Sony has published a new official video in which it teases its already confirmed event which at MWC 2018. Besides the hashtag #SonyMWC and the date of the event (26th February), the teaser video does not show much and we can only speculate on what has been shown in this short clip. The most reliable hypotheses suggest that this is a teaser video for the upcoming flagship smartphone of the company from the Xperia line-up. And from the video, it seems that the company is planning to launch a device with either a curved display or a curved back cover.
The Sony devices which are expected to be launched at Mobile World Congress are Sony Xperia XZ2, XZ2 Pro and XZ2 Compact. The first will be a flagship, but not the best one for this year as it will also focus on the affordability. The XZ2 Pro is expected to be the best device by the company for 2018, while the XZ2 Compact should be a cheaper version with a compact design and a display under 5 inches. The Sony Xperia XZ2 Pro has been tipped to be the first smartphone with a 4K and OLED display, and it is rumored to have a size of 5.7 inches and an 18:9 aspect ratio.
This obviously means that Sony is going to ditch its OmniBalance design in order to join the bezel-less club. Under the hood, Sony Xperia XZ2 Pro should have an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 running at a max frequency of 2.8 GHz and with a dedicated chip for AI. Previously, Sony had reportedly written a dismissal request to FCC mentioning “design changes” as the reason for the dismissal, but we doubt it is related to aesthetics: it should be related to internal components.
Nokia 7 Plus official render recently surfaced online, thanks to popular tipster Evan Blass. The press renders showed that the Nokia midrange model will be an Android One device as that was clearly imprinted at the rear casing of the device. Now, a fresh set of renders of the Nokia 7 Plus has been leaked by same Evan Blass, this time around the press render shows off the device coloured in Black. The first render by the Twitter tipster showcased the device in a cool white paint job.
Nokia 7 Plus White and Black comparison
The white coloured variant came with orange accents around the dual Carl Zeiss lenses, the fingerprint scanner, and the display while the Nokia logo and the physical buttons are also orange. Going by the new renders of the Black coloured model, it is also going to come with the same orange accent on the dual Carl Zeiss lenses, the fingerprint scanner, around the display, the Nokia logo and the physical buttons. You’ll agree the orange accent gives it a sort of attractiveness. Thanks to GSMArena, we get to see both the White and Black variants standing side by side each other.
The Nokia 7 Plus is expected to continue where the Nokia 7 left off. The device will come with an 18:9 Full-screen display. The device is also expected to come with mid-range specs and would be launched at MWC 2018.
Essential Phone, the first smartphone from Andy Rubin’s new brand was launched last year. The phone, which falls under affordable premium category, is now reportedly launching in India soon.
The Essential PH-1, which is popular called Essential Phone, is expected to launch in India later this year — in late March or in early April. As per the report, the phone could be an Amazon-exclusive device.
It seems that the phone will be launched in India to clear out the stock before the company starts working on its successor. Because of this, the phone is expected to come with a very competitive price tag. As per the report, it could be priced at around Rs. 24,999 (approximately $388) in India.
The company is expected to list the recently announced “Halo Gray” variant of the phone in India, which comes pre-installed with the Alexa application. However, the company has not yet officially commented regarding the phone’s launch in the Indian market. In the United States, the Halo Gray variant currently costs $499.
The Essential Phone features features a 5.71-inch IPS LCD display with 1312 x 2560 pixels resolution and comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on top for protection from minor scratches. There’s a notch on top of display which houses the front-facing camera.
Under the hood, the device is powered by a Qualcomm‘s Snapdragon 835 processor and 4GB RAM, coupled with 128GB of internal storage. It features a 13-megapixel dual rear camera with f/1.9 aperture lens, an LED flash and PDAF (phase detection autofocus) and LDAF. There’s an 8-megapixel front facing camera sensor with f/2.20 fixed hyperfocal lens.
The phone runs on Android 7.1 Nougat with a planned upgrade to Android 8.1 Oreo operating system. The device, which is IP54 rated for water and dust resistance, packs a fingerprint sensor mounted on the back panel. Along with USB Type-C port, other connectivity options on the device include Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi, NFC, GPS and LTE. The Essential Phone is powered by a 3,040mAh battery with fast charging support.
