Samsung’s latest earnings report sheds some interesting light on the state of OLED display adoption across the tech industry, with a special focus on what it could mean for the general success of the iPhone X and its successor.
While LG is reportedly scrambling to get its OLED manufacturing situation in order, Samsung seems to be so flush with supply that it’s twiddling its thumbs, so to speak, as its display business grew just 3.4% this quarter while, as a whole, the greater operation grew a whopping 20%.
The culprit for the lagging growth in the display market? The report pins it on a “slow demand for flexible OLED panels.” The lion’s share of Samsung-made OLED displays go to its own phones, like the Samsung Galaxy S9 and looking forward, the Samsung Galaxy Note 9. But it also is the main supplier of OLED panels for the iPhone X, and likely the iPhone X2.
How Apple can turn this into a win
There has been plenty of speculation on the topic of the iPhone X’s less-than-stellar sales performance since it launched in late 2017. Despite being what we think is the best phone that Apple has created yet, analyst reporting that it may leave the production line and that it was outsold by the rather iterative iPhone 8 can’t be ignored.
While none of this is confirmed by Apple, as 9To5Mac affirms that the company won’t break down sales figures on a per-phone basis, news that Samsung is prepped for the next wave of OLED-touting iPhones is nothing but good news for customers.
More supply and the thirst for growth on Samsung’s part may lead to a drop in prices – something the iPhone X desperately needed to not just appeal to the mass market, but to sell to them, too. Though Apple will likely be feeding Samsung more money that it would like to for its OLED displays, releasing a cheaper iPhone with OLED tech could reverse Apple’s fortune by putting equal, if not greater, pressure on Samsung’s own devices.
Helping you keep tabs on your to-do list is a code that, despite a smartphone’s endless utility, hasn’t really been cracked yet. But Google’s new Tasks app (available on Android and iOS) is the latest to try and solve the problem. How? By more intuitively tapping into Gmail, which has just launched its fancy redesign.
If you’re one of the lucky ones with access to Google’s new Gmail web app, you’ll notice that there’s a Tasks section that you can drag messages into. Whenever you move a task, a to-do item is created in your task list with all the pertinent information attached, similar to how Google Now can alert you to an upcoming flight complete with boarding details.
Of course, you can also just use the new Google Tasks app to start a list without looping in details from Gmail, but as this sort of functionality has long be desired by many, it seems unwise to ignore it.
Putting Tasks to task
As avid users of Google Keep, another app that tracks to-dos, Tasks seems like a promising replacement. We like the fact that Keep offers a widget that we can plant on an Android phone’s home screen, but look forward to Tasks’ greater level of automation.
There’s more work to be done, it seems, as Tasks doesn’t appear to have key features that we like in Keep, like setting color priorities, or ones found in other task management apps, like categories.
Interestingly, the Tasks icon closely resembles that of Wear OS, Google’s rebranding of Android Wear. It’s likely that we’ll see more and more apps continue to riff on this similar look – maybe the next will be YouTube Remix?
Update: The Razer Phone 2 is just days away and we now have information on how you'll be able to watch the announcement live. Plus, a benchmark has revealed the possible resolution and storage capacity of the phone.
The Razer Phone has set the standard for what a gaming smartphone should be. It has top-end specs, like so many flagship phones, but truly stands out with its 120Hz display. Tapping into its roots as a PC-focused company, Razer knows that games are only as good as the screen that you play them on.
And we now know the Razer Phone 2 is going to break cover on Wednesday October 10, thanks to the official event invite.
Looking forward, there’s a ton of potential for the Razer Phone 2. From the more obvious improvements, like jumping up to the Snapdragon 845 or even the Snapdragon 855, to design and software changes, we’ve put together a list of what we want to see out of the next gaming phone to rule them all.
We're also starting to hear rumors about the handset, along with confirmation that it's actually on the way, all of which you'll find below.
Cut to the chase
Razer Phone 2 news and rumors
If there was ever much doubt that we'd get a Razer Phone 2, there isn't any more, as the company has confirmed in an earnings report (spotted by WCCFTech) that the "second generation Razer Phone" is in development.
