Apple releases Beats Pill+ app for iOS and Android

Apple has released a new app for those who own the Beats Pill+ Bluetooth speaker. The app is not just available on iOS but also on Android. Although you don't need the app to use the product, which works normally like any other Bluetooth speaker system, the app lets you control some additional functionality, such as being able to customize the audio quality, connect two Pill speakers to your device and then adjust their volume individually through the app, connect two audio sources to a single Pill speaker, keep track of the power levels of your Pill speaker and get additional software updates and product support. Both apps are now available on their respective stores. Unfortunately, the Android app is once again being bombarded with 1 star ratings by petty manbabies who literally do not have anything better to do with their time. iOS •...

Security-focused Tor Messenger enters beta

The Tor Project has announced the availability of the beta version of its security-focused, cross-platform chat application Tor Messenger. "There have been three previous alpha releases to the mailing lists that have already helped smooth out some of the rougher edges," the team behind the messenger said in a blog post. Image credit: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac Tor Messenger is based on Instantbird IM client developed in the Mozilla community. Its USP is that it sends all of its traffic over Tor, an anonymizing network that consists of thousands of nodes (called onion routers) that are located all over the world. It supports various transport networks - including Jabber (XMPP), IRC, Google Talk, Facebook Chat, Twitter, and Yahoo - and uses Off-the-Record (OTR) protocol by default for encrypting your messages. "Tor gives us location anonymity. OTR gives us encryption and secrecy," said Sukhbir Singh, a Tor Messenger developer. Source |...

LG's new V10 smartphone begins shipping worldwide

LG has announced that the V10 smartphone, which was announced earlier this month, has started rolling out globally. The United States, China and Hong Kong are getting it this week, while key markets in North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and the Commonwealth of Independent States will get the device sometime this quarter. Over in the US, some of the major carriers including T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon will be carrying the device. The former two have already announced their launch plans - T-mobile begins selling it today, while AT&T will start offering it on November 6. For those interested in more premium look, you can now also get the V10 gold plated from Vietnam-based company Karalux. If you aren't already aware, until now, the handset was only available in the company's home country of South Korea, where - as per reports - it isn't doing very...

Xperia Z5 and Z5 Compact receiving update with Stagefright patch

The Sony Xperia Z5 and Z5 Compact smartphones, which were made official last month and released this month, are now receiving a software update which brings along fix for the Stagefright exploit. All variants of the aforementioned handsets along with those of the Xperia Z5 Dual are getting the update. Sized at 281MB and carrying a build number of 32.0.A.6.152, the update - according to certain users who've received it - also enhances camera performance, improves heat management, and makes the fingerprint sensor comparatively more accurate. The OTA update is currently rolling out in several regions, so it should hit your device anytime now if it already hasn't. However, if you're feeling impatient, you can also manually check for it through Sony's PC...

Android 6.0 update for HTC One M8 receives Bluetooth SIG certification

Shortly after Android 6.0 made its debut late last month, HTC released a list of smartphones that it said will receive the Marshmallow update. In that list, the company specifically mentioned that its One M9 and One M8 smartphones would get the update towards the end of this year. However, it now looks like the One M8 could get Android 6.0 a bit sooner given that the update for the handset has been certified by Bluetooth SIG. As you can see in the screenshot above, the certification was issued on October 28. Keep in mind that we're just speculating an early arrival of the update as neither the Bluetooth SIG filing contains any specific date related to the roll out, nor there is any other proof of the...

Google to combine Chrome OS and Android into a single operating system

Google is working on merging the Chrome OS and Android into a single operating system. The news was first reported by the Wall Street Journal but has since been confirmed by the search giant. The new OS, which is in the works for the past couple of years, is expected to be ready for a preview next year, but would be launched only in 2017. Image credit: DAVID PAUL MORRIS/BLOOMBERG The move would result in PC users getting access to Google Play, which is currently home to millions of apps. In addition, Chromebooks - the lightweight and portable laptops that got their name from the Chrome OS - will also get a new name. The Chrome browser (both mobile and desktop versions), however, won't be affected in any way. It's worth mentioning that Google's newly-announced CEO Sundar Pichai has been heading both Android and Chrome OS divisions for the past two years. "Mobile as a computing paradigm is eventually going to blend with what we think of as desktop today," he said last week. Via 1...

