Google Go app gets over 100 million downloads as Android Go device sales grow

Android Go (or Go Edition) is a trimmed down version of the OS that's aimed to run on the most extremely low-end smartphones imaginable in this day and age. Such handsets come with special slimmer versions of the built-in Google apps, as well as the Google Go app. This has now reached over 100 million downloads in the Play Store, which means sales of Android Go devices are really starting to pick up. Last September Google Go barely made it past 10 million downloads, so it looks like the search giant's effort to cater to those who can't afford (or don't want) expensive smartphones is paying...

Read More

Moto Z2 Force is only getting Android 9 Pie on Verizon, despite past promises

Last year Motorola promised it would bring Android 9 Pie to all models of the Moto Z2 Force - including those sold by AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon. If you're wondering about any updates on this long overdue rollout, the news is anything but good. Reneging on its earlier promise, Motorola now says only the Verizon version of the Z2 Force is to ever taste Android Pie. Here's the company's full official statement on the matter: Delivering any Android upgrade is a complex process. For a variety of reasons, some US Moto Z2 Force models will not receive the Android 9 "Pie" update. The...

Read More

WhatsApp tests sharing your status to your Facebook Story

WhatsApp's latest beta adds a new feature that's bound to be at least a little bit controversial: sharing your Status to your Facebook Story. This however does not imply linking your WhatsApp user ID to your Facebook account, the company insists, as it's using the standard Android and iOS data sharing APIs. That means you can also share your WhatsApp Status to other apps - Instagram, Gmail, Google Photos, and so on. And when you do share data to another Facebook-owned service like Instagram, the company says the two posts will be separate events in its systems, and will not be...

Read More

YouTube gives you more control over what videos show up in your Home feed and Up Next

YouTube is making some changes today, that will give you more control over what videos show up in your Home feed as well as Up Next. First off, you can explore topics and related videos to see more of what you love. The options that you see are based on your existing personalized suggestions. These could be videos related to the one you're watching, videos published by the same channel, or other topics which may be of interest to you. You can find this new feature on the homepage when you scroll up, and on Up Next when browsing. It will be available for signed-in users in English on the...

Read More

Google now lets you set location history to auto-delete

Today Google has rolled out auto-delete controls for your location history and activity data. These should now be available on both Android and iOS. The feature was first announced at the beginning of May, but it took this long for it to actually be implemented. Auto-delete controls for Location History start rolling out today on Android and iOS, making it even easier for you to manage your data → https://t.co/dX1uoqcR8O pic.twitter.com/Oc3fk66QNm— Google (@Google) June 26, 2019 This is a useful middle-of-the-road option, that lets the company collect your location history and...

Read More

Our Samsung Galaxy A30 video review is up

Samsung has revamped its mid-range lineup this year, and the A series devices now have two digits after the letter. As its name implies, the Galaxy A30 is far from the highest-end of the bunch (that honor goes to the A80, for now), but it is an interesting contender nevertheless, with its water drop notch on its Infinity-U Super AMOLED display, big battery, and octa-core chipset. So how do its specs actually fare in the real world, once you get to know the handset a little bit better? You can check out our brand new video review of the Galaxy A30, embedded below, to find the answer to that...

Read More

OnePlus 5 and 5T are getting their last Open Betas

The latest OxygenOS Open Betas are out for the OnePlus 5 and 5T (v35 and v33, respectively). They bring some minor improvements, but they are more important for another reason - they will be the last open betas for the 5th generation OnePlus phones. Don't worry, OnePlus still plans to deliver Android Q to the 5 and 5T. However, testing for future firmware updates will be done only through closed betas. So only people who didn't want to wait for the stable release will be affected. Installing the last open beta on the OnePlus 5T (screenshots courtesy of arpit1+) As for the Open...

Read More

Sony Xperia 1 US pre-orders start with WH-1000XM3 bundle

Following a successful launch in China and Europe the Sony Xperia 1 is almost ready to hit store shelves in the US. It's on pre-order at a few stores right now and starting on June 28 it will be up on Amazon, B&H, Best Buy, Beach Camera and Focus Camera. Proper sales are set to begin on July 12 at a price of $950. However, you may want to pre-order ahead of that date as Sony will bundle its flagship smartphone with its flagship noise-canceling headphones - the WH-1000XM3. That's the same deal that Europe got. Sony Xperia 1 and the WH-1000XM3 The North American version of...

