Smartphones in 2018: the half year report

It's hard to believe that we're halfway through 2018 already! So let's press 'pause' for a second and look back at the direction phone development took this year. We go to extraordinary lengths here at GSMArena to ensure that the data within our Phone Specifications pages are accurate and up-to-date. We've selected the most popular 140 phones to avoid outliers messing with the averages and trawled through this wealth of data we've accumulated to draw out stats and trends. Design & Build Size - In 2017, 'taller' displays with their aspect ratios of 18:9 and 19.5:9 resulted in the...

A phone with Light's multi-lens camera tech is in the works

Remember Light's ludicrous L16 camera with 16 lenses on the back? Well, that tech is reportedly going to be used in a phone that will launch later this year. Thanks to Foxconn's big investment in the small firm, the tech is going in a smartphone with nine cameras. According to the Washington Post, the company already has a working prototype with anything between five and nine lenses that function together to deliver DSLR-like performance in low-light conditions and capturing whopping 64MP images. In addition, Light promises sophisticated depth effects and unmatched zoom capabilities,...

Sony Mobile is investigating its operations in Africa, Turkey and the Middle East

It's no secret that Sony's Mobile division has been going through a rough patch, for quite some time now. After the fairly recent internal CEO shuffle, it seems that active steps have finally been taken to evaluate the state of the mobile branch, in hopes of bringing it up to speed with the Japanese giant's successful imaging and gaming divisions. Word of an ongoing internal investigation into the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa markets first came about through veteran leakster Evan Blass a few days ago. Bad news for Sony Mobile fans in the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa: I'm hearing...

Apple is re-building its Maps using data gathered from iPhone users

Apple is said to be working on a new version of its navigation app, Maps. The company has started from scratch and it uses not only the data gathered from its own fleet of cars, but also from iPhone users. But of course, Apple is doing so while respecting user privacy. The new Maps will first be introduced in San Francisco and the Bay Area with the next version of IOS 12 beta. It should cover Northern California towards the end of 2018. Since it now incorporates user travel data when they open the Maps app - just like Google Maps does - it should speed up the process quite a bit....

Weekly poll: face scanning vs. fingerprint readers

Even old sleuths like Sherlock Holmes know that a fingerprint can identify a person. Today, fingerprints are read multiple times a day - it's routine - thanks to the readers on modern smartphones. But is that the best way for a device to know that it's being handled by its rightful owner? What about 3D face scanning? "Wanted" posters have been used for even longer than fingerprints and they work because your face is unique. Well, most of the time, unless you have a twin or a sibling or a kid that looks like you. Capacitive fingerprint readers are fairly simple devices, readily available...

T-Mobile LG G6 starts getting Oreo update

T-Mobile has started pushing out a new update to LG G6 units on its network. Arriving as software version H87220a, the update brings along Android 8.0 Oreo. As per the official change-log, several other bug fixes and software improvements are also included. So with this, all Big Four carriers - including AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon - have rolled out the update to LG G6 units. Given the T-Mobile update - which weighs in at around 1.7GB - has just started rolling out, it may take time for the update notification to pop up on your screen, so be patient. Source 1 2

Smartphone World Cup: quarter finals

We've reached the quarter finals of our Smartphone World Cup after some high-profile departures in the round of 16. You have until Friday to support your favorites and you can vote once a day in each match. Nokia 7 plus vs. Samsung Galaxy S9+ These two come from different walks of life - the Galaxy S9+ is a flagship representing the best that Samsung has to offer. Its screen, camera and chipset are among the best and there's no shortage of perks - waterproofing, stereo speakers, HDR10 screen, fast wireless charging, you name it. Nokia 7 plus • Samsung Galaxy S9+ The Nokia 7...

Another mysterious glass-back Moto gets spotted in the wild

As we approach Motorola's August 2 Chicago event, device leaks have naturally been pouring in. As per the rumor mill, we have the proper Moto Z3 flagship to look forward to at the venue, as well as a new Motorola One family of handsets. Hot on the heels of a major render leak, for the Moto One and One Power, today brings a couple of new blurry photos of a mysterious new Moto smartphone. Leaked photos It clearly features a glass sandwich design, so our first guess would be it's either the Moto One or the One Power. However, there are a few problems with that theory. As per...

