Google pauses roll out of latest Duo update (v30) due to call volume issue

Google has paused the roll out of Duo update (version 30) due to bugs. Justin Uberti, who is creator/lead engineer at Google Duo, revealed this in a tweet yesterday, blaming low call volume problem for the step they took. Some Android users have reported low volume levels on calls with Google Duo v30. We've paused the rollout of v30 for now, and are in the process of rolling affected Android users back to v29.2. If you hit this issue, you can resolve by updating to the latest (v29.2) version.— Justin Uberti (@juberti) March 25, 2018 Google Duo v29.2, with a fix for the recently...

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Week 12 in review: More announcements than MWC

Week 12 was a busy one with new hardware being thrown at us from all directions. Granted, there was not a lot of high-end action going on, but in sheer numbers the past seven days were probably the busiest of the year so far. HTC had a couple of Desire handsets for us, Meizu brought the E3, while vivo had two announcements of its own. Big players LG and Samsung also took part, while Oppo delivered the only two flagship devices we saw - the R15 pair. We also saw the final hype buildup before the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2s and Hauwei P20 trio announcements next week. The two events are happening...

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Weekly poll: Which one excites you more - Huawei P20 Pro or Xiaomi Mi Mix 2s

We'll be honest, we can't wait to get our hands on the Huawei P20 Pro ever since we heard that it will have a 40MP image sensor and 5x hybrid zoom. We loved PureView cameras and we were bummed out that they never came to an Android phone. Meanwhile, there's the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2s getting ready to be unveiled on the same day - March 27 (Tuesday). It will have a dual camera, meaning it has the potential to be the first Mix with a good camera (let's be honest, the Mix wasn't the camera flagship in Xiaomi's lineup). So, how about we put those two in a ring and let you pick your...

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Top 10 trending phones of week 12

Xiaomi Redmi 5 Pro remained the most popular device our database in week 12, but there was plenty of movement in our top 10 chart. The biggest gainer was vivo v9, which shot from fifth to second, while the Samsung Galaxy S9 slid four spot and is now only sixth. The larger member of the Samsung flagship duo - Galaxy S9+ fared better and held onto third, while in forth we see a really surprising face - the Asus Zenfone Max Plus. The Xiaomi Mi A1 is among the few not to move this week keeping its seventh place, while below it its stablemates Redmi 5A and Redmi 5 have switched...

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Sunday Debate: Do we still need compact flagships?

Yordan: Powerful phones should come in all shapes and sizes. In 2012 Samsung introduced the Galaxy S III with a 4.8" screen that looked massive when compared with the 4.3" panel of its predecessor. Months later, the Galaxy Note II also saw the light of day and got mocked from Day 1 for being a "door" or a "shield", mostly because of its then-monstrous 5.5" screen. Fast forward six years and the tables have turned - users want big, tall and notched screens with weird ratios like 18:9, 18.5:9, 19:9, 19.5:9 etc. Some might say bigger phones offer more space for battery and bring...

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Weekly poll results: Xperia XZ2 compact just edges its larger brother

It was a close race and the outcome was slightly unexpected - the Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact beat out its larger sibling by a narrow margin. Some think it wears the Ambient Flow design better. Others acknowledge that there's not much choice in the petite flagship market, which makes the Compact special. People voting for both sides agree that dropping the 3.5mm headphone jack wasn't the best move by Sony. And not everyone loved the new design. Price was a surprisingly touchy issue, given that the XZ2 Compact is one of the most affordable Snapdragon 845 phones at the moment. Sony...

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