With Christmas finally in the rearview mirror, we’re gearing up for the incoming year – there’s a lot of tech to look forward to this 2025, and it only feels right to head into the last weekend of 2024 with a recap of all the tech goodness this past week. It’s been quite an eventful one as well despite all the holiday breaks, with updates from names like MediaTek, OnePlus, and more – so sip on that mulled wine, grab yourself a seat, and scroll away into 2025.
This Pixel 10 Render Looks… Unique
A lot of the time, supposed product renders of upcoming smartphones can sometimes turn out, well weird. Take for example this concept product video from the 4RMD channel on YouTube, which shows an interesting take on the upcoming Pixel 10 Pro’s design. While no leaked renders of the Pixel 10 Pro are out and about yet, the concept video takes full liberty with the phone’s design, even switching the Pixel’s signature camera window into a vertical layout. This doesn’t necessarily mean that Google will go with this design, but it’s a unique approach to hardware design as far as Pixel phones are concerned.
Meet MediaTek’s All-Big Chip
MediaTek recently announced the arrival of the Dimensity 8400, a new chipset which packs an “All Big Core” design, something that’s rarely seen on most smartphone chips on the market. The Dimensity 8400 has an eight-core Arm Cortex-A725 processor that runs at up to 3.25GHz, and MediaTek claims that this allows for 41% higher multi-core performance versus the Dimensity 8300 from a while back. Additionally, the Dimensity 8400 is supposedly designed for better control when it comes to the CPU’s performance and power curve, with as much as a 44% reduction in peak power use compared to the 8300.
The OnePlus Ace 5 Series Launches in China
As OnePlus fans outside China await the launch of the OnePlus 13, OnePlus recently unveiled its new Ace 5 and Ace 5 Pro, two upper midrange smartphones which pack some rather impressive performance. Equipped with similar-looking designs and gorgeous-looking LTPO AMOLED displays, the two devices come with different chip configurations. The Ace 5 Pro comes with the newer and more powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, while the regular Ace 5 comes with the slightly older – but still terrific – Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip.
The Vivo Y29 is Super Affordable
Last but not the least is the Vivo Y29, a new entry-level addition to Vivo’s lineup of budget-friendly Android phones. The Y29 doesn’t hide its affordable origins, and packs a a 6.68-inch IPS LCD panel (no OLED, of course) with a basic 720×1608 pixel resolution, a MediaTek Dimensity 6300 chipset, a large 5,500 mAh battery with support for 44W charging speeds, as well as a 50MP main camera with 1080p video recording. It starts at around 180 quid when converted.
The Oppo Pad 3 is Reborn… as the OnePlus Pad
OnePlus recently announced the arrival of the OnePlus Pad for Chinese markets, which comes in a rather striking green colour variant. Take a closer look however and it becomes clear that the tablet in question is the Oppo Pad 3, which has apparently been rebranded as the OnePlus Pad in China. It features the same overall design, the same 11.6-inch IPS display, and even the same MediaTek 8350 chip inside.
