Android P Beta 3 is out now with near-final system behaviors

A new preview release of Android P is available now if you have a Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2, or Pixel 2 XL. Today Google has announced Android P Beta 3, "an early release candidate build" which comes with "near-final system behaviors". The official Android P APIs have been finalized with the previous beta, and this one seems to be all about bug fixes and minor improvements here and there. No major new features have been added this time around, but Google keeps on polishing the software ahead of its graduation from beta to stable - which will happen in August or September most...

MediaTek wants to make 5G modems for iPhones, push Intel out

MediaTek is close to securing a deal to supply Wi-Fi chips to Apple for HomePod devices, but the chip maker has loftier goals in mind - to deliver the modems for future iPhones. A few days ago Bloomberg reported that Apple may drop Intel as its second modem supplier (the primary one being Qualcomm) and hinted that MediaTek might pick up its orders. The company unveiled its 5G modem in early June. The Helio M70 will be capable of reaching 5 Gbps speeds and will be built by TSMC on a 7 nm node. The modem will start shipping in 2019, six months ahead of the original...

Deal: Refurbished GPS+Cellular Apple Watch 3 for $320

BestBuy has a deal on certified refurbished Apple Watch Series 3 - both the GPS and the GPS+Cellular models. You can get a refurbished Apple Watch Series 3 with GPS for $250 (normally $330) and a GPS+Cellular Apple Watch Series 3 starting at $320 (normally $400). All models come with free shipping with delivery by July 10. Prices vary depending on the watch finish and band. Source

HMD is fixing the VoLTE issues with the Nokia 7 plus

A couple of weeks ago the Nokia 7 plus received support for dual VoLTE, including support for Vodafone India's service, but it also caused issues for some users. The June update seems to have broken the service on already supported carriers like Jio and Airtel. Other carriers are still working out how to enable the service after the Nokia 7 plus was updated. The good news is that people are now reporting success in using VoLTE. The update also messed things up for people running the Android P Developer Preview and required them to restore the software back to Oreo to make the phone...

HTC cuts 22% of its workforce - 1,500 will lose their job by September

HTC will be laying off 1,500 workers in its manufacturing unit in Taiwan in a move to streamline its operations and cut loses. The people affected in the move will lose their jobs by September and represent a 22% chunk of the 6,450 workforce HTC has as of June. This scale down is part of the merging of HTC's smartphone and VR businesses in one division. HTC's outlook isn't bright. Despite the hope in the success of the new Vive Pro VR headset and the new U12+ flagship, HTC is continuing to bleed money. And while the $1.1B deal with Google did alleviate some of the financial...

T-Mobile seeds updates to the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active and LG V30/V30+

T-Mobile is seeding the June security patch to the Galaxy S8 Active through its second Android 8.0 Oreo update. The device was upgraded to Oreo back in April. Meanwhile the LG V30/V30+ received a new update with "various bug fixes and system improvements". The V30 situation is a bit messier than the Galaxy S8 Active's - it received Oreo on T-Mobile at the beginning of May but the rollout was paused a few days later due to undisclosed issues and was finally resumed at the end of May. At the end of last month, T-Mobile committed to deliver Oreo to the LG V20 in August, started...

Mysterious Meizu gets certified, likely the Meizu X8

Meizu announced an entry-level phone called M6T back in May, and is now gearing to refresh its mid-range porfolio, according to a Chinese regulatory listing. The listing reveals a phone with a model number M816Q is approved, and connecting the dots leads to the Meizu X8. Meizu M816Q listing Last week Meizu founder Jack Wong revealed the Meizu X8 is already in the pipeline. It will be powered by Snapdragon 710 and will arrive as a direct competitor of the Xiaomi Mi 8 SE, but with a bigger display. We are thinking the M816Q is exactly this midranger, since the Meizu M6T sported a...

Fix for the "oil painting" effect of OnePlus 6 is in the works

OnePlus has been fighting an "oil painting" effect in its cameras for a while now - the OnePlus 5 and 5T have it, the OnePlus 6 has it too. So here's a bit of good news: fixes are on the way. The 5/5T fix is already being tested through the Open Beta program and should roll out soon (it seems that the update is already rolling out in China). OnePlus confirms it is working on a fix via email The new model, OnePlus 6, will get a fix as well, which will roll out with the next software update (after passing through the beta stage, of course). It seems that the issue is caused by the...

Huawei patents smartwatch with Bluetooth earbuds holster

Huawei is back at it again with the unusual patents in the smartwatch industry. After patenting a touch-sensitive bezel, gestures on the back of the hand and a gaming smartwatch, the latest information is for Bluetooth earbuds-charging pod. The wireless earphones can either be stored in the wristband or in a holster that is attached to the strap. The built-in solution would enable easier phone calls, noise cancellation and waterproofing. Huawei has patented several ways of charging, if the earbuds are stored in the body - they can either be where the watch is attached to the strap...

