Someone is selling early Pixel 3 XL units for $2000 on the black market

Earlier today, we saw full high-res leaks of the Google Pixel 3 XL including a full unboxing video, camera samples, and proof that the phone has wireless charging capabilities. A new report from 9to5Google pinpoints the source of these leaks: a Ukranian Telegram user that is selling these (possibly stolen) near-final Google Pixel devices. Apparently, the Ukranian man's name is Luchkov and he's a blogger associated with an entity called Wyslacom Media - who happened to be one of the sources of the massive leaks from earlier today. A Telegram account watermarked on the leaked videos has been...

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Google Assistant integration may be coming to Android Messages

As per a report from XDA-Developers, Android Messages is testing Google Assistant integration so more people will use it. With the general public's dwindling interest in using Allo, Google promised to turn its focus away from Allo and put the energy towards improving the experience on Android Messages, Android's default SMS app. In its current testing state, you can only summon Google within conversations and there is no way to Chat directly with Google Assistant like you can on Allo. XDA was able to get Google Assistant to only respond with recommended restaurants and the...

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Flipkart survey: people love notches, want high-performance chipsets

Flipkart partnered with First Post to conduct "India's biggest smartphone survey" and here's what they found regarding user's feature preferences and the difference between Gen X and millennials. Be warned that there's a non-zero chance this is a promotion for the upcoming Realme 2. Flipkart's survey shows people want fast chipsets above all It seems like Indians young and old love the notch. And performance is the most important factor by far. This is where they diverge - millennials (18-30) want a good camera, Gen X (30-45) wants long battery life. But looking at the...

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LG V40 ThinQ leaks in press renders, showing off its five cameras, display notch, and tiny bezels

LG's already outed not one, but two V-series smartphones this year, breaking with tradition. We're talking about the V30S ThinQ and the V35 ThinQ, though both of those borrow the looks from last year's V30. The first truly new V-series handset of 2018 is yet to come, and this is the V40 ThinQ. Press renders depicting it have been leaked today. Take a glance below. While at first blush the renders seem to show a phone with no notch, if you look closer you'll notice that it's just 'turned off' in software. The side bezels are almost not there, while the chin is pretty tiny for today's...

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Possible RAZR drawings spotted in latest Motorola hardware patent

First spotted by Mobielkopen, a new patent has been posted in the US Trademark Patent Office's website reveals what Motorola's foldable phone could look like. The US patent filing is titled as: Electronic device with hinge and corresponding systems and methods and is authored by Motorola Mobility LLC from Chicago, IL. This filing was first submitted to the USTPO on May 31 and was just posted yesterday. The hardware diagrams very interestingly show how Motorola plans to make the foldable phone work. The front of the unfolded device has very tall foldable touch display with a hinge in the...

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Huawei P20 Pro receives the GPU Turbo update

Huawei has started gradually rolling out its GPU Turbo update to the P20 Pro and presumably, the standard P20 too. This means that the company intends to keep its promise and stick to the tight schedule it announced last month. Well, the update comes right on time for the P20 series. The changelog says that it will provide smoother gaming experience - as we found in the extensive review - and can be turned on by switching on the game acceleration in the Game Suite app. The Game Suite app unlocks some other useful features like Uninterrupted gaming. In addition, the OTA update...

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Google Pixel 3 XL mega leak - live images, camera samples and specs

Welcome to your best look yet at the upcoming Google Pixel 3 XL. The leak encompasses a lot of what the phone will be - its design and looks, its specs, its retail package and even shares the first camera samples, captured with the Google Pixel 3 XL. Let's break it down. The first batch of photos show Google's next flagship from the front and the back, giving us a good look at the huge unsightly notch on the top and the components it's housing. You have an infrared sensor for face scanning, an earpiece that will double as one of two stereo speakers and the selfie camera. The back of the...

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Qualcomm confirms Snapdragon 855 will be built on a 7nm process

Qualcomm has confirmed the rumors that the Snapdragon 855 chipset will be built on a 7nm process at the TSMC foundries. Low-volume manufacturing is already underway and Qualcomm's customer companies have already received samples. Previously, the X24 and X50 modems were also confirmed to be built on the 7nm node. The X50 will be among the first 5G modems to hit the market. The Snapdragon 855 chipset will provide better performance, improved battery efficiency and (of course) on-board AI processing. Expect to see S855-powered devices in the first quarter of 2019 at the...

