Phablet

A recently published patent assigned to Microsoft appears to show a device with three screens. The illustrated foldable tablet has two seemingly regular-sized screens, and there is a third screen located on the hinge that separates the two main display regions. The patent for this interesting innovation was filed in November 2016.

The leaked render presents a Galaxy Note 9 that is practically identical to the 2017 model. Rumor has it that the only differences will be related to the SoC, battery and physical height. Apparently there is no new stylus and no in-display fingerprint tech either. Why fix it if it ain't broke? Looks like 2019 will be the year for new cutting edge designs.

Fans of the Note series can now rejoice since the latest benchmarks reveal the true power of the phablet. Previous benchmarks presented the Note 9 as a 5 GB device that could end up slower than the S9, but the latest tests show quite the reversal. As a huge bonus, the Note 9 also overpowers Apple's iPhone X, thanks to an unannounced Exynos 9815 SoC.

About four months before the alleged release date of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, a refreshed set of details reveals the following: 3,850 mAh battery with 18 W fast charging, under-the-display fingerprint scanner, new S-Pen, Bixby 2.0, upgraded camera, and a new "Teddy Brown" color option.

Insiders familiar with the 10th anniversary Samsung flagship claim that the upcoming — apparently not foldable — Galaxy S10 handset is likely going to launch at the CES 2019 trade show. This popular trade show is scheduled to take place in the first half of January, as usual.

While AT&T officials confirmed that the company will not add the LG G7 ThinQ to its portfolio, they also revealed that a new exclusive LG device is headed their way and should go on sale this summer. Unconfirmed reports claim that this device is the upcoming notch-less LG V35 ThinQ.

All Verizon Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ handsets will soon be pre-loaded with the following Oath apps: Newsroom, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sports, and Go90. Although the financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed, it has been revealed that Samsung and Oath will share the ad revenue generated by the aforementioned apps.

The 16 MP ISOCELL Slim 3P9 camera by Samsung is a solution for mid-range devices and, thanks to the Tetracell technology, its 1 μm sensor can act as a 2 μm unit by merging four neighboring pixels. This way, the next-gen front-facing cameras can take better pictures in low light scenarios.

Although Xiaomi might be leading the Indian smartphone market when it comes to the totals, things look quite different in the premium area. Here, Samsung leads with a 29 percent share, followed by OnePlus and Apple. However, the best-selling premium handset seems to be the OnePlus 5T, which accounts for 25 percent in this small niche.

Although the Xperia XZ Premium supports video decoding at 120 Hz, Sony has chosen to "to strike a balance between power consumption and consumer benefit" and so this display mode has been disabled to ensure an increased autonomy for this handset. In addition to the XZ Premium, it seems that other Xperia handsets have this hidden setting as well.

The upcoming Samsung Galaxy A6 and Galaxy A6+ come with mid-range specs and feature a flat Infinity Display panel. Out of the two, the A6+ is the only one with a dual camera setup on the back and a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. Their official release should take place in early May.

LG has just revealed that the upcoming G7 ThinQ flagship will feature a "Boombox Speaker" that packs a resonance chamber which allows it to provide 6 dB higher base sound levels and twice the amount of bass that the brand's existing flagships can deliver. The G7 ThinQ will also feature a HiFi Quad DAC and DTS:X 3D Surround Sound.

Although similar rumors that we heard in the past did not come to fruition, this time we might finally get an LG flagship phablet with stylus support. For now, the only certain thing is that LG has registered the Q Note trademark in South Korea earlier this month, so the upcoming LG Q7 flagship might not launch alone.

Although there are supposed to be no Samsung phones in North Korea and the country is well-known as a totalitarian dictatorship, smuggled Samsung smartphones are very popular in the country. According to a South Korean news outlet, the number of mobile subscribers in North Korea reached 5 million this year.

The ZTE Iceberg concept that surfaced on the iF World Design Guide might have seemed nothing more but another over-the-top design, but now a patent showing a similar device has been spotted online. Now, it only remains to see if ZTE can still launch a dual-notch phone, since the Chinese company has been sailing some rough waters lately.

