If, for some reason, you need absolutely loads of storage on your smartphone or tablet, then you’ll be pleased to know that two microSD cards have been announced at MWC 2019 with 1TB of storage – making them the highest capacity microSD cards in the world.
Micron’s c200 1TB microSDXC UHS-I card comes with a 96-layer 3D quad-level cell (QLC) and NAND technology to bring such a large capacity to a small memory card. According to Micron, this card has been designed specifically for high-performance mobile applications, and is certified for the A2 App Performance Class specification.
This means it will perform better at running applications and games that are installed on card. It has read speeds of 100MB/s and write speeds of 95MB/s. It will be available in the second quarter of 2019, but we don’t currently have an exact release date or price for the memory card.
The competition
Micron’s claim to the world’s first 1TB microSD card was short-lived, however, with Western Digital announcing its own 1TB UHS-I microSD flash memory card, the 1TB SanDisk Extreme UHS-I microSDXC, which the company claims is the world’s fastest 1TB microSD card.
Western Digital’s new SanDisk Extreme microSD card also has 1TB of capacity (Image credit: Western Digital)
Considering the competition is so slim, that claim isn’t hard to verify, and on paper at least it seems Western Digital has the performance edge over the Micron, with read speeds of up to 160MB/s, which Western Digital claims allows you to transfer 1,000 high resolution photos and 30 minutes of 4K video in less than three minutes.
Write speeds, however, are slightly slower than Micron’s card, at 90MB/s. As with Micron’s card, the SanDisk microSD card meets the A2 App Performance Class specification.
If you’re worried that this kind of high capacity won’t come cheap, then you’d be right, with the 1TB SanDisk Extreme UHS-I microSDXC costing $449.99 (around £340, AU$630) when it hits shops in April.
While both of these cards are aimed at drastically expanding the storage space of smartphones (those which still have microSD slots, that its), the high capacity and fast transfer rates will make these cards very attractive to photographers as well.
Plus, if you own a Nintendo Switch console, you’ll be able to store plenty of downloadable games if you slot one of these cards into it. However, at around the cost of the entire games console, some people may find these 1TB microSD cards a little too expensive.
MWC (Mobile World Congress) is the world’s largest showcase for the mobile industry, stuffed full of the newest phones, tablets, wearables and more. TechRadar is reporting live from Barcelona all week to bring you the very latest from the show floor. Head to our dedicatedMWC 2019 hubto see all the new releases, along with TechRadar’s world-class analysis and buying advice about your next phone.
Not content with playing Mario and Zelda on your Nintendo Switch? Want to get under the hood of your consoles? You’re not alone – and developers Billy Laws and Max Keller have modded Nintendo’s hybrid console in order to get it to run the Android OS.
With the Switch basically an ARM-based tablet with two wireless controllers slotted into the sides, it in theory shouldn’t be too tough a job to get Android running on it. After all, there are many Android mobile devices running on ARM chips.
That’s what the modding duo have managed, as you can see in the video below – and with some concessions, Android O will run on the Nintendo Switch.
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) #NintendoSwitch #Android pic.twitter.com/RfbN7VKStw23 February 2019
What’s missing?
With support being unofficial, there’s some bugs and kinks to be ironed out, as you’d imagine.
Though Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and the Joy-Con controllers work while running Android, there’s no GPU support at the moment, making anything but the most graphically-basic of apps problematic to run.
As for docking for big-screen view of the Android interface, there’s no word yet on that working, but we’d assume that’s the dream of those working on the mod. Considering the Nintendo Switch is quite light on media and productivity apps, Android support would fill those gaps nicely.
Of course, tinkering with the Nintendo Switch OS in this manner invalidates your warranty, so if you’ve the urge to fiddle with your tablet, consider yourself warned.
Navigating the swarms of cheap laptop deals can be a bit overwhelming with so many options to choose from here in the UK. Luckily for you, we’re checking through the net’s laptop sales throughout the year, so we know how to spot a bargain.
With such a competitive scene in the UK for laptop deals, there’s plenty to choose from all year round, so if you need to buy a new laptop sharpish, we should be able to find you something that fits with your budget nicely. We’ve even split this guide into sections based on price.
