Windows 10 Mobile Anniversary Update lands on August 2 too

Yesterday Microsoft officially announced the release date for the Windows 10 Anniversary Update. It's August 2, yet the company's blog post back then only talked about Windows 10 for PCs. And it's stayed mum on any launch details for the same update on mobile devices.

Now though Dona Sarkar, the head of Microsoft's Windows Insider program, has confirmed that the Windows 10 Mobile Anniversary Update will be out on August 2 too. The confirmation came via a Twitter reply to a concerned individual asking about the mobile release of the latest Windows 10 update.

This doesn't mean that every phone running Windows 10 will receive that update notification on August 2, far from it in fact. Because there are so many different models to take care of, it's probably going to take at least a few weeks until you'll see the Anniversary Update on most Microsoft handsets running Windows 10 Mobile. But at least we now have a rough idea of when to expect this to happen.

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Galaxy Note7 will have an iris scanner, leaked front panel shows

Will it or won't it? Specifically, will the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note7 sport the much-rumored iris scanner, or won't it? Well, if the front panel that has been leaked today indeed belongs to the new Note device, then this dilemma is finally settled.

Spoiler alert: yes, it will have an iris scanner. Take a look at the images below. The first one reportedly shows us the Note7's front panel, and above the display you can see three big cutouts that have not been there in previous Samsung handsets.

In fact, the image below compares the alleged Note7 front panel with the one from the S7 edge, making the difference incredibly obvious. Those big cutouts are there for the iris scanner to properly function, since it needs three lenses to do its thing.

It's good to see that Samsung has managed to keep the screen's upper bezel manageable in size despite this addition. It's also likely that the front Samsung logo was removed in order to keep that bezel as thin as possible, which we're thankful for. We assume not many will miss it, or mistake this phone for anything other than a Samsung, given the overall shape and design.

The Galaxy Note7 is rumored to have a 5.8-inch QHD Super AMOLED dual edge display, 6GB of RAM, a 12 MP main camera like the S7 and S7 edge, a new Exynos chip (or the Snapdragon 821/823 in some markets), and a 3,600 or 4,000 mAh battery. It will probably become official on August 2.

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5.5-inch HTC Nexus phone codenamed Marlin has its specs leaked

Exactly one week ago specs leaked for one of the two upcoming Nexus smartphones that this year are both being made by HTC. That one is reportedly codenamed Sailfish, and it will be the successor to the LG Nexus 5X from 2015.

And today the spec list for the other HTC-made Nexus has been outed by the same source (which rates it a 9 out of 10 in terms of confidence). This one is a bigger, 5.5-inch handset, and it's codenamed Marlin.

It will have a QHD touchscreen, a 12 MP rear camera, an 8 MP front-facing shooter, a quad-core Qualcomm processor, 4GB of RAM, 32 or 128GB of storage, and a 3,450 mAh battery. You'll see bottom-firing speakers along with a USB Type-C port, as well as a fingerprint scanner on the back. Bluetooth 4.2 will be in too.

Obviously, this should launch along the Sailfish running Android Nougat. As for the chipset used, it's clearly going to be either the Snapdragon 820, or the newer 821/823 - all of these options have a quad-core CPU. Intriguingly though, there will apparently only be two storage versions for Marlin, 32GB and 128GB - no 64GB in the middle. The situation could be the same for the smaller Sailfish model, which should also share both cameras, the RAM amount, and maybe even the SoC with the Marlin. What's more, the design of the duo is said to be pretty much identical too.

Thus the main differences between the two would be screen size, resolution, and battery capacity. This would be a departure from what happened with the Nexus line last year, when the 5X was a mid-range phone and the 6P a true premium offering. If this pans out, it also means Google is emulating Apple's model in this regard, since those are the same main differences as the ones you can find between the 'normal' iPhone and the Plus model. And if this is true then you should definitely expect the new smaller Nexus to be more expensive than the 5X ever was.

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ZTE Nubia Z11 scores a million registrations in less than a day

ZTE unveiled the Nubia Z11 a couple of days ago, and registrations for the device were opened shortly after that. Now, the Chinese company has revealed that over a million people have already registered for the phone's first sale - in fact, the one million milestone was reached in less than 24 hours.

While that's no doubt impressive, keep in mind that the figure only represents those who have registered for the sale, and not actually pre-ordered the handset, meaning no money has changed hands yet.

Registrations are open until July 5, and the sale is scheduled for July 6. You'll be able to purchase the Nubia Z11 from the company's official web-store as well some third party retailers, including Tmall, JD, and Suning.

