Face Unlock is malfunctioning for some Pixel 4 users after latest OTA

Google's Pixel 4 duo wasn't the most warmly received smartphone this year. It made some design and hardware choices that didn't exactly resonate with many smartphone users like the over-hyped Project Soli gestures, and the switch to Face Unlock from fingerprint - the Pixel 4's camera has been its saving grace. The Pixel 4 was Google's first departure from the fingerprint sensor to a 3D facial recognition model. The fact it could still work with the user's eyes closed was a huge security risk that Google has still not fixed. All this aside, a small number of users have been experiencing...

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Deal: Motorola One Zoom is either $100 off or gives you a free Moto G6 or G6 Play

If you've been eyeing Motorola's One Zoom and its many cameras but haven't so far purchased one, here's your chance to do so and save some cash - or get a wild freebie. The One Zoom is currently $100 off from Motorola's official online store, which means you can now buy one for only $349.99. But wait, there's more! You can choose to forego the price reduction and pay the full $449.99 amount. Why would you do that? Because then you'll receive either a Moto G6 or a Moto G6 Play for free. And you don't even have to wait for a few weeks as you usually do when using rebate shenanigans. No,...

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Samsung CEO reveals name of the next foldable, confirms S20 family in secret meeting

Samsung allegedly held secret meetings at CES with partners and carrier customers, where it showcased yet-unannounced products. This is not surprising in itself, because the company has been known to do this in the past. What's more surprising is what came out of these meetings this week. First off, Samsung Mobile boss DJ Koh allegedly revealed the official name of the phone we've all been calling Galaxy Fold 2. The next foldable is going to be called Galaxy Bloom. There's even a blurry picture that's purportedly been hastily shot in one such meeting by an attendee, to prove...

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Huawei Mate 30 Pro 5G escapes China

While its 4G sibling has already launched in a few parts of the world, the Huawei Mate 30 Pro 5G has so far been confined to China only. That changed today in the UAE, where the handset got its official introduction for the local market. The Mate 30 Pro 5G will be up for pre-order in the UAE starting on January 15 for AED 3,899 (approximately $1,061 or €955 at the current exchange rates). It will go on sale at Huawei Experience Stores and select other retailers on January 23. If you pre-order on January 15 you'll get a bunch of freebies worth AED 1,829 ($497 or €448), including a...

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DuckDuckGo is the most popular alt search engine among Android users in the EU

After the EU ruled that Google should offer Android users a choice of search engine and browser, the company held an auction for alternative search engines that wanted to participate. The choice screen rolled out to users in the middle of last year, which brings us to today - Google announced the most popular alternative search engines per country. The clear winner is the privacy-focused DuckDuckGo. It was the top choice in all EU countries but one - the UK. There, Bing was on top. Unfortunately for Microsoft, its engine didn't even make the Top 3 everywhere else. The clear runner-up is...

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Hisense demoes phone with color e-Ink display at CES 2020

The Hisense A5 was unveiled last year with an e-Ink display. But that was a monocrhome screen, this year the company is showing off a new prototype phone with a color e-Ink phone at CES 2020. Details are scarce at the moment, but the new display reportedly features improved contrast and refresh rates compared to the panel on the A5. That said, color e-Ink screens tend to have much slower refresh rates than the already slow monochrome screens, which isn't an issue for an e-reader, but is really limiting when it comes to smartphone UI. A prototype of smartphone with color e-Ink...

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Chinese OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro get Breeno Assistant in latest HydrogenOS beta

While Google bundles its own Assistant on most Android phones globally, Chinese manufacturers still ship their own offerings in their home markets where Google services are blocked. The Breeno assistant has been found on Oppo devices dating back to 2018 and given the company's close ties with fellow BBK Electronics subsidiary OnePlus, it was only a matter of time before we saw Breeno on OnePlus devices. The latest HydrogenOS beta (which is the Chinese alternative to OxygenOS) does just that and brings Breeno to OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro users. The feature is still in its early beta stage and...

