KB-Technologies

Like clockwork, Sony has released a bunch of merchandise around the upcoming Final Fantasy XV game. This includes a Walkman, a pair of headphones, and a Bluetooth speaker. The Walkman is the NW-A30, which is otherwise identical to the standard model except for an illustration of Noctis, Gladiolus, Ignis, and Prompto on the back and slightly redesigned iconography in the UI. The headphones are the Sony h.ear on wireless, or MDR-100ABN, which has a shoddy XV printed on the back on an otherwise identical design. Lastly, there is the hear.go SRS-HG1 Bluetooth speaker, which has the Final Fantasy XV logo and character illustration on the top. The products will be available in Japan for 33,880 yen ($301) for the Walkman, 24,380 yen ($217) for the headphones, and 29,380 yen ($261) for the Bluetooth speaker. Source

The Samsung Galaxy S8 will feature an autofocus front-facing camera, a new report out of South Korea reveals. That's a long overdue development in the front camera department of Samsung flagships after the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S7 (and the Note5) have been stuck with a 5MP fixed-focus shooter.     Galaxy S7 edge The report goes on to detail that the future camera will use an encoder type of focusing mechanism, as opposed to the prevailing voice coil motor. In this type of design, the focusing actuator is mounted on the side of the lens instead of in the middle of it, thus making for a camera module with a lower depth. Voice coil motors are typically used for primary cameras, where depth is a smaller concern and even if can't fit flush with the back, a camera hump can be used. No so for front cameras - you don't want your camera sticking out above your display, right? The source doesn't mention resolution, just autofocus, so that remains for f

Coolpad has launched its second phone in the new Cool brand made with LeEco, the Cool Changer 1C. The Cool Changer 1C has a 5.5-inch 1080p display, Snapdragon 652, 3GB RAM, 32GB expandable storage, 13 megapixel rear camera, 8 megapixel front camera, fingerprint sensor, and 4060mAh battery. The phone runs on the LeEco eUI. The phone will be available in China for 899 yuan ($130). It's available for registration on LeMall website and will go on sale on December 5. Source

After Zauba and Geekbench, the Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro has now been spotted on AnTuTu. The benchmark listing reveals that the device sports a full HD display, and features a 16MP rear as well as front camera unit. The other specs that are revealed by AnTuTu - including Snapdragon 626 SoC, Android 6.0.1, and 4GB RAM - are inline with what Geekbench had revealed. The phone's Zuaba listing, in case you missed, revealed a screen size of 5.7-inch. The Galaxy C7 Pro, along with the Galaxy C5 Pro, is currently rumored to be unveiled sometime in December. Source | Via

Nearly a week after Sprint's LG G5 started getting it, T-Mobile has also started rolling out the Nougat update to LG G5 units on its network. Weighing in at 1272.9MB, the update brings along Android version 7.0, as well as security updates and other improvements. As is usually the case with OTA roll outs, it may take some time for the update to hit your device. Meanwhile, if you feel impatient, you can manually check for the update by heading to your handset's Settings menu. Via

If you recall, over a week ago, there were rumors that HP and Microsoft are now working on a consumer-grade Windows 10 Mobile smartphone, although nothing much was revealed about its specifications. Now, more information about the handset has emerged. According to a new report, the phone will be a mid-range device, likely to be powered by a Snapdragon 600 series chipset. HP Elite x3 The report also says that the phone will support Continuum, and will be compatible with Elite x3's accessories as well. The earlier rumor, in case you missed, had said that handset will feature typical Lumia features like Glance and double tap to wake. Source

Google has done well with the Pixel this year, with the first initial positive wave of reviews for Google’s newest flagship, set to compete directly with the iPhone 7, its on track to selling quite well. Not to mention: Verizon has already said that the Pixel is selling very well on the carrier. Financial services firm, Morgan Stanley believes Google’s Pixel and Pixel XL are expected to sell around 5-6 million Pixel smartphones in 2017, which calculates to about $3.8 billion in revenue. Similarly, Morgan Stanley projects that the Pixel will sell 3 million units in the final three months of 2016, racking up about $2 billion of revenue.  Google Pixel XL That’s nowhere near how many iPhones are pulled off the shelves: For the financial year of 2016, Apple made $137 billion in revenue and sold 212 million iPhones in the same year. Likewise, Apple [is expected] to sell 45.5 million iPhones and make $28 billion of revenue during the last quarter of 2016. Let’s hope

