MacBook Pro M1X Rumoured To Have 120Hz Mini-LED Display, 1080p Webcam

With Apple’s recently announced “Unleashed” event coming up soon, rumours and leaks have been flooding out about the speculated MacBook Pro refresh. While we don’t know how accurate these claims are, they’ve set expectations high and even analyst Mark Gurman says that people have been asking about the new MacBook nonstop.

According to leakster @dylandkt, the new lineup will consist of a 14-inch and a 16-inch MacBook Pro, instead of the current 13-inch and 16-inch options. He also claims that the base models will have 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. Moreover, the Pro is said to come with a new charging brick as rumours suggest that the USB-C charging port might be replaced by a Magsafe port.

Sticking with his claims from earlier this year, Dylandkt says that the 720p webcam will finally be upgraded to 1080p and the anticipated M1X chip will sport the same ten cores for both MacBook configurations at similar prices. The M1X MacBook Pro variant was expected to be launched back in June during WWDC but it never came to fruition.

As for the screen, display analyst Ross Young tweeted that both MacBook Pros will feature a mini-LED display with 120Hz refresh rate. Similarly, Dylandkt revealed that Apple has been working on a 120Hz display but says he doesn’t know when it will actually be implemented.

If the M1X MacBook Pro does come with a 120Hz display, then Apple will officially have another addition to its list of products that support the high refresh rate, alongside the iPhone 13 Pro and the iPad Pro. The Unleashed launch event will take place on 19 October at 1:00 AM Malaysian time and is expected to unveil the M1X MacBook Pro and Mac Mini, as well as the AirPods 3.

Xiaomi Civi Now Official: Features 120Hz Display, Snapdragon 778G, 32MP Selfie Camera

Xiaomi has just launched the first Civi smartphone, its purported replacement for the aesthetics-focused CC series. For starters, the new phone sports a 6.55-inch Full HD+ OLED display with curved edges and super-thin 2.55m bezels.

At the same time, the screen on the Civi also offers a 120Hz refresh rate and in-display fingerprint scanner, as well as the support for Dolby Vision and HDR10+. Housed within the top centre part of the display is a 32MP selfie shooter which features autofocus and a “beautification” filter that uses sophisticated machine learning that reportedly “re-depicts” the original picture pixel-per-pixel to maintain skin texture while getting rid of imperfections such as blemishes and acne:

The Civi also features a three-camera setup on its back which includes a 64MP primary, an ultrawide lens with a 120-degree field-of-view, and a 2MP macro camera. Meanwhile, the rumour of photo/electrochromic back cover on the phone proved to be inaccurate as Civi’s sparkly rear uses anti-glare glass instead.

Runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G alongside up to 12GB LPDDR4x RAM and 256GB internal storage, the new phone also supports Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2. Also equipped with Dolby Atmos stereo speakers, there is no 3.5mm audio jack on the Civi though.

Not to forget, the phone is powered by a large 4500mAh battery which Xiaomi claims to have the longest battery life of any smartphone it’s releasing this year. While it comes with 55W rapid charging, it seems to be missing wireless charging.

Running on MIUI 12.5 which is based on Android 11, the new Civi starts from CNY2,599 (~RM1,684) and goes all the way to CNY3,199 (~RM2,073) for the top configuration. Unfortunately, the phone is only launching in China for now, with no word yet on availability in other countries.

Microsoft Surface Pro 8 Leak Suggests 120Hz Display, Thunderbolt Ports

Microsoft has an announcement event coming up this week, which likely has to do with its Surface line of products. One of the products to get a reveal may be a Surface Pro 8, which has recently been leaked. And there’s more than just a pinch of detail here.

Twitter user @Shadow_Leak shared an image of the Microsoft Surface Pro 8 that looks to be from a Chinese retailer. And there’s a fair amount of info to gleam from it. Chief among which are the 13-inch display with 120Hz refresh rate, and the fact that it will have Thunderbolt ports. The tweet itself goes on to say that there will be two of these.

Other details include the inclusion of Windows 11, which is to be expected, an 11th gen Intel Core processor, and replaceable SSDs. This is a feature we saw with the Surface Laptop 4 which was made available on our shores in May. It’s an impressive feature to have, judging from the thinness of the Microsoft Surface Pro 8.

Naturally, none of this are confirmed just yet. But it won’t be long before we know for sure, since the scheduled announcement event by Microsoft is due in just a couple of days.

iPhone Screens With 120Hz Refresh Rate Enters Production

Rumours of an iPhone generation featuring a display with 120Hz refresh rate started with the iPhone 12. That didn’t happen, as all four variants sport the standard 60Hz refresh rate displays. But that didn’t stop the rumour from resurfacing for this year’s model. Such displays have reportedly entered their production stage.

