Back in May, Andy Rubin’s new company, Essential, decided to shock the Android world by announcing a brand new phone named ‘Essential Phone‘. However, ever since that announcement, things have been fairly quiet with various details coming out here and there, but many of us still wondering when the device would launch.
While we don’t have a concrete answer regarding availability, we can assume that the day is nearing as the Essential Phone was found passing through the FCC. Much of the information revealed in the FCC filing confirms what we already knew, including the fact that the Essential Phone will be compatible with all four major US carriers.
A piece of new information, however, revealed that instead of the PH-1 model number shared on the Essential web page, the device will carry a model number of “A11”. This is nothing monumental, but worth mentioning for consistency sake.
It’s likely that a few of you forgot about the Essential Phone considering all the recent hoopla regarding the OnePlus 5. Regardless, now that you’ve been reminded, let us know what you think about the Essential Phone and if you’ll be looking to snag one for yourself once it hits the market.
With T-Mobile giving its subscribers some freebies once a week, Cricket Wireless is looking to one-up the competition. The carrier has announced its “Cricket Rewards” program, which gives subscribers points for doing simple things like “paying your bill, playing games, and checking into locations near you.”
By completing these tasks, you are rewarded points which can in-turn be used towards various items. One of the biggest benefits to accruing points is that these can actually end up saving you money on your monthly bill. Other rewards include the ability to enter a sweepstakes for a free Color Run registration, as well as getting 3 months of WWE Network for free.
The best part about Cricket Rewards is that the carrier is offering daily giveaways, with prizes such as a free Samsung Galaxy S8, or two tickets to a House of Blues concert.
And if you think that this is just some malarkey that Cricket Wireless is working up, you can earn 10,000 points off the bat, JUST for signing up. If you enroll in Cricket’s auto pay feature, you get an additional 1,000 points, and if you add another line of service, you’ll get another 10,000 points.
There are an array of different ways for you to accrue points towards some good benefits, so if you’re already a subscriber to Cricket Wireless, be sure to sign up for Cricket Rewards and start saving. This Cricket Rewards week begins today and lasts until June 30th, so act quickly. If you’ve already started, let us know how many points you’ve accrued so far and what you’re looking forward to use your points for.
It’s officially summer which means that the days are longer now than any other time in the year. Moreover, they’re warmer, too. In some places the days are much, much warmer (Sorry, Arizona!). If you’re at all like us, these long, warm days equate to more time outside and using our phones. Yes, we’re all over the revisions that have come to Pokemon Go.
If you’ve owned a phone for more than a few weeks, you know that it’s pretty tough to use your device for extended periods without reaching for a charger. Quick charge is nice and all, but we’re hoping to stay away from the wall altogether. A lot of us like to reach for portable chargers so that we can plug into something while out and about. In some instances, there’s another option: a mophie juice pack.
The mophie brand, which has been around for quite some time, continues to get bigger and better with each passing season. The last few weeks saw it releasing products for a number of key Android smartphones: Samsung Galaxy S8, Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus, and Google Pixel XL. If you own either of these phones, you’ll certainly want to pick up a mophie accessory.
We’ve spent the last month or so playing around with a number of the new products and find them to be equal parts convenient and practical. Each serves its own need but all revolve around giving your phone more power without having to find an outlet.
The juice pack (about $100 each) is both a protective case and a portable charger. By putting your phone inside you’ll have protection against minor drops, scuffs, and scrapes. Moreover, your phone benefits by having a secondary power supply. Should you get to the end of a work day and find you’re running a little lower on power, simply long-press the button on the back and the case will charge your phone’s battery.
There are a number of reasons we like having a juice pack on our device that don’t have anything to do with the power. Take the one for the Pixel XL, for example. Putting one of these on your Google device will add in wireless charging, something that doesn’t come with the Pixel XL. That’s damn convenient if you ask us.
We also like that the case passes charging through the case and into the phone. So, rather than top off the juice pack, plugging into a wall puts the power into your phone first, and then into the secondary unit. The four lights on the back signal how much battery is left in the reserve tank.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 and Google Pixel XL juice pack offer 2,950mAh of power; the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus juice pack boasts 3,300mAh.
