Mobile Devices - Page 114

Apple might not be dominating the tablet game right now, but there looks to be some big changes on the way for the iPad according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who is usually pretty spot on with rumors.

We are told to expect a new 10.5-inch iPad Pro next year, which will join the current 9.7-inch and 12.9-inch tablets, with Kuo saying: "We expect three new iPads (12.9" iPad Pro 2, new size 10.5" iPad Pro & low-cost 9.7" iPad) to be launched in 2017, though this may not drive shipment growth amid structural headwinds; 2017F shipments to fall 10-20% YoY".

Kuo continued: "If the iPad comes in a larger size, such as a 10.5" model, we believe it will be helpful to bid for tenders within the commercial and education markets. As a result, we expect Apple to launch a 10.5" iPad Pro in 2017. In addition, we estimate the 12.9" iPad Pro 2 and 10.5" iPad Pro will adopt the A10X processor, with TSMC (2330 TT, NT$177.5, N) being the sole supplier using 10nm process technology. The low-cost 9.7" model may adopt the A9X processor, which is also exclusively supplied by TSMC".

We are so close to the reveal of Google's next-gen Nexus smartphones, with the latest leak taking a better look at the 5-inch version, the purported Nexus S1 smartphone.

There are two different Nexus smartphones arriving, with Marlin and Sailfish as their codenames. Both devices are reportedly being made by HTC, with both smartphones sharing the "same basic industrial design and materials," reports Android Police. The site also notes that both devices have "identical specifications aside from screen size, resolution, and battery capacity".

The Nexus S1 should have a 5-inch screen while the Nexus M1 features a 5.5-inch display - they will be identical when it comes to design and materials. The leaked photo above is the Sailfish smartphone, which looks like it has a metallic design and a fingerprint scanner on the back with a camera module made of glass, and not plastic.

NVIDIA released its Shield Tablet in the second half of 2014, and then the refreshed version in late 2015 with a cheaper price, but there was a tease of the Shield Tablet K1 refresh for 2016 - and now, it's cancelled.

The purported Shield Tablet K1 was codenamed "Hawkeye" and featured NVIDIA's Tegra X1 processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage and a 1920x1200 native resolution. According to a dismissal request letter submitted by NVIDIA to the FCC, the Shield Tablet K1 has been cancelled.

NVIDIA's Compliance Engineering Manager said that the dismissal request and cancellation of the product is for "business reasons". The company has probably seen the decline in tablet sales, and instead decided to focus their efforts on markets where they know they have a larger chance of continuous wins, like the consumer graphics card market - just to name one.

Samsung is killing it with the pre-release marketing of its upcoming Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, and it's not 'just because' - the Galaxy Note 7 looks like a beast, and has the specs and display to match.

According to DisplayMate, the display on the Galaxy Note 7 is a new level of awesome, capable of over 1000 nits of brightness. The company says the Galaxy Note 7 display hits its maximum brightness if it's left in automatic mode, but when it's outside, the brightness is boosted to new levels in order for you to see the display outside.

Samsung's Galaxy S7 hits a peak brightness of 855 nits, which was the best at the time. The Galaxy Note 7 on the other hand, reaches 1048 nits in the same conditions. The contrast ratio is also higher in those situations, too. Disabling the auto brightness setting on the Galaxy Note 7 has the display pushing 639 nits compared to 440 nits on the Galaxy S7.

We all hate the bezels on our smartphones, with some worse than others, and now JDI has unveiled something that could really change things on future smartphones.

JDI has introduced a new 5.5-inch 1080p LCD that has super-slim, barely-there bezels, on all four edges. So not just as the edges like some smartphones, but all four edges of JDI's new LCD have incredibly thin bezels which the company says are made from a combination of high-density wiring and "new processing and module assembly technologies".

JDI is hoping to mass produce the screens in March 2017, so we should expect some smartphone manufacturers to take notice when this happens. While this might sound great, remember that you still need to fix a camera, microphone and a few other trinkets around the LCD display, no matter what.

