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Doogee MIX is a Xiaomi Mi MIX look-alike with dual rear cameras

Alexandra Arici
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Remember we told you obscure Chinese brand Doogee was working towards a bezeless smartphone in the vein of the Xiaomi Mi MIX? Well the phone now made an official debut into the wild.

Unlike the Xiaomi Mi MIX, the Doogee MIX features a physical home button which doubles as a fingerprint scanner. The phone features a 5.5-inch AMOLED display with 1920 x 1080 resolution, so it’s a bit smaller than the Xiaomi Mi MIX’s which has a 6.4-inch diagonal.

The phone boasts a premium stainless steel body with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection both on the front and back. As for computing power, the handset relies on a deca-core MediaTek Helio P25 CPU clocked at 2.5GHz which works in concert with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. There’s also a limited edition variant with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of built-in storage.

Unlike the Mi MIX, the Doogee MIX does features a dual-camera setup onboard which integrates a 16-megapixel RGB Samsung ISOCELL sensor, as well as an 8-megapixel monochrome Samsung ISOCELL sensor. The camera setup also includes phase-detection autofocus and dual-LED flash.

Doogee boasts the MIX features a large 3,380 mAh battery with 5V2A quick charge technology which should allow owners to charge the battery up to 80% in just 30 minutes of charging. The Doogee MIX runs Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box with the company’s own UI on top which includes the DG security center.

The Doogee MIX is available in three colors including Coral Blue, Dazzle Black and Aurora Blue. As for pricing specifications, we’re a bit in the blur. Doogee Mobile (official retail shop of Doogee Mobile) lists the phone as out of stock with a $256 tag attached, but the phone’s official page does not show any pricing information.

Later update: the Doogee MIX is available for pre-order here.

Moto Z2 Play specs leak showing thinner body and smaller battery

Dan Bartram
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In a world where a smartphone and connectivity to the world is becoming an essential facility, the ever important topic of battery life often comes up and forms the basis of many reviews and purchasing decisions. With that in mind, it may come of a surprise to hear that Motorola have actually reduced size of the battery in the upcoming Moto Z2 Play.

Last years Moto Z Play battery size came in at 3510mAh but Lenovo (who own Motorola) are expected to replace it with a 3000mAh battery if the latest leaks of the Moto Z2 Play are anything to go by.

It seems that to shave 1mm off the width of the body of the Moto Z2 Play and reduce it by 20 grams, the company have had to compromise on the battery size.

Other spec improvements see the jump from a Snapdragon 625 to a 626, 4GB of RAM rather than 3GB, 64GB of internal memory rather than 32GB, and the same display at 5.5 inches and full HD 1080p. The rear camera has seen a change from a 16MP f/2.0 sensor to a 12MP f/1.7 sensor and will launch with Android 7.1.1 Nougat.

While it’s great to have a thin and light smartphone, I for one would prefer a bigger battery over a thinner device. What about you? Drop us a comment and let us know your preference.

Alleged Amazon Echo 2 renders reveal big design overhaul

Alexandra Arici
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We’ve been previously telling you the next-gen Amazon Echo will feature a build-in touchscreen display and might arrive in May.

While information about the second-generation Alexa-enhanced speaker is quite scarce at the moment, a high-resolution render depicting the upcoming product showed up on line courtesy of @evleaks.

As you can see, the speaker teased in the image looks extremely different compared to the current cylinder shaped Amazon Echo. However, the visual representation seems to be in congruence with earlier rumors which revealed the next-gen Echo might come with intercom abilities.

Future Amazon Echo?

No additional information accompanied the leaked image, although we can see the display invites users to try out voice commands like “What’s on my calendar”. It also appears the next-gen Echo features a camera above the display, so Amazon’s upcoming speaker might borrow features from the recently launched Echo Look camera.

Current Amazon Echo

The leak reveals the Echo 2 will come in two colors, white and black and according to older rumors it might come with a price-tag ranging from $200 to $300.

A hint that Amazon is gearing up to launch a new Bluetooth speaker soon, is that the Echo is currently available for purchase with a discount. Previously $179.99, customers can now grab the Echo for only $149.99 (30% discount).

Wake up to a fresh pot of coffee everyday with Smarter iKettle and Smarter Coffee

Alexandra Arici
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Have you ever wished you could brew yourself a coffee cup from the comfort of your bed? Now thanks to products like the Smarter Coffee Machine and Smarter iKettle, you can do just that.

