Android

Not long after the M6 Note, Chinese brand Meizu intros the M6. This 5.2-inch smartphone features an octa-core MediaTek processor and is scheduled to hit the Chinese market next Monday.

Contrary to previous thoughts, the Maimang 6 will not launch as the G10 in the western market, with Huawei set to offer it as the Mate 10 Lite, a lower-specced version of the upcoming Mate 10 flagships.

If the rumors coming out of Taiwan are true, HTC has reached an agreement to sell its mobile division to Google. Set to be announced tomorrow, the deal could also mean the end of HTC-branded devices.

Google announced today that the upcoming Moto X4 will be available as an Android One device on their Project Fi mobile network. The smartphone will run Stock Android and come with a guaranteed minimum of two years of software updates and support from Google.

Huawei's upcoming flagships, the Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro, are billed for a mid-October launch. Here, we have a look at the first set of details available for both devices.

The Pixel 2 has surfaced in the flesh in a new blue hue. The HTC-made device will also come in regular black and white colors when it launches on October 4.

A big leak out of Mountain View has seen the new Google Pixelbook revealed before its official launch set for October 4. Not previously picked up by the rumor mill, the device will come in three main configurations.

The Xperia XZ1 was launched a few weeks ago and is already ready for shipping, with it laying claim to being the first device to launch with Oreo. The XZ1 comes with a price tag of $700, which is a fair one for the most part.

A popular choice with students, the HP Chromebook x360 11 is now also available to the general public for the first time.

Renders and pricing for the LG made Pixel 2 XL were leaked today, showing that there are at least two color options with one being a funky two tone black and white design. There will be a 64 GB and 128 GB model with pricing putting it in the company of phones such as the Apple iPhone 8 Plus and Samsung Galaxy Note 8

HTC, in spite of its recent troubles, is reportedly set to release three devices in the last quarter of the year, with one of them looking like a flagship. Details of all three devices remain fuzzy at the moment.

One year after being launched in China, Huawei Pay is still exclusively available in that market, but a recently discovered patent application reveals that this mobile payment service is heading for the US market.

A new startup going by the name of Pi looks set to change the way we charge our devices in the near future. If it works as promised, you can get set to ditch your wireless Qi charging mats.

Samsung has beefed up the processing power of its 8-inch Galaxy Tab Active sequel with an octa-core processor. The Galaxy Tab Active 2 will also pick up twice the RAM.

Chief Product Officer of HMD Global Juho Sarvikas has teased Android Oreo for the Nokia 8 on Twitter. The Nokia 8 was rumored to launch with Oreo onboard, so this comes as no surprise.

People complained, and Motorola listened. In a statement issued today, Motorola has promised to make good on its marketing and update the Moto G4 Plus to Android Oreo. Unfortunately, there is currently no time frame on when the update will be issued.

Although Action Launcher 28.1 is a free launcher app, the AdaptivePack addon that is needed to have adaptive icons on Lollipop, Marshmallow, and Nougat devices is a commercial product. Its regular price tag reads US$4.99, but this week it can be acquired for 30 percent less.

Google has launched a new payment service, Tez, which enables fast payments without the need to share information such as bank account numbers, fund transfer codes, or even pair up mobiles by NFC. The new service is compatible with any Indian bank that supports the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

The UMIDIGI S2 looks to be the OEM's take on the Samsung Galaxy S8. Impressive design language aside, the S2 offers solid mid-range features, with its 4 GB of RAM, 64 GB of storage, Helio P20, 18:9 aspect ratio, and 5100mAh battery standing out

The Nokia 9 may have just made its first appearance. Alleged renders of the device have surfaced in China showing a sleek device that is almost bezel-less.

Android Oreo launched a few weeks ago, and with Google releasing a vague statement on the plan for updates for devices outside its Nexus and Pixel lines, it's time we had a look at the plans of other OEMs. Hop in to know if your device will be receiving the Oreo update.
UPDATE 20/9/17: Motorola

A Galaxy S8 has been spotted running on Oreo. This lends credence to earlier information that Samsung was testing Oreo for the S8. Promising as this may be, it may yet be a while till S8 owners get the Oreo update.

The previously-rumored Zenfone 4V may simply be launching as the mainstream Zenfone V complete with USB Type-C and fast-charging features.

Lenovo has commenced the global rollout of its new Tab 4 series of Android tablets. Aimed at the mid- to low-end markets, they offer users good value and a recent version of Android.