Charge force case & powerstation mini
The charge force case & powerstation mini is a great combo pack for customers who may have other phones in the household. While the first component is a case to protect the phone, the second piece is a portable power supply. Sold separately through mophie, the powerstation mini is an external battery. It’s small and powerful and works with any other mophie cases with charge force capabilities.
Simply stick it to the back of your phone and the magnets hold it into place. Spend a few minutes at dinner charging your device, or snap them together in your purse on the way home from work and you’ll be all set. The best part is that there are no cables to mess with.
Mophie does include one short microUSB cord in the box so that you can charge the battery up. Should you want to charge your phon, you can pass through the charge force powerstation mini, giving preferential treatment to the phone. Like other charging solutions from mophie, there are four lights to get a sense for how much juice is in the tank.
Conclusion
We’re big fans of mophie in general and always appreciate when it releases products designed specifically for our phones. Sure, a portable power bank is nice, but when you can get a protective case with battery capabilities, it’s a different experience.
We love that we don’t have to carry around a blocky power supply in the juice packs. Yes, it does take a little bit of time to get used to the thickness, but you’ll love it. The juice packs can be a little bit more slippery and smooth; they tend to pick up oils from touches rather easy. But, they do clean up nicely and can even take a little abuse in the process.
The charge force case & powerstation mini is what you’ll want to reach for if you like a little more textured (leather) case and don’t need the extra battery on a daily basis. Charge up the powerstation mini and keep it in a handy place like the car or purse and you’ll have an extra 3000mAh worth of battery on deck. Heck, even if you want to carry it around on a daily basis, it beats using something with a cable.
Finally, one of the biggest reasons to look to mophie for mobile accessories is that its products are backed by a two year warranty. That’s double what most others are willing to do provide.
The world of earbuds, and more specifically, Bluetooth earbuds, covers a spectrum of features that manufacturers try to focus in on. Fit, security, sound quality, and price are each highlighted, depending on the model in question. The big problem is normally only one of these features are or can be highlighted. Emphasizing or focusing on one feature usually forces the others to take a back seat in the real world (great sound quality buds tend to be bulky, cheap buds tend to lack great sound quality, etc).
One company currently on Kickstarter is going big in striving to excel in all these features at the same time. That company is Veosport, and their premier earbuds, the Veosport V1’s, are aiming for this very goal. Not only do the V1’s aim to be comfortable earbuds, but want to offer great (and customizable!) sound quality, and all at a very compelling price.
Unboxing
The overall packaging and unboxing is a very clean affair. The modern white square box opens to reveal a black circular bud case, surrounded by black foam. Below the foam is a short braided micro-USB charging cord (no wall charger is included) and user’s guide.
Opening the case reveals the pair of V1’s (white in my case, though black is also an option) and several packets of ear tips. The tips come in 3 styles and each style has 2-3 sizes, so finding the perfect fit becomes very easy. The case is a welcome bonus here, as a lot of buds come with pretty flimsy sack-like enclosures that offer little-to-no physical protection while in your gym bag, backpack, or elsewhere.
Build Quality & Comfort
Bendy!
The Veosport V1’s come in a very soft silicone-type of material, that appears both sturdy but still very pliable. The ear hooks continue this feeling, both being very flexible but pretty useful once looped around my ear. These buds also come with both a cord shortener (to clean up slack) and clothes clip (to keep the cord from flapping around).
The ear tips come in several styles- my favorite were the foam tips; these felt extremely secure in my ear, but also noticeably pumped up the bass levels during playback (more on this a little later).
Button Layout & Use
The V1’s come with only 3 buttons, the usual + and – buttons, and the commonly-found multi-function button. The + and – buttons are small but sufficiently raised to allow easy finding and control while active.
The multi-function button is probably my favorite feature of these earbuds. First off, it’s big; it’s a large black button molded into the side of one bud… Big style points here. But also, the satisfying way the button responds to your finger press was both noticeable and appreciated (I know I’m going gadget-geek on you here, but I think it’s a highlight when something as seemingly simple as a button click gets as much type-space as this, let alone any at all to begin with). This button is the on/off button, and also the play/pause. I’ll say it one more time, the combination of size and ‘clicky-ness’ of the V1 multi-function button makes these buds immediately climb to the top of the list in terms of ease of use.
