14 DAY TRIAL // This will be an interesting week for smartphone fans since both Samsung and Xiaomi plan to launch new products on August 13.
While Samsung is expected to launch two new high-end smartphones, the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 edge+, Xiaomi has already confirmed it will unveil its new MIUI 7 Android skin on the same date.
Along with the new user interface, Xiaomi might also launch the Redmi Note 2 mid-range Android smartphone, which seems to have been repeatedly delayed for unknown reasons.
The sequel to the popular Xiaomi Redmi Note will cost twice as much, but it will also offer much better specs, so the jump in price should be justified.
According to retailer Oppomart, Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 will be available for purchase for $249 (€223), but there's no mention of the exact release date yet.
The good news is the retailer also lists some of the Redmi Note 2 specs, even though Xiaomi has yet to officially unveil the smartphone.
Hopefully, it will run Android 5.0 Lollipop and MIUI 7
However, the info provided by Oppomart is in contradiction with what we've been offered a while ago by TENAA, the Chinese regulatory commission.
For example, Oppomart claims Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 will boast a large 5.7-inch capacitive touchscreen display that supports full HD (1080p) resolution, while TENAA confirms the smartphone features a slightly smaller 5.5-inch full HD display with 2D glass on top.
Furthermore, the smartphone is expected to be equipped with a 64-bit octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor and 2GB of RAM. Also, Redmi Note 2 will pack 16GB of internal memory and microSD card slot for memory expansion.
On the back, the upcoming phone will include a 13-megapixel photo snapper, while in the front there will be a 5-megapixel selfie camera.
Last but not least, Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 is said to run the Android 4.4 KitKat operating system with MIUI 6 on top, but we hope the Chinese company will change it for Android 5.0 Lollipop and MIUI 7.