Xiaomi Mi 11 now official, carries studio-grade camera features

Global technology leader Xiaomi today announced the global release of Mi 11, the latest flagship in its popular Mi smartphone lineup. A truly premium device, Mi 11 debuts with some groundbreaking improvements over its predecessor, including a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset, 108MP triple rear camera, cinematic audio, and 50W wireless charging.

The ultimate pocket-sized movie studio, Mi 11 turns any novice photo and video enthusiast into a film director with its triple rear camera setup. Boasting the world’s highest resolution 108MP wide-angle camera sensor for its primary shooter, Mi 11 captures crystal-clear images with dazzling detail comparable only to that of professional-grade DSLR or mirrorless cameras.

A 13MP ultra-wide-angle camera and 5MP telemacro lens round out the rear camera setup, offering impressive landscape and detail shots with brilliant bokeh. On the front, a 20MP punch-hole front camera minimizes bezels on the home screen while still ensuring users look their best when snapping a selfie or video chatting with friends.

Building on Xiaomi’s existing technology, Mi 11 touts remarkable new features for photography and videography. Improved night mode capabilities offer photo night mode on not one, not two, but three of its cameras: primary, ultra-wide, and front. Mi 11’s cutting-edge video night mode technology completely redefines industry standards with its RAW-level noise reduction for brighter night shooting.

Six one-click AI cinema features make artsy shooting a breeze, from Parallel World – which duplicates and inverts your scene to give the appearance of a mirrored world – to Freeze Frame Video – which freezes and clones video frames to create the illusion that parts of your video are frozen in time. Real film buffs will appreciate the Magic Zoom mode, creating an illusion of the camera simultaneously zooming in and out of the scene, a trick originally popularized through thriller films.

Shaking up industry standards even further, Mi 11 now offers studio-level shooting control with its HDR10+ recording and new Pro Time-lapse mode, capable of adjusting shutter speed, ISO, aperture and EV to handle even the most challenging lighting situations. Studio-level control also extends to editing with advanced AI features, including AI Erase 2.0 which allows users to remove unwanted objects or lines from images with one simple click.

See and hear every detail with striking 120Hz 6.81’’ AMOLED DotDisplay and SOUND BY Harman Kardon

Mi 11 offers one of the best screens on the market that has received an A+ rating as well as the best display award from DisplayMate, the world’s leading professional display review institution. Featuring a premium 120Hz 6.81” AMOLED DotDisplay, Mi 11 is as impressive to look at as it is to use. Xiaomi’s most advanced display shines with its WQHD+ ultra-high-resolution, and 10-bit color technology, allowing for breathtaking clarity and smooth color transitions. Simplicity meets convenience with its Super Resolution technology, which upgrades low-resolution videos to WQHD+ quality without the worry of increased data consumption.

Boasting a 480Hz touch sampling rate and in-screen fingerprint sensor, Mi 11 allows users to smoothly and swiftly unlock their device without intrusive notches or bezels blocking the display. Along with its sleek lightweight body and timeless look, Mi 11 offers a comfortable swiping experience and in-hand feel with its quad-curved smooth edges and rear glass finishing.

Touting Harmon Kardon professionally tuned dual speakers, Mi 11 delivers supreme cinematic audio and its Corning Gorilla Glass Victus safeguards against costly damage from falls and drops. Mi 11 embraces an advanced dual anti-glare frosted finish that catches light, not fingerprints, and will be available in two color variants: Midnight Grey and Horizon Blue.

Stay one step ahead with the world’s most advanced performance

Mi 11 was the first phone to feature the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888, redefining flagship performance with the world’s most advanced mobile platform. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 completely redefines premium processing standards with its Adreno 660 GPU, 6th generation Qualcomm AI engine and X60 modem – blending AI technology with lightning fast 5G connectivity.

Featuring cutting-edge 5nm process technology, Mi 11 is faster, more powerful and more efficient than its predecessor. The device not only supports 2K/120fps/HDR gaming, but also sports an octa-core design, and ultra-large core Arm Cortex-X1 which ramps up performance dramatically. All that while its 3,200MHz LPDDR5 ensures incredible data transfer speed that has increased from 5,500Mbps to 6,400Mbps.

