New Google Photos notification shows a preview of shared photos

Back in 2016, Google announced a new feature that would let you receive messages from apps that you don't necessarily have installed on your device. For example, your friend could send you a message on Allo even if you didn't have the app installed on your Android phone. You could even reply to the Allo message natively through that notification, as if you had the app installed. It appears that Google Photos is the latest Google app to soon adopt the feature, as 9to5Google reports. Although the App Preview Messaging API is still in the preview stage, Google appears to be testing the...

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You can't text behind the wheel in France anymore, even when pulled over

There has been a recent increase in accidents caused by distracted drivers behind the wheel, and the number one culprit of distraction is the cell phone. Having these super-fast mobile computers in our pockets really entice us to take them out while waiting at a light or when stuck in traffic. In France, a new court ruling from the Court of Cassation has altered the current texting and driving laws that are in effect. Specifically, the law states : The use of a telephone held in hand by the driver of a vehicle in circulation is prohibited. This court ruling has changed the legal...

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Get $200 off a Pixel 2 XL for Verizon from Best Buy

There's a new deal for those looking to get a new Pixel 2 or Pixel 2 XL. If you're looking at Verizon, you should head over to Best Buy to take advantage of the following deal. Save $200 when you purchase a Google Pixel 2 XL on Best Buy's website with a monthly installment plan on Verizon. You can also save $100 if you purchase the smaller Pixel 2. The 64GB Pixel 2 normally goes for $27.08 per month. With the $100 off, the payment goes down to $22.91. Meanwhile, the Pixel 2 XL with 64GB of storage normally goes for $35.41 per month, down to $27.07 per month after the...

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Amazon's Prime Exclusive phones lose the lock screen ads

Starting tomorrow, Amazon Prime Exclusive Android smartphones will not have lock screen ads and offers anymore. The retailer states that the change is intended to make the user experience better, by letting owners use the increasingly more prevalent fingerprint readers and unlocking features that bypass the lock screen. Additionally, Amazon now wants people to be able to personalize their lock screens with photos and wallpapers. The change will be implemented through an update to the Amazon Offers app. That said, the real reason behind the move probably has something to do with the fact...

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Grab a Huawei Mate 10 Pro or P10 from Three UK and get a free tablet and £100 cashback

Over in the UK, Three has an interesting deal going for people looking to purchase one of Huawei's recent flagship smartphones. Regardless of whether you pick the Mate 10 Pro or the P10, you are set to receive £100 cashback with your purchase, as well as a free tablet. That is the Huawei MediaPad T3 7.0, apparently a £79.99 value. The catch? You need to commit to a 24-month contract with Three, of course. Plans for the P10 start at £26 per month and £31 per month for the Mate 10 Pro (with a £79 upfront charge in both cases). The deal is only going to be valid until March 4. If you don't...

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Samsung Galaxy S8 down to $476 - ex-display units and excess inventory

Buying a Samsung Galaxy S8 so close to the S9 unveiling may not be smart, but a great deal is a great deal. The G950U model - US, unlocked - is available for $476 on eBay. This is the Snapdragon 835 model and should work on all carriers (the software will change based on what SIM you put in the phone). These are former display units or excess inventory getting cleared out before the new one comes out. Only Midnight Black units are available and they come with a wall charger, but the other accessories may be missing (you don't get the retail box). The same seller also has...

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Apple sets record for most wearables sold in a single quarter

Apple has shipped a record 18 million smartwatches in 2017 and almost half of those came in Q4 - 8 million. Coincidentally, that's also a record for most shipped smart wearables for a single quarter, by any maker. Out of the total 18 million shipped Apple Watches, close to 9 million were the latest Series 3. According to Canalys data the LTE-powered Apple Watch Series 3 is the fastest-selling LTE wearable on the market, totaling 1.6 million units shipped. Apple's Q4 numbers were a solid 32% higher year over year than Q4 of 2016 while 2017 as a whole saw 54% more shipped Apple...

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Three new Huawei phones pass through TENAA

A total of three new Huawei phones were unearthed by the Chinese TENAA. All of them look to have 18:9 screens and metal backs with dual cameras. The first two are the FLA-AL00 and FLA-TL10, which could turn out to be the Nova 3 and Nova 3 Plus, successors to the Nova 2 and Nova 2 Plus. Both have a dual camera on the back as well as a dual camera on the front. At first glance there doesn't seem to be a visual difference between the two models, although logic points to different screen sizes, at least. Next up is the serial number LDN-TL00, which could prove to be either a...

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OnePlus 5T Lava Red becomes available in the US and Europe

The sale of the Lava Red OnePlus 5T has begun - it's launching in Europe and the US, following successful launches in China and India. This is a limited edition model so it won't be available for long and it only comes with 8GB of RAM and 128GB storage (there's no 6GB/64GB option). The price is the same as the equivalent Midnight Black model - $560/€560/£500. OnePlus offers free priority shipping if you order before February 9. Also, hit the Source link and check the bottom of the page - some accessories are 15% off if you buy two (it's a Valentine's Day offer). Source

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IDC: China smartphone market declined by 5% in 2017

IDC released its Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker report for China, and the numbers do not look good. According to the data, the market declined 15.7% in Q4 2017, compared with the same period 12 months ago, and 4.9% for the whole 2017. In absolute numbers, the October-December period saw 114.3 shipments, totaling to 444.3 million in 2017 against 467.3 million in 2016. Apple shipped almost 10% fewer phones in the past 12 months, compared to 2016, but it remained a leader in the premium segment with 85% of all sales over $600. Due to impressive shipments of the iPhone X (about 7...

