Samsung Galaxy Note9 gets its first OTA update

Samsung has already pushed an update to the Samsung Galaxy Note9. Of course, the majority of folks who have one in possession is the media (present company included). We've not yet seen the update arrive on our international Galaxy Note9, so it looks like the first ones to get it might be North American Snapdragon variants. Either that, or we simply haven't received the notification yet. The update includes a toggle to switch between two Super Slow-mo capture modes. You can shoot either 0.2s of 960fps or you can go for 0.4s of 480fps in manual mode. On the flip side, auto mode detects...

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Huawei nova 3 goes on open sale on August 23, nova 3i Iris Purple on August 21

Huawei's nova 3 and nova 3i smartphones became available in India on August 7. So far, the nova 3 hasn't been offered on open sale, but that's going to change on August 23. The phone will still be priced at INR 34,999, and you'll still need to head to Amazon to grab one. The nova 3i, on the other hand, has only been available in black up until now. The Iris Purple color version will finally be out on August 21, also at Amazon. It will set you back INR 20,990 like the the black one. According to Huawei, the nova 3i has been a bestseller at Amazon, after seeing incredible demand in...

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ZTE is officially back, may announce Axon 9 at IFA 2018

We all know what happened with ZTE. The United States banned the Chinese phone maker from operating in the United States for breaking sanctions and using American components in countries where the company was not supposed to. Now ZTE can operate again, but the it has to rebrand the name to re-enter the US. Several long months and back and forths between the Chinese and American governments, ZTE is out of its hiatus and is ready to announce phones again. Yesterday, ZTE tweeted a poster that confirmed it'd be at IFA where it is "Leading 5G Innovations" between August 31 and September 5,...

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Samsung Brazil caught passing stock photos as Galaxy A8 camera samples

Samsung is promoting the Galaxy A8 (2018) and tweeted some selfie pictures, accompanied by a text saying the phone highlights the essential parts of the photo, clearly meaning the people in it. Another user of Twitter with a keen eye and a @feliperas handle found out the images are stock photos from Getty Photos, dating back to 2015. Quer enganar quem, @SamsungBrasil? pic.twitter.com/Xy7b2dsRcz— Fᴇʟɪᴘᴇʀᴀs (@feliperas) August 16, 2018 The images Samsung Brazil posted are edited to mask the apparent fact they were taken with a professional...

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vivo X23 photographed in the wild again, looks like the vivo V11 Pro

Our first glimpse of the vivo X23 was at an awkward angle that didn't let us appreciate the phone's design. Here's a better look. The top of the phone features the trendy new "water drop" notch design and - assuming the photos haven't been retouched - there's no chin. Also, check out the back and the way it reflects the light. It's supposed to feature a color gradient, though you can't quite see it in the photos. (Alleged) vivo X23 live photos The vivo X23 should launch on August 20 with a 6.4" display, a 3D face scanner (ToF) and an in-display fingerprint reader (which you...

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OnePlus 6T to be offered by T-Mobile, arriving in October likely priced from $550

Earlier this year OnePlus CEO Pete Lau said his company was working on having its smartphones sold by US carriers. And it now looks like the first carrier partnership will be with T-Mobile. The magenta carrier is set to offer the upcoming OnePlus 6T in the States, according to a new report sourced from "people familiar with the launch plans". T-Mobile will be the only carrier selling the OnePlus 6T in the US. Still, one carrier is better than no carrier, maybe more will join for the OnePlus 7 if all goes smoothly. Regardless of that, being offered by one of the 'big four' in the US should...

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Huawei Mate 20 Lite and its Kirin 710 chipset benchmarked

The Huawei Mate 20 Lite will be powered by a Kirin 710 chipset, the second phone after the nova 3i. Despite numerous leaks, the chipset wasn't named explicitly but specs by TENAA and these Geekbench results pretty much confirm it. The single-threaded performance is equal between the Mate 20 Lite and the nova 3i (the other Kirin 710 phone). There is a gap in the multi-threaded score, but that could be due to the pre-release status of the software. JRGRAPH_EXPANDABLE_VERSION = false; GeekBench 4.2 (single-core) Higher is better Huawei P20 Pro 1926 Xiaomi...

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Google adds Gmail Confidential Mode to Android

Google rolled out an update with Confidential Mode for Gmail users on Desktop back in May and now the feature made its way to the Android application. The Gmail account on Twitter announced the arrival of the feature that lets you put a self-destruct timer of conversations to "protect sensitive information from unauthorized access." Confidential mode is now available on mobile devices and can help you protect sensitive information from unauthorized access. Learn more about this feature → https://t.co/lmQNElH6C1 pic.twitter.com/Nxtx2yU0pG— Gmail (@gmail) August 16, 2018 The...

