Fast Charge

It's Fast Charge's 50th episode, so we're going to mark our almost-birthday with something a little different.

It's phones first though, so we're going to run through the week's bit two announcements: the Honor V40 and the Moto Edge S, both of which were unveiled in China over the last seven days.

Then it's time for a pop quiz, as Toddy turns quiz master to test Dom, Somrata & Anyron on their knowledge of the phone industry over the last 50 weeks - and you all can join in in the comments section too.

This podcast is produced by IDG Communications.

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Toddy has spent a week with the Samsung Galaxy S21, and he's ready to give his full review live on Fast Charge and break down whether or not Samsung has done enough to make the S21 an upgrade.

After that we'll turn to not one, not two, but three new chipsets that launched this week: the Snapdragon 870 and Dimensity 1200 & 1100. All three are being called flagship SoCs, but do they live up to the name?

And finally, just days after shooting down a report that it was leaving the smartphone business, LG has issued a memo saying that... it's considering leaving the smartphone business. Is this really going to happen, and if so, why and when?

This podcast is produced by IDG Communications.

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It's finally here: Samsung is about to unveil the Galaxy S21, and we'll be watching along live before launching into our regularly scheduled episode of Fast Charge to cover CES 2021 and the Oppo Find X3 leaks too.

First, join us as we watch the Galaxy Unpacked livestream with live commentary, as Samsung reveals the S21 series, along with the Galaxy Buds Pro and SmartTags tracker.

Stick around after the event as we continue to discuss the details, before we turn to the week's other biggest announcements: *that* leaked Oppo Find X3 camera module, the LG Rollable tease, the Galaxy A32, OnePlus Band, and everything else unveiled during CES 2021.

This podcast is produced by IDG Communications.

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Fast Charge is back for 2021 and we're kicking things off with all of 2020's old news.

First up Dom is gonna give his thoughts on the ZTE Axon 20 5G - aka the first phone you can actually buy with an under-display selfie camera.

Next up we'll turn to the two big launches of the final days of last year: the Xiaomi Mi 11 and Vivo X60 series, both of which bring series specs to the Chinese market, including the first ever Snapdragon 888 phone in the Mi 11 series.

This podcast is produced by IDG Communications.

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It's our final episode of the year and we're feeling festive.

First up the team is going to go round our wildest wish list requests for Christmas - the big, extravagant tech purchases we'd never make for ourselves but are secretly hoping someone else will for us.

Then it's time to look ahead to 2021. Will Apple finally make a portless iPhone? Will Samsung kill the Note line? Is Huawei finally going to be allowed to make a phone we want to buy again?

This podcast is produced by IDG Communications.

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In 2020's penultimate Fast Charge episode we're taking a look at the Oppo Reno 5 series - only launched today - along with Apple's oh-so-pricey AirPods Max, and rounding it out with our favourite tech of the year so far.

First up is the Reno 5. Only announced today, the Reno 5 and 5 Pro pack in 65W charging and 90Hz panels along with some rather snazzy finishes. The 5 Pro also eschews Snapdragon in favour of a MediaTek Dimensity 1000+ chipset - is this a turning point for high-end MediaTek phones?

Speaking of the high-end, Apple's first over-ear AirPods are here, and they cost more than some cars. They certainly look the part, but at £550/$550 are they destined to be anything more than a status symbol?

Finally, 2020 is drawing to a close. With that in mind, this week Dom, Toddy, Chris and Anyron are going to round up their favourite tech of the year so far - before next week we look forward to what's on the way in 2021.

This podcast is produced by IDG Communications.

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCrL1ZLeIgENlS1nEZzSiueFAiV1Cujvx

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It's a Fast Charge Snapdragon special, as Qualcomm has unveiled the Snapdragon 888, its next flagship SoC for Android phones.

Expected to be called the 875, the 888 is a serious step forward for Qualcomm, with massive leaps in AI and GPU performance, and the first integrated 5G modem in an 800-series chip.

We already know it'll feature in the Xiaomi Mi 11, but which other phones will it appear in?

And we're just as interested in what *wasn't* announced - with no sign of a new 700-series chip to replace the 765G, and no mention of the next Windows-on-Snapdragon chip to rival the Apple M1.

This podcast is produced by IDG Communications.

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It's Black Friday week, which Poco has used as an excuse to launch a budget phone, in the Poco M3, which starts from just $149. Is that enough to make it a great budget buy?

As for the rest of Black Friday, is it really a great time to buy a phone, or are the savings not all they're cracked up to be?

And finally, Samsung is going all-in on foldables, with upcoming devices rumoured to include new Flip and Fold phones, budget versions of each, a new 360-degree foldable *and* a scrolling phone. With all those new devices word is that the Note line is on the way out - is Samsung being smart, or killing an old stalwart to move into what may be a foldable fad?

This podcast is produced by IDG Communications.

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCrL1ZLeIgENlS1nEZzSiueFAiV1Cujvx

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We kicked off the week with word that Huawei has decided to sell off the Honor sub-brand, after ongoing pressure from the effects of the US government's Entity List.

Oppo's Inno Day 2020 gave us insights into some near-future mobile tech, including the intriguing Oppo X 2021 'scroll phone' and Zepp got premium with its new titanium alloy-bodied Zepp Z smartwatch.

This podcast is produced by IDG Communications.

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This week's biggest phone news isn't about a phone at all, as Apple finally unveiled its new M1 Mac chips - based on the iPhone's own processors. Meanwhile big changes are coming to Google Photos and we ask ourselves: what would be the perfect phone?

The Apple M1 chips are based directly on the A14 Bionic found in the latest iPhones and the company is promising blisteringly fast performance that should leave 98% of Windows laptops in the dust. Is that all talk or is this the game-changer Apple says it is?

Meanwhile there's bad news from team Google, as it announces an end to its free unlimited storage plan for Google Photos. It's not as bad as it sounds, but does this mark the chance for someone else to scoop up all those users?

And finally, we turn to the question of the perfect phone. Would it have Apple's cameras paired with Samsung's S Pen stylus? iOS or OnePlus' software? An A14 or the latest Snapdragon chipset?

This podcast is produced by IDG Communications.

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCrL1ZLeIgENlS1nEZzSiueFAiV1Cujvx

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