While the most important trade show of the year related to mobile devices is coming closer, rumors and leaks are becoming more consistent every day, and now we have arrived at a point where we can tell you what tp expect from this event. MWC 2018 will be held from February 26 to March 1 in Barcelona, and several important 2018 smartphones will be showcased at the trade show. World’s best smartphone brands will attend the event: Samsung, Xiaomi, Huawei, Sony, and LG are all going to be present at the event. But which will be the most interesting smartphone that we will see at Mobile World Congress? Below there are all the best smartphones that we will likely see at MWC 2018, together with their rumored and confirmed specs.
Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+
These two handsets are the ones which are catalyzing most of the attention for MWC 2018, and they are the main 2018 flagships by Samsung. Their design will not differ so much from the S8 series, but the fingerprint scanner has been moved under the camera, so it will be more comfortable to use. They will come with brand new rear cameras which will feature variable aperture, and, according to the latest teasers, they will also offer a better selfie experience. Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ will come with the Samsung Exynos 9810 SoC in their European version and with a Snapdragon 845 in the U.S. version.
Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S
Everyone is waiting for the Xiaomi Mi 7 to be showcased at MWC 2018, but it seems that it will be replaced by the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S, an advanced version of the Mi Mix 2 and also the first intermediate “S” version between two generations. As every handset from this series, the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S will be a flagship device. It will exhibit a very high screen-to-body ratio, even higher than the Mi Mix 2. Under the hood, it will sport a Snapdragon 845 chipset, the best in the Android market, paired with 8 GB of RAM and up to 256 GB of internal storage. Leaked firmware files have also confirmed that its dual camera setup will include a Sony IMX363 sensor.
Huawei P20
Huawei P20 is another flagship phone that will be launched at MWC 2018. It will be offered in at least three models: Huawei P20, P20 Plus, and P20 Lite, with the third being a mid-range device. The first two, which will be the main Huawei flagships of H1 2018, will be the first device from the P series to sport a borderless display and an 18:9 or higher aspect ratio. Another distinctive thing will be a triple camera setup on the rear side which may feature a 5x hybrid zoom. The SoC will be the octa-core Kirin 970 with AI, and it should be paired with 6 or 8 GB of RAM depending on the variant that you will choose to buy. According to the latest leaks, even the Huawei P20 Lite will come with a bezel-less display and an iPhone X-like notch which will house the front camera and a small earpiece.
Nokia 9
Nokia 9 will be a flagship as well, the best flagship ever released by HMD Global. The company which acquired Nokia has already confirmed the event at MWC 2018, but not much is known about the specs of the upcoming flagship, and we do not even know for sure if it will really be showcased at the trade show. From what rumors and leaks suggest, this phone will come with an 18:9 display which will be curved at the sides. According to rumors, even though it will be a flagship, it will not sport a Snapdragon 845 SoC, instead it’ll feature Snapdragon 835 from 2017. Together with the high-end chipset, there should be 4 or 6 GB of RAM.
Sony Xperia XZ2 / XZ Pro
Sony will take advantage of MWC 2018 to launch its new flagships, just like the previous years. According to speculations, there may be two flagships: Sony Xperia XZ2 and XZ Pro; the latter might even be called Sony Xperia XZ Premium 2 — it is still unclear. With these devices, Sony will definitely abandon its OmniBalance design to embrace borderless displays. One of these flagships is expected to have a 4K display with a 5.7-inch size, and a Snapdragon 845 processor under the hood. Just like every Sony flagship, you can expect outstanding camera performances, as well as an elegant design and a well-optimized software side.
Asus Zenfone 5
With the hashtag #BackTo5 (because an Asus Zenfone 5 device has already been launched in the past), Asus has confirmed the official announcement of the Asus Zenfone 5 line-up at MWC 2018. At the trade show in Barcelona, we should see at least three models from this series. The standard version should be a midrange or upper-midrange device, probably with a Qualcomm Snapdragon from the 6xx series. Besides the normal variant, we will see the Asus Zenfone 5 Lite which will be the cheaper one, and the Asus Zenfone 5 Max which will be more affordable and focused on the battery life.
LG V30s
LG is rumored to have started the design of the LG G7 from scratch, and this means that the company will not showcase the handset at MWC 2018. LG G7 is said to be replaced by a more advanced version of the LG V30, which should be called LG V30s or LG V30 Plus Alpha. This version will arrive with new AI features and it will be also focused on camera performances. It is rumored to come with a feature to control the camera via Google Assistant and with a technology called Vision AI which will be able to apply filters and correct the colors automatically.
