The alcatel 5 officially takes its place at the helm of TCL's lineup

TCL hasn't exactly been keeping a tight lip about its new lineup over the past few weeks. As expected, spearheading the bunch is the new alcatel 5. A flagship, if you will, although we don't really feel right referring to it like that, given it's mostly mid-ranger specs. To reiterate, those include a 5.7-inch, IPS panel, in the new and trendy 18:9...

Alcatel 5, 3-series and 1X hands-on

Living up to its long-standing reputation TCL brought a traditionally "abundant" roster of new phones to MWC 2015. Also, in keeping with tradition, most of these come in a large number of versions, with plenty of optional features, so bear with us here. Source: https://www.gsmarena.com/alcatel_5_3_1_hands_on-review-1728.p...

alcatel 3-series phones unveiled: sub-€200 price tag for 18:9 screens and dual cameras

There are three phones in alcatel's new 3-series and each has its own strengths. As with the others, these go all-in on 18:9 screens and leverage TCL's TV-building know-how. And unlike the alcatel 5, two of the 3-series phones have dual cameras on their backs. All three models have fingerprint readers on the back, but also feature alcatel's Face...

alcatel 1X unveiled with Android Oreo (Go edition), plus two kid-friendly tablets

Alcatel brought some budget-conscious offerings to the MWC and we were pleasantly surprised to find out they run Android 8.1 Oreo. There's one phone, the alcatel 1X, and two tablets, both under the alcatel 1T name. As a bonus, there are two LTE hotspots. alcatel 1X phone The alcatel 1X has a modest starting price of €100, but it runs the latest Android...

Leaked image shows Sony Xperia XZ2 on its wireless charger

For one reason or another, Sony rarely includes wireless charging on its phones - in fact, it feels like they wouldn't until a carrier pushed them. Things might change this Monday, as a leaked official image shows the Sony Xperia XZ2 happily charging with no wires in sight. We think it's the big one anyway, it and the XZ2 Compact kind of look alike....

Photos of Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ hit the web early

Samsung needs to tighten up its security - live images of the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ are all over the web! We get to see the two phones side by side and gawk at the color options a day ahead of schedule. To be fair, the copious rumors have given away all the twists and turns, including the selection of colors. Still, this beats the renders and...

The full palette of Sony Xperia XZ2 and XZ2 Compact colors leaks

The Sony Xperia XZ2 and XZ2 Compact will be available in four different colors at launched, as leaked images have revealed. The Black and White options are pretty standard (or is that Silver?) and there are two brighter hues. They will be different between the two models, however. One will offer the choice between Pink and Teal (and what seems to...

Samsung Galaxy S8 Oreo roll out expands, Note8 gets February patch

As you might already know, Samsung recently resumed the Galaxy S8 Oreo update roll out after fixing a critical issue. Last we heard, units in Germany were getting this new update. And now, the update has arrived in several other markets as well, including India, Poland, and some Nordic countries. Moving on, the Samsung Galaxy Note8 has also started...

Pixel 2 battery drain issue being looked into, Google says

Last week, it came to light the Pixel 2 February update has caused some serious issues, with users reporting poor battery life and device overheating. What's good is that Google has already started investigating the reports. Here's what a company employee said on a Google forum thread discussing these problems: We want to look into this issue and...

Huawei confirms P20 name with a short video

MWC 2018 is all about new phones, gadgets and technology and all the big names are there, including Huawei. Sadly, the Chinese manufacturer will not introduce a flagship since it already announced a launch date on March 27. The company sent out a promo video for the event, effectively confirming the Huawei P20 name. The brief seven-second video once...

Doogee V with in-screen fingerprint scanner to be introduced at MWC 2018

Doogee showed us it could make phones with bezel-less screens, so it is already jumping on the next hype train of phones with under-screen fingerprint scanners. First, vivo introduced the X20 Plus UD to a limited audience and now Doogee V appears to be the second phone with such tech. The device will be unveiled on February 27 in Barcelona during...

The Microsoft Store is selling Lumia smartphones once again

Looks like Windows Phone is back on the menu boys! Cheesy references aside, it's no joke. Listings for the Lumia 950, 950 XL, 550 and 650 can all be found on the official Microsoft Store website. A sales rep even confirmed, what we can only assume was a random find, since the Lumia phones do not appear under the "all phones" category at all: They...

Google's ARCore SDK is out of preview, now any developer can publish AR apps to the Play Store

Following a long preview period which started last August when it was initially announced, Google's ARCore SDK has now finally reached version 1.0. It's thus out of preview and allows any developer to create AR-infused apps and publish them to the Play Store for Android. ARCore 1.0 has improved environmental understanding, letting users place virtual...

