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The OnePlus 3 is an extremely well made smartphone, especially considering the price and it's about to get even better. Engadget has received confirmation from the head of OnePlus's software department, Brian Yoon, that a beta build for the OnePlus community will be ready by the end of November. What this also means is that the final build of Android 7.0 with the new Oxygen OS on top will be reaching OnePlus 3 smartphones all over the world via OTA by the end of 2016. Considering that 2016 only has one more month left in it, it would be safe to conclude that the final build will land on the OnePlus 3 next month.
OnePlus isn't a company that's known for providing speedy updates, but that seems to have changed thanks to a pretty big decision. They have merged the development teams responsible for maintaining and updating the HydrogenOS in China with their counterpart for the international OxygenOS to create one unified strong software department that will provide their customers with much faster updates. In fact, even the OnePlus 2 will receive the upgrade to Android Nougat, later in 2017.
Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)
On Friday, OnePlus released a teaser in a tweet for its upcoming OnePlus 7 Pro phone. The company dunked its smartphone in awater bucket despite the fact that the phone doesn't have an official water-resistance IP rating. And it is trying to show that even without the un-necessary rating phone has water resistance.
The company has taken a stance on IP ratings for resistance to water and dust. It suggests that getting the IP rating isn't cheap. To obtain official water and dust resistance the companies have to spend money and the smartphone manufacturers are transferring that cost down to its customers.
OnePlus seems confident enough that the OnePlus 7 Pro will have enough resistance against water that it can easily withstand a good water-bucket dunk. Still, the company doesn't suggest you to intentionally expose its upcoming smartphone to water. The fine print in the video says "Water resistant under optimal test conditions.
OnePlus makes no guarantees regarding water/liquid resistance." This means that if you are exposing your OnePlus 7 to water, you are responsible for any damage and the company isn't entitled to pay any money for the repair or bound to replace the phone if it does more harm to the phone.
This kind of written warning isn't a new thing. You may find the same printed text on phones that have a high official IP rating. Apple's support page has a disclaimer about any water damage which says, "if liquid damages an iPhone or iPod (for example, coffee or a soft drink), the service for the liquid damage isn't covered by the Apple One-Year Limited Warranty."
You have to buy AppleCare Plus for $6 per month and pay another $100 for the repair, which is what you have to pay even if the iPhone doesn't have an official IP rating. To be fair, the official IP rating is just for peace of mind. In the case of OnePlus Pro 7 you have to take its word for it.
Vivo is going to launch two new smartphones in the upcoming weeks which it has already announced today in China. The series consists of Vivo X60 and Vivo X60 Pro. These phones will be the first-ever smartphone to be powered by the Samsung Exynos 1080 5nm processing chip. The new processor is far more powerful than its predecessor. But speed isn't the only feature Vivo X60 offers. The standard Vivo X60 will have a slim design, with a new operating system, and technologically advanced cameras. From the design perspective, the phones will be the slimmest 5G smartphones in the market. The standard model is 7.36 mm thick while the pro model is at 7.59mm. Both phones use a curved glass back with a silk touch. However, the number of cameras isn't the same.
The Vivo X60 and X66 Pro both have a 5.56-inch display with a 2376x1080 resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. The AMOLED display phone has a center punch hole to house the front camera. The display is HDR+ certified and has a 19.8:9 aspect ratio. According to the company, this screen is developed with Samsung and is far more clear and brighter even under strong sunlight. The phone will have 8GB or 12GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB of internal storage. But the main selling point for the phones is their cameras. Vivo has partnered with ZEISS to improve their lens technology.
The vanilla Vivo X60 has a second-generation Sony camera with standard gimbal support with a 4-axis optical image stabilization and a closed-loop motor impressive anti-shake feature. It comes along with a 13MP ultra wide-angle camera and a 13MP telephoto camera. The pro model has the same Sony IMX camera with gimbal support. The primary camera is 13MP with wide-angle camera and distortion correction features. Another camera is an 8MP periscope camera that provides 5x optical zoom and up to 60x superzoom. Both phones feature a 32MP front camera with f/2.4.
Xiaomi is famous for bringing top end specs to their smartphones and sell them at half or even less than the similarly powered smartphones from the big boys like Samsung, HTC or Sony. However, all of its smartphones are usually available via online retailers and their own websites only. Xiaomi is about to change that trend with the Redmi 3S+, which according to the company, is going to be an offline-only device. What this means is that the mid-range smartphone priced at Rs 9,499 ($140 approximately) is not going to be sold online anywhere, but will only be available in actual brick and mortar stores under the Make in India initiative.
The decision was apparently taken by the Chinese OEM in order to reach Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities in the country, where online shopping is not very feasible or popular yet. We can clearly see that it is actually a pricier variant of the Redmi 3S/3S Prime without any real improvements. The higher price is obviously a result of offline retailing expenses, but the phone still offers decent value for the price. Check out the major specifications below.
Display: 5-inch 720p
SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 (1.4GHz) Octa-core 64-bit processor
RAM: 2GB
Internal Storage: 32GB
Rear/front camera: 13mp/5mp
Battery: 4,100mAh
Misc: Fingerprint scanner, VoLTE, etc.
Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)
The Xiaomi Mi Max has just been announced and it is going to be a huge one, quite literally! There will be three versions of the handset with slightly different hardware and internal storage capacities, but all versions will sport the same 6.44-inch 1080p display with a ppi count of 342. The enormous phone measures in at 173.1mm × 88.3mm × 7.5mm and weighs in at 203 grams. Initially, the device will only be available in China at a price of RMB1499 ($230 approx.), RMB1699 ($260 approx.) and RMB1999 ($307 approx.) for the respective models.
