If you're still using WhatsApp on a BlackBerry or Windows Phone 8.0 or older then you might want to consider making the switch to Android or iOS in the near future, because the app is no longer going to be actively developed for those less popular platforms.

That doesn't mean your WhatsApp app will suddenly stop working after the cut-off point - December 31 - but it will mean you won't be able to create accounts on BlackBerry or Windows Phone, and no further updates will appear. Further down the line that's going to lead to crashes and bugs.

Windows 8.1 Mobile and Windows 10 Mobile will continue to be supported for the time being, but considering Microsoft looks to have abandoned its mobile OS platform, it's probably only a matter of time before WhatsApp disappears from here too.

'Tis the season to upgrade

"These platforms don't offer the kind of capabilities we need to expand our app's features in the future," explains a WhatsApp support note. "If you use one of these affected mobile devices, we recommend upgrading to a newer OS version."

You can't use the integrated WhatsApp backup feature to transfer your chat history between different platforms, but it is possible to email an archive of your precious conversations to yourself if you don't want to lose them - for more details head to the WhatsApp support pages.

Now owned by Facebook, it's a surprise that WhatsApp actually supported these lesser-used platforms for so long. If you have been looking for a good reason to jump ship to a different mobile OS, you've just been given another reason to do so.

• WhatsApp now lets you 'unsend' embarrassing and accidental messages

Via VentureBeat

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has introduced a new endeavour in India, dubbed the Mi Service Order Status. It allows you to track your device’s repair status. This new service will allow you to know the repair status of your Xiaomi smartphone or other devices by simply visiting the company’s website.

The new service was announced by Manu Kumar Jain, Managing Director, Xiaomi India on Twitter. Earlier, customers had to call the service centre and spend a considerable amount of time with the IVR. Now, users can simply visit mi.com/in and track their device’s repair status in real time.

Track repair status online

To track your device’s repair status online, you need to click here and follow the  steps mentioned below:

·        First, enter the Contact/ Order/ Service/ IMEI No. or SN number

·        Then, click on confirm and you will receive an OTP on your registered number

·        Enter the OTP and click on Submit

·        After clicking on submit, you will receive your device’s repair status.

Xiaomi has listed some of the common service terms that will be used by the company on its website:

·        Under inspection - Your device is being checked

·        Work in progress - Your device is getting repaired

·        Ready for delivery - Your device is repaired and is ready to be delivered

·        Delivered - You have accepted the delivery of your device

·        Cancelled - Your service order is cancelled

Your order status will also include the service centre number, service type, order status, order received date, IMEI/SN, Service Order number and Order delivered date.

Boxing Day is over. You're either back at work, or dreading the thought of having to return. But that doesn't mean you've missed your chance for a bargain - as you've seen on our main Best Boxing Day Deals page we've spent days scouring the retailers for the best deals around.

That page is still chock-full of live deals, but we've decided to help those in a rush. This simple top 12 list is the cream of the crop in our eyes, the deals that we've had to either stop ourselves buying (for fear of having no food in January) or have caved and treated ourselves with.

More deals still available

There are many more deals still to be had out there. Actually most of the ones we found yesterday are still going strong. That's fantastic news if you didn't have time to get online yesterday. So why not take that much deserved rest and take a look at our full roundup all the best Boxing Day sales and deals.

Top retailer quick links

• Amazon sale
• John Lewis sale
• Currys sale
• Argos sale
• Tesco Direct sale
• Game sale
• Zavvi sale
• AO.com - sale
• Mobiles.co.uk - sale
• Carphone Warehouse - sale
• Next - sale

Apple launched three phones this year: the bezel-busting iPhone X and the more traditional iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. A new report from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) suggests it's the more traditional and cheaper models that are making up the bulk of sales.

CIRP reckons the iPhone X accounted for around 30 percent of total iPhone sales in the first 30 days it was on sale, 9to5Mac reports. Meanwhile the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus made up 40 percent of sales, with the former the more popular model - 23 percent of sales versus 17 percent of sales.

The older iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, meanwhile, weighed in with around a fifth of total sales, or 20 percent. They can still be bought directly from Apple, as the company continues the practice of leaving older models on sale for a cheaper price.