BLU Studio 7.0 LTE goes official with 7 inch display and dual-SIM

The Miami-based smartphone manufacturer BLU took the wraps off the Studio 7.0 tablets with 4G LTE connectivity and dual-SIM functionality. The unlocked slate is already available to order on Amazon in the United States for $199.99. BLU Studio 7.0 LTE features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 chipset, 1GB of RAM, and 16GB of expandable memory. A 7" 720p display, 8MP main camera, 2MP front-facing snapper, and 3,700mAh battery are also on board. The tablet boots Android 5.1.1 out of the box. The slate is available in four colors. They include Ceramic White, Midnight Grey, Rose Gold and Navy Blue. Source...

2016 Hyundai Equus

The Hyundai Equus gives the South Korean automaker a place at the executive-luxury table. While it can't compete with the best big four-door sedans from Germany, it's a pleasant, plush luxury car that should give pause to buyers who don't put as much weight on the badge as they do on striking value. With a base price in the low $60,000 range, the...

2016 Acura RLX

The Acura RLX is not the sort of car that screams for attention and recognition even though it's the automaker's flagship. It's not a car for extroverts, even though its performance is impressive and satisfying. Instead, the RLX is subtle luxury, with an understated design and an interior that's relatively free of gimmickry. While it might not...

BlackBerry details the Priv's main features on video, launches first ad

BlackBerry has been busy producing videos about its latest smartphone, the Priv. First off, we're treated to one that's all about the features that BlackBerry thinks will be the key differentiators for the Priv in the very crowded smartphone market. The BlackBerry Hub is mentioned, for example, which gives all your communications one simple inbox. The company also bets on the easily accessible pop-up widgets, then goes on to talk about some specs such as the 5.4-inch QHD dual curved screen, the touch-enabled physical keyboard, the "best in class" virtual keyboard, the "colossal" 3,410 mAh battery, and the 18 MP rear camera with Schneider-Kreuznach certification, OIS, and dual-LED flash. The camera can record 4K video at 30fps, we're told, and the DTEK feature alerts you when your privacy is at risk from the apps you've installed. BlackBerry has also outed what seems to be the first TV commercial for the Priv, which you can see above. It's short, it's black and white, and it focuses on privacy - namely, how the BlackBerry Priv can protect yours. Oh, and the word "privilege" is in there...

OnePlus X will have wood, kevlar, and silicone cases available on November 5

Unlike the OnePlus One and OnePlus 2 before it, the newly introduced OnePlus X does not come with a removable back cover. So obviously OnePlus can't sell you replacement backs made out of fancy materials such as wood. However, that hasn't stopped the Chinese company from creating a line of accessories for the OnePlus X. Only these are cases, and not back covers. The materials used are mostly the same as for the OnePlus 2's covers, though. So you'll be able to choose from Rosewood, Sandstone, Black Apricot, Bamboo and Karbon options, along with some silicone cases coming in five colors. Three of the special ones are made from wood, while Karbon features kevlar, and Sandstone is sort of a OnePlus trademark material, having debuted as the default back cover for the 64GB OnePlus One last year. The OnePlus X cases will be available on November 5. The silicone ones and the Sandstone case will be priced at $14.99, while the others will go for $24.99. Oh, and you won't need an invite to buy any of...

First public beta of iOS 9.2 is now out

Today Apple has released the first public beta of iOS 9.2. This build first went out to developers a couple of days ago, and now it's available for everyone who's signed up for Apple's beta program for software. As before, if you're in the beta program iOS 9.2 beta 1 will be offered to you as an over-the-air update on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. Once you apply it, you can't turn back to older versions of the OS, keep that in mind. So far only one thing seems to be new in this build, namely the fact that it's now possible to enable user-installed extensions for Safari while the Web browser is working in third-party apps. Obviously some bug fixes are bound to be in too. The final version of iOS 9.1 was only sent out to the public last week, so you should probably expect a few more betas before iOS 9.2 is...