Google Lens expands to all Android and iOS devices through Google Photos, flagships get it in Assistant too

Google Lens became available for the Pixels last year, and it's now following in the footsteps of the Google Assistant - namely, a period of exclusivity for the company's own smartphones is followed by a much wider release. Google has announced that, in the coming weeks, Lens will be available to all English-language users of Google Photos who have...

Google Assistant goes global this year, becomes multilingual, integrates deeper with your phone and carrier

The fact that Google has planned a big expansion for its Assistant in 2018 was first revealed last week. Back then the number of supported languages was said to be 25 by the end of the year, but today the company has officially announced that Assistant will speak more than 30 languages before we say hello to 2019. That will make it reach 95% of all...

Sony may launch three new devices at the MWC - two XZ2 phones and a surprise

The rumor mill has been pretty clear that we'll see the Sony Xperia XZ2 and Xperia XZ2 Compact at the MWC stage. But it seems that there will be a surprise third entry. Sony Mobile's Facebook account for South Africa invites people to watch the unveiling of "three amazing new Xperia models". The image attached to this post features the current Xperia...

Energizer phone with mammoth 16,000mAh battery powers up in a teaser video

It takes a while to lift the veil off a 16,000mAh battery - but it will be worth the wait. Yesterday, we saw the bottom bezel of the Energizer Power Max P16K Pro, now we get a peek at the top. You can see the 5.99" 1080p+ screen has rounded corners to match the rounded corners of the chassis. Also check out the 8MP selfie camera - it seems like it...

Sony Xperia XZ2 image and specs leak ahead of Monday's unveiling

Sony is changing up its design language as we've seen in several leaks. The latest gives us a front and rear view of the Sony Xperia XZ2, the larger counterpart of the XZ2 Compact, which we saw from the side. The XZ2 duo should be among the first to feature Snapdragon 845 and will be Sony's first to go 18:9. This particular unit will have a 5.7"...

Huawei FLA-AL00 specs outed by TENAA

Huawei might be preparing for a launch of at least three new P20 phones, including a Lite version, a regular variant and a Plus-sized flagship, but more info about previously leaked FLA-AL00 device just arrived on TENAA. The phone, most likely to come as the Huawei nova 3, will have Kirin 659 chipset and four cameras. Huawei FLA-AL00 The alleged...

Samsung Max launches to replace Opera Max, a VPN with data protection

Opera Max was pre-loaded on several Galaxy handsets, but the data-saving VPN service shut down last year. If you miss it, Samsung made its own version and it's available today on the Play Store - download it here. Samsung Max has two key features that you can enable individually. First is Data Saving Mode. It can actively compress web pages and multimedia...

MediaTek P60 chipset headed to MWC, Geekbench reveals

MediaTek is working on new chips and occasionally it lets them run a benchmark. A new model, Helio P60, was caught running Geekbench on a device with a tantalizing name - MTK P60 MWC Demo. It sounds like this will be a reference design rather than a phone meant for retail. It did have 4GB of RAM and ran Android 8.1, but the CPU cores used are unknown....

Sony patches up Xperia XZ, Xperia XZs and X Performance for "Spectre" and "Meltdown"

Sony Mobile keeps going with pushing firmware updates to its devices. After the Xperia XZ Premium got patched for "Spectre" and "Meltdown", next in line are the Xperia XZ, Xperia XZs and Xperia X Performance that are over two years old. Owners of these three devices should already be receiving the new 47.1.A.12.75 build over the air. The security...

Huawei P20 appear in TENAA photos with dual cameras

Huawei P20 is arriving on March 27 when an event is scheduled in Paris, but thanks to TENAA we got to see first images of the phone a month early. Codenamed EML-TL00, the phone appeared from all four sides on the Chinese website, revealing a vertical dual camera setup on the back and another dual setup on the front for selfies. Huawei P20 on TENAA...

Moto G6 pops up on Geekbench

Rumors have been suggesting a Moto G6 is on its way - first we saw some specs, then we saw some images. Now the phone allegedly popped up on Geekbench, revealing some of the specs. Apparently, the phone, most likely to be called officially Moto G 6th gen, will have Snapdragon 625 chipset and 3 GB RAM. The results of the Moto G6 with the year-old...

Gartner: Smartphone sales declined for first time ever in Q4 2017

Global smartphone sales reached 408 million units during the 2017 holiday season, Gartner reported. This is a 5.6% decline, compared with Q4 2016, when over 432 million phones found a new owner, marking the first time sales go down since Gartner started tracking in 2004. According to Anshul Gupta, research director at Gartner, two factors led to...