In terms of battery life, Veosport claims up to 8 hours of use per charge. In my own unscientific testing (40 minute workouts, 2-3 times per week) I am still on my initial charge 2 weeks in. This is a whole lot better than either of my last two pairs of value-price earbuds!
Sound Quality & Price
Here’s where the Veosport V1 earbuds really want to separate themselves from the pack. But, it’s not in their sound quality out of the gate….
Let me explain- out of the box, the V1’s do seem to experience a similar fate as most other earbuds (particularly Bluetooth models): sound quality that skews either to the high tones or the bass side of the spectrum. Again, the V1’s are no different: in my opinion, while the mids and lows are really very good, the overall sound has a “closed box” effect, where the highs seem to be almost filtered out, leaving a wet-paper quality to the overall tone range. Just not bright and airy enough.
The V1’s don’t skimp on the low-frequency range, though. Particularly when I put on the foam-style ear tips, the amount of bass was very, very good. Not just loud and muddy, mind you, but good punch with very good separation at the low notes. But still, without the airy highs you need from the vocals and the instruments, it can be underwhelming at times.
Veosport aims to rectify this issue with a pairing app (unavailable at the time of writing; the iOS version is due out soon and the Android one about a month later) that allows you to change the EQ settings of the earbuds themselves, so you can tune your tunes until you acquire the sound profile you like! This is simply a fantastic idea, and Veosport should be lauded for bringing it into the market. At least trying to; they just launched their Kickstarter campaign. I really can’t wait for the app to launch to be able to mess around with my physical earbuds’ EQ.
The V1’s also have built-in noise-canceling technology, that seems to work very well. In my personal test cases, they block out ambient noise much better than my current pair of Bluetooth earbuds (that don’t have any active noise-canceling features).
Which brings us to pricing. While most higher-end Bluetooth earbuds are priced north of $100, the Veosport earbuds come in at $79. As a bonus, if you commit early via their Kickstarter, you can reserve a pair of these earbuds for as low as $49. Whether retail or via Kickstarter, I can tell you these should be a very good value in the active Bluetooth earbud market.
Conclusion
I’m really enjoying the Veosport V1 earbuds. First off, even without the pending EQ app, they are by far the most comfortable ‘active’ earbuds I’ve worn. Also given the amount of bass they naturally produce, I’m very much looking forward to tweaking the sound profile to get a more balanced output; with that I’m more than confident the sound quality will literally sing from these.
If you’d like to invest in a pair of V1 earbuds, be sure to check out both the Veosport V1 homepage here and the Kickstarter page here.
It’s been a few months since Nokia officially made its return to the smartphone game with the Nokia 6. With that device launching in China back in January, those of us here in the States have been clamoring to get our hands on the Nokia 6, and the wait is almost over.
Nokia has confirmed that the Nokia 6 will launch in the US in “early July” and will be available in either Matte Black or Silver. In the announcement, Nokia detailed the process that the company uses to manufacture the device, including the fact that it takes “55 minutes to machine the seamless Nokia 6 unibody”.
Nokia 6 Specs
5.5-inch FHD Display
Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 SoC
3GB RAM
32GB Expandable Storage
8MP Front Camera
16MP Rear Camera
3,000mAh Battery
Android Nougat
As for pricing, Nokia did think it was time to take the wraps off of what has been highly speculated for some time. When the Nokia 6 launches on Amazon next month, it will be available for just $229 which puts it right up against the likes of the Moto G5 Plus, which is also priced at $229.
What’s unknown at this time is whether there will be a cheaper version of the Nokia 6 which will give users lock-screen ads from Amazon. Let us know what you think about the Nokia 6 and if you’ll be looking to pick one up for yourself once it’s made available.
Despite the Galaxy Note7 debacle last year, Samsung remains on schedule to release the Galaxy Note8 sometimes later this year.
Whether the Korean tech giant will launch in late August or September, as various rumors have claimed, one thing is sure – soon the Galaxy Note8 will make a debut on the market.
But what will it bring when it arrives? In what follows we list what we know so far about Samsung’s second flagship for 2017.
Design and Display
We expect the Galaxy Note8’s design to be pretty much in league with the Galaxy Note 7’s. Although the phone will most likely feature the same skinny bezels as the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+.
