Mystical Samsung Galaxy A device arrives on Geekbench

Samsung decided to match its Galaxy A portfolio to the Galaxy S monikers and announced the Galaxy A8 (2018) and the Galaxy A8+ (2018) in the end of 2017. A phone from the Korean manufacturer has just popped up on Geekbench with model name SM-A750FN. The phone was benchmarked with Exynos 7885 SoC that has two performance cores at 2.2 GHz and six more for efficiency at 1.6 GHz. The RAM on the SM-A750FN is 4 GB and the phone is listed with Android Oreo 8.0. All specs are the same with the Galaxy A8+ (2018), suggesting the new phone might be different in some other aspects like screen...

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LG Q7+ to launch on T-Mobile with support for 600 MHz band

T-Mobile has a habit of posting future smartphones a bit too early. In this month, T-Mobile has posted a couple of mid-range devices (Moto E5 Play and E5 Plus, Samsung Galaxy J7 Star) to its support pages, all of which support T-Mobile's latest 600 MHz band for better and stronger signal. Today, a new device was spotted on T-Mobile's support site by TmoNews. The LG Q7+ is expected to hit T-Mobile very soon with support for the aforementioned 600 MHz frequency (band 71). The Q7+ is an LG Q7 with higher RAM and storage (4GB + 64GB). There's a 5.5-inch display with FHD+ resolution...

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WhatsApp updated to support four-person video chat

Back in May, Facebook held its F8 developers conference where it announced new features for its Facebook family of apps. More specifically, it was at this event that WhatsApp was officially going to get group calling sometime in the future. Today, WhatsApp has officially announced that group calling for both voice and video is finally here. The messaging app also shares that WhatsApp users spend more than 2 billion minutes on WhatsApp calls per day. To start a group call, start a one-on-one video or voice call with a single person. Then, you'll see a button at the top-right...

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Report: Apple Pay to make up half of all contact-less payments in 2020

A new report from Junper Research predicts that the in-store contact-less payments industry will break $2 trillion by the year 2020. 2018 is the first year that the market will break past $1 trillion, one year earlier than Juniper Research anticipated. Apple will lead the mobile payments market with Apple Pay anticipated to make up half of all mobile wallet payments globally by the year 2020. Along with Samsung Pay, Google Pay, and other OEM Pay wallets, these services will reach 450 million users by the same year. Mobile Payment transactions will make up 15% of all contact-less payments...

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Samsung Wireless Charger Duo price and retail box leaks - already available in Russia

Just this weekend, we saw renders of two unreleased Samsung Wireless Fast Charge docks. One is a redesigned Fast Charger that would be updated to support the Galaxy Note9's supposed faster wireless charging (EP-P3100), and the other one was the Samsung Wireless Charger Duo (EP-N6100), which has two wireless charging areas: one upright and the other flat. Today, a new report from MobilTelefon.ru brings live images to support the renders. In fact, the Samsung Wireless Charger Duo is already available in a Samsung retail store in Russia for a retail price of RUB 6,990 (~USD...

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Sony Xperia XZ2 Premium is now available in the US for $999.99

Sony's newest top of the line smartphone has just become available in the US, and right on time. The Xperia XZ2 Premium went on pre-order in the States at the beginning of the month, and around three weeks later it's now in stock at both Amazon and Best Buy (see the Sources linked below). It packs a 4K HDR touchscreen, being the first handset ever to don that setup, but living on the cutting edge of technology will cost you dearly. $999.99, to be precise. That's for an unlocked unit that will work on GSM-based carriers such as AT&T, T-Mobile, Straight Talk, MetroPCS, and Cricket....

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Asus Zenfone 3 Max ZC553KL is now being updated to Android 8.1 Oreo

Today Asus has started sending out an update to Android 8.1 Oreo to the Zenfone 3 Max ZC553KL. This particular model launched in November of 2016, so it's good to see that the Taiwanese company hasn't forgotten about it, software-wise. The Zenfone 3 Max initially ran Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, then got updated to Nougat, and now it's time for it to jump straight to 8.1. It might in fact be the first Asus smartphone to receive this specific version of the OS. Other members of the Zenfone 3 line have gotten 8.0. The new version is 15.0200.1807.406. Aside from packing all the goodies that...