From what we know so far, all three models will share the same 6.44-inch FHD display, 3 gigs of RAM 5mp/16mp front and rear cameras, expandable memory, fingerprint scanner, metal build, USB 2.0 port and the massive 4850 mAh battery. Difference between the model priced at RMB1499 and the one that is priced at RMB1699 lies in the chipset used and the in-built memory. If you are ready to pay the higher price, you can own the 64GB model with the octacore Snapdragon 652 chipset. The cheaper one on the other hand will offer you less internal storage (32GB), as well as the slightly weaker Snapdragon 650 hexacore SoC. Xiaomi is offering the MI Max 128GB version at RMB1999 and this one will come with 4GB of RAM instead of 3GB. The SD 652 SoC will power this one as well while all other specifications will remain the same.
The Max will be made available for purchase in China, starting May 17, but no such plans for the US have been declared yet. If you really like the specifications and the "giant" form factor, there is always the option of importing one though. What do you think? Would you like to see the Xiaomi Mi Max being launched in your country or would you give it a pass?
Author: Saikat Kar (Tech-journalist and enthusiast)
As 2017 approaches, the new trend for the smartphones of tomorrow seem to be edge-to-edge bezel-less displays. Following the footsteps of the Xiaomi Mi Mix, Huawei is rumoured to be the next manufacturer to release a bezel-less smartphone and it might just arrive sooner than you think. The Honor Magic (as it will possibly be called), could be revealed on December 17. It could have already been out and about, had the original release date of December 7 not been pushed back.
If the latest leak is to be believed, then the Honor Magic will be priced higher than a mid-high end gaming PC, two or three average laptops and even the Apple iPhone 7 Plus 256GB variant! JingDong has the Magic priced at RMB 9,999, which equates to around USD 1441/Euro 1385/1162 pounds. Let's just hope that this listing price is the result of an exaggerated pre-release hype rather than a reflection of the actual official price tag. Also take a look at what the Magic promises to bring with it, as per leaks and rumors.
Curved Super AMOLED edge-to-edge 4K display made by Samsung
A huge battery with charging tech that pumps up the battery from 0 to 50% in five minutes
Dual rear cameras
Included stylus
Fingerprint scanner below the curved glass
3D glass back cover
We are not entirely sure about the authenticity of these rumors, but the image that you see above seems legitimate. However, some of the other specs, as well as the price seem like, well... "Magic!"
Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)
There was a time when Chinese manufacturers were accused of copying features and designs from the more established brands, especially Apple. While some manufacturers are still on that road and it cannot be denied that even the most reputed of manufacturers have copied design elements from Apple, certain Chinese OEMs have introduced revolutionary concepts in the recent years, way ahead of Apple or Samsung. The Vivo Nex is the only true bezel less phone in the world right now and Huawei did revolutionize the smartphone camera by launching the incredible P 20 Pro; which was at that time, the only smartphone in the world with three rear cameras.
As a follow up to the P 20 Pro, Huawei will soon be launching the Mate 20 Pro, which is expected to further improve smartphone photography by introducing an enhanced version of the extremely successful Fusion Light technology we saw on the P 20 Pro. Apparently, the Mate 20 Pro will feature four rear cameras by Leica (an extra wide-angle lens), but instead of using Fusion Light, it will use an AI-powered version of it, called FusionMind. The exact details are fuzzy at the moment, but sources have it that the AI-powered technology will help to produce better, sharper images by automatically squeezing multiple pixels into one pixel, as necessary. Fusion Light on the P 20 Pro already provides users with an option to choose between 40-mp or 10-mp (squeezed pixels) images and this seems to be an enhanced version of that. Aside from the huge notch, it does look like the Huawei Mate 20 Pro is going to be a very lucrative option soon. You can check out some of the other rumors at Gizmochina.
Saikat Kar
The latest leak suggests Vivo Y30 is going to launch in the Indian smartphone market. The phone was earlier released two months ago, and now it seems like the Vivo Y30 is coming to India as well. As per the retailer, the price of the handset would be around Rs. 15,000. The phone will feature 4GB RAM and 128GB internal storage. While we are not sure about the launch date, we can assume that it is going to be soon, as other leaks confirm. The phone is available in blue and Moonstone white colors in Malaysia. The device comes with dual-SIM support and operates on Android 10 with FunTouch OS on top. It features a large HD display with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio and a 6.47-inch screen size.
The phone has a quad-camera system on the rear side that includes a 13-megapixel primary camera lens with f/2.2, an 8-megapixel secondary sensor with ultra-wide-angle f/2.2, a 2.2-megapixel depth sensor lens with f/2.4, and a 2-megapixel shooter lens with f/2.4 aperture. The front camera is of 8-megapixel. The phone is powered by the octa-core MediaTek Helio P35 (MT6765) SoC, paired with 4GB of RAM.
The Vivo Y30 offers multiple connectivity options including i-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, GPS, Bluetooth v5.00, USB OTG, FM radio, 3G, and 4G (with support for Band 40 used by some LTE networks in India). Sensors on the phone include accelerometer, ambient light sensor, proximity sensor, and fingerprint sensor. The Vivo Y30 supports face unlock.
It is now official; Qualcomm's next flagship-grade SoC is coming to the Consumer Electronics Show next week. The debut was disclosed by Qualcomm itself on Twitter, when the company twitted, "We're powering up for #CES2017 with #Snapdragon 835."
