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More Samsung Galaxy S9 Renders Reveal The Same Galaxy S8 Design

When the Samsung Galaxy S9 rumours started out, they promised radical changes in the upcoming flagship device. As we move closer to the launch of first try flagship of 2018, the renders and leaks are much closer to reality and we now have a fair idea as to how the Samsung Galaxy S9 might look like.

Created by Forbes contributor Gordon Kelly in collaboration with accessory maker Ghostek, the image above is similar to what we have already seen from other renders.

It has the same Infinity Display with no side bezels but the symmetrical top and bottom bezels are present, just like in the Galaxy S8. The back of the phone houses a single-lens camera, with the fingerprint sensor right below it. This has been rumoured for a while and this is just another case of a render confirming the repositioning the fingerprint sensor. The heart rate sensor and camera flash module, meanwhile, are placed on the right side of the handset.

Apparently, Ghostek is so confident this is the final design of the phone that it’s already taking orders for cases built for this design.

According to a recent benchmark leak, the Galaxy S9 and the Galaxy S9+ will have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset. According to leak, the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ will run Android 8.0 Oreo which is a positive, considering the company announced the Galaxy A8 and A8+ with Android 7.1.1 Nougat even though the devices will be launched in January.

Other Galaxy S9+ Renders

If Samsung goes the Google Treble route, then the Galaxy phones might get faster updates compared to the umpteen amount of time that Samsung takes to update even its flagship phones.

The Galaxy S9 could be launched at a price similar to the Galaxy S8+ and the Galaxy S9+ could break the thousand dollar barrier and be priced similarly to the iPhone X.

December 23, 2017
Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Might Have A 7-Inch Screen And A 5500 mAh Battery

Xiaomi has continued to consistently deliver a ‘Mi Max’ phone in the dwindling phablet segment. Xiaomi launched the Mi Max 2 back in June in India and it appears that the Mi Max 3 will take its ‘phablet’ tag up a notch.

According to a report, the Mi Max 3 will feature a 7-inch display, considerably larger than the 6.44-inch screen we’ve seen on the Mi Max 2. Accompanying the large display will be an 18:9 panel with minimal bezels around the display to bring down the overall size of the phablet.

The Mi Max 3 is also rumoured to have a dual-camera setup at the back. Powering the device would be a 5500mAh battery which is larger than the 5300 mAh battery found on the Mi Max 2. Similar to its predecessor, the Mi Max 3 will also feature QuickCharge 3.0.

There are no details about the RAM and storage combination as of now. But, looking at the previous generations of the Max series, the Mi Max 3 could have the 3GB or 5GB of RAM along with 32GB or 64GB of onboard storage. The phablet might be offered in two variants, a base variant powered by the Snapdragon 630, and a high-end variant with the Snapdragon 660 chipset under the hood.

Xiaomi is expected to price the Mi Max 3 similar;y to the Mi Max 2. So, expect a price tag of under Rs. 15000.

December 23, 2017
OnePlus 6 With An In Display Fingerprint Sensor To Launch In March 2018

It all started like this. One leak, one report at a time and a month later, we had a confirmation from the company that the OnePlus 5T is indeed real. While many speculated that the company won’t launch a ‘T’ version of the OnePlus 5 so soon, the Chinese smartphone maker did exactly the opposite. And it appears that the OnePlus 5T users will soon feel what OnePlus 5 users felt at the time of the OnePlus 5T launch.

A report claims that the OnePlus 6 will be launched as early as in March of 2018. Ever since the OnePlus 2 launch, the company has traditionally stuck to a mid-year launch of its flagship device but, it appears that the company will mix it up this time and launch the OnePlus 6 in March, only 5 months after the launch of the OnePlus 5T.

Moreover, the OnePlus 6 will have one of the most exciting features which a lot of smartphones in 2018 are expected to have, an in-display fingerprint sensor. We already know that Vivo will launch the first ever smartphone with a screen embedded fingerprint sensor, it appears that OnePlus isn’t far behind in incorporating the technology in its own lineup.

We also reported that the OnePlus 6 will have an iPhone X-like Face ID technology with a front-facing 3D camera. So far, the OnePlus 6 looks like the most interesting OnePlus device since the original OnePlus One was launched back in 2014.