It's worth mentioning that the device is also up for international pre-orders.

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Sony offers final pre-order of PS VR today, supplies limited

Last call to pre-order a PlayStation VR - today, June 30, starting at 7 am Pacific time both the VR Launch Bundle and VR core will be available. Supplies are limited and there will be no more pre-orders until the October launch.

You can place your pre-order on GameStop.com. The PlayStation VR core costs $400 and includes the VR headset, stereo headphones and a VR demo disc.

The PlayStation VR Launch bundle costs $500 and adds necessary hardware you may not have - a PS Camera, two PS Move controllers and a PS VR Worlds disc. If you bought the PS Move back in the day then you already have the camera and controllers so you can go for the cheaper bundle.

Sony previously did a quick pre-order in late March. Sony is targeting 6 million headsets sold for this year, an ambitious goal (especially considering that the launch is late in the year).

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OnePlus officially denies red color option for the 3

A thin, slick, all metal body is definitely among the top draws of the OnePlus 3 . What could possibly make the elegant exterior even more exciting? Well, more colors, of course. Currently, the device can only be picked up in Graphite - a solid, very traditional and elegant choice. But, if you are after something a bit more flashy, OnePlus has also promised a Soft Gold option will be coming soon.

Yesterday, there was also word of an even more extravagant color version in the works - a red one. Renders looked convincing enough and a brief listing on the OnePlus website also provided some extra credibility to the rumor. However, a company representative reached out to us today and officially confirmed that the listing in question was an error and that the handset will only be available in two colors - Graphite and Soft Gold. Bummer!

Still, even without the flamboyant extra dye option, the OnePlus 3 is an excellent device, especially considering its competitive price tag. You can check out our in-depth review of the smartphone for a more detailed analysis. And if you live in the UK and want to get it you might want to hurry up before "Brexit" takes its toll on prices.

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New Microsoft Arrow Launcher update brings Office 365 integration

Microsoft has updated its Arrow Launcher for Android, bumping it to version 2.0 and bringing Office 365 integration as well as some new features and improvements.

The updated app lets you access your Office 365 documents without any Office app installed - all you need to do is to sign in to your Office 365 account. In addition, you can also search and upload your on-device documents to Office 365.

Aside from this, the update also brings along some new wallpapers. And finally, the app's network activity has also been reduced by 50% to help you save some cellular data usage. Head to the Source link below to get the updated Arrow Launcher app.

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ZTE Nubia Z11 now up for international pre-orders

The ZTE Nubia Z11, which was made official just a couple of days ago and is only available in China, is now up for international pre-orders. Online retailer OppoMart has started accepting pre-orders for the device.

Both 4GB/64GB and 6GB/128GB variants are in stock. While the former is available in silver, gold, and gray color options, the latter is only available in gold color.

As for price, the 4GB RAM variants carry a price tag of $499, while the 6GB model sets you back $699. In case you aren't aware, that's up from the $375 and $525 price tags the variants carry in China.

Source | Via

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OnePlus 3 might get a price hike in UK

OnePlus has announced that its latest flagship - the OnePlus 3 - could get a price hike in the UK. The Chinese company says this is due to "the worrying downward trend of the GBP," that followed the country's vote to leave the EU.

"Our margins have always been thin, and our expenses are mainly in USD. This being the case, sudden drops such as the one that the Pound has recently experienced could have a direct impact on our prices," OnePlus said in a post on its official forums.

"If you’re thinking of buying, we recommend doing so sooner rather than later," the company added.

A quick look at the company's official website reveals that the handset currently carries a price tag of £309 in the UK. So, if you are planning to purchase a unit, you might want to act fast.

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Asus ZenFone 3, ZenFone 3 Deluxe, and ZenFone 3 Ultra to go on sale next month

Asus has revealed the release date of its ZenFone 3, ZenFone 3 Deluxe, and ZenFone 3 Ultra smartphones. The devices, which were unveiled by the company at Computex 2016, will go on sale in the Asian country starting July 12.

When the devices were made official last month, Asus revealed their US price - $249 for the ZenFone 3, $499 for the ZenFone 3 Deluxe, and $479 for the ZenFone 3 Ultra - but didn't disclose when they will be launched stateside. Sadly, there's still no word on the US launch timeframe.

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MIUI 8.0 set for August launch, version 7.5 (China stable ROM) starts rolling today

Xiaomi has confirmed that its latest MIUI ROM (version 8.0) will be launched in August, although an exact date is yet to be revealed. The ROM was unveiled last month, and a beta version was made available for download earlier this month.

