Latest news with #midranger
GSM Arena
2 days ago
- GSM Arena
vivo V60 hands-on
Sagar, 15 August 2025 vivo introduced the vivo V60 a few days ago at an event in New Delhi, India, as a successor to the vivo V50 that was unveiled in February. We got our hands on one, so let's see what vivo's latest mid-ranger has to offer. The vivo V60's retail box looks similar to the V50's, and it comes with a SIM ejector tool, some documents, a charging cable, a power adapter, and a black-colored protective case. vivo V50 128GB 8GB RAM ₹ 32,999 ₹ 32,999 256GB 8GB RAM ₹ 34,999 On the front is a 6.77" 120Hz FullHD+ quad-curved AMOLED screen, which can display 1.07 billion colors and has HDR10+ support. The display is now protected by Schott Xensation Core glass and is brighter than the V50's panel since it has a max global brightness of 1,500 nits, while peak brightness reaches 5,000 nits. The V60's display has a centered punch-hole for the 50MP selfie camera co-developed with ZEISS. vivo didn't share its sensor name, but revealed the camera has an FOV of 92˚ and enables selfie capture at 0.8x magnification for group selfies. It can also record videos in 4K resolution at 30 fps, like the primary camera does. Underneath the V60's display is an optical fingerprint scanner for biometric authentication. It was quick to set up, and we found it to be fast and accurate in the short time we spent with the smartphone. However, we would have liked it to be placed a bit higher for better reachability and a more convenient phone-unlocking experience. Turn the vivo V60 around, and you'll see three cameras instead of the two we had on the V50 with a different camera island design. The V50 featured a 50MP primary and a 50MP ultrawide camera on the rear, whereas the V60 sports a 50MP primary, a 50MP periscope telephoto, and an 8MP ultrawide camera (120˚ FOV). The vivo V60's rear cameras are also co-developed with ZEISS. The 50MP primary camera - having OIS - uses the Sony IMX766 sensor, whereas the 50MP periscope telephoto unit, also having OIS, uses the Sony IMX882 sensor. It's the same sensor used by vivo for the X200's periscope telephoto unit. It offers up to 3x optical zoom and up to 100x digital zoom. vivo X200 256GB 12GB RAM $ 1,032.00 $ 1,032.00 512GB 16GB RAM ₹ 59,999 It's also worth mentioning that vivo went with an M-shaped arrangement for the V60's telephoto camera - like it did on the X200 FE - instead of an L-shaped setup to ensure the camera island doesn't protrude much. After all, it's already big enough to make the V60 wobble when used on a flat surface. vivo didn't tell us what sensor it used for the ultrawide camera. vivo X200 FE 5G 256GB 12GB RAM € 799.00 € 799.00 512GB 12GB RAM ₹ 59,999 The rear cameras on the vivo V60 are accompanied by a circular flashlight called Aura Light. It can change its color temperature and intensity to let you take pictures in different conditions, and you can set it to auto or adjust it manually. Like the V50, the V60 also comes with ZEISS bokeh effects, but now supports five focal lengths for portraits - 23mm (1x), 35mm (1.5x), 50mm (2.2x), 85mm (3.7x), and 100mm (4.3x). And while the V50 came with an India-exclusive Wedding Portrait Studio feature, the V60 comes with an India-exclusive Wedding vLog feature. vivo says it can be accessed through the Micro Movie setting in the default Camera app, but we couldn't find it on our Indian model. What you also get with the vivo V60 is the 10x Telephoto Stage Portrait, which, as evident from the name, is meant to capture people on stage at concerts and similar events. vivo says it "keeps facial features and clothing details sharp while maintaining natural skin tones" even at 10x zoom. In case you are wondering why 10x zoom, vivo said that 98% of their users zoom within the range of 10x, "making it a perfect sweet spot for everyday telephoto photography." Another camera feature the vivo V60 has that the V50 didn't is the AI Four Season Portrait that we previously saw on the X200 FE. It lets you add virtual elements to your portraits to create seasonal vibes of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. That said, the back cover of the vivo V60, which houses the three cameras, is covered with a glass or plastic composite sheet, depending on the model you get. The smartphone comes in Mist Gray, Auspicious Gold, and Moonlit Blue colorways, with the third one being the subject of this hands-on. The vivo V60's Moonlit Blue model is the thickest and heaviest amongst the three versions, with a thickness of 7.75mm and a weight of 201 g. Its back cover is made of glass, just like the Auspicious Gold model, while the Mist Gray version's rear panel is made of plastic composite sheet, making it the thinnest and lightest among the three colorways. The vivo V60's Moonlit Blue version is the most unique-looking model among the three colorways. It has a nice in-hand feel, and its rear panel didn't get smudged during the time we spent with it. However, the author of this article would've preferred the back cover with a bit of a curvature for a more comfortable in-hand feel. The V60's plastic frames are shiny and slightly