Much like how Huawei developed its own HarmonyOS as an Android substitute, Xiaomi is about to pull a similar move to bolster its ecosystem — especially with its electric car due to arrive in the first of half next year. Dubbed "HyperOS," this MIUI replacement will apparently be a blend of Android and Xiaomi's very own "Vela" system, hence a "completely rewritten underlying architecture" that would supposedly allow users, vehicles and smart home — of over 200 product categories — to connect with one another seamlessly. It's safe to assume that Xiaomi's electric car will also feature HyperOS, thus going head to head with Huawei's Aito line of EVs.

In a Weibo post, CEO Lei Jun said development on HyperOS dates back to 2017, with a mission to build "a unified, integrated system framework that supports the entire ecosystem of devices and applications." The exec added that this new platform will debut on the upcoming Xiaomi 14 series smartphones, which have apparently entered production, though he stopped short of sharing a launch date (rumors say end of this month). Separately, when asked on X whether HyperOS will be heading to Xiaomi's international line of products, Lei only responded with "stay tuned." And so we shall.

Xiaomi has a habit of releasing a mid-cycle flagship phone around this time of the year, mainly catering to markets outside of China. The good news with the freshly-announced Xiaomi 13T Pro is that, unlike last year's 12T Pro, this one comes with Leica's branding and photographic enhancements. This means fans in Europe will have another Leica-branded option for their next smartphone upgrade, in addition to the earlier — and more expensive — 13, 13 Pro and 13 Ultra.

The 13T Pro is, in fact, the global variant of China's Redmi K60 Ultra, which looks almost identical, but lacks Leica tuning and Google services. Another key difference is that the more expensive 13T Pro packs better photography hardware in order to get Leica's approval. The 24mm-equivalent main camera, for instance, is powered by a 50-megapixel sensor with a larger-than-usual 1.22um pixel size. While this is no match to the 1.6um pixels on the real flagships' 1-inch sensors, it's still more generous than what many other handsets offer, not to mention that it can achieve a 2.44um-equivalent effect by way of pixel-binning technology. 

You'll also find a 50-megapixel f/1.9 telephoto camera (50mm-equivalent) and a 12-megapixel f/2.2 ultra-wide camera (15mm-equivalent) on the Leica-branded camera island. All three cameras have access to both Leica Authentic and Leica Vibrant color modes and, when in portrait mode, the telephoto camera offers a "Master-lens system" which can emulate a 35mm "Documentary" lens, a 50mm "Swirly" bokeh lens or a 90mm "Soft focus" lens. The 20-megapixel f/2.2 punch-hole selfie camera doesn't get any Leica love, but it does support night mode, portrait mode and HDR.

Xiaomi

Like the Redmi K60 Ultra, the 13T Pro packs MediaTek's flagship Dimensity 9200+ processor, with which it apparently has a 10 percent boost in both CPU and GPU performance over the 12T Pro (which had a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip, also based on a 4nm process). Xiaomi paired this with a 5,000mm² stainless steel vapor cooling plate — the company's biggest ever for a phone, allegedly — for improved thermal dissipation.

Xiaomi made a sensible decision with the 6.67-inch screen here: it's flat rather than curved, which makes photo viewing, video playback and gaming so much more practical. It's also a nice AMOLED panel, featuring a 2,712 x 1,220 resolution, a 144Hz refresh rate, a 480Hz touch sampling rate, a peak brightness of 2,600 nits, DCI-P3 color gamut and support for both Dolby Vision plus HDR10+. For those with sensitive eyes, the display's fast 2,880Hz PWM (pulse-width modulation) dimming in lower brightness should induce less eye fatigue as well. This is shielded by a piece of Gorilla Glass 5, but more importantly, the entire device is IP68-rated for dust and water resistance.

Another noteworthy feature on the Xiaomi 13T Pro is its 5,000mAh battery, which supports 120W "HyperCharge." it only takes 19 minutes to go from zero to 100 percent, but if you're in a real hurry, even a mere 5-minute charge will apparently fill you up back to 36 percent. Such charging speeds aren't entirely new, of course, and likewise with Xiaomi's dual-chip system — the Surge G1 power management chipset plus Surge P1 fast-charging chipset — to ensure battery safety while prolonging its lifespan.