Nexus 6P teardown yields very low repairability score

There are many differences between the two Nexus smartphones Google announced this year, the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P. One is cheaper, the other more premium, for example. But there's a new big difference between the two - how easy each of them is to repair. The Nexus 5X teardown which we told you about last week resulted in a 7 out of 10 repairability score, which isn't perfect, but it's not bad either. Now though the Huawei-made Nexus 6P has been put through the same process by the teardown experts at iFixit. And it was found to be in the exact opposite situation compared to its smaller sibling. In fact, the Nexus 6P got only a 2 out of 10 repairability score. The problems include the fact that the display assembly can't be replaced without tearing the whole phone apart, which means that one of the most common repairs for a handset is very difficult to accomplish. Furthermore, tough adhesive is used to hold the rear cover panels and battery in place, and it's very difficult to open the device without damaging the glass camera cover. On the other hand, the phone's solid construction is said to improve durability, and once the opening procedure is complete the battery is easily accessible. As an oddity, the circular-looking fingerprint sensor on the back of the Nexus 6P is actually square - the circle shape is merely due to the round hole in the phone's case. So it turns out that this isn't the exact same sensor as on the Nexus...

Samsung's huge Galaxy View tablet lands on November 6 for $599

Samsung finally announced the Galaxy View, its biggest tablet yet, through a press release yesterday. This came after many months of rumors regarding this particular device. While the official unveiling made no mention of its price or a release date, we now know both of those things. The Galaxy View will be out in the US on November 6, and you'll need to pay $599 to pick one up. That amount of cash will net you the Wi-Fi-only iteration bundled with 32GB of storage. Apparently a US carrier will sell the Galaxy View too, at some point in the future. This company hasn't been named, but it's probably going to be AT&T. There's no word yet on other markets when it comes to availability and pricing. The Galaxy View has an 18.4-inch 1080p touchscreen, Samsung's Exynos 7580 SoC at the helm (with a 1.6 GHz octa-core Cortex-A53 CPU), 2GB of RAM, a 2 MP camera, two 4W speakers, and a 5,700 mAh battery. It runs Android 5.1...

Moto X Force gets official as the international version of the Droid Turbo 2

The rumor mill was right about this one, too. Motorola's new top of the line smartphone with the world's first shatterproof display may be exclusive to Verizon in the US (where it's known as the Droid Turbo 2), but it's coming to international markets too. And outside of the US it will be known as the Moto X Force. Thus, this is the third Moto X family member to be announced this year, following the Moto X Style and the Moto X Play. Spec-wise, the Moto X Force is identical to the Droid Turbo 2, and it obviously includes that touchscreen that's said to be shatterproof. To back up this claim, Motorola is even offering a four-year warranty covering serious screen damage. The phone will launch in a few key markets first, starting in mid-November, then expanding its rollout next year. One of the countries to get it in the first wave of availability is the UK, where it will cost £499 for the 32GB model and £534 for the one with 64GB of storage. Like the Droid Turbo 2, the Moto X Force can be customized using the Moto Maker tool. The Moto X Force has a 5.4-inch QHD display, a 21 MP rear camera with dual-tone LED flash, a 5 MP selfie cam, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 SoC at the helm, 3GB of RAM, microSD card support, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, NFC, and a 3,760 mAh battery. It runs Android 5.1.1 Lollipop. Source | Via 1 • Via...

