Android

The Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) has just become the first Galaxy J series handset to receive two major upgrades for the operating system. In some markets, this handset has received Android 8.1 Oreo, but it is not clear yet if the Galaxy J5 (2016) will get the same treatment or not. The new firmware comes with Samsung Experience 9.5 on top.

Finally launched in the United States earlier this month, the Motorola One is already receiving Android 9.0 Pie. In addition to the Motorola One, Android Pie is now reaching the Motorola One Power as well. Both these two handsets are also expected to get the Android 10 Q update once it comes out.

The Red Magic may represent a novel alternative in a gaming-phone space dominated by a small number of brands. This phone, marketed by the ZTE sub-brand Nubia, is reportedly getting a second generation. A new leak shows a Geekbench score for the phone, and suggests some other new details about the device.

In a rather awkward effort aimed at reducing the production costs by a very small amount, Samsung is now using the front-facing camera to take selfies and adjust the screen brightness based on them instead of including an ambient light sensor. In some markets, Galaxy J8 owners are already receiving this feature via a software update.

The upcoming Samsung Galaxy S10 could very well use an in-display selfie camera eliminating the need for a notch altogether. The Galaxy S10 could implement the Infinity-O display that was showed off during the company's recent developer conference. A design patent to this effect was applied for at the Hague International Design System, whose database is managed by the World Intellectual Property Office.

Barnes & Noble have given its new Nook 10.1 some wings. After hitting the shelves on November 14, the company has now launched a matching keyboard cover and charging dock making it a very affordable productivity and entertainment package.

Samsung has confirmed that there is a white variant of the Galaxy Note 9. However, it is only going to be available to the Taiwanese market. This new version of the S Pen-toting flagship is reported to go on sale from November 23.

While we're usually vocal about Samsung's unimpressive update roadmaps, we're also impressed by the company's treatment of the Galaxy S6, a device launched close to four years ago, and still receiving security updates.

So far, only a few OEMs like OnePlus, HMD Global, and Sony have sent out the stable Pie update. Thankfully, the Android One program exists to combat that, and it's been rather effective so far, with a number of Android One phones receiving the update to Android Pie last week.

Huawei executive Walter Ji has teased the company's plans of launching a device with up to four rear cameras, and 10x zoom. The Huawei man also confirmed that the company has no plans of releasing an Android One phone, which means that Huawei fans will have to make do with EMUI for the foreseeable future.

The Mi Mix 3 was one of the most interesting device launches this year, with its manual slider possibly ushering in a new trend. The Xiaomi flagship has remained in China for the past couple of weeks but, if word on the grapevine is anything to go by, it could be coming to Europe on December 1.

Although Nekki's Shadow Fight has a history that started back in 2011, Shadow Fight 3 is only one year old. This action-RPG fighting game is available for iOS and Android devices, supports 11 languages, and works great on mid-range hardware while providing a realistic visual experience at the same time.

Huawei's decision to output audio through the USB port means that sound quality will degrade when a USB cable is connected. We measure exactly how much worse and softer the audio becomes with a sound meter and microphone.

Yu Chendong, the consumer business division CEO at Huawei, has said that his company is aiming to take the smartphone-OEM crown from Samsung in under 2 years. It has already overtaken Apple as the #2 manufacturer in the world; now the CEO believes that they will be at least level with the Korean giant in 2019.

An early press render of the upcoming Moto G7 Plus show that Motorola may be redesigning their popular mid-range handset. The press render shows an almost all-display front with a waterdrop notch similar to the OnePlus 6T and very thin top and side bezels.

Wear OS is getting a new update. Known as "H", it adds a new battery-saving mode to Android-powered watches. The new update also overhauls how a watch reboots or shuts down, as well as how it resumes apps and handles the switch to sleep mode.

According to the specs revealed on TENAA, the Honor 10 Lite will retain the 6.21-inch 1080p display from the original Honor 10 model, but the 24 MP selfie cam notch will be smaller. The mid-range smartphone will be powered by the Kirin 710 SoC coupled with 4 or 6 GB of RAM and 64 or 128 GB storage. The rear dual-cam will only get 13 + 2 MP sensors.

The relatively steep 30 percent price cut comes 9 months after the initial launch of the smartphone. Honor says the deal will only apply to North American users for now with no plans to extend the promotion overseas.

Red Magic is an 'alternative' gaming phone developed by Nubia in order to compete with the likes of Xiaomi's Black Shark. Now, the second generation of this device, which may be called the Red Magic Mars, has started to show up in benchmarks. It has reportedly beaten the Black Shark Helo variant by about 20,000 points on Antutu so far.

Google Pixel users — and the lucky ones who are using other handsets — on Android Pie can finally enjoy the Digital Wellbeing app, which has just rolled out of Beta. As more handsets get updated to Android Pie, the list of Digital Wellbeing-supported devices should also receive new entries.

The Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus have been reported not to be in line for official upgrades to Pie until January. In the meantime, some users do have access to a version of the OS, in exchange for some beta-testing. In Korea, the latest of these betas replaces Samsung Experience with One UI.

The United States and South Korea are the countries most strongly linked with the earliest widespread roll-outs of the new mobile data-transfer standard, 5G. AT&T is one of the US networks engaged in the upcoming national 5G distribution program. However, reps from the carrier have warned against getting too excited about it right now.

Recent FCC filings for an XT1952 and an XT1965 have sparked rumours that Lenovo Motorola is preparing to release new Moto devices. These documents come in the wake of the Moto G6 series, which Lenovo Motorola released earlier this year, prompting speculation that the company is preparing a G7 series.

