Instagram announced a new interface that's cleaner and simpler

Today, Instagram announced a new update coming to Instagram users. The update gets rid of some of the icons on profiles and replaces them with literal text. Rather than icons for each tab, they are now properly labeled with text, which should make them much clearer to those users who might not know what the tab icons mean. Over the next several weeks, you may see features re-arranged at the top of your profile including changes to icons, buttons, and the way you navigate between tabs, which we hope will make profiles easier and cleaner to use. Instagram is aiming to make its app easier...

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Metro announces free Airpods for Black Friday, discounts on iPhones

Metro by T-Mobile is offering deals for those looking to switch to the pre-paid MVNO. Starting on November 22, you can sign up for a Metro Unlmited account and when you port your number in and bring or purchase an iPhone, you'll get a free pair of Apple's AirPods, which are worth $159. You can buy an iPhone 6S for $49, iPhone 6S Plus for $149, an iPhone X for $750, or an iPhone 8 Plus for $549. You can also quality for the free AirPods if you bring your own iPhone to Metro. The other part of the deal is you have to "switch" to Metro so you'd have to port your line in from another...

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OnePlus 6T gets OxygenOS 9.0.6 update with improved unlocking experience and image processing

Today OnePlus has started rolling out the newest OxygenOS build for the 6T. This is OxygenOS 9.0.6, and it brings with it a bunch of improvements. Chief among those is the supposedly better unlocking experience, alongside the optimized camera image processing. You also get further optimized standby power consumption, as well as general (and unnamed) bug fixes and improvements. Issues with adding APNs on Verizon have been fixed, and apparently some units weren't getting notifications from the Play Store - that's also fixed now. As usual, the new software is enjoying a staged rollout....

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HTC will slash prices of the U12+ and U11+ in the UK for Black Friday

Like every other smartphone company under the sun, HTC is also getting ready for Black Friday. We got word that the company's UK arm is planning some pretty big price cuts for two of its devices on that occasion. The U12+, which normally goes for £699 SIM-free, will be yours for just £566. That's £133 you're saving right there. The U11+ is usually priced at £599 SIM-free, but this weekend it will be up for grabs for only £449, saving you a cool £150. HTC's Black Friday event in the UK starts on Friday, November 23 at 9 AM and ends at midnight on Monday, November 26. The company is...

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Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 may be headed to Europe soon

Xiaomi unveiled the almost entirely bezel-less Mi Mix 3 in China in October, and now it looks like the sliding smartphone might be ready to finally become available in other markets - such as Europe. The Mi Mix 3 was certified by both the Bluetooth SIG and the EEC recently. What's more, a Reddit user posted a screenshot of a chat with a customer support rep from Amazon Germany, who told him to expect the Mi Mix 3 to be in stock on December 1. If that is indeed the planned release date for Europe, we assume that Xiaomi will announce the expanded availability of its newest flagship...

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Smartphone buyer's guide: November 2018 edition

Decisions, decisions, decisions. The holiday season is upon us and 'tis the season of joy and happiness. But it could also be one of the most stressful events each year because them presents won't buy themselves, will they? That's why we decided to pitch in and hopefully make some of those decisions easier for you.

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A Chinese startup claims to have developed solid-state batteries

The solid-state batteries are promised to be the holy grail of modern electronics and potentially solve all our problems with fast charging, longevity and endurance. But we are still far away from a consumer-ready product. Or so we thought. Industry sources report that a Chinese startup may have found a way to mass produce solid-state batteries. The firm is called Qing Tao Energy Development Co. and comes from the technical Tsinghua University in the country. The small company has already deployed a production line in East China capable of producing 100MWh worth of cells per...

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First renders of Galaxy A8s show Samsung's first display with a cutout

What follows are concept renders, based on rumors. However, they come from the same source that accurately predicted the Galaxy A9 (2018) design a month ahead of its announcement so they are probably worth the benefit of the doubt. The renders show Samsung's first smartphone with an Infinity-O display on the front. Samsung has said that the Galaxy A8s will have a camera cutout placed in the upper left corner of the display. Having the front camera (and likely the ambient light sensor as well) inside the display allows the top bezels to be virtually nonexistent. The renders show a slight...

