Samsung Galaxy A8s might escape China soon

Samsung's Galaxy A8s got official last month as the company's first smartphone with a punch-hole display - Infinity-O, as it likes to call it. A similar design will also be seen in the Galaxy S10 family, but until then the A8s is unique in Samsung's lineup (although the hole-in-display notch type is really starting to take off across the mobile world). So far the Galaxy A8s has only been available in China, which was its launch market. But that might change soon. A new version of the phone has been certified by both the FCC and the Wi-Fi Alliance. The A8s' model number is SM-G887, and this...

Read More

Samsung Galaxy M20 live image leaks showing a close-up of the Infinity-V notch

Samsung's upcoming M series devices, the M10, M20, and M30, are very busy leaking left and right these days, which implies that their official unveiling is not far off. Following its FCC certification yesterday, the Galaxy M20 is revealed again today- this time in the first ever live image of the phone. Well, to be more precise, it's an image of a part of its front, which as you can see gives us a good look at the top display bezel as well as the Infinity-V notch that the M20 will employ. It might be smaller than you imagined it to be, and apparently there will be a breathing LED strip...

Read More

Huawei P30 CAD-based renders and 360-degree video show three rear cams, water drop notch

Huawei's upcoming P30 smartphone has received the CAD-based render treatment today. Alongside the renders comes a video showing it from all angles, as usual. The P30 is going to have three rear cameras in a vertical island sitting in the top left of its back, with the LED flash below it. The handset's screen will have a water drop notch housing the front facing camera, and reasonably symmetrical bezels all round - although the chin still seems to be marginally bigger than the forehead and a bit more so than the sides. The P30 will employ a gradient color finish which is really...

Read More

Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite battery capacity revealed

The Galaxy S10 lineup rumor mill is spinning wildly and has now delivered a piece of info on the least expensive version of them all - the S10 Lite. The image comes from the Korean certification agency, confirming the battery capacity of the phone. As you can see, the cell is rated at 3,100 mAh and it's on the lower end when it comes to flagships these days, but then again this is the Lite version we are talking about here. We expect to see more in the standard and the Plus variants. Source (in Korean) | Via (in Dutch)

Read More

Moto Z4 Play images point at UD fingerprint reader and minimalist notch

We are likely months away from the Moto Z4 lineup launch, but some pretty revealing renders just popped up courtesy of @OnLeaks. On the back, we see the pins used to pair the phone with the Moto Mods as well as the iconic circular camera module. However, the fingerprint reader is missing from the side of the handset - pointing to it being integrated in the display. Speaking of the screen, the Moto Z4-series will finally adopt the notch but it will be a waterdrop-styled cutout and will take just a small chunk of the screen. Also, if you look closely, you will see the 3.5mm audio jack...

Read More

Huawei Mate 20 Pro receives an update, camera and Face Unlock improved

The Huawei Mate 20 Pro received a major software update in the beginning of December that addressed some minor issues and improved the Face Unlock and camera experience. Today's update appears to be almost the same and it's just as big - around 482MB. The changelog says that the update should further optimize the Face Unlock in some scenarios - probably in poorly-lit environments - and also improves the camera experience. The Master AI mode should be more responsive and deliver more natural color reproduction. Additionally, the patch should solve some problems with the camera app...

Read More

Huawei brings the Mate 20 X to the UK

Originally intended only for the Chinese market, the Huawei Mate 20 X made a surprising appearance in the UK. According to the retailer, the company is just dipping its toes into the water to see how much traction the Mate 20 X will generate so this is an official import. The initial stock is in and those who place their order over the weekend will get the device on January 7 (Monday). The asking price is £799.99 and it's available only in Midnight Blue with 128GB of storage and 6GB of RAM. It a steep price, but you'll be getting a huge AMOLED screen - the super capable tripe...

Read More

TCL to introduce new Alcatel phones, BlackBerry updates at CES 2019

CES 2019 in Las Vegas is right around the corner and some companies are already teasing their new devices. TCL Communication sent out a press release, revealing what we should expect to see from it - TCL-made alcatel Full View Display, new alcatel smartphones and BlackBerry KEY2 and KEY2 LE updates. BlackBerry KEY2 LE in Champagne, Slate, and Atomic CES will also be the scene where TCL subsidiary CSOT, a company developing screens, is planning to introduce new solutions and technologies. The announcement will include edge-to-edge and dot displays, as well as flexible panels. Peter...