We’ll give you a bit of info about each laptop we highlight too, so you can see some specs at a glance before you click through to the store and have to browse their lengthy descriptions for those vital stats you’re after.
Not everyone needs a super powerful laptop, especially if you just want something for the basics like casual browsing, email and document editing, so don’t feel like you have to spend £500 on a laptop for that – you can get something for far less if you want. Naturally, if you’re a bit of a multitasker, love to have loads of tabs open and want a little extra grunt for media editing, we’ve found laptop deals with higher spec. We sometimes chuck in gaming-friendly laptops if they meet our sensible price criteria. For you Apple fans, you might be interested in our MacBook prices and deals page too.
If you’re from the States or Down Under, be sure to check out our selection of the top laptop deals in the US or Australia in our always-updated guides.
Cheap laptop deal of the week
Dell Latitude E7240 Ultrabook from £168 at eBay This refurbished ultrabook is enormously powerful for such a low price and comes with a six-month warranty as standard. £168 is the price if you want the Windows 10 OS pre-installed – £150 if you’re flying solo. Impressive spec on this 12-inch HD touchscreen laptop include an i5 processor, 4GB of RAM (or choose 8GB for just £18 more) and a 128GB SSD. You won’t find better value for such a low price if you don’t mind it being a refurb. View Deal
Cheap laptop sales and deal highlights
Laptops under £200
iOTA One 10.1-inch 2-in-1 laptop £99.99 at Amazon This refurbished laptop could be handy as a backup laptop for basic tasks although we wouldn’t really recommend it as your main workstation thanks to the small 32GB hard drive. Drives this small struggle to keep up with fresh windows updates, so this is only for basic browsing, document editing and emails to be honest. But if that’s all you need this is about as cheap as it gets. View Deal
Asus VivoBook E201NA 11.6-inch laptop £159.99 at Amazon If you need a basic, super cheap laptop that won’t take up all the space in your bag when you’re mobile, this is a real contender for a seriously low price. 4GB of RAM is enough to run basic tasks easily enough and the 64GB of storage will easily handle the Windows updates that the 32GB models struggle to cope with. View Deal
Gemini TC10 10.1-inch 2-in-1 laptop £168 at Amazon This is a mega cheap 2-in-1 laptop/tablet convertible with some decent bang for your buck. 4GB of RAM, a HD screen (nice for streaming!) and 64GB of storage make this a very handy device for basic work needs with casual browsing and Netflix sessions catered for too. It’s not the most recognisable brand out there for sure, but it’s a tempting buy if you want a touchscreen on your laptop for a price way under £200. View Deal
Dell Chromebook 11 3000 £169.99 at Amazon This compact Chromebook is a super cheap laptop deal today at Amazon. 4GB of RAM combined with the decidedly bloat-free Chrome OS makes for a smooth experience running a few apps at once. It only has 16GB of storage, but you can expand via USB options. View Deal
HP Chromebook 11 £179 at AO.com If you’re after one of the cheapest Chromebooks around to try out saying goodbye to Windows, then this 11-inch model is worth a look. 4GB of RAM is enough for very basic work activities, although the 16GB of storage is a bit rubbish. There is free access to 100GB of online storage though to make storing your files online super easy. View Deal
Asus Chromebook C223NA £183.99 at Amazon £46 cheaper today. Chromebooks like this are super cheap and a viable alternative to your standard Windows laptop, even more so if you’re used to using Google’s suite of office apps. This one comes with a useful 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, which is surprisingly roomy without the bloated Windows OS. We’d opt for this one over the sometimes cheaper 16GB Chromebooks. View Deal
£200 – £400 laptops
Dell Chromebook 11 2-in-1 laptop £249.99 at Amazon Save £49 today! This is more expensive than most of the other Chromebooks on this page, but it is a 2-in-1 laptop – which means it has a touchscreen and can be folding over to use like a tablet. You’re also getting 4GB of RAM and an extended 64GB of storage. If you fancy a Chromebook but you’re not bothered about the touchscreen and you don’t need that much space for media files, then you could opt for one of the cheaper deals mentioned earlier. View Deal
Lenovo V110 15.6-inch laptop £249.99 at ebuyer Like the idea of a speedy SSD instead of a regular mechanical hard drive but don’t want to spend a lot of money? Well this may be the cheap laptop for you today. The V110 comes with a 128GB SSD, AMD A9 processor and 4GB of RAM. All in all, a very tidy machine for day-to-day work or uni activities. View Deal
Lenovo V110 15.6-inch laptop | £329.98 at Amazon This is a fantastic price for a full-sized laptop with 8GB of RAM, allowing you to multitask away with an abundance of tabs, apps and programs running at once. This is a great price for a laptop loaded with a 256GB SSD too. If you’re going to be spending significant amounts of time at a desk working with a laptop, this is a solid performer. View Deal
HP 255 G7 15.6-inch laptop – £349.98 ebuyer may have only knocked a tenner off this laptop deal, but even without this modest discount, the spec inside this laptop is a real head turner at this price. A 256GB SSD paired with 8GB of RAM means this will handle multiple tasks at once with ease. An AMD Ryzen processor and Redeon Vega 3 graphics card will allow for some very light gaming too.
