BlackBerry KEY2 LE now available for preorder in the US via Amazon

Back at IFA, BlackBerry announced a more affordable version of the BlackBerry KEY2, which it called the LE or Light Edition. It's a lower cost version of the $549 KEY2 with a few key differences, mainly in the polycarbonate (hard plastic) build materials, lower-end camera and processor, less RAM, and smaller battery. If you're okay with saving $100 for those tradeoffs, you can start preordering the KEY2 LE on Amazon.com in the US for $449 in the "Slate" color with full availability starting from October 12. Best Buy will also be taking pre-orders soon. Meanwhile, if you're after the...

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Asus Zenfone Max (M2) and Zenfone Max Pro (M2) get certified with Android Oreo on board

Asus seems to be working on successors for both the Zenfone Max (M1) and the Zenfone Max Pro (M1). The upcoming devices are unsurprisingly going to be called Zenfone Max (M2) and Zenfone Max Pro (M2). Both of them have recently been certified by the Eurasian Economic Commission in Russia. This process has confirmed the handsets' names, and revealed their model numbers. Thus, the Zenfone Max (M2) will be ZB633KL, while the Zenfone Max Pro (M2) is ZB631KL. The listings also tell us that both phones will ship running "Android version 8", which is really unfortunate since Android 9 Pie...

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Facebook Lite makes its way to iOS

Facebook Lite has been available for Android since 2015, though for a long time it was only accessible from developing markets. This year it finally reached the US, the UK, and other developed markets, and now it's ready to make the jump to iOS as well. The app is currently only installable if you have an iOS device and are located in Turkey. So the slow rollout seems to be mirroring what happened on Android - developing markets first (and even those being added one by one), developed markets possibly at some later point. Thus, if you are in the US and are tired of the big bloated...

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OnePlus 6T now gets portrayed inside a bunch of cases, 3.5mm jack confirmed to be missing

The OnePlus 6T gets official later this month, and recently the Chinese company's teasers have been competing for our attention with a huge amount of leaks. OnePlus has already officially confirmed that the phone will not come with a 3.5mm headset jack, and also that it will sport an under-display fingerprint scanner. If for some reason you still had trouble believing those facts, today's leaked images should convince you once and for all. Case maker Olixar has already prepared an entire assortment of accessories for the OnePlus 6T, and these are all listed on UK-based retailer MobileFun's...

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Deal: Samsung US will double the value of the phone you trade in for a Galaxy Note9

The $1,000 launch price of the Samsung Galaxy Note9 can seem a bit steep, but you don't have to pay sticker price. Not even close - starting today and until November 3 you can grab a brand new Note9 straight from Samsung for $400 and a trade-in phone. The best part of the new promo is that Samsung will double the value of the trade-in phone for up to $600 off. Here's a quick look at how much you can get for your old handset. You can also trade-in a Pixel or an LG phone, you'll find the full list at Samsung.com. You can have the Galaxy Note9 in Ocean Blue and Lavender Purple, but...

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Lenovo may be looking to launch the Z5 outside of China

Remember the Lenovo Z5 - the mid-ranger with ever-growing bezels? Controversy aside, it's still an attractive smartphone with an aggresive price and it looks like it's doing well in China. And we have a good reason to believe it's stepping outside of its home market soon. We've received a tip with what seems to be a teaser poster scheduling an October 16 event. It says "The killer returns," which could mean that Lenovo is going to release an already known device further confirming our theory. Alternatively, Lenovo might be planning to unleash its true flagship, the Lenovo Z5 Pro...

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Instagram introduces Nametag, an easy way to add people in real life

Instagram added a new feature to its mobile app called Nametag. With Nametag, you can create and customize your own nametag, that others can then scan to follow you. The Nametag option is under the menu on the top right of the screen on your Profile. From here you can customize your name tag. To scan someone else's tag, just go to the same menu and you will see the option to scan a name tag at the bottom. Just point the phone's camera at a nametag and their account will show up on your phone. Admittedly, this is only slightly easier than manually typing someone's username on...