Xiaomi

The Xiaomi 13T Pro is now rolling out across Europe, starting from 799 euros (around $846) for the 12GB LPDDRX5 RAM plus 256GB UFS 4.0 storage model, with the top model maxing out at 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage for a yet-to-be-disclosed price. There's also an identical-looking Xiaomi 13T which starts from 649 euros (around $687; 8GB LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB UFS 3.1 storage), with the only differences seemingly being the lesser Dimensity 8200-Ultra processor, slower 67W charging and lack of 8K video recording.

Colors for both models include green or black which feature a glossy glass back, or "Alpine Blue" with a soft "BioComfort vegan leather" back. These dual-SIM devices run on MIUI 14 based on Android 13, and Xiaomi promises four years of Android updates along with five years of security patches. The company is also offering European customers one free screen repair within six months after purchase, and one out-of-warranty repair without labor cost within a year after purchase. It goes without saying that these freebies reflect Xiaomi's western ambitions, not to mention how it's strategically added more affordable options to its flagship lineup, in the hopes of putting up a better fight in the declining market.

While most modern flip phone makers have been focusing on maximizing their cover screen sizes, a new contender decided to branch away with a circular one instead. Following its flagship foldable from earlier this year, China's Tecno has also unveiled its first flip phone, the Phantom V Flip 5G, which attempts to stand out from the crowd by offering a round external AMOLED display. Even though the Huawei P50 Pocket was the first clamshell to carry a similar feature, Tecno's counterpart comes in at a more practical 1.32 inches and a slightly sharper 352ppi, which should translate to easier selfies, richer notifications and handier widgets — namely weather, vitality rings, audio recording, timer and more.

The Phantom V Flip is powered by MediaTek's Dimensity 8050 5G chip, so it's going head to head with the Moto Razr in the mid-range segment. As is the case with Tecno's recent devices, this one is competitively priced — at around $600, though it's only available in India initially (49,999 rupees, to be precise), with more markets to follow later. At least you get Google services pre-installed on this one, unlike most of its hometown buddies. As a bonus, Tecno's HiOS 13.5 (based on Android 13) comes with its own voice assistant, "Ella," which has ChatGPT built in.

Despite the price point, the spec sheet doesn't disappoint here. The Phantom V Flip is 14.95mm thick when folded and 6.95mm thick when opened. At 195g, this turns out to be the heaviest device in the flip phone category to date. This is somewhat justified by the reasonable 4,000mAh battery (Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 5 only has 3,700mAh), which supports 45W fast charging — 15 minutes will refill a depleted battery to 50 percent, or wait for 45 minutes for a full charge. Sadly, there's no wireless charging here, for those who care.

Tecno

The Phantom V Flip packs a 6.9-inch FHD+ (2,640 x 1,080) flexible screen on the inside, with a 10-120Hz LTPO refresh rate and 360Hz touch sampling. The hinge can hover at any angle between 30 degrees and 150 degrees, which is handy for selfies via the rear-facing cameras — you can even use gesture or voice to trigger your shots.

Photography-wise, you get a 64-megapixel f/1.7 main camera, a 13-megapixel ultra-wide camera and a small LED ring flash, with all three features positioned along the circumference of the circular cover screen. When unfolded, there's a 32-megapixel punch-hole selfie camera at the top, complemented with an LED flash in the top screen bezel to make you look prettier in video calls.

Tecno didn't cheap out on accessories, either. The Phantom V Flip is shipped with a protective case that shields all four sides of the phone, except the opening for the fingerprint reader and volume rocker. The case also has a ring attached above the hinge, allowing you to wear the phone as a pendant or hold it more securely.

While it's unclear whether the $600 Phantom V Flip will make it to western markets, Tecno does appear to have an opportunity to spook its more established competitors in this ever-growing flip phone segment — especially before the new Moto Razr enters the US, if ever (in China, it starts from around $550). That said, it's just a matter of time before the likes of Honor and Xiaomi offer similarly competitive clamshells.

