Android

It seems Essential Products truly has no plans to go away yet. A recent patent apparently filed in this company's name has been discovered. This claim is for its take on the under-display selfie camera.

The Razer Junglecat is an Android Bluetooth controller that attaches two thumbsticks to either side of a gamer's phone. However, this orientation is only compatible with a handful of devices. The Junglecat can be used as a standalone controller for other Android phones and PCs. The Junglecat is available for US $100.

A leak from earlier in 2019 suggested that the next processor designed for Wear OS devices would be based on the Snapdragon 429, an SoC that features in low-end phones and tablets. It was hypothesized to be called the Wear 2700. However, code recently added to a Qualcomm kernel source code database suggests that it is in fact to be known as the 3300 instead.

The Rich Communications Service (RCS) standard has been touted as the ultimate messaging platform for some time. Unfortunately, its implementation and adoption worldwide could be described as sluggish at best. Therefore, Verizon, Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile have collaborated on the Cross Carrier Messaging Initiative (CCMI), which aims to bring it to their customers by 2020.

While Xiaomi has announced that the Mi Note 10 is arriving and that it will feature a 108 MP primary rear-facing camera, the Chinese company has been quiet on other specs. However, leaked specifications from a renowned tipster suggest that the device could be a power user's dream in the making. Xiaomi is throwing everything but an active stylus in with this one, it seems.

Google’s parent company Alphabet is said to be deep in negotiations to buy fitness wearables company Fitbit. Fitbit had indicated late last month that it was interested in a sale of the company and it looks like it might likely end up either as part of Google’s product lineup or as a standalone Alphabet backed brand.

The rumor mill for the Samsung Galaxy S11 phones is starting to pick up, and code in the One UI 2.0 beta has revealed a few major details of the devices. They will be powered by the Exynos 9830 and Snapdragon 865, depending on region. UFS 3.0 storage and LPDDR5 RAM will also make an appearance on the phones.

Now there are two of them. Just yesterday, we received word of the Mi CC9 Pro, with the upcoming phone confirmed to sport five rear cameras, one of which will be a 108 MP sensor. Xiaomi has now announced yet another device, the Mi Note 10, with similar camera specifications.

If you're a user of the Sprint model LG V40 who's been expecting the Pie update...well, look away; today's just not your day. A new OTA update is now rolling out to the last-gen flagship but therein lies disappointment, despair, and misery.

We're less than four months away from the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S11 phones. According to popular leakster Ice Universe, all major design and hardware elements of the phones have now been finalized, and that puts us bang right at the start of prime leak season. So, what do we know about the S11 at this point?

The Realme 5 Pro is a cost-effective Android phone released in 2019. Its latest software update adds the ability to shoot video in wide-angle mode. This upgrade also raises the 5 Pro's security patch level to 5 October 2019, although the phone remains on Android Pie (9.0).

NVIDIA now stocks the new Pro and non-Pro variants of the SHIELD TV on its official site. As projected, the latter is a 4K streaming stick with HDR 10. Both new Android 9.0 devices support Dolby Audio, can access GeForce NOW and have Google Assistant built in.

The "Mi Watch" is the likely name of Xiaomi's next wearable. The OEM has indicated that it is to be released on November 5, 2019, alongside the Mi TV 5 and Mi CC9 Pro. This new product is also projected to be a Wear OS device.

Although it can also be used on iOS-powered devices, Google Play Music has just hit an impressive milestone with the help of its Android users alone — no less than five billion downloads. This music streaming service is available in 63 countries and will probably be replaced by YouTube Music in the long run.

The LG G Pad 5 appeared on Geekbench yesterday, but the scores suggest old silicon. The Geekbench post lists a quad-core Qualcomm CPU clocked at 2.19 GHz, suggesting the Snapdragon 821 speculated by earlier rumors. The scores are in line with other Snapdragon 821-equipped devices, meaning the G Pad 5 would be using a three-year-old chip.

