Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 earlier this year, promising a 20% increase in CPU and a 23% increase in GPU performance over the previous Elite. Then came the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, but, confusingly, Qualcomm compared it to the two-year-old Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. So, what are the differences between the Elite and non-Elite Gen 5 chips? The CPU runs at different clock speeds – 2x 3.8GHz + 6x 3.32GHz for the vanilla chip and 2x 4.61GHz + 6x 3.63GHz for the Elite. The GPUs on both chips are listed as “Adreno 840”, but they are clearly not the same. And the comparison with the old 8...
After more than a year of rumors and immense fan expectations, Sony finally announced the а7 V, the latest in its workhorse lineup of full-frame mirrorless cameras. The highlight upgrades include a new partially-stacked CMOS sensor with the same 33MP resolution as the a7 IV. The new sensor supports twice the readout speed of the old one, unlocking a heap of improvements while retaining a higher level of detail, compared to the a7 V's competitors, per the company's tests. Paired with the new BIONZ XR2 image processor with integrated AI processing chip, the а7 V brings 30fps blackout-free...
Today, Tecno held the 5th edition of the Tecno Future Lens event, which aims to introduce the company’s imaging innovations to the media. The highlights this year are Dual-Mirror Reflect Telephoto and Freeform Continuum Telephoto. Freeform Continuum Telephoto is what it sounds like – a single periscope with smooth, continuous zoom. Tecno has created a design that covers the 1x to 9x range. That means that there is no need for a separate telephoto camera – this module serves as the main camera (at 1x) and then zooms in further than most fixed focal length telephoto modules that we have...
The scandal of the week in India was all about Sanchar Saathi, a state-developed and run app that the government last week decided to force all smartphone makers to preinstall on their devices, with a grace period of 90 days. Following substantial backlash from practically everywhere and everyone, the Indian government has today decided to back down. The Indian telecom ministry now says the app will remain voluntary and smartphone makers will no longer be required to preinstall it. This requirement has proven controversial with device makers like Apple, that reportedly refused to follow...
After its European launch in September, the Redmi 15C 5G is making its way to India. The phone will go on sale on December 11, at 12PM IST, and will be available starting INR 12,499. The Redmi 15C 5G being launched in India is identical to the model we have seen elsewhere, and is also mostly identical to the Redmi 15C 4G that came even before that. It has a 6.9-inch, 720p IPS LCD refreshing at 120Hz, a 50MP rear and an 8MP front camera, 128GB expandable storage with a choice of 4GB, 6GB, and 8GB memory, and a large 6000mAh battery with 33W fast charging. The 5G model runs on the...
A total of 1.25 billion smartphones will be shipped in 2025, which represents a 1.5% increase compared to the figures for 2024. The latest International Data Corporation (IDC) report reflects an updated forecast that is reportedly driven by Apple’s continued success with the iPhone 17 series. Cupertino is now forecasted to push over 247 million iPhone 17 series units in 2025, driven by favourable demand factors like an accelerated push in the holiday quarter, alongside growing demand in emerging markets and in China. According to IDC’s China Monthly Sales data, massive demand for...
HMD recently unveiled a trio of super basic 4G phones and now there’s a new trio. Well, the design is certainly new, the features have actually been cut down even further. CEO Jean-Francois Baril posted on LinkedIn that the company is introducing three new models – the HMD 100, 101 and 102. As we said, these do look different from the HMD 102 4G and HMD 101 4G that were announced in September. HMD 102 The most capable of the trio, the HMD 102, features an MP3 player and a camera with LED flash. The HMD 101 drops the camera, while the HMD 100 even seems to drop the MP3 player...
Google has released a new Android 16 QPR2 update for supported Pixel devices that brings several new features and bug fixes. The update also includes the December Android security patch. The update introduces AI-powered notification summaries that condense long messages and group chats directly in the notification shade. It also improves organization by grouping alerts based on priority. Google is also expanding UI customization with this release. You now get custom home-screen icon shapes, improved themed icons, and an Expanded Dark Mode option that can dim apps that don’t natively...
Following a hefty leak campaign, Samsung finally confirmed the Exynos 2600’s existence and imminent launch. The flagship chipset is set to launch ahead of the Galaxy S26 series, and we have our first look thanks to a short video teaser. Samsung seems to acknowledge the underwhelming performance of its previous generation Exynos chips as the video starts off with a “in silence, we listened” opening statement. It then transitions to highlight some aspects of the upcoming chip, like “refined at the core” and “optimized at every level”. Exynos 2600 is expected to be the first 2nm...
Following in the footsteps of Spotify and all of its competitors, today YouTube is entering the yearly recap game. The Google-owned service just announced that YouTube Recap is now rolling out, starting with users in North America today, and reaching all of the rest of the world by the end of this week. Once you get your Recap, it will be accessible right on the YouTube homepage, or under the You tab. YouTube says Recap "uniquely highlights interests, deep dives, and moments you explored this year", and it is of course all based on your watch history in 2025. It will show you up to...