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Qualcomm released Quick Charge 4.0 back in November 2016 and followed it up with an improved Quick Charge 4+ seven months later. Both versions of the technology don't look to have a lot of takers, though, with the list of supported devices standing bare.

Seven months after the release of Android Oreo, the Samsung Galaxy S8 is finally receiving the stable update to Android 8.0. Users in the US on Sprint, Verizon, and T-Mobile have gotten updates, with the story being similar in Australia.

Although the Samsung Galaxy S9 and the dual-camera Galaxy S9+ were well received globally, the latter even being crowned as ruler of the mobile photography kingdom by DxOMark, these two flagships only got a lukewarm response in South Korea. For many retailers, the most recent best seller is the Samsung Galaxy A8, mainly thanks to its dual front cameras and its very good value overall.

The Mate 10 Pro will be cheaper than the Galaxy S9 for a limited time in North America. Huawei intends to have smartphone options available across all price ranges from the budget $200 Honor 7X, mainstream $500 Honor View10, and flagship $700 Mate 10 Pro.

The latest result of the collaboration between LG and Verizon Wireless is the LG Zone 4 low-end Android smartphone. The highlights of this handset include a 5-inch HD display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor, 2 GB RAM, 16 GB internal storage and microSD support up to 2 TB, WiFi calling and HD voice, all with Android 7.1.2 Nougat on top. The (very) budget-friendly price tag reads only US$114.99.

One month after the Android Nougat-driven BLU Vivo X got listed on Amazon, the US-based company BLU Products is back with a 5.5-inch handset that runs Android Oreo out of the box. The BLU Vivo XL 3 has a 2:1 ratio display, a single 13 MP camera on the back, 3 GB RAM, 32 GB internal storage, and uses a quad-core MediaTek MT6737 processor. Its price tag reads US$189.99.

The Galaxy S9+ is Samsung's costliest device to produce to date, but it's still less expensive than the iPhone X. Among the most expensive components integrated in the Galaxy S9 there are the Exynos 9810 SoC, the AMOLED screen and the camera setup.

Introduced back in February during MWC 2018 alongside the Alcatel 3, 3X, and 5, the Android Go-powered Alcatel 1X and the 6-inch Alcatel 3V with a dual camera setup are both ready for the US market. Although the prices and launch dates are not official yet, we know that the US version of the Alcatel 1X sports a fingerprint reader and will start below the US$100 mark.

Xiaomi has released Android 8.0 kernel sources for the Mi A1. The device's Nougat sources were released a few weeks ago, so this is rather unexpected from Xiaomi. A surprise, but a welcome one to be sure.

ZTE was hit with a massive US$892 million fine by the US government back in 2016, a fine that led to the company posting a massive US$377 million net loss for that year. All looks to be well with the Chinese electronics giant now, though.

LG, a while ago, was said to be set to use an OLED display on the G7. That device is currently being redeveloped, apparently, and it would seem the company has decided to make a return to its tried and trusted LCD panels, after the failure that was the V30's OLED display.

Samsung is pulling out all the stops to encourage people to upgrade to its new Galaxy S9 models. US customers can currently enjoy steep discounts on genuine accessories when purchasing the new models outright.

Samsung has released kernel sources for the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+, just weeks after the devices were announced. The combination of kernel sources and Project Treble support should ensure that the devices get excellent community development.

The Honor 7X is currently receiving its first Oreo beta. The update brings a number of UI changes and the much-expected Project Treble support that will allow the device enjoy the community development it has lacked so far.

Word of a device powered by a "Snapdragon 632" has surfaced again, and just like the first time out, we're leery. There doesn't look to be any such SoC in the works, and the source information is as wonky as it gets.

Spotify has announced the launch of its services in Israel, Romania, South Africa and Vietnam. This makes South Africa the first African country to receive official Spotify support, with users in other African countries having to use VPNs. Meanwhile, Indians will have to make do with alternatives like Apple Music and Amazon Music.

Sony has explained its reasons for dropping the 3.5mm headphone jack on its new Xperia XZ2 series. According to the company, it is because of design reasons and the market trend towards wireless headphones.