Opera Touch is a new mobile browser from Opera Software that is only available for Android now, but an iOS version will arrive later this year as well. Its main highlight is Flow, a feature that syncs the desktop Opera browser with Opera Touch without requiring logins or authentication.

Just as promised, LG has issued a software update that brings the ThinQ set of artificial intelligence-driven photo capabilities to the LG V30 flagship. In addition to these features, the new software also includes a new startup screen, various improvements under the hood, and the security patch dated on March 1, 2018.

Although Skype for Business will remain alive and well on the iOS and Android handsets, as well as on Mac and Windows desktops, Microsoft decided to stop supporting it on Windows Phone. In addition to it, Microsoft Teams and Yammer for Windows-driven handsets will no longer be supported starting next month as well.

It appears that the phone call related APIs that Microsoft removed from Windows 10 in the Fall Creators Update have been added back again in Windows 10 Redstone 5 Build 17650, which rolled out to the 'Skip Ahead Insiders' channel. This could be another indication of an approaching Surface Phone release date.

Almost one month after the release of the LG Stylo 3, we hear that the LG Stylo 4 is in the making. Sadly, the insiders who talked about it only mentioned that it will hit the US via Cricket Wireless, without saying anything about the specs and features of this upcoming mid-range Android phablet.

Although the upcoming OnePlus 6 flagship has no official launch date or price yet, both have been revealed in India. Last Thursday, MoneyControl published an article about this topic that was removed shortly after going online. According to it, the OnePlus 6 will launch on May 18 and will have a price of around US$602.

Moto’s G-series of mid-range smartphones tends to get most of the attention, but their lower specced E-series continues to offer budget-friendly options — if you’re willing to accept a few compromises. For those who hold battery life above performance, the E5 and E5 Plus might be the better option.

The last two Windows 10 Mobile handset available in the Microsoft Store, namely the HP Elite x3 and the Alcatel Idol 4S, are no longer in stock. This can be considered the final nail in the coffin of Windows for smartphones and phablets since no other such devices are expected to launch anytime soon.

The Moto G6 lineup is now official and consists of the 3 handsets mentioned by multiple leaks and rumors in the last few months: the Moto G6, Moto G6 Play, and the Moto G6 Plus. The new Moto smartphones come with Oreo out of the box, Qualcomm Snapdragon processors, as well as multiple AI features.

The ZTE Nubia Red Magic joins the Razer Phone and Xiaomi's Black Shark gaming smartphones, but it is powered by the older Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor and has a 6-inch 1080p 2:1 display. Fortunately, it features 8 GB of memory, 128 GB UFS 2.1 internal storage, and will be available for pre-order via Indiegog for just US$399 starting next week.

The upcoming Samsung Galaxy S flagship, although still many months ahead of us, is rumored to lack a foldable display. On the other hand, this handset is expected to feature a 3D camera, as well as an Infinity display similar to those that Samsung already used for the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S8 handsets.

The render of the upcoming — and officially confirmed — LG G7 ThinQ Android flagship reveals a thick metal frame similar to that of the LG G6, a display with curved corners, as well as a rather wide notch at the top. All the details should be official in less than a month since the launch event will take place on May 2.

After Razer and Xiaomi, Asus could become the third big brand to hop on the gaming smartphone bandwagon. The rumor has been around for a while, but the device did not arrive at MWC 2018 as mentioned. Now, the company's CEO Jerry Shen also confirmed that a gaming phone by Asus can be expected, but did not reveal any details.

Introduced with the OxygenOS Open Beta all the way back in January, the new gesture-based navigation system for the OnePlus 5T is now available for everyone thanks to the OxygenOS 5.1.0 update. Once this feature is enabled, the navigation buttons are hidden, and the user needs to swipe the display for Home, Back, and Recent Apps.

The Android 8.1 Oreo OTA update for the Razer Phone has started its rollout earlier today. Its list of features includes multiple optimizations, an improved visual layout, as well as the latest security patches and bug fixes. The update rolls out in stages and all Razer Phone users should get the new firmware within the coming weeks.

Although most leaks and rumors that we heard so far mentioned a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 as the heart of the upcoming Moto G6 Plus handset, this mobile device features in fact the Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 chip, which is listed by Geekbench as a Snapdragon 660 due to a bug. Other features apparently include 4 GB RAM and a 5.93-inch display.

