Xiaomi Redmi 4 Pro unveiled in China: FHD display, Snapdragon 625, and 4100mAh battery for $135

Xiaomi has unveiled the latest in its entry-level Redmi series, the Redmi 4, in China. The phone will be offered in three variants — a base model Redmi 4A, the standard Redmi 4, and a version called the Redmi 4 Pro with double the storage and a Full HD display.

All three models in the Redmi 4 series feature a metallic chassis, which gives you an idea as to how far budget phones have come in recent times. The back looks identical to what we’ve seen with the Redmi Note 3, and the specs on offer reveal similarities with the Redmi Note series.

Let’s kick things off with the Redmi 4A. The phone offers a 5-inch 720p display, Snapdragon 425, 2GB of RAM, 16GB storage, microSD slot, 13MP camera, 5MP front shooter, and a 3120mAh battery. The Redmi 4A will be sold in gold and rose gold color options.

The Redmi 4 and Redmi 4 Pro feature a fingerprint sensor at the back, and 2.5D curved glass at the front. With the Redmi 4, you get a 5-inch 720p display, Snapdragon 430, 2GB of RAM, 16GB storage, microSD slot, 13MP camera, 5MP front camera, and a 4100mAh battery. The phone will be available in gold, silver, or dark gray.

Finally, the Redmi 4 Pro is the most interesting phone in the series, offering a 5-inch Full HD display, Snapdragon 625, 3GB of RAM, and 32GB storage. Everything else is similar to that of the Redmi 4, including the color options. All three phones run MIUI 8 atop Android 6.0 Marshmallow.

And now for the pricing. The Redmi 4A will retail for ¥499 ($74) starting November 11, the Redmi 4 will cost ¥699 ($104) and will go on sale from November 7, and the Redmi 4 Pro will be available for ¥899 ($134) from November 7.

iPhone SE Unlikely to Receive Refresh in Early 2017

Apple will not refresh the iPhone SE in the first half of 2017, according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. The lack of refresh comes as Apple attempts to maintain high margins on its high-end iPhone models, Kuo said in a new research note.

Kuo forecasts that total shipment volume of iPhones will decline in the first half of 2017 due to tepid demand in China, slow shipment volume of 4.7-inch iPhones and the lack of an iPhone SE refresh in the second quarter of the year. Kuo argues that shipment volume came in higher in the first half of 2016 due to “upbeat demand for the iPhone SE.”

Instead, Kuo believes Apple will exert pressure on its iPhone component makers to drop prices in an effort to maintain its margins. He expects suppliers to begin price reductions on components in either November or December of this year.

However, Kuo notes that not all suppliers will cut prices. Most iPhone component makers, like those that make the device’s panels, have weak bargaining positions with Apple due to fierce competition amongst suppliers. Some suppliers, like Samsung, are the main supplier of certain components for iPhones and have stronger bargaining positions than Apple. Kuo believes Samsung may even raise its prices. And finally, Kuo says there are a few suppliers like TSMC that are unlikely to be affected by Apple’s attempt to maintain its margins.

Overall, Kuo forecasts that iPhone shipment volume will drop year-over-year in the second quarter of 2017, sitting between 35 to 40 million, less than last year’s 40.4 million in the second quarter of 2016.

Apple introduced the iPhone SE in March 2016, packing in many of the iPhone 6s’ features and component into a 4-inch frame similar to that of the iPhone 5s. It’s unclear what kind of upgrade schedule Apple will adopt for the device, but it’s internals are powerful enough to remain a capable phone for a couple of years.

Related Roundup: iPhone SE
Tag: Ming-Chi Kuo
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ESA releases first color photos of the EXOMARS crash site

The ESA’s EXOMARS Schiaparelli lander crashed into the Red Planet’s crust at more than 300 kph on October 19th, marking not only the end of its mission but also the surface itself. NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spotted the impact site quickly afterward but it wasn’t until this week that its orbit brought the MRO back around. Using its High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera, the MRO snapped the shot you see above.

It’s the first color photograph retrieved from the Schiaparelli crash site. It appears to confirm that the bright spots around the central impact are indeed fragments of the landing craft. The image also suggests that the lander’s parachute, which landed nearly a mile away, has shifted its position since the last flyover thanks to the Martian winds.