December 22, 2017
More Issues With The Pixel 2 XL Speakers Reported

Google cannot seem to catch a break. Ever since the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL were launched, the two devices have been surrounded by nothing but controversies. Constant updates from Google fix one thing and mess up two other things. The latest to go down the firing line is the bigger of the siblings, the Google Pixel 2 XL.

A growing number of users on Reddit and Google’s forums are reporting a problem with one, and in a few cases both of the Pixel 2 XL’s front-facing speakers. The issue centres around a buzzing/rattling sound, as well as minor micro-vibrations that impacts call quality. Some users report that the problem only arises when the volume is set at maximum, while others are noticing the noises at lower volumes when using the regular speaker during a phone call, or playing media content like YouTube videos via the stereo speakers.

This is not the first time that people have had speaker-related issues with their Pixel 2 devices. A few weeks after the launch, people complained about a buzzing noise in their Pixel 2 phones. Google addressed the issue and released a software update that apparently fixed the buzzing noise issue.

We reported that the new software update had even broken the basic functionality of the Google Pixel 2 XL. Some users reported that they had to manually switch on the display during an incoming call as the display won’t actually wake up to reveal the incoming call.

Let’s hope that Google fixes these issues soon as people have paid big money for the premium Pixel 2 smartphones.

December 22, 2017
Price Of Samsung Galaxy A8 And Galaxy A8+ Revealed

Samsung recently unveiled the Galaxy A8 and Galaxy A8+ at an event in South Korea. Now, Samsung has announced that the device will be available in Vietnam from the 6th of January. The Galaxy A8 is priced at VND 10,990,000 (Rs. 30980 approx.) and the Samsung Galaxy A8+ is priced at VND 13,490,000 (Rs. 38040 approx.). This is a sign that the mid-range devices will soon make their way to other Asian markets as well.

The Galaxy A8 and A8+ are the first budget-oriented Samsung phones to feature the infinity display. The Galaxy A8 has a 5.6-inch display while the bigger sibling, the Galaxy A8+ has a 6-inch display. Both the phones have a Super AMOLED display panel with a 2220 x 1080 px resolution which translates to an 18.5:9 aspect ratio.

Galaxy A8

Under the hood, both the devices have an octa-core (2.2GHz Dual + 1.6GHz Hexa) processor while the chipset is still unspecified, it could be the Exynos 7885 SoC as found in the leaked video. The Galaxy A8 has 4GB of RAM with two storage options of either 32GB or 64GB while the Galaxy A8+ has two variants, one with 4GB RAM and 32GB storage and the other with 6GB RAM and 64GB storage. Just like every other smartphone from Samsung, the onboard storage can be expanded up to 256GB via microSD card. Both the smartphones are IP68 rated for water and dust resistance and support Samsung Pay for contactless mobile payment.

Powering the Galaxy A8 is a 3000 mAh battery while the Galaxy A8+ has a 3500 mAh battery. Both the devices are charged via USB Type-C port.

One thing that might come as a surprise, especially for phones launching in 2018 is the OS. Both the phones will run Android 7.1.1 Nougat out of the box with Samsung’s own custom skin on top.

Galaxy A8+

The Galaxy A8 and Galaxy A8+ are also the first of Samsung phones to have a dual-camera setup on the front. Both the phones have a 16MP + 8MP camera setup with an f/1.9 aperture. The Live Focus feature lets users chose whether the background should be in focus or blurred to a soft bokeh. The phone will switch between the two front cameras to get the effect the user needs. To the back of the phone is a 16MP camera with an f/1.7 aperture and digital stabilisation.

The literal currency translation puts the Galaxy A8 and Galaxy A8+ in the same price bracket as the OnePlus 5T and the Mi Mix 2. It will be interesting to see if the prices in India will be the same or Samsung will price them competitively in the Indian market.