Motorola Moto G6
Motorola Moto G6 is the upcoming line of mid-range phones by the Lenovo-owned U.S. company. It will be composed of Moto G6, Moto G6 Plus, and Moto G6 Play, and it will be official at MWC 2018. Several renders have surfaced about these devices, and they highlight a glass back, a dual camera setup and 18:9 displays for Moto G6 and G6 Plus. Moto G6 Play will be a more affordable entry-level variant of these two devices. Moto G6 Plus will sport Snapdragon 630 SoC on the hardware side, and a 3250 mAh battery. Its standard version will have a lower-end Snapdragon 450 and a 3000 mAh battery.
If you are using Google’s flagship device — Pixel 2 or Pixel 2 XL and are facing issues with the phone’s temperature and battery life, then you are not alone. As per the latest report, many users have pointed out that their phones are having some issues since they installed Google‘s February security update.
This new issue came to light after users started reporting issues through Google’s Pixel User Community as well as on Reddit. The users have reported that the phone is running warm while in standby mode and the battery life has also noticeably reduced.
While some users are affected with any one of these issues, others are facing both issues. Most of the complaints points that the problems started occurring after installing this month’s security update. However, it is not yet known what might be causing these issues.
The folks at Android Police did some investigation and they observed that the Pixel 2 XL charges at less than 4W in low temperature conditions despite claiming to be charging quickly (10W+). In response to Android Police, Google said that they are investigating changes to the display message. While not yet clear, it could mean that you might not see ‘Charging rapidly’ written on Pixel 2 XL lock-screen after the forthcoming update.
Earlier, the phone was reported to have random reboot issue, which was later confirmed by Google. The company came out and assured to offer fix for the same in couple of weeks through an over-the-air Android update. However, the company had not provided any information about what the cause of the problem.
Recent reports have been claiming that HMD Global will be launching the Nokia 10 flagship smartphone with penta-lens camera setup in August this year. However, a fresh report reveals that the Nokia 10 smartphone is not in works. It claims that the Finnish company is working on a smartphone called Nokia 8 Pro and it will be equipped with penta-lens camera system.
Citing a trusted source, Nokia Power User claims that the Nokia 8 Pro is a retail name of the upcoming flagship phone from HMD Global. It has further stated that it could be the same handset that was previously rumored to debut as Nokia 10 later this year.
The Nokia 8 Pro flagship is rumored to be fueled by Snapdragon 845 chipset. The inclusion of “Pro” indicates that it will be packed with advanced camera feature. It is speculated that the Nokia 8 Pro will be blessed with penta-lens camera setup that may include a rotating zoom camera technology.
In the below image, the handset shown in the left could be the Nokia 8 Pro whereas the one on the right could be the Nokia 9 (also being referred to as Nokia 8 Sirocco). Except for the size and camera module, both smartphones seem to feature similar design.
The Nokia 8 Pro is speculated to come with glass panels on it front and rear sides. The fingerprint scanner could be placed the five-lens camera module. The frontside of the 8 Pro is likely to feature 18:9 aspect ratio display.
Even though the Nokia 8 Pro moniker has appeared from a trusted source, the Finnish firm may launch it with a different name. The flagship phone may get unveiled in August or September this year.
Blackberry doesn’t seem to be in high motion presently but that didn’t stop the TCL-controlled company from launching the Blackberry Motion about four months back. The device is a mid-range smartphone that comes with a touchscreen display, water-resistant chassis and huge battery. A teardown video created by JerryRigEverything has emerged, showing the internals of the device and it calls to question one key attribute of the BB Motion which is a waterproof build.
Blackberry touts the Motion as coming with an IP67-rated waterproof and dustproof body. The device is advertised as featuring a build that can withstand water submersion up to a meter (3.28 feet) for a maximum of 30 minutes. But the teardown shows the device might not actually survive being submerged in water that long. The video (see below) may have been a promotion of the device but it is turned out to be another unwanted controversy for the ailing brand.
Now to the teardown, the Blackberry Motion just like most smartphones lacks any physical screws on the outside and can only be safely opened with a combination of a heat gun and a prying tool. From here, the waterproof feature becomes suspect. The adhesive holding the back panel of the device to its frame was found to be surprisingly weak for a supposedly waterproofed smartphone. Also, the charging port doesn’t have any rubber seal which would prevent water from seeping through the port. However, Blackberry seems to have done a good job making the 3.5mm headphone jack and SIM tray heavily guarded against water. You can check out the teardown video for more details below.
