Samsung says the Galaxy S9 isn’t selling very well

By Sam Byford@345triangle 

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Samsung Electronics’ quarterly earnings are in, and as ever they’re right in line with guidance, meaning that the company’s run of record profits is at an end. Samsung made an operating profit of 14.87 trillion won ($13.3 billion) on sales of 58.4 trillion won ($52.1 billion); revenue was down 4 percent year on year.

According to Samsung, the drop in revenue can be put down to “softer sales of smartphones and display panels.” The company’s most important phone of the year, the Galaxy S9, went on sale at the end of the previous quarter, but Samsung describes its performance as “slow.” Earlier this month analysts predicted that it would be the worst-selling Galaxy S flagship phone since 2012’s Galaxy S3.

Samsung’s display business also had a rough quarter, with “weak demand” for flexible OLED panels as seen in products like the iPhone X, and LCD shipments falling in both price and quantity. The company does expect OLED demand to pick up in the second half of the year, and Apple’s reported plan to launch two new OLED iPhone models will likely help with that.

Bright spots include the TV division’s strong sales of premium models thanks to the World Cup, while Samsung’s major profit driver remains its semiconductor division — demand for NAND flash memory and DRAM chips isn’t going away any time soon. Samsung also says its image sensor business is growing due to Chinese companies using the chips in dual-camera smartphones.

WhatsApp rolls out group video and voice calling

WhatsApp is the most popular IP-based messaging app worldwide, but it still suffers from feature limitations. The company has steadily increased the app’s feature set in the last few months, adding the ability to switch from a voice call to a video call in the middle of a call, new group features including user search and tools to catch up on messages, the ability for group administrators to block users from sending messages in a group, and a Mute shortcut buttonfor WhatsApp notifications in Android. The company has started labeling forwarded messages as well. It’s also developing a “Mark as Read” shortcut button for notifications.

Now, WhatsApp is rolling out group voice and video calls. The company originally rolled out voice calling in 2015, and added video calling later. The company states that its users spend over 2 billion minutes on calls per day. Users ca now make a group call with up to three people for a total of four participants in the group voice/video call. The procedure to do so is simple: Start a one-on-one voice or video call and tap the “Add Participant” button in the top right corner to add more contacts to the call.

">WhatsApp states that group calls are always end-to-end encrypted. The company also claims to have designed calling to work reliably around the world in different network conditions. Group voice and video calling is not a new feature, as other apps such as Google Hangouts have supported it for a long time. It’s taken WhatsApp quite a while to catch up, but it’s good to see the company addressing the feature deficit.

The group voice and video calling feature is now rolling out both in the Android and iPhone versions of the app.

Source: WhatsApp

iPhone 9 Leak Reveals Apple's Radical Design

We all know which is the most exciting model out of all Apple’s upcoming new iPhones, and it will also be the cheapest. The cost savings, however, were meant to come with one major compromise. But now this phone seems almost too good to be true… 

In a fascinating new report, acclaimed Japanese website Macotakara revealed Apple’s so-called iPhone 9 or ‘budget iPhone X’ will use a radical display technology called ‘Full Active LCD’. This allows the budget model to have even thinner bezels than the second generation iPhone X (details) and new iPhone X Plus (details).

iPhone 9 render beside iPhone X Plus showing slightly bigger bezels which may now be avoidedBEN GESKIN

What enables this is a touch sensor made by Apple partner Japan Pixels, which it calls ‘Japan Pixel Eyes’. 9to5Mac notes a Full Active LCD means manufacturers can have bezels as thin as 0.5mm when the current iPhone X has a 1mm bezel. 9to5Mac also cites the Wall Street Journal which wrote back in September 2017 that Apple was using Japan Display to develop a Full Active LCD.

There’s just one problem.

Macotakara states that mass manufacturing of Full Active LCDs has a very high failure rate and this has impacted iPhone 9 production to the extent it may delay the launch until from September to November. A hold-up which was already leaked earlier this week. For my money though, a Full Active LCD iPhone 9 would be well worth the wait.

Interestingly, Macotakara’s report puts it in a face-off with popular leakers Ben Geskin (who successfully leaked the iPhone X last year) and Ice Universe (who has leaked the last three flagship Samsung Galaxy phones), as both believe the iPhone 9 will launch with larger bezels (1,2).

3D print of Apple’s iPhone 9 (left) illustrates how bad thick lookMAC OTAKARA

For its part, Macotakara has multiple scoops to its name, including that Apple would pull the headphone jack from the iPhone 7. Someone has to be wrong, and given 3D modelling has shown an iPhone 9 with larger bezels looks terrible – we have to hope Macotakara wins out.

Either way, 2019 is clearly the year Apple starts taking risks again (including with its premium models) and that’s great to see. Especially if the widely reported leaks of substantial price cuts turn out to be true...

