Qualcomm, Watch Out Snapdragon 810, the MediaTek MT6795 Impresses in Benchmarks

Qualcomm’s upcoming high-end platform, the Snapdragon 810, made more headlines than it should have after rumors surfaced saying the chip was faced with overheating issues.

Not long after, Samsung was revealed to have renounced using the Snapdragon 810 in its upcoming Galaxy S6 flagship, which raised further suspicion. Since then Qualcomm has been striving to prove the Snapdragon 810 is not facing any major culprits. The chip made an appearance in benchmarks repeatedly showing its strength, but so have the Exynos 7420 (Samsung is going to use it in the Galaxy S6) and Tegra X1 which showed relatively better performance. Well, the original octa-core chip producer, MediaTek, is also prepping one beast of a chip. We talked about the upcoming MT6795 chip not so long ago, when we told you the piece of silicone would be capable of shooting super slow-motion 1080p video at 480fps.

MediaTek MT6795 makes it into benchmarks, too

Now it looks like MediaTek’s upcoming premium chip has popped up in the GeekBench benchmark, where it scored quite well compared to Qualcomm’s reputed high-end platform (as seen at G for Games). The GeekBench is a CPU-oriented benchmark test, so GPU results aren’t taken into account. Nevertheless, here is how the two chips managed to perform. In the multi-core test, the MediaTek MT6795 scored 4536 points, thus faring out better than the Snapdragon which only managed to grab 4345 points. In the single-core test, the MediaTek lost the battle by scoring only 886 points compared to the Snapdragon’s 1144.

The two chips are quite similar in configuration, as they both take advantage of 8 cores (broken down into 4 x Cortex-A57 and 4 x Cortex-A53). When it arrives, the MediaTek chip is expected to bring 2K support, 120MHz refresh rate and ClearMotion technology. The chip is scheduled for market release sometime towards the end of Q1 2015, so it’s probably going to take a while until the first devices bundling the architecture are offered for purchase. And who knows? By the time this happens, the chip might be made even more capable. Even as we see the preliminary results, the MediaTek MT6795 appears to be shaping out to be quite a powerful high-end piece of silicone. 

MediaTek prepping high-end octa-core chip
Image credits to Android Beat

MediaTek MT6795 in GeekBench
Image credits to Geekbench

Snapdragon 810 in GeekBench
Image credits to Geekbench

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ASUS Announces Major Collection of Hardware with USB 3.1

USB 3.0 is all well and good, but it was bound to be surpassed eventually. The world hasn't quite reached the stage of USB 4.0, but USB 3.1 is already here and active. Though apparently not well represented enough, according to ASUS.

If it thought that Universal Serial Bus 3.1 technology was already widespread, it would not have felt the need to specifically set up a “USB 3.1” product line for the whole world to see. Especially since any new and promising technology is invariably used as a means to raise the profile of product brands in the eyes of potential buyers. In any case, ASUS has come forward to introduce what it describes as “the world's fastest and first complete line-up of SuperSpeed+ USB 3.1 solutions.”

The new lineup of USB 3.1 products

There are quite a few motherboards here, 12 in number to be exact, all of which have a USB 3.1 suffix at the end of their name. Many of them are based on the Intel X99 chipset compatible with Haswell-E Xeon and Core i7 central processing units. Most of the others are powered by the Z97 chipset, which is compatible with LGA 1150 chips. That leaves two models based on the B85 chipset, lacking in CPU overclocking support. In addition to motherboards, ASUS is selling a USB 3.1 Card with dual Type-A ports and a design compatible with PCI Express x4 and x8 slots, or even x16 slots if you're willing to, well, waste it on this instead of a graphics card.

There are cards with dual Type-A sockets or reversible Type-C. Alas, if you already have an ASUS X99 or Z97 mainboard, you might need to download a BIOS and driver update to make the cards work.