Popular tipster Roland Quandt has revealed plenty of information about the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ smartphones through his recent post on a German tech site. The Galaxy S9 duo would be sporting the same Infinity Display with slight design changes. Both the smartphones will be equipped with improved innards, stellar cameras and better audio capabilities.
The Samsung Galaxy S9 with model number SM-G960 will be unveiled alongside the Galaxy S9+ that has a model number of SM-G965. The Galaxy S9 will be sporting a 5.8-inch S-AMOLED screen with Infinity Display with slightly reduced bottom bezel. It will carry support for resolution of 1440 x 2960 pixels.
Like the Galaxy S9+, the European edition of Galaxy S9 will be powered by Exynos 9810 chipset. Previous reports have suggested that markets such as U.S. and China will get Snapdragon 845 chipset variant. The SoC will be accompanied by 4 GB of RAM. The S9 will come with a native storage of 64 GB and will also include a microSD card slot for additional storage. It will be fueled by a 3,000mAh battery that will be enabled with support for fast charging and wireless charging.
The Galaxy S9 will be featuring a single camera on its rear panel. It will be a 12-megapixel sensor that will also carry support variable aperture of f/1.5 and f/2.4. Like the Galaxy S9+, the smaller S9 will also be supporting slow motion video capturing at 960 fps, OIS, laser autofocus and dual-autofocus. It will be arriving with a selfie camera of 8-megapixel that will be equipped with f/1.7 aperture and autofocus.
When it comes to security, the Galaxy S9 will offer features like iris scanner, fingerprint scanner and face recognition. It may also carry support animated emoji. The S9 will be also equipped with AKG tuned stereo speakers that will produce surround-sound effect. It will come loaded with Android 8.0 Oreo flavored with Samsung Experience 9.0 UI. Other features include dual-SIM support, USB-C and Bluetooth 5.0.
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The Galaxy S9 will be housed in an IP68 certified chassis that will be available in three color choices like Midnight Black, Coral Blue and Lilac Purple in Europe. The Galaxy S9 and S9+ are launching on Feb. 25. The pre-orders of the S9 duo are expected to begin on the same date and they are rumored to arrive in the market on March 8. The Galaxy S9 may cost 100 euros more than the Galaxy S8 from last year.
Samsung will be unleashing the highly anticipated Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ on the coming Sunday. The entire specifications and renders of the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ have been revealed by reliable leakster Roland Quandt.
Samsung has rearranged the positioning of the rear-mounted fingerprint scanner on the Galaxy S9 and S9+ smartphones. Both the phones sport Infinity Display design that makes them appear similar to their predecessor model. This year, the South Korean company will be introducing a new Lilac Purple color variant that will be replacing the Galaxy S8 duo’s Orchid Gray color model.
Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ will be delivering improved camera and audio experience in comparison to their predecessor model. The Galaxy S9+ that has a model number of SM-G965 will be sporting a vertically arranged 12-megapixel dual camera setup. One of the camera sensors will offer a variable aperture that will make it possible to manually switch between f/1.5 and f/2.4 aperture. The secondary camera sensor will have an aperture of f/2.4. This will allow the dual cameras to shoot optimal images in bright as well as low-light conditions.
Both camera sensors will be equipped with optical image stabilization (OIS) and each sensor will use a combination of laser autofocus and dual-autofocus for faster autofocus. The dual camera setup will carry support for slow-motion video shooting at 960 fps. It is yet to confirmed whether it will carry support for slow-mo videos with FHD resolution.
The frontside of the Galaxy S9+ will feature autofocus enabled 8-megapixel selfie camera with f/1.7 aperture. The handset also features iris scanner and face recognition features apart from the rear-mounted fingerprint scanner. However, there is no confirmation on whether the Galaxy S9+ will be supporting 3D facial recognition like iPhone X. As Samsung has recently teased, the Galaxy S9 duo are expected to arrive with iPhone X-like animated emoji. It will come equipped with stereo speakers tuned by AKG that will deliver surround-sound experience.
The Galaxy S9+ will be arriving with a 6.2-inch Super AMOLED Infinity Display that will deliver a QHD+ resolution of 2960 x 1440 pixels with diamond pixel matrix technology.