Google Pixel 3 XL Clearly White model leaks in new pictures

Early last month, the first live photos of the upcoming Google Pixel 3 XL (code-named “crosshatch”) were posted on the XDA-Developers forums. The pictures confirmed rumors such as the display notch, dual front-facing camera lenses, the sensor placement, a 4GB RAM and 128GB storage model, and the use of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 system-on-chip. The pictures also showed off what looked to be a glass back which we have speculated may be for wireless charging docks like the upcoming “Pixel Stand.” Now, a new set of photos have been posted exclusively on our forums by XDA Junior Member dr.guru showing off what looks to be the Clearly White model of the Google Pixel 3 XL.

As you can see in the pictures shown above, the white is clearly visible around the edge of the device and on the rear. The bootloader information shows that this is an EVT 1.0 model (Engineering Validation Test), same as the earlier leaked model. These photos confirm the 4GB RAM model but also show off a 64GB storage version. The rumored display notch also makes a re-appearance and the new photos also show off the bottom-firing speaker much more clearly.

Apart from that, there isn’t much more new information that can be gleaned from these photos. The real-life photos match what we see in leaked 3D CAD renders but it doesn’t confirm aspects like wireless charging or the return of the Google Pixel 2‘s Active Edge squeezable frame. We also can’t tell from these photos if the display is OLED, though given the past history of the Google Pixel and Google Pixel 2 smartphones it’s a strong possibility that the Google Pixel 3 and Google Pixel 3 XL will have an OLED display. According to the original poster of the photos, the rear of the device is “totally glass.” He states the “top part is glossy and the bottom is matte” but that it’s all “a single part.” He was unable to confirm if wireless charging is present, though.

Keep in mind that these photos show off an early engineering model. Given that the device is set for release in October, Google is likely past the EVT 1.0 stage in production. The company is likely at the DVT (Design Validation Test) stage where they are getting the hardware units ready for mass production. That means that aspects of these devices may have changed slightly since these EVT devices were manufactured. Furthermore, we don’t know the user who posted these photos nor how he came across them, so take these leaks with a grain of salt.

If we learn more information about the upcoming Google Pixel 3 XL in Clearly White or any other color variant, we’ll let you all know.

Your MacBook Pro's Next Big Mistake

By Ewan Spence

Alongside the announcement of the new MacBook Pro machines earlier this month, Apple also announced the availability of a new leather MacBook Sleeve. Available in Midnight Blue, Saddle Brown, and Black, the high-quality design has a fundamental flaw for those using it.

You can’t charge your MacBook Pro while it is in the case. Given the high price ($180 for the 13-inch sleeve, and $200 for the 15-inch version), this is a curious decision.

Check your charge before packing away your MacBook Pro (Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The design of the sleeve allows the MacBook Pro to be placed either hinge first or trackpad first. My suspicion is that the solution Apple had in mind was to go in hinge first (so the Apple logos match up through the material), in which case the USB-C ports are covered up by the design.

But the opposite orientation, trackpad first and leaving the hinge exposed. For me this feels the natural orientation and given the demands of a professional laptop and the ABC rule while travelling (always be charging) I would have expected at least one of the USB-C ports to be accessible for charging.

There could be practical reasons why Apple’s design team has blocked the functionality. For example, the team may be worried about the snug fitting leather not allowing sufficient heat to escape during charging – in which case I would expect this to be a prominent ‘do not allow this’ in Apple’s certification.

A quick check on other sleeves available through the Apple website shows that this is not the case. If there is a worry about charging in situ, it has not been made clear to

Which leads me to my second line of reasoning. Apple decided that the fashionable look of the sleeve would override the practical sensibilities demanded of a protective case. Either Apple did not consider the use case of charging in situ, or it made a conscious decision to not include it.

I’m honestly not sure which option I prefer to be the truth. But what is clear is that this can be added to an ever-growing list of issues around the MacBook Pro that highlight a lack of focus and devotion from Cupertino. With thermal issues, poor bug hunting, problematic repair issues, safety nets removed, what has happened to Apple’s legendary focus on the user experience?

Still, why bother about the practicalities when you can have the twenty-first century equivalent of corinthian

Google bans cryptocurrency mining apps from the Play Store

As part of a sweeping update to its developer policies

By Dani Deahl on July 26, 2018 5:32 pm

  

Google has updated its Play Store developer policies to ban several more categories of apps, including cryptocurrency mining ones and apps with disruptive ads, as reported by Android Police.

When it comes to cryptocurrency apps, Google says mining apps are now prohibited, but apps that “remotely manage the mining of cryptocurrency” are still permitted. Apple recently banned apps that mine cryptocurrency, stating that, “the only cryptocurrency mining apps allowed are those that mine outside of the device, like cloud-based mining.”

