As we previously reported Google is scheduled to officially unveil Android Wear 2.0 on February 9. We also expect LG to launch two new smartwatches, the LG Watch Sport and LG Watch Style during the same date.
Well this week Venture Beat reveals that LG won’t be the only partner sitting at the Android Wear 2.0 table next month. It appears that Huawei is also working on a sequel to its stylish yet expensive Huawei Watch.
According to a person familiar with the company’s plans, we should expect the Huawei Watch 2 to come boasting a sportier vibe compared to the original. The wearable could be 42mm in size and take advantage of a 1.4-inch display, while offering a choice between leather or stainless steel straps.
First-Gen Huawei Watch
One last important detail we should note is that the Huawei Watch 2 will be offered with cellular connectivity onboard. That means owners will be able to use the wrist bound device as an smartphone alternative with which they can make and receive phone calls. This feature might come in handy when users go out for a run and can’t fit their smartphone into their workout attire.
We’re told the company might show off the Huawei Watch 2 at the Mobile World Congress 2017 next month, although we’ll have to wait and see whether that happens or not.
Huawei Watch Featured
Hopefully the new Huawei Watch won’t be priced so high as the original, but with cellular connectivity onboard that’s probably not going to be case.
Apart from LG and Huawei, we expect Tag Heuer to launch a new Android Wear 2.0 smartwatch too – sometime in May. While notable smartwatch makers like Motorola or Samsung are probably going to skip launching any new Android Wear 2.0 this year, Google will have to find support with other device makers.
Yesterday, AT&T announced that it’ll be allowing subscribers to use their plans while traveling outside the U.S. – for a nominal fee of $10 per day, per device, that is.
In its own words:
With AT&T International Day Pass, you can talk and text all you want, and use your data plan in over 100 countries, only paying for the days you use abroad. Instead of being charged per minute, message, or megabyte while traveling, you‘ll pay just $10 a day per device for any 24-hour period you use your device in an International Day Pass country.
If that seems like a steep price, you’re not crazy – it’s kind of ridiculous. If you spend two weeks on vacation outside the US, using your phone will run you $140 – in addition to the cost of your plan you’re already paying.
Let’s compare that to T-Mobile’s international rates real quick: Unlimited text and data in 140 countries, and 20 cents per minute talk. To put that into perspective, You’d be talking for about 50 minutes a day on T-Mobile’s plan to equal that of AT&T’s – to further put that into perspective, that’s roughly the equivalent of a 1500 minute individual plan. If you need more than that, AT&T’s option might be a good one.
That…doesn’t exactly compare favorably, AT&T. Combine that with the recent report that AT&T is hemorrhaging customers like crazy, and it really looks like ol’ Blue is falling behind – rapidly.
Good effort, AT&T. But in my opinion, you’re in trouble.
BlackBerry is expected to bring its next smartphone, the so-called Mercury, to Mobile World Congress next month. According to a tweet from BlackBerry Mobile, the handset should make its debut on February 25. While it has not specifically said so, BlackBerry’s phone would help kick off the annual MWC trade event.
BlackBerry doesn’t manufacture its phones any longer; it has tapped Chinese company TCT to produce the products. Instead, BlackBerry remains a software company who licenses its name.
TCT, who also operates the Alcatel brand, plans to help expand the BlackBerry portfolio. Although it’s similar to what Nokia Mobile and HMD are doing, the two appear to sit on opposite ends of the spectrum. The Nokia 6, currently sold in China, is a low-cost experience whereas the Mercury (final name to be determined) is more of a high-end model.
The BlackBerry Mercury which has been teased in an official clip should arrive with a 4.5-inch touchscreen display alongside a QWERTY keyboard. The phone should take advantage of a Snapdragon 625 working in concert with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internals storage. Other specs might consist of a 3,400 mAh battery and Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box.
One of the features we expect to see offered in a number of phones in 2017 is the dual-camera setup for the rear. Already some devices are on the market with the enhanced camera setup and more are on the way.
One such phone expected to pack a dual camera is the Ulefone Gemini. As previously discussed, the handset falls somewhere in the lower end of the spectrum with a quad-core 1.5GHz processor, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage, and a 3,250mAh battery. Display size is touted to 5.5-inches with resolution at 1920 x 1080 pixels.
