Android

The UK company Brand Finance releases a yearly report on the top 500 most valuable brands. Its 2020 edition concludes that the tech sector is the most valuable, with a combined worth of nearly US$967 billion. 5 of its brands, including Huawei, Samsung and Microsoft, also found their way into the report's top 10.

The LG V35 ThinQ is the forgotten step-son of LG's recent flagships. An Android 10 update roadmap that surfaced last week completely omitted the V35, and that may have alarmed owners of the phone. We bring glad tidings, however.

Caviar, a company known for offering elaborately-customised smartphones, has announced the Cyberphone, an US$18,000 version of the iPhone 11 Pro or iPhone 11 Pro Max. As its name suggests, Caviar has taken the design of the Tesla Cybertruck and morphed it into a smartphone. Because why not, right?

iPhones are way more secure than Androids, right? Apparently not. A new report with information from forensic experts heavily points towards the reverse being the case. Androids may now be more secure than iPhones, with a Huawei flagship being surprisingly secure.

The Exynos 990 variant of the Samsung Galaxy S20 has now been tested on Geekbench 5.1. The big question, of course, is how it compares to the Snapdragon 865 models. Well, your guess is probably the case.

Sony has already confirmed that it will be unveiling new Xperia handsets at MWC 2020 in Barcelona next month, with a previous rumour claiming that one will be the world's first 5G and 4K OLED smartphone. Now, a new leak claims that the device, possibly the Xperia 1.1, will feature five rear-facing cameras with claims of f/1.5 apertures and 64 MP sensors being touted.

Huawei's Austrian regional manager has reportedly indicated that the OEM's phones will use its own in-house version of Google Mobile Services going forward, never returning to the use of the Play Store and its apps as normal. The company has developed its own alternatives for both following its ban from trading with US companies.

Not much is known about the new "Original" brand that will be unveiled at MWC this year, but industry insiders found out that the Nokia 8.2 5G will be powered by a Snapdragon 765 SoC coupled with 6 / 8 GB of RAM and 128 / 256 GB storage for around $500. The 5.2 will integrate a Snapdragon 632 SoC coupled with 3 / 4 GB of RAM and 32 / 64 GB of storage, while the 1.3 entry-level model will sport a MediaTek Helios A SoC with 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB storage.

The Mate 20 Lite may share its name with two of Huawei's former flagships, but the mid-range handset has not been afforded the same software support as the Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro. While the latter two received EMUI 10 globally in November, the Mate 20 Lite has spent the last two months on EMUI 9.1. Owners of the Mate 20 Lite may have now started seeing notifications to upgrade to EMUI 10 and Android 10, though.

Xiaomi has seemingly been toing and froing about whether to bring Android 10 to the Mi A2 Lite, despite it being an Android One handset. Now, the company has cleared up confusion about the update, although a timescale for its release remains out of reach.

The Samsung Galaxy A11 has been cleared by the Federal Communications Commission. This documentation shows that it will offer a 4000mAh battery with a rear-facing fingerprint sensor. Therefore, it could be a fairly standard new budget smartphone prospect in the US soon.

Motorola's upcoming stylus-ready phone will be called the Moto G Stylus, according to a Tweet by Evan Blass. Additionally, a Geekbench for the device has also surfaced, corroborating Evan's Tweet. We can expect Motorola to tell us more about the device at MWC 2020.

An alleged poster featuring renders of the upcoming Poco X2 along with its price in India and some key specifications has been posted online. The image, if genuine, seems to confirm the oft-repeated similarity the new smartphone has with the Xiaomi Redmi K30. However, at a price of ₹18,999 (~US$266) the cost of the Poco X2 could be higher than expected.

After receiving feedback at the Open Ears Forum last month, OnePlus has taken the time out to collate user pain points with its camera app, and confirms that it is working on major improvements that will be implemented in software updates.

News about new Xiaomi smartphones has been a bit quiet recently, what with the arrival of the POCO X2 and all. The Mi 10 series may arrive as early as February 14, though. Ahead of that rumoured release date, several leakers have posted a screenshot purporting to show specifications of the Mi 10 Pro in what would make for an excellent successor to the Mi 9.