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Huawei Mate 20 Pro live image and spec sheet allegedly leak

Huawei's next flagship smartphone is coming this fall and it will be the Mate 20 (echoing the switch from 10 to 20 this year for the P series). A live image purporting to show the Mate 20 Pro has been leaked in China, and it portrays a device with no notch but what seems to be a very good screen-to-body ratio nevertheless. There's not a lot more that can be ascertained from the picture alone, but the same tipster that shared it has helpfully also listed some of the phone's specs. Thus, the Mate 20 Pro will allegedly have the Kirin 980 chipset at the helm (which should become...

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Oppo R17 spy shots offer a clear look at the new smaller notch

With the R15, Oppo adopted the notch. With the R17, it might shrink it down. We saw photos by TENAA, but the one of the front was too dark to make out any detail. These two images from Weibo show an Essential-style notch, though with a slightly different design. By the looks of it, the Oppo R17 will house only a selfie camera and an earpiece in its notch. Look at the separate glass panel in the second photo, it gives a better look. It's not clear where the proximity sensor and ambient light sensor go in this setup. Oppo R17's notch is smaller, looks like the F9 notch • Just the...

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Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer finally arrives for $530

Xiaomi announced the Mi 8 series in three flavors - a regular version, a cheaper Mi 8 SE and a premium variant with see-through back and in-house Face ID solution, called Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer. The phone is finally arriving at the Mi Store, as announced by the company, for CNY3,699 which is nearly $530. The phone has a Snapdragon 845 chipset, coupled with 8 GB RAM. Storage is 128 GB, although this is all you get - no microSD slot on board. The screen is 6.21" Super AMOLED panel with a cutout on top for the selfie camera, speaker, and advanced facial recognition software, simply...

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Honor Nova 3 review

The Nova 3 and the P20 Pro are incredibly close in terms of hardware save for the display, the battery and that amazing camera system on the P20 Pro. But the P20 Pro costs twice the money, which makes the Nova 3 look like a steal. But do specifications tell the complete story? And how does it compare against the OnePlus 6? Let's find out.

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Nokia and T-Mobile announce a $3.5 billion deal to build the carrier's 5G network

Nokia published less than stellar results in Q2 - the network business was slow, but it's supposed to pick up as carriers start building their 5G networks later this year. And it's already happening, the Finnish company just announced a multi-year partnership with T-Mobile. The $3.5 million deal will see Nokia furnish T-Mobile US with hardware, software and services to develop and deploy a nation-wide 5G network. Sprint customers can also look forward to the 5G future thanks to the merger with T-Mobile. The network includes both wide-coverage 600MHz bands and the high-capacity 28GHz...

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OnePlus 3 and 3T to get Android P update

OnePlus has announced that the two year old OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T will also be getting the Android P updates. The company revealed this information on their forum. OnePlus specified that they have been listening to user feedback and have taken this decision as a result. However, the company also mentioned that because they are now focusing their efforts on the Android P update for the 3/3T, they are skipping the Android 8.1 update for either devices (they currently run on Android 8.0). As for when the update will go live, we don't know. OnePlus said the Android P roll out...

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iPhone dummies pictured: 6.5" iPhone 11 Plus and 6.1" iPhone SE Plus

@VenyaGeskin1 is perhaps better known for his speculative renders, but this time around he is mixing it up with photos of iPhone dummy models. Specifically the 6.5" and 6.1" versions of the 2018 Apple phones. The phone in white is the top iPhone model - iPhone 11 Plus - you can tell by the dual camera on its back rather than by the notch on its front - all new iPhones will have notches. The black device is the budget 6.1" iPhone - iPhone SE Plus - though this one might be getting delayed. It will use an LCD panel, which is reportedly causing trouble, the other new iPhones will go...

