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HMD kicked off 2018 with something of a bang. The Finnish OEM apparently still has a number of releases lined up for the rest of the year, including two flagships. Of those two devices, one will be cheaper and, thankfully, not feature a notch.

A device that appears to be the Mi 6X has made a surprise appearance on TENAA. It isn’t a full listing, though, so all this tells us is that the device will sport a design similar to the Mi 5X's but with an 18:9 display and vertically aligned dual rear cameras.

The Xperia XZ1 Compact was the only true compact flagship of 2017. The device launched with an MSRP of US$600 but is currently available for just US$399.99. Not a bad deal for a last-gen flagship with excellent cameras, Android Oreo, and a headphone jack.

The Note 9 prototype that popped up on GeekBench was pitted against the S9+ and it ended up a bit behind in both single core and multi-core tests. However, the Note 9 featured in the tests comes with 5 GB of RAM instead of 6 and it is powered by a Snapdragon 845 SoC which is known to be slower than the Exynos 9810 SoC that comes with the non-US versions of the Galaxy S9/S9+.

There is a rumor that Sony may be working on a new Android tablet. The rumor started after certain lines of code from a teardown of the camera app on the new Xperia XZ2 smartphone appeared on a blog called Sumahoinfo. The code features the words “Tablet_8inch” and “Tablet_10inch,” and it also contains some simple concept images of devices that could hint at future Sony tablets.

The Y7 Prime 2018 is aimed at youths and comes with way more affordable prices compared to the P20 lineup or the Mate RS. There is no notched display here, even though the 2:1 aspect ratio 1440 x 720 IPS screen might still feel a bit awkward. Powered by a Snapdragon 430 octa-core SoC, the Y7 Prime 2018 edition features 3 GB pf RAM, 32 GB internal storage, 8 MP selfie cam and a 12 MP + 2 MP rear cam setup.

Huawei have officially unveiled the P20 and P20 Pro. Important specifications such as RAM and Storage were missing from the announcement, but the rumors are likely to be pretty reliable, based on the accuracy of the confirmed screen and camera specifications.

According to a set of recently spotted benchmark listings, the Samsung Galaxy A6 is powered by the Exynos 7870 processor, while the Plus variant has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 under the hood. Both are expected to debut in Europe, Russia, and the Middle East in the coming months with Android Oreo onboard.

In addition to the same camera configuration used by the Huawei P20 Pro (40 MP RGB, 20 MP monochrome, and 8 MP telephoto), the Porsche Design Huawei Mate RS features 256 GB or 512 GB internal storage, an in-display fingerprint reader, a curved 6-inch 2K touchscreen, and is the world's first microcapsule PCM-cooled handset. All these innovations also come with a price: more than US$2,000 for the 512 GB variant.

The "new" LG K9 comes to Russia with Android 7.1 Nougat onboard, as well as the same specs as the K8 handset that was introduced alongside the LG K10 at MWC 2018. These specs include a 5-inch IPS 720p display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 processor, 2 GB RAM, 16 GB internal storage, and a 2,500 mAh battery.

The OnePlus 6 prototype that is featured in the GeekBench results is powered by the same Snapdragon 845 SoC that comes with the Galaxy S9+ (US version) and Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S and it also features the same 6 GB of RAM. Apparently, the OnePlus 6 prototype might be using an overclocked SoC or better memory, and the final product could end up even faster.

The Mi MIX 2S is powered by an overclocked Snapdragon 845 SOC coupled with 8 GB RAM and 256 GB storage, and the body/back plate will be made out of quad-layered ceramic material, which is more resistant to scratches. It will also feature a dual pixel 12 MP camera setup that is capable of recording slow motion videos @120 fps 720p, 30 fps 1080p or 30 fps 2160p.

Stung by lower than anticipated sales for its flagship iPhone X, Apple could be set to lower the entry point for the next-generation of OLED iPhones expected in September by US$100. This would bring the starting point for the next-generation 5.8-inch OLED iPhone down to US$899 for a 64 GB model.

Also known as the Imagine, HTC's upcoming U12+ will be the brand's next premium flagship. Sadly, this handset that is supposed to debut as a direct competitor for the Huawei Mate, Apple iPhone X, or the Samsung Galaxy Note will remain the only such device to be released by the Google-owned HTC this year.

