Android

A roadmap of what is supposed to come out of Huawei's stables in 2018 has surfaced during one of the presentations by the handset maker's Israeli importer. While we are already aware of the upcoming Mate 10 series, there was a revelation of sorts about the P20 sometime in Q2 2018.

Honor is gearing up to be heavy competitiors in the mid-range segment. The company has announced the achievement of the 40 million shipments for devices in its X-series, starting with the Honor 4X released in 2014.

The Mi Max series offers large devices with hefty batteries, so it's no surprise that the next device in the series, the Mi Max 3, will turn the dial to the extreme, with a larger display, bigger battery, and a SoC upgrade.

OnePlus' next device, the OnePlus 6, may just feature the much-heralded under-display fingerprint sensor, and sources claim the phone could be released early as March 2018.

The Moto X4 was initially launched as an Android One phone, which guarantees timely updates due to its affiliation with Google. Users of the device received Oreo updates a few days ago.

The 5-inch Samsung Galaxy J2 (2018) is an affordable handset with a case made of plastic, capacitive front buttons, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor, 1.5 GB RAM, and 16 GB internal storage. The latest rumors claim it will launch in Russia for the equivalent of about US$136.

Honor has released the Honor 9 Lite, with the device featuring four cameras, while shipping with a price tag as low as US$180.

The ZTE Axon 7 was a fan favorite, as it offered flagship features at a mid-range price point. Users of the device will enjoy the perks of Oreo, too, although they'll have to wait for a few more months.

Motorola has sent out Oreo beta updates to Moto Z2 Force users in Brazil, with the posted Release Note pointing towards a full rollout in the coming days.

A report by IDC has estimated HMD's total mobile phone sales for Q3 to sit at the 21 million shipments mark. That figure, of course, accounts for both feature phones and smartphones.

Xiaomi's Mi 5X was overshadowed by the Mi A1, even though both devices were, for all intents and purposes, the same. A leak has surfaced that suggests that the Mi 5X's successor, the Mi 6X, will adopt the same vertical dual rear camera placement seen on the iPhone X.

A set of Olixar cases for the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ can be already pre-ordered from MobileFun, and the UK online store also mentioned a February 28 release date for these accessories.

Huawei's sub-brand, Honor, recently launched its smartphones in the US, India, Europe, and the Middle East. The next region to get the company's attention will be Latin America, with the Honor 7X slated to be sold in that market for just US$199.

Only one year after the catastrophic failure of the Note 7, Samsung managed to bounce back with the Galaxy Note 8 and the "Flagship Smartphone of the Year" award it has just received in India proves that the Galaxy Note lineup is doing great.

Nova Launcher, one of the best launchers for Android, is currently on sale for just US$0.99.

Android malware reaches a new high (or maybe "a new low," depends on how you see it) with the Loapi Trojan, a piece of code that can push the infected devices to the limit for mining Monero tokens until they blow up.

In just a year, Xiaomi managed to go up from 6 percent to 22.5 percent of the Indian smartphone market. To get there, the Chinese brand expanded at the expense of local brands, but now they are going for Samsung's slice of the pie.

According to a recent statement by Google, its Chrome browser will begin blocking intrusive ads on both desktop and mobile websites that do not comply with the Better Ads Standards starting on February 15.

The 6-inch Huawei Mate 10 Pro phablet will reach the US via multiple carriers in 2018 and, according to Richard Yu, the details will be unveiled next month in Las Vegas.

Not long after the first unlocked HTC U11 Life units received Android 8.0, these handsets on T-Mobile receive the Oreo update as well.

The highlights of the new Galaxy A8 and Galaxy A8+ include a dual camera setup for selfies, IP68-rated protection from water and dust, as well as support for Samsung's Gear VR (a first for the A series).

Razer is offering a free Leviathan Mini portable Bluetooth speaker worth US$179 with its Razer Phone for a limited time. The deal lasts until December 20 or while stocks last.

A GSM Arena poll regarding 3.5 mm headphone jacks on phones found that 69% of those polled wouldn't consider phones without a headphone jack, 14% didn't care, 9% had switched to Bluetooth/USB-C/Lightning products, and 8% were living the dongle life.

The successful mid-range Xiaomi Mi A1 finally receives a red edition. Sadly, only Indonesia gets this new color choice for now. The rest of the world only gets to choose between black, gold, and rose gold.

Rendered images of the Samsung Galaxy S9 have surfaced, showing the S9 with a single rear camera, the S9+ with a dual rear camera setup, and both with a new fingerprint sensor placement.

