News

Xiaomi vows to keep its profits low for its customers

Low profits = lower costs = happier customers

Published

April 28, 2018

Luigi Leonardo

Why are Chinese phones so cheap? While other brands share truistic corporate lingo, Xiaomi remains crystal clear as to why their phones are so affordable — they don’t want your money.

Rather, they don’t want all of it.

Just a few days ago, Xiaomi introduced the new Xiaomi Mi 6X during an exclusive event at Wuhan University. Besides the new phone, the company also revealed its promise to keep its overall net profit margin at just five percent.

Following the event, Xiaomi founder Lei Jun released a company-wide memo to all the company’s employees. The memo uncovers deeper details into Xiaomi’s five percent promise.

In the memo, Jun argues that most of consumer culture today focuses on maximizing profits. Often, brands would price their products with a huge markup. The conventional pricing strategy takes away the value from the consumer and puts it in the pockets of companies.

Instead, Xiaomi marks their phones near cost. Since their debut in the smartphone biz, Xiaomi’s phones have earned the reputation as a truly affordable phone. According to the company, this strategy brings the value back to where it belongs — the consumers.

Further, if the company’s profit exceeds their five percent promise, they will find a way to return the surplus back to the consumers.

Across the boards, Xiaomi has always fulfilled this promise. Their continued reputation as the most bang-for-buck Chinese smartphone tells the tale for them.

As you might assume, the Chinese company does this through massive cost-cutting. However, it’s not as you might think.

Instead of short-changing their consumers with inferior products, Xiaomi reduces its costs on marketing, advertising, and distribution.

You’ve probably noticed that the company is not as aggressive as other brands. Xiaomi doesn’t dress its branding with NBA athletes, local superstars, or pestering salespeople. Instead, they rely heavily on word of mouth to get their phones across.

Additionally, Xiaomi rarely opens their own brick-and-mortar stores. In fact, their rare store expansion efforts began only recently.

Using their cost-cutting methods, Xiaomi manages to keep their products and pricing in tip-top shape. The company realizes that better products equal happier customers and more sales. Even until now, consumers are still voting yes with their wallets.

Whether you believe in Xiaomi’s corporate promises is irrelevant. Xiaomi remains one of the top dogs in the value for money department.

News

Lenovo introduces the immersive Referee View for the World Cup

Keep up with the action.

Published

June 17, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

The traditional way of watching a football match is a wide view of the pitch. Given how quick action can get, this is still the quintessential way to watch the sport. But what if you can watch from a different angle? This World Cup season, Lenovo introduced Referee View, an AI-powered feed that brings the action right to your screen.

As the name suggests, the new view will take you to the point of view of a referee during a match. Since referees have the best view of the action, your World Cup experience won’t get as immersive as this.

Plus, with Referee View AI Stabilizer, the view reduces jitter by up to 50 percent so the image stays steady even while on the move. Lenovo says that it even caught goal from Mexico’s Julian Quinones, the very first goal of the World Cup this year.

With Lenovo as the technology partner of the FIFA World Cup 2026, fans can get in the action with every match using Referee View.

News

TECNO’s SPARK 50 Pro is the latest budget smartphone battery beast

Just two months after the SPARK 50 5G

Published

June 16, 2026

Vincenz

One after another, TECNO launches the SPARK 50 Pro with a beastly battery within. That’s just days after the grand launch of the POVA 8 5G in India.

Built to last

The icing of the cake has got to be the battery of the SPARK 50 Pro. However, the battery capacity will differ depending on where you live.

There’s a 5600mAh dual-cell version and a slightly larger single-cell model hitting the 6000mAh mark.

Still, despite that battery capacity, it measures just 7.8mm thin.

If you’re worried about battery longevity, the SPARK 50 Pro can still last more than 80% of their original battery capacity — even after 1900+ charging cycles in six years.

Charging support is faster at 60W, better than what TECNO’s 45W speeds in their most recent smartphones.

Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

Beneath that battery lies MediaTek’s Helio G100 Ultimate SoC. When it comes to memory, it allows up to 24GB extended thanks to Memory Fusion 4.0.

Up front, there’s a 6.78-inch 120Hz display paired with DTS-supported dual stereo speakers.

Finally, the SPARK 50 Pro also boasts SGS Five-Star durability certification alongside IP68 and IP69 dust and water resistance — making it one of the budget-friendly devices to have such durability rating.

More than meets the eye

Unlike the base SPARK 50 5G, the SPARK 50 Pro is powered by a 50MP Sony LYTIA 600 (or LYT-600) main camera. The said sensor promises improved low-light performance compared to typical cameras in its category.

The company is also bringing its TECNO’s very-own FlashSnap capabilities found in higher CAMON series. This feature offers shutter speeds of up to 1/10,000 of a second to better capture fast-moving subjects like pets, sports, or action shots.

Speaking of, TECNO’s Universal Tone technology also returns, aiming to produce more natural-looking skin tones across different environments.

Several AI-powered editing tools are included as well. That includes AI Eraser 2.0 and AI Extender for photos, AI Noise Cancellation for clearer calls, as well as AI Health Assistant. Even Ella as your AI Assistant was not left behind.

For off the grid communication, FreeLink 2.0 exists when needed.

Pricing and Availability

The TECNO SPARK 50 Pro comes in five color choices: Ink Black, Titanium Grey, Midnight Blue, Dynamic Orange, and Cloud White.

TECNO has yet to announce official pricing and regional availability.

News

Nothing is coming to over 500 Best Buy stores in the United States

Also available online

Published

June 15, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

As the newest kid on the block, Nothing hasn’t made it terribly easy to grab one of their phones. But that’s all part of the allure. After all, fashion shouldn’t be easy.

Thankfully, all that difficulty isn’t forever. Nothing, together with all its phones and accessories, are coming to over 500 Best Buys across the United States.

It’s been a long time coming. Last year, Nothing expanded first in Canada as part of its push to spread across the North American continent. Now, after all the wait, the brand is finally available in one of the other North American country’s biggest retailers for tech.

From coast to coast, fans of the fashionable brand can grab the Phone (4a) Pro, the Headphone (a), the Phone (3), and the Ear (3) at their nearest Best Buy branch. Alternatively, they can also order any of these devices online through BestBuy.com.

It’s been a quiet year for Nothing. Though the brand successfully launched the Phone (4a) Pro series earlier this year, it has no plans to launch a follow-up to last year’s Phone (3) yet, leaving the flagship market hanging by another year. That said, there’s still much to love about the brand this year, from its heavily notable designs to its capable specs.