Acer Aspire 3 14-inch laptop – £359 at AO.com This popular and portable Acer model has an especially large 256GB SSD (loads faster than a regular hard drive) considering the super low price you’re getting. 4GB of RAM is fine for light multi-tasking activities like checking email, listening to music, running a few browser tabs, editing documents and so on. The Full HD screen is great for relaxing with movie content too. View Deal
£400 – £650 laptops
Lenovo V130-15IKB 15.6-inch laptop – £449.98 at ebuyer Large SSD drives are fantastic for increased performance and faster loading times, but they can really drive up the price of a laptop. Which is why we’re surprised to see this laptop deal weighing in way under £500 with a 256GB SSD, 8GB of RAM and an i5 processor. A powerhouse on a budget for sure. View Deal
Huawei Matebook D 14-inch laptop £599 at Amazon You can save £100 today on this very powerful laptop deal. It comes with a Ryzen 5 processor, Radeon Vega Graphics, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. So if you want a powerful machine for work, that’s more than capable of gaming on the side, this is one of the best options this week. View Deal
£650+ laptops
HP Envy X360 2-in-1 laptop£799£699 at Amazon HP’s versatile Envy X360 convertible laptop is £101 cheaper today. This version comes with an AMD Ryzen 5 processor, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD and a Full HD display. If you’re intending to use this in touchscreen mode on a regular basis that’s some slick spec for a convertible. If you’re not bothered about a touchscreen laptop though, you can get the same spec on a regular laptop for less money. View Deal
Acer Swift 5 14-inch laptop – £799 at Currys There’s something about these blue and gold laptops that always catch our eye. This Acer model’s allure goes beyond skin deep affections though with an 8th-gen i7 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. It’s super portable too with a smaller 14-inch screen which makes carrying it around a fair bit easier than your standard 15.6-inch laptop, whilst maintaining a decent keyboard size. Currys has knocked £200 off today too! View Deal
We’ll continue adding the best cheap laptop deals in the latest sales as we find them. Up next, you’ll find the latest prices on some of the most popular laptops around along with a list of retailers who often have a great selection of laptop sales if nothing else takes your fancy here.
What stores have decent cheap laptop sales?
Amazon: retail giant is often the cheapest in the UK.
AO: lots of cheap laptops at this growing electronics specialist.
Argos: home delivery or pick up a cheap laptop locally today.
John Lewis: models come with at least two-year guarantee.
Very: often has plenty of voucher codes or ‘buy now pay later’ options.
ebuyer: the UK computing specialists have some great promotions.
Laptops Direct: specialist UK store has a huge selection of laptop deals.
On release, the Chromebook Flip reached new heights for the Windows-free laptops as it came rocking a proper Intel Core processor along with a HD screen. Most models nowadays come with 64GB of storage instead of the 32GB which is plenty for running apps and storing regular documents and a fair few media files – you can always use a USB drive for more space. For most users, the newer PixelBook is what we’d call ‘overkill’, not to mention considerably more expensive, so we’d recommend this model if you just need something for work, browsing the net and so on. The Chrome OS works beautifully in this 2-in-1 laptop’s tablet mode too.
