Top stories of 2021: Q2
Welcome to our recap of the top news articles of 2021. This is Q2, you can also take a look at the top stories of Q1, Q3 and Q4.
It's now time to look at the months April through June, which were defined by a myriad of phone announcements as well as looming phones from further down 2021.
Sharp officially brought a 1-inch sensor to a phone with the Japan-exclusive Aquos R6. It had more going for it with a 240Hz refresh rate display, another first. But as with all of Sharp's innovations, this one never came out of Japan.
Sony unveiled the Xperia 1 III, 5 III, and 10 III in Q2, all of which proved very popular with fans. The 10 III retained the display and camera specs of its predecessor but added a more efficient processor and bigger battery. The Xperia 1 III and 5 III adopted a new variable-zoom camera that went from 2.9x to 4.4x, as well as new SD888 silicon. While the Xperia 5 III was a more modest update over the 5 II, the 1 III added a much-needed 120Hz display.
Xiaomi brought its Mi 11 Ultra to the Indian market in Q2, which generated a lot of hype.
Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon 778G, which went on to power a number of popular midrangers, like the Honor 50, Huawei nova 9, the Galaxy A52s 5G and M52 5G, and the Motorola Edge (2021).
Samsung stopped giving the Galaxy S20 FE 4G its Exynos 990 chipset for the LTE-only variant of the phone and went only with the Snapdragon 865 in 2021. We also saw an early render of the Galaxy S21 FE in Green.
Then there were the leaks and rumors that captured your attention. We saw the first press render of the iPhone 13, which was notable for showing the redesigned camera alignment.
We also first glimpsed renders of the Huawei P50 series, which would debut in July.
Google's Pixel 6 and its dramatic redesign were revealed in Q2. We also got the first bits of specs, like the custom Google-made Whitechapel chipset, which turned out to be called Tensor, as well as the 120Hz display and 5,000mAh battery of the Pixel 6 Pro.
LG's decision to step away from the smartphone game was made official in Q2. The company's devices were struggling for a while and it made more sense to focus LG's creative resources in the fields of electric vehicle components, IoT devices, smart homes, robotics, AI, and business-to-business solutions.
The Infinix Concept Phone 2021 supports 160W fast charging, goes from 0-100% in 10 minutes
There are 20 temperature sensors and 60 security protection mechanisms - plus some very efficient components - to ensure everything goes smoothly.
Sharp Aquos R6 debuts with 240Hz screen and enormous 1” sensor
It is the biggest camera sensor put in a mobile phone ever.
Apple iPhone 13 in Product Red appears in renders
A smaller notch and diagonally aligned cameras on the back.
Huawei P50 leaks in high-quality images
The phone is visualized in four colors and with four camera lenses.
Redmi Note 10 Pro receives an update enabling 2GB of virtual RAM
Trade-in 2GB of internal storage for 2GB of extra RAM.
Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro renders leak showing shocking new design
Another source has confirmed the looks, while saying the colors aren't accurate.
YouTube's mobile apps get new video resolution settings
They introduce an extra step to changing video resolution.
Oppo Reno5 Z 5G announced: Dimensity 800U, 6.43" AMOLED screen, and 48MP quad camera
It's a rebadged F19 Pro+ 5G with slower charging and an NFC chip onboard.
Oppo A74 and A74 5G quietly unveiled with Snapdragon 662 and 480 chipsets
That's right, the 5G model gets a 400-series chip. And slower charging - 33W for the 4G model, 18W for the 5G.
Huawei nova 8 Pro 4G goes official with 120Hz screen, 64MP camera, and 66W charging
It's a nova 8 Pro 5G without 5G connectivity.
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra, Mi 11X Series and Mi QLED TV 75 debut in India
The Mi 11 lineup continues to expand.
The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 4G with a Snapdragon 865 chipset is official
No more Exynos 990-powered Galaxy S20 FE.
