Android

Huawei's CEO, Yu Chendong, recently conducted an interview with the German publication, Welt. The executive was tackled on many issues, including foldable phones and their current extravagant prices. He responded by projecting that their prices may fall at a significant rate in the near future.

The Twitter account @NTAuthority has posted a video in which a Pixel 3 XL appears to boot into Windows. The OS' logo shows up at the start of this process, which is followed by not much more than a blue screen with what appears to be a command window. Should the claim prove true, it appears that Windows can run on yet another device not intended to do so.

The Galaxy S10 flagship series may have already demonstrated that it is having no trouble with its sales. However, Samsung has arranged a few perks to ensure that the new phones keep flying off shelves. They involve YouTube Premium and Spotify deals; on the other hand, their availability is region-dependent.

Older Qualcomm SoCs were so limited most couldn't even support camera sensors with resolutions of more than 40 MP or thereabouts. The new Snapdragon chipsets don't have that weakness, however, and instead have ISPs powerful enough to support up to 192 MP.

The Vivo V15 is the less potent sibling of the recently released Vivo V15 Pro. Introduced in Thailand last week, the V15 should hit India on March 15. However, it seems that China will get this handset as the Vivo S1 — the first S-series handset of the brand. However, a recent TENAA listing has revealed a few minor differences between the V15 and the alleged Vivo S1.

Early adopters can keen to get their hands on the Android Q beta will have a wider range of devices from which to choose this time around. Android developer Illiyan Malhev has revealed the even more OEMs will be on board for the Android Q beta testing program expected to launch at Google’s I/O 2019 developer conference in May.

Although it comes with a quite a few innovative features and is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 top-of-the-line processor, the new LG G8 ThinQ flagship has a lower price than its predecessor and is also cheaper than most similar flagships on the market. Pre-sales will start in South Korea this week and the price is around US$790.

The Xiaomi Mi Max 3, like all Mi Max devices, is sold with the unique feature of having a huge screen. This generation has a 6.9-inch FHD display, which is matched by few other phablets. Units of this model worldwide are now eligible for an official update to the Pie-based MIUI 10.

The 6T is the first OnePlus flagship to be sold through a US carrier: T-Mobile. These units are now receiving a notification for a new update that confers RCS messaging. This new form of messaging on Android brings expanded features and capabilities compared to the old one.

After the March security update, users of the Pixel 3 phones are reporting stability issues with their camera apps. The app apparently lags heavily and tends to completely glitch out during use. This, of course, begs the question of what exactly the Pixels are good for if their cameras are unreliable.

Samsung's newest flagships, the Galaxy S10 trio, were some of the most anticipated devices before they were launched. It would appear that such interest has translated directly into sales, with the devices breaking pre-order records around the world.

Motorola's upcoming foldable RAZR phone will have several uses for the closed screen as learnt by XDA Developers. However, the functionality of the closed screen could to be limited when compared to the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Fold and it currently seems as if only Moto apps can display content on the closed screen.

The South Korean Ministry of Science and ICT has warned that South Korea is likely to miss the current approximate deadline at which 5G should be available in the country. This was estimated to be at the end of March, but now may be pushed back until later in the year. The authorities have cited costing disputes with providers as one factor in this delay.

The popular tech YouTuber Lewis Hilsenteger has posted a video to his channel claiming that the new Samsung Galaxy S10 series' Face Unlock security can be hacked. Hilsenteger demonstrated this by holding his Galaxy S10+ up to a 2nd phone playing a video of his face, which appeared to successfully unlock the former's screen.

Clement Wong, Huawei’s VP of Global Product Marketing, has confirmed that the upcoming Huawei P30 Pro will have a camera that offers periscope-style super-zoom capabilities. This confirmation has sparked speculation that the lens in question could actually be powered mechanically, enabling it to offer the rumored 10x optical zoom.

Huawei looks to be the latest wearable maker to give Google’s WearOS a miss in favor of an in-house alternative. According to Winfuture, the next Huawei GT watches will run the company’s LiteOS as it looks to differentiate itself from its competition.

