LG files patent for smartphone with three selfie cameras

LG submitted a patent for a smartphone that features basic sketches of the device, outfitted with three rear cameras and three front-facing cameras. The patent was registered with the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Office) and went live on Friday. The device in the diagrams appears to have three cameras in the notch cluster above the phone. Each camera's function isn't explicitly described, but we could speculate that one has a standard lens, another - ultra-wide, and the third might be a ToF sensor. Maybe not in that particular order, but given the LG G8's inclusion of the ToF sensor,...

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Huawei Mate 20 X 5G appears in a hands-on video

Over the past couple of days, the Huawei Mate 20 X 5G has made headlines as Huawei prepares at least two 5G devices for this year. After seeing a photo of the 5G version's retail packaging, a hands-on video of the device has been uploaded to YouTube on Friday by Zing Gadget. The video has a few angles of the Mate 20 X, prominently featuring a 5G logo on its backside. The specifications in the captions mention the two spec differences initially rumored earlier this week: the smaller 4,200 mAh battery, and the quicker 40W Super Charge support. Both the foldable Mate X and the huge...

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Amazon introduces ad-supported free version of Prime Music in the US

Amazon is now offering the option to US customers to access Amazon Prime Music service without having a Prime membership or Amazon Music Unlimited subscription. But before you rush to try the service, it comes with quite a few caveats. First of all, it is ad-supported, which should be expected but still worth mentioning. Second, and more importantly, it only works on Alexa-enabled devices, such as the Amazon Echo products, Sonos One, etc. This means you won't be able to play it through any of the Prime Music apps on any platform or the web. Lastly, you can't just play any...

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BlackBerry launches Red edition KEY2 in the US

BlackBerry had previously launched the BlackBerry KEY2 Red Edition with a few key differences (no pun intended) over the standard KEY2 version that's currently available. BlackBerry is announcing the device's US availability. For starters, this is the KEY2 Red Edition. It's a totally red version of the KEY2, not to be confused with the KEY2 LE, which was announced back during IFA as a similar-looking Atomic Red color option. The exposed metal parts of the phone are bright red while the QWERTY keyboard remains black and the physical keys are silver. The Red Edition is made of the...

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Huawei P30 Pro survives a torture test with a few scratches

We got another durability test video from JerryRigEverything and this time the Huawei P30 Pro is the unfortunate victim. The handset went through the usual scratch, burn and bend tests and survived it all even if it got a scar or two. The back and side panels are indeed made of glass as the scratch test confirmed but Huawei made some important structural changes to this year's design. Last year's P20 Pro didn't survive the bend test while the P30 Pro handled the pressure with ease. Perhaps the curved glass on the back and front add more stability and rigidity to the frame and...

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Apple to merge Find my iPhone and Find My Friends into a single app

Apple's iOS 13 is going to bring several overhauls over previous versions with system-wide dark mode, undo gestures and special iPad features like multiple windowed apps. Today news broke out that Apple is also working on merging its Find my iPhone and Find my Friends apps in a single one under the "Green Torch" code name. Thanks to the new universal app framework - Marzipan the new tracking app will come in both iOS and macOS versions. Apple is also planning to add offline tracking via a "Find Network" feature handy when a lost device is not connected to either Wi-Fi or a cellular...

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Leak shows Moto Z4 will have a 6.4" screen, S675 chipset and 48MP camera

Rumors about a Moto Z4 Play have been circulating for months, but now we have a plot twist - leaked Moto Z4 promo materials describe a very similar phone with mid-range specs. According to that leak, the phone have a Snapdragon 675 chipset, same as the Z4 Play, instead of a flagship 800-series Snapdragon like the Moto Z3. The promo materials claim the price will be half of what flagships cost, which solidifies the mid-range status of the phone. Both models are rumored to have 48MP rear cameras, single cameras by the sound of it. The vanilla Z4 will have a 25MP selfie camera. Both rear...

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ZTE Axon 10 Pro 5G tops AnTuTu charts thanks to faster storage

The competition for the best-performing smartphone is fierce and we may have a new champ soon - the ZTE Axon 10 Pro 5G - which topped the charts at AnTuTu. The Axon counts itself among the many Snapdragon 855-powered phones, but interestingly enough it's not the chipset that secured its win, it's the storage. AnTuTu score breakdown for the ZTE Axon 10 Pro 5G AnTuTu reports that the Axon 10 Pro 5G is the first phone to combine the S855 chipset with the F2FS file system. It was developed by Samsung specifically for use with flash storage, which makes it much faster than the ext4 used...

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Lenovo VP posts Z6 Pro sample photos ahead of launch

Lenovo will introduce its latest flagship - the Z6 Pro in Beijing on April 23. One of its highlights includes the new Hyper Vision camera which we learned will feature four modules, capable of outputting 100MP shots. The main shooter will have a 48MP sensor, but we still don't have any details on the other three. Today Lenovo's VP Chang Cheng revealed some sample shots taken with the Z6 Pro camera. There's three shots in daylight, three night shots as well as a trio of sunrise/sunset photos. We can't judge the overall capabilities of the camera yet since we don't have confirmation that...