South Korean news outlet The Elec reports that Samsung and LG have both started the production of said display. The outlet’s sources claim that the former started production in the middle of the month. The latter, on the other hand, began production more recently.

Also included in the report is the fact that this production run started a month early compared to last year. Apple itself made the request to start production earlier. This could suggest that the iPhone maker intends to introduce this year’s phones a month earlier than it did in 2020, which was in October.

While the 120Hz display is the more recent of rumours surrounding this year’s iPhones, they are not the only one. Others, some dating all the way back to 2019, include the lack of a Lightning connector port, or just ports in general. Then there’s the alleged design leaks of a mini variant, which contradicts the one on portless design.

ASUS May Have A ZenFone 8 Mini In The Works; To Come With 5.92-Inch 120Hz Display

As far as phones go, ASUS is putting a lot of its emphasis on the ROG Phone line. The company hasn’t given up on the ZenFone line though, even if it hasn’t been bringing in the past few models into Malaysia. The company is expected to announce its eighth generation ZenFone this year. But the company may also have a Mini model in the works.

XDA reports that references to an ASUS ZenFone 8 Mini was found in the kernel source code of the ASUS ROG Phone 5. The word Mini itself is not actually mentioned, but instead the phone is referred to as a “small phone”. And what points to the possibility that it will be a Mini model is the hint of a 5.92-inch display. Beyond the size, it is also believed to be an OLED panel provided by Samsung, with a Full HD+ resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate.

On cameras, the code indicates that it will have two, one being a Sony IMX686 64MP sensor, and the other using a Sony IMX663. The smaller ASUS ZenFone 8 is also believed to sport a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset.

This small ASUS ZenFone is referred to with the codename Sake. There are two other devices, codenamed Picasso and Vodka. The former looks a lot like the ZenFone 7. There are two exceptions, one being the Snapdragon 888 chipset, the other is an extra 24MP sensor that’s marked as the front sensor. Details on Vodka remain quite sparse, beyond the fact that it also sports a Snapdragon 888 chipset.

With the dreams of a Sony Xperia Compact mostly dashed, this supposed ASUS ZenFone 8 Mini looks promising. This is especially if you’re a fan of smaller phones. But on the flip side, even if it’s real, chances of getting it here are slim. After all, the company has not been bringing in ZenFones for the past couple of years.

2021 iPhone Reportedly Features 120Hz Display With Always-On Function And Improved Cameras

Despite its expected Q4 launch window later this year, it is never too early for iPhone leaks. New information regarding Apple’s upcoming 2021 flagship model – which would unlikely be named as the “iPhone 13” because of obvious reasons – has surfaced online, thanks to leakster Max Weinbach via YouTuber EverythingApplePro.

This time around, it is said that the new handset would feature a battery-efficient LTPO (low-temperature polycrystalline oxide) display, with a high refresh rate of 120Hz – the highest ever featured on the company’s smartphone releases. An even more interesting tidbit from Weinbach revealed that this model may also be Apple’s first iPhone to come with an always-on display. This suggests that the upcoming model would be even more power conserving than its predecessors – something that cannot be proven accurate until we are able to test it out for ourselves, which is still a long way to go.

The always-on display feature has been a standard on most Android smartphones, and was already introduced on the company’s Apple Watch wearables starting with the Series 5. The leak detailed that notification bars and icons will be displayed for a limited amount of time on-screen when the phone is locked, while the battery and clock indicators would be visible throughout.

Weinbach added the 2021 iPhone would also feature upgraded cameras, but was not specific regarding their improvements. Instead, the leakster said that the handset would come with a better ultra-wide camera, automatic astrophotography, and a Galaxy S21-like portrait video mode. Other than that, he claims that the handset’s rear case would sport a grippier matte finish and the built-in MagSafe magnets are stronger too.

Keep in mind that the MagSafe feature on the current iPhone 12 models is known to cause interference with medical implants, as previously reported. Therefore, Apple’s precaution of keeping its iPhones away from these devices would still apply to the supposed upcoming models, given its increased magnet strength.

As a quick recap, earlier rumours of the 2021 iPhone specifications suggests a smaller notch on its display, and an in-display Touch ID feature – another purported first for Apple’s smartphones. Weinbach’s recent leak also corroborated on an earlier report claiming that the upcoming models would sport a similar design to last year’s iPhone 12 series, but with some minor tweaks.

As usual, we highly advise to take the provided information with a pinch of salt despite Weinbach and EverythingApplePro’s track record in regards to smartphone leaks. With the 2021 iPhone’s expected announcement still being far off, we can expect even more rumours and leaks to surface along the way.