As we reported earlier, the SD 835 chip is going to be based on Samsung's 10nm process and will be manufactured by Samsung as well. The Adreno 540 GPU within the chip is going to be 30% more powerful and 40% more power-efficient than the current-gen Qualcomm flagship GPU, the Adreno 530. The default clock speed of the CPU will be set at 2.2GHz, although, overclocking by some of the manufacturers is expected.
All devices powered by the SD 835 will support Quick Charge 4.0 for 5 hours of battery life in just 5 minutes. Plug it in for 15 minutes and your device should reach 50% from 0%, according to the claims put forward by the company. It would be interesting to see how much of this turns out to be true in real life though, as batteries do vary in size.
Although I am sure that most manufacturers will be opting for the Snapdragon 835 SoC as their preferred choice in 2017, as of now, only the Samsung Galaxy S8, the LG G6 and the Xiaomi Mi6 are guaranteed to host the chip.
Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)
The Indian Government seems to be a little aggressive about the new tax schemes. Recently the Goods and Services Tax council of India decided to increase the tax rate by 6% over the existing 12% tax rate. The new tax rate of 18% will apply to anything related to the smartphone industry that also includes the components or parts of the smartphones.
The GST council of India is raising the taxation rate on mobile phones to meet the existing rate on raw material and components used in the manufacturing of the smartphone. India has already slapped on an 18% GST rate on raw materials used for manufacturing smartphones. The current tax rate on the final product was, however, 12%. This was leading to an inverted pyramid of the tax system. In a move to rationalize taxes, the council has increased taxes on mobile phones to match the 18% GST on components. Inevitably, this will lead to an increase in the cost and financial burden on the end consumer.
Manu Kumar, Xiamoi India MD has requested the Indian Government to reconsider this new tax update. According to his latest tweet, he has suggested that the industry is already struggling with depreciating INR and supply chain disruption due to covid-19. He further said that govt should at least consider exempting low-budget smartphones that used to cost under $200. The covid-19 had hugely impact the smartphone and many industries to in fact.
This new tax will further enforce more damage to one of the fastest-growing industries in India. In a memo to the GST council, the Indian Cellular and Electronics Association has raised the issue, but it remains to be seen whether any exemptions will be made to keep prices low, especially in the popular sub-Rs. 15,000 segment.
Nokia has recently been at the front of tech news all around the internet, as its comeback is no more a matter of speculations but something that has already begun. The Nokia 6 was recently released in an online flash sale that was exclusive to China. It got sold out in under a minute! As you can imagine, that's exactly the kind of start that HMD was hoping for. Unfortunately, the Nokia 8 and its flagship specs turned out to be nothing more than a rumor. Nevertheless, we have recently received reliable (somewhat) news from GFXBench that Nokia might be in the process of launching a huge tablet. How huge you ask? 18.4-inches to be exact!
The 2.65kg tablet will reportedly be launched with beefy specs such as a gigantic 18.5-inch QHD display with 2560 × 1440 pixels resolution, Qualcomm 835 SoC with the Adreno 540 GPU, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of internal storage, 4G LTE, GPS, NFC, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Check out the screenshot from GFXBench above to see more details. If this turns out to be true, will you be buying one? How much would you pay for this device?
Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)
If the rumors are to be believed, then HTC could be Google's partner for making at least one of the Nexus devices this year. The HTC 10 was received very well around the world by critics and that is the main reason as to why many are of the opinion that the next Nexus is possibly going to be best one made so far.
A concept model of the rumored HTC Nexus that is based on the HTC 10 has been made by a Reddit user. As expected, it shows the fingerprint scanner to be on the back of the smartphone, just below the rear camera. A metallic body much like the HTC 10 and two front firing speakers from the Taiwanese flagship also make their way to this concept model of the Nexus 2016. The big Nexus branding at the back reminds us of the fact that we are looking at the next Nexus and not the HTC 10.
Another rumor suggests that HTC will be making not one, but two devices for Google this year. The first one will be taking the place of the LG-made Nexus 5X, while the second one will replace the Huawei-made Nexus 6P. If the speculations are correct, then the devices will be using 5" and 5.5" displays respectively.
As is always the case with Nexus devices, they will both be launched with Android N right out of the box. Since Android N has in-built support for pressure-sensitive displays and functions, we expect features similar to Apple's 3D Touch to show up on the latest Nexus smartphones. Google is allegedly working on a Nexus VR device as well, so we expect the Nexus 2016 smartphones to also support virtual reality. We should get to know what's what before the devices get their expected release prior to Q3, 2016.
The last few years have not been kind on HTC and 2015 was no exception either. Even great models like the HTC One M7 and the One M8 were not as successful as they should have been or were expected to be, but the HTC One M9 failed miserably. Often called a "beautiful disappointment," the M9 had many things going for it like an aesthetic design and the latest Snapdragon 810 processor under the hood. However, a buggy user experience, heating issues and poor camera performance went against it. This brought the sales down way below expectations.
From what has been seen in the financial reports for 2015, it looks like HTC's sales went down by a disastrous 57 percent in December 2015, when compared with December 2014. In fact, June 2015 was the worst month for HTC in terms of sales as the difference in sales between June 2014 and June 2015 shows a massive 60 percent decline. After June, September exhibits the second biggest decline in sales for 2015 at 57.5 percent. Now that the calendar year has come to a close, HTC has lost a total of 35.24 percent sales in year-to-year comparison with last year.
