vivo has announced its roadmap for the rollout of its latest Funtouch OS 9.
The latest version of the UI is based on Android Pie and went official last month alongside the vivo 27. It will be rolled out to a total of 13 smartphones by July this year, albeit in the form of a beta update.
This update is currently tested on five models which include X21i, Z1, Z1i, X23, and X23 Symphony Edition. The second batch includes X21, X21 UD, X21s, NEX A, NEX S, NEX Dual Display, and Z3i which will get the beta in June. And in July, vivo will release the update for the Z3.
Do note that this...
Despite poor iPhone sales throughout 2018, Apple seems to doing quite well in its home market. According to data from CIRP (Consumer Intelligence Research Partners), iPhones accounted for 36% of US smartphones activations during Q1 of 2019, which gave Apple a slight lead over Samsung with its 34%. Next in line are LG and Motorola with 11 and 10% respectively.
The new data suggests that Apple is regaining US market share after a mediocre 2018 but is still far away from the dominance it held during Q1 of 2016 and 2017 when it peaked at 40% market share. The new results should also...
The number of Likes on your Instagram posts may soon be invisible to others as the Facebook subsidiary has created a design prototype, which hides the Like counts from your posts.
This information comes to us through reverse engineering expert Jane Wong who spotted the change in the source code of Instagram's Android app. Unlike the current design, this new design hides the total number of Likes on your post from others, but they are still visible to you.
By hiding the Like count from the posts, Instagram wants "your followers to focus on what you share, not how many likes your...
The penta camera-toting Nokia 9 PureView has received a new software update that brings in tons of improvements.
This update, bearing version number V4.22C, weighs 250.4MB in size. Its changelog mentions improved system stability, UI enhancements, and April 2019 security patch. However, users report that this update has much more than that.
The new firmware has improved the performance of the phone's in-display fingerprint scanner, but if you don't see any improvements, just try to enroll your fingerprint again and see if it works.
Other enhancements that come along with this...
The Galaxy A10 is currently the most affordable A-series phone, but it looks like Samsung will offer an even more affordable version similar to what it did with the Galaxy A20 and A20e. A new phone bearing the SM-A102U naming passed was certified by the Wi-Fi alliance, and it will likely hit shelves as the A10e.
From the certification, we learn the new phone will run on Android 9.0 and support dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, unlike the regular A10 which does not come with dual-band capabilities. This difference might suggest that the A10e will run on a newer SoC. As for the rest of...
Emtek Group acquired the rights for BBM back in 2016 to bring back to life the beloved messenger from the early-mid 2000s. Sadly, today the company announced it is discontinuing the consumer version on May 31, citing "very fluid industry".
The press release revealed that company employees "poured their hearts" into making BBM great again, but acknowledged that users have moved on to other platforms, while new users proved difficult to sign on.
Since Emtek decided to pull the plug of BBM, the original BlackBerry company that still offers security solutions, is making the BBM...
Word on the street has it that Google could be prepping a more affordable variant of the Pixel 3 smartphone. The handset in question is rumored to be called the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL, and last we heard, it could be announced on the 7th of May, a day before Google I/O 2019 is expected to kick off.Now thanks to the folks at Android Headlines, it appears that […]
Google and YouTube have ended their stalemate, with each adding support for a key feature of its competitor.
Google will be releasing the YouTube app on the Fire TV devices and Fire TV Edition smart televisions over the next few months. The app will support up to 4K 60fps HDR content on compatible models. The YouTube TV and YouTube Kids apps will also be coming later this year.
Meanwhile, users will soon be able to cast Prime Video content from their mobile app to Chromecast and Chromecast enabled devices such as televisions and media players in 4K.
The Amazon Google cold war...
Google's Pixel 3a and 3a XL have been subject to a plethora of leaks already. We have seen their case images, hands-on photos, and even a video. Now, we are looking at their first official renders that have surfaced online.
These renders of the Pixel 3a and 3a XL come to us courtesy of Android Headlines. They don't really reveal anything new in terms of design, but they do reiterate the launch date of these smartphones.
