Affordable LG K12+ to arrive at MWC 2019

Yesterday LG announced the G8 ThinQ is arriving with ToF front-facing camera at MWC 2019, but it appears it will have company. According to rumors, a device called LG K12+ will also arrive in Barcelona, but it will have entry-level specs, including Helio P22 chipset and HD+ resolution. LG K12+ render and specs The listing revealed the new phone will have an HD+ screen with a tall ratio of 18:9, so no notch in sight. Given the DPI is 280, the diagonal of the display is likely to be around 5.8". The MediaTek chipset will be coupled with 3 GB RAM, and the OS will be Android 8.1...

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Canalys: Indian smartphone market grew 10% last year, Xiaomi was No.1

Well known consulting firm Canalys has today released its report for the Indian smartphone market's dynamic in 2018, and there are many interesting tidbits. First off, handset shipments overall grew 10% last year over 2017 in the country, which is just one of six markets in the top 20 that posted full-year growth. In terms of absolute numbers, 12 million more smartphones were sold in the subcontinent last year than the one before that, which constitutes the best growth of any market in these terms. Xiaomi took the crown, selling 41 million devices in India in 2018 for a 29.9% market...

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Verizon offers $300 off the Pixel 3 or 3 XL, BOGO for Samsungs in Valentine's Day deals

Verizon has kicked off its Valentine's Day deals today, and they're pretty interesting. If you want a Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL, for example, you can buy either handset for a cool $300 off the normal price. Amazingly enough, no trade-ins or added new lines are required to take advantage of this offer. On the other hand, you'll still need to go with the carrier's installment plan to get the price cut, which will be proportionally deducted from your payments over 24 months. If instead you'd like to purchase a recent flagship Samsung smartphone, like the Galaxy S9, S9+, or Note9, you can buy one...

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iOS 12.1.4 is now out, fixing Group FaceTime eavesdropping bug

The major security issue in Group FaceTime that was unveiled late last month is now finally fixed with the iOS 12.1.4 update that started rolling out to all supported Apple devices today. The bug allowed eavesdropping by someone calling their FaceTime contacts, receiving audio from them without their knowledge before they answered the call. Needless to say, this was a big problem, so Apple initially just took the Group FaceTime feature offline while it worked behind the scenes to fix the bug. Now that it's done that, Group FaceTime is back online and available to anyone running the...

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Oppo is finally adding an app drawer to its launcher in ColorOS 6

Oppo announced the next iteration of its Android skin, ColorOS 6, back in November of last year but we're yet to see it on any devices. Surely it shouldn't take much longer now. And when it lands, it will bring a nice surprise to people used to other Android handsets. Yes, Oppo's default launcher in Color OS is finally getting an app drawer. This will be opt-in and not turned on when you first power up your device, but if you like the Chinese company's smartphones and don't necessarily enjoy having to use a third party launcher just to get an app drawer, there's hope in sight for...

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Essential PH-2 might come with an under-display selfie camera

Android creator Andy Rubin's Essential launched its first phone, the Essential PH-1, back in May 2017. The smartphone came with nice specs but failed to bring in enough money to keep the company afloat. But it seems its successor, the Essential PH-2, will be an interesting phone that may do better than the PH-1. According to the latest report, the Essential PH-2 will come with a selfie camera that will be placed behind the display. That would enable the to PH-2 have an all-screen front fascia devoid of a notch. The camera behind the display will be accompanied by a light sensor,...

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Samsung's next watch to be called Galaxy Watch Active, specs revealed

Samsung's next smartwatch will not be called the Galaxy Sport, as recent rumors suggested, but rather the Galaxy Watch Active. The Galaxy Watch Active carries the model name SM-R500 (codenamed Pulse), and will run Tizen 4.0.0.3 on an Exynos 9110 chipset. The screen on the Galaxy Watch Active is the same diameter and resolution as the Galaxy Watch from 2018 - 1.3-inch, 360x360px. However the battery of the new smartwatch appears be smaller. The leaked 230mAh is much smaller than last year's 42mm model with its 300mAh pack. The Galaxy Watch Active will have a built-in speaker...

