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Yesterday, Xiaomi announced that its Redmi series of phones would no longer just be a line of phones and will now be a sub-brand of its own, a move that mirrors the relationship between Huawei and Honor, or OPPO and Realme.

A new video recently released on Evan Blass’ Twitter account appears to show a foldable device, allegedly manufactured by Xiaomi, in action. The well-known tipster isn’t himself sure of the video’s veracity, but it has been garnering a considerable amount of comments from excited viewers. Fake or not, it certainly offers an enticing glimpse into one of 2019’s hottest technologies.

This does not happen too often, but December 2018 brought an all-Chinese roster for the best performing Android handhelds. ZTE's Nubia Red Magic Mars and Nubia X managed to place first and 10th, respectively. Huawei showed a solid presence with five models and proved it really is the second largest phone-maker after Samsung. Xiaomi and OnePlus got pushed to the lower half this time.

Press renders of the Honor 8A smartphone have been released. The images show the device to have a central waterdrop notch on the front accompanied by a bezel at the bottom with the maker’s name emblazoned on it. The smartphone’s rear shows a single 13 MP camera with a flash beneath it, and there is another “Honor” logo at the bottom.

The Kirin 710-powered Huawei P Smart 2019 features a 6.21-inch display with a pearl-shaped notch and promises to deliver "a superior smartphone experience at an accessible price point" starting next week. The United Kingdom will be the first country to receive it, but other markets should follow in the months to come.

The Pocophone F2 may be the second device to come from the popular Xiaomi brand POCO. A new concept illustration for this smartphone suggests that it may upgrade to a newer, more waterdrop-like notch rather than the larger, iPhone-esque one of last year. It seems that this device has also made it onto Geekbench; according to these listings, it will stick with the Snapdragon 845 of yesteryear.

Yesterday, a device that could have been the Sony Xperia XZ4 apparently made it through Antutu Benchmark. Now, a second rumor claims that it has done the same with Geekbench 4, with equally impressive results. On the other hand, this 'listing' is nowhere to be found on the actual Geekbench website

The upcoming Android slate is now known only as the LG-V426 and we know that it received its Bluetooth and WiFi certifications already. Unfortunately, most of its specs are not public yet but, if we get lucky, we might see it on display at CES or at the MWC. Otherwise, its launch is expected to take place by the end of the first quarter.

The Huawei P20 Pro started the triple rear camera revolution last year, and the Mate 20 Pro all but perfected it. Word on the grapevine claims the upcoming P30 Pro will feature four rear cameras, and Huawei could go one step further with the Mate 30 Pro by equipping it with a penta-lens setup.

According to a new report, Samsung is gearing up to release a new mid-range phone, the Galaxy A50, sometime this year. The device will feature the Infinity-O display expected to be seen on the upcoming Galaxy S10 phones, and will be powered by Samsung's 10nm Exynos 9610.

Back in May 2015, a serious flaw in Chrome for Android that exposed various bits of sensitive information was discovered. This security issue was ignored by Google for more than three years, but now the tech giant is finally taking care of it. Unfortunately, a final fix for this vulnerability is not available yet.

The Chinese consumer electronics company Oppo has applied for a trademark for “Limn” with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). The application was made at the end of December and comes under the Nice classification number 9, which includes computers, tablets, and smartphones. There has been some speculation that Oppo may be planning on releasing a foldable tablet.

If user tests are to be believed, the initial rollout of AT&T's 5G home internet network may be disappointing to most. Download and upload speeds aren't much better than those on 4G LTE. These tests raise concerns about the viability of 5G in its current state. Numerous problems associated with wavelength penetration and power draw may not be worth the cost if the performance increase for 5G is this marginal.

Sony has announced that it will be holding a press conference on January 7. The CES even will feature top Sony executives from across the company with the Xperia XA3 and XA3 Ultra expected to be among the announcements.

