rumors

We’ve heard a number of rumors concerning upcoming LG devices over the past few weeks and months. All together, we’re not entirely clear on what LG has in store for us for the holiday quarter. Whether it’s a budget phablet with a stylus, a ‘V10’ with a secondary ticker display or the LG Class which was officially announced recently, the Korean tech company’s wares have leaked so much it’s confusing.

Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P could skip carriers, be sold direct online only, pre-order from September 29

Cam Bunton Sep 28 2015 - 8:43 am PT

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Tomorrow, Google is expected to take the wraps off its next Nexus smartphones and — if a recent rumor is to be believed — the company might return to a marketing strategy used with the original Nexus back in 2010. Android Police’s sources tell them that Google will only sell the new LG Nexus 5X and Huawei Nexus 6P direct, online only, and won’t be making them available through carriers. If true, it’s an interesting move from Google and one which might not go down so well with consumers familiar with picking up devices from their favorite carrier stores…

Site claims to be offering Apple Music for Android beta access

Cam Bunton Sep 28 2015 - 5:46 am PT

UPDATE: One of our readers, with experience of using Betabound commented the following: “Centercode, who runs Betabound, has been around for over a decade running software/hardware betas. I have been through numerous tests with them. I understand the skepticism but this is a legit company.” Perhaps then, we can be a little less skeptical of the beta test.

Apple shocked the tech world back in June when it announced that its music streaming service, Apple Music, would be making its way cross-platform. Up until now, the company has kept all of its mobile products in-house, and hasn’t offered anything on the Google Play Store except for the ‘Move to iOS’ app, and we all know how that turned out. In an unusual move, it looks like Apple may have signed up a third party to get early beta testers onboard its first media app for Android.

Members of Betabound.com have received emails inviting them to apply to test Apple’s music app for Android. Little detail is given in the email, except a short paragraph and a linked questionnaire which hopeful testers have to fill in. Betabound, a Centercode company, proudly labels the test as an exclusive.

We’re excited to invite you to come test Apple Music for Android. If you’re a current Android user that would like to join the beta for the new music streaming service, you won’t want to miss this opportunity. To learn more and apply, click the link below. Best of luck! The Betabound team.

There are plenty of reasons to be skeptical. First off, Apple tends to manage its beta testing in-house, even to the point of offering a public beta of iOS 9 to anyone and everyone who wanted to try it before launch. Why then would it go with a third party company, especially one which is seemingly so unknown? It definitely seems weird. Perhaps the Android community’s response to its last app prompted the Cupertino-based tech giant to try a much quieter launch of Apple Music for Android. Perhaps it only wants a small number of testers onboard, and so isn’t announcing anything. Perhaps, it’s just a way for Betabound to get their name out there and isn’t a genuine beta test.

Leaked Huawei Nexus 6P reveals 4 color choices, 3450mAh battery, storage options, more

Cam Bunton Sep 26 2015 - 1:08 pm PT

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Huawei’s upcoming Nexus phone is as good as revealed already, but with further leaked evidence hitting the web over the past couple of days, there’s now very little we don’t know about the Huawei Nexus 6P. A series of images posted to Imgur (revealed by Android Police) lists many of the Nexus 6P’s features and specifications.

Samsung testing Snapdragon 820 in Galaxy S7 according to leaked benchmarks

Cam Bunton Sep 22 2015 - 5:52 am PT

Samsung caused a lot of chatter in the tech scene when it decided to eschew Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips in favor of its own Exynos processors this year. All four of Samsung’s high end devices feature its own processor in every market worldwide. But that could change next year. According to a few leaks posted to Chinese social network, weibo, Qualcomm has sent a few different versions of its Snapdragon 820 processor to Samsung for testing in its Galaxy S7.

Rumor: Samsung’s well-received Galaxy Ax series set to continue for another generation at least

Cam Bunton Sep 21 2015 - 5:21 am PT

Samsung is, unsurprisingly, working on the follow up to its Galaxy A3, A5 and A7 handsets. SamMobile has learned from its sources that the devices will have model names SM-A310F, SM-A510F and SM-A710F in Russia, while Chinese models will be SM-A5100 and SM-A7100.

Little else is known about the devices. The site hasn’t heard anything specific about specifications or pricing, but the slight change in model numbers suggests the improvements will be incremental.

Samsung introduced metal bodies on its phones for the first time with the Galaxy A-series phones, before the solid chassis design hit the Galaxy Note, then the Galaxy S lineups later on. The series itself has been relatively well-received by consumers, offering great build and almost-flagship specs for competitive prices. Although not quite as cheap as disruptive brands like OnePlus and Alacetel OneTouch, the phones did help dissuade fears that the company only knew how to make cheap-feeling, and cheap-looking plastic ‘mini’ phones.

