Android

Realme has announced that it will add an Indian event to its date for the X50 Pro debut's live-stream from Madrid, Spain. This new show will take place on 14:30, February 24, 2020, or about 30 minutes before the European stream starts. This phone will be the OEM's first top-end 5G device on either occasion.

LG's G7 ThinQ is a flagship phone that is still less than 2 years old; despite this, the OEM is yet to provide it with a stable Android 10 upgrade. However, there are now signs that it is progressing in beta form, at least. It comes in the form of new Geekbench 5 listings showing this name in conjunction with a current OS version.

DisplayMate has concluded that the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra's display is "visually indistinguishable from perfect" and has awarded no less than 12 awards to the phone. The publication gave the Galaxy S20 Ultra's display an A+ rating and notes that it has "text book perfect calibration accuracy and performance".

Currently limited at full HD resolution due to battery life-related concerns, the 120 Hz display refresh might soon become available for the Galaxy S20 lineup since Samsung is reportedly working on a software update that will bring WQHD+ 120 Hz capabilities. Its launch should take place by the end of April.

Yesterday, reports of Android 10 hitting the Mi A3 surfaced around the nooks of the Internet. They were fake, sadly. The Mi A3 hasn't received its Android 10 update, but recent developments point towards it being potentially at hand.

At first glance, the Note10 Lite appears to be a normal phablet with support for pen input. However, Samsung has now reduced the price compared to past devices for the first time, which also resulted in the omission of some features for the Lite version. The results below are a summary of the findings from our review.

Microsoft has restructured its apps for the Android platform, mainly by combining all of them into one. It is now called Office on the Play Store, and allows access to OneDrive as well as Word, PowerPoint and Excel. However, it is reportedly not optimized for tablets.

Honor has confirmed that the release of the stable EMUI 10 update for the Honor 9X is at hand. Huawei is also sending out the update to the Mate 20 Lite and P30 Lite but the rollout appears to be extremely limited at the moment.

An OPPO executive has teased its upcoming first-generation smartwatch, revealing that it looks quite like those made by Apple. This device is also to have "3D glass", which may be used to help the wearable's face curve downwards towards its case. It is also now known to have a gold finish.

LG may launch a successor for its flagship phablet, the V50 ThinQ, soon. A device with a model number that might conform to this device has appeared on the Geekbench 5 database. It has the Snapdragon 865 and runs Android 10, and has a rather standard 8GB of RAM.

A listing on the Giztop web store (now removed) revealed the full specifications of the OnePlus 8, OnePlus 8 Pro, and OnePlus 8 Lite. While the listing should be taken with a grain of salt, the specs coincide with prior rumors and leaks. Unsurprisingly, the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865. However, the OnePlus 8 Lite will opt for the MediaTek MTK Dimensity 1000. Other specifications (listed below) are decidedly flagship-level.

The Honor 9X Pro, the latest mid-range phone from Huawei's sub-brand Honor, is set for a global launch on February 24. However, due to the continuing trade war between China and the United States, the "global" launch is limited to East Asia and Europe. The phone is a solid mid-range handset.

Instead of going the foldable way, TCL is experimenting with some other ways to implement flexible screens. The slide-out concept essentially provides the same screen estate but without the awful crease in the middle and possibly reinforcing the durability of the flexible screen. One downside for this design could be the slightly thicker handsets.

While many Realme users are already testing Android 10 Beta on their devices, it looks like the Realme 5 Pro will move directly to the stable Android 10 firmware. If everything goes as planned, this should happen next month. The same will happen with the Realme X, which is supposed to receive the update this month.

Almost two years after the phone was launched, owners of the Sprint model LG G7 ThinQ are finally receiving their first OS update. The Android Pie update is now rolling out to the phone, with Android 10 lingering on the horizon already.

With prices starting at more than US$700, the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro is a rather expensive handset considering the wallet-friendly price tags of its predecessors. However, the Chinese OEM managed to sell more than 28.5 million USD worth of these new flagships in just 55 seconds during the first flash sale session.

Fresh leaks about the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 indicate that the device's display is likely to be made of ultra-thin glass like the recently launched Galaxy Z Flip. The Fold 2 is also tipped to feature an under-display camera and is expected to launch sometime in July, around the same time as the Galaxy Note 20.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip has received much criticism owing to its highly fragile display. While durability tests do not show any indications of the display being made of glass, a closer examination does confirm the company's claims of using ultra-thin glass under a protective plastic layer. However, Samsung's marketing gives the impression that the Galaxy Z Flip's glass display is as reliable and scratch-proof as any other smartphone.

The ViewSonic M1 Mini LED Pocket Projector has won one of the IF Design Awards for 2020. It has been conferred due to its innovative and functional stand, which also doubles as a lens-protector when not in use. It also packs a battery rated for up to 2.4 hours of cable-free use and a speaker from JBL.

A Nubia executive has confirmed that the next-gen device from its gaming-phone brand, Red Magic, will have SKUs with 16GB of RAM. This spec is an upper limit for Android phones currently defined by the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra in 2020. Considering all its other properties, both definite and rumored, this alternative is shaping up to be an attractive potential contender.

Are you wondering whether your Huawei device will receive EMUI 11, the Chinese company's custom version of Android 11? Well, over 30 are apparently eligible, with the P20 series seemingly not making the cut.

As with its immediate predecessor, the Galaxy M30s, Samsung will release the M31 to the Indian market via Amazon. This site is currently teasing the phone as one that will replicate the popular "battery monster" in many ways, its 6000mAh battery included. However, its camera specs stand to improve somewhat.

Huawei's midrange Honor V30 is set to launch in Europe next week. However, in the aftermath of the phone maker's spat with Google, the Kirin 990-toting smartphone will not feature Google Services, arriving instead with Huawei's homemade HMS suite for maps, mail, and other key functions.