Microsoft gives away a free Display Dock with each Lumia 950 XL in UK and DE

Microsoft Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL are the first Windows 10 running smartphones. Both are powerful enough to use the so-called Continuum feature - that's the ability to turn your phone into a full-fledged PC by plugging in an external monitor and a keyboard via the Microsoft Display Dock. This in theory make for lighter packing when traveling or save you the expense of a standalone computer. Both Lumia smartphones are now available on pre-order as is the Display Dock, required for the phone-to-PC magic. This small gadget is quite expensive though, it costs about €75 in Europe. Luckily, Microsoft will be throwing this dock for free if you get a Lumia 950 XL via the Microsoft's official online stores in UK and Germany. The dock itself won't come bundled with your Lumia 950 XL though. Instead you'll get a promo voucher and you'll have to order it for free from the Microsoft Online Store. "Buy a Lumia 950 XL and get a free Microsoft Display Dock * * Valid with purchase of 950 XL and offer registration between 20th November 2015 and 31st January 2016, while supplies last. Redeem promotional code through the online Microsoft Store by 28th February 2016. Valid credit or debit card required at time of redemption. Terms and Conditions apply." We hope other Microsoft stores across the globe offer the same promotion - it's sure a clever way to make more people switch to Windows 10. This promotion does NOT apply for the regular Lumia 950. Both Lumia 950 (€599) and Lumia 950 XL (€699, £530) will kick off on November 28. Microsoft UK • Microsoft DE •...

LG's quarterly results show declining smartphone shipments, company still posts a profit

LG's mobile division turned in its quarterly with mixed feelings. It sold 8.1 million LTE smartphones worldwide for the quarter, a record for the company. Also, in North America revenues went up by 36% on a yearly basis, driven largely by the successfully mid-range smartphones and tablets. Now for the bad news - performance in its home country of South Korea isn't as stellar and the premium segment saw a weaker demand, which affected the overall profitability. Revenues are up 1% to $3.33 billion, however shipments by units is 3% lower for a total of 14.1 million. The mobile division posted a loss of $67.8 million. LG will implement a dual strategy going forward, it will focus on premium devices as well as mid-rangers for emerging markets. The LG Home Entertainment Company reported a declining operating margin due to a weak global market for LCD TVs and negative currency effects. The company does expect the market to improve, especially the market for 4K TVs. LG will expand its OLED line too and offer new designs and better prices. The TV division brought in $222 million in operating profits. As a whole the company turned in a profit of $206 million in an "extremely challenging environment." Source |...

Alcatel Fierce XL: 5.5'' Android with Polaroid camera for MetroPCS, T-Mobile

Alcatel unveiled a low-cost, large-screened Android for one of the smaller carriers in the US, MetroPCS. The Alcatel Fierce XL will cost $139 when it launches on November 2. It will be available on T-Mobile alter this winter too. The phone has an 8MP main camera plus a 2MP selfie camera, which are bundled with Polaroid Photo Editing Software. The Polaroid camera mode will enable a variety of filters and borders, including the iconic Polaroid border. Single, double and multi-shots can be assembled in custom layouts with time, location and note added. Alcatel Fierce XL The Alcatel Fierce XL features a 5.5" IPS screen with 720p resolution (267ppi) and runs Android 5.1.1 Lollipop. At its heart is a Snapdragon 210 chipset (quad-core Cortex-A53 @ 1.1GHz) with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of expandable storage. The phone supports up to 150Mbps LTE speeds along with VoLTE, HD Voice and Wi-Fi calling. The smallish 2,500mAh battery is good for 12 hours of talk time. "A smartphone has to be more than a respectable list of specs, it has to deliver an engaging and value-focused consumer experience, and this is where Fierce XL delivers," said Jon Maron, Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Alcatel...

Sony ends Q3 2015 profitable thanks to PlayStation, image sensors

In spite of a lagging mobile division, Sony announced today it ended Q3 with a profit. The company's PlayStation and image sensor divisions are to thank for the $278 million (JPY 33.6 billion) profit. Overall revenue for the quarter is down 0.5% over a year ago to $15.8 billion, partly because of the strong dollar. Operating profit came in at $733 million. Sony Mobile revenue is also down by 15% from over a year ago reaching $231 for the quarter. Sony surely remembers Q3 2014's loss of $1.58 billion, so this quarter's $172 million isn't as bad. The company explains the low smartphone sales with its "strategic decision not to pursue scale in order to improve profitability." The game and network services division, from which the PlayStation 4 is part of, rose 16.5% year-over-year and account to $3 billion in revenue and $199 million profit. The company's image sensor division continues to be one of the company's most important parts with $215 million profit on $1.5 billion...