Google teased May 7 announcement of these mid-rangers earlier this week, and you can clearly see that's the date on the lockscreens of both phones here.
Even...
A report released on Thursday outlines a few of the changes we might expect in this year's new-generation iPhones. Ming Chi Kuo is a long-time Apple analyst at TF International Securities and as Mac Rumors reports, Apple's newest iPhones will get higher resolution selfie cameras.
The current iPhone lineup has 7MP cameras. Although the resolution isn't very much, I really loved how the selfies looked back when I was reviewing the Apple iPhone XR thanks to Apple's Smart HDR. We can expect these selfie cameras to be bumped up to 12MP resolution while maintaining the same pixel size.
In...
We knew this was coming - here's our first look at the official leather case for the Samsung Galaxy Fold, thanks to Roland Quandt.
The case comes in two colors - black and white - and will cost around 100, which is nearly twice as much as a Galaxy S10 leather case. But when you factor in that the Galaxy Fold's leather case requires nearly twice the material, it makes sense.
Like the imitation carbon case you get in the retail box, the leather case is be made up of two parts for each individual side of the Galaxy Fold - they converge on the hinge once you've opened up the phone to its...
The Xperia 1 will be Sony's first triple camera phone when it launches next month. A short-but-sweet promo video shows what those three cameras can do.
The main shooter has a 26mm f/1.6 lens, but you can capture more of the scene with the ultra wide 16mm lens or zoom in with the 52mm tele lens. Sony took the phone to the Vessel at Hudson Yards to show what it can do. The crazy Escherian staircases are great at highlighting the differences between the three focal lengths.
Note that the video claims the ultra wide-angle 16mm lens has an f/1.6 aperture while SonyMobile.com says f/2.4....
The Samsung Galaxy Fold is an expensive, complicated piece of kit, so we're both fascinated and appalled to see someone take it apart. Still, it sure is interesting to see what makes the phone "tick".
The hinge is a complicated mechanism consisting of five parts, whose goal it is to unfold the screen and keep it flat when the phone is open and fold it back up when the user closes it. The gears of the mechanism are reminiscent of a mechanical watch. This hinge was reportedly redesigned many times during the development process.
A close up look at the Galaxy Fold hinge...
Huami unveiled the Amazfit Verge smartwatch late last year. Initially, it came with the Xiao digital assistant, but a new update released today enables Amazon's Alexa. Here's a sample of what you can ask from Alexa:
Flash Briefing - Set up and add favorite topics to personalize your daily news and content "Flash Briefing"
Sports Update - Set up favorite sports leagues (NBA/NFL) and ask the watch for the latest scores
Calendar - Link with Google, Microsoft, Apple, Exchange calendars. Users can ask Alexa on their Verge smartwatch what's on their calendar for the day
Alarm - Set a...
According to a recent report, it was revealed that Samsung had sent out early review units of the Galaxy Fold to popular publications and YouTubers. Unfortunately, the displays on those units sent out started to run into problems where they failed pretty early on in their reviews. Samsung has since issued a statement addressing some of those problems.In a statement made to The Verge (who was one of the publications […]
For those who might be fans of Motorola’s smartphones, you might be pleased to learn that the company could be planning a comeback in a big fashion. This is according to a recent tweet by leakster Evan Blass who claims that the company has as many as four new phones in the works which could be announced soon.According to Blass, these phones include the Motorola One, Motorola One Power, Motorola […]
T-Mobile has entered the banking business by launching its online banking product. It's going after big banks in the US which charge monthly maintenance fees if you don't keep a minimum balance. In addition, T-Mobile is offering certain customers a flexible way to deal with overdrafts. Let's take a closer look at T-Mobile MONEY and who can benefit from it.
For starters, this is an online-only banking product which means all your banking will be done using the T-Mobile MONEY app. From here, you'll be able to deposit checks, check your balance, transfer money, or make p2p payments. You'll...
Back in February, Motorola rolled out the Android Pie update for the Moto G6 Play in Brazil. Now, the company is seeding this update to the G6 Play units in the US as well.