Equipped with the latest LiquidCool heat dissipation system, the device effortlessly deals with extreme gaming and other high-capacity operations while staying cool. At the same time, its 4600mAh, the staggering triple combination of 55W wired, 50W wireless and 10W reverse charging and the compact but powerful 55W GaN charger included in the box, ensure that Mi 11 stays powered up for any adventure life throws your way.

Xiaomi has also prepared a big surprise to all the gaming fans out there. The launch of Mi 11 marks the start of Xiaomi’s collaboration with the most popular mobile game of the year 2020, Genshin Impact. Mi 11 offers great Genshin performance, and beginning with Mi 11, Xiaomi will be working with the game producer MiHoYo to offer users a better and smoother gaming experience through deep strategic collaboration. Stay tuned for more details!

Smoothest MIUI yet – Introducing MIUI 12.5

MIUI 12.5 is an intermediate update based on MIUI 12 with a strong focus on system optimizations. After a complete revamp of the system UI, its CPU usage was reduced by up to 22% while power consumption – by up to 15%, ensuring frictionless performance and graphics.

This is most visible in screen gestures that will now be smoother than ever. In previous systems, gestures and other tasks were rendered on a single thread resulting in a queue of tasks competing for CPU usage. Naturally, under this scenario, an overload of tasks could cause lags. However, in MIUI 12.5, gestures received a dedicated thread, making sure that no other tasks will interfere with them, and guaranteeing instant response.

Another highlight of MIUI 12.5 is uninstallable system apps. The vast majority of apps in the new system can be uninstalled, while a small number of apps that are engraved in the system core can be hidden.

The first batch of devices will start receiving the MIUI 12.5 update in Q2, 2021, it will include: Mi 10T, Mi 10T Pro, Mi 10, Mi 10 Pro, Mi 11. The second wave will include 11 more Xiaomi devices. The release schedule for other devices will be gradually published on MIUI.com.

Mi 11 comes in two storage variants: 8GB+128GB and 8GB+256GB with enhanced LPDDR5 3200MHz RAM + UFS 3.1 storage. Mi 11 will be available for purchase via Xiaomi’s official sales channels as early as February. Local availability and pricing will be announced soon.

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Huawei MatePad: Top productivity and entertainment apps

08/16/2020

We recently showed you the capabilities of the Huawei MatePad through our detailed review. And if you’re just like us who prefer having a device for productivity even when you’re not in front of your computer, the 10.4-inch tablet really delivers on this aspect.

So after an extended period of using it, we round up the top apps that we’ve been using regularly when it comes to productivity, entertainment, and even for drawing using the Huawei M-Pencil. These are available both on Huawei AppGallery or through the Petal Search widget for faster app searches.

Top Productivity/Utility Apps

Evernote

Evernote has been around for years and has proven itself to be one of the best, most versatile note-taking apps there is. You can create notebooks to organize your notes and these can be labeled, tagged, or sorted so that everything is easy to find. It even has collaboration tools so notes or notebooks can be shared among colleagues and team members so they can edit and add to existing notes.

MS Office

With Microsoft Office programs so widely used, the app becomes a welcome tool in dealing with different types of documents. You open, edit, and create powerpoints, word documents, and even spreadsheets all from this app. And using it on a tablet gives you a lot more screen to work with which makes it even easier to use.

Forest

This app isn’t your ordinary productivity app. It shakes things up by incorporating a reward system so you focus more on your work and spend less time on your device procrastinating. Basically, you earn points when you put your phone or tablet away and accomplish your tasks one by one.

The accumulated points, in return, can be used to plant trees (hence the app’s name). So you’re not only making your boss happy by finishing your work on time, you’re technically making Mother Nature happy as well by being able to contribute to planting trees. As of the time of writing this article, there have been over 845,000 trees planted through the app. Win!

Top Entertainment Apps

As mentioned earlier, the MatePad’s 10.4-inch display gives its users ample screen real estate for productivity. Together with the tablet’s four-piece speaker system, it also plays well for entertainment purposes. Consuming content simply feels more immersive wherever you are.