Ahead of the launch of the phone come some alleged samples from the phone. You can be the judge of the quality, but we do see a little of blurring and irregularity in the bokeh effect. Nevertheless, here’s what we might expect from the phone.
To achieve these sort of photos and effects, the Ulefone Gemini employs a 13-megapixel main camera with a 5-megapixel unit to support. The main camera grabs the image itself with the the secondary one achieving the depth of field.
It’s not clear exactly when the phone will go on sale but we’re guessing it’s somewhere around Mobile World Congress. The stage is as big as any and would make for the right time to introduce a new model.
If you’re interested in learning more about the phone, or want to pre-order one, there’s a mini-site on Ulefone’s website dedicated to the Gemini. Sign up and you can receive $70 coupon ($40 off, $30 gift) when it’s available for purchase.
A smartphone, a set of keys, and a wallet. What do all these things have in common? They are all the things I take with me when I leave the house. If you could figure that out then Stereotypo, a picture/word puzzle game from imbaLab, would be right up your alley. In the sea of puzzle games that are available on the mobile marketplace, what really makes this one stand out?
Pictures, associations, coins, and cats.
Check. Let’s take a look.
Which of these things belong in a park? Well, a lion would certainly make any trip unforgettable.
Graphics & Sounds
The entire game is beautifully illustrated. There are hundreds and hundreds of illustrations all throughout the game that all have a similar, minimalist design. There hasn’t been a time when I was looking at the board of pictures and was left wondering what something was. The whole game has a crisp and clean look to it.
The music throughout the game is fun and groovy. Yes, groovy. The bass line is steady and with each different page you go to, different instruments and sounds are added. There are great sound effects that pop-up every once in a while, from crowds cheering when you solve a puzzle, to the little cats that pop-up when you need a hint. Everything sounds clear and isn’t over-the-top.
Gameplay
The game is broken up into broad categories and in each category are around 20 puzzles to solve. The puzzles start off easy, with only 3 or 4 pictures to choose from. All you need to do is tap the pictures to highlight them. Once everything is highlighted that fits the category, tap the button at the bottom to check your work. If everything is good, you get rewarded with a cool picture based on the puzzle and move on to the next puzzle. The puzzles get harder quick, having well over 20 pictures to choose from for just one puzzle.
If you get stuck there are a bunch of different hints to choose from, such as removing a wrong picture, showing a right picture, or additional text clues. You have to buy these with the coins that you earn from solving puzzles or watching ads. You also have the typical system of buying coins using real money.
Ah, it’s great to be rewarded.
Longevity
At the time of this writing, there are 10 categories available, each with at least 20 puzzles to solve. You can blow through the first category pretty quick, but the ones after that will leave you scratching your head, analyzing and overanalyzing every picture, and asking your friends what you could possibly be missing. When you finally figure out that one puzzle that’s been holding you back, it’s a very satisfying feeling. When you do get stuck, you have a great number of hint options to get you through. You don’t earn coins all that fast, however, so if you really get stuck and aren’t able to figure out a puzzle or two, you might find yourself stuck coinless and looking to in-app purchases to solve your problems.
Conclusion
Stereotypo is a really fun game loaded with great graphics, easy gameplay, and lots of challenging puzzles. If you are good at figuring out what images all fall under certain categories, then you’ll be great at this game. The only downside is how slowly you earn coins and how pricey the hints are if you do get stuck, but apart from that, this game will keep you playing for a long, long time.
LG will soon unveil it’s next-gen top of a line device, the LG G6. According to recent information the Samsung Galaxy S8 won’t be unveiled at MWC 2017, thus leaving the coast clear for LG to draw all the attention upon itself during the event.
Knowing that scheduling its flagship launch on the same day as Samsung, meant risking the G6 would get overshadowed, LG came up with an alternative plan. Recent rumors indicate the Korean company plans to have the LG G6 on retail shelves starting March 10, way before the Galaxy S8 becomes available for purchase.
Well now it seems LG will only have to worry about Nokia and its comeback flagship which is also expected to make an appearance at MWC 2017. Since the event is only one month away, we thought it would be a good idea to make a roundup of all information related to LG’s upcoming G6 flagship, that’s currently available. You can also read our Samsung Galaxy S8 roundup while you’re at it.
