Smartphone

The Nokia 8.1 has a new software update. (Source: HMD Global)

The Nokia 8.1 gets upgraded to Android 10

HMD Global has announced an OTA update to Android 10 for the Nokia 8.1. It is the first of this brand's phones that were included in the beta program for the OS in question to see the stable version. It upgrades the 8.1 with Dark Mode, navigation gestures and the September 2019 security patch.

Deirdre O Donnell, 09 Oct 2019 19:30

Realme teases the X2 Pro's front panel. (Source: IndiaShopps)

The Realme X2 Pro will come with a 135Hz touch-response rate

Realme has revealed that the X2 Pro's display will come with a touch-sampling rate of 135 hertz (Hz). This means that the upcoming Snapdragon 855 Plus flagship may have enhanced user-input responses to go with its 90-hertz display refresh rate. Its camera prowess has also been teased on Weibo.

Deirdre O Donnell, 09 Oct 2019 17:24

Update | The Black Shark 2 Pro launches in Europe on October 9, 2019

Xiaomi's latest gaming phone, the Black Shark 2 Pro, will be released for sale in Europe on October 9, 2019. It will be sold through the brand's regional website for an as-yet undisclosed price. The 2 Pro is powered by the Snapdragon 855 Plus SoC and up to 12GB of RAM.

Deirdre O Donnell, 09 Oct 2019 16:33

Essential's radical Project GEM "reinterprets mobile". (Source: Essential)

Essential reveals radical Project GEM mobile device after lengthy hiatus [Updated]

After being quiet for the best part of twelve to eighteen months, Andy Rubin’s Essential has surfaced with what appears to be a radical reinterpretation of a smartphone. The new mobile device looks to be focused on communication with visual content taking something of a backseat.

Sanjiv Sathiah, 09 Oct 2019 03:35

The Realme X2 is now official in China, Snapdragon 730G and all

Realme has launched its new X2 device for the Chinese market today. As rumored, it has an updated processor compared to that contained in its pre-existing variant, the XT. This new version is also the one coming to Europe later this month.

Deirdre O Donnell, 08 Oct 2019 23:43

Semiconductors are not going anywhere any time soon. (Source: Flickr)

The semiconductor market will reach US$573 billion by 2024

New research has shown that the market for semiconductors is estimated to grow to US$573 billion in 5 years. This may be driven by a demand for these materials in wireless communications, vehicles and online connectivity. However, the common-or-garden integrated circuit will continue to influence the market into the next decade.

Deirdre O Donnell, 08 Oct 2019 21:34

The subscription service trends over the last few years. (Source: Parks Associates)

46% of US households with broadband have multiple streaming subscriptions now

New research has found that nearly 50% of all US households with broadband subscribe to 2 or more subscription-based services in 2019, whereas this figure was 33% in 2017 and only 20% in 2014. The apparent demand has driven the number of individual services to match in the country. It has grown by 1.4 times since 2014.

Deirdre O Donnell, 08 Oct 2019 20:22

The Exynos 9830 could be the first Korean SoC to integrate custom mobility GPUs from AMD. (Source: iotgadgets)

Leaks suggest upcoming Samsung Exynos 9830 SoC will only use ARM Cortex cores

Samsung might be done tinkering with the ARM core designs, as the Mongoose proprietary cores appear to be missing on the upcoming Exynos 9830. The Korean giant is rumored to drop its two homegrown high-performance cores for a couple of ARM Cortex-A77 cores in order to better match the Qualcomm competitors.

Bogdan Solca, 08 Oct 2019 16:32

The Galaxy Fold phones can now work with the Windows Your Phone app. (Source: Microsoft)

A new Windows 10 Insider Preview Build can link PCs to more Samsung phones

The latest Insider's version of Windows 10 updates the Your Phone app so that it is compatible with the Samsung Galaxy S10 series, as well as the Galaxy Fold. This allows a user to monitor battery levels, screen-mirror and sync data. However, Microsoft has stated that these new features will be available to certain regions only to start off with.

