Samsung Semiconductor held its Foundry Forum this week and announced a breakthrough in its fabrication process for making the Exynos chips that power its Galaxy smartphones. The new technique will give the company at least a 12-month lead on the competition in moving to the 3nm process that will result in a 50 percent boost in battery life just in time for the Galaxy S12.

The Reolink Go is a possibly worthwhile innovation in the security-cam industry: it is a truly stand-alone product that does not require external power or cables of any sort. Therefore, it can be installed so as to surveil anything the user wants. However, its need for 4G connectivity could be a drawback in some circumstances.

In changes to be announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June, Apple looks set to increase the number of its own Apps available on the App Store, directly challenging Google and Amazon. Changes look likely to increase existing tensions between the Cupertino company and third-party developers.

Bloomberg reports that the processor for this year's generation of iPhones has now entered production. This SoC, likely to be known as the A13 chipset, has apparently already entered production by TSMC at a testing stage. However, it is set to be mass-produced some time this month (May 2019).

The popular audio company Skullcandy has unveiled Indy, a pair of truly wireless earbuds aimed at those wishing to get into this product category at a decent price. They offer IP55 ingress protection, Bluetooth 5.0 and a combined battery life of 16 hours for US$79.99.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission has ordered the recall of a wireless charging pad sold by the company Imagine Nation Books due to a burn hazard. This order affects about 64,000 of these products circulating in the country. Those who have bought them are advised to return them for a refund without delay.

Anker has released details on its new PowerIQ chips to control its upcoming charging accessories. The OEM asserts that they are compatible with QuickCharge 3.0 and PowerDelivery (PD) platforms that charge at up to 100 watts (W). However, the first PowerIQ 3.0 product will be a 60W 2-port charger that can be used with a MacBook.

The display notch has become one of the biggest polarizing factors in the smartphone industry. It has also resulted in a number of design tweaks to avoid it while maximizing screen real-estate. Huawei has patented an innovative form-factor that avoids the notch without resorting to one of these.

Concept renders and a brief video of the supposed successor of the iPhone XR have been published online. The device is expected to be the “cheap” member of the next series of iPhones and will wield lower specifications than the other 2019 smartphones. One obvious example of the cost-cutting is the rear-facing dual camera setup.

The Financial Times claims that its sources have told it that the EU will indeed probe Apple's potential anti-competition business practices. The decision follows 'surveys' of interested parties such as Spotify, who claim that the Cupertino company rigs music consumption on the iOS platform in its own favor.

Up-to-date rumors point to successors for the Huawei Mate 20 line this year. The latest leak on one variant of this series states that it will have the perfectly square rear camera pioneered last year in this series. It will also have a bigger screen, as well as a time-of-flight (TOF) module.

A report from market analyst company Counterpoint Research has stated that Apple’s iPhone X was the best-selling smartphone in the world in 2018. Top 10 charts for both the world and China were shared online and while Apple has dominated the global market, it seems the domestic manufacturer Oppo is the top dog in its home market.

As part of its quarterly earnings report, Qualcomm has revealed that will book US$4.5 to $4.7 billion dollars as a result of its legal settlement with Apple. The sizeable figure, previously unrevealed, leaves in no doubt that Qualcomm emerged from its legal wrangle with Apple the undisputed winner.

While the overall smartphone market may be down, Huawei is bucking the industry trend by confirming its position as the number 2 smartphone maker in the world ahead of Apple. While both Apple and Samsung lost ground, Huawei enjoyed incredible year-over-year growth with a 50.3 percent increase in smartphone sales.

Apple has reported its Q2 results for 2019 which showed that its iPhone sales have continued the downward trend first recorded in Q1. However, Apple stock was up seemingly in response to its services business which crested US$11 billion for the first time along with news of a further US$75 billion in share buybacks.

Foxconn's reported directions as regards display technology production have sparked speculation that the iPhones of the future may have microLED displays. This next-gen form of screen is starting to manifest in TVs at this point. However, Foxconn may think it is also the future of smartphone panels.

iPhone leaks are like buses. You wait for one and two turn up at once. The iPhone XI Max is the supersized version of its little brother; both have the same gargantuan notch and square rear-facing camera bump. Undoubtedly, both will be ludicrously expensive too.