Acer Chromebook R11
A very capable budget 2-in-1 laptop
CPU: Intel Celeron N3060 – N3150 | Graphics: Intel HD Graphics – Intel HD Graphics 400 | RAM: 4GB | Screen: 11.6-inch, HD (1,366 x 768) | Storage: 16GB – 32GB SSD
Quality build
Convertible mode
Solid battery performance
Plenty of stores still stock the very user-friendly Chromebook R11 and most have models in for a decent price, making it a strong alternative to similarly-priced Windows laptops. Unlike other cheap Chromebooks the R11 has a much more solid build that doesn’t feel like tacky cheap plastic, so you certainly won’t be embarrassed to be caught using it away from home or the office. And with a battery life that’ll get you about eight hours on a single charge, you’re all set to leave the charger at home each day. On-board storage is a little light, but there’s plenty of free cloud storage available with Chromebooks nowadays if you have lots of media files you need access to regularly.
HP Stream 14
Big. Colourful. Cheap.
CPU: Intel Celeron N3060 | Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 400 | RAM: 4GB | Screen: 14-inch HD (1,366 x 768) SVA BrightView WLED-backlit | Storage: 32GB eMMC
Larger than most budget options
Free 25GB of Dropbox for 1 year
Barely HD screen
At around £200 and with a range of colourful models, the HP Stream 14 has been a popular pick as a first ever laptop or for those after something to cover the basics like web browsing or document editing. If you’re going to use this quite regularly you may want to skip the 32GB model and look out for the 64GB version instead. Budget Windows laptops with just 32GB of storage tend to struggle with future system updates and some users report there’s not enough space after accommodating the OS itself to continue updating it for long even if they’ve not installed any extra apps or store media files on it. If you can’t find any decent 64GB prices, we’d consider a Chromebook instead for this price, as they can handle updates even if they have a small 32GB hard drive.
Acer Nitro 5
A decent pick for gaming laptop buyers on a budget
As one of the cheapest gaming laptops that will still run games at decent settings, the Acer Nitro 5 is well worth a look if you’re wanting to get into PC gaming and play modern games too (just don’t expect to be running Battlefield V on ultra settings ok?). The design is a bit too ‘plastic’ and there’s no SSD on the cheapest models, but given the low price and the power of the internal spec inside we’re more than willing to look past that to get our gaming fix on the go or even as an introduction to PC gaming without investing in a desktop rig.
A sturdy choice for a study laptop for school/college/uni. The HP Pavilion 15 has plenty of power for the average student’s needs while keeping the costs sensible. There are plenty of configurations available too. Some favour speedy SSDs, while other go for larger regular hard drives, so it all depends on what you’re going to need more really. Faster loading or more space for storing media files and downloads.
Asus Transformer Mini T102HA
A budget 2-in-1 bargain
Built-in fingerprint sensor
11-hour battery life
Stylish design
The Asus Transformer Mini series is one of the most reliable brands of 2-in-1 tablet/laptop hybrids on the market. This upgrade includes a fingerprint sensor and double the RAM at 4GB for speedier performance compared to the older models. For your money, this is one of the most impressive two-in-one transformer models out there. Available in orange/white as seen above, or in a traditional grey steel colour.
Ready to stretch that budget a bit (ok, maybe a lot) further? Then be sure to check out our selection of the very best laptops money can buy as we’ve used our dedicated price comparison technology to find the cheapest prices for them too. You can always come back to this page if they seem a bit overpowered (and over-expensive) for what you need.
Sony has taken to MWC 2019 to unveil its latest flagship phone, which is the first to sport a 21:9 aspect ratio, so you’ll get an improved experience while watching films and shooting video… but how does it compare to last year’s device?
A little over six months old, the Xperia XZ3 was a triumph for Sony with it receiving a 4.5-star review from TechRadar with particular praise given to its improved screen technology.
The Xperia 1 is set to improve upon that phone in almost every way, but we thought we’d pit these two devices against each other as the Xperia 1 is also more expensive than Sony’s previous flagship.
Sony Xperia 1 vs Sony Xperia XZ3 display
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Sony Xperia 1. Image Credit: TechRadar
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Sony Xperia XZ3. Image Credit: TechRadar
TechRadar’s reviewer loved the screen on the Xperia XZ3, and it’s undeniably one of the best you can get on any smartphone, but the company has gone full throttle with improving it for the Xperia 1.