Microsoft working on a foldable Surface phone, LG to supply the displays

The so-called "Andromeda" project has been popping up in the news since last year but information is rather scarce. Now, a leaked email along with some new APIs found in Windows 10's latest preview gives us a bit more to speculate about. The Andromeda Surface Phone isn't going to be just a "phone." It's going to be a "pocketable device" following the steps of Microsoft's successful Surface line of laptops with flexible hinges. It aims to be in a class of its own due to its unique form factor and yes, we are talking about a foldable handset. The API allows applications to adjust...

Video lock screen from Samsung Galaxy S9 now available on Galaxy S8 and Note8

The latest update for Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+ and Galaxy Note8 included a cool new feature that remain largely unnoticed. The functionality in question allows you to set a video as your lock screen wallpaper. Here's the feature in action on a Galaxy Note8: The functionality - which debuted on the Galaxy S9 series - arrived on the S8 series and Note8 with the update that also brought along the June security patch to these devices. To access video lock screen wallpapers, head to the Backgrounds tab of Samsung themes. In case you want to use one of your own videos as lock screen...

Verizon just released an eight-core Samsung Galaxy J3 V

Carrier-specific version of headsets are a pretty common occurrence these days. Besides a new confusing branding, these devices typically come with minor tweaks, compared to the generic model. The new Samsung Galaxy J3 V 3rd Gen - a new Verizon exclusive, however, offers quite a significant improvement over the regular Galaxy J3 (2018). The Exynos 7570 Quad, Quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A53 chipset of the original, has been swapped for an octa-core Exynos 7884A. Frankly, this is the first time we are hearing of this particular silicon, but, with an eight core A73 (Dual/1.35GHz) + A53...

Android P rollout for Nokia phones may start in August

So far, HMD has confirmed multiple times that all its Nokia branded smartphones will get the Android P update. In fact, the company recently launched a Beta program in China for the owners of Nokia 6.1, Nokia 7, Nokia 7 plus and Nokia 8 Sirocco. However, there has been no information on the availability of the update. Well, that changes now, as users are being told the roll out will begin anytime after July. As you can see, the information comes courtesy of Nokia Mobile Care. In an email sent out to a user, the support staff gave August as the time frame when Android P will start...

New teaser suggests red OnePlus 6 is coming

Oneplus has released a new teaser video through its official Twitter handle. It's a small, 15 seconds video that doesn't directly reveal the product being teased. But it's easy to guess, given the extensive focus on red color in the video along with C61422 (which is hex color code for red) and the hashtag #Oneplus 6 in the tweet. Now initiating: C61422. Do you wish to continue? https://t.co/QTDxIcWP5N #OnePlus6 pic.twitter.com/mTyjqk5FZZ— OnePlus (@oneplus) June 29, 2018 So in all likelihood, a red OnePlus 6 is coming, and it's coming very soon - you'll see 'July 2' towards the...

Xiaomi Mi A1 gets Android 8.1, but you might want to hold off updating

Xiaomi's Android One smartphone - Mi A1 - is getting a new update. Weighing in at around 1.2GB, it's a major update that bumps the Android version of the device to 8.1 Oreo. Aside from what the 8.1 update brings (like Pixel 2 launcher look as well as dark and light themes), the update also includes Android security fixes for the month of June. The official change-log isn't yet available, but here's an unofficial one from someone who received the update. The roll out seems to be happening globally, as users from markets like India and the Philippines are reporting getting the OTA...

BlackBerry Key2 goes up for pre-order in the US

The BlackBerry Key2 is the second member of a rather unique family of smartphones with actual physical keyboards - a rare sight in this day and age. The Key2 was announced at the beginning of this month in New York, and starting today you can pre-order one if you're in the US. Both Amazon and Best Buy have listed it, for the same price: $649.99 unlocked. You can pick between silver and black color versions. The handset will be released on July 13. If you're not sure whether you should pre-order one or not, take a look at our hands-on review of the BlackBerry Key2. The device comes with...

