Xiaomi pushes Android Q open beta update for Mi 9 and Redmi K20 Pro

Xiaomi was looking for Android Q beta testers with Mi 9 and Redmi K20 Pro back in July, and today the update is ready to go on open beta. The company has now taken the next step and opened the beta to everybody who wants to experience the latest features. Xiaomi Mi 9 and Redmi K20 Pro are up for Android Q Open Beta Those on the Chinese ROM are the only ones that can participate at this point. We expect Global units to receive access to the beta as well, although it might take a while. Android Q-based MIUI won't bring drastic changes to the design, but it will have...

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Samsung Galaxy Home smart speaker is still on the way, might ship before Half-Life 3

Hi Bixby, what's the definition of vaporware? That's a question you could ask Samsung's virtual assistant, but you probably won't hear the words Galaxy Home in response. And that may or may not be okay with you, but the thing is, the Galaxy Home smart speaker was announced one full year ago, and it's still nowhere to be seen in stores. At the time of its unveiling, no one knew the time would come for it to race Half-Life 3 to store shelves, but here we are. For what it's worth, Samsung is promising that the device isn't dead. It's still coming. It's still being refined. Will it age as well...

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Meizu's Flyme 8 OS is launching on August 13

Flyme has been Meizu's skin on top of Android since the Chinese company started making smartphones. It's Meizu's EMUI, or MIUI, if you will, and now we're on the cusp of a new version becoming official. It's going to be called Flyme 8, and it's due to be announced on August 13, according to a leaked poster that reveals the date in no uncertain terms. #Flyme8 #Meizu Many people have guessed that Flyme 8's release time is in Q4. From the NGA-exposed posters, we know that it will happen on August 13th.Flyme 8 release date 13.08.2019 pic.twitter.com/Kn29oPbrgZ— Xiaomishka (@xiaomishka)...

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Apple now partially blocks third party battery replacements on iPhones

It's been talked about for a while now and Apple is finally doing it. If you try to replace your iPhone XS, XS Max or XR battery with a non-official Apple battery or even an original battery at a third-party repair center, the you will get an error message. The message says that the iPhone can't verify if the battery is original or not so it won't give you information about the battery's health. This means that you can still use your phone and the battery's functionality won't be limited in any way but you won't be able to see when it's due for a replacement. The guys over at The...

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Lenovo Z6 Pro lands in Europe in a surprising strategy shift

The Lenovo Z6 Pro isn't exactly a new phone since it got released back in April in China but it's only now that it's escaping its homeland. In what is certainly a major shift for the maker it has started offering its phones outside China once more after a pause lasting a few years. The Z6 Pro can now be bought for just under €500 through Lenovo's official store in Bulgaria and it comes in two colors - Red and Green. Lenovo says the handset will pop up in other European countries via its distribution network and quite frankly, the price seems very competitive. It's going to give the...

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Google Maps Live View feature now available to more Android and iOS phones

Back when the Pixel 3 launched, Google introduced an AR feature to Google Maps called Live View. It's an augmented reality walking direction functionality guiding you through the streets. Well, today, Live View directions will work on more than just Pixel phones. All Android handsets supporting ARCore and iPhones with ARKit can take advantage of the functionality. Once you select a waypoint in Google Maps, you can select walking directions and then tap on the Live View option at the bottom of the screen. You can then look at the streets using the camera of the phone and you will get...

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Samsung Galaxy A70s shows up on Geekbench

It's rumored that Samsung will release a Galaxy A70s with more or less identical internals to the available Galaxy A70 but with a new ISOCELL 64MP camera in place of the 32MP f/1.7 main snapper. This rumor is substantiated by a run by the SM-A707F on Geekbench with a Snapdragon 675 chipset, 6GB of RAM and Android 9. For reference, the Galaxy A70 is the SM-A705 and has the Snapdragon 675. Samsung is expected to release the Galaxy A70S later this month or in early September. Source | Via

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HMD releases an infographic to mark the launch of Nokia 105 (2019)

The small yet sturdy Nokia 105 (2019) was announced two weeks ago by HMD Global and it's finally out today in select markets costing just €13. Juho Sarvikas, Chief Product Officer at HMD, posted a neat infographic, revealing some quirky details about the phone. It can be Pink as a flamingo but is also available in Black or Blue. With its storage for up to 2,000 contacts and 500 SMS, this is enough room for a short novel with about 80,000 words. The Nokia 105 (2019) is also drop-tested, weight-tested and the battery can take you through 9 consecutive festivals if you want to do that...

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Honor Band 5 launched in India with AMOLED display and heart rate monitor

Honor has launched its new Band 5 fitness tracker in the Indian market. The Band 5 is priced at INR 2,599 and is now available on Flipkart. The Honor Band 5 has a full-color AMOLED display, a rarity among fitness bands. You can customize the screen with different watch faces that come included with the device. The Band 5 also has a real-time heart rate monitor, a sleep tracker, swim stroke recognition and 10 distinct fitness modes. The Band 5 is water-resistant up to 50 meters (164 feet). The Honor Band 5 is available in three colors, Midnight Navy, Coral Pink, and Meteorite...

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Samsung Galaxy Note10 and Note10+ are not compatible with the Gear VR

AR was a big part of the Samsung Galaxy Note10 announcement yesterday, even the S Pen was included (it can draw AR doodles). However, VR has reached the end of the road - the new flagship is not compatible with the Gear VR headset. The original Gear VR came out in 2015 and was compatible with the Galaxy S6 and Note5. There have been a few revisions since then to keep up with the ever-growing size of Samsung's phones and their screens. However, the last model to come out is from 2017, it launched alongside the Galaxy S8. Interestingly, that last Gear VR was compatible even with the...

