Android

Just as previously rumored, the Nokia X5 handset will hit the global market as the Nokia 5.1 Plus. Although HMD's Global Chief Product Officer, Juho Sarvikas, confirmed its arrival on Twitter, the details are not public yet, but we expect this to happen soon.

Qualcomm published a blog post that it's X20 LTE modem-equipped Snapdragon 845 SoC offers superior mobile connectivity than other modems such as the Intel XMM 7480 and Intel XMM 7360 found in various iPhones. The data has been gathered from Speedtest.net results on AT&T and T-Mobile.

Although the Chinese brand might not hit its planned sales target of 200 million units for the entire year, reaching the 100 million units milestone is also quite impressive. Compared to 7 years ago, Huawei managed to increase its smartphone sales by no less than 51 times.

The Chinese company reports that it should sell 200 million handsets by the end of 2018, which would bring it fairly close to Apple's target. At this rate, Huawei is expecting to overtake Apple in global sales at some point in 2019. The US and Indian markets should help Huawei further their plans in this respect, although the US embargoes could hinder this development.

According to reports from Korean media, Samsung could be looking to merge the Galaxy Note and Galaxy S brands given that the differences between them are minimal. This move can reduce the costs of Samsung's mobile development portfolio and possibly increase profitability amidst the onslaught of Chinese smartphone brands.

Google looks to be positioning its Fuchsia OS as a replacement for Android and Chrome OS on its Pixel hardware. Although the roadmap for the operating system has not been formally signed off, Google has over 100 software engineers working on the project.

Fresh off the back of the LG G7 ThinQ, the Korean company is hard at work on the full blown successor to the LG V30/35. Early rumors are promising, with LG set to bring a triple rear camera to the mix as well as going virtually bezel-less.

Samsung's upcoming smartwatch will be called the Galaxy Watch instead of the Gear S4 according to its FCC certification. The Galaxy Watch is slated to launch alongside the Galaxy Note 9 on August 9 and comes in two variants along with an additional LTE option.

Once a very popular Android launcher, Apex Launch has just become an example of how not to do things for the developers of such apps. The latest update reduced the number of settings available, and some of those that have not been eliminated have been completely changed. All in all, Apex Launch is now one of those launchers that any user should avoid.

The Nokia X5 is now official in China. The latest notched Android smartphone is expected to also get a global rollout as the Nokia 5.1 Plus

Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon has officially announced the Kirin 710. The new ARM-based design will provide mid-range phones powered by the octa-core chip with a substantial boost in performance.

After numerous leaks and teasers, the Xiaomi Mi Max 3 is finally here. Xiaomi's new phablet inherits a lot of specifications from the Redmi Note 5 including the Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 SoC and dual cameras but the standout features of the Mi Max 3 are the 6.9-inch FHD+ 18:9 display and its 5,500 mAh battery.

Research firm Blancco has published a Mobile Device Repair and Security Report that throws up some interesting facts. The report puts Samsung as the OEM with the highest failure rate among Android manufacturers and the Xiaomi Redmi 4 as the specific model with the highest failures in 2017. In the Apple camp, the iPhone 6 was the device with the highest failure rate.

The specs and pricing info got leaked by UK online retailer MobileFun, and it looks like the XZ3 has a few upgrades in store over the XZ2. While the 5.7-inch remained the same, the new XZ3 will come with a Snapdragon 845 SoC coupled with 6 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage, a 3,240 mAh battery, dual 19 MP + 12 MP rear camera setup, and an overall reduced thickness of 0.39 inches.

Without a doubt, Google has become one of the most important technology companies in the last ten years – the company not only has a monopoly in search-engines, but also in the mobile OS market. Today, Google has been fined by the EU commission for abusing its mobile OS monopoly.

Taiwanese SoC maker MediaTek is expanding the 12 nm Helio SoC family with the A-series that is dedicated to entry-level devices. The Helio A22 SoC is already featured in the Xiaomi Redmi 6A and comes with four ARM Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 2.0 GHz. Most important features are the LPDDR3/4X support, LTE cat 7/13 capabilities, and advanced AI application compatibility.

ATARI's classic arcade game Tempest that was released in October 1981 is making a return as Eat Electric Death! Tempest 4000 with new features and 4K graphics. This title is now available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows PCs for US$20 or US$30 — depending on the market and platform, of course.

The OnePlus 6 made its way over to DxOMark yesterday and achieved scores placing it on par with traditional juggernauts like the iPhone X, Google Pixel 2, and Huawei Mate Pro. Of course, it's a lot more impressive when you consider the fact that the OnePlus 6 is a current-gen device and costs significantly less than its peers.