The Vivo Xplay 7 has been revealed as the first smartphone to ship featuring under-display fingerprint authentication technology. Clear ID, developed by Synaptics, is twice as fast as 3D facial recognition systems like Apple's Face ID.

The SHT-W09 model name designation for the supposed MediaPad M5 is very similar to the BTV-W09 model name for the current MediaPad M3.

The Lenovo ZUK Z2 and Z2 Pro have received Oreo betas, which is an impressive feat as both were launched on Marshmallow and got updates to Nougat months after. Too bad there's little to no chance the world will ever see a ZUK Z3.

The second generation Pixels, debatably the best smartphones on the planet right now, are currently getting discounts, with US buyers getting up to a $75 price slash, and potential purchasers in the UK having the chance to snag them for up to £100 less than their RRPs.

Samsung may be the biggest smartphone manufacturers in the world but analytics claim the company's dominance is set to see a decline next year, with experts expecting a 10% decline in market share.

Google has announced that it is leaving Project Tango behind for its new ARCore technology. Similar to Apple's ARKit, Google's ARCore will power software-driven AR experiences on Android smartphones.

The Samsung Galaxy S9 is expected to be announced on February 27, at the Mobile World Congress that will hold in Barcelona. This is plausible, of course, as previous Galaxy S devices have usually been launched within a three-week window of that specified date.

Huawei and Xiaomi are two of the top six smartphone manufacturers, a noteworthy feat considering their dire lack of presence in the US. Both companies look set to remedy that, however, with reports claiming that there are deals on the cards that will see both sell devices in the US under different carriers.

Blackberry released its first Android device two years ago in 2015. The company has finally announced that it will be withdrawing software support for the device—one that cost $700 at launch and only received one major update to Marshmallow.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, Disney and its subsidiary, Lucasfilm, announced a new game for PC and mobile that enabled players help BB-8 and Chewbacca defend the Millennium Falcon from porgs.

The 4.7-inch CAT S31 is now available in the US via Amazon for around US$330 and, although its specs do not match this price range, the IP68-rated water resistance and its compliance with the MIL-SPEC 810G standard for ruggedness make it a worthy choice for those who face tough environments frequently.

There's a new Blackview device on cards. The smartphone, marketed as a heavyweight business device, will feature a large 6180 mAh battery.

Honor has sent out invites for the launch event of a yet unnamed device. The event will take place on December 21, with the device expected to be the Honor 9 Lite.

Google has released data on the current market distribution of the various versions of Android. The ranking stays the same as it was last month, with Marshmallow in first, Lollipop in second, and Nougat in third. Oreo remains irrelevant, as it only just matched Ice Cream Sandwich’s 0.5% distribution, a disturbingly unprogressive rise from its 0.3% figure last month.

A member of Samsung's UK Oreo beta team has confirmed that the S8 and S8+ will receive final, stable Oreo updates in January, with the Note 8 to follow immediately after.

Huawei is set to announce the launch of the new Enjoy 7S at an event in Xi An, on December 13. The mid-ranger shares a lot of similarities with the Honor 9 Lite. So much, in fact, that we're tempted to claim that they're the same device in slightly different packages.

Despite apparently weak sales, Essential appears to be committed to developing its Essential Phone PH-1. In its latest Reddit AMA, the company revealed it is bringing Treble, tap to wake and EIS to the device in the forthcoming Android 8.0 Oreo update.

Google is continuing its rollout of Assistant to older Android devices, including tablets for the first time. First introduced on the Pixel last year as an exclusive feature, it has been some time coming.

A unnamed high-end smartphone will arrive with Synaptics new Clear ID under-display fingerprint authentication tech in January. According to Synaptics, the new technology is twice as fast as 3D facial recognition technology as featured on the iPhone X.

According to the number of downloads of its camera app, Essential has sold no more than 50,000 units. While the accuracy of this number is arguable, hitting such a low volume of sales may not be as bad for the start-up as it sounds.

The 2017 annual major release of AMD's Radeon Software has arrived, called the Adrenaline Edition. In addition to a refined UI, the main features it brings are an in-game overlay that allows performance monitoring and on-the-fly setting changes, as well as a mobile app that can be used to monitor performance or handle recording and streaming settings.

Xiaomi's flagships are usually among the first to be released in the year, and it looks like the next-gen offering, the Mi 7, could be launched within the next few months. The device is touted to launch alongside a plus-sized version, with both coming with tasty price tags and top of the line features.