December 22, 2017
Apple Sued For Deliberately Slowing Down Older iPhones

Days after addressing the millions of conspiracy theories on the internet about the mysterious slowing down of older iPhones, Apple has been sued for it. Filed by Stefan Bogdanovich and Dakota Speas, the suit claims that Apple’s deliberate effort to throttle CPU performance on the iPhone amounts to “breach of contract.” It also notes that Apple’s behaviour lowers the resale value of existing iPhones and underhandedly coerces iPhone owners to upgrade to newer models.

For years, iPhone users claimed to notice a discernible system slowdown with some iOS updates. However, the issue came in the spotlight thanks to a widely circulated Reddit thread backed. Following that, Geekbench founder John Poole did some performance testing on various iPhones running different versions of iOS. Poole found that Apple does, in fact, limit performance on older iPhone models with lower-capacity batteries in the interest of battery life and preventing unexpected shutdowns.

After the hue and cry on social media, Apple decided to address the issue and put out a statement:

Our goal is to deliver the best experience for customers, which includes overall performance and prolonging the life of their devices. Lithium-ion batteries become less capable of supplying peak current demands when in cold conditions, have a low battery charge or as they age over time, which can result in the device unexpectedly shutting down to protect its electronic components.

Last year we released a feature for iPhone 6, iPhone 6s and iPhone SE to smooth out the instantaneous peaks only when needed to prevent the device from unexpectedly shutting down during these conditions. We’ve now extended that feature to iPhone 7 with iOS 11.2, and plan to add support for other products in the future.

It is fair to say that while Apple has a noble reason behind the decision, the company should’ve been up-front about it from the beginning. Waiting for an outcry to come clean makes it look like a PR decision more than anything else. No other details about the lawsuit have been revealed yet.

December 22, 2017
The OnePlus 6 Will Have One Thing In Common With The iPhone X

When Apple decided to drop the iconic Touch ID on its new iPhone X, a lot of people had apprehensions about its facial recognition technology. Facial recognition has been present in Android devices ever since the advent of Android Jellybean. Samsung devices have iris scanning, although its a secondary way of securing the device since they also have fingerprint sensors.

But, ever since Apple unveiled Face ID, facial recognition has received a lot of mainstream attention and it is no denying that Face ID is the most secure rendition of the facial recognition technology. It now appears that the OnePlus 6, expected to be launched in mid-2018 will have its own version of Face ID. It may be too early for detailed OnePlus 6 rumours, but a report claims that the OnePlus 6 will have the same advanced facial recognition system as the iPhone X.

The OnePlus 6 will have a camera hardware setup similar to the iPhone X, complete with a 3D camera module that will use infrared light to measure depth. However, the OnePlus 6 will not have an iPhone X-like notch. Instead, the handset is expected to have a full top bezel where the extra sensors should be found.

The OnePlus 5T was launched with facial recognition system as well. However, OnePlus conceded that it is not for security purposes but, for convenience.

December 22, 2017
Specifications Of Samsung Galaxy J2 (2018) Leaked

Samsung has decided that 2018 will be the year when its flagship-exclusive features will trickle down to its mid-range devices. In comes the Galaxy A8 and Galaxy A8+ but, it appears that the company’s lower-end offerings will continue to be on the same path of design and features albeit a few upgrades. The Galaxy J2 (2018) will be Samsung’s mid-range offering for the early-2018 period and a new leak has revealed all the important specifications of the device.

The device will have a 5-inch Super AMOLED display with 960 x 540 px resolution.

Under the hood, the device is expected to have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 chipset, 1.4GHz quad-core processor, Adreno 308 GPU, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of onboard storage which will expandable via microSD card.

Powering the device is a user-replaceable 2600 mAh battery. The J2 (2018) has dual-SIM support, Bluetooth 4.2, LTE Cat.4 (up to 150Mbps down), and 802.11n Wi-Fi.

Both the primary and secondary cameras have an LED flash, according to the renders. On the back is an 8 MP camera and the front houses a 5MP camera.

There is no word from the company regarding the official launch of the device.

December 22, 2017
Amazon Is Working On Its Own Version Of YouTube

It is no secret that Google and Amazon are embroiled in a battle of power. It might seem silly to consumers but, it might end up costing the two companies millions of dollars. Amazon has been refusing to sell Google hardware on its platform, and Google has responded by blocking YouTube access on Amazon’s line of Echo and Fire TV products.

