Honor 10 will be a better gaming phone from July 30

The Honor 10 is already a powerful phone, but a new feature is set to make the gaming experience even better.

Dubbed ‘GPU Turbo’, it’s a new graphics processing acceleration technology which was announced a few weeks ago

At the time there was little information on it or on when it would land, but we now know it will arrive for the Honor 10 as a software update on July 30 (following a closed beta on July 15), with other Honor handsets getting it later.

We also now know that GPU Turbo apparently increases the efficiency of graphic processing by 60% and reduces the energy consumption of the SoC (system on a chip) by 30%.

Better graphics for longer

This combines to apparently dramatically improve the overall user experience when gaming, with Honor devices able to achieve ‘outstanding graphics quality’ when using GPU Turbo. The feature could also apparently benefit VR and AR applications.

Given its energy-saving credentials it presumably also extends your phone’s battery life while gaming, but that hasn’t been confirmed.

Following the Honor 10, GPU Turbo will apparently land on other handsets such as the Honor View 10 and Honor 9 Lite, however no time frame has yet been given for them. Moving forwards, it sounds like this will become a standard feature on many Honor phones.

  • We don't expect the super-cheap Honor 7S will get this feature
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Instagram Lite quietly arrives on the Google Play Store

Instagram has quietly launched a streamlined Lite version of its Android app, designed for low-powered phones and locations with poor data connectivity. The app only supports photo sharing at the moment, with videos and messaging planned for a future update.

Instagram Lite is just 574KB compared to the full Instagram app's 32MB, making it far more accessible if you can't rely on a stable connection.

The new app is currently only available in Mexico, but it is described as "a simple way to capture and share the world’s moments", so we expect it to be rolled out to more territories in the coming months.

“We are testing a new version of Instagram for Android that takes up less space on your device, uses less data, and starts faster," an Instagram spokesperson told TechCrunch.

Insta for all

The launch comes just days after the arrival of Instagram's new long-form video app, IGTV. The new platform lets regular users post videos up to 10 minutes in length, while celeb users can keep their cameras rolling for up to an hour.

IGTV will chew through mobile data like an Instagram influencer through avocado toast, so it's good to see that the company hasn't lost sight of users who don't have that luxury.

Instagram's parent company, Facebook, launched a pared-back Android app back in 2015. Facebook Lite was initially restricted to countries known for patchy mobile mobile data coverage, but is now available worldwide. 

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Google wants to help KaiOS ‘connect the next billion users’ with $22 million investment

The 2016-founded KaiOS Technologies has managed to secure a high-profile Google investment to accelerate the growth of the "smart feature phone" OS.

The post Google wants to help KaiOS ‘connect the next billion users’ with $22 million investment appeared first on Pocketnow.

A Nokia flagship could be coming with an in-screen fingerprint scanner

Just yesterday we heard that a new high-end Nokia-branded phone might be on the way and now we have more details about it, including the claim that it could have an in-screen fingerprint scanner.

That’s presumably the feature pioneered by Chinese brands that was teased yesterday, but it’s not the only new information on the phone.

WinFuture has acquired documents relating to the handset and revealed that it will also apparently have an OLED screen, Android P and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset clocked at up to 2.8GHz.

That’s the top-end Qualcomm chipset at the moment and should make the phone – which might launch as the Nokia 9 – more of a true flagship than the Snapdragon 835-packing Nokia 8 Sirocco.

Taking risks

The new handset will also apparently have a ‘high risk’ camera, which had to overcome various hurdles during development. It’s not clear exactly what’s high risk about it though. Perhaps it’s a pop-up one or uses several lenses. Or maybe it’s something we’ve not seen from any phone maker.

We don’t know any of the other specs or features, but the phone, which is referred to internally as the ‘A1P’, could be similar in a lot of ways to the Nokia 8 Sirocco, as that phone was known as the ‘A1N.’

We might find out more soon though, as the phone is apparently likely to launch in August or September, making a launch at IFA 2018 (which takes place from August 31 – September 5) possible.

Via MSPowerUser

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Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL shown off in high-quality renders

We’ve only seen a few glimpses of the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL so far, but now we’ve had a much better look at both of them, or at least at renders which are supposedly based on factory CADs (computer-aided designs) of the phones.

Shared by reputable leaker @OnLeaks on behalf of MySmartPrice, the renders show that the Pixel 3 XL will have a notch, while the standard Pixel 3 seemingly won’t, which is in line with previous images we’ve seen.

Apparently the Pixel 3 will have a 5.4-inch screen, likely with an 18:9 aspect ratio, while the Pixel 3 XL is said to have a 6.2-inch one, which MySmartPrice theorizes has a 19:9 aspect ratio.

Similar sizes and looks

Dimensions meanwhile apparently come in at 145.6 x 68.2 x 7.9mm for the Pixel 3 and 158 x 76.6 x 7.9mm for the Pixel 3 XL, though in both cases they’re said to widen to 8.6mm where the camera sticks out. Neither set of dimensions is much different to their predecessors.

