Back in March, Xiaomi started sending out beta builds of the Android 9 Pie update for both the Redmi 6 Pro and the Redmi Note 5 Pro to interested testers in India. And now it looks like all the bugs have been ironed out, because the stable update is rolling out for both devices. It's arriving over-the-air in India, as MIUI 10.3.2.0.PDMMIXM for the Redmi 6 Pro, weighing in at 1.6GB. This release includes the May 2019 security patch level. You also get face unlock support for App lock, the ability to stay on the lock screen after using face unlock, and to restrict the opening of the...

It feels as if not a month goes by without Honor announcing a new model in its lineup. While it may seem like excessive market saturation, Honor is strategic in their marketing and release cycles. In particular they have a precise target for devices and it is this strategy that brings us the Honor 20 Pro – a phone you didn’t think they needed but nestles perfectly in their well stocked lineup. Until the ban that is. It is hard to review a Honor or Huawei device right now without the disclaimer that these phones are essentially under a ban. A ban that could prevent future software updates and in the case of the Honor 20 Pro could derail the entire launch . This review cannot be a deep dive into the Honor 20 Pro because our review timeline was significantly shrunk at the requirement of the folks at Honor and as such will really touch on the build quality of the Honor 20 Pro and its unique quad camera array. For a deep dive into everything software, you should check out Mishaal’s deep d...

Samsung made the Galaxy A70 official in March and the Galaxy A80 in April, but while the former has already gone on sale in some markets, including India, the A80 with the unique rotating pop-up camera is still nowhere to be found in stores. That may change very soon. The Korean company is apparently going to hold some exclusive preview events of the Galaxy A80 for interested customers in India next week. Samsung fans in Delhi, Mumbai, and Hyderabad will be able to see and experience it on Saturday, June 8, while people in Bangalore and Kolkata will have the same opportunity on Sunday,...

Samsung is launching the Galaxy M40 in India on June 11. To build up the hype it's already released some teasers, and an official has even outed some information about the handset. Thus, we found out it would be priced around INR 20,000 ($287 or €257 according to the current exchange rates), that its main rear camera would be a 32 MP snapper, and on the front the selfie shooter would have 16 MP resolution. Today more specs of the highest-end Samsung M-series smartphone have been leaked, and despite what past rumors claimed, it looks like it's not getting a 5,000 battery (like the M30),...

Sony's smartphone business is anything but a beacon of hope and huge sales and profitability. Still, the company is in it for the long haul and doesn't plan on exiting this market, even if it is retreating from certain areas. While its sales numbers might not be great, Sony wants to remain relevant, and its latest effort to do that is an infographic. This was shared today on the official blog of its mobile arm, and it's all about the various innovations, records, and world firsts that can be attributed to its past in the mobile business. From the first 4K display in a smartphone (the...

Google has been working quite actively on Digital Wellbeing as of late. The new service from Mountain View’s tech giant had a bit of bad press as it was blamed for the performance issues of some smartphones. Google is working on improving the performance of the Pixel 3 series but we’re told Digital Wellbeing isn’t to blame there . One of the latest new changes to be pushed out by Google adds some extended functionality to its Wind Down feature. Users are now able to turn this feature on during specific days of the week. As I said, Google has been working on Digital Wellbeing frequently as of late. Beyond it being included in those performance issue headlines, Google had begun to add Digital Wellbeing-like features to third-party launchers in Android Q. A couple of weeks later the Pixel Launcher began testing the integration of the company’s Digital Wellbeing service so that you could pause an application or game directly from the home screen. Fans of the service’s Wind Down featur...

The Redmi K20 will launch as the "Xiaomi Mi 9T" in some markets - that's no secret, Xiaomi's tweet confirmed it. What's more interesting is where this photo of the retail box comes from - the image below was shared by a tech reviewer from Dubai. Xiaomi Mi 9T retail box (a rebadged Redmi K20) See, the K20 will be known as either the "Redmi K20", "Mi 9T" or "Pocophone F2" depending on where it's sold. In China, it's K20. In Dubai - and perhaps the rest of the EMEA regions - it's Mi 9T. Naturally, the Redmi K20 Pro will follow suit and launch as the "Mi 9T Pro" and "Pocophone F2...

