Samsung Galaxy S8, S8+ Daydream Update to be Available Soon

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Aug 1, 2017

A leaked render of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8’s Midnight Black color variant has been leaked by well-known leakster, Evan Blass. Since the image has been leaked by a reliable leakster who has been accurately revealing leaked information of unannounced smartphones since several years, it seems that he has managed to reveal a legitimate render of the upcoming Samsung flagship.

In the previous week, another reliable leakster named Roland Quandt had revealed that the Galaxy Note 8 would be coming in three color choices such as Black, Orchid Grey and a new color edition of Deep Blue. it seems that the Black edition of the Galaxy Note 8 will be officially called Midnight Black. The render revealed by Blass does not reveal the backside of the Galaxy Note 8 Midnight Black.

Samsung Galaxy Note8 (in Midnight Black) pic.twitter.com/QZii9xFarQ

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) July 31, 2017

As it can be seen that the Galaxy Note 8 would be arriving with a huge screen. It is likely that the Samsung will be adding the infinity Display screen that offers an aspect ratio of 18.5:9 on Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ smartphones. Rumors have revealed that the Galaxy Note 8 would be arriving with a 6.3-inch display that would be supporting a resolution of 2,160 x 4,428 pixels.

The display of the Galaxy Note 8 will be curved at its right and left edges that will be flanked with very slim bezels. The top bezel is expected to house an earpiece, an iris scanner and some other sensors that are available on the Galaxy S8+.

A few weeks ago, Blass had revealed that the Galaxy Note 8 will be officially mentioned as Galaxy Note8 by the company in all the promotional materials and the box package of the phablet. A couple of variants of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 have passed FCC certification.

The Snapdragon 835 edition of the Galaxy Note 8 is expected to be exclusively available in the U.S. whereas its Exynos 8895 edition is expected to be available in its international edition. Its dual rear cameras will include a 13-megapixel wide-angle lens and a 12-megapixel telephoto lens. It will come preloaded with Android 7.0 Nougat. It is expected to come with an improved S-Pen and a safe and efficient battery of 3,300mAh battery.

The Galaxy Note 8 will be launching on Aug. 23. It is expected to hit markets like South Korea, the U.S. and the U.K by early September. It will be arriving in other markets from October.

ASUS ZenFone 4 Smartphones to Debut on August 19

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Aug 1, 2017

The ASUS ZenFone 4 series were teased on the official Facebook page by the company. Now, the Taiwanese firm has confirmed that these news phones will be unveiled on Aug. 19. However, the ZenFone 4 series were initially rumored to debut in May.

ASUS has already launched the ZenFone 4 Max and the other phones from the ZenFone 4 series include ZenFone 4, ZenFone 4 Pro, ZenFone 4 Selfie and ZenFone 4V. There is no confirmation on which smartphones will be unveiled on Aug. 19. However, at least some of the aforementioned smartphones will be unveiled on that day. The unveil event will be held at SMX Convention Center in Pasay, Philippines.

The next-gen ASUS Zenfone 4 trio might look like this. pic.twitter.com/FXc2sfjOxb

— krispitech (@krispitech) July 27, 2017

A leakster had recently revealed renders of the three ZenFone 4 series smartphones. The first phone in the above image seems to belong on ZenFone 4 Max. The other three smartphones could be ZenFone 4, ZenFone 4 Pro and ZenFone Selfie.

The ZenFone 4 Pro is rumored to be a flagship phone that has recently appeared in leaked images. It is expected to come with 5.7-inch AMOLED display that offers a QHD resolution of 1,440 x 2,560 pixels. It is driven by Snapdragon 835 chipset and 6 GB of RAM. It will be coming with a 21-megapixel dual rear camera. It is expected to come with a native storage of 64 GB. Well-known leakster Roland Quandt has recently revealed that Qualcomm and ASUS have together collaborated on testing 1 Gigabit LTE connectivity.

The GFXBench listing of ZenFone 4 Selfie has a 5.5-inch full HD display. It is expected to be powered by Snapdragon 625 or 626 chipset and 4 GB of RAM. Its native storage will be of 32 GB. Its rear camera will be of 12-megapixel whereas the front will be housing a 16-megapixel shooter. The ZenFone 4 is rumored to be available in two CPU editions like Snapdragon 630 and Snapdragon 660. Both the models are expected to feature dual rear cameras.