Did you buy a Mac, iOS device or the Apple World Travel Adapter Kit between 2003 and 2010? If you did, chances are that you received a wall plug too. Turns out that the three-prong adapters sold in certain countries during that period can break and cause an electric shock if touched.

Creative has finally joined the true wireless earphone market with the new Outlier Air buds. They boast IP5X ingress protection, 10 hours of playback on a single charge and graphene in their driver-diaphragms. These Bluetooth 5.0 buds retail for US$79.99 on the OEM's own website.

The latest figures on the global premium smartphone market reportedly show that OPPO increased its share of it by a stunning 863% in 2018. This stripped out comparable performances on the part of competitors such as Xiaomi and even Huawei. On the other hand, it did not threaten Apple's place at the top of this market.

WhatsApp is reportedly working on animated stickers in its latest betas. This enables a user to superimpose a a moving piece of art (e.g. a drawing or character) on a message. A blog has also apparently found that the app is going to replace its existing emoji design with a new one.

By now, it is likely that you have read at least one rumor that the typical lozenge shape of the main iPhone camera module will mutate into a perfect square this year. The latest possible leak on the subject seems to confirm this design decision. It involves images of a case-mould for what may be 2 new iPhones.

A new report by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners has thrown light on the state of the US smartphone market in Q1. Apple had a tenuous dominance over the market, with the company's devices accounting for 36% of device activations in the first quarter of the year. Samsung is second with 34%.

Apple is not ready to make the jump to foldable designs for the time being, but luxury modification company Caviar from Russia might be able to inspire the Californian giant with its impressive iPhone Z concept. The Z-shaped folding pattern allows for quite a few interesting uses, including a laptop mode, a selfie mode, and a screen mode.

A new report from Counterpoint Research has found that, of all Apple smartphones, the iPhone XR did the best in the US market in the month of February 2019. Of those who bought this device, 20% of those already using iOS upgraded from the 7, whereas 32% more exchanged models older than this for the XR. Counterpoint also found that the XR was responsible for the greatest conversion from Android to this platform in February.

Want a new phone? Fine, but clicking 'Pay Now' on the first listing you see for it could cost you. The analyst firm Minderest has found that there is a margin of as much as 41.3% between the worst and best prices for the same device online. According to this report, WirelessBoss gives the best deals on average.

The prolific Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo's latest prediction concerning the 2019 iPhones indicate that at least one of them will have triple rear cameras, augmented by an improved wide-angle lens in one module. In addition, the new devices' selfie cameras may be upgraded. On the other hand, they are likely to retain a notch and glass rear panels.

The Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has ordered Google and Apple to remove the app TikTok from their respective stores. This ban has followed allegations that the service increases the risk of child abuse. TikTok can now appeal this ruling on dates set for about a week from today (April 17, 2019).

Surprisingly enough, Apple not only decided to drop all charges regarding Qualcomm's unfair patent licensing practices, but the Cupertino company agreed to pay Qualcomm an undisclosed sum, as well. The unexpected settlement comes with additional agreements that make Qualcomm the only 5G modem supplier for the 2020 iPhone models, which immediately prompted Intel to announce its exit from the mobile 5G modem business.

Samsung designed the Galaxy Buds as a wireless audio companion for devices such as the Galaxy S10s. However, they have recently improved in this capacity through a new software update. It allows the user to operate them using Bixby alone if they choose.

Casio has unveiled a new addition to the MT-G line of G-SHOCKs. It has Bluetooth connectivity so as to maintain accurate time via a dedicated phone app. This new 'bright red' MT-G is rated for 200M water- and shock- resistance, as well as its maker's 'tough' solar technology to stay charged.

Parrot has unveiled its latest drone. The new ANAFI not only allows for 4K video in both live and recorded formats, but also has a high-end FLIR mode for thermal imaging. It can fly over potential dangerous hot-spots for up to 26 minutes on a single battery's charge for professional-grade safety and thermal gradient monitoring.

Samsung has announced that it is finally in a position to send samples of its new, ground-breaking 5nm processor technology to its customers. The OEM claims that this new architecture brings 25% improvements in logic-area efficiency compared to 7nm, with up to 10% potential performance enhancements.