Netflix

By now, we’re sure you’re already familiar with Netflix. For streaming your favorite TV shows and movies, Netflix offers a wide range of titles — both the classic ones and even new releases. Of course, you have to be subscribed to fully enjoy its services.

Do take note, though, that the Huawei MatePad doesn’t come with Widevine L1 certification so playback resolution for Netflix is maxed out at 480p. Because of this, no high-definition content is available but 480p isn’t so bad when you just want to pass the time watching a couple of episodes from your favorite TV show online.

Viu

Viu caters more to the Asian side of content. Here, you can find the latest Korean dramas and variety shows, Japanese dramas and animation, and Chinese/Taiwanese dramas. Some titles require a subscription to get access to, but it’s generally a mix of free and paid content. For free titles, you can even download them to your device and watch them anytime you want.

Spotify

When it comes to online music streaming, Spotify always comes to mind. Just like Viu, you can opt to use its free service (with limitations, of course) or go premium to unlock all its features including selective queuing of tracks, no ads in between songs, and a lot more.

During downtimes, while doing some tasks on the MatePad, we just let Spotify play in the background and it worked well with its quad-speakers blasting decent volume and quality.

Alto’s Odyssey

If you want entertainment that’s more interactive, you can always check out available games on the AppGallery. But a personal favorite of Vikka on the MatePad is Alto’s Odyssey which is a follow-up title to Alto’s Adventure.

It’s basically a runner style game with eye-candy graphics and a beautiful soundtrack that just makes you play the game for extended hours of time. It’s a really fun game perfect for taking breaks from working. Apart from its normal gaming, you can opt to switch it to its Zen Mode that removes all the competitive aspect of the game like scoring, coins, and power-ups, and just lets you travel peacefully through different immersive environments.

Top Drawing Apps

Pairing the MatePad with the Huawei M-Pencil unlocks a whole new world of features. The pressure sensitivity will give artists the freedom to create realistic strokes. Combined with the MatePad’s anti-fingerprint screen, you won’t have to worry about dirtying your screen when spending long hours creating. So whether you’re taking down notes or creating your next masterpiece, these apps are all great choices.

Bamboo Paper

When you just feel like doing a quick doodle or taking down notes, Bamboo Paper is one of the best apps to whip out. It’s a no-fuss drawing app that provides just enough tools to keep it from being intimidating. It makes the use of virtual notebooks to help organize your sketches or notes. You can even choose the color of the notebook cover as well as the type of paper you want it to have. All in all, it’s a great app that’s able to give you just a little bit more than the essential drawing tools without being too overwhelming.

ArtFlow

ArtFlow is probably one of the most popular drawing apps on the market. And it’s easy to see why. There’s a whole lot of customization options and very in-depth settings that make it the perfect tool for the artist on-the-go.

The app is capable of handling large canvases and provides access to up to 50 layers. It works great with the M-Pencil as it does support pressure sensitivity. There are also a ton of brushes to choose from and you can even export your project as a Photoshop document so you can work on your computer.

The only thing about ArtFlow is that a lot of the great features are paid features. As a free app, it’s still able to provide a lot more tools than most but it’s definitely something to consider investing in if you really want an in-depth drawing app.

Sketchbook

Having been developed by Autodesk, you know Sketchbook will have a lot to offer. For those who don’t know, Autodesk is the company behind the widely popular drawing program, AutoCAD, and industry-standard 3D animation software, Maya.

Initially a paid app, Autodesk made it completely free to use in 2018 so all the paid features found in ArtFlow, like multiple layers, are easily accessible. There are also a ton of brushes and textures to choose from and most, if not all, are customizable.

Bonus

Phone Clone

Now, if you already have existing apps on your phone that you want your MatePad to have. You can actually transfer these in an instant with Phone Clone.

It’s an incredibly easy and useful tool for those who are happy with the set of apps they have on another device and want a no-fuss way to transfer them to the MatePad. You can use Phone Clone to connect two devices and transfer or migrate information such as apps, photos, music, call logs, and even messages. It can even transfer your paid apps to your new device so you won’t have to worry about downloading the purchased app and reconnecting your account again.

To see more performance and drawing on the tablet, watch our video review below:

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