Read More

Samsung Galaxy M30 review

Read More

HTC reveals more details about its Vive Cosmos VR headset

HTC announced its Vive Cosmos VR headset during 2019's CES but gave us little details at that point. Today the company tweeted a little something about the device. #HTCVIVECOSMOS combines optimal clarity and resolution to serve as the visual gateway to your virtual worlds. In addition, we'll be sharing more details on design & ergonomics this week. #HTCVIVE #VIVEPORT pic.twitter.com/CBVkPbAkEg— HTC VIVE (@htcvive) June 25, 2019 For starters, the Vive Cosmos will offer a whopping 88% increase in resolution compared to the original Vive so the LCD panels have 2880 x 1700px combined...

Read More

Redmi and Black Shark are working on 5G phones

Xiaomi's first 5G phone - the Mi Mix 3 5G - will soon be available in Europe and China. Meanwhile, the company's sub-brands Redmi and Black Shark are preparing to launch 5G-connected phones of their own. Lu Weibing, who's attending MWC Shanghai, posted on Weibo "5G is coming". He says that by the end of next year there will be 5G phones costing less than CNY 2,000 - that's about $300/€260, not including taxes. His colleague from Black Shark posted that the R&D team has been preparing for the arrival of the next-gen wireless network and a Black Shark 5G phone will be released in the...

Read More

Oppo Reno Z coming to Europe next week

The Oppo Reno Z is only available in China at this point, but it will make its European debut next week starting with the Netherlands. The smartphone will hit Dutch stores on July 5 with MediaMarkt and Belsimpel confirmed to carry it. Its price tag will be €349 ($395) for the 4GB/128GB variant. It will be offered in Black and Purple colors. The Reno Z is powered by Helio P90 SoC, and, unlike the Reno and Reno 10x zoom Edition sports a notched display measuring 6.4-inches diagonally. The notch houses a 32MP camera for selfies and video calls, and there's a dual camera setup at the...

Read More

Oppo MeshTalk can make calls and send texts with no carrier or Internet connection

While makers and carriers are talking up the benefits of 5G, Oppo is asking another question - what if there's no cell connection, no Wi-Fi or Bluetooth? It introduced a system called MeshTalk which can send data between devices up to 3km apart. We imagine that this is with a clear line of sight. Still, as the name suggests this is a mesh network - it can route the message through several nearby devices so it can reach its target, even if it's too far for a direct connection. MeshTalk uses a custom chip with enhanced sensitivity to achieve this long range communication. It's a...

Read More

Honor will debut a 5G flagship by the end of the year

Huawei's sub-brand Honor will release its first 5G smartphone in Q4 of 2019, said George Zhao, company president, during a talk at the Mobile World Congress in Shanghai. He didn't reveal any future specs of the device but he did disclose that it will be a flagship phone. Zhao expects that 5G smartphone sales will break the 100 million mark next year and he bets China will be the market to do it first. Source | Via

Read More

Huawei Mate 20 X EMUI 9.1 update now rolling out

The Huawei Mate 20 X is now receiving its promised EMUI 9.1 update. The new build is still based on Android Pie has version number 9.1.0.300(C185E3R2P1) and involves a large 4GB download. It comes with features like moon photography and GPU Turbo 3.0, and lets you set up video ringtones for specific contacts. The new firmware also switches the file system of the Mate 20 X to EROFS, which should improve stability and performance. That said, the update is currently seeding in Dubai and if you don't get a notification, you will have to log in to the HiCare app and head over to the...

Read More

Revolut and Monese bring Apple Pay to Central and Eastern Europe

Revolut and Monese announced on the same day they are expanding their support for Apple Pay to twelve EU countries, most of them in Central and Eastern Europe. Now the service is available throughout the whole European Union and some member countries of the European Economic Area. The full list includes Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia, with Monese bringing the service to Liechtenstein as well, making its total one more than the competitor Revolut. Revolut announced on Twitter the good news,...

Read More

Realme X to debut in India next month with a Spider Man-themed case

The Realme X is already on its way to India and should be there in H2 of 2019. And while the company hasn't announced the exact launch date yet, the latest report claims that the smartphone will make its way to India in mid-July with a case dedicated to Marvel's upcoming movie Spider-Man: Far From Home. It's currently unclear though if this Spider Man-themed case will be sold separately or will come bundled with the smartphone. Realme X That said, there have been rumors of the Realme X arriving in India on July 17, and while Realme hasn't said anything, it has already started...

