Honor 7X confirmed to receive Android Oreo update in the US on April 30 The Honor 7X is one of those decent mid-range smartphones that have been priced pretty low to be more appealing to consumers. Still, it took the Chinese handset maker many months to introduce the Honor 7X in the United States, but when it did, it promised to offer an Oreo update to go with it. Previous reports pointed Q2 as the timeframe Honor is targeting for the release of Android 8.0 Oreo for Honor 7X. Today, the company confirmed that the Honor 7X will receive the major Android OS update in the United States beginning April 30. The update includes EMUI 8.0 and possibly the April security patch, but other than that there's nothing else we know about it. Honor 7X owners should get their “Check for updates” buttons ready since starting April 30, Android 8.0 Oreo and EMUI 8.0 should be available for download. The Honor 7X is available for purchase in the United States for $199. The phone comes in three color options: Black, Blue, and Red. All three colors include 3GB RAM and 32GB internal memory, which can be further expanded via microSD card.

Latest Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ Update Improves Camera Stability and More Over the past few weeks, a lot of Samsung devices have been receiving all kinds of updates. Almost all eligible devices now have Oreo, while the others continue to receive security patches. In a move that surprised many, even the ill-fated Galaxy Note 7 FE began receiving Oreo starting yesterday. It’s good to see Samsung allocating this much bandwidth to regular software updates, and hope that the trend continues. Today, the company announced an unscheduled update for its last years’ flagships; the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus. Shortly after receiving Oreo, both the devices got an additional update which brought a few bug fixes and optimizations. Today’s update is no different, and it improves the stability of the camera, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi. Additonally, the also brings the April security patch to the devices, which fixes seven critical Android vulnerabilities and eight vulnerabilities in Samsung’s software. The build number for the update is G950FXXU1CRD7 and G955FXXU1CRD7 for the Galaxy S8+ and S8+ respectively, and it is around 570MB in size. It’s a bit disappointing that the devices don’t support Project Treble, so even minor updates often end up to be a few hundred megabytes heavy. One of the main advantages of Project Treble compatible devices is the fact that it allows manufacturers to roll out updates quicker, as they don’t have to wait for a green signal from hardware manufacturers such as Qualcomm. Additionally, Project Treble also allows for the phone to have two system partitions, which allows the update to be installed easily. For now, the only market that has received the update is Germany. Taking a look at some of the trends set by the past updates, it’ll only be a matter of days before it begins rolling out globally. To check if you’re eligible, open the Settings app on your phone, navigate to the Software update menu, then tap Download updates manually.

Apple is developing a standalone AR & VR headset complete with 8K displays: report Apple is working on a new headset that will utilize both VR and AR technologies. The introduction of the iPhone X saw a very limited entry into the AR world by Apple, while in terms of VR, the Silicon Valley-based giant is yet to release any products. According to a new report, however, both technologies be the basis of the brand’s next big product. More specifically, Apple is reportedly working on a brand new standalone headset that would integrate both VR and AR support, although it is still in the early stages of development. The tech product will reportedly sport two displays, one for each eye, with an incredible 8K resolution, or 7680×4320 pixels. For reference, the HTC Vive Pro VR headset features a 1400 x 1600 resolution per display and the Galaxy S9 boasts a 1440 x 2960. In addition to the displays, Apple’s headset will also come equipped with a number of cameras that will observe the user’s surroundings while all of this will be powered by a new processor developed by Apple itself that will utilize the upcoming 5-nanometer technology – the A11 processor inside the iPhone X uses the 10-nanometer process. As an added bonus to users, the whole package will reportedly support wireless use, with high-speed wireless connection support currently being developed in order to ensure high-quality imagery at all times. At this point in time, the new project is codenamed T288 and is currently set for release during 2020. If this is the case, Apple could potentially announce the product ahead of time towards the end of next year, with a launch following several months later. Regardless of Apple’s launch plans for the product, it appears the iPhone giant certainly sees both AR and VR as a core part of its future, with CEO Tim Cook previously stating that the technology could be as important as the iPhone.

