KB-Technologies

Corning has announced a new variant of its scratch resistant glass, the Gorilla Glass SR+. This new variant is designed exclusively for wearable devices, such as smartwatches and fitness bands. According to Corning, SR+ achieves scratch resistance approaching that of "alternative luxury cover materials" (probably referring to sapphire crystal) while having 70% better damage resistance against impact and 25% better surface reflection compared to the same alternative material. The improved optical performance should help increase readability outdoors and require lower display brightness. Gorilla Glass SR+ is now commercially available and is expected to be on products later this year. Source

Today at IFA in Berlin Asus unveiled the next generation in its Zenwatch family. The Zenwatch 3 marks a departure from the rectangular shape of the previous two iterations and adopts a more classic circular design. The circle only begins to describe its looks, though. The Zenwatch 3 will be available in three case colors - Gunmetal, Silver, and Rose Gold, but the rose gold ring around the watch face is a permanent fixture on all three. Regardless of the color all of the models are made of grade 316L stainless steel and also carry IP67 certification - good for immersion in water up to 1m deep for up to 30 minutes. Three also happens to be the number of buttons on the right side of the Zenwatch 3, which is not something you can say about other Android Wear smartwatches. Asus says that this configuration should bring more intuitive interaction with the device. Asus Zenwatch 3 The lugs are rather unorthodox too, fluidly angled to wrap around the wrist, but with...

Intel has taken the wraps off the 7th generation of Core processors. Called internally as 'Kaby Lake', the new processors are based on Intel's 14nm (or 14nm+) architecture and are a refined version of last year's 'Skylake' series. The buzzword this year for Intel is 4K, with the company having geared the processors for 4K media consumption and creation. If you're a desktop user and are wondering what's the big deal about 4K encode/decoding then it's worth noting that these new chipsets are primarily aimed at notebook and all-in-one computers, that often come without dedicated GPU and can get all the help they can need for high resolution media processing. According to Intel, the 7th generation processors are more than 70% faster CPU performance and 3.5x faster 3D graphics performance than a 5-year old PC. Compared to the previous generation Skylake, Kaby Lake provides 12% faster productivity performance and 19% faster web perfor...

Acer held its IFA 2016 press event today and one of the main focuses were the company's new Windows 10 notebooks. The most interesting one is the Predator 21 X with a curved display aimed at the serious, on-the-go games. Then, there are the Acer Swift 7 and Spin 7, which are thin and light. Acer Predator 21 X There's no going away from the fact that the Predator 21 X is a beast. It's the first gaming laptop to sport a 21" curved display and its dual Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 GPUs support the awesome G-Sync technology. The CPU options include the latest 7th-gen Intel Core K-series. The resolution of the IPS display is 2560 x 1080. Inside this beast is space for up to 64GB of DD4 RAM and four terabytes of SSD storage. As you'd imagine, this machine isn't light, as it weighs 8kg. The Acer Predator 21 X is an impressive piece of tech That's because it also sports Tobii eye-tracking, LED RGB mechanical keyboard with CherryMX sw...

Popular synthetic CPU benchmarking tool Geekbench has been updated to version 4. The new version comes with multiple changes and is available across all major platforms. One of the major changes in Geekbench 4 is the removal of separate tests for mobile and desktop platforms. Previous benchmarks had different tests keeping in mind the hardware differences between the platforms but with the newer smartphones getting faster that is no longer necessary. The updated benchmark includes new workloads, such as executing SQLite queries, processing LLVM file, and rendering PDF documents. There are also other workloads including JPEG compression, HTML5 parsing, camera, Gaussian blur, ray trace, and N-body physics. Geekbench 4 also includes GPU compute tests, including workloads involving histogram equalization, Gaussian blur, RAW processing, particle physics, and more. Geekbench is now available on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android. The iOS and Android apps a...

Google is adding a new feature to its namesake app - a search mode named In Apps. This new mode can look into apps on your phone and find stuff like contacts, songs and notes. The scope of the In Apps search results is so far limited to apps like Gmail, Spotify and YouTube, but in the future the list of supported apps will include Facebook Mesenger, LinkedIn, and Google Keep, among others. The whole thing works entirely on your phone, so it's accessible offline without Wi-Fi or data connection. While the feature will be available on most current Android phones, on the LG V20 it will come with a twist. For starters, LG's soon-to-be-announced phablet will be the first phone to have a dedicated homescreen shortcut to the In Apps results - others will need to open the Google app and switch to the respective tab. On top of that, the V20 will also get a shortcut in its Second Screen - the ticker portion of the phone's display. Source 1 • Source 2

A few months after the $999 model of the Chromebook Pixel 2 went out of stock permanently, Google has stopped selling the $1,299 variant as well, effectively discontinuing the product. The computer, which was launched back in March last year, is no longer available from the Google Store as well as the retailers that have been selling it all this while. "We’re committed to the Pixel program but we don’t have plans to restock the Pixel 2," a spokesperson for the Mountain View, California-based company said. There have been indications that Google is working on a new Chromebook Pixel model, but nothing has been officially confirmed so far. Via

