Android

The successor of the Vapor is now official as the Misfit Command and can be pre-ordered starting at US$112.49. This hybrid smartwatch comes with a regular cell battery that can last up to an entire year.

Nintendo sprung a surprise by announcing the availability of popular game, Animal Crossing, on iOS and Android app stores for free. The company aims to capture both console and smartphone gamers with its offerings.

The Samsung Galaxy S9 could enter mass production next month and will leave drastic design changes aside, featuring a dual-camera setup, an improved processor, as well as a repositioned fingerprint reader. On top of these, we should also get ready for a 4-inch Galaxy S9 Mini.

Blackview is offering a number of discounts on its smartphones on Amazon today, with buyers in the UK, Spain, and France getting the chance to snag these devices on the cheap.

The Chinese underdog Maze Mobile has just introduced the Alpha X, a 6-inch phablet with a MediaTek Helio P25 processor and a screen-to-body ratio of 89.6 percent. The variant with 6 GB RAM and 64 GB internal storage can be pre-ordered for US$209.99 until Saturday.

Released a few days ago, Facebook's new set of tools for content creators that comes as the Creator app is only available for iOS users for now. Described as "a one-stop shop for creators of all kinds," it should hit the Android platform in the coming months as well.

Prices and exact shipment dates will be revealed during a live global press event in two weeks.

Only a few days before the release of the OnePlus 5T with Nougat onboard, the OnePlus 3 and 3T flagships receive their last major software update. This Android Oreo-based update for them comes as OxygenOS 5.0.

Google has responded to complaints about a crackling or buzzing noise affecting some Pixel 2 owners. Apparently the fault is software-related and will be addressed in an upcoming patch.

Mounting dedicated vapor chamber heat pipes would alleviate some of the temperature issues for future smartphones that current smartphones are already facing.

Razer has refreshed their Hammerhead line of earbuds with two new digital based models using USB-C and Lightning Port connectors. The USB-C version comes with a DAC for improved audio.

Benchmarks of a purported Samsung Galaxy S9 model have surfaced on Geekbench. While the scores show it to be one of the fastest Android flagships, it still is miles behind the iPhone X.

Final specifications of the upcoming Huawei Honor V10 have surfaced, and the Chinese flagship looks to be one of the best in its space, for the year. On paper, at least.

The Ulefone Power 3 is set for a December release, with the device expected to feature a 6100 mAh battery and an 18:9 display. More importantly, it's said to run on Android 8.1 out of the box, which would be an impressive feat for an OEM in Ulefone's weight class.

The BV9000 Pro is expected to launch sometime next week, according to our sources, with the rugged device offering a number of improvements over its predecessor that was released a few months ago.

A security research firm has revealed an Android exploit which allows a rogue application to record all on-screen activity without the user's permission. This has been fixed in Android 8, but users on older versions are still vulnerable. Fortunately, the exploit works in a way which causes Android to create a notification in the status bar.

The 5-inch Nokia 2 is available in the US via Amazon for just US$99. Sadly, this Qualcomm Snapdragon 212-powered handset works on GSM networks like T-Mobile and AT&T, but it cannot be used on Sprint and Verizon Wireless.

The new Lenovo Tab 7 Essential and Tab 7 are both 7-inch tablets with quad-core MediaTek processors under the hood that come with Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box. These slates can be acquired in the US for less than US$100.

Update: Huawei has set out a series of impressive deals for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Hop in to find out which one catches your fancy.

OnePlus has confirmed that the OnePlus 5 and 5T will receive Oreo beta updates by the end of the year, with the full, stable update to come in early 2018. The Oreo beta program for the OnePlus 3 and 3T has been opened for months.

The Nokia 8, one of the few no-nonsense flagships currently on the market, is currently available on Amazon US for just a bit over $470, and on Amazon UK for £380.

The OnePlus 5T is now official, with an 18:9 minimal-bezel screen, and a new approach to the dual camera setup that OnePlus claims improves the low-light performance.

Hardcore gamers may just have to accept the fact that casual gamers of free-to-play titles are making publishers too much money for them to not integrate similar monetization practices elsewhere.

The new Vivo V7 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 processor and features a 24 MP camera for selfies, being similar to the Vivo V7+. However, the V7 comes with 32 GB internal storage, while its more expensive sibling features 64 GB of storage space.

Meizu's Head of Global Marketing, Ard Boudeling, has confirmed that the Chinese manufacturers will not be attempting to sell their devices in the US anytime soon, although other American markets are still game.

