Samsung fans hoping to get their hands on the sequel to the Galaxy Z Flip early next year may have to wait a little longer than anticipated. That’s because a new report claims the clamshell smartphone won’t be unveiled at Samsung’s next Unpacked event, which is rumored to be scheduled for early January.
Earlier this year, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S20 series alongside the Galaxy Z Flip — something we assumed would happen again next year. But that appears not to be the case because Korea’s TheElec reports Samsung’s new Galaxy S21 series won’t be sharing the spotlight at its first Unpacked event of the New Year.
It’s unclear why the next Galaxy Z Flip has been delayed, and what kind of improvements we can expect. The original model launched to mixed reviews, so perhaps Samsung is taking its time developing the sequel. Fans of the form factor can allegedly expect the device to land sometime in the first quarter of 2021.
For what it’s worth, Samsung’s first attempt at the Galaxy Fold was met by mixed reviews, only for the sequel to make a number of meaningful improvements. Here’s hoping the Galaxy Z Flip, which was an admirable effort, improves upon some of the criticisms faced by the first model.
As for what to expect when Samsung unveils the Galaxy S21 series, there have been a number of leaks in recent weeks, including specs for all three expected models. If the leaks are true, Samsung is really aiming to kick off 2021 with a bang.
We’ll continue to monitor the development of the next Galaxy Z Flip. It’s one of the more unique form factors out there, so we’re very curious to see where Samsung takes it next.
The first thing you need to know about the Moto E7 is that it’ll be available for just €119.99. The second thing you need to know is it’s launching in Europe, with availability in select countries in Latin America, the Middle East and Asia in the coming weeks.
The Moto E7 is clearly a budget-friendly option for those who don’t need a flagship phone. But it can still get the job done despite its low-end price, with a MediaTek Helio G25 chip, 2GB of RAM and up to 64 GB of storage, which can be expanded.
The device also comes equipped with a large 6.5-inch HD+ display and a 4000mAh battery. Motorola claims the device can get up to 36 hours of battery life, so users should be able to get through a normal day of use without any issues.
The Moto E7 also features a dual-camera system, highlighted by a main 48MP sensor. There’s also a second 2MP macro sensor and a single LED flash. On the front, there’s a 5MP camera that supports portrait mode and other tools for making your selfies look professional.
Motorola says the Moto E7 features a plastic design that’s water repellent, along with a USB-C port and 3.5mm headphone jack. You also get Android 10 with a dedicated Google Assistant button and Quick Gestures, which Motorola said will allow users to quickly perform actions by swiping on the fingerprint sensor.
The new Moto E7 is not to be confused with the Moto E7 here in the U.S., which was made available earlier this year. The new Moto E7 is available in Mineral Grey, Aqua Blue and Satin Coral for €119.99 in select European countries.
Specification
Moto E7
Build
Plastic
Water repellent design
Dimensions & Weight
164.93 x 75.73 x 8.89 mm
180 g
Display
6.5-inch Max Vision
HD+ (1600×720) | 269 ppi
IPS TFT LCD
SoC
MediaTek Helio G25 with 2.0GHz octa-core ARM Cortex-A53 CPU, 650MHz IMG GE8320 GPU
YouTube has announced another experimental AI feature to make video editing just a little bit easier. You may recall that earlier this year Google added the facility to add chapters to divide up your videos from your mobile, as well as from the desktop. Now, it has gone one step further with the option to let Google’s own AI add in the chapters for you. The main advantage of adding chapters to a video is that it creates easy jumping on and off points for the viewer, each one with its own separate preview. In an explanatory note in the YouTube support pages, it is explained that enabling these AI-powered chapters will mean that uploaders won’t need to list timestamps in their description for the system to parse. Google says that the AI will ‘recognise text’ in order to create the chapters.
As with all AI, it’s far from infallible but will learn as more people use it, and could prove a massive boon for creators who upload multiple videos every day. We’re not really sure if it has much to benefit the end viewer, though it may encourage the use of chapters by creators who haven’t bothered with them thus far, which may improve their visibility, thanks to the ‘Points of Interest’ feature in Google Search.
Initially, Google is testing this feature on a “small group of videos” and hasn’t specified which ones, so it might be worth checking to see if yours have been inadvertently and negatively affected. That might sound dramatic, but it’s important to remember that this is not just an experiment, it’s an AI experiment, so prepare for things to go wrong, or at the very least, go unexpectedly, and occasionally even hilariously. Google is aware of this and has provided a form to provide feedback and opt-out of the service altogether if it isn’t working for you.
