BlackBerry KEY2 comes mid-July to the US, pre-orders start on June 29

BlackBerry KEY2 is what old school physical keyboard fans have been waiting for. The device combines modern hardware with a physical keyboard offering expanded functionality allowing for a full-fledged 2018 experience. Pre-orders in Canada, China, UAE, the UK have already started and the US market is soon to follow. The handset will be available in Silver and Black starting July 13 and could be bought on Amazon and BestBuy. However, these stores will have limited stock and if you really want a Key2, we suggest that you reserve one on June 29 when pre-orders start. Via

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vivo Y81 launched in Taiwan with Helio P22 chipset and 3,260 mAh battery

The vivo Y81 has been popping up in some certification websites for the last couple of weeks until it finally launched today in Taiwan. The mid-range device from vivo features almost the same hardware as the launched in May vivo Y83 but with slightly different memory configuration. The Y81 comes with the well-known Helio P22 SoC with an octa-core CPU clocked at 2.0 GHz paired with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage whereas the Y83 boasts 4GB of RAM and 64GB of flash storage. Both phones support microSD expansion, though. The handset comes with 6.22-inch, 19:9 HD+ display...

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Meizu launches the M6 in India without any announcements

The Meizu M6 isn't a new phone by any means as it was launched eight months ago in China but every now and then, the company outs a device in India as well. Today, the M6 arrives via Amazon India without any press release or launch event. If this is the same model as the Chinese one, the device features the low-end MediaTek MT6750 chipset featuring 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. The camera on the back is 13MP while the front-facing one is 8MP. The display is 5.2-inch with an old school 16:9 aspect ratio and 720 x 1280 resolution. The home button on the chin doubles as a...

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Car and phone makers get together to define an NFC standard for unlocking cars

The Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC), the organization behind MirrorLink, has published the first specification of Digital Key. This would allow you to unlock supported cars with your phone over NFC and start the engine. Work on version 2.0 is already underway with Apple, Samsung and LG on board, as well as chip makers Qualcomm and NXP and a number of car makers like Audi, VW, BMW, GM and Hyundai. The next-gen standard should be completed in the first three months of next year. With Digital Key your phone (or smartwatch) can make remote car key fobs unnecessary. But there's more...

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Another semi-modular bezel-less smartphone design surfaces, this time from Samsung

Some users may say that we don't need thinner bezels than we already have on the vivo NEX or Oppo's new Find X, for example, but most of us will never get enough of that sweet screen space. Samsung belongs to the latter and has a way of tackling the technical issues that may arise with ultra-thin bezels. We had already done a piece on Huawei's approach the other day and it seems that Samsung has a similar solution to the problem with some notable differences. While Huawei is using only two metal strips on the sides, the Korean giant is betting on all four and instead of adhesive, the...

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JD's 618 Shopping Festival in China breaks records, Honor phones ride on top

JD.com just ended its country-wide 618 Shopping Festival in China, which ran from June 1 to June 18 and took in a record-breaking CNY 127.5 billion (that's about $20 billion). A big chunk of that was Huawei's Honor phones. The sub-brand was the top earner in terms of single day sales on June 18. Honor was also #1 in sales for the whole period of the 618 festival. Honor has been doing great at the world stage too. It's available in over 74 countries and the company expects to see a 150% growth outside of China. The Huawei Honor 10 has over 1 million sales under its belt, over...

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Bose noise-masking sleepbuds now on sale for $250

After going through an Indiegogo campaign, the Bose soundbuds are now on sale across major retailers for $250. The Bose soundbuds are a unique sort of product and a departure from the usual audio equipment that the company is known for. Despite the fact that they look like wireless Bluetooth earphones, the soundbuds don't actually play music. What they do instead is sit in your ears and play specifically designed sounds that help mask ambient noises. Bose is very clear on the fact that this isn't their usual active noise isolation that is present on their noise canceling headphones....

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IGTV is a vertical video platform from Instagram to go against YouTube

Instagram is trying to bring a whole new concept to the world of video sharing platforms with its so-called IGTV network. It aims to work just like regular TV but with vertical videos. The Android app is already available on Google Play and it's gaining traction while Instagram has already reached 1 billion users, so we can assume it's going to be a hit very soon. The difference between Instagram and IGTV, however, is that the latter pushes vertical videos only and can last up to an hour. This is probably because it's going to be used only on smartphones. The UI is very streamlined...