While we're still coming to terms with the distressing fact that notches may be a long-term feature in smartphones, Japanese OEM Sharp has gone the extra mile by including two notches on its new flagship. And no, that is not a joke.

The Snapdragon 8150, Kirin 980, A12 Bionic, and a few other SoCs were intensively tested on AnTuTu, with the results showing the Snapdragon 8150's overall dominance. The A12 Bionic managed to hold the high ground in a few departments, though.

Samsung is rumored to be preparing multiple varieties of its upcoming S10 series, one of which will be 5G-enabled. The well-regarded leakster Roland Quandt believes that, if this SKU is to exist, it will come with the new Exynos 9820 chipset only, to go with its Samsung 5G-NR modem.

The mobile game Harry Potter: Wizards Unite has finally received a teaser trailer, just over a year after its development was announced. There are plenty of games based in the Harry Potter world, but this one is particularly newsworthy because of the developer involved: Niantic. The American software company is probably best known for its work with Pokémon Go.

Google Glass was the search giant's first attempt at smart glasses, and could clip onto transparent spectacles to deliver info and shots from its camera via an eyeball-level LED. It was not a popular release, not least because of its ultra-high price tag. Nevertheless, Google is developing second-gen Glass, which is to target corporations rather than consumers.

The Fairphone 2 has finally received an update to Android 7.1 Nougat, a two-year-old version of the mobile OS. Considering the Fairphone 2's age and the slow rollout of supported software, the handset may be entering its end-of-life.

The successor of the original Razer Phone will go on sale this Friday directly online from AT&T's website, but those in a hurry will also be able to grab it from the San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, and Seattle flagship stores. Even more, these locations will host special gaming events dedicated to the Razer Phone 2.

Samsung has unveiled its new premium SoC, the Exynos 9820. The chipset will be used on devices like the much-awaited Galaxy S10 and Note 10. It is built on Samsung's 8nm node and features the new Mali-G76 GPU found on the Kirin 980.

Noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has told investors to temper sales expectations for the iPhone XR. Citing trade disputes, consumer fatigue, and steep competition, Kuo has slashed sales expectations for the iPhone XR by 35% for 2018Q4 and 30% for 2019Q1 and 2019Q2.

HMD has sent the Pie update out to the Nokia 6.1 and Nokia 7 Plus. The company has now reaffirmed its commitment to providing steady software updates by confirming that the last-gen Nokia 3, 5, 6, and 8 will also all receive the Android Pie update.

Xiaomi's launched its enthusiast-oriented Pocophone F1 a few months ago in Europe and India. The company is set to bring the device to South Korea on November 19, and it will be sold locally by SK Telecom, LG Uplus, and KT.

Although there is little doubt about the fact that Samsung will make this color option available for the entire world in the coming months, the Ice Blue Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ will only launch in China. Fortunately, those who just want a blue contemporary Galaxy S flagship can already find the Coral Blue flavor in most markets.

Earlier, OnePlus had made a commitment to bring Pie to its older flagship series. However, the company later admitted that this upgrade would be delayed. Now, it seems that the prospect of Pie for last year's phones, the 5 and 5T, is back on the table with a new Hydrogen OS beta based on the latest version of Android.

The Xiaomi Mi A2 is supposed to receive the Android Pie update before the end of the year, but the firmware still needs some work. For now, the official Beta ROM can be downloaded via TWRP or fastboot and tried by the more adventurous users. Obviously, there is no OTA update to talk about at this stage.

Only launched in Midnight Black and Mirror Black, the OnePlus 6T flagship also received a Thunder Purple color option after a while. Sadly, it was supposed to be a China-exclusive choice, but now it seems that the US and Europe will receive it as well. The price remains the same and the sales should start on November 15, at 9 AM EST.

Adoptable Storage is a feature introduced with Android 6.0 (Marshmallow). It allows a phone to effectively turn a microSD card into its own internal storage. Some brands still allow Adoptable Storage in their stock ROMs, but Samsung is not one of them. However, it now seems that it is coming back in future updates that involve Pie (9.0).

Last week, Xiaomi opened up shop in the UK. The triumphant entry into the market was marked by a flash sale, the likes of which have almost become a Xiaomi trademark. Sadly, participants of the sale noticed a few irregularities and have cried foul.

Samsung's Galaxy S9, S9+, and Note 9 may be some of the highest profile devices of 2018 but the company will not be sending the Android Pie update to users of those devices until next year.

The Samsung Galaxy J4 Core is now official and the phone's specifications have been listed on the company's Mobile Press website. The Galaxy J4 Core is an Android Go phone and therefore, sports modest specs. Pricing and availability details are not yet available.

The Samsung Galaxy S10 is likely to be coming soon, and with next-generation features such as an under- or in-display fingerprint scanner. A new leak about this phone aligns with the company's intentions for flat display technology, which were announced at the recent Samsung Developer's Conference.

Huawei introduced a new feature known as reverse (or inverted) wireless charging with the Mate 20 Pro. It means that the new flagship can be used as a charging pad for other devices with compatible technology. However, Android Authority found it to work very slowly for a Pixel 3 in comparison with its own chargers.

Lasso is a new short video sharing platform from Facebook designed to compete with TikTok. The new app, available now on iOS and Android, "makes it easy for anyone to create and share short videos with fun effects." Marketed at teens and young people, Lasso looks like the latest effort by Facebook to retain young users.