smartphones. Despite its conceptual nature, the phone was supposed to be made available to the public in limited quantity in December 2019, but that has not happened yet. According to a new report, Xiaomi does not have any dates to share for the Mi MIX Alpha’s limited availability. No reasons have been mentioned for the indefinite delay, but one only needs to look at the smartphone and the technical challenges involved to be sympathetic towards the delay.
Update 3 (01/02/20 @ 04:50 AM EST): The 6GB/64GB variant of Realme X2 Pro is now available for sale in India.
Update 2 (12/21/19 @ 00:45 AM EST): Realme has announced the 6GB/64GB variant will also be available for sale in India soon.
Update 1 (12/02/19 @ 00:45 AM EST): Realme X2 Pro is now available for open sale via Flipkart and their own online store at Realme.com.
The original launch article from November 20, 2019, remains unchanged.
Realme has grown at an astonishing rate over the last year and this controverts the globally declining demand for smartphones. Starting its journey with entry-level smartphones, Realme has rapidly evolved to grab a major chunk of the mid-range segment and is now vying for a share in the segment of flagships – or rather, flagship killers. Last month, Realme launched the Realme X2 Pro, their first true flagship smartphone, in China and Europe and today they’re launching the smartphone in India for an insane price of ₹29,999 ($417).
The Realme X2 Pro has kept the Indian consumers intrigued since the first announcement from Realme about their entry in the flagship segment. It is undeniably the most well-equipped flagship killer device available outside of China and has a lot of alluring features including many firsts for the sub-₹30,000 category. The list includes Snapdragon 855 Plus SoC, up to 12GB of RAM, a Super AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate, a 64MP quad-camera, 50W fast charging but it does not end there.
The Realme X2 Pro embraces a glass sandwich design with layers of Gorilla Glass 5 protection on both sides. The frame surrounding the edges of the phone is made of metal. The back panel has a reflective design with color options between Lunar White and Neptune Blue. Underneath the Gorilla Glass 5 on the front is a 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display with a Full HD+ resolution. A key highlight of the display is that it supports a maximum refresh rate of up to 90Hz, resulting in a smooth scrolling experience – even though the support for a higher refresh rate may be limited to certain apps. The display also features an optical in-display fingerprint scanner from Goodix.
A Snapdragon 855 Plus, currently the most powerful SoC for smartphones, powers the Realme X2 Pro. This is paired with either 8GB or 12GB of RAM. While a 6GB RAM variant was also announced during the launch events in China and Europe, it will not be a part of Realme’s catalog in India. The Realme X2 Pro also gets an upgrade in terms of the storage technology and it comes with a UFS 3.0 storage. The 8GB RAM model gets 128GB while the 12GB variant gets 256GB as the onboard storage. Notably, there’s no option to expand the storage.
The camera on the Realme X2 Pro gets another major upgrade over the previous models. The X2 Pro borrows the Samsung ISOCELL Bright GW1 64MP primary sensor from the Realme XT but the aperture of the attached lens is slightly smaller. Besides the 64MP camera, the X2 Pro features a 13MP telephoto camera with 2X optical, 5X hybrid, and up to 20X digital zoom. Then, there’s an 8MP wide-angle camera – which also facilitates super macro shots – alongside a 2MP portrait camera for improved bokeh. In terms of video, the rear camera supports 4K recording at 6ofps using the primary camera along with EIS. Additionally, there’s Full HD video recording on the wide-angle camera and other features like 960fps slow-motion video, bokeh video, and more. On the front, the Realme X2 Pro gets a 16MP selfie camera, which is most likely to be the same as the Realme XT.
Another major advantage of the Realme X2 Pro is the 50W SuperVOOC fast charging technology it borrows from the parent company OPPO. As per the company’s claims, the smartphone should take around 35 minutes to charge the 4,000mAh battery completely. That’s certainly impressive, especially taking the price into consideration. The 50W charger is bundled in the box and users will not have to buy it separately.
The Realme X2 Pro gets a stereo speaker setup with the earpiece doubling as the left loudspeaker and there’s Dolby Audio for sound enhancements. Additionally, there’s a new haptic engine on the smartphone for improved feedback and enhanced gaming experience. Further, there’s a vapor cooling chamber to help keep the temperatures low while gaming.
Standard: Lunar White and Neptune Blue
Master Edition: Red Brick and Concrete
Realme X2 Pro Master Edition
Realme has once again partnered with the Japanese industrial designer Naoto Fukasawa, who helped design the Realme X’s onion and garlic variants. This time, Fukasawa borrowed inspiration from construction materials and helped Realme create the concrete and red brick editions of the smartphone. These variants come with a frosted glass back design similar to the OnePlus 7T and give the impression of a sandstone-live surface.
The Realme X2 Pro Master Edition comes only in the 12GB/256GB variant, which comes at a higher price compared to the similarly specced variant of the standard edition. The concrete and red brick variants will be available in a limited quantity.
Price and Availability
The Realme X2 Pro will be available in India exclusively via Flipkart starting November 26, 2019, which will be its first invite-only early access sale. The 8GB/128GB variant will come for ₹29,999 ($417) while the 12GB/256GB variant is priced at ₹33,999 ($473). Realme is also including the Realme Wireless Buds costing ₹1,799 ($25) for free for the first sale. Invites for the first sale will be distributed through Realme’s social media channels.
The first 10,000 realme.com buyers can return the phone with no questions asked, if they do not like it.
The Master Edition of the Realme X2 Pro will be priced at ₹34,999 ($487) and will have its first sale in late December 2019.
