What to expect at MWC 2018 from Samsung, Sony, Nokia, LG, ASUS and others

The annual Mobile World Congress (MWC) officially on Monday, February 26th, but most companies have scheduled their events tomorrow, and some of them including LG, Catphones, ARCHOS and others have already started introducing new products. The upcoming week is going to be a cornucopia of smartphone goodness and we’re on ground already to bring you the latest on the latest! With the tone set, we thought it right to bring you a quick rundown of the latest buzz from Barcelona about what to expect. So without further ado, here’s the top announcements we expect from MWC 2018. Samsung We already know all the details about the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ smartphones, including detailed specifications and the price. The design, battery capacity and the display of the Galaxy S9 series is expected to be similar to the Galaxy S8 series, but the internals will have a minor upgrade. The Galaxy S9 is said to feature 12MP variable aperture camera to adjust between f/ 1.5 and f/ 2.4 aperture as well as 480fps super slo-mo recording. The Galaxy S9+ is said to come with dual rear camera. The fingerprint sensor will be moved below the camera to make it easy to access. The phones are said to be powered ...

HTC merges smartphone and VR divisions, confirms US layoffs

A week after HTC's smartphone business president Chialin Chang left the company, a new report from Digital Trends claims that HTC is now laying off a significant portion of its U.S. team leaving only the HTC Global division employees in the U.S..  Furthermore, the report says that HTC has laid off between a few dozen to around 100 people. This move indicates that HTC may be shifting away from the U.S to focus more on the Asian markets. The company has been facing rough time with the continuous decline in profits and market reach. It lost around 70 million to 100 million USD every quarter the past year. In an Email, HTC confirmed that it now combined the smartphone and VR divisions under common leadership in each region. With Google's $1.1 billion acquisition of large part of HTC’s smartphone division that is closed last month, there is still hope for HTC. Despite the downfall, the company is scheduled to launch the U12 flagship later this year following the success of U11 which received positive reviews.  On the other hand, the Vive and smartphone merger is to reduce operation cost. The company in an Email said: We have recently brought our smartphone and VR businesses under common leadership in each ...

Google Assistant to get support for 30 languages, location-based reminders and more

Google ahead of the MWC 2018 is making some major announcements to its products including the ARCore, Lens, RCS Message and now it is the Assistant. The company says that it is aiming to improve Assistant with some key features like more than 30 languages support, multilingual support, location-based reminders, Routines and more throughout the year.  After teasing with Android One and Go phones that are coming at MWC in a couple of days, Google today mentioned that by the end of this year Assistant will be available in more than 30 languages, reaching 95% of all eligible Android phones worldwide. In the next few weeks, Assistant will be available in Danish, Dutch, Hindi, Indonesian, Norwegian, Swedish and Thai on Android phones and iPhones. Furthermore, it also said that it is making the Assistant multilingual later this year, so families or individuals that speak more than one language can speak naturally to the Assistant. This move is to make Assistant understand you in multiple languages fluently. Multilingual support will first be available in English, French, and German and more languages to join soon. Next up is the expansion of Assistant capabilities by allowing it to perform various actions on the phone and inside your apps. Google is said ...

Google Lens coming to more Android and iOS devices

Google Lens was first announced at the I/O 2017 event last year and since then it was only available in Google Photos and in Assistant for Pixel phones. However, Google today announced that Google Lens will roll out to more Android and iOS devices running on latest Google Photos app in the coming weeks. Lens will be available to all English-language users using the latest Google Photos app. Google also mentioned that English-language users on compatible flagship devices will get the camera-based Lens experience within the Google Assistant in the coming weeks. The company says it will add support for more devices gradually. Google Lens allows you to scan your photos for landmarks and objects and fetch more details, all within the same screen. Moving past the compatibility cycle, Google says that in the coming weeks it will add support for recognizing common animals and plants, like different dog breeds and flowers making it easier to search and take action on what you see. Along with Google Lens, the company has also made some major ARCore announcements along with support for more devices. Source

Sony Xperia XZ2 with 18:9 full-screen display, Snapdragon 845 press image surfaces

As we inch closer to the MWC 2018 show, more details about the smartphones and the tech that is going to debut at the event are getting revealed. Latest to join is the Sony Xperia XZ2 and XZ2 Compact; which of lately are making the internet without shying away. Today we get to see the press images of the flagships in their full glory.  [HTML1] Thanks to the sources of the VentureBeat and @evleaks, the Sony flagships design is now revealed, and for the first time, Sony has changed the design from the boring generous top and bottom bezels throughout its lineup. The Xperia XZ2 and XZ2 Compact now come with a full screen 18:9 aspect ratio which is a complete makeover. The Sony Xperia XZ2 will sport a 5.7-inch screen while the XZ2 Compact will have a smaller 5-inches FHD+ 18:9 display. They are powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC and run Android 8.0 Oreo with Sony's custom skin on top. Both the phones pack 3D glass on both faces of its aluminum frame and come with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. In terms of camera, there is a 19-megapixel, f/1.8 camera with 4K HDR recording and super-slow motion capture in Full HD ...

Xiaomi Redmi 5, Redmi 5 Plus / Note 5 and Redmi Note 5 Pro MIUI 9 Beta testing to start soon

Xiaomi launched the Redmi Note 5 and Redmi Note 5 Pro smartphones running on MIUI 9.2 based on Android Nougat 7.1 in India on 14th February. The smartphone duo went on sale for the first time in India on 22nd February and company claims to have sold over 3 lakh units under 3 minutes. Now, company is looking for MIUI Global Beta ROM testers for Redmi 5, Redmi 5 Plus (launched as Redmi Note 5 in India) and Redmi Note 5 Pro. However, MIUI Global Beta ROM for these devices will be based on Android Nougat at least for now as nothing is mentioned about the Android version in the post. In a conversation on Twitter, Jai Mani has already revealed that Redmi Note 5 and Redmi Note 5 Pro will be receiving Android Oreo update but the company hasn’t announced a timeline yet. [HTML1] Users from all regions can apply for Beta testing but they are supposed to flash MIUI Global Beta ROM on their device which can be done using Updater method or Fastboot Flash method. Users are also supposed to install an instant messenger QQ to discuss bugs with other testers and team. If you are an active member ...

Xiaomi Redmi 4A MIUI 9.2 Android 7.1.2 Nougat update starts rolling out [Update: Now available for all]

[Update: Xiaomi has announced that the stable build is now available for all the Redmi 4A users]  Xiaomi launched Redmi 4A running MIUI 8 based on Marshmallow back in March 2017 but company didn’t announce anything regarding the android update for the device. The company rolled out Android Nougat 7.1.2-based MIUI 9 Beta ROM in mid-November followed by Android Nougat 7.1.2-based MIUI 8 Stable ROM in November end, Nougat-based Stable ROM was later discarded by the company. Redmi 4A is the only device launched in 2017 which was kept in third batch as per the announcement made during MIUI 9 launch and was supposed to get MIUI 9.0 Stable update back in December, but company decided to skip MIUI 9.0 update for the third batch of devices to provide MIUI 9.2 directly. Now, some users have reported that they are receiving a new Nougat-based OTA update as Nightly build on their Redmi 4A devices. The new update comes as MIUI 9.2.6.0.NCCMIEK and is of 1.3 GB in size and finally brings Android Nougat to Redmi 4A. This update also brings January security patch along with major changes like Interactive and Fresh UI changes including New System animations, Split Screen, Quick Switch, New Gallery ...