Android

The Nova 5 sub-premium smartphone is now confirmed to launch on June 21, but rumor has it that the Nova 5i premium mid-range model is also slated to launch around the same date. Specs leaked on TENAA for the Nova 5i include a Kirin 710 SoC, 6 or 8 GB of RAM plus 128 GB of storage, a 6.4-inch display with 2,30 x 1080 resolution, rear quad-camera setup with 24 MP + 8 MP +2 MP + 2MP sensors, and a 3,900 mAh battery.

OnePlus has released a new colorway for the 7 Pro. This SKU (Almond) is available in the US or Canada so far. In addition, development leaks indicate that the OEM is preparing the new 'back' gesture, which consists of swiping inward from the side of the screen and is also found in the latest Q betas.

The Samsung Galaxy M40 is available in India as of today (June 11, 2019). It offers a full-HD+ screen with a punch-hole camera, 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage for INR19,990 ($US288). The M40 also features triple rear cameras, 15-watt charging and a 3500mAh battery.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10 Pro will seemingly have the same battery capacity, at least if the latest set of leaks are to be believed. Previous rumours may have got the number of Note 10 models being released wrong too.

Despite massive business embargoes levied against it by the United States Government, Huawei seems to be rolling along. The Chinese company has reportedly shipped one million smartphones running its custom HongMeng OS to testers through China and Asia. The OS is slated for public release this fall.

Xiaomi is adopting a new policy for the delivery of beta MIUI ROMs. Henceforth, devices that are more than a year older will be gradually withdrawn from participating in the beta program. Entry-level Redmi devices are also exempted from enrolling for MIUI beta. That being said, this does not affect the eligibility of the aforementioned devices from getting stable MIUI updates.

Bethesda is asking gamers to sign up for a beta test program for DOOM 2016 on iOS. The program is designed to test Bethesda's new Orion framework for game streaming. Selected users will be able to stream DOOM 2016 on their iOS devices free of charge later this year.

One day before its alleged official launch date, the HTC U19e surfaces online once again. Its specs and features apparently include the Snapdragon 7110 processor, 6 GB of memory, 128 GB of internal storage, dual cameras on both sides, a 3,930 mAh battery, as well as Android 9.0 Pie-based software.

B&H is currently running a sale until tomorrow on one Google Pixel 3 XL SKU. The 6.3-inch phablet is only available at this special price for the Not Pink variant. You will not be tied to a carrier though. The SKU originally cost US$999 and is still US$799 on Google, but B&H has reduced it to just US$649.

The Pixel 4 plot thickens. New renders based on early schematics of Google's upcoming flagship have emerged, which look nothing like previous leaks. Google is apparently roadtesting more than one design though to avoid another Pixel 3 XL esque design flop.

Redmi released a ~US$160 5.99-inch device with the Snapdragon 625 SoC and dual rear cameras in 2018. It is known as the S2 in China and as the Y2 in India. Of these, the S2 has started to exhibit an update to Android 9.0 (Pie).

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 phones may very well be the most anticipated phones of the year. The devices have received plenty of media attention and have been the subjects of numerous rumors and supposed leaks. Some of those have substance to them; others, not so much.

OnePlus is moving quickly to fix the ghost touch issue that has been affecting some 7 Pro smartphones, less than a week after acknowledging its existence. Thankfully for owners, it does not appear to be a hardware issue.
Update: OnePlus claims that OxygenOS 9.5.7 fixes ghost touch issues.

Google Maps is reportedly rolling out a new feature intended to benefit users taking taxis or ride-shares in unfamiliar locations. It starts to send alerts if the vehicle in question starts to deviate from a given route by 500 meters or more. This new setting has only been observed in the Indian market so far, however.

In a recent interview, Mozilla CEO Chris Beard confirmed that premium services are coming soon. A VPN service and cloud capabilities could be bundled in a premium browser for those interested in paying for such features. The VPN and online storage services would be offered by Mozilla and its partners.

The OEM Vivo has posted a video on Weibo, which portrays a project in which an iQOO phone was loaded onto an industrial-grade balloon. These hydrogen-filled craft are used with increasing frequency to visit extreme, near-space altitudes. In this case, the phone was also allegedly still operational after being ejected from a height of about 101,706 feet.