We already briefed you about the changes included in MIUI 8, and just recently it wasrevealed that the ROM will also bring along the split-screen multitasking feature, also known as multi-window mode.

But before MIUI 8.0 arrives, the company will release version 7.5 of the ROM that contains some of the new features included in version 8.0. In fact, the roll-out for China stable ROM is set for today (should have already begun) - head to the source link below for more details.

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Huawei Mate 9 won't be unveiled at company's September event

While we were expecting to see the Mate 8 successor at Huawei's September 1 event, looks like that won't be the case. According to Bruce Lee, a mobile product line manager at the Chinese company, the Mate 9 won't be made official so early - that's in context with the fact that the Mate 8 arrived towards the end of last year.

In case you missed, the Mate 9 has already been subject of some rumors, with a recent onesuggesting that it will be powered by the homegrown, and yet-to-be-announced Kirin 960 chipset with octa-core CPU, and sport a 20MP dual rear camera setup.

So, assuming that Lee is correct (we don't have any reason not to believe him), what to expect from Huawei's September event? Well, remember that new Huawei phone - said to be Mate 8 variant with Force Touch display - that was recently spotted on TENAA? Who knows, it may be the star of the event.

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VLC's Windows 10 Universal app launched

VideoLAN - the company behind VLC, which is arguably one of the most popular media players in the world - has released a Windows 10 Universal app for its media player. This means that users of Win10 PCs, tablets, and mobiles will now be able to use VLC on their devices.

The app features a subtitles downloader and audio management, and supports MKV and FLAC playback among others. It's, however, worth mentioning that the app currently does not include all the features of the classic VLC media player. For example, it does not support DVD or Blurays.

The app is currently listed on the Windows Store - head to the Source link below to download it.

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Facebook's News Feed will soon show you stuff from your friends and family first

Facebook has announced that it's tweaking its News Feed yet again, following user feedback. Soon, after the change is implemented, you're supposedly going to see what your friends and family post first. Stuff from "friends you care about" will be higher up in your News Feed than before, all in a move meant to ensure you don't miss any important things shared by the people you actually know in real life.

The social network has also revealed how it prioritizes stuff in the News Feed. Aside from always showing you things from your closest friends (and family members), it has found that people would like the News Feed to inform and entertain, so its algorithms are constantly tweaking what you see based on what they consider you might find informative or entertaining.

These could be posts about current events, stories about your favorite celebs, some local news, recipes, Live videos, or funny photos. What you end up seeing depends a lot on what content you've interacted with (by liking, commenting, and sharing it further) in the past, and who created that of course.

You can actively participate in the customization of your News Feed by using the Hide, Unfollow, and See first options when you feel you need to - this will actually help Facebook's algorithms become better at showing you what you'd like to see.

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Samsung Galaxy C5 and Galaxy C7 now available in China

The Galaxy C5 and Galaxy C7 are now official in China. The all-metal phones boast a slim build (6.7mm and 6.8mm respectively) and Samsung Pay, which works with the local AliPay service. They also work with UHQA audio using the Samsung Level On Wireless Pro headset.

The Samsung Galaxy C5 is available from Samsung's online store. It's CNY 2,200 for the 32GB version and CNY 2,400 for the 64GB model. You can pay Gold, Rose Gold, Silver and Grey color options are available.

There's a very short promo - until June 30 (tomorrow) you get a free 64GB microSD card and a transparent protective case.

The Samsung Galaxy C7 is not on the online store yet, instead you get the option to shop around your local retailers.

The Galaxy C series features metal unibodies and 1080p screens - 5.2" and 5.7" respectively - along with octa-core processors (Snapdragon chipset) with 4GB of RAM and 16MP/1080p cameras plus 8MP selfie cams.

Source: Samsung Galaxy C5 • Samsung Galaxy C7 (in Chinese)

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Google Maps now takes you from point A to point B to point C with support for multiple destinations

File this one under "wait, this is seriously something that hasn't existed yet?!". File it there and then rejoice, as you should, for Google Maps is finally adding support for multiple destinations in its mobile apps, starting with the Android one.

No, this isn't about stopping somewhere on the way to your one destination - that's a feature that has been available for a while. No, from this point on (or whenever the new functionality reaches you), you are able to add multiple destinations in Google Maps while you plan a trip. And then when you start navigating, after you've reached the first destination Maps will guide you to the next one, and so on.