Repetitive apps are now prohibited in the Google Play store. These are apps that mimic or provide the same experience as apps that already exist on the platform. Apps can be removed if they copy content from another app without adding anything new or unique, or if a developer makes multiple apps that have similar content and user experiences. Additionally, “apps that are created by an automated tool, wizard service, or based on templates and submitted to Google Play by the operator of that service on behalf of other persons are not allowed,” the company explains.

APPS THAT “REMOTELY MANAGE THE MINING OF CRYPTOCURRENCY” ARE STILL PERMITTED

Next, there are new restrictions on apps that deal with firearms and firearms accessories. Apps that “facilitate the sale of explosives, firearms, ammunition, or certain firearms accessories” are now banned, in similar fashion to how YouTube expanded restrictions dealing with these subjects earlier in the year.

The Google Play store defines restricted firearms accessories as items that enable a firearm to “simulate automatic fire or convert a firearm to automatic fire (e.g. bump stocks, gatling triggers, drop-in auto sears, conversion kits), and magazines or belts carrying more than 30 rounds.” Apps that provide instructions on manufacturing explosives, firearms, ammunition, and other weapons are also banned.

Also included in the new restrictions are apps that “appeal to children but contain adult themes,” apps that impersonate people or organizations or conceal their primary purpose, and apps that force users to click ads or submit personal information for ads before full use of the app is granted.

Lenovo’s Google Assistant-powered Smart Display is now available from $199

ABHIMANYU GHOSHAL  —  

4 HOURS AGO

Back in January, Google announced that it was working with third-party hardware makers on touchscreen-equipped smart speakers with the company’s Assistant on board. The first of those products is now available from Lenovo.

The imaginatively named Lenovo Smart Display comes in two sizes – an 8-incher with an HD screen, and a Full HD 10.1-inch version. Aside from that and the speakers, they’re practically identical on the inside, and bring the same kind 5-megapixel camera on the front.

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You can think of it as a Google Home with a screen: it can play music, control the smart appliances in your home, and answer questions. But it’s more than that, because it’s running Android Things, a new-ish IoT platform from Google with a brand new interface.

There’s no app store for it yet, so you’ll be restricted to the apps that do work with this OS right now: YouTube, Google Duo for video calls, Google Photos, and Spotify. Additionally, you can cast content from any app on your phone that supports Chromecast.

There are a couple more interesting features: you can ring people like you would with your phone, push a slider on the side to block the camera and disable the mic for privacy, and run multiple timers simultaneously.

Lenovo’s 10-inch Smart Display comes with a bamboo back, while the smaller one has a simple gray finish

All those features sound like they’d make the Smart Display a neat alternative to the Amazon Echo Show in your kitchen or bedroom. At $199, Lenovo’s starter device comes with a slightly larger screen and a smaller price tag than the $230 Echo Show. But given its currently limited range of apps, the Smart Display will likely make more sense if you’ve already bought into the Google ecosystem of services.

Our friends at The Verge, Tom’s Guide, and Android Central liked the Smart Display a lot; Ars Technica’s Valentina Palladino noted that while this device got a fair number of (Android) things right, it may be worth waiting to see what other hardware brands (like JBL, LG, and Sony) do with the new platform – or simply stick with a cheaper screen-less smart speaker.

Lenovo’s 8-inch Smart Display costs $199, while the 10-inch model is priced at $249. The Verge found that Costco members can snag a $50 discount on the larger one.

If this sounds like your cup of tea, you might want to check out the Chumby, the original smart display from a decade ago.

Are you interested in buying a smart display? Do you already have one? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Samsung Galaxy A6+ Review: A valiant effort but is it enough?

By Rehan Hooda | Published:Fri, July 27, 2018 11:25am

Does Galaxy A6+ manage to help Samsung take the fight to its competitors? Let's find out in my review for the Samsung Galaxy A6+.

   

Samsung India just launched one of its latest smartphone devices, the Samsung Galaxy A6+ in the market back in May. At the launch event, the company revealed its 2018 upgrades to the existing A series and J series of devices. The company is planning to take on the competition in the market with the help of the upgraded lineup. These competitors include Xiaomi, Oppo along with its sub-brand Realme, Vivo, Honor, and Lenovo-owned Motorola. The company initially priced the Galaxy A6+ for Rs 25,990 while later reducing the price of the smartphone by Rs 2,000 to Rs 23,990.

It is likely that Samsung India wants to put the pressure on the competition with the price reduction and hopefully attract users to its device lineup. The company sent us a review unit for the Samsung Galaxy A6+ (2018) and we were curious to check out what is new and different about this device to help it stand out from the crowd. I have been using the device for some time now. Does the Galaxy A6+ manage to help Samsung take the fight to its competitors? Let’s find out in my review for the Samsung Galaxy A6+.

That humongous notch-less display

One thing that you will notice as soon as you take out the device from its box is that massive 6-inch display. There is no display notch or near bezel-less design here.