New test shows that Google Assistant is the smartest virtual personal assistant Virtual personal assistants were tested in a new study that contained 4,952 questions that were asked to all four assistants. Each response was divided into one of five categories. Did the assistant answer verbally? Was the answer sourced from a database like the Knowledge Graph? Did the answer come from a third party source like Wikipedia? Did the assistant fail to understand the question? Did the assistant understand the question, but fail to answer correctly? The four virtual personal assistants tested were Alexa, Microsoft's Cortana on the Invoke smart speaker, Google Assistant on the Google Home, Google Assistant on a smartphone, and Siri. While all four can handle other requests such as setting an alarm, ordering flowers and getting dinner reservations, this testing was done strictly to measure which assistant is the most knowledgeable. The overall winner was Google Assistant on a smartphone. The latter attempted to answer the most questions (in other words, it said things like "Sorry, I don’t know that" fewer times than the competition) and had the highest percentage of "fully and correctly answered"questions. Cortana on the the Invoke was second in the percentage of correct answers, followed by Google Assistant on Google Home, Alexa and then Siri. Back in February, Apple's virtual assistant finished last in a study that was limited to assistants from smart speakers only. Comparing the 2018 test to last year's results, only Cortana on the Invoke showed an improvement in the percentage of correct answers (86% to 92.1%). Google Assistant on a smartphone was not part of the study last year. While Alexa's percentage declined, it did increase the number of questions it attempted to answer by 2.7 times over last year. Cortana had the lowest percentage of flat out incorrect answers, followed by Google Assistant on both a smartphone and on a Home smart speaker. All of those assistants were wrong well under 1% of the time. On the other hand, the percentage of wrong answers spoken by Alexa rose sharply from just under 1% in 2017 to over 3% this year. Siri answered incorrectly about 3% of the time last year, and a bit over 3% this year. Google Assistant on a smartphone had the largest number of answers that were attributed to a third party source. This happened on over half of its responses. Alexa had the fewest number of answers sourced from a third-party, while the Invoke's Cortana showed the only year-to-year decline in this category. While Siri relied on a third party source only a bit over 20% of the time, it had the largest year-to-year increase. Alexa had the largest percentage of questions that it answered with a joke, followed by Siri, which had a big decline in this category. This test seems to confirm what has become obvious; Siri is losing ground quickly. The test also tells us that perhaps Alexa has become a bit overrated and Cortana underrated. It also reveals that Google Assistant is actually the smartest virtual personal assistant at this point in time.

ZTE patents another dual notch display smartphone design Saying that ZTE and especially its smartphone business is currently in a rather tough spot is kind of an understatement. With a ban from purchasing Qualcomm chips already in effect and rumors of a potential Android licence revoke, it really does seem like the company's entire handset business is in jeopardy. ZTE, however, seems to be rather undeterred by all the commotion, or at least positive enough to continue its design work. A recent patent filing, with China’s State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) shows a new ZTE handset, featuring a pair of screen notches. It comes hot on the heels of yet another dual-notched ZTE design, dubbed the "Iceberg". So, it's safe to say the Chinese manufacturer has really taken the controversial notch fad to heart. Literally doubling down on the concept might not be a bad idea either, since with every polarizing design trend, there's always the possibility to hit niche gold status with just the right kind of odd offer. Looking at the newer of the two submitted sketches, there are some notable differences. Unlike the ZTE Iceberg, with its wide top earpiece cut-out and a seemingly empty bottom one, the newer handset is a lot more reminiscent of the Essential PH-1 phone. The top part of the display is only disturbed by the selfie camera module. While, on the opposite side, the notch houses what looks like a home button/fingerprint reader. We can definitely appreciate some good old physical controls on a modern handset and so will others. Design concepts and patents, however, have a long way to go until becoming real viable products. Considering ZTE's ongoing and rather severe brushes with the US government and the sanctions already in place, we can realistically expect to see one of these new devices no early than mid-2019. If at all.

Essential Phone is now officially available in five more countries The Essential Phone was for a long time a US affair, but that's about to change since the company behind the flagship smartphone announced it has decided to open official stores in four more countries. In fact, Essential started to sell its smartphone in Canada earlier this month via Amazon, while one carrier offered a limited variety of color options as well. However, starting today, Essential confirmed that customers in five other countries will be able to order the Essential Phone from dedicated stores. According to Essential, official stores are now opened in five more countries: Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the UK. There are some special terms and conditions that apply when you buy the Essential Phone from these countries, as well as additional terms applicable to international orders. Five more countries might not be that much in the grand scheme of things, but for a company that only shipped 90,000 units during the first six months after the Essential Phone was launched, could be an important sale boost.