Realme 8 5G arrives with Dimensity 700 chip and 90Hz LCD
The main attraction here compared to the Realme 8 (4G) is the next-gen connectivity. But the Realme 7 5G might be a problem.
New iPad Pros come with M1 chipset, 5G and Thunderbolt, the 12.9" model has mini-LED display
The M1 chip is much faster and you can configure your tablet with up to 16 GB of RAM and 2 TB storage.
ZTE unveils Axon 30 Ultra with triple 64MP camera and periscope, Axon 30 Pro joins it
Both phones have high refresh rate OLED displays - a 144Hz curved panel on the Ultra and 120Hz flat one on the Pro.
Sony Xperia 10 III brings SD690 and a triple camera
The first midrange Xperia with 5G connectivity is here.
Intel introduces new Tiger Lake-H: 6 and 8-core 45W 10 nm processors for high end laptops
Tiger Lake-H (11th gen) is a clean break from the Skylake-derived Comet Lake-H (10th gen).
Poco M3 Pro 5G unveiled with Dimensity 700 and 90Hz display
The phone has a new design, but it is not that different from the vanilla M3 on the inside.
Realme Narzo 30 announced with Helio G95 and 90Hz screen
It's the third smartphone in the Narzo 30 lineup.
Asus Zenfone 8 is a 5.9" flagship with an S888 chip, Zenfone 8 Flip keeps rotating cam
The Zenfone 8 is smaller than the Xperia 5 III. The Flip is a Zenfone 7 with a Snapdragon 888 and a few other tweaks. Available for pre-order today.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti and 3070 Ti GPUs announced
The RTX 3080 Ti is Nvidia's latest flagship GPU.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE 12.4" tablet unveiled with 5G, cheaper Galaxy Tab A7 Lite follows
The S7 FE comes with an S Pen in the retail package, supports DeX mode there is an optional keyboard cover. Available in mid-June.
Oppo Reno6, 6 Pro and 6 Pro+ arrive with 90Hz displays, 65W charging
The Reno6 Pro+ is powered by the Snapdragon 870 and gets Sony's flagship IMX 766 camera sensor.
nubia introduces Red Magic 6R with Snapdragon 888 and four cameras
The phone is an affordable alternative to the Red Magic 6/6 Pro without the gaming aesthetics.
Chinese Redmi Note 10 Pro debuts with Dimensity 1100 and 67W charging
You get an LCD with a 120Hz refresh rate, Gorilla Glass Victus and a slightly altered back design.
ARM unveils Cortex-X2, A710, A510, new Mali GPUs as it prepares to go 64-bit only
The CPU cores are based on the new ARMv9 architecture that focuses on performance, security and machine learning.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE gets official in Germany, starts at €649
It's a toned down version of the Galaxy Tab S7+, basically.
Redmi Note 8 2021 is now official with Helio G85 chipset
The phone got fully listed on Xiaomi's global website.
OnePlus Nord CE 5G improves battery, camera and price
The OnePlus Nord CE 5G brings the same core experience at an even more aggressive price.
Moto G Stylus 5G goes official for the US market with $399 price
The phone will become available on June 14.
Sony WF-1000XM4 are smaller, support LDAC and have better noise cancellation
The buds have redesigned hardware and a better chipset to improve audio quality to and from the buds, as well as enable a few clever features.
Qualcomm announces Snapdragon 888 Plus with 3 GHz CPU, better AI engine
The chip also comes with improved AI performance.
vivo X60t Pro+ unveiled with a 12MP sensor behind the 50mm lens instead of 32MP
The "t" version is slightly cheaper than the original model, though mostly thanks to discounts.
Samsung Galaxy M32 goes official with 90Hz AMOLED display and 6,000 mAh battery
First sales in India start on June 28.
Honor 50 series unveiled with 120Hz displays, 108MP cameras and GMS support
The Honor 50, Honor 50 Pro and Honor 50 SE were announced in China earlier today. They will be available in over 40 regions internationally later this year.