The new One A9 managed to improve things a little for the Taiwanese manufacturer, in spite of being criticized for copying the iPhone blatantly. Let's hope that the upcoming HTC One M10 and the HTC Vive boosts up business for the company because HTC really needs it.
It is no secret that a lot depends on the Galaxy S8 and its success for Samsung as they continue to struggle against the huge losses suffered recently. In fact, we are pretty sure that Samsung is going to leave no stone unturned in order to make the upcoming smartphone as close to perfection as it can be. In spite of Samsung officially trying to keep a lid on things, rumors have been getting out about the S8 ever since day one and the latest rumor suggests that the Korean giant could be opting for a flexible OLED panel this time around.
The alleged Full-Screen flexible OLED panel with a resolution of 4K will bend around the eyes to make VR experience as immersive as it possibly can be. Keep in mind that Samsung had been using AMOLED displays for its flagship and high-end devices for a long time now and since AMOLED panels too are a type of OLED panel, we are not entirely sure what the difference would be in terms of real life performance in that respect.
What really sounds interesting is that according to Park Won-sang, an engineer of Samsung Display, Samsung may remove most sensors and even the physical Home button completely from the front side of the S8. In his own words, "Samsung Display would roll out a full-screen display whose display area ratio (a scale that measures space taken up by a display on the front part of a handset) reaches more than 90 percent next year."
The senior engineer further added that the screen-to body ratio might go up to as high as 99%, which is even higher than the only edge-to-edge phone we have seen till date, the Xiaomi Mi Mix. A Samsung flagship smartphone that will sport a 4K edge-to-edge flexible OLED panel! We would say Samsung has got our attention.
Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)
There have been a lot of rumors going around recently about Samsung smartphones and the most recent one is about a device that is probably going to run on the Tizen OS. According to Zauba, 310 smartphone units codenamed SM-Z510FD, have recently been imported into India from Vietnam. The description "ASSY METAL REAR UNIT" probably means that the handset will sport a metal body, as per the recent trend followed by Samsung. This is most likely the upcoming Z5 that will presumably be the next phone to run on Tizen.
If what we are hearing about the handset is true, then the Z5 will be equipped with a 1.5GHz quad-core CPU, along with 2GB of RAM to handle the 5.1" FHD display and multitasking. Internal storage will presumably be limited to only 8GB, but a micro-SD card slot will be included. The front and back cameras may sport 5-megapixel and 8-megapixel sensors respectively, while all of this is supposed to be powered by an impressive 3,000 mAh battery.
As the specs suggest, the Z5 is not a high-end smartphone and is not going to come to the US anytime soon. If we were to take a cue from Samsung's earlier release plan while launching the Z1 and Z3, then the Z5 will cater to India and surrounding South Asian countries only. As for the release date, they will possibly release the Z5 in the second half of 2016.
Author: Saikat Kar (Tech-journalist and enthusiast)
Before any confusion is created, let me clear things out by saying that we are talking about the refurbished Galaxy Note 7 here and not the upcoming Galaxy Note 8 or any other new Note device. "FE" will reportedly stand for "Fan Edition," according to rumors and leaks, but this is the same Galaxy Note 7 from 2016 which we fell in love with first, but learned to fear later on. Thankfully (and hopefully!) it will not only feature a completely different battery from the ones that started to catch fire, but will actually be a smaller 3,200mAh cell just to be extra safe.
Those of us that loved the smartphone and are enjoying the idea that it will be re-released with a 30% price-cut in certain regions, will feel safer knowing that the "new" Note 7 handsets might feature a "R" mark at the bottom right corner to indicate that it is indeed a refurbished device (meaning safe). None of this has yet been confirmed by Samsung as expected, but check out the photos and you will feel pretty convinced that the news reports are on point.
Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)
The Galaxy Note 7 Fan Editions are a huge success in South Korea as all retailers are reporting that they are being sold out like hotcakes over there (No puns intended)! Only 4000,000 units had been made available so far and as far as previous reports were concerned, that was going to be the extent of it. In a somewhat predictable turn of events, latest reports are suggesting that the Note 7 FE could also be making their way into other nations on account of the excellent response at home.
Whether you will be getting to buy one in the Unites States or not is uncertain at this point of time but latest reports are suggesting that Samsung may just launch the Note 7 FE in select markets across the world. While the roughly $605 price tag is somewhat steep for a smartphone that's rocking a chip from 2016 and has such an infamous history, people don't seem to be too concerned with that at this point of time! If it came to your country, would you be buying one or would you be saving up for the Galaxy Note 8?
Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)
The term "borderless display" doesn't sound as amazing as it did a few months ago because almost every company out there has a model with minimal bezels now. I say minimal because no phone can truly skip bezels entirely, at least not yet. However, a latest rumor brought forth by SamMobile seems to indicate that the Galaxy S9 will take the term bezel-less even more seriously than before by opting for a screen-to-body ratio as high as 90%! That's an improvement over the already impressive 84% scree-to-body ratio which the Galaxy S8 sports.
The images you see here have been leaked from a smartphone case manufacturer, Ghostek and as you can probably guess, the case is indeed designed for the upcoming Galaxy S9. Aside from the narrower bezels, if the images are accurate, it looks like Samsung will finally be positioning the fingerprint scanner in the middle of the S9's back and that would definitely be an improvement. What it would also mean is that the S9 won't have a fingerprint scanner embedded into the display either.
Leaksters: SlashLeaks and BGR
Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)
There has been a rumor around lately that Samsung is planning to launch an Android Go device very soon, but the company has not made any official announcements to confirm it yet. Nevertheless, a device has been spotted on Geekbench that is most likely this rumored, upcoming Android Go device by Samsung with quite basic specs, as expected. The spotted handset, aka SM-J260G will probably be sold as the Galaxy J2 Core according to online sources, but we will have to wait for the official confirmation.
