Galaxy S8 Mini rumored to join Samsung flagship phones lineup

Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S8 and S8+ are rumored to be getting a little brother in the form of the Galaxy S8 Mini to join the lineup.

According to a report from Chinese site IT Home via GSM Arena, the S8 Mini will have a 5.3-inch screen but will feel like a 4.7-inch device because of its end-to-end display. Basically, it will be a shrunk down version of a standard Galaxy S8.

The report also included a mock-up photo showing the size differences between the S8, S8+ and the rumored S8 Mini.

Coming with its smaller body are slightly toned down specifications. Instead of a top-of-the-line Snapdragon 835 processor, the S8 Mini is rumored to include the previous generation Snapdragon 821. It will also have 4GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage, half of the 64GB on the standard S8.

Unlike the previous Galaxy S5 Mini, which made compromises to its feature set to fit the smaller size, the S8 Mini will reportedly retain that flagship feel and experience, but on a smaller screen and form factor.

The Galaxy S5 Mini was launched in July 2014 and was the last Mini version of a flagship phone that the manufacturer released. It was marketed as a more affordable alternative to the high-end Galaxy S5.

The Galaxy Note 8 and Note 7 Fan Edition (refurbished Galaxy Note 7) are also expected to be released soon, adding to the current roster of high-end devices from the Korean phone maker. Alfred Bayle/JB

source: technology.inquirer.net

New Huawei smartphones Mate 9, GR5 2017 enter Philippine market

Huawei is going all-in on dual-camera smartphones this year, and what better way to exemplify this than with a twin-launch of their latest smartphones, the Mate 9 and GR5 2017.

Huawei Mate 9

The Mate 9, Huawei’s newest flagship model, takes a lot of what made the P9 a success while adding on a few new tricks. First off, it uses the new Kirin 960 chipset at its heart. It is the first SoC to feature an ARM Cortex-A73/A53 octa-core CPU and Mali G71 octa-core GPU.


The new model promises to offer consistent performance while drawing in less power, complimented by a massive 4,000 mAh battery and supplemented by Huawei’s SuperCharge technology. The feature can juice up the battery to up to 60 percent in less than thirty minutes.

A machine learning algorithm has also been incorporated into the Huawei Mate 9 to help the whole system better optimize power usage and performance. The system will learn the user’s habits and attempt to predict which apps to prioritize, as well as when to conserve energy.

In light of the concern for exploding batteries, Huawei also implemented a Super Safe 5-gate safety mechanism that will do real-time monitoring for voltage, electric current and temperature. This, the company hopes, will prevent the battery from catching fire.

Next is the pride and joy of the Mate 9, it’s Leica dual-lens F2.2 camera with a 20-megapixel monochrome and 12-megapixel RGB sensor. The camera system also has Hybrid Zoom, generally a feature for refined digital zooming and optical image stabilization.

Finally, the Huawei Mate 9 features an odd 5.9-inch full HD display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3. Huawei emphasized that despite having an almost 6-inch display, they designed the Mate 9 to be only slightly bigger than most 5.5-inch smartphones. They did this by chipping off the bezel around the screen and relocating the home as well as fingerprint scanner to the back.

Its other features are 4GB of RAM, 64GB of internal storage with microSD expansion, NFC, 4K video recording, headphone jack, and an 8-megapixel AF F1.9 front camera.

Huawei GR5 2017

The GR5 2017 sits just below the Mate 9 and covers the price market between P10,000 and P15,000, but it is by no means a pushover.

For starters, it is one of the few in the price segment that features a dual-camera system, making it a very competitive offering from Huawei. This system incorporates 12- and 2-megapixel cameras that work in tandem to achieve an autofocus speed of 0.3 seconds. Autofocus speed has been one of the recurring complaints regarding smartphones in this price range, so Huawei thought to remedy that. The cameras also have a 78-degree viewing angle.

Under the hood is a Kirin 655 octa-core processor and a support i5 coprocessor. It also has generous 3,340 mAh battery that the company rates for up to 1.5 days of heavy use. It would be safe to assume that its three power saving modes (normal, smart, and ultra power saving) play a big role in achieving this feat.

The rest of its features include a fingerprint scanner, a 5.5-inch display, an 8-megapixel front camera, 3GB of RAM, and 32GB of internal storage with microSD expansion.

Availability

Both the Huawei Mate 9 and GR5 2017 are now locally available, priced at P31,990 and P13,990, respectively. Alfred Bayle

source: technology.inquirer.net