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GSMArena.com - Latest articles

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GSMArena.com - Latest articles

The UK is banning sale of carrier-locked phones from December 2021

Posted: 27 Oct 2020 08:30 AM PDT

British wireless regulator Ofcom will ban carriers from selling locked phones starting in December next year. Such phones can only operate on their parent network unless they are unlocked – a process that usually costs around £10 and involves a long waiting time in some cases. About half of users who tried to unlock their phones faced difficulties. That discourages people from switching carriers when their contract runs out, according to the regulator. Hence the ban, which "will save people time, money and effort – and help them unlock better deals," according to Ofcom's connectivity...

Samsung Galaxy Note20 devices in US start receiving One UI 3.0 beta update

Posted: 27 Oct 2020 08:00 AM PDT

Samsung pushed the early beta One UI 3.0 software to Galaxy Note20 users on Friday and now the interface is going public for users in the United States that own Sprint, T-Mobile, or Unlocked versions of the Galaxy Note20 5G and Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G. One UI 3 update The name of the new interface is One UI 3 and is based on Android 11. According to the update log, there are visual changes to the interface including a blurred background of the notification shade, repositioned volume control sliders, improved stock apps, and background personalization for call contacts. The...

Samsung Display acquires license to trade with Huawei, but that may not be enough

Posted: 27 Oct 2020 07:30 AM PDT

Starting on September 15 Huawei was cut off from Samsung Display and LG Display, which supply a fraction of the panels used in the new Mate 40 Pro model. Now Reuters and The Elec report that Samsung Display has successfully acquired a license to sell certain panels to the Chinese company. However, that's not the only hurdle – it's still not clear if Samsung can actually start shipping displays to Huawei because the US requires all companies involved in the supply chain need a license from the US. The issue appears to be centered around the driver and touch ICs used for the displays,...

Nokia phones top Counterpoint's Trust Rankings: a mix of update speed and hardware durability

Posted: 27 Oct 2020 07:00 AM PDT

Counterpoint Research has published its report on "Trust Rankings" for smartphone makers, which are based on the four pillars of up-to-date software, security updates, build quality and devices recommended for enterprises. HMD Global's Nokia phones topped the charts with timely OS and security updates and phones whose durability exceeds the industry average. Here's how the analysts broke down the results. First, all eligible Nokias are currently running Android 10 - that's even better than last year when HMD was in the lead again. The only other smartphone maker to boast that 100% of...

Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite appears in FCC listing with key specs and images

Posted: 27 Oct 2020 06:30 AM PDT

An upcoming Xiaomi smartwatch appeared in the FCC's database revealing its key specs and design. It's the Mi Watch Lite which may be launched as Redmi Watch in markets like China and as the name implies its shaping up to be a more affordable alternative to the brand's Mi Watch which was announced last year. The listing contains a full look at the wearable's retail box with a snap of its design as well as its key specs on the back. We can see the Mi Watch Lite features a square casing and a single button on the right-hand side alongside a silicone watch strap. Around the back we find...

TCL 10 5G UW arrives to the United States, exclusive for Verizon

Posted: 27 Oct 2020 06:00 AM PDT

TCL unveiled a trio of smartphones in January but it waited until April to actually launch them for sale. One of the devices was TCL 10 5G with Snapdragon 765G with four cameras and two LED flashes on the back. Now a phone called TCL 10 5G UW is arriving in the United States exclusively on Verizon, although it is not the same device - the new one has three cameras on the back with the main shooter being downgraded. The difference between the first TCL 10 5G and this one is that Verizon enabled the phone for Ultra WIdeband networks with mmWave support. Otherwise, the body is well...

HMD Global internal document reveals future plans and Nokia 10

Posted: 27 Oct 2020 05:45 AM PDT

An internal document from HMD Global has leaked and it has several key points that are pretty interesting, including the mention of the Nokia 10 - supposedly a successor to the Nokia 9 PureView. The document doesn't go into details around the Nokia 10 and only mentions that it's absolutely forbidden to discuss or leak information regarding Nokia 10. The better part of the document, however, is about HMD's future plans for Nokia as a brand. Of course, reaching the top 3 biggest smartphone manufacturer in the next 3 to 5 years is still on the table but to do so, Nokia wants to be best...

Google brings new functionalities and gestures to its YouTube app

Posted: 27 Oct 2020 05:15 AM PDT

Starting today, Google is pushing a major update to its YouTube app on both platforms - Android and iOS. The update brings new functionalities, simplified UI and more importantly, gestures. Now you can enter and exit full-screen mode more intuitively. By swiping up on a playing video, the latter rotates into landscape mode and enters full-screen. To minimize the video, you just swipe down. The close captions button is no longer hidden in the three-dot menu and instead is now visible directly on the overlay menu. The same goes for the autoplay button. Both are now easier to...

Samsung may ship Galaxy S21 series without bundled charger and earphones

Posted: 27 Oct 2020 02:50 AM PDT

According to reports circulating in South Korea, Samsung will follow Apple's approach of not offering an in-box charger and earphones for its upcoming Galaxy S21 series. Industry insiders, cited by local news outlet ChosunBiz, allegedly confirm Samsung is considering leaving out all in-box accessories for its latest flagship (apart from a UBS-C cable). However, the final decision is still pending. Will full box contents be a thing of the past? Samsung has offered a pair of wired earbuds, USB cable, and charging brick with its S-series phones from the first Galaxy S all the way to...