Deirdre O Donnell, 07 Oct 2019 22:28

Sony PlayStation 4 console gets new firmware October 2019 with new Party features and Remote Play to Android devices

PlayStation 4 firmware update coming this week with updated party features and more

Scheduled to arrive globally this week, the PlayStation 4 system update labeled 7.0 is expected to bring Remote Play to smartphones and tablets running Android 5.0 Lollipop or later, 16-player parties, chat transcription, enhanced audio, an improved backend that should take care of most connectivity issues, system-level HDR tuning, and more.

Codrut Nistor, 07 Oct 2019 13:51

Sony unveils the Xperia 8 but it's just so...disappointing

Sony has unveiled another device, the Xperia 8. The Xperia 8 is a mid-range phone that raises more questions over the logic in Sony's naming scheme while simultaneously managing to offer an overwhelmingly disappointing package at a ridiculous price point.

Ricci Rox, 07 Oct 2019 11:26

Computational photography: we take it for granted now. (Source: Engadget)

The computational photography market may be worth nearly US$30 billion by 2024

Computational photography - or imaging that depends at least as much on software as on hardware - was worth US$7.9 billion as a market in 2018. However, the latest analysis indicates that this valuation will grow to $29 billion over the next 5 years. This market is led by companies such as Qualcomm, NVIDIA, Alphabet and Apple.

Deirdre O Donnell, 06 Oct 2019 21:01

The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. (Source: Apple)

Some iPhone 6s or 6s Plus units may fail to power on, but Apple is fixing it

Apple has initiated a recall for certain iPhones of the 6S series, saying that it has found that the relevant units may become unable to start under certain circumstances. The Cupertino-based OEM will not disclose which aspects of the phones causes these potential failures, but has announced that it will rectify it if those who own these device send them for servicing.

Deirdre O Donnell, 06 Oct 2019 19:25

The Xiaomi Mi Band 4. (Source: PhoneArena)

Xiaomi may add NFC to the international-variant Mi Band 5

The Mi Band is a popular fitness wearable series worldwide, albeit with one potential drawback: many units sold outside China come without NFC. Its maker, Xiaomi, will reportedly address this deficiency in its next generation. This device is also now said to be more durable and sophisticated that its predecessor.

Deirdre O Donnell, 06 Oct 2019 16:17

The Google Pixel 4 XL. (Source: The Verge)

New leak details the Google Pixel 4 and 4 XL but there's a slight issue

The Google Pixel 4 phones are just about a week away from their official launch event. A new leak has revealed some previously unknown details about the phones and a particular specification of the smaller Pixel 4 may just leave fans seething.

Ricci Rox, 06 Oct 2019 14:02

Some wireless chargers may be restricted under iOS 13.1. (Source: ChargerLab)

Researchers claim Apple restricts wireless charger speeds in iOS 13.1

The blog ChargerLab claims to have found that some wireless chargers are being restricted to 5 watts (W) of power while iPhones are placed on them with the new iOS update, whereas the same devices could deliver 7.5W under the older software version. However, this apparently does not affect those brands that are sold in the Cupertino giant's stores.

Deirdre O Donnell, 05 Oct 2019 22:07

The Pixel 4 can take some stunning astronomy shots. (Source: 9to5Google)

Google Pixel 4 camera samples show off great selfies, portraits, and... the Milky Way

Original camera samples from the Pixel 4 have leaked out, once again proving that the Pixel phones are the ones to beat when it comes to mobile photography. The samples show photos from a variety of camera modes the most interesting of which is the Astrophotography mode that lets users take stunning pictures of space.

Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 05 Oct 2019 21:20

Still not cheap: The upcoming Google Pixel 4. (Image source: Android Headlines)

Leaked Canadian pricing for the Google Pixel 4 and 4XL should leave fans breathing a little easier

Some launch prices for the Google Pixel 4 and 4XL flagship smartphones have been posted on Twitter by well-known tech insider Evan Blass. The prices are for the Canadian market, which show that the entry-level Google Pixel 4 with 64 GB storage will cost CAD$1,049.95 (~US$788), while the 128 GB storage variant of the Google Pixel 4 XL will allegedly cost CAD$1,359.95 (~US$1,022).

Daniel R Deakin, 05 Oct 2019 20:25

Pokemon GO reportedly mistakes some MIUI users for cheaters. (Source: Niantic)

Pokemon GO reportedly bans Android players for running a certain version of MIUI

There have been multiple reports of Pokemon GO handing out strikes preventing play to those who own certain Redmi devices. This pattern has been linked to MIUI 10.3.2.0, a recent firmware update for the phones affected. Niantic, the AR game's developer, has announced that it is now working on trying to revise them.