The ZenFone 4V is another rumored phone from the ZenFone 4 series. It is expected to be a Verizon exclusive variant and it has also received FCC certification in the recent past. It appears that the Taiwanese company will be also releasing it in Europe as it will be holding an unveil event on Sept. 21. It may come with same specs as the ZenFone 4.

Xiaomi Mi 5X Sales Commenced Today In China

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Aug 1, 2017

Xiaomi Mi 5X was officially announced last week in China, along with the MIUI 9 and Mi AI speaker. But before then, it had been revealed that the new machine would go on sale on August 1 and pre-order was already being accepted. The Mi 5X indeed went up on its first sale (flash sale) at 10:00 today. The second flash sale will hold today as well by 14:00 and that isn’t expected to last long before all units are sold out. The Mi 5X is available in Black, Gold and Rose Gold colours and all three colours were made available for the flash sale. However, the Gold colour variant is already listed as sold out, meaning only the Black and Rose Gold colours is available for purchase. The device comes with a price tag of 1,499 Yuan ($220) which some argue is on the high side for a Snapdragon 625-powered device.

The Xiaomi Mi 5X features a 5.5-inch 1080p display and has 4GB RAM and 64GB storage onboard. Perhaps, the main highlight of the device is the dual cameras it packs at the rear which is said to be the same configuration with the flagship Mi 6, that is a 12MP main sensor paired with a 12MP telephoto lens. The official camera samples show the camera will be nearly as sharp as the Mi 6. The device also comes as the first Xiaomi device to run MIUI 9 ut-of-the-box and keeping the lights on is a 3,080mAh battery.

Meizu PRO 7, PRO 7 Plus Could Launch In Europe Soon

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Aug 1, 2017

After months of leaks, the Meizu PRO 7 and Meizu PRO 7 Plus flagship smartphones were introduced in the previous month. It seems that the Meizu flagships will be available for purchase in the European countries very soon.

Fresh information suggests that the Meizu PRO 7 and PRO 7 Plus could be debuting first in France and Spain. The official Twitter accounts of Meizu France and Spain have already started teasing the Meizu PRO 7 and PRO 7 Plus. The teasers suggest that France and Spain are going to receive the 2017 Meizu flagship phones soon. The European markets are expected to receive the PRO 7 duo at a higher pricing.

Le #Pro7Plus dispose aussi de la technologie AMOLED et avec le #Pro7 ils sont déjà tous les deux bien grands #ÇaGranditVite #LesDeuxFrères pic.twitter.com/oHHkyYtyIi

— MEIZU France (@MeizuFr) July 27, 2017

Shoot by LOVE. Shoot by PRO#MEIZUPRO7 pic.twitter.com/d0JOTN18yi

— MEIZU España (@MEIZU_Espana) July 28, 2017

Most of the flagship phones that have released this year are driven with Snapdragon 835 chipset. However, the Meizu PRO 7 and PRO 7 Plus are powered by the most powerful MediaTek chipset, the Helio X30. The Chinese company is brave enough to add a unique feature of a secondary display below its dual rear cameras. It may appear weird, but it certainly makes it different from other flagships.

Meizu PRO 7 duo will be first available for buying in China from Aug. 5. The Meizu PRO 7 and PRO 7 Plus registrations had reached 10,000 mark within 24 hours of launch. In China, the PRO 7 featuring 4 GB of RAM + 64 GB of storage with Helio P25 is available for around $430 and the advanced model driven with Helio X30 that features 4 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage is priced around $500. The Meizu PRO 7 can be bought in colors such as black, red and gold.

The Meizu PRO 7 Plus variant that has 6 GB of RAM and an internal storage of 64 GB is priced at $530. Its advanced model that has 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage is available for $604. Both the models are powered by Helio X30. It comes in color choices such as grey, silver, gold and black. Apart from China, France and Spain, the other countries that are confirmed to get the Meizu PRO 7 and Meizu PRO 7 Plus include Brunel, Cambodia, Egypt, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa, Ukraine, and Vietnam. These phones are unlikely to release in the U.S. and the U.K.

Get Amazing Xiaomi Mi IV Hybrid In-Ear Earphones for $11.99!

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Linus

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Aug 1, 2017

We all know that the Xiaomi produces all sorts of gadgets and the earphones the company makes are definitely one of the best for the price. The Hybrid IV earphones that are one of the best for the price and right now you can get them for $11.99 from lightinthebox.com.