Apple is throwing US $500 million behind its upcoming Arcade gaming subscription service, according to a report by Financial Times. The service could be a big payoff for Apple; devs that release games via Arcade will be bound to a period of exclusivity before they can release their game on other non-mobile platforms. That means Arcade may be the only place gamers can access certain Indie titles, some of which may provide unique and fun experiences.

Huawei recently held its own in-house Analyst Summit for 2019. During a Q&A at this event, its representatives reportedly confirmed that Apple has not responded to its proposal to sell it the 5G modems it needs for its iPhones. This offer had recently been made publicly, possibly to highlight the fact that one OEM can use next-gen radio bands and the other cannot.

Google and Apple provide and maintain 2 of the largest app markets in the world. The Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets has decided to investigate them with regard to how third-party developers are treated on these platforms compared to their respective first-party counterparts.

A new report indicates that iOS 12's successor may gain a system-wide dark mode. In addition, this OS upgrade will lose the requirement for a profile in order to manage fonts. iPads may also get a version of Safari that defaults to desktop mode in iOS 13.

Apple and Huawei are some of a handful of smartphone OEMs that develop in-house chipsets. Their upcoming 2019 generations - the A13 Bionic and Kirin 985 CPUs respectively - are now said to be nearly ready for production in earnest soon. They are both 7nm and are being fabricated by the same chipmaker: TSMC.

The iPhone SE has made another unexpected appearance on Apple’s online store. Several different-colored variants are listed and there is even a 128 GB version available. Prices for the diminutive iPhone SE start at US$249 and they are all categorized as “certified refurbished” as part of the clearance section of the website.

Skype for Mobile now offers the user an option to share their screen with a caller. This could enable people on a Skype call to share things such as slideshows, webpages, a homescreen and so on. The new function is found in the '...' menu on the mobile version of this app.

Samsung sold 16% more units of its early 2019 flagships compared to those of their predecessors in the first week of sales in the United States. These are the results of a new report conducted by Counterpoint Research. This group also now concludes that the Galaxy S10s are Samsung's best chance of regaining the majority of this market yet.

Apple has convinced its main manufacturing partners, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and Foxconn, to makes its parts and/or devices using green energy by 2020. This achievement is a big part of the OEM's current drive towards making its business as sustainable as possible.

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, or PUBG for short, is one of the Korean studio Bluehole's biggest success stories. However, some state regulators seem not to like it as much as its millions of players do. Nepal is the latest country to ban the game, citing detrimental effects on children and teenagers.

A new study from Counterpoint Research has shed a little light on Samsung’s smartphone sales woes. Although still the number one smartphone maker in the world, its profits have taken a big hit with lower sales of its premium devices. Now we know where some of these customers are heading.

The new Disney+ streaming service will entail a mixture of old and new shows from all of the studios under its umbrella. This, therefore, includes Lucasfilm, 21st Century Fox, Pixar and Marvel. Therefore, Netflix may indeed forfeit several lucrative series-length titles as Disney parts company with it in 2019. This year should also see much more granular detail on what this new subscription has to offer.

The action camera market is projected to be worth over $10 billion in 7 years. It has been found to be made up of the popular brands in this space, such as GoPro, Sony, Olympus, Garmin and others. This market is reportedly driven by increasing levels of disposable income and interest in relevant outdoor pursuits.

YouTube has amassed a 265 million-stong user based in the Indian market. Speaking at a recent Google conference, the service's CEO, Susan Wojcicki, projected that this number would grow further to 500 million by next year. The executive attributed this to the availability of 4G in this country.

Canon has launched the EOS Rebel SL3, the latest in this line of compact DLSRs. This model is capable of 4K reconding, a first for the EOS Rebel series. It does so with its 24.1 megapixel (MP) APS-C sensor, which is compatible with EF and EF-S lenses. The EOS Rebel is capable of various autofocus settings, and has a completely adjustable LCD touchscreen.

WhatsApp has nearly always been available on iOS, but not on iPads. However, as these tablets come with SIM-enabled variants, some users would probably like the option. The app's developers may now be working on a new beta that is optimized for these Apple slates.

Apple may be obliged to delay its adoption of 5G until 2020 at the earliest. This is due to its ongoing feud with Qualcomm, who, as it is claimed, will not sell the necessary hardware to the Cupertino company. More recently, Huawei has said it may sell its own modems to Apple.