The European variant of the Galaxy S9+ will be fueled by Exynos 9810, the second-generation 10nm chipset by Samsung. It features four power-saving cores that work at 1.9 GHz and four high-end cores that function at 2.9 GHz. Markets like the U.S. and China may receive Snapdragon 845 chipset model. The SoC will be coupled by 6 GB of RAM. It will feature 64 GB of UFS 2.1 storage and it will also carry support for microSD card. It will be driven by 3,500mAh battery that is likely to make the phone last for the entire day. It will carry support for fast charging and wireless charging.
The Galaxy S9+ will be loaded with Android 8.0 Oreo and Samsung Experience 9.0 UI. Like the predecessor model, it will be arriving with an IP68 certified body. There is a slight change in the front design of the phone as it features reduced bottom bezel. In Europe, it will come in three colors like Midnight Black, Coral Blue and Lilac Purple.
The Galaxy S9+ is expected to cost around 100 euros more than its predecessor model. Samsung is expected to begin the pre-orders of the Galaxy S9+ as early as Feb. 25, the day on which these phones will be unveiled. The Galaxy S9 duo are expected to release in the market on March 8.
Xiaomi, like most other manufacturers these days doesn’t ship its phones with earphones. However, the company does manufacture earphones and headphones that buyers can purchase.
It appears Xiaomi may be planning to launch a new pair of headphones soon based on a tweet earlier today. The tweet doesn’t reveal anything about the new accessory but includes a photo of its first over-the-ear headphones. So what we may be getting may be a successor to this.
The Mi Headphones was released back in 2015, so a successor is long overdue. The hi-res headphones are priced at ¥499 (~$79) leading us to presume the upcoming one will be priced in the same range.
The rumored Nokia 9 flagship phone that is speculated to get unveiled at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018 is likely to sport dual edge curved display like the Galaxy Note 8. Leaked photos of the Nokia 7 Plus have revealed that it could be HMD Global’s first smartphone to come equipped with 18:9 aspect ratio display. Rumors have it that the Nokia 10 phone that may launch later this year could be the first flagship phone to come with full screen design. Moreover, it will be equipped with penta-lens camera system. Designers at TechConfigurations have built Nokia 10 concept renders that reveal how the penta-lens totting smartphone may appear.
The Nokia 10 concept model can be seen sporting a 6.2-inch display that will carry support for QHD resolution. Rumors have revealed that upcoming smartphones from various brands will be sporting iPhone X-like notch design. However, full screen design of the Nokia 10 concept phone lacks a notch and it offers 85 percent screen-to-body ratio.
The screen of the Nokia 10 concept is supported by super-slim bezels. The upper bezel that appears a bit thick houses dual selfie camera setup that includes autofocus enabled pair of 8-megapixel sensors with f.2.0 aperture.
The rear side of the concept phone sports a round-shaped camera housing that includes the penta-lens setup. It houses a pair of 16-megapixel dual cameras that is coupled with features like rotatory lens system, five different aperture levels, up to 10x optical zoom and dual OIS and PDAF.
The bottom side of the Nokia 10 concept render features a USB-C port that is placed between a pair of external speakers. The sides of the phone do not feature 3.5mm audio jack. It indicates that the functionalities of the 3.5mm headphone jack will be available through USB-C.
The Snapdragon 845 chipset fuels the concept handset’s variants like 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage and 8 GB RAM + 256 GB. It is powered by 4,000mAh battery that carries support for Quick Charge 4.0. The new renders reveal that the Nokia 10 concept phone would be coming in color choices like bed, blue, and gray.
The above renders are not leaked photos of Nokia 10. It is a concept model created through the imagination of the designer on the basis of the rumored Nokia 10. What do you think about the design of the Nokia 10 concept model? Will the real handset resemble with the concept phone? Share us your views by posting your comments below.
Facebook, the social media giant, is reportedly gearing up to launch its own smart speakers, which is currently one of the hottest category in the consumer electronics market.
As per the reports, the US-based social media giant could launch two smart speakers — “Fiona” and “Aloha”. The report further says that these speakers could get launched as early as in July this year.
Aloha, which is said to be the larger of the two, is expected to come with a 15-inch touchscreen, along with facial and voice recognition. However, very little is known about Fiona, which is supposedly coming with a Siri-like voice assistant.
A report suggests that Aloha will have social features by way of Facebook and Messenger. Since it is also expected to come with a touchscreen as well as camera, addition of support for video calls seem like the most obvious choice. Previously, it was said that 13-inch version of Aloha could also be in the works.