LG V20 gets Oreo in August in North America

We already expected the LG V20 to at some point be graced with an update to Android 8.0 Oreo, because T-Mobile promised to bring this version of the OS to its version of the phone back in March. Up until now, however, we had no rough timeline to speak of for the new software's release. Over in Canada, though, Fido has updated its own official update schedule page to give us a better idea about when the V20 should taste Oreo in North America. According to that carrier, its V20 units will receive the update at some point in August. We're hoping that no delays will occur. Obviously...

Google Maps now shows when there's road work on your way home

Google acquired Waze five years ago but the majority of features weren't implemented into Google Maps like interactions between drivers, incident reporting, traffic cams, speed cams, police patrols, etc. Today, however, Google Maps is introducing road status to a limited number of users. Screenshot from Google Maps For now, Google Maps reports only road work but incident reporting such as crashes are bound to be implemented shortly after. The app prompts a message asking the user if the road work is still in place with "Yes," "No," "Not sure". The new feature has been...

vivo NEX S review

In our mind, the most impressive aspect of the NEX S is that it even exists in the first place. In one impressive swoop, vivo managed to take what was initially showcased as a tech concept and actually polish and push it to an end-user release. Frankly, a move that took most of the industry by surprise definitely raised the collective bar, in more ways than one. As such, the vivo NEX S is an important and monumental device. It will go down as a landmark in smartphone history. But, does that make it any good as an actual daily driver? One, usable and dependable enough to invest in and have by your side? Join us on the following pages as we try and look beyond the flashy exterior to find out.

Under Armour and The Rock launch a new pair of wireless rugged headphones

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and fitness band Under Armour have teamed up to launch their own pair of wireless headphones. Called the US Sport Wireless — Project Rock Edition, with Project Rock being Johnson's brand of apparel. The Sport Wireless are a pair of Bluetooth headphones. They are designed for use during workouts and especially in the gym. They feature a rugged design that can take a few falls and also happens to be IPX4 certified for some sweat resistance. The UA SuperVent ear cushions are designed to be breathable, light, durable and fast drying. They are removable and...

Honor Note 10 with a 6.9-inch Super AMOLED display incoming

Recent reports pointed at Huawei ordering 6.9-inch Samsung Super AMOLED panels for its October release of the Mate 20 but the latest leak coming from Honor has something more to add to the story. The photo shows an order of 6.9-inch displays - probably AMOLED judging by the model number - intended for an Honor device code-named "Ravel". As you might remember, Honor released a bigger version of its Honor 8 smartphone called Honor Note 8 with an AMOLED panel back in 2016 but then skipped the Note 9 installment. Now, the company appears to be interested in a follow up probably called...

Qualcomm unveils a Bluetooth audio SoC for budget wireless headsets

It's been a busy week for Qualcomm. First, the entry-level Snapdragon 632, 439 and 429 chipsets see daylight then a Snapdragon 2500 for kids' smart wearables gets announced and now the so-called QCC3026 Bluetooth audio SoC. The chip is aimed at entry-level to mid-tier Bluetooth headsets and the company claims that he TrueWireless Stereo protocols that the QCC3026 brings along will reduce power consumption by up to 50% compared to regular headsets. Here's the list of the key selling points of Qualcomm's new product. The chip is expected to ship with devices in the second half...

Nebula Purple Honor Play and Dream Purple 9i will go on sale on July 2

Honor will hold a sale for the Nebula Purple and Dream Purple color variants of its Play and 9i smartphones on July 2. The Nebula Purple Honor Play will cost CNY 1,999 (€260) for a 4+64GB version and CNY 2,399 (€310) for the 6+64GB one. The Honor 9i starts at CNY 1,399 (€180) for a 4+64GB phone and CNY 1,699 (€220) for a 4+128GB variant. Honor Play and Honor 9i in Purple Both devices were announced in the beginning of July with Huawei's GPU Turbo tech for improved gaming performance. The Honor Play is the more interesting of the two with a 6.3-inch IPS LCD of 1080x2340px...