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vivo reveals its Funtouch OS 9 update roadmap

vivo has announced its roadmap for the rollout of its latest Funtouch OS 9. The latest version of the UI is based on Android Pie and went official last month alongside the vivo 27. It will be rolled out to a total of 13 smartphones by July this year, albeit in the form of a beta update. This update is currently tested on five models which include X21i, Z1, Z1i, X23, and X23 Symphony Edition. The second batch includes X21, X21 UD, X21s, NEX A, NEX S, NEX Dual Display, and Z3i which will get the beta in June. And in July, vivo will release the update for the Z3. Do note that this...

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CIRP: Apple tops US sales charts in Q1, Samsung a close second

Despite poor iPhone sales throughout 2018, Apple seems to doing quite well in its home market. According to data from CIRP (Consumer Intelligence Research Partners), iPhones accounted for 36% of US smartphones activations during Q1 of 2019, which gave Apple a slight lead over Samsung with its 34%. Next in line are LG and Motorola with 11 and 10% respectively. The new data suggests that Apple is regaining US market share after a mediocre 2018 but is still far away from the dominance it held during Q1 of 2016 and 2017 when it peaked at 40% market share. The new results should also...

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Instagram might soon hide the Like count from your posts

The number of Likes on your Instagram posts may soon be invisible to others as the Facebook subsidiary has created a design prototype, which hides the Like counts from your posts. This information comes to us through reverse engineering expert Jane Wong who spotted the change in the source code of Instagram's Android app. Unlike the current design, this new design hides the total number of Likes on your post from others, but they are still visible to you. By hiding the Like count from the posts, Instagram wants "your followers to focus on what you share, not how many likes your...

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Nokia 9 PureView fingerprint scanner and UI improved in latest update

The penta camera-toting Nokia 9 PureView has received a new software update that brings in tons of improvements. This update, bearing version number V4.22C, weighs 250.4MB in size. Its changelog mentions improved system stability, UI enhancements, and April 2019 security patch. However, users report that this update has much more than that. The new firmware has improved the performance of the phone's in-display fingerprint scanner, but if you don't see any improvements, just try to enroll your fingerprint again and see if it works. Other enhancements that come along with this...

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Samsung Galaxy A10e passes WiFi certification

The Galaxy A10 is currently the most affordable A-series phone, but it looks like Samsung will offer an even more affordable version similar to what it did with the Galaxy A20 and A20e. A new phone bearing the SM-A102U naming passed was certified by the Wi-Fi alliance, and it will likely hit shelves as the A10e. From the certification, we learn the new phone will run on Android 9.0 and support dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, unlike the regular A10 which does not come with dual-band capabilities. This difference might suggest that the A10e will run on a newer SoC. As for the rest of...

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BlackBerry Messenger shuts down on May 31

Emtek Group acquired the rights for BBM back in 2016 to bring back to life the beloved messenger from the early-mid 2000s. Sadly, today the company announced it is discontinuing the consumer version on May 31, citing "very fluid industry". The press release revealed that company employees "poured their hearts" into making BBM great again, but acknowledged that users have moved on to other platforms, while new users proved difficult to sign on. Since Emtek decided to pull the plug of BBM, the original BlackBerry company that still offers security solutions, is making the BBM...

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Google and Amazon end stalemate: Fire TV to get YouTube, Prime Video gains Chromecast support

Google and YouTube have ended their stalemate, with each adding support for a key feature of its competitor. Google will be releasing the YouTube app on the Fire TV devices and Fire TV Edition smart televisions over the next few months. The app will support up to 4K 60fps HDR content on compatible models. The YouTube TV and YouTube Kids apps will also be coming later this year. Meanwhile, users will soon be able to cast Prime Video content from their mobile app to Chromecast and Chromecast enabled devices such as televisions and media players in 4K. The Amazon Google cold war...

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Google Pixel 3a and 3a XL official renders are here

Google's Pixel 3a and 3a XL have been subject to a plethora of leaks already. We have seen their case images, hands-on photos, and even a video. Now, we are looking at their first official renders that have surfaced online. These renders of the Pixel 3a and 3a XL come to us courtesy of Android Headlines. They don't really reveal anything new in terms of design, but they do reiterate the launch date of these smartphones. Google teased May 7 announcement of these mid-rangers earlier this week, and you can clearly see that's the date on the lockscreens of both phones here. Even...

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2019 iPhones to have better rear and selfie cameras

A report released on Thursday outlines a few of the changes we might expect in this year's new-generation iPhones. Ming Chi Kuo is a long-time Apple analyst at TF International Securities and as Mac Rumors reports, Apple's newest iPhones will get higher resolution selfie cameras. The current iPhone lineup has 7MP cameras. Although the resolution isn't very much, I really loved how the selfies looked back when I was reviewing the Apple iPhone XR thanks to Apple's Smart HDR. We can expect these selfie cameras to be bumped up to 12MP resolution while maintaining the same pixel size. In...

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