Image credit: Rehan Hooda

Instead, the company has opted for what the company is calling the Infinity Display , a terminology that the company coined with the launch of Samsung Galaxy S8. The company has added a Super AMOLED panel with Full-HD+ resolution (2220×1080 pixels) and 18.5:9 aspect ratio on the Galaxy A6+.

Image credit: Rehan Hooda

Image credit: Rehan Hooda

Even though the colors and the contrast levels on the screen are excellent, there is still one fundamental issue with the device depending on how you like to use your smartphone. The problem here is the humongous size of the display making it almost impossible for one hand operation. Even with my comparatively large hands, it was almost impossible to reach the diagonally top edge of the device with my thumb.

Image credit: Rehan Hooda

Image credit: Rehan Hooda

It would have been comparatively better if the device actually had a near bezel-less display instead of the tall display. Apart from that, there were no issues with the display of the device regardless of the situation that I was using it in.

Image credit: Rehan Hooda

Image credit: Rehan Hooda

Apart from the display, Samsung has constructed a great smartphone with a metal back and a glass front and it feels great in the hand putting it up there when it comes to the durability and hand-feel of the device.

Performance and Samsung Experience UI

Under the hood, the Galaxy A6+ comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 octa-core chipset paired with 4GB of RAM, and 64GB expandable storage. This is likely to be the Achilles heel for the device, one part where the entire package disappoints.

Image credit: Rehan Hooda

The reason for this is not because the device is bad, but because the competition is offering far superior hardware for the same price when compared to this phone. In fact, one can find similar hardware with devices below Rs 10,000 in the market leading me to wonder what Samsung was thinking of while deciding on this processor for the Galaxy A6+.

The performance of the device is not as bad, but the device is a bit slow along with less than stellar performance while jumping in and out of a number of apps. Its performance wouldn’t be a problem if it were priced less. But at Rs 23,990, users expect better.

Image credit: Rehan Hooda

Gaming performance is decent in casual games such as Temple Run 2, but you will see noticeably longer load times when it comes to games such as Asphalt 8, and Modern Combat 5 with some skipped frames, or lag. Small things as the split second of the blank screen when the phone loads all the icons on the home screen don’t help my opinion of the device.

One thing worth noting is that the device did not get heated up even while pushing the device with heavy gaming sessions for hours at end. It did get somewhat warm but the heat dissipated quickly enough thanks to the all-metal back.

Image credit: Rehan Hooda

Samsung has added the usual Android-based Experience UI with the A6+ along with a number of in-house apps such as the Themes app, App store and Samsung Mall in addition to all the substitute apps that Samsung wants you to use in place of the Google apps. The company has also added Samsung Pay Mini in the device software along with Bixby, none of which served of much assistance as I prefer to use Google Tez personally while Bixby is nowhere near as good as Google Assistant.

Image credit: Rehan Hooda

However, the under-powered processor does not bode well with all the bloatware regardless of the optimizations that Samsung has implemented with Experience UI.

Camera

Just in pure specifications, the smartphone is equipped with a rear dual-camera setup with a 16-megapixel primary sensor with f/1.7 aperture, and a 5-megapixel secondary sensor with f/1.9 aperture.

Image credit: Rehan Hooda

Samsung has added a 24-megapixel camera up front with a f/1.9 aperture with a dedicated LED flash for selfies. Moving to the camera software, the company has added a number of options in the camera software, some of which are meaningful for the users.

 

 

 

 

 

However, I wish that Samsung makes some changes to make the experience a bit more user-friendly instead of the somewhat convoluted UI. What I mean by that is it would have been better if the company made it easier to switch from shooting photos to video simply by swiping from one of the vertical edges instead of switching to the ‘Bixby Vision’ visual search inside the camera UI.

Image credit: Rehan Hooda

Talking about the image quality, the device managed to take good images in proper light with good color reproduction, contrast, and sharpness. The device does fall short in dynamic range with blown out parts. However, the image quality falls apart in anything less than ideal conditions as noise tends to creep into the images. The images shot in low-light need quite a bit of work if the company has to take on the competition.

Battery

Samsung has packed a 3,500mAh battery in the device which will last you through a complete working day without any issues. It is likely that this is because of the power-efficient Full-HD+ Super AMOLED screen along with the low-clocked processor that is helping with the good battery backup. the device lasted about 7-7.75 hours on my moderate to heavy usage that included 1-1.5 hours of gaming, 1.5-2 hours of music, 15-20 photos, three email accounts on sync and constant WhatsApp and Telegram messages throughout the day.

Verdict: Is Samsung Galaxy A6+ worth the money?

Samsung probably realized that the price tag of Rs 25,990 was not going to work for the Galaxy A6+ so they decided to reduce it by Rs 2,000 to the current pricing of Rs 23,990. What was surprising was that the company decided to make this price cut so soon after the launch of the phone.

