Geely Founder Takes A Step Into The Smartphone Market

Geely, or to refer to its full name, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, is primarily a carmaker. Since 2017, the company has owned basically half of local car brand Proton. But it looks like the automaker’s founder is venturing into the smartphone market as well.

Geely group chairman and founder Eric Li started the company called Hubei Xingji Shidai Technology, to that end. The phones that the company makes will be of the premium, high-end variety, according to its press release.

In a statement, Li said that “there is a close connection in technologies within intelligent vehicle cockpits and smartphone software technologies”. Which may go to explaining the reason behind the new company. The new company will also be benefiting from the tech and processes of Geely itself.

Earlier this year, Geely started another company, called Zeekr, for its electric car endeavours. At the time, reports indicated that the company was aimed at challenging the dominance of the US-based Tesla brand. Chances are Xinji Shidai has been set up to cut into the dominance of Samsung and Apple at the top end. That being said, if the company does make phones for regions outside of China, it’s difficult to imagine them not using Android as its OS.

Sharp Announces Aquos R6 Flagship Smartphone; Features Leica-Enhanced Camera

Sharp has recently announced its latest flagship smartphone for the Japanese market with the new Aquos R6. To everyone’s surprise, the phone comes with an imaging system co-developed by Leica – making Sharp the second company to feature the renowned German camera manufacturer’s branding and technology on smartphones besides Huawei.

Unique to the Aquos R6 is its display, which is a curved 6.67-inch Pro IGZO OLED screen. It features a WUXGA+ resolution of 2730 x 1260 pixels, a dynamic refresh rate between 1Hz and 240Hz. The phone’s display also comes with an under-display fingerprint sensor, and a tiny top-centered punch-hole cutout for its 12MP selfie camera.

Being a flagship-tier smartphone, Sharp’s latest device is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset, paired with 12GB LPDDR5 RAM and 128GB of UFS3.1 internal storage. Powering the phone is a large 5,000mAh battery with fast charging support via USB-C, although the brand did not specify its exact wattage.

While other manufacturers are keeping up with the trend of featuring multiple cameras on their smartphones, Sharp decided to do the complete opposite. Instead, the new Aquos R6 features a single camera which comes with a large 1-inch 20MP sensor and a f/1.9 Leica Summicron wide lens with a focal length equivalent of 19mm. Also featured in the central camera housing is a Time of Flight (ToF) sensor and a flash module. Below are the images claimed to be taken by the phone’s camera for your reference.

For more sample images, Sharp has set up a virtual gallery on its official website to showcase the Aquos R6’s photography capabilities. You may visit it via this link.

The new Sharp Aquos R6 will be available in Black and White colour options, and is slated to go on sale in Japan by mid June. The company has yet to reveal the price of its new smartphone, and to confirm if it will be shipped globally after its official launch in the country.

Huawei To Launch New Smartphone OS In June

Huawei said it intends to launch its new Harmony smartphone operating system (OS) on 2 June, Reuters said. The event would obviously be a milestone in the company’s shift away from Google’s Android OS.

That being said, it’s currently unknown if the company intends to release new smartphones at the same time or if it’ll be providing updates for existing phones. The time frame for the rollout is also unclear.

For years, the Chinese firm was reliant on Android to make its smartphones work. But in 2019, former US President Donald Trump enacted sanctions that barred Google from giving technical support to new Huawei phone models and access to Google Mobile Services. That and a litany of other US actions have effectively crippled Huawei’s smartphone business.

The company was formerly the leading and largest smartphone maker in the world, but now has dropped to 6th place with a 4% market share in the first quarter of this year. Its financial results for 2020 showed discouraging figures for every market except China.

Earlier this year, the company acknowledged the damage it suffered from US sanctions while continuing to deny charges made by the US and other governments that it does the bidding of the Chinese government and military. While Trump has left office, the new US president, Joe Biden, has continued to put economic pressure on the company.

In an internal memo obtained by Reuters, Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei told employees to shift their focus to software development in order to counter US sanctions. The company has notably also diversified into the automotive industry.

OPPO Reportedly Developing A Portless Smartphone With Hidden Front And Rear Cameras

Smartphone brands have been experimenting with the idea of developing a phone with a portless and unified body for several years now. The first being Vivo with their APEX 2019 concept phone and then Xiaomi earlier this year with its unnamed quad-curved waterfall display prototype. Now, it appears that OPPO may be joining their ranks as well with their own portless phone.