The phone – codenamed “Gr3at” internally by Samsung – will most likely include an Infinity Display and the atypical 18:5:9 ratio. Like the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, the Note8 will carry a dual curved display which will wrap around the phone’s sides giving it the edge-to-edge look.
A few leaked pictures showing a screen protector for the Note8 revealed slightly adjusted corners – a detail which suggests a few more pixel might be squeezed in.
The Galaxy Note8 is going to feature a large 6.3-inch display with 18:5:9 ratio, making it larger than the Galaxy S8+’s 6.2-inch panel.
We’re not sure whether the Note8 will offer QHD resolution like the Galaxy S8 or whether it’s going to be the first phone to come with a 4K panel. While in daily use this upgrade should make little difference, combined with a VR headset it will certainly make a difference.
The Note8 has been long rumored to come with a fingerprint sensor embedded under the display. Unfortunately, recent information indicates this will not be the case. According to the latest info, the Samsung will stick to the same fingerprint sensor placement we’ve seen in the Galaxy S8.
However, this time around the cameras and the sensor will be separated by the LED and heart rate sensors, which hopefully will prevent users from smudging the shooter’s lenses with their fingers.
07/01/2017 Update: Case maker Olixar leaked the Galaxy Note8 in all its glory via these case renders.
07/04/2017 Update: MobileFun has already started accepting pre-orders for Olixar’s lineup of cases designed for the Samsung Galaxy Note 8. The renders highlight the phablet’s larger Infinity Display and confirm the fingerprint scanner will once again be placed on the back of the device, like in the case of the Galaxy S8.
We’ve also learned the phone will be available in Orchid Gray, Deep Blue, Black, Silver and Gold. Also the Pop Cover and wireless charging Backpack case made a comeback. Missing from the lineup of cases is the Lens Cover. Place your pre-orders here.
07/24/2017 Update: New renders give us another look at the Galaxy Note 8. As anticipated, the phone boasts an Infinity Display, a dual-camera on the back and a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner.
08/01/2017 Update: The Galaxy Note8 leaked in all of its glory complete with S Pen thanks to the reliable @evleaks.
08/16/2017 Update: Evan Blass shared an image which reveals the upcoming Galaxy Note8 in a new Deep Sea Blue color. We can only see the front of the device alongside a blue S Pen, but hopefully, a picture of the phablet’s blue back will appear soon.
The Samsung Galaxy Note8 will take advantage of either a Snapdragon 835 or an Exynos 8895 processor – depending on the market. The phablet is expected to be the second Samsung phone after the Galaxy C9 Pro to feature 6GB of RAM.
As for storage options, we hope Samsung will offer more variants. The Galaxy S8 only sold with a 64GB configuration. Although the presence of the microSD card slot allowed users who needed more storage to easily expand. The Galaxy Note7 featured a microSD card, so we expect the Note8 to carry one as well.
07/27/2017 Update: A rumor coming out of China seems to indicate that Samsung will offer a Galaxy Note8 Emperor Edition with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. Since the company sells a Galaxy S8+ version with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage in some markets, the leak is pretty believable.
He subsequently revised his prediction saying the phone will arrive with 6GB of RAM and 64GB/128GB or 256GB of storage.
07/31/2017 Update: The Samsung Galaxy Note8 was just spotted making an appearance at the FCC. While most of the juicy info in the filing is hidden, a detail of relative interest has nevertheless surfaced.
The phone will have four variants: a global one with the Exynos 8895 chipset onboard, two US versions, both with Snapdragon 835 on board (one for carriers and another factory unlocked model) and a display-only model with wireless capabilities.
08/14/2017 Update: According to a listing on Samsung’s Austrian website, the Galaxy Note8 (listed as SM-N950F/DS) will most certainly come in a dual SIM variant. This can be inferred from the “curious” DS ending.
However, US customers shouldn’t get too excited, as historically Samsung has bestowed dual SIM capabilities only to Exynos variants that were sold outside of America.
Cameras
The upgrade in the camera department is probably going to be one of the main selling points of this year’s Note8.
The phone is expected to take advantage of a 12-megapixel sensor, as well as an independent optical image stabilization for the lens.