The Galaxy S8 and Note 8 may now be two generations old, but they are still mighty powerful smartphones. Although they have started life on Android Nougat too, both can now be upgraded to Android 10. The Exynos 8895 and Snapdragon 835 should be well-suited for running Google's latest OS, too.

A collection of new phone certifications allegedly found on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) or Eurasian Communications Commission (EEC) websites may have leaked some of the specs of upcoming Realme devices. One is thought to be a successor to the C2.

Smart speakers are increasingly popular household items. Their market is now thought to be capable of growing until it is worth US$19.91 billion in 4 years. This success may be driven by the rise of 5G, urbanization, consumer interest in smart homes and interest in the devices themselves.

A new leak has thrown more light on the sensor Samsung will use on the telephoto shooters of the Galaxy S20 and S20+. Sadly, all it manages to do is raise more questions, as it potentially implies terrible low-light performance when taking telephoto shots with the phones.

Indian Realme X2 Pro users will soon be able to use VoWiFi on Reliance Jio and Airtel. The functionality comes via its latest software update which also brings the January security patch. It is rolling out now and will be available to users over the coming week.

A phone calling itself the OPPO PCLM50 has surfaced on Geekbench 5 recently. This putative new phone has an unnamed chipset, but one that may very well be Qualcomm's new mid-tier flagship, the Snapdragon 765G - or its nearest variant, the 765. It may also ship with the latest ColorOS 7 and 8GB of RAM.

The Galaxy XCover 4s is one of the latest in Samsung's line of rugged smartphones. It currently runs Android 9.0 (Pie). Now, however, devices with its model number have appeared on a benchmarking site running a major upgrade to this OS.

Is 2020 the year when foldables go mainstream? Probably not, but it is likely the dawn on mainstream OEMs releasing foldable smartphones en-masse, albeit at ludicrous prices. The Galaxy Z Flip may seem better value than the Motorola Razr 2019 on paper, but it is still a waste of money.

The Mi A3 is not due to receive Android 10 until next month, right? Not so, according to Xiaomi. The company has informed fans that the OS upgrade is live and rolling out to handsets now. There appears to be no evidence of this being the case, though.

An APK teardown has revealed that Google will be bringing native call recording functionality to the Google Phone app in Pixel devices. The updated Google Phone app will allow users to record, transcribe, and export the recordings. It will also prompt users on either side of the call whenever recording is initiated or terminated.

Huawei has given users of the Huawei Y9 (2019) Indian variant and the Nova 3/Nova 3i a cold shoulder as the company has confirmed the said devices will not be updated to EMUI 10. This is surprising considering that global variants of the Huawei Y9 are confirmed to received the update after a recent backlash and that these phones use the same Kirin 710 SoC as the Honor 8X, which is already getting its share of EMUI 10 goodness.

Google has been working hard to bring all sorts of AI-powered smarts to Android smartphones for some time. The latest application of this technology will bring Android closer to realizing the Star Trek vision of universal translator with a forthcoming update to Google Translate for Android.

The upcoming Poco X2 smartphone is confirmed to feature a 120 Hz RealityFlow display, and all the hints point it to be a rebadged Redmi K30 for the Indian market. Leaked images of the Poco X2 also seem to confirm a Redmi K30-esque design including the presence of a dual punch-hole front camera notch. The Poco X2 is all set to be officially released on February 4.

The Oppo Find X2 and Find X2 Pro just made an appearance on Thailand's NBTC certification website . Both devices will reportedly come with a 120 Hz WQHD+ screen, and support Oppo's 'Super VOOC Charging' at 65W. The expected release date for both phones is sometime in Q1 2020.

A whole host of renders of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Z Flip have been posted online. The numerous images make it clear how the expensive flagship will look, and it seems quite eye-catching in either purple or black. Full specifications for the phone have also been revealed, with the expected Snapdragon 855+ playing a major role.

The Redmi Note 8 Pro may come in a host of enticing colours, but its 64 MP Samsung ISOCELL Bright GW1 rear-facing camera leaves plenty to be desired. We found the Note 8 Pro wanting in low-light conditions, with shortcomings in other areas like dynamic range and colour balance. Camera experts agree, too.