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Oppo shows F9 Pro, confirms it will have VOOC and tiny notch

Earlier today Oppo teased the arrival of the F9 on the Twitter page of its Malaysian division. The phone was expected to have a Pro variant and today the version was confirmed on the official page of the company. The Oppo F9 Pro appeared in its first official image, revealing a triangle-shaped notch and VOOC charging. The Oppo F9 Pro will have dual cameras on the back in a horizontal layout. The color of the back panel will change from red through pink to violet, but it is yet to be revealed if it will be light-based or the pattern is fixed. The frontal appearance is also...

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Asus Zenfone Max Pro (M1) launches in Europe on August 13 at €250

The Zenfone Max Pro (M1) has gone up on the official Asus web store in Spain and costs €250. Units will be available August 13. This is the model with 6GB of RAM and 64GB storage (ZB602KL). We snooped around other regional Asus web stores, but there's nothing yet. Maybe things will change in a couple of weeks, the phone doesn't show up in searches on the Spanish site either, which suggests that it was added very recently. The Zenfone Max Pro (M1) boasts a 5,000mAh battery that powers the efficient Snapdragon 636 chipset. On the software side is a pure Android (8.1 Oreo in this...

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Huawei sends invites for IFA keynote, Kirin 980 incoming

Huawei has sent out invites for an IFA keynote to be held on August 31. Chances are that there will be no new phones unveiled, but new hardware instead - the Kirin 980 specifically. Not a huge surprise, last year the company unveiled the 970 at IFA. We won't see a new Honor device either as the sub-brand is holding its own event in Berlin. The keynote itself is just 45 minute long too. As for the Kirin 980 chipset, the unofficial info we have so far is that it will have an octa-core with a big and a little cluster. The rumor pointed to a "Cortex-A77" core, even though there's no...

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Flipkart preparing to launch Galaxy On8 as exclusive version of the J8

The Samsung Galaxy J8 launched in India last month and it is already a hot seller. The company will reportedly also launch a version called Galaxy On8, which will be an online exclusive for Flipkart. Flipkart already sells the J8, so what gives? The catch seems to be the pricing - the J8 is INR 19,000 while the Galaxy On8 is set to cost INR 1,000 less than that. Samsung Galaxy J8 (should be identical to the Galaxy On8) The retailer has a history of of similar moves. It rebranded the J6 as the Galaxy On6 as its own exclusive with 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage (vs. 3GB / 32GB...

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LG unveiles premium V35 ThinQ Signature Edition in Korea

LG announced a V30 Signature Edition back in December and now it is time for the V35 ThinQ to get the premium treatment. The next-gen Signature Edition has zirconium ceramic back cover that prevents scratches, sleek Black or White design and comes with Bang & Olufsen headphones in the package. LG Signature Edition in White and Black Beyond the premium exterior, the second-gen LG Signature Edition is basically the V35 ThinQ, packing a 6" FullVision OLED panel with 18:9 ratio and QHD+ resolution. The chipset is Snapdragon 845, while RAM is 6 GB and storage is 256 GB, expandable...

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White Pixel 3 XL shines in live photos

The Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL appeared in 3D renders a month ago, and now the bigger device shined in live images, revealing more details about the design. The Pixel 3 XL will have a notch on the display and only one rear camera. Google is ditching the dual glass/brushed metal design on the back and is opting in for a glass panel from top to bottom. Google Pixel 3 XL live images The Google Pixel 2 XL arrived with OLED screen. Sadly we can't figure out if the panel here is the same, although it is very likely both the 3 XL and the regular 3 will finally go with the...

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Sony Xperia XA3 certified in China

Sony is having an announcement at IFA in exactly one month, and some suggestions pointed to a new XZ-branded phone, probably an Xperia XZ3 with one camera. We might also see the Xperia XA3, which is in the pipelines too - it was recently approved by the Eurasian Commision. Latest leak comes from China, where the Xperia XA3 popped up on TENAA. The listing does not reveal much about the device with model number H4413, apart from having LTE and arriving with Android OS, which is far from surprising. Sony H4413 on TENAA If this indeed launches at the IFA press conferece, the new...

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