As far as the design goes, the Hybrid IV earphones are made almost entirely of metal and they just scream premium. Also, there are controls like volume up/down, play/pause and the microphone for a hands-free calling.

Most of the cable is made of tangle free material and at the end of it, you can find a 3.5mm headset connector.

As far as the sound quality, I’m pretty sure you will be blown away by it. To be honest, I’ve tested at least 5 different $25 earphones made by Sony, Phillips, JVC and so on and I can say that the Xiaomi Hybrid IVise miles ahead. The sound is crisper, it has a lot more rich tones and depth in it. Also, I’m impressed with the amount of bass and the volume output they can produce.

The Hybrid IV earphones that are one of the best for the price and right now you can get them for $12.99 from lightinthebox.com.

Buy Xiaomi Hybrid IV

First Screenshot Of Essential Phone’s Interface Surfaces

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Jul 31, 2017

When Android co-founder Andy Rubins hinted that his company- Essential will be launching its first smartphone, hopes were high that the device would be a spectacular one. Indeed, when the Essential Phone 1 was announced in May, the design and specs looked promising. But two months after the announcement, the phone is yet to go up on sale. Instead, the company seems to have been dogged by one controversy or the other.

One aspect of the design which has generated discussions is the cutout for the selfie camera which encroaches into the display at the top. We have now got the first screenshot of the Essential phone’s interface showing the status bar and the notification bar which will be by the side of the cutout. What catches our attention the most, is the tall status bar which is said to be 160 pixels long. The length is due to the selfie camera encroachment which has to be made up for since it cuts into the display. The aspect ratio of the device doesn’t make the length of the staus bar look so obvious on the display, anyway.

The screenshot doesn’t look too beautiful but the design, especially the home button looks similar to the Google Pixel design. The not-so-inspiring look of the user interface may not be unconnected with why the Head of UX at Essential threw in the towel recently. The last couple of weeks have seen a number of high profile departures from Essential as well, so it may not be connected. We really can’t make a sound judgement if the UI will be nice or awful until the device is officially launched and we get to see and navigate through the interface live. The device will likely be made available for sale very soon and we are certain it still has interesting potentials, like its own new virtual assistant.

BlackBerry KEYOne Launching On August 8 In China

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Jul 31, 2017

A few weeks ago, BlackBerry opened an official account on Chinese social media platform Weibo, signifying its return to China. Now it is set to launch its first product and judging from the teaser poster, its none other than the BlackBerry KEYOne.

The KEYOne was released back in February at MWC 2017 and is already on sale in different markets such as the US and the UK. The smartphone’s selling point is its physical keyboard, a rare feature in smartphones these days.

The KEYOne has a 4.5-inch 1620 x 1080 display and a QWERTY keyboard that also doubles as a large track-pad. There is a fingerprint scanner underneath the space button.

It has a Snapdragon 625 processor paired with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. The KEYOne has a microSD card slot, so that 32GB can get up to an additional 2TB of space. Battery capacity is 3505mAh and supports Quick Charge 3.0.

The rear camera is a 12MP Sony IMX378 with dual-tone flash and there is an 8MP front facing camera. There is is NFC, a USB Type-C 3.1 port, and an earphone jack at the top. It also runs Android 7.1 Nougat.

It is unknown if BlackBerry will release it in China with a different configuration like other manufacturers do with their flagships.

The price for the BlackBerry KEYOne in China is still a secret but if the configuration remains the same as above, it may get a lesser price tag compared to the $549 internatioal price. Reason is because the KEYOne is made by TCL, a Chinese smartphone company which is currently one of those licensed to release phones under the BlackBerry name.

The KEYOne is also expected to launch in India tomorrow.

OnePlus 5 Battery Reportedly Draining Quickly After the 911 Patch

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Jul 31, 2017

OnePlus 5 was discovered to have got a bug which caused the device to reboot when an emergency 911 call is placed in the US or 999 call in the UK. This prompted OnePlus to push OTA updates which fixed the software issue which they fingered to be a modem memory issue affecting some devices and causing the crash. A similar bug was also reported to have affected a couple of other Android phones like the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, Sony Xperia Z3, and LG G3.

After the bug has been fixed, a new issue seems to have popped up on some OnePlus 5 models. In particular, some users have aired their complaints on the OnePlus official forum of excessive battery drain, especially when the device is left powered on and in standby mode overnight. The issue seems to affect Indian users of the OP5 and the advice OnePlus officially has for them is that those having a Reliance Jio LTE SIM card in the second slot should turn it off as it requires quality LTE signal otherwise, the phone keeps searching for signal and this drain the battery. Reliance Jio is a 4G-only network which was rolled out in India only September last year.