According to the report, the display panel will come from LG Display, and both units will be assembled by contract manufacturer Pegatron. Facebook has also reportedly signed music licensing deals with Sony and Universal Music to provide content.
The smart speaker category was initially started by Amazon with the launch of Amazon Echo in the year 2015. The smart speaker comes with virtual voice assistant which can be used to control smart appliances as well as to perform various tasks.
Following Amazon, Google also decided to enter the smart speakers market in 2016 with Google Home and brought its personal voice assistant Google Assistant into the mainstream. One of the latest entrant in this market is Apple with the recent launch of Apple Homepod which is also one of the most expensive unit yet.
It appears that this year is going to be the year of smart speaker. And with so many global giants entering the market, the competition to be the leader in the smart speakers market is going to intensify.
A new Nokia phone with model number TA-1048 has received certification from Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the U.S. Speculations are rife that it could be the Nokia 4 that was first spotted alongside other unannounced Nokia phones such as Nokia 7 Plus, Nokia 8 Sirocco through the Nokia Camera app APK teardown.
The FCC filing of alleged Nokia 4 with FCC ID:2AJOTTA-1048 has revealed that it will be coming with a hybrid SIM slot that will support a micro SD card slot and a micro SIM slot. Apart from this, there is no other information available on the handset.
It is highly likely that the Nokia 4 won’t land in China since the number 4 is considered as a bad omen. Since it has been certified in the U.S., it is likely to launch in the U.S.
Speculations are rife that the Nokia 3 will be succeeded by the Nokia 4. Fresh information claims that the device will be powered by Snapdragon 450 chipset. It is the very same chipset that powers the Redmi 5 and Vivo V7+.The Nokia 5 was also launched alongside the Nokia 3. However, there is no information available on its successor.
As of this writing, there is no information available on the specs Nokia 4. The handset is expected to get unveiled alongside other rumored phones such as Nokia 1 Android Go phone, Nokia 7 Plus Android One smartphone, Nokia 8 Sirocco (could launch as Nokia 9), global versions of Nokia 6 (2018) and Nokia 3310 4G.
Between 2003 and 2016, Apple had organized its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. However, the WWDC 2017 was kept at McEnery Convention Center in San Jose. Fresh information revealed by an unnamed person who is aware of Apple’s plans has said that the WWDC 2018 will be held at the same spot this year.
Apple has been keeping its WWDC event in the month of June since several years. This year too it will happen in the same month. The company will be using the McEnery Convention Center for other events in June such as O’Reilly Velocity Conference that will be held between June 11 and 14, DataWorks Summit and Hadoop Summit that will be organized between June 17 and 21 and Sensors Expo & Conference between June 26 and 28. This indicates that the WWDC is likely to be held before the O’Reilly Velocity Conference.
It is speculated that the WWDC 2018 will be held between June 4 and 8. The company is likely to unleash iOS 12 as well as newer edition of watchOS, tvOS and macOS 10.14. It has also used the WWDC platform in the past to unveil new hardware. For instance, the existing Mac Pro was unveiled at WWDC 2013 and the new iPad Pros were announced at WWDC 2017.
Rumors have it that a new iPad Pro may get unveiled at WWDC 2018. It is speculated to feature a notch design like the iPhone X. Hence, the rumor mill has dubbed it as iPad X. It is pegged to feature TrueDepth Camera and Face ID. Some reports claim that the company may also announce the iPhone SE 2 at WWDC 2018. It is likely to borrow some innards from iPhone 7 and is likely to support for wireless charging.
WWDC 2017 was attended by nearly 5,000 developers and 1,000 engineers. The upcoming WWDC is expected to receive more audience even though the tickets are likely to be priced around $1,599. The event will also live streamed through WWDC website and its app.
Samsung has been working on a foldable smartphone for years now. Last year, there were rumors it would eventually launch a foldable smartphone but it didn’t. A new patent granted to the Korean giant shows off a new design and may also provide some info as to what is going on at Samsung.
It appears there are issues with the current design of foldable phones with a flexible display. According to the patent description, when the radius of curvature of the flexible display is too small, the display may get damaged. This damage may occur both in an unfolded state (due to tensile force) or folded state (compressive force).
To avoid that, Samsung has come up with a structure that supports the display where it curves. This structure according to the diagrams in the patent is a hinge system which prevents damage from compressive or tensile force. The hinge system helps keep the radius of curvature at a set value, thereby preventing the display from damage.