While the Xperia XZ3 has a 6-inch 1440 x 2880 P-OLED display, the company has jumped up to a 4K OLED 6.5-inch panel for the Xperia 1.
The aspect ratio of the phones is different too. The Xperia XZ3 feels like an older device immediately when you pick it up thanks to an 18:9 aspect ratio, while the Xperia 1 has a 21:9 ratio which makes it more suited to watching films when you’re on the go.
The new screen design on the Xperia 1 won’t be to everyone’s taste though, and the taller look may make it more difficult for you to navigate around the display, so the more conventional aspect ratio of the Xperia XZ3 might actually prove a selling point for the older phone.
Sony Xperia 1 vs Sony Xperia XZ3 design
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Sony Xperia 1. Image Credit: TechRadar
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Sony Xperia XZ3. Image Credit: TechRadar
If you like Sony’s phone design, you’re sure to like both of these handsets, as they share a similar design language, but there are some core differences you’re going to want to know about before you buy one.
The Xperia XZ3 features a wider screen (when held in portrait orientation) at 158 x 73 x 9.9mm, while the Xperia 1 is taller and thinner than that handset at 167 x 72 x 8.2mm. The Xperia 1 is set to be a lot slimmer in your hand, and you’re going to notice that extended, taller design at first. It may be something you quickly get used to though.
There’s a fingerprint scanner on both phones, but the placement is different. On the Xperia XZ3 it sits around halfway down on the rear, but the Xperia 1 has it on the right edge below the power button.
The Xperia XZ3 comes in black, white, green or red while the Xperia 1 comes in black and white too, but the other two colors to choose from are either a dark blue or a purple shade.
Sony Xperia 1 vs Sony Xperia XZ3 camera
Sony Xperia 1. Image Credit: Sony
The Xperia XZ3 has a single 19MP sensor on the rear, but the company has decided to include three rear lenses on the Xperia 1. They’re not 19MP though, as the Xperia 1 instead features three 12MP shooters.
One is a telephoto, one is wide and one is ultra-wide. The idea here is that these will work in tandem to make images that are specifically suited to the Xperia 1’s wider display.
We haven’t yet had time to try out the camera on the Xperia 1, but we’re hoping it will perform as well as the single shooter on the Xperia XZ3 or – hopefully – even better.
Sony Xperia 1 vs Sony Xperia XZ3 battery
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Sony Xperia 1. Image Credit: TechRadar
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Sony Xperia XZ3. Image Credit: TechRadar
On paper, these both have similar battery setups. The Xperia XZ3 comes with a 3,300mAh cell inside which we found will last a whole day from a single charge, while the Xperia 1 comes with a 3,330mAh cell. That’s only a slight increase in size, but the newer phone does come with a better optimized chipset.
That doesn’t mean we’re going to see phenomenally better battery on the Xperia 1 though. In fact, the Xperia 1’s battery is going to be powering a 4K display, so it’s possible that life will be worse.
We won’t know anything for certain in terms of daily battery life until we’ve had significant time with the Xperia 1 though, so we’ll be sure to test that out in our full review.
However, one interesting thing is that the Xperia XZ3 is capable of wireless charging, but it’s a feature the company has dropped for the Xperia 1.
Sony Xperia 1 vs Sony Xperia XZ3 specs
The most recent phone is more powerful on paper, but it’s not set to be a huge jump up. Because there’s only six months between these phones being released you’re unlikely to see a big change in day to day performance between the two.
The Xperia XZ3 features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset – one of the most powerful chipsets we saw inside phones last year – while the Xperia 1 is sporting the even more recent and superior Snapdragon 855.
At least we think it’s superior, as it should be but we’ve yet to spend a lot of time using any phones with this chipset inside. As for RAM, the Xperia XZ3 came with 4GB of RAM, which was enough to power it along on a day to day basis, but the Xperia 1 comes with an improved 6GB of RAM.
Whether you’ll notice that extra RAM when using the phone remains to be seen. You’ll also get double the storage on the Xperia 1, as the Xperia XZ3 only has 64GB of space while the newer phone has 128GB.