According to a report from Commercial Times , Pegratron, known as one of Apple’s main suppliers is rumored to be working with Microsoft, and that it plans to begin trial production of the long-awaited Microsoft Surface Phone. The newspaper outlet says that Microsoft is expected to announce the Surface Phone in 2017 with a release of 2017 or early 2018. It’s also said to run an Intel-based chipset and have the ability to run x86 applications in Continuum. This news comes just a few days after Microsoft’s CEO talked about the company’s future in the mobile business and that it strives to reach success by making the “most ultimate mobile device”. Indirectly stating that the company hasn't given up in the smartphone space. Will a supposed Surface Phone be able to put Microsoft’s smartphone platform back on the map? If the software giant does end up making a long-awaited Surface Phone, it should try to release it far before or far after Apple’s regularly schedu

We've been hearing a lot of rumors lately about Apple prepping a new tablet that will have a slightly bigger screen than the iPad Pro 9.7. This might ship with a 10.5-inch panel, according to some sources, or a 10.9-inch display, as others say. Either way, it will have more screen real estate than Apple's 9.7-inch offerings. A new report purportedly coming from "an informed source in Taiwan" claims that the 10.9-inch iPad will be the first Apple device to not have a Home button. Unfortunately, there are absolutely no details as to how this will work in practice, and what the company plans to replace the Home button with (say, a virtual one, or some more gestures). This iPad will also be near-bezelless, having roughly the same length and width as the current iPad Pro 9.7, while packing the bigger screen. The biggest bezel will be on the top, where the FaceTime camera can be found. The tablet will allegedly be 7.5mm thick. From the same source also com

For months now we've seen a persistent rumor regarding at least one of the iPhone models to be introduced next year, and that has to do with packing an OLED touchscreen, of the curved variety. And today a new report from the Wall Street Journal comes to once again confirm that Apple is considering outfitting one 2017 iPhone model with such a display panel. The company has told its suppliers to increase their OLED display output, as well as "submit prototype screens with better resolution than ones from Samsung". That said, it's unclear how exactly that might be accomplished, seeing as how Samsung itself comfortably holds more than 90% market share in the mobile OLED panel business. If Apple does go through with this display technology change, the iPhone sporting the OLED screen will be more expensive than the others, because OLEDs cost more to make than LCDs and Apple doesn't want its profit margin to be smaller on this handset compared to the o

For those who missed registering for the Android 7.0 Nougat beta for their Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge, Samsung has reopened the beta registrations, at least in the UK. Moreover, according to an email received by a SamMobile reader, Samsung will also be opening the registrations for those in the US later this week. Samsung started the Nougat beta registrations three week ago for its flagship devices. Since then it has released three updates over that period of time that introduced some changes as well as bug fixes. If you want to be on the bleeding edge and don't mind having potentially buggy software running on your phone, and also happen to be in the UK and US, then keep your eye open for the registrations. Source

For those in the US who are planning to purchase the HP Elite x3 Windows 10 device, here's a deal for you: Microsoft is currently offering a hefty discount on the HP Elite x3 Holiday Bundle. The bundle in question includes an unlocked Elite x3 unit, a Desk Dock, Lap Dock, case, and a screen protector. The software giant has the bundle listed on its website for $999, which translates into a total savings of $462. Sadly, those interested in availing the deal don't have much time at hand, as the offer expires today, November 28. For more details on the deal, head to the Source link below. Source

