alcatel's Android Go phone - the 1X - is hitting the US

During the MWC, alcatel - TCL's own smartphone brand announced a bunch of new devices, including the company's first smartphone to run Android Go - a leaner version of Android designed to run on lower-end hardware. This Android Go-powered phone is called the alcatel 1X. For the record, Android Go was renamed to Android Oreo (Go Edition). Given the price and specifications of the aclatel handset, we were unsure if we were going to see the alcatel 1X arrive to the United States. alcatel confirmed to The Verge that it was going to bring two new alcatel smartphones tot the US: the aclatel 1X...

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Sony Xperia XZ2 pre-orders in the UK come with a free PlayStation 4 or PSVR

Sony's Xperia XZ2 got announced at MWC last month, and went up for pre-order in parts of Europe last week. If you're looking to pre-order one in the UK, both Carphone Warehouse and Three are giving you a free PlayStation 4 gaming console. If you already have one of those, you can choose to get the PlayStation VR Starter Pack for free instead. What's more, Sony is also throwing in a full year of PlayStation Plus, and this part of the deal applies even if you buy an XZ1, XZ1 Compact, or XZ Premium. The XZ2 will become available in the UK on April 6, and you have until then to decide...

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Mickey and Minnie Mouse AR Emojis launch for the Galaxy S9 and S9+

AR Emojis are one of the features Samsung was pushing at the launch event for the Galaxy S9 and S9+, because it simply had to respond to Apple's Animoji somehow. And now you get some new characters to play with if you enjoy AR Emoji-ing yourself. Mickey and Minnie Mouse are available, and right on time as today is the official release day for the S9 duo. Samsung says Disney characters are coming to life in an augmented reality setting for the first time ever. You can download Mickey and Minnie from the AR Emoji mode inside Samsung's Camera app. But wait, there's more! Other...

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The Sony Xperia XZ2 Pro might still be coming

As some of you might remember, prior to MWC, there were numerous hints that Sony will release a total of three new flagships at the show. Obviously, that didn't come to pass and eager fans are still an Xperia XZ Pro or perhaps XZ2 Pro short. It was supposed to be the ultimate flagship offer, complete with a 5.7-inch OLED touchscreen of 4K resolution and a 'tall' 18:9 aspect ratio. Nothing is certain quite yet, but clues have been amassing lately that the Pro's release is nearing. Starting with a trio of FCC reports, with the following IDs: PY7-24118Q, PY7-21831A and PY7-00718V....

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Sony Xperia XA1, XA1 Ultra and XA1 Plus get Oreo update

The Sony Xperia XA1 trio - XA1, XA1 Plus and XA1 Ultra - is getting the Android 8.0 Oreo update as we speak. The update weighs about 900MB and bumps the Android Nougat Xperias up to Android 8.0 Oreo and brings the February 2018 security patch level. Android 8.0 Oreo update Android 8.0 Oreo has a lot of improvements like smart reminders and actions through Xperia Assist, context menus when you long-press on an app icon or select text, better performance and much more. Check out this video for an overview of what's new. Source

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Samsung Galaxy Note8 starts receiving Oreo

The Oreo update is finally starting to roll out to the Samsung Galaxy Note8. A user in France has reported seeing the firmware and it isn't a beta realese. Samsung has officially scheduled the Galaxy Note8 for a March 30 rollout for the 8.0 Oreo update but it looks like things are happening sooner. The update carries the March security patch level as well as Samsung Experience 9.0. The latest Samsung Experience has an improved keyboard, better search - Finder gains search cards for contacts, settings, files as well as results from the Galaxy and Play stores - new Bixby...

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Xiaomi Blackshark SKR-A0 spotted on GeekBench

Xiaomi seems to have a lot of exiting hardware in the pipleline at the moment. We are still anxiously awaiting the Mi Mix 2s, with its alleged next-gen full-screen display design. All the while another intriguing device is appearing on our radars every now and then. A recent GeekBench listing sheds a bit more light on the phone, designated as the Xiaomi Blackshark SKR-A0. The benchmark report shows a Snapdragon 845 chipset and 8GB of RAM. The scores themselves are surprisingly high, even for Qualcomm's latest silicon. Insider sources claim this this is due to a new aviation-class...

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Google Lens visual search now available on iOS

Just like many Google services before it, the Lens visual search platform has been slowly, but surely creeping out of exclusivity status and towards global availability. After first appearing on Google's own Pixel devices, the software has since seen an Android-wide release. Now, as promised, iOS users are getting the feature as well. Starting today and rolling out over the next week, those of you on iOS can try the preview of Google Lens to quickly take action from a photo or discover more about the world around you. Make sure you have the latest version (3.15) of the...

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Oppo F7 will come in two versions - F7 and F7 Youth - with a 25MP selfie cam

Oppo is refreshing the F-series with the F7, which will come in two models - F7 (with a more premium 128GB version) and the F7 Youth, which should have some deductions from the main F7 here and there and a lower price. Judging by the leaked poster below both models will share a 25MP selfie camera with AI features. We're expecting the Oppo F7 to look similar to the Oppo R15 with a 19:9 notched screen that stretches all the way to the top. Source

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Xiaomi launches updated Redmi Note 5 with brighter camera, AI

Xiaomi has launched an updated version of the Redmi Note 5 Pro in China. Called just Redmi Note 5, this new variant features is basically the Indian Redmi Note 5 Pro with some crucial improvements. First, the similarities. Both models have the same 5.99-inch, 2160x1080 pixel IPS LCD panel, Snapdragon 636 chipset, 3/4/6GB of RAM with a 32/64GB of storage and a 4000mAh battery. But the 12MP rear camera now has an F/1.9 lens compared to F/2.2 on the Indian model, larger 1.4μm pixels compared to 1.25μm, and also has dual pixel PDAF for faster focusing. The 5MP secondary camera...

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