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Apple has started work on its own modem

Apple has been burnt by its reliance on other companies for modems, so to avoid issues with dual sourcing and even sale bans Cupertino wants to design in-house modems. This has already started under the leadership of Johny Srouji, the SVP of hardware technologies. Srouji has been at Apple since 2008 when he was a lead chip designer, working on the excellent A-series chipsets and later on the proprietary chip used in the AirPods. The company has posted job listings in San Diego, which just happens to be the home of Qualcomm. Don't expect to see an Apple modem in the 2019 iPhones or even...

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Moto G7 family promo videos are out

Motorola unveiled its Moto G7 series today (hands-on here). The Moto G7 Plus is the most premium, the Moto G7 is the all rounder, the Moto G7 Power is all about the battery life and the Moto G7 Play is all about the affordability. Each Moto G7 family member has something going for it but if you find it a bit too complicated and perplexing, Motorola has wrapped them neatly in the four promo videos below. Take a look.

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vivo V15 Pro front camera pops up in official teasers

It is official - the new vivo V15 and vivo 15 Pro will have pop-up selfie camera. The company decided to end all speculations and launched teasers of its upcoming phone on Twitter and Facebook, along with sharing an official photo. It will have a 32 MP shooter inside the elevating mechanism, but the rest of the specs will be announced on February 20. The V15 and V15 Pro will also have three cameras on the back in an elevated strip near the edge of the phone. The LED will sit between two of the lenses. Meanwhile a leaked specs sheet claims to reveal the internals. It says the...

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Moto G7 family hands-on review

Moto G7 all the things. Motorola just announced the Moto G7 lineup in Brazil and it consists of no less than four smartphones. We were there to spend some time with them and we'll be sharing some initial impressions on the following pages.

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Motorola unveils four Moto G7 phones: Plus, vanilla, Power and Play

The Moto G-series, a fan-favorite mid-ranger for years, is entering its seventh generation. It delivers better and faster chipsets, cameras and charging and will be available in Europe from the mid-February. Moto G7 Plus: the photographer The Moto G7 Plus is the most powerful G-phone yet, but its calling in life is photography. It features a 16+5MP dual camera on the back optimized for low-light shooting. Motorola Moto G7 Plus The 16MP sensor has large 1.22µm pixels, bright f/1.7 aperture and optical image stabilization for photos, plus electronic stabilization and...

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Realme C1 (2019) second flash sale set for tomorrow

Realme introduced the C1 (2019) with updated RAM and internal storage options two weeks ago. The company had an amazing first flash sale and has just scheduled a second one, starting tomorrow precisely at noon. The phone will keep its low prices and can be purchased only on Flipkart. The Realme C1 (2019) is effectively the same phone as the Realme C1 aside from the memory options - Snapdragon 450 chipset, 13 MP + 2 MP main camera and a tall 6.2" screen with HD+ resolution. There is a notch on the front for the earpiece, proximity sensor, and 5 MP selfie camera. The price of the...

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Snapdragon 712 arrives with faster CPU and Quick Charge 4+

Qualcomm announced a new addition to its chipset portfolio - the Snapdragon 712. It is built on the 10 nm process and comes as a modest upgrade to the popular Snapdragon 710. It has faster octa-core processor "that adds performance boost and makes it a powerhouse for gaming and beyond". Snapdragon 712 Snapdragon 710 Process 10 nm FinFET 10 nm FinFET CPU 8x Qualcomm Kryo 360 CPU @ 2.3GHz 8x Qualcomm Kryo 360 CPU @ 2.2GHz GPU Qualcomm Adreno 616 Qualcomm Adreno 616 Photo Up to 20 MP...

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LG G8 ThinQ to come with ToF selfie camera

LG is introducing the G8 ThinQ flagship at MWC 2019 and today the manufacturer revealed the phone will come with ToF front-facing camera. The sensor was developed by the German technology company Infineon and even if there are no technical details about the sensor whatsoever, LG stated that it will "deliver a new level of front camera capability in a smartphone". The Infineon ToF sensor chip will deliver measurements by capturing infrared light, reflected from the face. This means it will be more effective in low light and will reduce the workload on the processor, thereby lowering...

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