Android

There's a fullscreen compact device coming from Samsung in the near future, with the chance, albeit a slim one, that it will be the S9 Mini. The last Samsung flagship to have a mini version was the S5, so we're keen on seeing how this one goes.

Samsung's latest press release contains a number of new technologies that we expect to be seen on the S9. The most notable of them is the Exynos 9810, Samsung's newest flagship SoC.

Xiaomi and OPPO are said to be working on their versions of facial recognition technology that will rival Apple’s Face ID. This comes after MediaTek’s announcement of working with Meizu to do the same. Xiaomi and OPPO will be working in collaboration with Qualcomm, which is, perhaps, a product of the recent deal signed between the parties.

Chinese smartphone giants OPPO, Vivo, and Xiaomi have agreed a US$12 billion deal with Qualcomm, with the deal aimed at giving the American semi-conductor manufacturers an even stronger grip on the market.

Cheap smartphones are now even cheaper just for the occasion. The Vernee Mix 2 and LeEco Le Max 2 can be had new for $180 USD and $270 USD, respectively.

Although it was scheduled to go public in December, Google's Files Go file manager for Android leaked online earlier this week, so the tech giant decided to speed things up and made the app available via the Google Play store.

The SwiftKey virtual keyboard app for both Android and iOS has just received Photo Themes, as well as a gallery of nature images to use with this new feature. These shots were taken and curated by Keith Ladzinski, a top photographer who worked for ABC, Discovery Channel, and National Geographic.

The upcoming version of the Samsung Galaxy J3 has been spotted on benchmarking site GFXBench. The device is being listed with the model number SM-J337 and is a refresh to the current Samsung Galaxy J3 (SM-J330F).

Indian e-retailer, Flipkart, has announced its foray into the smartphone business with the launch of the Billion Capture+ smartphone. The new smartphone is tailor-made for the Indian market and features mid-range specs, dual 13MP rear cameras, and unlimited cloud storage for a starting price of ₹10,999 (US$169).

The Lenovo-owned telecommunications company has clawed its way back to the list of top 5 largest smartphone manufacturers through outreach and strong sales of the Moto Z2 Play.

The juice pack and the charge force case by mophie target the Galaxy Note 8 phablet, offering wireless charging support and about 3,000 mAh of additional battery capacity for less than US$100.

A MediaTek executive has, in an interview, revealed the company's plans for the future, with the Taiwanese manufacturers set to take a break from manufacturing flagship SoCs for a while, in favor of killer mid-range chipsets.

One month after launching in the Philippines, the 6-inch Oppo F5 Android phablet arrives in India, a very good market for selfie-centric handsets. The most attractive feature of this device is the 20 MP front camera with an AI-assisted beautify mode that promises to deliver amazing selfies.

HTC has released a report on its business side of things for the month of October, with figures pointing towards a palpable decline in revenue over the last year.

Huawei concluded talks with AT&T a few months ago, and it looks like the Mate 10 will be the first device to benefit from that partnership. Only the Mate 10 Pro, though, as Huawei, once again, ignores the regular Mate 10 .

Although all Galaxy A handsets released so far use a touchscreen display with a conventional aspect ratio of 16:9, the screen of the upcoming Galaxy A5 (2018) will use the same 18.5:9 ratio as the Galaxy S8 flagship.

Not long after introducing the Coral and Deepsea Blue color options for the Galaxy S8 and Note 8, Samsung unleashes a Burgundy Red Galaxy S8 that goes quite well with the colors of the season. Sadly, it can only be acquired in South Korea for now.

HTC is set to launch another device year runs out, with the phone, the "Ocean Harmony" looking to be another mid-ranger. There's been talk of a Snapdragon 652, though, so we're not exactly sure what HTC has planned for this one.

This tiny basic smartphone runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean (yes that is the pre-KitKat Android, no mistake here!) and is powered by the MediaTek MT6752A processor. Priced around US$90, it is scheduled to hit Japan later this week.

Although Samsung accounted for almost 34 percent of the US market compared to Apple's about 25 percent share in the second quarter of the year, the Cupertino-based company bounced back in the third quarter and gained the lead thanks to Samsung's declining sales during the given time frame.

Back in August, the Saygus team revealed that the long-awaited V Squared flagship had finally reached the FCC. It took "just" a few months to get the agency's certifications, but at least now we know that this phone is not vaporware and should launch soon.

Although the first stable release of Google's operating system came out in 2008, the first public beta build of this open source project arrived back in the first days of November 2017, thus making Android as old as a decade.

Xiaomi has chosen Spain as the first country outside of China where they have a full business presence, due to the large and active fan-base there. Answers given during the Q&A session suggested that this new presence within Europe would simplify the importing of Xiaomi products to the rest of the European Union.