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Nokia X6 India launch confirmed as support page goes live on company's local website

The Nokia X6 - company's first notch-totting smartphone - has managed to generate a lot of user-interest, not only in China (the only region where the device is currently available) but in other markets around the world as well. This resulted in HMD effectively confirming that the device will get a global launch. However, since then, the company has been mum on the topic. But silent developments have been taking place. For example, a couple of global models recently received Bluetooth certification, and the device was also briefly spotted listed on Nokia's international website. Now, a...

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LG Stylo 4 launched with 6.2-inch display, Android 8.1 Oreo

LG has launched a new smartphone in the US. Dubbed Stylo 4, the device is powered by Snapdragon 450 SoC with octa-core, 1.8GHz processor, and sports a 6.2-inch display of 2160 × 1080 pixel resolution. RAM is 2GB, while internal memory is 32GB. The handset features a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front shooter. The phone comes with Stylus Pen (as the name suggests), rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, and Android 8.1 Oreo OS. A 3,300mAh battery is there to keep the lights on. Software features like Screen off Memo (just pull out the Stylus and begin writing on the screen - no need to...

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HTC U12+ review

In this industry, trends tend to be the determining factor for smartphone companies who aren't sure which direction to take. Of course, in this case, the trend we're referring to in the controversial notch that Apple has blessed the smartphone industry with. Not HTC though, although it hasn't brought a notched display onto its flagship this year, it has followed a couple of other trends in the past couple of years.

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Xiaomi confirms Snapdragon 660 chipset for Mi Pad 4

Turns out the rumors were true, as Xiaomi has confirmed that the upcoming Mi Pad 4 tablet will indeed be powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 660 SoC. The confirmation came in the form of a teaser image shared by the company's official Weibo account. The Weibo post also mentions "smart game acceleration," which likely suggests the device will also feature optimizations aimed at providing better gaming experience. As for other specs, they tablet is currently rumored to feature a 13MP/5MP camera combo, and pack in a 6,000mAh battery. Sadly, nothing else is known at the moment, but the...

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Smartphone World Cup: Groups G and H

These are the last two groups, the group stage will end this weekend and we'll kick off the Round of 16. As a reminder, you can vote once per day, the top two phones of each group move forward (but it's single elimination from then on). Group G This group sees two rival neighbors face off. The LG V30S ThinQ is looking good after its sibling, the G7 ThinQ, scored a surprise victory in Group A. The two share most of their hardware, but the older V30S appeals more to fans of OLED screens - especially ones without notches. The Snapdragon 835 chipset is last year's best, but the two phones...

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Meizu launches the M6 in India without any warning

The Meizu M6 isn't a new phone by any means as it was launched eight months ago in China but every now and then, the company outs a device in India as well. Today, the M6 arrives via Amazon India without any press release or launch event. If this is the same model as the Chinese one, the device features the low-end MediaTek MT6750 chipset featuring 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. The camera on the back is 13MP while the front-facing one is 8MP. The display is 5.2-inch with an old school 16:9 aspect ratio and 720 x 1280 resolution. The home button on the chin doubles as a...

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Sony effectively asking Xperia XZ2/XZ1 users facing display issues to just deal with problem

There have been a significant number of reports from users of Sony Xperia XZ1 series of smartphones about a display-related issue where horizontal lines and white dots show up when touching or rubbing the screen with a finger. Similar complaints have been put forward by some Xperia XZ2 series users as well. The Japanese company has come out with an official statement on the matter saying the behavior is due to electrostatic (stationary electric charges) in some models. Here's the complete statement: Sony Mobile is committed to providing the highest standard of product quality and...

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Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro appears in press renders, notch included

Just a few days left until the official Redmi 6 Pro launch and we already know most of the specs and the overall appearance, but the latest batch of renders gives us a nice image to go along with the specs. Redmi 6 Pro in different colors The colorful press renders reveal more about the design and show the handset from every possible angle. Unfortunately, they confirm the existence of the notch and the rather thick bezels, but at this price range, we can't be too picky. Still, it's an improvement over the Redmi 5 as it boasts a trendy 19:9 aspect ratio and a big 5.84-inch...

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