■  New product news roundup

1. New Apple Watch may use ceramic fibre and unlock with fingerprint

Foreign media has reported that according to information found in a patent document, the new Apple watch body will be replaced with ceramic fibre. This new material is a lot lighter, is fire resistant, electromagnetically transparent, and can also withstand high temperatures. This material is commonly used in aerospace equipment, atomic engineering and other similar fields, as well as the metallurgy, petroleum and chemical industries. It is widely recognized that working with this new material is cost-effective, and more affordable than using ceramic or precious metals.

Apple explains the reasoning behind its choice of ceramic fibre, pointing to the fact that it will both increase the Apple Watch’s durability and reduce its weight, without hindering network connectivity efficiency. Rumor also has it that in the future Apple will use this material in iPhones.

■  Huawei unveils intelligent OptiXstar ONT series featuring 10G PON, eAI

Today Huawei officially released the industry’s first ONT series, the OptiXstar. These products offer innovative 10G PON, embedded AI (eAI) Wi-Fi 6 acceleration, and meshed full-home Wi-Fi coverage to provide a premium experience for home users.

Huawei initiated the concept of ‘quality home Wi-Fi’, seeking to improve broadband user experience for individual households, and meet the development demands of network operators. Huawei identifies the 6 different aspects that make up a 6 star ‘quality home Wi-Fi’ experience, namely; gigabit access, ultra-low delays, full-home Wi-Fi coverage, safe and healthy internet, intelligent operation, and ultra-low power consumption.

OptiXstarl provides 2.5GE ports that support high-speed gigabit broadband. It features Huawei’s high-performance 10G PON network acceleration engine and super 160 MHz Wi-Fi 6. It can reach a gigabit coverage without equipping a router, and supports eAI and network slicing technology to lower the Wi-Fi latency to 10 milliseconds and realize zero lagging in video and gaming. At the same time, OptiXstarII adopts high gain antenna and Wi-Fi 6 optimization algorithms, making the Wi-Fi signal go further to build full-home Wi-Fi coverage. The signal can travel through one extra wall compared to other products in the industry. The self-assembly and iMaster NCE-FAN intelligent control system support long-distance operations, offering great convenience to users and lowering maintenance costs by reducing the need for callouts.

■  Galaxy Chromebook to be unveiled on April 6

Samsung will officially launch the Galaxy Chromebook on April 6. It is Samsung’s first Chromebook to utilize a 13.3-inch 4K OLED display and comes with a processor far superior to other competitors (Intel 10th-gen quad-core Core i5-10210U). The Galaxy Chromebook comes with 8GB of memory and a 256GB solid-state drive. It is also reported that Samsung has adopted some unique design features. For example, you can use the 8-megapixel camera on the keyboard deck to capture photos when using the Galaxy Chromebook as a tablet. It also includes a stylus, which is held securely inside the casing.

■  OnePlus’ new wireless earbuds may be launched with OnePlus 8 series

Recently, OnePlus’ official Twitter in India posted an intriguing tweet, which is believed to be a hint that the company is soon to launch its newest wireless earbuds. Apparently, the company hopes this new product can strike a balance between quality of the listening experience, and attractiveness of physical design. In terms of appearance, it is very possible that they may adopt design elements from the company’s previous Bullets earbuds.

Aside from the black and red color combination and comfortable silicone ear pads, the new product may also support other functions like active noise-cancellation, Bluetooth 5 connection and easy matchmaking, which will make the product worth the wait. Other rumors say that OnePlus intended to resume work on its OnePlus X series product line in 2020, but no detailed information has been revealed.

■  Samsung Galaxy M11 live images and full specifications leaked

Foreign media outlet 91 Mobiles has just revealed live images and full specifications of Samsung’s new Galaxy M11, from which it is clear that the Galaxy M11 adopts an Infinity-O punch-hole display for its front camera. The Samsung Galaxy M11 is expected to be one of the company’s entry-level smartphones for 2020. The Galaxy M11 will come with an octa-core processor clocked at 1.8GHz, which is supposedly paired with 3GB or 4GB of RAM, and 32GB or 64GB of native storage (and supporting microSD).

While Galaxy M11’s processor SKU is not specified by name, according to speculation, it is likely to be the Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 SoC.

Among other specifications, the Galaxy M11 is said to sport a 6.4-inch display with HD+ resolution and screen aspect ratio of 19.5:9. The Galaxy M11 also appears to have a punch-hole cutout on the top left corner for the front camera, housing an 8MP Infinity-O front camera for selfies.

