Smartphones

Qualcomm launches the Snapdragon 870

Minor upgrade to the Snapdragon 865 series

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Qualcomm’s lineup is getting packed. Late last month, the company launched the Snapdragon 888 processor, potentially ending last year’s Snapdragon 865 series. Apparently, it’s not done with last year’s series yet. Today, Qualcomm launched the Snapdragon 870, a minor upgrade to the Snapdragon 865 and the Snapdragon 865 Plus.

Unlike the bombastic promise of the Snapdragon 888, the new Snapdragon 870 practically carries the same specs as the Snapdragon 865 series. However, it clocks in just a bit faster than last year’s series. While the Snapdragon 865 clocks in at only 2.84GHz, the new chipset clocks in at 3.2GHz. Meanwhile, the Snapdragon 865 Plus lags just a bit behind at 3.1GHz.

Given the identical specs, the Snapdragon 870 ekes out more life from last year’s processors. Though the Snapdragon 888 will certainly adorn this year’s top flagships, it will support flagship-tier smartphones that don’t want that extra oomph.

Unfortunately, Qualcomm’s lineup will surely get more confusing this year. Just remember: The Snapdragon 888 is for top-tier flagships (for now) and the Snapdragon 870 is for almost-top-tier flagships. Plus, since the company skipped quite a bit in the numbering system, Qualcomm can definitely develop more flagship-level processors between the Snapdragon 870 and the Snapdragon 888.

Soon after the announcement, Motorola confirms the first smartphone which will carry the new processor. The upcoming Edge S will launch on January 26.

SEE ALSO: Qualcomm acquires Nuvia and Apple’s ex-chief architect

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Honor is reportedly working on a 14000mAh battery

How much is too much?

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Nothing goes together more than a Chinese smartphone brand and the relentless pursuit for a bigger battery. For years, Chinese brands have engaged in a war for this particular component. Now, the latest salvo has been fired. Honor is reportedly working on a phone with a gigantic 14000mAh battery.

Today, the biggest battery capacity you can find on an Honor phone is 11000mAh. The Honor X80 Pro Max already offers a battery that can last you more than a single day. At this point, it’s certainly more than enough for our daily needs.

According to Digital Chat Station on Weibo, a smartphone brand is currently working on a 14000mAh battery. Though the leak does not explicitly pinpoint Honor, the emoji used (a wolf) is historically used to imply the Chinese brand in Weibo parlance.

A 14000mAh is just absurdly huge. With a battery larger than some powerbanks, battery anxiety becomes moot. It’s bordering on “can we bring this on a plane” territory.

As with all rumored features, the next question is when this battery will arrive on a consumer-ready device. Given how serious the battery wars are for the Chinese market, it’s only a matter of time.

SEE ALSO: HONOR continues APAC expansion, to launch 600 series in Taiwan

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Nothing Phone (4b) shows up online, spoils some specs

It’s a step below the Phone (4a) series.

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Yesterday, Nothing officially teased the Phone (4b), an all-new line positioned below the Phone (4a) series. At the time, the teaser revealed nothing but the design of the upcoming phone. However, ahead of its July 7 launch, the Phone (4b) suddenly appeared on Geekbench, spoiling a few of its mysterious specs.

According to the listing, the Phone (4b) will run the SM6650, more popularly known as the Snapdragon 6 Gen 4. It’s a modestly powered processor built for the budget to midrange segments of the performance spectrum. Having this processor does confirm that the phone belongs to the step below the Phone (4a), bringing affordability to a name other than CMF.

Besides the processor, the new phone will come with an Adreno 810 GPU and 8GB of RAM. Inside, it will ship with Android 16 out of the box, but this will likely be upgradeable to Android 17 later this year.

It’s already confirmed that the Phone (4b) will be quite the looker. The phone will slightly depart from the design philosophy of the Phone (4a) series. Though it will still have a sizable rear island, the camera setup will just be a small vertical strip on the top-left corner. Additionally, the lighting element typical of all Nothing phones will be a small horizontal strip on the bottom-right corner.

Thankfully, the wait for more specs won’t be long. Nothing has confirmed that the phone’s launch is set for July 7.

SEE ALSO: Nothing will launch the Phone (4b) next month

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TECNO EllaClaw is your next-gen Agentic AI

Smarter yet more practical

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Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

TECNO is giving its experimental AI assistant, EllaClaw, a major upgrade.

Still in its Beta stage, EllaClaw is evolving from a simple AI chatbot into a more proactive Agentic AI (not to confuse with AI Agent) that can manage your phone, learn your habits, and even interact with third-party apps on your behalf.

From chatbot to personal phone caretaker

TECNO says EllaClaw now goes beyond answering questions and can actively help optimize your smartphone.

Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

Powered by over 40 Smart Skills, the AI agent can perform tasks such as:

  • Cleaning up RAM and CPU resources to reduce lag
  • Identifying apps that consume excessive battery power
  • Optimizing background activity to cool down the device during heavy use
  • Monitoring mobile data consumption based on your usage habits

Importantly, major changes still require user approval, keeping people in control before any action is executed.

Learning your routines

EllaClaw is also gaining persistent memory capabilities, allowing it to remember user habits and preferences over time.

This enables more personalized features such as morning briefings, combining your calendar, weather, travel plans, and news updates in one.

There’s also Trip Preparation Assistance that can arrange transportation and set departure reminders. Moreover, context-aware reminders to stay connected with family members and loved ones.

The idea is to transform EllaClaw into a digital companion that proactively helps organize daily life.

Cross-app support

Perhaps the biggest leap forward is EllaClaw’s ability to work across different apps. With user permission, it can interact alongside shopping apps, transportation services, food delivery platforms, as well as smart home ecosystems.

Rather than operating invisibly in the background, TECNO says EllaClaw uses a visible, human-like interface that lets users see every action it takes which include:

  • Booking rides through a single voice or text command
  • Monitoring connected smart home devices
  • Acting as a shopping assistant that finds products inside e-commerce apps such as Lazada

The future of Ella?

TECNO emphasizes that EllaClaw remains an exploratory project undergoing internal testing and closed beta development.

The move is part of TECNO’s broader “Practical AI” strategy, which aims to make advanced AI features more useful and accessible, particularly for users in emerging markets.

While there’s no official release date yet, the company says more details about future availability and additional capabilities will be announced as its development continues even further.

Still, with the latest update, it offers a glimpse at where mobile AI is headed: less about asking questions and more about having an assistant that can proactively get things done for you.

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