According to Chinese leakster Digital Chat Station on Weibo, the alleged device will feature pressure-sensitive buttons on its side, an under-display front camera, and also a hidden rear camera setup. In regards to the latter, it will sport the same electrochromic technology that is featured on the OnePlus Concept One smartphone.

Being a portless smartphone, most would assume that it would only feature wireless charging, but that isn’t the case, surprisingly. Digital Chat Station says that the handset will still feature a USB interface that is “hidden by a special structural design” – implying some sort of special mechanism used to hide and reveal the phone’s charging port if the user wishes to charge it via conventional wired means.

The expected date of unveiling and details of its hardware specifications are unknown at this time. Additionally, it’s not specified whether this alleged device is an actual production model, or a fully functional prototype ala the OPPO X 2021 rollable smartphone. Although there is a chance that it may be the latter, as the brand has yet to showcase any of the aforementioned tech, especially an update or evolution of its 2019 under-display tech.

OPPO A54 Entry-Level Smartphone Arrives In Malaysia; Price Starts At RM 599

OPPO Malaysia has revealed via its official Facebook page that the OPPO A54 smartphone has arrived and is now available for purchase. Equipped with a MediaTek Helio chipset, the device is the latest entry-level handset from the brand to be available locally.

The A54 features a decently sized 6.51-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 720 x 1600 px and a screen-to-body ratio of 82.6%. Also on the display is a tiny punch-hole cutout which houses a 16MP front-facing camera. As mentioned earlier, powering the phone is a Helio P35 chipset with a RAM capacity of 4GB and storage space of up to 128GB.

As usual for most entry-level offerings, the major highlight of the OPPO A54 is its large battery size which comes in at 5,000mAh. However, it only comes with 18W USB-C fast charging capability, unlike the brand’s mid-level and higher phones that feature OPPO’s SuperVOOC tech.

Imaging-wise, the back of the smartphone is a triple sensor camera setup which comprises of a 13MP main sensor, a 2MP macro, and a 2MP depth sensor. The camera system is capable of recording videos at 1080p at 30fps.

Other than that, it runs on Android 10 via OPPO’s ColorOS 7.2 interface and features a side mounted fingerprint scanner. Surprisingly, the phone does not come with a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The new OPPO A54 entry-level handset is offered in black and blue colour selections and is priced at RM599 for the 4GB + 64GB configuration, while the 4GB + 128GB option comes in at RM699. Those interested can make their purchase via OPPO Malaysia’s official website.

Lenovo Teases New Legion Gaming Smartphone Announcement In Spring

Lenovo surprised the smartphone scene last year with the launch of its very own gaming handset, the Legion Duel. Despite being the company’s first jab in the niche, the device packed substantial hardware that easily rivaled its competitors – featuring a Snapdragon 865 Plus chipset, large battery capacity, fast charging and so on. Hoping to keep up with this momentum, Lenovo is planning to introduce a follow up to the Duel in the coming months, according to its GM Chen Jin via a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo.

Along with the announcement, Chen Jin also included a teaser image that shows the Lenovo Legion logo within an ice cube – subtly hinting at the upcoming gaming phone’s potential selling point. A handset’s internal cooling system is one of several factors that brands often emphasise on, especially for those in the gaming category. Based on the hint, it is possible that the new device could feature an improved version of the Duel’s internal dual-liquid heat pipe cooling system, or maybe an all-new cooling technology altogether.

Besides that, nothing else regarding the phone’s design or specifications have been revealed at this time. It is uncertain if the company plans to carry over any features from its predecessor, such as the side-mounted pop-up camera or dual shoulder air triggers with haptic feedback. If anything, it is quite likely for the upcoming Lenovo gaming phone to feature a Snapdragon 888 chipset, along with an improved FHD+ AMOLED display with 144Hz refresh rate or higher, and high-end sensors for its rear and front-facing cameras.

Chen Jin added that the new Lenovo Legion smartphone is expected to be officially unveiled sometime in spring this year. However, with no specific date provided, we might not see any glimpses of the new gaming handset for another month or two.

Defunct Smartphone Brand Essential Acquired By Former OnePlus CEO’s New Company

“Everyone deserves a second chance,” as the saying goes. And that opportunity has apparently been given to former Android co-founder Andy Rubin’s Essential smartphone company, which closed down in May of last year. According to 9to5Google, the defunct brand has been acquired by Nothing, the newly established startup founded by former OnePlus CEO Carl Pei.