Following Huawei's surprise launch of the seemingly 5G-capable Mate 60 and Mate 60 Pro smartphones last week, the Chinese firm has today unveiled two more devices: the Mate 60 Pro+ and the Mate X5 foldable. Huawei was largely limited to 4G connectivity on its handsets since the US sanctions, but with this latest wave of smartphone launches, the company has been intentionally secretive about its choice of radio. Sources told Engadget that these are indeed 5G devices — as supported by Chinese blogger Vincent Zhong's speed test on the new foldable, which reached a download speed of over 1Gbps (you'll see that there is no 5G indicator on the screen).

It's likely that both phones are also powered by Huawei's mysterious HiSilicon Kirin 9000S, the 7nm process node of which has raised concerns on whether the local chip supplier, SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation), has violated US sanctions to access foreign chip-making technology. Huawei did not immediately respond to requests for comments about the specs of these new phones or the chip.

A recent Kirin 9000S teardown conducted by TechInsights for Bloomberg confirmed SMIC's 7nm process, which was thought to be impossible given the import ban on key manufacturing equipment — namely the EUV lithography machines from Dutch firm ASML (Advanced Semiconductor Materials Lithography). Before the US import ban, Huawei relied on TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) for its 5nm process, which was enabled by ASML's machines.

It is unlikely that SMIC procured such advanced machinery from ASML — at least not directly — without raising alarms. According to Bits & Chips, ASML CEO Peter Wennink recently expressed that "the Mate 60 Pro shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, as the restrictions essentially forced the Chinese to double down on innovation." Thus implying that SMIC could well have developed its own high-end lithography machine. 

Benchmarks conducted by Chinese tech blog Geekerwan suggest that the Kirin 9000S' performance is close to Qualcomm's Snapdragon 888, meaning it's around two generations behind. The site added that the CPU here features one big core and three middle cores based on Huawei's own "TaiShan" architecture, in addition to four little cores based on Arm's efficient Cortex-A510. As a bonus, the Kirin 9000S is the first mobile processor to support multi-threading — running eight cores with 12 threads, though apparently apps will require further optimization to make use of this feature. As for the GPU, Huawei added its own Maleoon 910, which is allegedly on par with the one in the Snapdragon 888.

Huawei

Much like the Mate 60 Pro, the higher-end Mate 60 Pro+ supports satellite call service by China Telecom and satellite messaging using BeiDou. The only notable differences (that we can see for now) are the different "nanotech metallic double dye process" and better rear cameras. As for the Mate X5 foldable, it's almost identical to the super slim Mate X3, except for the switch to Huawei's fancier Kunlun Glass on the external screen (hence a 2g bump in weight), as well as the slightly tweaked appearance of the rear camera island. Huawei has yet to reveal prices for either model, though pre-orders will start at 6:08PM local time today.

If all four of Huawei's latest smartphones are indeed powered by Kirin 9000S, it would suggest that Huawei is confident with its chip yield — potentially adding a further blow to the US sanctions. Rumors suggest that we'll be hearing more about these devices towards the end of September — conveniently avoiding the iPhone 15 rush.

Summer season is also foldable phone season, it seems. Following on the heels of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and the impressively slim Honor Magic V2 (along with smaller models from Samsung and Motorola), it's now Xiaomi's turn to unveil its annual refresh. The aptly named Mix Fold 3 offers several expected improvements in terms of folded thickness (5.26mm), unfolded thickness (10.86mm) and weight (255 grams). Honor still has nothing to worry about when it comes to thinness and lightness, but Xiaomi's latest contender has gained a 5x periscopic zoom camera and, at last, a selfie camera, all of which would seem to address some of the last-gen model's more obvious pain points. 

Another notable addition is 50W wireless charging alongside the original 67W wired option. Depending on which charging method you use, the company says it takes 55 minutes or 40 minutes, respectively, to fully charge the slightly denser 4,800mAh battery. (If you're comparison shopping, Honor forfeited wireless charging on the Magic V2 to meet its aggressive thickness target.) The Mix Fold 3's wireless charging should pair well with Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 "Leading Version" processor, with its primary core capable of up to 3.36GHz of clock speed — handy for video editing on the larger screen.