Report: Huawei Nexus ‘6P’ to be first 128GB Nexus smartphone

Cam Bunton Sep 21 2015 - 1:52 am PT

Huawei’s upcoming Nexus smartphone will seemingly have handful ‘firsts’. It’s more than likely be the first Nexus to have a built in fingerprint sensor, it’ll be the first Nexus phone made by a Chinese company and — according to Android Police — it’ll be the first to feature 128GB of built-in storage…

Android-powered BlackBerry Venice shows up in hands-on video

Cam Bunton Sep 18 2015 - 9:47 am PT

With the increasing frequency of high quality leaks, the Android-powered BlackBerry Venice is seemingly becoming closer to reality every day. The QWERTY-equipped portrait slider marks the first time BlackBerry has opted for an operating system other than its own, a move which would have seemed unbelievable just 5-6 years ago. A new video has been uploaded by Baka Mobile on YouTube and shows a relatively in-depth look at the hardware and software.
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Leaked ‘Lemon X’ could be a first glimpse into Motorola-designed Lenovo phones

Cam Bunton Sep 17 2015 - 8:25 am PT

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A short while ago, @upleaks showed off a press render of what they claim is the Lenovo ‘Lemon X’, and it could be our first look at a Lenovo handset at least partially designed by Motorola’s hardware team. Although specifications and availability plans are thin on the ground, there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that the Motorola division is behind the upcoming phone’s design…

Samsung Gear S2 likely to be released on October 2nd in US, 3G model restricted to America and Korea initially

Cam Bunton Sep 17 2015 - 3:15 am PT

Samsung’s recently announced Gear S2 has stirred a lot of attention for itself over the past few weeks. The sleek, round design, attractive user interface, rotating bezel and non-discriminatory Android support all sets it up nicely to be one of this year’s most desired wearables. Samsung is yet to announce when the device will hit retail stores in the States, but if a leaked internal training video is anything to go by, it looks as though the company is prepping for an October 2 release…

Upcoming 10-inch Amazon Kindle Fire tablet press render leaked

Cam Bunton Sep 16 2015 - 6:14 am PT

A press render of Amazon’s upcoming 10-inch Kindle Fire tablet has been leaked ahead of its alleged launch. Although we’re light on specs, the renders show the (rather uninspiring) design of the next Kindle Fire. The image comes from well-known and usually reliable leaker, Evan Blass on Twitter.

From the renders, it appears the next Kindle Fire will have a completely flat front and back, with a slightly more angled, metallic frame around the edges. We can just about make out the power/sleep key on the top edge as well as the front and rear camera. Amazon’s branding is expectedly prominent, although the software is a completely different story. If the render is accurate, it looks like Amazon’s new software will be much more in line with standard Android. Or, at the very list, Amazon software disguised as standard Android. Whatever the software is, it’s a far cry from Amazon’s previous efforts.

Previous Kindle Fire tablets have featured a cover flow-like user interface, pushing Amazon apps and content to the forefront, similar to the UI found on the Amazon Fire TV and Stick. If Evan’s leak is anything close to the finished product (which it normally is), it’ll certainly make a refreshing change from a user experience perspective.It almost certainly has something to do with having fewer staff to work on skins after the job cuts recently. Perhaps it’s a lesson learned by Amazon after the catastrophic failure that was the Fire Phone. A shift to a more familiar UI will surely make the product less confusing to regular consumers.

We don’t yet have a release date, price or specs for the 10-inch tablet, but there have been rumors of a $50 6-inch model which is expected to hit the market in time for the holiday season. Both tablets will likely be announced and released at the same time to take advantage of the busy Q4 shipping period.

Rumored HTC One A9 could feature 10-core Helio X20 processor

Cam Bunton Sep 11 2015 - 3:03 am PT

Over the past few weeks, maybe even months, it’s been rumored HTC will release a new all-metal smartphone to join its lineup. The HTC One A9 is expected to take design cues from the One M-series, but so far, rumors and leaks have been less than convincing. According to a leaked screenshot, allegedly taken from Geekbench, the One A9 could feature a hugely powerful processor built by MediaTek, and feature 4GB RAM.

Although there’s still plenty of reason to be skeptical, it’s at least interesting to see these rumors crop up repeatedly about the same device. The device benchmark information shows that it has a 10-core MediaTek Helio X20 processor, the same chip found inside the recently announced Acer Predator smartphone. The chip is clocked at 1.96GHz, paired with 4GB RAM on a device which will purportedly run Android 5.1.1.

