Samsung Galaxy J2 (2018) leaks in all its low-end glory

Samsung Galaxy J2 (2018) leaks in all its low-end glory

At the high-end, Samsung's all about Infinity Displays and small bezels and the 18.5:9 aspect ratio, but the Korean company also churns out quite a few low-end offerings each year. And now we're fast approaching the launch of just such a device: the Galaxy J2 (2018), previously thought to be . The handset has received the full leak treatment today, with specs accompanying the press renders you can see below. The Galaxy J2 (2018) will come with a 5 540x960 Super AMOLED touchscreen, 1.5GB of RAM, and 16GB of expandable storage. It's powered by the Snapdragon 425 chipset, which has a 1.4 GHz quad-core Cortex-A53 CPU. Camera-wise, you're getting an 8 MP shooter on the back, and a 5 MP unit on the front, and they both have an LED flash interestingly. The J2 (2018) has dual-SIM support, Bluetooth 4.2, LTE Cat.4 (up to 150Mbps down), and 802.11n Wi-Fi. A 2,600 mAh replaceable battery charges through a microUSB port. The phone weighs 153g and runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat. It will be available in Russia and other emerging markets in the coming weeks, retailing for around 115. (in German)

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Honor announces brand expansion to Latin America

Honor announces brand expansion to Latin America

Following Honors success in the United States with its high-value X series, the company is announcing its expansion into Latin American markets across Central and South America. Honor will begin to sell smartphones in stores starting next year. The company is certainly excited to see how its will do in the new region. The Latin American market is certainly different from North American markets in that people are more likely to purchase an unlocked phone at a physical store or through a carrier than directly from an online retailer. It will be interesting to see how Honor transitions into Latin America. The company held a small reception in Miami where it announced the news to potential partners in the area. Miamis variety of cultures and large number of Spanish speakers makes it a major hub for trade and distribution with South American markets. Huawei already has a strong presence in South America, so translating that presence into a sub-brand shouldnt be terribly difficult. Honor is certainly after the younger crowd of consumers, so perhaps it will be easier to reach the always-connected generation of South and Central America. Honor is going to bring the and the Honor 7X to Latin America the same two devices that will be hitting the United States. The Honor 7X puts an 18:9 display and an all-metal body with a fingerprint scanner and dual-camera for $199 in the States. Meanwhile, the View 10 features hardware and software identical to the at a cost that directly rivals the . Pricing and availability for these new markets have not been announced just yet, we may hear more at CES next month.

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Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ benchmarks confirm 18.5:9 screens

Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ benchmarks confirm 18.5:9 screens

The Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ will retain the 18.5:9 aspect ratio of the Galaxy S8 and S8+. That's been confirmed through an HTML browser benchmark, which revealed the screen aspects for both. Sadly the benchmark doesn't have any more spoilers, but as the Mobile World Congress draws near, we're bound to see and hear much more about the S9/S9+ duo. So far the murmur is that the two phones will have a , a centered fingerprint scanner on the back and on the back of the plus version. We're sure the leaks will keep on coming so stay tuned. |

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The 5MP selfie cam on the Nokia 9 will actually be a dual camera

The 5MP selfie cam on the Nokia 9 will actually be a dual camera

We were a tad disappointed to find out that the will have . The disappointment at the resolution remains but it turns out that its a 5MP camera, which does make it look a little better. The FCC listed a Chicony CKACE16 module and going over to the manufacturers site, we see that it lists it as a dual camera (but shows an image of a single camera... were assuming that the photo shows the wrong model). The camera has autofocus (yay!) and an f/2.0 aperture for one of the modules, the other one has an f/2.4 lens. Its that f/2.0 module that is responsible for video 1080p. The limited spec sheet doesnt go into details what the other module does does it have a black & white sensor or a different field of view? These things should be cleared up early next year when HMD officially unveils the Nokia 9 (and perhaps a new Nokia 6 too).

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Google will require that apps support Oreo features in 2018, 64-bit chipsets in 2019

Google will require that apps support Oreo features in 2018, 64-bit chipsets in 2019

Google has several forward-looking changes to Android planned, the effects of some will be felt soon while others will make a difference later. Starting in August 2018, new apps will be required to target Android 8.0 API. They can still support old versions of Android, but theyll have to play by the rules when running on Oreo and later. This makes some currently optional features mandatory like using Marshmallows runtime permissions. Additional requirements will improve user privacy while limiting the performance impact of ill-behaved apps. From November 2018, not just newly-added apps but also app updates will need to play nice with Oreo. And as the years go by, the target version will be advanced to prevent old apps from anchoring phones to the past. Also in 2019 (August specifically) apps will be required to support 64-bit chipsets. They can still run on 32-bit hardware, but this is in preparation for a 64-bit only future. Apple already made that switch with iOS 11, but Android supports a mind-boggling number of platforms so it needs more time. In 2018, the Google will help improve security by adding small bits of security metadata to apps downloaded from the Play Store. It will serve as a batch of authenticity and will enable new distribution opportunities for developers... whatever that means.

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Facebook Messenger Lite crosses 100 million Play Store installs

Facebook Messenger Lite crosses 100 million Play Store installs

The Facebook Messenger Lite app for Android which was by the company back in October last year has hit a new milestone. Its Google Play listing now reveals it has scored over 100 million installs. The app was built with an aim to operate with as little resources as possible (especially data). So in line with the focus, it was made available in a handful of developing countries first, before . In October this year, the app in the US, UK, Canada, and Ireland.

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Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 not coming, Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus takes its place

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 not coming, Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus takes its place

Xiaomi launched the series , but some fans are still withholding purchases, waiting for the Redmi Note 5. Apparently, the expected successor of the highly popular Redmi Note 4 was already here but under a different name and there won't be another device. According to a Super moderator on the MIUI forum the is going to remain the company's only large-screened affordable option. According to user , Xiaomi is dropping the Note moniker as of this moment. Although this is not an official confirmation by the manufacturer, it is as close as it gets. The Redmi 5 Plus has Snapdragon 625 chipset with 3/4 GB RAM and 32/64 GB storage. The display has 18:9 ratio and a 5 MP selfie camera is keeping it company. The main sensor on the back is 12 MP, coupled with a dual-LED flash. The phone is currently only available in China for CNY999 or CNY1,299 ($150 or $195), but it should hit other markets any moment now.

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