Xiaomi

Thanks to its beefed-up camera setup, the Mix Fold 3 packs a total of four Leica-enhanced on the rear: a 50-megapixel f/1.77 main camera (Sony IMX800, 23mm equivalent) with optical stabilization, a 12-megapixel f/2.2 ultra-wide camera (15mm equivalent), a 10-megapixel telephoto camera (75mm equivalent) and the handy new 10-megapixel f/2.92 periscope camera (115mm equivalent). 

Like before, you can always toggle the external screen to leverage any of these rear-facing cameras for better selfies, but for general video conferencing, you now have the option to toggle between the 20-megapixel front cameras on both the 6.56-inch external screen (2,520 x 1,080, 120Hz) and 8.025-inch flexible screen (2,160 x 1,916, 120Hz). 

Xiaomi

The screen sizes here are practically identical to the last-gen model, except both are now upgraded with Samsung's E6 OLED display technology for improved efficiency and outdoor visibility; you get up to 2,600 nits of peak brightness on the external panel. 

Meanwhile, with Xiaomi's improved hinge, the company can finally disclose a durability figure of 500,000 folds (certified by TÜV Rheinland). As a bonus, the Mix Fold 3 finally supports hover mode from 45 degrees to 135 degrees, meaning you can prop up the rear cameras to attempt more artistic angles or timelapse shots — just make sure you don't accidentally scratch the external screen. 

Xiaomi is taking pre-orders for the Mix Fold 3, with prices ranging from 8,999 yuan or about $1,240 (12GB LPDDR5X with 256GB UFS 4.0 storage) to 10,999 yuan or around $1,515 (16GB RAM and 1TB storage). You'll be able to choose between a 5-layer composite material body (black only) and a more classic glass finish (black or gold). Like last year, all versions include a familiar-looking kickstand back cover in the box, but now with a bonus protection frame for the upper part of your foldable. However, Engadget understands that Xiaomi will once again be limiting its latest device to the Chinese market, which is probably a relief for the likes of Samsung and potentially Honor in the rest of the world.

With the arrival of Xiaomi's Mix Fold 2 last August, it was only a matter of time before other brands would catch up with similarly impressive slimness for their next foldable phones. So far this year, we have Huawei's Mate X3 which finally broke Xiaomi's thinness record, followed by Google's Pixel Fold — it's a tad thicker, but at least it's available in western markets. Today, another Chinese brand has beaten Huawei with an even slimmer and lighter foldable phone — the Honor Magic V2. It's the first of its kind to reach a folded thickness of less than 1cm, and it weighs less than some of the top flagship candybars — namely Apple's iPhone 14 Pro Max or Samsung's Galaxy S23 Ultra.

Specifically, the Magic V2 is 9.9mm and 4.7mm thick when folded and unfolded, respectively. Only the Mate X3 and Mix Fold 2 come close in this aspect. As for weight, the Magic V2 measures just 231g (8.15oz), beating the Oppo Find N2 and Mate X3 by a few grams. As someone who has been using a 262g (9.24oz) Mix Fold 2 for 10 months, I found it surprisingly delightful while fiddling around with Honor's slimmer and lighter foldable.

One of the keys to this form factor breakthrough is Honor's new hinge design, which consists of 3D-printed aerospace-grade titanium parts and proprietary steel bits. Together with the latest flexible OLED panel from China's BOE, the Magic V2 has been certified by TÜV Rheinland to last for over 400,000 folds — doubling that of the Pixel Fold and Galaxy Z Fold 4. As a bonus, the hinge lets the phone "hover" in a laptop-like mode, which comes in handy for taking photos, watching videos, listening to music, making video calls and more, thanks to some tweaks in MagicOS 7.2 (based on Android 13).