Now, it is fair to assume that Google can’t replicate Amazon’s online presence and Amazon, in turn, can’t make a platform as huge as YouTube right now. But, it appears that Amazon is not willing to give up the ambition of having its own YouTube-like platform. Amazon filed trademarks requests with the US Patent and Trademark Office for products called AmazonTube and OpenTube.

Interestingly, this happened the same day Google announced that Amazon devices will lose YouTube access from the 1st of January.

Amazon says Amazon Tube and/or Open Tube would provide “non-downloadable pre-recorded audio, visual and audiovisual works via wireless networks on a variety of topics.”

In the description, Amazon says the new service would also provide “on-line network services that enable users to share content, photos videos, text, data, images and other electronic works relating to entertainment, including, movies, television, audiovisual works, music, audio works, books, theatre, literary works, sporting events, recreational activities, leisure activities, tournaments, art, dance, musicals, exhibitions, sports instruction, clubs, radio, comedy, contests, visual works, games, gaming, festivals, museums, parks, cultural events, concerts, publishing, animation, current events, fashion, multimedia presentations, history, language, liberal arts, math, business, science, technology, hobbies, culture, sports, arts, psychology, and philosophy.”

Apart from that, a report claims that Amazon has been registering new domain names including AlexaOpenTube.com, AmazonAlexaTube.com, and AmazonOpenTube.com.

If these are more than just routine patent filing activities and Amazon goes ahead with its plan of launching a YouTube competitor, it will be interesting to see how the consumers respond and whether it will be available to match up to the vast content that YouTube offers,

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December 21, 2017
Amazon Has Launched The Redmi 5A Competitor

2017 has been a fascinating year for mobile phone enthusiasts from all walks of life. There have been flagship phones that have cost over a lakh such as the iPhone X and practically free 4G phones like the JioPhone. Toward the end of the year, Xiaomi launched a sub-5K phone, the Xiaomi Redmi 5A which could be the ideal phone for someone making a shift from a feature phone to a smartphone. Now, Amazon has launched the third phone in its ‘Tenor or 10.or” brand, the 10.or D.

Xiaomi Redmi 5A

Priced at Rs. 4999 for the 16GB storage variant and Rs. 5999 for the 32GB storage variant, the pricing is almost identical with the Redmi 5A. The smartphone will go on sale at 12:00 PM on the 5th of January, and registrations for the first sale have already begun on Amazon India. The e-commerce giant is also giving away a 1-year subscription to Amazon Prime.

The 10.or D will have a 5.2-inch display with a screen resolution of 1280 x 720 px.

Under the hood, the device will have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 chipset, a quad-core processor, the Adreno 308 GPU to handle the graphics, and two RAM/storage variants. One of the variants will have 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage while the other one will have 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, the storage will be expandable via microSD card. The fingerprint sensor is placed at the back of the phone.

Powering the device will be a 3500 mAh battery which in theory, should be sufficient enough to handle the 5.2-inch HD display. The listing page claims to deliver up to 70 hours of MP3 playback time, up to 25 hours of talk time and up to 10 hours on the internet.

Similar to the Redmi 5A, the 10.or D has a 13MP primary camera with auto-focus and an LED flash. On the front of the phone is a 5MP camera.

The specifications of the 10.or D are identical with the Redmi 5A. However, specifications are not the only factor and it will be interesting to see if Amazon can compete with the popularity of Xiaomi in the budget smartphone category.

December 21, 2017
Here’s Why Apple Slows Down Older iPhones

Ever since the iPhone 8 and iPhone X was launched, there have been multiple reports from previous gen iPhone users of their devices slowing down considerably. Theories about how Apple deliberately slows down older iPhones to practically force people into buying the new ones have been doing the rounds ever since.

Ever since a Reddit post gained attention and the interpretation of subsequent benchmark tests posted by Primate Labs’ John Poole went even more viral, people have been taking shots at Apple for throttling the speeds of older iPhones.

iPhone 5c Was Launched In 2013

To actually believe that Apple or for that matter any company would do something so ethically wrong would be unfair. If Apple were to do this, it would likely lead to incredible battles with the governmental that no company like Apple would ever want to happen. In fact, Apple is focusing attention on smoothing out the very high and quick peaks of power draw that can cause problems with older batteries.