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Analysts: Apple to lower iPhone XR production further

According to an investor-bound note from Rosenblatt Securities analysts, Apple should lower the iPhone XR production further, due to lower than expected sales numbers. Analysts' initial iPhone XR production estimate for this year was 90 to 95 million units, which was subsequently reduced to 88 million and now analysts suggest Apple needs to cut it down further to 74 million units. According to analysts the iPhone XR enjoyed "largely improved" sales during China's 11.11 Singles Day promos due to discounts between 10% and 15%. And analysts expect that Apple will sell a lot of...

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Realme U1 box images and AnTuTu benchmark score pop up

Realme is set to launch its upcoming U1 smartphone and by the looks of it, it's already out in the wild. So the latest leak is here to give us a sneak peek of the retail box, the waterdrop-styled notch and the overall performance of the new Helio P70 chipset. Alleged Realme U1 retail box The photo below shows the Helio P70 winning against Qualcomm's Snapdragon 636 chipset running on the Redmi Note 6 Pro and Huawei's HiSilicon Kirin 710 chip in the Honor 8X. Supposedly, the Realme U1 will come at a considerably lower price too as the company is known for its aggressive...

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The top Galaxy S10 models will have a ceramic back

Samsung has been using glass backs for its flagships since 2015's Galaxy S6. Starting next year, the cream of the Galaxy crop may be using ceramic instead. Not the base Galaxy S10, though - it will get glass to go with that flat screen. The curved 5.8" Galaxy S10 and the top 6.44" model (sometimes reported as 6.2") will have ceramic backs, according to the latest chatter. They will be available in Black and White, at least at first. The top of the line 5G-enabled 6.7" Galaxy S10 may also have ceramic back. More storage too, up to 512GB, but will be announced at later date. Earlier...

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Xiaomi is now pushing MIUI 10 to Redmi 6 Pro and 1st gen Mi Max

The second wave of devices getting the MIUI 10 update began two weeks ago and we are now receiving reports in our mailbox for various Xiaomi smartphones with the new user interface. Both the Redmi 6 Pro and the Mi Max (along with Mi Max Prime) are now receiving an update that brings full-screen gestures and other functional improvements. MIUI 10 for Redmi 6 Pro and Mi Max While the Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro package with model number V10.0.1.0.ODMMIFH is 609 MB in size, the Mi Max patch is half of that - just 307 MB, numbered V10.1.1.0.NBDMIFI. Both versions bring new UI that...

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Google Play announces Black Friday deals

Black Friday is associated with lining up at stores to buy heavily discounted stuff, but there's no rule that says digital stores can't take part (plus, no lines!). Google Play is offering deals on apps, games, movies, TV shows and books. The deals vary per country and not every country can get in on the action. Go here, if you get an error page, you're not invited (sorry). So, here are some cheap ways to avoid talking to your family over the weekend. Premium games are up to 80% off with entries from some of the world's largest franchises. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is $1.49/€1.49, Star...

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AnTuTu shows the Samsung Galaxy M2 will have a 1080p+ display

The Samsung Galaxy M2 is starting to look better and better - specs details by AnTuTu reveal a 1,080 x 2,340px screen. That's better than the J-series phones, which have 720p displays. The Exynos 7885 chipset is better than most J phones too. The 3GB of RAM and 32GB storage combo was confirmed, the M2 is also supposed to have a 64GB version (it wouldn't surprise us if that one has more RAM). The rest is as expected - we're referring to Android 8.1 Oreo. Samsung is just now starting to update flagships to Pie, these entry-level phones will have to wait. Samsung Galaxy M2 (SM-M205F)...

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The Asus ROG Phone is coming to India on November 29

Earlier this month Asus unveiled a couple of affordable phones for the Indian market, but is now bringing the big guns - the Asus ROG Phone will launch on November 29 (that's Thursday next week). The phone will most likely be available exclusively through Flipkart, thanks to the Asus-Flipkart partnership announced earlier this year. There's no word on pricing, but we can speculate. The Asus ROG Phone is coming to India on November 29 The Asus Zenfone 5z is INR 25,000 in India and €400 in Italy (note: both prices feature discounts). The ROG Phone is €900 in Italy. So, somewhere...