The patent further explains that the hinge system also allows the foldable device to be bent to various angles. So rather than two main positions – completely folded and completely unfolded, the device can be partially folded or unfolded to a desired angle.
Some of the images of the hinge system look familiar. One is shown to look like what Lenovo used for the Yoga Book while another looks like the hinge system of the Microsoft Surface Book.
The launch event of the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ is drawing near. Recent leaks have revealed that the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ will look quite similar to the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, but they will be arriving with upgraded innards. Hence, the Galaxy S9 and S9+ are rumored to hit the market with higher pricing than their predecessor models. In fact, some reports have claimed that the Galaxy S9 and S9+ will be the costliest ever phones from Samsung. Today, well-known tipster Roland Quandt revealed the pricing of the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ for Norway.
According to Quandt, the Galaxy S9 with 64 GB will be landing in Norway with a pricing of 8,790 NOK (Norwegian Krone) which converts to around $1130 in the U.S. The 64 GB Galaxy S9+ will be costing 9790 NOK (~$1260).
Norway will be receiving the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ in color options such as Midnight Black, Coral Blue and the new Lilac Purple. It seems that the Titanium Grey color option won’t be available in the country. The S9 and S9+ will be costing 1200 NOK and 1300 NOK more than their respective predecessor models.
Quandt added that the pricing of smartphones for Scandinavian regions like Norway are expensive than in continental Europe. Also, one should be aware of the fact that the European pricing are generally more than in the U.S.
A report from the previous month had revealed that the Galaxy S9 would be costing between 950,000 (~$893) won to 999,000 won (~$939). The Galaxy S8 was launched in the U.S. with a price tag of $750. It is speculated that the Galaxy S9 would be arriving with a 10 percent increasing pricing in the U.S. Hence, it is likely to cost around $800.
Do you think that the higher price tag of the Galaxy S9 duo will impact its sales? Let us know your views by posting your comments below.
There have been conflicting reports about the sales of the iPhone X, the first OLED smartphone from the company. It was revealed at the beginning of this month that during the fiscal quarter, the average revenue generated by the sales of each iPhone unit indicated that Apple may sold impressive number of iPhone X units. However, it was also reported recently that Apple has cut down the productions of the iPhone X by 50 percent. Fresh information revealed by Japan’s Nikkei states that Samsung had ramped production of the OLED panels to the meet iPhone X’s demand initially. However, the South Korean company is now left with excess capacity of OLED panel as the Cupertino company has reportedly reduced the production of the iPhone X.
Samsung had reportedly hoped that other smartphone manufacturers would also approach it for OLED panels after Apple had struck a deal for OLED panels for iPhone X. Along with the touch sensors, each OLED panel is priced at $100. This cost is double the amount of Samsung’s LCD panels for iPhone 8 Plus. Because of the high pricing, other smartphone manufacturers have not switched to OLED panels and they are still using LCD panels.
Moreover, Samsung is now facing competition from OLED manufacturers from China that are rapidly expanding the production of cheaper OLED panels. Coming to iPhone X, Nikkei’s report claims that its production will be slashed to half by this quarter. In the previous month too, it had forecasted that Apple will be reducing the iPhone X production in half. It was reported that the company has taken such a decision because of the disappointing sales during the holiday season.
Another matter of concern for Samsung is that LG is likely to supply OLED displays for the rumored 6.5-inch iPhone arriving later this year. The Cupertino company has been trying to rely less on Samsung. With other options available, it is likely that Apple may strike deal with LG or OLED panel makers from China for its upcoming iPhones.
The Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+, and Galaxy Note8 all come with a pair of wired AKG earphones. The earphones are tuned by Harman Kardon – an audio company acquired by Samsung in 2016. If you are not into wired earphones, you can get something better.
For a limited time, Samsung will ship any of the three phones with a pair of Gear IconX (2018) earbuds. However, you have to make your purchase (unlocked or select carriers) from the official Samsung US website or Shop Samsung app. It also runs from till March 1.
The Gear IconX (2018) is the second gen version from Samsung. They are completely wireless earbuds with a charging case just like Apple’s Airpods. It serves dual functions – you can use it as regular bluetooth earphones or as standalone earbuds as it has 4GB of built-in memory for songs.