To address the issue and the theories flying around the internet, Apple issued a statement to TechCrunch:

Our goal is to deliver the best experience for customers, which includes overall performance and prolonging the life of their devices. Lithium-ion batteries become less capable of supplying peak current demands when in cold conditions, have a low battery charge or as they age over time, which can result in the device unexpectedly shutting down to protect its electronic components.

Last year we released a feature for iPhone 6, iPhone 6s and iPhone SE to smooth out the instantaneous peaks only when needed to prevent the device from unexpectedly shutting down during these conditions. We’ve now extended that feature to iPhone 7 with iOS 11.2, and plan to add support for other products in the future.

In short, what Poole’s benchmarks are showing is the result of a power curve-smoothing algorithm that Apple rolled out last year to mitigate iPhone shutdown issues.

To tackle battery ageing in a more efficient way, what Apple is doing for older iPhones is it is capping the processor power to prolong the age of the battery. This is a is a lithium-ion chemistry issue, not an Apple or any other OEM issue. Over time, batteries just become bad. This is an attempt to make people’s phone work for longer with fewer issues, not to get them to switch away from it.

These changes will not affect the average performance of a device, and it is not throttling; it is capping the peak demands. In doing so, it is not allowing them to be as high and spreading that work out over more cycles rather than one.

December 21, 2017
New Software Update Breaks Basic Functionality Of Pixel 2 XL

Google launched the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL back in October to much fanfare. When both the devices were launched, there were hardware and software issues that marred the progress of the two devices and definitely persuaded a lot of customers away from the two devices.

The latest software update for the Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL has brought new issues to both the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL. After the latest software update, users have to physically wake up the screen to see who’s calling and accept or decline the call. That is a basic function that every feature phone also has, to wake up the screen and display who’s calling.

The smaller of the two phones, Pixel 2 has its own set of issues. Since the latest software update, the USB-C to 3.5mm headphone jack dongle that comes inside the retail box is not working anymore. Users have reported that the adapter doesn’t work as the sound comes from the phone’s speakers instead of headphones.

Google has not responded to any of the complaints so far.

The Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 Xl are priced at Rs. 61000 and Rs. 73000 for the base variant, respectively. Users expect top-notch service and performance from phones that cost so much and it appears that the Pixel 2 devices are having a hard time coping with the demands of the consumers.

December 20, 2017
There Will Be No Xiaomi Redmi Note 5

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 is one of the most popular smartphones in India. The budget smartphone with a big battery and decent camera became the benchmark of budget smartphones over the past year. While Xiaomi and other brands have come out with similarly priced devices, a lot of consumers are waiting for the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 to launch. The sad news is that Xiaomi might not be launching the Redmi Note 5 and instead, the recently launched Redmi 5 Plus will be the only big screen device from Xiaomi, as of this moment.

According to a Supermoderator on the MIUI forum, the Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus is going to remain the company’s only large-screened affordable option. This is not an official confirmation but, it as close as it gets to one.

The Redmi 5 Plus was launched in China along with its smaller sibling, the Redmi 5 on the 7th of December. It is possible that Xiaomi will launch the Redmi 5 Plus in India as the Redmi Note 5, considering the Redmi Note 4’s immense success in the country.

Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus

It has a 5.99-inch display with a 2160 x 1080px resolution which again, translated to an 18:9 aspect ratio. Similar to the Redmi 5, its display also has rounded corners.

Under the hood, the Redmi 5 Plus has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 chipset, 2.0GHz octa-core processor, Adreno 506 GPU, 3GB or 4GB of RAM, and 32GB or 64GB of onboard storage which will be expandable via microSD card. The fingerprint sensor sits at the back of the device which has become a Redmi signature irrespective of thin or thick bezels.

The Redmi 5 Plus is powered by a massive 4000 mAh battery which, according to Xiaomi, has a standby time of up to 17 days. The device has a micro USB port for charging and data syncing along with a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The Redmi 5 Plus has a 12MP primary camera and a 5MP secondary camera with beautify 3.0 software.