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Realme 2 Pro now also getting ColorOS update

Days after Realme started feeding a firmware update to Realme 2 and Realme C1 smartphones, the Oppo subsidiary issued an OTA package to its Realme 2 Pro smartphone. The new update brings plenty of optimizations, along with single-swipe notification dismiss, and the headset icon is finally appearing in the status bar when you are into a call. We heard you! The #MaxPowerMaxStyle update is here. The latest update for #Realme2Pro is rolling out. Don't miss it! pic.twitter.com/GrpEiL5fGE— Realme (@realmemobiles) November 20, 2018 Realme reminds you that the update will be gradually...

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Honor 10 Lite debuts with gradient colors and sub-$300 price

Huawei created Honor as a brand for the young audience with massive online presence, and its latest attempt to appeal to such customers is called Honor 10 Lite. The new device has 6.21" screen and Kirin 710 with support for GPU Turbo 2.0, but the most prominent feature, according to the company, is the fancy gradient back panel in red or blue. The Honor 10 Lite is hardly any different from Honor 8X on the inside - the 12 nm SoC by HiSilicon is coupled with 4 GB or 6 GB RAM with up to 128 GB internal storage. The main camera setup has a 13 MP shooter with f/1.8 aperture and a secondary...

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Samsung Galaxy M2 packing Exynos 7885 chipset goes through Geekbench

The first benchmark result of Samsung's upcoming Galaxy M series has surfaced in the Geekbench database. Going by the SM-M205F model name, this should be a "Samsung Galaxy M2". The phone is powered by an Exynos 7885 chipset, the same one used in the 2018 edition of some Galaxy A phones, including the recent Galaxy A7 (2018). The phone packed 3GB of RAM, which will likely be paired with 32GB storage (there should be a 64GB one, potentially with 4GB of RAM). Samsung Galaxy M2 (SM-M205F) at Geekbench That's a more powerful chipset than we expected out of the M-series, which takes...

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Google Assistant just updated with Siri Shortcuts: "Hey Siri. Hey Google"

Google apps have always taken a backseat behind Apple's own offerings for Maps, Music, and even with Siri. Let's face it, many people find Siri to be inferior to the Google Assistant in many aspects including voice recognition. Today's news makes it one step easier to access Google Assistant via Siri Shortcuts. The latest version of Google Assistant for iOS supports Apple's Shortcuts app, which lets you program a list of tasks to perform using a vocal phrase with Siri or a shortcut that you add to a homescreen. Now, you can set the Shortcuts app to open Google Assistant with a phrase that...

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Google's Digital Wellbeing app no longer in beta

One of the trends in smartphone software this year is the ability to track and manage time spent within apps or setting limits for time-wasters like social media. This is one of the better trends to come from 2018 with many phone makers offering a different take on this. With that said, Google's Digital Wellbeing app is no longer in beta. If you wanted to use the Digital Wellbeing app on the Google Pixel 2 or Pixel 3, you had to sign up for a beta using your Google account. This is no longer the case as the app is now officially stable and out of beta. It is now available to all Google...

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Google Pixel 3 XL with Android Q pops up on Geekbench

Plenty of manufacturers have already started pushing Android Pie to their devices, with Google, of course, being the first. Android Pie was announced in June, with actual rollout happening in October and all eyes are now set on the Android Q development. We still don't know how the OS will be called, but it appears the Mountain View company is already working on the update. A Google Pixel 3 XL smartphone was listed on Geekbench with Android Q for an operating system, suggesting an alpha package is already being tested. The rest of the listing, revealing Qualcomm chipset and 4 GB...

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Samsung is working on a six-camera smartphone with 5G and a large 6.7-inch display

Today, a new report comes from The Wall Street Journal out of Seoul, claiming that Samsung is working on a "top-secret" device with 6 cameras: two in the front and four on the rear with the promise of "richer photos and better special perception". It sounds like Samsung wants to go after the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, which launched with three cameras and can shoot up to 5x hybrid zoom and macro shots up to 2.5cm close to the camera. This alleged Samsung device is referred to the "Beyond X" which also is said to have 5G connectivity and come with a large 6.7-inch display, larger than the 6.4-inch...

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