Latest Google app teardown hints at Assistant "Ambient mode" and "Shortcuts"

The latest ‘APK Insight' by 9to5Google details some of the findings of a teardown of the latest version of the Google app. Lines of code added hint at preparations for features to come in a future version of the app. The latest version 10.20 of the Google app reveals codes of strings that would let you execute frequently requested queries by just tapping a button on the always-on display such as things like turning off the bedroom lights, asking for the next day's weather, or playing sounds to go to sleep. There string that really gives this away is "Do more while your device is locked...

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Affordable Oppo K3 is bringing its pop-up selfie cam to India soon

The Oppo K3 was announced back in May in China, and now it's almost ready to make the jump over to India. The affordable smartphone has a full-screen display with an embedded fingerprint sensor, as well as a pop-up selfie camera and the Snapdragon 710 at the helm. The price for all this is just around $230 in China, we'll have to see if or how that changes on the way to India. The Oppo K3 will be sold in the subcontinent by Amazon, and the retailer has already started a teaser campaign for the upcoming phone. So we assume that it will be officially launched in India by the end of this...

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Google Pixel 4 may have 16 MP telephoto lens

In an unprecedented step, last month Google wanted to stay ahead of the barrage of leaks and decided to show us the rough design of the upcoming Pixel 4's back, thus confirming the presence of dual rear cameras - a first for the line. During this time you may have been wondering whether the secondary unit in there would be telephoto or ultra-wide, since for some reason Google can't get with the times and just have both of those options alongside a normal wide lens in a triple arrangement. The answer seems to be telephoto, which won't be great news for fans of ultra-wide shots. The...

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Asus Zenfone 5 Lite starts receiving Android 9.0 Pie

Asus released the Zenfone 5 Lite, also known as the 5Q in some regions, back in February 2018 on Android 7.1 Nougat. The dated Android version was holding this rather capable midranger back, but now it all changes as Asus has released an OTA update to Android 9.0 Pie. This is a rare sighting in this segment - to see a budget phone make this jump of two major OS versions. Anyway, the OEM hasn't provided a full changelog so we suspect there are some other tweaks besides the visual changes, the new navigation pill and native Pie features that are at hand. It's a hefty update that...

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Samsung Galaxy A80 Blackpink Special Edition goes on pre-order in some countries

K-pop phenomenon Blackpink went up on stage during the Samsung Galaxy A80 to promote the phone and as a "thank you", Samsung has released a special edition of the phone in some markets. Samsung Galaxy A80 Blackpink Special edition • Blackpink case The Galaxy A80 Blackpink Special Edition is available for pre-order on Samsung Thailand and ESH in Malaysia. It looks like it will be available in Singapore (from Samsung Experience stores) and Vietnam as well. In Thailand at least, the pre-order period ends on July 14 (Sunday next week). Charging stand • Photo cards with the...

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MOQI i7s review

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Samsung begins rollout of Android Pie for Galaxy Xcover 4

While the Galaxy XCover 4s was released just last month its predecessor is not forgotten. The Xcover 4 is the latest Samsung device to get the Android Pie boost complete with the OneUI refresh. The rugged phone which hit shelves back in April of 2017 with Android 7.0 is the latest in a range of older Samsung devices to receive Android Pie in the past months. The G390FXXU4CSF9 update began rolling out to European users alongside the June security patch. Xcover 4 owners are getting the complete visual overhauls and nifty additions of OneUI like dark mode, gesture navigation and Digital...

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vivo V1921A appears with 6.39-inch display and 4,220 mAh battery

Another vivo handset passed through Chinese certification agency TENAA and we got some key specs as well as a couple of shots. The listing for the V1921A reveals a 6.38-inch screen with a UD fingerprint scanner. Around the back, there's a triple camera setup and a generous 4,420 mAh battery. vivo V1921A profile Visually the device resembles the vivo V1913A/T which slipped through the certification ranks a while back. The two also share the same screen size and fingerprint reader. Rumors suggest that the V1921A will be part of vivo's Y-series and will make its debut in China...

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Mysterious Nokia Daredevil leaks with three cameras in a circular module

When Nokia revealed the 9 PureView with its unique camera arrangement, people thought it couldn't get any weirder. Well, it looks like the Finnish company has another surprise up its sleeve - a cameraphone with three shooters, arranged in a square but positioned in a circular module on the back. The device does not have an official name yet, but meta info from photos reveal the moniker Nokia Daredevil. We also learn that the main module has a 48MP sensor. Nokia Daredevil from the outside The phone is pictured with a notch on the front and clean Android with Google services...

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Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 (2019) announced with an 8" display and 5,100 mAh battery

The entry level Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 (2019) has just made its official debut. The Galaxy Tab A 8.0 (2019) is powered by the Snapdragon 429 SoC coupled with 2GB RAM. It runs Android Pie out of the box and has 32GB of storage onboard. But don't worry, Samsung has thrown in a microSD card slot which allows storage expansion by up to 512GB. Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 (2019) in Black and Gray colors The Galaxy Tab A 8.0 (2019) boasts an 8" display with 1280x800-pixel resolution and 16:10 aspect ratio. It features stereo speakers and comes with an 8MP rear and a 2MP front...