The benefits of USB 3.1 technology

In a nutshell, this interconnect generation allows for a maximum transfer speed of 10 Gbps as opposed to USB 3.0's 5 Gbps. It's not the tenfold increase that USB 3.0 brought over USB 2.0, but no one expected something like that before USB 4.0 anyway. So far, tests done by ASUS engineers in real-world data transfers have enabled read/write speeds of up to 854.6 / 863.9 MB/s.

ASUS Rampage V Extreme

ASUS X99 Deluxe

USB 3.1 Type-C card

USB 3.1 Type A card
Images credits to ASUS

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Samsung Galaxy S6 Comes with 3 Microsoft Apps, but Also 2 from Samsung

The first report concerning Samsung Galaxy S6's software and refreshed TouchWiz UI emerged online earlier this month. According to sources closed to the matter, the next flagships smartphone won't feature any bloatware from Samsung.

Samsung may have inked an agreement with Microsoft to bring the Redmond-based company's apps and services on its Galaxy S6, but the details are unknown. Those who were expecting Samsung to remove all the bloatware from its top-tier smartphones will probably be disappointed to learn that the South Korean company will still include some of its S Apps inside the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge. A new report coming from SamMobile, citing the same source that came up with the first leak, lists all the apps that will be pre-installed on both Galaxy S6 versions.

First of all the, Samsung Galaxy S6 won't have all the S apps removed, but it will feature only a few of those. The S Health app will be pre-installed on the flagship smartphone because it's needed in order to sync health and fitness data from Samsung's fitness trackers.

The smartphone will also come packed with all Google apps

The second S app pre-installed on the Galaxy S6 will be S Voice. We have no info on why Samsung insists on keeping this application on its smartphones, we only know that there a high chance that it's here to stay for the moment. Microsoft will have three apps pre-installed on the Samsung Galaxy S6: OneDrive, OneNote and Skype. They will be grouped together into a folder called Microsoft Apps. Samsung Galaxy S6 will also feature apps such as Facebook and WhatsApp Messenger, as well as all Google apps and Galaxy Apps.

These Galaxy Apps will be included in the smartphone because Samsung wants users to be able to download other apps from its third-party store, as well as other premium apps that will be offered for free by Samsung. Last but not least, the TouchWiz UI on the Samsung Galaxy S6 is said to be similar with the one from the Galaxy Note 4, but slightly faster and with more animations from Android 5.0 Lollipop.

Samsung Galaxy S6
Images credits to XDA Developers Forum

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Samsung Galaxy S6 Pictured Ahead of March 1 Announcement

With less than a week left until the official reveal of the Samsung Galaxy S6, the first live pictures of the upcoming smartphone have just leaked online.

Although the South Korean company is trying to hide the design of their next flagship smartphone like the biggest treasure in the world, it looks like someone was willing to take the wraps off the Galaxy S6's looks ahead of the official reveal. The pictures of an an alleged Samsung Galaxy S6 for AT&T have just been published on XDA Forums by someone with access to the device. He was also able to share some details on the Galaxy S6, which can only be confirmed when keeping the smartphone in your hand. For example, it looks like Samsung has decided to cover the back side of the Galaxy S6 with a resistant glass, but they have also removed the microSD card slot.

Although the person that leaked these pictures says that this might be a test model, he also points out that if that would be truly an early build then why send it so late.

No microSD card and non-removable battery

Another aspect that's worth mentioning is the Samsung Galaxy S6 might be available in many variants, including a 128GB version. Seeing it from the front, the Galaxy S6 looks very much like the Galaxy S6, but the sides bring it more closer to the Galaxy Alpha since they are made of metal. The bottom and top sides look very much like the iPhone. If we didn't know this is the Samsung Galaxy S6 shown in the pictures, we could have easily think it's the iPhone 6, when looked on from top or bottom.

Another piece of information confirmed by the leaker is the fact that Samsung Galaxy S6 won't feature a removable battery, so the SIM tray will be placed on one of the two sides of the smartphone. Unfortunately, there's no telling whether or not the device in the pictures is indeed the Galaxy S6, as we can't vouch for the legitimacy of the source. That being said we suggest our readers to take these with a grain of salt.