curved. On the phone's right-side frame is the volume rocker and power button, and at the bottom is the USB-C port, flanked by a speaker grille, primary microphone, and a SIM card slot. Up top is the IR blaster, joined by the secondary mic. Ports and controls The vivo V60 is powered by the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 SoC and has up to 16GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 512GB of UFS 2.2 storage onboard. The smartphone boots Android 15 with Funtouch OS 15 on top and comes with the promise of four years of OS upgrades and six years of security updates. This is not only more than what vivo promised for the V50 (3 years of OS upgrades + 4 years of security updates), but also more than what vivo's recent X series smartphones get (4 years of OS upgrades + 5 years of security updates). That's impressive! The software experience is similar to what you get with the X200 FE running Funtouch OS 15, and the bloatware has been kept to a minimum. Our Indian vivo V60 came with about half a dozen pre-installed third-party apps, which can all be uninstalled if you want. The vivo V60 is fueled by a 6,500 mAh Si/C battery with 90W wired charging support. The rest of the vivo V60's highlights include dual stereo speakers, NFC, IP68 and IP69 ratings, and underwater photography support. The vivo V60 will go on sale in India starting August 19 with a base price of INR36,999 ($420/€360). We'll begin working on our vivo V60 review soon, so stay tuned to find out if it's worth your money.
GSM Arena
29-07-2025
- GSM Arena
Note 15 Pro+ to be the first Redmi device introducing a new connectivity feature
A few days ago some details about the upcoming Redmi Note 15 Pro+ leaked in China, and today we have yet another spec to talk about - but this one's important. That's because the Redmi Note 15 Pro+ will in fact be the first Redmi device to come with this feature. We're talking about satellite connectivity, which has so far been seen in high-end devices only. Redmi Note 14 Pro+ But the Redmi mid-ranger will bring this feature down in price. It's interesting that Redmi didn't opt to equip its high-end K series devices with satellite connectivity first. Then again, the Note series is definitely its best seller, so perhaps that's why it's getting this first. By the way, throughout this article we've been talking about the Chinese-market Redmi Note 15 Pro+, if it wasn't obvious. Whether the satellite connectivity feature will make it to the international model when that launches remains to be seen - it's definitely not a given. The Redmi Note 15 Pro+ will allegedly come with the Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 SoC at the helm, a "1.5K" resolution screen with thin, symmetrical bezels on all sides, a 50 MP main camera, a 50 MP telephoto, and a battery between 7,000 mAh and 7,999 mAh. Source (in Chinese) | Via
CNET
21-07-2025
- CNET
I Tried the Nothing Phone 3 and It Definitely Didn't Live Up to the Hype
Nothing made things difficult for itself by calling its latest phone its first "true flagship." It suggests that it is a contender to premium phones such as the iPhone 16 Pro or the Galaxy S25 Ultra, but it simply isn't. Instead it's a solid midranger, offering decent performance and a host of quirky features for a relatively affordable price. At $799 (£799), the Nothing Phone 3 is the most expensive phone the company has made, and it backs this up with a more potent processor, better cameras and an additional year of software support compared to its previous models. But it's also a real mixed bag of things I like and things I really don't. 7.3 Nothing Phone 3 Like Awesome macro photography mode Awesome macro photography mode Good software support period Good software support period Quirky design stands out from the crowd Don't like Camera performance overall disappoints Camera performance overall disappoints Processor lags behind flagship rivals Processor lags behind flagship rivals Rear Glyph Matrix is arguably a gimmick Rear Glyph Matrix is arguably a gimmick Battery life is underwhelming The square-blocks-under-transparent-glass design is arguably fun, but it's not without its problems. The cameras are mostly underwhelming except for its surprisingly good macro mode, and the software features are basically the same as you'll find on the company's much cheaper 3A Pro. At a price that matches both the Pixel 9 and iPhone 16, the Nothing Phone 3 is best seen as a midtier phone at a flagship price. Nothing needed to push for better performance -- especially from the cameras -- or drop the price by at least 100 bucks. As it stands, this phone is difficult to recommend over the Pixel 9. A "flagship" it isn't, and my advice to Nothing would be to stick to what they do best: quirky phones with affordable price tags. Nothing Phone 3: Quirky design and Glyph Matrix The Glyph Matrix, as Nothing calls it, is the standout new feature for this phone. It's basically a small, round, dot-matrix display in the top right of the phone's back that shows things like incoming notifications, the time, and even little mini games. It's a cute idea, and while I do like