The website reveals that, after combing through the UK Intellectual Property Office database, the transferred ownership of Essential’s trademark and logos to the startup company was signed on 6 January 2021. It is not known whether Nothing also acquired the brand’s patents for its smartphones or other devices, however.

As a crash course for the uninitiated, Essential was founded by Rubin alongside former Google colleague Matt Hersheson in 2015. Two years later, it would release the PH-1, its first ever smartphone, which gained a considerable following due to its unique modular capability.

The brand’s second phone, the Essential GEM (pictured on top), was announced back in 2019 and featured a thin yet tall form factor that almost resembles a TV remote. However, due to the brand’s niche approach and poor sales of its first product, the new handset was cancelled and the company itself folded not long after – making Essential an almost one-hit wonder in the smartphone industry.

Bonus fact: As a big fan of robotics, Andy Rubin was nicknamed “Android” by co-workers during his time at Apple in 1989. Little did his former colleagues know that the programmer would use that name to christen the operating system that would eventually rival the company’s iOS platform years later.

Meanwhile, Carl Pei formed his startup company Nothing in late January 2021, months after his departure from OnePlus. The newly established brand launched with some fanfare, revealing an impressive group of investors including former Apple executive Tony Fadell, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman, Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin, and YouTuber Casey Neistat. Nothing recently announced that it will unveil its first product, a yet-to-be-named pair of wireless earphones, later in February.

The startup’s recently discovered acquisition may serve as a hint of things to come. In an interview with Bloomberg, Pei revealed that Nothing is planning to build an ecosystem of smart devices and noted that multiple non-audio products are slated to be unveiled throughout the year. This could potentially mean that the new brand may launch its own smartphones by reintroducing the Essential brand. With that, hopefully the cancelled GEM phone would also see a revived interest, should Pei’s company decide to pursue it.

Startup Company Aims To Eliminate Smartphone Camera Bumps With New Lens Tech

Smartphone cameras continue to expand in quality, function and average number per device. These also affect a handset’s design – often resulting in the need for bumps or islands to contain multiple yet varying camera modules. Poised to eliminate the large yet jarring housings, startup company Metalenz has introduced a new technology that enables cameras to take up less space.

Known as the “flat lens system”, the company utilises a new optical metasurface technology that uses a single lens built on a glass wafer that is between 1×1 to 3×3 mm in size. When seen under a microscope, the nanostructures on this wafer are said to measure a scant one-thousandth the width of a human hair. This new tech is used to replace the current approach where camera modules consist of plastic and glass lens elements stacked over an image sensor.

Metalenz explains that the nanostructures are able to bend light similarly to the traditional multi-optic lens approach. So much so that the company claims the resulting image quality captured via the flat lens system is as sharp as you would expect or better form, and could even correct various shortcomings found in traditional lenses.

Wired reports that the startup company has already partnered with two “leading semiconductor companies” that are offering to manufacture the optical metasurfaces at scale for future consumer rollout. In addition, Metalenz says that it will go into mass production by the end of 2021, and its first application featuring the new tech will be a 3D sensor for an unspecified smartphone brand.

The upcoming sensor is said to be similar to the one featured on Apple’s FaceID, but relies on the improved light-gathering capabilities of the company’s optical metasurface technology instead of lasers. Metalenz added that its product is also efficient in terms of power conservation.

Despite revealing its current plans of development and production, it is not known when the company’s new lens technology will be made available to the consumer market. But once it does roll out (and succeed), we can expect future smartphones to feature a more streamlined rear design, phasing out the typical bulging camera arrays that we are accustomed to.

Apple’s Quarterly Revenue Tops US$100 Billion; Becomes World’s Biggest Smartphone Seller

There are plenty of smiling faces at Apple HQ this week. The tech giant has just reported that its quarterly revenue (Q4 2020) exceeded US$100 billion for the first time in its history. And at least for the last three months of 2020, Apple was the biggest smartphone seller in the world, thanks in large part to the stellar performance of its new 5G-capable iPhone 12 lineup in China.

The company said its quarterly revenue grew by 21% to US$111.44 billion (~RM450 billion). Reuters, citing data from research firm IDC, said that Apple captured 23.4% of the global smartphone market last quarter, making it the reigning king of the hill – at least for awhile.