Image credit: Rehan Hooda

This move was likely to ensure that the Galaxy A6+ stays somewhat relevant and competitive in the cut-throat Indian smartphone market. The price change can be seen both online on Amazon India as well as offline stores so regardless of where you buy the smartphone from, Galaxy A6+ will make your wallet Rs 23,990 lighter.

Image credit: Rehan Hooda

Nonetheless, here is my problem with the A6+. regardless of this price cut, even after including all the exchange offers one can use to bring down the price to the device, it is really hard to recommend this device. This difficulty is not because of the build quality, display, or even the battery of the device. But, as mentioned earlier, the internal specifications of the device are to be blamed for not being powerful enough to take on the competition. In addition to the weak hardware, the camera also does not come with a good camera making it less than ordinary in two critical sections.

While Samsung does need to consider the ‘offline premium’ – the additional costs to make the phone available at neighborhood retail stores – in this particular case it’s a bit too much. At Rs 23,990, the phone is simply too expensive to be featuring these specifications.

Image credit: Rehan Hooda

Because of these problems, I would want to conclude that only look for the Galaxy A6+ if you are a dedicated Samsungloyalist can can’t think of a smartphone from any other brand. Instead, you can look to a number of smartphones from the competition that offer more powerful hardware for about half the price of the A6+. Some of the noteworthy offerings include Xiaomi Redmi Note 5, Note 5 Pro, and even the upcoming Xiaomi Mi A2, Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1, Moto G6, the recently launched Huawei Nova 3i, and more.

Published:Fri, July 27, 2018 11:25am

Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 shown off in a video suggests face, not fingerprint, scanning

By James Rogerson 27 July 2018

 

   

In two colors

We’ve seen plenty of renders of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4, but now we’ve seemingly seen the slate on video, giving us a close look at it in both black and white or grey shades.

Shared by SlashLeaks, the footage only lasts ten seconds, but you can see that there’s no fingerprint scanner, with the slate instead likely relying on a face scanner, as has been rumored before.

Despite that the bezels still seem fairly large and probably could have housed a fingerprint scanner if Samsung wanted them to.

Other details you’ll note include the single-lens camera on the back and the shiny, likely glass rear of the Galaxy Tab S4.

 

 

Could be coming very soon

There’s not really anything new here but the tablet shown in the video lines up with previous leaks, and while it’s not clear where the video was shot, it looks like some kind of product demonstration, suggesting that the slate is more or less complete and probably close to launch.

That also lines up with other things we’ve heard, as Samsung is holding a live streamon August 1 which could well be for the slate. Failing that, we might see it at IFA 2018 at the end of August.

We've also seen a full specs list for the Galaxy Tab S4

Via Phone Arena

New Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Teaser Out Ahead of August 9 Launch; Hints Better Battery Life

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Rendered Image (Photo Credits: theinquirer)

TECHNOLOGY JULY, 27 2018CHARANPREET MANKOO

Samsung, a leading smartphone making giant, is gearing up for the launch of new Galaxy Note 9 on August 9, 2018. The upcoming smartphone has been one of the hottest topics with new renders surfacing each day. Ahead of the launch, the Korean smartphone making company has released a new teaser of the Galaxy Note 9 which gives clear hint that the handset will be equipped with a bigger battery, which is smartphones biggest issue. The 30-second teaser from Samsung focused on the modern-day scenario where a smartphone battery drains out at a bad time.

https://youtu.be/Y-37lkw_uaQ

Moreover, the company is expected to release a number of teasers till Galaxy Note 9 Unpacked event which is scheduled to happen on August 9. Previously, there have been rumours that Samsung will be introducing a bigger battery on Note 9, the teaser though now confirms the same. The new device from Samsung is reportedly believed to be backed by a 4,000mAh battery giving up to 25 hours of non-stop video playback at maximum brightness. Also, it will also be a significant improvement over the predecessor which packs a 3,300mAh battery.

On the specs front, the flagship device from will be powered by a new Exynos chipset, though China and US market model will be fitted with a Snapdragon 845 SoC. The new Exynos chipset is speculated to perform better than the predecessor fitted on Galaxy S9 and S9+. Though rumoured, the new Galaxy Note 9 could be offered in 3 variants - 6GB/128GB, 8GB/128GB & 8GB RAM/256GB. 

https://youtu.be/Y-37lkw_uaQ

Previous reports have also hinted that the phablet will carry a bigger display. The smartphone is reportedly believed to sport 6.4-inch display panel; however, an official confirmation on the same is awaited. In the camera department, the smartphone is supposed to be packed with a dual camera module, which is expected to come with significant improvements for catching up with the likes of Huawei P20 Pro, HTC U12+ and others.

Windows 10 will soon use AI to predict the best time to reboot for updates

Windows Update is about to get a lot less annoying

By Cohen Coberly on July 26, 2018 20

Whether you love or hate Windows 10, the platform's users almost universally take issue with the way Windows Update functions. If you leave your computer for even a few minutes, Windows may arbitrarily decide it's a good time to update and reboot your machine.