Realme has also collaborated with DJI to introduce the DJI Osmo Mobile 3 handheld gimbal as a recommended accessory for the Realme X2 Pro. The DJI Osmo Mobile 3 will have to be purchased separately, though Realme did not reveal pricing and availability information.
Realme also teased the Realme Earpods at the event, though this will be launched later on.
Update: Realme X2 Pro goes on open sale
The Realme X2 Pro is now available for sale and you can buy it without any invite. The flagship killer has been listed on their online store as well on Flipkart. You can get an additional 10% discount by using HDFC credit or debit card and this is also applicable on EMIs.
Update 2: 6GB/64GB variant announced for India
Realme’s CEO Madhav Sheth tweeted a video announcing that the Master Edition of the Realme X2 Pro will go on sale starting this Christmas Eve. Along with this, he also announced that the 6GB/64GB variant of the smartphone will be launched in India soon and will be priced at ₹27,999 (~$395). The launch date of the same was not revealed.
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Over the last couple of months, Realme has done a fantastic job of releasing timely security updates for its devices. Following the rollout of the Android security patches for December 2019 early last month, the company rolled out updates for the Realme 1, U1, 3 Pro, XT, C2, 5 Pro, and Realme X with the December 2019 patches along with some minor changes to the OS. Now, the company has started rolling out updates for the Realme 5 and Realme 5s.
The latest ColorOS 6.0.1 update for the Realme 5s has started rolling out to users in India and it brings the Android security patches for December 2019 along with a few minor bug fixes and improvements. Here’s the official changelog for the ColorOS 6.0.1 update (v. RMX1911EX_11_A.23) for the Realme 5s:
Security:
Android security patch: December, 2019
System:
Fixed some known bugs and improved system stability
A similar update for the Realme 5 has also started rolling out to users in India. The update also includes the Android security patches for December 2019, along with some minor bug fixes and improvements. Here’s the official changelog of the ColorOS 6.0.1 update (v. RMX1911EX_11_A.23) for the Realme 5:
Security:
Android security patch: December, 2019
System:
Fixed some known bugs and improved system stability
As mentioned earlier, the update have already started rolling out to Realme 5 and Realme 5s users in India. In case you haven’t received the OTA update notification yet, you can go ahead and download the update package from the link below and install the update manually.
The Telegram messenger is steadily becoming the go-to choice for users looking for a reliable cross-platform messaging app that’s big on privacy. The app offers tons of useful features that make it a better alternative to WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger, and it keeps getting even more new features with each successive update. Earlier this year, the app received support for silent messages, a slow mode in group chats, a new attachments menu, support for scheduled messages, custom cloud themes, and more. Now, with the latest update, Telegram is receiving a brand new Theme Editor, along with a couple of more new features.
Telegram v5.13 is now rolling out on the Play Store and with this build, it becomes the first-ever messaging app to allow users to independently verify that the code on GitHub is the exact same code that was used to build the app released on the Play Store. The update also brings a brand new Theme Editor with which you’ll be able to quickly tweak the style of elements in Telegram chats and add new gradients to messages and the chat background. Once you’re done customizing the interface, you can share your new theme with friends who can customize it even further as per their preference. In order to give users more customization options, Telegram has also added new patterns that can be applied to the chat background to give it a unique touch.
If you’re not too big on customization, the latest Telegram update also includes predefined color schemes for the app’s default themes. There are a variety of color schemes to choose from, that will let you completely change the look of the messenger with a single tap.
Adding on to the scheduled messages feature that was launched in a previous update, the latest Telegram update brings a “Send When Online” feature. This feature will allow users to draft a message and automatically send it when the recipient comes online. The new feature can be found within the Schedule Message option, however, you’ll only be allowed to use it if you are allowed to see your recipient’s online status.
The update also brings a couple of minor features to Telegram that are expected to greatly improve its functionality. These include an improved venue sharing feature that will let you easily share your location with friends, better support for podcasts and audiobooks, a convenient new toggle to switch to night mode, improved animations, the ability to select a portion of the message text, multi-sharing from other apps, mark archive as read, and more. Click on the source link below for a complete list of all the new features introduced in Telegram v5.13.
With the new year finally upon us, smartphone OEMs have begun sharing their vision and targets for the year. OPPO’s plan for 2020 was to evolve and grow better as a brand beyond just smartphones, leveraging 5G as the driving force for these experiences. India also occupies a key position in this vision, as OPPO aims to reach out to the large talent pool of innovators, developers, and partners in the country for integration with ColorOS 7. OPPO is now expanding on more key details, as the Chinese smartphone maker has announced its intentions of assembling 100 Million handsets in the country this year.
According to a report, OPPO has set for itself an ambitious target of assembling 100 Million smartphones in the country for sale in its domestic market this year. 2020 will also see an aggressive retail push from the company with an aim to let more people experience OPPO’s flagship devices.
“In 2020, we would like to pace up our growth with a continued focus on ‘Make in India’ as we expect to manufacture 100 million units by the end of next year. We will also focus on building an integrated technology system to power immersive and personalized 5G experiences. In line with our aim to further elevate the premium experience, we plan to open multiple premium flagship stores across the country.”
OPPO saw robust growth in 2019 in India, with success across the device spectrum through OPPOs device lineups like the A series, K series, and the recently launched Reno and Reno2 series. This success from the Indian market has prompted the company to expand its presence by investing further in R&D spaces, which will supplement its existing six global institutes and four research centers in India.
OPPO recently launched the Reno3 and Reno3 Pro in China, ushering in 5G technology alongside other key features. While the company has not detailed when, or if, the phones will make their way outside of China, we can definitely expect them to launch these devices in India and Europe. We hope to learn more about their plans for these phones soon.