Using a similar design approach as the G5S Plus, the upcoming Moto G6 comes with a front-mounted fingerprint scanner, a dual camera on the back, but it also features a full HD+ 2:1 ratio display. As previously rumored, there is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 processor onboard, next to 3 GB or 4 GB RAM.

A tweet by Evan Blass has touted the upcoming HTC U12 Life to feature a notch. Notches have been a divisive topic since the start of the year, and it would seem that HTC is keen on moving with the flow of the market, dwindling sales numbers duly disregarded.

The Huawei P20, P20 Pro, and P20 Lite are set to be launched tomorrow in Paris. Specifications and pricing details of the devices have leaked, with the P20 particularly looking like a fine balance of features and price.

Since the official product page that surfaced last week has not been removed yet, it is safe to say that the Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime 2 is now official in India. Although this Exynos 7870-powered 5.5-inch Android handset has no launch date or price yet, we expect to get these missing pieces of information in a few days.

A teardown of Facebook's user data archive has revealed the fact that the company collects private user data including well-detailed call logs and text metadata. The company has been involved in a number of cases pertaining to privacy issues, and this is just another icing on the cake.

OnePlus has announced that it will no longer sell the OnePlus 5T in North America. The 5T was released in November, just four months ago, so this could go down as the shortest sales cycle of any device ever. It, of course, also means that we’re close to the release of the OnePlus 6.

Even though it features the infamous iPhone X upper display notch, the Oppo F7 is actually a solid mid-range selfie phone. It is powered by the octa-core MediaTek Helio P60 SoC and it comes in 4 GB RAM + 64 GB storage and 6 GB + 128 GB variants. The selfie cam benefits from a 25 MP sensor and a multitude of modes, while the rear cam only gets a 16 MP sensor with LED flash.

Although the next-gen iPhone flagships are not expected to feature any major changes in terms of design, insiders familiar with the inner workings of the Cupertino-based giant claim that Apple is currently working on a foldable smartphone that could also be used as a tablet and this device will hit the market in 2020.

Blackview is set to debut yet another battery monster in the P10000 Pro. The device will feature an 11000 mAh battery, USB Type-C, and 25W fast charge that’s said to charge the device full in slightly over two hours.

Huawei deployed tall trucks conveniently parked in front of Apple and Samsung stores to inform users about the P20 reveal on 3/27. While the campaign is a borderline marketing stunt designed to draw attention and awareness, the spectacle is amusing nonetheless. The P20 will supposedly have some of the best cameras in the market.

Samsung, Apple, and now LG will be ramping up R&D on the potential applications and commercialization of MicroLED panels for portable devices. The technology may eventually spill over to laptops since its advantages over LCD and even OLED are numerous. LG is remaining tight-lipped on when we can expect to see the first smartphone utilizing MicroLED.

The Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime 2 smartphone has shown up on the South Korean company’s Indian website. The specifications listed by Samsung for the 5.5-inch device include an octa-core 1.6 GHz CPU from the Exynos 7 Series, 3 GB RAM, 32 GB ROM, and 13 MP rear and front-facing cameras. It is believed the listing may have been posted by mistake.

Having received the "Best Mobile Innovation for Payment" award at the annual Global Mobile Awards (GLOMO Awards) earlier this year, Samsung Pay has just reached Italy. This mobile payment service works with quite a few Samsung devices, including the new Galaxy S9/S9+ flagships.

The latest leaked specs reveal that the OnePlus 6 will only have a few things in common with the Oppo R15. The high-end Snapdragon 845 SoC coupled with 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB storage, plus the 20 MP selfie cam and the 20 MP + 16 MP combo on the back should make the OnePlus 6 rival even the best models offered by Samsung.

Samsung Galaxy S9/S9+ users are complaining of “dead spots” in their smartphone displays that are failing to respond to touch inputs. With complaints starting to mount on user forums, the Korean tech giant has said that it is actively investigating the issue.

HTC has announced the release of its two new budget devices, the Desire 12 and Desire 12+. Considering how much of a part the Desire series played in the journey of Android, it's a tad surprising to see the latest devices in the series fall so flat on their faces.

The Huawei Honor 6X was released back in 2016 on Android Marshmallow. It received the update to Nougat a few months later and is set for one final blaze, with confirmation on Huawei's forums touting a May 2018 Oreo rollout for the device.

