iQOO 12 and DImensity 9300: The Official Review of Week 43

Xiaomi Makes Unlocking Devices Harder

This week, Xiaomi announced that it will no longer issue HyperOS updates to devices with unlocked bootloaders. This means that phones with HyperOS will now be harder to unlock. To unlock a Xiaomi phone, users currently have to submit an application via the company’s Windows app and wait one week until the bootloader can finally be unlocked. However, Chinese HyperOS users will now also be required to achieve level 5 on their community forums in addition to waiting for one week. Users outside of China will have to wait for an official Xiaomi announcement on how the new unlocking process will work.

In other news this week, the iQOO 12 series was unveiled in China. Both phones in the series have Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipsets, 144Hz displays, and impressive triple cameras on the back. The Pro version also has a higher-res 1440p panel, wireless charging, and a slightly bigger 5,100mAh battery. Both phones are set to go on sale in China on November 14, with the iQOO 12 Pro starting at CNY 4,999 (€642, INR 57,150), and the iQOO 12 at CNY 3,999 (€515, INR 45,700).

Additionally, MediaTek announced the Dimensity 9300 with four Cortex-X4 cores and four Cortex-A720 cores, which also include efficiency cores. This new flagship SoC is expected to be used in upcoming smartphones like the Oppo Find X7 series and vivo X100 series.

Also, a renowned tech website has revamped its battery test and unveiled a new Battery Life test 2.0, focusing on video streaming and gaming, as well as the staple call test and browsing test. The new test will offer an estimate of how long the battery will last based on a mix of all activities, while also allowing users to adjust the score based on their usage patterns.

Other major news this week includes the upcoming launch of the Galaxy S24 series from Samsung, improvements in Apple’s battery technology, the arrival of the OnePlus PJD110 with 16GB of RAM, and the open sale of a new Y-series phone in Indonesia.

Overall, the tech world has been busy this week with new updates, launches, and innovations.