FCC report reveals two new Fossil smartwatches

Fossil is among the few players to actually make gains in the smartwatch market with sales doubling last year and in early 2018 reaching 14% of the total smartwatch market revenue. Recently, 7 new smartwatches surfaced on FCC's website and now a couple of other devices were certified. Fossil DWA6 smartwatch Judging by the model numbers, all those seven smartwatches belong to the same family - DW7F1, DW7M1, DW7E1, DW7E2, DW7S1, DW7B1, DW7T1 but they have different straps, buttons and shapes of the chassis. The new DW6 and DW8 model numbers indicate that these are completely...

T-Mobile starts rolling out Samsung Galaxy S7 Oreo update

After AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint, now T-Mobile has also started rolling out the Oreo update to Samsung Galaxy S7/S7 edge units on its network. The update arrives as version G930TUVU4CRF1, and weighs in at around 1.7GB. In addition to the usual Oreo goodies, the update brings along some performance improvements, feature enhancements, and minor bug fixes. It also includes support for Universal Profile 1.0 Compatibility (which allows files up to 100MB in size to be shared via messaging). The official T-Mobile support pages for these devices are yet to be updated, but given the roll out...

T-Mobile starts rolling out Samsungh Galaxy S7 Oreo update

After AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint, now T-Mobile has also started rolling out the Oreo update to Samsung Galaxy S7/S7 edge units on its network. The update arrives as version G930TUVU4CRF1, and weighs in at around 1.7GB. In addition to the usual Oreo goodies, the update brings along some performance improvements, feature enhancements, and minor bug fixes. It also includes support for Universal Profile 1.0 Compatibility (which allows files up to 100MB in size to be shared via messaging). The official T-Mobile support pages for these devices are yet to be updated, but given the roll out...

Oppo announces O-Free Wireless earphones with 4 hour battery life

At its Find X event, where Oppo revealed the price and availability of the Find X and its Lamborghini Edition, Oppo also announced the O-Free wireless headset. The two truly wireless earphones are said to be very compact and come in Black with either Copper Blue and Bordeaux Red accent color. The O-Free Wireless Bluetooth headset supports TrueWireless Stereo which synchronizes the left and right earphone perfectly with the phone's streaming. The chip inside is a Qualcomm QCC3026 SoC. What's more interesting the O-Free supports voice translation (no details on supported languages...

Samsung's foldable OLED panel goes into production this summer

Korean news outlet, ETNews claims to have come up with an interesting scoop regarding Samsung's foldable OLED panels from a reliable source. The report says that the Korean tech giant is gearing up for mass production of foldable OLED panels that should be the staple of the so-called Samsung X smartphone due to be launched at the start of next year. There's already a big number of manufacturers that are interested in the tech - Motorola, Huawei, Oppo and even Apple. However, the latest report hints at a slightly different approach. At first, the Samsung phone was going to unfold...

Oppo Find X prices and availability unveiled

Oppo held a Chinese launch today for its Find X flagship with slider mechanism, as promised earlier this week. At the global launch in Paris the company said the phone would cost around €999 in the EU, but today it went into detail about pricing and availability for all Find X variants, including the premium Lamborghini Edition. Official slides with prices of all three Oppo Find X variants The Oppo Find X arrives with 8 GB RAM and two storage options - 128 GB or 256 GB. Both are available in either Bordeaux Red or Glacier Blue edges, but the higher-end variant, also called...

HydrogenOS 5.1.10 fixes OnePlus 6 battery drain

Even though the last two updates pushed to the OnePlus 6 aimed to fix the issues that plagued the newly released device, they also messed up a thing or two. Just like before, the HydrogenOS in China gets the improvements before the international OxygenOS so we can expect them to arrive on the global scale pretty soon. Reportedly, the new update fixes some of the gaming-related issues. The somatosensory gestures problems and more importantly, the battery drain. As you can see from the screenshots, Google translate is at play here, so there isn't detailed information about all of...

