Ten CPU cores in a phone? MediaTek says yes.
It’s time to kick the week off. We’re eight days out from Google’s October 4 event, and the hype train is in full swing. We’re expecting to see the Pixel and Pixel XL, Google Home, a 4K Chromecast, and so much more.
Samsung is facing a three-day delay in restarting Note 7 sales in Korea. The company is trying to complete the recall process in its home market even as reports emerge of “overheating” issues in replacement Note 7s. Meanwhile, Lenovo is making the Moto Mods development kit available in China, Europe, and South America. The company is all set to launch the Moto Z series in India on October 4.
It looks like the Xperia XZ and X Performance will receive the update to Android 7.0 Nougat in October, with the likes of the Xperia Z5 picking up the update in December. Here’s what’s making the rounds today.
Samsung delays new Galaxy Note 7 sales in Korea by three days
According to Reuters, Samsung says the delay will enable it to speed up the return of remaining potentially faulty Note 7s.
Sony Xperia X Compact on sale via Amazon in the U.S.
Sony’s latest tiny phone packs its latest 23-megapixel camera, but it’ll set you back a fairly hefty $499. Check out our review to see how it shapes up. More
MediaTek Helio X30 has more cores than your laptop
MediaTek has officially unveiled the Helio X30 in China. The SoC is one of first to be built on TSMC’s 10nm FinFET+ manufacturing process. It offers ten CPU cores — two 2.8GHz Cortex A73 cores, four 2.4GHz Cortex A53 cores, and four 2.0GHz Cortex A35 cores — and can handle 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM at 1866MHz. MediaTek is moving back to Imagination Technologies with the PowerVR Series7XT GPU. Expect to see the Helio X30 SoC in consumer devices next year.
Xiaomi teases Mi 5S camera samples
Xiaomi is all set to unveil the Mi 5S on September 27, and ahead of the official unveil CEO Lei Jun has shared a camera sample. The phone will feature a dual camera setup at the back, and is rumored to feature a Snapdragon 821 SoC. We’ll know more tomorrow.
Moto Z series launching in India on October 4
Lenovo has sent out invites for the launch of the Moto Z series in India. We’ll see the Moto Z make its debut in the country, and the affordable Moto Z Play is also expected to launch. We’ll bring you all the details from the launch event.
Moto Mods development kit comes to China, Europe, and South America
After rolling out the Moto Mods dev kit in the U.S., Lenovo is now making the Moto Mods Development Kit available in China, Europe, and South America. The kit allows devs to create new modules for the Moto Z, Moto Z Force, and the Moto Z Play. The dev kit will be making its way to Canada on October 5.
Xperia XZ, X Performance may get Nougat update next month
A leaked slide from Sony Slovakia (obtained by Xperia Blog) shows the Xperia XZ and X Performance receiving the Nougat update in October. Xperia X and X Compact are expected to get the update in November, followed by the Xperia Z5, Z3+ and Z4 Tablet in December.
‘Issues’ reported with some replacement Note 7s in Korea
In a rather vague report, the WSJ quotes a broadcast by Korean TV network YTN, which says owners of some “new” (post-recall) Note 7s in the country are experiencing “overheating or losing battery power even as they are being charged.” It’s not clear what’s meant by “overheating” — as we all know, phones can get pretty hot while being used and charged simultaneously.
A Samsung spokesman said on Friday that the issue is “completely unrelated to batteries,” calling the incidents “isolated cases” related to mass production issues.