Xiaomi reportedly working hard with TSMC on its custom Surge S2 chipset A little over a year ago, Xiaomi officially showcased its in-house developed, custom Surge S1 chipset. At the time, it came off as a rather bold step in a territory, typically only traversed by big-name players, the likes of Samsung and Huawei. Unfortunately, the whole endeavour dies out quickly. Still, it seems Xiaomi hasn't given up on the idea yet. With its increased popularity, market expansion and, consequently, order and supply chain volume hikes, it seems the Chinese OEM is now confident enough to take another stab at a custom SoC. According to industry sources, Xiaomi has been throwing increasingly bigger orders at many Taiwanese manufacturers and players in the IT supply chain, including Foxconn Electronics, Inventec, Largan Precision and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). An alleged secret contract with the latter, details the Surge S2 chipset, that was rumoured around this year's MWC event, but is yet to see the light of day. As per the scoop, it will be based on TSMC's 16nm process and employ an octa-core design - four Cortex-A73 units, running at 2.2GHz and four Cortex-A53 ones, clocked at 1.8GHz. The processors should be accompanied by a Mali G71MP8 and compatibility with UFS 2.1 storage and LPDDR4 memory. Oddly enough, the source claims there is no CDMA support in the Surge S2 specs sheet. Although, it might not even be finalized yet. All things considered, this is clearly not a flagship chipset proposition, but with a suggested performance rating somewhere in the Kirin 960 ballpark, the Surge S2 could prove to be a very successful mass-marketable platform. It all seems to come down to how far Xiaomi can continue ramping up its price to performance ratios. Which is definitely tied to the scale and quality of its manufacturer and supplier relations. And things seem to be clearly looking up. As per other industry sources, Xiaomi president Lin Bin recently called on Largan Precision to secure more production capacity for multi-lens modules to use in its high-end devices, throughout the second half of 2018. Xiaomi's relations with Foxconn are also strengthening overall. The two recently set up a PCB lamination plant in India. Xiaomi might also be considering an IPO issue to raise funds for an even more rapid expansion and research and development investments.

BlackBerry Athena spotted on TENAA website BlackBerry has always played a game of its own within a pretty specific niche of the smartphone market. Despite all the turmoil surrounding the legendary brand in recent years, that has remained mostly true under TCL management, as well. Having said that, 850,000 BlackBerry Keyone units shipped, might not sound like much, but it was apparently enough to merit a successor. Codenamed "Athena", it was first spotted in a few detailed renders earlier this month. But given the visual similarities with the original Keyone, those were subject to some forgery speculation from the very get-go. However, a recently unearthed TENAA listing for a very visually similar device mostly clears the air on the matter. Apparently the "Athena" is real and will likely be released under the Keytwo or perhaps Keyone (2018) moniker, pretty soon. Looking at the new photos, there do appear do be some discrepancies, compared to the original renders. For instance, while both place the BlackBerry Convenience key on the right-hand side this time around, its shape and position, relative to the power button appear to be slightly different. The, likely plastic or rubberised pattern on the back of the TENAA device also appears to extend all the way to the top bezel - a departure from the original Keyone design, as well as the leaked new model renders. These, however, are minor details that could easily be explained with an ongoing design revision progress. All the important bits about the "Athena", the ones BlackBerry fans are likely to appreciate, are still present and accounted for. Like, the slightly re-designed, but still essentially identical full QWERTY keyboard. And right above it, what looks like another 3:2 aspect ratio touchscren. Just like on the Keyone. This time around, however, the back of the phone houses a dual camera setup - a BlackBerry first. The original renders, also feature a 3.5mm audio jack and a Type-C port in clear sight. Unfortunately, the TENAA listing does not contain any hardware information beyond this, so far. It does divulge the phone's BBF100-4 model number. Which, by sheer similarity to the BBB100-X designation of the Keyone, makes the successor scenario that little bit more credible.