A new listing on the Thailand National Broadcast and Telecommunication Commission's (NBTC) website confirms the existence of the Moto G8 Power Lite. While specifications are still unknown, the handset (which was previously thought to be the Moto Z5) finally has an official name.

Asus is offering copious discounts as part of the ongoing Flipkart Mobile Bonanza sales season from February 17 to February 21. As part of the sales offer, Asus is selling all variants of the 6Z at ₹4,000 off while the 5Z gets a generous ₹3,000 price cut. Budget phones such as the ZenFone Max Pro M1, Max 2, and Max 1 will also be available at discounted prices during this period.

Sony, for some reason, completely ignored the Xperia XZ1 and XZ1 Compact in its Android 10 roadmap. The phones ran Android Oreo at launch and have only received one OS upgrade, to Android Pie. Owners of the phones aren't taking that kindly, though, and rightfully so.

Imaging sensors are used in a huge variety of electronics, which include digital cameras and smartphones. Their market was worth US$15.93 billion in 2018, but is now projected to be worth $29.99 billion in 6 years. This is thought to be related to their emerging relevance to autonomous vehicles.

As the latest Qualcomm flagship processor, the Snapdragon 865 may be expected to gain a Plus variant (or 865+) later this year, in accordance with very recent tradition. A Weibo tipster now asserts that this will occur some time in the third quarter of 2020. This new version may power late-year versions of phones such as the OnePlus 8 and Nubia Red Magic 5G.

The T8i is the latest in the EOS Rebel series made by Canon. It has a 24MP APS-C CMOS sensor with a 45-point all-cross form of auto-focus (AF) with Face Detect. This Rebel is also the first of its line to feature vertical video for consumption on mobile devices.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip's default keyboard seems to have a bug that automatically lowercases any letter typed in uppercase and this behavior is persistent even after fiddling around with the settings. It is not a big deal-breaker though, as users can still install third-party keyboards such as Gboard or SwiftKey.

OnePlus has announced a new software update for the 7, 7 Pro, and 7T Pro. These stable new updates bring the same bug-fixes and feature additions to each of these devices. They also update their security patch levels to January 2020.

Most smartphone enthusiasts don't seem to like MediaTek chipsets. While there are solid reasons for that, performance isn't one of them anymore. For example, the new MediaTek Dimensity 1000L looks to be the most powerful SoC outside the flagship space.

A company called Aria has put its new true-wireless (or TWS) earbuds up for crowdfunding on Indiegogo. This isn't hugely unusual these days - however, these SONG X products distinguish themselves with an innovative "Star Ring" charging case. They are also described as capable of delivering high-quality audio with robust Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity.

An Android trojan by the name of xHelper has been found to reinstall itself after removal. Worse still, the malware reinstalls itself even after a factory reset. Malwarebytes has devised a fairly complex manner of removing the malware, which it says is the worst mobile malware the antivirus firm has ever encountered.

All the talk and expectation around mobile silicon from Qualcomm this year is understandably focused on its beastly Snapdragon 865. However, there are to relatively new PCs on the market that are running PC-optimized versions of the 2019 flagship Snapdragon 855. These are of course, the Samsung Galaxy Book S and the Microsoft Surface Pro X. The Galaxy Book S runs Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8cx while the while Microsoft’s Surface Pro X runs a custom variant of the 8cx dubbed the Microsoft SQ1. So, what are the differences between them and is there much of a difference in performance between the chipsets?

The latest update for Pokémon Masters, a popular mobile game that takes place in the Pokémon universe, introduces Professor Oak and Mew as a sync pair. Players that complete the game's tutorial by March 15 will unlock the pair, as well as extra content surround the Pokémon Prof's character.

Earlier (on February 13, 2020), Android Police spotted a page for a new Android Developer Preview on this OEM's website. However, its download links never went live. Now, this page is back to its old Android 10 self, suggesting that the new version is still not here in any form after all.

Meizu's next flagship phone series with be called "17th", according to a new leak. It includes a render purporting to show the Plus variant of this line. It has a distinctly Galaxy S20-esque display, whereas the rear panel has a...unique gradient effect that goes from a very bright yellow to a neon green. This phone is also purported to come with the Snapdragon 865 and 3 to 4 rear cameras.

Some recent leaks have asserted that the second-generation Find X flagship phone from OPPO will have a 120 hertz (Hz) refresh rate at a QHD+ resolution. The freshly-launched Samsung Galaxy S20 series has similar properties - however, they don't co-exist in real-world devices. In addition, the X2 is rumored to have some new Sony camera sensors.

Fancy a look at the Pixel 5 XL nine months before Google releases it? Well, that is what Jon Prosser and Front Page Tech claim to be offering, at least. Unconvinced? Yeah, so are we.

Rumours about the possibility of Sony releasing an Xperia 9 have appeared online, with an image posted to Reddit cited as proof. Does that not sound dodgy enough?

While this week has been all about Samsung, Xiaomi and the cancellation of MWC 2020, we may only be a few weeks away from the launch of the OnePlus 8 series. To that end, the OnePlus 8 has now appeared on Geekbench, complete with a Snapdragon 865 SoC and 8 GB of RAM.

Last week, Google Maps celebrated its 15th anniversary and now the mobile apps receive an update that includes quite a few noticeable changes, both functional — more information about transit rides — and visual — a new icon and a refreshed interface.

With the MWC 2020 event officially called off, Realme has decided to launch its flagship, the Realme X50 Pro 5G, in an online event on February 24. The Realme X50 Pro 5G will be powered by the Snapdragon 865 SoC, will feature 65W SuperDart fast charging, and will run on the new Realme UI OS based on Android 10.