Samsung's official website confirms Galaxy Z Flip moniker

Samsung's official German website just confirmed the naming for the Galaxy S20 series. Now its Romanian branch has confirmed that the company's upcoming foldable phone will be called Galaxy Z Flip. Samsung Romania has set up a page on its official website for the Galaxy Z Flip's protective leather case and confirmed the name of the foldable smartphone. The page doesn't reveal any details about the Galaxy Z Flip, but thanks to previous leaks, we have a pretty good idea of what to expect from this smartphone. The Galaxy Z Flip will arrive with a Snapdragon 855+ SoC. It will boot...

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Samsung Galaxy Buds+ to have improved battery life, leaked specs sheet reveals

Samsung is hosting an event next week where we expect a bunch of mobile devices to be introduced - three Galaxy S20 smartphones, the foldable Galaxy Z Flip, and the updated Galaxy Buds+. Today Evan Blass posted a leaked specs sheet on Twitter, revealing the new earphones will have better battery life for just $20 more - the retail price will be $149. The earbuds and the charging case will keep their dimensions, although the Buds+ are expected to be 10% heavier - 6.3 grams per bud. The power cells on the inside will hold greater capacity, leading to almost doubling playtime on a...

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LG and ZTE will skip MWC because of the novel Coronavirus outbreak

The novel Coronavirus outbreak has so far impacted manufacturing facilities in China, but as the number of infected people keeps rising across the world, we should probably brace ourselves for even more disruption in the mobile space. Case in point: both LG and ZTE have announced today that they're going to skip Mobile World Congress, the biggest yearly showcase in the field, which is taking place in Barcelona, Spain at the end of this month. A ZTE spokesperson told The Verge that it's cancelling its MWC press conference, citing secondary effects of the virus outbreak, as well as...

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Samsung confirms Galaxy S20 naming through official website slip-up

Leaks about the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra are pretty much everywhere at this point, but it's always something special when the manufacturer itself decides to chime in. This is not one of those stories where transparency was intentional, mind you. Instead, someone overseeing Samsung's German website slipped up and so for a short while an official listing for the upcoming LED case for the S20 went up and was live for everyone to see. It's obviously been taken down now, but the enterprising folks over at WinFuture managed to grab the screenshots below as...

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Official Samsung Galaxy Buds+ goes live on Apple App Store

We are just a week away from the Samsung Unpacked event and the new Samsung Galaxy Buds+ are arriving alongside a lineup of new hardware. Ahead of the event, the official app for the new Galaxy Buds has appeared on Apple's App Store. Thanks to the iTunes listing, screenshots of the app show the Galaxy Buds+ connected to an iPhone. iOS users can now download the app on iPhone 7 and above, with iOS 10 and above. The companion app lets you customize the sound of the Galaxy Buds, as well as download and install OTA updates. You can also use it to check the battery life of the new...

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Qualcomm releases the first 8K video shot with Snapdragon 865

Qualcomm's newest Snapdragon 865 chipset is going to power high-end devices this year, starting with the Samsung Galaxy S20, set to be announced next week. Today, Qualcomm posted an 8K video sample that was recorded using hardware powered by the new chipset. The Spectra 480 ISP is found inside the Snapdragon 865 and can process 2 gigapixels per second. It's also theoretically capable of capturing 200 MP still images and simultaneously capture 4K HDR video and 64MP stills. Smartphones with the Snapdragon 865 can capture professional image quality and will pack exciting new camera...

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LG will only sell premium 5G flagships in NA and Europe, move mid-rangers production to ODMs

LG's mobile division is bleeding money, but the company has plans for a turnaround in the 2020-2021 period. The core of the new strategy is to focus high-end phones where they will be best received and move the production of entry-level and mid-range handsets to ODMs. The LG V60 ThinQ and other premium flagships will only be available in the North American and European markets where customers don't shy away from high price tags. For its home turf, LG will promote the more affordable "mass premium" smartphones with 5G as the South Korean market is more price sensitive. Presumably, this...