Best Buy has pulled out of its partnership with Huawei. This means that the Chinese OEM will no longer be able to sell its smartphones via the retail store. Best Buy was Huawei's major channel of selling smartphones in brick-and-mortar stores, so this kills the company's hopes of making any headway in the US.

Meizu has announced the release of the next device in its mid-range E-series. The E3 features a Snapdragon 636, a powerful dual rear camera setup, 6 GB of RAM, up to 128 GB of storage, and fast charging technology.

The Indian Redmi Note 5 Pro launched on Android Nougat, while its Chinese variant ran on Oreo out of the box. The latter enjoys Treble support, and a discovery has shown that users of the Indian model can flash the Chinese Oreo build on their devices with TWRP, granting them Treble superpowers.

It appears Huawei might be working on a smartphone that offers a whopping 512 GB of storage space. A recent online listing for a Huawei device offers specification details such as 6 GB RAM and 512 GB ROM. If the Chinese technology company is actually developing a handset with such an amount of storage, then it will be twice the size of the largest amount of storage the iPhone X currently offers.

There has been a report suggesting that Huawei Technologies is developing a smartphone that could utilize blockchain technology. Officials from the Chinese multinational have apparently been in talks with representatives from Sirin Labs, who created the Finney smartphone that features blockchain-based security. If Huawei goes ahead and create a “blockchain smartphone” then the company will be the first major smartphone manufacturer to deliver this particular technology to the masses.

The highly anticipated foldable phone from Samsung might include a slide-out display system, which would provide a wider screen suitable for movie-watching, streaming and playing games, especially when the 5G networks go online. This could add to the overall thickness of the device, but the benefits easily outweigh the downsides.

Lenovo has announced the launch of its new mid-ranger, the S5. The S5 features a 5.7-inch FHD+ display, a 13 MP + 13 MP dual rear camera setup, a Snapdragon 625, 3000 mAh battery, and USB Type-C. All of that at a price point just above US$150 makes the device an extremely attractive proposition.

Although Xiaomi released Android 8.0 Oreo for the Mi A1 handset before the end of 2017 as they previously had promised, the first security patch of the new year arrives with a long delay. Even worse, the new firmware does not bring Android 8.1 or the latest security patch from Google, only packing last month's update and nothing else.

After watching iOS users enjoying AR experiences on their iPhones for the past several months, Android users can now also get in on the AR action. The first apps using Google's ARCore technology have started to hit the Play Store.

The Huawei P20 Pro is going all out with its triple rear camera configuration. The latest rumors suggest that its main camera will feature a huge 40MP sensor co-developed with Leica that will surely shake things up in the smartphone market when it lands.

Huawei has launched the first of the P20 smartphones, the P20 Lite, in Europe and China with the Chinese variant being christened the Nova 3e. With a midrange Kirin 659 at the helm of affairs, the P20 Lite features a notched 19:9 display and retails from Euro 369.

It has been reported that Apple will unveil the iPhone X Plus in September. There has already been mention of three new iPhone variants coming this year from the Cupertino-based manufacturer, including a “giant high-end iPhone,” a less expensive version of the flagship smartphone, and an upgrade of the iPhone X. It is believed the iPhone X Plus might feature a 6.2-inch OLED display.

Tencent Games released its mobile port of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds a while ago in China. The game was launched in Canada earlier in the week, and has finally been made available globally. Coming in as a free 700 MB install, PUBG Mobile may just represent the future of mobile gaming.

Xiaomi has released an official teaser for the upcoming Mi Mix 2S. The device is showing sporting minimal bezels and no notch. All things considered, it looks exactly like the Mi Mix 2. The device will feature a Snapdragon 845 and could also sport some sort of iris scanning technology and also wireless charging.

The upcoming Huawei P20 Pro has been spotted on Geekbench and has posted some good numbers albeit more or less in line with the scores posted by the P20. While benchmark numbers are not everything, the P20 and its Pro cousin fall inline with the 2017 Android flagships and will definitely be overshadowed by the 2018 ones from the likes of Samsung and Xiaomi et al.

OPPO has announced its two new devices, the R15 and R15 Dream Mirror, in China. If history's anything to go by, the upcoming OnePlus 6 will share a lot of similarities with these devices, including a notch and a 3.5mm jack.