Despite the size and weight reduction, the Magic V2 packs a generous 5,000mAh battery capacity, beating that of all existing foldable phones. This is thanks to the new silicon-carbon battery tech, which allows for a significant bump in energy density. These cells support Honor's 66W fast charging, though fans of wireless charging are out of luck here — not a surprise given the ambitious thickness reduction. The company also had to slim down essential components like the vapor cooling chamber, antenna, aluminum mid-frame, fingerprint module, USB-C connector, speakers and more to fit everything together. Much of this was done in Honor's research lab just across the street from the production line in Shenzhen.

The Magic V2 offers a 6.43-inch 2,376 x 1,060 OLED screen on the outside, and its 20:9 aspect ratio is to better mimic the user experience of a conventional smartphone — which is just as well given the thickness and weight achievement here. When unfolded, you'll be greeted by a 7.92-inch 2,344 x 2,156 flexible panel with a near-invisible crease. Both displays have an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz plus HDR10+ support, and yes, you can use a stylus on them, though only the Ultimate Edition in China comes bundled with an active pen. Honor also touted its eye protection measures for both screens on the Magic V2, using features like high-speed 3,840Hz pulse wave modulation dimming technology to reduce eye fatigue, as well as "Circadian Night Display" to help the user sleep better.

Photo by Richard Lai / Engadget

The rest of the Magic V2's core specs are very much on flagship level, featuring Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, 16GB of RAM, up to 1TB of storage, NFC, triple mics, Bluetooth 5.3, infrared remote and more. With the preloaded MagicOS 7.2 (based on Android 13), Honor even promises 50 months of fast performance, as certified by SGS. The only glaring omission on this list of goodies is an ingress protection rating (the Mate X3, Pixel Fold and Galaxy Z Fold 4 all have an IPX8 rating), but Honor assured us that it has applied a P2i nano-coating to the device for basic water resistance. 

The cameras are seemingly impressive, too: the rear-facing set consist of a 50-megapixel f/1.9 main camera with optical stabilization, a 50MP f/2.0 ultra-wide camera and a 20-megapixel f/2.4 2.5x zoom camera also with optical stabilization. Both the external and internal displays have a 16-megapixel f/2.2 selfie camera each. Honor said its AI motion sensing feature can help capture constantly moving subjects like kids and pets, but we won't be able to verify this claim until we get to a review unit later.

Photo by Richard Lai / Engadget

The Honor Magic V2 is now up for pre-orders in China, with color options including black (with a vegan leather back), gold, silk purple, and silk black (with "silk" referring to the frosted glass back), with prices starting from 8,999 yuan (about $1,250) for the 256GB version, 9,999 yuan ($1,390) for double the storage, and maxing out at 11,999 yuan ($1,670) for the 1TB Ultimate Edition.

Even though the demo units I played with at Honor's headquarters had Google services pre-installed, the company was hesitant on confirming a possible global rollout. Perhaps we will hear more at IFA come September, otherwise I'm sure the enthusiasts will already know how to grab one from China, anyway. Meanwhile, the pressure is on Samsung to come up with foldables of matching qualities later this month.

Unless you count flip foldables, there aren't many options left when it comes to true compact smartphones these days, but somehow, ASUS has remained in this niche market. The freshly announced Zenfone 10 looks like a carbon copy of its predecessor, and even its 50-megapixel main camera has remained unchanged. Still, the company claims that this is now powered by a new version of 6-axis gimbal stabilization — a combination of hardware optical stabilization, upgraded electronic stabilization algorithm and fast auto-focus. This apparently lets you capture smoother videos and less blurry photos while on the move.

As you'd expect, the Zenfone 10 is powered by Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, and now with faster LPDDR5X ROM of up to 16GB, along with faster UFS 4.0 storage option of up to 512GB — doubling that of the previous gen. While the battery remains at an impressive 4,300mAh, it is now supported by 15W wireless charging in addition to the original 30W wired charging. This does mean a gentle bump in thickness — from the old 9.1mm to 9.4mm, but the footprint remains at 146.5 x 68.1mm. The AMOLED display is again specced at 5.9 inches with a 2,400 x 1,080 resolution, though its top refresh rate has been boosted from 120Hz to 144Hz for slicker gaming.