We can’t follow up on the thread anymore to know if users still complain of the issue because the thread seems to have been deleted. This is perhaps to stem further escalation of an issue the company thinks is a non-issue, considering the fix they suggested.

(via)

Vivo X9S Gets A Coat of Blue And A ¥2698 (∼$400) Price Tag

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Jul 31, 2017

The Vivo X9S was launched early this month as a successor to last year’s Vivo X9. The phone has a new design (read thinner body) and upgraded internals, and comes in rose gold, gold, and matte black. However, Vivo announced a new blue variant today.

The new Vitality Blue variant looks nearly identical to the Vivo X9 NBA Edition released early this year. The front panel is black, the antenna lines are white, and the back plate is blue. The only thing missing on the X9S is the NBA emblem.

The new color variant will be available for purchase starting August 1, same day as the Flame Red Nubia Z17. Vivo is keeping the price at ¥2698 (∼$400) just like the other color variants. The phone will be available on Vivo’s official website with the option for a free engraving.

The Vivo X9S has a 5.5-inch Full HD display, 4GB of RAM and is powered by the Snapdragon 652. Storage is limited to 64GB without the option for expansion.

The Vivo X9S may not look very different from the X9 but Vivo deserves praise for making it thinner and increasing the battery capacity to 3320mAh from 3050mAh. That is unusual as a thinner body usually means a smaller battery or sometimes the same capacity.

Teaser Reveals Huawei’s AI Will Be More Than Just A Voice Assistant

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Jul 31, 2017

Chinese tech giant Huawei has shared a teaser on Twitter which backs earlier reports that the company is working on an AI-related product. The artificial intelligence (AI) product is tipped to be unveiled at IFA Berlin 2017 and even though the teaser never gave an idea of what the product may likely be, we got you covered.

What does AI mean to you? pic.twitter.com/DtU3VEUXlI

— Huawei Mobile (@HuaweiMobile) July 28, 2017

Earlier reports reveal Huawei is working on an AI application processor that combines CPU (central processing unit), GPU (graphics processing unit) and AI (artificial intelligence) functions. Huawei Consumer Business Group CEO Richard Yu had disclosed this plan during the 2017 China Internet Conference held recently in Beijing. The new teaser further adds weight to Richard Yu’s disclosure as it clearly states that “AI is more than just a voice assistant” which could be taken that the AI product Huawei is expected to unveil does more than just rivalling Amazon’s Alexa, Google Assistant and the recently launched Xiaomi Mi AI speaker.

Companies are looking to Artificial Intelligence in their bid to outpace their competitors. Huawei has a goal targeted at overtaking Apple in smartphone sales and they seem to be exploring different strategies to grow their revenue. Recently, Huawei revealed its earnings for the first half of the year and really, the figures are encouraging. Huawei is hoping to consolidate on its growing business but we still don’t see how AI would help it do that.

Moto G5S Plus Renders Arrives In Three Colors

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Jul 31, 2017

The Moto G5S Plus has been getting a lot of attention lately, making us wonder if its launch is around the corner. Leakster @Evleaks has released renders of the smartphone showing the three colors it will arrive in.

From the image, it is plain to see the Moto G5S will come in rose gold, grey, and silver. The silver and rose gold variants have white front panels while the gray settles for a low-profile black.

The Moto G5S Plus now wears a full-metal jacket on the back along with dual cameras. There is also an antenna line that runs beneath the secondary microphone. To be honest, this is a much better looking phone than the Moto G5 Plus and we hope it feels good in the hand too.

Samsung SM-G9298 (Not SM-W2018) to Officially Debut on August 3; Appears in New Live Photos

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Jul 31, 2017

Samsung has officially confirmed by releasing a media invitation that it will be launching a new flip phone in collaboration with China Mobile on Aug. 3 starting at 4 PM local time. The exact name of the smartphone is not known, but by looking at the image of the flip phone in the media invitation, it can be understood that Samsung will be debuting the SM-G9298 flip phone that had first appeared on TENAA. According to a Chinese leakster, this flip phone will be launched as Samsung Beyond the world8. Sounds like a weird name!