Usually, this is a minor inconvenience at worst. Most updates only take a few minutes to install, and restarts are generally quick on modern machines. However, occasionally, you may have been in the middle of important work or gaming with your friends when you decide to take a short bathroom or coffee break.

Naturally, during those situations, a random reboot can be pretty frustrating. There's good news now, though. Starting with the next Windows 10 semi-annual update, Microsoft plans to implement "machine learning models" to make Windows' automatic rebooting a bit smarter.

...if you leave your computer on overnight, Windows could theoretically detect that and implement important updates while you sleep.

Specifically, the tech will be able to learn your habits and predict when you'll be gone for an extended period of time. To speculate, if you go shopping for a few hours every Friday at 6PM, Windows may start to choose then to restart and apply updates. Alternatively, if you leave your computer on overnight, Windows could theoretically detect that and implement important updates while you sleep.

On the other hand, if you tend to get up several times throughout the day for short walks or snack breaks, Windows may learn to avoid updating during those times.

It'll be a while before the general public gets access to this feature, but Windows Insiders can download the latest Redstone 5 preview build to check it out early.

The hot new smartphone Trump tried to ban dropped to its lowest price ever on Amazon

MOBILE12 HOURS AGO

Maren Estrada

July 26th, 2018 at 6:52 PM

Trump’s administration went out of its way to stop wireless carriers and Best Buy from selling Huawei phones. Why? For absolutely no reason, that’s why. If you want one of the best phones on the planet that packs the single best smartphone camera in the world, you want the Huawei P20 Pro. You won’t find it at your local carrier, but it’s in stock right now on Amazon at its lowest price ever. A 64GB iPhone X will set you back $1,000, but the P20 Pro with 128GB of storage only costs $810.

$809.99

Huawei P20 Pro (CLT-L29) 6GB / 128GB 6.1-inches LTE Dual SIM Factory Unlocked - International S…

Available from Amazon
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Here are some highlights from the product page:

Dual Nano-SIM (4G + 4G) ; 4G LTE & 3G work with AT&T and T-Mobile ; DOES NOT work with Sprint, Verizon, U.S. Cellular and all other CDMA carriers ; LTE compatibility: This is international stock, varies per carrier (ensure to check with your carrier before purchase)Hisilicon Kirin 970 Octa-core (4×2.36 GHz Cortex-A73 & 4×1.8 GHz Cortex-A53) CPU ; 128GB ROM, 6GB RAM ; 4000 mAh battery.Main Camera: Triple: 40 MP (RGB, f/1.8 aperture) + 20 MP (Monochrome, f/1.6 aperture) + 8 MP (Telephoto, f/2.4 aperture), supports autofocus (laser focus, deep focus, phase focus, contrast focus); Front Camera: 24 MP, f/2.0 aperture, supports fixed focal length.6.1 inches, OLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors.Package Content : Huawei P20 Pro (CLT-L29) , USB-C Earphones , Charger , USB-C Cable , USB-C to 3.5 mm Headphone Jack Adapter , Flexible Clear Case , Quick Start Guide , Eject Tool. PLEASE NOTE: this is an international version of the phone that comes with no warranty in the US

Huawei wants to beat Samsung to market with a foldable smartphone of its own

July 26th, 2018 at 10:02 PM

One of the hotly anticipated handsets of 2019 is Samsung’s first foldable handset. We used to call it the Galaxy X until earlier this week, when we learned that Galaxy X might be Samsung’s first gaming phone, which doesn’t fold. Then we learned Galaxy F might be the real name of the handset.

Whatever it is, the Samsung foldable is expected to launch in early 2019. But when it finally arrives, after more than two years of speculation and rumors, the Galaxy foldable phone might not be the first phone of its kind in the world. Huawei seems very eager to beat Samsung to market.

As it is right now, we don’t have real foldable handsets. We do have ZTE Axon M-like devices (below) that are practically two smartphone displays joined by a hinge. That’s not what we expect from this new form factor, which means we’re still waiting for someone to make the first foldable smartphone in the world.

Image Source: ZTE

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard that Huawei is working on a foldable smartphone of its own — and, to be clear, everyone else is also working on something. But Huawei wants to beat Samsung to market, a new report from Nikkei Asian Review reveals.

Huawei is going to partner with local display supplier BOE for the flexible OLED screen that would go inside this unnamed Huawei foldable handset.

The first batch would be limited, but Huawei and BOE want just to beat Samsung to market. “Huawei’s planned volume could be limited to some 20,000 to 30,000 units, or even less, for a small group of first-wave adopters,” a source said. “The effort is mainly to demonstrate its technological capability and to attract the industry’s attention and media coverage.”

The product will hit the market by “very early 2019,” according to Yuanta Investment Consulting analyst Jeff Pu.

“The Chinese company wants to be the first in the industry even if the display technology from its panel supplier might not be that ready like Samsung,” he said.