Deirdre O Donnell, 05 Oct 2019 18:30

The Realme X2 Pro may be here soon. (Source: Realme)

The Realme X2 Pro comes with Dolby-powered dual speakers and is headed for Europe

Realme has announced that its upcoming flagship, the X2 Pro, will have dual stereo speakers. Furthermore, they will be equipped with Dolby Atmos and "hi-res" audio. The brand has not given a launch date for this phone, but is now clearly aiming it at the European market.

Deirdre O Donnell, 05 Oct 2019 17:51

Red Dead Redemption 2 is coming to Stadia. (Source: Rockstar Games)

Red Dead Redemption 2 will be a Stadia title on launch

Google has announced that Red Dead Redemption 2 will come to its Stadia platform on it November 2019 launch. The wildly popular Rockstar game will thus be available for streaming via the new service from its very first day. At present, it is not clear if this title will allow saving across platforms.

Deirdre O Donnell, 04 Oct 2019 22:52

DxOMark: The Asus Zenfone 6 is a US$500 device with extremely competitive cameras

The Asus is, perhaps, the best value Snapdragon 855-powered device on sale in the US. The device costs just US$500 but that price tag has no negative connotations on the phone's camera performance, as the Zenfone 6—going by DxOMark's latest review—trades blows with the best camera phones in the world.

Ricci Rox, 04 Oct 2019 21:30

Surprise! It turns out we could be getting the Mi Mix 4 after all

The highly anticipated launch of the Mi Mix 4 has been something of a wild ride so far. Fans expected a launch event last month but were left disappointed. Since then, though, it's been multiple conflicting reports on the existence of the Mix 4, and the latest one will leave rekindle the flames of hope in fans of the series.

Ricci Rox, 04 Oct 2019 21:28

The Reno2 F is the latest in its series. (Source: GSMArena)

OPPO will launch its Reno2 series in the UK in October 2019

The Reno2 line of smartphones will become available in a new market, the UK, on October 16, 2019. OPPO is calling this event "Reno Studio Earth", during which the Reno2, Reno2 Z and Reno2 F will be released to this region. The last of these is also now on sale in India.

Deirdre O Donnell, 04 Oct 2019 20:31

The iPhones 11 may be the most popular of their series so far. (Source: Apple)

The iPhone 11 may prove more popular than its Pro or Pro Max siblings already

A new report from Taiwan indicates that Apple needs new stocks of its iPhone 11, but not of the Pro or Pro Max variants. Sources who claim to be close to the suppliers in question have noted that this is a surprising uptick in orders from the Cupertino giant compared to last year. This behavior may be related to economic forces driving sales of the most 'budget' 2019 iPhone.

Deirdre O Donnell, 04 Oct 2019 18:08

The putative Enjoy 10. (Source: Twitter)

Huawei allegedly adds a new device to its Enjoy smartphone series

A Huawei device with the novel model number ART-TL00x has appeared on the TENAA regulator's website. As this phone has dual cameras, is described as having an HD 6.39-inch screen and the Kirin 710F SoC, it may be intended as a successor to the budget Enjoy 9. However, it lacks a launch date (and a product name) at present.

Deirdre O Donnell, 04 Oct 2019 17:08

The older 0-day exploit allows hackers to gain full control of the affected smartphone through pieces of code hidden in an untrusted app. (Source: Portal GDA)

Older zero-day Android exploit still affects Google Pixel, Samsung Galaxy and other handhelds

Many models that launched with Android 8.0 are still affected by a 0-day vulnerability that was not properly patched in 2017. The list of models includes: Google's Pixel 1 and 2, Samsung's Galaxy S7/8/9, Huawei P20, Xiaomi Redmi 5A / Note 5, Xiaomi A1, Oppo A3, Moto Z3, and all LG's smartphones launched in 2H 2017.

Bogdan Solca, 04 Oct 2019 17:05

Google Shopping is back. (Source: Google)

Google Shopping re-launches in the US, integrates with Lens this time around

Google has announced the re-institution of its Shopping service, albeit for users located in the US only. The company claims that the renewed feature can analyse millions of retail listings and other data in order to show customers the best deals. It is also now possible to order the resulting items directly through Google.

