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Oppo reinvents the notification light with the Reno 7 Pro
Featuring a cat-eye selfie camera and a breathing notification LED
Oppo has officially announced its Reno7 series in China, and its latest mid-range phone series has some neat light tricks. The family consists of three new devices 一 the Reno7 Pro, Reno7, and Reno7 SE. The Pro model is what we're really here for, though, as it sports a camera bump that looks like any other at first glance, but there's much more to it than initially meets the eye.
Redesigned Truecaller 12 adds video caller ID and makes call recording free for all
New premium features include call announcements and ghost calls
Truecaller started off as a simple caller ID app back in 2009. Over the past few years, it's gained several new features, such as smart call history, built-in dialer, SMS inbox, payments, and inbox cleaner. It recently reached 300 million monthly active users globally with 70% of the userbase residing in India. Now, with version 12 for Android, Truecaller is gaining some more handy new features including video caller ID and call recording option for all users.
The OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro were launched back in March this year. Along with this duo, the company also announced the affordable OnePlus 9R exclusively for the Indian market. Usually, OnePlus launches a mid-cycle flagship follow-up, but there's no 9T model this year. However, China did get a OnePlus 9RT instead, and it looks like this could be launched outside the country but with a different name.
Google is testing a new Offers section in the Play Store that's totally different from the existing one
No, this is not the 'Offers & notifications' section you may have heard of
It looks like the Google Play Store is getting an additional bottom bar shortcut. As spotted by 9to5Google, the company is testing to add a new Offers tab to the marketplace, but it's separate from the existing Offers & notifications section in the account switcher.
The Xiaomi 12X could be an affordable flagship that's smaller than anticipated
Leaked specifications point to a significantly smaller screen than the predecessor
Back in August, Xiaomi confirmed that it is officially ditching the Mi branding from its upcoming smartphones to unify its global presence. The company also stated that future products in the series will just be called “Xiaomi.” In the past few weeks, we have heard quite a bit about the upcoming Xiaomi 12 series and now, we have some more details on one of the more affordable phones in the lineup, the Xiaomi 12X.
Google Assistant will soon walk you through booking a vaccination slot in India
Helping those who aren't good with mobile technology
Google hosted its annual Google for India event today virtually where it announced a couple of new upcoming features for Google Pay, Google Career Certificates, and financial assistance for micro-enterprises. Another key announcement from the event is an upcoming Google Assistant feature that will enable Indians to book a vaccination slot on the country's Covid Vaccine Intelligence Network platform (COWIN) without having to fill out a web page form.
Google Pay's handy split bill feature is coming to India later this year
No need to send payment reminders via WhatsApp anymore
Google Pay is one of the most frequently used payment services in India, where it's the go-to app for UPI payments. Today, at the Google for India 2021 event, the search giant announced a couple of new features that will make the app even better.
WhatsApp is adding some modern flair to contact info pages
The new UI is rolling out to select beta testers
WhatsApp is currently testing several new features on the platform, such as a nifty option that lets you hide your last seen and profile picture from specific contacts and proper multi-device support. Next up is a visual overhaul for the contact info screen.
Google Maps will help you navigate the holiday season with some handy new tools
Avoid the crowds and get your shopping done with ease
Google Maps recently became the third app to hit 10 billion installs on Android devices after Play services and YouTube. With the holiday season fast approaching, now Google is adding a few handy new tools to one of its most useful apps in order to help billions of users stay safe, plan ahead, and have the perfect holiday with friends and family.
OnePlus Nord N20 5G renders give off OnePlus X vibes
This could be the next Nord phone to arrive in North America
The OnePlus Nord was introduced back in July 2020 and its successor was launched around the same time in 2021. While these two phones are limited to India and some European markets, OnePlus has released some even more affordable Nord devices in the N series that are also available in the US. Soon, the company is expected to launch a follow-up to the OnePlus Nord N10 5G from late 2020.
The Redmi Note 11 5G is soon coming to India in all but name
It's launching as the Redmi Note 11T 5G on November 30
The Redmi Note series is one of the most popular smartphone lineups that offers excellent value for money. Recently, the Redmi Note 11 series was unveiled in China, and it will soon enter India 一 but with one of Xiaomi's infamous name changes attached. Redmi is hosting an event in India on November 30 where the company will launch the Redmi Note 11T 5G.