Twice in recent memory, an HTC event has been teased. Initially rumors predicted a September 6th event, while more recently, a September 29 unveiling was teased. With all this uncertainty surrounding the launch date, it’s worth taking any of the speculation, leaks or rumors with a healthy dose of skepticism. Early leaks were clearly faked, and there’s been a lack of any clear and reliable evidence surrounding the One A9. If today’s leak is anything to go by, a Helio chip could point towards an Asia-specific device. Having a launch event in Japan does nothing but corroborate that speculation.

‘Project Lucky’ Samsung handset, likely the Galaxy S7, appears in benchmarks

Stephen Hall Sep 10 2015 - 12:12 pm PT

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A Galaxy S7 render that’s not real at all

Samsung brought the Galaxy Note5 (sic) and Galaxy S6 Edge+ to market faster than expected (maybe to beat the Apple hype train?), and it looks like they’re pushing the next flagship Galaxy S handset — assumably the Galaxy S7 — through production just as fast. A Samsung device simply labeled as “Lucky-LTE” made its way through Geekbench yesterday, and now a report from the usually-reliable SamMobile claims that the device is indeed an early prototype of the Samsung Galaxy S7…
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Verizon-exclusive Moto DROID Turbo 2 revealed in leaked press render

Cam Bunton Sep 10 2015 - 6:45 am PT

Not long after Motorola officially announced the Moto X Play, X Pure and G at an event in NYC last month, it was rumored that the X Play would be making its way to the States, albeit it as a rebranded Verizon exclusive DROID. Only last week, a render was leaked showing a device code-named ‘Bounce’ or ‘Force’. In many ways, it looked a lot like the Moto X Play, albeit it with a few subtle differences. Today, the device has shown up again, but this time it has the official DROID and Verizon branding, corroborating those earlier rumors that this is the next DROID. Specifically, the DROID Turbo 2.

The Verizon-branded smartphone was leaked by @upleaks on Twitter this morning, and looks virtually identical to previous leaks:

[tweet https://twitter.com/upleaks/status/641946223121862656 align=’center’]

It’s expected that the Verizon DROID Turbo 2 will feature a 5.43-inch QHD resolution display, Snapdragon 810 processor and 32GB or 64GB storage options. What’s more, it could feature 3GB RAM as well as 21MP and 5MP rear and front cameras respectively. With 3,760mAh capacity, its battery is predicted to be larger than the impressive X Play, almost certainly to deal with the extra pixels on the display and more powerful processor. As specs go, it sounds a lot like a flagship phone, which the X Play certainly isn’t. We’re told to expect the supposedly shatter-proof phone to land on store shelves in December, just in time for Christmas.

Samsung denies reports of job cutting, says it’s ‘relocating’ workers

Cam Bunton Sep 9 2015 - 5:04 am PT

In one of the most ambiguous rebuttals of recent memory, Samsung has denied reports claiming it is looking to reduce its workforce by 10%. It’s not reducing its workforce, it says, but “relocating” them. One of Samsung’s high-ranking officials spoke to Yonhap News, claiming that it will “only be relocating workers”, denying rumors that it was looking to move on 10 percent of its management staff in sales and PR. What it didn’t say was what “relocating” actually means, leaving us speculating a number of possible translations for the phrase…

Samsung Gear S2 pricing likely to be comparable to Apple Watch Sport

Cam Bunton Sep 7 2015 - 5:19 am PT

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Samsung’s recently revealed smartwatch, the Gear S2, has seemingly had its European pricing outed by German electronic retailer Saturn. The Tizen-based wearable will be available as a standard and more premium Classic model – with similar pricing to the entry-level Apple Watch …

Huawei Ascend Mate S photos and press render leak ahead of launch

Cam Bunton Sep 1 2015 - 7:48 am PT

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Just one day before it’s due to unveil its next smartphone and give us a refreshed look at its smartwatch, Huawei’s next Ascend Mate has shown up in form of leaked photos and press renders. Previous leaks showed us pre-release versions of the device and suggested it would be an all-metal device, similar to the Ascend Mate 7. Taking design cues from the HTC One series, it has the familiar antenna bands on the top and bottom as well as a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor.

Rumored specifications suggest this isn’t a flagship phone. The supposed 5.7-inch display on the front has a resolution of 1080×1920, and it’s powered by a Kirin 935 processor with 3GB RAM. One interesting feature mentioned by Steve Hemmerstoffer is that the device could feature Force Touch-like technology, similar to the pressure sensitive touch screen tech found on modern MacBooks and the Apple Watch. The camera on the back is expected to pack in a 20MP sensor while the front camera will allegedly be 8MP.