As you might already know, Samsung Pay works on the company's latest Gear S3 smartwatch even if the user doesn't have a Samsung smartphone. However, turns out that not all eligible non-Samsung smartphones are currently supported. The South Korean company has confirmed on Twitter that Samsung Pay on the Gear S3 isn't compatible with Google's latest Pixel/Pixel XL smartphones. There's currently no information on exactly why the new Android devices aren't in the supported devices list. When asked if they have any plans to start supporting the Pixel phones, the official Samsung Pay account offered at-least some hope by saying, "We're constantly working to bring #SamsungPay to more devices - stay tuned." Source

The developers of No Man's Sky has released a major update for the game that brings some of the much needed features and depth to the gameplay. The update introduces three new modes. The Normal mode is the one you had previously for casual exploration. The Survival mode is the Normal mode with fewer resources and stronger, more aggressive enemies. Lastly, there is the Creative mode, which is the main feature of this update. It gives you unlimited health and resources for world building purposes. You can now build in inhabitable base for yourself on any of the planets. You can stock resources here and hire alien lifeforms to help research new technology. You can also farm in here. You can teleport from the base station to the space stations anytime you want. You can also build a camp anywhere on the planet. Save points can now be placed anywhere in the world, and waypoints can be placed and color-coded to allow you to return to discoveries. You can also le

The Lenovo ZUK Edge is coming next week, but we’ve only caught glimpses of it so far. Here are some live photos with much better quality than some earlier leaks. The "Edge" moniker may suggest a curved screen, but instead ZUK went for very narrow bezels. Lenovo ZUK Edge photos (leak) The ZUK Edge is expected to bring a Snapdragon 821 chipset with 6GB of RAM and 64GB or 128GB storage. It will run Android 7.0 Nougat and pack a 13MP main camera, plus an 8MP selfie cam. There’s no word on pricing yet. Via

The Xiaomi Mi 5c launch may be scheduled for next Tuesday, December 6. That’s the scuttlebutt from China where the unveiling of the lower-cost model will take place. The Xiaomi Mi 5s currently goes for CNY 1,900 while the 5c model is expected to go for close to half that - CNY 1,000 ($150/€140) is what we’re hearing. (Alleged) Xiaomi Mi 5c photo Like the 5s, the Xiaomi Mi 5c will come in 5.2” and 5.5” versions. The specs won’t be quite the same - the Snapdragon 821 is getting swapped out for a 2.2GHz octa-core processor (the memory is still 3GB/64GB) and the camera setup is 12MP main, 8MP selfie. Via

A week after North America, the OnePlus 3T is launching in Europe. Both 64GB and 128GB versions are available, but only in Gunmetal. Soft Gold is coming later and it will be available only in 64GB. In the UK, the 64GB model is £400 and the 128GB one is £440. On the mainland, prices are €440 and €480 respectively. Head to the UK store or, say, the German one to buy. In Hong Kong , the 64GB model is HK$3,388, the 128GB model is not available yet. While you're shopping, you can also snag some of the usual accessories - wall and car chargers, cases and headphones. You can see what’s in the retail box in this official unboxing video. Warning to the faint of heart - the unboxing is done in a Czech fighter jet! By the way, the OnePlus 3T should launch in China tomorrow (a lower price is expected)

If you recall, last week, a leak - allegedly showing Meizu's 2016 launch schedule - revealed that the m5 Note will be made official in December, and not November as was previously rumored. Well, turns out the information is true as the Chinese company has now confirmed that the device will be officially unveiled on December 6. The confirmation came in the form of a teaser that also shows a real-life image of the phone. Interestingly, the teaser image also mentions the Meizu m3 Note, revealing that over 20 million units of the device have been produced so far, and its production will end on the day the m5 Note will arrive. Coming back to the Meizu m5 Note, the handset is said to be powered by Mediatek's Helio P10 SoC and sport a 5.5-inch full HD display. Other rumored specs include, 3GB/32GB memory configuration, 13MP/5MP camera combo, and Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Via