HTC U12+ with mirror-like finish & four cameras leaks out A number of hands-on images appear to reveal the final design of HTC’s upcoming U12+. It has previously been reported that the Taiwan-based company would release just one flagship device this year that would aim to compete with Samsung’s Galaxy S9+ and Huawei’s P20 Pro. And now, with rumors pointing towards a mid-May announcement, various leaked images reveal the device in its entirety. As can be seen in the photos, HTC will follow the recent 18:9 display trend. Interestingly, however, it appears the company has chosen not to include a notch, instead opting for reduced top and bottom bezels. The former of which is home to the in-ear speaker and a dual-camera selfie setup. In regards to the rear, a mirror-like glass finish is present and the panel is home to yet another dual-camera setup. This is accompanied by a dual-tone LED flash and what appears to be a laser autofocus system. In addition, adorning the rear will also be a circular fingerprint scanner. Moving on to the frame of the HTC U12+, the right side is home to a power button and two volume keys, while on the left side, the slot for the SIM card tray is also present – this will likely double as a microSD card slot. Also present on the smartphone will be a bottom-firing speaker and a USB Type-C port. Unfortunately, HTC doesn’t appear to have included a headphone jack. On the spec front, the HTC U12+ is rumored to ship with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 on the inside. This is expected to be coupled with 6GB of RAM and possibly 128GB of storage, although HTC will most likely make other storage variants available. Also, the U12+ will ship with Android 8.1 Oreo straight out of the box. Like Sony, HTC appears to be downsizing its smartphone business in the hope of improving profitability – the company lost over $570 million in 2017. In doing so, however, HTC has confirmed that it will reduce the number of smartphones it releases during the year and if rumors are accurate, this could also include the number of flagships. After all, the brand is reportedly skipping a regular HTC U12 altogether, despite a recent listing on Verizon’s website.

Two variants of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 receive certification in China According to images that were published today, it would appear that a couple of Chinese variants of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 have received certification in the country. The China Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (CMIIT) gave the thumbs up to the Samsung SM-N9600 on March 21st of this year. That was followed up with approval for the SM-N9608 on April 24th, 2018, just a few days ago. Unfortunately, the documentation for both models does not include images or specs. Last month, we passed along a rumor that unlike last year's Galaxy Note 8, which was launched in September, Samsung is looking to release the Galaxy Note 9 in July or August. This way, Sammy can avoid a conflict with the expected trio of 2018 iPhones that should be introduced and launched in September. Last month, the SM-N960U went through the Geekbench benchmark test; if legit, the test revealed that the U.S. and Chinese versions of the phone will be powered by the Snapdragon 845 mobile platform. Elsewhere, we expect to see the Exynos 9810 SoC under the hood. The bench mark test listed 6GB of RAM inside, with Android 8.1 pre-installed. We expect the Note 9 to have the same two 12MP cameras on back as the ones found on the Galaxy S9+. Despite earlier denials, there is still a chance that we will see a under-display fingerprint scanner on the phone. We also could see a 4000mAh battery included, and a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display with an aspect ratio of 18.5:9.

Xiaomi expected to ship 100 million smartphones this year, up 43% from 2017 Led by the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S handset, which provides flagship specs at a value price, Xiaomi is hoping to ship 100 million smartphones this year, according to industry estimates. That would be a 43% hike over last year's delivery of 70 million units. In addition, the company might finally enter the U.S. market later this year or early next year. Xiaomi reportedly has met with U.S. carriers to discuss selling Xiaomi's flagship handsets in the U.S. While this might not be the best time for a Chinese based manufacturer to push its wares in the U.S., Xiaomi thus far has escaped the negative issues that have tainted both Huawei and ZTE. Those two manufacturers have been accused of having close ties to the Chinese government and the U.S. government has claimed that the pair engaged in espionage on behalf of Beijing. Earlier this year, government officials warned U.S. consumers not to buy Huawei devices for fear that they could spy on American consumers and corporations. Xiaomi plans on raising funds through a public offering in order to help it increase its smartphone output and expand overseas. Earlier this month, there was talk that the company would sell shares valued at $65-$70 billion through an IPO to be held as soon as next month. The stock would be listed on the NYSE. Meanwhile, companies in Taiwan that are part of Xiaomi's supply chain are expecting new orders from the company due to its plans for global expansion. These firms include contract manufacturer Foxconn, Inventec, multi-lens module company Largan Precision, and TSMC. The latter produces the Qualcomm Snapdragon mobile platform found under the hood of Xiaomi's phones. TSMC is expected to make Qualcomm's 2019 flagship SoC, the Snapdragon 855 mobile platform. This is expected to be the first mobile chip produced using a 7nm FinFet process, although first dibs will reportedly go to the Samsung Galaxy S10. In China, demand for smartphones is said to be rebounding only slightly after the industry suffered through its first down year ever in 2017. For Xiaomi to increase smartphone shipments by 43% this year, it will have to remain red hot in India, and push hard to expand sales outside of its domestic market.

