Android

Google already provides a Find My Device service for Android. Now, a new leak suggests that it is working on making it more like Apple's version. The Mountain View giant is reportedly working on a new OS option that allows devices to join a network that locates missing possessions such as phones.

The Android OEM Vivo has applied to trademark what is most likely the name for its first ever tablet with the European Union's intellectual property office (EUIPO). This may indicate that the device will be launched soon, probably in the same market. It is rumored to have a battery of about 8,000mAh in capacity.

OnePlus, Meizu and Asus are just some of the members of the Mutual Transfer Alliance, a new group that allows its members access to a new, Bluetooth-independent method of localized file-swapping between devices. The option is getting increasingly popular, and may get even more so should Samsung take it up as a new leak suggests.

Samsung's next notable smartphone will be the Galaxy S21 FE, a sequel to last year's very well-received Galaxy S20 FE. While there's not been much in the way of official information, here's all we know about it at the moment, including pricing and specifications.

Sony has finally revealed the asking price for the Xperia 1 III in the US. The 5G-capable smartphone with triple lens camera, water-resistance certification, 4K 120 Hz OLED, and even a 3.5 mm audio jack, will set buyers back by US$1,299.99. Plenty considering a purchase have been speculating on what freebies could come with the Sony Xperia 1 III.

Samsung has expanded its mobile-device presence in India with the launch of 2 of its latest tablets in the country. The S7 FE and A7 Lite models of the OEM's Galaxy Tab line are promoted as battery champs, particularly the former with its 10,090mAh power-pack. They have been launched alongside their prices for their new markets, although their release comes later in June 2021.

The Mi Mix 4 will reportedly launch next quarter, as Xiaomi looks to release its second Mi Mix handset this year. The Mi Mix 4 will allegedly not come cheap though, and could be even more expensive than the pricey Mi 11 Ultra.

The eminent leaker Digital Chat Station claims to have spotted a prototype for ZTE's second-gen under-display camera (UDC) Android smartphone. The device was allegedly snapped alongside a demo of Visionox' InV See Pro, this company's latest UDC panel apparently destined for ZTE's cutting-edge device.

The POCO X3 GT is on its way to market, having passed through the FCC. The upcoming POCO handset is another Xiaomi re-brand, this time of the China-only Redmi Note 10 Pro. The POCO X3 GT will feature a Dimensity 1100 SoC, a 120 Hz and a 5,000 mAh battery, among other compelling components.

OnePlus has released its latest official beta OS versions for its 2020 flagship 8 series against a backdrop of news concerning its integration with its sister OEM OPPO. The announcement may have led to anxiety around losing the popular version of Android in question, OxygenOS. However, a company representative has reportedly confirmed it will keep going in the future - albeit outside China only.

Google is yet to flesh out Wear OS 3.0, having teased it at Google I/O 2021. The company has finally provided some details on its progress, albeit after partners like Qualcomm and Mobvoi sowed confusion about the new 'unified platform'.

The Galaxy Z Fold2 remains available in the US, contrary to reports. Samsung has not stopped selling it on its US website. However, no US carriers have stock of Samsung's foldable smartphone in either colour, possibly in anticipation of the Galaxy Z Fold 3. Currently, the only way to get your hands on a Galaxy Z Fold2 in the US is to purchase an unlocked handset.

The Sony Xperia 1 III has started appearing in numerous review and test videos on YouTube. Two recent videos have tested both the Xperia 1 III’s speed and camera equipment against the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra. While the Sony smartphone’s photos seemed like a mixed bag, its performance and speed were exemplary.

The Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra proved to be a very capable smartphone in our review. It is the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra’s true competitor. However, there is still some room for improvement, especially in terms of software.

Motorola has now debuted its newest device, the Moto Defy. The Defy is a rugged phone born from Motorola's partnership with Bullitt Group. It offers mostly mid-range specs but excels at being a rugged phone, with an IP68 rating, MIL-SPEC 810H certification, and a chassis designed to withstand harsh environments.

OnePlus launched its new Nord CE 5G smartphone about a week ago now (on June 10, 2021). Nevertheless, reports of not 1 but 2 system updates in quick succession for the device have emerged. The first upgraded its security patch level, whereas the second had camera and general system tweaks.

