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Here's what you missed over the weekend at MWC 2019
While you're enjoying a cup of coffee or tea to kickstart your week, there's a lot of MWC news to catch up on from over the weekend. Huawei, LG, Microsoft and others all hosted events in Barcelona yesterday to show off their wares, ranging from foldable phones to 5G handsets and mixed reality. We realize you may have snoozed Sunday away, so we've summed up all that you might've missed so far in one handy spot.
Google brings dedicated Assistant buttons to more phones
Google Assistant buttons won't just be limited to a handful of LG phones this year. The internet giant has widened its partnerships to add dedicated buttons to a whole range of handsets in 2019, including returning partner LG (on phones like the G8 ThinQ, V50 ThinQ and K40) and Nokia (3.2 and 4.2). Phones from Xiaomi (Mi Mix 3 5G and Mi 9), Vivo (V15 Pro) and TCL are also in line for Assistant buttons later on. Google expects over 100 million phones to ship with a hardware shortcut to its AI helper, and that's not including Samsung phone owners who remap their Bixby buttons.
Xiaomi's Mi 9 flagship comes to Europe on February 28th
Xiaomi's latest Android flagship, the Mi 9, will hit European store shelves on February 28th. At a press conference in Barcelona, the company confirmed that the phone will be available with either 64GB or 128GB of internal storage for €449 (roughly $510) and €499 (roughly $566) respectively. We went hands-on with the Mi 9 last week and liked what we saw. The handset sports a 6.39-inch, FHD+ (1080x2340) AMOLED display with a teardrop notch and 19:6 aspect ratio. It's also packing a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor, 6GB of RAM and a 3,300mAh battery.
Xiaomi Mi 9 hands-on: Speedy, stylish and a great camera, too
Xiaomi officially pulled back the curtain on its new Mi 9 in China a few hours ago, but a flashy presentation only ever tells you so much. Sure, the top-level stuff seems solid enough: there's a Snapdragon 855 with either 6GB or 12GB of RAM inside, plus a bright and beautiful 6.39-inch AMOLED display running at 2340x1080, all wrapped up in a lovely, curved glass body. But what's it like to actually use? Well, we got the chance to (very briefly) go hands-on with the company's new flagship, and it already seems like the kind of phone I wish would make its way stateside.
Xiaomi's triple-camera Mi 9 has a fast 20W wireless charger
Xiaomi has officially launched the Mi 9 at an event in China after months of teasers. The triple-camera flagship is powered by Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 855 chip, and is supported by 6 to 8GB of RAM -- depending on which model you get. During the event, company chief Lei Jun confirmed a new Game Turbo mode, which he claims will boost the phone's performance and optimize its screen during gaming sessions. He said it was tested to maintain a higher frame-rate than "a competitor's 980 device" can, seemingly throwing shade at Huawei.
Xiaomi's fake-transparent Mi 9 isn't hiding anything
Remember that transparent Xiaomi Mi 8 phone that doesn't actually show what's inside the device? It must have gotten a pretty good reception, because the phonemaker has gone through the trouble of designing a fake-transparent version of the upcoming Mi 9. Xiaomi chief Lei Jun has posted some photos, which look like renders, of the Mi 9 Explorer Edition on Chinese social media platform Weibo.
Hackers can stop or speed up Xiaomi's M365 electric scooter (updated)
As if there weren't enough safety concerns surrounding electric scooters, here's a new one. Researchers at mobile security firm Zimperium discovered a bug in the Xiaomi M365 scooter that allows a hacker to remotely access the device. Once the have taken over, the attacker can make the scooter accelerate or brake without the rider's input.
Apple wasn't the only smartphone brand struggling in China this fall
Apple wasn't joking around when it warned that the Chinese smartphone market gave it grief in the fall. IDC estimated that iPhone shipments fell just shy of 20 percent year-over-year toward the end of 2018, hitting 11.8 million. It's the third consecutive year of declines, the analyst group said, blaming this year's drop on a combination of higher prices and relatively modest updates. Customers just weren't in as much of a rush to upgrade as they were in years past. Throw in China's economic woes and stiff competition from local rivals and it's not shocking that iPhone sales took a dive.
Xiaomi's flexible phone concept folds on both sides
Xiaomi truly is working on a foldable phone, company president and co-founder Lin Bin has confirmed in a teaser he posted on Weibo. In the video, you'll see the executive using a tablet-sized gadget -- until he folds its sides and uses it like you would any phone. Its UI even automatically resizes itself to occupy just the middle part of the screen, so you won't have to flip the device to look at the folded parts of the display.
Xiaomi's $60 AirDots Pro are not-so-subtle AirPod clones
Xiaomi has long faced criticism over claims it apes Apple's design and marketing strategies. Its latest true wireless headphones won't do much to dispel such allegations. The Mi AirDots Pro crib from several aspects of Apple's AirPods, from the stem that houses the Bluetooth receiver and microphone through to the familiar-looking charging case.
Xiaomi might build a three-panel foldable phone
Don't look now, but Samsung's foldable phone might already be old hat. Reputable leaker Evan Blass has shared a video of what's believed to be a three-panel folding phone from Xiaomi. The dimly-lit clip shows precious little beyond the display, but it's clearly the centerpiece. In addition to providing a large landscape view, the two side panels can fold backward to provide a conventional phone-sized screen.
