Android

Although Chinese regulators have something against social networks and foreign search engines, it seems that Facebook has just found its way to the local market via a photo-sharing app that launched via a local partner.

The upcoming Armor 2 from Ulefone is a fairly inexpensive ruggedized smartphone. Powered by a MediaTek SoC and carrying an IP68 certification, the Armor 2 may make for a decent mid-tier rough-and-tumble phone.

The latest expansion of Google's speech recognition brings 30 new languages to Gboard for Android and Voice Search, as well as to the Cloud Speech API. The Google Translate app and other Google products are also expected to get the new languages in the coming months.

The Moto Z2 Force, Motorola's flagship, has been spotted displaying the same jelly scrolling effect that was seen on the OnePlus 5. It's been a good year of drama for flagships.

A couple of details regarding the upcoming LG V30 have been released today. No more secondary display, a new way of capturing photos, and unique ways of unlocking your device are the main changes that the new handset will introduce come August 31.

This 6-inch phablet features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 processor, 2 GB RAM, 32 GB internal storage, runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat, and is expected to retail for a no-contract price of only US$129.

This affordable handset made by HMD Global is expected to hit top mobile retail stores in India at a recommended price equivalent with less than US$200. At launch, only the matte black color option would be available, with three more to follow shortly.

These two 5.2-inch handsets come with MediaTek processors, 3 GB RAM, 16 GB or 32 GB internal storage, 13 MP main cameras, Android 7.0 Nougat, and can be acquired for up to US$200 in Mocha Gold, Gold, or Gray.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is all set for an official unveiling on August 23 but if word on the street is to go by, the device could land up in shelves as early as the next day, at least in the US.

Another Redmi Note 4 has blown up, this time leaving burns on the user's thighs. The owner was riding his bike when the device combusted, in an event eerily reminiscent of the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco.

The OnePlus 3T was released in November last year but will not be getting any major OS updates after Android O. O is expected to be released within the next few weeks.

Final details of the Moto X4 have been released and we can't help but be disappointed by Moto's choice of the Snapdragon 630 over the Snapdragon 660. That, and the downgrade to a 3000mAh battery makes this a less enticing buy than we previously thought.

This special variant of the Huawei Honor 9 handset comes with 6 GB RAM like the Honor 9 Premium, but only features 64 GB storage space like the standard model. Sadly, the Honor 9 is not officially available in the US yet.

The S2 Pro has been announced by UMIDIGI and it shows a marked improvement over previous devices in the series. It features a 5.99" 18:9 display, a Helio P25, 6 GB of RAM, 64 GB of storage, and a 5100mAh battery.

eScan, a software security company, has reported on a number of vulnerabilities in Xiaomi's MIUI. The two principal ones allow the uninstallation of security apps and the transferring of phone data without prompting for the user password. Xiaomi disputes the findings of the report, claiming that using a PIN, password, pattern, or fingerprint will avoid these problems.

The global beta of Xiaomi's custom ROM based on Android Nougat is now finally rolling out to three handsets, but a second (and larger) batch of devices scheduled to get the new firmware has been announced as well.

Google's Android O remains on schedule for an August 21 release despite recent rumors suggesting that it might be delayed, according to Evan Blass.

The day-long sale begins August 15th with pre-order incentives. Stock consists mostly of Chinese smartphones, so be sure to check for radio and LTE compatibility with local providers.

At the end of a long stream of HTC Ocean Life-related rumors, we find out that this mid-range handset is going to hit the market later this year as HTC U11 Life, but this has not been confirmed officially yet, either.

A new SuperSU package by developer Chainfire allows users to hide root status from specific apps, which can enable the use of certain apps on rooted devices that would otherwise be blocked via Google's SafetyNet API.

While the US market only got a model with 4 GB RAM and 64 GB internal storage, it looks like China is on its way to a Moto Z2 Force with 6 GB RAM and 128 GB internal storage, but with a slightly lower battery capacity.

Version 4.4 of Google's camera software is now available via Google Play and comes with a new toggle for switching between camera functions and the ability to double-tap to zoom.

Without any official confirmation of a Bixby global launch yet, Samsung updated its Contacts app and added "Bixby English global launching" to its changelog. For now, the US remains the only market where Bixby is available with English language support.

Although not upgrading the software of the original 2015 Phab handset anymore is something one would expect, Lenovo has decided to leave the Project Tango AR-enabled Phab2 Pro without an Android Nougat update as well.

The Redmi Note 4 was released in January and has finally received a Nougat update. It's nice of Xiaomi to keep users of budget devices in mind but considering Android O will launch within the next few weeks, this is still rather disappointing.

