Xiaomi Mi5 Specs Leak Once Again: Snapdragon 820 CPU, QHD Display, 4GB RAM

Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and possibly Sony Xperia Z5 are the next flagship smartphones to be released on the market this year, but the 2015 will end in full force with the launch of the next Nexus smartphone and Xiaomi's Mi5 high end smartphone.

The have been quite a few leaks regarding Xiaomi's next flagship, which was originally slated for a July release. However, it appears that due to Qualcomm's Snapdragon 810 overheating issues, Xiaomi decided to delay the smartphone until later this year when the next generation of Qualcomm chipsets get released. Keep in mind that the information emerged online as a rumor, so there's no way to confirm it since the Chinese company refused to comment on these rumors.

Well, it looks like according to the latest hearsay, Xiaomi Mi5 is now on track for a November release. This means that the smartphone might be announced slightly earlier, though an exact release date will probably be announced closer to the event. Along with the release timeframe of the smartphone, new details on the phone's specs have just popped up via MobiPicker.

Quad HD display and fingerprint scanner

As expected, Xiaomi Mi5 will be a beast when it comes to specs. The smartphone will be equipped with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 chipset, which will be complemented by no less than 4GB of RAM. The smartphone will pack either 16GB or 64GB of internal memory, but it will also come with microSD card slot for memory expansion (up to 128GB). In the front, the Mi5 will boast a 5.3-inch capacitive touchscreen display that will support Quad HD (2560 x 1440 pixels) resolution.

In addition, the phone will pack a 16-megapixel camera on the back, as well as a 6-megapixel camera in the front for video calls and selfies. Last but not least, Xiaomi Mi5 will ship with Android 5.1.1 Lollipop operating system right out of the box, but it will also feature a 3,030 mAh battery and fingerprint scanner.

Xiaomi M5 mockup
Image credits to MobiPicker

Read more »

Nexus 5 (2015) Will Be Manufactured by LG, Not Based on LG G4

There have been much talk on Google's next Nexus smartphones, which are expected to be unveiled later this fall. As expected, the search giant is mum on these rumors, but that's mostly because nothing has been set in stone yet.

Many of you probably remember several weeks ago new reports claimed Google will launch not one, but two Nexus smartphones this year. Sadly, the company is also said to have dropped plans for another Nexus tablet this year. Anyway, the unannounced Nexus smartphones are said to be manufactured by Huawei and LG, as they will target different price tiers. In fact, Google is trying to appeal to consumers who prefer phablets, but also to those that like to go with standard sized displays.

Germany blog AndroidPIT claims source close to the matter confirmed that the Nexus 5 (2015) will indeed be manufactured by LG. 

It remains to be seen whether or not there will be a second Nexus smartphone

When the first rumors about the Nexus smartphones emerged online, Google wasn't yet sure that LG should build one of its Android smartphones, instead it played with the idea because the South Korean company has the necessary expertise for the task. But now it looks like Google has finally decided that LG is best suitable to build the Nexus 5 (2015), so the only thing that remains to be decided is whether there will be a second Nexus smartphone and what company is going to build its.

In the same piece of news, Google and LG will redesign the Nexus 5 (2015) from ground up, which means it will not be based on LG G4's blueprint. Also, the Nexus 5 (2015) name is not yet set in stone, so Google might launch it on the market under a different name. No additional details on the phone's specs have been given, but we expect the Nexus 5 (2015) to be unveiled this fall along with Google's new Android M operating system.

Nexus smartphones
Image credits to Google

Read more »

Sony Xperia Z5 Launching in September with Snapdragon 820 CPU, 4GB RAM

Sony Mobile has been launching two flagships smartphones per year for a long time, but the Japanese company announced back in 2014 that it will limit new releases to just one flagship each year.

After this year's Xperia Z4/Xperia Z3+ fiasco we thought Sony will announce its next top of the line smartphone only next year, but it looks like we were wrong. According to a new report, Sony plans to launch its unannounced Xperia Z5 flagship smartphone sometime in September. In fact, the device might be officially unveiled at IFA 2015 trade fair and will probably for on sale later this year. We're not sure when and where the Xperia Z5 will be made available for purchase, but the cited source also has some specs to share with us.

If you're a long-time Xperia user here is what you should expect to be included in the next high-end smartphone in the series.

Xperia Z5 Compact and Xperia Z5 Ultra also in the pipeline

First of all, Sony Xperia Z5 is said to be equipped with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 chipset, which hasn't been commercially released yet, but it's already being tested with some prototypes like Xiaomi Mi5. The powerful CPU will be complemented by no less than 4GB of RAM. There's no mention of storage, but we expect the Xperia Z5 to pack microSD card for memory expansion. Rumor has it that the smartphone will feature a 21-megapixel camera with Sony Exmor RS IMX230 CMOS sensor, autofocus, LED flash and 4k video recording.

The Xperia Z5 will be powered by a huge 4,500 mAh battery and will definitely feature a fingerprint recognition sensor. We also expect the smartphone to ship with Android 5.1.1 Lollipop operating system right out of the box since Android M won't be available until its unveil. In the same piece of news, Sony is rumored to be readying even more high-end smartphones for later this year, including the Xperia Z5 Compact and Xperia Z5 Ultra.

Sony Xperia logo
Image credits to Sony Mobile

Read more »

Samsung Galaxy A8 Shows Up in Brochure, Brings New 16MP ISOCELL Camera

Rumor about Samsung Galaxy A8 continue to emerge, but the South Korean company has yet to unveil the smartphone. The Galaxy A8 is expected to be Samsung's slimmest Android smartphone at only 5.9mm thickness.

We already know most of the phone's specs courtesy to all the leaks in the last couple of weeks, but it looks like the folks over at SamMobile have just published a new piece of information about the Galaxy A8. It appears that Samsung is likely to pack a new 16-megapixel ISOCELL camera sensor inside the Galaxy A8. According to the cited source, the camera sensor (LSI3P3) that will be packed inside the Samsung Galaxy A8 has a slimmed-down pixel size of 1.0 µm. Also, the thickness of the camera module has been reduced to 5mm, which makes it 23% sleeker than Sony's IMX240 module that's now included in the Samsung Galaxy Note 4.

This is probably one of the reasons the Samsung Galaxy A8 has only 5.9mm thickness making it the one of the slimmest smartphones launched by the South Korean company. In the same piece of news, the Galaxy A8 recently popped up in a brochure in South Korea, which points to a imminent launch in the not so distant future.

Octa-core Snapdragon 615 CPU and 3,050 mAh battery

For those out of the loop, here are some of the phone's confirmed specs via “rumor mill.” First of all, the Galaxy A8 is a phablet that sports a large 5.7-inch Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen display that supports full HD (1080p) resolution and 386ppi (pixel per inch). On the inside, the sleek smartphone is said to be equipped with a 64-bit octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor, 2GB RAM and 16GB of internal memory. As mentioned earlier, Samsung Galaxy A8 will boast a thin 16-megapixel ISOCELL camera sensor, while in the front there's will be a 5-megapixel front-facing camera for selfies and video calls.

We also know that the smartphone will be powered by a 3,050 mAh battery and will ship with Android 5.1.1 Lollipop operating system with the latest version of TouchWiz UI on top.

Samsung Galaxy A8
Image credits to GSMArena

16MP ISOCELL camera sensor
Image credits to MyDrivers

Read more »