Samsung is finally jumping on the dual-camera bandwagon, after competitors like Apple, LG, Huawei, OnePlus or Xiaomi.
A recent report by popular leakster Evan Blass revealed the camera lenses will be placed horizontally and not vertically.
31/07/2017 Update: Samsung Electro-Mechanics (or the subsidiary in charge of developing mobile camera modules) just shared a bunch of sample images taken with a dual camera module. Given that the Galaxy Note8 will arrive with a dual camera setup on board we can assume, the phablet will be able to take images on par with what we see here.
The camera should be able to support merging (Samsung calls it Dual Fusion), refocusing (Depth Application) and advanced zooming abilities (Smart Zoo,), as well as low light prowess (Super Night Shot).
The Smart Zoom features will supposedly bring 3x “optical zoom” capabilities to the table.
08/16/2017 Update: According to a new report coming out from ET News, the Galaxy Note 8’s dual camera will consist of a 12-megapixel Dual Pixel RGB sensor paired with a 13-megapixel sensor and telephoto lens.
We’re also told the primary camera will also feature OIS (Optical Image Stabilization), as well as 2x optical zoom.
Other features
The phone will probably launch with Android 7.1.1 Nougat out of the box, but will, of course, be updated to Android O afterward.
Samsung will certainly include some new software tricks (like improved ease-of-use of split-screen multitasking), as well as an improved S Pen experience. New functionalities for the stylus include full-sentence language translation and currency conversion.
Bixby is also going to be onboard, but whether the Note8 will ship with Bixby Voice enabled remains to be seen. On top of that, the phablet will be compatible with the DeX dock which will allow users to use the phablet in desktop mode.
A 3,300 mAh battery (the same powering the Galaxy S8+) will breathe life into the Note8. The Note7 relied on a larger 3,500 mAh battery, so as you can see Samsung is playing it safe this year.
27/07/2017 Update: Roland Quandt of WinFuture claims the Samsung Galaxy Note8 will debut a new coloring option called Deep Blue.
Samsung Galaxy Note8 coming in Black, Orchid Grey and a new Deep Blue. At least.
The rumor mill can’t seem to agree when the Galaxy Note8 will go official. A few weeks ago we heard the phone will go live during an event in New York scheduled for August 26, but most recently @evleaks revealed the phone will be unveiled in the second half of September.
Given Evan Blass’ positive track record with leaks, we believe the latter report is more likely to be true.
The same @evleaks warns the Galaxy Note8 will probably be Samsung’s most expensive phone to date. According to him, the device might end up selling with a $900+ price tag in the US, while in Europe it will be offered for €999.
07/24/2017 Update: Samsung has started sending out invites for an event set for 23 August 2017 in New York during which we’ll most likely see the Galaxy Note 8 make a debut. While the invitation doesn’t specifically mention the Note 8, we can clearly see an S Pen in the short video.
08/14/2017 Update: With only 9 days to go before the Galaxy Note8’s launch, Samsung has released a new video teaser for the device. Watch it below:
08/22/2017 Update: With only one day to go before the Galaxy Note8 launch, check out these two videos teasing the phablet’s camera and S Pen:
Remember how a while ago we told you to expect some new color variants for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. Well, Samsung has just pulled off the wraps a flashy “Rose Pink” version of the Galaxy S8+. But there’s a catch.
The phone, most likely aimed at the female population, will be sold in Taiwan. The phone will reportedly be available for purchase only for a limited period of time.
Samsung has taken a special interest in the Taiwanese market, as it decided to re-brand some of the Galaxy S8’s standard colors – Coral Blue, Maple Gold, and Orchid Grey – into Ice Lake Blue, Smoked Purple Grey and Quicksand Gold.
Unfortunately, the new Rose Pink version is only available for the Galaxy S8+ and not the Galaxy S8. But who knows, if the pink phone sees enough interest, the Korean tech giant might decide in favor of releasing a pink Galaxy S8 model too.
For the time being, we don’t know whether the new model will arrive in other markets including the US, but we certainly hope so. LG recently unveiled the G6+ model which brought a splash of new colors to its current flagship lineup. So it might not be a bad idea for Samsung to do the same.