DxOMark has now tested the iPhone 11 Pro Max's selfie cameras, and given it a score that places it below other phones like the Galaxy S10+, Note 10+, Asus Zenfone 6, and Huawei Mate 30 Pro. There's one problem with that, though—the sample shots themselves tell another story.

Owners of the Huawei Y9 (2019) mounted a campaign against the company after it was revealed that their phones would not get the Android 10 update. That move appears to have been effective, as Huawei has now backtracked and promised the update for the phone. Sadly, that says nothing about other phones that were similarly snubbed, like the Nova 3 series and the Honor Play.

The Motorola Moto G8 Plus has already been released: however, a tech blog claims that a vanilla variant for this phone will follow this year. Should this leak prove valid, it will be the first phone of its line to have a punch-hole display. It may also have triple rear cameras and a rear-facing fingerprint sensor.

A new leak has revealed just how expensive the Galaxy Z Flip will be. Those who were expecting Samsung to release a more reasonably-priced foldable smartphone will be left disappointed, with the Galaxy Z Flip set to be pricier than even the Galaxy S20 Ultra.

The Geekbench tests reveal an Android 10 device featuring 12 GB of RAM and what appears to be a Snapdragon 865 SoC, judging by the single-core and multi-core scores. The existence of a stylus also means that Motorola is looking to provide some competition for Samsung's Galaxy Note lineup.

Xiaomi's latest build of MIUI 11 for the Mi 9T and Redmi K20 may be re-issue Android 10 to both devices, but there have also been reports of the update causing heavy battery drain for some handsets. There is a workaround though, with some Xiaomi software potentially being at fault.

It appears Motorola wasn’t pulling a stunt when it claimed the delay in launching its foldable Razr flip phone reboot was due to stronger than anticipated demand. Despite holding off on pre-orders for a month to better prepare for the launch, pre-orders are already backed up to mid-February at its online store, according to The Verge.

The Xiaomi Black Shark 2 Pro was one of the first phones to be launched with the Snapdragon 855+. While it offers impressive performance, it would appear that the company cut corners on its audio hardware, with the phone posting terrible scores on DxOMark's audio tests.

Xiaomi has announced that it will keep its brick-and-mortar stores in China closed for several days from January 28, 2020. The OEM has stated that this is to co-operate with governmental efforts to contain the spread of a novel coronavirus that has already claimed numerous lives in the country. However, customers can still order products online if necessary.

POCO may have confirmed the arrival of the POCO X2, but it has been caught using images of the Pocophone F1 to advertise its next device. Expected to be a modified Redmi K30, the POCO X2 will launch on February 4.

LG did the unexpected a few weeks ago by releasing Android 10 for the V50 ThinQ early, but it seems that LG UX 9.0 offers more than we had initially thought. The update brings Samsung Dex and Huawei Desktop Mode-like functionality to the V50 ThinQ, which is a welcome bonus.

The Nokia 9.1 is dead, long live the Nokia 9.2. That is the latest rumour about Nokia's next flagship, which may come as no surprise. More excitingly, Nokia has ditched the Light camera technology from the Nokia 9 PureView in favour of a conventional camera setup. The Nokia 9.2 PureView will apparently arrive in 1H 2020, too.

Today, the world seems filled with screens of high enough resolutions to consume the content they can show regardless of their size or portability. However, a new report shows that TVs have still managed to retain the greatest share (over 50%) of videos watched among respondents in the US. They spend an average of 20 hours per week using their TVs, compared to 4 hours watching phones.

Those who use TCL's latest triple-camera smartphone, the PLEX, may be pleasantly surprised by a new OTA update that confers Android 10 and the January 1, 2020 security patch on these devices. This download is 2.7GB in size, and that is because of all the other features found in the new OS, which include a Modern Combat title and numerous UI tweaks.

As Sony looks to revitalise its Xperia sub-division this year, rumour has it that it will attempt to do so by releasing the world's first 5G and 4K OLED smartphone. The company's next flagship, supposedly called the Xperia 2, will feature a host of other flagship hardware too.