After spending a long time in the public beta testing stage, the Android Nougat-based MIUI 9 ROM by Xiaomi is finally rolling out to Redmi Note 4/Note 4X and Mi Max 2 handsets. The second batch consists of six more devices and is expected to get updated this month as well.

The new LG X401 is a 5.3-inch handset with a MediaTek MT6750 processor and slightly below the average specs of a US$250 Android smartphone. However, we expect it to be just another device aimed at the South Korean market alone.

Since Qualcomm is known to go through some financial problems with the Apple lawsuit, the company could benefit from a change of management. Broadcom is currently considering to help with that, and Qualcomm's acquisition could result in a more consolidated market.

Motorola and Lenovo have announced the new 'Smart Speaker with Amazon Alexa' Moto Mod, which adds additional microphones, speakers, and a battery in addition to having Alexa always listening.

Marking the twelfth straight quarter of year-over-year decline, the third quarter of 2017 saw the tablet market slump 5.4%. Despite a bump in sales growth from 4 of the top 5 tablet retailers, the market as a whole continues its downward trend with no end in sight.

The OnePlus 5T will be launched in Brooklyn on the 16th of this month. The general public will be able to watch a live stream of the events but fans of the company are also welcome to visit the venue. As long as they buy US$40 tickets, that is.

Huawei is set to release the next device with a Kirin 970, the Honor V10, in December. The V10, also to be known as the Honor 9 Pro, will share a lot of features with the Mate 10, while costing significantly less.

Xiaomi may be set to launch the Mi 6C next month, with the mid-ranger expected to feature the Surge S2 SoC and the same dual rear camera setup used on the Mi 6.

The new foldable handset patent by Oppo reveals a device that seems to use a hinge to allow its user to bend the entire top part at an angle. Obviously, this might never turn into a market-ready product.

This time, the upcoming Samsung Galaxy J2 Pro (2017) with the model number SM-J250F received its Bluetooth certification. Not long ago, this handset also visited the FCC, so it should launch pretty soon.

The low-end ZTE Overture 3 is scheduled to hit Cricket Wireless on November 10 for just US$49.99 for new and existing customers, but switchers can get it for free. The only specs revealed so far are a 5-inch display, an unnamed quad-core processor, and a 5 MP main camera.

Best Buy has put up the Essential PH-1 for sale at a bargain price of $449, $250 down from its launch price tag. The phone may have its issues but there aren't a lot of better devices for that price.

Nathan Park, a freelance hardware engineer, has carried out tests on the Google Pixel 2 XL, discovering an intentional bottleneck on the device that limits the power received by the phone from the 18W supplied by its stock charger to just 10.5W.

ZTE has confirmed on Twitter that it will launch a successor to the "incredibly successful" Axon 7. Of course, no one knows what stage of development the device is in but the idea of a next-gen flagship that takes a similar stance to the Axon 7's is cause for joy.

Continuing the trend of the Pixel 2 XL, a small number of users have complained on Reddit and the Ars Technica forums about receiving devices which are completely missing the operating system. Google reports that they have fixed this going forwards, and they are sending replacement devices for those affected.

Samsung is hoping to attract prospective buyers of its S8, S8 Active, S8+, or Note 8 handsets by offering a free Gear VR headset or DeX station with each purchase.

Despite shipping nearly 10 percent more smartphones this year, Samsung revenue dropped QoQ because of a more balanced sales distribution between its entry, mainstream, and flagship offerings.

Xiaomi has launched two new devices for the Indian market, with both being selfie-focuses budget offerings. The two devices, the Y1 and Y1 Lite will ship with MIUI 9 and feature 16 MP selfie cameras.

Xiaomi is set to offer a number of deals for the 11.11 shopping festival in China, most notable of them being the new Mi A1 which will be available at a nigh-irresistible price of US$195.

Sony has released its financial report for the second quarter of its fiscal year (July - September), with its smartphone business seeing a decline in shipments. Growth of the Games and Network Services division, however, saw a total increase in revenue for the Japanese giants.

Motorola has finally released a Moto X4 that will retail without the shackles of Project Fi or Amazon Prime. The X4 is in contention for being the best mid-range device of the year, and will come with a US$399 price tag.

Huawei is set to release its flagship, the Mate 10 Pro, for the UK market. It will retail with a price tag of £699, which is pricey but still about par with the prices of other flagships released in that market.

Google has introduced Fast Pair for Android devices. It brings a far easier way of pairing Bluetooth headphones that is very similar to what Apple is doing with its AirPods for iPhone.