Android

Right at the launch of the new flagship smartphone OnePlus 12, the manufacturer has already released a major update for Oxygen OS. Version 14.0.0.404 unlocks Hasselblad Master Mode and brings several other improvements.

Xiaomi has opened a new beta program for HyperOS, its replacement for MIUI. Available globally, the Beta Tester Recruitment scheme is free to join and seemingly offered without restrictions.

AnTuTu has revealed the best high-performance Android flagship and mid-range phones of January 2024. In both categories, MediaTek chipsets secured #1 spots. More specifically, the Oppo Find X7 with Dimensity 9300 is at the top spot in the flagship list, while the Redmi K70E with Dimensity 8300 Ultra is in the first spot in the mid-range list.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra may have excellent camera hardware on paper. However, initial camera tests with Samsung's latest flagship reveal that it cannot hold a candle to recent efforts by Apple, Google Honor, Huawei and Vivo, despite containing improvements from last year's Galaxy S23 Ultra.

The US has approved a new Samsung Electronics patent for a foldable smartphone design that is both wider and thinner than the present Galaxy Z Fold5. Taken to be the design of the Galaxy Z Fold6, more evidence has emerged online that Samsung is preparing to deliver two Galaxy Z Fold models in 2024, unlike previous years.

According to new reports, Xiaomi is preparing to update its flagship tablet series. Rather than bringing the likes of the Pad 7 Pro to market as previous leaks suggested, the company is now tipped to debut the Pad 6S Pro with a large display and a flagship Qualcomm chipset during its Xiaomi SU7 EV launch.

Xiaomi now appears to have started teasing the impending global release of the Xiaomi 14 series. Teased as another linkup with Leica, it seems that Xiaomi is already showcasing Xiaomi 14 Pro camera samples on its social media channels.

Nothing has outlined plans to replace the Nothing Phone (1) later this month. Returning to its mid-range roots, Nothing will soon release the Nothing Phone (2a), which it insists will be 'a clear upgrade compared to Phone (1) on every single front'.

The Xiaomi Mix Fold 4 is projected to launch as one of 2024's most premium foldable smartphones. A new report claims to confirm that it will be available outside of China as well as within that market. It also purports to out the device's processing platform, model number, internal moniker and codename.

It seems that HMD Global is gearing to release its first smartphone with 'HMD' branding. Possibly arriving before the summer, the unnamed device has now been spotted on an official Nokia website in which key camera specifications can be seen.

The MediaTek Dimensity 9300 is a flagship-grade chipset for mobile devices backed for impressive performance with models such as Stable Diffusion or Llama 2. However, its alleged successor the 9400 is now touted to be even more powerful in these terms, generating images up to ~17% faster and text up to 50% faster in 2024.

New display tests have highlighted the extent to which Samsung has improved its display technology between the Galaxy S23 Ultra and Galaxy S24 Ultra. Not only does the Galaxy S24 Ultra outperform its predecessor in this department, but it also gets the better of the iPhone 15 Pro Max and Pixel 8 Pro, among other devices.

According to rumours, Xiaomi may be bringing its first clamshell foldable to market as soon as next month. Potentially arriving in time for an MWC 2024 showcase in Barcelona, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 rival is currently thought to sit within Xiaomi's 'MIX' series as the MIX Flip.

The 14 Ultra is projected to launch as Xiaomi's most sophisticated Android camera flagship smartphone yet in China sometime soon. However, it is now also slated to be even more expensive than its 13 Ultra predecessor on its launch. Nevertheless, its upgrades are backed to be worth the alleged price-hike.

Samsung's latest update to its Quick Share file-sharing service brings integration with Google's native Android Nearby Share. The update is now rolling out to a number of Samsung devices but it's not all good news.

New information has now surfaced about a device that looks to be the much-rumored, upcoming affordable Galaxy Foldable. Said device looks likely to finally debut this year, and could well be a less premium variant of the Galaxy Z Fold6.

