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Google finally integrates Duo on Android call screen
Google has been planning to integrate its Duo video chat on Pixel, Nexus and Android One phones for a couple of months. According to a report at Android Police, the company is rolling out Duo video chat in the ordinary phone dialer app, which basically makes the app a kind of Android Facetime. Engadget has also confirmed the feature.
Watch Razer debut its gaming phone right here at 4 PM ET
We've been following the potential Razer gaming phone for a while now, with a recent leak potentially confirming some higher-end specifications (more RAM, better battery and display) sure to please mobile gamers. The company is setting up for a livestream today at 4 PM ET that could finally confirm the rumors.
Fake iPhone X has a fake notch, obviously
We're only one week away from iPhone X pre-orders, but the counterfeit market is already offering a variety of similar-looking devices to a particular crowd. As I anticipated, I came across one such clone while wandering around Hong Kong's Global Sources electronics fair earlier today, courtesy of a Shenzhen company by the marvelous name of Hotwonder. Its Hotwav Symbol S3 (also not the best name) is essentially an entry-level 4G Android phone shamelessly packaged into an iPhone X-like body, except for one notable difference: the screen "bezel" is white instead of black.
Trump’s chief of staff reportedly used ‘compromised’ phone for months
John Kelly, the White House's chief of staff, spent months using a "compromised" personal cell phone, according to a new report from Politico. Despite noticing limited functionality on his personal device — it wouldn't update its software correctly, for one, Kelly didn't contact the White House's tech support team sometime this summer. That was months after the strange behavior began, leading officials to believe the attack on his phone could've happened as far as back as December 2016.
Amazon Echo Connect gives you a smart speakerphone for your landline
Now here's something you weren't expecting from Amazon's Alexa-themed event: a device dedicated to those still using landlines. The just-unveiled Echo Connect turns an Echo into a speakerphone that lets you make land-based phone calls using only your voice. It uses your existing phone number and will even let you dial 911 hands-free -- important if you've injured yourself and can't reach a handset (yes, Amazon is clearly accounting for the "I've fallen and I can't get up" scenario).
Motorola's Moto X4 now works on Google Project Fi
Google's efforts to disrupt the mobile carrier network have certainly proven popular for people who can feasibly use it, but it's no secret that the rollout of Project Fi has been restricted by the narrow choice of handsets available. Now, the search giant has confirmed rumors that the hyped Motorola Moto X4, with Android One, will be the first non-Google phone to join the club.
iPhone 8 and 8 Plus review: Change in small doses
It's no secret that smartphones have tended to get sleeker and less obtrusive over time. Screens are growing, but bezels are shrinking. In a very real way, the boundaries between us and our information -- our apps, our contacts, our very desires reproduced in pixels -- are melting away. Apple has sensed the industry shifting around it, and it made the iPhone X in response to that. But, in a bid to make the transition less jarring, Apple also made the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. They're familiar-looking phones that mostly operate the way people expect them to. They're conventional. But that doesn't mean they're inherently lacking -- far from it, in fact. While I suspect all iPhones will look like the iPhone X soon enough, the 8 and 8 Plus are expertly built, high-performance devices for people who want to ease into Apple's vision of the future. And who knows? These just might be the last conventional iPhones Apple makes.
Comparing the iPhone X, iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus
There's always a lot to consider after an iPhone event, and today we're looking at three new phones. The iPhone X is the new flagship, offering up an edge-to-edge screen and TrueDepth front camera for unlocking your device with Face ID. But those who were looking forward to something less dramatic along the lines of a 7S will be right at home with the 8 and 8 Plus. If you're curious about what each respective device is offering under the hood, check out our handy table pitting the latest iPhones in a head-to-head spec battle.
The Galaxy Note 8 vs. the competition: More than just a stylus
With phone screens getting bigger and bigger, the Galaxy Note doesn't quite stand out the way it used to. The Note 8's 6.3-inch screen is only a tad larger than the 6.2 inches boasted by the Galaxy S8+, and both devices share the same Snapdragon 835 processor. Still, the Note 8 has a few things to set itself apart, including a new dual camera setup like the one on the soon-to-replaced iPhone 7 Plus. Check out the table below to see what Samsung's latest large-screen handset is packing under the hood versus other notable flagships, and check back for our full review of the Galaxy Note 8 in a few weeks.
The Galaxy Note 8 vs. the Note 7: What's changed?
Last year the Galaxy Note 7 was actually one of our favorite phones until it started exploding, so we're happy to see Samsung's line of large-screen-with-stylus handsets make its return today with the Note 8. While it would have been easy enough to simply change out the battery and call it a new model, there are a few other changes worth noting. That includes the dual camera, which we've never seen in a Samsung phone before, and the Note now comes packed with AI assistant Bixby. While we certainly hope you turned in your Note 7 during the recall, check out our chart below to see what upgrades await if you pick up a Note 8 when it comes out, as well as if this new phone has the potential to become one of our faves of 2017.
