Spotify sees massive increase in subscribers in Q2, reaches 299M

Spotify has shared its Q2 2020 financial report and it shows the Swedish streaming platform increased its Monthly Active Users (MAU) to 299 million - an impressive 29% increase on a yearly basis and 5% more than Q1 2020. Income from Premium subscribers also increased, while a decline was seen only in Free Cash Flow, mainly due to the “continuing uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.” Users (in million) Q2 2019 Q1 2020 Q2 2020 Total Monthly Active Users (MAU) 232 286 299 Premium Subscribers 108 130 ...

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Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 5G press renders leak

The oft-rumored, much-leaked Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 5G will finally become official during the company's online Unpacked event on August 5. While we wait for that, here are a bunch of just-outed, fresh out of the oven press renders showcasing it in all its glory in two colors - Mystic Bronze and Mystic Black. As rumored countless times before, the inner screen now has a punch-hole selfie camera, and thus no more big, awkward side-notch. The outer screen is much improved too, now stretching to the edges and not coming with laughably huge top and bottom bezels like in the original Fold....

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OnePlus 8T may have just passed through GeekBench

OnePlus just announced the new Nord mid-ranger last week, but the company is surely busy also working on its next-gen flagship device. Over the past few years it's gotten us used to seeing one or two T devices around October-November, and it looks like that may happen again in 2020. A OnePlus handset with the model number KB2001 has just been spotted in the GeekBench database, and this could be the upcoming OnePlus 8T or the 8T Pro. It was running Android 11 when it ran the benchmark, which makes sense if the company sticks to its usual T device announcement timeline - Google should...

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Our Motorola Moto G Pro (aka G Stylus) video review is up

A phone with a stylus but without a Samsung logo? Yes, indeed, but it’s not like Motorola is intruding on Galaxy Note territory with the Moto G Pro (aka Moto G Stylus in the US). The phone differs in several keys aspects from the Samsung, chief among them is the price – this Moto is a mid-ranger. Unlike the Notes, it uses a simple capacitive stylus. You could buy those separately for any phone, but you will also need to carry them separately. The Moto has a compartment to house the stylus, however that may have required some reorganization that pushed the rear-mounted the buttons on the...

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Motorola Moto G 5G Plus review

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Apple saw a strong Q2 in China with 225% increase in iPhone sales

Thanks to a boom in sales during the April - June period, Apple has been the fastest gainer in the smartphone sales in China with a reported 225% increase compared to the previous quarter. The data comes from Shanghai’s CINNO Research which reports a total of 13 million iPhone retail sales for the period, resulting in a 62% yearly increase. The large gains come after the weak iPhone sales in February where it was reported that Apple shipped only 500,000 phones in China. Since then, strong sales from the iPhone 11 in particular have helped Cupertino bounce back. The new iPhone SE (2020)...

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Wingtips on the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live will keep them from falling off your ear

Sure, this is not the first time we've seen the Galaxy Buds Live, but it's the first time we see the TWS buds from all angles and answer a question we've been asking ourselves for some time now. How do they stay in one's year without falling given the current design? Leaked renders The new images give us an "inside look" revealing small wingtips on one side of the bean. This means that the loudspeakers are not facing the ear directly and instead rests in the ear pinna. The wingtips should keep the beans from falling. Additionally, we get to see the Mystic Black and Bronze colors...

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OnePlus teases Android 11, hints at Always On Display feature

OnePlus CEO Pete Lau posted a teaser on Twitter, a clock with the hour hand pointing at 11. This is clearly enough a teaser for the planned Android 11 update that recent OnePlus phones will receive, but there’s some speculation that there may be more to it. Why use a clock to tease a new OS version? It’s possible that this is a nod at an upcoming Always On Display feature. Before you get too excited, even if that is the case, there’s no guarantee that this feature will be available on older models as the hardware may not support it (at least not in a power efficient way). 11 "on...

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Official render gives us a look at the beautiful vivo S7

Next week we are going to see the latest 5G smartphone - vivo S7. It is said to be the thinnest device with 5G support. After yesterday’s arrival of the phone at the Chinese retailer JD.com, today the listing was completed with the first official render of the phone from the back and the color looks beautiful. Interestingly enough, we are yet to see the front side. According to numerous leaks, vivo is introducing a dual selfie camera hidden inside a wide notch - that’s right, the company will not pierce the AMOLED panel. We know it will be an OLED screen and not LCD since we can...

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Google in talks with Samsung to replace Bixby with Assistant

According to a new report, Google and Samsung are discussing a deal that would see the Korean tech giant push Google’s Assistant in place of the Bixby voice assistant. In addition, Samsung will also stop supporting its Galaxy Apps Store. The two companies are currently discussing the exact financial terms and according to sources close to the matter the deal should be finalized by the end of the week. Samsung issued a statement to Bloomberg where it reaffirmed its committed to supporting its own services but is also “closely working with Google and other partners in order to offer...