Exciting information from the industry about Samsung's next generation of foldables. The small, stylish foldable phone will likely benefit from further battery life increases. At the same time, the ultra-thin glass of the Galaxy Z Fold6 is expected to come close to the durability of a conventional glass compound for the first time.

The Xiaomi 14 is part of Xiaomi's new generation of premium smartphones and, at 6.36 inches, just as compact as its predecessor. The elegant metal and glass casing houses the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which provides plenty of speed. The Xiaomi 14 also scores points with its 3000 nits bright AMOLED display, very long battery life and its Leica-branded cameras.

Motorola's best deals on the Razr Plus 2023 and its vanilla sibling are back for the brand's new "Après-Ski" US event. Non-foldable Android smartphones such as the flagship Edge Plus 2023 are also included in the new sale, as is the Lenovo ThinkPhone. There is a crucial difference between this promotion and the last.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is the first smartphone to introduce a new level of protection for mobile devices that has already demonstrated the ability to do better in traditional tests of display hardness - such as those at the start of the popular JerryRigEverything battery of durability tests. Can its new Corning Gorilla Armor finally make one of the channel's best-loved quotes obsolete?

Beeper, an app that allows Android users to access iMessage by linking their Apple accounts via a Mac, has halted iMessage connections after a handful of user accounts were banned by Apple. This comes almost two months after Beeper Mini shut down services following bans from Apple.

New details about the Xiaomi 14 Ultra continue to surface online. This time, the global version of the device has appeared on Geekbench, while renowned leakers have hinted at a major wireless charging improvement from the Xiaomi 13 Ultra and the prospect of a February 2024 launch in some capacity.

Motorola has now released a 'Power' version of the Moto G24. Arriving only a few days after the regular Moto G24, the Moto G24 Power carries over many of its namesake's specifications while delivering a higher capacity battery, faster charger and an improved front-facing camera.

Lenovo launched a new tablet in China. Called the Lenovo A10 Pad, it comes with a 10.1-inch IPS screen, 4 GB of RAM, up to 128 GB of storage, a 6000 mAh battery, and an eight-core CPU. The launch price for the Android tablet is CNY899, which converts to around $126.

Unlike most companies implying 'Artificial Intelligence' when using the common abbreviation ‘AI’, Samsung is using it to mean ‘Advanced Intelligence’. Although the company hasn't made its reasons public, it is apparent it wants to avoid some of the less pleasant connotations of the technology.

In spite of its many rumored hardware upgrades, a new leak now claims Xiaomi's upcoming flagship smartphone, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, could launch globally with a lower price tag than the Xiaomi 13 Ultra did last year.

Xiaomi is now selling a new version of the Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G, less than two weeks after the device's global release. Sporting a 'Good Luck Red' makeover, the Redmi Note 13 Pro New Year Edition celebrates Chinese New Year, which occurs on February 10.

The Smart 8 Pro has a 50MP main shooter for its suspiciously iPhone 15 Pro-like camera hump, which just happens to go well with the elongated "Magic Ring" software-simulated selfie camera cut-out for its 90Hz display. Then again, there is little enough evidence as to whether the new Infinix smartphone really deserves its "Pro" moniker.

Tecno has announced that its latest affordable-class Pova-series Android smartphones will make a global debut at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) of 2024 in Barcelona. Furthermore, it will feature brand-first Dolby Atmos support, rated to confer a more "immersive" audio experience on the devices certified to use it.

Realme has now launched the Realme 12 Pro and Realme 12 Pro Plus, its latest mid-range smartphones. While the company hopes to distinguish the pair from their peers with their 'luxury watch design', they also deliver modern Qualcomm processors, 120 Hz displays and powerful camera set-ups.

OnePlus has unexpectedly confirmed that an SE version of the Nord N30 exists and may launch soon as a new affordable 5G smartphone. With its large yet 90Hz LCD Sunlight Display screen, 300% Ultra Volume sound with 3.5mm jack and 5,000mAh battery, it has a suspicious amount in common with an existing cost-effective OPPO phone - with one perplexing exception.