Applications are now open for OnePlus 8T and OnePlus 8 series Closed Beta program
400 lucky users will get to test OxygenOS 12 early
If you are a long-term OnePlus user, you may be aware that the company has three update release channels. One for the stable version and the other two for beta builds. While the Open Beta is available for anyone with an eligible device, the Close Beta channel is a more exclusive group with a small number of users. If you have a OnePlus 8T or OnePlus 8 series phone, now's the time to see if you can get onto the Closed Beta program.
Realme recently launched the 4K Smart Google TV Stick in India and in our review, we found it to be a worthy alternative to the Chromecast with Google TV, especially in countries where Google's product is not available. Soon, Realme's Android TV stick will be available outside of India.
Don't expect Google to launch a new Pixelbook until at least 2023
Bad news if you were hoping for a new premium Chromebook from Google
Google unveiled its first MacBook-inspired laptop back in 2013 and updated the high-end Chromebook Pixel in 2015. Then came the Pixelbook in 2017, which was a much more Googley affair and reached a much wider audience. This was followed up by the more affordable Pixelbook Go in 2019, which didn't quite hit the same heights. Going by this pattern of launches, we might have expected word of a new Pixelbook this year, but it looks like we might have to wait until 2023 at the earliest.
The Samsung Galaxy S22 may drop the Exynos chip in one of its most important markets
Good news for India, but Europe and Korea will still get Exynos
The Samsung Galaxy S22 series looks set to be unveiled in February 2022, when the company is expected to launch three flagship devices 一 the Galaxy S22 Ultra, S22 Plus, and S22. Each year, Samsung produces two variants of its premium phones 一 one with a Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset for the US market and another with an in-house Exynos processor for the rest of the world. It looks like things are going to change this time around as the Snapdragon Galaxy S22 series might be available in more markets.
Oppo's next flagship tipped for fastest charging ever on a phone
125W wired fast charging could be on board
Oppo's Find X series is the company’s most premium smartphone lineup, with past models including the innovative Oppo Find X with its pop-up cameras, followed up by the more generic but still impressive Find X2 and Find X3. Usually, Oppo refreshes the Find X series around March every year. That's a while off, but we already have our first solid leak (via GSMArena) regarding a possible feature of the Find X4. According to Digital Chat Station, a well-known tipster on Weibo, the upcoming Oppo Find X4 could come with the fastest charging of any smartphone.
OnePlus' special Nord 2 Pac-Man Edition comes with a glowing back and some software tricks
It will wakka wakka through India and Europe only
The OnePlus Nord 2 is arguably one of the best mid-range smartphones available right now if you can get one in your country. And now, a special edition device called the OnePlus Nord 2 Pac-Man Edition has joined the Nord family. As part of the announcement, the company has shared that it's offering a chance to win one for yourself.
Some Pixel 6 phones are ghost dialing random contacts, Google is working on a fix
Butts are not to blame this time
The Google Pixel 6 and 6 Pro only started shipping to lucky pre-order customers last week, but we're already seeing several issues being reported by users. First, the phone exhibited a weird screen flicker problem, and then there were some problems with Always On Display. The latest one to join the list is probably the weirdest and most annoying one yet, but thankfully, Google is already working on a fix.
Samsung demotes four Galaxy A series phones to biannual security updates
Some older models have been removed from the list altogether
Samsung recently pushed Android security patches to the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S20, S9, and some A series phones. The company uses three tiers for rolling out security updates — monthly, quarterly, and biannual — and regularly changes which models are on which cycle. The latest update to the schedule impacts a number of Galaxy A series phones.
Poco M4 Pro 5G images suggest it will be a rebranded Redmi Note 11 5G
The device will make its global debut on November 9
We already knew the Poco M4 Pro 5G would be launched next week, as the former Xiaomi sub-brand has scheduled a launch event for November 9 and posted some cryptic messages on Twitter that reveal some features of the upcoming device. A new leak from Vietnamese site ThePixel (via GSMArena) has given us our first proper look at the Poco M4 Pro 5G.