What do you think of the new Rose Pink Galaxy S8+? Would you buy it?
Motorola unveiled the Moto E4 and Moto E4 Plus not so long and while the former is already available for purchase at Verizon, we don’t have any official details about when the Moto E4 Plus will land in the US.
The big battery handset recently landed with UK retailer Argos in the UK, so it might not be long until the phone becomes available across the pond. Actually according to industry insider Andri Yatim the Moto E4 Plus could start selling as soon as June 30.
June 30 will be anticlimactic. #MotoE4+ launch and MAYBE a mention of Z2, instead of scheduled X4 launch. Thanks, Qualcomm.
On the same date, Motorola was expected to roll out the Moto X4 – the successor of 2015’s Moto X – but apparently, the phone has been delayed due to Snapdragon 660 shortages.
So instead of the Moto X4, we’ll see the Moto E4 Plus make an appearence in the US. Motorola will also “mention” the elusive Moto Z2 – which is apparently still in the cards – on the same date.
When it finally arrives, the Moto X4 should bring along a 5.5-inch display with 1920 x 1080 resolution and a Snapdragon 660, which is expected to power most of the mid-rangers coming out in the second part of 2017. The handset will also feature IP68 rating and include a 3,800 mAh battery, Quick Charge 3.0 and USB Type-C port.
On June 30 customers will finally be able to purchase the affordable Moto E4 Plus with a big 5,000 mAh battery. The product carries a 5.5-inch display with 1280 x 720 resolution, a Snapdragon 427 chipset, 2GB of RAM and either 16GB/32GB of internal storage.
It also boasts a 13-megapixel primary camera, as well as a 5-megapixel selfie shooter with LED flash. Customers should be able to purchase the Moto E4 Plus for $179.99.
Introduced last week, the OnePlus 5 has already made an appearance on Amazon US. But before you get all excited, we’ll have to warn you – it comes with an abnormally large price tag.
The OnePlus 5 with US warranty included can be purchased from Amazon from $779 (for the 64GB model) or from $899 (for the 128GB model). The versions without a warranty are a bit more affordable, available for $559 (64GB) or $649 (128GB) but still pricier than the OnePlus’ official rates.
In case you don’t remember, OnePlus announced the 64GB version will be sold for $479, while the 128GB model will feature a $539 price tag. Why the discrepancy between pricing schemes? We’re not really sure, but it might have to do with the phone being available earlier.
OnePlus announced the new flagship will become available on its official website starting June 27 (which is tomorrow). A few early adopters were given the chance to get the phone before everyone else after the OnePlus 5 announcement ended.
The company also hosted a few so-called “Pop-up” events around various major cities from across the world, allowing fans in the area to purchase the device ahead of everyone else.
But if you’re still waiting to get your OnePlus 5, we recommend you wait until the phone goes official tomorrow.
OnePlus 5 was unveiled just last week and arrives with a 5.5-inch FullHD display (1920 x 1080) and a new Snapdragon 835 processor on the inside.The product boasts a new dual-camera setup system comprised of a main 16-megapixel sensor and a secondary 20-megapixel telephoto lens. It ships with Android 7.1.1 Nougat with Oxygen OS laid on top and also includes a 3.5mm headphone jack.
Good news Gmail users! Google will stop reading your emails with the purpose of delivering target ads.
The practice has been employed ever since 2014, when Google first launched its popular email client. But after receiving numerous criticism on the matter, Google finally announced it will soon stop scanning users’ correspondence.
The decision – made by Google’s cloud and business software unit – hopes to attract more corporate customers to its G Suite set of services, in a bid to better compete with Microsoft’s Office.
The move will align Google’s free Gmail service with the paid business version which does not deliver any ads. Despite offering a corporate version, Google has had troubles retaining business users who often find themselves apprehensive about trusting the search giant’s business tactics.
Once the practice is retired later this year, Gmail ads will be in line with how Google personalizes ads for its other products. Meaning, it will show ads based on the user’s settings which can be changed at any time, including disabling personalized ads altogether.
Despite being harshly criticized for its ad policy in Gmail, the service has continued to rise in popularity with standard users across the world. With targeted ads being taken out of the picture, the service is bound to become, especially to those who so far had concerns and did not want their emails to be scanned.