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First update for the Samsung Galaxy A51 improves camera stability

An update for the Samsung Galaxy A51 has started rolling out in several European countries: France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and the UK. The update promises improved stability for the Camera app. It's a relatively small update, weighing only 240MB. First update for the Samsung Galaxy A51 The other change of note is the new security patch - December 1. The Galaxy A51 is on the list of phones receiving quarterly security updates, so expect the next security patch in three months. Via

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The nubia Red Magic 5G will not support 80W fast charging after all

It seems that the 80W fast charging that President Ni Fei teased for the nubia Red Magic 5G isn't happening. Fei's latest post asks people which they prefer "100W + 4,000mAh, 55W + 4,500mAh or 30W + 5,000mAh", no mention of 80W. We think that 55W will be the phone's real charging speed. The Red Magic 3 and 3s charge at just 18W (with a 5,000mAh battery), so even 30W would be an upgrade. And the tech isn't ready for 100W. But more importantly, we already saw a 3C certification for a 55W charger. nubia is teasing a Snapdragon 865-powered 5G phone, wonder what could it be? Anyway,...

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Xiaomi Mi Note 10 long-term review

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Samsung Galaxy S20 pre-ordes to open on February 14 in South Korea, prices revealed

Samsung is expected to announce the Galaxy S20 lineup next Tuesday, and now we got more info about its pricing and availability in the company's home market. According to a rumor, the phones will start from over $1,000 on the home market in South Korea, with the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra costing $1,350. Reservations and pre-orders will begin on February 14 with actual shipping dates and market launch scheduled for March 6. The Galaxy S20 is said to start from KRW1.25 million, which is equal to exactly $1,052. Going for the Plus version will cost KRW100,000 extra - this price tag...

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Foxconn's Chinese factories to remain closed for at least another week due to Coronavirus

The coronavirus outbreak in China's Hubei province is forcing Foxconn to keep its factories shut until February 10 according to new reports. This could potentially have heavy consequences for the contract manufacturer's biggest client Apple and its upcoming iPhone lineup. Apple is already expecting a 10% drop in iPhone shipments and has closed off its stores and offices in China until February 9. Last week, Foxconn issued an official statement in which it believes iPhone shipments won't be slowed down and has taken up measures to continue meeting its manufacturing obligations. These...

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Samsung Good Lock update for Android 10 and One UI 2.0 is now live

So, you got the shiny new One UI 2.0 and Android 10 update on your Samsung device, but it was a bitter-sweet victory since you have been living without that custom one-handed operation scheme your muscles are used to? We feel your pain. Alternatively, if you are hearing about Good Lock only now, then it's a great time to look into what is an amazingly in-depth Galaxy customization solution as it has now gained support for Android 10. Good Lock The major Android 10/One UI 2.0 update required a big re-work of the Good Lock app and all of its modules. In keeping with its...

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Sony sells 1.3 million smartphones during the holiday period

News in the smartphone world about Sony's performance are usually somber - the company isn't what it used to be and its sales were in a tailspin over the past few years. Today the company issued its financial report for the third fiscal quarter (which is the October-December period) and the numbers were actually not as bad as we expected. Sony managed to sell 1.3 million smartphones, which is over twice as many as the previous quarter when the number was just about 600,000. The report shows 20% decline in profit on a quarterly basis due to weak sales of imaging sensors or...

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CR: OnePlus is the top premium smartphone brand in India for 2019

India's premium smartphone shipments have been on the rise throughout 2019 and according to the latest Counterpoint Research report, OnePlus cemented its position as the leader in the segment with a 33% market share, ahead of Samsung and Apple. The catch is that the analysts consider premium all devices priced above INR 30,000 ($420). Those saw a 29% year over year growth. OnePlus now controls 1/3 of the premium smartphone market in India after a 28% rise in shipments compared to 2018. The brand also became the first premium smartphone player in India to cross the 2 million shipments...