The Lenovo ZUK Edge - which has already cleared TENAA, and also been the subject of some leaks and rumors so far - will be made official sometime next week. This was revealed by none other than ZUK’s CEO and former Lenovo VP Chang Cheng on Weibo. While he didn't reveal the exact date, he did share a new render of the ZUK Edge, which shows both the front as well as the back of the phone, along with its packaging. Specs-wise, from what all has been revealed so far, the ZUK Edge is powered by Snapdragon 821 SoC and sports a full HD display. RAM is 6GB, while storage options include 64GB and 128GB. In terms of camera, the handset sports a 13MP rear unit and an 8MP front shooter. It runs Android Nougat OS. Source | Via

Network Technology GSM / HSPA / LTE 2G bands GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 & SIM 2 3G bands HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 4G bands LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 20(800), 28(700), 38(2600) Speed HSPA, LTE Cat4 150/50 Mbps GPRS Yes EDGE Yes Launch Announced 2016, November Status Coming soon. Exp. release 2016, December Body Dimensions 146.9 x 70.9 x 8.4 mm (5.78 x 2.79 x 0.33 in) Weight 140 g (4.94 oz) SIM Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by) Display Type IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors Size 5.0 inches (~66.2% screen-to-body ratio) Resolution 720 x 1280 pixels (~294 ppi pixel density) Multitouch Yes Protection Corning Gorilla Glass (unspecified version)   - HTC Sense UI Platform OS Android OS, v6.0 (Marshmallow) Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU Quad-core Memory Card slot microSD, up to 256 GB

Microsoft has pushed out a new update to Cortana's Android app, bumping it to version 1.9.12, and bringing a couple of new features, including the ability to send birthday reminders. "Birthday reminder: never miss a friend's birthday again," the change-log for the update says. Reportedly, the digital personal assistant will get birthday-related data from Outlook Calendar. Another feature the update brings along is the ability to connect to multiple calendars. Then there are a couple of improvements, as well as fixes for several crash-related bugs. You can download the updated app from the Play Store. Source | Via

If you are the type of person, who tends to form attachments to particular tech and don't really feel like moving on or upgrading regularly, then chances are you have already found your perfect phone years back and are still with it. If that is the case and taking into account you are currently on a tech-centric site, chances are you are familiar witch CyanogenMod and might even be running the custom OS. Then, you will also be happy to hear that despite the recent calamities over at Cyanogen Inc., the dedicated custom ROM group is still alive and well and constantly expanding its device reach. The team appears to currently be working mostly on CyanogenMod 14.1, which is based on the bleeding-edge Android 7.1 Nougat. Their dedication must really run deep, as nightly builds will soon be available for the four-year-old LG Nexus 4 (mako) as well. In the meantime, there is an experimental build already up and you can also get said software for a few other devices:

Amid the ongoing Nougat update frenzy in the smartphone realm, it appears Nexus owners will, once again, be blessed with bragging rights for running the latest and greatest Android version. This is all thanks to Google and the decision to thankfully continue supporting the Nexus line with bleeding-edge AOSP builds, even after the company threw its glove into the smartphone market with the Pixel and Pixel XL. Frankly, it was the right thing to do and Google is sticking by it, at least for now, that is, with many Nexus devices already running Android 7.0. Earlier this month, it also became clear that many recent Nexus devices will go on to receive Android 7.1 as well. Today, Vodafone Australia finally spilled the beans and stated the Nexus 6P will be getting said OTA starting December 6. This does fall in line with previously cited time frames, as well as the Developer Preview 2 Android 7.1.1 release, posted for Nexus hardware earlier this week. If everything goe

Samsung unveiled the Galaxy C9 Pro last month. The device - which is currently only available in China - comes in just two colors: Gold and Pink Gold. However, looks like that's soon going to change as a new image has leaked, allegedly showing the black colored variant of the device. To refresh, the Galaxy C9 Pro is powered by Snapdragon 653 SoC, and sports a 6-inch HD display. RAM is 6GB, while internal memory is 64GB. In terms of camera, the device features a 16MP rear and a 16MP front shooter. A large, 4,000mAh battery is there to keep the lights on. Via

