Week 43 in review: Xiaomi unveils two flagships, HTC bets on crypto

October continues to bring exciting hardware as this week Xiaomi stepped under the spotlight and announced not one but two flagships. We got the gaming-oriented Black Shark Halo and the super cool slider Mi Mix 3.
HTC unveiled another interesting device - the Exodus 1 is targeted at crypto fans and can only be purchased with Bitcoin or Etherium.
Qualcomm refreshed its mid-range offerings by adding the Snapdragon 675 to its lineup, while Samsung announced its first ODM phone (that is, it's manufactured by another company) - the Galaxy A6s.
We also got a bunch of leaks and teasers for next week's events - OnePlus, Apple and Honor are expected to deliver cool hardware in the final three days of October.
Check out the list of our most popular articles below to get you up to speed with the events of week 43.
Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 slider debuts with 6.4” screen, four cameras and 5G version
The phone screen has 93.4% screen-to-body ratio with practically non-existent bezels.
HTC Exodus 1 unveiled: a phone that runs dApps and is also a hardware wallet
HTC offers a clever way to recover your keys in case you lose the phone (or it gets stolen).
Xiaomi Black Shark Helo debuts with 10GB of RAM and AMOLED screen
The gaming-centric phone comes with stereo speakers, RGB LED-illuminated back and vapor chamber cooling.
First OnePlus 6T camera sample appears
Pete Lau, OnePlus CEO, posted a night shot of the business district of Shenzhen, China.
Honor Magic 2 specs and live images surface online
The device was listed on TENAA without photos, but Chinese actress Zanilia Zhao filled us in.
Samsung teases the Galaxy A8s with a camera hole in the screen
Smartphones with camera holes in the displays are coming.
OnePlus 6T full specs leak days ahead of the announcement
Some marketing pictures were included too.
Counterclockwise: Samsung's pre-Android smartphones were multimedia beasts
The Omnia and INNOV8 didn't have the "smartphone" thing quite figured out, but their multimedia features rocked.
Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 may have a next-gen Snapdragon chipset and a 6.4" screen
Snapdragon 855 or 8150, either way, the unconfirmed info also suggests a camera and storage upgrade over the Mi Mix 2S.
Qualcomm introduces 11nm Snapdragon 675 with new CPU
The platform is an improvement over the SD670 with support for triple cameras.
Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 gets a 103 DxOMark score, boosted by 108 for photos
The Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 matches the Samsung Galaxy Note9 in its photographic score.
Honor Magic 2 official images show the slider, gradient back, and black box
We're way past leaks now - the company itself is publishing pictures of the upcoming device.
Interview: Huawei CEO, Richard Yu talks Mate 20, Nano Memory cards, and foldable 5G phones
Huawei CEO, Richard Yu talks about new things announced and what we can expect following the Mate 20 launch event keynote.
OnePlus to be among the first with a 5G smartphone in 2019
The connectivity will be provided by the Snapdragon X50 modem, bound to arrive next year.
HMD may have quietly discontinued the Nokia 8 Sirocco
Prices at local retailers have fallen and Nokia.com's "Buy" buttons seem to be broken.
OnePlus 6T pops up on Geekbench
Unsurprisingly, the results are similar to the OnePlus 6 performance.
The iPhone XS Max crushes the Google Pixel 3 XL in a speed test
But there's more to it than it meets the eye.
Apple to unveil new iPads, MacBooks, AirPods at October 30 event
iPad mini could make a surprising return.
Quad-cam Samsung Galaxy A9s and ODM Galaxy A6s debut
The A6s is ODM versions A6+ (2018) with some upgrades. The Galaxy A9s is just a new name for the A9 (2018).
Samsung's Galaxy S10 trio and foldable phone detailed in insider report
Samsung's plans for 2019 have been detailed in a new report quoting a company insider.
Huawei's new 1TB drive will back-up your Mate 20 automatically
The device also doubles as a charger and has a stylish fabric finish.
Cases reveal Sony Xperia XA3 and XA3 Ultra with dual rear cameras
You can even grab the cases for the phone that hasn't been announced yet.