The ESA estimates that its investigation should be concluded by the end of November. The other half of the EXOMARS mission, the Trace Gas Orbiter, will continue its mission until at least 2022. Despite this setback, the ESA plans to launch another mission to Mars in 2020, working in conjunction with Russia’s space agency.

Source: Space

85% of U.S. Note 7s have been returned, battery-limiting update arriving for the stragglers

No, seriously, return your Note 7 already.

Now multiple weeks removed from the Galaxy Note 7s final recall and discontinuation, Samsung says that 85% of all Note 7s in the U.S. have been returned to the company. That’s a great return rate for a phone that sold millions of units, but that still leaves tens of thousands of unsafe Note 7s out in the wild today — to combat it, Samsung is finally issuing a software update to remaining phones that keeps them for being charged beyond 60%.

If that sounds familiar, that’s because Samsung has already issued the same update elsewhere in the world — most recently in Europe starting October 25 — to try and spur Note 7 owners who have kept their phone to return it. It’s not so much that only charging the phone to 60% makes it safer, but the fact that nobody would want to use their high-end phone with just more than half its usual battery life. The update will also hit users with notifications to return their phone every time they turn their screen on.

In a statement provided to Android Central, Samsung claims that a “majority” of Note 7 returns have opted to receive a replacements Samsung phone instead of a refund, which isn’t quite as cavalier as previous statements claiming high rates of like-for-like Samsung swaps surrounding the first recall. It’s not surprising that following a second full-scale recall even the most dedicated of Samsung fanes may have waned in their support and chose to put their refund toward a different company’s phone.

The full statement from Samsung:

As of today, nearly 85 percent of all recalled Galaxy Note7 devices have been replaced through the U.S. Note7 Refund and Exchange Program, with the majority of the participants opting to receive another Samsung smartphone.

We remain focused on collecting the outstanding Galaxy Note7 phones in the market. To further drive participation, we will be releasing a software update in the coming days that will limit the phone’s ability to charge beyond 60 percent, as well as issue a reminder pop-up notification every time a consumer charges, reboots or turns on the screen of their Note7 device.

Any Galaxy Note7 owner who has not yet participated in the U.S. Note7 Refund and Exchange Program should immediately power down their phone and contact their carrier or retailer today.

You have to wonder what took Samsung so long to issue this 60% battery limitation update, even with the understanding that its other initiatives have reclaimed 85% of units out there. This update really should have been issued sooner, and further actions such as stopping the phones from accessing cellular networks altogether would really put the screws to the remaining owners to return their phone. There’s no downside for Samsung at this point to doing everything in its power to reclaim remaining Note 7s.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7

• Galaxy Note 7 fires, recall and cancellation: Everything you need to know
• Survey results: Samsung users stay loyal after Note 7 recall
• Samsung Galaxy Note 7 review
• The latest Galaxy Note 7 news
• Join the Note 7 discussion in the forums!

Daily Briefing: Going out in a blaze of glory

This is the end, my beautiful friend.

The saga of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is nearly over, but it refuses to go away entirely. For the stragglers holding onto their devices, carriers are now taking extra steps to convince people to give in their units. T-Mobile is sending out an update today to cap maximum charging capacity at 60%, and regulators in New Zealand are going even further.

Speaking of going even further, today marks the final edition of the Daily Briefing. While we had a lot of fun putting it together each day, we’re returning to a more traditional way of reporting the news, as so many of you have requested in the answers to the State of Android Central survey we published yesterday.

Google Home is now available to buy!

We’ve got a review and a comparison, but today you can buy one for yourself. Google’s connected-speaker-slash-assistant is now available at Best Buy, Target and Walmart.

T-Mobile and AT&T are pushing out updates to cripple the Note 7

T-Mobile is pushing out another Note 7 update to bring its maximum charge to 60% and pushing more annoying notifications, further crippling the phone to incentivize customers to return them. AT&T is doing the same, saying that 85% of customers have returned their devices. More

New Zealand carriers are going even further

New Zealand’s telecom providers, in cooperation with the country’s regulator, have decided to block the IMEI numbers — essentially cutting off service — for the remaining few hundred people in the country still using Note 7s. More

Some Daydream View VR headsets are being delivered already

Ahead of schedule, some folks are already receiving their Daydream View VR orders. Unfortunately, (as noted by Android Police) those who received them are unable to use them right now, with a prompt saying “Daydream apps cannot run unless you update Google VR Services.” With the headsets originally set to become available on November 10, odds are we see the necessary updates in the coming days.