Evan Blass had his say on the device today too, with what looks to be the official press render of Huawei’s Ascend Mate S. If accurate (which his leaks almost always are) we can expect the device to ship in black, white and gold hues.

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It wasn’t long ago that Huawei started sending out invites to its IFA event. The invites themselves strongly hinted at the ‘S’ in the device name, a rumor which is seemingly confirmed on the screen of the leaked device. Sadly, for those who like a pure Android experience, it looks as though these devices will ship with the opinion-dividing EMUI custom skin. Still, it won’t be long until we finally see how a Huawei smartphone runs on stock Android. The Chinese manufacturer is expected to be one of Google’s partners for the two rumored Nexus phones due to land later this year.

Huawei Nexus prototype leaked in photos, corroborates rumors of metal chassis and rear fingerprint sensor

Cam Bunton Aug 24 2015 - 2:25 am PT

Update: The same source has posted more images of the purported Huawei Nexus, this time showing the bottom half rocking a USB Type-C port. The new USB-C standard is reversible, meaning there isn’t a right-side up and the male side of the cable can be flipped on either side and it’ll still plug into the device. They’re also bidirectional, able to send data and power in either direction. Google announced during its I/O conference that it has been working closely with device manufacturers to introduce phones which take advantage of it.

The purported upcoming Huawei Nexus is one of this year’s biggest rumors so far. It would mark the first time we’ve seen Google partner with a Chinese manufacturer for its ‘Pure Google’ smartphone, and could help the search giant finally get its Play Services running in China. Despite seeing multiple rumors, schematics and leaks, we’ve not seen any real physical evidence of the device’s existence. Until now. Steve Hemmerstoffer has published a couple of photos to his blog showing off what looks to be a pre-release or prototype model of Huawei’s stock Android phone.

2nd-gen Moto 360 allegedly shows up in the wild, complete with “flat tire” and regular watch strap lugs

Cam Bunton Aug 23 2015 - 6:12 am PT

Not long ago, we revealed that Motorola’s next generation smart watch has made its way through testing and registration with the FCC in Brazil. That was after Motorola itself ‘accidentally’ leaked it. Now it seems, people testing the device in Chicago are just walking around and hopping on public transport wearing the unreleased wearable. Google Plus user, Gerrit Gödecke spotted one being worn while riding a Chicago commuter train and managed to snap a few shots.

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Samsung allegedly working on ‘Tahoe’, a giant 18.4-inch Android tablet

Cam Bunton Aug 21 2015 - 5:16 am PT

With Samsung’s most recent device launches being surprisingly restrained, you could almost be forgiven for thinking the company didn’t care so much about the showmanship of releasing high-specced products with ridiculous features anymore. Case in point being the elegant and well-made Galaxy S6 and Note 5 phones. No longer are they smartphones packed with eye-watering feature lists, or a slew of gimmicky features no one needs. But that doesn’t mean the company is completely giving up on trying new, interesting things. At least, not if a recent rumor from SamMobile is anything to go by.

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Sony Xperia Z5 Compact shows up in leaked promo image

Cam Bunton Aug 21 2015 - 3:18 am PT

A fresh, official-looking, image of the upcoming Xperia Z5 Compact has shown up in a new leaked promotional photo courtesy of Dutch tech blog, TechTastic. There’s nothing entirely remarkable about the image itself, but the very fact the device is showing up in promotional images prior to launch is a good indication that Sony is preparing its marketing ready for its arrival.

Android-powered BlackBerry Venice render leaks, keyboard exposed

Cam Bunton Aug 19 2015 - 1:23 am PT

BlackBerry has been rumored to be working on an Android phone for quite some time. In fact, almost as soon as its CEO John Chen teased the portrait slider dubbed ‘Venice’, it was predicted it might run Google’s operating. We’ve seen a leaked render showing the front of the device with what looks like stock Android. We’ve even seen slides showing off some of the BlackBerry-inspired user interface elements. What we haven’t seen yet is that ever-elusive keyboard.

Detailed LG Nexus 2015 renders leaked, show 5.2-inch screen, fingerprint sensor, more

Cam Bunton Aug 14 2015 - 3:05 am PT

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For the past few weeks, rumors have surfaced suggestion Google will partner with two manufacturers this year for its Nexus phones. We’re purportedly going to see a smaller device made by LG and a larger model made by Huawei. Today we get our first look at some detailed 3D renders designed using hardware schematics sent to case-makers.