Read More

Lenovo Z6 Pro 5G Edition goes official

Lenovo unveiled the Z6 Pro back in April this year, and now at the ongoing Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Shanghai, the company has announced its 5G Edition. The Lenovo Z6 Pro 5G Edition has the same hardware as its non-5G variant, except that it also comes with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X50 modem to enable 5G connectivity. Design-wise, the only difference between the Z6 Pro and the Z6 Pro 5G is that the latter comes with a transparent back, but it's unclear if the back is actually transparent or if it has an illustrative sticker like the Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer. Pricing and...

Read More

Micron restarts chip shipments to Huawei

US-based chip manufacturer Micron has resumed shipments to Huawei. The company determined that a subset of its products could still be shipped to Shenzhen since they are not subject to export administration regulations, Micron Chief Executive Sanjay Mehrotra said in a briefing with investors. He clarified due to the uncertainty of the whole trade situation, volumes or time periods are unable to be predicted. Micron, based just outside the city of Boise, Idaho, suspended shipments to Huawei on May 15 when the US government added Huawei to a list of companies banned from trading...

Read More

Realme 1 and U1 get Android Pie-based ColorOS 6 update

As promised, Realme has started rolling out the Android Pie-based ColorOS 6 update for the Realme 1 and the Realme U1. The new firmware for the Realme 1 carries version number CPH1859EX_11_A.37 while the firmware for Realme U1 comes bearing version number RMX1831EX_11_A.10. Realme U1 The ColorOS 6 update brings in new UI, an app drawer, a theme store, as well as a Riding Mode. It also comes with a Nightscape Mode and bumps up the Android security patch level on the Realme 1 and U1 to May 5, 2019. You can check out the full changelog below: System Added...

Read More

LG W series premiere - W10, W30 and W30 Pro

LG has premiered its new W series of smartphones in India today. The LG W10, W30 and W30 Pro all have 4,000mAh batteries, run Android 9 Pie, use octa-core chipsets and have a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner as well as support for front-facing camera Face unlock. The LG W10 has a 6.19-inch 1512x720px FullVision display with an 8MP selfie camera embedded into its full-sized notch. It packs a MediaTek Helio P22 chipset with a CPU clocked at 2.0GHz and3GB of RAM. Storage is 32GB, but you can expand it thanks to the microSD card slot. On the rear the LG W10 has a 13MP regular snapper...

Read More

Check out the first image of the Xiaomi Mi CC9

Xiaomi is announcing the Mi CC9 next week and we already know some specs like the 48 MP main shooter and the 32 MP front-facing camera. Now the first official images appeared online, and it is in line with the TENAA listing from earlier this month - three cameras in a vertical fashion with a neat Glacier Ice White back panel. Xiaomi Mi CC9 renders The phone looks stunning, although it does have a clear resemblance to the Feather White vivo iQOO, Pearl White Huawei P30 Pro or Prism White Samsung Galaxy S10. We also see USB-C and speaker grille on the bottom, 3.5 mm audio jack,...

Read More

Oppo premiers its first Under-Screen Camera

MWC Shanghai 2019 is starting today in China, and one of the big announcements at the Conference comes from Oppo - the Dongguan-based manufacturer introduced its first Under-Screen Camera that was already teased earlier this month. The selfie shooter goes under the display, enabling full-screen experience without any notches or moving mechanisms. To make the technology work, Oppo introduced both customized display and camera module. The part of the screen that is above the lens is made of a unique highly-transparent material with redesigned pixel structure to ensure optimal...

Read More

Asus 6z goes on sale in India

The Asus ZenFone 6 announced last month was launched in India last week as the Asus 6z. And starting today, it's available for purchase in the country exclusively through Flipkart. The Asus 6z is offered in Black and Midnight Black colors and comes in three memory versions - 6GB/64GB priced at INR31,999 ($460/€405), 6GB/128GB priced at INR34,999 ($505/€445), and the top-end 8GB/256GB model which costs INR39,999 ($575/€505). The 6z is a flagship smartphone having Snapdragon 855 SoC under the hood. It flaunts a 6.4-inch FHD+ notch-less display and comes with a dual camera at the back...

Read More

Asus 6z goes on sale in India

The Asus ZenFone 6 announced last month was launched in India last week as the Asus 6z. And starting today, it's available for purchase in the country through Flipkart. The Asus 6z is offered in Black and Midnight Black colors and comes in three memory versions - 6GB/64GB priced at INR31,999 ($460/€405), 6GB/128GB priced at INR34,999 ($505/€445), and the top-end 8GB/256GB model which costs INR39,999 ($575/€505). The 6z is a flagship smartphone having Snapdragon 855 SoC under the hood. It flaunts a 6.4-inch FHD+ notch-less display and comes with a dual camera at the back which can...

Read More