The launch date depends on the development of the technology and the durability of the foldable panels, the report notes.

While Huawei wants to attract the attention of smartphone buyers, BOE is going after bigger fish. The company has been rumored for years to eye Apple’s iPhone supply business. BOE has been heavily investing in OLED display manufacturing plants, in the hopes that it will attract Apple’s attention.

For Huawei, it’s only logical to partner with a local company that’s heavily subsidized by the government. It’s not like Samsung will provide foldable screens to any rival, especially Huawei before its foldable phone hits the market.

The report doesn’t mention price details for the unnamed foldable Huawei phone, but a WitsView analyst explains profitability isn’t a major concern for this project. “Profitability for this project is not the first priority for the two Chinese companies,” Eric Chiou said.

It’s unclear at this time what kind of specs Huawei’s foldable phone will have to offer, but we’re probably looking at top of the line hardware.

Samsung’s Galaxy foldable phone, also supposed to be a limited run in the first year, is rumored to cost $1,500 to $2,000 because of the extra costs that went into creating this sophisticated handset.

Huawei is currently the world’s third-largest handset maker behind Apple, but the company plans to overtake the iPhone maker soon. Next order of business would be displacing Samsung, which has been the world’s largest handset maker for a few years now.

As for BOE, check out the video below to see its foldable smartphone concepts in action:

Now you can use Google Assistant to map out your day

And do a lot of other stuff, too

By Shoshana Wodinsky on July 17, 2018 1:46 pm

  

Google

Google just announced that it will introduce a “visual snapshot” feature in Assistant to summarize what’s happening in your day.

The feature, which is available on Android and iOS devices starting this week, will curate a user’s personal information into a single, scrollable interface — from flight times to restaurant reservations to scheduled meetings. The app will also integrate these “snapshots” with whatever notes and lists are jotted into a user’s other note-taking apps, including Google Keep, Any.do, and Todoist. Assistant can also factor in the time needed for your daily commute, depending on whether you drive, bike, or walk there.

Image: Google

When you move from place to place throughout the day, your overview will be updated. Android users can check for updates by tapping on the blue inbox icon at the top of Assistant’s home screen, and iOS users can check for updates with a long press of the home button upon launching the app, according to CNET.

Assistant will also be expanding to include recommendations for music, podcasts, nearby events, and even the stocks you follow.

How to install Android P on your Pixel right now (or roll back to Oreo)

Get the Android P Developer Preview on your phone right away.

JERRY HILDENBRAND

2 Jul 2018

The Android P beta is here, and its first proper update brings it up to Developer Preview 3.

The main way to load the Android P preview is to enrol in the Android Beta Program, which makes it super easy to opt in and out of the program. If you're more hardcore, or want to manually flash the Android P developer preview, we have those instructions, too.

• The easy way
• The harder way

The easy way — Android Beta Program

If you don't want to mess with unlocking your bootloader or the command line, you will get an update to the Android P if you're part of the Android Beta program. That means that if you have one of the eligible devices, you can simply visit the Android Beta portal and opt-in to the beta, which will then prompt Google to send your phone or tablet an over-the-air update.

1. Head to Android Beta program portal on your Pixel phone.
2. Sign into the Google account associated with that phone.
3. Scroll down to Your eligible devices.
4. Find the device you want to enrol in the Beta program and tap Opt in.
5. Follow the prompts to accept the over-the-air download.

Note: To leave the Beta program, simply tap the Opt out button on the Android Beta Program page to unenroll. Your phone will receive an over-the-air update to return to the latest stable version of Android, but your phone will be wiped clean upon rebooting, so back up your stuff.

Which devices are eligible for the Android Beta Program?

The preview is supported on the following phones and tablets:

• Pixel 2
• Pixel 2 XL
• Pixel
• Pixel XL

The following phones are also eligible to download the Android P Beta, but you'll need to follow the individual install instructions linked below:

• Nokia 7 Plus
• OnePlus 6
• Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S
• Essential PH‑1
• Sony Xperia XZ2
• OPPO R15 Pro
• Vivo X21

Learn more about the Android P Beta on non-Google devices

The harder way — Flashing through bootloader

Before we go through the steps of sideloading Android updates, it is strongly recommended that you have previous knowledge of working with the Android SDK (software development kit) and the Terminal (OS X or Linux) or Command Prompt (Windows), as it is possible to harm your device if something were to go wrong in the following process.

If you need to download the Android SDK you can grab it from the Android Development website and follow their instructions on how to install it correctly. For the following process, all you will need is the adb and fastboot files which are located in the Platform Tools folder, so make sure to read the description at the dev site and grab the right download.

Additionally, all the following commands are written as they would be in Terminal on a Linux or OS X platform. If you are following this guide and using a Windows machine, you will not need to use the "./" seen in the guide. Just type the rest of the command line by line in the order they are listed and you'll be good.