After being spotted on Zauba last month, the Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro (SM-C7010) has now appeared on Geekbench. The benchmark listing reveals that the phone is powered by Snapdragon 626 SoC, which is inline with earlier rumors. Other specs that the listing reveals include 4GB RAM and Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow OS. The device's Zauba listing had revealed a display size of 5.7-inches. The Galaxy C7 Pro, along with the Galaxy C5 Pro, is rumored to be made official sometime next month. Via

If you recall, back in October this year, when Google made the Android 7.1 Nougat OS official, it was revealed that the final update will be rolled-out to the general public sometime early December. While Google is yet to reveal an exact date for the final roll-out, looks like the update will be pushed out on December 6, at-least in Australia. The information comes courtesy of Vodafone Australia. A dedicated page on the carrier's website reveals that the update (Android 7.1.1) includes the December security patch and weighs in at around 650MB. The Nexus 6P will be getting it on the aforementioned date. The roll-out will happen in phases, with the process taking around 2 weeks to complete. Source

Up until now, we were expecting the Meizu M5 Note to be made official alongside the Meizu X on November 30. However, according to a new leak - which allegedly shows the Chinese company's 2016 launch schedule - that won't be the case. The leaked schedule reveals a December launch for the device. The phone has already been spotted in benchmark listings and has also been the subject of an image leak. Specs-wise, it is said to be powered by Mediatek's Helio P10 SoC and sport a full HD display. Other rumored specs include, 3GB/32GB memory configuration, 13MP/5MP camera combo, and Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Via

With the Note7’s discontinuation, Samsung will be on everyone’s watch with high expectations of the company’s next flagship device: the Samsung Galaxy S8. And although we haven’t seen any leaks of the hardware, the rumor mill has been churning out lots of news with no signs of slowing down any time soon. Some new rumors deciphered by TechTastic on Weibo suggest that the Galaxy S8 will feature a 256GB storage option. And it’s not yet known if this is intended to be a standard size or larger storage option. The S8 is also rumored to come with 6GB of RAM, a good decision considering even the Galaxy S7 suffered from TouchWiz jank every now and then.     Samsung Galaxy S7 If we recall, the Galaxy Note7 was expected to come out with 6GB of RAM as well, so when the company announced that it would have the same internals as the Galaxy S7 from earlier in the year, some were surprised. So now we expect the Galaxy S8 to have a slick design and improved camera as me

While it still hasn't decided whether the high-end Find 9 will ever be a real thing, Oppo is on the other hand constantly launching new midrangers. Case in point: the new Oppo A57, just unveiled for the Chinese market. The smartphone comes with that unmistakable Oppo look, dressed in a gold or rose gold all-metal casing, with 2.5D curved glass on top of its 5.2-inch 720p touchscreen. Its main camera is a 13 MP unit with f/2.2 aperture, phase detection autofocus and a LED flash, while taking care of selfies is a 16 MP sensor with f/2.0 aperture and 1.12nm pixels. It's powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 chipset, which has a 1.4 GHz octa-core Cortex-A53 processor and the Adreno 505 GPU. It's aided by 3GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage. The A57 has LTE support and a 2,900 mAh battery. It runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow underneath Oppo's ColorOS 3.0. Its dimensions are 149.1 x 72.9 x 7.65 mm, and it weighs 147g. It will become available in C

This definitely feels a bit like deja vu. Remember how yesterday a rumor from China claimed the Oppo Find 9 would launch in March with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 on board? Well, that got debunked in the meantime, but apparently there's another Chinese smartphone that will actually be out in March sporting Qualcomm's latest and greatest. Yes, the Xiaomi Mi 6. According to one iSuppli analyst, this will be the first Chinese device to feature the upcoming SoC, and will be released at around the same time as Samsung's Galaxy S8 will get its international launch - as it happens, that model will also be powered by the Snapdragon 835. Of course, this information isn't verified yet, and it's important to stress that it comes from the iSuppli analyst's personal Weibo account, so this prediction doesn't necessarily reflect his employer's views. Then again, the Mi 5 was announced in February this year and released in April, so if we do see the