Deal: LG Q6 for $160 this Sunday on Amazon

If you're looking for a new and inexpensive smartphone that's also attractive, look no further than the LG Q6. Amazon already sells the LG Q6 at a discount of $50 for the Prime Exclusive version - this comes out to $200. LG has let us know that the Prime Exclusive variant of the phone will be going on sale as part of Amazon's Daily Deal on Sunday,...

First cheap Android Oreo (Go edition) phones will be unveiled at MWC alongside more Android One handsets

Google has revealed that the first smartphones running Android Oreo (Go edition) will become official at MWC next week. The company hasn't named any of the upcoming products, but mentions that some of them will sell for less than $50, which is rather amazing if it pans out (and there are no caveats). Android Oreo (Go edition) is the version of the...

New leak prices the Galaxy S9 at €841, Galaxy S9+ at €997

At the beginning of this week some contradictory pricing information for Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S9 and S9+ got leaked. Today Evan Blass, a.k.a. @evleaks, only adds to the confusion with the newly outed images you can see below. So according to this usually reliable source, the S9 will set you back €841, while the S9+ will be priced at €997. The...

BQ Aquaris VS and VS Plus officially released with SD430, 4GB of RAM, promised Oreo update

Spanish company BQ has launched two new Android smartphones today, both of which are already available from its international online store. The Aquaris VS and Aquaris VS Plus share a lot of specs, as you'd expect from the naming convention, and yes, the Plus model is bigger. The BQ Aquaris VS has a 5.2-inch 720p IPS touchscreen with 2.5D glass and...

Energizer Power Max P16K Pro smartphone arrives at MWC with 16,000 mAh battery

Energizer wants to make a big splash at MWC this year, and it's definitely going to achieve just that with the Power Max P16K Pro smartphone that it will unveil on that occasion. The company is best known for its batteries, so it makes perfect sense that its next handset will have battery life as a huge focus. Keyword: huge. The Power Max P16K Pro...

AirPods to get "Hey Siri" detection, water-resistance in future

The next generation of Apple's popular AirPods will feature "Hey Siri" voice detection support, according to a report by Bloomberg. A subsequent model is also expected to bring water-resistance. The current AirPods model uses the W1 chipset and requires the use of a double tap gesture to invoke Siri. The next generation model will reportedly use...

More Nokia 7 Plus images leak, showing the Black and White colors side by side

The Nokia 7 Plus is no stranger to the rumor mill - we've seen renders in black and white, even a stealthy live photo. It's back for more, this time around both color options stand side by side. Nokia 7 Plus in Black and White (leaked images) The Nokia 7 Plus is likely to be unveiled at the MWC in a few days (along with a couple of other handsets)....

Huawei MediaPad M5 10 (Pro) key specs revealed

Demand for tablets might be down, but Huawei posted a huge 28% YoY growth in 2017. According to leaked info, the company plans to keep it going and is planning to launch the MediaPad M5 10 (Pro) anytime soon, probably at the MWC 2018. According to Roland Quandt on Twitter, the new device will have metal body, 4 GB RAM and 16:10 screen. Huawei MediaPad...

Huawei Mate 10 Pro learns to drive a car thanks to Kirin 970's NPU

In smartphones, AI powers digital assistants. In cars, it wants to be a digital chauffeur. But what if those two branches of artificial intelligence came together? Huawei set off on a 5 week mission to find out - the RoadReader project. Engineers taught a Huawei Mate 10 Pro to drive a Porsche Panamera - throttle, steering wheel, breaks. It leveraged...

Gboard beta comes with email auto-complete, unified search for emoji, stickers, GIFs

Google pushed a new beta of its keyboard app Gboard. Version 7.0.2 comes with the ability to "Search all media" and to autocomplete emails. There are also some design tweaks and rearranged Settings menu. Screengrabs from Gboard beta 7.0.2 Instead of "Universal Media Keyboard", as previously rumored, Gboard 7.0 has Search all media box for all the...

Samsung Galaxy Note8 long-term review

While some phones are inspired by the ‘less is more' mantra, Samsung's Galaxy Note family has always proudly claimed that ‘more is more'. More features, more options, more settings, more ways to interact with your handset, more choice made possible by the use of the best components adding up to the biggest and baddest spec list. To paraphrase a well...

Flipkart gets ready to welcome the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+

Flipkart has already rolled out the red carpet for the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+. It put up a landing page saying "Coming on 25.02.2018", which references the date of the Samsung Unpacked event. It doesn't say when pre-orders will start, however (rumors say we may not have to wait long). Last year, Flipkart had exclusivity on the Galaxy S8...