While Huawei’s smartphone software has been hit and miss over the years, it’s undeniable that its smartphone hardware has been top-notch — arguably the best in the industry. And over the past couple of years, the Chinese tech giant has focused on bringing that same hardware prowess to other consumer products as part of the company’s “1+8+N” initiative. One of these products is truly wireless earphones. Huawei’s released a few of these before, and while they were solid offerings, they lacked the sleek design or full suite of intelligent features like noise cancellation and active transparency mode of Apple’s AirPods Pro — until now, with the Huawei FreeBuds Pro.
Huawei launched these two months ago during the company’s developer conference, and they are easily Huawei’s best true wireless earbuds ever. My XDA colleague Adam Conway has already expressed his love for it in a review, but I wanted to do a direct comparison against the FreeBuds Pro’s most obvious challenger, Apple’s AirPods Pro.
Huawei Freebuds Pro vs Apple AirPods Pro: Specification Comparison
Specifications
Huawei FreeBuds Pro
Apple AirPods Pro
Dimensions & weight
Per bud: 26mm x 29.6mm x 21.7mm
Per bud: 6.1 grams
Charging case: 70mm x 51.3 x 21.7mm
Charging case: 60 grams
Per bud: 24mm x 30.9 x 21.8 mm
Per bud: 5.4 grams
Charging case: 60.6mm x 45.2mm x 21.7mm
Charging case: 45.6 grams
Chip
Kirin K1
Apple H1
Battery & Charging
7 hours with ANC off
4.5 hours with ANC on
Case contains additional five charges
USB-C wired charging
Qi wireless charging
5 hours
Case contains additional six charges
Lightning wired charging
Qi wireless charging
Connectivity
Bluetooth 5.2
Bluetooth 5.0
Other Features
IPX5
“Intelligent Dynamic” Active Noise Cancellation
Transparency mode
Dynamic
IPX4
Active Noise Cancellation
Transparency mode
Adaptive EQ
Design: Look, Fit, and Comfort
This may be a bit unfair to Huawei’s design team, but considering that the AirPods Pro hit the market first and AirPods themselves are ubiquitous all around the world, it’s hard to describe the FreeBuds Pro as anything other than AirPods-like. The charging cases have a similar shape and open the same way. Huawei’s case is slightly heavier and taller, but both are highly portable and can fit into my pant pocket along with wallet and keys without creating an unsightly bulge.
Huawei FreeBuds Pro and Apple AirPods Pro
The FreeBuds Pro sport thicker and more squared-off stems than most wireless earbuds on the market. This design allowed Huawei more space to put sensors and drivers, and these are all cutting-edge, top-notch components. On a personal level, I also like that the boxier look (along with the deep grey color of my unit) make the earbuds look distinct from Apple’s AirPods. I have not been a fan of the flood of truly wireless earbuds from other phone brands that seem to want to look like AirPod clones.
I'm also a fan of the fact that neither of the stems are too long
Both earbuds have silicone tips that aim to provide a seal around the wearer’s ear canal. The tips are easy to remove on both and can be swapped for smaller or larger ones that are included with the packaging. I find both the FreeBuds Pro and AirPods Pro to be a comfortable, secure fit for my ears. I’m also a fan of the fact that neither of the stems are too long. Compared to the non-pro regular AirPods or Huawei’s older wireless earbuds, these are far more discreet in my ears. In fact, if you look at me straight on when I’m wearing them, they are hard to notice. You certainly can’t say that about other recent wireless earbuds from Xiaomi or Vivo.
I have the AirPods Pro on my left ear and FreeBuds Pro on my right ear.
Controls
The stems on both earbuds provide pressure-activated touch controls. I love that both require just a bit of force — as if I’m pressing a button — instead of just taps like many other true wireless earbuds. Just tapping often results in accidental or unwanted touches, and both the FreeBuds Pro and AirPods Pro are designed so that you’re not pressing the buds into your ear — another problem I’ve seen from many earbuds. So controlling both of these earbuds needs to be intentional, which is good.
The controls are very similar too: both FreeBuds Pro and AirPods Pro play or pause music with a single press on either stem. Double pressing skips forward a track, while triple pressing rewinds the track. Press and hold to cycle through noise cancellation or transparency mode.
Huawei one ups Apple, however, by providing volume controls too via swiping -- and they work like charm
Huawei one ups Apple, however, by providing volume controls too via swiping — and they work like charm. You cannot adjust volume directly on the AirPods Pro.