Unlocked LG V35 ThinQ US pre-orders include free Daydream View VR headset

Just last week, word broke out that the unlocked variant of the LG V35 ThinQ is about to hit the stores. Now pre-orders have gone live and they come with a nice bonus. Retailer B&H is currently accepting the pre-orders for the handset, and is asking $900, which is the phone's launch price tag in the US. To sweeten the deal, the retailer is including free Google Daydream View VR headset (2017 edition), which usually goes for $100. While there's no information from B&H on when shipments would begin (the listing just says "coming soon"), LG has confirmed a mid-July launch time frame....

Moto E5 Plus will launch in India next week, exclusive to Amazon

In under 10 days the Moto E5 Plus will launch in India. The phone (unveiled in April) boasts a 5,000 mAh battery and 15W TurboPower charger. It also has a large, tall screen - 6" 720 x 1,440 px - and runs Android Oreo out of the box. The E5 Plus will be exclusive to Amazon when it launches on July 10 (the Tuesday a week from now). Pricing is still to be announced. In Europe, the phone costs €170 (INR 13,600). The old E4 Plus model launched at INR 10,000 (currently down 10%), however the new Moto E5 (not Plus) launched at INR 12,000 (and is also 10% off), so the European pricing...

Alleged 2018 iPhone spotted running Geekbench with iOS 12 and 4GB of RAM

September isn't that far off, so it's not implausible to see the next iPhone giving a go at popular cross-platform benchmark Geekbench. The device in question identifies itself as iPhone 11,2 and runs iOS 12 on 4GB of RAM (1GB more than the iPhone X) and a newer SoC - D321AP which suggests a newer model than the iPhone X' D22AP. Both the single-core and multi-core results show the same ballpark performance as the iPhone X, but benchmarks are decided many times through optimization and not brute strength. To rehash, Apple is expected to launch three iPhones in 2018 - the...

Huawei nova 3 specs revealed by TENAA

Huawei already launched its P20 series for all the flagship-thirsty fans. The upper-midrange portfolio is reserved for the Huawei nova series, and the third iteration arrived on TENAA last Monday. This week the nova 3 specs were fully unveiled by the Chinese regulatory, giving us a good idea of what to expect. Huawei nova 3 The Huawei nova 3 will have octa-core CPU, clocked at 2.3 GHz. The setup is most likely to arrive on a Kirin 659 chipset, although we would not be surprised if the SoC actually ends up being the Kirin 710. The chip is paired with 6 GB RAM and 64/128 GB...

Samsung Galaxy On6 is official with 5.6-inch AMOLED

Samsung has announced its latest On Series smartphone, called Galaxy On6, in India today. The phone is a doppelganger of the Galaxy J6 (right down to the model name) and offers the same 5.6-inch 1480x720px 18.5:9 Super AMOLED display and Exynos 7870 chipset with 4GB of RAM. You also get a 13MP main and 8MP selfie camera and a 3,000mAh battery. The rest of the Samsung Galaxy On6 highlights include show Android 8.0 Oreo with Samsung Experience on top, a fingerprint scanner (alongside Samsung's take on Face Recognition) and 64GB of storage with microSD card expansion. The optional dual SIM...

vivo Z1i arrives officially with 128 GB storage and Snapdragon 636

Another addition to the vivo portfolio has just been introduced in China. The Z1i is an upgrade over the Z1 that was announced a month ago with a different chipset, more storage and better selfie camera. It also has a dual camera setup on the back and a notch on the screen, but at least the chin is really thin, so you get a massively tall 6.26" display. vivo Z1i in Black The vivo Z1i now comes with Snapdragon 636, which is actually a downgrade compared to the 660 in the vivo Z1. While RAM stays 4 GB, internal storage is 128 GB and there is room for 256 GB microSD card in...

Samsung Galaxy Note9 S Pen will let you control music playback

Last week, Samsung started sending out press invites for an Unpacked event that will see the debut of the Galaxy Note9. The invite image focused on the S Pen, indicating expanded stylus functionality. And now we have some news on what those enhancements would likely be. As per tipster Ice Universe, who has a decent track record when it comes to Samsung leaks, the stylus will also act as a portable Bluetooth controller, allowing you to control music playback as well as trigger a long-range remote self-timer. The tipster also says some gameplay features might be enabled. It's worth...

Amber Red OnePlus 6 goes official, sales begin next week

As scheduled, a new, red color variant for the OnePlus 6 has officially arrived. The color option is called Amber Red, and has debuted in China, with sales beginning July 9. The new variant comes with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage, and carries a price tag of CNY 3,599($542). That puts it on equal footing with the other 8GB/128GB models. The #OnePlus6 Red revealed! ❤️Comment with a red emoji if you think this new color is The Red You Need. #OnePlus #NeverSettle #lifestylephotography #productphotography A post shared by OnePlus (@oneplus) on Jul 1, 2018 at 7:58pm...