The official name of the smartphone will be revealed on Aug. 3. The leakster has claimed this phone is not the SM-W2018 flip phone that is expected to come with flagship specs like Snapdragon 835, 6 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage. The leakster has revealed an image to confirm SM-G9298 and SM-W2018 are two different smartphones. In the below image, the SM-W2018 can be seen kept wrapped at a shopfront alongside an image of its predecessor phone, the SM-W2017.

A couple of live photos of SM-G9298 have appeared just before its official. It is the same smartphone that had appeared in leaked render some time ago. According to the TENNA listing of SM-G9298, it will feature an outer S-AMOLED display of 4.2 inches that will support full HD resolution. One of the live images of the phone suggests that this screen will support Always-on Display feature. The inner screen of this phone will be of 4.2 inches and it will also support full HD resolution.

[envira-gallery id=”143029″]

The SM-G9298 will be powered by Snapdragon 821 chipset and 4 GB of RAM. The internal storage of this flip phone will be 64 GB. It will also feature a microSD card slot.Its rear facing camera will be of 12-megapixel and its front-facing shooter will be of 5-megapixel. The fingerprint scanner of the phone is placed below the rear camera.

It will be running on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow OS. It will be coming with a 2,300mAh battery. It measures 127.7 x 61.4 x 15.87 and its weigh is 234 grams. Since it is launched by Samsung in partnership with China Mobile, it goes without saying that China will surely receive it. however, there is no confirmation on other markets that will be receiving the SM-G9298 flip phone. The SM-G9289 is said to be successor of the SM-9198 flip phone from 2015 that powered with Snapdragon 808 chipset.

(source|via)

Analyst Reveals Why There Are Still Few SD835 Phones In The Market Right Now

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Jul 31, 2017

Qualcomm announced its latest Snapdragon 835 chipset earlier this year and the flagship processor made its debut on the Samsung Galaxy S8 in April and the Xiaomi Mi 6, Nubia Z17, OnePlus 5 and the Sony Xperia XZ Premium. The SD 835 chip is built on the 10nm process and is said to be 27% better in performance when compared to the Snapdragon 820 chip. Also, it uses about 40% lesser power, so the new processor is better with performance and battery usage. Despite these and many more features, the SD 835 chip is yet to be featured in so many flagship models even as the smartphone releases for the year is reaching its peak.

Industry analyst, Pan Jiutang has come out to reveal why the flagship chip is yet to be used on a large number of smartphones. According to the analyst, the 10nm processor is more expensive than the SD 820 and is even 3-5 times the price of the Snapdragon 600 series. From the look of things, the lack of a flurry of SD 835 smartphones isn’t due to the slow production process as was earlier thought but the cost of the processor.

By this time last year, the Snapdragon 820 processor has seen a good number of patrons but presently, among the Chinese OEMs only the Xiaomi Mi 6, Nubia Z17 and OnePlus 5 feature the processor. The Snapdragon 835 was produced by Samsung’s foundry and the cost of the Galaxy S8 wouldn’t pose any problem for Samsung to make its profit. But its profitability for Chinese manufacturers who don’t have the leverage of fixing a very high price tag on their models, using this processor may pose a problem in terms of profits, in the long run. Except Qualcomm drops the cost of the chip, which we don’t know presently, the processor might end up not being used on a lot of devices before the release of the next-gen SD 845 next year.

LG V30 Schematic Shows Single Full Vision Display, Dual Rear Cameras and Rear Fingerprint Scanner

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Jul 31, 2017

The LG V30 is scheduled for an August 31st launch. It is expected to go on sale on September 15 in South Korea and September 28 in the US. There have been lots of leaks, mostly from genuine and confirmed sources regarding the design of the upcoming flagship and a new one courtesy of Onleaks was revealed today on twitter. This new leak gives us a full look at the design.

The image is a schematic diagram gotten from the LG V30’s user manual, so this is definitely what we are getting when it launches.

The biggest change coming to the LG V30 is the display. The V-series is known for its dual displays but this year the V30 will only have one display. And it is the same full-vision type as the one in the LG G6 but bigger. The display is curved at the corners but doesn’t reach the top, leaving space for a front camera, earpiece and sensors.

The rear of the phone shows that the V30 will retain the dual camera design as its predecessor. The cameras are positioned horizontally and share a single housing. Flanking the cameras on the right is the LED flash and probably a laser focus module. Below them both is a circular fingerprint scanner.