The report doesn't shed any real light on the specs and features, other than to say that there will be "accompanying software releases which will extend our software and services from PC into the mobile market."
So that might mean some heavily customized software, or apps and features that Razer currently offers on PC, such as potentially access to an Android version of its Razer Game Store or its zGold virtual currency.
We've also seen a leaked image supposedly showing the front of the Razer Phone 2, but it's not much to look at, as the design shown is almost identical to the original Razer Phone.
In fact, the only noticeable change is slightly thinner bezels above and below the screen, though they're still massive in order to house its big speakers. Of course, we'd take this image with a pinch of salt - it could well be wrong.
The Razer Phone (L) and Razer Phone 2 (R). Credit: Android Headlines.
That said, another leak (seen below) has now seemingly shown the phone from both front and back, and the front matches up with the previous leak.
The back is a slight change from the original Razer Phone though, as it has a green logo that apparently lights up, rather than a white non-lit one like the original Razer Phone. The dual-lens camera is also in a more central position.
There's no fingerprint scanner shown though, which presumably means it's once again built into the power button on the side, or possibly that it's built into the screen.
We even have a good idea of what chipset that will be, as the phone has seemingly passed through the Geekbench benchmark, revealing a Snapdragon 845 chipset and 8GB of RAM in the process. That would make this one of the most powerful handsets on the market, but we'd expect nothing less from a gaming-focused phone.
However, the benchmark also points to the Razer Phone 2 running Android 8.1 Oreo, even though Android Pie is now available. But even if this is accurate we fully expect it will get updated to the newer software at some point.
Another benchmark has since emerged, spotted by MSPowerUser. This one is in agreement with the benchmark above, but adds that the screen will apparently be 1440 x 2560 (just like the original Razer Phone), and the handset will come with 512GB of storage (though don't be surprised if there are other capacities available too.
What we want to see
A refined design
That the Razer Phone adopted the look of the Nextbit Robin was a bit of a surprise. Opinion of its blocky design varies wildly among those in our office (though I like it quite a bit), so most of us are looking to Razer’s next phone to shake things up.
The answer doesn’t lie simply in rounding off the corners or making it an all-glass affair, but there are certainly a few ways in which Razer can inject some unique design in its next phone.
Judging from its lineup of PC peripherals, the company knows a thing or two about designing with curves. Another key component of Razer design is RGB lights – and a lot of them. Curiously, the Razer Phone features absolutely none, and that might have been a wise move until the company could figure out how to balance them visually what with their probable impact to battery performance.
A headphone port with DAC
Is it too much to ask for a headphone port? Looking at the Razer Phone, there’s ample room for it, so its omission is perhaps more inexcusable than other phones that lopped off the feature.
In addition to the 3.5mm port on the Razer Phone 2, we’d like to see it juiced up with a DAC of some sort, like we’ve seen with the LG V30 and previous models in that series. Razer’s screen tech is next-level, but limiting this phone to USB-C or wireless headphones is a downside
Stereo speakers
Dual front-facing speakers can really make an impact in the day-to-day use of a phone. Whether you spend spare time watching YouTube videos or playing games, front-facing speakers elevate the experience – just try going back to a phone with a speaker that fires away from your face.
Razer did well to include this feature in the Razer Phone, so all we’re asking is that it keeps it for the successor.
Wireless charging
The Razer Phone doesn’t support wireless charging, but there’s little reason why its sequel should be limited.
If the company’s next phone is made with glass, that would be perhaps the easiest way to make that happen. But looking at its Hyperflux wireless charging technology currently employed with PC peripherals like the Razer Mamba Hyperflux, it seems like this feature is destined to make an appearance on its upcoming phone
Timely updates
The Razer Phone launched in November 2017, well after Android Oreo launched, yet it came with Android Nougat built-in. After only just receiving the Oreo update in April 2018, we hope that the next model comes with Android P built into the phone should it happen to arrive after Google’s new software.