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Huawei MatePad 10.8 shows up on JD with specs, price and launch date

JD.com briefly listed a new Huawei MatePad 10.8 tablet, an upgrade over the MatePad M6 10.8 from last year. The price of the Wi-Fi only model was set at CNY 2,300 ($330/€280), which matches the launch cost of the M6 10.8. However, the new slate will have 6GB of RAM (up from 4 GB on the M6) paired with 64 GB storage. Also, the MatePad 10.8 will upgrade to the Kirin 990, the same chipset used in the flagship MatePad Pro tablet (which starts at CNY 3,300 and has a 10.8” AMOLED display). The screen resolution will likely remain the same (2,560 x 1,600 px, 16:10) and it will support the...

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The Galaxy Note20 family to come with improved Exynos 990, better than SD865+

Most of what we've heard so far is related to the Snapdragon 865+ version of the Samsung Galaxy Note20 lineup and now we have some good news regarding the markets, which will get the Exynos 990-powered variants. I Hope everyone understands this: The Exynos 990 on Note 20 series is an improved version with better optimization than the Snapdragon version and runs just as cool and just as fast as the Snapdragon.Its like an Exynos 990+ Samsung will also market the Exynos990 model as better— Anthony (@TheGalox_) July 28, 2020 The new report claims that Samsung has made big...

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Netflix surpasses 1 billion downloads on Google Play

Netflix has reached an impressive milestone - it now has over 1 billion downloads of its Android app on Google Play. This number includes the cases when the application comes pre-installed but that doesn’t take away of the mind-blowingly high number of installs. Quick comparison with other streaming platforms reveals Amazon Prime is in the 100-500 million tier, Hulu is between 50 and 100 million downloads, and HBO GO is a mere shadow with its 5+ million installs. Another rising star that might challenge Netflix is Disney+ which is in the 10 million tier, but it is available at a...

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The Galaxy Z Fold 2 is also getting a Thom Browne limited edition this year, but it will cost you

Rumor has it that Samsung will once again tap designer Thom Browne to create a limited edition of its new foldable phone. Last year it was the Z Flip, this year it’s the Galaxy Z Fold 2 that will get the fashion treatment. According to @IceUniverse, the Thom Browne package will cost CNY 20,000 or slightly more. That works out to $2,850, compared to the $2,465 price of 2019’s Z Flip package (KRW 2,970,000). However, The Z Fold 2 will cost the same as its predecessor, $1,990, which is $600 more than the expected price of the new Z Flip 5G (which matches the price of the original Z Flip)....

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LG Velvet with Dimensity 800 spotted in Google Play Console listing

LG’s Velvet already comes in two versions and it appears a third one is on its way. That was confirmed by a Google Play Console listing which reveals the upcoming device will be powered by MediaTek’s Dimensity 800 chipset. The rest of the available specs in the listing match the two other Velvets with an FHD+ display, 6GB RAM and Android 10. The listing also contains an image of the device though as can be expected it shows no changes. It remains to be seen if the rest of the spec sheet will match the current two Velvets. To recall, they come with a 6.8-inch AMOLED display,...

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Black Shark 3S will features USB-based screen mirroring, motion controls and more

The full reveal of the Black Shark 3S is not for a couple of days, but a sneak peek at some of the new features shows how the team behind the handset plans to make it the ultimate gaming phone. The phone will run the latest JOYUI 12, which has gained support for screen mirroring over USB 3.0 (with the standard USB Video Class protocol that webcams use, for example). Basically, you hook up the phone to a computer, run the Black Shark app and you see the phone’s screen mirrored on the computer rendered at 60 fps (the phone’s own AMOLED screen goes up to 120 Hz). The app takes you keyboard...

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Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 and Tab S7+ pop up on Google Play Console, new images appear

Samsung is expected to launch two tablets during its Unpacked event on August 5 - the Galaxy Tab S7 and the Galaxy Tab S7+. We saw their full specs sheet earlier this week, and now both slates appeared on Google Play Console, confirming some of the key hardware. At the same time, Evan Blass posted shared some official images, confirming what we know so far - thin bezels, revamped S Pen, and lack of any fingerprint scanners, meaning the sensor will make its way underneath the AMOLED panel. Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 • Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ The Galaxy Tab S7 will be...

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Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 smiles for the camera

Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event is still a week away but we’re now getting our first look at the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold2. Twitter user @hwangmh01 posted an image that shows us the main screen of the foldable confirming its design and naming. We can also see the original Fold’s large notch in the top right corner has been replaced with a punch-hole. It's still not clear how big the cutout is but it appears to be housing a single camera. Apart from this, we don’t know much else about the Z Fold 2. Rumors suggest it will cost around $2,000 like its predecessor and will bring a...

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