Black Shark 4 To Launch On 23 March; Standard Variant Spotted On TENAA

Joining companies such as OnePlus and Realme (and maybe Apple) in launching new products on 23 March will be Xiaomi’s subsidiary brand Black Shark. The company has revealed via its official Weibo page that it will debut its upcoming gaming smartphones, the Black Shark 4 series, in China next week.

It is believed that the brand will launch two variants of the product: a standard edition and a Pro model – much like its predecessor last year. Specs-wise, Black Shark has yet to provide any information on what to expect from its upcoming gaming phones. However, it did previously reveal that the new series will feature a 4,500mAh battery with 120W fast charging support, and an “AI triple camera” setup for imaging.

On the unofficial side of things, certain specifications of the Black Shark 4 series have been spotted on Google Play console, 3C certification, TENAA, AnTuTu and even Geekbench. The findings suggest that the upcoming phones will feature a 6.67-inch display with 120Hz refresh rate, and also two different Snapdragon chipsets for each model. Specifically, it is said that the standard variant will sport a Snapdragon 870, while the Pro version will instead come with Qualcomm’s 2021 flagship Snapdragon 888 chipset.

As for its design, the non-Pro version is shown to feature what appears to be a flat display panel with a top-centered camera cutout – a first for Black Shark, as previous models favoured in-bezel camera setup instead of the typical punch-hole or notch approach. Meanwhile, its rear design is revealed to sport a simple metallic finish with a horizontal camera island for its triple shooters. Provided that this TENAA submission is to be believed, the vanilla Black Shark 4 may disappoint fans due to the new minimalist-like design – a far cry from its predecessor’s more intricate-looking rear panel.

Whether these leaks are accurate or not remains to be seen, so it is advisable to take unofficial information or images with a nice pinch of salt. Regardless, we’ll be looking forward to what the Xiaomi subsidiary has to offer with its latest gaming smartphones. As mentioned earlier, the Black Shark 4 series are slated to launch in China next Tuesday on 23 March 2021.

OnePlus Releases More Images Of OnePlus 9 Pro; Standard Variant Officially Revealed

OnePlus has recently shared new images showcasing its upcoming OnePlus 9 Pro smartphone that is slated to debut globally next week. Along with the set of photos is a new launch teaser, which also officially revealed the flagship’s standard model for the first time.

As seen from the latest images provided by the company, the actual design of the OnePlus 9 Pro is exactly how it was depicted in the earlier leaks. In front of the device is a curved screen with an in-display camera located on its upper left corner, while on its back is a quad camera setup housed in a vertical bump, which also features Hasselblad’s branding. The volume rocker is visible on the left side of the phone, and on the right is where the state slider and lock button are located. OnePlus CEO Pete Lau notes that the silver colour option showcased in the images is referred to as “Morning Mist”.

Unfortunately, the only glimpse of the standard variant reveals its rear camera bump, which almost looks identical to the Pro version, but with two noticeable differences. The first being the lack of a fourth camera sensor, and the second is the Hasselblad branding which is orientated vertically. The violet colour option shown on this model is referred to as “Winter Mist”.

In terms of specifications, Lau has confirmed that the Pro variant will sport a Sony IMX789 and a IMX766 for its main and ultra-wide sensors, respectively. It is not revealed if the standard model of the OnePlus 9 will also feature the same sensors as part of its camera setup. And as implied by the branding, the imaging system on both models of the upcoming flagship series will feature enhancements by renown Swedish camera brand Hasselblad. As revealed by the company last year, the OnePlus 9 series will be powered by Qualcomm’s top-of-the-line Snapdragon 888 chipset.

OnePlus will launch the new flagship smartphone series via a virtual launch on 23 March at 10pm local time, which will be streamed live through its official website and social media channels. As previously reported, there is a possibility that the company may launch its first ever smartwatch during the event as well.

Standard Version Of Huawei P50 Leaks; Features Same Massive Camera Array As The Pro Model

Yesterday, leakster Steve Hemmerstoffer (aka OnLeaks) shared multiple renders of the alleged Huawei P50 Pro, which revealed a massive and unconventional-looking rear camera array. Just recently, Hemmerstoffer followed up on the leak with additional images but now featuring the standard variant of the upcoming smartphone. Unsurprisingly (this time around), this version of the smartphone also features the same setup for its rear shooters.

What sets the vanilla Huawei P50 apart from the Pro is its display and overall size. Based on the provided renders, the phone comes with a flat 6.3-inch display with thin bezels and a top-centered cutout for its selfie camera. Its corners also appear slightly more curvier than the high-end model, and it is measured at 156.7 x 74 x 8.3mm in size.

The back of the standard model also features a glass panel, while its camera array appears to be similar in size to the one shown on the P50 Pro. The leakster added that both variants of the upcoming Huawei flagship may come with the first ever one-inch mobile camera sensor by Sony, which is alleged to be known as the IMX800. The size of the sensor itself would explain the need for huge camera bumps, but Hemmerstoffer noted it is also possible for these “lenses” to feature one or more smaller sensors such as an ultra-wide or telephoto.

Other than that, the standard P50 is believed to come with an under-display fingerprint sensor, dual stereo speakers, USB-C port, and an IR blaster. Software-wise, we’re fairly certain that both models will come with the latest version of Harmony OS, as well as featuring a selection of Huawei App Gallery supported applications. Similar to the Pro variant, it is possible that the vanilla model will be equipped with a Kirin 9000 chipset as well.

The mystery of the massive rear camera arrays on both the standard and Pro versions of the Huawei P50 series remain unanswered for now. As mentioned in our previous report, it is not known when the Chinese tech giant is planning to officially unveil its latest flagship smartphones. But you can expect the company to heavily emphasise on the series’ cameras, should Hemmerstoffer’s leaks be proven accurate.

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare, Warzone And Black Ops Cold War Won’t Fit In A Standard 500GB PS4

Activision has launched season two of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Warzone. That alone is nothing unusual. What is, though, is the amount of space the games now take.

Alongside the announcement of the new season, Activision published on its blog saying that a standard PS4 with its base 500GB hard drive will not be able to fit both Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Modern Warfare with Warzone. You may even have to delete game modes you don’t play in order to download the updates.

In many ways, this is basically a repeat of a report from back in October 2020. Back then, we saw a Call of Duty player venting on Twitter that a single game is too big for a 250GB SSD on PC. It was alleviated somewhat by giving those playing on PC the ability to delete unplayed game modes. Despite this, file sizes remain large, and the fact remains that the games’ install footprints are way too big.

This, by extension, is also bad news for those who play Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Warzone on the PS5, as well. After all, while the PS5 SSD has 825GB of storage space, the usable space is only around 664GB.