In terms of audio quality, my colleague Adam declared in his review the FreeBuds Pro are the best sounding wireless earbuds he’s ever tested. I’m not ready to go that far — but I do think the FreeBuds Pro are among the very best sounding ones. For my music tastes — a lot of 90s hip hop (Nas, Dr Dre), 90s California pop rock (Green Day, Blink 182), and classic rock and roll (Beatles, Rolling Stones, David Bowie) — I generally find the AirPods Pro a bit more balanced, with crisp mids and clear highs. Huawei’s FreeBuds Pro seems to emphasize the low end more.
Where the FreeBuds Pro win easily in my opinion is noise cancellation and transparency
Where the FreeBuds Pro win easily in my opinion is noise cancellation and transparency. This is a big statement for me to make because the AirPods Pro had previously been my favorite in this category. And while both the FreeBuds Pro and AirPods Pro can muffle out typical city traffic noises quite well, where the FreeBuds Pro stand alone at the top is its ability to dynamically analyze the environment and adjusts its noise cancellation type accordingly. Huawei calls this “Intelligent Dynamic ANC,” and it really works. It can isolate the low humming buzz of an air conditioner or loud talking people in a packed coffee shop.
Conversely, Huawei’s intelligent algorithms also can enhance human voices, this is useful for transparency mode. I have tested over a dozen true wireless earbuds, and the FreeBuds Pro are the only ones I can keep wearing with music playing and still conduct a conversation where I can hear the other party clearly.
The AirPods Pro’s transparency mode is good, but it not only lets all the sound in but also amplifies the noise level — so in a very noisy city like Hong Kong, it almost hurts my ears to have transparency mode on in busy places.
Performance: Phone calls, Connectivity, Latency
Connectivity with both earbuds are strong — they automatically pair to my phone after the first set-up and from there they very rarely suffer audio drops. To be fair, true wireless earbuds generally suffer in vast open spaces because there aren’t buildings or walls off which to bounce wireless signal. Ultra-dense Hong Kong is as far from “vast open space” as possible, so neither earbuds are being tested much here in terms of connectivity. From testing, I left my phone (a Galaxy Z Fold 2 for reference) in one end of a co-working space and walked to the other end — 40 feet away — and both earbuds kept a stable connection.
For phone calls, the FreeBuds Pro have three mics to the AirPods Pro’s two and while I don’t know if that’s indeed the difference-maker, I can say the FreeBuds Pro consistently sounded better for the other end during voice calls. I have tested this over a dozen calls in various conditions with two different person on the other end. Every time, they told me my voice sounded more clear and less muffled on the FreeBuds Pro.
Both earbuds do an excellent job of reducing latency to the point it’s almost hard to notice. I have worn both earbuds for the past several months watching dozens of hours of videos, and very rarely have I ever noticed that a voice isn’t syncing with the person’s lips.
Additional Features
You won’t have to stress when it rains with either the FreeBuds Pro or the AirPods Pro, as they’re rated IPX5 and IPX4 respectively. The stronger rating does mean the FreeBuds Pro can sustain stronger splashes of water than the AirPods Pro but it’s hard to find an example in real-world usage — I suppose the FreeBuds Pro has a higher chance of surviving heavy rainstorms? The point is both of these earbuds can’t be taken for a swim, but you can wear them in even heavy rain.
The FreeBuds Pro are also more flexible for cross-platform or cross-brand usage. Huawei’s buds can connect up to two devices at the same time, and it doesn’t matter what device it is — could be a Sony laptop and a Samsung Galaxy phone, or an iPhone and an iPad. The AirPods Pro, meanwhile, can connect to two devices only if they are iOS devices. Also, AirPods Pro suffered from low volume issues with some Samsung devices, requiring the user to jump into developer options and “disable absolute volume” to fix.
Battery Life
Not surprising for a Huawei product, the FreeBuds Pro have jaw-dropping endurance. On a single charge, Huawei advertises seven hours of audio playback time if the earbuds have both transparency and active noise cancellation off, and five hours with either of those features on. From my testing, those numbers are accurate. The AirPods Pro, meanwhile, can go around five hours on a single charge.
Both earbuds can be charged wirelessly or wired: the FreeBuds Pro take USB-C, while the AirPods Pro take Lightning.
Conclusion: Two wireless audio powerhouses — but you have to pay the price
I have tested many wireless earbuds over the past couple of years — especially in 2020 when seemingly every phone brand launched one — and I can confidently say the FreeBuds Pro and AirPods Pro are the two best overall in terms of having all the features (however, I do have a soft spot for the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live for its unique shape and fit).