HTC may completely skip the U12 launch and release the U12+ flagship smartphone in mid Q2 this year. As a competitor for Samsung's Galaxy S9+, the U12+ comes with a WQHD+ LCD screen, top of the line Snapdragon 845 SoC, 6 GB RAM, 64/128 GB storage, plus dual front/back cams.

Although mobile gaming managed to leave both consoles and PCs/Macs behind for the first time in 2014, its position strengthened ever since and the figures for 2017 show that there is no turning back now. According to the latest report by App Annie and IDC, mobile game spending was 2.3 times higher than PC/Mac game spending and 3.6 times higher than the amount of money console gamers had spent during the same period.

Although the Moto E4 has been around since last July and Verizon Wireless has been selling it ever since for just US$69.99, T-Mobile decided to add this 5-inch Android Nougat smartphone to its portfolio now instead of waiting for the Moto E5. However, the full retail price they charge is US$175. Fortunately, T-Mobile customers can also go with a US$7 down payment, followed by 24 monthly payments of US$7 each.

Shortly after seeing the Huawei Y9 (2018) launch in Thailand, an unofficial render of the next-gen Huawei Y7 surfaced online. This mid-range Android handset is rumored to feature a 5.5-inch display with 2,160 x 1,080 pixels, a single 13 MP photo shooter on the back, a fingerprint reader, and a traditional 3.5 mm audio jack. Its specs might also include 2 GB RAM, 16 GB storage, and a Snapdragon 435 processor (or similar).

Users are now purchasing refurbished smartphones more than ever due in part to slowing innovation and marginal design changes on the latest models. The hardest hit are mid-range smartphones as used high-end models from Apple or Samsung can be had for about the same price. Why purchase a brand new flagship when last year's model is very nearly the same for hundreds less?

Oppo's upcoming R15 and R15 Plus smartphone models will be powered by MediaTek's Helio P60 SoC and Qualcomm Snapdragon 660, respectively. Both come with 6 GB of RAM, 128 GB storage, pre-installed Android 8.1, a 20 MP selfie cam, a 16 MP + 5 MP dual rear camera, and a 6.28-inch 2280 x 1080 AMOLED screen.

Andy Rubin has green lit the rollout of the Android 8.1 Oreo update for the Essential Phone PH-1. The update is available immediately to all users over-the-air and brings a raft of new features to the device.

There has been a report made about the expected release date and higher price tag for the LG G7. The device is expected to be announced in April and to go on sale in May. No exact price point has been revealed yet, but the same source commented that the G7's release price will be considerably higher than that of the G6's. There is also a rumor LG is preparing to announce a Plus version of the G7, too.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 430-powered Sony Xperia R1 and R1 Plus are two budget-friendly handsets that remain exclusively available in India for now, being launched back in November 2017. Back then, both arrived with Android 7.1 Nougat onboard. Although the update to Oreo has been announced by Sony Xperia India on Twitter, there is no official information about the build number and the security patch date available yet.

Although the upcoming Galaxy J-series handsets are rumored to feature Samsung Exynos processors, the Samsung SM-J805G device — believed to be the Galaxy J8+ (2018) — surfaced online with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 under the hood, 4 GB of memory, and Android 8.0 Oreo. Sadly, other details are not available right now, but we will probably hear more about the Galaxy J8+ (2018) in the coming weeks.

Mostly thanks to the release of the iPhone X in November, iOS handsets managed to grab the first spot in Australia during the last quarter of 2017. During the given period, Apple shipped 1.76 million handsets in Australia, which accounted for a market share of 56.2 percent. On the other hand, 1.37 million Android handsets managed to reach the continent in the final quarter of last year, grabbing 43.8 percent of the market.

A report by a Korean outlet has estimated the S9 day-one pre-order sales numbers to stand at 180,000, down 31% from the S8's 260,000 figure. It's about expected, though, as the S9 doesn't actually offer a substantial upgrade over its predecessor.

A while ago, a report by XDA-Developers detailed the Mi 7 using information gleaned from a new firmware file. According to a new report, though, the Mi 7 may have gone through significant changes over the past few weeks, with alterations to its battery capacity and a wild appearance of what seems to be a notch.