Galaxy S6 wrapped up in bubbles

Galaxy S6 back side

Galaxy S6 front side

Galaxy S6 right side

Galaxy S6 top side

Galaxy S6 bottom side

Galaxy S6 horizontal

Galaxy S6 SIM tray
Images credits to XDA Developers Forum

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Samsung Galaxy S6 Will Be Expensive, Galaxy S6 Edge Will Be Hard to Find

It's common fact that flagships smartphones are always priced very high at launch, but as time goes by they become cheaper and cheaper.

However, handset makers rarely launch flagship smartphones and price them higher than a year before. Samsung Galaxy S5 was priced at around €650 in Europe and $650 in the United States, so we expect the next Galaxy S smartphone to be priced similarly. Unfortunately, it looks like Samsung has other plans. ArsTechnica reports a source at one of Samsung's mobile carrier partners in Europe claims the Galaxy S6 will be priced higher in Europe and United States than its predecessor. According to this source, Samsung Galaxy S6 will be priced at carriers at €749 ($849), €849 ($963), and €949 ($1,076) for the 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB respectively.

As many of you probably know by now, Samsung will launch to smartphones on March 1: Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge. It makes sense that the curved version of Galaxy S6 to be priced higher than the standard model and Samsung will deliver on that, sadly.

Samsung won't be able to supply enough Galaxy S6 Edge units to carriers

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge will cost €849 ($966), €949 ($1,080), and €1,049 ($1,194) for the 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB respectively. These prices are for the European version of the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge, but in the United States they might have the same prices only in USD. Another aspect that Samsung will be faced with is lack of enough Galaxy S6 Edge units, which will make it a very hard to find smartphone. Apparently, Samsung has a hard time in supplying enough curved displays for the Galaxy S6 Edge and many carriers have barely managed to get thin stocks.

It's possible that Samsung will be able to supply enough Galaxy S6 Edge units a few months after the phone release on the market, but at launch many carriers won't be able to provide enough devices.

Samsung Galaxy S6 back side
Image credits to XDA Developers Forum

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BlackBerry Rio Launching as BlackBerry Leap

Word about BlackBerry Rio emerged last year, as one of the smartphones the Canadian company will launch in early 2015. However, that did not happen yet and it will probably take a few more weeks until we will probably get a tentative release date for the smartphone.

Although there's no telling when BlackBerry will come out with the Rio, judging from the latest rumors the smartphone might be closer to launch than we originally thought. Everytime a handset maker starts working on a new product it gives a codename to its device, which is different from the market name that's usually established closer to official unveil. This seem to have just happened with the rumored BlackBerry Rio, which, according to CrackBerry, will be released on the market as BlackBerry Leap. The new name is mentioned in the BlackBerry 10 OS files, which suggests that the Canadian company has already taken the decision to rename the Rio.

BlackBerry Leap is a mid-range smartphone

For those out of the loop, BlackBerry Rio is supposed to be the Z10's sequel and will come with mid-range specs. Apart from the larger display, the upcoming BlackBerry Leap should be packed with similar hardware as the latest BlackBerry Classic smartphone that's already available on the market. Previous rumors claim the Leap should sport a 5-inch capacitive touchscreen display that supports HD (720p) resolution, as well as dual cameras (8-megapixel main camera and 2-megapixel secondary camera). On the inside, BlackBerry Leap is said to come equipped with a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm MSM8960 Snapdragon processor, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal memory. The smartphone will also come with microSD card slot for memory expansion (up to 128GB).

Other highlights of the BlackBerry Leap that have yet to be confirmed include: 2,800 mAh non-removable battery, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity, LTE support, DLNA and Miracast.