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Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 5G's live photo appears

Earlier today we learned Galaxy Tab S6 5G's specs and they were mostly identical to the current Galaxy Tab S6. Now an image of the Galaxy Tab S6 5G itself has surfaced, seemingly from the same source. It shows the tablet with a Keyboard Book Cover and stylus. It seems to be running on OneUI 1.0 under Android 9. Samsung will release the Galaxy Tab S6 5G in Q1. Source

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iPhone shipments in China grew by 18.7% in December

According to a new report from Bloomberg, Apple saw an 18.7% year-on-year increase for its iPhone shipment in China. The report's data was gathered from the China Academy of Information and Communication Technology (CAICT) and reveals that the iPhone maker managed to sell an estimated 3.18 million units of its smartphones. Previously, Apple saw a 6% YoY growth in China for the September and October periods. China is Apple's second-biggest market after the US and despite overall slumping smartphone sales in the region, Cupertino managed to turn things around just before the Chinese...

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LG promises it can fix the mobile division by 2021

LG Mobile hasn't been doing great lately - the division has seen its market share quickly decrease, while its bottom line is in the red. During CES 2020 in Las Vegas, the company chief executive promised the mobile division will manage to turn around by the end of 2021. Kwon Bong-seok, LG's CEO, revealed the mobile branch will expand the phone lineup and will steadily release new phones, attached with "wow factors to woo consumers". However, he didn't mention specific devices or lines, nor hinted what the wow factors might be. He only double confirmed the ambition to boost...

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Samsung privately showcased a smartphone with rollable screen

After successfully launching the Galaxy Fold, Samsung is now focused on releasing the next-generation foldable devices and the Fold 2 isn't too far away. And at CES in Las Vegas, Samsung reportedly showcased a third phone in the series and one that has rollable display. We've heard about this form factor before and some claim that LG has a rollable smartphone in the works for some time now. But Samsung appears to be almost ready with one. Unfortunately, only a few had the chance to see the actual phone so there aren't many details available. All we know is the display was covered with...

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Oppo lists Reno3 Pro Classic Blue, flash sale scheduled for tomorrow

Oppo introduced the Reno3 lineup back in late December and one variant caught the eyes. The Classic Blue Reno3 Pro is inspired by the Pantone Color of the Year and was introduced in a fancy retail package with a price tag, corresponding the exclusivity of the handset. Now, the version has finally gone on sale. Oppo listed the device for CNY4,199 ($600/€540) and it will be available for its first flash sale tomorrow at 10 AM local time. The Classic Blue Reno3 Pro comes with 12 GB RAM and 256GB storage, and the unique design of the back panel makes the phone stand out in a crowd...

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LG G9 case renders leak, confirming the design

Renders of a transparent case for the LG G9 have leaked, perfectly matching the OnLeaks renders. However, there may have been some confusion - this might actually be the LG V60 (the back panel of which we saw yesterday). Either way, chances are that the G9 and V60 will share the same design - just like the G8X and V50S and the G8 and V50 before that. A protective case for the LG G9 (or perhaps the V60) The renders of the case confirm that there will not be a fingerprint reader on the back, instead an in-display reader will be used. They also show a quad camera on the...

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TECNO Spark Go Plus promises big screen entertainment on a budget

TECNO unveiled the Spark Go Plus - a phone it claims offers the biggest screen for the money. Specifically, a 6.52" display for INR 6,300 (that's around $88/€80). The LCD panel has 720 x 1,600px resolution (20:9 aspect ratio) and it covers 89.5% of the front. At full blast, the screen can put out 480 nits. The TECNO Spark Go Plus is an Android Go phone, running HIOS 5.5.2 based on Android 9.0 Go edition. It's powered by a MediaTek Helio A22 chipset (2.0GHz quad-core CPU) with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. The battery has 4,000mAh capacity. This is a dual-SIM, dual VoLTE phone with...