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Xiaomi Mi Mix 4 may have a 64MP camera, Mi A3 spotted at the FCC with 48MP camera

The Xiaomi Mi Mix 4 will have a camera that will have a better sensor than Samsung's 64MP ISOCELL Bright GW1, said Xiaomi's Product Director Wang Teng in comment on Weibo, which has since been deleted. Sony is yet to announce a 64MP sensor (though we're sure one is coming), so there are no direct alternatives. Not yet at least. Of course "better" is pretty vague when it comes to image sensors - it could mean it's larger or has improved light sensitivity, it's not all about resolution. Realme has already confirmed that it's working on a 64MP phone with the Samsung GW1 sensor, which...

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LG preliminary earnings for Q2 2019 show increasing sales, decline in operating income

Along with Samsung, LG has today revealed its preliminary earnings reports. The company expects consolidated revenues for Q2 2019 to be KRW15.6 trillion ($13.3 billion), while the operating profit is KRW652.2 billion ($557 million). LG expects sales to be 4.1% better than the same quarter last year, but the operating income is going to be 15.4% down on a yearly basis. The Korean company usually does not release any reasons before the full analysis is published, which should happen at the end of this month. When the Q2 2019 report is out we'll know whether the mobile division is...

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Realme 2 receiving Android Pie-based ColorOS 6 update

Realme released Android Pie-based ColorOS 6 beta update for the Realme 2 last month, and it seems the testing has gone smoothly as the company has started seeding the stable build now. This new build requires a 2GB download and sports version number RMX1805EX_11_A.54. It updates UI of the notification panel and adds notification icons in Status Bar. The firmware also includes the June 2019 security patch and comes with a new navigation gesture. Here's the complete changelog of the update: System Added notification icons in status bar Added a new navigation...

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Samsung guidance sees 56% fall in profits for Q2 2019

As expected Samsung will suffer a significant drop in profits for the April-June period. The company released its earnings guidance report today and it marks the third quarter in a row with a decline in profits. This time around Samsung is expecting KRW 6.5 trillion ($5.56 billion) in profits compared to KRW 14.87 trillion ($13.3 billion) a year ago. Revenues are estimated to decline by a mere 4% going from KWR 58.48 trillion ($49.92 billion) to KRW 56 trillion ($47.89 billion). Looking for the culprit in Samsung's financial struggles is easy - it's the stagnating semiconductor...

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Sony unveils WF-1000XM3 true wireless noise-cancelling earbuds

Sony is one of the few companies out there that makes great headphones with properly working active noise-canceling and now it added the new WF-1000XM3 earbuds to its portfolio. They have refreshed looks over the two-year-old WF-1000X, improved NC and longer battery life. The earbuds have a slick design with the buds, some room for the bass and a capacitive surface that can be set up to do various tasks with different gestures, including the popular finger/hand over the earphone (in this case touching the panel) to let ambient sound throught when someone is talking to you. Sony...

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Oppo A9x with 8GB RAM bags certification in China

The Oppo A9x which was announced back in May is getting a new version with 8GB RAM as revealed by Chinese authority TENAA's website. Initially the phone was only available with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. The new version is expected to launch in China soon. The A9x is an incremental upgrade over Oppo's A9 and offers a large 6.53-inch FHD display with a tiny waterdrop notch alongside a 48MP main camera and generous 4,020 mAh battery. It comes in Meteorite Black and Ice Jade White colors. We are unsure if the new 8GB version will replace the existent A9x at the CNY 1,999 ($289)...

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France passes a bill to stop hate speech online

The French parliament approved a measure aimed to make companies like Facebook and Google remove hateful content in a timely manner. The text is part of a larger internet regulation bill was adopted by the lower house of the Parliament, but still has to go through the upper chamber. Once it is done, it would push companies to remove hate speech within 24 hours. The measure is a result from a proposition made by the French president earlier this year, although lawmakers in the European country are divided what exactly shall qualify as hate speech and how would they regulate it in the...

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Redmi K20, K20 Pro India launch date confirmed

The Redmi K20 and K20 Pro finally got a launch date for the Indian market - July 17. The company confirmed it over Twitter and its own website. Mi fans, it's time for the knockout punch!#RedmiK20 and #RedmiK20Pro are unleashing on 1+7 = 17th July 2019! Time for Flagship Killer 2.0 🥊 🥊 Save the date. 🤩 RT if you are excited as I am. 🔄 #BelieveTheHype #Xiaomi ❤️ #Redmi pic.twitter.com/Qpjh2aUAJC— Manu Kumar Jain (@manukumarjain) July 5, 2019 The K20 and K20 Pro have identical screens, cameras and batteries, but the cheaper K20 packs a...

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Asus ROG Phone 2 launch date revealed

Last month a report claimed that Asus would launch the ROG Phone 2 on July 23. Well, that report has turned out to be true now as the company has confirmed the launch date on Chinese social network Weibo. The ROG Phone 2 will succeed the ROG Phone that was announced last year, and it will boast a 120Hz display which is an upgrade over the 90Hz screen its predecessor came with. Details are scarce about the ROG Phone 2 right now, but the smartphone recently got the 3C certification, revealing it will come with 30W fast charging support. The original ROG Phone supported 30W fast...

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Xiaomi is recruiting Mi 9 beta testers for MIUI based on Android Q

Xiaomi has started recruiting testers for its Android Q beta program. Users owning a Mi 9 smartphone can sign up for the beta and this time around, we are not talking about the stock Android Q. This update is all about the MIUI software based on Android Q. Developers and users can now start testing the OS in its final version with the MIUI on top. Of course, those that use the phone as a reliable daily driver should probably wait a bit more for the stable release because these releases typically have their fair share of issues. Some well-known bugs include abrupt shutdown when...

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