Author: seo

Earth Day is this Friday and you can celebrate by avoiding 121 lbs (55 kg) of CO2 emissions – that is how much is saved by reusing a phone instead of buying a new one. And that doesn’t have to be an old, banged-up phone either.

Samsung US is offering $100 instant credit if you pre-order a renewed Galaxy S21 from its official store. The Galaxy S21 starts at $675, the S21+ at $850 and the S21 Ultra at $1,000. The $100 credit can be applied to accessories for the phone and other Samsung products at checkout.

You can trade in an old device for up to $675 more in credit (you can send in a phone with a cracked screen as well). With trade-in, the S21 can drop town to $225, the S21+ to $325 and the S21 Ultra also to $325 (as the maximum trade-in credit is higher). Pre-orders start today and if you pick one up today, it should reach you by April 29.

If you’re wondering what happens to phones that get sent in, they are either renewed (like these S21 units) or, if the phone is too far gone, they are recycled (Samsung is an e-Stewards Enterprise Partner, more on that here).

Anyway, these Galaxy S21 phones have been restored by Samsung itself to like-new condition. The phone comes with a new battery, and any necessary replacement parts. A new IMEI is assigned to the phone, leaving no connection to the previous owner. The renewed phones have a 1 year warranty.

If you’re not sure you can live with a refurbished phone, you can use the Try Now, Pay later program. You pay nothing up front, spend up to 21 days with the phone and return it if you don’t like it (Samsung will cover the shipping costs).

And if you don’t have the money up front, 0% APR financing is available for between 12 and 48 months. For example, a renewed Galaxy S21 can be yours for $18. 76 a month with a 36 month plan.

One final note, Galaxy S20 and even Galaxy S10 models are also available from the Certified Renewed program, but those don’t get the $100 instant credit.

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold4 is expected to bring some major camera improvements and reliable tipster Dohyun Kim believes the foldable’s main camera will get upgraded to a 108MP sensor. Naturally, some began to wonder if the camera module will be the same one used in the Galaxy S22 Ultra (1/2.55″ ISOCELL HM3 sensor).

This is where another tipster @chunvn8888 chimed in saying the setup on the Z Fold4 will be nearly identical to the S22U apart from the 10MP periscope sensor. This means we should expect the same 12MP ultrawide and 12MP 3x telephoto modules from the flagship Galaxy S phone on the upcoming foldable. Recent rumors also predict a selfie cam upgrade to 10MP from the Z Fold3’s 4MP shooter.

Galaxy Z Fold4 is expected to pack the yet to be announced Snapdragon 8 Gen 1+ chipset, a thinner and lighter body compared to its predecessor and no holster for the S Pen.

Source (tweet)

BLU unveiled its first 5G smartphone today and, as is typical for the company, it offers a lot of value for money. The BLU F91 has an MSRP of $300, but the first flash sale will drop that price down to $200. The phone packs a large screen, large battery and, of course, 5G connectivity.

BLU F91 5G in Oceanic Blue

That is courtesy of a Dimensity 810 chipset, a 6 nm chipset with 2x Cortex-A76 @ 2. 4 GHz + 6x A55 @ 2.0 GHz, a Mali-G57 MC2 and a 5G (sub-6) modem. It is paired with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB storage, plus a microSD slot (which officially supports up to 256 GB cards).

You get Android 11 out of the box. Note that there is no mention of how many OS updates there will be for the phone.

Anyway, the F91 is equipped with a large 6. 8″ LCD with 1,080 x 2,460 px resolution (20:9). A punch hole holds the 16 MP selfie camera, which can do face unlock, there is also a fingerprint reader mounted on the side.

The main camera on the rear is based on the 48 MP Samsung GM1, a 1/2″ sensor with 0. 8 um pixels (1. 6 um with binning). Night mode supports multi-frame noise reduction. Also on the back is a 115deg ultra wide-angle camera with a 5 MP sensor, plus a 2 MP macro cam and a 2 MP depth sensor.