To the rear, the Galaxy M11 will get a triple camera setup that is said to feature a 13MP main camera sensor with f/1.8 lens, a 5MP ultra-wide lens with f/2.2, and a 2MP depth sensing unit with f/2.4 lens, and also sports a physical fingerprint sensor on the back. The renders also show the Galaxy M11 colour options will include Black, Purple and Sky Blue.

Other Samsung Galaxy M11 specifications include a 5,000mAh battery with 15W fast charging. Input ports include a USB-C port and a 3.5mm audio port. So far, according to the Galaxy M11’s Wi-Fi Alliance certification, it seems it will only support 2.4Ghz Wi-Fi.

■  Xiaomi ZMI 65W 6 AC Socket Power Strip (CXP01) launched on March 30

According to reports from March 30, the Xiaomi ZMI 65W 6 AC Socket Power Strip has been launched. The power strip has the 65W Type-C port charging along with three standard USB ports allowing fast charging without any head charger. It is reported that the ZMI 65W 6 AC socket power strip adopts a pure white appearance and implements the new national standard. It has six power sockets along with three USB interfaces. Users who find themselves without a charging cable can charge phones or laptops with only a data cable.

Turning to the USB ports, only the USB Type-C port supports 65W charging, which is capable of charging a laptop, while the other two USB Type-A ports support a maximum of 18W charging. According to ZMI, it can charge an iPhone 11 from 0% to 50% in 30 minutes, and a Xiaomi 9 Pro from 0% to 100% in 48 minutes.

Each power socket has an independent security door. The integrated copper strip design is used to avoid continuous heating, in order to increase heat dissipation capacity and electrical conductivity and deal with power transfer problems. The power strip is fire resistant up to a temperature of 750 degrees Celsius, with a safety resistance of 75N.

■  Xiaomi’s eco-chain enterprise Roidmi launches F8 Pro cordless stick vacuum cleaner

On March 25, Roidmi launched the F8 Pro cordless stick vacuum cleaner. The suction power was increased from 115W to 135W, the filter was upgraded from four to five layers, and endurance was also upgraded from 55 minutes to 60 minutes of use. The Roidmi F8 Pro adopts a 270 degree large rotating handle design, with the handle also functioning as an air duct. It can be carried and pushed, with a simple and easy-to-use one-key button/gear switch Other functions include a display of remaining power, and a dust-filled reminder. The main engine adopts a lightweight design, weighing only 1.5 Kg, ensuring strong suction while working hard to achieve an extremely low weight. The result is a product which comfortable to use even for long periods.

The F8 Pro motor has been upgraded to the 9th generation digital brushless motor and the speed per minute has been increased from 100,000 revolutions to 110,000 revolutions. The power of the whole machine is as high as 435W and the effective suction power is 135W, which can generate 23,500Pa centrifugal wind pressure and efficiently remove ground dust.

Besides this, in the afternoon on March 30, Roidmi also announced the launch of its blockbuster new product of 2020, the Roidmi NEX2 cordless stick vacuum cleaner lineup. The first product of the series, the NEX2 Pro was launched, and claims to have the best performance among all flagship products.

■  Most expensive Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 mobile phone launched

Recently, the Chinese luxury mobile phone brand 8848 launched its first 5G mobile phone, the M6. There are 11 versions of the 8848 M6 5G series, starting from ¥12,999, up to ¥29,999.

The body of the new phone is made of leather, metal and various precious stones. The most luxury version is the 8848 M6 Deep Space Blue Crocodile Skin Version, which adopts titanium alloy gold plating, synthetic ruby and natural yellow sapphire.

In terms of configuration, the M6 series easily competes with the mainstream flagships on the market. It comes equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor, LPDDR5 memory, and UFS 3.0 flash memory. It also supports SA/NSA dual-mode 5G and enables 12GB + 1TB storage (making it unique in the current market). Its 100MP rear triple cameras support 4K video recording, and the built-in 4,380mAh battery supports both 27W wireless charging and cable charging. A more distinctive feature of the M6 series is that it supports dual-screen display. There is a 6.01-inch AMOLED full-screen display on the front and a circular 1.19-inch specially made “watch screen” on the back.

■  iPhone 12’s live images leaked, no flaws on the screen

Although it is about half a year before the official launch, there has already been a steady stream of information released about the upcoming iPhone 12. Recently, live images of the iPhone 12 were posted online by overseas internet users. The images show that it abandons all punch-hole, water drop and notch screen designs, with features including a front camera and 3D sensor located at the very top on the phone’s front.

From other images, we can tell that the SIM card slot is still on the right, which is in line with previous rumors. There are also rumors that the iPhone 12 Pro will adopt a 6.7-inch display with 120Hz of refresh rate. It may also support 6GB RAM and 5G networks. The iPhone 12 will adopt a A14 processor and hold the lead in terms of performance.