Indeed, the design in general looks similar in these images, other than the notch, though you’ll note that there appears to be a dual-lens camera on the front of both phones, as has been rumored before, while the rear camera on both phones looks to be single-lens.

Other details that can be made out include front-facing stereo speakers, a USB-C port on the bottom, and a fingerprint scanner and two-tone design on the back, which in the past was a mix of glass and metal, but according to a previous rumor it might all be glass this time.

There’s no way to know whether these renders are accurate, but they line up with what we’ve seen before and come from a reputable source, so they may well be. We’ll know for sure when the Pixel 3 range launches, likely in October.

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Spice F311 Android Oreo Go Edition launched in India with 5.45-inch 18:9 display

Indian smartphone maker Spice Devices has announced a new budget device in India, dubbed as the F311. It is an Android Oreo Go Edition device and features an 18:9 display, making it the first Android Go device to feature an 18:9 display.

Just like other Android Go devices, the Spice F311 is also pre-installed with Android Go apps such as Files Go, Maps Go and other Go apps. The device has been priced at Rs. 5,599 and will be available from retail stores across the country.

Spice F311 Specifications

The Spice F311 runs on Android Oreo Go Edition, which is a toned-down version of Android Oreo designed for low-end devices with less RAM. It features a 5.34-inch FWVGA+ display with a resolution of 960 x 480 pixels and an aspect ratio of 18:9.

In terms of performance, the Spice F311 is powered by a quad core MediaTek MT6737M SoC coupled with Mali-T720 GPU. In terms of memory, the device has been launched with 1GB RAM and 16GB of internal storage which can be further expanded up to 32GB via a microSD card.

Coming to the camera department, the Spice F311 features a 5MP primary camera with f/2.0 aperture, 1.4μm pixel size and an LED flash. On the front, the device sports a 5MP selfie camera with an LED flash. The device sports a fingerprint sensor below the primary camera and a Social share key faster social sharing.

The Spice F311 is powered by a 2,400mAh battery and connectivity options on the device will include 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, 3.5mm audio jack, GPS and a microUSB port.

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Vivo Nex S scheduled to launch in India on July 19

Chinese smartphone maker Vivo is scheduled to launch its latest flagship device, the Nex S in India on July 19. The company had launched the device earlier this month in China and India will be the second country for the device’s launch.

In China, Vivo had also launched the Nex A, a Snapdragon 710 variant of the device along with the Nex S, but there is no information whether the company will launch this device in India. At the moment, there is no information about the pricing of the two devices, but earlier reports had suggested that the pricing may start at Rs. 40,000.

Vivo Nex S Specifications

The Vivo Nex S runs on Android 8.1 Oreo with Funtouch OS 4.0 skinned on top and features a 6.59-inch full HD+ Super AMOLED notch-less display with a resolution of 2316 x 1080 pixels and an aspect ratio of 19.3:9.

In terms of performance, the Vivo Nex S is powered by an octa core Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC coupled with Adreno 630 GPU. In terms of memory, the device was launched in China in two variants – 8GB RAM + 128GB internal storage and 8GB RAM + 256GB internal storage.

Coming to the camera department, the Vivo Nex S features a dual camera setup at the back consisting of a 12MP Sony IMX363 sensor with 4-axis OIS, f/1.8 aperture and a secondary 5MP camera with f/2.4 aperture. On the front, the device sports an 8MP pop-up selfie camera with f/2.0 aperture.

The Vivo Nex S is powered by a 4,000mAh battery with Fast Charge Support. It features an in-display fingerprint sensor unlike the Nex A that has a rear mounted fingerprint sensor. Connectivity options on the device include dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac, Bluetooth 5.0 LE, GPS, 3.5mm audio jack and a USB Type-C port.

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New customers get double the data for the same price on Verizon Prepaid

Instead of 500MB of high-speed data for $30 a month, it's 1GB for the same price. And while the Unlimited plan snoozes on this promo, it's a high ceiling.

The post New customers get double the data for the same price on Verizon Prepaid appeared first on Pocketnow.

Here’s how much the Sony Xperia XZ2 Premium will cost and when you can get it

Though it was officially announced a couple of months ago, pricing and release date information has remained unknown for Sony's upcoming Xperia XZ2 Premium flagship handset – until now. 

Sony has announced that the Xperia XZ2 Premium has been priced at $999.99 in the US (around £762 / AU$1361) with a confirmed release date of July 30, 2018. 

The device will be available for pre-order from July 9 from Amazon and Best Buy, with the former also offering a free pair of Sony Xperia Ear Duo wireless headphones as an added bonus, valued at $279.99 / £249 / AU$399 – no word on pre-order bonuses in other territories just yet. 

Boasting a 4K display, dual rear cameras (19MP + 12MP) with 4K HDR video recording capabilities, and said to have the 'world's highest ISO sensitivity (ISO 12800) for video recording in a smartphone'.

With a list of specs that includes the latest Snapdragon 845 chipset, 6GB of RAM, 64GB of storage (plus a microSD slot) and wireless charging functionality, the Xperia XZ2 Premium is set to be a serious contender in the flagship phone arena. We'll have more information to share on Sony's upcoming handset in the lead-up to its release. 

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