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Amazon launches 10.or D2 in India, here's a quick hands-on

Amazon has launched the 10.or D2 in India. 10.or (pronounced Tenor) is Amazon's own brand of budget smartphones for India. The D2 is priced at INR 6,999 ($100) for the 2+16GB model and INR 7,999 ($114) for the 3+32GB model. The 10.or D2 has a 5.45-inch 18:9IPS display of 1440x720px resolution. It runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 chipset with 2GB or 3GB of RAM and 16GB or 32GB of storage. It's powered by a 3200mAh battery and comes with stock Android 8.1 Oreo. We got to spend some time with the device before launch. Our gold colored unit has a plasticky feel to it but is...

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Xiaomi ships 32 million smartphones in Q2 2018

The second quarter of 2018 is behind our backs and companies keep publishing their financial results for the three-month period. The latest smartphone manufacturer to do so is Xiaomi which reported $2.1 billion profit in its first quarter as a public company. The company managed to ship 32 million smartphones between April and June, bringing CNY30,5 billion (about $4.5 billion) in revenue. Two-thirds of the company revenue came from smartphones. More than CNY10 billion came from the smart products division, which includes smart TV, fitness bands and other home appliances. The net...

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New blurry images of Honor 8X surface showing the slab in the wild

A fresh batch of blurry photos has surfaced, depicting what looks to be the upcoming Honor 8X being handled in the wild. The photos show the front of the device in detail, but very little of the back. The images also give a good idea of just how big the Honor 8X will be - it looks like the use of two hands is absolutely essential. On the front, the Honor 8X offers a small water drop-like notch for the front camera, quite similar to the one on the Oppo F9 and, rumor has it, similar to what the Mate 20 will use. Honor 8X in the wild, Image Source: Weibo The bottom bezel has...

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ZTE Axon 9 Pro pictured in teaser image

ZTE is heading to IFA and there's a good chance it will bring out the much-awaited Axon 9. A seemingly official image shows the design of the Pro version, which differs quite a bit from what we saw way back in February. The biggest change from the early renders is the adoption of a notched screen with a single selfie camera. Also, the dual camera on the back has shifted to a corner location. ZTE Axon 9 Pro teaser image The reason that the Axon 7 was popular with fans is that it offered a then-flagship Snapdragon 820 chipset, QHD Super AMOLED screen and beefy stereo speakers at a...

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Xiaomi-made Pocophone F1 is up for pre-order in the Netherlands

The Xiaomi-made Pocophone F1 is now official and will go on sale in India on August 29 at a starting price of INR 20,999 ($300). Xiaomi will announce the official availability and pricing in Europe, but if you can't wait that long you can already pre-order the Pocophone F1 through Dutch retailer Belsimpel. Prices start from €399 for the Black and Blue 64GB model and go up to €439 for the 128GB models. Shipment is estimated to begin in 2 weeks. Keep in mind that this is an early pre-order and it's unclear if the price is what Xiaomi is expected to announce in Paris on August 27....

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HTC U12+ important update - system performance, battery life and pressure buttons

HTC U12+ users from Hong Kong reported that the Taiwanese company has started seeding an OTA update that applies yet another fix for the pressure-sensitive buttons and also enhances system overall system performance and battery life. But that's not all - the changelog reads that the the so-called CryptoKitties mobile app has been pushed to a select number of HTC devices exclusively. The app is based on the blockchain technology and lets you breed unique kittens and trade with other users for your "purrsonal" profit. This is part of HTC's implementation of blockchain technologies...

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Samsung Galaxy Note9 officially launches in India

Samsung's latest and greatest, Galaxy Note9 has been up for pre-orders in India since the day after the official launch and future customers will be happy to see the phone in stock in most online stores starting today. The Note9 can finally be purchased from the big online retailers like Amazon.in, Flipkart and Samsung's own official website. The device can be found in Midnight Black, Metallic Copper and Ocean Blue while all memory variants are made available - 6GB/128GB and 8GB/256GB. The price is pretty much the same everywhere as Amazon and Flipkart list the 128GB units for INR...

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Huawei leads Chinese smartphone market as shipments sink 12%

The analytics company Rising Sun Data has published its report on the smartphone shipments in China in the first half of this year. After crunching the numbers, it appears the market decreased experienced a massive 12% drop of shipments on a yearly basis. Among the chaos of the stagnating market, Huawei is standing on the top spot with a share of over 29%. The result of Huawei counts both Huawei-branded and Honor-branded smartphones. Looking at them as separate entities, then Oppo would arise at 1st place with 20.1% share of the shipments, while vivo is second with 16.9%, edging...