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Google trolling episode 2: Pixel 3 Super Selfie Mode in focus

Google has started hyping up its upcoming duo of Pixel smartphones in an unconventional way. Just the other day, Google's team mocked the Pixel Ultra rumors and now, the long-running rumor about a Super Selfie Mode is in focus. That mode is supposed to take advantage of the rumored dual camera setup placed on the humongous notch. Allegedly, one of the lenses will be capable of taking wide-angle selfie shots. Here's what the company has to say about the rumors: The Internet has speculated that there's a "Super Selfie Mode" coming. Sorry Internet — no comment. Tune in 10/9 to see what...

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Samsung Q3 guidance is out, new profit records set

Samsung just released its earnings guidance for Q3 2018 and things look pretty solid. According to the report, the company is back on track by smashing another profit record. The projected sales are KRW 64-66 trillion, which equates to around $57.5 billion. These sales have generated KRW 17.4-17.6 trillion ($15.5 billion) operating profit. We still have to wait for the full report to come out but if projections are accurate, the firm is seeing 20% increase in year-over-year in revenue and 15% increase in operating profit compared to the last quarter. Unfortunately, the report...

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Amazon India heavily discounts the OnePlus 6

The OnePlus 6 is a good value smartphone with an original price tag of $529, but with the OnePlus 6T release coming up, the company is slashing some prices and clearing stock to make room for the new one. So starting October 10, Amazon India will be selling the current flagship at a heavily discounted price. The OnePlus 6's asking price will be as low as INR 29,999 ($404), which is 24% down from its original tag and the promotion will be available October 10 through 15. Unfortunately, Amazon doesn't mention whether the 128 and 256GB models will get their prices lowered but we assume...

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Rosso Red Pocophone F1 will be on sale in India on October 11

The bold Rosso Red version of the Pocophone F1 didn't show up for last month's sale in India, but you'll have a chance to snag one next week. The Steel Blue, Graphite Black and the special Armored Edition will be available as well. The sale starts on October 11 at 12am local time. The price for the 6/64GB model is INR 21,000, same as before (note that the Armored model is available only in 8/256GB). Carrier Jio is offering a deal for Pocophone buyers - INR 2,400 instant cashback, up to 6GB of 4G data and an additional INR 5,600 discounts on flights and hotels from...

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iOS 12 gets faster start than iOS 11, already the most popular version

There's no denying that Apple has one of the best, if not the best, software support of its smartphones. By supporting older devices, the adoption rate of the newest version of its OS ramps up pretty fast and this year's release of the iOS 12 is no exception. According to Mixpanel's statistics, iOS 12 already powers 47.54% of Apple's phones as opposed to 45.60% of iPhones and iPads running iOS 11. Quick reminder, even the iPhone 5s is eligible for iOS 12 update and users report excellent performance. Apple released iOS 12 on September 18 and its adoption is mind-blowing,...

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Qualcomm's 8150 next flagship SoC gets Bluetooth certification

2019 is just around the corner and with it Qualcomm's next flagship SoC based on the 7nm manufacturing process. So far, information about it has been scarce, but one thing keeps popping up - the 8150 name suggesting that the company is looking to change its naming convention once again. Just the other day, Android 9.0 Pie system files hinted at the Snapdragon 8150 and now a Bluetooth certification document confirms it. The listing mentions Qualcomm SM8150 supporting Bluetooth 5.0 and it seems that the chip went through the certification process just yesterday. But don't get your...

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Huawei Mate 20 shows off its waterdrop-styled notch in press images

It seems that there's not much mystery left in Huawei's October 16 event as we've come across most of the key specs, features, design and even prices of the Mate 20 Pro. The regular Mate 20, however, has remained overshadowed by its more premium sibling in more than one way and it's only now that we finally get to see it in full. According to the source of the leak, these are the official press images of the upcoming Mate 20 and although the appearance might seem pretty similar to Mate 20 Pro's, there are a few key differences. For starters, the wide notch on the Mate 20 Pro is...

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