Alleged BlackBerry Leap
Image credits to N4BB

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Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 Specs Unveiled in Benchmark: 9.7-Inch QHD Display, Exynos Chipset

The next high-end tablet Samsung is likely to launch in early March is the Galaxy Tab S2. As we're getting closer to launch date more details on the tablet pop up online.

Judging by the specs that has just been confirmed in a benchmark spotted by TechTastic, Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 will be one of the best tablets launched by the South Korean company. However, the Galaxy Tab S2 won't be the only tablet Samsung may announced at Mobile World Congress 2015 next week, as the company is known for working on two additional slates: Galaxy Tab S 10.5 and Galaxy Tab S 8.4. Now, according to a benchmark from GFX Bench, the Galaxy Tab S2 will boast a stunning 9.7-inch QHD touchscreen display with at least 5 finger gesture support. Just like the Galaxy S6, Samsung has decided to include its proprietary Exynos chipset into its tablets as well. The Galaxy Tab S2 will be equipped with an Exynos 5 Octa chipset that accommodates two quad-core processors.

The tablet will be powered by Android 5.0.2 Lollipop out of the box

Samsung's Exynos chipset also packs a hexa-core ARM Mali-T760 MP6 graphics processing unit along with 3GB of RAM. The spec list also mentions 32GB of internal memory, but only 25GB user available. There's no mention of microSD card slot though, so it's unclear whether or not you will be able to add more storage. The Galaxy Tab S2 seems to pack an 8-megapixel camera on the back, which features full HD (1080p) video recording, along with a 2-megapixel camera in the front for selfies and video calls. Software-wise, the unannounced tablet will ship with Android 5.0.2 Lollipop operating system out of the box with the latest version of TouchWiz on top.

These are just about all the specs included in the benchmark, but previous rumors also mention that Samsung's Galaxy Tab S2 tablet with measure 237.1 x 168.8 x 5.4mm and should weigh 407g (battery included).

Galaxy Tab S2 listing at GFXBench
Image credits to GFXBench

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HTC One M9 Promotional Video Leaks on Twitter, Account Gets Banned

Taiwanese handset maker HTC has already confirmed it will announce its next flagship smartphone on March 1, the same day that Samsung Galaxy S6 will be unveiled as well.

We still have several days until then so we shouldn't be surprised by the avalanche of leaks and reports on the HTC One M9's specs and design. After the first live pictures of the alleged One M9 leaked online yesterday, today, reputed leaker @upleaks tweeted a few promotional videos of the unannounced smartphone. This kind of evidence definitely sheds light on how the HTC One M9 looks like and after seeing these videos there's no doubt that overall the next flagship smartphone to be launched by the Taiwanese company looks very much the same as HTC One M8.

Even though HTC did some tweaking with the buttons, when it comes to form factor both One M8 and and One M9 look similar in terms of design. HTC was quick to remove these promotional videos from YouTube, but not before some were able to upload them on other accounts. Unfortunately, @upleaks' Twitter account seem to have been suspended following the publishing of these videos showing the HTC One M9.

Several unconfirmed features are highlighted in these videos

Nevertheless, we can't help but notice that these promotional video confirm some of the features that were previously rumored for the One M9, such as the HTC Sense 7, BoomSound speakers and the UltraPixel camera in the front with special software. Other features highlighted in these videos include HTC Connect, which allows users to enable a new “three-finger swipe” option for streaming music and video. HTC One M9 is expected to come equipped with a 2GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal memory, as well as a 20-megapixel photo snapper on the back.

HTC One M9 (camera grid)

HTC One M9 (camera UI)

HTC One M9 (gallery)

HTC One M9 (home screen)

HTC One M9 (wallpaper)

HTC One M9 (left side)

HTC One M9 (back side angle)

HTC One M9 (front side)
Images credits to HTC

HTC One M9 Commericals
Video credits to Jack March

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Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet with 2K Display Leaks Ahead of MWC 2015

Although Sony announced huge losses for its mobile division and its availability for partnerships with other companies, its roadmap for this year includes several smartphones and one or more tablets.