The latest software update for the Galaxy S10 series comes with slow-motion video capabilities for the front camera, improved fingerprint recognition, Auto Hotspot, and a few minor changes. In China, these handsets have already started to receive the Android 10-based One UI 2.0 update (in a Beta testing stage).

There have multiple reports of an upcoming Xiaomi device with a 108 MP camera and 5x optical zoom. Well, that device is here now. The just-confirmed Mi CC9 Pro features a whopping five rear cameras and promises to be an affordable photography beast. Live images and details of the details of the device have now been revealed.

Artem Russakovskii of Android Police has posted a video showing his Pixel 4 XL taking ages to open the Settings and Spotify apps. Video recording on the phones also appears to be less than stellar, with obvious stutters at the start of the video. So much for being the smoothest Android device.

The Apollo Max is a new 10000mAh power bank that, according to its maker ELECJET, integrates the emerging graphene standard as a battery material. This, it is claimed, gives it an "unbeatable charging efficiency of 96%". This new product is currently available as a reward on its Indiegogo campaign page.

Redmi has teased a new promotion for the Note 8 Pro that ties in with the movie Terminator: Dark Fate. It will be available via the brand's Spanish division from October 29, 2019, and appears to consist of the offer of an appropriately-branded case with every sale of the standard 6GB model of the phone.

The consumer-grade security development group Nok Nok Labs has unveiled its new SDK. It asserts that it is the first such app software capable of conferring FIDO-based authentication on smartwatches. This, then, may help users depend more on their wearable for more functions typically carried out on a phone.

The Xiaomi Mi A1 was released back in 2017 and has already received two major OS updates: Oreo and Pie. Owners of the phone have been curious about their chances of getting the Android 10 and, well, there's bad news for them.

The Nokia 9 PureView was plagued by several launch delays that saw it finally released earlier this year, with an outdated SoC. Its successor, the Nokia 9.1 PureView, has apparently been hit with a similar delay.

Motorola hasn't delivered a proper flagship in the last two years. That may be set to change in the near future, however, as a new report claims the company has its sights on a true flagship device that will sit above the sub-premium Moto Z line.

The foldable market stands at the very peak of the premium smartphone segment, and cameras are a rather important feature in that price bracket. It's no surprise, then, that Microsoft has announced its intent to provide the upcoming Surface Duo with brilliant camera performance.

A certificate from Thailand’s National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has confirmed the existence of the Xiaomi Mi Note 10 device. In a further surprise, the documents also revealed that there will be a Pro variant of the smartphone that the Chinese manufacturer has skillfully managed to keep under wraps so far. Speculation in regard to potential price has been optimistic.

Phones with a headphone jack are becoming unicorns, especially in the premium segment of the market. After the launch of the Galaxy Note 10 duo, lovers of the 3.5mm jack now have their work cut out for them in the search for impressive phones with the ever-elusive port, so why not make things a tad easier for them?

A recent study by the analyst group Asurion has concluded that being brought along to celebrate Halloween is one of the biggest potential nightmares a smartphone can go through. The risks of damage and other adversity these devices may face go up by as much as 42% on the date in question. The study indicates this is linked to phone use at night during these festivities.

As indicated by a number of leaks, the iQOO Neo's late-2019 refresh has launched. The new version is much the same as the old, except for its updated chipset. In addition, this phone has 33 watt (W) fast charging, whereas that of thee 'old' Neo was set at 22.5W.

OnePlus originally introduced the 7T Pro McLaren Edition in the absence of US availability or pricing. However, T-Mobile has just announced that it is to stock this phone in the country. Moreover, this carrier’s version will support 5G.

Huawei finally has something to be happy about after months of bad news following its placement on a US government entity list. Although it still isn’t able to include a version of Android using Google services, ARM has now been cleared by its lawyers to continue supplying its ARM-based chip technology to the Chinese company.

Asus had included the Zenfone 4 in its plans to update older phones to Android Pie (9.0). However, this device has just been excluded from this schedule. The OEM claims that this will conserve the 4's system integrity and general function, however.