Samsung has been pumping out some incredibly mobile processors with its Exynos range of processors, but it looks like the company is about to ramp things up considerably with its Exynos 8895 processor.

Samsung's upcoming Exynos 8895 processor is said to hit 4GHz, as long as the company can control power consumption and thermals, but the new 10nm process should help with that. If the company can hit 4GHz, it will certainly be on the top of the heap when it comes to competitors like Qualcomm and Apple.

Qualcomm's upcoming Snapdragon 830 has reportedly passed 3GHz, but we haven't seen it hit the market yet, nor have we seen Qualcomm get anywhere near 4GHz. And sure, 4GHz on your smartphone might sound great - but is there a difference? The iPhone 6S runs at a relatively slow 1.85GHz and still feels super fast when it's being used, but at 4GHz we're talking about some serious battery life problems.

Qualcomm is in some serious hot water right now, with Check Point revealing four vulnerabilities under the QuadRooter name that take advantage of issues with Qualcomm's drivers to install malware onto Qualcomm-based smartphones, in which there are 900 million right now.

The malware can hit the Qualcomm driver software such as graphics, memory and routing in order to get root level access that can hijack your smartphone. The attack doesn't even sound hard, with Engadget reporting that all an attacker needs to do is "load a seemingly innocuous, permissions-free app to deliver the payload".

There are over 900 million Android-based, Qualcomm-powered smartphones in the world, with Qualcomm powering the large majority of the 1.4 billion Android smartphones in the world right now. Most of the latest flagship smartphones use Qualcomm processors, like the LG G5, HTC 10, and some variants of the Samsung Galaxy S7.

Samsung hasn't even unleashed its new Galaxy Note 7 smartphone yet and the rumor mill is already kicking off with reports of Samsung going all-in on curved displays with the next-gen Galaxy S8 smartphone.

Right now, the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge have a big difference between them in that the S7 edge has a curved display whereas the Galaxy S7 has a normal flat display. Even the new Galaxy Note 7 has a beautiful dual curved display, with the Galaxy S8 rumored to be the first smartphone (after the phablet-sized Galaxy Note 7, that is) that Samsung releases with no flat version in sight.

The Korea Herald reports: "Samsung has considered that it would make the edge display as the identity of the Galaxy S smartphone lineup if the company can provide consumers differentiated user experience through software and user-friendly functions (for the curved screen)".

A new video of the iPhone 7 has emerged, with the three versions of Apple's next iPhone still lacking its 3.5mm headphone jack. A new 4K video has turned up from Dutch blog TechTastic.nl.

It looks like the 4.7-inch version of the iPhone won't be disappearing, while the larger 5.5-inch phablet iPhone 7 Plus smartphones come in two versions. There's one mock up with the single lens camera, while the one in the middle has a dual lens camera. We don't know if this will turn into the three models being; iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Pro and iPhone 7 Plus, but it would definitely make sense.

Apple is expected to launch its new iPhone 7 models on September 9, with availability on September 16.

Samsung unveiled its massive and impressively specced Galaxy Note 7 smartphone last week with the company detailing its 5.7-inch smartphone in 3 new promotional videos.

As the videos explain, the Galaxy Note 7 has a 5.7-inch QHD dual curved display, and the most intelligent S Pen ever. Better yet, Samsung has made the new Galaxy Note 7 and the new S Pen are both water resistant. The new iris scanner is a huge addition, which will secure your smartphone with your eyes and store and unlock your precious and private files, securing them with the iris scanner.

The new Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is compatible with the new Gear VR, which is Samsung's lightest and most ergonomic VR headset yet.

The teases of LG's upcoming V20 smartphone have been good so far, but now the company has sent out invites to the media for its V20 smartphone launch event, which will take place in San Francisco on September 6.

LG hasn't said much, apart from using the headline 'Play More', and that 'the second story begins, LG V20'. With the tag that the second story begins, LG looks to be continuing the push with its V10 smartphone, which was on video and storytelling - but this could change, we don't know yet. What we do know, is that the LG V20 will be the first Android 7.0 smartphone in the world.

