Oppo went ahead and announced a “new” A-series device in China with the A3i Plus. But new might not be the exact word here as the A3i is identical to the Chinese Oppo A3 which launched back in July of last year. We went through the entire spec sheet of the new device and found no difference between it and the A3 (China). The A3i Plus even gets the same PKA110 model number. Just to refresh your memory, Oppo A3/A3i Plus packs a 6.7-inch OLED screen (FHD+120Hz), Qualcomm's Snapdragon 695 chipset and a 50MP main cam. Both offer a 5,000 mAh battery with 45W charging and boot ColorOS 14...
A few days ago a report claimed Apple had picked Alibaba to partner with in China for AI services, and today Alibaba chairman Joe Tsai has officially confirmed the news at the ominous-sounding World Government Summit in Dubai. Tsai said: "They talked to a number of companies in China. In the end they chose to do business with us. They want to use our AI to power their phones. We feel extremely honored to do business with a great company like Apple". Prior to making its pick, Apple had been in talks with Baidu, ByteDance, and Tencent on the matter. Apple didn't go with AI hype...
Apple has been in talks with a bunch of Chinese companies to partner up on offering AI services in China, and according to a new report today, Alibaba is the chosen one. Apple has thus passed over DeepSeek, the AI hype darling of the past few weeks. Back in December Apple was said to also be talking to Tencent and TikTok owner ByteDance to secure an AI partnership, and in the past it's also been rumored to be talking to Baidu. But in the end, if today's report is accurate, Alibaba rose above the rest. Apple needs a local partner in China for AI features because the Chinese...
Realme has officially confirmed the GT7 Pro Racing Edition, which the company will be launching in China on February 13, 10:00 local time. The GT7 Pro Racing Edition is a slightly stripped down version of the GT7 Pro with a focus on performance since it retains the same Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset. You do, however, seem to lose one of the three cameras, most likely the telephoto. The phone will come in two variants, a standard dark gray model called Star Trace Titanium and a blue model called Neptune Discovery Edition. The latter features a pale blue textured back with...
If you’ve been paying attention to international news, you are probably sick of hearing the word “tariff”. Unfortunately, you’ll be hearing it even more – President Trump’s 10% tariffs on all products imported from China went into effect on Tuesday. That’s bad news for Apple, which manufactures most of its iPhones, iPads, Macs and other products in the country. It’s not yet clear how this will impact the prices of Apple devices. Apple has moved part of its production to India and now even makes iPhone Pros there (previously, only non-Pro models were made in India). And it is now doing...
China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) is expected to begin a full-scale antitrust investigation on Apple’s App Store. The measure is expected in response to the recent trade tariffs imposed on Chinese goods by the United States. The upcoming probe is expected to target the App Store’s 30% commission on in-app purchases. In addition, SAMR will review Apple’s policy of restricting third-party payment systems and alternative app stores from its platform. Chinese developers Tencent and ByteDance have been critical of Apple’s App Store policies for several years, which...
Chinese officials are evaluating a potential sale of TikTok to Elon Musk, reports Bloomberg. Beijing prefers the US operations of the controversial app remain in the hands of ByteDance, but with the looming ban scheduled for January 19, officials are frantically looking for a resolution. Sources who spoke with Bloomberg revealed Chinese officials are debating contingency plans for TikTok as part of an expansive discussion on how to work with President-elect Donald Trump. He is expected to appoint Elon Musk to his administration once he steps into the White House later this...
Ming-Chi Kuo just released a new market report on Apple in December 2024, showing a sharp decline in sales year-over-year in China. Compared to December 2023, Apple's iPhone sales in the country slipped 10-12%. Kuo believes the main culprit is the lack of innovation. The iPhone 16 series wasn't well-received in China due to the minor improvements over the last generation. It's important to note that Apple's decline comes amid fairly stable market conditions in the country. The overall smartphone sales in China remained stable throughout December. Looking ahead, Ming-Chi Kuo believes...
The Realme 14 Pro+ was partially announced last month, with its complete spec sheets and pricing remaining under wraps until now. The device was silently listed on Realme China's official online store ahead of the series’ January 16 global launch event. Realme 14 Pro+ is built around a 6.83-inch OLED display with 2800 x 1272 px resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. The panel is rated at 1,500 nits peak brightness and features Gorilla Glass 7i protection. Realme also added an in-display fingerprint scanner and a 32MP selfie camera. The 14 Pro+ is IP68/IP69 dust and water-resistant...
The Oppo Pad 3 was introduced in November, and just 30 days later, it was relaunched as OnePlus Pad in China. The tablet is exactly the same, down to the pricing and availability, but OnePlus offers the device in Green. This tablet is simply called OnePlus Pad (2024) by the Oppo online store, which sells products of both brands. It is advertised with an 11.6” LCD, a Mediatek Dimensity 8350 chipset, and up to 12 GB RAM and 512 GB storage. The Pad has two 8 MP cameras – one on the back, the other at the front, hidden in the top bezel. It is a huge device with room for a 9,520 mAh...