being able to see who's calling me when my phone is face down on my desk, I think its use is limited overall. You can play games like spin the bottle on it, but as a married 37-year-old, my desire for a morally ambiguous chance kiss with a drunk friend at a house party has thankfully been left behind in my teenage years. Even then, spin the bottle is arguably the highlight of the Glyph Matrix right now, and while Nothing says the SDK is open for third party developers to use, I'm not convinced it's a feature that has longevity. Spin the bottle on the Glyph Matrix display. Gimmick or useful party feature? I'll leave it up to you to decide. Andrew Lanxon/CNET But I'm particularly peeved that it's come at the cost of the Glyph lights that were the hallmark of Nothing's earlier phones. The Nothing Phone 1 and 2 were littered with large LEDs that flashed to let you know about notifications, and while their existence was arguably more for aesthetics, it was fun to see something a bit different in phone design. Those lights are gone, combined and shrunk into the Glyph Matrix. Sure, that's still quirky, but I wish Nothing had kept the bigger glyph lights too -- I don't see any reason why both versions of Glyph can't co-exist here. The broader design is still definitely Nothing, with a transparent outer shell that gives the impression you're looking into the physical heart of the phone. The white model shows this off much better than the black option, if you're not sure which color you prefer. I quite like the blocky design, but a couple of things irritate me. First, the telephoto camera unit is weirdly off center, sitting much closer to the phone's edge than the unit below it. It looks like a mistake and I find it off-putting. Then there's the semi-circle strip under the flash -- it absolutely looks like it's supposed to light up like the "glyphs" of older Nothing phones, but it doesn't. It's just… there. I'd put money on there originally being a plan for this to light up but it got axed as a cost-cutting measure along the way. The off-center left camera and the sort of semi-circle bit under the flash -- two design choices I don't understand, but I am annoyed by. Andrew Lanxon/CNET Fine, I might be nit-picking here. For transparency, I'm someone who gets annoyed when I see slightly off kerning in posters and adverts. I cringe when I walk around town and see the rampant misuse of apostrophes and I feel physically compelled to say "fewer" when someone incorrectly uses "less" in a sentence. I'm a pedant, sure, but when it comes to expensive tech, pedantry is important. If there'd been more pedantry at Nothing then we wouldn't have off-centre cameras and I'd probably give it another star in this review. Maybe. Nothing Phone 3: Mediocre cameras, rad macro mode The phone packs three rear cameras: a standard wide angle, an ultrawide and a telephoto zoom offering 3x optical zoom and 6x combined optical and digital zoom. All three cameras offer 50 megapixels of resolution and all of them are best described as simply "fine." Taken with the standard lens, this image has decent colors and a solid overall exposure. Andrew Lanxon/CNET This image from the main camera is fine, though if I'm nitpicking I don't like how much it's lifted the shadows on the buildings. It gives it quite an unnatural look. Andrew Lanxon/CNET The shadows have been brightened a lot in this evening image, too, though I don't hate the result. The sky's color balance leans into teal tones quite strongly which isn't especially accurate but it's a fine snap overall. Andrew Lanxon/CNET In good outdoor conditions the exposure from the main camera is decent, with fairly accurate colors and plenty of detail. Some HDR scenes can look a bit unnatural with weirdly-lightened shadows and toned down highlights. Still, I've seen worse. The main camera has leaned hard into the teal tones in this evening scene. Andrew Lanxon/CNET It's especially obvious when compared to the iPhone 16 Pro which has captured the scene much more accurately. Andrew Lanxon/CNET It's the same situation here, with the Nothing Phone 3's main camera producing a very teal sky, which was not how this scene looked. Andrew Lanxon/CNET The iPhone 16 Pro has retained a much more authentic-looking magenta tone. Andrew Lanxon/CNET As the light starts to fall it seems to struggle more with white balance, often leaning into cyan tones which give low-light images an unnatural appearance. The color shift between the Nothing Phone 3's standard zoom (left) and the ultrawide (right) is noticeable. Andrew Lanxon/CNET The ultrawide lens captures even exposures, but there's often a noticeable color shift between the standard and wide views. There's also a lot of chromatic aberration visible on areas of contrast, especially towards the edge of the frame which suggests low quality optics. I've also seen odd image processing issues, including weird detail smoothing and in one instance, a person's hair tinged bright green. While this ultrawide view of people watching a street performer has a fair exposure overall, it's not without its problems. Andrew Lanxon/CNET This biggest problem being that the phone's image processing has turned this person's hair a deep shade of green for some reason. It's not good. Andrew Lanxon/CNET This night-time ultrawide shot agains leans unnaturally hard into the cyan tones when compared to the iPhone 16 Pro. But it's a little brighter overall which is a good thing I guess. Andrew Lanxon/CNET The iPhone 16 Pro's shot is definitely darker, but it's colors are more realistic. Andrew Lanxon/CNET The zoom lens is hit or miss. At 6x zoom on an overcast day, it does a decent job of capturing an even exposure with crisp details. Other times it struggles, often creating a weird soft glow around subjects, especially in areas of high contrast. At 6x zoom, the details on this street performer look good. Andrew Lanxon/CNET It's also done a solid job of capturing this 6x zoom scene. Andrew Lanxon/CNET But here's where things go weird with the zoom lens. Andrew Lanxon/CNET When cropped in close it's clear to see that the Nothing Phone 3's zoom (left) suffers from a weird halation around the swan that isn't present on the iPhone 16 Pro's shot (right). Andrew Lanxon/CNET Taken at 6x zoom, this shot of swans and signets has blown-out highlights and a bizarre haze around the swans that makes it look like those naff shots from the '80s with Vaseline on the lens. I've seen this on multiple test photos and I'm disappointed to see such significant image quality issues. What's causing it? Difficult to say definitively, but like the wide-angle lens I'd guess at low-quality plastic optics on the zoom lens. Viewed at full screen this 6x zoom shot is basically fine. Andrew Lanxon/CNET But looking closer up at the details reveals that there's again a softness to the Nothing Phone 3's image (left) that lets it down against the iPhone 16 Pro's shot (right). Andrew Lanxon/CNET While I'm disappointed overall with the Nothing Phone 3's camera, it does have one saving grace: its macro mode. Most phones offer some kind of close up shooting for macro scenes, but nothing like this one. The Nothing Phone 3's macro mode is superb. The details on this bee look amazing and the overall colors and exposure look great too. Andrew Lanxon/CNET You can see all the tiny bits of pollen stuck this bee. It's a lovely macro shot. Andrew Lanxon/CNET I've been able to get some really great close up shots of bees on flowers that are not just well-exposed, but also pin-sharp and with great-looking colors. Like most macro modes it can be highly susceptible to movement, so I hammered the shutter button taking numerous images of each scene and then simply selecting the best-looking one later, but that's the same way I work when I take macro photos professionally -- it's never a case of taking one image and it being perfect straight away. The iPhone 16 Pro's macro attempt far less impressive, with much more muted tones and a weird "crunchiness" to the image that I don't like anything like as much. Andrew Lanxon/CNET It's the one way that the Nothing Phone 3's camera outperforms its rivals. I tried taking similar macro photos with the iPhone 16 Pro and it couldn't even come close to what I could achieve with the Nothing phone. But in most other respects the Nothing's cameras aren't great and if photography is important to you then I'd suggest looking elsewhere. Nothing Phone 3: Processor and battery performance The phone runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8S Gen 4 processor which put in reasonable scores on our suite of benchmark tests. Its scores put it much more in line with last year's flagships like the Galaxy S24 and Xiaomi 14, but a fair step behind current-gen models such as the Galaxy S25, iPhone 16 or OnePlus 13. In everyday use, the phone feels nippy, with smooth navigation around the interface, apps that load quickly and demanding gaming in Genshin Impact and PUBG being handled easily, even at max graphics settings. The phone might not be up there with today's flagships on paper, but it's got more than enough grunt to handle almost anything you'd want to throw at it. The phone runs Android 15 at its heart. Nothing promises six years of total software support. Andrew Lanxon/CNET The phone's 5,150-mAh battery uses silicon carbon technology that Nothing says results in better longevity. On our rundown tests, battery life is distinctly average, with results from both our video streaming drain test and 45-minute endurance test putting it below both the Galaxy S25 and OnePlus 13, but more in line with the much cheaper Nothing Phone 3A. Like all phones, you should expect to give it a full recharge every night. Nothing Phone 3: Software and updates The phone runs Android 15 at its core but Nothing has slapped its own interface over the top, which gives it a strong look. It leans on monochrome aesthetics, with most app icons being turned black and white and text being removed from many areas of the homescreen in a bid for a more minimalist look. I quite like it, even though sometimes it's difficult to work out exactly which app is which. You can turn it off if it's not to your taste though. The phone has various AI tools scattered around -- including Google's