Netflix announces price hikes for US customers

As reported by The Verge, Netflix is announcing new rates for US-based subscribers. Currently, the streaming service offers three-tiered plans. The entry-level Basic $9 plan only allows for a single stream at up to 480p resolution and remains unchanged. The next tier - Standard, which is Netflix’s most popular, is being increased from $13/month to $14 – this plan allows for up to two simultaneous streams at up to 1080p resolution. Finally, the Premium tier is going from $16/month to $18. This tier allows for up to four simultaneous streams at up to 4K resolution. Netflix...

Read More

Deal: get a Galaxy S20 FE for just $350 or a Pixel 5 for $600

Best Buy got impatient and stopped waiting around for Black Friday. The retailer has ousted some outstanding deals on smartphones, but these, as far as we can tell, are all very short-term. Like, one day only. That means if you like what you read about here, you need to jump straight up to one of the Source links below and make your purchase quickly. First up, we have Samsung's very own 'flagship killer', the Galaxy S20 FE. Its normal retail price is $700, we've seen it offered for $600 a bunch of times, but now you can pick it up for only $350. That's an insane deal, but there are...

Read More

OnePlus 9 is headed to Verizon and T-Mobile, apparently

If you're in the US and are wondering which carriers are going to offer the upcoming OnePlus 9, that may be coming sooner than expected, then wonder no more. The enterprising folks over at XDA Developers have discovered, through a deep dive into the OxygenOS code, that the OnePlus 9 is in fact headed to both Verizon and T-Mobile. On the other hand, the OnePlus 9 Pro seems to only be on the way to T-Mobile, with Verizon seemingly foregoing the more expensive option. The OnePlus 8 was also offered by Verizon There are very good hints about all of this in the OxygenOS code, but...

Read More

Samsung Galaxy A70s finally receives One UI 2.5

We’ve seen plenty of Samsung devices get updated to One UI 2.5 in the last weeks and the latest one is the Galaxy A70s which has is now receiving the update in India. The new update comes with the A707FDDU3BTH4 build number and weighs roughly 1.6 GB. It also brings the latest October security patch on board as well as all the near One UI 2.5 additions. These include Wireless DeX, updated Pro camera mode, Always On Display additions and more. One UI 2.5 update for Galaxy A70s The update is expected to follow a staged approach and will likely make its way to more users in the...

Read More

The new LG K92 5G makes next gen networks more accessible

Just a year ago getting a 5G-ready phone meant you had to shell out around $1,000 but since then we’ve seen an abundance of more affordable phones that support the latest network standard and LG’s K92 5G is the latest one. It’s powered by the Snapdragon 690 chipset and works with sub-6 5G networks only. More importantly, the phone will be available soon in the US at just under $400. LG K92 5G in Titan Gray The K92 features a large 6.7-inch IPS LCD with FHD+ resolution and a punch-hole cutout for its 16MP selfie cam. We have a fingerprint scanner on the right-hand-side and the...

Read More

Spotify now boasts 320 million monthly active users, Premium users up from Q2

Spotify released its financial results for the July-September period and performance is better than expected. The music streaming platform now boasts a total of 320 million monthly active users (MAUs) which is up by 7% from the 299 million MAUs it reported at the end of Q2 and 29% more than Q3 2019. Premium users now number 144 million, which is a 5% increase over the previous quarter and an impressive 27% yearly growth. Spotify Q3 financial results These numbers still put Spotify as the runaway leader in the music subscription services category, well ahead of Apple Music which...

Read More

Lenovo unveils transparent edition of Legion Pro gaming flagship

Lenovo unveiled a transparent edition of the Legion Pro gaming flagship. The X-shaped middle part is now see-through, allowing you to peek at the components inside (the two “wedges” on either side of the X remain opaque). While most phones are pretty static, the Lenovo Legion Pro has a side-mounted pop-up camera. It’s normally hidden out of sight, but with the transparent edition the mechanism that raises and lowers it can be viewed in action. Lenovo Legion Pro transparent edition Lenovo did not say when this special edition will be available (beyond “coming soon”). Some...

Read More

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra renders revised, now there's an extra camera (or sensor)

While the S21 series is supposed to launch a month earlier than expected, it seems that the design is still being tweaked. OnLeaks is back with a revised version of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, which has a different camera design from the original renders. Revised design of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra - note the extra camera/sensor No, the camera island will still look like that, but there’s an extra module on the back. It’s not clear if this is a fifth camera or some sensor (a 3D ToF sensor, perhaps?). Also note that the position of the LED flash has shifted slightly. The...