Xiaomi's next phone could be the first with a 48-megapixel camera
Earlier this year, both Sony and Samsung unveiled their own 48-megapixel smartphone sensors, thus breaking the 41-megapixel record previously set by Nokia. With the more recent Huawei Mate 20 Pro and P20 Pro maxing out at "just" 40 megapixels, it's about time for someone else to restart the megapixel race, and who better than Huawei's local rival, Xiaomi, to do so? Earlier today, Xiaomi president Lin Bin took to Weibo -- via his ceramic Mix 3 slider -- to post a close-up photo of what appears to be a phone with a 48-megapixel camera plus dual LED flash. It's unclear how many lenses there are here, but based on how the set is right next to a volume rocker, it's safe to assume that this camera is positioned at the top left corner on the back of the phone.
The Black Shark looks like a gaming phone, runs like any other
Some of the most popular mobile games have player bases far exceeding those of big-name, AAA console titles. And where simple but addictive puzzlers like Candy Crush Saga used to be the pinnacle, we now have much more elaborate and engaging games like PUBG Mobile and Arena of Valor. Already this year, we've seen a resurgence of devices aimed specifically at the 'mobile-gamers' demographic. In Europe, there's now one more: The Black Shark, which recently went on sale, starting at the introductory price of €469/£409 (roughly $525).
Xiaomi takes over Meitu’s struggling selfie-focused phone business
Chinese selfie app and smartphone company Meitu announced it has entered into a strategic partnership with Xiaomi. Going forward, Meitu will license its brand, technologies and hardware to China-based Xiaomi, and for upcoming smartphones, Xiaomi will handle design, research, development, production, business operation, sales and marketing while Meitu will deal with image-related algorithms and technologies. Meitu said its mission has been "to inspire more people to express their beauty," and its board of directors has determined that a partnership with Xiaomi will aid in carrying out that mission.
Xiaomi's UK launch is an important step in going global
In some parts of the world, Xiaomi is a household name. And in others, it's almost unknown, discussed only in whispers amongst tech journalists and enthusiasts. The Chinese company launched its first smartphone seven years ago, and since then it's grown into a sprawling electronics leviathan. It established itself in many countries during this time, but steered mostly clear of others. This week, however, Xiaomi formally set up shop in the UK. And by doing so, it took its next serious step towards the ultimate goal of world domination.
Xiaomi's true wireless 'AirDots' earbuds cost less than $30
Despite big name partnerships with Microsoft and Facebook, Xiaomi is arguably better known for its super-cheap devices, which span smartphones to activity trackers. The Chinese manufacturer's latest budget offering is a pair of true wireless earbuds (no cables whatsoever here) that cost around $28 (depending on the exchange rate). They're dubbed "AirDots," which sounds confusingly similar to Apple's $159 AirPods.
Huawei cloned another famous smart speaker
Apple, Google, and Samsung all have smart speakers. Not to be left behind, fellow smartphone titan Huawei is playing catch up with another budget contender, following the reveal of its AI Cube (a speaker, 4G modem, WiFi router hybrid and Google Home clone, all rolled into one). The company teased the new gadget -- the Chinese name of which translates as "Huawei AI Speaker" -- at its Mate 20 series event in Shanghai, China, earlier today.
Xiaomi's all-screen Mi Mix 3 slider comes with up to 10GB RAM
It was a little over a year ago when I bumped into Xiaomi president Lin Bin at his flagship store in Beijing. Pointing at the then-freshly launched, near-bezel-less Mi Mix 2, Lin asked me, "Are you fine with having the front camera in the chin [in order to avoid the notch]?" My short answer was yes, even if that meant I had to rotate the phone for better selfies. Still, Xiaomi would eventually cave in by adding a notch to the Mi 8 series. Soon afterwards, though, Vivo and Oppo surprised us all with their all-screen smartphones. Not to be outdone by its local rivals, Xiaomi (and also Honor next week, for that matter) is striking back with its Mi Mix 3, a notch-free all-screen device that relies on a sliding screen instead of a pop-up camera. And yes, you still get a ceramic back for that extra premium look and feel.
Xiaomi's new gaming smartphone comes with a Joy-Con
We've already seen the likes of Razer and ASUS making a push in the gaming smartphone market, but what you probably don't know is that Xiaomi has also been somewhat involved in this space -- just not with its own identity. Dubbed Black Shark, this startup has been leveraging Xiaomi's investment and smartphone manufacturing know-how, with the first result being a bold-looking gaming phone back in April. Fast forward to today, Black Shark is already back with a beefier model called Helo, and it's shaping up to be a prettier package both externally and internally.
Xiaomi's cheap handsets have ads in the Settings app
How much of a discount would it take for you to accept ads all over your phone? That's the question that Xiaomi seems to be asking its potential customers. A reddit user noticed that the fourth-largest handset maker now has ads displayed everywhere, even within its Settings app. This comes after complaints that the number of ads on the handset had increased within MIUI apps after the installation of the latest software update.