Seven Huawei phones start getting EMUI 8.0

Huawei confirmed today six phones from 2016 and the Mate 8 from November 2015 will start getting EMUI 8.0 in the following days. The full list is completed by Honor 8, Honor V8, Honor Note 8, Honor 6X, the Huawei P9 flagship and the bigger P9 Plus. EMUI 8.0 comes with intelligent CPU management for performance optimization and improved battery life. The new user interface also brings instant translation, photo scene detection, and a refined overall look. The Honor 6X is the 10th phone that is getting the Oreo-based UI after the initial list of 9 Honor phones, released at the...

OnePlus eyeing US expansion, 5G phone for 2019

OnePlus is already present on the US market via third-party retailers and its own online store. According to Pete Lau, the smartphone company wants to build on that by also working with carriers. The OnePlus CEO also said his team is working to produce a 5G smartphone next year. At MWC Shanghai the OnePlus CEO the relationship with Qualcomm will make his company one of the first with a 5G mobile phone and the launch will match the 5G arrival in the United States. Expanding sales would mean the phone will get to more users, and not only diehard fans. Lau said working with...

HTC U12+ now available in the US

After a brief hiccup in handling pre-orders, HTC has now started selling the U12+ flagship smartphone to general public. The device is listed as 'in stock' on both the company's US website and Amazon for $800, with orders shipping immediately. The carrier models all feature 64GB storage, but the unlocked model - which is compatible with AT&T, T‑Mobile and Verizon - comes in both 64GB and 128GB memory configurations. While the 64GB model is available in black and blue colors, the 128GB model - which carries a price tag of $849 - is available only in blue. In case you aren't...

Huawei to launch gaming phone this year, foldable device in 2019

Huawei has revealed some exciting plans for its smartphone line up. In an interview, the company's Consumer Business President Jim Xu has confirmed a gaming-focused device is in the works, and is set for a H2 release this year. Nothing much is known about the device at the moment, except that it will feature Huawei's GPU Turbo technology out of the box. That makes perfect sense given that the tech in question is claimed to increase device performance by 60% while reducing power use by 30%. Currently, the Razer Phone and Asus' upcoming ROG phone are the most talked about gaming...

vivo Z1i leaks with Snapdragon 636 SoC and 128GB storage

A new vivo smartphone has leaked, dubbed Z1i. The device is powered by snapdragon 636 SoC, and sports a 6.26-inch display with 2280 x 1080 pixel resolution. It comes with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage. The camera department is handled by a dual rear setup of 13MP + 2MP and a 16MP front shooter. Measuring 154.81x75.03x7.89mm and weighing in at 149.3g, the handset runs Android 8.1 Oreo and packs in a 3,180mAh battery. This all makes the Z1i a pretty close match for the vivo V1730DT that surfaced earlier this week at TENAA. Rumors say the vivo Z1i will carry a price tag of CNY 1,998...

vivo V9 6GB with Snapdragon 660 SoC launched

vivo has launched a new variant for its V9 smartphone. Dubbed V9 6GB, the model - as the name suggests - comes with 6GB of RAM, compared to 4GB RAM in the standard V9. Another change is the chipset. While the standard V9 features Snapdragon 626 SoC, the V9 6GB is powered by Snapdragon 660. The V9 6GB comes with a different camera configuration as well: 13MP+2MP dual rear setup and 12MP front shooter with Dual Pixel sensor. For comparison, the V9 comes with 16MP+5MP dual rear setup and 24MP selfie shooter. Color options for the new model include red and black. The rest of the V9 6GB...

Huawei reveals detailed roll out schedule for its GPU Turbo tech

Earlier this month, Huawei unveiled GPU Turbo technology, which it claimed increases device performance by 60% while reducing power use by 30%. The tech can enabled on a device via a software update, with Huawei promising it will be rolled out to several of their smartphones (from mid-range to flagships). Even a brief roll out schedule was shared. Now, the company has revealed a detailed schedule for the roll out, sharing which devices as well as regions will get the update and when. Here's the plan for Huawei phones: Phone Region Availability Huawei...

