New phones and tablets of week 27

While the summer months are usually calm in terms of new device announcements, the past week saw its fair share of new phone and tablet launches so here’s a recap of all the notable devices that got announced.

Huawei kicked things off on Monday with its nova10 and nova10 Pro midrangers. These come with nearly identical specs including 120Hz OLED displays, 50MP main cams and Snapdragon 778G 4G chipsets capped. The Pro model boasts a larger 4,500 mAh battery with faster 100W wired charging while the non-Pro gets a 4,000 mAh cell with 66W charging speeds.

Huawei nova 10 and nova 10 Pro

Huawei nova 10 starts at CNY 2,699 ($403) for the 128GB trim while the 256GB model goes for CNY 2,999 ($448). Huawei nova 10 Pro starts at CNY 3,699 ($553) for the 128GB trim and goes up to CNY 3,999 ($598) for the 256GB model.

Xiaomi made a big splash by unveiling the long-rumored Xiaomi 12S Ultra with its headlining 1-inch camera sensor and Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset. This is the largest camera module fit into a phone thus far and is joined by a 48MP periscope with 5x optical zoom and a 48MP ultrawide module. We’ve already received a 12S Ultra review unit and will make sure to test out how well the cameras perform in our detailed review.

While most of the attention was focused on the Ultra, Xiaomi also brought its Xiaomi 12S and Xiaomi 12S Pro as well as a Dimensity 9000+ powered Xiaomi 12 Pro. The S-models bring the latest Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipsets and also overhauled cameras that were co-engineered with Leica.

Xiaomi 12S starts at CNY 4,000 ($600/€570/₹47,000), 12S Pro will go for CNY 4,700 ($700/€670/₹55,000) while the 12S Ultra will start at CNY 5,999 ($900). Sadly, all four Xiaomi phones will remain exclusive to China for now.

HTC reminded us of its existence with the HTC A101 tablet launched in Russia and South Africa. This is a 10-inch Android tablet running Android 11 and powered by Unisoc’s T618 chipset with a 7,000 mAh battery. Pricing is set at RUB 19,890 ($361).

Asus ROG Phone 6 and ROG Phone 6 Pro were also announced as the latest gaming phones in the storied lineup. The differences between the Pro and non-Pro model come down to RAM capacity and looks with the Pro getting up to 18GB RAM and a programmable color AMOLED display on the back. Everything else from the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 to the ultrasonic AirTrigger buttons and 6,000 mAh battery with 65W charging are shared across the board.

ROG Phone 6 starts at €999/£899 in Europe and INR 71,999 in India while ROG Phone 6 Pro will go for €1,299/£1,099 and INR 89,999 respectively.

One of the more bizarre storylines this week came from vivo – the maker announced two identically named devices with a Y77 5G that launched in Malaysia on Monday and a second Y77 China-exclusive model debuted on Friday.

vivo Y77 5G (global) and vivo Y77 (China)

The global Y77 gets a 6.58” LCD, Dimensity 810 chipset and 5,000 mAh battery with 18W charging. The Chinese model has a 6.64-inch IPS LCD with a 120Hz refresh rate, Dimensity 930 chipset and a 50MP camera topped off with a 4,500 mAh battery and 80W charging all for CNY 1,499.

Realme chimed in with a Limited edition Realme GT Neo 3 150W Thor Love and Thunder (that’s a mouthful of a name) which launched in India for INR 42,999 ($540/€530).

India smartphone brand Lava also joined in on the announcements with its Lava Blaze budget phone. It brings a 6.5” IPS LCD, Helio A22 chipset and a 5,000mAh battery with 10W charging all while running stock Android 12. Pricing is set at INR 8,700.

ZTE formally unveiled its Blade V40 Pro in Mexico priced at $365. The phone packs a 6.67-inch AMOLED with FHD+ resolution, a 64MP main cam and a 5,100 mAh battery.

Infinix capped off the announcements with its Note 12 Pro 5G – a Dimensity 810 midragner with a 6.7-inch AMOLED, a 108MP main cam and a 5,000 mAh battery with 33W charging. Pricing starts at INR 14,999 ($189/€187).