So it's no longer a matter of getting you from point A to point B. Google Maps now takes you from point A to point B to point C to point D, and further if you want to. This should be incredibly useful if you have to visit multiple places in one go and rely on Google Maps for navigation. It's also handy when you want to go to one place but don't like the routes it suggests for you and want to take a different road (as you can add something on that road as point B, and then your final destination as point C, thus forcing Maps to navigate using your preferred route).

As usual with such new feature additions from Google, this is rolling out in phases, so it's not clear exactly when you'll see it. It's also a mystery whether you need a specific version of the Google Maps app for Android to see this, or if it's just a server-side switch. But it is coming, so hurray for that.

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New mysterious Xiaomi "markw" device spotted on Geekbench

Geekbench has proven itself quite an abundant source of device leakss. All you have to do, of course, is sort through the fakes and junk and occasionally, you can get a sneak peek at an upcoming handset. This is precisely the case with the Xiaomi "markw", spotted in the Geekbench online database by one Roland Quandt.

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Roland Quandt @rquandt

New Xiaomi "markw" showing up on Geekbench with Snapdragon 625 1.4g octa core, 3 GB RAM and Android 6.0.1

1:35 PM - 29 Jun 2016

 
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The unit in question reports that it is running on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 chip, clocked at 2 GHz, along with 3GB of RAM. This does allow us to extrapolate the fact that the phone will most-likely be equipped with a 1080p display, since the Snapdragon 625 chip tops out at 1,900 x 1,200 at 60fps in terms of display resolution.

The chipset also comes with 4K video (with both AVC and HEVC codecs) recording support and while we can not comment on the camera itself, other than the fact that it can not exceed 24MP in resolution, it will likely take advantage of said 4K video support. Wi-Fi ac is also likely a given and so is Quick Charge 3.0.

Sadly, that's about as much information as we can piece together. Other than that, Geekbench was also kind enough to report that the Xiaomi "markw" runs on Android 6.0.1. From the looks of things, this could be another quality mid-range addition to the Redmi Note family. We just have to wait and see.

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Windows 10 is on 350 million devices already, Anniversary Update officially drops on August 2

Yesterday Microsoft published, then pulled a blog post title saying the Windows 10 Anniversary Update would be released on August 2. Today the company has thankfully decided to publish it again, and this time has not pulled it immediately afterwards. What's more, the blog post even has content now.

And from that we find out that Windows 10 is already installed on some 350 million devices worldwide, which is very respectable for a desktop operating system. Microsoft is also boasting that customer satisfaction higher with Windows 10 than for any previous version.

The Windows 10 Anniversary Update was announced in March, and when it lands it will be free for everyone running Windows 10. It will bring with it support for Windows Hello biometric authentication in more apps and in the Edge browser, improvements to Windows Defender, an enhanced Cortana, and Windows Ink which will make handwriting using a stylus a primary mode of interaction with the OS. You also get improvements in the Edge browser, with better power efficiency, extension support, and a new accessibility architecture.

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Sony finally releases PlayStation Vue app for Android

Today Sony has finally launched its PlayStation Vue app for Android. This was originally announced last week when Vue made its way to Roku boxes. And it's way overdue, seeing as how the iOS Vue app has been out for ages.

So it's late, but it's here. PlayStation Vue is a service that lets you watch live TV, movies, and sports without a cable or satellite subscription. You do have to pay for Vue itself, though, after an initial seven-day free trial period.

That said, if you haven't used it before do note that you can't create a new account in the Android app - you'll have to use the website for that, or your PlayStation if you have one. After the trial expires, Vue starts at $29.99 per month and goes up to $54.99 depending on where you are located and what plan you pick.

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LeEco Le Max 2 gets a version with 128GB of storage, new Force Gold color

Well, LeEco's previously teased event that took place today wasn't about a new smartphone powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821/823 after all. Instead, the Chinese company unveiled a new color option for the three handsets it announced back in April.

It's called Force Gold and you can see it below on the Le Max 2, which has so far been sold only in rose gold, silver, and grey. Force Gold will be offered for the Le 2 and Le 2 Pro too.

Additionally, LeEco has outed a new top of the line version of the Le Max 2. This one comes with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of built-in storage, in order to match some of its competitors spec-for-spec. Previously, the highest-end Le Max 2 had 6GB of RAM and just 64GB of storage. Nothing else is changing about the phone, however.

The Le Max 2 now starts at CNY 2,099 ($316, €284) with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of internal space. The model with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage goes for CNY 2,499 ($376, €339), while the new 6GB + 128GB combo is priced at CNY 2,799 ($421, €379). All of these prices are valid for China only, of course.

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