Motorola Moto G6 Play kernel source code released The Motorola Moto G6 Play was launched by the company in the later half of this month, and it's not yet available in most markets around the world. However, that's not stopping the company from releasing its kernel source code. The code is now available for download from GitHub, where it's hosted under device names "aljeter" and "jeter." So developers and enthusiasts can now take a look at the code, and even develop custom ROMs by making changes to it. For those who missed, the company recently released kernel source code for the Moto Z2 Play Oreo update as well.

T-Mobile-Sprint merger officially announced, new company will be called T-Mobile It's finally official. Sprint and T-Mobile have announced they are merging in an all-stock transaction, with the former being valued at $59 billion and the latter at $146 billion. The new company will be called T-Mobile, and will be headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. There will also be a second headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas. T-Mobile US' current CEO and president John Legere will be the CEO of the new company and also serve as as a director. Sprint's CEO Marcelo Claure, on the other hand, will serve on the board of the new T-Mobile. "The combined company will have lower costs, greater economies of scale, and the resources to provide U.S. consumers and businesses with lower prices, better quality, unmatched value, and greater competition," the announcement post said. "The New T-Mobile will employ more people than both companies separately and create thousands of new American jobs." The announcement says over 200,00 people will be working in the new company in the US at the start. Deutsche Telekom (which owns T-Mobile) and SoftBank Group (of which Sprint is a part) are expected to hold approximately 42% and 27% of diluted economic ownership of new T-Mobile, respectively. The remaining part (31% approx) will be held by the public. An announcement video - featuring John Legere and Marcelo Claure - has also been released. Take a look: As part of their focus on 5G development, the companies have also launched a new allfor5g.com website. The deal is yet to receive a nod from regulators. The announcement post says the transaction is expected to by first half of 2019 at the max.

Essential Phone now officially available in the UK, France, Japan, and Canada Essential has announced that its web store is now available in multiple countries around the world. In a tweet sent out through the company's official Twitter account, it was confirmed that those in the UK, France, Japan, and Canada can now officially order the phone as well accessories from the essential.com store. However, if you take a look the company's website, you'll see Essential has a Deutsch version of their site as well, which means we can probably add Germany to the list as well. Expansion is definitely good news for Essential Phone fans in these countries, and it comes at a time when news related to PH-1 successor have started popping up. So it's reasonable to say the next-gen Essential phone will be more widely available. As you can see in the tweet, special terms and conditions apply to orders from these new countries, so you should go through the updated T&C on the company's website.

Samsung confirms plans to release Galaxy S7 and S7 edge Oreo updates by mid-May It looks like we're just a few weeks away from the release of the long-awaited Android 8.0 Oreo update for Samsung Galaxy S7/S7 edge. Not long ago, a Turkish website handled by Samsung said the update will be launched in mid-May, but the information may have been deemed unreliable by many since the same website initially said it would be available much earlier. Well, it appears that the reason the initial information wasn't accurate is that these schedules may change according to the development and approval procedures, which is why we're now looking at a mid-May timeframe for the release of the Galaxy S7/S7 edge Oreo update. The good news is Samsung posted a notice on the Members app aimed at Korean users, which confirms plans to release Android Oreo updates for a handful of Samsung devices, including the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge smartphones. First off, Samsung says it's doing its best to update the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge until mid-May unless there's a major issue with the final build that requires a delay. If that happens, we'll have to wait a while longer. Secondly, three other Samsung handsets are expected to receive Android Oreo updates in the first half of the year. These devices are the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017), Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017), and Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 (LTE, WiFi). Hopefully, Samsung's work on these Oreo updates won't suffer any setbacks so that customers can enjoy the benefits of the newest Android OS version, even after all this time.

iPhone X wins our blind camera comparison vs Huawei P20 Pro, Galaxy S9+, Pixel 2 XL A week ago, we invited you to take part in our blind camera comparison – a comparison where you, our readers, got to vote for the images you liked best without knowing which phone took them. The star of the show was the Huawei P20 Pro and it was running against the iPhone X, the Galaxy S9+, and the Google Pixel 2 XL. So, did the P20 Pro dominate this one? Did its triple camera setup obliterate its competitors? Well, not quite. Huawei's handset won in two out of seven scenes, demonstrating prowess in low light and tendency to produce vibrant colors in daytime. The iPhone X, however, got first spot in three scenes in total, which makes it the winner of this blind camera comparison. The Pixel 2 XL and the Galaxy S9+ scored a point each. Final Results: iPhone X (Winner in 3 scenes) Huawei P20 Pro (Winner in 2 scenes) Samsung Galaxy S9+ (Winner in 1 scene) Google Pixel 2 XL (Winner in 1 scene)