Update 02/07/2016: The invite for LG’s MWC event was posed by the company:
Design
no modular body
no modular add-ons
The LG G5 has seen a lukewarm reception among fans of Android, so this year the company is said to renounce the modular design language and return to the standard one. As seen in recent CAD renders, the LG G6 should come boasting the usual candybar design characteristic of today’s smartphones.
While the LG G5 featured a unibody aluminum body which didn’t really wow users, the LG G6 might come rocking a high-gloss back which could be made of glass or employ a metal polishing technique. The end result might look very much like the HTC U Ultra’s super shiny rear.
Update 02/01/2016: Images of a real life prototype have surfaced which confirm presence of USB Type-C port, 3.5mm headphone jack, bezeless display and metal body (see above and below).
Update 02/06/2017: New leak showcases the LG G6 with gorgeous brushed aluminum back.
Update 02/20/2017: Two live images of the LG G6 have appeared online revealing a glossy back and the Always-On display.
Display
5.7-inch display with QHD+ resolution 2:1 Univisium aspect ratio
564ppi
shrunken bezels
In the display department, LG wants to do things a little bit different, so it won’t offer the flagship with the standard 1440 x 2560 resolution. Instead the company will be using a 5.7-inch panel with 1440 x 2880 resolution or QHD+ and a wide aspect ratio of 18:9.
LG says the new display allows them to make a phone that takes advantage of extra screen estate. Thus users will be able to multi-task on Android by running two or more apps side-by-side on their handset.
The new screen tech also allows the company to shrink the bezels (20% on top and 10% on the left and right sides) and reduce overall thickness of the phone. Outdoor visibility is also said to get a 10% bump, while power requirements decrease with up to 30%.
The LG V20 also features a 5.7-inch display, but compared to it the G6 should be a bit taller and feature a smaller width.
Also since VR is quite big right now, we expect the LG G6 to be launched as a Daydream-ready device.
Update 01/27/2017: Want to take another look at the LG G6 and its bezel-less display? Check below:
Update 02/13/2017: What appears to be a real life photo of LG G6’s front has leaked online thanks to the ITHome publication.
Update 02/22/2017: It appears the LG G6 will be actually the same size as the LG G5. Here’s the two of them next to one another.
Internals
Snapdragon 821
6GB or 8GB of RAM
at least 32GB of internal storage
microSD card slot
According to a very recent Forbes report, the LG G6 won’t be powered by the new Snapdragon 835 like earlier reports anticipated. Instead, an industry insider “confirmed” the phone will be based on last year’s Snapdragon 821 just like the recently announced HTC U Ultra.
As we know the Snapdragon 835 is developed by Qualcomm in collaboration with Samsung and the Korean tech giant is said to be in need of large quantities of the chip for its Galaxy S8 flagships.
So the Snapdragon 835 won’t be available en-mass until late April. Since we told you LG is counting to have the phone out and about by March 10, it makes sense to assume LG had to opt for an alternative. While the Snapdragon 821 is a capable chip, the new Snapdragon 835 does come with a set of improvements that can’t be ignored including being 35% smaller in size and 25% less power hungry.
It comes bundled with Quick Charge 4.0 and Bluetooth 5.0 support, among other things. You can read all about it in our in-depth article.
As for the rest of specification, it’s quite unclear what the LG G6 will bring about. We can speculate LG will want to be in league with smartphone makers launching 8GB of RAM phones this year, but we don’t have any confirmation on the topic.
As for internal storage, we believe the base version will come bundled with at least 32GB of internal storage. Like in the case of the LG G5, we expect LG to keep the microSD card on the G6 as well, although some reports seem to deny this.
Cameras
main dual camera
In a recent video teasing “the ideal smartphone”, LG hinted that the G6 might feature a big screen somehow tucked into a smaller body and a camera capable to “capture it all at once”.
Like the G5 and V20 before it, the LG G6 is expected to feature a main dual camera setup. It’s probably going to be an upgrade from the current 16MP/8MP (wide angle lens) setup.
As for the selfie shooter, it might double as an iris scanner thanks to an IR light filter, according to some rumors. Although a recent render revealed the LG G6 might have a fingerprint scanner located on the back, as most smartphones do. A dual LED flash was also visible in the image.