It can also track your exercise and provide a live coach while you work out. It has support for other Samsung phones, Android phones, and even works with iOS devices though not all its features are available on iOS.
The IconX (2018) is priced at $199 in the US and comes in silver, black, and pink. For the promo, Samsung will ship the black variant with your purchase.
TCL will reportedly launch three BlackBerry smartphones in 2018, and according to new rumors, their codenames are Athena, Luna, and Uni. There is no official info about any of these smartphones, so, at the moment, we can only rely on rumors and speculations. LetsGoDigital has just discovered some patents and trademarks filed by TCL which may be related to the phone codenamed Uni. According to the patents, the design of this device may be similar to BlackBerry Priv, the first Android phones released by the Canadian giant, before being acquired by TCL.
The patent regards the camera module and if you want to get more info about it you can visit our dedicated article. Anyway, take it with a pinch of salt as some rumors are pointing out that this design is just a reference point to describe the patent.
BlackBerry Athena is rumored to be a device with a physical QWERTY keyboard included, and it is expected to be released in two variants with different model numbers: BBE100-1 and BBF100-1. It is also tipped to come with 6 or even 8 GB of RAM, paired with 64 GB of internal storage. This makes us thinks that we may be talking about a high-end device: the first real high-end phone released by TCL under the BB brand. Rumors are suggesting that the phone may be powered by the octa-core Snapdragon 660 SoC, which is actually the best midrange SoC released by Qualcomm. At last, there is Luna, but we don’t have much details about it. It is rumored to be a mid-range phone which aims to focus on the quality-price ratio. It may come with a physical keyboard just as the Athena, but for now we are only talking about speculations.
Earlier this year, Samsung announced its three new devices — Samsung Notebook 9 Pen, Notebook 9 (2018) and Notebook 7 Spin (2018). While all three devices were showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show, they were not available for purchase.
However, the company has now started selling all three devices in the United States. At the time of announcement, the South Korea-based company had said that the devices will be available for buying in select markets including the U.S. in the first quarter of this year.
The Notebook 9 Pen is a 2-in-1 laptop from Samsung that features a durable magnesium alloy chassis dubbed as Metal 21. It features a 360-degree hinge that allows users to conveniently use it as a laptop as well as a tablet. It measures 310.5 x 206.6 x 14.5-16.5mm and its weight is 995 grams.
The device features a 13.3-inch Full HD display and is powered by Intel Core i7 processor (8th generation), Intel HD graphics and up to 16GB of DDR4 RAM. It’s available in up to 512 GB of NVMe PCI storage option. The connectivity ports available on the device include USB-C, USB 3.0, HDMI, uSD card slot, headphone/microphone jack and DC-in.
It comes preloaded with Windows 10. The front-facing IR camera supports facial authentication through Windows Hello. It is equipped with an S Pen that has a tip of just 0.7mm.
The Samsung Notebook 9 (2018) comes in two screen sizes — 13.3-inches and 15-inches. It is also features Metal 21 chassis and it houses Samsung’s biggest 75Wh Hexacell battery. Both the display variants support Full HD resolution and they are driven by Intel Core i7 (8th generation) and Intel HD Graphics. However, the 15-inch Notebook 9 (2018) comes in another variant that features NVIDIA GeForce MX150 graphics.
This one too runs on Windows 10 and is available with up to 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of SSD storage. These models feature 720p HD front-facing camera and are fitted with fingerprint scanner for security.
The newer version of Samsung Notebook 7 Spin comes with a 13.3-inch display that supports Full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. It sports a sleek appeal thanks to its metallic body that measures 315.8 x 215.4 x 18.5mm and it weighs 1.53 kg. The backlit keyboard features a Precision Touchpad.
The device is powered by Intel Core i5 (8th generation) processor and 43Wh battery. It features 8GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD storage. The connectivity ports available on the device include a USB-C port, a USB 3.0 port, a USB 2.0 port, a headphone combo jack and an HDMI slot.
This one too runs on Microsoft‘s Windows 10 operating system and has Windows Hello-compatible fingerprint scanner for security. The improved Active Pen will be available for purchase separately. It can be used for taking notes or drawing.
Coming to the the pricing of these devices, the Samsung Notebook 9 starts at $1,200 for the 13-inch model and $1,300 for the 15-inch model. While the Samsung Notebook 9 Pen will be available for $1,400, the Samsung Notebook 7 Spin (2018) is priced at $900.
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