Tecno unveils Phantom X - its first premium phone with 50MP main and 48MP selfie cameras
And that's a large 1/1.3" sensor on the back, joined by a 50mm portrait cam and an ultrawide module. There's an ultra wide selfie camera too.
Sony Xperia 1 III and 5 III announced with 120Hz screens, variable telephoto lenses
The two boast the industry-first telephoto camera with variable focal length.
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE appears in colorful renders
It's rumored to enter mass product next month and launch in Q4 2021.
Samsung Galaxy F42 5G seems to be a rebranded Galaxy A22 5G
The phone has received a Bluetooth certification that hints at the naming shenanigans.
See the Sony Xperia 1 III's cameras in action in these alleged leaked photos
An early taste of what we can expect from the Xperia 1 III and Xperia 5 III and their variable telephoto lenses.
WhatsApp to become increasingly less useful if you don't accept its new terms
Will limit access to calls and messages and eventually block all access.
Nokia X10 and X20 announced: 5G support and 3 years of software updates and warranty
HMD has pledged 3 years of full support: that's OS updates, security patches and even warranty repairs for the two X-series models.
Huawei will update around 100 Android devices to HarmonyOS, the first batch gets it today
Harmony will start rolling out to Mate40 and P40 series phones and a couple of others. Some devices as old as 2017 will also get the new OS .
Huawei P50 series coming on July 29 with huge ultrawide sensor
Most of the P50 series will be 4G only.
In memoriam: LG's great smartphone inventions
The company is leaving the phone business - a business to which it had contributed so much. Here's a look back at all the innovations by LG.
More Google Pixel 6 and 5a rumors surface - performance, pricing, colors
The custom SoC won't be as fast as the Snapdragon 888.
Apple iPhone 13 to add an orange color to its palette
Will the two Pro models get a similar (if toned down) color?
LG is officially out of the smartphone business
The decision was approved by LG's board of directors.
HMD releases revised Nokia Android 11 update roadmap
Eight Nokia smartphones will get Android 11 this quarter.
Nokia 110 4G and 105 4G unveiled with LTE connectivity
2G networks around the world are already being shut off, meaning that the Nokia 110 and 105 from 2019 may soon stop working.
The Redmi K40 Gaming Edition is here with Dimensity 1200, 12GB of RAM
Redmi's first gaming phone has everything you'd expect it to.
Windows 11 will finally introduce advanced multi-monitor settings
The OS will now remember the size and exact position of each app on your monitors.
Huawei Band 6 is now official
The band sports a significantly bigger display and continuous blood oxygen monitoring.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 family leaks with specs and prices
This time around there will be three high-end tablets.
Oppo shares ColorOS 11 update roadmap and eligible devices
Devices with 3GB of RAM won't be getting the update.
Infinix Note 10 unveiled with 90Hz 6.95" FHD screens, Pro model adds 33W charging
The Pro has an NFC-enabled variant, both are powered by the Helio G95 chipset.
Further Pixel 6 details - Whitechapel matches SD870, 120Hz display, 5,000mAh battery
Google will tweak a SD870-level chip with its AI and machine learning prowess.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G gets improvements to camera with the new update
It also enhances the Quick Share feature.
T-Mobile is giving you a free Samsung Galaxy A32 5G if you trade-in any old phone
The carrier is also giving all its customers a free upgrade to unlimited plans.
Reader comments
- Anonymous
- 31 Dec 2021
- Uis
LG just didn't want to make phones anymore. They apparently didn't feel they were competitive in this area and decided to focus on other growth areas. Google is different. Google is not in the business of making phones and they just do it...
- YUKI93
- 31 Dec 2021
- K1L
LG's exit from the smartphone market really shows what is wrong with the smartphone industry, not forgetting the likes of popular sponsored YouTubers who keep showing their sickly brand fanboyism. I only started to know LG since mid-2019 because...
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