By the numbers

Of course this is all based on some smart retail analysis rather than official figures released by Apple, so until Tim Cook tells us exactly how many units his company has shifted, we're firmly in the realm of educated guesswork. Still, it's interesting to note that in this analysis the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus have come out on top.

CIRP notes that supply constraints may have limited iPhone X sales, and that the figures it's seeing are only a slight disappointment considering Apple is trying something new this time around - sales in 2018 and beyond might well be better.

No numbers are mentioned by CIRP, but other analysts suggest Apple has shifted around 35 million iPhone X handsets, some 10 million less than expectations. The high price point and "lack of interesting innovations" are putting some punters off, according to industry watchers, reports Bloomberg.

• Just got an iPhone for Christmas? Download these apps!

What news of the Samsung Galaxy S9, one of the most hotly anticipated phones of 2018? Well the newest bit of gossip we've heard (or rather seen) suggests Samsung's next flagship is going to keep the faith with the traditional 3.5mm headphone jack.

A picture posted to Slashleaks shows the device's USB-C flex cable, complete with a port for plugging your existing wired headphones into. While the source is reasonably reliable, don't take this as a given just yet - we're still a couple of months away from seeing the Galaxy S9 get its official unveiling.

With Apple, Google and plenty of other phone makers ditching the headphone jack in favor of an all-in-one USB-C port for charging, audio and data transfer, Samsung would join OnePlus in flying the flag for the long-lasting 3.5mm audio jack.

One camera or two?

If Samsung does keep the traditional port on its next flagship, you can expect to hear it mentioned in dispatches during the launch event - the South Korean company is never shy about highlighting ways in which its handsets differ from those made by Apple.

Another area in which we're expecting the Galaxy S9 to stick with tradition is with its rear-facing camera, which will again make do with a single sensor rather than having a dual-camera setup. Many in the industry are upgrading to two cameras on the back but the Google Pixel 2 is one phone yet to take that road.

Rumors are pointing to the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona at the end of February for the launch of the Galaxy S9, when we'll get our first proper look at the phone. In the meantime, feast your eyes on these leaked renders.

• Samsung Galaxy S9 may come with Bluetooth AKG headphones in the box

Via SlashGear

Motorola has announced a Christmas sale, offering discounts on several of its smartphones. The sale is already underway and the discounts will last up to December 30th. If you have been eyeing a good deal on Moto smartphones, now may be the best time to make that purchase.

Under this sale, the company will be offering discounts on both flagship and budget devices, including the Moto Z2 Play, Moto G5S and the Moto E4. The discounts will be available at all retail stores, including MotoHub stores across the country.

Motorola Christmas Sale offers

Moto Z2 Play

The Moto Z2 Play is available for Rs. 24,999, down from its regular price of Rs. 27,999. The device comes with a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 626 processor, 4GB RAM, 64GB internal storage, 12MP primary camera, 5MP secondary camera and a 3,000mAh battery.

Buy Moto Z2 Play on Amazon

Moto M

The device comes with a 5.5-inch IPS LCD display, Mediatek Helio P15 SoC, 3GB/4GB RAM, 32GB/64GB internal storage, 16MP primary camera, 8MP secondary camera and a 3,050mAh battery. The 4GB RAM variant is available for Rs. 13,999, down from Rs. 15,999 and the 3GB RAM version is being sold for Rs. 11,999, down from Rs. 13,999.

Buy Moto M on Amazon

Moto G5S

The Moto G5S is available for Rs. 12,999, down from its regular price of Rs. 13,999. It comes with a 5.2-inch IPS LCD display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 SoC, 3GB RAM, 32GB internal storage, 16MP primary camera, 5MP secondary camera and a 3,000mAh battery.

Buy Moto G5S on Amazon

Moto G5

The Moto G5 is available for Rs. 8,999, down from its regular price of Rs. 9,999. It comes with a 5-inch IPS LCD display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 SoC, 3GB RAM, 16GB internal storage, 13MP primary camera, 5MP secondary camera and a 2,800mAh battery.

Buy Moto G5 on Amazon

Moto E4

The Moto E4 comes with a 5-inch IPS LCD display, a Mediatek MT6737 processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB internal storage, an 8MP primary camera, 5MP secondary camera and a 2,800mAh battery. It is available for Rs. 7,999, down from its regular price of Rs. 8,499.

