Samsung announced two new smart wearables: the Gear Sport and the Gear Fit2 Pro. The Samsung Gear Sport is a Tizen-powered smartwatch that comes in a sleek yet durable design with a round Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 360 x 360 pixels. The display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3. It is powered by a dual-core processor with 768MB RAM and 4GB of non-expandable storage. It is also compatible with any third-party 20mm watch bands. It has a smorgasbord of sensors and connectivity options, which include Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi, NFC, GPS w/ GLONASS, accelerometer, gyroscope, barometer, heart rate sensor, and an ambient light sensor. Everything is powered by a 300 mAh battery, which supports wireless charging.
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Like the Gear S3 Frontier, it is aimed at sports enthusiasts and people who have an active lifestyle. It is water resistant up to 50 meters and up to 5 atmospheres, and dust resistant, thanks to its IP68 certification and is also shock resistant, thanks to its MIL-STD-810G certification. It has apps like Speedo On and those from Under Armour. The Gear Sport is compatible with Samsung Galaxy smartphones running Android 4.3 or later, other Android devices running Android 4.4 or later, and newer iPhone models running iOS 9. It is also compatible with a range of Samsung IoT via Samsung Connect. It also supports NFC, thanks to Samsung Pay. It is available in two colors: black and blue.
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Then we have the Gear Fit2 Pro, which is a smartband and a more capable version of the Gear Fit2. For one, it has better strap bands than its predecessor. And like the Gear Sport, it is water and dust resistant up to 5 meters and up to 50 atmospheres. Like the Gear Fit2, it has 1.5-inch Super AMOLED display, GPS, a 200 mAh battery, and runs Tizen OS. It will retail for $199.
Facing pressure from the Samsung Galaxy Note8, LG unveils the all-new V30 phablet. With a body made of glass and aluminum, the V30 comes in an almost bezel-less front fascia. It has a 6-inch P-OLED FullVision display of Quad HD resolution, which supports HDR10, a Floating Bar, and Always on Display. It is also protected by Gorilla Glass 5. It sports the wide 18:9 aspect ratio, same as that of the G6. This time around, the V30 is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset with 4GB RAM and 64GB/128GB of expandable storage. It will also be powered by a non-removable 3,300 mAh battery, which supports QuickCharge and wireless charging. It also comes with IP68 rating for dust and water resistance. The LG V30 runs Android 7.1 Nougat out of the box with the LG UX on top.
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Imaging-wise, the dual camera setup of the LG V30 boasts the brightest aperture on a mobile phone ever at f/1.6 for its 16-MP main sensor and f/1.9 aperture for its 13-MP wide-angle sensor. The main camera also features laser auto-focus, optical image stabilization (OIS), 4K video capture, and dual-LED flash. It also has a 5-MP front-facing camera. Connectivity-wise, the V30 comes with all the goods you would expect from a flagship device - dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS with A-GPS, NFC, and LTE-A. It also has a rear mounted fingerprint scanner. When it comes to audio, the V30 comes with a Advanced Hi-Fi Quad DAC system, a 3.5 mm headphone jack, and Bang & Olufsen headphones. It will come in four colors: Black, Silver, Purple, and Blue. There's no information yet on pricing and availability.
Last year was not that good for Samsung because of the Galaxy Note7 fiasco. But let's all leave the past behind with introduction of the Galaxy Note8 at the Unpacked event in New York City. Visually, it looks a lot like the Galaxy S8+, which has been blown up, of course, but with sharper edges. It has the same metal and Gorilla Glass 5 construction with a curved, bezel-less display (at least on the sides), IP68 certification (water and dust resistant), and an extra side button dedicated to Bixby. At the back, it has not one, but two cameras, a first for a Samsung flagship, and an awkwardly placed fingerprint scanner. As with the Galaxy Note7 and Galaxy S8/S8+, it will also have an iris scanner. And like all Galaxy Notes in the past, the Galaxy Note8 will come with latest iteration of the S Pen (with 4,096 pressure levels).
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As mentioned, the Samsung Galaxy Note8 drew a lot of inspiration from the Galaxy S8/S8+. The Galaxy Note8 also comes with a 6.3-inch Infinity Display, consisting of a Super AMOLED panel, an 18.5:9 aspect ratio, curved side edges, HDR 10 compliance, and a Quad HD+ resolution (1,440 x 2,960 pixels). Ticking inside Samsung's new flagship phablet is an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 836 (US version) or an octa-core Exynos 8895 SoC (international version) with 6GB RAM and 64GB/128GB/256GB of expandable storage. In terms of software, the Galaxy Note8 will roll out with Android 7.1.1 Nougat on board with the Samsung Grace UX on top. Samsung DeX, S Pen-specific features, Smart Connect, Samsung Knox, and Bixby will all come standard. All these will be powered by a smaller than average 3,300 mAh battery, which supports both adaptive fast, Quick Charge 2.0, and wireless charging (Qi and PMA).
