Galaxy Note8, S8, and S8+ Android Pie beta spreads to US unlocked units

In an unprecedented move, Samsung opened a public beta program for its Android 9 Pie update for its previous-gen flagships, namely the Galaxy Note8, S8, and S8+. For a couple of weeks or so this has been available in some markets, including the UK and the company's home of South Korea. Now though you can get a taste of Android Pie, with a sprinkling of Samsung's new One UI paradigm on top, if you have purchased an unlocked Note8, S8, or S8+ in the US. If you want to participate in the beta program, you need to register via the Samsung+ app. The relevant option is found under...

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Facebook is working on integrating Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram

Facebook is currently working on integrating its three chat services - Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram. They won't merge, continuing to function as standalone apps, but their owner wants their users to be able to message each other across platforms. In order for this to work a huge amount of reconfiguration needs to be done by "thousands of Facebook employees", according to a report from The New York Times today. They will need to change how the apps function at their most basic levels. Mark Zuckerberg's goal is for all three apps to incorporate end-to-end encryption once the...

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Nokia smartphones are finally coming to carriers in North America

You can already get some Nokia smartphones unlocked in the US, but what if you simply can't imagine buying yours from anywhere but a carrier? Well, here's some good news. HMD Global has announced partnerships with both Verizon and Cricket, as well as Rogers in Canada, and those carriers will start offering one Nokia device each very soon. Don't get your hopes up, however - these are low-end handsets. We're talking about the already leaked Nokia 2 V, a rebranded version of the Nokia 2.1 that Verizon will sell starting on January 31. This is also what's headed to Rogers up north at some...

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Apple's iOS 12.2 reveals that AirPods 2 are on the way

It looks like Apple is finally closing-in on unveiling the next-gen AirPods. The latest iOS 12.2 beta includes a setup interface for the 'Hey Siri' command for the Apple AirPods - a major feature of the next-gen truly wireless pair. The setup is not visible to public beta testers. Currently only the Apple iPhone and the iPad can be woken up with a Hey Siri command, the AirPods need a tap before you start speaking. Apple released the AirPods in 2016 and we've been waiting for a second generation since, but all we got was a minor price cut. Now we knot the rumors of the AirPods 2...

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Huawei P Smart 2019 review

Larger screen with a trendy notch, newer chipset, bigger battery, and a current OS version - it sure sounds like Huawei has ticked a lot of boxes to bring an already successful formula to the year 2019. It's the Huawei P Smart 2019 we're talking about, the follow up to the smartphone that happened to be the star of one of our most read reviews last year.

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Honor View 20 disassembly video shows easy to replace battery, heatpipe

Honor View 20 or just Honor V20 in China went global the other day and the first teardown video is now live. The video goes through the disassembly process showing almost every step of the way. It reveals fairly easy to replace battery, but the screen is still a big hassle - you need to heat it up so you can pry it off. It's a useful video that might come in handy in case you have to replace something by yourself without resorting to a repair service. Also, the video reveals the small heatpipe that Honor was talking about on the stage when announcing the handset. It looks pretty...

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Nokia 9 coming on February 24

MWC 2019 is nearing and companies are racing to announce their appearance at the conference. Companies that have confirmed attendance include Sony, Xiaomi, LG, Huawei and Oppo. The latest manufacturer to join the fun is HMD Global and its Nokia smartphones after Juho Sarvikas confirmed February 24 as the date for the showdown. Instead of going for a fancy poster or traditional media invites, Sarvikas decided to go with the massively unfunny "really really" meme that no one but companies are using right now. Asking fans to "tune into the Barcelona showdown" suggests there could be a...

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iPhone XR is Apple's top seller in the US, XS market share shrinks

The iPhone XR is often painted as a disappointment and Apple has been cutting production. Still it managed to become the best selling 2018 iPhone model in the last three months of the year in the US. During the first month of availability, it made up 32% of iPhone sales while the XS duo combined accounted for 35%, based on info by CIRP. The latest report covers the whole final quarter of 2018 and it shows the XR rose as the XS declined. The iPhone XR accounted for 39% of iPhones sold during the October-December period. It's the most popular single model since the iPhone 7 back in 2016....

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Nokia 2 to get Oreo update soon, but there's a catch

HMD's Pie update roadmap had a conspicuous absence - the Nokia 2. Juho Sarvikas, Chief Product Officer, got plenty questions about it on Twitter and posted an explanation of what's going on. The Nokia 2 is not getting Pie and while it's due for an Oreo serving, it comes with fine print. Since Oreo requires more resources, it will not run as smoothly as Nougat (the phone's original software). So HMD will give you the choice: stick with the old Nougat software or get the more recent Oreo at the cost of UI snappiness. The option to update will be available soon. Nokia 2 The 1GB...

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LG to announce a 5G smartphone with Snapdragon 855 at MWC 2019

LG's next mainstream flagship phone won't come with 5G connectivity and the company will instead launch a separate 5G handset during this year's MWC at Barcelona. The information comes straight from LG, so it's official as it gets. The company also adds that the phone will feature a big copper vapor chamber, which will be 2.7 times the size of the one on the LG V40 ThinQ and will hold twice the amount of coolant. This will significantly improve the cooling capabilities of the 5G-capable LG smartphone while utilizing the full potential of the Snapdragon 855 SoC. Moreover, the phone...

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Redmi Note 7 was used as a cutting board in latest stunt

Redmi Note 7 arrived with a 48 MP camera and Snapdragon 660 chipset, but the sub-brand CEO Lu Weibing decided to take the marketing into another, rather unusual, direction. Instead of speaking about the performance of the device, we saw it smashing walnuts, rolling down the stairs and being stomped. In the latest installment of the endurance videos, the Redmi Note 7 is being used as a cutting board in some sort of a real real fruit ninja game. In the video Weibing is chopping a kiwi, a banana and an apple over a running Redmi Note 7. The Gorilla Glass stayed intact after meeting the...

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Apple's short movie 'The Bucket' is entirely shot on iPhone XS

Apple's short film 'The Bucket' is now out. It's a story about a man, his mom and the love of home, shot entirely on the iPhone XS in picturesque parts of China. The short film, made for the Chinese New Year (also known as the Spring Festival, on February 5) was directed by Jia Zhangke and is around 5:30 long. Apple has also shared two other clips of director Jia Zhangke praising the iPhone's depth control and slow-mo capabilities.

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Samsung Galaxy A8s arrives in South Korea as Galaxy A9 Pro (2019)

The year started with the promising news that the Samsung Galaxy A8s with Infinity-O display might escape China and hit other countries. Today the Korean company announced on its website that its domestic market would also see the phone, although under a different moniker - Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro. It will arrive on February 28 with a battery pack as a gift for some Samsung members. To differentiate the phone from the three-year-old midranger Galaxy A9 Pro (2016), we'll refer to the new device as Galaxy A9 Pro (2019). The device has Snapdragon 710 chipset and only one memory option...

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