Nokia X6 will be announced on May 16 in China Nokia is prepping a press event in Beijing on May 16 in honor of its Nokia X6 smartphone. It was rumored that the Nokia X would come on April 27 but that was proven to be the start of a 6 day conference that Nokia is holding in China - from April 27 to May 2 - to promote its entire new lineup of smartphones. The Nokia X6 is one of those smartphones. The X6 has been displayed to the general press, which is how we got some clear hands-on photos of it, but the device is locked so we can't gauge its specs. Now Nokia has issued an official press invite, a screenshot taken from the Nokia X6, teasing the time and place of its unveil - May 16 in Beijing. The date coincides with OnePlus' global reveal of the OnePlus 6 and is a day earlier than its Chinese reveal. Both devices will be the first from their manufacturer to carry a notch - coincidence? Yes, probably. Back to the Nokia X6 - so far we know nothing of the specs. What we know is all we've seen from the phone - it will have a 19:9 screen on the front, a glass back housing a dual camera and fingerprint scanner and a metal frame sitting in between the glass.

Samsung Galaxy A6 (2018) and A6+ (2018) prices leak Leak by leak, the Samsung Galaxy A6+ (2018) and Galaxy A6 (2018) are becoming ever clearer and now we have their expected prices as well. The Galaxy A6 (2018) will be priced between €300-€340 while the Galaxy A6+ (2018) will carry a price of €360-€400. Otherwise the newly rumored specs follow what has been leaked and rumored so far, only instead of a Snapdragon 625, the bigger Galaxy A6+ (2018) is projected to have a Snapdragon 450. The Galaxy A6 (2018) will have a 5.6-inch Super AMOLED of 1440x720px resolution, an Exynos 7870 chipset with 3GB or in some countries 4GB of RAM, a 16MP f/1.7 main camera and 16MP f/1.9 front camera - both of which will have an LED flash. The bigger Galaxy A6+ (2018) will carry a bigger 6-inch Super AMOLED with a higher 2220x1080px resolution, a Snapdragon 450 (or possibly a 625), again 3GB or 4GB of RAM and a dual 16MP f/1.7 + 5MP f/1.9 main camera opposite a 24MP f/1.9 selfie camera with LED flash. The Galaxy A6+ (2018) will have a 3,500mAh battery while the Galaxy A6 (2018) a 3,000mAh one. Both phones will launch with Android 8.1 Oreo and a triple slot for two SIM cards and a separate microSD card.

Samsung Galaxy A6+ TENAA listing reveals 6-inch display, 3,500mAh battery The Samsung Galaxy A6+ (2018) has been spotted the website of China's telecom regulatory authority TENAA. While it's already known the device features an infinity display (18.5:9 aspect ratio), the listing confirms few other major specs. Firstly, the images re-confirm a dual camera setup on the back as well as a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor. As per TENAA, the handset has a display size of 6-inch and a resolution of 2220×1080 pixels. It's 160.1×75.7×7.9mm in size and packs in a 3,500mAh battery. Rumors say the Snapdragon 625 SoC powers the Galaxy A6+ (2018) and there is 4GB of RAM. No information yet on pricing and availability, although TENAA certification does confirm the A6 (2018) series is coming to China.

LG "Q Note" trademark suggests smartphone with stylus could be in the works LG could be preparing a new stylus-equipped smartphone according to a new trademark filing. The South Korean company’s last attempt at a device featuring a stylus came nearly one year ago, with the launch of the LG Stylo 3 Plus. According to a trademark for the “Q Note” name by the company, however, it appears LG could be readying another stylus-equipped device. Currently, the LG Q line of devices is relatively new, with the company introducing its first series of smartphones last year, in the form of the LG Q6 and Q8. These acted as the company’s mid-range offerings throughout the year and are understood to have been relatively well received. With the rumored LG Q7 just around the corner, though, the new trademark suggests the company could be working on an expanded range of devices in 2018, one of which could feature the Q7 Note name. If this is the case, the new smartphone would most likely act as a spiritual successor to 2017’s Stylo 3 Plus and would continue to be positioned in the mid-range pricing bracket. In terms of design and release, details are yet to be confirmed, but the device will most likely adopt the 18:9 display aspect ratio and should resemble the company’s upcoming G7 ThinQ flagship. Regarding a release, LG will be unveiling its next high-end smartphone on May 2, but the Q7 line of devices will likely make an appearance later on in the month, with a possible release date happening towards the beginning of June. In any case, though, it will remain to be seen if the company’s next mid-range offering also boasts the “ThinQ” branding.