The last time we heard about Samsung's browser for Android, it was only available for the company's own handsets and Google Nexus phones running Lollipop or later. Now, any Android device with Lollipop on board can run this piece of code, although it is still in beta stage.

Although these new models have not been announced yet, the product listing pages for the ZenFone 4, ZenFone 4 Selfie, and ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro went live on Asus France's official website.

Not long after the attractive low-cost Blade and the (more or less) bezel-less Alpha, Chinese startup Maze Mobile promises to come up with a 5.7-inch handset made using leather and metal that reminds us of Vertu's latest luxury phones.

This handset with more storage and memory than the regular KEYone arrived as an exclusive edition for India, and now a teaser for IFA 2017 suggests that more markets would follow this fall.

This limited edition football-themed Android smartphone will be available starting on August 18 for a price of around US$522. Unfortunately, there is no information about its release in other countries for now.

This US$125 handset runs Android Nougat and features a 5.5-inch HD display, 2 GB RAM, 32 GB internal storage, a fingerprint reader, as well as a 3,000 mAh battery and quite average cameras that use 5 MP and 13 MP sensors.

This 5.3-inch affordable handset with a 20 MP front camera and a MediaTek MT6753V processor under the hood can be acquired in India starting today for around US$234. The only two color choices available are gold and black.

The leaked render presents the Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 as an almost bezel-less smartphone that integrates a piezoelectric speaker, but does away with the front camera. The new model is thinner and is expected to hit the Chinese market this mid-September for US$748.

This 5.7-inch premium mid-range handset launched in early 2017 but only had Android Marshmallow on board back then. Now, the Nougat update is finally available for it. The new firmware brings Samsung Pass, Dual Messenger, and improved always-on capabilities.

Disney is being sued along with three software companies for creating software targeted at young children that collect personal information and send it to advertisers without the consent of parents. Disney has signaled it aims to face the suit in court.

Images of what may be the upcoming Yota 3 have just been leaked. The images show off a much thinner and more modern looking smartphone than Yota's previous devices. On display is an elliptical fingerprint reader, a beautiful AMOLED main screen, and a 720p E-Ink secondary screen.

This Lenovo handset comes with a MediaTek Helio X23 processor and runs pure Android 7.1.1 Nougat, leaving aside the company's custom interface recently known as Vibe Pure and introduced as Vibe a few years ago.

The Blackview A7 is without a doubt the cheapest smartphone to feature dual rear cameras. Less than 40 bucks for such a device is a pretty good deal, though it must be said that dual rear sensors don't imply better camera performance.

The Meizu M6 Note is Meizu's mid-range offering for the year, and it looks to be an impressive offering for the price touted, with a sheet of features including MediaTek's Helio P25, a metal unibody, and a 4000mAh battery.

HTC has just confirmed on Twitter that its flagship device would get 60 fps video recording support "over the next couple of months" but failed to come up with a launch date for the software update that would deliver this feature.

Japanese brand Sharp has been releasing bezel-less handsets since 2014, and now the new Aquos S2 is available in China as promised. The price of this Qualcomm Snapdragon 630-powered phone is around US$370.

Images of a new Sony Compact-series smartphone have leaked, with speculation that the device may be an "XZ Compact" or "XZ1 Compact". Far from following the trends of today's flagship design, Sony make it clear that they are sticking to their own design language.

Xiaomi has two handsets with a dual camera setup on the market, but none in India yet. However, this is going to change in September, when the first Xiaomi phone with this popular feature is scheduled to hit the local market.

While the Marshmallow-based ColorOS 3.0.0i firmware for the Oppo R9s and R9s Plus shows notifications in the status bar, the Nougat-based ColorOS 3.1 update for the R11 comes without this popular feature.

Although this 8-inch tablet is not official yet, a T-Mobile support page for it is already live. This page reveals the following specs and features: a 1.4 GHz octa-core processor, 2 GB RAM, 32 GB storage, Android 7.0, as well as a docking accessory.

This month's update is based on Android 7.1.2 and Android 7.1.1, depending on the device targeted. In addition to the Pixel and Nexus handsets, the Nexus Player digital media player and the Nexus 9 tablet also got updated.

This 5.2-inch rugged handset powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 processor that was initially available as an AT&T exclusive is finally available unlocked from Amazon, carrying a price tag of US$297.05.

Live photos show off what is likely a development model of the Google Pixel 2. There are slight changes to the aesthetic, but (sadly) a headphone jack is nowhere to be found.