Update 02/22/2017: A new official teaser reveals the LG G6’s camera specs. The flagship will feature a dual camera setup featuring two 13MP sensors. One of them will have 125-degree wide angle lens and they will work in concert to deliver the best possible images.
The LG G6 will have multipe shooting modes, including 18:9 (thanks to the fll width of the screen), 1:1 (square), panorama, food mode and others.
As for the selfie snaper, it will hae 100-degree field of view – although resolution hasn’t been disclosed yet.
Other features
3.5mm headphone jack
Google Assistant
waterproof
LG Pay
advanced audio feature
upgraded quad-DAC audio solution
Most smartphones coming today do away with the 3.5mm headphone jack. Just look at the recently launched HTC U Ultra. However, the LG G6 won’t be part of this trend, so customers will be able to use their older headphones with the device.
LG’s recent video teaser also revealed the phone will be waterproof. But the most interesting part come now. It appears the G6 will be the first non-Pixel smartphone to come with the Google Assistant onboard. It makes sense, since most high-end handsets these days have an AI driven companion. Samsung is going to put Bixby onboard the Galaxy S8, while Nokia’s Viki will probably make an appearance on its upcoming flagship(s).
Another report claims the LG G6 might come bundling a service akin to Samsung Pay, which got dubbed LG Pay. So owners of LG’s upcoming premium handset might be able to make payments using the device.
Will LG continue to bestow unique audio capabilities on its flagship via the B&O partnership? For example, the V20 shipped out with a 32-bit “quad” DAC and B&O in-ear headphones, so it makes sense to assume the LG G6 could come packing with serious audio features.
Update 02/13/2017: A new announcement by LG, reveals information about the G6’s audio capabilities. As it turns out, the new flagship will even surpass the V20’s audio solution.
The company said an upgraded version of the latter will be available with the LG G6. The quad DAC setup features four DACs on a single chip which should bring static noise down by 50%, The audio system will also be able to control left and right channels separately thus being able to deliver an improved audio solution. Last but not least, increased circuit integration was used to bring down loss of information and overall distortion to merely 0.0002%.
Update 02/22/2017: LG teases the LG G6’s dust and waterproof body in a series of videos:
OS and UX
Android 7.1.1 Nougat
Since the V20 was the first phone to launch with Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box, it makes total sense to assume the LG G6 will make it out into the wild with the latest Nougat version, Android 7.1.1
The company is probably going to bake some new tricks of its own like allowing users to customize their virtual navigation buttons and lots more.
Update 02/16/2017: Take a look at this video teasing the LG G6’s UX which the company just posted.
Battery
Some reports claim the LG G6 will do away with the user-replaceable battery, while others claim that due to fire hazard concerns LG is going to opt for a replaceable battery after all.
LG has already announced its strategy to prevent the G6 from overheating. The company says it employ a copper heat pipe cooling system that will dispel heat from the battery. LG also claims it’s testing the battery of the new flagship at temperatures 15% higher than US and EU standards in order to make absolutely sure the phone won’t overheat.
Update 01/27/2017: A new report coming out of CNET seemingly confirms the LG G6 will be ditching the removable battery in favor of a waterproof body.
Update 02/15/2017: The LG G6 will feature a non-removable 3,200 mAh battery.
When will I be able to get it and for how much?
As we already told you, LG is expected to make the G6 official on February 26, a day prior to MWC 2017. Then the phone should become available for purchase on March 10. The price is currently unknown, but you should expect to pay a pretty hefty sum.
02/02/2017 Update: A new report indicates the LG G6 price will start at $770 in South Korea
02/07/2017 Update: According to “planning material” obtained by Venture Beat, the LG G6 will become available April 6 in the US.
02/23/2017 Update: The latest information indicates the LG G6 will become available on March 10.
At MWC 2017, we expect important names in the smartphone industry to unveil new products. For example, we know LG will show off its next-gen LG G6 smartphone, but other device makers will also be present. Like LeEco.
The Chinese giant recently made a debut on the US market and seems to be doing quite well. Now according to info spotted by Gizmo China it appears the company is gearing up to unleash a new flagship smartphone.
