Vivo pioneered features and trends last year that other brands are now adapting on phones across different price points, but it’s been a while since Vivo last announced a flagship smartphone.

If images and sketches popping up on Weibo are any indication, however, Vivo seems to be gearing up for what could be the Vivo NEX 3. Here’s everything we know so far about Vivo’s upcoming release:

5G 

The latest image posted by NEX product manager Li Xiang points to a 5G-ready device, which, shouldn’t be a surprise for a flagship from Vivo. The company has been developing a 5G phone since last year.

Its sub-brand iQOO already showcased a 5G-enabled model of its gaming device at MWC Shanghai this year.

Headphone jack

The Vivo NEX Dual Display Edition came with a 3.5mm audio jack

Li Xiang also confirmed in a separate leak that the NEX 3 will still have a fan-favorite feature: a 3.5mm headphone jack. Both the original Vivo NEX and Vivo NEX Dual Display Edition retained the audio port. This makes its upcoming flagship one of the few remaining in the market to have the feature.

Circular camera

The rear cameras will maintain the circular shape first seen on the NEX Dual Display Edition. The design is inspired by a traditional wristwatch as seen in a sketch Li Xiang shared on Weibo. The sketch also shows that the upcoming smartphone will sport three cameras, instead of two.

No notch

The same sketch also shows a seamless display which could mean one of two things: the Vivo NEX 3 will have a pop-up selfie camera like the original NEX, or it’ll be the first retail smartphone to have an underscreen camera — a technology its sister company first teased at MWC Shanghai. If Vivo decides to use the latter, more than the selfies, what we’re curious to see is its implementation of face unlock, which is something Vivo ditched with the first NEX phone.

Waterfall screen

Lastly, the NEX 3 will seem to adapt another design feature OPPO teased just last month — an ultra-curved display inspired by waterfalls. This comes as no surprise as Vivo Design Director Kyle Hsiao shared that the idea behind the NEX line is to solve the notch problem, and come up with an all-display smartphone.

Super fast charging

Vivo Super FlashCharge 120W | GadgetMatch

Hsiao’s vision for the NEX line to always offer something different — something that breaks barriers. 5G will drain any smartphone’s battery faster than what we’re used to. Announced at MWC Shanghai 2019, Vivo’s Super FlashCharge 120W promises charge a large 4000 mAh battery from zero to 50 percent in just five minutes. Based on the company’s track record, features they first tease on prototype devices land on retail units immediately after, so the Vivo NEX 3 will likely come with this feature once it becomes available.

Availability

At MWC Shanghai 2019, Vivo also hinted that its first 5G phone will be available in the third quarter of 2019. While they didn’t specify the model of the smartphone then, it’s safe to assume that the first 5G phone under its belt would come from the NEX line.

What feature do you want to see on the Vivo NEX 3? Let us know in the comments section below.

Source: GSMArena

WATCH: Vivo NEX 2 Preview

Samsung’s giving fans of Iron Man and Spider-Man more reasons to want the Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10+. Evan Blass, more commonly known as @evleaks, revealed the images on his Twitter account.

Image from @evleaks

Officially called the Galaxy Friends Marvel Smart Cover, these cases more than just change the exterior of your phone. When slapped on, your entire theme changes to the superhero of your choice. Available for the Note 10 and Note 10+ are Iron Man, Spider-Man, Captain America, and Deadpool.

He even shared wallpapers for the Iron Man and Spider-Man cases. Both which are pretty much the same ones on the Galaxy S10s.

Image from @evleaks

These cases and the tech behind it was first introduced alongside the Samsung Galaxy S10 series. They were also applied to the cases of the BLACKPINK edition both for the Samsung Galaxy A70 and Galaxy A80.

There’s no official word yet from Samsung on when these cases will hit the market but we’re crossing our fingers that it happens soon!

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note+

The Samsung Galaxy Note and Note 10+ will be powered by the company’s Exynos 9825 processor. There are also plenty of improvements. A lot of which are on the Galaxy Note’s staple — the S Pen. It now features Air Actions that lets you control your device without holding it and just through the S Pen. Video makers will also love all the upgrades and features put into capturing, editing, and sharing video. Lastly, it’s now even easier to go from desktop to mobile and vice versa with Samsung Dex.

Watch our Hands-On video to see everything that this new flagship has to offer.

SEE ALSO: Note 10 US Pricing | Galaxy Watch Active 2 | Galaxy Tab S6 | Galaxy Book S

OPPO has confirmed it’ll be launching the Reno 2 on August 28 in India. For now, the brand has revealed it’ll have a quad-camera setup on the rear and one of the lenses will be able to deliver 20x optical zoom.

The teaser also confirmed the phone will sport a Sharkfin pop-up camera, just like the first generation Reno. It swings up from one side and looks a lot more attractive than a small square pop-up module.

Although the launch is scheduled for India, we’re confident the phone will be available in other international markets soon.

The OPPO Reno 10x Zoom Edition, on the other hand, has a triple rear camera setup at the back, while the base variant only houses a dual rear camera setup. Hence, the Reno 2 will be quite an upgrade if the camera is your priority.

It’s unclear whether the Reno 2’s 20x zoom will be hybrid, digital, or periscope, functionality-wise. The previous offering came with a 6x periscope camera, 10x hybrid zoom, and 60x digital zoom.

Introducing #OPPOReno2 #Quadcam with #20xZoom. Coming first to India on 28.08.2019 pic.twitter.com/ySwRdeoXLa

— OPPO India (@oppomobileindia) August 16, 2019

A similar setup is also available on Huawei’s P30 Pro, but optical zoom is limited to 5x. With the new Reno-series, OPPO intends to grab the premium market. We expect the brand to release multiple variants of the phone to improve reach across every price bracket.

For the affordable price bracket, OPPO’s sister company Realme has been doing exceptionally well in developing markets. The Chinese-brand has been launching upper mid-range phones in India for quite some time but hasn’t been able to make a significant mark yet.