ASUS

The ultra-wide camera has been swapped out with a 13-megapixel sensor, along with a bump in field of view — from 113 degrees to 120 degrees. The old 12-megapixel front punch-hole camera now uses a 32-megapixel RGBW sensor instead, and this apparently gives an 8-megapixel output with vastly improved low light selfies, thanks to the extra white sub-pixels on the sensor.

Like before, you still get stereo speakers and a 3.5mm headphone jack, along with dual microphones with support for Nokia's OZO Audio spatial capture and wind noise reduction. Other familiar goodies include the ZenTouch customizable unlock button (namely for toggling the camera or scrolling in a browser), NFC and IP68 ruggedness for resistance against dust and liquids.

ASUS has extended its "Connex" modular case system to the Zenfone 10, which lets you snap either a kickstand or a silicone cardholder into the grid of holes on the back of the case. You can even assign an app — YouTube, by default — to auto-launch whenever the kickstand is flipped out. If you'd rather go with thicker cases, ASUS has also partnered with Rhinoshield and DevilCase for some more rugged options.

ASUS

The Zenfone 10 will be available for pre-order in Europe from June 29, starting from €799 (about $870), with color options including "Aurora Green," "Midnight Black," "Comet White," "Eclipse Red" and "Starry Blue." As before, US availability to follow later, so stay tuned.

Insta360's thumb-sized Go 2 action cam already impressed us with its versatility, but it's about to be upstaged by its successor with some surprises. The new Insta360 Go 3 comes with a larger, more rectangular "Action Pod" detachable body, thus giving the overall look a stronger resemblance to a conventional action cam. Not only does this new model offer a longer combined battery life (more on that later), but the Action Pod body also doubles as a 2.2-inch flip touchscreen, meaning you won't need to whip out your phone as often. The whole package is essentially a 2-in-1 action cam and a wireless display.

The Go 3's camera itself has some significant upgrades as well. Video resolution has been bumped up from 1440p to 2.7k (2,720 x 1,536), meaning you'll get more out of Insta360's renowned "FlowState" video stabilization trick. Audio quality has been improved by the addition of a second microphone, thus solving an old pain point. The camera is also certified as waterproof at up to 5 meters deep instead of just 4, but note that the "Action Pod" is only IPX4 water resistant, so do not submerge that part under water. 

Insta360

The camera's own battery life has been extended from 30 minutes to 45 minutes (1080p@30fps), and when mounted onto the "Action Pod," you'll get up to 170 minutes. The Go 3 also represents an improvement in Insta360's heat dissipation design, so the only limitations on maximum video length are battery life and data storage. Say goodbye to the old 30-minute cap on each clip. This is also probably why the Go 3 comes with a new 128GB flavor, though you may still consider the 64GB or 32GB options to suit your budget.

In addition to the usual timelapse, "TimeShift" (Insta360's take on hyperlapse) and slow motion (up to 4x) features, the Go 3 comes with three new video modes: pre-recording, loop recording and timed capture. Timed capture in particular is handy for setting up auto capture for a sunrise, without you having to wake up to turn on the camera.

Insta360

Much like its predecessor, the Go 3 comes with a handful of accessories for various mounting methods. You still get a magnet pendant for first-person point-of-view shots from chest level, though I personally prefer using the included clip mount with a hat to match my eye level. There's also a pivot stand with a reusable sticky base — the latter can be detached if you want to switch to a 1/4-inch mount instead. If needed, you can buy a quick release mount for action sports, or a monkey tail mount for casual captures anywhere you want. Dog owners may also consider getting the "Fetch Stick" to get some goofy close-ups of their pets

The Insta360 Go 3 is now available via the official online store or Amazon, with the 32GB, 64GB and 128GB models priced at $379.99, $399.99 and $429.99 respectively.

After debuting the first "1-inch" mobile camera sensor with the 12S Ultra last year, Xiaomi is back with a familiar-looking successor but with some significant upgrades. The new Xiaomi 13 Ultra packs not three but four rear Leica cameras, with the 23mm OIS (optical image stabilization) main camera using the same "1-inch" 50-megapixel Sony IMX989 sensor, but now with variable aperture to toggle between f/1.9 and f/4.0 for different artistic takes. 