Qualcomm refutes Snapdragon 820 overheating rumors

A couple of days ago, there were rumors that Qualcomm's upcoming Snapdragon 820 chipset has overheating issues just like its predecessor SD810, and Samsung - which is manufacturing the SoC - is working to fix to the problem. Now, Qualcomm has responded to the aforementioned rumors, clarifying that there are no such issues with the chipset. The company also said that the SoC currently meets its design specifications, and will continue to be enhanced. FYI, Qualcomm's response on the matter came in the form of a Weibo post. The said rumor came over a month after Qualcomm revealed details about the chipset at an event where Snapdragon 617 and Snapdragon 430 SoCs were also announced. For those who aren't already aware, Samsung is reportedly busy testing the SD820 for integration inside its next Galaxy S7...

IDC: Q3 smartphone shipments were second highest on record

A total of 355.2 million smartphones were shipped worldwide in Q3 this year, which is the second highest number on record, according to a latest report from market research firm IDC. When compared to Q3 2014, that's a 6.8% growth - a total of 332.6 million units were shipped in that period. The total number of smartphones shipped in Q3 this year, however, was less than what was predicted (363.8 million) by IDC, which blamed slightly lower than expected iPhone shipments and pricey Android flagships for it. As for individual smartphone vendors, Samsung again topped the list with 84.5 million units shipped, up 6.1% from last year, while Apple came in second with total shipments of 48.0 million units, up 22.2% from the 39.3 million units last year. Chinese companies Huawei, Lenovo, and Xiaomi rounded up the top five. It's worth mentioning here that IDC's estimate for Huawei's Q3 shipments (26.5 million) is less than what the Chinese company itself revealed yesterday. "The vendor landscape and product offerings are really unique at the moment as many markets are seeing consumers become more aware of alternative buying options when it comes to paying for their smartphone," said Ryan Reith, Program Director with IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. "In mature and subsidized markets, we now have a wide range of operators offering equipment installation plans (EIP), as well as early trade-in options. At the same time the number of unlocked/off-contract offerings has increased significantly and it's slowly starting to resonate with consumers. Within these markets these moves will put pressure directly on Android OEMs with offerings that are greater than...

Former Apple creative director is Huawei's new chief UX designer

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei has hired Apple's former creative director Abigail Sarah Brody as its new chief UX designer. She will also be serving as the vice president of Huawei's Device & Consumer division. A quick look at Brody's LinkedIn profile reveals that she has worked with multiple Fortune 500 companies in her 20 years carrier. At Apple, she worked with the team that designed iOS 1 for the first-gen iPhone. In addition, she also worked on the company's cloud-storage service iCloud as well as ProKit, which is Apple's internal professional application design language. As for Huawei, the company seems to be doing quite well lately. It is now China's top smartphone vendor and claims the third spot globally. The company has just revealed that it shipped 27.4 million smartphones in Q3 this year, compared to 16.8 million it shipped in the same period last year. Source |...