Enable developer settings and USB debugging

1. Go to your Settings and scroll down to About Phone/Tablet.
2. Tap on the Build number seven times until the dialog box says you are now a developer.
3. Go back to the Settings menu and you should find a new option called Developer options. Tap into the Developer options.
4. Make sure that the developer options are turned on and that USB debugging is checked on.
5. Plug your device into your computer and tap "OK" on the dialog box asking you to Allow USB debugging while connected to the computer. You can also select to always allow access on that computer.

If done correctly, this will be everything you will need to do on your phone or tablet for the moment.

Unlocking your bootloader

Pixel phones bought from Google directly have a bootloader you can unlock. If you want to manually flash software, you'll need to do this.

To do this you must first boot into your bootloader. You can either manually turn off your phone or tablet and hold down the power button and the volume down button to enter your device's Bootloader Menu or you can enter the following commands into your terminal or command prompt.

Run the following command to make sure your device is properly connected to your computer. If it returns a string of characters it means that you are all set to start updating your device.

./adb devices

Now to enter into the Bootloader menu just run the following command.

./adb reboot bootloader

At the bottom of the screen, there will be several things listed including the lock state of the device. This should say locked unless you have unlocked your bootloader in the past and never went back and locked it again.

To unlock your bootloader, which is required only when flashing a stock firmware image (not sideloading an update), you must enter the following commands. Remember that when unlocking your phone's bootloader it will factory reset your device, so you will lose everything stored on it. If you have not yet backed up anything important on your device you can hit the power button while Start is highlighted in the Bootloader menu and this will boot you back into your device like normal. Now back to unlocking your bootloader.

Now type:

./fastboot flashing unlock

A dialog will appear on the device asking if you are sure about unlocking. Again this will factory reset your device, so if you want to back out of the process you just need to select no with the power button. If you are ready to unlock your bootloader you press the volume up button and then the power button to confirm that you wish to unlock your bootloader.

./fastboot reboot-bootloader

It is recommended to reboot the bootloader just to give itself a check to make sure everything is working correctly before moving on to the next step.

Flashing the stock firmware image

Now that your bootloader is unlocked, it's time to flash the new firmware. To find the images for the developer preview, head on over to the Developer Preview download page, find your device, and download the latest factory image available. It is easiest to then uncompress the file in the Platform Toolsfolder you downloaded (where the adb and fastboot files are) so that you don't have to type the path to the different files when flashing the firmware. (Or if you know that you can drag a file into a terminal window to copy the path, just do that.)

To begin, make sure you are still in the bootloader menu on your device and double check that your bootloader is in fact unlocked.

First, make sure that your computer is communicating correctly with your phone or tablet. As long as your device's serial number comes back as a connected device you are ready to begin updating your device.

./fastboot devices

Now it is time to flash the updated bootloader with the following command.

./fastboot flash bootloader [bootloader file].img

You will not see anything on the screen of your device but there should be a dialog in your terminal or command prompt. When it is done flashing the bootloader you should reboot back into the bootloader to make sure everything is still working correctly.

./fastboot reboot-bootloader

Next, you flash the updated radios. This step is only necessary if you are updating the firmware of a phone or tablet that has cellular radios built into it.

./fastboot flash radio [radio file].img

./fastboot reboot-bootloader

Finally, it's time to flash the actual system image to your phone or tablet.

Warning:The following line of code will wipe your device. Normally, you can remove the "-w" from the command but when moving to a beta version of Android it's not guaranteed to work.

./fastboot -w update [image file].zip

When this is done, your phone will restart itself and boot up normally. As this process clears all data from your device, it will take slightly longer for your device to boot up for the first time. Once you have been greeted with the device setup walkthrough process, you know you have successfully flashed a new version of the firmware.

If you do not want to enter the commands manually there are scripts included in the compressed folder containing the system image that will do most but not all of the heavy lifting for you. The flash-all script files will automate the flashing of the bootloader, radios (if needed), and the system image. The problem with this process is that you must first make sure that your phone is in the bootloader menu and its bootloader must be unlocked before starting the script. Of course, if these are not already done the script will fail to run and nothing will happen.

Going back to Oreo

When you've had your fun using the Android P Beta, and you've figured out that it's not stable enough to use as a daily driver, it's time to go back to Oreo. Thankfully the process is simple, and you just learned how to do it! Simply go back through the same steps above, except for two changes: you don't need to unlock your bootloader again, and you'll want to download the Oreo factory image from Google instead. Get back to stock, and maybe you'll check out a future Developer Preview build.

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This sounds worse than it is, so don't worry. But we also understand it can seem like an impossibly difficult thing the first time you're trying it. That's OK, we all felt the same way when we first tried it, too. Just take the time to read through everything before you start clicking and tapping things and you'll do just fine.

If you have any trouble along the way, be sure to hop into the forums and ask for help!