This update brings in the usual Pie goodies like adaptive battery, adaptive brightness, new UI, and better navigation. It also bumps up the Android security patch level on the Moto G6 Play to April 1, 2019. You can head over to the source link at the end of this article to check out the full changelog of this update.
Android Pie is rolling out over-the-air and it will be at least a week or two before it reaches...
After receiving a hefty 4.3 billion fine from the European Commission over unfair practices, Google is issuing a fix by offering EU users alternative search and browser apps through Google Play. In a blog post, Google's Product Management Director, Paul Gennai revealed that you will see the new app recommendations screen when opening Google Play after updates.
From there you will have the choice to directly install the recommended apps and will be guided through the setup procedure, including setting the new search engine or browser as default. Google says the recommended apps shown...
While the current buzz is around Samsung's soon to be released Galaxy Fold, it's the Galaxy S10 that's counted on to bring in the sales and it appears the series is doing quite well. According to Counterpoint Research, combined sales of the S10, S10+, and S10e during the first week in the US are 16% higher than S9 and S9 Plus were during the same time last year. This was expected given the addition of a third phone to the line this year and shows that consumers still prefer to have a more affordable option.
The sales data actually revealed that the S10e was the weakest selling device...
Meizu is gearing up to announce its latest flagship the 16s flagship on April 23. We already know the phone will feature the Snapdragon 855 with 8GB RAM, minimal display bezels, and a 48MP main camera. The device also dropped by AnTuTu and reached the impressive 374,190 points, putting it slightly above other flagships like the Xiaomi Mi 9 and Huawei P30 Pro.
Now, we are treated to some live footage from the same Meizu engineer who leaked the benchmark score and it looks every bit as impressive, managing to open 20 apps in just 99 seconds. The test consisted of two app opening rounds,...
Samsung's latest firmware update brings a surprise in the camera app. You'll now be able to take proper Night shots using the camera app's dedicated Night mode on the Samsung Galaxy S10. At launch, the Galaxy S10 had the "Bright Night" feature, but the camera would decide when it should kick in - which was usually in extremely dark scenes.
The new shooting mode isn't actually called "Bright Night" but the mode is simply labeled "Night" in the camera app and is easily accessed by swiping across the different camera modes. We wonder why Samsung waited this long before putting a...
Apple isn’t due to unveil its new iPhones until the fall at the very least but that doesn’t mean there’s no speculation about the handsets already. There’s a steady trickle of information from the rumor mill and the supply chain about the changes that Apple may introduce with this year’s models. The camera is an important area of focus for Apple and it may improve it this year with the […]
It has been possible to pay for an Uber through Apple Pay since 2014 but this payment option hasn’t been available in Uber’s food delivery app called Uber Eats. That’s changing today as Uber has announced that it will now be possible to pay for your Uber Eats order with Apple Pay. Users will authenticate their transactions using Touch ID or Face ID instead of having to fill out their billing […]
While there have been reports about the Galaxy S10 phones having reception issues on multiple carriers, it appears that users on Sprint have been hit the hardest. The carrier’s subscribers have reported LTE issues with all three of the Galaxy S10 models and despite software updates to fix the problem, it appears that this hasn’t been enough. Sprint has now said that it’s going to replace these handsets. As per […]
Long before there was WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, there was BlackBerry Messenger. It enabled BlackBerry device owners to easily chat with each other and share content. The world has changed a lot over the past decade and BlackBerry is no longer the king of the phone market. It’s not even a player anymore and while it tried to keep BBM alive, it’s now admitting defeat on this front. BlackBerry stopped […]
Are you sick of receiving robocalls? At the moment one of the best ways to go about protecting yourself is simply by ignoring calls from numbers you’re not familiar with. It’s not necessarily the most efficient method, but it works. However, the good news is that T-Mobile and Comcast want to make your lives easier.The carrier has announced and confirmed that they are working on an anti-robocalling feature that they […]
The Samsung Galaxy Fold foldable smartphone will be launching soon for consumers, but in the meantime, Samsung has started to send out review units to tech reviewers for them to get an experience with the handset and form their first impressions. Unfortunately, it appears that things aren’t going as planned.According to tweets by Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, Steve Kovach of CNBC, Marques Brownlee (also known as MKBHD), and Dieter Bohn […]
The Samsung Galaxy S10e camera performs nearly as well as the S10 and S10 camera modules, except in zoom performance. From an image quality for the money, it's a monster.