New renders allegedly generated by the OEM OPPO show a device that is capable of both folding and hiding its camera unit via a pop-up module. It is also now claimed that the same camera could have the 10X zoom found in the flagship Reno phone. However, the 'concept' nature of this leak invites some skepticism.

Chrome 75 is the latest version of this app for Android. It is the one to finally add a password generator to the browser. This update also offers a clearer path to its dark mode, may improve on in-app animations and allow users to send more things to other native apps.

Did you buy a Nexus 6P in the US between September 25, 2015, and May 3, 2019? If so, then you can now file a class action compensation claim against Google and Huawei for up to US$400. Your Nexus 6P does not need to be stuck in a bootloop or have experienced high battery drain for you to be eligible for a claim either.

The US$100-250 price category is a competitive place for smartphones these days, particularly in the Indian market. Nevertheless, this is where LG reportedly intends to wade in with its new W-series smartphones. These devices have triple cameras, notched screens and "pocket-worthy" price tags.

Dr. Guy Leschziner, a prominent neurologist and consultant in London's sleep-medicine arena, has recently indicated his belief that sleep-tracking apps and similar technology may backfire on the user. This is apparently due to a 'one-size-fits-all' approach to sleep metrics employed by these apps.

HMD Global just keeps on rolling out new smartphones. The latest from the Espoo, Finland-based company come in the form of the Nokia 3.1 A and the Nokia 3.1 C with the former headed to AT&T and the latter to Cricket.

Realme India CEO Madhav Sheth confirmed on Twitter that the company is looking for a global launch of 5G smartphones in 2019 and also said that 5G Realme phones will launch in India 'as early as possible'. 5G networks in India and across the world are expected to complete deployment only in 2020 so it is not yet clear as to what are the immediate target markets for Realme's 5G launch this year.

Huawei's Nova series is positioned behind the P and Mate lines in the company's hierarchy. The next device in the series, the Nova 5, is on its way, and a new leak has given a clear image of what to expect. Notables include a Kirin 980, three rear cameras, and an in-display fingerprint reader.

One could be forgiven for completely forgetting about HTC. The Taiwanese company's mobile division has been in quite the quagmire and looks certain to not even release a flagship phone this year. The company has something in the works, though, and we'll be getting it this week.

Asus's flagship smartphone, the ZenFone 6, will be be launching as the Asus 6Z in the Indian market on June 19. The change in naming is due to an interim order by the Delhi High Court that restrains Asus from selling any product using the 'Zen' or 'ZenFone' trademark based on a plea filed by Telecare Network. Asus will be challenging the plea soon and has promised that the sales and support of existing products will not be affected.

Samsung has unveiled a special limited edition variant of the Galaxy S10+ that is only available in Vietnam. The model features a stunning new Prism Silver color and also comes in special packaging dedicated to Vietnamese former soccer star and national coach, Park Hang Seo.

A popular blog has analyzed the new Google app beta. It has found that this potential update could turn a phone's lockscreen into something more like Pixel Stand mode with auto-generated suggestions from the user's Assistant. Besides this, the beta can add a Google One status symbol to a profile picture.

OnePlus has announced a new update for OxygenOS (OOS, the OEM's Android skin) on its new flagship, the 7 Pro. It contains a long list of potential camera optimizations which, as the company claims, have been developed as a result of user feedback. This OOS 9.5.7 update may also enhance some non-camera aspects of the phone.

Samsung's Galaxy Tab S4 was at the higher end of tablets on its release in 2018. Now, there are hints that it is getting a successor this year. A device possibly matching this description has been spotted on Geekbench, although it has subsequently disappeared.

The Rock Pi 4 comes in two variants, the base model of which has 1 GB of LPDDR4 RAM. All versions have a similar layout to the Raspberry Pi and feature a hexa-core Rockchip RK3399 processor along with a 40-pin GPIO among other connectors. The Rock Pi 4 ships worldwide.

GearBest has launched a promotion that brings its price for the Xiaomi Mi 9 from US$516.87 down to $377.99. However, using a coupon listed on a different page cuts this discounted price again, to $359.99. On the other hand, the listing is for the phone's base model, a 6GB/64GB SKU.