■  Samsung Galaxy A51 5G to launch, appearance design images leaked

After the Samsung Galaxy A51 5G was leaked on GeekBench, some renowned insiders have revealed its appearance design. The 5G version is very similar to the previous 4G Galaxy A51, but with a different pattern on the back – similar to the 5G A91. Before this, foreign media sources had already discovered a dedicated SM-A516N pop-up window on Samsung South Korea’s official website. This page was soon included in a GeekBench cross-reference list, which mentioned the Exynos 980 chipset. Currently, with the leaked images, it seems more likely that A51’s 5G version will be equipped with an Exynos 980 processor compared with the original Galaxy A51 and its Exynos 9611 chipset.

Based on its appearance, the range of cameras has not seemed to change. The L-shape quadruple camera set will feature a 48MP main camera. If the Galaxy A51 5G adopts the same design as its 4G version, we can speculate that the leaked 5G mobile phone is probably the 5G version of Galaxy A71.

■  Roborock H6 cordless stick vacuum cleaner to launch Xiaomi Youpin for pre-sale on April 1

Roborock announced on March 30 that the Roborock H6, the new cordless stick vacuum cleaner, will launch for pre-sale on Xiaomi Youpin on April 1.

The H6 is the first cordless stick vacuum in the world to use a Lithium-Ion Polymer battery, creating a vacuum body weighing only 1.4kg. Developed for Roborock, the lightweight battery delivers incredible runtimes of 90-minutes and 150AW suction. It also comes equipped with a free-standing anodized aluminum alloy floor stand.

■  Surface Book may be equipped with 10nm Core

It seems that there are many new Surface products in the database. Previously there was a new series adopting Ryzen 4000U, and recently a brand new Surface can be seen on UserBenchmark’s website. According to “@_rogame”, who released the information, this new piece of tech is called the “Oemqn Product Name EV1”. It is equipped with the Intel® Core™ i5-1035G1 processor, from Intel’s Ice Lake series. The Core i5-1035G1 is produced using a new 10nm process, and integrates four Sunnycove processor cores and eight threads clocked at 1GHz (base) - 3.6 (single core Turbo) GHz. Since no previous Surface product has been equipped with i5-1035G1 processor, it is fairly certain that this is a new product.

In terms of display, this new product adopts a 3:2 screen aspect ratio and a 1,536×1,024 resolution ratio, as well as 16GB LPDDR4 RAM and 512GB SSD. There is speculation that this will be the second generation of the Surface Go or an entry level Surface Book 3.

■  Meizu 17 charging leaked, whole lineup may be equipped with 30W head charger

In recent days, a head charger with Meizu’s logo and the model number UP1030 was posted on Toutiao, in a post which also claimed that the whole Meizu 17 lineup would adopt the new head charger. Based on its appearance, the head charger appears to feature the classic Meizu ID design. The output part reads 5V/3A or 10V/3A, meaning the maximum power will be 30W. This suggests that Meizu may be trying to shake off its reputation for being permanently stuck in 24W territory.

■  Honor 30S supports Telecom 5G

In the evening of March 30, Huawei’s sub-brand Honor launched the Honor 30S, the first 5G mobile phone of the Honor 30 series. The Honor 30S is powered by Huawei’s new HiSilicon Kirin 820 chipset, and an eight core CPU which offers a 27% performance boost over the Kirin 810, which was introduced last year. Also, its GPU and NPU AI performance have been upped by 38% and 73% respectively.

The new chipset is based on a 7nm architecture and consists of four ARM Cortex A76 big cores and four 1.84GHz ARM Cortex A55 little cores. One A76 core is clocked at 2.36GHz while the other three are clocked at 2.22GHz. It is equipped with the self-developed DaVinci NPU. On the GPU front, the Kirin 820 5G makes use of a Mali-G57 6-core GPU, which also brings support for GPU Turbo and Kirin Gaming+ 2.0.

Additionally, much like its flagship Kirin 990 chip, the Kirin 820 has Kirin ISP 5.0 which brings support for BM3D SLR image noise reduction and video dual-domain noise reduction. The ISP throughput rate has been increased by 15%, the energy efficiency increased by 15%, photo noise-reduction capability increased by 30%, and the video noise-reduction capability increased by 20%.

To offer 5G capabilities, the Kirin 820 packs in the same modem as the Kirin 990 (derived from the Balong 5000), with multi-modem 2G/3G/4G/5G support, and most notably in terms of 5G, with dual-mode SA/NSA support. The all-new Honor 30S also supports the five frequencies of the three major network operators, N1/N3/N41/N78/N79, with dual card capability.

Updated by 3rd Apr. 2020