But these are also two of the most expensive ones around. The FreeBuds Pro retail at €199 ($235), while the AirPods Pro go for $249. In late 2020, you can find very capable wireless earbuds for under $100. The $90 TicPods ANC offers almost all the features as Huawei’s and Apple’s earbuds — noise cancellation, transparency mode — except they don’t work as well, and the earbuds themselves have long, chunky stems.
If you have the money to spend and you want the best in wireless audio tech right now, it makes sense that Apple and Huawei have the two best options. I think the FreeBuds Pro are better overall because it has longer battery life, better transparency mode, and better compatibility across devices and platforms. However, if you are fully immersed in Apple’s eco-system, the AirPods bring the ability to summon Siri via voice (you can’t trigger any digital assistant with Huawei’s buds).
The AirPods Pro are ubiquitous for a reason -- they sound great and if you're using an iPhone, MacBook and iPad, the AirPods Pro will fit nicely into the eco-system.
We thank HUAWEI for sponsoring this post. Our sponsors help us pay for the many costs associated with running XDA, including server costs, full time developers, news writers, and much more. While you might see sponsored content (which will always be labeled as such) alongside Portal content, the Portal team is in no way responsible for these posts. Sponsored content, advertising and XDA Depot are managed by a separate team entirely. XDA will never compromise its journalistic integrity by accepting money to write favorably about a company, or alter our opinions or views in any way. Our opinion cannot be bought.
It’s just lovely that the Nintendo Switch can be used both at home as a docked console, and on the go as a portable device. Just popping your Switch into a bag or purse isn’t the best idea, though. It’s all too easy for something to scrape against your expensive electronic and ruin the screen. If you’re traveling, it’s also useful to have a case that can store extra games, so you can have any game you want on the go. For these, you’ll want a travel case that suits your needs, and we’ve rounded up the best Nintendo Switch travel cases below!
As with many Switch accessories, what you’ll want to get varies by whether you have a Nintendo Switch or a Nintendo Switch Lite. While the Switch Lite can technically fit in a normal Switch travel case, it’s not going to be a good fit and your device has a chance of rattling around and even getting damaged within the case. So it’s best to get a case that fits!
There are a larger variety of Nintendo Switch travel cases than you would expect. When it comes to protecting your Switch, it all depends on your needs!
If you want to be sure you're protected, you can't beat the official Switch carrying case! This has room for the Switch and eight games, and has an adjustable viewing stand.
Given that the Switch Lite is a portable-only device, a travel case is incredibly important for it! There are all sorts of cases that will fill your needs.
PowerA makes officially licensed Nintendo Switch gear, so you know if you pick up this case you'll get quality! It also comes with a screen protector and cleaning cloth. Now that's value!
If you need to hold a lot of stuff, iVolar's hardshell case will be the one for you. You can hold 20 games, as well as a bunch of accessories, in this hefty case.
Like its normal Switch counterpart, the Funlab is slim and holds five games, makes it easy to pack in a bag. And, I mean, can you resist a cute Snorlax case?
If your Switch Lite needs the best protection, this Fintie case comes with shock protection and a bunch of different styles to boot. This case can hold 15 cases, as well as 2 microSDs.
Want just a little bit of color with your Switch Lite travel case? ButterFox's cases are semi-hard shell bulky cases that are mostly black, and can hold up to 20 games.
You got the list, but what are the best of the best Nintendo Switch travel cases? In the end, it really depends on the level of protection you’re looking for. The case I use for my regular Switch is the Tomtoc case because it’s relatively slim, but still provides enough protection from something sharp or pointy in my carry-on or purse. I also got the black case, and it doesn’t show dirt! As for my Switch Lite, my case isn’t actually on this list, because I just picked something up quickly to protect the device for the time being. But, honestly? I’d probably just pick up the Tomtoc case for it as well since it’s tried and true for me.
I also have the Zadii carrying case for my Switch if I need to take the dock and some extra controllers to a friend’s house to hook up. It’s a great case to pack everything you need!
I am sure you noticed that Black Friday sales have already begun. I know I’ve heard about it, with my e-mails overflowing with an overwhelming number of deals. But it’s not really Black Friday until you start seeing the killer TV deals. It’s by far the best time of the year to upgrade your TV set, and retailers know it. They offer fantastic deals on otherwise prohibitively expensive sets, and we’re going to make sure you know about some of the best deals. So today, at Best Buy, you can save on the Vizio OLED 4K TV!
This 55-inch TV is, quite simply, awesome. It’s got the superior OLED display, it’s got the 4K, it’s got the Smartcast TV functionality. This Vizio OLED isn’t a dumb TV by any means! The refresh rate is 120Hz, so you know anything you watch will be buttery smooth. The TV also has a nearly borderless frame, so it’ll look fantastic hanging up on the wall. I mean, it won’t look like The Frame, but it’ll still look great. Finally, with four HDMI inputs, you’ll have enough inputs to plug in everything you need.