Renowned tipster Ice universe has released a video online that purportedly shows two protective cases for the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S10+ smartphone. The cases are tested for size on a Galaxy S9+, an Oppo Find X, and a Galaxy Note 9. During the testing, a few details about the plus-sized flagship seem to be indirectly confirmed.

A new promo video of the Nokia 9 PureView details the upcoming smartphone's specifications. In addition to the headline-grabbing five-camera setup on the back, the Nokia 9 PureView will sport a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845, 6 GB of RAM, and 128 GB of storage. The Nokia 9 will be an Android One phone and should receive support from Google for the next two years.

The fourth official beta for the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is now available, albeit mainly to those users already on beta 3. This new update fixes touchscreen and keyboard bugs left in the preceding version. Therefore, it is not the best indication that an official update to Pie for the device will be here soon.

A filing with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for the Samsung Galaxy M10 smartphone has thrown up a couple of new details about the device. The M10’s measurements have been specified at a length of 155.7 mm and a width of 75.88 mm, and the display diagonal has been confirmed as 153.2 mm, which is equivalent to 6.03 inches.

Motorola has officially confirmed the start of the Android Pie update rollout to its Moto G6 Plus mid-ranger. There’s no word on when the cheaper G6 phones, the G6 and G6 Play, will receive their own updates, though.

A certificate granted by the Wi-Fi Alliance for the LG Q9 has been spotted by Droid Shout. The certification listing offers a little bit more information about the upcoming smartphone, such as that it will operate on Android 9 Pie and will support the 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi standards. The mid-range device is expected to come with a Snapdragon 660.

A recent study by Privacy International found that at least 20 Android apps with install bases in excess of 10 million users automatically send user data to Facebook within one second of opening. This data is sent without user knowledge or user consent and ranges from innocuous to personal. This practice obviously raises some questions of legality, although it is difficult to say who is to blame for the violation of user privacy.

Royole is an OEM whose main claim to fame is that it released the first ever flexible smartphone. It is bringing this product to CES, alongside others that, as the company claims, include electronics-enhanced clothing, a "smart writing pad" and more flexible displays. Royole asserts that the latter are ready for production.

The second-generation Vivo Nex was received with a distinct amount of interest, particularly due to the way in which its dual-screen design addressed the need to use its single compound camera module for selfies. Now, a new TENAA page for the OEM suggests that a version of the phone with the mid-tier Snapdragon 710 processor is on the way.

A new leak has surfaced, giving us our closest look so far at the Nokia 9 Pureview. Notable features include a massive penta-lens setup at the back, what appears to be a dual selfie setup at the front, an under-display fingerprint sensor, and the absence of a notch.

After Essential officially declared that it would no longer be selling the PH-1, a cryptic tweet by the company's Head of Research and Development has once again stoked the flames, and fans of the company may now share a lingering hope in the existence of an Essential PH-2.

The Android One program is becoming increasingly popular due to the apparent certainty of two years' worth of regular updates for the phones sold under it. Recently, however, Google has removed the text to this effect from the Android website, leading to user fears that this pledge was being rescinded. However, the company has asserted that this is not the case.

The Snapdragon Wear 3100 release event included announcements that Louis Vuitton would be one of the first OEMs to launch a smartwatch including this next-gen processor. It seems the fashion house has finally delivered with a new version of its Tambour Horizon device. This model may have improved battery life and ambient mode features.

As a sort of early holiday present, Samsung announced that the Galaxy S9 and S9+ would be updated to Android 9.0 (Pie) from December 24 onwards. However, few regions have actually seen the upgrade for these devices as yet. Some users who have managed to install it may face more battery drain than usual.

Competition in the smartphone industry has led to sketchy advertising practices, especially in China where such shenanigans are almost encouraged. Fake camera samples, technically correct claims, and a circus of intentional crookery.

More renders of the Huawei P30 Pro have surfaced, revealing its vertically stacked quad rear camera setup that is touted to be capable of 10x zoom, an industry first. The P30 Pro will likely be launched in Q2 2019 and will be powered by the company's top of the line SoC.