The POWKIDDY X18 is a cheap Android handheld games console that features a 5.5-inch touchscreen along with numerous physical controls including two joysticks, a d-pad and Y, B, A and X buttons. The X18 has a 5,000 mAh battery, while its design may remind you of some Japanese handheld games consoles...

A new update to the latest version of MIUI may expand the function of the under-display fingerprint sensor found in the latest Xiaomi flagships. It involves activating an array of app shortcuts when this module is used. The new feature will be found in the Mi 9, 9 SE and some versions of the Mi 8.

Months ahead of its launch, the OnePlus 7 has appeared in sale-page form on the retail website GizTop. It contains a list of specs with many details that may be plausible for this new release. On the other hand, there is no guarantee that it will prove accurate.

The Samsung Galaxy S10e is one of the new additions to the flagship series. It has the smallest screen (and price) of all its variants, yet retains many of the new features associated with it. The S10e has been made available on Boost Mobile today (March 8, 2019) at an out-right price of US$749.

Wireless charging is becoming increasingly popular with mobile device designers, particularly at the higher end of the market. However, it is associated with a potentially significant problem: the inability to use a phone effectively while it has to be on its pad or station. The makers of a novel smartphone stand now available on Indiegogo claim they can help with that.

Xiaomi has made its name by offering phones that could be seen as value-for-money in the past. However, its CEO, Lei Jun, has unveiled plans that involve the company turning its back on this strategy in the future. He has said that "this might be the last time our price will be under RMB 3,000 (about US$447)".

Shen Yiren Brian, VP of OPPO, took to Weibo to announce that the upcoming Find Z flagship phone will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC and will also incorporate the company's new 10x hybrid optical zoom camera. The Find Z could also have a 5G variant and Shen claims that the phone will look different compared to contemporary phones in the market.

Xiaomi's new budget sub-brand, Redmi, has released three devices since it was formed earlier in the year. The company's fourth device, the Redmi 7, is on the way, and all the details of the budget phone have now been revealed.

Huawei has launched its newest mid-range phone, the P Smart+ (2019). The P Smart+ shares a lot of hardware with the regular P Smart that was launched a few months ago, the major difference being the triple rear camera setup, with one of the cameras being a 16 MP wide-angle lens.

Drawings in a patent filing made by ZTE have been turned into renders by LetsGoDigital. The device in the renders can be described as a foldable smartphone utilizing a clamshell form factor. The ZTE smartphone folds over itself and leaves an exposed portion of the display. It looks oddly reminiscent of a Game Boy Advance SP handheld game console.

AnTuTu has released its Android rankings for the month of February, with Xiaomi's new flagship, the Mi 9, sitting comfortably in first. Rather surprisingly, the Huawei Mate 20 places fourth.

Time after time, information continues to allude to the potential release of a second-generation Essential Phone. While nothing is certain, we could be set to get a PH-2, and a patent filed by Essential points towards an in-display selfie camera on the device.

Thanks to the latest update for the PlayStation 4 and the addition of an officially supported app in the Apple App Store, the PS4's Remote Play is now available on compatible iOS devices. However, since iOS doesn't natively support the PS4's DualShock 4 controllers, gamers will have to resort to on-screen controls or a supported third-party solution.

A MediaTek business executive has told Android Authority that the company is working on a chip that has a 7-nanometer (nm) architecture and will have 5G connectivity. This processor may out-perform the Helio P90, the company's current flagship SoC. Therefore, MediaTek is likely to target the more premium end of the market with this future product.

A thin majority - 52% - of all households with broadband connections in the US now watch content that can be found, bought or sourced online on their connected TVs. These findings have been reported by Parks Associates. They have also discovered that this activity is now more popular among such households compared to other leisure pursuits - even gaming.

Multiple new entries for the same device - a 'blackshark AAA' - have appeared on the Geekbench 4.3 database. They are all powered by the same SoC, which is likely to be the Snapdragon 855. Interestingly, all but 2 of the 10 listings specify 12GB of RAM.

