Apple found guilty of market tampering in France, hit with a $1.2B fine

The Autorite de la Concurrence, the competition watchdog of France, has fined Apple $1.2 billion for stopping its distributors Tech Data and Ingram Micro to lower their prices. The verdict is following a complaint filed back in 2012, when a reseller launched a complaint that its wholesalers were teaming with Apple and not competing with each other. The authority stated that Apple was treating unfairly its partners and was limiting their supply, including iPads, compared to its own stores. This, along with the lack of competition, lead to identical pricing across almost half of the...

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Swedish company Imint teams up with Qualcomm for better video stabilization

We've written about Imint in the past. The Swedish company is responsible for Vidhance - an algorithm for video stabilization solutions found in smartphones currently offered by Xiaomi, vivo, Oppo, and OnePlus. The company has recently announced a couple of new stabilization algorithms, including a Vidhance Selfie Video - which will offer improved video stabilization for taking selfie video while walking. The latest development with Imint is the company's announcement of its partnership with Qualcomm. By being able to provide video stabilization on the hardware level, Imint can...

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LG V60 ThinQ lands in the US this Friday, yours from $799.99

LG is now ready for its latest 5G flagship smartphone to hit the shelves in the US. The V60 ThinQ will arrive at AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile this Friday, on March 20. The phone will be yours for $799.99 from T-Mobile (either paid in full or spread over 24 monthly installments of $33.34). If you want to grab the Dual Screen accessory too, the bundle will cost you $899.99 (or $37.50 per month). The bundle is available in Classy Blue, while if you forgo the Dual Screen you can also have the V60 in Classy White. Over at Verizon the price is higher, but the accessory is free. You'll pay...

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Here's an easy method to install the Google Play Store on your Huawei phone

You can live without the Google Mobile Services as we discovered over the weekend, but maybe you don't have to - a new working method of installing the Google Play software on Huawei phones has been discovered (presumably it works on Honor phones too). You'll need the Chat Partner app, a 147MB download. Also it probably goes without saying, but we'd still like to point out that this is an unofficial method. After running the app, you'll need to tap Detect Device then Repair Now and finally (after the Device Administrator window shows up) Activate. Restart the phone and you should...

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Fujitsu Arrows 5G specs and design leak ahead of official launch

Last month, Qualcomm shed some light on upcoming Snapdragon 865 phones from various manufacturers including Asus, vivo and FCNT (Fujitsu Connected Technologies Limited). It's been quite some time since we've seen a Fujitsu flagship but thanks to a leaked product page for the arrows 5G smartphone on the manufacturer's official website, we have a clear picture of what to expect. The phone will carry a curved 6.7-inch AMOLED display with a QHD+ resolution and punch hole cutout in the top right corner for the 32MP selfie cam. The panel also features an integrated fingerprint scanner and...

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Powerbeats 4 unveiled with Powerbeats Pro sound, longer battery life

The fourth generation Powerbeats are official and will be available in a couple of days for $150. Compared to the 3rd gen headset, the new model features longer battery life and improved Bluetooth hardware. These deliver the same audio quality as the $250 Powerbeats Pro and even have the same IPX4 sweat resistance. The major difference is that the Pro are true wireless earbuds and the non-Pro has a cable connecting the two buds. Another upgrade is the 15 hour battery life, up from 12 hours on the 3rd gen model (the Pros last 9 hours). The Fast Fuel feature pumps 1.5 hours worth of...

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Smartphones in India will get more expensive as tax will rise from 12% to 18%

The price of smartphones in India is set to rise as the GST Council has decided to raise the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from 12% to 18% on April 1. According to the government, this is to correct the inverted duty structure - currently finished phones are taxed at 12%, but components to built phones are taxed at 18%. The president of the Telecom Equipment Manufacturers Association of India stated that a better way to correct the inversion would have been to drop the component tax rate to 12%. Manu Kumar Jain, the managing director of Xiaomi India, states that the GST increase will...