The OnePlus X is a Snapdragon 801 5-incher with a Ceramic body option

OnePlus is diversifying its current portfolio of one model (spreading two generations) with the brand new OnePlus X. Announced today, the new smartphone will fight a whole different battle - where the OnePlus One and 2 were meant as flagships on a budget, the X aims to put design on top of its list of priorities. The OnePlus X comes in a choice of either Onyx or Ceramic attire. Both versions feature an anodized metal frame with 17 grooves etched into it. The first one has a black glass panel on its back with a glossy mirror-like finish, nothing out of the ordinary. It's the Ceramic version where things go bonkers. The panel takes 25 days to manufacture, OnePlus says, and starts its life as a 0.5mm zirconia mold heated in a 1480-degree furnace for more than 28 hours. It's then left to cool down for two whole days, goes through some polishing and in the end is good for an 8.5H hardness rating on the Mohs scale. The thing is also a smartphone, and comes with a 5-inch FullHD AMOLED display. The aging, but still somewhat relevant Snapdragon 801 chipset is in charge, coupled with 3GB of RAM. There's a modest 16GB of built-in storage, expandable via microSD. Mind you, one of the card slots is of the hybrid variety - you can forget about having a couple of SIMs and a microSD inside at the same time. OnePlus X press images Imaging is taken care of by a 13MP primary camera, with an ISOCELL sensor courtesy of Samsung and an f/2.2 lens. It can't shoot 4K video though, despite the fact that the chipset supports it. The front camera uses a 8MP OmniVision imager behind a slower f/2.4 lens. The OnePlus X measures 140 x 69 x 6.9mm, which should please compact phone lovers. The Onyx version tips the scales at 138g, while the Ceramic one adds a hefty 22g on top of that - you'd constantly be reminded you're carrying a rock of sorts in your pocket. You'd be getting a basic, but all-round connectivity suite - multi band 2G/3G/4G, single-band Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, and GPS with GLONASS and BDS. The phone boots Android 5.1.1 (so no Marshmallow just yet) with OxygenOS on top. An average-sized 2,520mAh battery provides power. The OnePlus X is priced at $249/£199 for the Onyx variant, while the Ceramic variant commands a whopping £70 premium and won't be sold in the States. And by the way only 10,000 of those will be made. Talk about...

Huawei ships 27.4M smartphones in Q3, 4M P8 units

Last week, market research firm Canalys revealed that Huawei has surpassed Xiaomi to become China's largest smartphone manufacturer in Q3 2015. While the firm did not share the exact shipment numbers, Huawei has now revealed that it shipped a total of 27.4 million smartphones last quarter. The information was revealed by the Chinese company in a tweet (see below). Thanks to our fans, 27.4M smartphones were shipped in Q3 and 4M #HuaweiP8's were shipped since April. #HuaweiFacts http://pic.twitter.com/p00SLWp2vv— Huawei Device (@HuaweiDevice) October 28, 2015 For comparison, a total of 16.8 million smartphones were shipped in the same period last year. In addition, it was also revealed that the company has shipped 4 million units of the Huawei P8 smartphone ever since it was launched back in April this year. For those who aren't aware, the company recently launched the Honor 5X in China, and has schduled a November 5 event for Kirin 950 chipset...

Samsung's Q3 earnings report reveals first profit growth in two years

Samsung has released its earnings report for the third quarter, and as expected, the company has registered its first profit growth in the last two years. The report reveals an operating profit of around $6.4 billion, which is an impressive increase from $3.6 billion it reported in the same period last year. Overall revenues stood at $45.6 billion, up from $41.7 billion in Q3 2014. The South Korean company said the increase in revenue was driven mainly by the Semiconductor Business and the Display Panel segment. It was also revealed that operating profits increased by $440 million QoQ due to a favorable exchange rates, although Samsung made it clear that it expects QoQ earnings to decline in Q4 as it does not expect the foreign exchange rate to have a positive effect in the quarter. Looking at the company's mobile division, operating profit stood at $2.1 billion, up from $1.54 billion it reported in Q3 last year, but down QoQ. "Samsung saw a significant increase in sales of smartphones in the quarter, compared with the second quarter with increased shipments of Galaxy Note5, Galaxy S6 Edge+ and the Galaxy A and J series," the company said. "However, due to the price adjustment of Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge, and increased shipments of mid-to-low end smartphones, revenue increased slightly whereas profit decreased QoQ." Looking ahead, Samsung is expecting tablet and smartphone sales to improve QoQ due to higher market demand companies generally see in the year-end holiday season. Source |...