Samsung Galaxy Note9 specs and features revealed in detailed hands-on

The Samsung Galaxy Note9's launch is still over a month away, but that doesn't mean it's too early for the leaks to start pouring in. A we've got a big one from Eldar Murtazin - a well-known veteran in the industry. He was able to spend some time in the US with a pre-production unit to evaluate the software and hardware. He talks about design, functionality, hardware specifications and even discloses some details about the future Galaxy S10 device. The Galaxy Note9 will be look almost identical to its predecessor, the Note8 with the only noticeable difference being the back. As...

Amazon releases Fire HD 10 Kids Edition tablet and a dock for Alexa

Amazon has launched a new Kids Edition of its Fire HD 10 tablet which comes with unchanged internals compared to the 2017 device, but some cool kid-friendly features. For starters it has a colorful kid-proof rubber case (in blue, purple or yellow), 2 years of warranty and 1 year of FreeTime Unlimited with access to special apps, games, videos and books, and additional parental controls. Parents can limit what content their child can see and how much screen time it gets. Amazon Fire HD 10 Kids Edition tablet The tablet is on pre-order for $199 - $50 more than the regular Fire HD...

Android 8.0 Oreo rollout begins for the Huawei Mate 10 Lite and P10 Lite

The beta testing of the Android 8.0 Oreo on the Huawei Mate 10 Lite and P10 Lite has ended and the OEM has started pushing the final version of the firmware. Some users in Germany already report that they are receiving the much-needed upgrade. The OTA update is about 2.5GB big and just 500MB if you are updating from the beta version. The build number for the P10 Lite is WAS-LX1A 8.0.0.362 (C432) and RNE-L01 8.0.0.330 (C432) for the Mate 10 Lite. You can expect some new features and under the hood changes once the update hits you as well. Now holding onto an app icon will...

Instagram Lite appears on Google Play

Facebook introduced Lite app for its social network back in 2015 and Messenger Lite for its messaging service two months ago, so the most logical thing was to launch Instagram Lite. The waiting is over, and the photo-centric social media is on Google Play with a smaller package size and less clutter. Instagram Lite screenshots Instagram Lite lacks some of the features that can be found in the regular app, but hardly disrupts the overall experience. It still has the curated stream of photos, all the filters, the ability to watch and post Stories and to follow and be...

Honor 9i launching in purple next week

The Honor 9i was unveiled earlier this month alongside the Honor Play. The device comes with a notch and dual camera setup (16MP + 2MP) on the back, as well as GPU Turbo tech (which Huawei says increases performance of a device by 60% while reducing its power usage by 30%). While the official color options for the device include Black, Blue, Purple, Lime, only the first two have been available to purchase so far. That's, however, about to change as the company has announced the purple model will be released next week. The Purple Fantasy variant - with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage - will...

Amazon adds Fire TV Stick, Kindle and Echo to Prime Now in India

Amazon Prime Now service in India will now include Amazon's own devices. You can now purchase Fire TV Stick, Kindle and Echo devices from the Prime Now app, which also includes over 10,000 products from various categories. Prime Now is an instant delivery service by Amazon. In India, it is available in Bengaluru, Mumbai, New Delhi and Hyderabad. The most prominent feature of this service is the exclusive 2-hour delivery for Amazon Prime customers, making it the fastest way to purchase on Amazon. With the launch of Amazon devices on Prime Now, you can essentially purchase a Fire TV...

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 and Redmi Note 5 Pro sales reach 5 million

Xiaomi is on a roll in India, the latest phones to join the best seller club are the Redmi Note 5 and Redmi Note 5 Pro. Together they have sold 5 million units in four months. Last year the Redmi Note 4 hit 5 million sales in August, after a great launch at the end of January. To be fair, it achieved it alone, but that shouldn't take away from achievement of the Note 5 duo, which reached the 5 million mark much faster. Even as individuals these phones have topped sales chart - back in February, just after it was announced, the Redmi Note 5 Pro sold 300,000 units in under 3 minutes....