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Vivo iQOO 3 5G passes certification on TENAA

Earlier this week we heard of an upcoming vivo device bearing the V1950A model number which is believed to be the iQOO 3 5G. The phone received its 3C certification, confirming the 44W fast charging and 5G support. Now, we get a few new clues through China's TENAA. vivo V1950A certification The V1950A page is up and it revealsa 6.89-inch display and a 4,250mAh battery. We also get the phone's dimensions which come in at 167.44x76.14x9.4 mm. There are some new rumors that this device could end up being a Snapdragon 865 variant of the vivo NEX 3 5G which is not completely...

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Samsung made a fingerprint-secured portable SSD

Portable SSDs have become quite popular lately but only a handful of them offer proper security so Samsung is taking matters into its own hands by introducing the T7 Touch with fingerprint reader identification. This way you can rest assured that your sensitive data is safe even if you misplace the actual drive. The T7 Touch succeeds the T5 from last year by offering a capacitive fingerprint scanner and AES 256-bit hardware encryption and password for added security. Moreover, the T7 Touch boasts about 1 GB/s read and 1 GB/s read speeds, which is almost twice as fast as its...

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Xiaomi Mi Band 5 to feature 1.2-inch display and NFC on global units

Xiaomi's Mi Band 4 is one of the best selling fitness trackers on the market thanks to its aggressive price decent feature set and global availability. It's one of the reasons for Xiaomi's continued success in the wearable market throughout the second half of 2019 and the brand will undoubtedly look to carry this success in 2020. A set of leaks has shed some light on the upcoming Mi Band 5 - insiders reveal a larger 1.2-inch display as well NFC on the global version. The new addition will allow for more payment options including Google Pay support. Xiaomi's Mi Pay is the only...

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Samsung Galaxy Note10 Lite will start at INR 35,990 in India

According to retail sources in India, the Samsung Galaxy Note10 Lite will launch at INR 35,990 (€450) for a 6GB+128GB unit and INR 39,990 (€500) for an 8GB+128GB model. That's a far cry from earlier suggestions that the new Galaxy Note10 Lite will cost INR 50,000 in the country. There's no word on the potential price of the Galaxy S10 Lite just yet. It too is expected to be launched in India. Samsung is clearly targeting OnePlus, which sells its entry-level 7T in India for INR 34,999. The 7T Pro goes up quite a bit more at INR 53,999. Source

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Realme 5i hits India on January 15

Realme 5i arrived on Monday as a cheaper alternative of the Realme 5 with keeping the key specs like Snapdragon 665 and a huge 5,000 mAh battery. Today the phone was introduced in India as well in a pre-recorded launch where the local CEO Madhav Sheth unboxed the 5i. The Realme 5i mostly identical specs to the Realme 5, but you can easily differentiate them, because the new device has new colors and a different pattern at the back. The paint jobs are called Aqua Blue and Forest Green and both are available on the company website. The price tag is INR8,999 ($125/€115) and you get a...

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Realme fitness band teased at 5i launch

At the end of the Realme 5i introduction, CEO Madhav Sheth teased the brand's upcoming fitness tracker. We got a brief look at the device as Sheth strapped it to his wrist. It features the signature Realme yellow color. We can also see a small glimpse of the tracker itself which will likely feature a rectangular display. realme fitness band Back in December, the brand laid out its plans for 2020 with a focus on 3 core areas - smartphones, software and IoT enabled products. We also got a hint from Sheth that the brand's fitness band will arrive in the first half of...

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Specs sheet of Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 5G leaks, not much changed

Samsung introduced the Galaxy Tab S6 with Wi-Fi and 4G support back in August, but it recently confirmed a 5G variant is on the way. Today, an image of the specs sheet leaked, and if it is real and not manipulated, then we're looking at a device that will be entirely the same both on the outside and the inside only with the addition of a Snapdragon X50 modem. The Galaxy Tab S6 is powered by the Snapdragon 855 chipset. It has two RAM options, with one of them on the leaked image - 6/128 GB (the other is 8/256 GB, but it is limited to certain markets). There are two cameras on the...

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