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Rumor: next Samsung Galaxy S to be called "X" instead of "10"

Romans may have conquered the marketing departments of major phone manufacturers. A new rumor claims that the Galaxy S9 will be the last of the S-line and that its successor will be dubbed Galaxy X. That moniker has been associated with Samsung's foldable phone, though the company never officially confirmed the naming. Of course, there's the off chance that the next flagship will be a foldable one, but that seems unlikely. Anyway, we get that X = 10, but Samsung will lose a lot of branding mindshare if it drops the Galaxy S name. Still, we guess Galaxy SX might be a little naughty....

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New vivo phone leaks with no notch and no bezels

A new sketchy Weibo leak has popped up of what is an as-of-yet-unofficial vivo smartphone with very little bezel and no notch. It isn't likely that this is the rumored vivo X30 because it has been linked to a notch on the front. So it's possible that it's the vivo Xplay7. Or it could turn out to be nothing more than a concept device. The device has nothing but screen on the front, which begs the question - where is its selfie camera? Since this is a rumored vivo phone we could assume it has a fingerprint scanner under the display (or on the back). Source | Via 1 | 2

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Huawei to hold an MWC 2018 event after all

Last month we learned that Huawei will not unveil its P11 flagship (or P20, the name is not yet confirmed) at MWC 2018. Today the company announced on its Weibo page that it will still hold an event in Barcelona and announce new products. Huawei is one of the few companies that posted a two-digit growth in tablet market (the other big player being Amazon), so a new Mediapad might be on its way. The company might also announce the official arrival of its payment system Huawei Pay in Europe or a new smartwatch, a successor of the last-year's Watch 2. Source (in Chinese) |...

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Alleged AnTuTu score shows Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S flex Snapdragon 845 muscle

The Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S may be the first phone with Snapdragon 845, which promises to be a true powerhouse. The phone is code named "Polaris" and an early AnTuTu score is massive. There are a few important things to note here. First, the latest version of AnTuTu was used and the results are not comparable with older versions. For comparison, a Huawei Mate 10 Pro (Kirin 970) scores around 218,000 on the same version. Also, there's no confirmation that this is indeed the Mi Mix 2S - benchmarks are easy to spoof. Alleged AnTuTu score for the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S (Snapdragon 845) We might...

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Samsung unveils ISOCELL Dual: a complete dual-cam solution for phones on a budget

Samsung only recently adapted dual camera setups and apparently it's a fan. The company wants to help others develop mid to entry-level phones quickly with an integrated solution - it provides both the dual camera module and the necessary image processing algorithms. For the first ISOCELL Dual outing, Samsung chose to focus on two popular uses of dual cameras - refocusing (bokeh) and low-light shooting. There's a catch though, there is no single module that can do both. Instead, companies can choose between a 13MP + 5MP setup for a bokeh-shooting camera and an 8MP + 8MP for a...

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Honor announces the quad-camera Honor 9 Lite for EU

The Honor 9 Lite was already announced for two markets: India, and Honor's home market of China. Today, Honor announces that the quad-camera phone will become available in Western European markets starting today. The Honor 9 Lite is doing very well in China as "the best budget phone with stunning design and remarkable photography functions." It is also going very well in India, the phone sold out all three times it went on sale on Flipkart. The Honor 9 Lite features a quad-camera system (13MP+2MP on both sides), further solidifying the trend of smartphones with dual selfie...

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Meizu E3 leaks in live images with side-mounted fingerprint scanner

Back in April, we saw the arrival of the Meizu E2, and (according to Chinese leaksters) its successor, the Meizu E3, is on its way. Live images of the alleged phone reveal the device will have a side-mounted fingerprint scanner like the Meizu M6s and a dual camera in a vertical orientation on the back. The front will have a tall 18:9 display and one camera for selfies. Meizu E3 front and back A Weibo leakster posted images of the phone with and without a protective case, revealing that the midranger is coming with a speaker, 3.5 mm jack and USB-C port on the bottom while the...

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Apple ships the most tablets in the Holiday season, Samsung drops to third

Tablets are not selling as well as before - Q4 of 2017 saw 7.9% less tablets shipped compared to Q4 of 2016 while 2017 as a whole saw a decline of 6.5% over 2016. And yet despite this turmoil Apple, Amazon and Huawei managed to see growth in slate shipments - both in the final quarter and in 2017 in general. Apple shipped the most tablets in Q4 of 2017 and 0.6% more than the previous year while Amazon achieved a huge 50.3% jump over last year's Holiday quarter thanks to some aggressive discounts. Samsung dropped to third in Q4 of 2017 and saw a 13% decline of tablet shipments...

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