Like Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory, up and comping British design company, Smarter believes there’s no situation a hot beverage can’t make better. So they’ve come up with the two coffee/tea making machines – two smart home appliances that can wake you up and have your cup of tea/coffee ready and waiting for you.

The two gizmos can be controlled via the accompanying smartphone Smarter App which allows coffee lovers to select the way they want their coffee to be made. The smart devices send alerts via your smartphone or tablet when the cup of coffee is ready, or alternatively they can keep the water warm for an additional 40 minutes. They even double as alarm clocks via the “Wake up mode”.

Smarter Coffee

Using the Smarter App, users can simply personalize their coffee intake by adjusting the strength, number of cups and choice of freshly ground or filtered. Smart Coffee Machine and iKettle have third-party IFTTT integration, so they can connect to smart devices around the home like Nest and Amazon Echo.

Thanks to “Home Mode”, Smarter Coffee and iKettle can tell when you come home from work, and ask you whether you’d like a cup of coffee or tea.

Smarter Coffee in colors

While the Smarter Coffee Machine caters to coffee lovers, the Smarter iKettle is more can help make a great cup of tea. With this in mind, the iKettle offers precise boiling controls that allow users to select the desired boiling departure between 20-100 in order to ensure they get the ideal taste from their preferred tea. What’s more iKettle features a “Formula Mode” that makes late night baby feedings easier. When activated, the feature can boil water at certain hours and then send a notification when it is at the desired formula temperature.

iKettle

Both, Smarter Coffee and iKettle ensure you will never run out of tea or coffee again. The connected app features an in-app replenish service, so fresh coffee or tea will be delivered right on your doorstep. To help user better navigate its functions, Smarter Coffee also features a LCD control panel available in three colors including black, cream and red.

If you like to style yourself a coffee or tea addict, then these two products will find great use in your home. The Smarter Coffee (2nd generation) costs $249 while the iKettle (3rd generation) is available for $149. In the US, the two will be available for purchase from smarter.am starting later this summer.

Opera Max 3.0 for Android arrives with new UI design, big data-savings for Facebook

Alexandra Arici
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Opera Max for Android recently got bumped up to version 3.0 which brings forth a host of enhancement. The data management and data savings app now boasts an overhauled interface, as well as under the hood improvements.

The new interface is of course, the most obvious change. It has been optimized to provide increased usability and now offers tips on how to manage app data usage in the form of cards. A step-by-step tutorial is activated when users first open the app.

On top of that, the new version of Opera Max can now show app by app mobile and Wi-Fi data usage, as well as deliver personalized tips on how to reduce wasted data. The feat is advertised as a “smart assistant” that can provide a feed of cards contextual to a user’s data usage habits.

The app also gives users control over individual applications, so they can block apps from using mobile or Wi-Fi data, and select which apps run in the background.

We’ve talked above about under the hood improvements and the most significant one that has been included in the update is data savings for Facebook. Facebook’s mobile app is usually one of the biggest data hogs, but Opera Max users will now be able to fully take advantage of all Facebook’s features without beefing up their bill and saving up to 50%. Users can also save up to 60% while using Instagram, 50% with Pinterest and 40% with BBM.

The update also has a security component, now Opera Max will warn you about any external threats, as well as provide data encryption when connected to a public Wi-Fi.

Opera Max for Android is currently available for download free of charge and you can get it from the Google Play Store.

T-Mobile has a new Premium Device Protection Plan for $15/month

Alexandra Arici
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T-Mobile has a new protection plan for customers looking to secure their phones and tablets against things like accidental damage or theft. The new device insurance tier is called Premium Device Protection Plus and is available for $15 a month.

For this amount of money subscribers will get the usual protection package which includes loss, theft, physical damage. On top of that, T-Mobile also throws in some additional services like the McAfee Content Protection – an anti-malware tool for phones and PCs (10 licenses included) and the McAfee ID Protection – a service that guarantees 24/7 Lost Wallet and ID Restoration, as well as $1 million insurance for qualifying recovery expenses.

T-Mobile’s Premium Device Protection Plus also offers something called Tech Personal Help Desk – a service through which the carrier can deliver immediate, personalized support for a wide range of devices including printers, routers, TVs and game consoles.

Premium Device Protection Plus also incorporates other utilities like Alarm, locate, lock and wipe remotely, App scanning, Back up contacts and photos and much more.