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Camera-wise, the Galaxy Note8 will be the first Samsung flagship device to sport a dual camera module. It will have a combination of two 12-MP sensors, one with an f/1.7 aperture, wide-angle lens, and dual pixel auto-focus, and another one with telephoto lens, 2x optical zoom, and an f/2.4 aperture. Both sensors are also equipped with optical image stabilization (OIS). With this new setup, the Samsung phablet introduces its interpretation of portrait mode called Live Focus, where the user can adjust the amount of blur during and after taking the shot. The Galaxy Note8 also supports 4K video capture, hyper-lapse, time-lapse, and slow-mo video recording. There is also an 8-MP front camera with auto-focus and 2K video recording capabilities. When it comes to connectivity, the Galaxy Note8 has Bluetooth 5.0, LTE-A, dual-band Wi-Fi, dual-SIM support, NFC, GPS w/ GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, USB Type-C, Samsung Pay, 3.5 mm audio jack, and more.
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The Samsung Galaxy Note8 will be available for pre-order on August 23, 2017 but it will be released on September 15, 2018. It will come in 4 color options: Midnight Black, Orchid Gray, Maple Gold, and Deep Sea Blue. Aside from the AKG headphones inside the box, in some regions, the Galaxy Note8 will be bundled with Samsung Gear 360 camera or a DeX docking station or a wireless charging pad and a 128GB microSD card. It will officially retail for $930 in the US or €999 in Europe.
Lenovo took the wraps off the K8 Note in India. It is a phablet with a 5.5-inch IPS LCD, 2.5D glassm and 1080p Full HD resolution. Ticking inside is a deca-core MediaTek Helio X23 processor with 3GB/4GB RAM and 32GB/64GB of expandable storage. It also runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat out of the the box.
Image by Lenovo
What makes it interesting is that it comes with a dual camera setup, considering its very affordable price of $203. The main camera is a 13-MP shooter partnered with a 5-MP depth sensor for achieving those bokeh effects. There is another 13-MP front-facing camera. Like its predecessor, the Lenovo K8 Note comes with a large 4,000 mAh battery. It also has a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner. Available in two variants, the K8 Note also comes in two colors: Venom Black and Fine Gold.
Meizu unveiled its most ambitious handsets yet. Meet the Meizu Pro 7 & Pro 7 Plus, which come with dual cameras and dual displays. To start, both devices pack a Super AMOLED display with the Pro 7 sporting a 5.2-inch display of 1080p Full HD resolution while the Pro 7 Plus comes with a 5.7-inch display of Quad HD resolution. Interestingly, both pack a secondary AMOLED touch panel at the back, which can be used as a viewfinder for the rear camera, manage notifications, and control audio. Aside from the display size difference, both Meizu handset also differ in the chipset department. The smaller Meizu Pro 7 is powered by a midrange MediaTek Helio P25 SoC with 4GB RAM and 64GB of internal storage while the larger Meizu Pro 7 Plus comes with a flagship-grade deca-core Helio X30 chipset with 6GB RAM and 64GB/128GB of internal storage. Do note that the Meizu Pro 7 may also come with the Pro 7 Plus' chipset configurarion in some markets. Both devices run Flyme 6 OS, which is based on Android 7.0 Nougat.
Image by Meizu
Moving on to another interesting feature of the Meizu Pro 7 duo is its dual camera system. Both the Pro 7 and Pro 7 Plus sport two 12-MP Sony IMX386 sensors with an f/2.0 aperture, one sensor is colored and the other is monochrome. In front, a 16-MP camera can be found, which is said to be good in taking low-light selfies. Other features of the Meizu Pro 7 duo are the mCharge 4.0 fast charging technology, a dedicated Hi-Fi chip for superior audio quality, a 3.5 mm headphone jack, a fingerprint scanner, and a smorgasbord of connectivity options. The Meizu Pro 7 has a respectable 3,000 mAh battery while the Pro 7 Plus comes with a larger 3,500 mAh battery.
Image by Meizu
Both Meizu phones will become available in August 2017. The Pro 7 will retail for $430 while the Pro 7 Plus will set you back $530. It is unsure yet if the smartphones will make it outside of its Asian turf.