According to the listing, the phone dubbed LeEco X10 will make a debut with a 5.5-inch display with 2560 x 1440 resolution – the stuff of premium handsets. However, when it comes to computing power, the phone only takes advantage of a Snapdragon 820.
Yeah, the LG G6 will also be powered by a 2016 chip – the Snapdragon 821 instead of the Snapdragon 835 because Samsung has hogged the newer chip for its Galaxy S8 flagship.
But LeEco’s current flagship, the Pro3 runs on a Snapdragon 821 – which is a bit weird. Other specifications include a 5.5-inch FHD display, 64GB storage and 16MP rear camera,
Going back to the LeEco X10, the phone might make it out with either 4GB of RAM + 32GB of internal storage or 6GB of RAM + 64GB of internal storage.
But the LeEco X10 will stand out in the photography department. 2017 seems to be the year of dual cameras, so this flagship will apparently come boasting a dual camera on the back and one in the front.
If the listing turns out to be correct, the LeEco X10 could take advantage of a main shooter with two 12MP sensors capable of 4K video shooting capabilities, while the frontal camera will feature two 15MP sensors and 2K video recording option.
It’s seems like LeEco has entered the race of delivering the world’s first smartphone with two dual cameras onboard. BLUBLOO is also expected to offer a similar device.
When it arrives at MWC 2017, the LeEco X10 might make an appearance with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow pre-installed, but we certainly hope that’s not the case. It would be quite silly for LeEco to launch a flagship with Marshmallow in 2017.
Nevertheless, we’re pretty curious to see how the cameras on the LeEco X10 perform. We’ll certainly keep an eye out for it at MWC 2017 in order to let you know more details.
There are many firsts in life, for example, first love, first job, first pay, etc. Is it your first time in spying?
Suspicion and uncertainty can make you restless. To avoid constant nagging, you need to be sure of certain things in order to make an informed decision about them. Whether it’s your kids, spouses or your employees, you need to have the right skills to handle an Android spy app to monitor the activities of your respective target.
Though it may all sound like a technical task requiring a lot of intelligence and ability to have a know-how in technology but things are not as complicated as they may seem. Let’s have a look at how a cell phone tracking software, xnspy.com can be set up for spying.
Prepare Well for Spying
What I’ve seen is, when people rush into installing a spy app, they often tend to make mistakes. If this is your first time installing an app, make sure you don’t slip up. First things first, physical access of the target phone is mandatory when you want to install a spy app in their phone. You must choose an app that is compatible with the target device. I would suggest XNSPY, since it is both, an iOS as well as Android spy app.
Install the Software
For XNSPY, the installation process takes about 3-5minutes and the process is quite easy. Here are the steps which you must follow if you want a quick set-up for installation.
Enter your login details including your email address and password.
Once you’re logged in, a page will appear from where you can select the target device which you want to monitor. You can monitor as many devices as you want through a single login.
Once you do that, xnspy dashboard page will appear.
On the left-side of this panel is the list of activities that you can monitor. Select any of the options you want to monitor and there you are.
Dashboard Monitoring
Once you’ve signed up for an account with xnspy, all other activities are really easy. You can make necessary settings on the dashboard and begin receiving online reports about your target. XNSPY has a bold layout with six remote control settings. These settings include Toggle features, Toggle alerts, Add watchlist words, Add watchlist contacts, Add watchlist locations, and Edit device profile. You need to make the settings wisely as the Android spy app will respond accordingly in functionality.
Features
All the information that you want to consume about your target can be received by various features of a spy app. if you want to access any details, click on each and every feature and find out about your target.
Phone call logs
This includes a lot of information that is present in the target phone. You can view the call log which gives the number of outgoing/incoming calls, call duration, contact number, and, date and time stamp. The location of the caller can be viewed and there’s also an option to record the call. You can also view the contact list and watch-list the name of a specific contact if you want to.
Text messages
You can also read the entire text message conversation including the conversation thread. Along with the content, message sender’s name, his contact number, date and time stamp, and geo-tags are available.
Internet history
You can monitor all the browsed content of your target. All the websites your target has browsed are visible and the number of times those sites are visited is also stated. You can actually click on that website and see for yourself what your target has been viewing online. You can also see the bookmarks saved by your target.