We've already seen Sony's first smartphone launched this year, the Xperia E4, which is a low-end Android handsets, but more devices might be announced next week at Mobile World Congress 2015 trade fair. Now XperiaBlog has just received evidence that Sony plans to launch a new tablet next week, which will most likely be showcased at MWC 2015. The unannounced Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet is the sequel to the Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact. The slate is expected to pack a larger 10-inch display and a more powerful processor. The Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact is already a more than decent slate, but the Xperia Z4 will aim the high-end range. The new tablet hasn't been confirmed by Sony yet, but it briefly appeared in the official Xperia Lounge application.

Someone was able to take a screenshot showing the Xperia Z4 Tablet before Sony pulled the advert, so we now know a little bit more about what it will look like and what specs it will pack.

It features the same form-factor and shape as the Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact

The most important seems to be the “stunning” 2K display, which is combined with the “latest ultra fast processor” and “industry leading battery performance.” These features have been confirmed as part of Sony's Xperia Z4 Tablet, but aside from these there aren't any other details on the slate. The rumored specs include a Snapdragon 810 processor, 4GB RAM, 13MP rear camera and 8MP front camera. Design-wise, the Xperia Z4 Tablet looks very much like the predecessor, the Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact, but with a larger display. The power on/off button remains on the mid of the right side for easier access, while the volume key is right above it.

That's about all we get from the screenshot taken inside Xperia Lounge app, but the good news is we might not have to wait too long for the tablet to go official, as Sony has already confirmed a launch event for March 2.

Sony Xperia Lounge app screenshot
Image credits to XperiaBlog

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Take a Look at Sony Xperia Z4 Dual SIM’s UI Design

In recent times we told you Sony was expected to lose money this year on a net basis for the sixth time in the last seven years.

To do some damage control, the company is looking to shift its focus to PlayStation and the camera sensor division. At least for the next three years, Sony will be taking a different direction in the hopes of increasing operating profit by 2500% over the period. But this doesn't mean we won’t see any new Sony flagship throughout this time. As we previously told you, the company plans to unveil its next-gen Xperia Z4 handset sometimes this summer, thus skipping the major MWC 2015 event.

This is how Lollipop looks on the Sony Xperia Z4

As the rumor mill has indicated, the Xperia Z4 will arrive in single SIM and dual SIM versions. Now, the folks at Xperia Blog have spotted a bunch of screenshots showcasing the dual SIM’s variant UI. As you can see for yourself in the gallery, we just got a confirmation that the Xperia Z4 will run on a MSM8994 chipset (aka Snapdragon 810) and will run Android 5.0.2 out of the box. Although Android 5.1 should be out by summer. Anyway, the interface has the distinctive Material Design feel even if Sony has made a few modifications of its own.

Until now, Sony had a flagship refresh cycle of about 6 months. The original Xperia Z was introduced in late 2013, while the Xperia Z2 made an appearance in early 2014. In late 2014, we saw the Xperia Z3 arrive. But given that Sony’s plan is to shift focus away from its smartphone business, it does make sense the Xperia Z4 won’t come exactly after 6 months since the release of the predecessor.

Rumored Sony Xperia Z4 specs

The Sony Xperia Z4 is expected to arrive donning a 5.2-inch display with 1080p or QHD display, the rumor mill is quite ambivalent about this aspect. As spotted in the screenshots, the handset is fitted with a Snapdragon 810 chip in combination with 3GB of RAM and probably at least 64GB of internal storage. The phone should also enjoy a 21MP camera, waterproof body and stereo speakers. Sony is also reportedly planning to launch a host of other devices including the Xperia Z4 Compact, Z4 Ultra and Z4 Tablet (which is apparently going to bundle 6GB of RAM).

Sony Xperia Z4 settings

Sony Xperia Z4, About phone

Sony Xperia Z4, phone dial

Sony Xperia Z4 , watch app
Images credits to Digi-Wo

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