Realme X50 Pro 5G specs revealed by company CMO

Chinese phone maker Realme is hosting a global launch event at Mobile World Congress (MWC) later this month, where it will unveil a new 5G flagship, which is now confirmed to be called the X50 Pro 5G.
This confirmation comes from the company CMO Xu Qi Chase through Weibo, where he posted a screenshot of the X50 Pro 5G's About Phone section, which confirms a few specs.
 

This is the Realme X50 5G that was announced last month The X50 Pro 5G, bearing model number RMX2071, will be powered by the Snapdragon 865 SoC and run Android 10 with Realme UI on top. It will come with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage, but it will likely have more memory options that are yet to be confirmed.
The 5G flagship will come with NFC and support dual SIM as well, but it's unclear whether it will have a microSD card slot since the company's first flagship - X2 Pro - doesn't have one.
The snapshot also reveals that the X50 Pro 5G will sport a display having a punch hole in the top-left corner for the selfie cameras, and checking its resolution reveals the phone will pack a FullHD+ panel.

Alongside the X50 Pro 5G, Realme will also unveil its first smart TV at MWC. We should hear more about these products as we inch closer to the launch event.
Thanks for the tip!

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Huawei introduces Freebuds 3 Red edition

In anticipation of Valentine’s Day, Huawei is announcing a new Red edition of the FreeBuds 3. The color is going to be offered alongside the White and Black models that the TWS earbuds are already available in. The release highlights the Red edition’s double coat of paint with advanced UV coating techniques.

The FreeBuds 3 are priced at €179 or £179. These wireless earbuds are an open-fit pair of earbuds that feel and look a lot like the AirPods. Despite the similarity, it offers a full range of features for Android devices, but the best experience will come when used with a Huawei device and the AI Life companion app.

The FreeBuds 3 are powered by Huawei’s in-house Kirin A1 chipset with support for Bluetooth 5.1. They offer wireless charging, IPX4 immersion protection, and USB-C fast charging. These buds are rated for 4 hours of playback per charge or up to 20 hours total using the charging case. Active noise cancellation is also standard on these, despite their open fit.
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Qualcomm releases the first 8K video shot with Snapdragon 865

Qualcomm reached out with a new video link as the original upload had some issues. Embedded video below has been updated with new link. Original story follows below.
Qualcomm’s newest Snapdragon 865 chipset is going to power high-end devices this year, starting with the Samsung Galaxy S20, set to be announced next week. Today, Qualcomm posted an 8K video sample that was recorded using hardware powered by the new chipset.
The Spectra 480 ISP is found inside the Snapdragon 865 and can process 2 gigapixels per second. It’s also theoretically capable of capturing 200 MP still images and simultaneously capture 4K HDR video and 64MP stills.

Smartphones with the Snapdragon 865 can capture professional image quality and will pack exciting new camera features including 8K video capture. See the dramatic landscaped of Arizona in 8K video loaded with 33-megapixels! So it’s big, sharp, and shared in its full glory on YouTube.

The hardware used was the Qualcomm chipset paired with a Sony IMX586 48MP sensor on a “prototype smartphone”. The video quality itself is difficult to judge. It was shot with pre-production hardware and the resulting video looks noisy and grainy, which could be due to YouTube compression or the actual hardware. Plus, Between November (when the footage was shot) til now, we imagine that the video quality has improved since then.
It doesn’t seem like 8K video will all of a sudden take over on our TVs and smartphones anytime soon. The most immediate benefit of shooting video in such a high resolution is to down sample it to 4K resolution. After all, a similar thing has happened with quad-bayer camera sensors taking more detail to produce clearer images. Besides, is 8K video became more prevalent, we’d need a heck of a lot more storage to save them.
It was rumored that the Galaxy S20 Ultra would be able to record video in 8K resolution with its 108MP camera sensor. We are excited to see how much Samsung’s image quality improves on the Galaxy S20. Only a week until then.

iPhone manufacturer Foxconn instructs workers not to return to Shenzhen over coronavirus concerns

The coronavirus outbreak is causing mass disruptions throughout China, and has indirectly affected supply chains of major tech companies. It has even prompted some major companies to skip out on MWC this year to deal with the disruptions.
According to a memo obtained by Bloomberg, Apple iPhone manufacturer Foxconn has instructed its employees to avoid coming back home after the Chinese New Year extended break, which was expected to end on February 10. This, after Foxconn expected to reopen on February 9. Employees received the following message from Foxconn.

To safeguard everyone’s health and safety and comply with government virus prevention measures, we urge you not to return to Shenzhen […] We’ll update you on the situation in the city. The company will protect everyone’s work-related rights and interests in the duration. As for the happy reunion date in Shenzhen, please wait for further notice.

Although Apple’s main manufacturing takes place outside of Shenzhen in Zhengzhou, Shenzhen is essentially Foxconn’s Chinese headquarters office where it employs thousands of employees that don’t live there. Note that it isn’t clear whether the memo applies to only Shenzhen-based Foxconn workers or those in other regions as well.
As per Bloomberg, Foxconn workers returning to Zhengzhou from outside the province will be quarantined for 14 days as this is how long it takes before a person is infected following exposure of the disease. The coronavirus outbreak continues to disrupt major US companies who operate in China.

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OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro rumored to launch in late March or April

Back in 2019, OnePlus made the 7 and 7 Pro official in mid-May, but a new rumor says the company may be employing a different strategy this year.
According to one Twitter leakster, we should expect to see the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro being launched either in late March, or sometime in April. That would signify a shift in strategy for the Chinese company, as apparently it's now trying not to come out with its new flagships too late after companies such as Samsung, Huawei, Oppo, and Xiaomi show their newest wares.
Alleged OnePlus 8 render Obviously this is one rumor that you should definitely take with a pinch of salt, especially as it hasn't been confirmed yet - even by other leaksters. Although, given the fact that we've already seen both the OnePlus 8 and the OnePlus 8 Pro in leaked renders, it would make sense for their launch not to be very far off.
It's unclear whether the rumored OnePlus 8 Lite would be launching alongside the 8 and 8 Pro, but that's the most logical thing that could happen.
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