Samsung has just unveiled its new Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, and Apple is rumored to be hitting September 12 with the announcement of its new iPhone - so it's an exciting time to be wanting to buy a new smartphone with all of these choices.

Apple is set to unveil its next-gen iPhone next month, but between then and now we have some new leaks to look at, and wonder where Apple is going with this new direction on the next generation iPhone.

According to Unbox Therapy, who has gotten their hands-on a new iPhone 7 Plus mockup from China (which is also rumored to be called the iPhone 7 Pro), there will be no 3.5mm headphone jack. You can see in the image above that the iPhone 7 Plus, which is the one at the bottom, has no 3.5mm headphone jack - and only has the Lightning port.

On the rear of the new iPhone 7 Plus, it has docking contact points, which could be for wireless headphones or possibly - and hopefully, wireless charging. The antenna is now along the side of the iPhone, compared to two bands running from left to right at the top, and bottom of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. The new iPhone 7 Plus also feels lighter according to Unbox Therapy, and this could have the iPhone 7 Plus being thinner than the iPhone 6 Plus.

Samsung has officially launched its new Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, skipping the Note 6 to realign its phablet-sized handset with the company's super-popular Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge smartphones.

The new Galaxy Note 7 will be available from all four of the major US carriers on August 19, with pre-orders opening up tomorrow. The pricing on the Galaxy Note 7 will be higher than the Galaxy S7 edge, which sits at just under $800 right now. Inside, the Galaxy Note 7 is barely different to the Galaxy S7, with the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor in the US, Chinese and Japanese handsets - other markets will feature Samsung's own Exynos processor.

It also has 4GB of RAM, the same 12-megapixel rear-facing camera with f/1.7 lens and OIS, is IP68 water-resistant, support for microSD cards, and 64GB of internal storage. The battery on the Galaxy Note 7 is a 3500mAh battery, up from the 3000mAh one used in the Galaxy Note 5 smartphone.

Google's next-gen Nexus smartphones are shaping up beautifully, with the Nexus M1 and Nexus S1 to feature Android 7.0 - but now we're hearing new rumors that Google will be shipping the new Nexus smartphones with a new launcher.

Android Police is behind the report, with some screenshots that show "in-progress" evidence of the new software, with a nice new replacement of the Google Search bar widget at the top. There's a new way to open the app drawer, and there's also space for what could turn into revamped navigation buttons.

We will know more next month when Google launches its new Nexus smartphones, but LG will be the first to market with an Android 7.0-powered smartphone with its upcoming dual-screen V20 smartphone.

Google is preparing for the launch of its next-gen Nexus M1 and S1 smartphones powered by the new Android 7.0 operating system, but LG will be the first to market with Android 7.0-powered smartphones with its upcoming V20 smartphone.

LG's previous V10 smartphone was a little quirky compared to the rest of the handsets on the market, with a dual-screen, dual-selfie camera and other nice touches. The dual-screen for example would display notifications and quick actions at the top of the screen, while the remainder of the display acts like normal. It was quite the touch, and could be useful for those who get used to it and make the most of the dual-screen.

But LG being out with a smartphone with Android 7.0 is quite the strange occurrence since Google's own next-gen Nexus usually debut with the latest version of Android. Engadget reports that "LG has confirmed the news" with the site. This is a big opportunity for LG to make a large splash with the world's first Android 7.0-powered smartphone, and could see a nice uptick in sales on the V20 smartphone.

Microsoft surprised with its Surface Book, but its predecessor should be much better, and rumored to be unveiled in Q2 2017 rocking some serious hardware upgrades.

What could we expect from the Surface Book 2? Inside, we should see Intel's next-gen Kaby Lake processor, with lower power consumption than ever before, we should expect a thinner Surface Book 2 that is still a powerhouse in its size. Rumor has it NVIDIA will have its GeForce GTX 10 series GPU inside, so we could see a GTX 1050 or GTX 1060 inside of the Surface Book 2, which would make it quite the popular product.