Apple has now 1.65 billion devices active throughout the world, company CEO Tim Cook told Reuters, and that includes over 1 billion iPhones. Once again, China came in strongly for the company – surging sales in the country by 57% to US$21.31 billion (~RM86.2 billion). Cook noted that two of the top three selling smartphones in urban China were Apple products and added that, “upgraders in particular set an all-time record in China.”

The rosy numbers for Apple are somewhat surprising, considering that smartphone sales were largely battered by the COVID-19 pandemic last year. But even back then, there were strong indications that Apple was doing better than other smartphone makers, including chief rival Samsung. Lo and behold, Samsung recently reported that its mobile business declined by 11% in the last quarter.

But will that change with the recent launch of the Samsung Galaxy S21? We’ll have to see in the upcoming first quarter revenue report for 2021.

Live Photos Of Upcoming OnePlus 9 Pro Smartphone Leaks

Live photos of the upcoming OnePlus 9 Pro smartphone recently surfaced online. The design of the phone, shown in the images, does resemble the renders provided by Steve Hemmerstoffer (aka OnLeaks) back in November last year.

Much like the leakster’s renders, the phone is seen sporting a large curved display with thin bezels and a tiny punch-hole camera cutout on the top left. While on its back is a glossy case with a rectangular camera island that houses four cameras and a LED flash module. Besides giving us a glimpse of the design of the handset, the leak did not provide any details of its specifications. 

According to Chinese tech site IT Home, it is said that the OnePlus 9 Pro will feature a 4,500mAh battery with fast charging support at 65W for wired and 40W for wireless. The phone will also sport dual stereo speakers, and is water + dust resistant with IP68 rating. Prior to this, OnePlus confirmed that the new flagship series will feature Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 888 chipset.

Photography-wise, the rear cameras are believed to include dual Sony IMX689 48MP sensors (one of which suggested to feature a telephoto lens), paired with an ultra-wide angle and a macro shooter. Housed in the punch-hole cutout on the OnePlus 9 Pro’s display is a 32MP selfie camera.

The new OnePlus flagship series is expected to consist of two models: a standard variant and the Pro model. As mentioned before in our previous report, it is rumoured that the company will launch both models sometime in March.

Opinion: Smartphone Designs Need To Be Exciting Again

When it comes to technological innovations, smartphone makers have been bombarding consumers with plenty of new and exciting things to look forward to. Throughout the years, we’ve seen telephoto or periscope cameras compactly installed on mobile phones, in-display fingerprint scanners, extremely fast charging capabilities and more.

However, I’m certain that we also noticed something very commonly seen in smartphone releases from every brand: almost all of the handsets feature a familiar design approach. So much so that most can actually pass off as carbon copies of each other, but with some creative liberties added as a way to differentiate one maker from another.

The similarities across the different makers are very apparent. But before I go on, I would like to exclude certain elements such as pop-up or rotating cameras, cost reducing approaches (side or rear mounted fingerprint sensors or the removal of 3.5mm jacks), as well as several innovations that may be exclusive to certain smartphone makers. For the latter, these include devices like foldable or rollable phones and unique designs such as the LG Wing.

The Front Designs

Without a doubt, not much can be done when it comes to the front side of the phone. This is especially when screen size has become the main selling point of every handset, and there’s little to do in order to improve the attractiveness of a phone’s front design.

The only few exceptions to this are the inclusion of larger displays and reducing the thickness of the bezels surrounding it. Ever since the introduction of the notch by Apple on the iPhone X in 2017, Android brands had also adopted the approach in order to offer a large screen-to-body ratio on their devices – with some even reducing the shape of the notch to a mere “water drop” size.

Not long after, Samsung would then revolutionise the all-screen display by introducing the Infinity-O design, which features the punch-hole camera cutout that we are familiar with today. The first device to include this was the Huawei Nova 4, and would later be featured on various smartphones from other brands throughout 2019 and 2020. So far, this has been the staple design element to be featured on modern handsets, and would continue to be the standard – at least until the under-display camera technology has been fully ironed out.

Curved Display Worries

When it comes to differentiating premium phones from the rest, perhaps the only noteworthy design element to take into account are curved edge displays. This technology was formerly exclusive to Samsung phones, starting with the Galaxy Note Edge in 2014 and later regularly featured on its newer Galaxy S and Galaxy Note series.

Other brands such as Huawei and OPPO then adopted this design much later, and eventually curved displays became a mainstay for high-end versions of flagship devices from most smartphone makers. However, it appears that Samsung has realised that including this feature for its devices are quite costly – evident of the recent Note20 and Galaxy S21 releases, where only the Ultra variants now come with curved screens.