A couple of days ago we saw what were claimed to be leaked renders depicting the upcoming Huawei P10. They showed a device with a dual-curved touchscreen, but also an oddity for the mobile world: both a physical Home button on the front and a fingerprint sensor on the back. This arrangement isn't one we remember ever seeing before, and it's easy to understand why - those companies who employ a physical Home button on their devices can easily make it double as a fingerprint scanner, so there's no need for that to be on the handset's back. Luckily, the people creating these renders seem to have realized their mistake and today they're back at it with a couple of new images. This time around, though, the physical Home button is gone, and what we get in its place is a Huawei logo. Such a design looks a lot closer to what the Chinese company's been doing in the past few years. That said, given the earlier mishap (and seeing as how these renders

Yesterday a rumor out of China claimed the legendary Oppo Find 9 would finally be announced in March of next year, almost two years after the debut of its predecessor, the Find 7. This was pretty exciting, if only because the Find 9 has been one of the most rumored devices ever, in fact it's probably the most rumored smartphone that hasn't launched yet. Today though the situation has changed. A reputed Chinese mobile market analyst has basically said, in no uncertain terms, that the Find 9 will not be launched in the first half of next year. Additionally, an employee of Qualcomm's Chinese arm has pretty much confirmed this, saying that the Find 9 releasing in March is nothing but a rumor. So there's no telling whether the Find 9 will ever be a real product you can buy. If it does ever become official, that's probably not going to happen in the first half of 2017. Go on, start getting your hopes up for the latter part of next year - maybe unicorns

Samsung has released the third Android 7.0 Nougat beta for the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge in the UK in as many weeks. The latest build brings improvements to the notification shade. You can now choose the grid layout for the toggles and also choose to have the brightness slider at the top of the toggles. The update also gets rid of the Edge feeds feature. Other than that, there are a bunch of minor improvements and bug fixes but the update also has some issues of its own, such as the slow lighting of the screen when you wake up the phone and intermittent Wi-Fi disconnections. The update can be downloaded as an OTA if you're running the previous builds of the beta build. Source

Unofficial preliminary specifications. Product image for illustrative purposes. Network Technology GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE 2G bands GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900   CDMA 800 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100 3G bands HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100   CDMA2000 1xEV-DO 4G bands LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700), 13(700), 17(700), 18(800), 19(800), 20(800), 25(1900), 26(850), 28(700), 29(700), 30(2300)   LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700), 13(700), 17(700), 18(800), 19(800), 20(800), 25(1900), 26(850), 28(700), 29(700), 30(2300), 38(2600), 39(1900), 40(2300), 41(2500) Speed HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE-A (3CA) Cat9 450/50 Mbps, EV-DO Rev.A 3.1 Mbps GPRS Yes EDGE Yes Launch Announced Not announced yet Status Rumored Body Dimensions 6.1 mm thickness Weight - SIM Nano-SIM   - IP67 certified - dust and water resistant

Microsoft has pushed out a new update to OneDrive's Android client. The update bumps the app to version 4.7 and brings along a couple of changes, including improvements to the app's file sorting feature. OneDrive for Android "Ever feel like your files are all mixed up? Want to untangle and sort through your most important things easily? We made it easier than ever to sort and parse through your stuff in the Files view," the change-log for the update says. In addition, the update also features some "new visuals," which the software giant says are aimed at making users more productive. To download the updated app, head to the Source link below. Source

If you have an LG Nexus 5X bought from the US, you might be among the unlucky few whose devices have been stuck in a boot loop. This basically renders the handset unusable, since it never successfully completes a boot after entering this state. It's definitely not the first LG handset to have this issue, by the way. But there's some good news for owners of affected Nexus 5X units. According to multiple reports on reddit, LG's arm in the US is offering to give people full refunds for the smartphone in case this happens. People who have sent their Nexus 5X handsets in for repair following the appearance of the boot loop problem have reported receiving an email from LG, the contents of which read: We're sorry to hear that you've experienced a problem with your LGH790 and appreciate you giving us the opportunity to provide a warranty repair. We have received your device at our repair facility but currently a part to complete the repair is out of sto

