Cell Phone News Today

With the rollout of Nothing OS 4.0 based on Android 16 last October, Nothing debuted Lock Glimpse — a slickly branded feature that, at its core, put ads on the lock screen. It landed on the Nothing Phone (3a), (3a) Pro, and (3a) Lite, and quickly became one of the company’s most controversial ideas. While users could technically disable it, many reported that Lock Glimpse still drained battery in the background. Now, Nothing is finally pulling the plug — with a notable caveat. Lock Glimpse is being removed from the Nothing Phone (3a) and (3a) Pro. However, it’s sticking around on the Nothing Phone (3a) Lite, and it will also appear on future CMF devices. According to a Nothing representative, the Lite model operates under “a different context.” To hit a more affordable price point, the company says certain trade-offs are necessary. Lock Glimpse will remain off by default and easy to remove, and Nothing claims it will continue refining the feature going forward.

Chinese smartphone brands love a good spin-off story — a sub-brand breaking away to forge its own identity. What’s far rarer is the reverse. And yet, that’s exactly the plot twist unfolding now: "realme is reportedly merging back into OPPO and returning to sub-brand status". If realme’s sub-brand era feels like ancient history, that’s understandable. The company struck out on its own back in 2018 and quickly grew into one of China’s most recognizable smartphone names, far removed from its OPPO roots. According to a new report from Leiphone, that independence is coming to an end. realme is said to be rejoining OPPO, though not without continuity at the top. CEO Sky Li will continue to lead the brand, and all products currently on the release roadmap are expected to launch exactly as planned. The real changes are set to begin this year, as realme gradually reintegrates with OPPO — starting with shared after-sales services. Interestingly, OnePlus is also expected to adopt a simi...

Built-in active cooling fans are quickly becoming the hottest trend in China’s smartphone scene, with more brands jumping on the bandwagon. Now, Xiaomi appears ready to join the race. According to well-known tipster Digital Chat Station on Weibo, the company is testing a new phone equipped with an internal cooling fan. The device is said to run on MediaTek’s upcoming Dimensity 9500 chipset and feature a “1.5K” display paired with an ultra-high refresh rate, though the exact figure remains under wraps. Interestingly, the cooling fan is reportedly integrated into the camera island. Even more impressive, the phone is tipped to carry an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance—no small feat for a handset with active cooling hardware. All signs point to this mystery device being the Redmi K90 Ultra. Xiaomi’s previous K-series Ultra models have consistently relied on MediaTek’s top-tier chips, making the Dimensity 9500 a strong hint. Earlier leaks surrounding the K90 Ultra suggest a 6.8-inc...

OnePlus doesn’t look done pushing battery limits just yet. Hot on the heels of the OnePlus Turbo 6 and Turbo 6V launch in China, fresh leaks suggest the brand is already testing another smartphone packing a massive 9,000mAh battery — or possibly even more. Renowned tipster Digital Chat Station claims a high-performance handset powered by MediaTek’s upcoming Dimensity 9500 chipset is currently in the works. While the device hasn’t been named, it’s widely believed to be the rumored OnePlus Ace 6 Ultra. According to the leak, the phone will sport a flat 6.78-inch LTPS display with a sharp 1.5K resolution and a super-smooth 165Hz refresh rate. Security is handled by a 3D ultrasonic fingerprint scanner, while endurance should be a major highlight thanks to that enormous battery. The tipster also hints at bespoke performance tuning and a handful of standout features designed to set this model apart from other OnePlus offerings. With testing underway, more concrete details about this mystery ...

Honor closed 2025 on a high, shipping a record 71 million smartphones — with flagship models accounting for an impressive 10 million units.  What truly stands out, though, is the brand’s growing global footprint: half of Honor’s smartphone sales now come from markets outside China, fueled largely by the success of the Magic7 series. Building on its momentum from 2024, Honor delivered a strong 50% year-over-year growth in shipments. The company has now secured a 10% or higher market share in 17 regions worldwide, spanning Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. In Malaysia, Honor has gone a step further, emerging as the market leader with over 18% smartphone share and a commanding 30% share in tablets. Looking ahead, Honor is doubling down on AI with its ambitious Honor Alpha strategy. The brand plans to invest more than $10 billion in AI-driven products over the next five years, placing smartphones at the core while expanding into AI-powered PCs, tablets, and wearables.

The Oppo Find X9 Ultra is expected to debut in March, and a new leak from a tipster on X is already lifting the curtain on its rumored camera hardware. The main camera is said to use Sony’s newly announced Lytia 901 sensor — a 200MP, 1/1.12-inch unit with a 23mm focal length. Reports claim the ultrawide camera will rely on Samsung’s 50MP ISOCELL JN5 sensor (1/2.76-inch) with a 15mm focal length, while that same sensor is expected to handle a 230mm telephoto setup with 10x optical zoom. Rounding out the setup is a 70mm periscope telephoto camera, reportedly built around OmniVision’s OV52A sensor — a large 1/1.28-inch unit with a massive 200MP resolution and 3x optical zoom. That said, this rumor should be taken with a healthy dose of skepticism, as it comes from a largely unproven source. Still, if true, the setup is intriguing, pairing two zoom cameras with a notably larger sensor on the shorter telephoto. Source

Poco will officially launch the M8 on January 8, and in the run-up to the announcement, the brand has begun revealing additional details about the phone’s specifications. It sports a 6.77-inch 3D curved OLED display with a 1080×2392 resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and up to 3,200 nits of peak brightness — which Poco boldly claims makes it the most durable 3D curved display phone in its segment. Poco says the M8 meets MIL-STD-810H standards for resistance to heat, dust, and shocks, while also offering IP66 dust and water protection, Wet Touch 2.0 technology, and drop resistance up to 1.7m. It will be the slimmest Poco ever with its 7.35mm profile, and weighs only 178g - in fact, it's the slimmest and lightest device in its segment. Those are all the specs Poco has officially confirmed so far, but recent retailer listings reveal even more — including a Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 chipset, a 50MP main camera paired with a 2MP depth sensor, a 20MP selfie camera, and a 5,520mAh battery with 45W ...