Motorola is now rolling out its Pie update to users of the Moto Z3 Play, including those located in the US. In addition, some Moto Z2 Force owners have reported an OTA for the same upgrade. These devices are now 1 and 2 years old respectively.

A "global" new outlet has tweeted that HongMeng OS, Huawei's new rumored official ROM for its mobile devices, will be known as Oak OS in non-Chinese markets. Furthermore, this putative new system will be unveiled in the first fall months of 2019. Therefore, this OEM's phones could have as little as 2 more months on Android.

The Samsung Galaxy Fold has not been heard of officially for about a month now. However, a recent Korean news report has dropped hints that it may see an actual release in July 2019. While this cannot be confirmed outright, Samsung has also stated that it will hold an event later this month (June 2019) to announce the Galaxy Fold's real launch date.

Reolink, a company already known for well-spec'd wireless security cameras, now launches the E1 Pro. This new option offers a wide range of coverage for an affordable price. It will also gain Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant compatibility in the near future.

Broadcasts over 4G/LTE are common these days. The technology behind them is used for TV feeds, on-demand video, notifications and data-feeds. Their market will soon also be augmented by 5G analogs, which could push its value to about US$800 million over the next 5 years.

Sony's latest flagship smartphone, the Xperia 1, started sales in the US for a price of US$949. It is also available in the EU and UK. Now, it has also been released in China, where it retails for a price translating to about $912.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 is without a doubt the talk of the town. A few days ago, we had our first look at the Note 10 and now, the more expensive, bigger Note 10 Pro has leaked in all its glory. It will be the biggest Samsung flagship the world has ever seen and packs hardware that more than justifies its "Pro" title.

The OPPO Reno, Reno 10X Zoom and Reno 5G are already on sale in some European countries. Now, they are allegedly to be joined by the Reno Z (which has been heard of in other regions) and the Reno F (which has not). It is possible the latter is a rebranded F11 variant.

The Geekbench listing for the upcoming Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro shows that this phablet has the same hardware specs as the existing Redmi K20 Pro. The 6.39-inch flagship for budget-conscious customers will be unveiled on June 12 alongside the Mi 9T, which is probably nothing else than a rebranded Redmi K20.

Fans of gaming smartphones will be pleased to learn that Asus is prepping a sequel to its first ROG Phone. The ROG Phone 2 is expected to land in July, around 12 months after the original debuted, and will being with it updated internal specs including a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855.

To celebrate an event in which more information on its first cloud gaming platform was released, Google has prepared a "Stadia Founder's Edition". It consists of a Stadia Controller in an exclusive Night Blue colorway and a Chromecast Ultra. It may help play the range of Stadia titles that were confirmed today.

Android Q's latest preview build was released yesterday (June 5, 2019). It has some interesting new aspects, such as a re-brand for Smart Unlock. However, Google has now stopped pushing its OTAs to phones as it has been found to cause bootloops in some cases.

ZTE has recently filed a new patent for a smartphone design sporting two punch holes. This isn't a pill like the S10's either; it's literally two different holes that will house separate selfie cameras.

Huawei has released its latest mid-range phone, the Huawei Maimang 8. The Maimang phones are usually rebranded as the Mate Lite offerings, but the Maimang 8 appears to be a deviation from that trend.

Huawei has released figures indicating that approximately 80 million smartphone users woridwide have the latest version of its Android skin, EMUI, on their phones. For many older devices, this is their 2nd major update. However, the OEM also estimates that this number will grow to as much as 100 million by the end of June 2019.

A new set of concept renders made in collaboration with 91Mobiles and OnLeaks give a detailed look at what could become the smaller version of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10. Say goodbye to the headphone jack and hello to the baby of the Note 10 family.

A new set of gorgeous Pixel 4 stormtrooper concept renders have people hoping that its designer is working Google. We hear Emperor Palpatine is a fan too.

Dragon Quest Walk, an adventure AR game in the same vein as Pokemon Go, was announced earlier this week. Though details are sparse, the game seems to have players travel to real-world locations to battle monsters from the Dragon Quest universe. The title is set to release only in Japan for iOS and Android.