The F91 is powered by a 5,000 mAh battery, which will last 3 days of regular use, according to he company. It supports 18W fast charging as well as 10W wireless charging. A charger is included in the box, but we’ll get to that.

The phone supports the following 5G bands: n2, n5, n25, n41, n66, n71 and n77. The phone will be compatible with T-Mobile, Metro PCS and other carriers, however, it is not compatible with AT&T, Verizon or Sprint. It does support NFC for mobile payments and other such services.

Finally, the retail package – it’s like something out of 2010 and we mean that in a good way. The package includes a USB-C cable and charger as well as a headset, protective glass, and a case. These are the only accessories that you can use to charge your phone wirelessly.

The BLU F91 5G is available on Amazon in the US. As we mentioned earlier, the current price is $200, but that is set to go up to $300 after the initial sale. Amazon allows you to trade in an old device and get an Amazon Gift Card, so you can knock the price even lower.

Source

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is out with another iPhone 14 prediction and this time it’s about the selfie camera. All four new iPhones coming later this year will boast autofocus front-facing cameras with an f/1.9 aperture. This would be a major upgrade over past iPhones which have persistently stuck with fixed focus selfie shooters and f/2.2 apertures for a while now.

Photos, video calling and live-streaming apps will all benefit and the wider aperture will allow the sensors to capture more light which should result in better daytime and low light shots. The addition of autofocus will allow for better subject tracking and improved depth of field in stills and videos especially when it comes to Portrait mode. We don’t get any clues on the imaging sensor size and resolution but the addition of AF will surely bring a better selfie experience.

Source (tweet)

Realme introduced the Q5i earlier this week, and now it adds two more family members were announced – Realme Q5 and Realme Q5 Pro.

The Realme Q5 has a 6. 6″ LCD with 120Hz refresh rate and 1080p resolution. There’s a punch hole in the top left corner for the 16MP f/2. 1 selfie camera.

There are three more cameras on the back. The alignment is the same as the Realme 9 Pro (as is the rest of the body), but the sensors behind the lenses are different. We have a 50MP main shooter, a 2MP macro camera and a 2MP depth shooter.

Realme Q5

The Snapdragon 695 5G and the 5,000 mAh battery are also borrowed from the 9 Pro, as well as the side-mounted fingerprint scanner. The Realme Q5 offers speedier 60W SuperDart charging, though.

The phone will launch with Android 12 and Realme UI 3.0. It is currently available for pre-order in China in three colors – Silver, Gold, and Black, with sales scheduled to begin on April 27. Prices are CNY1,399 ($220) for the 6/128 GB version, CNY1,599 ($250) for 8/128 GB, and CNY1,799 ($280) for 8/256 GB.

The Realme Q5 Pro borrows the display, battery capacity and overall design from the Realme GT2.

The 6. 62″ AMOLED with 120Hz refresh rate has a fingerprint scanner underneath and a 16MP selfie camera in the upper left corner.

Around the back is a 64MP main camera, alongside 8MP ultrawide snapper and a 2MP macro shooter. The chipset here is the relatively old, but still capable Snapdragon 870.

Realme Q5 Pro

The significant change Realme implemented in the Q5 Pro is 80W fast charging for the 5,000 mAh battery. This is among the fastest in the company’s portfolio, trailing only behind the revolutionary GT Neo3.

There is a Black color option with a 6/128 GB memory that costs CNY1,899 ($300). There are Yellow and White variants with a checkered-flag design for CNY2,099 ($325) or CNY2,299 ($360), as they only come in 8/128 GB and the 8/256 GB options.

Realme also offers a limited edition retail box branded with characters from the Time Agent anime. It includes a Yellow 8/128 GB phone, a protective case, a Realmeow keychain, some stickers and collecting cards. The price of the whole package is CNY2,299 ($360).

Source 1 * Source 2 (both in Chinese)