Author: Alvin Wanjala

After all the teasers, rumors and leaks, OnePlus -Oppo’s sister company has officially announced their first TV. The OnePlus TV marks the Chinese tech company’s entry into the TV manufacturing industry. Well, it has now become a trend for smartphone makers to further spread their revenue streams. Xiaomi has already marked its entry into the TV industry. OnePlus TV is a 55-inch TV baked on the front with a 4K QLED panel with a “sleek minimalist design” and “nearly bezel-less screen.” OnePlus touts their new TV as one of the best-in-class in comparison to other QLED TVs available on the…

Apple Music is one of the popular – if not default music streaming service for the iPhone ecosystem. However, the app is also available on Android as well. For improved performance and looks just like its competitors – Spotify, Google Play Music, and Deezer – the latest update brings a dark theme. We know the fact that dark theme is more than just an alternative feature as per now given that both Google and Apple are pushing it in their latest major software updates. iOS 13 has embraced system-wide dark mode and to make the bigger picture a reality; Apple…

Samsung has been one of the industry’s leaders when it comes to smartphone camera hardware. The South Korean tech giant has set several standards in smartphone category with its camera snappers that sport massive pixels. Look at the 64MP and 108MP sensor, for example. The company is scaling back to iron out on a few issues with smartphone cameras. On Tuesday, Samsung announced the industry’s first 0.7-micrometer (μm)-pixel image sensor – the smallest pixel size ever seen in the smartphone world. The sensor is termed as the 43.7MP ISOCELL GH1 sensor. Samsung says the new sensor is ideally made for…

Xiaomi’s Redmi sub-brand was created solely for launching both entry-level and budget-oriented devices. Last month, Redmi announced the Redmi Note 8 and Note 8 Pro, their latest addition to the excellent value for money RedMi Note series. The devices are yet to hit Xiaomi’s official store, but you can find them in alternative platforms like Avechi and Jumia. Back to the entry-level devices from Redmi, the brand has announced a successor to last year’s Redmi 7A. The display resolution has been retained at HD+, but the display has been stretched a bit from 5.45 inches to 6.2 inches. The display…

Mi Mix series has been Xiaomi’s flagship series that pushes limits beyond imagination. Mi Mix Alpha makes the whole debate of talking about screen to body percentage ratios in smartphones an idea of the last generation. With the Mi Mix Alpha, the screen takes it further beyond the mighty “water-fall like” display to a new level. The Vivo NEX 3 achieved a 96% screen to body ratio, but the Mi Mix Alpha is delivering 180.6% screen to body ratio. I’m talking about an all-screen device with the display wrapped around the device like a book cover – but, again, slightly…

In the latest update, Twitter has revamped its mobile apps on both Android and iOS to treat your lists like different timelines. The feature looks amazing and cuts much of the struggle that needed one to navigate to the list on the main hanging menu. In the new version, you can add up to five lists on your account which will be visible from the home screen. Lists can then be accessed by swiping to the left directly from your home screen. Here is an illustration of how the new feature works. The company started testing the new feature since…

Google Play Pass is now official. This follows the official launch of its competitor service Apple Arcade that the Cupertino-based tech company unveiled at the iPhone 11 launch event earlier this month. A quick primer, Google Play Pass is Google’s subscription-based service that gives you a “pass” to access hundreds of premium app(paid) on the Playstore.  Under Play Pass subscription a user will be granted access to all the premium apps including no ads, no in-app purchases, no upfront payments. To find apps and games under the service, you will see a Play Pass catalog in Google Play. Google Play…

Well, Huawei ahead released their new flagship series of the year – Mate 30 Series – despite not having an official Android license from Google. That means there are no Google Play services on the company’s new flagship series. But should that be any point of concern? Definitely yes. To what had appeared as a sigh of relief to the Android community outside Asia who value Google’s services to heart, the only hope seems to be shattered out, as of now. After the Mate 30 launch, Huawei’s CEO Richard had indirectly stated the company would allow sideloading of apps into…

This year has marked the commercial rollout of 5G in some parts of the world or at least 5G network tests. However, most of the markets are still far much behind. But there is hope since the market leaders in 5G deployment including Huawei, Nokia, Ericcson and ZTE have confirmed over 100 5G commercial contracts in total. Although 5G is around the corner, supportive devices that are currently on the market are highly-priced top-tier smartphones in most cases. See, even if 5G rolls out how many people can actually afford 5G supportive devices. However, Huawei, just like Nokia, wishes to…

Yesterday at the Huawei Mate 30 series launch, it was clear that the new Mate flagship devices won’t ship with Google services. This can be traced back to the ban imposed on the company by the US over the possible use of their telco equipment by the Chinese government for espionage. However, later on, it became clear that besides that, the US government also banned Huawei to get a chance to resume stalled trade talks between the two countries. So, just as Google had tipped before, Huawei Mate 30 series does not ship with Google Services. However, is Huawei worried…