Moto M gets the full leak treatment

Motorola’s upcoming Moto X refresh, likely for the Chinese market, will sport a rear fingerprint sensor and a MediaTek processor. It’s being unveiled on November 8. More

Xiaomi’s Mi Mix gets torn down, phone parts found within

For its forward-facing aesthetic, Xiaomi’s bezel-free Mi Mix concept phone is very much just that — a phone. That has been confirmed after GizmoChina decided to perform a teardown of the device, revealing a fairly traditional internal layout — with a few neat tricks.

Alexa comes to a kitchen tablet

This is interesting. Though it was announced back in April, TCL has finally released Xess, its strangely-named kitchen tablet with a built-in handle and bundled IP camera. It also has Amazon’s Alexa built right in. TCL is the parent company of Alcatel, the smartphone maker, and is one of the bigger electronics names in China these days. Xess is available for $499 from Amazon. See at Amazon

Samsung has begun Android 7.0 beta testing for the Galaxy S7 edge

UK users, you are in luck. Samsung will soon begin testing its version of Android 7.0. Those who have the Galaxy Beta Program installed on a Galaxy S7 edge will be able to take Samsung’s version of Nougat for a test drive. It’s unclear if the beta will be extended to Galaxy S7 users, as well.

Thanks for following us on this brief Daily Briefing journey! We’re still going to bring you the news you love, just in a more traditionally per-article format. If you want to keep getting Daily Briefings, sign up for our newsletter and get one each morning in your Inbox!

Apple sale offers all USB-C adapters at discount, stock up now for new MacBook Pro

You need to buy around £226 worth of cables and adapters, if you want to use Apple’s new MacBook Pro.

When Apple announced its latest laptops at an event in late October, it revealed the new MacBook Pro dropped all legacy ports in favour of some Thunderbolt 3 ports. The new tech allows you to charge your laptop and other devices as well as hook up peripherals all through the same type of jack, but it also means you need USB-C-style adapters for all your existing devices in order to plug them into the new MacBook Pro. 

The move was criticised by many, but in a surprise to all, Apple has reduced its Apple Store prices on all USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 peripherals, as well as the prices on Apple’s USB-C adapters and cables, according to Engadget. This is a sale that will last from 27 October to 31 December.

Here’s the new Apple Store prices:

• USB-C to USB Adapter – (from $19) $9
• Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter – (from $49) $29
• USB-C to Lightning Cable (1m) – (from $25) $19
• USB-C to Lightning Cable (2m) – (from $35) $29
• USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter – (from $69) $49
• USB-C VGA Multiport Adapter – (from $69) $49
• SanDisk Extreme Pro SD UHS-II Card USB-C Reader – (from $49) $29
• All other third party USB-C peripherals – 25 per cent off

If you bought one of these adapters or peripherals shortly before the sale began, you can return it for a refund, The Verge reported. Oh, and Apple said its sale will not include Apple USB-C power adaptors or the 2m USB-C charge cable.

Facebook’s WhatsApp is testing a Snapchat Stories-like feature

Facebook is trying to go after Snapchat again.

The company is developing an ephemeral photo feature for WhatsApp, the popular messaging app it acquired a couple years ago for more than $19 billion. Remember, Facebook once tried to buy Snapchat, but the deal was rebuffed, and then Facebook launched a copycat app, called Slingshot, which failed to catch on. Oh, and Facebook tried to buy Snow, the “Asian Snapchat”, this summer.

And let’s not forget that Facebook-owned Instagram recently added a Story feature that’s a direct rip-off of Snapchat’s most popular feature. So, it’s not too surprising to learn that WhatsApp is testing a photo-narrative feature, called Status. Much like Snapchat Stories, Status lets you broadcast to followers your pics and videos via a narrative loop that has unlimited playback for 24 hours.

Mashable

It will even let you add doodles and captions, according to Mashable. The quiet project was discovered in WhatsApp’s latest public betas for iOS and Android. The feature is now live for beta testers and appears as though it will sit in the the tab menu between Chats and Calls.