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Microsoft details Xbox Series X hardware, shows off load times

In an extensive post, Microsoft unveiled the specs and capabilities of its upcoming Xbox Series X gaming console, and promised to give even more details to developers later this week. The CPU is based on a 7nm process - it's a custom AMD Zen 2 unit with eight cores that can run at up to 3.8GHz. The GPU is a custom AMD RDNA 2 with 12 teraflops of processing might and 52 compute units, running at 1.825GHz each. There are 16GB of memory, divided between the GPU (10GB), the OS (2.5GB) and the system (3.5GB). There's also a 1TB NVME SSD and the option to expand the storage through 1TB...

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Our Honor 9X Pro video review is up

Huawei subsidiary Honor has a fast-track product cycle and always manages to deliver some capable midrange devices with catchy looks. In comes the Honor 9X Pro which has been out for a months in China but is only now making it to global markets. Apart from the beefier Kirin 810 and side-mounted fingerprint sensor, the 9X Pro is identical to its non-Pro version on the hardware side. The other notable change comes in software as the 9X Pro lacks Google Mobile Services (GMS). The 9X Pro sports a 6.59-inch FHD+ LCD with excellent viewing angles and brightness for a non-AMOLED panel....

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Lenovo's Legion gaming phone to charge at 55W, gamepad accessories teased

Lenovo's teasers for a gaming phone just became that little bit more real as official promo images leaked on Weibo. It will use the company's Legion gaming brand (which so far specialized in PCs, laptops and accessories). The images show the a promo bundle (in a suitcase, as is tradition). It features two controllers that likely slide onto the sides of the included case. Each controller has several buttons and an analog stick. The Legion-branded thing in the middle looks like a headset case, but it's hard to tell from this image. Promotional suitcase with Lenovo Legion gaming...

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Huawei P40 Lite review

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Meizu 17 photographed in the wild with battery indicator around the punch hole camera

The Meizu 17 has been spotted in the wild, showing off an unusual feature - a ring around its punch hole camera that indicates the battery charge. We've seen apps that do this, but this appears to be an official feature. It helps that the selfie cam is positioned in the top right corner of the screen (most other makers put the punch hole in the top left or center). This way the battery charge is next to the signal strength indicator and the clock, just where it belongs. Meizu 17 photographed in the wild • Battery indicator around the punch hole camera The phone will be fully...

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Oppo lists the first countries to get the Find X2 and X2 Pro, talks in-depth about the screen

The 6.7" AMOLED panel on the Oppo Find X2 and Find X2 Pro has been rated A+ by DisplayMate (calling it "top tier, world class" display). The company is excited to talk more about how the display was built and the features that enabled it to earn the highest mark. But before we dive into that, some info on when the new flagship duo will be available. The phones are already available in China and will launch in the following countries by the end of the month: the Netherlands, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Cambodia, Singapore and Vietnam. Twenty more countries will...

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Samsung Galaxy A50 starts receiving Android 10 in Korea

The Samsung Galaxy A50 is finally receiving the Android 10 firmware update, starting with units in South Korea. The Galaxy A50 was one of Samsung's most popular devices last year and among its best sellers, but it's among the last to receive Android 10. It's joining an ever-growing list of phones to receive the update with the Galaxy M40, Galaxy A70s, Galaxy A6 (2018), Galaxy A7 (2018) and Galaxy A80 joining since the start of this month. Android 10 for the Galaxy A50 brings One UI 2.0 with its streamlined design, new gestures, as well as the March 2020 security patch. Android...

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iPhone 11 and XR helped Apple make great gains in India in January and February

India is one market where Apple has continuously struggled - the company having negligible market share for year now. However, it has finally started to make progress as evidenced by its sales in January and February - the months unaffected by the Coronavirus outbreak. According to a report by India's IANS news agency Apple sold 55% more iPhones in January and February of 2020, compared to the same months of 2019. Shipments were mainly driven by the iPhone 11 and iPhone XR - the cheapest current iPhones, until the iPhone 9 eventually comes. The report says that iPhone shipments...