Read More

Samsung Galaxy Note9 starts receiving stable Android Pie + One UI

Weeks before the deadline, Samsung started seeding the latest Android 9.0 Pie update along with its brand new custom One UI for the Galaxy Note9. And that's the stable version we are talking about here. The OTA update weighs in at just 95MB, but we assume that the screenshot was taken from a user that participates in the beta program so if you are coming from a stable Android Oreo, it should be way bigger. For now, we have information about the update being live in Germany, so it will probably take some time to make it to your handset as well. Just like the Galaxy S9/S9+ update...

Read More

Disassembling vivo NEX Dual Display is tricky business

The screen is typically the most difficult component to replace on modern phones. So what does that mean for the vivo NEX Dual Display? The disassembly process is quite tricky, here's a quick overview (you can find the step-by-step process by following the source link, but it's in Chinese). The good news is that you don't need special tools, the usual set of screwdrivers (Phillips and Torx) and a spudger will get you in. However, the screens are glued on, so you'll need a heat gun. But we'll get to that. Taking off the back panel • Disconnecting the cameras • The motherboard is...

Read More

Infographic: the interface novelties on Galaxy S phones that led to One UI

Samsung is busy rolling out the new One UI to its flagships (including older models). It has been a long road getting here, so the company published an infographic detailing the key ideas that were introduced with each Galaxy S generation since the begging. It starts with the original Galaxy S, but the first iterations of the current features landed on the Galaxy S III, which introduced S Voice - the forefather of Bixby. Also, Smart Stay kept the screen from switching off while you were looking at it. The Galaxy S4 built on that and would automatically pause a video when you looked away....

Read More

Samsung Galaxy M10 launch is imminent, support page pops up

We've heard a lot about the upcoming new Galaxy M series, and now it appears at least one of them, the Galaxy M10, is on the verge of launching. The support page for the Samsung SM-M105F/DS (the global/dual-sim version of the device) appeared on Samsung India's website. Screenshot from Samsung India's website The support page does not give any specifics about the phone, but thanks to the FCC listing we know it will have a 6" display, 3,400 mAh battery and Exynos 7870 chipset, coupled with 3 GB RAM. Other rumored specs include 16 or 32 GB storage, 13 MP main snapper, and 5 MP...

Read More

Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 arrives at TENAA alongside a gradient-colored Redmi 7

The Xiaomi Redmi 7 went through TENAA a few days back, but the Chinese authority has more interesting info to share - the Redmi Note 7 as well as gradient color options for both devices. We don't have the full spec sheet yet, but the Note will have a 6.3" screen and a 3,900mAh battery. It measures 159.2 x 75.2 x 8.1mm. There are three M1901F7 model versions, but they appear identical (even the connectivity). Also, there's only one color option pictured. Xiaomi Redmi Note 7, gradient color And here's the gradient color version of the Redmi 7 (M1901F9): Xiaomi...

Read More

Xiaomi Mi A3 already in the works

Xiaomi released the Mi A2 and Mi A2 Lite in the summer and is already preparing for the next Android One phones. According to sources, the code-name orchid_sprout was spotted in the Android Pie-based user interface for the Mi 8 and Mi Mix 3 flagships. The suffix sprout is used to describe virtually all Android One devices, including the previous phones Xiaomi developed as part of the program. The codename for Mi A1 back in the days was tissot_sprout; the Mi A2 was jasmine_sprout, while the Mi A2 Lite was developed under the moniker daisy_sprout. Specs about the orchid_sprout...

Read More

Huawei fines employees for tweeting from an iPhone

Huawei fined two employees for a New Year tweet from the company account, sent from an iPhone. The original tweet Bloomberg reported that Huawei blamed the mistake on their overseas social media agency, but for some reason decided to punish two employees from the marketing department. The punishment included a CNY5,000 (about $700) fine, a single-level demotion and blocking any eventual promotions for the next 12 months. According to the internal memo, seen by Bloomberg News, one of the two employees was the head of the digital marketing team. There was also some scolding to...

Read More