Both phones support microSD cards of up to 512GB, and each comes sporting the latest Android 9 Pie software right out of the box.
It is likely Sony will support the Xperia 1 with software updates for a little longer than the Xperia XZ3, but we wouldn’t expect either to stop getting updates for a couple of years.
Sony Xperia 1 vs Sony Xperia XZ3 price
Sony Xperia 1 with the Motorola G7
Sony’s Xperia 1 will sell for £849 (about $1,100, AU$1,550) when it’s on sale later this year. That’s quite a bit more than the launch price of the Sony Xperia XZ3, which was £699 / $899 (around AU$1,260).
The Xperia XZ3 is quite a bit cheaper now at £589 / $799 / AU$1,139 too, so if you’re looking to save money you’ll want to opt for that phone.
Takeaway
If you’ve already bought an Xperia XZ3, don’t be too disappointed that Sony has already announced a new phone. While there are a few interesting upgrades here, it’s unlikely to be anything you’ll need to snatch up immediately.
If you go for the latest phone from Sony you’ll get the big benefits of that wide-screen display and the top-end chipset, but the Xperia XZ3 already has a powerful processor inside as well as a gorgeous screen.
The Xperia 1 is much more expensive than the Xperia XZ3 is now too, which is a big differentiator between the two handsets. Both of these phones look to be suitable flagship options for your pocket, but if you want the latest and greatest from Sony you’ll need to spend extra to get the Xperia 1.
MWC (Mobile World Congress) is the world’s largest showcase for the mobile industry, stuffed full of the newest phones, tablets, wearables and more. TechRadar is reporting live from Barcelona all week to bring you the very latest from the show floor. Head to our dedicated MWC 2019 hub to see all the new releases, along with TechRadar’s world-class analysis and buying advice about your next phone.
Smartphone manufacturer OnePlus isn’t making any announcements at MWC 2019 in Barcelona, Spain, but it did have a presence in the form of a 5G prototype handset.
In a recent interview with USA Today, OnePlus CEO Pete Lau revealed some details about the firm’s first 5G phone – which could be called the OnePlus 7 – including the fact it’ll run a Snapdragon 855 chipset and X50 modem – the latter of which is key to providing 5G connectivity.
Lau also confirmed that OnePlus would be making a 4G LTE variant of the same device (mainly for the US market), with minimal differences between the two.
We went to check out the prototype 5G device, housed in a sizable case to protect its identity, to see what it could tell us about the OnePlus 7.
Big screen and no notch?
While the case the OnePlus 5G phone is in doesn’t show any of the handset’s body, one thing is clear: the screen here is tall.
It looks to be a 21:9 aspect ratio display, which we’ve just seen on the new Sony Xperia 1, which makes it a great display for movie watching.
We wanted to make sure though, so we’ve measured the display and can confirm the screen we saw is indeed 21:9, as you can see in the image below.
Image Credit: TechRadar
There also doesn’t appear to be a notch, which means we could get an uninterrupted view, although we were unable to tell if the device will have bezels above and below the display.
The OnePus 6 and 6T have reduced bezel size with just a slender chin below the display, and we hope OnePlus can continue this design with the OnePlus 7.
However, if it does continue with a no-notch and slender bezel approach it raises the question as to where the front facing camera will be housed.
Perhaps it may have a mechanically raising snapper like the Find X from sister company Oppo, or perhaps the screen will slide down to reveal a camera, similar to the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3. Or maybe it’ll come up with a whole new way to solve the problem. We’ll have to wait and see.
Time to move on from Full HD
Image Credit: TechRadar
Every OnePlus handset to date has featured a Full HD resolution, and while this has been good enough for a number of years there’s increasing demand for higher resolution displays on our phones.
However, there could be some good news for OnePlus fans. We played Ace Combat 7 on the prototype device (using a wireless Xbox controller, and we weren’t allowed to take the phone out from behind the glass) and on closer inspection of the display the quality looked impressive.
We held up our Galaxy S10 Plus alongside (with QHD+ resolution enabled) and there wasn’t a noticeable difference in quality between the two – although we weren’t able to do a full side-by-side comparison.