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro sells out in seconds

Xiaomi announced the Redmi Note 5 Pro with dual cameras last week and today was the first flash sale of the phone. According to Xiaomi India, over 300,000 units sold out in less than three minutes, but enraged fans took over the Reply button on Twitter, explaining the phone was out of stock in 10 seconds, and some orders were even canceled after...

MWC 2018: what to expect

The Mobile World Congress 2018 kicks off this weekend and there are many stars on the guest list. Some smartphones are sure to attend, the presence of others is only guessed at. Here's a preview of what we expect to see in Barcelona. Samsung The Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ have checked the "will attend" boxes - the Samsung Unpacked event is...

Xiaomi Mi Max 3 to come with wireless charging and iris scanner

Back in December 2017, Xiaomi was rumored to launch the Mi Max 3 with a 7" tall screen and 5,500 mAh battery, while a January leak suggested a dual camera setup. According to latest find, the phablet will have all these specs, plus a choice between Snapdragon 660 and 630 chipsets and wireless charging. XDA-Developers found the information in strings...

LG V30 and G6 are getting into the Android Enterprise Recommended program

Soon, the LG V30 and LG G6 will be enrolled in Google's Android Enterprise Recommended program, right after they receive the Android 8.1 update. This program is for large businesses who want to easily and securely deploy a large number of company phones. The phones are guaranteed to receive security updates every 90 days. They also features LG GATE...

CAT S61 unveiled with better thermal camera and new tools

CAT unveiled its second-generation phone with a thermal camera - the CAT S61. Actually, the company refers to it as a "tool" rather than a phone and that should tell you something. It features an upgraded FLIR thermal imaging camera with an expanded temperature range from -20°C to 400°C (-4°F—752°F) and higher resolution too - from VGA up to HD....

Samsung to manufacture 5G Snapdragon 7nm chips

Qualcomm and Samsung announced in separate press releases that the Korean manufacturer would build the upcoming 5G Snapdragon chipsets. They will be made on the 7nm process technology, a massive step in introducing the extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV). Samsung factory in Hwaesong, South Korea Compared to the 10 nm FinFET chips, the EUV tech...

Samsung resumes the Oreo update for the Galaxy S8 and S8+

Samsung has corrected the issue with the Oreo update for the Galaxy S8 and S8+ and the rollout has resumed. The new firmware brings the software version up to G950FXXU1CRB7 for the S8 and G955XXU1CRB7 for the S8+. The update weighs 530MB for users who updated their phones before the rollout was suspended, those who haven't are looking at a larger...

6" Huawei Enjoy 8 with dual camera surfaces

Huawei launched the Enjoy 6 in October 2016, then a plus-sized Enjoy 7 popped in June 2017. The eight-month cycle continues with Enjoy 8 that went to get the TENAA approval and revealed its specs in the process. The midranger, listed with model numbers LDN-TL10 and LDN-AL20 will have dual cameras, low-powered octa-core CPU and two memory combos....

Honor 7C swings by TENAA, gets most specs revealed

Another Huawei midranger, most likely the Honor 7C, is being prepared for launch after being certified at TENAA. A listing on the Chinese regulatory website revealed most of the smartphone's specs - octa-core CPU at 1.8 GHz and a dual 13 MP + 20 MP camera. Honor 7C in Gold Arriving with 5.99" FullView display, the Honor 7C will have HD+ resolution...

Deal: Microsoft offering $200 discount on latest Surface Pro

Microsoft is offering a solid discount on its latest Surface Pro. The official listing reveals a price cut of $200. The discount is available on Core i5/4GB/128GB model as well as Core i5/8GB/256GB models, bringing their price down to $799 and $1,099, respectively. The promo runs through February 24 (coming Saturday). For more info, head to the Source...

Motorola wants us to realize we are addicted to our phones

These days, the smartphone is an important tool. It keeps us connected to our friends and family, our passions, our memories, and for some it lets us connect to our means of making a living. These things have become extensions of ourselves to the point of ingraining behavioral patterns, particularly in the younger generation of smartphone users that...

T-Mobile offers $200 back when you buy an iPhone X with a trade-in

Tax season is in full effect here in the United States where millions of Americans are getting their tax returns. Many folks take advantage of this extra money to stimulate the economy by upgrading their smartphones. T-Mobile will start running a promotion on Friday that will give $200 off to those who pay full price for an iPhone X on an EIP (Equipment...

New leak shows all the colors of the Moto G6 Plus

Motorola's G6 family started leaking in January, and hasn't stopped since. The company might unveil the G6, G6 Plus, and G6 Play at MWC this weekend, in fact. Until that happens, though, let's feast our eyes upon another leaked image of the G6 Plus. This one shows all of the phone's color versions, and it's a bit surprising that they're this many....