The tablet market is in the toilet
The second quarter of 2023 has painted a grim picture for tablet shipments, revealing a significant decline. As reported by the International Data Corporation (IDC), worldwide tablet shipments declined a stark 29.9 percent year over year, amounting to just 28.3 million units in total.
The once-prosperous market seems to be gasping for air, with top vendors recording double-digit losses. Attributed to weakened consumer confidence and decreased purchasing power, these negative impacts were further compounded by high channel inventory levels. The silver lining? IDC expects this issue to gradually improve in the coming months.
Lithuanian government warns consumers not to buy new Chinese phones and to throw out old ones ASAP
The Defence Ministry of Lithuania has issued a warning that people should stop buying phones from China and should "get rid of those already purchased as fast as reasonably possible".
The extraordinary advice comes after a government report found that handsets produced by Xiaomi and Huawei include a feature to detect and censor certain words and phrases. On the blacklist are terms such as "free Tibet", "long live Taiwan independence" or "democracy movement", and while the censoring functionality was disabled for the European market, there is the potential for it to be remotely activated at any time.
Xiaomi Smart Glasses run Android and are very stylish
Smart glasses have existed for a while now, with the most notable being the failed Google Glass. Most recently, Facebook launched its own offering through a partnership with Ray Ban. While Google's product was ugly, the Facebook glasses actually look quite cool -- to the average person, they appear to be regular glasses. Unfortunately, no matter how stylish, many consumers will shun the product due the associaton with Facebook. After all, that social network has a bad reputation regarding privacy.
Today, Xiaomi throws its hat into the ring with the unimaginatiely named "Smart Glasses." These glasses utilize cutting-edge MicroLED optical waveguide technology and weight just 51g. They run the Android operating system, are powered by a quad-core ARM processor, and offer both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectvity. Smart Glasses feature a 5MP camera for taking photos and recording videos, but also, translating text as you view it!
Xiaomi Mi Band 6: The same, but better in every way [Review]
It blows my mind that seven years after Xiaomi introduced the first Mi Band it is still the king of affordable fitness trackers. Think about it. Year after year, it faces stiff competition, yet when all is said and done it blows it out of the water. And it is not like there is any magic involved. The recipe has always been the same.
It has basic fitness tracking functionality, some smart features for extra usability, a classic form factor, and, most important of all, a price tag that makes your jaw stay right where it's supposed to. Unsurprisingly, the new Mi Band 6 follows that recipe to a T, hitting it out of the park for Xiaomi once again. If this were a chess game, it would be checkmate for the 2021 season.
Sorry, Americans, but you can't buy this amazing Xiaomi Mi 11 Android smartphone
Being an American is pretty great. After all, we get to live in the best country in the world. We have many freedoms that other countries do not, such as speech, press, and religion to name a few. And when it comes to tech products, we usually get access to the best. Thanks to the xenophobic Donald Trump we can't have Huawei products, but I digress.
With all of that said, China gets some amazing tech exclusives -- especially when it comes to smartphones. For instance, Xiaomi phones are quite beautiful and powerful, but rarely destined for the USA -- unless you import one. Today, that company unveils its latest Android-based flagship. Called "Mi 11," it is gorgeous with impressive specs, but it will not come to America officially.
Vivo, OPPO and Xiaomi's Peer-to-Peer Transmission Alliance makes for easier file-sharing
Three smartphone manufactures came together last summer to create a new Peer-to-Peer Transmission Alliance with the aim of making it easier to share files between devices. Now it's available on selected handsets and is going global.
The alliance is made up of vivo, OPPO and Xiaomi and it was been created to develop what amounts to an Android version of Apple's AirDrop. File transfers are possible without the need for additional apps, and without the need to use mobile data or an internet connection.
Vulnerability in Xiaomi's pre-installed apps could affect more than 150 million devices
A vulnerability that could allow man-in-the-middle attacks and the injection of malicious code has been found in a pre-installed app on devices manufactured by Xiaomi, one of the biggest mobile vendors.
The flaw, uncovered by researchers at Check Point is -- somewhat ironically -- in the pre-installed security app, 'Guard Provider', which is meant to protect the phone from malware.
New Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition may be the coolest flagship smartphone right now
Xiaomi follows a pretty basic recipe when designing a new high-end smartphone: it has to give consumers lots more bang for the buck than the competition. So, its flagships tend to offer very similar specs to their main rivals and cost hundreds of dollars less. They do, however, lack the edge that many buyers in this segment look for: a compelling feature or benefit to make them stand out from the crowd.
The new line of flagships introduced today is different. The Mi 8 Explorer Edition, which sits above the Mi 8 and Mi 8 SE in the company's lineup, is an impressive bit of kit, packing 3D face unlock, like the iPhone X, an in-screen fingerprint sensor, which you can't get on a major rival right now, and a transparent back, which gives you a nice look at what's inside the device.
Xiaomi deletes MIUI vs Android One Twitter poll after the voting didn't go its way
Which is better -- the MIUI skin, or Android One? This is what Chinese phone manufacturer Xiaomi decided to ask on Twitter, and the results were... interesting.
Presumably the company was rather hoping that Twitter users would vote for its own MIUI which it could then rub in Google's face -- but the poll actually went against Xiaomi. Rather than leave the results of the vote up for anyone to see, the company decided to simply delete it and pretend it never happened.
Apple wins iPad trademark case against Xiaomi Mi Pad
A court has ruled that Chinese phone maker Xiaomi may not trademark the name Mi Pad in Europe. The name was thought to be too similar to Apple's iPad, despite there being a difference in pronunciation.
The General Court -- the second highest court in the European Union -- said that consumers were likely to be confused by the similarity of the two names.
Xiaomi's next Mi flagship may come with wireless charging [Update]
Xiaomi has joined a long list of companies as a member of the Wireless Power Consortium, the group that is behind the popular Qi wireless charging standard -- which may very well be a standard feature on its next Mi flagship.
Xiaomi has not made an announcement, but the fact that it is now listed on WPC's website as one of its members is enough to make it official. It joins the likes of Apple and Samsung as a backer of Qi wireless charging.
Xiaomi announces Mi Note 3 mid-ranger with dual camera
A while back, there used to be a clear differentiation between flagship and mid-range smartphones. You could tell which one is which in an instant. These days, however, the lines are blurred. The design is more similar but, most importantly, features that were once seen only on high-end devices are trickling down the line, reaching mid-rangers and entry-level options.
The new Mi Note 3 that Xiaomi just announced is a perfect example. Looking at it, it is hard to tell that this is a mid-range smartphone. It features a lovely design, large screen, there's a fingerprint sensor embedded in the home button, it has a dual camera on the back, and it also has some pretty impressive specs too.
Xiaomi announces Mi Notebook Pro, new rival for 15-inch Apple MacBook Pro
Xiaomi last year decided to take on Apple in the laptop market, introducing the Notebook Air as a rival to the MacBook and MacBook Air. And today, Xiaomi announces its answer to the 15-inch MacBook Pro as well: the new Mi Notebook Pro.
Xiaomi has applied its usual recipe for the Mi Notebook Pro, creating an alternative to the 15-inch MacBook Pro that is significantly less expensive but still really well equipped for this segment. So, what does it have to offer?
Xiaomi announces Mi Mix 2 flagship smartphone
Featuring a massive edge-to-edge display and high-end internals, the Mi Mix was perhaps the most impressive smartphone that Xiaomi released last year. Things are no different with the newly-announced Mi Mix 2, which uses the same recipe in terms of design and performance, but packs everything in a more manageable package.
The Mi Mix 2 makes the transition to a 5.99-inch display with an 18:9 aspect ratio, which is substantially smaller than the 6.4-inch screen used on the original model. The "chin" is also smaller, by 12 percent, says Xiaomi. Overall, the smaller footprint should make it a more attractive proposition in today's market compared to its predecessor.
Xiaomi Mi A1 runs stock Android, features dual 12MP camera
Xiaomi has become one of the largest smartphone manufacturers thanks in part to its approach to customizing Android. MIUI, its distribution, is a significant departure from what is commonly referred to as "stock Android," which is the version that Google ships on its Pixel line of smartphones, packing lots of added features and a heavy theme.
Its new Mi A1 is different. This is Xiaomi's first smartphone running stock Android, and it is also its first entry in the Android One program. It is not, however, an entry-level device, as it features faster and better hardware than what we've seen so far in the Android One landscape.
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