Since this is Best Buy, you can choose either pick up your new $900 TV purchase from a store, if available, or have it delivered to you for free. I’d personally go with the delivery–a 55-inch TV isn’t exactly easy to fit into most cars.
Save $400 on the 55-inch Vizio 4K OLED TV as a part of Best Buy's Black Friday sale! With an awesome 1200Hz refresh rate and a beautiful display, you won't be disappointed.
55 inches not big enough for you? The 65-inch Vizio OLED TV is also on sale! The ten extra inches will cost you, though, with the TV being $1,500 after the discount. That’s $500 off the asking price, and if you’re going to upgrade, you might as well go big or go home, right?
Save $500 on the 65-inch Vizio 4K OLED TV as a part of Best Buy's Black Friday sale! With an awesome 1200Hz refresh rate and a beautiful display, you won't be disappointed.
Samsung has rolled out two new entry-level handsets, the Samsung Galaxy A12 and Samsung Galaxy A02s. As you’d expect, the A12 is a successor for the A11, which was only released in March, while the A02s supersedes the A01s, introduced this time last year.
According to reports at GSM Arena, both devices clock in at under $220 and manage to keep a fairly impressive feature set and with the slightly odd timing, these seem to be aimed at combating OnePlus’s recent Nord N10 and Nord N100. We’ve not got all the specifications yet, but nevertheless, let’s take a look at them, one at a time.
Specification
Samsung Galaxy A12
Build
Plastic/Glass
Dimensions & Weight
164×75.8×8.9mm / 205g
Display
6.5-inch HD+ Infinity-V
SoC
TBC – 2.3/1.8Ghz Octacore
RAM & Storage
3/4/6GB RAM 32/64/128GB Storage + microSD up to 1TB
Battery & Charging
5000mAh 15w
Security
Side-mounted Fingerprint Sensor
Rear Camera(s)
48MP/5MP ultrawide/2MP Macro/2MP Depth
Front Camera(s)
8MP notch
Port(s)
USB-C
Audio
TBC
Connectivity
Wifi/Bluetooth/A-GPS (no NFC)
Software
TBC – Likely Android 10
Other Features
–
The Samsung Galaxy A12 boasts a 20% bigger battery than its predecessor at 5000mAh, with 15w charging. The biggest upgrade is the quad-camera, which adds a 48MP main lens and a 2MP macro unit, on top of the 5MP ultrawide lens and 2MP depth sensor from the A11.
The display is a 6.5-inch HD+ Infinity-V with a modest notch for the 8MP front camera. We’re not told what version of Android is shipped at launch, but we’d expect it to be Android 10, with an update at a later date. The processor is also yet to be confirmed but seems to be a Helio P35 with a 2.3GHz/1.8GHz BIGlittle octa-core formation.
There are variants for both RAM (3GB, 4GB, 6GB) and storage (32GB, 64GB, 128GB) with a microSD slot to add up to 1TB of extra storage.
Samsung Knox is onboard, a nice bonus for a budget handset, and there’s a side-mounted fingerprint reader too. The A12 is available in Black, Blue, White or Red at 179 Euros ($212)/199 Euros ($236) depending on the configuration.
Specification
Samsung Galaxy A02s
Build
Plastic/Glass
Dimensions & Weight
TBC
Display
6.5-inch HD+ Infinity-V
SoC
TBC – Snapdragon 450
RAM & Storage
3GB RAM/32GB Storage+microSD up to 1TB
Battery & Charging
5000mAh 15w
Security
–
Rear Camera(s)
13MP/2MP macro/2MP depth
Front Camera(s)
5MP
Port(s)
microUSB
Audio
TBC
Connectivity
WiFi/Bluetooth/A-GPS (no NFC)
Software
TBC – Android 10 likely
Other Features
–
The more modest A02s has the same 5000mAh battery as the A12, a huge leap from the 3000mAh of its predecessor. Once again it can take a 15w charge. It has a triple rear camera configuration, with a 13MP primary lens flanked by macro and depth units at 2MP a piece.
It has the same 6.5-inch HD+ Infinity-V display and an Octacore processor clocking in at 1.8GHz. It may or may not be a Qualcomm Snapdragon 450. There’s only one variant for this one – 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, with the same microSD slot with up to 1TB capacity.
The A02s won’t be on sale until early 2021 (February, we think). It’ll come in black and white, for 150 Euros ($177).