BT to remove half of the UK's remaining telephone boxes
With the majority of Britons now carrying a smartphone in their pocket, demand for static, boring telephone boxes has dwindled. A small number of them have been repurposed, turned into tiny offices, WiFi hotspots and charging kiosks, but many of them remain derelict. This week, BT announced that it will do something about that, confirming that it will remove half of the UK's remaining telephone boxes in order to focus on the units that people actually use.
EFF says border control needs a warrant to search your tech
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has submitted a court filing arguing that federal agents at international airports should obtain a warrant before snooping through passenger laptops, phones and other digital devices. Warrantless border searches are currently permissible under an exception to the Fourth Amendment, but as EFF notes, the number of these searches has more than doubled since President Trump moved into the White House.
Sharp's edge-to-edge AQUOS S2 is a glimpse at your next phone
Andy Rubin's Essential Phone may have wowed us with its edge-to-edge display recently, but let's not forget that Sharp has been driving this design with many of its previous Android phones -- 28 of them, to be precise. Today, the Japanese brand unveiled its 29th release dubbed AQUOS S2 which, funnily enough, looks rather familiar. From afar, the S2's screen and the Essential Phone's screen share the same front-camera notch at the top, except the former is a smaller 5.5-inch panel with a slightly lower 2,040 x 1,080 resolution. The more notable difference here is how the corners at the top appear to be hastily trimmed, which is a bit of a letdown, but at least you're still getting a nice 135-percent sRGB gamut plus a handy 550-nit brightness.
Google cuts up to $200 off its Pixel phones
Google's Pixel phone has been on the market for a while now, but it's still one of the best handsets money can buy. If it's something you'd like to own, but are put off by the price-tag, today is your lucky day. As 9to5Google reports, the search giant has given the phone a heavy discount in the Google Store. The base-level model with a 5-inch screen and 32GB of storage will now set you back $524, rather than $649. The larger XL handset starts at $569, which is $200 cheaper than its launch price of $769. Oh, and you also get a free Google Daydream headset, which normally costs $79, with every order. So you're potentially saving close to $300.
Google’s next Pixel phone looks pretty basic
The recent leaks showing features of Google's upcoming Pixel phone indicated that it would look a lot like the previous versions, with a 6-inch AMOLED display and an HTC U11-like squeezable frame. It has also been rumored that the rear camera cutout is significantly larger. Venturebeat's Evan Blass, who has a solid track record with leaks, has obtained a photo of the smaller Pixel device. The image shows that the Pixel won't have smaller top and bottom bezels, unlike many other newer phones on or coming to the market. Blass notes that neither Pixel will have a dual camera configuration, either, unlike the trend with Apple's iPhone 7 Plus, LG's G6, Samsung's Note 8 and Huawei's P10.
LG's next OLED phone is just as big, but not flexible
Look for another super-sized OLED phone on the way from LG soon, as it has just announced a flagship device built around a 6-inch FullVision display to match the G6 and Q6. While LG has established leadership in TVs with its OLED screens, so far they haven't made as much of an impact in mobile, outside of the quirky G Flex series that had its last device launch in 2015.
HTC U11 review: More than just gimmicks
Even die-hard fans have been ready to write off HTC for years now, and I can't blame them. The company's phones have fluctuated between greatness and mediocrity, while its competitors have improved by leaps and bounds. So, what's a company in a kind of existential peril supposed to do? Well, making a phone like the new U11, for starters. It's shiny, laden with gimmicks, and -- spoiler alert -- the whole thing falls short of perfect for a few reasons. Even so, HTC has gotten enough right in this ostentatious package that you should definitely start (or restart) paying attention.
Razer is reportedly working on a phone just for gamers
Razer is known for its high-end gaming devices. The company has desktops and laptops, keyboards and mice, power banks and even projection systems aimed at core gamers. This past January, however, Razer acquired Nextbit and its "cloud phone" called the Robin. According to Bloomberg, that acquisition may pay off soon, as sources close to Razer say that the company plans to make a mobile phone targeted at gamers.
Meet the small 360 camera module that will fit into phones
You're probably not aware of this, but a Chinese company dubbed ProTruly has already released the world's first two "VR smartphones" with a built-in 360 camera last December. Don't worry if you missed the news, because chances are you'd be put off by the devices' sheer bulkiness, but according to Wuhan-based HT Optical, this may no longer be the case with the next release. At MWC Shanghai, I came across this company which appeared to be the 360 camera module supplier of ProTruly, as suggested by the presence of its two phones at the booth. The phones' brands were actually covered with tape, but given their distinct designs, the link between HT Optical and ProTruly was hardly a secret.
'YotaPhone 3' isn't the dual-screen powerhouse you were expecting
If you're one of the few people who are still waiting for the next dual-screen YotaPhone, listen up: we finally have an update for you. During Harbin's China-Russia Expo over the weekend, Baoli Yota -- the joint venture formed by investor Baoli (formerly known as REX) and manufacturer Coolpad -- teased its upcoming "Yota3" with a date: it's due in the early fall later this year (almost four years since the launch of its predecessor) and will come with 64GB or 128GB of storage for a more favorable $350 or $450, respectively, according to RBC.