The OPPO F11 Pro has been characterized as a phone that would come out with a pop-up selfie camera on release. These leaks have been vindicated at its launch. It was also joined by the F11, a second variant of the same basic phone, but with a water-drop notch to house its own front-facing camera.

According to a new report in the Wall Street Journal, Nintendo has at least started to intervene in order to prevent disproportional amounts of in-game transactions in the titles it has licensed to Android and iOS developers. This may reflect the increasing drive to regulate such charges, which can lead to significant profits as a result of using free apps.

The Meizu Note 9 is one of a handful of phones that rocks the new 48MP Samsung camera sensor. It has been launched today in China for prices ranging from about US$208 to $238, depending on the variant selected. However, it will not be on sale until March 11, 2019.

Samsung is already preparing at least two new types of foldable smartphones to follow the Galaxy Fold. The new devices fold differently with one said to fold top to bottom, like a classic flip phone, while the other will fold outwards along the lines of the Huawei Mate X.

The Meizu Zero was a novel prospect for the smartphone world: a device with no ports or buttons whatsoever. Its maker had been assessing the demand for this idea via a campaign on Indiegogo. However, it has failed to achieve its goal of US$100,000, securing only about 45% of this figure.

The new Honor Tab 5 is an 8-inch Android tablet that starts at the equivalent of US$163, but even the LTE version with 4/64 GB still comes for less than US$250. This slate uses the HiSilicon Kirin 710 processor with GPU Turbo 2.0, runs Android Pie with Magic UI 2.0 on top out of the box, and sports Dolby Atmos audio.

According to a fresh report by IDC, Apple shipped more than 46 million wearables in 2018 out of a total of 172.2 million such devices sold worldwide. Smartwatches accounted for almost 30 percent of the entire wearable market and Apple's growth is expected to continue thanks to the Watch Series 4 smartwatch.

A new feature in Facebook's Messenger app - Dark Mode - has been in the works for some time now. A Redditor has recently noticed that it can be activated by sending a specific emoji. The new Mode may particularly benefit those with light sensitivities or whose devices have OLED screens.

HTC is reportedly in talks with a number of Indian smartphone firms to license its hardware under their brands. These phones will apparently target the Rs 10,000- (about US$141) or-more section of this market. The Taiwanese OEM hopes to compete with the likes of OPPO and Xiaomi as a result of this move.

The new version of Microsoft Edge, a browser whose development is now driven by that of Chromium's, has been leaked in a set of images by Neowin. They show a browser that will indeed ring a number of bells for those who follow the open-source project. However, there is a Microsoft extensions store and Bing integration.

HMD Global released the Nokia 9 PureView a few weeks ago, and the first batch of camera reviews from various outlets are finally in. While photos taken by the flagship's five rear cameras are excellent, it’s become painfully obvious that the phone's cameras weren’t designed for the average smartphone user.

Huawei's high-value brand, Honor, is set to launch its next premium device in the coming months. Details of the Honor 20 have now surfaced, throwing light on a device with a specification sheet that mirrors the Huawei P20 Pro's.

Chinese underdogs Meizu are set to release their flagship for the year next month. The Meizu 16s is expected to feature a Snapdragon 855, 6 GB of RAM, 128 GB of storage, and a 48 MP camera. It will also ignore the punch-hole, notch, and slider in favor of incredibly slim bezels. Most importantly, it will cost under US$500.

It’s a tough gig launching smartphone in the high-end market these days with even Apple hitting a downturn. If Samsung was hoping the vaunted all-new Galaxy S10 might help turn things around, pre-orders in its home market of South Korea suggest that it might have an uphill battle.

The Samsung Galaxy S10 smartphone has been thoroughly tested by DisplayMate and apparently passed with flying colors. The display quality company has awarded the flagship with its highest A+ grade ever, and the S10 has also been given a Best Smartphone Display Award. To add to those accomplishments, the Samsung device also set or matched 13 DisplayMate records.