OnePlus Nord N10 5G and N100 are the brand’s latest affordable offering

Taking on the affordable segment



After months of leaks, rumors, and teasers, OnePlus has finally unveiled the Nord N10 5G and N100. The Nord-lineup is aimed at the affordable segment of the market and the two phones will launch in Europe first, followed by the US.

Nord N10 5G

Starting with the Nord N10 5G, it has a 6.5-inch Full HD+ display with a 90Hz refresh rate. Powering the phone is a Snapdragon 690 processor with support for 5G connectivity, as the phone’s name suggests. It’s paired with 6GB of RAM and has support for expandable storage.

On the rear is a quad-camera setup consisting of a 64-megapixel primary camera, an 8-megapixel wide-angle lens, a 5-megapixel depth sensor, and a 2-megapixel macro lens. For selfies, a 16-megapixel selfie shooter is located on the front.

Backing these internals is a 4300mAh battery with 30W fast charging compatibility. Interestingly, OPPO’s A33 and A53s have pretty much the same internals but a slightly different design. It’s also worth noting that OnePlus is closely associated with OPPO and has always leveraged the giant’s supply chain to make competitive products.

The Nord N10 5G is priced at GBP 329 (US$ 428) for the 6GB+129GB option. Color scheme is restricted to just one option, Midnight Ice.

Nord N100

On the other hand, the Nord N100 gets a 6.5-inch HD+ display with standard 60Hz refresh rate. Under the hood is a Snapdragon 460 processor with 4GB RAM. It has a triple rear camera setup that consists of a 13-megapixel primary camera, a depth sensor, and a macro lens. For selfies, an 8-megapixel selfie shooter is located in the punch-hole cut-out.

The phone packs a 5000mAh battery and supports 18W fast charging. It’ll retail for GBP 179 (US$ 233) and storage configuration is restricted to 4GB+64GB.

The Nord-lineup plays a critical role for the brand because it has already established itself in the premium bracket. Consumers now expect Nord-branded phones to deliver an OnePlus-like experience but with a lighter marked price.


Galaxy S22 Ultra will look like a Galaxy Note phone

Based on a new render



The Galaxy Note series is in a state of limbo. After the rise of the brand’s foldable phones, Samsung toned down on the iconic Note series. The brand hasn’t even launched a new entry yet – if it even is launching one this year. If you’re a fan of the series, there’s still hope. Based on new renders, the upcoming Galaxy S22 Ultra will look remarkably similar to the Galaxy Note series.

Rendered by Steve Hemmerstoffer and based on currently known leaks, the upcoming premium smartphone will reportedly have a built-in dock for the S Pen. Of course, the series had already received stylus support, but the Galaxy S21 series never had a dock for the pen.

Additionally, the renders show a quad rear camera setup much like the previous series. However, the layout does look a bit different from its predecessors. Either way, the upcoming flagship has a hint of familiarity for those more used to the Galaxy Note series.

Unfortunately, the render doesn’t show how the S Pen will look like. For the past few iterations, Samsung did confirm that more optimized S Pens are coming for different devices.

In other details, the renders also show that the headphone jack is here to stay.

Right now, it’s still early to tell if the renders are what the real deal will look like. A lot can still happen between now and the projected launch window in January.

SEE ALSO: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 review: Do-It-All device

Continue Reading


US drops charges against Huawei heir Meng Wanzhou

Allowed to return to China



Huawei MateBook D 15

Is the Huawei saga finally reaching its conclusion? For years, the American government has hounded the Chinese company for its ties to its respective country’s government. The administration then issued several bans, forcing Huawei to either find alternatives or give up its business. To the company’s dismay, Huawei has already suffered intensive damage. Now, amid their victory, the United States is throwing the company a bone by dropping its charges against Huawei heir Meng Wanzhou.

Back in 2018, Canadian authorities arrested the daughter of Huawei’s founder Ren Zhengfei. Meng, who is also Huawei’s chief finance officer, was indicted with charges related to an illegal trade deal in Iran. Since then, the company’s heir found herself stuck in a limbo between house arrest and potential extradition to the United States.

Her chapter in the ongoing Huawei struggle is apparently over. In the United States, Meng pleaded not guilty to the government’s charges and agreed to take responsibility for her role in the deal. For their part, the government has dropped the charges in an apparent agreement with the CFO. Meng was allowed to return home to China.

Though Meng Wanzhou is off the leash, Huawei still has an uphill battle because of the said deal. Further, the company is still fighting against bans from the American government. Huawei has already fallen off the ranks in terms of success in the smartphone realm.

SEE ALSO: Huawei wants to help scale-up startups in Asia Pacific

Continue Reading


Xiaomi blacklists “Samsung” and other terms from its phones

But there’s a reason why



Throughout the past few years, Chinese smartphones have received a lot of flak for its ties to geopolitical issues. Both Huawei and ZTE have already suffered through bans from the American government. Naturally, Xiaomi is in a similar boat. Unfortunately, because of a new research report, things might get worse before they get better.

According to a report published by the National Cyber Security Centre in Lithuania, Xiaomi’s smartphones automatically download a list of terms that they blacklist. The list includes sketchy terms like “China,” “Taiwan Solidarity Union,” and other geopolitical terms. Obviously, including China-related terms can cause a bit of alarm for users elsewhere. However, the blacklist might have uses outside of the obvious.

Spotted by XDA Developers, Xiaomi uses the list for advertising purposes. Besides the China-related terms, the list also includes its brand rivals like “Samsung” and “ZTE.” It also includes pornography and piracy terms. Most ironically, the list also blocks its own smartphone models. The publication spotted that the blacklist is used solely by the smartphone’s advertising platform. Which does make sense now.

The list is designed to block out ads from competing companies and its own (which makes sense since someone who owns a Xiaomi phone probably doesn’t need to see a Xiaomi ad anymore). Blocking pornographic and piracy-supporting ads also makes sense. The China-related terms remain problematic, but there is no indication that Xiaomi uses the list for anything other than advertising.

Further, Xiaomi should activate the filter manually. The automatic download doesn’t automatically mean that the phone is censored. That said, there is still a possibility that Xiaomi can use the filter for more geopolitical reasons. At the very least, current reports don’t point toward that for now.

SEE ALSO: Xiaomi 11T series focuses on mobile filmmaking

Continue Reading