In case you are not aware, Android Go is a lite version of Android 8.0 Oreo that will run smoothly on even entry level devices with very weak specs. In fact, a lot of first party apps like Gmail and Google Maps already has a Go version that runs smoothly on the OS. Major third-party apps like Facebook also has a dedicated app to run flawlessly on low-powered devices running on Android Go. Would you buy an Android Go smartphone from Samsung? Let us know in the comments.
Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)
Even 5,000mAh batteries in smartphones are not that uncommon these days, but they are fairly rare and mostly cater to the niche gaming community. However, I do not recall any smartphone available in the current market that has a 6,000mAh battery! That's a tablet-grade battery we are talking about here!
According to a leak, one or more models with a 6,000maH battery will be released soon and most reports are suggesting that it will be either the Galaxy M20s or M30s. There's even opinion that both of the upcoming phones will feature the 6,000mAh battery, but I have my doubts about that one though. Most likely, if it is a genuine leak, the M30s will sport the huge battery, while the M20s may not even exist.
The #GoMonster hashtag accompanying the image might suggest that Samsung is targeting this one towards the power users. The media buttons embedded in the image most likely indicates long video and music playback capabilities, which is very likely if the phone really does have a 6,000mAh battery.
Keep in mind that the photo is supposed to be a leaked teaser, rather than being an official one, so the Galaxy M with its mythical 6,000mAh battery may not ever come out. Then again, rumors and leaks are surprisingly accurate these days.
Saikat Kar
Samsung was supposed to release Galaxy M41 this year but according to the reports, the company decided to cancel the phone and go for Galaxy M51 after the Galaxy M31. As per the news, the Galaxy M51 will break cover by the end of June. According to a fresh report on MySmartPrice, the Galaxy M51 launch has been postponed to September. The tech magazine suggests that the Galaxy M51 may face some delays due to the coronavirus situation and some production problems going on in the factory.
The Samsung Galaxy M51 was recently spotted on the Geekbench benchmarking platform with Snapdragon 675 Soc and 8GB of RAM. However, another variant of the phone could be powered by Snapdragon 730 which may also increase the price of the model to some extent. The features octa-core CPU and Adreno 618 GPU. The phone comes with Android 10 and OneUI 2.0 out of the box. The camera leaks suggest that the phone might have a triple camera system at the rear side with a 64MP primary camera, the 8MP ultra-wide camera, and a 5Mp depth camera lens. The phone will be equipped with a 32MP camera for taking selfies. You will be able to shot high-definition video at 30fps.
The phone has a fingerprint scanner for security. The device is expected to be in the market with an AMOLED display with a punch-hole design. The phone offers big internal storage up to 128GB to keep all your images, videos, and files. For connectivity purposes, the phone has Wi-Fi direct, hotspot, Bluetooth, GPS, and Bluetooth. The device has a non-removable Li-Po 4000mAh battery with support to 15W fast charging. The phone is available in blue and other colors. We don't have any confirmation regarding its price in India and other countries so far. But as we get more information or leaks, we keep you updated.
Image credit: DAVID PAUL MORRIS/BLOOMBERG
Android and Chrome OS SVP Hiroshi Lockheimer has said that Google is "very committed" to Chrome OS. The company had already confirmed earlier that the project isn't being killed.
Reports that Google is working on merging the Chrome OS and Android OS into a single operating system. The news was first reported by the Wall Street Journal but has since been confirmed by the search giant. The new OS, which is in the works for the past couple of years, is expected to be ready for a preview next year, but would be launched only in 2017.
The move would result in PC users getting access to Google Play, which is currently home to millions of apps. In addition, Chromebooks the lightweight and portable laptops that got their name from the Chrome OS will also get a new name. The Chrome browser, however, won't be affected in any way.
It's worth mentioning that Google's newly-announced CEO Sundar Pichai has been heading both Android and Chrome OS divisions for the past two years. "Mobile as a computing paradigm is eventually going to blend with what we think of as desktop today," he said last week.
An officer in Mountain View, California noticed a prototype vehicle travelling in a 35 mph zone at a speed of 24 mph resulting in traffic congestion. "As he approached the vehicle he realized that it was Google's self-driving car" said a post by the police department. The officer also contacted the operator to learn about the steps followed by the vehicle for choosing speed depending on roadways and make the operator vigilant about impeding traffic.
Google's self-driving car project gave response on the official Google+ page and clarified that they have put a limit to the maximum speed (i.e. 25 mph) for safety reasons. The company said most of these stops occur owing to growing curiosity of people and their desire to get a closer look. They want people to perceive the car as friendly and approachable, rather than intimidating by making them zoom scarily through neighbourhood streets. Google also said that their vehicles have driven 1.2 million miles for testing without getting a ticket. Well, that's quite an achievement and also human equivalent of 90 years of driving experience.
There is a huge market for these cars. According to a study done by IHS Automotive in January, it is expected that close to 250,000 self-driven cars would be sold each year globally by 2025.
Now that Android 7.0 Nougat is official and out on certain Nexus devices already, it is only natural to be inquisitive about whether or not your Android device is going to get updated to the latest OS from Google. While it would be impossible to predict every smartphone that is going o get the update in the future, we have a list for you today that includes quite a few of the devices that will get official updates to Android Nougat 7.0 or later.