Galaxy A6 and A6+ completely detailed on Samsung’s Indonesian website with Bixby Earlier today, we saw leaks of the Samsung Galaxy A6, however, it appears that it’s the end of the rumor-era for the Galaxy A6 duo since both devices have been fully detailed on Samsung’s Indonesian website. Starting with the display, both the A6 and A6+ will have Super AMOLED Infinity displays. The smaller model has a 5.6 HD+ while the larger A6+ has a 6-inch FHD+. Over the display, both devices have a front-facing flash. There is a 16MP/24MP sensor here, respectively. Img Only the larger A6+ will have Live Focus like on the Galaxy Note8 and on the Samsung Galaxy S9+. This is achieved with a 16MP+5MP dual camera setup. The smaller A6 has a single 16MP camera. Meanwhile, the battery capacities are 3,000 and 3,500 mAh batteries, respectively.

Samsung officially launches 128GB and 256GB Galaxy S9 and S9+ in the US Today Samsung has decided to bring the 128GB and 256GB Galaxy S9 and S9+ to the USA. Both iterations will become available to pre-order tomorrow, on May 1. They will be released on May 18, exclusively at Samsung.com. We assume the company has surveyed the market and figured out there wouldn't be a lot of demand for these storage versions. Otherwise, selling them exclusively through its online store wouldn't make a lot of sense. Of course, you can still use microSD cards (up to 400GB) even with these models, for a possible maximum grand total of 656GB on your phone if you splurge and go for the one with 256GB built-in. That's definitely a lot of space. The 128GB S9 is priced at $769.99, while for 256GB you'll pay $819.99. The Galaxy S9+ costs $889.99 with 128GB, and $939.99 with 256GB. Both phones and storage options will come in Lilac Purple, Coral Blue, and Midnight Black.

Razer Phone Android 8.1 Oreo update rollout on hold due to issues Razer announced a while ago that it will not offer an Android 8.1 Oreo update to those who bought the Razer Phone, which comes with Nougat on board. However, the company promised the smartphone will be updated directly to Android 8.1 Oreo at some point. True to its promise, Razer started the Android 8.1 Oreo rollout two weeks ago, but the update has yet to reach some markets. Unfortunately, things don't look so good for Razer Phone owners in the UK, as one carrier announced the update has been delayed. According to UK carrier Three, Razer confirmed that Android 8.1 Oreo for Razer Phone has been delayed due to some issues. Three says that it's working closely with Razer “to get a reliable 8.1 software update soon and hopefully a release can be pushed out in the near future.” It's unclear whether the Android 8.1 Oreo update has been delayed in other countries as well, but we know for sure it's already available in the United States. Razer Phone owners who have already updated to Android 8.1 Oreo complain of issues with the SIM card. Apparently, the issue is widespread as consumers all over the world claim they have cellular data problems regardless of the carrier they use. There's no official statement from Razer yet, but since Three confirmed the company has already acknowledged the issue, we're expecting a fix to be released for all Razer Phone users who already updated to Android 8.1 Oreo.

Huawei P20 Pro survives scratch, burn, and bend testing but gets wounded in the proce The Huawei P20 Pro is the latest smartphone to be put through the now-routine scratch, burn, and bend testing by Zack from YouTube channel JerryRigEverything. Huawei's newest flagship starts off decently, but finishes the test in not the best shape. The screen scratches only with a level 6 Mohs pick, and at level 7 there's a deeper groove. Huawei fits the P20 Pro with a plastic screen protector from the factory, but doesn't advertise that there's Gorilla Glass of any kind on top of the display panel. It's just 'tempered glass' of the generic variety. That seems to be a problem because while bend tested, the P20 Pro's front glass cracked. It was just the glass, the AMOLED panel underneath was unscathed. That said, the crack looks like it originated where the level 7 Mohs pick scratched the phone. So the glass may not have cracked had that scratch not been there in the first place. On the other hand, until this point over 100 phones have been put through this testing and most survive intact, with no shattering. In the burn test, the AMOLED screen in the P20 Pro survives for about 20 seconds, but then never recovers. That's par for the course for this particular display technology.

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