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Xiaomi exec details challenges with 100W Super Charge Turbo technology

Chinese phone maker Xiaomi gave us our first look at its 100W Super Charge Turbo fast charging technology last March, showing how it juiced up a 4,000 mAh battery from flat to 100% in 17 minutes. We are yet to see a smartphone from Xiaomi that supports this tech, and it appears there's still a lot of waiting to be done. Xiaomi VP Lu Weibing took to Weibo to detail the challenges with the super fast charging. Weibing says there are primarily five technical difficulties that need to be considered. They are: Battery Capacity Loss: Batteries don't like heat, which is the reason...

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Samsung Gear S2 gets updated with improved battery life and new UI

Samsung has released a new software update for the Gear S2 smartwatch that was launched back in October 2015. The new firmware sports version designation R730AUCU3CQK1 and weighs a measly 6.79MB in size. According to the official changelog, the update brings in improved battery life and implementation of stability code for device security, but early adopters claim it also comes with a new UI which is the same as the Galaxy Watch Active2. That said, the new update now lets you clear all the notifications at once. Previously, they had to be cleared one by one. It's unclear...

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First batch of Samsung Galaxy Note20 leaks starts pouring in

The Galaxy S20 series is still a week away from an unveiling an over a month away from actually hitting store shelves, but we already have a pretty complete picture through leaks. In fact, industry insider channels have been so active that they appear to already be moving past the Galaxy S20 and on to the Note20 - a phone, which should come out in Q3 this year. The first bit of information, courtesy of reputable leakster Ice Universe, the Note20 will have a better high-refresh rate implementation on its display. Samsung Galaxy Note10+ on the left, Note 10 on the right The statement...

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AnTuTu announces best performers in January, vivo retains lead

The benchmark platform AnTuTu released its monthly Top 10 lists for flagships and midrangers. The January list is a lot like the one in December, with three vivo phones on top, followed by the latest couple of OnePlus' devices, and then the Asus ROG Phone II. While AnTuTu acknowledges the impressive hardware the vivo smartphones are packing, including UFS 3.0 storage and F2FS file system, there are a lot of software boosters that enhance the performance and result. Both vivo iQOOs that occupy first and second come with liquid cooling, which helps the internals perform better when under...

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Alphabet's Q4 report shows slower than expected growth

Google's parent company Alphabet put out its Q4 and 2019 fiscal year earnings report and the numbers show a slowdown in revenue growth despite an 18% jump in total revenues on a per-year basis. Revenue growth in the October-December period on the other hand was the lowest in the past 4 years. The report also revealed YouTube ad revenue figures for the first time - $15 billion, but the number is lower than analysts' estimates which were in the $25 billion ballpark. Alphabet Q4 2019 and fiscal year highlights Google Cloud was another underperformer despite growing by 53% quarterly...

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vivo iQOO 3 to have punch-hole design, leaked photo reveals

vivo's gaming sub-brand iQOO is expected to bring a new flagship soon. We not get to see a leaked photo of it showing the punch hole for the selfie camera in the upper right corner of the display. The vivo iQOO 3 sits next to an Oppo smartphone that looks like the Oppo Reno3 Pro. The leak comes from the Chinese social media Weibo, where the tipster suggests we are looking at two unannounced smartphones. If the first is really vivo iQOO 3 (moniker not yet confirmed), the second one could be the Oppo Find X2. Looking at the photo, the new iQOO appears to have four buttons on...

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Poco X2 goes official: 6.67" 120Hz display, SD730G and 64MP camera

The Poco F1 (aka Pocophone F1 outside India) announced back in August 2018 was an instant hit - thanks to the flagship-grade hardware offered at an aggressive price. Nowa year and a half later, the company has announced its second smartphone, dubbed Poco X2. The Poco X2 is not a direct successor to the Poco F1, but as expected, it is actually a re-branded Redmi K30 currently available in China. The smartphone is powered by the Snapdragon 730G SoC, runs MIUI 11 out of the box, and comes in three memory configurations - 6GB/64GB, 6GB/128GB, and 8GB/256GB. The X2 is built around a 6.67"...

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