The LG V20 leads the pack as it is going to be the first smartphone to run Android Nougat right out of the box, beating even the likes of the Google Pixel and Pixel XL. However, there are certain rumors which point out that the two Pixel phones might just be launched with Android 7.1 Nougat, which is going to be the next version of the OS. Check below to see if your current or next smartphone made the list. Even if it didn't, if it's a high-end upcoming device, it will probably get Nougat sooner or later.
· LG V20
· Google (HTC) Pixel and Pixel XL
· Google Pixel C
· Google Nexus 9
· Google Nexus Player
· Google Nexus 5X
· Google Nexus 6P
· Google Nexus 6
· General Mobile 4G (Android One)
· Samsung Galaxy Note 5
· Samsung Galaxy S6
· Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge
· Samsung Galaxy Edge Plus
· Samsung Galaxy S7
· Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
· Samsung Galaxy Note 7
· HTC One M9
· HTC One A9
· HTC 10
· Lenovo Moto Z
· Lenovo Moto G4
· Lenovo Moto G4 Plus
· Sony Xperia XZ
· Sony Xperia XA
· Sony Xperia XA Ultra
· Sony Xperia X Performance
· Sony Xperia X
· Sony Xperia X Compact
· Sony Xperia Z3+
· Sony Xperia Z3
· Sony Xperia Z5 series
· Sony Xperia Z4 tablet
· Huawei P9
Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)
Staying true to the tradition of naming their Android iterations after desserts and sweets, Google has finally announced the official name of Android N as Nougat. In case you are curious, real life nougats are chewy Spanish sweets/ingredients made with whipped egg whites, roasted nuts, sugar, honey and candied fruit.
As has been the custom for Google, Android 7.0 Nougat has now received its official statue which depicts the Google Android standing over three nougat bars at its feet. The company expressed its appreciation for the public's response when they had put up an official site for anyone and everyone to suggest a name for the next Android OS. In the launch video, it was also mentioned that those suggestions played a major role in selecting the nougat as their preferred choice.
Android 7.0 Nougat should start to make its appearance by late 2016, especially on Nexus devices. This is a version of the OS that will be heavy on the visual animations and will offer a much better graphical support than Android Marshmallow, which will make way for superior looking games on your Android smartphones.
Author: Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)
Many people are only just getting to grips with the fact we're edging closer and closer to a cashless society. But such is the pace of technology we may also be saying goodbye to our flexible friends as credit cards are being replaced by mobile payments.
It's estimated that over 47% of people in China now use mobile wallets to pay while in Norway that percentage is 42% and the UK, 24%. That's a significant proportion given it's a relatively new concept and puts the card in significant danger of extinction.
Methods of payment are becoming much less physical no matter what the industry. In stores we can now pay via our smartphones, our travel cards are hooked directly to our bank accounts and even in online gaming we can simply sync up our mobile phone account and play the best pay by mobile slots today. That means there's absolutely no need to enter card details, it is simply added to your bill at the end of the month.
These new methods are edging the more traditional formats of payment out and the new generation are certainly favouring mobile ahead of carrying around a physical wallet.
That's only going to continue. By 2022 it's estimated that $14trillion will be spent via mobile pay and it makes sense with security measures forever increasing.
Predictions are expecting that digital wallets will surpass card payments by 2021, and will even more useful ways such as phone bill charging and cryptocurrency also popular we could be completely virtual sooner than we think.
As you'd probably expect it's millenials who have adopted it the quickest. Around half of 18-34 year olds use a mobile wallet, compared to just 20% of those 65+. That will change with education though as more and more people realise it's the smarter option.
Online wallets and brands like Android Pay and Apple Pay use incredibly secure systems and technology. They don't actually use cardholder data to connect with outside payment devices, but rather technology called tokenization which essentially encrypts your data to ensure secure payment.
That's on top of a number of other safety features which make it much more security conscious than carrying around your credit card in your pocket.
This is starting to become more understood by people and whether it be mobile phone bill payments to gaming sites or using Apple Pay in a department store, the less you connect your own bank details with other networks, the less chance you have of having your data breached.
Over the next few years, mobile payment is going to continue to transform how we live our lives. Wearable tech is already allowing us to use this as a method of payment, while mobile wallets are only going to get more secure and simple for us to use.
The cashless society is almost complete. The cardless is also well and truly on the horizon.
If the latest report by Bloomberg turns out to be true, then Qualcomm is probably devising a strategy to put an import ban on iPhones manufactured by Apple outside the country. The United States International Trade Commission will likely be appealed by the chip manufacturer to put the ban in effect against the Cupertino giant. Whether or not they will actually try to do that remains to be seen. Also, it would be interesting to see how the Trade Commission reacts to the appeal, if Qualcomm does indeed decide to go ahead with it.
Why they would take such a step you ask? The answer isn't "to benefit the US economy," that much I can assure you! It's just a possible strategic move by the microchip manufacturer to strengthen their position in the ongoing legal battle that's currently going on in-between the two companies. Qualcomm is losing out billions of dollars because Apple has stopped paying licensing fees to Qualcomm, after citing that Qualcomm is charging exorbitant and unfair amounts of money for legacy technology. It looks like Qualcomm is trying to put some pressure back on Apple.
Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)
We are all anticipating something brilliant from Apple this year as it will mark the iPhone's 10th anniversary. However, what we were not expecting was the fact that Apple might be unveiling the much awaited and mysterious smartphones on Monday, which is tomorrow! The prediction comes from J.P. Morgan of all sources, so this could indeed be legit. Now, it should be noted that what the analyst at the firm said was that Apple might be unveiling its latest and greatest smartphone at the WWDC next week. What this basically means is that the iPhone 8 could be revealed at any date in-between June 5th to June 9th, since the event is 5 day long.