Alongside the new Premium Device Protection Plus plan, T-Mobile also introduced the JUMP! Plus, which is basically their phone upgrade plan that cost $15 and includes all the goodness of the new protection plan offers.

T-Mobile’s Premium Device Protection Plan is available for customers interested in buying a new phone and adding a new line of service. Any takers?

How to turn the Galaxy S7 fingerprint sensor into a capacitive home button

Dan Bartram
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The Galaxy S7 marked the last generation that would have physical navigation buttons as the Galaxy S8 saw a move to on-screen navigation to accommodate the nearly bezel-less display. This means that the home button only needs to be tapped to be interacted with as opposed to actually needing to be pressed.

A user over at XDA has developed a app that will modify the behavior of the home button on the Galaxy S7 to be capacitive. This means that you don’t need to physically depress the button to interact with it, simply touch it like a virtual button such as on the Galaxy S8.

The app runs as a service in the foreground so you’ll see a permanent notification in the notification pane but you can quickly pause and disable the app via this. If you don’t like the persistent notification, just hold you finger on the notification and within the notification settings you’ll be able to disable it (the notification will be hidden but the app still works fine).

You may find the notification useful though since you may find you have to disable the app temporarily when another app requires the use of the fingerprint sensor to authenticate you. There is a PRO version which includes the whitelist feature that will allow you to automatically disable the Fingertouch service for specified apps so you don’t have to manually disable it each time.

The app service is active only when screen is on and is automatically paused when screen is off so does not interfere with fingerprint unlock and there is no adverse impact on battery life.

It may seem like a small thing, but not having to click the home button is one of my favorite things about the S8 so to have this on a device like the S7 is something that will no doubt speed up unlocking the device and also reduce the wear on the physical home button.

Android 7.0 or above is required to run the app and you can grab it for free via the Google Play Store using this link.

Huawei Watch 2 Android Wear 2.0 update rolling out

Dan Bartram
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For those anxiously awaiting the new Android Wear 2.0 update to arrive on their Huawei Watch 2, the wait is now over.

Owners on Reddit of the new Huawei Watch 2 have reported that they are seeing a new update available to bring the smartwatch to the latest and greatest version of Android Wear.

Android Wear started rolling out initially in March earlier this year but was placed on a temporary hiatus due to some last minute bug issues. The rollout later resumed in early April and it seems that’s it’s the Huawei Watch 2 that is next on the list.

The update is rolling out slowly to owners but if you’re running Android Wear 1.5 on your Huawei Watch 2, you can apparently trigger the update by repeatedly tapping the green check mark on the software update screen.

Be sure to have 50% battery available before triggering the update and be aware it does wipe your device in the process. Otherwise, enjoy!

Evleaks: Motorola could be dropping the DROID branding

Dan Bartram
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The notoroious leaker @evleaks has taken to Twitter to discuss news that Motorola could be dropping the whole DROID branding that has been around since the Android inception with Verizon all those years ago.

Put it down to brand evolution or new ownership but it seems Motorola will look to rebrand the devices it has previously seen success with. There have been some great DROID devices over the years but with so much change for the company and the focus now on its Z range, it seems inevitable that the DROID relationship with Verizon would fade out.

The question then inevitably remains of will the removal of the DRIOD branding mark the beginning of another naming partnership with Verizon, or does it mark the end of the carrier partnertship?

Of course with any rumor mark it with a pinch of salt, but with evleaks credibility you can be pretty certain this will be spot on.

Thoughts in the comments.

A Motorola Android tablet could be on its way

Dan Bartram
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0

Some say that the Android market is on the decline but Motorola seem to believe that there is still hope yet as the company look to launch a tablet of its own.

In a source that is cited as highly confident in the plans for Motorola to bring a tablet to the market, the expectation is the device will be 9-10 inches in size and be of a premium nature.

There’s no mention of a screen size, processor speed, or even memory size so it appears the device is either kept under heavy wraps or is in the very early stages.

Interestingly, there could be a new productivity mode that allows apps to be pinned to the navigation bar to allow them to be launched quickly making it look very similar to Chrome OS.

As cool as this sounds, it still wouldn’t address the unfortunate lack of Android aps that are optimized for tablet use and the inevitable decline of Android tablets on the market.

Nevertheless, I have high hopes for Motorola if this device does exist and what fresh ideas and functionality they can bring to an Android tablet.

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