A new report out of Taiwan claims that Apple is going to launch a cheaper iPhone model in March next year. It adds that this is going to be a 4.7-inch iPhone which will be based on the iPhone 8 design. Since there is a subset of customers who opt for phones with smaller displays, Apple has catered to them previously with the iPhone SE, but it was discontinued last […]
LG was supposed to release its first 5G phone in its home country of South Korea this month. Given that its rival Samsung has already put the Galaxy S10 5G on the market in the country, many were looking towards LG to respond. The company has responded, but it’s actually delaying the launch of the LG V50 ThinQ. LG has confirmed in a statement that it’s delaying the launch of […]
TikTok has become immensely popular over the past year, particularly with the younger demographic. The app lets users record themselves lip-syncing and dancing to songs or dialogues from movies. TikTok has proven to be particularly popular in Asia but it’s now having to deal with some backlash in one of its biggest markets. Apple and Google have complied with a court order in India and removed TikTok from the App […]
T-Mobile has in the past attempted to merge with other carriers such as AT&T, but that did not work out so well. In the past year or so, the company has been attempting to merge again, but this time with Sprint where it feels like the merger could actually happen. However, it looks like the merger has since hit a roadblock.According to sources of The Wall Street Journal, it seems […]
While Intel is clearly dominating the computer business, the company isn’t doing so well on the mobile front. The company had previously attempted to dabble with mobile chipsets but that did not fare so well. Then Intel started supplying components such as modems for mobile devices, like the iPhone, and it was reported that the company could actually be working to supply Apple with a 5G modem for future iPhones.Unfortunately, […]
A report from earlier this month revealed that Apple might miss their rumored 2020 deadline to launch a 5G iPhone. The report claimed that Apple was having issues sourcing their 5G modems due to their ongoing litigation with Qualcomm, in which the latter company supplies the majority of the chipsets in upcoming 5G smartphones.The good news is that it looks like Apple could still make their 2020 timeline after all. […]
Back in the day (and it is still true today), you’d have to press the shutter button on your camera (or camera app) to take a photo. However, these days cameras are getting smarter thanks to the use of AI and facial recognition, where all it takes is for people to smile and it can take a photo, making it easier than pressing a button.It seems that Google is looking […]
These days with everything being put online, it has become a lot easier to do your shopping, banking, and other activities without having to leave the house. In fact, some companies actually encourage you to sign up and use their online services, such as receiving your bills where you might get a discount when you opt for e-billing instead of paper bills.Verizon is one of those companies who looks to […]
Facebook Messenger does allow peer-to-peer payments but that’s no longer going to be possible in two major markets. The company has confirmed that it’s going to discontinue peer-to-peer Messenger payments in the United Kingdom and France later this year. It says that active users will be notified of the change in due course. The company confirmed to Engadget that it has made the decision to discontinue Messenger payments in the […]
Google regularly tests new functionality in the Play Store and it can often be difficult to keep track of all the different experiments that it runs there. A new one has now been spotted which shows that the company is testing simultaneous downloads. What that means is that more than one app will download at the same time from the Play Store, something that doesn’t happen currently. The Play Store […]
Earlier this year, it was revealed that Facebook was testing out a dark mode for its Messenger app. It was later revealed that users could “secretly” enable the feature with a trick, but the good news is that if you can appreciate dark mode on your apps, Facebook has announced that the feature is now live to all users.According to Facebook, “After a month-long Easter Egg activation with countless crescent […]
If you think that Google’s Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL smartphones are still a bit too expensive for your liking, then you might have heard that Google could be planning on launching budget versions of its Pixel 3 handset in the form of the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL. The good news is that it looks like the handsets could be close to launch.In a post on Google’s […]
Console makers typically create games that are exclusive to their platforms. This is done so that it will entice gamers to choose their platform when trying to decide between consoles. For example, Sony has God of War, Nintendo has The Legend of Zelda, and Microsoft has its Forza racing franchise.The Forza series has typically been only available on Microsoft’s Xbox platform, but it seems that the company has decided to […]
Last month Apple announced a new game subscription service called Apple Arcade. For a fixed monthly price, gamers would be able to access premium paid-for titles that would be exclusive to the platform in a bid to try and get people to sign up for it. Th e titles part of the store are also expected to be largely new titles as well, instead of just rehashing existing paid-for games.That […]
Many are no doubt looking forward to see what OnePlus might have up their sleeves with the OnePlus 7, and the good news is that you might not have to wait much longer to find out. This is thanks to a post on Twitter by Ishan Agarwal who shared a leak in which it suggests that OnePlus could be hosting an event on the 14th of May in which the […]
The Huawei P30 Pro is an excellent mobile camera that we found to score extremely high in our camera benchmark that looks at real-world use cases and data.