Traditionally, the next iPhone should be launched in September and not in June but it is possible that Apple has sped up the entire process in light of the iPhone's anniversary. It should also be noted that delightful as these rumors/predictions are, chances of them being true are still slim. I guess we won't have to wait too long to find out any way as the event starts tomorrow.
Saikat Kar (the-enthusiast)
In a time when the act of personal data handling by companies is under tremendous scrutiny from the government and private parties, Apple has just updated their privacy policy in the iTunes Store in a way that can raise some questions regarding exactly that! Thanks to Venture Beat, who first noticed the update and brought it to public attention, we now know that Apple has decided to collect data regarding how many calls are made and received from your phone, as well as the frequency of your incoming and outgoing emails!
According to Apple, they are going to use the data to "identify and prevent fraud." The "trust score" appointed by Apple to each device will supposedly help them reduce fraudulent accounts, reviews and purchases from the App Store and iTunes. This news comes in as a bit of a shock as Tim Cook went on public in June while mentioning how much they valued privacy and how harmful online data collection and profile building can be down the line. Well, it does look like they are taking the same path, even more aggressively than others in some respect. You can argue that the data collection is for a greater purpose and they will not be stored for too long, but then again, everybody has a reason! We will have to wait and see how this one turns out.
Saikat Kar
The next iPhone is going to be smaller than the iPhone 7. This is the latest news coming from unofficial sources. We have been hearing for some time now that the basic iPhone 12 might have a 5.4-inch display screen, and the latest leak just gives us a hint that how it will look like in your hands. Recently, a user of the MacRumors forum known as iZac bought a dummy phone of the iPhone. Which means it is not a real phone and more like a model representation of how it will look like. I'm sure you have seen these dummy phones in the mobile phone shops while browsing through these to feel how the real phone looks like before actually making the purchase decision.
If you compare the dummy phone of iPhone SE with iPhone 7, you will see that the latter being slightly large. That's despite the iPhone 7 has a smaller 4.-inch display, the iPhone SE is still smaller by 4.0-inches. According to his claims, the iPhone 12 dummy is 6mm wider than the iPhone SE, and 3mm narrower than the iPhone 7. It may feel more of a stretch to use than the iPhone SE but feels more manageable than the iPhone 7 due to its less rounded edges.
So, if this dummy phone is real then the basic variant of the iPhone 12 might be a great phone for people who don't like big-screen smartphones and prefer to use mobile with one hand. Especially people with smaller hands or girls, who like more compact phones that are easy to handle and keep in purse or pocket. This would be great change as phones are getting bigger and not many smartphones are sold anymore that can be held and use with a single hand, let alone high-end ones. Apple recently launched the 4.7-inch iPhone SE 2020 but that's more of a budget-category phone. It has also similar dimensions to the iPhone 7, so the iPhone 12 might be smaller than this one. Although this doesn't confirm anything, as we get closer to the launch date, we will see more leaks.
It wasn't too long ago when people were anxious to see if their smartphone was on the list to get the update to Android M, but now it's all about Android Nougat 7.0. There is no denying that Nougat does bring a lot of improvements and some interesting features like the Split-Screen Mode and the advanced notification system to the platform. Therefore, here's a list of smartphones that we know will get the official update to Android 7 from their respective manufacturers.
Google Nexus 6
Google Nexus 9
Google Nexus 5X
Google Nexus 6P
Google Nexus Player
Google Pixel C
HTC One A9
HTC One M9
HTC 10
Moto Droid Turbo 2
Moto Droid Maxx 2
Moto X Force
Moto X Style
Moto X Play
Moto X Pure Edition
Moto G 4th Generation
Moto G Plus 4th Generation
Moto G Play 4th Generation
Moto Z
Moto Z Droid
Moto Z Force Droid
Moto Z Play
Moto Z Play Droid
OnePlus 2
OnePlus 3
OnePlus 3T
Sony Xperia Z3+
Sony Xperia Z5
Sony Xperia Z5 Compact
Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet
Sony Xperia X
Sony Xperia X Compact
Sony Xperia XA
Sony Xperia XA Ultra
Sony Xperia X Performance
Sony Xperia XZ
Samsung Galaxy S6
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus
Samsung Galaxy S7
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
Samsung Galaxy Note 5
LG G4
LG G5
LG V20
Huawei Honor 8
Huawei Mate 9
Head over to https://forum.youmobile.org/downloads/ for all the latest updates for your smartphone.
Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)
If you have any of the following smartphones from Google, you will be soon notified to download and install a major update onto your device, aka, Android 10!
· Pixel
· Pixel 2
· Pixel 3
· Pixel 3a
· Pixel XL
· Pixel 2 XL
· Pixel 3 XL
· Pixel 3a XL
In case you have any of the older Nexus devices, you probably know that Google has stopped supporting those years ago, right? In cae you didn't, now you do, but there are still ways to manually flash custom ROMs from unofficial sources if you want to.
Which Other Phones Will Also be Updated with Android 10 Soon?
If you want the fastest updates then you should have bought a Pixel! That being said, some OEMs will likely release the same update with their own customizations on the following dates.