Telegram update brings replace media, mark as unread and 2x voice messages

Telegram has released update 4.8.3 for iOS and 4.8.10 for Android that come with some useful new features. The first one is replace media. In case you accidentally send a wrong image in a chat, your only option previously was to delete the message. While you could edit sent messages, this option was not available for sent media. That changes with this update. Now you can edit a media post just as you would a text post and get the option to replace the media, whether an image or a video, with another one. The message will appear as edited, as with text messages. Another useful new...

Samsung is announcing a new Galaxy On smartphone on July 2

We've known that Samsung is looking to refresh its Galaxy On series for some time now but information has been pretty scarce. Unfortunately, the upcoming smartphone remains a mystery, although we now know when to expect it. Just like before, the Korean company is looking to partner with Flipkart to bring the device exclusively on Indian soil. The launch date is set for July 2 at 12:30 PM IST and even the landing page is all set up. From the marketing campaign, we can assume that it's going to feature an Always on Display, which in turn means Super AMOLED panel. Also, the...

Samsung dual-SIM Galaxy S7 Duos finally gets the Oreo update

Most of the Galaxy S7 versions already received the update to Android 8.0 Oreo including the Verizon and AT&T models, but the international dual-SIM alteration was left out so far. This changes today as the rollout has finally commenced. The Galaxy S7 Duos with model number SM-G9300) has started receiving the Android 8.0 Oreo OS update with build number G9300ZCU2CRF5. If you still haven't got it, we suggest updating manually. Here's a detailed list of changes straight from Samsung's post. We recommend that you back up your important data to keep it safe during the upgrade. Some apps,...

Lenovo Z5's latest batch sold out in 50 seconds

Lenovo teased a Z5 flagship without bezels, but the actual announcement painted a somewhat different picture, delivering a notched screen and Snapdragon 636 mid-range smartphone. Still, its attractive price made it a hit with consumers and its Indigo Blue option once more sold out instantly. It took it just 50 seconds, according to Lenovo's post on Weibo. Lenovo Z5 arrived earlier this month with dual 16 MP + 8 MP with AI capabilities. It has the heavily modified ZUI 4.0, borrowed from the ZUK smartphones, based on Android Oreo. Lenovo VP Chang Cheng promised Android P for the...

Apple and Samsung settle legal battle after 7 years in court

After 7 years of court battles over patents and design, rulings and appeals, Apple and Samsung have settled their legal dispute privately and effectively ceased all legal action. The legal battle began in 2011 when Apple formally accused Samsung of copying the iPhone. In 2012 a jury ruled that Samsung copied Apple and had to pay $1B in damages. Samsung appealed and after a lot of back and fourths, in 2018 the damages payment was reduced to $539M. Again, Samsung appealed. Following the appeal a court date of June 26 was appointed, but Apple and Samsung worked out a settlement deal to end...

Asus US lists the Zenfone 5z at $1,999

The Asus Zenfone 5z debuted back in February at this year's MWC. The Snapdragon 845-powered phone went on sale this month in Europe andJapan, while India is scheduled to get it next week. Now, listing for the device has gone live on the company's US website as well. While this is good news for fans in the states, the listing says the device starts at $1,999. Yes, a whopping $1,999. For comparison, in Europe, the handset costs around $575. Is the company planning to bring a highly beefed up version of the phone to the US? Well, no, as it's the same model (ZS620KL) with same specs...

New SD Express standard brings PCIe NVMe speeds to regular SD cards

Interesting things going on at Shanghai's MWC this year. After vivo announcing a breakthrough technology for 3D sensing and facial recognition, the SD Association had something cool to share with us too. It introduced a new SD Express standard that supports PCIe 3.0 interface with NVMe protocol on the second row of pins that already exist on modern microSD and SD cards, although for now, only the latter will benefit from those speeds. Currently, UHS-II and UHS-III SD cards have the second row of pins and reach 312 MB/s and 624 MB/s transfer speeds, respectively. But the new SD...