Even so, fans have also noticed that the curved edges on the Ultras are now less prominent than the ones featured on older models such as the Galaxy S9 and so on. Should this catch on, other brands might consider doing the same and also reduce the curves on their smartphones in order to save production costs. Rather fitting that Samsung started this trend in the industry, and may very well be the one ending it.

The Rear Designs

The main reason why I am writing this opinion piece in the first place. No matter how hard a brand is promoting its latest smartphone with some fancy new glass, gradient effects or exclusive colours, the fact remains that the rear case designs on current handsets have become painfully generic.

Such factors have contributed to the downfall of popularity for some smartphone brands due to the lack of creativity given to the overall design of their products. These include former heavy hitters such as Sony, with fans and critics pointing out the design of its smartphones have become repetitive and boring in every release. Sadly, we’re actually seeing an inevitable repeat of this mistake with other phone makers with their recent phone offerings.

This is quite apparent as most phones come with the same unremarkable flat, metallic, glossy or glass casings as well as the often repeated vertical rectangular, square or circular camera arrays. Brands should at least put more effort in trying to set their products apart from competitors with some form of originality rather than just slapping their respective brandings and just calling it a day.

Gaming Smartphones And Limited Editions

Strangely enough, the more interesting rear case designs are seemingly reserved for the niche kind of smartphones for some reason. Gaming smartphones like the ASUS ROG Phones, Black Sharks and even the new Lenovo Legion Duel (sorry Razer Phones) have featured more intricate and eye-fetching rear casings. Especially when compared to the numerous non-gaming and also flagship devices currently available in the market.

Then there’s the limited edition phones such as the OnePlus 8T Cyberpunk Edition, OPPO Find X2 Lamborghini Edition and the Xiaomi Mi 10 Explorer Edition. All of these come with amazing rear case designs, but three problems persist with such releases. First, as implied by their names, the production of these models are limited and secondly, they cost more than their respective original variants. Lastly, sometimes they are only available in certain regions.

The Pros And Cons Of Trendsetting

The one thing that Apple is doing right as a trendsetter is that its products are easily identifiable at just a glance. You’re likely to immediately recognise an iPhone by noticing its all too familiar notch on its display, and the uniquely arranged camera array on its back. Admirably, the company’s supposed refusal of embracing certain trends such as curved screens and in-display selfie camera cutouts have benefitted them in this aspect.

However, this “stick with tradition” approach also has its limitations. The notch design have already been repeated on three generations of iPhones, while the camera array have been featured in two. Apple may have to start coming up with more creative solutions for the new generation of handsets before consumers get tired with the current design language. The iPhone 5 is probably the best example of this scenario, where users often jokingly refer to it as a taller iPhone 4.

As for the uniqueness of its rear camera layout, Apple may soon lose that exclusivity if the recent leak of the OPPO Find X3’s design turns out to be accurate.

Smartphone Makers Are Trying

While some merely resort to just copying someone else’s homework, there are smartphone makers out there other than Apple that are actually trying to be different.

The most recent example is the newly launched Samsung Galaxy S21 series, which introduced a new design for the rear case across all models. Finally, after such a long time, the new generation of the Galaxy S is able to stand out from the crowd. But for how long?

Much like the iPhones, this now-distinguishable feature may eventually sink down the sea of genericness if Samsung decides to implement this design across all of its upcoming smartphone line-ups. The other worst case scenario, of course, is when other brands start copying this look for their own products. These are all merely speculations, but there’s no denying the possibilities.

Then there are brands like LG. Despite its poor sales and rumoured withdrawal from the smartphone industry, the other Korean-based company did try to reinvigorate phone designs by introducing a more streamlined and minimalist look via the LG Velvet. To the brand’s credit, the handset’s rear design is quite refreshing and does set it apart from others smartphones. However, the Velvet may be the last of its kind if the aforementioned rumours are true.

The Present And Future

With Samsung leading the charge for a change in smartphone design this year, other makers and designers may take inspiration from this. Preferably not in a carbon copy kind of way, but in a sense of applying a unique twist of their own to their upcoming devices.

But in all honesty, this may just be another pipe dream in the end and the cycle of design cloning could still continue. That being said, we still have a full year ahead to see what the brands have to offer, and hopefully these upcoming devices would bring back some excitement and originality to smartphone designs in 2021 and beyond.