LG Q4 2019 losses widens on equity ties, sluggish smartphone sales

LG Electronics has reported revenues of 16.06 trillion won (US$ 13.65 billion) for the fourth quarter that ended December 31, 2019, which is up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. It posted profits of 101.8 billion won (US$ 86.5 million), up 26.1% YoY, while net profit was down 953% YoY to 849.8 billion won (US$ 717 billion). This is due to losses in its equity ties with LG display, in which it has 37.9% stake and sluggish smartphone sales. LG Display is said to post more than 1 trillion won in losses in 2019, according to analysts, and we should know the exact figures when it posts the results on Friday. For the whole 2019 it posted revenues of 62.3 trillion won (US$ 53.0 billion) in 2019, reflecting strong demand for premium home appliances such as LG SIGNATURE and high-growth, category-creating products. It posted full-year operating profits of 2.44 trillion won (US$ 2.07 billion), down 10% compared to 2018 due to increased investments in marketing and future technologies. Mobile Communications sector reported a quarterly revenue of 1.32 trillion won (US$ 1.12 billion), down 13.15% QoQ and down 21.4 % YoY due to sluggish sales of mass-tier smartphones in North America. ...

Moto G Stylus with punch-hole display press render surfaces

Press render of a Motorola smartphone surfaced a few days back, now according to @evleaks the phone will be introduced as Moto G Stylus. This shows a punch-hole display, and is code-named 'sofia+' with model numbers XT2043, according to FCC certification. The Moto G8 and G8 Power are said to be codenamed 'sofia and 'sofiar', so they could have a similar design. The FCC site reveals a 4000mAh battery for the phone, and will likely come with USB Type-C with support for fast charging. It is said to come with 48MP quad rear camera arrangement. It is expected to run Android 10 out of the box, and there might be 25MP camera inside the punch-hole. The Moto G8, G8 Power and Moto G Stylus smartphones are expected to be introduced at the MWC next month. We should know more details about the phone in the coming weeks.  Source 1, 2

Facebook posts $7.4 billion profit, up 6.78% YoY in Q4 2019, MAUs up 8%

Facebook has reported a good year for 2019 as it released its Q4 2019 earnings report. The total earnings posted for this quarter was $21082 million which amounts to a YoY growth of about 24.64% from Q4 2018. The net income on the other hand, was reported at $7349 million which calculates to an increase of approx. 6.78% YoY. Coming to the user statistics, Facebook's Daily Active Users (DAU) was at 1.66 Billion on average during December 2019 that is a approx. 8.79% increase YoY. The Monthly Average Users at the end of December was reported 2.50 Billion which is an increase of approx. 7.67% YoY. When looking at users in Facebook entire product family that includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and/or WhatsApp, Daily Active People (DAP) was reported at $2.26 billion (11% increase YoY) and Monthly Active People (MAP) was reported at $2.89 billion (9% increase YoY). The Diluted Earnings Per Share (EPS) saw an increase of approx. 7.56% from $2.38 to $2.56. However, Operating Margins saw a decrease from 46% in Q4 2018 to 42% in Q4 2019. Headcounts as of December 31st, 2019 was reported at 44,942 that represents a growth of 26% YoY. Commenting on the Q4 earning report, Mark ...

Mi AirDots Pro 2 Review: A weird worthy successor!

Xiaomi introduced Mi AirDots Pro 2, the successor to premium true wireless earphones Mi AirDots Pro in China back in September along with Mi MIX Alpha. The Mi AirDots Pro 2 offers up to 14 hours of music playback, packs a 14.2 mm dynamic driver unit and supports environment noise cancellation, but are these worth a consideration? Read on our Mi AirDots Pro 2 review to find out. Box Contents Mi AirDots Pro 2 with charging capsule USB Type-C cable User guide We recently unboxed the Mi AirDots Pro 2, check out the unboxing and first impressions. Design and Build Quality Mi AirDots Pro 2 features a minimal clean design similar to other Xiaomi eco-system products but Mi AirDots Pro 2 looks more like Apple Airpods than the first-gen Mi AirDots Pro. Mi AirDots Pro 2 comes with a case which is made up of ABS plastic, due to which it is lightweight, with the case, the total weight of the package is about 50 grams. The charging case has a matte finish making it less prone to scratches. Compared to the first-gen Mi AirDots Pro, Xiaomi has improved the overall design, the charging capsule is now smaller, thinner and a lot easier to carry. It has a flat base ...

Fossil Hybrid HR with always-on read-out display, heart rate sensor, 2-week battery life launched in India starting at Rs. 14995

Fossil has launched Hybrid HR, the company's latest hybrid smartwatch in India, after it was introduced last year. This offers users the most important information at a glance, thanks to new power-efficient display while still enjoying the classic look and feel of a traditional watch with integrated mechanical hands. It also comes with heart rate tracking. Hybrid HR features call and text previews, heart rate and workout tracking, real-time weather and more and promises more than two weeks of battery life on a single charge. The smartwatch allows users to preview texts/emails, answer calls and even program the three push buttons to their own choice of shortcuts. Pairing via Bluetooth technology to the Fossil Smartwatches app allows users to view in-depth activity, set on-watch features, customize the watch face dial, filter incoming smartphone notifications, and more. All devices have limitless options for personalization including interchangeable straps in leather, silicone and stainless steel. Fossil Hybrid HR features and specifications Combines mechanical hands with a dynamic, full round read-out display to view incoming text messages and app alerts as well as contextual information such as weather updates, second time zone and more Displays wellness stats like heart rate, steps, calories and active minutes, also allowing ...

