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POCO F3 now official, a flagship phone with a midrange price tag

AKA Redmi K40

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The POCO F1 was a legendary phone that kickstarted a new segment called “affordable flagship.” After a year-long sabbatical, the brand has made a quick recovery in 2020 and is now all set to launch its third top-notch offering. Dubbed the POCO F3, it has many expectations to meet.

It’s obvious that the phone doesn’t have a very lucrative price like the POCO F1 due to the ongoing semiconductor shortage and the final cost of incorporating a flagship chipset. However, POCO has achieved a midrange price stag that offers maximum bang for the buck.

The POCO F3 sports a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with Full HD+ resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate, HDR 10+ support, and a peak brightness of 1300 nits. The display, as well as the back, is wrapped in Gorilla Glass 5.

Powering the phone is a Snapdragon 870 processor with Adreno 650 GPU, up to 8GB LPDDR5 RAM, and 256GB UFS 3.1 storage. The fingerprint scanner is located on the side, and it runs on MIUI 12, based on Android 11, out-of-the-box. It’s clear that POCO is focusing on performance and intends to continue the POCO F1 legacy.

The brand stressed on its LiquidCool Technology 1.0 Plus, allowing the device to deliver sustained peak performance. It also has 5G connectivity and WiFi 6 support, making it a solid future-proof phone.

On the back are a 48-megapixel primary camera, an 8-megapixel wide-angle lens, and a 5-megapixel macro sensor. There’s an in-display 20-megapixel front camera that’s located in a punch-hole cut-out.

Backing these internals is a 4520mAh battery with 33W fast charging. Xiaomi claims it can fully charge the phone in 52 minutes. It doesn’t have a 3.5mm headphone jack, which it covers up by Dolby Atmos support and dual physical speakers.

Pricing and availability

Philippines

  • 6GB+128GB — PhP 17,990
  • 8GB+256GB — PhP 20,990

Color options include Arctic White, Night Black, and Deep Ocean Blue, and sales are exclusive to Lazada. If the POCO F3 is ordered on March 27, an early bird discount will be applicable of PhP 2,000 on both variants.

Global

  • 6GB+128GB — EUR 349 (early bird price — EUR 299)
  • 8GB+256GB — EUR 399 (early bird price — EUR 349)

News

More iPhone switchers this year than Android switchers, report says

Only the Google Pixel might be exempt from a global Android dip.

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With the prices of chips skyrocketing this year, the commonly held rule of thumb is to hold on to your devices for as long as possible. Of course, the dip in demand will also translate to a dip in supply. According to new reports, users this year might favor switching to an iPhone over an Android phone.

As early as late last year, smartphone makers have already warned consumers that the prices of new devices might go up to anticipate the rising prices of RAM. For now, the prices are still manageable, but forecasts don’t look too kindly on the future.

According to a Morgan Stanley report via Investing.com, the shipments of Android phones might drop by as much as 15 percent this year, compared to the last. This encompasses all brands using the platform.

However, there is one notable holdout: the Google Pixel. According to the same report, the lineup will still enjoy some modicum of growth heading into their release schedule this year.

More notably, though, Apple might be the biggest winner this year. Though iPhone shipments might still drop by 2 percent, it’s nothing compared to the former’s 15 percent drop. When comparing the two, that should translate to a growth in Apple’s share of the pie this year. In other words, more people might switch to Apple, compared to people switching to any phone running on Android.

Now, to be fair, these are all just predictions. Anything can still happen, but it looks like Apple might be heading to a stellar performance later this year.

SEE ALSO: Hands-on: NEW iPhone 17e, iPad Air, MacBooks, Studio Displays

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Marvel’s Wonder Man greenlit for a rare second season

The first season holds a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

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Is the Marvel Cinematic Universe back? After years of floundering through Phases Four and Five, Marvel Studios is poised to get its mojo back from a flurry of much-awaited Phase Six projects this year, including the second season of Daredevil: Born Again, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and Avengers: Doomsday. And it all started this year with the critically acclaimed Wonder Man. Now, after the success of that series, a second season is officially in the works.

When its first trailer came out, Wonder Man did not look like anything that Marvel Studios has worked on before. For one, it was incredibly grounded, perhaps overshadowed only by Daredevil: Born Again. Second, it was about the reboot of a fictional superhero movie, itself called Wonder Man.

Actor Simon Williams (played by Yahya Abdul Mateen II) wants to energize his career by performing in the upcoming Wonder Man revival from acclaimed director Von Kovak (Zlatko Burić). Helping the former is the returning Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley), who you might remember as the fake Mandarin from Iron Man 3.

Despite how different it looks compared to previous Marvel Studios projects, the series is one of the most acclaimed, currently holding a 91 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Because of this, Wonder Man has received the green light for a second season, via Variety.

A second season is relatively rare for Marvel Studios with its history of one-and-done series. There are some exceptions, though. Loki, for example, ended its run with a second season. Daredevil: Born Again will air its second season very soon (with a third one potentially in the works already).

SEE ALSO: Marvel’s Wolverine gets a release date

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Apple’s WWDC 2026 will be from June 8 to 12

The focus might be on AI.

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Apple changed the script by launching the iPhone 17e earlier this month. Now, after leaving history for a bit, the company is ready to go back to its originally scheduled programming. WWDC 2026 is now officially confirmed from June 8 through 12.

The Worldwide Developers Conference is an annual event to give the stage to Apple’s software developments. If you’re more familiar with Google’s scheduling, this is the equivalent of the annual Google I/O.

Today, Apple announced that the annual WWDC 2026 will take place from June 8 to 12. As always, it’s expected that Apple’s upcoming slate of major software updates will debut at the event. This includes iOS 27, macOS 27, iPadOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27.

However, besides the expected platforms, Apple has also confirmed that the event will present the company’s latest in “AI advancements”.

For Apple fans, those announcement should come with some excitement. Compared to its competitors, the company has notoriously been left trailing in the AI department. Upgrades to Apple Intelligence and a Siri revamp has been in the pipeline for quite a while now.

If you’re interested in the new developments, WWDC 2026 will, like every year, broadcast its major keynote presentation and a plethora of other showcases for free on Apple’s website and on YouTube.

SEE ALSO: Apple unveils the iPhone 17e

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