The Snapdragon 632 was released a few weeks ago and has made its way to Geekbench, with it recording scores that would make it the company's most impressive mid-range SoC, even ahead of the Snapdragon 636.

More details of Huawei’s upcoming flagship, the Mate 20, have surfaced. According to the reports, the device will feature OLED panels made by Chinese company BOE, and not Samsung as previously touted. It could also ship with five cameras.

Some Xiaomi fans have always had a feeling that the Mi 8 Explorer was nothing but a concept showpiece by Xiaomi. They may be proven wrong soon, though, with reports claiming that the device could go on sale on July 24.

Although the Android 8.1 Oreo update for the Xiaomi Mi A1 started to roll out last month, it was quickly stopped after the discovery of an SMS bug. Back then, most markets did not even receive it, so now it is the first time for most users of this successful Android One handset when the update reaches them.

The teaser of the upcoming rebranded Mi 6X does not reveal much, but the essentials are supposed to be the same as in the case of the very popular Mi A1 when compared to the Mi 5X. Basically, the Mi A2 will have the same specs as the Mi 6X but will run stock Android instead of using Xiaomi's MIUI interface.

Huawei will be rolling out its GPU Turbo software update to select devices starting this August. GPU Turbo aims to improve graphics processing by 60% and reduce power consumption by 30% but Huawei is yet to prove its claims in the real world. The update initially supports PUBG Mobile and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang with support for more titles in the pipeline.

Although various Chinese underdogs are already selling handsets with in-display fingerprint readers, Samsung still has to release its first such handset. However, while the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy Note 10 are both expected to use this technology, recent rumors claim that next year's Galaxy A series will feature it as well.

Integrating a 6.9-inch LCD screen and a 5,500 mAh battery, Xiaomi's Mi Mix 3 looks like a decent upgrade over the Max 2 version. The Chinese phablet will be powered by a Snapdragon 636 SoC coupled with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage, but there will also be versions with 3/6 GB RAM and 32/128 GB storage, respectively.

A somewhat intriguing listing of a Samsung Galaxy Note 9 powered by the Exynos 9820 has surfaced on Geekbench. The mention of the Exynos 9820 raises a question as to whether there will be two models of the Galaxy Note 9 as the upcoming phablet was originally thought to feature the Exynos 9810 SoC.

ZTE has paid off the huge US$1.4 billion fine issued by the US government over a month ago. This means that the Chinese company is finally back in business and can now negotiate deals with US companies.

According to Honor, three million units of the Honor 10 have been shipped. The device was released in the last week of April, so this is an impressive figure—one that comes amidst a plethora of other successes recorded by the company.

While it's still early days yet, more details of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S10 phones have surfaced, throwing more light on what we should expect from the trio of devices.

Xiaomi's upcoming Android One Mi A2 was listed on a Polish retail website yesterday alongside a smaller Lite variant. The listings give us a better idea of what to expect from the devices, with the A2 Lite looking to be a rebranded Redmi 6 Pro.

Purported live images of the upcoming Honor Note 10 have surfaced, showing a device with a gigantic screen and, thankfully, no notch. The device could be launched sometime towards the end of the month.

The upcoming Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 is expected to launch with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 or a Snapdragon 430 processor, next to 2 or 3 GB of memory and 32 GB or 64 GB of internal storage. The slate will most likely run Android 8.1 Oreo with Samsung Experience 9.0 on top and it might arrive soon since it has just been spotted at FCC.

Although it also has a notched display, the same Kirin 970 processor and the dual-camera setup present in the Honor 10, the upcoming Huawei Nova 3 sports a larger screen and a rear-mounted fingerprint reader. According to the latest leaks, this 6.3-inch phablet will launch in China on July 18.

A comparison of various different quick charge technologies has shown that Huawei SuperCharge has the highest charge rate, along with OnePlus Dash Charge. Meanwhile, the non-OEM specific technologies trail behind, as does Apple Fast Charge.

If you thought Samsung's smartphones were starting to look boring and predictable, you'd be right. A purported offical render of the Galaxy Note 9 has surfaced and it looks just like the Galaxy Note 8.

Sony has surprised with the launch of the mid-range 6-inch XA2 Plus. The device is quite similar to the similarly powered XA2 Ultra, but is arguably the most beautiful Sony smartphone in recent times.

The 5.7-inch Moto E5 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor and retails for around US$146, while the 5.99-inch Moto E5 Plus will be available in the region for about US$175 and sports a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430. In both cases, the screen resolution is an almost decent 1,440 x 720 pixels.

Earlier today, PUBG Mobile 0.7.0 beta was still receiving new players. Sadly, at the time of publishing this piece, all available spots have been taken already. The good part is that new players will be accepted later, so this early access program is definitely one to keep an eye on.