Months after sending out the Pie beta update, Huawei has finally begun the rollout of the stable Android Pie update. There’s a slight issue with that, though: Honor flagships aren’t part of the initial rollout.

Xiaomi 2019 flagships are touted to be the Mi 9 and Mi Mix 4. Both devices will be powered by the Snapdragon 855. They will also both sport three rear cameras, with the Mi 9 expected to be the first Xiaomi device with that feature. The Mi Mix 4 could also feature a unique lens technology.

Sony has released a new wall charger. The brick is USB-PD-compliant and supplies just under 40 W at its peak, and a total power output of 46.5 W. The fast charger will work on all devices with USB-PD support, which makes for a rather long list.

Google has updated its Messages app to help identify and block spam. The new feature is starting to find its way to users, although it isn’t clear how far and wide the rollout is at this stage.

Samsung’s first Galaxy Unpacked event for 2019 is only a couple of months away now and the leaks continue to trickle out. The latest is a case maker’s render obtained by serial leakster Ice Universe that shows what it expects the Galaxy S10 Lite to look like. Based on the information that has leaked out about the device so far, we have no reason to doubt its general accuracy.

The LG G7 ThinQ will reportedly have access to an official, stable update to Pie (Android 9.0) in the first quarter of 2019. This is according to a Korean-language document that appears to be a company roadmap for the software updates to come for the OEM's most recent flagships in 2019.

Sound on Display is a technology by which the audio associated with a display emanates from the screen itself, thus eliminating the need for inbuilt speakers. LG has demonstrated this innovation in TVs; now, Samsung appears poised to integrate it into smartphones. The OEM's take on this breakthrough may be showcased at CES 2019.

According to word on the grapevine, Samsung could be testing out Android Pie on the Galaxy A5 (2017). Not particularly noteworthy until you realize that the A5 was released on Marshmallow, and a Pie update would be the third major OS it receives.

More renders of the upcoming Nokia 9 have surfaced, revealing a device without a notch on its front, and with a massive penta-lens array on its back. The Nokia 9 is expected to be unveiled next month.

Samsung is finally set to bring Android 9 Pie to the Galaxy Note 9 from January 15. Currently in closed beta testing, the upgrade will bring Samsung’s vaunted new One UI overlay designed to declutter and streamline the user experience.

Essential Products has revealed that there are no plans to add “new inventory” to its stock of Essential Phones, which basically means the device is being discontinued. The smartphone was released in August 2017 and was widely commended for its design and performance. It’s believed around 150,000 of the PH-1 devices were sold.

Epic Games is now sitting on US$3 billion in gross profits this year. According to a new article in TechCrunch based on the claims of a 'knowledgeable' source. This level of success is (somewhat obviously) made off the back of Epic's flagship, Fortnite. It is a particularly impressive claim, considering that this title's revenue is largely derived from in-game purchases.

A new LG patent has surfaced showing a device that features rollable OLED display technology. Similar to the foldable smartphones that are headed our way in 2019, this is a much more radical approach that will yield devices that can be both incredibly compact yet can be unrolled to reveal a large display.

George Zhao, President of Huawei’s Honor sub-brand has revealed that the company saw a 27% year-on-year rise in shipment numbers across the first three quarters of the year, a figure that was likely helped along by the releases of popular devices like the Honor 7X and Honor 10 this year.

Google’s upcoming mid-range phones have leaked extensively over the past few months. A new report claims that the two devices, the Pixel 3 Lite and Pixel 3 XL Lite, are billed to be launched in spring 2019.

Leaked renders of a Motorola phone are believed to be of an upcoming entry to the company’s P series, most likely the P40. The images show the device with a punch-hole camera, which is becoming increasingly more popular with major smartphone manufacturers. On the rear of the phone there is a vertically aligned dual-camera setup, with a 48 MP sensor present.