Samsung’s web browser, simply named Samsung Internet, is one of the most feature-full web browsers there is. It has security features , ad blocker support, and even a download booster . Now, Samsung has added QR code scanning and a built-in autoplay video blocker natively into the latest beta of the app. Many websites have autoplay videos when you open up a webpage. It could be an ad or just a video related to the content of the webpage. A lot of people find these to be very annoying. Luckily, this latest beta added a new toggle under the “Useful features” option in the browser settings. It will automatically disable autoplay videos on every website. Along with the autoplay blocker, Samsung Internet has also added a QR code reader directly into the web browser. There is a QR symbol in the address bar that you can quickly press to scan a QR code. This will automatically bring you to the website that the QR code is linked to. This isn’t just for websites though, the QR scanner is a ...

The latest redesign for Google Play is now hitting user devices, spotted by the fantastic folks over on reddit . The major change is the addition of a bottom bar for navigation. There are dedicated sections for Games, Apps, Movies, and Books. Previously, these sections were at the top of the app, and honestly, it was a pretty funky UI to navigate. This seems much better. Of course, you’ll also notice that essentially the entire UI has been whitened. We assume this move, like the other Google apps to receive this treatment, is in anticipation for Android Q’s dark mode that is currently in beta testing . If you have yet to receive this redesign, you can either be patient or follow the link below to be taken to a download page. // reddit

Update 3 (5/31/19 @ 11:45 AM ET): The LG V50 ThinQ 5G is available today from Sprint and their 5G network has gone live in 4 cities. The carrier will also offer the Galaxy S10 5G this Summer. Update 2 (5/16/19 @ 2:05 PM ET): While LG Korea has still not posted an updated launch date, Sprint has announced their LG V50 5G pre-order and launch plans. Update 1 (5/1/19 @ 11:00 AM ET): Business Korea is reporting that the LG V50 ThinQ is now scheduled to launch on May 10th. Whether carriers admit it or not, 5G is still a very experimental technology and not many users care about it. With that being said, OEMs are still speeding to get out as many 5G devices as possible. Samsung’s Galaxy S10 5G is the first commercial smartphone which supports 5G networks. The LG V50 ThinQ is the runner-up. Unfortunately for the company, Samsung’s launch didn’t go according to the plan . The buyers of the Galaxy S10 5G in South Korea are complaining about severe connectivity issues. Switching betwee...

When the Meizu Note 9 was released at the beginning of March, it was only available in black and white. A third blue color was also announced at launch but unavailable for purchase. Today, Meizu officially released the Starlight Blue Note 9 and the phone is already available for purchase on Meizu's site. The phone features a 6.2-inch IPS screen of FHD+ resolution and a water drop notch for the 20MP selfie cam. The rear camera department is composed of a 48MP main and 5MP depth sensor. The internals are powered by the Snapdragon 675 paired with 4GB or 6 GB RAM and 64GB or 128GB...

The Huawei Mate 20 Pro joined the Android Q Beta program in early May, just to be dropped two weeks later following the trade ban that the US imposed on the maker. Now the flagship was reinstated by Google, leaving a bit of hope for Huawei owners that they might receive the major software update in time. Screenshot from Android Q Beta website Last Friday Google erased all traces of Huawei phones on its database - Android, Android Enterprise, and Android Q Beta. We are yet to see any of them return to the first of two platforms. When Huawei began recruiting participants, it was...

Update 4 (5/31/19 @ 9:28 AM ET): New reports claims Sprint and T-Mobile could sell Boost Mobile for up to $3 Billion and Amazon is an interested buyer. Update 3 (5/22/19 @ 9:25 AM ET): The Department of Justice will oppose the Sprint/T-Mobile merger, according to sources. Update 2 (5/20/19 @ 3:55 PM ET): Bloomberg is reporting that the Department of Justice is leaning against approval of the Sprint/T-Mobile merger. Update 1 (5/20/19 @ 11:10 AM ET): FCC chairman Ajit Pai released a statement today saying he would vote to approve the merger between T-Mobile and Sprint. More details below. We could soon see the number of major mobile carriers in the United States decrease from four to three if things go according to plan. T-Mobile and Sprint have finally agreed to merge, so long as the merger is approved by anti-trust regulators, that is. The companies were reportedly in talks to merge in September last year, and it was then later reported that discussions had been dropped – ...