Paper Phone is an app that allows users to select certain features or information from their smartphones and print it on a piece of paper to carry around. Users can select contact information, maps, simple games, guides, and a list of appointments or tasks, among other things.

The OnePlus 3 and 3T may have launched with Android Marshmallow in 2016 and received Android 9.0 Pie earlier this year, but both can now be upgraded to Android 10. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 and 6 GB of RAM, or Snapdragon 821 in the case of the OnePlus 3T, should be well suited to run Google's latest version of Android too.

Samsung announced a brand new SoC, the Exynos 990, yesterday. The chipset's support for 120 Hz displays and 108 MP cameras may have led the public to believe it would be the SoC powering the Galaxy S11 phones but that will apparently not be the case.

The Pixel 4 phones have caught a lot of flak for being unable to record 4K video at 60 fps. According to a discovery, however, it would seem that the devices were originally able to do that but the feature ended up not making it to release software.

Huawei's 2019 Enjoy series is marked by its Kirin 710F SoC. Now, a new variant with this same processor has joined its siblings on sale. The Enjoy 10s has a 6.3-inch waterdrop-notched display, and comes in 1 RAM/storage configuration.

Xiaomi has released a stable build of MIUI 11 for the Redmi 7, but perhaps not the version for which people had hoped. While other devices in the first phase of the MIUI 11 rollout are receiving Android 10-based builds, the Redmi 7 is getting Android 9.0 Pie instead. The same goes for the Redmi 7a and Redmi K20 too.

Did you buy into the RED HYDROGEN project? Well, founder Jim Jannard has announced that the company is being wound up, effectively canning the HYDROGEN Two. However, there could be some positive news on the horizon for HYDROGEN One owners, with the release a much-anticipated camera accessory imminent, apparently.

The Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 now has an upgrade to MIUI 11, the Chinese company's version of Android 10. The update brings plenty of new features including improved screen casting, a system-wide dark mode and a new gesture mode. Mi Mix 3 owners can download the build now.

Xiaomi could be preparing to unleash a Mi Note 10 on a practically unsuspecting market soon. An image of alleged packaging material has been shared online, which of course could be fake. However, if it is genuine, then the crafty Chinese manufacturer has seemingly decided to skip the Mi Notes 4 to 9.

The Google Pixel 4's 90 Hz Smooth Display feature seems to be dependent on the display brightness setting and not on the 'content' as was originally claimed by Google. This was first discovered by a Redditor and subsequently confirmed by other reviewers as well. Although there is a way to force 90 Hz in the Developer settings, by default, the Pixel 4's screen can refresh at 90 Hz only if the brightness slider is set above the 75% mark.

As a current flagship tablet, the Samsung Galaxy S6 gets only the best hardware. This includes the Snapdragon 855 high-end SoC as well as at least 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage space. As the first tablet from Samsung, the Galaxy Tab S6 also offers a dual camera with a 13 MP resolution.

Motorola has launched 3 new Moto-series phones today (October 24, 2019). They include the already well-leaked G8 Plus and G8 Play. The Lenovo-owned brand also unveiled the E6 Play, another variant of the pre-existing E6. It also expanded the availability of the One Macro to various regions including Latin America and Australia.

Recently, Amazon may have accidentally spoiled the launch of the NVIDIA SHIELD TV Pro, an upcoming update to the 2017 streaming machine. A new leak indicates that the OEM has indeed prepared a 4K HDR streaming stick as well as the usual full-scale box. It apparently has 8GB in internal storage, whereas the SHIELD TV Pro has 16.

Fancy a Huawei Mate 30 or Mate 30 Pro? Well, it looks like you will need to join the back of the queue, as the Chinese company is running an invite-only sale for both devices. You can register your interest now, although this does not guarantee entry into the "exclusive group" that will be offered to purchase a device.

While the Asian market has been producing a series of successful smartphone brands in the past few years, we have also come across some manufacturers who prefer to look good rather than do good. Our review of the BV9700 Pro showed that Blackview is one of those manufacturers.