The Maimang series offers upper mid-range devices for the Chinese market, with the devices being rebranded with the "G" prefix for western markets. The Maimang 6 is expected to feature quad cameras and an 18:9 aspect ratio.

Motorola has released a statement on its blog on its plans for Android Oreo, with all recent flagships set to get the update. Things are looking much less rosy for owners of budget devices and last-gen mid-rangers, though, as they'll be stuck on Nougat.

Integrating 16 separate 13 MP sensors that come in 28 mm, 70 mm and 150 mm lens sizes, the L16 camera can compose pictures up to 52 MP. It's as big as a regular smartphone, and features a 5-inch 1080p touchscreen, as well as 256 GB internal storage.

The Nokia 2 is billed to be the archetypal budget device, with it opting for Qualcomm's entry-level Snapdragon 212, 1 GB of RAM, and an impressive chin. It's the very definition of a budget device, though, so those are about par for the most part.

Since it surfaced on both Geekbench and GFXBench running Android 8.0 Oreo, the Nokia 8 might soon become the first Nokia handset to get this major update. Unfortunately, the new firmware has no official launch date yet.

Google has uploaded a cryptic website indicating that we can expect a Pixel 2 announcement on the 4th of October. Earlier today and FCC ruling also showed that LG would be the manufacturer for the Pixel 2 XL, joining HTC who will manufacture the standard sized Pixel 2.

HMD's next flagship, the Nokia 9, looks to be shaping up as a solid competitor. The latest information suggests Android 8.0 Oreo, a Snapdragon 835 SoC, 4GB RAM, "bothie" camera setup, and IP68 certification.

According to reports, owners of faulty Huawei Nexus 6P devices who have returned their device to Google have received Pixel XLs as replacements. Customers in some regions, however, are more likely to receive a replacement Pixel XL than others.

Armis Labs discovered a Bluetooth vulnerability codenamed BlueBorne that could affect billions of devices including smartphones like Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy, tablets like Samsung Galaxy Tab, smartwatches like LG Watch Sport, or audio systems like the Pumpkin Car Audio System. BlueBorne can also attack unpatched Windows and Linux PCs, and a variety of smart appliances like TVs and security cameras. In order to avoid the proliferation of the BlueBorne vulnerability, users are cautioned to permanently disable their Bluetooth connections until proper patches are issued.

The Oppo A71 has been launched in its second market and is now available in India. The US$200 device has a 5.2-inch 720p screen, MediaTek MT6750 SoC, 3 GB of RAM, and 16 GB of storage.

Although new users will get the new uni-bar design by default, existing Firefox users who will update their browser will not lose the traditional search bar.

Qualcomm has published a blog post detailing some of the mobile innovations that were made possible by the collaboration with Google and other Android OEMs. Cheekily, the list of innovations seem to reflect some of the new features that will be debuting in the new iPhones set to be launched later today.

Samsung's head of mobile Koh Dong-jin has revealed that the next Galaxy Note will be foldable. Although still facing some technical hurdles, Samsung believes that its foldable AMOLED display tech will make it to market in time for a 2018 launch.

Samsung India has officially unveiled the Galaxy Note 8 in India shortly after its global launch. The handset, which retails at ₹67,900 (US$ 1,060), will go on sale in the country starting September 22.

This new feature introduced by Android Oreo arrives for Nova Launcher 5.5 beta users running Android Lollipop or later. This popular Android launcher now provides the ability to automatically scale and shape legacy icons for consistency.

Vivo has teased images of a special edition variant of its upcoming X20 smartphone. The all-black Mars Edition is set to be fully unveiled on September 21 alongside the standard model.

After initially claiming that the Google Pixel 2 smartphone will be the first with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 836, Evan Blass now suggests that it will miss out on the unannounced chipset.

Next year's flagship SoC from Qualcomm seems to be a bit better than Apple's A9 chip, but it's still behind the A10 and most likely A11 chips when it comes to single core performance tests.

Apple seems intent on making sure that its next flagship iPhone packs a performance punch. Leaked code from a Gold Master build of iOS 11 indicates that it will feature a hexa-core processor.

The Huawei Band 2 Pro which was announced back in July, is now available in the United States via Amazon at US$69. The fitness wearable features an integrated GPS to track activities such as running and swimming without the need to carry your smartphone with you.

The Chinese manufacturer quietly unveiled its budget 8.4-inch Hi9 tablet at IFA 2017 to little fanfare.