The remaining three cameras do ultra-wide (12mm, f/1.8, 122-degree FOV), periscopic 5x zoom (120mm, f/3.0, OIS) and the new 3.2x zoom (75mm, f/1.8, OIS) for sharp portraits with more bokeh. These all use the new 50-megapixel 1/2.51-inch IMX858 sensor, which claims to offer the same noise reduction, all-pixel focus and DOL-HDR performance as its 1-inch cousin. If true, this would ensure a more consistent image quality across all four cameras, which had been a big challenge for smartphone makers previously. On the other side of the phone, the punch-hole selfie camera remains at 32 megapixels.

As with recent flagship phones, it comes as no surprise that the Xiaomi 13 Ultra is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, with up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 1TB of UFS 4.0 storage. The device also supports USB 3.2 with up to 5Gbps of transfer speed — 10x faster than the 12S Ultra — and up to 4K 60Hz of DisplayPort video output. The slightly larger 5,000mAh battery is complemented by a 90W charger, which reaches 100-percent charge in 35 minutes. You can also use it with Xiaomi's 50W wireless charger, when you're not in a rush. But if you do run out of juice, the new "Hibernation mode" can apparently stretch the final 1-percent battery into 60-minute standby or a 12-minute call, thanks to Xiaomi's very own P2 and G1 co-processors.

While the AMOLED display still comes in at 6.73 inches wide with the same 3,200 x 1,440 resolution, this time it's a new LTPO panel supplied by CSOT (a TCL subsidiary). This supposedly benefits from a new C7 luminous material with a more precise 12-bit color depth, along with a peak brightness of 2,600 nits (or up to 1,300 nits in high brightness mode), better viewing angles and lower power consumption. You get Dolby Vision support as well.

Xiaomi

As with its predecessor, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra features IP68 rating for dust- and water-resistance. In addition to its metallic unibody, the device also consists of a second-generation nano-tech material with anti-bacterial properties and UV resistance. Internally, it touts a new loop-shaped vapor cooling chamber, which uses multiple liquid channels to supposedly dissipate heat three times faster than a conventional design. This is mainly to keep the phone cool while shooting 4K videos. 

The company also implemented a dual-wing cellular antenna module, which apparently offers a 58-percent boost in signal reception across all bands. As a bonus, the symmetrical antenna layout should reduce interference from hands, and there's also a new dedicated 5G antenna which apparently boosts the n78 band's signal by 100 percent.

Xiaomi

The Xiaomi 13 Ultra is already available for pre-order in China, starting from 5,999 yuan (around $870) for the 12GB RAM with 256GB storage model, all the way to 7,299 yuan (around $1,060) for the 16GB RAM with 1TB storage option. Color-wise, you can choose between olive green, black and white. For an extra 799 yuan ($120), you can get the "Xiaomi 13 Ultra Professional Photography Kit" which includes a camera grip attachment (with a physical shutter button) and a special phone case — one that lets you attach the included 67mm filter ring adapter and lens cap.

Engadget understands that the Xiaomi 13 Ultra will reach international markets at some point (except for the white version, sadly), so stay tuned.

With last year's ROG Phone 6, ASUS got our attention with the world's first "wireless" clip-on Peltier cooler, in the sense that it didn't require plugging into a power bank. That, along with a handful of dedicated gaming features — especially the customizable ultrasonic "AirTriggers" — already made it a seemingly solid gaming phone. While some of the competition struggled to keep up, ASUS attempts to keep mobile gamers interested with its brand new ROG Phone 7 series which, for the first time, incorporates A.I. for automatic gaming capture. The company also managed to throw in a surprise for the new clip-on cooler: it now doubles as a subwoofer to take full advantage of the ROG Phone's already excellent stereo speakers.