· OnePlus 7 Pro and OnePlus 7 - By the end of September, 2019
· OnePlus 6 and OnePlus 6T - Early to mid October
· Essential Phone - Released already in some regions
Xiaomi Redmi K20 Pro: Released in china already; other regions will get the same update soon
· Sony flagships will likely be updated with Android 10 by October, 2019
· Motorola Android One devices - November, 2019
· Samsung, LG, HTC, Asus, Oppo, Vivo, and Realme - 2020
If your device or OEM is not on the list, you can expect it to get the update sometime in 2020 as well. Keep in mind that this only applies to flagship or high-end devices released in 2018 or 2019, with occasional exceptions.
Saikat
No one can deny that there is an almost irresistible charm to getting upgraded to the latest version of the Android OS and if you happen to own a Motorola phone, we have good news for you in that line. Motorola phones have always been among the fastest in the market to get the latest Android updates and staying true to that tradition, Moto has made it official that multiple of its devices will be getting the big upgrade this year. The first smartphones in line for receiving the update are the Moto Z and the regular Moto G4. Check out the full list of Moto phones that will be upgraded to Android 7.0 Nougat below.
Motorola Nexus 6
Moto X Style
Moto X Pure Edition (3rd gen)
Moto X Play
Moto X Force
Moto Z Force Droid
Moto Z Droid
Moto Z
Moto Z Play
Moto Z Play Droid
Droid Maxx 2
Droid Turbo 2
Moto G (4th gen)
Moto G Plus (4th gen)
Moto G Play (4th gen)
Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)
Thanks to Sammobile who have taken the time to accumulate names of all the Samsung devices that are confirmed to get updated to Nougat v7.0 or above, we have this list for you today. Keep in mind that there might be other names on this list as the year moves forward. Also, names of Samsung devices which will launch with the latest version of Android right out of the box are not included.
Galaxy S6
Galaxy S6 Edge
Galaxy S6 Edge+
Galaxy S6 Active
Galaxy S7
Galaxy S7 Edge
Galaxy S7 Active
Galaxy Note 5
Galaxy A3 (2016)
Galaxy A3 (2017)
Galaxy A5 (2016)
Galaxy A5 (2017)
Galaxy A7 (2016)
Galaxy A7 (2017)
Galaxy A8
Galaxy A9
Galaxy A9 Pro
Galaxy Tab S2
Galaxy J5 (2016) - Probable but unsure
Galaxy J7 (2016) - Probable but unsure
Galaxy Tab A line-up - unsure
If you have a carrier version, the update may take a while in certain cases to reach your handset, but it will be eventually updated for sure. The unlocked variants will of course, receive the updates much faster in most instances.
In case you own an older phone that Samsung has forgotten all about, head over to https://forum.youmobile.org/downloads/ to find all the latest updates for your smartphone.
Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)
In an official revelation via a blog post, Samsung has just disclosed the names of certain smartphones in its arsenal that the company is going to bless with the much-awaited Nougat update. Keep in mind that the names which you see on this list are only the ones that will be receiving the upgrade in the next few months (the first half of the year to be precise). What it means is that Samsung may and probably will update a few other models later in 2017 as well. If you want, feel free to check out the official blog post here; it also details the Nougat 7.0 update which Samsung has now started rolling out to the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge.
• Galaxy S6
• Galaxy S6 Edge
• Galaxy S6 Edge Plus
• Galaxy Note 5
• Galaxy Tab A with S Pen
• Galaxy Tab S2 (LTE unlock)
• Galaxy A3
• Galaxy A8
According to Android Authority, "The list is rather short, and it's not clear if it's exhaustive or just a selection."
Also, check out this much more expansive list of Samsung smartphones that are scheduled for the Nougat update, according to reliable sources.
Head over to https://forum.youmobile.org/downloads/ to find all the latest updates for your smartphone.
Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)
Samsung Turkey has just published some very good news for Samsung smartphone owners on its website. The post clears all confusion regarding which Samsung handsets and tablets are going to get updated to Nougat in 2017, once and for all. Additionally, it also clearly mentions planned dates on which the updates are supposed to go live for their respective smartphone/tablet models. We were pleasantly surprised to see that the Korean giant has included even the older and low-end smartphones like the Galaxy J5 and the Galaxy On7 from 2015 to this list.
The only thing to keep in mind is that this is a Nougat roadmap designed for Turkey and therefore, the dates will vary according to your country. Nevertheless, the list does give us at least a rough idea about when to expect it for our respective smartphones. Once the update gets rolled out, it's only a matter of time before it reaches all regions. As expected, the Galaxy S7 range is the top priority, with most of the handsets in the range already being updated to Nougat 7.0 as you read this. It will probably be the end of the year or even early next year before the J5 and the Galaxy J7 Prime gets upgraded, but at least you know that it's coming!
Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)
Head over to our firmware section to find all the latest available updates for your smartphone.
A lot of people are waiting for Android 7.0 Nougat to arrive on their Galaxy C-series smartphones and although we don't have the dates yet, thankfully, that date doesn't seem to be too far away now. The Galaxy C5, Galaxy C7 and the Galaxy C9 Pro have just been seen testing the Android 7.0 powered firmware in China, according to leakster @mmddj_china on Twitter. Although all it means is that the Chinese firmware is on the verge of being ready, we are guessing that all regions where Samsung has released the three smartphones should also see the upgrade package by the end of September, if not sooner.
Experts seem to think that in regions other than China, the C-series may or may not get the OTA update as Samsung has made such choices before as well, when it comes to its non-flagship smartphones. However, if the recent patterns are anything to go by, we think that this won't be the case this time around. However, we are not ruling out a superlate update in any case!
Head over to our firmware section to find all the latest available updates for your Samsung smartphones and tablets.
Via: SamMobile
Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)
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