LG continues its crawl towards adopting Android 11 across its remaining product stack. Now, the company has started updating the Velvet LTE, also known as the Velvet 4G. LG hopes to have finished rolling out Android 11 globally by the end of 2021, but it has pushed several devices back a quarter.

Qualcomm has asserted that some of its Snapdragon Wear SoCs are compatible with Wear OS 3.0, despite Google's continued silence on the matter. Apparently, the Snapdragon Wear 3100, Wear 4100 and Wear 4100+ 'are capable' of running Wear OS 3.0, whatever capable means in this context.

Leica has launched its first ever smartphone, the Leica Leitz Phone 1. The new device appears to have been designed in close partnership with Sharp and looks to be based on the recently launched Sharp Aquos R6.

LG's last flagship smartphone has reached the Google Play Console. The Velvet 2 Pro, codenamed the LG Rainbow, has some bleeding-edge hardware and would have been an excellent upgrade on last year's LG Velvet.

Xiaomi's next tablet series has arrived on the EEC, following several leaks last month. The so-called Mi Pad 5 series is expected to arrive this summer, and will receive a global launch.

In February, Xiaomi stated that the Redmi Note 9 Pro would receive MIUI 12.5 in late Q2 2021, a period that we are now in. However, the device has just received a new upgrade, and it only contains Android 11. For some reason, Xiaomi has decided against bringing MIUI 12.5 to the Redmi Note 9 Pro yet, for some reason.

New renders have offered another look at the proposed Galaxy Z Fold 3, one of Samsung's foldable smartphones for 2021. The renders are based on past leaks, including now-deleted promotional material.

Google has been testing the ability to send texts, files and photos through its Messages service with end-to-end encryption for some time. Now, it has announced that it is to become available for the stable version of this app. The Mountain View giant claims that it results in messaged content that stays between 2 people in the same chat.

Honor has launched its latest 50-series smartphones today (June 16, 2021) as premium mid-rangers, which might make some fans wonder where the flagship counterpart has got to. However, the brand's CEO also confirmed that this device, the Magic 3, is on its way. It is now slated to debut in the third quarter of 2021 with the top-end Snapdragon 888 processor.

While Google is yet to detail all aspects of its Wear OS reboot, Mobvoi has released a new Wear OS smartwatch. The TicWatch E3 shares many features with the TicWatch Pro 3, including a Wear 4100 SoC and 1 GB of RAM. The TicWatch E3 is US$100 cheaper than the Pro 3, though.

Honor has finally released its new set of devices in China. The phones, the Honor 50 SE, Honor 50, and Honor 50 Pro offer powerful sub-premium chipsets as well 108 MP main cameras, at a starting price point under the equivalent of US$400. They'll also make the trip over to Europe in the near future.

The latest report from Counterpoint Research shows that the tablet market grew by 51% in the first quarter of 2021 (1Q2021) in terms of shipments. Apple, Samsung and Lenovo were leading brands in the space, whereas others such as Huawei and Amazon had dropped off somewhat.

OnePlus has announced that it is merging its operations with Oppo. The two companies are owned by the same parent company and had already merged their R&D teams five months ago.

The Huawei P50 series is expected to debut in August. Much has been said about the range-topping Huawei P50 Pro+'s expected 200x zoom. A set of images have now surfaced online, with a claim to being camera samples from the device. We're leery, though.

New phone cases for the Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro smartphones have appeared in a number of live shots that were originally shared on a Chinese social media site. The Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro cases were also placed next to a case for the Google Pixel 4 XL to give an idea of their size and design evolution.

The FCC has added another three upcoming Samsung smartwatches to its database, bringing the total to five. In addition, the agency has confirmed that the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch Active 4 will feature round displays, mirroring Samsung's current smartwatches. Samsung will announce its 'New Watch Experience' on June 28.

Realme has now brought its performance-focused affordable premium phone, the Realme GT 5G, over to the global market. Europe, specifically. The Realme GT 5G offers a Snapdragon 888 and up to 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB while bearing a lithe €369 price tag for now.