Cheaper 18:9 Full Screen Mobile Phones Will Launch This year

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Jul 31, 2017

LG kick-started the 18:9 display ratio with the LG G6. The full vision display has also appeared in its cheaper LG Q6 series. Following the release of the LG G6, a few Chinese manufacturers have announced they will be releasing phones with full-screen displays later this year. However those manufacturers do not include the big five in the Chinese market.

Latest report says we should expect more 18:9 full screen smartphones this year. According to an insider who works in Taiwan’s industrial chain, display panel makers such as AUO and Innolux are working on improving production capacity of 18:9 displays as there are several smartphones planned to launch with them this year.

The insider also revealed that Huawei, Xiaomi, Gionee, OPPO and Vivo have all ordered for full-screen displays from the same supplier. The orders are said to be in large quantities and will appear in a range of smartphones which may not exceed ¥1500 (~$223).

Sources have also revealed that Xiaomi has three full-screen devices set to launch this year. The high-end Mi MIX 2 is one of the confirmed phones but there are rumors of a low-end or mid-range one too. The phone is expected to feature a Snapdragon 630 SoC, 4GB of RAM and be priced around ¥1599 (~$238).

Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Gets FCC Certified and Also Appears in Leaked Render by Ghostek Case Maker

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Jul 31, 2017

Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is launching on Aug. 23 and receiving FCC certification is one of the prerequisites to launch in the U.S. Fresh information suggests that several model numbers of a Samsung phone that reportedly belongs to Galaxy Note 8 has received certification by Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The Galaxy Note 7, Note 5, Note 4 and Note 3 respectively came with model numbers like SM-N930, SM-N920, SM-N910, SM-900. Previous rumors have suggested that the model number of Galaxy Note 8 is SM-N950F. In the recent past, multiple listings of the Galaxy Note variants have appeared on FCC.

The U.S. variant of the Galaxy S8 is SM-G950U and the U.S. model of the Galaxy S8+ is SM-G955U. Hence, the SM-N950U that has appeared on FCC is the U.S. edition of the Galaxy Note 8. The other model numbers found listed with FCC include SM-N950U1, SM-N950W, and SM-N950XU.

The SM-G950U1 was an unlocked Snapdragon edition for the U.S. Hence, the SM-N950U1 could be another variant hitting the U.S. markets. The SM-N950W variant cold be a Canadian edition of the Galaxy Note 8.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is expected to be available in at least four editions such as a global edition driven with Exynos 8895 chipset, two models for the U.S. with Snapdragon 835 chipset powering them and a display-one variant without wireless capabilities.

For Galaxy S8, Samsung did not make multiple models for different carriers as it done before. For the Galaxy Note 8 too, it is expected to go ahead with the same strategy. In the U.S., it will sell only two variants, one will be aimed towards the carriers and the other one would be a factory unlocked edition. The carrier edition will be made in the South Korean facility of Samsung whereas the other three variants are being produced in the Samsung’s Vietnam facility.

Shown above is a new render of the Galaxy Note 8 built by well-known case maker called Ghostek. The above render has been created through information that surfaced from the supply chain of Samsung. The Note 8 can be seen wearing the Cloak series case by Ghostek.

Rumors have suggested that the Galaxy Note 8 would be coming with a 6.3-inch Infinity Display with curved edgesy, 13-megapixel + 12-megapixel dual rear cameras, 6 GB of RAM, 64 GB of storage, a USB-C port, an iris scanner, a S-Pen stylus and 3,300mAh battery. The U.S., the U.K and South Korea will be getting the Galaxy Note 8 in early September whereas other regions are expected to receive the flagship phablet from October onwards.

(source 1, 2)

Samsung Announces Industry’s First 6CA Cat.18 LTE Modem

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Jul 31, 2017

One of the selling points of the Snapdragon 835 mobile platform is its Snapdragon X16 LTE modem that offers download speeds of up to 1Gbps. A few mobile operators around the world are already planning to upgrade their networks to support the technology. However, Qualcomm isn’t the only chip maker to offer gigabit download speeds. Samsung’s Exynos 8895 also offers it. Its Cat.16 LTE modem not only supports 1Gbps downloads but is also the industry’s first with 5CA (carrier aggregation). The Snapdragon X16 is 4CA.

Today, Samsung decided to set another record with a new Cat.18 LTE modem that offers 6CA with the ability to achieve download speeds of up to 1.2Gbps!!!