If you are in the UK, and are planning to purchase the Microsoft Surface 3, here's a deal for you: the tablet is currently going for as low as £319 in the country. Retailer PC World is currently selling the device at that rate. It's worth mentioning that the aforementioned price is for the 64GB model, which - if you compare - is being officially sold by Microsoft UK for £359. So, purchasing the tablet from PC World saves you £40. In case you don't already know, Microsoft has already confirmed that the company will stop producing the Surface 3 tablet by the end of 2016. Source | Microsoft UK | Via

Our full written review of the Honor 8 is on its way, so if you are excited about the Honor 8, you should watch our video review in the meantime. TLDR: I really enjoyed using this little phone. Battery life is quite good and the 5.2 inch screen size stands out among the many smartphones out there with 5.5-inch displays. There are only a couple of shortcomings that don’t entirely justify the $400 (or Euro) retail price. Still, The Honor 8 is a wonderful device to use, it’s snappy and its Kirin 950 silicon runs much cooler than the Snapdragon 820. EMUI is not the most pleasant Android skin, but we hope the Honor 8 gets updated to the newest version EMUI 5.0 along with the Android Nougat 7.0 update. So, without further ado, here is our video review of the Honor 8. You can also check out our written hands-on post if you missed it :).

IFA hasn't officially started yet but the press days run early to give tech jounalists a taste of teh latest tech before teh crowds take over. The first couple of events already went live, but there's so much more to expect. Let us be your tour guides and familiarize you with the schedule. Wednesday, August 31 Acer - over Acer showed off several laptops, including the world's first laptop with a curved screen. It's so thick that it looks like it might have eaten a few more compact laptops, not to mention it weighs 8kg. But it's a proper beast in many ways. Gamers will also be interested in the VR headset. StarVR offers an amazing 5K resolution with 210° field of view - industry-leading specs. Pre-orders start in Q4 but wait till you hear the price. No, really, you would have to wait. Read more: Acer outs low-cost Liquid Z6, Z6 Plus, and Iconia Talk S at IFA Acer unveils a slew of laptops at IFA 2016, Predator 21 X with a curv...

Acer announced two new smartphones today at its press event at IFA. Both are droids running on Android Marshmallow and spiced by Acer's proprietary launcher. The first one is the budget Acer Liquid Z6 with a price tag as low as €119. It has a 5.0" HD screen and runs on the MT6737 chip with a quad-core 1.25GHz Cortex-A53 processor, Mali-T720MP2 GPU, and 1GB of RAM. The rest of the Liquid Z6 specs include 8 gigs expandable storage, an 8MP main camera, a 2MP selfie snapper, and a 2,000 mAh battery. The Liquid Z6 is made of plastic and will be released this November in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East at about $130 or €119 price. The Acer Liquid Z6 Plus , as the name suggests, is the bigger one with a 5.5" IPS 1080p display, enhanced with a 2.5D curved glass. It is powered by a snappier MT6753 chip with a quad-core 1.3GHz Cortex-A53 CPU, Mali-T720 GPU, and 3GB of RAM. There are other upgrades, too, worthy of the extra cash to the Plus monik...

Another year, another Note, another S-Pen issue. Samsung made sure this year the Galaxy Note7 users can't insert the S-Pen backwards, and yet a new flaw seems to be plaguing some styluses. As it turns out, the mechanical button on the S-Pen, which ejects the stylus from the silo, may stop clicking. And no clicking means no S-Pen ejection from within the Note. You can still get it out with a pin, or some hitting on the S-pen's hole, but once you start having problems with it, you may have to resort to doing this quite often. There are already a few videos on YouTube showing the issue and it's clearly the S-Pen fault. Apparently, the clicking mechanism occasionally fails. Some suspect waterproofing failure as the issue began after water submerging, but there are other which hadn't exposed the S-Pen to water. We got a tip from an employee working in the telecommunication industry that Samsung has acknowledged the presence of the problem and has issued...

While we already know that ZTE will unveil an audio-centric phone at this year's IFA conference in Berlin, the device might feature a dual-speaker setup like the big Axon 7. Today the company released a teaser image that focuses on audio with a "2" over a stylized bookshelf speaker, which some of us took for a dual camera setup initially. While roaming the IFA 2016 grounds as part of the press days we stumbled upon this huge poster hanging from the ceiling, which clearly showed the Axon 7 and Axon 7 mini, confirming that the petite flagship will be the centerpiece of the event (the big 7 is already official). A grand poster for a diminutive phone After a number of leaks, we have a good picture of what the the ZTE Axon 7 mini will be like. It can even be found already on pre-order in Germany though we would take the posted specs with a pinch of salt until ZTE confirms them officially. Via

The Apple iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will be one of the hottest smartphone announcements this fall. Naturally, pricing is what's on everyone's mind and the latest information regarding their price tag comes from Apple's largest wholesaler in China - Leleda. The information from Leleda confirms the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will come in 32GB, 128GB and 256GB flavors, marking a notable change from the 16GB, 64GB, 128GB variants we had so far through the years. Here's the pricing for the SIM-free variants. It seems that Apple will double the storage of the upcoming iPhone models without affecting the price compared to the current iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus. iPhone 7 (leaked prices) 32GB - CNY 5288 ($790) 128GB - CNY 6088 ($990) 256GB - CNY 7088 ($1060) iPhone 6S (current prices) 16GB - CNY 5288 ($790) 64GB - CNY 6088 ($910) 128GB - CNY 6888 ($1030) iPhone 7 Plus (leaked prices) 32GB - CNY 6088 ($910) 128GB - CNY 68...