A phone that adopts new software quickly is likely to become a fan-favorite, but Razer’s time with Nougat certainly didn’t spoil the experience. That’s partially due to its Nova Launcher software. It’s likely to keep with that going forward, only upgrading when its launcher is compatible with Google’s software.
If you haven’t yet purchased a Samsung Galaxy S9, your patience may soon pay off. Samsung’s latest phone could roll out globally with larger memory variants, putting the default 64GB option to shame with new 128GB and 256GB models.
This speculation stems from Verizon’s Open Development site, a database of sorts where the carrier’s supported devices are listed. It lists both the S9 and Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus with 128GB and 256GB.
Don't fret at all
In the UK, you can currently pick up the Galaxy S9 Plus in 128GB, but the standard S9 is locked to 64GB, as it is in the US.
It’s not uncommon for companies to bolster their lineup with a special edition after release. And while news of models with increased storage might initially rub you the wrong way (especially if you're an early adopter) it’s hard to worry too much since both the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus feature microSD expandable storage.
Each phone can be boosted up to 400GB over what’s originally comes with the phone, meaning with 64GB of storage, you could have nearly 500GB in total – that is, if you can find a microSD card that large. From a value perspective, 128GB microSD cards are the best value, so we’d recommend going with that if you need more storage.
Apple is reportedly struggling to find a suitable OLED supplier – that isn't Samsung – for its new iPhone models rumored to launch later this year with 6.5-inch and 5.8-inch displays.
Its rival Samsung has supplied the screen tech for the iPhone X, but Apple’s effort to diversify its partnership with LG, which the company has purportedly invested $3 billion into, is said to not be working out too well.
While it’s not exactly clear what the problem is, LG’s production of OLED screens has hit a snag and may not to recover in time to meet the gargantuan demand for Apple’s 2018 phones.
Can LG prove itself?
Despite LG’s OLED technology cropping up in some big places last year, namely the Google Pixel 2 XL and the company’s own LG V30, opinions were mixed on their quality. Moreso on the former than the latter, many felt that they paled in comparison to what Samsung can produce.
Interestingly, Apple has ordered LG’s display division to work on a third round of OLED prototypes, something that most suppliers aren’t asked to do, according to sources who spoke to The Wall Street Journal. If it pans out for LG, a supply chain analyst stated that it could contribute as much as 20% of the OLED screens that go into Apple’s new iPhones, while Samsung would pick up the other 80%.
This report states that Samsung’s OLED display is the most costly component found in the iPhone X, costing $97 of the estimated $376 that Apple spends on each unit. But if it can move more of its business to LG, it could eventually drive down costs on future iPhones, resulting in a cheaper product on the shelf.
But of course, that relies on whether LG has what it takes to hang with Samsung’s apparent manufacturing prowess.
Android P is shaping up to deliver some truly useful additions, and it’s still early in its developer preview. The latest feature to be implemented is a smart volume control, of sorts, that remembers the volume settings of each Bluetooth device logged to your phone.
For as smart as phones and tablets have become, something like this fills in one of the few remaining “dumb” parts by playing your music, podcasts, what have you, at a volume neither too high or low to infuriate you.
This in-development feature is called 'Implement Bluetooth device volume memory' and is likely to make its way in the next release of Android P, which we expect either before or during Google IO 2018 in early May.
What else will Android P bring?
The 'P'-flavored (that sounds gross, but it’s Google’s fault for not sharing a name yet) operating system appears to inject more surface-level changes into the experience, as opposed to iOS 12, which is rumored to be heavy on fixing the bugs that caused so many iOS 11 problems.
Even in its first developer preview, Android P is a surprisingly smooth operator and the improvements made to the user interface will impress those who have been away from Google’s OS for some time. You can check out our first impressions of the beta update here.
If this smart Bluetooth volume control makes its way as we expect it to, phone owners who are eligible to upgrade are going to have a tough time waiting for its release, likely to hit in August.
Motorola has offered its biggest tease of the incoming Moto G6 yet. Rumored to launch soon on April 19, the clip shows off several angles of the budget-friendly phone that is looking more high-end than ever.