The new LTE modem was developed in partnership with Anritsu, a telecommunication measuring instrument provider. The modem offers a 20% increase in performance over the Cat.16 modem and is expected to be used for its next generation chips. Samsung says the increase speed should allow “users to download a full-length movie in HD resolution within 10 seconds”. It will also result in smoother video calls and live broadcasting.

In addition to the improved speeds, the modem also supports 4×4 MIMO and higher-order 256 QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) scheme.

Speaking at the event was Woonhaing Hur, Vice President of System LSI Protocol Development at Samsung Electronics, who said an increase in high-quality online content services has led to a demand for high-performance LTE modems.

Nokia 8 Engineering Machine Pops Up Online, Priced At 4500 Yuan ($660)

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Jul 31, 2017

Nokia 8 is expected to be unveiled on August 18 and to this end, Nokia is said to have sent out official launch invites to the event which is billed to hold in London, United Kingdom. Ahead of that event, a new set of real photos of the expected Nokia 8 have popped up online via a retailer.

The Nokia 8 isn’t new to leaks, we have seen a number of photos of the device so, these latest photos just confirm the design of the flagship. The device is expected with a metal body and in a number of colours which would include Gold, Copper and Blue. The design looks more like a sleek version of the Nokia 6 with well-curved edges.

The design of the Nokia 8 is also distinct from HMD’s first Nokia device due to the dual cameras that sit at the rear. The dual camera setup will come with Zeiss Optics technology and Zeiss’ logo is expected to be written in between both cameras but that is absent in the leaked photo above, which is likely due to the fact this is a prototype machine. The body is said to be made from aluminum and the shape when viewed from the rear resembles the Nokia 6. But the leaked photos showing the front screen point at the presence of curved display. We may likely be looking at on-display fingerprint sensor onboard the flagship.

Nokia 8 is expected with a 5.3-inch 2K display with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor powering it up as well as up to 4GB / 6GB of RAM and 64GB of expandable internal storage. The dual rear camera setup is made up of a 13MP main sensor and Zeiss optics. The device is expected to pack a 3000mAh battery and will run Android 7.1 out of the box. The device is listed with a price tag of 4,500 Yuan ($660) which isn’t very cheap but is a decent price for a flagship. The price may be lower than that amount in the long run, anyway.

Samsung SM-G9298 Flip Phone Appears in Leaked Render

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Jul 31, 2017

Samsung SM-G9298 is the rumored flip phone from the South Korean company that is expected to arrive with flagship specifications. A leaked render of the smartphone has appeared to reveal its design from all sides. What cannot be seen in the leaked image is the inner display and the keypad of the SM-G9298.

The leaked render of the SM-G9298 suggests that its left side features a volume rocker and on the right side is the Power button. The backside of the phone features a camera that is coupled with a LED flash. The small portion below the rear camera could be its fingerprint reader. The bottom side of the SM-G9298 features an external speaker and a USB-C port.

A Chinese leakster had revealed in the previous week that the SM-W2018 would be a flagship smartphone as it would be powered by Snapdragon 835 chipset. He added that the SD 835 chipset is supported by 6 GB of RAM and internal storage of 64 GB. It is expected to carry support for Samsung Pay and wireless charging.

However, when the Samsung SM-W2018 had appeared on TENAA in May, it appeared as a minor upgrade over of SM-2017 from last year that came with specs like Snapdragon 820, 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage. The TENAA listing of SM-W2018 had revealed that its inner and outer displays of 4.2 inches. The Chinese regulatory body also revealed that the phone features Snapdragon 821 AB chipset and 4 GB of RAM. The other specs of the phone included 64 GB of storage, 12-megapixel main camera, a 5-megapixel selfie snapper and a 2,300mAh battery. According to the leakster, the SM-W2018 and SM-G9298 are two different flip phones from Samsung.

The Samsung SM-G9298 may launch as Samsung Beyond the world 8 (whatever that means!), claims the Chinese leakster who has leaked the above image of Twitter. However, there is no information on the specifications of the phone. The Samsung SM-G9298 has also been certified by FCC and Wi-Fi Alliance in May. There is no information available on the release date of the SM-G9298. However, since it has received several certifications required for launch, its arrival seems to be close at hand.

As far as Samsung SM-W2018 is concerned, it has only cleared TENAA certification in China. It is expected to arrive with an expensive price tag. According to the leakster, the W series phones from Samsung carry expensive pricing because the revenue generated by these phones are donated to the charity.