A new leak has now outed benchmark results for what is claimed to be the two next-gen mainstream Android flagship chipsets, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 and Dimensity 9400. Both chipsets seemingly crush their predecessors on Geekbench and AnTuTu, posting numbers that would indicate around a 50% performance upgrade across CPU and GPU.

OnePlus has returned to Germany, less than a week after Oppo and Nokia wrapped up their long-standing legal disputes. As part of the company's comeback, it has opened pre-orders for the OnePlus 12 and OnePlus 12R, which join the OnePlus Open that is also now available.

Meta says it welcomes the launch of the Apple Vision Pro as it could help drive further sales of its own Quest-branded range of spatial computing headsets. The company says it would like to position its headset as the ‘Android’ alternative to Apple’s offering that offers a more affordable entry point into the technology.

A report from September of last year suggested that the Sony Xperia 1 VI would launch right after the Galaxy S24 series. Well, it seems that the report was true, as @InsiderSony has leaked what seems to be marketing material for the flagship. It sheds light on the rear camera configuration and suggests an imminent launch.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 series has broken pre-order records in Korea by recording the most pre-launch unit sales in the history of the Samsung Galaxy S lineup. At this pace, the Galaxy S24 smartphones are poised to outperform the past four Galaxy S launches with annual sales predicted to cross 30 million units.

A new addition to the OnePlus Nord line of Android smartphones is projected to hit the Chinese market first as the Ace 3V. Its display is predicted to have some premium properties, and to be kept on with an even bigger battery than that of the freshly-launched flagship 12. Then again, the rest of its rumored specs might put it a few rungs down in terms of price.

Admittedly, the 2022 Motorola Edge has been on the market for a while. But thanks to a substantial discount, the Android smartphone can now be ordered for its lowest Amazon price yet and thereby becomes a great value proposition for buyers who would like to invest around $200.

The regular 6.2-inch version of Google's latest smartphone series has never been cheaper as an Amazon-owned online retailer currently grants a mentionable 23 percent discount on the unlocked Pixel 8 in the sleek Obsidian color variant.

Vivo is now believed to have a 2024 Android tablet with a significant charging upgrade over its predecessor in the works. The third-gen Pad is projected to emerge ahead of the upcoming X100 Pro+ smartphone with one of the highest refresh rate screens on its market. Then again, the new leak is potentially bad news for fans of the Pad2's more distinctive aspects.

A new leak has now revealed some key details of what appears to be Xiaomi's next premium tablet, the Pad 7 Pro. The Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro looks set to debut next month and will arrive with a slew of hardware improvements over the Pad 6 Pro.

It is just a relatively short sequence in the latest video by a Youtuber comparing the performance of an international Galaxy S24+ based on the Exynos 2400 with the Galaxy S24 Ultra and its onboard Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. While most benchmarks perform as expected, one render sequence and especially the things that happen afterwards cause the tester to frown. The "Plus model" also clearly looses in terms of battery life.

Vivo may not offer 7 years of updates like the Samsung Galaxy S24 series, but users do get important new features as updates, as version 14.0.14.6 of OriginOS on the Chinese models of the Vivo X100 Pro recently proved. One of the biggest limitations compared to the competition has finally been removed!

The Carl Pei-led Android brand Nothing is projected to launch its first ever sub-flagship smartphone in 2024. The "Phone (2a)" in question is now reported to have popped up in another new leak ahead of that event. This tip hints at a top-end spec the OEM has decided to throw into this new package for (presumably) less money than the current main Phone (2).

The thinnest and lightest foldable in this country is the Honor Magic V2, which is now also available in Europe, but 2024 has only just begun and this year will bring us plenty more foldables that could catch up with Honor's lead. One particularly exciting candidate is likely to be the first global model with a Leica camera - the Xiaomi Mix Fold 4.