There's a rule that says photos of Big Foot and unreleased phones must be dark and blurry. Good thing that people with skills create beautiful 3D renders based on those photos (and sometimes design sketches). That's what TechConfigurations did with the Nexus Sailfish... well, maybe not "Nexus." Anyway, the video zooms around the phone, showing relevant specs as it goes. While those specs (and the design itself) are unofficial, you can think of this video as a speculative trailer for the Sailfish. By the way, check out TechConfiguration's YouTube channel - it's chock full of similar renders. The latest is the Huawei Mate 9, which we thought we may see at IFA, but Huawei execs say otherwise. Source

A new Lenovo phone, alleged to be the Vibe P2, has been certified by the Chinese telecommunication authority TENAA, revealing its design as well as most of its key specifications. The listing reveals that the device - carrying a model number of P2c72 - is powered by an octa-core 2.0GHz processor, and sports a 5.5-inch full HD display. RAM is 4GB, while internal memory options include 32GB and 64GB. In terms of camera, the phone features a 13MP rear unit and a 5MP front shooter. Measuring 153×76×8.29mm and weighing in at 179g, the handset runs Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow and packs in a huge 5,000mAh battery. If you recall, the Lenovo Vibe P2 was spotted on Geekbench last month, revealing exactly same processor, RAM, and OS. So, it's quite likely that the device that has cleared TENAA is the Lenovo Vibe P2. Via

Shortly after promotional images for the Samsung Galaxy Folder 2 leaked online, the successor to last year's Samsung Galaxy Folder leaked in a set of live images, showing the gold color variant from all angles. Galaxy Folder 2 live images Specs-wise, the flip phone - which has already cleared Bluetooth SIG and TENAA - is powered by a quad-core Snapdragon 425 SoC clocked at 1.4 GHz, and sports a 3.8-inch touchscreen display of 480 x 800 pixel resolution. RAM is 2GB, while storage is 16GB, although expandable. The device features an 8MP/5MP camera combo. A 1,950mAh battery is there to keep the lights on. Measuring 122 x 60.2 x 15.5mm and weighing in at 155g, the Galaxy Folder runs Android 6.0.1. Via

Just a few days ago, a Xiaomi Mi Note 2 leak confirmed some key specs, curved display, and a dual-camera setup for the device. And today, another set of live images have leaked online, squarely focusing on the handset's curved screen this time. Take a look: Specs-wise, the phone is expected to be powered by a Snapdragon 821 SoC, sport a 5.5-inch OLED display, and come with 6GB RAM and 128GB internal memory. Rumors say there will be two editions: one with 1080p resolution and other with QHD. Pricing and availability-related information isn't currently known, although given the frequency of leaks, it should be made official sooner than later. Via

BlackBerry has started rolling out the first Android beta update for the DTEK50. Weighing in at 435MB and carrying a software version of AAG326, the update brings along Android security patch for the month of September (patch level shows up as September 6). Needless to say, only those who have signed up for the beta program will be getting the update. If you are eligible, but still doesn't see the update, try dialing dial *#*#CHECKIN#*#* from the Phone app dialer. Upon receiving a success notification, check for the update again. Via

Today a new lower-midrange ZTE smartphone running Android has been launched by Boost Mobile. Almost five years after the Warp brand was first used on a phone, Sprint's prepaid brand already has the new ZTE Warp 7 up for sale through its online store , yet the device will only make it to brick and mortar establishments starting on September 5. It comes with a 5.5-inch 720p touchscreen, a 64-bit Qualcomm 1.2 GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of expandable storage, a 13 MP rear camera with LED flash, a 5 MP selfie snapper, LTE, and a 3,080 mAh battery with Qualcomm Quick charge support. It runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The ZTE Warp 7 can be yours for $99.99 plus tax, yet without any contract-signing requirements of course. Free shipping is offered. You can pair the phone with Boost's new Unlimited Unhook'd plan, which costs $50 per month (for the first line, $30 per month for second to fifth lines) and offers unlimited talk, text, and "optimized...

Now that the Galaxy Note7 is official, the rumors are starting to focus on Samsung's next flagship - yes, the Galaxy S8 that should only be announced next year. The fact that we're still many months away from that event isn't stopping Chinese leakers from allegedly outing details about the S8 already. Case in point - today's report that says the device will sport a dual rear camera arrangement. One of the units will have 12 MP resolution, while the other will be 13 MP. The company will once again source cameras from both its own division making them, but also Sony. The Samsung model for this dual camera is apparently S5K2L2, while Sony's is unknown for now. The Galaxy S8 will also have an 8 MP selfie shooter, which would mark the first increase in resolution for the front camera in Samsung's flagships in many years. Additionally, there will be another camera above the display, and this will be there because the S8 is getting the iris scann...