Messenger
This includes all the chats conversation between your target and their contacts on different platforms. Some of the chat platforms that can be monitored by XNSPY include Viber, Skype, WhatsApp, Line, Kik, Facebook, and Tinder. You have the option to watch-list words if you want.
Location
You can track your target through his GPS location. The exact location address will be given along with the real date and time stamp. You can view the location in the map. Through geo-fencing you can create a virtual barricade for your target and watch-list specific locations to receive alerts.
Multimedia files
You can view multimedia files saved in the target phone or shared on IM chats. If there are any voice recordings shared, you can hear them too.
Call and surround recordings
The best thing about XNSPY is that you can record phone calls and listen to them later at any time. These files are available in a particular format which can later be downloaded. Not only this, you can also record surroundings of your target to learn about the in-room conversation taking place near your target.
Conclusion
There are slight differences in the installation procedure of different apps. For a novice, using a spy app can seem like a complicated task but as you go through with each step, you’ll find out that it is in fact quite easy to accomplish. The trick is to have a smart start with the process and staying calm and confident till you’re done. Follow the instructions carefully and you’ll become a pro.
Samsung has barely concluded the nasty Galaxy Note7 chapter and already another issue has reared its ugly head.
This time the device affected is the Galaxy S7 edge – one of Samsung’s two remaining flagship models in 2016. It seems that users from all over the globe are reporting the presence of a vertical pink line that showed up on phones’ displays.
On the Samsung Community forum, the issue has been flagged as “Solved”. Here’s what the moderator advises affected owners to do (dated 11/04/2016):
“If your device has not experienced any physical or liquid damage, we recommend having it set up for evaluation. Please be aware that final determination will come down to the technician that examines your device, whether any repair falls under warranty. Physical or liquid damage is not covered by the manufacturer’s warranty.”
However, Samsung hasn’t officially acknowledged the issue which seems to have to do with hardware and not software. So currently, getting a Galaxy S7 edge affected by a pink line fixed is quite a gamble, as it will ultimately fall on the technician to determine whether the reparation should be done under warranty or not.
According to one user on the forums:
“Unfortunately this is a hardware related problem so doing to the factory reset and trying to clear the cache will not help. The problem is in the LED screen itself and will need to be replaced. More specifically it is the vertical line driver that has failed. (I cannot 100% say with certainty that this is the case without physically inspecting the device, but every time I have seen this in the past that was the cause.)”
Given how widespread the problem seems to be, we expect Samsung will issue an official statement. Hopefully.
While we wait on that, some folks have suggested a couple of workaround. The first one has you:
Resetting the display to the phone’s service menu
Open the dial pad on the device and type *#0*#.
Click Red, Green and Blue and rest individual pixels on each color
The other solution would be to try and press on the top of the screen near the Samsung logo and see if that makes the line go away.
These are not permanent fixes, so if you too are experiencing the problem keep an eye on the official Samsung forum to see whether the Korean tech giant makes an announcement. Or you could try sending it for evaluation. Hopefully you’ll be able to get it fix under warranty. Some users have succeeded in getting a replacement Galaxy S7 edge like this guy on Reddit.
You might remember that one of the most intriguing novelties announced by Google at its I/O event last year was Instant Apps.
If you don’t, let us refresh your memory by explaining that Instant Apps act as a sort of bridge between web apps and native Android apps allowing users to utilize only specific parts of applications without needing to actually installing them on the device.
The example provided at Google I/O had a person send another a link to Buzzfeed Video’s Tasty app. And instead of having to go to the Play Store and install the app in order to view the content, the recipient was able to view, let’s say a recipe without having to do anything more than tap on the link.
After announcing the feature more than half a year ago, the first Android Instant Apps are ready to be tested out. The results include a small batch of apps from Buzzfeed, Periscope, Wish and Viki.
So instead of downloading and installing one of these apps on their personal devices, users can now run them right away – quite similar to loading a web page.
Instant Apps relies on modularization, by skipping to download an entire app and downloading only what it needs to allow a user to perform a specific action. Obviously users can go back and download the full application later, but the function allows users to get to what they need faster.
After collecting feedback from initial testing, Google wants to expand the experience to include more apps and users. The company also mentioned a few steps developers can take to get their apps Instant-ready. The Instant Apps SDK will be available for devs in the upcoming months.