Xiaomi Redmi K30S is official with SD865, 144 Hz screen

Posted: 27 Oct 2020 12:00 AM PDT

Xiaomi executives have been teasing the Redmi K30S, and now the phone is finally official. It comes with a 64 MP main camera, Snapdragon 865 chipset by Qualcomm, and up to 144 Hz refresh rate for the 6.67" screen; if all these specs look familiar, it is because you're looking at a rebranded Mi 10T for markets where Redmi has strong brand recognition. The main difference between the Redmi K30S and Mi 10T is the memory combinations - here, we have 8 GB RAM, coupled with either 128 GB or 256 GB storage. The phone lacks a memory card slot, so that's all the internal memory...

All hopes of Apple’s AirPower charging mat are lost, yet again

Posted: 26 Oct 2020 09:41 PM PDT

If you haven't heard of the AirPower charging mat, it was a product that Apple announced in 2017 along with the drastically redesigned iPhone X which would let you wirelessly charge AirPods, an Apple Watch, and the iPhone, wherever you placed them on the mat. Apple eventually announced it was abandoning the project, reportedly due to complications with overlapping charger coils overheating. Apple shows off the AirPower charger during its September 2017 keynote Some time passed after the initial cancellation and new reports from reliable Apple leaker @JonProsser claimed that the...

Forget about the Nord, grab a OnePlus 7T for $399 instead

Posted: 26 Oct 2020 07:33 PM PDT

The original OnePlus Nord was the company's return to the mid-range, but that phone hasn't been and won't be sold in the US. The just unveiled Nord N10 will take its place in North America, but it's still unclear when and for what price. So, if you want a OnePlus phone that's cheaper than the 8T and 8 Pro, and you don't care about 5G, here's something for you. B&H is currently holding a very limited time sale on the OnePlus 7T from last year, bringing its price down to just $399. That's probably what the Nord would've been sold for had it been launched in the US. The OnePlus 7T has...

Doogee S96 Pro rugged smartphone launches with infrared night vision

Posted: 26 Oct 2020 04:46 PM PDT

Rugged phone specialist Doogee has launched its latest device today, the S96 Pro. This pairs an incredibly rugged-looking construction with a 20 MP night vision camera, sitting alongside the 48 MP f/1.8 main camera sensor on the back. The Doogee S96 Pro comes with the MediaTek Helio G90 chipset, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of expandable storage (with a triple slot that can house two SIM cards and a microSD at the same time). It has a 6.22" 720x1520 LCD touchscreen with a waterdrop notch that houses a 16 MP selfie camera. On the back there's a quad shooter setup, the standout of the bunch...

Apple AirPods and Pro successors coming in 2021, over-ear AirPods Studio delayed again

Posted: 26 Oct 2020 12:41 PM PDT

Some interesting details about the upcoming AirPods and AirPods Pro successors emerged giving us a good idea of how the development is going and what they will look like. There's also a bit of bad news about the over-ear AirPods Studio headphones, which are being delayed due to some design issues. Let's start with the vanilla AirPods. According to Bloomberg, Apple is going with a more AirPods Pro-like look for the standard AirPods next year with changeable tips. However noise-cancellation won't be tricking down with the upgrade instead bringing, a considerable improvement in battery...

vivo to replace Funtouch OS with Origin OS

Posted: 26 Oct 2020 11:27 AM PDT

Late last year vivo announced Funtouch OS 10, which launched with the X30 phone, but the pandemic delayed plans to update older phones. Originally, the company was planning a switch to Jovi OS before abandoning the project. Well, now vivo has a new in-house software project and it's called Origin OS. Apparently, that stands for "original OS" and leakster Digital Chat Station claims that it will be a major improvement over the current Funtouch. It sounds like it will be a near complete re-write too. According to DCS, Origin OS will become one of the best Android UI customizations out...

Facebook Gaming is a game streaming service focused on free-to-play mobile games only

Posted: 26 Oct 2020 10:18 AM PDT

Facebook is launching its own cloud gaming service, but it's not going to compete with the Nvidia, Microsoft and Google services. The social network is focusing on mobile games exclusively while the others are for PC games. This new service offers instantly-playable games, just pick a game and tap on it – currently available titles can be found at fb.gg/play. No installation is needed and no controllers either (since mobile games are designed to be played on a touchscreen). Another major difference is that Facebook's cloud gaming service is launching with free-to-play games....

Apple iPhone 12 in for review

Posted: 26 Oct 2020 09:22 AM PDT

A new iPhone must be viewed through the lens of your current handset – how you see the iPhone 12 is quite different if you're holding, say, an 11 Pro compared to how you see it compared to something like the XR or even older. And if you have an Android, Apple's phones may be a preview of what's to come in 2021. The new vanilla model represents a fairly major upgrade over its predecessors, the iPhone 11 and XR. The first thing you'll see is the OLED display – it's the same size (6.1"), but is sharper, supports HDR10 and has that excellent contrast native to OLED panels. There's also...
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