Top stories of 2022: Q2
Welcome to our recap of the top news articles of 2022. We will now be looking back on the most popular stories from the secod quarter of the year with each subsequent quarter getting its own story.
There was a heap of announcements in Q2. We got a pair of foldables - the vivo X Fold and the Huawei Mate Xs 2. We also got the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, which was 10% faster, and 30% more efficient than the SD 8 Gen 1.
The vivo X80 and X80 Pro arrived with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, and Dimensity 9000, respectively.
The Nothing phone (1) started leaking and Nothing started its very successful teaser campaign. Google also teased the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro, as well as the Pixel Watch, and Pixel Tablet, revealing their design. Google also launched the Pixel 6a for $449 - the phone would prove to be a big hit!
Apple announced the M2 chipset with an 18% faster processor and 35% faster graphics over the M1. The first laptop to get the new silicon was the MacBook Air M2, which also got a new thinner design with a bigger 13.6-inch Retina display with thin bezels.
Sony announced the WH-1000XM5 wireless noise-canceling headphones, the Xperia 10 IV with a bigger battery in a smaller body, and the Xperia 1 IV with a unique zoom camera.
Speaking of unique cameras, the ZTE Axon 40 Ultra debuted with a 35mm main camera, offering a tighter perspective that we just loved here at the office. It's now an all-time favorite among us.
Other key announcements were the OnePlus 10R, the Poco F4 GT, the Poco M4 5, the REalme Narzo 50i Prime, the Infinix Note 12 VIP (which turned out to be more of a showcase for Infinix's 120W charging tech), and the Realme 9.
Those are just some of the highlights of Q2, you can find the full list of top stories below.
Realme Narzo 50i Prime announced with $100 base price
It will be available for open sale from June 27 via AliExpress.
Infinix Note 12 VIP arrives with 120W charging, 120Hz screen and 108MP camera
There is also the Infinix Note 12 (G96), which is a refresh of the original Note 12 with a new chipset (you guessed it, it's the Helio G96).
vivo X80 and X80 Pro debut, powered by SD 8 Gen 1 and Dimensity 9000
The X80 Pro+ will come in later this year at its own event.
Honor Magic4 Lite unveiled - a new name for the Honor X30/X9 5G
The X30 launched in China, the X9 in Malaysia, the Magic4 Lite is going to France. Also, the Honor Play 6T series will be unveiled tomorrow.
Realme 9 arrives with 108MP camera, Realme GT2 Pro also launches in India
The 4G version of the Realme 9 has a better camera and build quality than the 5G model, arguably a better display too.
Poco X4 GT arrives with Dimensity 8100, Poco F4 brings an SD870
The X4 GT is the first Poco with a 144Hz display. The F4 is the first to have optical stabilization on its main camera.
Samsung Galaxy M53 goes official: a budget A73 that keeps the 108MP camera
And the 6.7" 120 Hz AMOLED display, though it loses some goodies like OIS and an in-display fingerprint reader.
MediaTek Dimensity 1300 is official - 6nm, 3GHz Cortex-A78, 5G
It supports up to 168Hz refresh rate, 4K HDR video capture, AV1 hardware decoding.
vivo X Fold arrives with Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, flagship cameras
The vivo X Fold is going on sale in China and it's cheaper than a Galaxy Z Fold3.
7" vivo X Note with SD 8 Gen 1 unveiled, SD870-powered vivo Pad follows
The vivo X Note has a 21:10 display with 120 Hz refresh rate on the front and a quad camera with ZEISS lenses on the back.
AMD unveils 6nm Ryzen Pro 6000 for business laptops
These include six H series chips and two U series chips - all Zen 3+.
Samsung Exynos 1280 chipset officially announced
The same SoC that's already powering the Galaxy A33, A53 and M33.
OnePlus 10R official with up to 150W charging, Nord CE 2 Lite 5G announced as well
The OnePlus 10R comes in two versions - one with 150W charging and another with 80W.
Huawei Watch GT 3 Pro unveiled with ECG and free diving features, Band 7 goes official too
The Watch GT 3 Pro has three versions: 46 mm titanium, 43 mm ceramic and a Porsche Design model.
Poco M4 5G goes official with Dimensity 700 SoC, 50MP camera, and 90Hz screen
It will go on sale next week.
ZTE Axon 40 Ultra with UD selfie and triple 64MP cameras unveiled, Axon 40 Pro joins it
The Ultra uses two custom IMX787 sensors for the main and ultra wide cameras and a periscope for the telephoto module.
AMD announces three new Radeon RX 6000 series graphics cards
Includes the RX 6950XT, RX 6750XT, and the RX 6650XT.
Poco F4 GT unveiled with SD8 Gen1, 120Hz display and 120W charging
Like the previous GT, this one has shoulder triggers for gaming and an advanced cooling solution.
Huawei Mate Xs 2 announced with SD888 4G and stylus support, MatePad SE tags along
Mate Xs 2 offers a 120Hz OLED panel, 50MP main cam and works with Huawei's M-Pen 2s stylus.
Huawei Watch GT 3 Pro unveiled with ECG and free diving features, Band 7 goes official too
The Watch GT 3 Pro has three versions: 46 mm titanium, 43 mm ceramic and a Porsche Design model.
Poco M4 5G goes official with Dimensity 700 SoC, 50MP camera, and 90Hz screen
It will go on sale next week.
AMD announces three new Radeon RX 6000 series graphics cards
Includes the RX 6950XT, RX 6750XT, and the RX 6650XT.
Sony Xperia 1 IV unveiled with revolutionary continuous zoom camera
The outward design of the phone may look mostly the same, but Sony also upgraded the screen, speakers and the other cameras on the Mark 4.
Sony Xperia 10 IV brings bigger battery in smaller body
The new device gets a Snapdragon 695 and a 5,000 mAh battery.
Google unveils Pixel 6a with Tensor chipset for $449
Features a dual camera system and 5G connectivity.
Sony launches WH-1000XM5 wireless noise-canceling headphones
Feature improved noise-canceling, new design, and a higher price.
Realme announces Narzo 50 5G and 50 Pro 5G
Two new 5G midrangers powered by MediaTek Dimensity chipsets.
Qualcomm announces Snapdragon 7 Gen 1
The new 4nm chipset promises a 20% GPU increase over the Snapdragon 778G.
AMD showcases Ryzen 7000 series processor running at 5.5GHz
Also reveals new motherboard chipsets and features.
Oppo Reno8 series unveiled, Pro model pioneers SD 7 Gen 1
Reno8 Pro and Pro+ get the same 50MP Sony IMX766 sensor and MariSilicon X NPU as on the Find X5 Pro.
Honor 70 Pro and 70 Pro+ unveiled with Dimensity 8000 and 9000, 54MP main cameras
Along with 50MP ultra wide, 8MP tele (3x) and 50MP selfie cameras. Also, charging speed increased to 100W and gets to 100% in half an hour.
Apple iOS 16 is here with a focus on the lock screen
Notifications, Messages, Wallet, Maps, News, and CarPlay got updates.
Apple unveils M2 chipset with 18% faster CPU, 35% faster GPU compared to the M1
It's built on a more advanced 5nm process, and comes with two extra GPU cores.
Samsung quietly launches Galaxy S20 FE 2022 with a lower price
Note that this is the 5G version with Snapdragon 865 and is available only on KT and LG Uplus in Korea for now.
Google teases Pixel 7 and 7 Pro, Pixel Watch, and Pixel Tablet
The phones and smartwatch are coming this fall, the tablet next year.
Tecno Camon 19 series official, Camon 19 Pro brings RGBW sensor
The device is also coming with the “industry’s slimmest bezel” at 0.98 mm.
OnePlus Ace official launch scheduled for April 21
The phone looks a lot like the OnePlus 10R renders.
Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro display specs leak
Don't expect huge changes compared to the last generation devices.
Samsung apparently has a huge stockpile of 50 million devices due to low demand
The A Series is mostly to blame.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 11T Pro and Pro+ unveiled in China, Note 11 SE tags along
All three are scheduled to go on open sale in China on May 31.
Leaked photos show a new Infinix Note model with 108MP camera, 120W fast charging
This will be a major upgrade over the regular Note 12 that launched last week. It had a 50MP main camera and supported 33W charging.
Nokia G11 Plus goes official with 50MP camera and 3-day battery life
It's built around a 90Hz screen.
Motorola Edge 30 goes official with 6.5" 144Hz OLED display, SD778G+
And a dual 50MP camera on the back, similar to the one in the Edge 30 Pro. The phone costs about half as much as the Pro, however.
Report: Galaxy S22 sales falling due to the GOS scandal, carrier subsidies increased to counter
Demand for the S22 in South Korea has reportedly decreased after the throttling scandal. Carriers are increasing subsidies to increase demand.
Tecno Pova 3 announced with 90Hz LCD and 7,000 mAh battery
It's already on open sale in the Philippines.
Oppo F21 Pro and F21 Pro 5G announced with 6.4-inch AMOLEDs and 64MP main cams
The F21 Pro comes in a special Fiberglass-leather version.
Oppo announces the Oppo K10 5G and the K10 Pro
The K10 5G is largely different from the standard K10 introduced earlier.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 unveiled: 30% more efficient, 10% faster
The new chip keeps the hardware effectively the same, but the new 4nm process allowed for higher clock speeds and lower power draw.