Moto C

The Moto C is available for Rs. 5,499, down from its regular price of Rs. 5,999. It comes with a 5-inch display, Mediatek MT6737M processor, 1GB RAM, 8GB internal storage, a 5MP primary camera, 2MP secondary camera and a 2,350mAh battery.

Buy Moto C on Amazon

Amazon India is hosting the Samsung Happy Hours sale from 12PM to 2PM on December 26. The two-hour sale offers 10% cashback on ICICI bank credit cards as well as a no-cost EMI option for 6 months. The Samsung On5 and On7 series are available during these "Happy Hours".

Samsung Galaxy On5 Pro

The On5 Pro features a 5-inch HD display and is powered by the company’s own Exynos quad-core processor coupled with 2GB of RAM and an internal memory of 16GB which can further be expanded up to 128GB. There’s an 8-megapixel rear camera along with a 5-megapixel selfie camera. The On5 Pro has a 2,600 mAh battery and is available for Rs 7,000 during the Amazon India sale.

Samsung Galaxy On7 Pro

Samsung On7 Pro comes with a bigger 5.5-inch HD display and is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 quad-core processor with 2GB of RAM and an internal memory of 16GB which is expandable. There is a 13-megapixel camera onboard which is decent and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. The On7 Pro draws power from a 3,000 mAh battery which is more than sufficient for a day. Samsung On7 Pro is available for Rs 7,490 during Samsung Happy Hours.

Rs 8000 cashback on Galaxy Note 8

Instead of a direct price cut on other Samsung phones, the flagship smartphone Galaxy Note 8 is available at Rs 67,900, but buyers can get Rs 8000 cashback as Amazon Pay balance on purchase. 

Samsung Galaxy On8

Samsung On8 Pro comes with a 5.5-inch Full HD display and is powered by Exynos 7580 octa-core processor with 3GB of RAM and an internal memory of 16GB which is expandable up to 128GB. There is a 13-megapixel camera on rear and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. The On7 Pro draws power from a 3,300mAh battery which is more than sufficient for a day. Samsung On8 Pro is available for Rs 11,090 during Samsung Happy Hours.

Samsung Galaxy A5 and A7 2017

Samsung is selling the Galaxy A5 2017 and A7 2017 at Rs 17,990 and Rs 20,990 respectively. The phones were launched in the middle of 2017 targeting the 20k-30k price segment. Both the phones are different in terms of battery and display sizes packing a decent specification for price. 

The Galaxy A7 2017 and A5 2017 come with a 5.7-inch and 5.2-inch full HD AMOLED panels respectively. Both run Exynos 7880 octa-core processor with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. While the Galaxy A7 2017 packs a 3600mAh battery the smaller A5 2017 comes with a 3000mAh battery. Both the phones are now good for the price offered during the Samsung Happy Hour sale. 

Other offers

During the sale, ICICI bank credit card holders are eligible for a 10 percent cashback on EMI. Amazon India has also introduced a 6 months No Cost EMI offer which is applicable on both the On5 and On7 smartphones.

Amazon has also introduced exchange offer on all Samsung phones, that means you can avail a further price cut if you have a spare phone to exchange.

Along with this, under the Jio Galaxy Club offer, users will get upto 90GB complimentary Jio 4G data on purchase of smartphones under Samsung Happy Hours.

The turkey has been devoured, the presents have been unwrapped and the Queen has delivered her 65th Christmas message. Bit sad really isn't it? Well no actually, because it means that the January sales are now upon us and with it some of the year's best mobile phone deals.

And so that you don't have to spend your holidays trawling through websites upon websites of phone offers and discounts, we've rounded up all the best deals right here. Call it a late Christmas present. You're welcome!

So whether you're after a hot deal on a pricey flagship phone like the iPhone X or Samsung Galaxy Note 8, or just a cheap budget smartphone, we'll tell you where to find the best prices.

• Check out all the Best Boxing Day deals: including games consoles, TVs, headphones and more

This year's best Boxing Day mobile phone deals:

Compare all of Boxing Day's best mobile phone deals and contract plans:

Update: we've added new apps to this list ready for Christmas 2018.

Ready, steady, woah!

You've unwrapped your shiny new iPhone, signed in with your Apple ID and you're ready to rock - but what exciting apps should you ask Silicon Santa to leave under your tech tree this Christmas?

Don't worry, we're done with the festive puns. These are the must-have apps you should download on your new iPhone XS, XS Max, XR, iPhone 8, 8 Plus, 7 or 7 Plus.

• Read our latest iPhone reviews: iPhone XS | iPhone XS Max | iPhone XR

Pocket Casts

LastPass

Amazon Kindle

Carrot Weather

Google Photos

Fantastical 2

WhatsApp

Citymapper

Better Blocker

Spotify

Pocket

Snapseed

VLC

Dropbox

Tweetbot

OneNote

Uber

Skype

• Want more? Here's our best iPhone apps round up

The Boxing Day sales are tantalisingly close right now. Actually, it seems that a few stores decided life would be easier if they pushed the discount button a bit early as we've been able to find some crackers already. It looks like the final days of deals season 2018 are going to running strong right through until those January sales for 2019.

But surely you've got better things to be doing on the Christmas break than checking through all the retailer sales and shifting through what they're claiming to be epic deals when you know full well you've seen them cheaper elsewhere on your travels on the same day. So let us do it for you and roundup the finest, genuine ones right here!

So yes sit back, scroll down a little and you'll see we've started to round up the best offers so far. We'll be updating this page throughout the Christmas, Boxing Day and right up until the dust has cleared on those January sales too. It's time to: Treat. Yo. Self.

When do the Boxing Day sales start?

Not a silly question at all. As we just said, a lot of stores are starting today and we expect even more will go live on Christmas Day - yes they're pretty keen. If just before Christmas is the time to scramble for last-minute gifts, anytime from the day itself onwards is the chance to treat yourself or use those gift vouchers to make a great deal a truly spectacular bargain.

When do the January sales start?

Expect an early start here too. Although if we're going off the last few years, the January sales haven't been particularly special. It's been all about the Boxing Day deals really, although we're pleased to report some of the better ones stayed online a good few days into January. January sales are more of a continuation of the remaining Boxing Day sales so you can probably expect to see many stores simply rebrand the sales to 'January sales' the day after Boxing Day on December 27th. 

Given many workplaces are off until around January 2nd, retailers are keen to show you the best deals as soon as possible while you've got time off at home rather than try to push deals on you while you're heading back to work or nursing that New Year's Eve hangover.

What deals can I get right now before the Boxing Day sales?

Some of you really have turned up early for the Boxing Day deals and January Sales. Well, here are some highlights of the hottest discounts on the latest tech deals you can get in the UK right now.

• Back to the top ^
• Check out our full guide to the best cheap TV sales and deals

• Back to the top ^
• Check out our full guide to the best cheap laptop deals

Nintendo Switch Boxing Day deals

PS4 Boxing Day sales

Xbox One Boxing Day sales

• Back to the top ^
• Don't miss the full list of Nintendo Switch prices and bundle deals
• Check out even more PS4 prices and PS4 Pro deals
• Check out the full list of Xbox One deals and Xbox One X prices

• Back to the top ^
• We've also rounded up the other Fire TV deals and Amazon Echo prices

• Back to the top ^ 

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• We've rounded up some extra Fitbit sale prices and cheap smartwatches

• Back to the top ^

So who's having a Boxing Day sale?

All the big stores get stuck in. With so many keen shoppers going online over the Christmas period in recent years, it's just too good a chance for them to finish 2018 off with some extra money in the bank. Let's take a look at the big hitters below and what you can nab from each.

Boxing Day sales retailer quick links

More a fan of browsing through the sales for your own special deals? Well, let us give you a head start. The links below will take you through to a wide range of retailers we're used to seeing get stuck into the Boxing Day and January sales spirit.

• Amazon
• Argos
• AO.com
• John Lewis
• Currys
• Zavvi
• Mobiles.co.uk
• Carphone Warehouse
• Boohoo
• Next
• Lovehoney

The best Boxing Day sales January sales from last year

Want a little taste of what to expect in the upcoming Boxing Day sales? Directly below you'll find a selection of some of the best deals we saw last year. Naturally, these prices expired a long time ago, but they they could be even cheaper now too! We'd certainly keep our fingers crossed for lower prices each year too.