The aforementioned A.I. feature can be found in the phone's "Game Genie" dashboard. Dubbed "X Capture," this tool is based on ASUS' very own A.I. pattern recognition system, and it's supposedly able to detect key events such as a "kill, death, victory moment, etc." in supported games. Another new tool, "X Sense," uses the same algorithm and pop-up notifications to help the player with in-game decision making. The catch is that both A.I. features only support Arena of Valor for now, and only in "tier one" markets like Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. That said, the product team is apparently already working on supporting more titles, which will no doubt come in handy for gamers who like to show off.

You'll also find two more new gaming features: "vibration mapping" lets you add tactile feedback to your desired virtual buttons, and "background mode" — though already introduced to recent models via an update last year — lets games run in the background when you need to perform certain automatic boring tasks.

ASUS

Naturally, the core specs here offer the latest and greatest that the market has to offer right now. The ROG Phone 7 series pack Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage — a more efficient offering than the earlier UFS 3.1, with at least twice the speed. You still get a generous 6,000mAh dual-cell battery with 65W fast-charging, which now offers a slightly shorter charging time of 42 minutes. The 6.78-inch Samsung AMOLED display features the same 2,448 x 1,080 resolution, 165Hz refresh rate and 720Hz touch-sampling rate as before, but its peak brightness has been bumped up from 1,200 nits to 1,500 nits for better viewing.

As with previous generations, the ASUS ROG Phone 7 series comes with improved thermal design. This time it's all about the bigger rapid-cycle vapor chamber design, and it has two nerdy features: the special trident-shaped wick columns on the long edges vastly increase the surface area for better heat dissipation, and the six liquid-return channels act as highways for cooled water to flow back to the processor. ASUS claims this design increases heat dissipation efficiency "by up to 168%." This is complemented with the Boron Nitride thermal compound on the other side of the CPU, as well as bigger graphite sheets covering the mainboard and RF board.

ASUS

Then there's the new AeroActive Cooler 7 which continues to offer Peltier thermoelectric cooling, and without the need of external power. Similar to its predecessor, this attachment can apparently lower the surface temperature by as much as 25 degrees Celsius, as well as the touch panel temperature by as much as eight degrees Celsius. As with last year's Ultimate variant, the more premium ROG Phone 7 Ultimate comes with the "AeroActive Portal" which, when used with the AeroActive Cooler 7, allows cool air to be blown straight into the phone's body. As a bonus, both the regular and Ultimate models are now IP54-certified (so both dust- and splash-resistant), despite the latter's air vent.

According to ASUS' own hour-long tests using Genshin Impact, the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate (in "X Mode+" performance) equipped with the attachment (in "frosty" cooling mode) was at least 6.4 degrees Celsius cooler than the competition — namely the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra — on the back. Keeping the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate cool allowed the game to sustain an impressive frame rate of around 60 fps, which should avoid interruptions in an intense fight.

The AeroActive Cooler 7 also comes with a set of four extra mappable buttons and, for the first time, a subwoofer as well. So yes, together with the enlarged speakers on the ROG Phone 7, you're getting a 2.1-channel audio system tuned by Dirac. You can also stick to your 3.5mm headphones and take advantage of the "Dirac Virtuo For Headphone" spatial sound feature, or go wireless with Snapdragon Sound's super-low-latency Bluetooth.

There's nothing too exciting on the photography side. The rear cameras remain unchanged: you get a 50-megapixel main camera (Sony's IMX766 sensor), a 13-megapixel ultra-wide angle camera (125 degrees) and a not-so-useful 5-megapixel macro camera. That said, ASUS claims that the cameras here will benefit from an improved light trail mode for artistic captures. The selfie camera on the other side, however, has been upgraded with a new 32-megapixel OmniVision OV32C sensor.

ASUS

For those who are in Taiwan and Europe, select models in the ROG Phone 7 series will be available for pre-order starting today. The regular model starts from €999, but if you're going for the Ultimate version for its AeroActive Portal and customizable ROG Vision screen on the back, it starts from €1,399 — you'll get a €110 AeroActive Cooler 7 for free. (All euro prices are inclusive of VAT.)

As for the rest of us, ASUS has confirmed that the ROG Phone 7 series will eventually be launched in the US, but we'll have to wait a bit longer for a date and pricing, so stay tuned.