Throughout the teaser, shared from the Motorola UK Twitter account, we’re taken on a tour around the G6’s curves and design highlights. From its glossy trim, to its notched power button and metal ear speaker grille, the video appears to confirm many of the leaks that we’ve reported on. Its front-facing fingerprint sensor makes an appearance, too, as does the dual rear-facing camera system that we saw on the Moto X4.
It’s hard to shake the feeling that we’re not looking at Moto’s next flagship. As other companies like Nokia and Asus have shown, low-end is the new high-end. Flagship features like the 18:9 aspect ratio display and dual cameras are trickling down and are now more accessible to more people.
So while the Moto G6 and its Moto G6 Plus and Moto G6 Play may not be top-end in terms of spec, this will likely be Moto’s biggest release of the year. Since the rumored launch date is upon us, stay tuned for the latest news and hands-on reviews of Moto’s new swath of phones.
The gaming-centric Razer Phone has officially been upgraded to Android Oreo 8.1, bringing more software robustness to the multimedia powerhouse hardware.
Razer’s debut phone – which builds upon the Nextbit Robin’s original recipe with high-end gaming spec like a 120Hz display refresh rate and 8GB of RAM – launched with Android Nougat, Google’s 2016 mobile operating system.
The jump to Android Oreo brings about several improvements, though only a few of them are visible in the user interface. Most notably, notification dots will make seeing which apps deserve your attention much easier. Picture-in-picture is one of those feature you’ll never be able to do without again, whether you use it for navigating in Google Maps or watching YouTube videos while multitasking.
Like the Essential Phone, the Razer Phone is skipping vanilla Oreo (no pun intended) and opting for 8.1, the latest release ahead of Android P. But why? Razer hasn’t shared, but it’s possible that again, like Essential, it deemed the now-outdated version to have too many stability issues.
When will see you see the software update? All Razer Phones are transitioning from the developer preview to the final 8.1 update within the next ten days. Along with the jump to Oreo, Razer is celebrating by announcing availability of Razer Phone at Best Buy. The gaming company can now focus on crafting an even better Razer 2 Phone.
The Nokia 6 has been given a tune-up and fresh coat of paint for 2018, and it’s now available in the US via Amazon and Best Buy.
Replacing the 2017 model, which is still available through the Amazon Prime Exclusive Phones program for $199, the newer version brings along several additions and improvements in hopes to justify its bump up in cost to $269.
Speaking on its design, it boasts a higher screen-to-body ratio for the more cinematic look. Its fingerprint sensor, previously located on front, has been shifted to the back beneath the centrally-located camera system. Generally, it boasts a higher quality build with bronze detailing around its trim.
It supports fast charging by way of its USB-C port and, speaking of fast, and the Snapdragon 630 should give it an appreciable boost over the 2017 model’s Snapdragon 430.
Low-end is the new high-end
Curved glass, USB-C, a seemingly competent camera – frankly, it’s awesome that this is what the budget phone market has become. Nokia, while early in its efforts to reignite its brand, is making a charge on the US market with its phones.
This phone also features Android Oreo at launch, and it will likely receive the upgrade to Android P. Whether Amazon loops this phone into its Prime Exclusive program is unknown, but it would certainly give other competing phones a run for their money.
Your favorite phone maker may be delivering security updates at a steady pace, but a new report states that your smartphone may still be vulnerable to the next major exploit.
That’s because crucial patches are commonly skipped over by some of the most prolific players in the smartphone market, according to in-depth findings from Security Research Labs (SRL).
Across a relatively large sample size, companies like Google, Samsung and Sony seem to be strong enforcers of including each patch within its security updates. On the other hand, ZTE, Huawei, LG, HTC, Motorola and other big names appear to omit, at times, several patches from its releases. SRL doesn't specify phone models, but states that its testing was limited to phones that were patched during and following October 2017. In other words, the testing likely includes the latest and greatest flagship phones.
How does this happen?