Read More

HeyMelody app lets you update the firmware on your OnePlus and Oppo TWS headset

OnePlus has published an early access version of the HeyMelody app, which can be used to update the firmware of several True Wireless headsets. The main difference between it and the OnePlus Buds app is wider support. HeyMelody supports OnePlus’ Buds and Buds Z, as well as a couple of Oppo Models – Enco W51 and Enco X. You can use the app to pair the buds, check their battery levels and, of course, update their firmware. HeyMelody let's you update the firmware on your OnePlus and Oppo TWS headsets But wider support doesn’t just mean support for more buds, this app works on...

Read More

Spiking smartphone sales lead Samsung to record-breaking Q3

Samsung reported its quarterly results for the July-September 2020 period and the numbers look promising. The revenue is KRW66.96 trillion which is the highest ever in the history of the company, while the operating profit is KRW12.35 trillion - a 52% increase from the previous three-month period and 59% better than last year. Q3 2020 Guidance KRW / USD Q2 2020 Results KRW / USD Q3 2019 Results KRW / USD Sales 66.96 trillion / 59 billion 52.97 trillion / 46.72 billion 62 trillion / 54.69 billion Operating Profit 12.35...

Read More

Huawei publishes timeline for EMUI 11 beta rollout - 27 Huawei and Honor devices will get it

While Huawei didn’t rank highly in Counterpoint’s Trust Rankings, things are about to change as Wang Chenglu, the President of Huawei’s consumer business software department, says that the company is preparing to release an EMUI 11 update for 37 models. This will push the upgrade rate over 90%. Flagships in the Huawei P40 and Mate 30 series received a public beta of the new OS version on October 10. Today, ten more models are joining the beta program, including the Honor 30 and Huawei nova 7. You will find the list of phones getting the beta below along with a timeline at the...

Read More

vivo officially confirms Origin OS is replacing Funtouch OS

Earlier this week, news broke out that vivo is gearing up to replace its Funtouch OS with an all-new overlay called Origin OS based on Android. The project has been dubbed a complete makeover of Funtouch OS and now we have official confirmation from vivo that Origin OS is indeed real thanks to several posts from the brand’s official WeChat account. vivo Origin OS teasers The launch of the new OS is expected to take place on November 19 when vivo is planning to hold its developer conference. There we’ll get to see what vivo has in store on its software front and we also might...

Read More

Counterpoint: Samsung reclaims top spot in India as country sees record smartphone shipments

Smartphone makers shipped a record-setting 53 million units in India this quarter, reports Counterpoint Research. This is a growth of 9% year over year (YoY). “The Indian smartphone market is on a recovery path as the lockdown restrictions have been relaxed,” said Senior Research Analyst Prachir Singh. Still, most people prefer to shop online. Xiaomi pipped Samsung to become the top brand in India in 2018, but now the Korean company has reclaimed first place. Samsung shipments grew 32% compared to Q3 last year, surpassing even pre-COVID levels. The company has been the quickest to recover...

Read More

Apple iPhone 12 mini handled on video

Despite being a full week away from going on pre-order, Apple’s iPhone 12 mini somehow managed to get into the hands of Romanian tech journalist George Buhnici. He then posted a detailed hands-on video of the device where he gives us our first live look and compares it to the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro which further reinstates the mini’s tiny stature. At 131.5 x 64.2 x 7.4 mm and 135 grams, the mini is going against the mainstream and finally delivers a one-hand usable iPhone with the latest chipset from Apple. We get to see the mini and its 5.4-inch Super Retina XDR OLED against the 12, 12...

Read More

Oppo K7x coming on November 4 with a big battery

Oppo is bringing a new smartphone to its lineup of midrangers - the K7x 5G. The launch is scheduled for November 4 and while we don’t know any actual specs about the phone, the company says it will have “lots and lots of power”. We can clearly see a rectangle island on the back for the camera but even when we tinkered with the brightness of the image, we couldn’t make out the number of shooters or how they’re going to be aligned. Rumors are the phone has already appeared on TENAA under the model number PERM00 with a 6.5” LCD of Full HD+ resolution and 20:9 ratio. The battery has ...

Read More

Honor teases Band 6 ahead of its official launch on November 3

Honor’s universe of wearables keeps expanding and the latest addition will be the Band 6, the company announced on Weibo. The device will have a big screen and will be officially introduced on Tuesday, November 3. Honor Band 6 official teaser In the Weibo post, the company claimed the Band 6 will mark a new era of full-screen wearables and “this time it will be different”. The predecessor, Honor Band 5, covered all the bases for an affordable device - stylish, unobtrusive, basic fitness tracking. While we expect the same key functionality from the new wearable, we are also likely...

Read More