OnePlus has announced another Nord smartphone, albeit only for North America. The Nord N200 5G is a cheaper option than the European and Indian-exclusive Nord CE 5G, and its specifications reflect that. The OnePlus Nord N200 5G will retail for US$249.

According to a renowned leaker, Xiaomi is planning another stab at releasing a foldable smartphone. The new device will feature significantly more impressive specifications than the Mi Mix Fold, which cannot keep pace with the Mate X2 or Galaxy Z Fold2 from Huawei and Samsung, respectively.

New details about the Galaxy S22 series have leaked. According to reports, Samsung's next flagships will be smaller than the current Galaxy S21 models, except for the Galaxy S22 Ultra. The Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Plus have been tipped to feature 'reinforced polycarbonate' plastic back panels too.

Xiaomi has updated the Mi A2 once again, just under a week after it updated the Mi A2 Lite. The new update addresses over a dozen security flaws that Google has outlined as either critical or high.

Android 12 Beta 2 appears to have revealed details about the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro's wireless charging capabilities. According to a report, Google has added support for a wireless charger with a fan, implying that the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro will support more than the 10 W to which Google restricts the Pixel 3, Pixel 4 and Pixel 5 series.

The DJI Mini SE has allegedly been spotted on a Walmart shelf, despite the fact the OEM has not even come close to announcing this new drone yet. According to its possible accidental release, it is a particularly light, compact UAV that may be a budget variant of the Mavic Mini. This is indicated mostly through its 2.7K camera spec.

Honor will launch its new 50-series smartphones on June 16, 2021, which means that some of its members seem to have just beaten this deadline to leak onto Geekbench 5. These new listings might prove that the OEM will introduce a Dimensity 900-powered SE variant alongside the vanilla and Pro Snapdragon 778G-based models.

A Sony Xperia 1 III Pro, rather than an Xperia PRO II, is apparently being prepped for release according to a new rumor. The beefed-up variant of the Xperia 1 III will purportedly be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 successor (model number SM8450) and bring a decent RAM amount bump with it.

Leaks concerning a successor to Qualcomm's current top-end mobile SoC, the Snapdragon 888, have only just started to emerge. Nevertheless, there are hints that phone manufacturers have been sent samples of this alleged "895" to test already. According to a reliable tipster, these OEMs have one thing in common: they are all Chinese.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved 2 new Samsung devices, the SM-R880 and SM-R885, for sale. As they are thought to be 2 versions of the upcoming Galaxy Watch 4, this may put the flagship wearables closer to launch than ever. Furthermore, the regulator has confirmed that one of these products has 4G/LTE connectivity.

Mobvoi has updated its Android app to reflect that it will soon be selling the TicWatch E3, two days before its official unveiling. A hands-on video has confirmed most specifications about the smartwatch too, including its SoC, RAM and storage.

A new report says that Samsung may hold off on launching the Galaxy S21 FE in August. It seems that the company has trouble procuring the Snapdragon 888 chipsets that power the smartphone. Another rumour suggests that Samsung could postpone the entire Galaxy Unpacked event by a month or two.

A new Twitter leak suggests that Samsung has won the contract to supply Qualcomm with the successor to its flagship mobile SoC, the Snapdragon 888. Should this be the case, the South Korean giant will make this chipset alongside its own next-gen top-end processor, the Exynos 2200, possibly using the same "4nm" process.

Google is projected to return to offering an XL (even if it is rumored to be called the Pro now) variant with the upcoming Pixel 6 series. Now, a screen protector allegedly made for this phone has shown up on SlashLeaks, as has one for the vanilla 6. They seem to line up with earlier tips pointing to the devices' case designs.

The Galaxy M32 is a phone reportedly destined for the Indian market in 2021. The latest rumors state that Samsung will finally have this device ready to go in June of this year. It is expected to launch with quad rear cameras, a 6,000mAh battery and an FHD+ Super AMOLED display.

The smartphone brands Realme and OnePlus are rumored to be working on phones powered by the Dimensity 1200 SoC: the X9 Pro and the Nord 2 respectively. Now, a Weibo-based leaker insists that they are in fact one and the same, and will be marketed as the latter for international release. Meanwhile, a second X9 Pro with a different processor is slated to be a Chinese-market exclusive.