Another highlight for us was the smoothness of the gameplay, as we flew through the air, firing missiles at targets. There’s a chance OnePlus may have upped the refresh rate of the screen here as well.
It’s also worth noting that the game only had 20MB of data installed on the handset, with the rest of the content streamed over 5G, with no lag or latency issues experienced during our time with it.
All of this, of course, could well change before we see the launch of the OnePlus 7, but considering the lengths the firm has gone to in protecting the design of the device, it suggests it’s a near final build.
MWC (Mobile World Congress) is the world’s largest showcase for the mobile industry, stuffed full of the newest phones, tablets, wearables and more. TechRadar is reporting live from Barcelona all week to bring you the very latest from the show floor. Head to our dedicated MWC 2019 hub to see all the new releases, along with TechRadar’s world-class analysis and buying advice about your next phone.
Affordable 5G phones will be available from early 2020, after Qualcomm announced its third generation 5G chip at MWC 2019.
We’ve seen the first 5G smartphones launch in the past week, and they all have one thing in common – they’re flagships. That means they’ll come with a flagship price tag, putting them out of reach for many consumers.
The first affordable 5G handsets will be packing the new Snapdragon chipset with integrated 5G – the first chip to offer this.
The new chipset will be in the hands of phone manufactures from Q2 2019, with Samsung already confirmed to use it in future devices.
5G for all
The hope is this new chip will help broad, fast 5G adoption around the world, expediting the roll out of the network, providing increased speeds to more people, more quickly.
MWC (Mobile World Congress) is the world’s largest showcase for the mobile industry, stuffed full of the newest phones, tablets, wearables and more. TechRadar is reporting live from Barcelona all week to bring you the very latest from the show floor. Head to our dedicated MWC 2019 hub to see all the new releases, along with TechRadar’s world-class analysis and buying advice about your next phone.
After weeks of rumors and leaked pictures, the refreshed Galaxy A series by Samsung was teased on a Samsung India microsite. Earlier last week, it was revealed through a couple of picture leaks that the Galaxy A50 will come with the triple cameras and the Galaxy A30 with dual cameras.
On Monday, a microsite for the A-series went live on Samsung India giving us our first look at the upcoming smartphones. Samsung has made sure not to spill enough beans as far as the specifications of the phones go. In any case, we have our first official look at three smartphones that are going to launch in the next couple of weeks in India. If you go by the rumors, it will be as soon as February 29.
Through the Samsung Galaxy A-series microsite, we now know that Samsung is prepping three phones for the refreshed lineup. We think that the phones in the image are the Galaxy A10, Galaxy A30 and Galaxy A50. We’re basing this merely on earlier leaks which revealed most of the specifications of the three phones. Couples that with the fact that the phones in the image feature single, dual and triple camera setups, it could be very possible that these are in fact the Galaxy A10, A30 and A50.
Samsung’s microsite lists features like the ability to record ultra-wide, slow-motion, hyperlapse videos, infinity-U waterdrop style notch and support for fast battery charging.
Samsung Galaxy A10, Galaxy A30 and Galaxy A50 specifications
Earlier reports revealed some of the key specifications of the three smartphones, some of which are corroborated through the information available on the microsite.
The Galaxy A10 is the most affordable one out of the lot and features a 6.2-inch HD+ display. It has the infinity-V waterdrop style notch design on the front and is powered by Exynos 7884B SoC with an octa-core CPU. The A30, on the other hand, has a slightly larger screen estate at 6.4-inch and a better display quality as it features the AMOLED panel with Full HD+ (2340 x 1080 pixels) resolution. It’s powered by Exynos 7904 chipset and has a primary 16MP camera with a 5MP secondary ultra-wide camera which is in line with the microsite teaser.
Samsung Galaxy A50 has the same display as the A30, flushed with infinity-U notch design which is a first for the company. The three cameras on the A50 include a 25MP primary, 5MP depth-sensing and an 8MP ultra-wide angle camera. It is powered by Exynos 9610 chipset with an octa-core CPU and allegedly also features an in-display fingerprint sensor.
All the three phones are expected to have a 4,000mAh battery but only the Galaxy A30 and Galaxy A50 will support fast charging.