Back in September Samsung sold its printer business to HP, and a shocking revelation from South Korea today claims it might do the same with its PC division. According to a report from a local news source in Samsung's home country, the company has been in secret talks with Lenovo for the past few months, with the aim of selling its PC business to the Chinese company. Some Korean analysts peg the sales value at 1 trillion won (around $850 million), but the final number can obviously be wildly different. The printer business was sold because through its most recent reorganization Samsung wants to focus more on its core divisions, but also for the fact that printers aren't really breaking sales records anymore. Similarly, the PC market has been slowly shrinking over the past few years, and for the long run it might not be worth it for Samsung to invest in this area anymore. The company has chosen not to comment on this matter. Source (in Korean) | Via 1

The Xiaomi Mi Mix has probably surpassed any other smartphone in terms of popularity this season due to its amazing edgeless design that seems like a device from the future. While others competed in camera and chipsets, Xiaomi went for the most visible innovation - design. And it has worked! In the days following the device premiere, the Mi Mix was all over the internet, and it got a lot of people talking. It received glowing reviews and everyone agrees that the other manufacturers better up their game because the bar has just been set higher than ever. And what's not to like? It's got a massive edgeless screen, a piezoelectric speaker (that sends sound through the body of the phone), an ultrasonic proximity sensor, and, of course, top-notch hardware nestled in-between the layers of glass and ceramics. As you may have guessed it already, our review unit has just arrived. Once we took the Mi Mix out of the box, we were wowed by its design and that'

Samsung has released an update for the Gear Fit2 fitness band, that should be rolling out to users right now. It includes a handful of new features to improve the tracking experience. Gear Fit2 can now auto pause the activity tracking when it detects that the user has stopped. It can also automatically begin when it detects activity. This means you get accurate tracking and don't have to fiddle with the device during a session. The Gear Fit2 can also track activities outside of the previous pre-defined activities. Things like basketball, table tennis, badminton, football, and even dancing are now categorized under Dynamic Workout and are automatically logged when the user engages for over ten minutes. Lastly, Gear Fit2 is now better for tracking sets of repetitive workouts. You can program it to track things such as crunches, lunges, squats, etc. and it will count the reps for you and also display appropriate break intervals in between. Source

Samsung is reportedly working on its own voice-assisted AI system, along the lines of Siri , Cortana and Google Assistant. It will likely be called Bixby with a male voice, and there will be a possible female variant as well called Kestra. The information comes courtesy of Dutch website GalaxyClub . Samsung has seemingly filed for trademarks for all variations of the Bixby name with the description ‘Computer software for enabling hands-free use of a mobile phone through voice recognition’ and ‘Computer software used to process voice commands’. The voice assistant will also be able to process your online payments. Samsung previous came up with S Voice after Apple introduced Siri but it wasn't very good and the feature was eventually hidden and made optional on later devices, with Google Now becoming the default. But in recent times Samsung has been trying to move away from its dependence on Google and its services, so it's not a surprise that it would tr

Verizon typically has dibs on Star Wars-themed smartphones - they even licensed the word “Droid” from George Lucas. Now Sharp is stepping into their territory with a phone for SoftBank. The phone comes in two versions - Light side and Dark side, naturally, and features live wallpapers and themes that turn its screen into the cockpit of an X-Wing or a Tie fighter respectively. Star Wars-themed ringtones, emoji and an alarm clock are also included. The Light and the Dark side You also get to watch Star Wars: The Force Awakens for free. We’re not sure but you may have to bring your own lightsaber, though. Custom emoji • Star Wars alarm clock As for the Android smartphone qualities of the handset, it features a 5.3” IGZO display (1080p resolution), a Snapdragon 820 chipset with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage (plus a microSD slot) and runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Like so many of Sharp’s phones, this one is waterproof (IP58). It has a 22.6MP main camera and a 5MP