Huawei's annual revenue surpasses $100 million for the first time

On Friday, Huawei Technologies released its financial reports from 2018 to reveal a staggering revenue increase of 19.5% over 2017. The company's smartphone sales revenue has increased by 25.1% over the previous year. It reported a strong sales revenue of CNY 721.2 billion or $107.13 billion. This is the first time Huawei has ever surpassed over $100 billion in revenue. It also reported great profit improvements over 2017. Huawei is reporting a 28% increase of net profits at $8.8 billion for 2018 versus only a 0.4% increase in 2017 over 2016's profits. Last year was a great one for the...

Read More

Twitter for iOS gets OLED-friendly dark mode

Twitter rolled out Night Mode for Android and iOS in 2016. Today, the company has rolled out an OLED-friendly dark mode for the latter. Twitter has announced a new feature called "Lights out" which brings a proper dark mode to its iOS app. Turning it on changes the app's UI to pitch black instead of dark blue. This does a better job at conserving battery on your device if it's equipped with an OLED display. To turn on this new dark mode, head over to the Settings and privacy > Display and sound menu and tap on the toggle button next to 'Dark mode'. Doing so will give you two options...

Read More

US pricing and availability for the LG G8 on Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T

On Thursday, LG announced that the G8 ThinQ will become available for purchase in the US starting on April 11. Following this announcement, all major US carriers have outlined pricing, availability, and promotions for the LG G8 ThinQ. Verizon Verizon's LG G8 will cost $840 outright and pre-orders will begin starting on April 1. You can get up to $450 off when you trade in a smartphone and add a new line or existing customers can get $200 when trading in an old phone and upgrade to the G8. Customers who switch to Verizon can get a $200 rebate (via prepaid Mastercard)...

Read More

Black Shark 2 gaming smartphone is now up for grabs in Europe

Xiaomi's Black Shark gaming-focused sub-brand announced its latest smartphone earlier this month. And today the Black Shark 2 is available to purchase in Europe, straight from the official Black Shark website. You'll have to pay €549 or £479 if you want the version with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, or if you need 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage then prepare €649 or £559. David Li, VP of Black Shark Global says this device will provide "an unmatched experience for European gamers". The company chose to establish a presence in Europe because mobile gaming is apparently now...

Read More

LG G8 ThinQ will be available in the US on April 11, pre-orders start tomorrow

LG officially unveiled the G8 ThinQ at MWC in February, and now the company is almost ready to deliver it to your doorstep. Today it's announcing that the G8 will be available in the US on April 11. Pricing will start at $819.99 with introductory promotions that will take off up to $150 for a limited time at launch. Exact details of those will be communicated by the carriers and retailers offering the device. Speaking of which, you'll find the G8 at AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, US Cellular, Xfinity Mobile, Best Buy, and B&H. Pre-orders open on March 29. The G8 ThinQ comes...

Read More

Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 (2019) with S Pen quietly unveiled

Six weeks ago Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Tab A 10.1 (2019) - an affordable alternative to the Tab S5e. Now there's a more compact model, an 8" one, and it features S Pen support (something even the S5e lacks). The Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 with S Pen has an 8" LCD with the same resolution as its 10.1" sibling - 1,920 x 1,200px. The S Pen seems to be the one from the Galaxy Note8 and it slots into the tablet itself. Unlike the 10.1" model, the Galaxy Tab A 8.0 has S Pen support The Tab A 8.0 is powered by the same Exynos 7904 chipset as the larger model, but it has more RAM, 3GB....

Read More

Spotify begins testing new Premium Duo plan

Sharing passwords for Spotify accounts is not uncommon and the latest way the company is trying to crack down on the practices is by introducing a shared premium service for two users. Premium Duo, will give each person a separate premium account with all the standard benefits as well as the new Duo Mix feature. The new offering is more cost effective compared to single premium accounts which go for $9.99 each and falls in-between the regular premium account and the family sharing plans, which start at $14.99. The only requirement for Premium Duo is that you're living together with the...

Read More

ZTE reports $1 billion in losses for 2018

ZTE went through a tough 2018 after battling with the US government for allegedly violating export restrictions resulting in a temporary ban and hefty fines. Now, the company finds itself amidst it's highest reported annual loss coming in at 6.98 billion yuan ($1.04 billion) largely due to the $1 billion fine it had to pay to the US government. This move brought the company to its knees, banning US component suppliers from working with ZTE. Elsewhere officials from Australia, New Zealand and Japan followed suit and banned ZTE and fellow Chinese telecom giant Huawei from establishing 5G...

Read More

Periscope camera of Oppo Reno disassembled on video

Periscope cameras are a way to provide long focal lengths in the slim form factor of a smartphone. But how do they work? A video that shows the disassembly of Oppo Reno camera could shed some light on that. The periscope module measures only 23.5 x 11.5 x 5.73mm. It's thin enough that it can fit into phones without creating a major hump. It's quite small overall, so it doesn't take up too much of the internal volume. The module consists of three main parts: prism, lenses and sensor. The lenses come out as a unit, they are a special "D-Cut" design that helps keep the module as thin as it...