After appearing on Geekbench yesterday, the upcoming Huawei nova 5i made its way over to Antutu. The phone is expected to be announced in June and is expected to arrive alongside the Huawei nova 5, which will allegedly feature 40W fast charging support. The Antutu scorecard confirms the Kirin 710 chipset and 4GB RAM for the 5i, along with 64GB storage. It managed to push out 131,715 points which is in line with other midrange offerings. We also got confirmation of the screen resolution which will be 2310 x 1080. The nova 5i will also feature a punch hole in its LCD for the selfie...

The Google Pixel 3a hosts a camera performance equivalent to the flagship Pixel 3 but with a few compromises in areas such as the material of construction, a duller display, a lower-powered processor, and a single front camera. We’ve seen in our initial impressions of the Pixel 3a that the while the smartphone matches up to the Pixel 3 in almost all respects when it comes to the rear camera – in spite of its lack of the Pixel Visual Core chipset, it falls behind significantly in terms of the front camera. Pixel 3a XDA Forums /  Pixel 3a XL XDA Forums One of the features that the Pixel 3a borrows from the more premium Pixel 3/3XL is Playground inside the Camera app. In this mode, you can drop animated AR characters – called Playmoji – from popular franchises like Star Wars , Marvel Avengers , or Stranger Things onto the canvas and make them perform certain actions so they look realistic. The feature is currently limited to the Google Pixel devices but there’s a catch in th...

If you’re still relying on physical, external hard drives to backup your data, you’re missing out. Cloud backup services have come a long way since their humble inception, and it’s now possible to lock down massive amounts of secure online backup space on the cheap. Degoo Premium is an award-winning cloud backup service that provides next-level access and security, and right now a lifetime 1TB backup plan is available for over 90% off at just $49.99. Whether you’re interested in backing up your entire hard drive or you simply want a place to secure a handful of files, Degoo Premium has you covered. This lifetime subscription grants you unlimited access to a massive amount of space that can be used for any type of backup. You’ll be able to backup up to 1TB of data in an ultra-secure server, and you’ll never have to worry about losing your files to theft—thanks to 256-bit AES encryption technology. You’ll also enjoy high-speed transfers between all of your devices, and you even have...

The Cardinal Red variant of the Samsung Galaxy S10 that surfaced last week is coming next month, starting with Switzerland. Samsung Galaxy S10 in Cardinal Red This new color model has been listed on a Swiss retailer's website with a price tag of CHF899 ($895/€803). The listing also reveals that this new version will be only available with 128GB storage. And, apart from the new paint job, the hardware will remain the same as other color variants of this smartphone. Samsung Galaxy S10+ in Cardinal Red The Galaxy S10+ will also be arriving in Cardinal Red, and it...

As promised, Oppo spin-off Realme has started rolling out the stable build of Android Pie for the Realme 2 Pro. The new firmware carries build number RMX1801EX_11.A.20 and weighs 2.71GB in size. It comes with ColorOS 6 and bumps up the Android security patch level to May 5, 2019. The update also brings in Chroma Boost and HAL3 support for the camera, while adding an app drawer to ColorOS launcher. You can check out the full change-log of the update below: System Updated to ColorOS 6 based on Android Pie Added notification icons in status bar Added...

Following yesterday's Meizu 16Xs announcement, the Chinese manufacturer is officially bringing the latest rendition of its Flyme OS to 14 of its existing phones. Flyme OS 7.3 brings an improved system-wide optimization algorithm, camera night mode alongside visual and security improvements. The update will be the last in the Flyme 7 series before Flyme 8 comes out. One Mind 3.0 is the highlight of the new firmware. It brings a system-wide background management process and will optimize device performance based on the usage patterns. Meizu said the reworked AI enhancements should...

Slowly and steadily, Google has been refreshing its Android app with the Material Theme design philosophy which includes rounder Google Sans font, whiter background with ample spacing, and use of vibrant colors over flat icons to make content discovery easier. We’ve come across refurbished versions of Google Calendar , Google Photos , Google Drive , Google Keep , Google Opinion Rewards , Google Home , and a bunch of other Android apps by the tech giant. Now, another major refresh comes to one of the most vital apps in the ecosystem – the Google Play Store. The Play Store’s redesign was spotted at the beginning of this month and we were able to get our hands on with the new interface with the help of XDA Recognized Developer  Quinny899 . The update is now rolling out to all users with the version 15.1.24 of the Google Play Store and brings many visual and practical changes. First off, the top bar has been replaced with one at the bottom and it includes dedicated tabs for Games, A...