The Xperia XZ1 Compact is currently on sale on Best Buy at a bargain price of $499.99, $100 off its MSRP of $600. The XZ1 Compact is the only true compact premium phone this year, and lovers of smaller devices may want to jump on this deal.

A few weeks after its debut in Ukraine, Google's Android Pay arrives in the Czech Republic and Brazil. This mobile payment service will go live in Slovakia soon as well.

Gionee's upcoming M7 Plus has been spotted on a few benchmarks, with the mid-range device making a few improvements on the M7 that was released in September.

The upcoming OnePlus 5T was spotted on GFXBench with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset, 8 GB RAM, 128 GB internal storage, as well as a generous 6-inch display with 2,060 x 1,980 pixels. Its launch is expected for tomorrow.

Lineage 2: Revolution has been available in South Korea, Japan, and China since early 2017, and today it finally hits North America and Europe. The game is available for both iOS and Android.

A user on Essential's Reddit community has discovered the presence of Google's new Treble API on their PH-1 after updating to the Oreo beta that was released yesterday.

A reputable seller on eBay currently has the Samsung Galaxy Note 8—brand new, unlocked, 64 GB—on sale for a bargain price of US$790. Pretty great deal when you consider the fact that its rival, the iPhone X, goes for US$200 more.

The Redmi Note 5 has been listed on JD.com, which may be a sign that we're set to get the mid-range killers in the coming weeks. Details of the device are unknown at the moment but we expect to see either the Snapdragon 630 or 636 on it, which would make for a delightful package, especially at the prices touted.

The tests conducted by the popular YouTube channel PhoneBuff revealed that the iPhone X and the Galaxy Note 8 are very close in terms of performance, but Samsung's flagship managed to win thanks to its strong multitasking capabilities.

U.S.-based investment information firm Valuewalk informs that a Samsung Galaxy S9 Mini version is most likely to be launched in early 2018, along with the S9 and S9+ flagship models. The Mini model would get a 4-inch display with curved edges and all the other powerful specs that come with the larger versions.

Essential has just released the first Android 8.0 Oreo beta for its Essential Phone PH-1. The device is one of just a handful of current flagship Android devices to have received any indication that the latest software from Google is about to hit it.

The next stage of Google's push to improve Android security is putting a spotlight on applications which misuse accessibility features to add functionality that wasn't expressely designed to improve use for people with disabilities. Some popular apps affected include LastPass, Cerberus, and Tasker.

The latest limited edition variant of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 flagship targets South Korean consumers who play Lineage 2: Revolution, coming with a rich collection of freebies that includes in-game collectibles, a Samsung DeX, an HDMI cable, and various discount coupons for even more accessories.

The 10.1-inch Moto Tab by Lenovo will join AT&T's portfolio as a slim and powerful premium tablet made for entertainment. Its list of specs and features includes a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor, dual speakers with Dolby Atmos, Kids Mode, and more.

Although the Essential Phone's design makes it difficult to build custom ROMs for it, an XDA Developers user has been able to bring LineageOS 14.1 to Andy Rubin's flagship.

Average smartphone prices have seen a 7% rise over the course of the last year, and that's undoubtedly a product of the market's growth, with shipments for 2017 expected to total 7.4% more than what we saw in 2016.

Google has released Google Play install statistics which show that Marshmallow is still the most widely used version of Android with a 30.9% market distribution. Oreo comes in dead last—yes, even worse than Gingerbread—with just 0.3%.

Following Broadcom's unsolicited proposal to buy out Qualcomm a few days ago, the Qualcomm Board of Directors has reached a unanimous decision to reject any such advances.

Analytics firm TrendForce has released a report on the smartphone market, with Samsung, Apple, Huawei, OPPO, Vivo, and Xiaomi having the top six spots, in that order. The report predicts a decline in Samsung shipments in Q4, however, and a rapid rise in Apple's that would give the American giants the top spot.

The Honor V10 will be a cheaper version of the Huawei Mate 10 devices that were released about a month ago. Earlier reports pointed towards an early December launch in London but it looks like the Chinese market will be getting it earlier than that, on November 28.

Although the Eluga I4 arrived less than two months ago, the new Eluga I5 is already official. At first sight, it looks like it has almost identical features and about the same price as its predecessor as well.

Although Samsung still has not confirmed the launch date of the new Galaxy A series, the handset with the SM-A530N model number, also known as the Galaxy A5 (2018), has just received an official support page. Sadly, this page contains no technical details yet.

The premature unboxing video and pictures confirm the 6-inch 2160 x 1080 AMOLED display alongside new features for the dual rear cameras. The source has since taken down its preview pages at the request of OnePlus.