Deirdre O Donnell, 04 Oct 2019 16:33

A future OnePlus device? (Source: OnLeaks/CashKaro)

OnePlus will adopt punch-hole screens and wireless charging in 2020: new leak

OnLeaks and CashKaro have posted a new set of renders that suggest an upgrade to an in-display camera in the OnePlus 7's successor. The 2 groups also now assert that this device will support wireless charging. Otherwise, this phone looks much like the OEM's early-2019 flagship.

Deirdre O Donnell, 03 Oct 2019 23:15

Samsung's last Chinese phone factory has closed its doors. (Source: Cash Tech News)

Samsung closes the last of its Chinese smartphone manufacturing facilities

Although it plans to keep selling mobile devices in China, Samsung no longer intends to make them in the same country. This move is thought to have been taken in order to cut costs, and also due to overwhelming competition from other OEMs such as Huawei. The South Korean company will transfer production to other nations such as Vietnam in the future.

Deirdre O Donnell, 03 Oct 2019 19:56

Chromebooks may get a new recovery method soon. (Source: MobileSyrup)

Chromebooks may become recoverable using an Android device soon

Chrome OS PCs have many advantages; however, one of their worst drawbacks is that system recovery requires external media. Now, it appears Google is developing an alternative method: Chromebook restore via Android phone. This new way out of a software failure can only be enacted through a specific keyboard shortcut.

Deirdre O Donnell, 03 Oct 2019 19:09

Is this how the iPhone SE line will evolve? (Source: MacRumors)

The cut-price iPhone SE2 will arrive in 2020: Ming-Chi Kuo

The latest leaked research note allegedly sent to TF International Securities by the analyst Ming-Chi Kuo indicates that Apple does have a second-gen SE in the works. It will apparently be released in the first quarter of 2020 and be "more affordable". It is also now said to assume a form-factor similar to the iPhone 8.

Deirdre O Donnell, 03 Oct 2019 18:39

The new "Motorola One Macro" leak. (Source: Twitter)

The supposed Motorola One Macro shows up in a new evleak

Motorola is now linked to an upcoming release for another One-line phone. It is rumored to be called the One Macro, and to be powered by a MediaTek SoC. A phone that might meet this description has been tweeted as a render by Evan Blass.

Deirdre O Donnell, 02 Oct 2019 23:02

The Surface Duo is the Surface phone we've been waiting for. (Source: Microsoft)

The mythical Surface phone just got real: Microsoft shows off the dual-screen Surface Duo smartphone running a custom Android build

Microsoft has taken wraps off the Surface Duo, a Surface device that offers telephony capabilities. The Surface Duo runs on a custom version of Android built in partnership with Google and will feature support for apps from the Google Play Store, which can scale across dual screens for enhanced productivity.

Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 02 Oct 2019 18:47

The legal disputes between the two foundries could affect a considerable portion of the global semiconductor supply. (Source: WCCFTech)

TSMC countersues GlobalFoundries

TSMC strikes back with a "retaliatory litigation", claiming that GlobalFoundries infringed on 25 of its patents that include FinFET designs for the 40 through 12 nm nodes. Unlike GlobalFoundries who sued TSMC's fab-less companies like Apple and Nvidia, TSMC is looking to halt all GlobalFoundries production and sale processes for the infringed nodes.

Bogdan Solca, 02 Oct 2019 16:09

The Huawei Mate 30s are doing very well in China by all accounts. (Source: YouTube)

The Huawei Mate 30 series posts an estimated 1 million units sold in its first 3 hours on the Chinese market

Huawei has had its latest phablet series on shelves in its home country for only 6 days now. In this time, it has reportedly sold out on a popular online sales platform, accrued 1 million sales in 3 hours and may have raked in half a billion yuan per minute in the process. This apparent success is ascribed to the uptake of Google-less EMUI 10 in China.

Deirdre O Donnell, 02 Oct 2019 15:56

Samsung might finally use the ARM architecture for its Exynos chips

Samsung apparently disbanded the Austin CPU R&D team and is planning to use the ARM architecture in future Exynos chips

Although this is not official yet, it looks like Samsung has already disbanded the entire team that was working in its Austin R&D center to develop architectures and designs for the System LSI division so next-gen Exynos chips will — most likely — use solutions developed by ARM instead.