The original Surface Book rocked a 3000 x 2000 resolution display, so we should expect Microsoft to knock that higher to the 4K resolution of 3840 x 2160, or so. The later Q2 2017 release window is quite the time between releases, but if Microsoft is playing its cards right and wants the Kaby Lake processor and GTX 10 series card, it might be worth the wait.

Google is hopefully only weeks away from unveiling its next-gen Nexus smartphones, which go by the codenames of Sailfish and Marlin - hence the Nexus M1 and Nexus S1 names. New information on the new Nexus smartphones is here, where rumors indicate we'll see metal and plastic bodies.

Both of the new Nexus smartphones will be made by HTC, with the higher-end model being the Nexus M1. Google's upcoming Nexus M1 smartphone will reportedly feature Qualcomm's Snapdragon 821 processor which is the successor to the Snapdragon 820, the same processor found inside of the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge smartphones, among others - it'll be joined by 4GB of RAM.

The new Nexus M1 will reportedly feature a 5.5-inch display with an aluminum case that looks similar to LG's current G10 smartphone. The Nexus logo on the back is emblazoned on the rear, found just under the fingerprint scanner and camera. The Nexus M1 will also reportedly sport a 12-megapixel rear-facing camera, and backed up by an 8-megapixel front-facing camera. Google should be offering a 128GB storage option, too.

Samsung is expected to unveil its larger Galaxy Note 7 smartphone on August 2, but what can we expect? Here's the skinny on Samsung's upcoming large smartphone, which will rock a 5.7-inch QHD display, an 8-core processor and 4GB of RAM.

The 5.7-inch Super AMOLED display has a native resolution of 2560x1440, and will arrive with two processors - depending on the market you buy it in. In the US, there'll be the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, while in European markets the Galaxy Note 7 will be powered by Samsung's own 8-core Exynos 8890 processor.

Samsung really killed it with the rear-facing camera on the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge smartphones, with the Galaxy Note 7 said to feature a 12-megapixel rear-facing camera, but it's the front-facing camera that has our eyes widen with excitement. There will reportedly be two front-facing cameras on the Galaxy Note 7, with one of them being an iris scanner. The 4K-capable rear-facing camera will feature Dual Pixel technology with an aperture of f/1.7.

Newegg is running a special on the Nexus 6P smartphone, offering $100 discount on the various sizes, with the deal running until midnight tonight, July 31. The deal will be for a limited time, only available in the US, and drops $100 from the price of the 32GB/64GB and 128GB models.

With the discount applied, the Nexus 6P with 32GB drops from $499 to $399, a 20% discount. The 64GB version drops 18% from its $549 price to $449, while the 128GB model drops from its price of $649 to $549, a 15% discount. Newegg may be a Canadian company, but these prices are for US consumers only. The only color Newegg has available for all three Nexus smartphones is gold, so you'd better be a fan.

To make the deal even sweeter, Newegg is offering an additional $25 gift card, a selfie stick and a clear case - an additional $50 in value. If you want to take $100 off on the Nexus 6P, Google itself is running a larger selection of models in different colors - with free shipping on some Nexus models still on offer.

While Apple iPhone sales aren't as strong as people think, Apple revenues were stable during a tumulus time for the company where Jon Rettinger of TechnoBuffalo says Apple is boring, and stopped innovating years ago.

Well, Samsung has posted its Q2 2016 earnings report - and while we're late to the party on the news, I've been on planes and airports for over 36 hours and I'm currently enjoying the effects of jetlag, and so much international travel. Continuing to Samsung's Q2 2016 financial results, the company posted a 18% increase in revenue, with $45.2 billion in revenue over the three-month period, while profits were up 5% to $7.22 billion.

Samsung's success with the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 have been noticed, after the last two smartphones failed to gain this type of traction. The company is now actually competing and beating Apple in many areas, bringing back missed features they took away from the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge like the microSD card slot. The company has added that its Q3 2016 results should be impressive, teasing that "the release of a new large-screen flagship smartphone will help to maintain solid sales of high-end smartphones led by the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge".