Android

With today's release, which brings its version number to 42.0.2.3438, Microsoft Edge for Android gets support for picture-in-picture mode. Although this mobile browser works with Android 4.4 KitKat and later, the aforementioned feature is only available for devices that run at least Android Oreo.

Redmi has announced that its first notebook, most likely to be a 14-inch thin & light model, will be released tomorrow (May 28, 2019). This event will also see the launch of the K20 series of smartphones. The larger device is thought to offer an IPS FHD display with up to 8GB of RAM.

Huawei’s recent ban by the US government is certain to have caused unrest in the hearts of users of the company’s phones. Rivals Samsung are cashing in with style, though, as the South Korean company is now heavily advertising premium trade-in values for Huawei devices.

While the world of tech still battles with the shocking news of Huawei being hit with a trade ban by the US, the company will likely be a tad annoyed by an incident that saw a Mate 20 Pro go up in flames at a theatre a few days ago.

The ZenScreen is a product that allows the user to take a monitor anywhere they might need to. This year, Asus has updated it with touch capability. This model is also just 9 millimeters deep, has micro-HDMI and Hybrid-Signal USB type C ports.

The Sprint TREBL with Magic Box is a small cell solution that also integrates Amazon Alexa voice-assistance and Harman Kardon sound quality. This combination makes it unique in its product category. Perhaps this is how it has won the Small Cell Forum's Judges' Choice Award for this year.

The OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T were released three years ago, back in 2016. Both devices were launched running on Android Marshmallow but are now officially receiving the update to Android Pie. That means they have now received three major OS updates, which has to be a record in the Android space.

LG is notorious for being late with software updates and it's been the same story with the Pie rollout. The company is actually keeping to its promise this time around, though, as the LG V40 ThinQ begins to receive the Android Pie update. The V30 and V20 are expected to get theirs in the coming months.

Samsung may be reintroducing infrared remote control to its Note series, according to a tip from Ice universe. The handy feature has been conspicuously missing from numerous Samsung flagship smartphones and phablets, but it could soon be making a return in the Galaxy Note 10. However, a potential IR blaster might be implemented in a surprising manner.

At the time that Huawei was placed on the US government's Entity List last week, Huawei is thought to have built enough supplied of key components to last up to 12 months. The report comes via the Nikkei Asian Review that says Huawei told suppliers that it wanted to build up a year's worth of inventory to help cushion the impact of the US-China trade war.

BLU Products has released the G9, a smartphone with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. It also has AI-enhanced dual rear cameras and a decently large 4000mAh battery. It is sold via Amazon for a price of US$179.99.

Xiaomi's high-value sub-brand, Redmi, is set to release its two flagship phones in the coming weeks: the Redmi K20 and K20 Pro. Details of the regular K20 have now surfaced, painting an image of an extremely attractive sub-premium device.

We were big fans of the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 when it was released a year ago, mostly because of its high performance to price ratio. Asus is keeping it alive for one more year, too, with users of the device around the globe currently receiving the much-anticipated Android Pie update.

Casio has released the WSD-F30RG, its newest smartwatch from the PRO TREK line. It has an OLED display, but also has individual monochrome and color overlays. The OEM also asserts that it has an improved resolution for detailed legibility on its screen.

The Samsung Galaxy Fold had been available in the US through a pre-order system at Best Buy. However, this retail giant has reportedly been sending emails to its customers advising them that these transactions have been revoked. Many affected consumers are being sent a US$100 savings code by means of compensation.

The news for Huawei seems to be getting worse by the day, as if that was even possible. In the latest blow to the company, the SD Association has blocked the ability for Huawei to offer phones or devices featuring SD or microSD card slot.

The Vivo V15 and Y17 are MediaTek Helio SoC-powered devices. They have been on sale for Rs. 19,990 (US$288) and 17,990 ($259) respectively in India. These prices have been apparently reduced by Rs. 2000 ($29).

The Redmi K20 is available to order from today (May 24, 2019) after a manner of speaking. Those who wish to pre-order the new flagship phone need to pay a deposit of 100 yuan (about US$14.50) on Mi.com or JD.com. They can then pay the balance on May 28.

OxygenOS 9.0.2 comes to the OnePlus 3 and 3T with the April 2019 security patch from Google, a brand-new user interface, Google Duo support in the Dialer, a new gaming mode (3.0, with notification for third party calls and displaying the text content of the heads-up notifications), Google Lens support, as well as various bug fixes and tweaks.

Russian luxury phone accessory maker Caviar has announced a special Samsung Galaxy Fold Game of Thrones edition modeled on writer George R.R. Martin's eagerly anticipated book, 'The Winds of Winter'. Only seven Galaxy Fold GoT editions will be made available keeping in accordance with the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros depicted in Martin's books.

ARM's recent announcement to cut ties with Huawei may leave the Chinese dragon in a lurch. While Huawei manufactures its own custom processors, they are built on ARM's architecture. Should ARM revoke Huawei's ability to use this architecture, Huawei has few options outside of developing its own CPU architecture to continue its electronics business.

According to new documents apparently filed with the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO), ASUS has designed a phone along the lines of the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3. However, this version may be able to slide out from the bottom of the phone as well as the top.

The Redmi K20 flagship-killer smartphone has made a couple of rendered appearances on the official Weibo account for the Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi. Considering its high-end specifications, it’s obviously important that the exterior matches the attraction of the interior. The device shown in the promo image is certainly eye-catching, but it won’t appeal to everyone.

The Samsung Galaxy A10e with model number SM-102U has just been spotted on FCC, but the only piece of information revealed is the battery model number, namely EB-BA202ABU. If the rumors turn out to be true, this handset will launch as a slightly cheaper (and less potent, obviously) Galaxy A10.

A recent survey run by Blind shed some light on what various tech employees think of Apple and the App Store. Apple's own employees largely believe the company doesn't hold a monopoly on iOS app distribution, but other companies (namely Qualcomm and Spotify) believe that Apple's App Store constitutes a monopoly. The survey comes as a response to a recent Supreme Court ruling upholding the validity of a lawsuit filed against Apple for monopolistic practices.

LG is apparently looking to refresh its entry-level X-series with the X6 handheld that looks very similar to the unreleased Q60. The only confirmed specs include a 6.3-inch display with a teardrop notch, 64 GB storage, at least 3 GB of RAM, a fingerprint scanner (on the back most likely) and the out-of-the-box Android 9.0 OS. Geekbench reveals that the X6 could be powered by a Snapdragon 625 SoC and may come with 4 GB of RAM.

Google is currently optimizing some of its core apps in order to comply with Android Q's system-wide dark mode. The latest of these spotted with such an update is Keep, a handy source of memos. Its new theme, while not available to all users, may appeal with its ease on the eyes and new custom colors.

Today (May 22, 2019), the carrier EE announced the launch of its 5G network in the UK, the first of its kind in this country. EE has also made some devices that are compatible with this network available. They include the OnePlus 7 Pro and the LG ThinQ V50.

Huawei and Aptoide are reportedly in talks to offer an alternative to the Google Play Store after Google decided to suspend all commercial engagements, including Android licensing, with Huawei following a recent executive order by the US Government. Aptoide boasts of over 900,000 apps and almost 200 million users making it an interesting prospect for Huawei to consider. Aptoide CEO Paulo Trezentos has, however, ruled out any chances of a merger with Huawei at the moment.

Samsung has reportedly unveiled a new kind of smartphone camera component in South Korea. It apparently confers 5x zoom on a device, without creating an ugly bulge extending from its rear panel. However, this module may not be destined for upcoming flagships such as the Galaxy Note 10 yet.

Although Huawei still has to confirm their existence, the Nova 5 and Nova 5i have been both spotted recently on the website of various certification bodies such as ECC, FCC, and 3C. The 3C certification received by the Nova 5 is the latest such event, and it confirms the 40 W charging capabilities of the device.

In what may be a fresh blow to Huawei's electronics concern, reports that ARM has told its staff not to deal with the OEM have emerged. The silicon giant has done so as it believes it falls under the recent ban imposed by the US administration. This may affect the ability to produce HiSilicon chipsets in the future.

Huawei has lashed out at the US government accusing it of ‘bullying.’ The embattled Chinese smartphone and telecoms giant made the comments in response to US government trade restrictions that have effectively left the company sitting dead in the water.

The latest mid-range handheld from Vivo is expected to integrate a 6.53-inch display plus a hefty 5,000 mAh battery. Press images also reveal a punch-hole selfie cam and a triple-cam setup as well as a fingerprint sensor on the back. The JD.com listing does not mention the exact SoC, but there will be 4 GB RAM / 64 GB storage, 6 GB / 64 GB, 6 GB / 128 GB and 8 GB / 128 GB versions.

Adobe Premiere Rush is now fully optimized for the Galaxy S9, Galaxy Note 9, and Galaxy S10 devices. This piece of code provides multiple features such as AI-powered audio clean up, graphics creation and audio mixing, customizable Motion Graphics templates, HDR10+ and Samsung DeX support, and more.

The full gamut of Honor 20 and 20 Pro details is now available. The brand's new flagships are quad-camera devices, although only the 20 Pro has a telephoto lens among its sensors. They will start at about US$557 on their release for sale.

The OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro have only been official since May 14, 2019. Despite this, the OEM has already rolled a new Android Q beta out for the phones. The build may offer insights as to what software updates of the future will be like on the 2 devices, but not much else at this point.

The Galaxy S10 and S10+ had been rumored to rock a bright red color, that would have been new to the Samsung flagships, prior to their launch. The actual range of shades displayed at this event appeared to debunk this theory. However, the option now seems to be back on the table, thanks to a new exclusive leak of Roland Quandt's.

Although Google has a rich experience with Android devices, some of its latest Pixel handsets are now affected by an ancient plague: random shutdowns. After quite a few such incident reports that have been posted on Reddit recently, it seems that the cause of this problem is software-related, but a hardware cause cannot be excluded, either.

Although there is no official confirmation yet, the Redmi M1903C3EC device that has recently been spotted on the website of Chinese certification authority TENAA seems to be the upcoming Redmi 7A handset. Its alleged specs, such as the single 13 MP main camera and the 5.45-inch HD+ display, place it in the low-end sector of the market.

The South Korean manufacturer Samsung may be planning on releasing a surprising new addition to its smartphone lineup in the second half of 2019. There is already a mountain of expectation for the Galaxy Note 10 phablet series and the Galaxy Fold could still create some ripples when it’s finally fully ready. However, there now seems to be another device to be excited about.

Although apparently not available in this moment, Firefox 67 is scheduled to arrive today all over the world. The new release of Mozilla's browser comes with private browsing mode extension controls, WebRender enabled for 5 percent of compatible systems, as well as various performance improvements and fixes.

Huawei has issued a statement in response to the devastating news that it has lost its Google Android license. The besieged Chinese telecoms and consumer electronics giant has promised to continue to provide security updates and service support to its users while highlighting the contribution it has made to the development and expansion of Google’s Android platform across the globe.

Given the trouble that Huawei has been having lately, it is not surprising to find out that the Chinese giant is already working on a Google Android replacement. Media reports confirm that HongMeng OS is in the trial phase already and if the Android ban stays in place, this will become the firmware of choice for new Huawei handsets.