Codrut Nistor, 02 Oct 2019 12:05

The first official render of the Pixel 4 has surfaced. (Source: @evleaks)

Google Pixel 4 revealed in full as official render leaks out

The Pixel 4 has already been quite heavily leaked ahead of its launch, including by Google itself. However, the first official render that clearly shows the entirety of the front and rear of the device has now surfaced as well.

Sanjiv Sathiah, 02 Oct 2019 06:19

The LG Tone+ Free truly wireless earbuds. (Source: LG)

LG launches its first true wireless earbuds in South Korea

LG has unveiled new products called the Tone+ Free earbuds in its home country. Unlike the OEM's earlier similar products, these wearables are completely wireless and come in a charging case like the AirPods and other similar devices. They come in black or white and are available for pre-order from now.

Deirdre O Donnell, 01 Oct 2019 23:47

DoH is not sitting well with Congress. (Source: Wikipedia)

Google is being investigated by the US Congress over a new feature in Chrome

DNS over HTTPS is a new way of connecting to websites proposed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) in 2018. Google is reportedly working on implementing it in an upcoming version of its Chrome browser. However, an anti-trust task force associated with the US Congress has taken issue with this new measure.

Deirdre O Donnell, 01 Oct 2019 23:11

The Galaxy Fold is about to go on sale in India. (Source: Samsung)

The Samsung Galaxy Fold could be over US$2000 in India

Samsung India will open registrations for the Galaxy Fold in this country on October 4, 2019. On this date, it will reportedly be sold for INR 164,999 - which equates to about US$2320. This price includes a discounted for 1 repair should the new phone's display get damaged.

Deirdre O Donnell, 01 Oct 2019 20:57

The Redmi Note 8 Pro will be available in a European market soon. (Source: Redmi)

Redmi is all set to release the Note 8 Pro in Germany

Redmi has announced that it will start selling its Note 8 Pro via Amazon's German store in October 2019. This phone is the brand's first device to feature a 64MP camera sensor. It will be sold in 6GB RAM SKUs with either 64 or 128GB of internal memory in its new market.

Deirdre O Donnell, 01 Oct 2019 19:10

The increased transistor count brought by through the jump to 5 nm should provide a considerable performance boost to the NPU unit in the next gen Kirin SOC. (Source: Huawei)

Huawei's Kirin 1000 SoC expected to make the jump to 5 nm with next year's Mate 40

Preliminary benchmarks proved that the Kirin 990 is almost on par with all other major brands, but Huawei is clearly not content with parity. The Chinese company is already planning to release a 5 nm successor allegedly known as Kirin 1000, which will use ARM's Cortex-A77 cores plus a faster NPU, and it should be launched with the Mate 40 in Q3 2020.

Bogdan Solca, 01 Oct 2019 18:18

Call of Duty: Mobile brings something new to the mobile battle royale scene.

PUBG Mobile faces stiff competition as Activision's Call of Duty: Mobile launches in full

After months of beta testing, Activision and Tencent Games' latest offering, Call of Duty: Mobile is now live and available worldwide. While not quite as feature-packed as its biggest competitor, PUBG Mobile, it does seem to be a more refined game.

Ricci Rox, 01 Oct 2019 11:21

Motion Sense depends on at least 1 of these sensors. (Source: YouTube)

The Pixel 4 series' Project Soli music controls may have been leaked in more detail

Google has already conceded that numerous leaks concerning Motion Sense, a new ability in the upcoming Pixel 4 smartphones by which they can respond to various hand gestures, are valid. Now, a new report claims to list all the regions in which those intended to control media on the devices will be available on lauch.

Deirdre O Donnell, 30 Sep 2019 19:38

The Realme X2 will gain a Pro variant soon. (Source: NDTV)

Realme ramps up the premium specs with the announcement of the X2 Pro

A Realme executive has just lifted the lid on the X2 Pro, which is to be the brand's first Snapdragon 855 Plus device. This upcoming flagship is also said to have a 90Hz display and next-gen VOOC charging technology. At present, it does not have an official launch date.

Deirdre O Donnell, 30 Sep 2019 18:37