Read More

Sony Mobile will be merged with the TV, audio and camera divisions

Sony Mobile is losing its independence - and that's a good thing. The division will be combined with Sony's TV, audio and camera products into a unit called Electronics Products and Solutions. The company presents this as a move to increase the synergies between various Sony electronics - the Xperia line already borrows heavily from the TV and camera divisions (especially evident in the latest Xperia 1 flagship). For what it's worth, Sony will keep reporting the financial performance of its Xperia smartphones. Still, some worry that this is an attempt to hide the losses from the mobile...

Read More

Oppo Reno leaks with the most unusual front-facing camera ever

First it was the vivo NEX and its elevating selfie camera; then the Oppo Find X and its top side, housing the front and back shooters. There are also some sliders like the Mi Mix 3 and the Honor Magic 2 that managed to keep the full-screen design on the front. And today, brace yourselves, we're about to see the most unusual front-facing camera - the peeking shooter of the Oppo Reno. The leaked video also reveals the design of the back panel. It appears the version is missing the 10x zoom behind the periscope lens, spotted on the demo unit we tested back at MWC 2019. There is the...

Read More

Alleged nubia Red Magic 3 certified with 30W fast charging

A nubia smartphone with model number NX629J - which is allegedly the Red Magic 3 - has appeared on 3C's website, and its listing reveals that this gaming smartphone will come with 30W (15V/2A) fast charging support. The Red Magic 3 is expected to go official next month and the company has previously revealed that this smartphone will come with at least 5,000 mAh battery. For a battery that size, the 30W fast charging should come in really handy. nubia Red Magic Mars The Red Magic 3 is also confirmed to come with Snapdragon 855 SoC, 12GB RAM, and a 4D vibration motor allowing...

Read More

Pocophone F1 overtakes OnePlus 6 in India in Q4 last year, says IDC

Move over, OnePlus 6, there's a champ in town. Based on data from IDC, the Pocophone F1 was India's best-selling smartphone over INR 15,000 in terms of online sales for the final quarter of 2018. Manu Jain, the Managing Director at Xiaomi India, posted a cheeky celebratory tweet, saying "The Champion of Speed doesn't settle for 2nd place", a nod at the OnePlus motto. By the way, Poco is currently running a promotion, selling the 6/128GB model for INR 21,000 (normally the model goes for INR 23,000). This is the last day of the promo. Source

Read More

Oppo A1K certified by NBTC in Thailand, launch imminent

Specifications of the Oppo A1K leaked two weeks ago, and it now seems this smartphone will go official soon as it got certified by Thailand's NBTC. The Oppo A1K has also been certified by a couple of other organizations like Indonesia's TKDN, Malaysia's SIRIM, and Europe's EEC, all hinting at its imminent launch. There's no word from Oppo about the A1K, but thanks to previous leaks, we know that it will be powered by Helio P22 SoC coupled with 2GB RAM. It will have a 6-inch waterdrop notch display on the front and run ColorOS 6 out-of-the-box. The A1K will have 32GB of onboard...

Read More

Huawei P30, P30 Pro China price surfaces

The China prices of the Huawei P30 and P30 Pro which were announced two days ago at an event in Paris has surfaced. The P30 will be offered in 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB storage options, whereas the Pro variant will come in 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB storage variants. The Chinese variants of these smartphones will have 8GB RAM in tow, unlike their global counterparts that are also offered with 6GB RAM. The P30 starts at CNY3,988 whereas the P30 Pro starts at CNY5,588. You can check out the table below for more information with a breakdown of RAM and storage. Huawei P30 ...

Read More

Oppo Reno with Snapdragon 855 to have liquid cooling

Oppo is launching the Reno smartphone with 10x zoom and we expect multiple variants of this device. One of the variations will be the chipset, and it appears the different phones will have different methods for heat dissipation. According to Brian Shen, company VP, the Snapdragon 855-powered flagship will have a copper tube and liquid cooling. Oppo Reno front and back People opting for the Snapdragon 710 variant will have an Oppo Reno with actual gel or some sort of paste on a graphite sheet to preserve the Reno from getting too hot in your hands while watching videos or...

Read More

Huawei brings wireless charging to the p30 with a special case

Chinese phone maker Huawei announced the P30 and P30 Pro at an event in Paris two days ago. Both of these are powered by Kirin 980 SoC but they have some differences - one of which is wireless charging. The Pro variant has it but the vanilla P30 doesn't. Well, Huawei has quietly introduced a case that brings wireless charging, based on the Qi standard. This case comes with a magnet on the bottom side that makes it easier to attach the phone to your car's phone holder, and Huawei offers one as well. It's worth noting that the P30 Pro supports 15W wireless charging whereas this case...

Read More

Here's how Samsung tests the Galaxy Fold's hinge durability

The Samsung Galaxy Fold will be the first commercially-available folding phone by a big brand and will cost €2,000 when it goes on pre-order in a month so future buyers would expect it to be made of some stern stuff to warrant that price. Samsung claims the Galaxy Fold can withstand 200,000 folds without issue and is backing up its claim by providing a glimpse of its stringent folding test. The Galaxy Fold is hooked up to a machine that opens and closes it constantly for a week to accumulate the rated 200,000 folds. That test simulates what 5 years of use (if you open and close the...

Read More