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Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro (aka Redmi K20 Pro) goes on pre-order in Europe

Two months after the Mi 9T, Europe is finally getting the Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro - its version of the Redmi K20 Pro. Currently, it's on pre-order in the Netherlands at Belsimpel, but it should spread to other stores before long. The price for the 6/64GB model is €430. You can upgrade to the 6/128GB version for €50 more. Available colors are Red, White and Black, plus Blue (only for the 128GB version). Note that the phone lacks a microSD slot. As a quick reminder, the difference between the Xiaomi Mi 9T and Mi 9T Pro is mainly in the chipset - a Snapdragon 855, up from S710. Also, the...

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Realme will launch three quad camera phones by the end of October

Realme has promised to deliver India's first phone with 64MP camera and it will have a quad camera on its back. But it won't be alone - the brand's CEO Madhav Sheth revealed that there are three quad-camera phones in the works. It looks like only the top-specced phone, which will be called Realme 5, will have a 64MP camera (using the Samsung ISOCELL GW1 sensor).. Sheth shared this image as a demonstration of pixel binning and while the tweet talks about a 64MP sensor (resulting in a 16MP image after binning), the photo itself is 12MP. This means it was shot with a 48MP sensor - perhaps...

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nubia Z20 unveiled with two AMOLED displays and Snapdragon 855+

ZTE's nubia sub-brand just introduced its latest flagship device - the Z20. It packs some serious hardware with the latest Snapdragon 855+ chipset, up to 512 GB storage and secondary display around the back. The two screens can operate independently, for quick-switching between apps. The rear screen also doubles as an always-on display and can be custom mapped in games for added usability. The phone runs nubia's UI 7.0 on top of Android Pie. This is not the first time nubia has outfitted its phones with two screens as last year's nubia X also offered this functionality. Still it's a...

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Samsung Galaxy Note10+ 5G now available for pre-order, Note10 5G nowhere to be seen

Galaxy Note10 and Note10+ pre-orders started yesterday and soon after the 5G version of the Note10+ went up on Samsung's online store. The Galaxy Note10 5G is nowhere to be seen, however. In the UK, a SIM-free Galaxy Note10+ 5G costs £1,100 - £100 more than the 4G model. You can trade in an old device and get a discount up to £350. Note that to score the maximum discount, you have hand over a Galaxy Note9 or iPhone 8 Plus. In Germany, the currency is different, but numbers are the same - €1,200 for the 5G model, a €100 upgrade over the LTE version. Here you get €100 for a trade-in, plus...

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Android Q Beta 6 released with gesture navigation improvements

Android Q's final Beta 6 release is out and it's going to be the last one before the official version of the OS is released. Most of the changes are under the hood and Google is focusing on helping developers optimize their apps to the new environment. But there's also one thing that users, who are running Android Q just to experience the latest features will appreciate. Google has greatly improved the gesture navigation after taking user feedback into account. The back gesture requires 200dp vertical app exclusion limit for more consistent performance and there's a new setting that...

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Samsung shows Galaxy Note10 highlights in its official introduction video

After all the hype around the new Note10 duo, Samsung is making sure you're familiar with all the new additions to the handsets with its official introduction video. The short clip highlights all the novelties and gives you a short recap of what the new phones offer. The new S pen now comes with a built-in gyroscope allowing for touch-free gesture controls which can be used to slide through presentations or control the camera app. In addition the phone can now convert your handwriting into text so you can easily find your notes later on. Next up we have the cameras which now...

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Realme 5's 64MP camera samples arrive and they look impressive

Yesterday Realme detailed the quad-camera module that's going to be the centerpiece feature of the upcoming Realme 5 smartphone and today the company shared a couple of samples taken with the star of the setup - the 64MP main module. The setup has a 64MP main camera with Tetracell technology (or Quad-bayer in Sony speak) supporting native pixel binning so the pictures would normally come out in 16MP resolution. Yet the two samples we got are in the full 64MP resolution. As can be expected detail at the pixel level is about average, but if you downsample them to 16MP the image is super...

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Four-cam Moto One Zoom appears in new images

Remember the renders of a Motorola smartphone with four cameras AND the moto logo in a humongous rectangle setup? It was rumored to be called Moto One Pro, but latest leak says the name will actually be Moto One Zoom. One of the shooters will be of the 48MP Quad Bayer variety, while the screen will be with a normal notch, unlike the Moto One Vision and the leaked Moto One Action. Moto One Zoom The writing on the back says the 48 MP camera will have 1.6 µm size pixels, but that's actually referring to the size in binned 12MP mode. Two such sensors are widely available...

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Samsung Galaxy Note10 and Note10+ up for pre-orders in India

Right after the Galaxy Unpacked event came to a close, Samsung went out and opened reservations for its Indian consumers. Both the Note10 and Note10+ can be pre-ordered via the Samsung Online Shop as well as Flipkart and Amazon India. The Galaxy Note10 will be available in its 8GB + 256GB configuration for INR69,999 ($988) while the Note10+ will start at INR79,999 ($1,129) for the base 12/256GB version and go up to INR89,999 ($1,270) for the 12/512GB variant. Official sales are set to begin on August 23, which falls in line with the international roll-out. The Galaxy Note 10+ is...

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