Gemini, accessible by a long press of the power button -- but it's the Essential Space that stands out. Essential Space is best thought of as a repository for your stream of consciousness throughout the day. There's a dedicated hardware button on the side of the phone; press it once and it'll take a screenshot to store in Essential Space. Long press it and you can record a voice note that will then be transcribed with AI with key points being pulled out to remind you later. The Essential Space has a dedicated hardware button on the side to make it easy to log your thoughts and screenshots. Andrew Lanxon/CNET Nothing is slowly building the tool out to add deeper functionality -- the new version has a longer voice record function that will transcribe meetings for you -- and while I don't think it's a reason to choose a Nothing phone over any other, it's an interesting tool that you may find useful. The problem is that both the iconic monochrome interface and Essential Space tool are also found on Nothing's much cheaper Phone 3A, so there's nothing unique here that would justify you spending twice the price to buy the top model. Nothing has said that the Phone 3 will receive four years of software updates and a total of seven years of security support meaning this phone should still be safe to use in 2032. Nothing Phone 3: Should you buy it? Nothing has tried hard to differentiate itself from the market over the years by offering quirky phones at prices that significantly undercut its rivals. Calling the Phone 3 its first "true flagship" is a risky strategy and one that I don't feel has paid off here. This phone might have higher-end components than some of its cheaper siblings, but it's not a "true flagship", especially not when measured against rivals like the iPhone 16, Pixel 9 or Galaxy S25. The Phone 3 lacks the processor and camera performance I'd expect to see at this level. The stark monochrome aesthetic of the Nothing interface looks kinda cool, as long as you can remember which app icon is which. Andrew Lanxon/CNET Its battery life, too, is disappointing, and while the Glyph Matrix is certainly a unique addition, it's arguably a gimmick that likely won't add much value to your long-term experience with the phone. At its full $799 retail price, this phone is at least $100 too expensive. If you can pick it up with a decent discount then it's worth considering. If you simply like the aesthetics of the phone and its monochrome interface but don't care about camera performance, look toward the Nothing Phone 3A -- it's half the price but just as fun.
The Verge
21-07-2025
- The Verge
Samsung's Galaxy A56 is finally on sale in the US.
Posted Jul 21, 2025 at 9:55 AM UTC Samsung's Galaxy A56 is finally on sale in the US. Starting at $499.99, it comes in gray or gray, and is a pretty standard midranger: Exynos 1580 chip, 6.7-inch OLED display, 50-megapixel main camera, and a 5,000mAh battery with 45W wired charging. 1/2 Other countries got the A56 in fun colors, but the US gets light gray... Image: Samsung
Android Authority
18-07-2025
- Business
- Android Authority
Samsung's top mid-ranger has finally arrived in the US after months of waiting
Paul Jones / Android Authority TL;DR After initially launching outside of the US, the Galaxy A56 5G is now available to order. The mid-ranger includes features like Circle to Search, Best Face, Auto Trim, and more. It's available on Samsung's website in Awesome Graphite or Awesome Lightgray. When Samsung launched this year's A-series phones, the US got the Galaxy A26 5G and Galaxy A36 5G. Although the Galaxy A56 5G launched outside of the US, Samsung confirmed that the mid-ranger would come to this market later in the year. After months of waiting, the A56 5G is now available in the US. The Galaxy A56 5G has finally made its debut in the US after a fairly successful stint overseas. In fact, a report from earlier this month found that sales of the A56 5G in Western Europe were up 12% compared to its predecessor in the first seven weeks after launch. Now the phone that was making waves in Europe is available to order stateside. As a refresher, the A56 5G offers a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED FHD+ display with a 120Hz refresh rate, an Exynos 1580 chip, a 5,000mAh battery, and a triple camera setup consisting of a 50MP primary camera, a 12MP ultrawide, and a 5MP macro camera. Additionally, you get 8GB of RAM and your choice of 128GB or 256GB of storage. All of this comes with the price tag of $499. Although there are four color options (Awesome Olive, Awesome Graphite, Awesome Pink, and Awesome Lightgray), only Awesome Graphite and Awesome Lightgray are available on Samsung's website. The company is also offering up to $150 off on trade-ins. For trade-ins, it is accepting older LG, Apple, Google, OnePlus, or other Samsung phones. Samsung Galaxy A56 5G Samsung Galaxy A56 5G MSRP: $499.99 The Galaxy A56 5G gives you a lot of hardware for under $500, including a 5,000mAh battery, 45W charging, and a durable Gorilla Glass Victus Plus build. See price at Amazon Save $85.09 Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