December 20, 2017
New Patent Reveals Apple’s Plan To Diversify Face ID Usage

Apple introduced its take on facial recognition technology, Face ID along with the launch of the iPhone X. The iPhone X represented the major design haul that everyone was waiting for ever since the iPhone 6 was launched. Over the course of time since the iPhone X was made available to the public, Face ID has received polarising reviews. While some people can’t wait for Touch ID to make comeback (which seems highly unlikely anymore) and the others like the implementation and believe that future software updates will make Face ID even better than it already is. Some of us have forgotten about the home button and embraced the gestures life.

It is safe to assume that Face ID was not a one-off affair till the company figured out how to embed fingerprint sensors under the display. Apple believes that Face ID is the future and there have been multiple reports corroborating that future iPhones will drop Touch ID in favour of Face ID. A new patent filed by Apple has been unearthed, which reveals the company’s plan to diversify the implementation of Face ID on more than just the iPhones.

The documentation describes Face ID technology that would fit iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, and iMacs. The patent, which was awarded to Apple on the 19th of December, reveals that Apple filed it all the way back in March of 2015

The technology described in Apple’s patent could be used in a variety of smart devices, to automatically initiate actions based on whether a user is facing the display’s sensors or not. This is Apple’s description of the technology:

Based on knowledge of how many users are present and the location of those users, device 10 may make adjustments to display 14 (e.g., to optimize brightness, content, audio, etc.), may turn on or off device features, or may take other suitable action. As an example, device 10 may activate a visible image sensor in device 10 when it has been determined that one or more users is present in the vicinity of device 10.

The visible image sensor can then be used to gather additional information from the user (hand gestures, images of the user for a video conference, face detection data indicating where the faces of the users are located, etc.).

It is fair to believe that this is true and that Face ID will be trickled down to all other iOS and macOS devices but, it is still just a patent and there are chances that just like a lot of patents, this could be thrown to the back burner.

December 20, 2017
Samsung Galaxy S9 And Galaxy S9+ Design Leaked

As we approach the end of 2017 and the possible launch of the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+, the rumours and leaks will come thick and fast, We recently unearthed the specifications and benchmark scores of the Galaxy S9+ and this new leak reveals the design of the Samsung Galaxy S9+ and its smaller variant.

For weeks, it was rumoured that the Galaxy S9+ would sport a dual-camera setup at the back while the smaller sibling, the Galaxy S9 will have a single camera. This new leak of the case for both the phones is very similar to the renders that were revealed a few days ago. The leak confirms that the camera setup for both the devices will be different.

Another welcome change from the Galaxy S8 and S8+ will be the repositioning of the fingerprint sensor. Just like the fingerprint sensor on Galaxy A8 and Galaxy A8+, the fingerprint sensor is now placed under the camera and not next to it like their predecessors.

A recent leak also revealed the specifications of the Samsung Galaxy S9+.

The RAM shown in the spec sheet is 5GB which means that the device in question here has 6GB of RAM as benchmark websites get the specifications wrong a number of occasions. Another interesting aspect here is the operating system. According to leak, the Galaxy S9+ will run Android 8.0 Oreo which is a positive, considering the company announced the Galaxy A8 and A8+ with Android 7.1.1 Nougat even though the devices will be launched in January.

Galaxy S9+ Renders

If Samsung goes the Google Treble route, then the Galaxy phones might get faster updates compared to the umpteen amount of time that Samsung takes to update even its flagship phones. To put things into perspective, Android 8.0 Oreo was officially launched back in August, and the Galaxy Note8 along with the Galaxy S8 and S8+ are still running Android 7 Nougat.

The Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ are expected to look very similar to their predecessors with slightly thinner bezels and a repositioned fingerprint sensor. Unlike last year when there was barely anything to differentiate between the Galaxy S8 and its bigger sibling, Samsung will introduce a few changes in the lineup to justify a bigger price tag of the ‘+’ model. The Samsung Galaxy S9 is expected to sport a single camera at the back while the Galaxy S9+ will have a dual-camera setup at the back.

The Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ are expected to be launched at MWC in late-February 2018.

December 20, 2017