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Render reveals the Samsung Galaxy J2 Core color options

The Galaxy J2 Core is going to be an affordable Android Go phone from Samsung. And while its specs are nothing to get excited about, at least it will come in a variety of lively colors. Check out this image, which shows five different hues. Samsung Galaxy J2 Core color options Earlier we saw a manual, which made it clear that the back is removable and the battery is user-accessible. You don't see that very often these days. The manual also showed that it's going to be a customized Android Go with a Samsung UI and apps. Source

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Oppo AX5 leaks in hands-on photos, looks a lot like the Realme 2

It was once thought that Oppo is preparing a Neo version of its popular R15 smartphone, but it turns out that the company is slapping the A5X moniker on the device. We already know most of the hardware that the A5X is going to carry thanks to the leaked specs sheet at the beginning of this month, so the last piece of the puzzle is the design. Luckily, we now have that as well. Oppo A5X The AX5 comes with a gradient glass back, big 6.2-inch screen with a notch on the top and rather small chin. The dual camera setup is on the back, but the fingerprint reader is nowhere to be...

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vivo V11 Pro teasers promise dual rear camera and in-display FP reader

It's going to be a busy few weeks for vivo, with the vivo V11 Pro and X23 preparing to launch. As you could expect the vivo India Twitter account has focused on teasing the V-series phone and hasn't made a peep about the X23 - the V-series are the only ones with a notable presence in the country. The latest teaser confirms the September 6 launch date and namechecks the AI-powered dual camera on the back. On the front, there's the in-display fingerprint reader, which is underneath the "Halo FullView" display. vivo teases V11 Pro's key selling points: dual rear camera, in-display...

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6.1-inch iPhone specs detailed, iPhone SE might get a spiritual successor

Developers have dug out some interesting info regarding the still unannounced budget iPhone, which is believed to have a 6.1-inch screen and a single camera on the back. Deep in Apple's Xcode software, developers found references to the budget iPhone. The names used there are "iPhone xx," "iPhone9.7" and LCP with model number "N84." But here's where it gets interesting. The code reads that the future budget iPhone will incorporate a DCI-P3 LCD panel and Apple's A10 chipset. And if the previously leaked photos and rumors are anything to go by, the budget iPhone will actually turn out to...

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Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Blue version coming in two days

The Xiaomi Mi Max 3 was announced with three color options - Black, Champagne Gold and Blue. However, at launch only the first two were available, which was a shame since the Blue one looks pretty cool. Well, patience pays off - you can now pre-order one. It's on JD.com and you can reserve one today (follow the source link), units will be available in less than 48 hours. Xiaomi Mi Max 3 now available in Blue The Blue Mi Max 3 costs the same as its two siblings - CNY 1,700 ($250/€215) for the 4/64GB model and CNY 2,000 ($290/€250) for the 6/128GB one. There's still no word on...

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Pocophone F1 by Xiaomi review

Xiaomi's announcements have been relatively predictable so far, but the introduction of a new Poco sub-brand was a surprising move. It sounds like a marketing experiment - deliver flagship specs at cutthroat prices. Sound familiar? Well, it does remind of how OnePlus came to be, but we're not sure the new Pocophone F1 is headed in the same direction. Poco is still just a brand, and not a separate company and they stand on the shoulders of Xiaomi's logistics and after sales support network.

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vivo X23 shows up in official promo video, confirms the v-shaped notch

The vivo X23 is having its fair share of leaks and the latest one comes straight from vivo. A promo video showcases the phone from afar and confirms the V-shaped notch that seemingly houses only the front-facing camera and the earpiece. The back also seems to feature a gradient painjob, but unfortunately, there's nothing else the video reveals. Going by the previous reports, the handset will boast a Snapdragon 710 SoC and in-display fingerprint like its predecessor, the X21 UD. According to vivo's smart assistant Jovi, the smartphone was supposed to arrive on August 20, but that...

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Xiaomi Pocophone F1 goes official with Snapdragon 845 and a $300 price tag

Xiaomi has just introduced the long-teased Pocophone F1 at a glossy event in New Delhi, India. The new smartphone series is expected to diversify the Xiaomi portfolio and offer phones with even better value-for-money. The Pocophone F1, which will be called Poco F1 in India, has the flagship Snapdragon 845 chipset and starting at INR20,999 ($300) it's by far the cheapest smartphone to do so. Pocophone F1 by Xiaomi The new phone has a 6.18" LCD with a notch and Full HD+ resolution (2246 x 1080 pixels in 18.7:9 ratio). The front of the F1 lacks any physical buttons, but...

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Minor update for OnePlus 5 and 5T brings August security patch

OnePlus has started pushing a minor OTA update for the OnePlus 5 and 5T. It brings a minor boost to the phones' lock screen and applies the August security patch. Interestingly, the OnePlus 5 and 5T are the first devices from the company's portfolio to get August security patch. The OnePlus 6 received a big update a week ago but it didn't apply Google's latest security fixes. However, both OTA updates have something in common - the PIN unlock method. Now the OP5/5T and the OP6 can be unlocked via PIN input without having to tap on the checkmark for confirmation. The new option can...

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