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Sony reveals which phones will get updated to Android 9.0 Pie

Sony has officially revealed which of its phones are on the Android Pie update waiting list. Basically, if you have a recent flagship or a new mid-ranger, you're on the list. The premium Xperia XZ line (from the XZ Premium onward) can expect to get Pie in November (an earlier schedule had the update coming in September). Sony Xperia XZ Premium Sony Xperia XZ1 Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact Sony Xperia XZ2 Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact Sony Xperia XZ2 Premium The Xperia XA2 lineup will have to wait until early 2019. Sony Xperia XA2 Sony Xperia XA2 Plus Sony Xperia XA2...

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vivo V11 to go official on September 6

vivo is set to launch the all new V11 smartphone on September 6, according to a save the date card they started sending out. Vivo invite The invite is very low on information but fortunately, thanks to leaks, we know a few things about the vivo V11 already. For example, the phone has a fingerprint sensor built into the display, something that is also alluded to in the invite image. Apart from that, V11 also has a new display design with a smaller notch for the front camera. It's not quite the same as having no notch, as on the NEX S, but it's still less of an eyesore compared...

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Deals: 15% off anything in eBay UK, 10% off in eBay Germany and Austria

Here are a couple of promos for your eBay shopping - one for the UK and one for Germany and Austria. In the UK, you can use the PIGGYBANK coupon to get 15% off anything. The deal ends at 8:00pm local time and as usual terms & conditions apply (key points: £20 minimum spend, £50 maximum discount). You can get a Huawei Honor 9 Lite for £150 pre-discount, £127 after. If you're looking for something higher-end, there's a Huawei P20 lite for £230 post discount. Then there are Apple gadgets like the iPhone 7 (32GB, unlocked) for £468 or an Apple Watch Series 3 for £306. All of these are new...

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Samsung is launching the Galaxy Note9 in India on August 22

Samsung introduced the Galaxy Note9 two weeks ago and the phone went on pre-order in India immediately after that. Today the company confirmed that the new flagship will hit the shelves on August 22 and it will hold a special event to mark the occassion. The 6/128 GB variant is priced at INR67,900 ($967/€850), while the 8/512 GB version costs INR84,900 which translates to $1,210/€1,063. The Galaxy Note9 128 GB is available in Metallic Copper, Midnight Black, and Ocean Blue colors, while the mightier version misses on the first color option. The phone arrives with 6.4" AMOLED...

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Cases for Sony Xperia XZ3 show single camera on the rear

Ever since Sony announced the IMX586 - a 48MP Quad Bayer sensor - plenty of rumors about the Xperia XZ3 came out claiming that it will feature a single camera. We even saw speculative renders and now we have one more data point. PU Leather cases for the XZ3 have shown up online with just two holes on the back - one for a lens and one for the fingerprint reader. Sony Xperia XZ3 cases showing a single camera However, things are far from settled. Other cases show a dual camera, which can also be seen in these alleged live photos of the phone, we've head dual camera rumors and...

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Samsung Odyssey+ VR headset shows up on FCC with SteamVR support

The follow up to Samsung's Odyssey VR headset has just passed through the FCC revealing much of its features. It's called the Odyssey+ and bears the model number XE800ZBA. This suggests a small upgrade over the original Odyssey (XE800ZAA). According to the FCC listing the new VR headset has a bigger nose contact area, wider eye box and anti-fog (possibly referencing that the lenses will get foggy less because of the wider nose area). The Samsung Odyssey+ will add SteamVR support to the existing Windows Mixed Reality support. This means the new headset will be able to consume VR content...

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Video teaser shows off Oppo R17 Pro's triple camera and design

Oppo has released a video teaser for its upcoming R17 Pro, in which we see the phone's design and get a sneak peek at its triple camera. We know that the main sensor will have a Galaxy S9/S9+/Note9-like variable aperture - f/1.5-2.4 - and it's shown in the video. The question is what will the second and third camera be used for? Some suggest that the third sensor will be a Time of Flight 3D camera (ToF 3D) to enable AR functionality. The Oppo R17 Pro will feature an in-display fingerprint scanner, a 6.4-inch 1080x2280px AMOLED display with Oppo's water drop notch, up to 8GB of...

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Google return in China in doubt after employee outcry

Back at the beginning of the month we heard of a project called Dragonfly, aiming to bring back Google Search to China but with revised mechanisms and abiding by the censorship laws in China. Now The New York Times reported that a letter demanding more transparency to understand the ethical consequences has been circling around the Google offices and has already been signed by over 1,400 employees of the Mountain View company. The message asks leadership "to work with employees to implement concrete transparency and oversight processes". Undersigned Googlers expect future projects...

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Rumored vivo V11 leaks in live images with Waterdrop screen

Vivo is preparing a new smartphone called V11 and its photos and specs already leaked into the wild. Live images of the phone were initially leaked by a Belarusian website, later followed by detailed pictures of the Waterdrop notch from Russia. Specs of the phone were also outed, revealing the device will have an under-display fingerprint scanner, Snapdragon 660 chipset, and a flagship-tier camera. vivo V11 live images The vivo V11 is expected to have a 6.41" AMOLED screen with Full HD+ resolution and a massive ration of 19.5:9. The chipset in the phone comes with octa-core...

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