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Sony Xperia Pro expected to cost $200-300 more than the vanilla Xperia 1 II

Sony announced a "Pro" version of its flagship alongside the Xperia 1 II and we knew it would be pricier from the get go. How much pricier? $200-$300 more, according to insider info. The US price of the vanilla phone isn't known yet, but in Europe it's EUR1,200 and the Canadian price seems to be CAD1,200. So, the base price for the Xperia 1 II in the US should be USD1,200 or kist under that less. The phone will be available only in select countries (e.g. the US, but not Japan). It is positioned more as something as Professional tool Sony Alpha camera ownerss. It has a wired HDMI...

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New Redmi K30 Pro hands-on images show out rear cameras and pop-up selfie shooter

The Redmi K30 Pro is expected to debut later this month and we've been seeing an increasing number of leaks lately. The device is confirmed to debut with the Snapdragon 865 chipset, 5G connectivity and a notchless display. The latest leak gives us a couple of live photos of the phone's rear and also confirms it will sport a pop-up selfie camera and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Redmi K30 Pro hands-on The K30 Pro is shown in a design-concealing pre-production case but we can clearly see the quad camera setup which is sitting on a circular plate. The primary camera is expected to feature...

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ZTE Axon 11 5G comes March 23 with enhanced video recording

ZTE officially announced the release date of its next 5G phone - March 23. It's going to be called Axon 11 5G and will be the company's third 5G-capable smartphone after the Axon 10 Pro 5G and Axon 10s Pro 5G. Information regarding the upcoming Axon 11 5G is scarce at this point and the poster only hints at advanced video recording capabilities. Still, since this is the company's flagship lineup, it's probably safe to assume that it would feature Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 865 chipset coupled with the Snapdragon X55 5G modem supporting the SA and NSA networks. We'll be on the...

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Motorola Edge photos and specs leak - Snapdragon 765, waterfall screen

There've been several Motorola Edge+ leaks in the past few weeks but today we get the first info on the Motorola Edge. Good it's quite extensive and quickly catches up with its more premium sibling. The Motorola Edge will be the midrange counterpart to the flagship Motorola Edge+, which means that it will likely share the same chassis, but come with demoted specs. The Motorola Edge likely takes its name from its waterfall screen. Mind you, this is not the most extreme kind of waterfall screen and there are physical volume and power buttons on the side, instead of touch-sensitive...

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Android Go-powered Nokia C2 debuts with front-facing flash

HMD introduced its latest entry level smartphone today dubbed Nokia C2. It runs Android 9 Pie Go edition and is powered by a Unisoc chipset. The Nokia C2 has a 1.4GHz quad-core CPU, which is a slight upgrade of Nokia C1's 1.3 GHz. It's aided by just 1GB of RAM and has 16GB of internal storage (expandable with up to 64GB microSD), but that should be enough for the limited footprint of Android Go. The IPS display stands at 5.7" featuring HD+ resolution and an 18:9 aspect ratio. On the back we have a 5MP camera with f/2.2 aperture and on the front, we have another 5MP unit....

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Motorola Razr makes its way to India: pre-orders now open, sales start on April 2

The new Motorola Razr finally made its debut in the Indian market. Motorola's first foldable phone was introduced back in November and has slowly expanded its availability to more regions since. The new Motorola Razr is available on Flipkart in a single Noir Black color with a retail price of INR124,999 ($1,687). Pre-bookings open today while official sales are scheduled to tip-off on April 2. The main star of the show is the 6.2-inch flexible pOLED display which comes with an 876 x 2142 pixel resolution and a tall 21:9 aspect ratio. There's a notch for the earpiece, sensors and 5MP...

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Leaked official images shows entire Huawei P40 lineup, colors and all

Here's Huawei's upcoming P40 lineup in one single image. It features all the available colors of the upcoming flagship lineup, which will consist of the Huawei P40, the Huawei P40 Pro and the P40 Pro Premium - the P40 lite and P40 lite E are already official. At first glance the devices in the image look identical, save for their size, but look closely and you'll be able to distinguish three devices by the camera island on the rear. The Huawei P40 has a triple camera without a periscope zoom, the Huawei P40 Pro has a quad camera with a periscope lens, and the Huawei P40 Pro Premium has a...

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