Samsung Canada has released a roadmap for the rollout of Android Oreo. The S8 and S8+ will receive their updates on March 19, and the Note 8 about a week later. Users of other new Samsung devices will, of course, have to wait till much later in the year.

Fortnite Battle Royale's popularity has skyrocketed of recent, and it's sure to grow even further, with Epic Games confirming that the battle royale shooter is coming to both iOS and Android, and with cross-play support across all platforms.

Huawei has released the Mate SE, a rebrand of the hugely popular Honor 7X. The Mate SE is identical to the Honor 7X but features a slightly tweaked camera design, an extra GB of RAM, and 32 more GBs of storage. It comes with a price tag of US$229.99.

Press renders and live images of the Huawei P20, P20 Lite, and P20 Pro have shown them all sporting vertically aligned rear cameras—tri-rear cameras in the case of the P20 Pro. This comes after a video by Huawei teased a horizontal alignment on the devices a week ago.

Essential has filed a patent with the USPTO for “image capture with a camera integrated display.” Could this mean the American technology company is working on a method to remove the selfie camera from the polarizing top notch position that many manufacturers have currently adopted? Would new sensor-positioning technology be introduced in a future Essential smartphone release?

The value proposition for the 6-inch FullView Android will be one of the best when it launches late next week with pre-orders already open through major online retailers. It will be the most powerful smartphone in the Honor family by far, but also the priciest at over twice the MSRP of the popular Honor 7X.

We could very well see a Nokia 9 this year sporting an in-display fingerprint sensor. The information comes from a source close to NokiaPowerUser and goes on to say that 2018 flagships from HMD Global are also likely to sport a notch to maximize the display area given the native notch support in the upcoming Android 9.0 P OS.

The upcoming OnePlus flagship, OnePlus 6, looks like the phone to watch out for in 2018 as it posted impressive scores in the AnTuTu benchmark beating contenders such as the Samsung Galaxy S9/S9+ and even the iPhone X. The benchmark app also lends further credence to the fact that the OnePlus 6 will sport an iPhone X-esque notch.

Motorola may have scrapped its plans to launch a successor to the Moto X4. According to a new report, the Lenovo-owned company is making cutbacks in a number of areas to try turn around its fortunes.

Microsoft is now offering the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ for pre-order through its store. There have been reports that these are "Microsoft Editions" of the smartphones, which will operate on Android OS and will look identical to the flagship devices sold on Samsung’s website. Microsoft’s supposed customizations will come in the form of software additions, such as Cortana, Skype, Microsoft Launcher and apps from Office 365. However, it appears there is no such thing as a "Microsoft Edition" Galaxy flagship.

The Sony Xperia XZ2 made its debut as an improved version of the Xperia XZ1, sporting the same 19 MP main camera with a Motion Eye sensor, but being capable of shooting both full HD 960 fps videos and 4K HDR content. Although its predecessor is still missing these features, the Xperia XZ2 comes with Night Light mode and one-hand operation out of the box. Sadly, it also sports a low-end front camera and an outdated design.

As revealed by the images that recently surfaced on Weibo, the upcoming ZTE Nubia N3 is a rather peculiar Android handset. Although it features a quite capable mid-range Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor and a 5.99-inch display with a 2:1 aspect ratio, it comes with large bezels and only features a micro USB port for charging and data transfer. At last, we should also mention the stock Android 8.0 Oreo firmware.

Reports claim that the next batch of ZTE Nubia devices will ditch the company's Nubia UI for good and make the switch to stock Android. There's a chance both the Axon and Nubia lines share the same "Stock UI" that has been reported.

The Kirin 670 will be Huawei's response to the new Snapdragon 636 and Exynos 7872 SoCs. The hexa-core chipset will feature a Neural Processing Unit for AI capabilities and a Mali-G72 MP4 GPU. It will also be built on a 12nm manufacturing process.

This year's MWC may have marked a turn in the smartphone market. While the latest flagships were generally iterative improvements on last year's models, the budget and mid-tier segments have begun to explode. The best phones may not be getting cheaper, but cheap phones are definitely getting better.

Serial leakster Evan Blass is at it again, this time spoiling the official unveiling of the Huawei P20 line up. As rumored, the three model range all feature iPhone X-style notches, once the source of ridicule among the Android faithful.