OPPO Smartwatch with flexible, curved screen teased in official image

OPPO VP Brian Shen has shared the first image of the OPPO's first smartwatch that shows a curved screen. This comes after a lot of rumors that said that the company has been working on a smartwatch, and it even confirmed at the INNO DAY last month that it plans to launch smart watches in Q1, 2020. OPPO VP said that the company has used a flexible screen that offers a curved design, and added that this could be the best-looking smartwatch this year. The image shows a gold casing which looks shiny, two buttons on the right side, and something that looks like a notification light on a button. There is also a microphone hole between the buttons, so it will likely feature option to take calls, and possibly a 5G version of the smartwatch as well for standalone calling feature. The image shows a silicone strap, but the watch should also come with leather strap options, similar to most smartwatches in the market. There are chances it might be introduced along with the OPPO Find X2 and Find X2 Pro sometime next month. We should know more details about the watch in the coming weeks. Source

Samsung’s 2019 profits down 52.8% YoY, mobile profits down 8.8% YoY

Samsung has reported its earnings for Q4 2019 and the whole of 2019 that ended December 31, 2019. In Q4 2019 the company has made operating profit of 7.16 trillion won, down 33.7% YoY. This is due to continued fall in memory chip prices and weakness in display panels. "Improving demand for memory used in servers and mobile products, as well as solid sales of flagship smartphones, helped ease the decline in overall earnings, said the company.  It has reported revenue of 59.88 trillion won, up 1.02% YoY from 59.27 trillion won last year. For the whole of 2019 it has posted operating profit of 27.77 trillion won, down 52.8% compared to 2018 on revenue of 230.40 trillion won, up 1.02% YoY from 243.77 trillion won in 2018. IM sector that includes Mobile Communications and Networks Businesses posted 24.95 trillion won consolidated revenue, up 6.98% YoY and 2.92 trillion won operating profit for the quarter, up 66.88%. For the whole of 2019 it has posted 9.27 trillion won operating profit, down 8.84% YoY on revenue of 107.27 trillion won, up 6.54% compared to 2018. Quarterly earnings improved significantly for the Mobile Business in annual terms, thanks to solid sales of flagship Galaxy ...

realme X and realme Pro series devices will get two Android updates

realme announced Android 10 update roadmap for its devices back in September, but it didn't mention anything about the older devices like realme C1, realme 2, realme U1. In the recent episode of #AskMadhav, the company’s CEO, Madhav Sheth said that the company will roll-out one Android update to all the smartphones, but didn't mention anything about the premium series of devices such as realme X2 Pro. In response to a user's query on Twitter, the company official Francis Wang said that the X series of devices will get 2 major Android updates, so realme X2 Pro, realme X2, realme XT, and realme X should receive Android 11 update in future. To recall, all these devices are scheduled to receive Android 10 based realme UI update by March 2020. That is saying one Major update at least, because we missed realme 1, c1 and u1. But it is not a common practise for every phone. X series will be definetly getting 2 Major update — Francis Wang (@FrancisRealme) January 28, 2020 Francis also said that the realme Pro series of devices will be receiving two major updates, which is great considering other smartphones priced similarly usually get just one Android update. We can assume ...

Apple iPhone SE 2 (iPhone 9?) with iPhone 8-like design, Touch ID surfaces [Update: New renders]

Update: New renders of the iPhone SE 2 / iPhone 9 have surfaced and the SE 2 is said to sport an LCD screen and this time around, the 3D touch is not said to make a return. Furthermore, it is said to be available in black, white, and red color combinations. The rest of the specifications are not known yet, but hopefully, more details will surface soon. Earlier: Back in 2016, Apple launched the compact iPhone SE with iPhone 5s-like design and while Apple shifted the design language starting with iPhone X, a lot of users have been waiting for a refresh to the iPhone SE. There were multiple reports that the iPhone SE 2 will launch in Q1 2020, and now the renders of the smartphone have surfaced along with a few key details. According to the renders, Apple iPhone SE 2 is said to flaunt a small 4.7-inch LCD display with no-notch and is said to measure 138.5 x 67.4 x 7.8 mm in size and 8.6mm including the rear camera bump, and just to compare, iPhone 8 measures 138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3 mm in size. While the form factor of the iPhone SE 2 is said to ...

Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 5G with S Pen, 10.5-inch WQXGA Super AMOLED display, dual rear cameras announced

Samsung has announced Galaxy Tab S6 5G, which is the 5G version of the Galaxy Tab S6 that was introduced last year. It is powered by a Octa-Core Snapdragon 855 SoC with Qualcomm X50 5G modem. Other specifications are similar including a 10.5-inch Super AMOLED WQXGA screen, quad-stereo speakers tuned by AKG by HARMAN, in-display fingerprint scanner, 8-megapixel primary camera along with a 5-megapixel 123-degree ultra-wide camera and an 8-megapixel front camera. It has a 5.7mm slim metal body and weighs 420g. Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 5G specifications 10.5-inch (2560×1600 pixel) WQXGA Super AMOLED display Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 7nm Mobile Platform with Adreno 640 GPU 6GB RAM, 128GB storage, expandable memory up to 1TB with microSD Android 10 with One UI 2 13MP rear camera, 5MP 123-degree ultra-wide secondary camera 8MP front-facing camera Optical In-display fingerprint scanner, Accelerometer, Gyro Sensor, Geomagnetic Sensor, Hall Sensor, RGB Light Sensor 4 speakers tuned by AKG, Dolby Atmos S Pen with Bluetooth, 0.35mAh battery Dimensions: 244.5 x 159.5 ×5.7mm; Weight: 420g 5G, WiFi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz/5GHz) MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 5, GPS + GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, USB Type-C, POGO pin 7,040mAh battery with Fast Charging The Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 5G comes in Mountain Gray color, is ...