The new Vivo Y71 phablet has a generous 6-inch display and features a low-end Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor, 3 GB RAM, just 16 GB internal storage (expandable thanks to a microSD slot), as well as a single 13 MP camera on the back and a 5 MP selfie shooter. However, it also comes at a price of around US$168.

Although it is not a compact handset, the new ZTE Nubia Z18 also carries the "Mini" attribute. This 5.7-inch handset is powered by the Snapdragon 660 processor, next to 6 GB RAM, as well as 64 GB or 128 GB internal storage. Sadly, it is only available in China for now, where it can be acquired for the equivalent of US$285 or US$335 (depending on the amount of storage).

The successors of the Xiaomi Mi 5X and its Android One variant known as the Xiaomi Mi A1 will soon be unveiled in China. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 626-powered Xiaomi Mi 6X is expected to be unveiled on April 25 with MIUI onboard, while the Android One variant will hit the market as the Xiaomi Mi A2.

ETNews has claimed that Huawei will announce a truly foldable phone in November of this year. According to the South Korean news outlet’s sources, the Shenzhen-based company will show off the device to the public for additional research purposes, but it won’t be immediately available for purchase. It would be quite a coup for Huawei to beat rivals such as Samsung and Apple in this particular race.

A video that was briefly present on the Facebook page of OnePlus India reveals that Marvel Studios will team up with the Chinese brand for an Avengers-themed limited edition of the upcoming OnePlus 6 flagships. The video has been removed shortly after being posted, apparently because it was a test video that should not have been shared online.

A new exclusive report about LG's next-gen flagship — which might not hit the market as the LG G7 after all — reveals that this handset will feature a dedicated AI button and a rear camera with f/1.5 aperture (obviously, a dual camera setup). If the rumor turns out to be true, this device will be unveiled by the end of the month.

After a rather long wait, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 phablet owners on T-Mobile can finally enjoy the benefits delivered by the Android Oreo update. Sadly, the release notes page has not been updated by T-Mobile yet, but the update is most likely based on Android 8.0, as it happens with the other Samsung flagships that recently received the update.

Although Apple also had some problems with inflated batteries lately, the class action lawsuit involving no less than 63,767 South Korean customers has been filed to seek damages because of the company's intentional CPU throttling on older models to increase their battery life. The amount Apple might pay is the equivalent of almost US$12 million.

Although the official launch might still be a week or two ahead of us, a Hungarian online store has just published the product pages for the Moto G6 and G6 Plus, revealing all the details. According to it, both handsets feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 64 GB internal storage, and a main camera that combines a 12 MP sensor and a 5 MP one.

Although Samsung and NextRadio announced earlier this year that all upcoming handsets of the South Korean brand to hit the US and Canada will feature FM radio support, the Galaxy S9 and S9+ came with a bug that disabled it. Now, Samsung has just confirmed that a fix for this problem is on the way, but only mentioned "in the next update" instead of an accurate date.

Expected to hit Europe on April 5, the 5.7-inch Sony Xperia XZ2 and the 5-inch Xperia XZ2 Compact can be pre-ordered in the US from B&H Photo for US$799.99 and US$649.99. Both come with four color options: green, black, silver, and pink. Sadly, there is no information on their date of arrival for now.

The upcoming Honor 7A is expected to launch on April 2, since a few fresh reports revealed images of the media invites that Huawei's subsidiary has already sent out. Its specs and features are said to include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor, a 13 MP + 2 MP dual camera on the back, a 3,000 mAh battery, and EMUI 8.0 based on Android 8.0 Oreo on top.

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.

Unveiled at MWC 2018, the Nokia 7 Plus was expected to arrive in April. However, the launch date of this Qualcomm Snapdragon 660-powered handset has just been confirmed for May 2. Even more, those who buy the 7 Plus from Nokia's online store before the end of May will also get a free Google Home Mini smart speaker.

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.

Since Porsche Design and Huawei-related promo materials have been already spotted in Paris at the location where the P20 and P20 Pro will be unveiled tomorrow and the name of the upcoming Mate RS is no longer a secret, it only remains to see what hides under the hood of the new limited edition luxury device.