It was reported recently that Foxconn might expand iPhone manufacturing in India, particularly for its latest models, and now the confirmation comes from Terry Gou himself, who is the Chairman of the Foxconn Technology Group. He confirms that the iPhone will enter mass production in India later this year. Gou added that he has been invited to the country by its prime minister as Foxconn plans its expansion into India. […]
Those of you who use Huawei smartphones would have noticed that it was not possible to download VLC on the Chinese giant’s smartphones. They were blacklisted by app developers due to their rather aggressive background task management. This led to VLC’s developers blacklisting Huawei’s smartphones but it’s now possible to download VLC on Huawei smartphones once again. The aggressive background task management methods caused the app to become unstable and […]
Verizon has been Google’s exclusive carrier partner for its Pixel smartphones since 2016. Things might change this year as a new report claims that T-Mobile could soon start selling the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. This may open the door for future Pixel smartphones to land on T-Mobile as well in addition to Verizon. 9to5Google hears from a source that T-Mobile will soon start selling the Pixel 3 and […]
Facebook appears to be testing a new way to view content in your News Feed and Stories on the social network. It may merge content from the two sources in a single, hybrid carousel that’s swipeable. So swiping will essentially replace scrolling on Facebook. This has been discovered by software engineer Jane Manchun Wong who often finds out the new features that are being cooked up. She discovered that Facebook […]
vivo has announced its roadmap for the rollout of its latest Funtouch OS 9.
The latest version of the UI is based on Android Pie and went official last month alongside the vivo 27. It will be rolled out to a total of 13 smartphones by July this year, albeit in the form of a
Despite poor iPhone sales throughout 2018, Apple seems to doing quite well in its home market. According to data from CIRP (Consumer Intelligence Research Partners), iPhones accounted for 36% of US smartphones activations during Q1 of 2019, which gave Apple a slight lead over Samsung with its 34%. Next in line are LG
The number of Likes on your Instagram posts may soon be invisible to others as the Facebook subsidiary has created a design prototype, which hides the Like counts from your posts.
This information comes to us through reverse engineering expert Jane Wong who spotted the change in the source code of Instagram's Android app. Unlike
The penta camera-toting Nokia 9 PureView has received a new software update that brings in tons of improvements.
This update, bearing version number V4.22C, weighs 250.4MB in size. Its changelog mentions improved system stability, UI enhancements, and April 2019 security patch. However, users report that this update has much more than that.
The new firmware has
The Galaxy A10 is currently the most affordable A-series phone, but it looks like Samsung will offer an even more affordable version similar to what it did with the Galaxy A20 and A20e. A new phone bearing the SM-A102U naming passed was certified by the Wi-Fi alliance, and it will likely hit shelves as
Emtek Group acquired the rights for BBM back in 2016 to bring back to life the beloved messenger from the early-mid 2000s. Sadly, today the company announced it is discontinuing the consumer version on May 31, citing "very fluid industry".
The press release revealed that company employees "poured their hearts" into making BBM great again,
Word on the street has it that Google could be prepping a more affordable variant of the Pixel 3 smartphone. The handset in question is rumored to be called the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL, and last we heard, it could be announced on the 7th of May, a day before Google I/O 2019
