Week 51 in review: Samsung Galaxy A8 and A8+ debut, some hot leaks too

It's a rare sight to see a high-profile smartphone announced in December, much less so this close to Christmas, so the Galaxy A8 and A8+'s debut this week was somewhat of a nice surprise. The upper mid-rangers bring the first dual selfie cameras on Samsung smartphones and borrow more Galaxy S features than any of their predecessors. Speaking of the Galaxy S flagships, the S9 and S9+ got their designs exposed by a bunch of case makers, who got the schematics and made renders based on them. Apparently only the plus version will have dual camera on the back with the regular S9 sticking to a...

Source: https://www.gsmarena.com/week_51_in_review_samsung_galaxy_a8_and_a8_debut_some_hot_leaks_too-news-28839.php

Evolution dead-ends: premium phone features that died off

The spec sheet of mobile phones are like a living ecosystem - they evolve and gain new features to adapt to a changing landscape. Others can't adapt and die off. Today's article is dedicated to them, the extinct features. Bluetooth speakers are a dime a dozen, they are old news. A more modern, premium solution is to use something like Google Cast or Apple AirPlay - audio is streamed over Wi-Fi, allowing for much higher quality. But before any of those became popular there was a much simpler solution. An FM transmitter! These days it's a small wonder if a phone has an FM receiver, the...

Source: https://www.gsmarena.com/counterclockwise_premium_phone_features_that_died_off-news-28802.php

Weekly poll: What is the best 2017 phablet?

The Samsung Galaxy S8 took home an easy win in the compact category in last week's poll, but its big bro Note8 may have a tougher time this time around - large phones are as popular as ever, and the tall-screen movement has brought bigger displays in reasonably-sized packages. One such offering comes from Apple - the iPhone X is one of a kind in the company's lineup when it comes to efficient use of space. 5.8 inches Apple says, but software kinks will rob you of some of the theoretically usable area, not to mention that the 5.5-inch iPhone 8 Plus still offers more screen estate - both on...

Source: https://www.gsmarena.com/weekly_poll_what_is_the_best_2017_phablet-news-28836.php

Top 10 trending phones of week 51

After taking the crown last week, the Xiaomi Mi A1 is again on top in week 51 and even managed to increase its lead. Behind it the Galaxy J7 Pro overtook the Oppo F5 for the second spot, while the Redmi 5A took advantage of its market launch to enter the top 10 and snatch fourth. Xiaomi Redmi Note 5, which may never see the light of day is not begining its descent and is down fifth, while the Galaxy Note8 retained sixth. The Honor 7X is down to seventh this week, ahead of the Redmi 4. The other new name on the chart is another Huawei handset - the Honor 9 Lite, which took ninth....

Source: https://www.gsmarena.com/top_10_trending_phones_of_week_51-news-28835.php

Weekly poll results: Galaxy S8 takes the compact flagship crown

The Samsung Galaxy S8 snatched the 2017 compact flagship crown, securing just over a third of all votes over our week-long poll. A strong crowd-favorite, the Samsung phone ran pretty much unopposed, with the closest rival being 11 percentage points behind. That runner-up didn't have it quite as easy, though. It was a rather close race between the Google Pixel 2 and the Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact, but the Google phone prevailed in the end with 23% of all votes, to the Compact's 18%. Google Pixel 2 • Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact The rest of the contenders only managed single-digit...

Source: https://www.gsmarena.com/weekly_poll_results_galaxy_s8_takes_the_compact_flagship_crown-news-28833.php

Top 10 phones of 2017: Best selfie cameras

We'd understand you if you take your selfies with the rear camera in the elevator mirror - some of us do. There are inevitably occasions when you don't have a mirror handy, though, and you still want to know what's going to eventually make it into the photo - that's how phones with a dedicated attention to the front-facing camera came to be so popular. That's not to say there aren't regular phones - you know, ones not marketed specifically for taking selfies, that have great front cameras. On the contrary, some flagships are here too, just as they were present in the primary camera Top Ten...

Source: https://www.gsmarena.com/top_10_phones_of_2017_best_selfie_cameras-news-28837.php