You can now ask questions in Instagram Stories

Facebook-owned photo and video sharing service Instagram is getting a new feature: ability to ask questions in Stories. The functionality is dubbed "ask a question," and has started rolling out at least for Android users. While asking a question, you can even use yes/no polls and emoji sliders, and as the image above suggests, you can use the feature to roast the story uploader as well. The roll out appears to be limited at the moment, but should pick up soon. Instagram Stories in itself has proved to be quite a popular feature among users. Recently, the company announced the...

Week 26 in review: Redmi 6 Pro is official, Galaxy Note9 set for August 9

As scheduled this week Xiaomi announced the Redmi 6 Pro as the final piece of the Redmi 6 roster. Xiaomi also refreshed its tablet line with the Mi Pad 4, a slate with a Snapdragon 660, optional LTE and a superb starting price of just €150. Finally, Xiaomi released a Flame Red color variant of the Redmi Note 5 and a Mi 6X Hatsune Miku Special Edition. Now all of our attention turns to the Xiaomi Mi Max 3, which made the rounds this week revealing a mammoth 5,400mAh battery and a Snapdragon 710 chipset. It may go official as soon as next week, making these exiting times for all fans...

Top 10 trending phones of week 26

We've got some new additions to this week's ranking as well as a reshuffled podium. Finally, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro got dethroned by Oppo's latest flagship phone that created a lot of buzz for the past two weeks - the Find X. And it's not really a surprise given the absurdly entertaining slider camera setup and nearly bezel-less design. The Redmi 6 Pro is another popular new phone taking the third place. Samsung's Galaxy J6 now occupies the fourth place after being third in our last ranking. It's not hard to imagine why it retains popularity because it offers pretty good value. The...

Under the microscope: Analyzing the Xiaomi Mi 8 benchmark scores

We recently published our in-depth Xiaomi Mi 8 review, complete with a full set of tests: display, audio quality, performance, you know the drill. For the most part, it was business as usual, except for certain performance aspects. Even though the phone comes with the latest Snapdragon 845 chipset, in most synthetic benchmarks it only seemed to perform at the level of a Snapdragon 835 instead. A lot of you were confused by the performance numbers we published. Some even thought our review device or its software was to blame. So we went ahead and re-tested the handset under more...

Sunday Debate - Are sliders cool or just a hassle?

Oppo and vivo found an innovative way to avoid having a notch on their flagships. But is that the most amazing piece of innovation lately or are these sliders just an unnecessary complication of the smartphone design? Ivan: "A Slider creates more issues than it solves." Sliders - as in sliding mechanisms to hide the selfie or main camera, as seen in the vivo NEX S and Oppo Find X - are cool. Of course they are. They're innovative and they're out of the box. They've allowed Oppo and vivo to avoid using a notch on their flagship phones and as popular opinion dictates, notches are...

Counterclockwise: celebrating the weird form factors of yesteryear

A couple of weeks ago we look at weird ways to mount a phone's camera. That inspired us to dive into weird form factors this week. Phone form factors generally fall into four categories - static, slider, flip and swivel. Static is the simplest, but that certainly doesn't mean boring. The Nokia 7280 is a favorite to bring up in this tip of articles - look at it - like a prop from a sci-fi TV show. Not that the 3650 or 7600 are any saner. Or the Siemens SX1. Nokia 7280 • Nokia 3650 • Nokia 7600 • Siemens SX1 The flip form factor is home to some of the most popular to some of...

Top 10 fan favorite phones of H1 2018

Mid-range phones are becoming increasingly popular for the last couple of years and it shows in our statistics. For the first half of 2018, five out of ten phones in our top 10 favorite smartphones are affordable devices. High-value offers have always generated a lot of sales, but they are now starting to earn the love of a lot of people, which is a whole different level. Interestingly, Xiaomi seems to be dominating the table with four handsets, three of which are budget-oriented. As expected, the Redmi Note 5 Pro is one of them due to its outstanding value. For about €200, you get big...

Weekly poll results: the Oppo Find X proves that fans love innovation

The Oppo Find X is awesome, that's the consensus from last week's poll. Even though we put an opponent in its way, the new flagship rose to the challenge thanks to its pop-up mechanism that lifts not only the selfie camera and 3D face scanning hardware, but also the dual camera on the rear. The Lamborghini Edition of the phone - the first phone ever with Super VOOC - got a respectable number of votes, just enough to push it over the vivo NEX S. The vivo flagship is a sibling to the Oppo phones and has its own strengths, including an under display fingerprint reader. However, its pop-up...