Welcome to our recap of the top news articles of 2021. This is Q3, you can also take a look at the top stories of Q1, Q2 and Q4.
We’re into Q3, where a lot of the biggest phones of the year are unveiled. Among them are the iPhone 13 series, Samsung’s foldable Flip3 and Fold3 and Huawei’s P50.
Samsung made big waves in August with the Galaxy Z Flip3, Z Fold3, and the Galaxy Watch4 series. The pair of foldables both boasted 120Hz displays and were the first in this segment to be fully water-proof. The announcement of the 5nm Exynos W920 chipset helped the new Galaxy Watch4 and Watch4 Classic to be faster and smarter than their predecessors and to run Google’s WearOS.
Apple’s iPhone 13 series came out. This time the Pro’s were equal in smarts – bringing 120Hz variable refresh rate screens, bigger main cameras, and autofocusing ultrawides. All four models got bigger batteries and smaller notches than their predecessors.
A number of other high-profile announcements came in Q3. Vivo’s X70 and X70 Pro (and Pro+), Huawei’s P50 and P50 Pro, the Infinix Zero X, X Pro, and Z Neo. The GT moniker made it big in Q3 as well – the Poco X3 GT, F3 GT, and Realme’s GT Master, Master Explorer and Neo2.
Next up, Q4.
The maker promises that the battery can go from 0% to 100% in just 10 minutes – we will put that to the test.
The first time we saw a periscope on an Infinix was the concept phone that demonstrated the company’s 160W fast charging system.
All three are powered by the Helio G95 chipset and have high refresh rate screens – a 120Hz AMOLED in the case of the Pro and vanilla models.
The phone will come with a pair of Qualcomm-tuned earbuds, bumper case, and the phone is curated with all of Qualcomm’s technologies.
The two are not strict upgrades over the G95 and G85, but they do have better display and camera support.
The watch maintains its rectangular design with a 3D AMOLED display on the front. It is water resistant and can last up to 4 days on a charge.
These are the first IMAX-enhanced phones with exclusive 3D LUT color grading and LOG format video recording.
The Realme Flash is just a concept phone. Instead, the first device to be charged with MagDart is the Realme GT (which is getting a special case).
This Lite model is almost exactly the same as the original, except it comes with 64 GB storage, lacks a dual-SIM version and FM radio.
These are not upgrades to the Mi 11 and Mi 11 Pro, instead they are lower cost alternatives – the 11T is €200 cheaper than the Mi 11.
Other improvements include 50W wireless fast charging, slightly bigger and an IP68 rating. The screen is bigger too, a 6.78″ Samsung E5 panel.
All three have 120 Hz OLED displays, though the 18s duo has 1440p+ resolution. Those two also have telephoto cameras as well.
The phone will receive 2 years of OS updates and monthly security patches for 3 years. It supports 18W fast charging.
The Apple A15 chipset on the Pro phones has a 5-core GPU, instead of 4-core like on the vanilla models.
As uncertainty of the Galaxy Note series continues, leaked renders suggest Samsung is taking a whole new direction.
Both models have periscope zoom cameras and 5 MP main cams with a color sensor. Of course, they run HarmonyOS 2.0 out of the box.
The new iPad mini uses an Apple A15 chipset with 5 GPU cores like the iPhone 13 Pro duo, but it seems to run at a lower clock speed.
William Lu confirms the technology is not there yet, the priorities behind the new phone was “display first”.