It’s hard to exactly pin down why some companies don’t include patches for each bug in a security update. It could come down to a lack of resources, the sheer difficulty of adapting the work across multiple devices, or the hope that the next Stagefright-scale attack won’t happen again soon.
In a statement provided to TechRadar, a Google spokesperson told us that there are cases in which some devices use “an alternate security update instead of the Google suggested security update”. But even so, Android has other stop-gap measures to keep users safe, including application sandboxing (this limits an application from running within a larger code environment) and the relatively new Google Play Protect feature that debuted in 2017.
What does this mean for you?
Probably nothing. The research firm notes that a missing patch doesn’t necessarily point to guaranteed vulnerabilities, but the big takeaway is that your Android phone may not be as secure as you’re being led on to believe. Of course, Google is the best at sticking to security updates, but owning the Google Pixel 2 isn’t critical to staying safe as an Android user.
As more manufacturers get on board with consistently delivering monthly updates, it’s critical that each ensures that the proper holes are plugged. And while this seems like a tough job to keep up with as a consumer – the onus is on the software makers – the authors of the report stated that the app SnoopSnitch will allow you determine if your updates cover the wide swath of patches necessary to stay as safe as possible.
But if you just want to just not worry about it (we feel you), the tail-end of Google’s statement asserts that you can do just that: “These layers of security—combined with the tremendous diversity of the Android ecosystem—contribute to the researchers' conclusions that remote exploitation of Android devices remains challenging.”
SRL states that despite the present situation, it’s a vast improvement over 2016 – a time when only 17% of Android phones and tablets were running the most recent patch.
The Razer Phone isn’t the only smartphone on the market that’s tuned especially for gamers. Xiaomi has backed a company called Black Shark to launch the aptly named Black Shark phone.
Upon first glance, it definitely looks to have the LED-obsessed gamers taken care of with neon green trimming around the phone frame and on back. As another nod, it even possesses an integrated liquid cooling system to keep it running cool while playing your favorite games, like PUBG Mobile or Final Fantasy 15 Pocket Edition – though modern phones don’t have much trouble running the cream of the crop at max fps.
Behind the Black Shark phone’s 6-inch 2,160 x 1,080 resolution LCD display that’s stretched to an 18:9 aspect ratio, you’ll find a Snapdragon 845 processor that’s backed by 6GB of RAM and a rather measly 64GB of storage.
Does it beat Razer's phone?
Since the Razer Phone is, more or less, the one to beat at this point with its smooth 120Hz, quad HD display, how does Black Shark stack up? Well, it certainly wins in a few key areas, but loses big in others.
The benchmarks prove that the Snapdragon 845 is quite a bit faster and more efficient than last year’s Snapdragon 835 – thus putting the Black Shark phone above Razer’s maximum clock speed – but the latter 2017 phone packs in 8GB of RAM and microSD support that bests Black Shark’s efforts.
If you have the opportunity of choosing between the two, the Razer Phone might be the better overall value, but for most outside of China, getting the Black Shark phone will be tough to find. But if you do, it should be cheaper than the $699 (£699, about AU$897) Razer Phone, coming in at 2999 yuan, or about $477 (about £334, AU$612).
A few weeks ago, we reported that Android Oreo would finally be making its way to Moto Z and Moto Z Force phones in the US after “some time” – a span that has in total lasted over six months since support for Oreo was announced.
Unfortunately, that time hasn’t come to an end just yet, but Verizon users are reportedly seeing a placeholder teaser for the soon-to-come update, according to Droid Life. On the software update page, some are seeing a tall image that states the Android Oreo software will make its way to phones in a few weeks.
Credit: Droid Life
News that more waiting is involved isn’t something that anyone wants to hear, but we’re a big fan of this approach that Moto is taking here. Any transparency from a company is better than nothing, and while Moto’s tardiness in updating to Android Oreo on its 2016 flagship devices is certainly an ongoing disappointment, this placard at least quiets concern that that it won’t come at all.
In before Moto G6?
The Moto G6 family is about to debut on April 19, and it's all but confirmed to be stocking Android Oreo. This includes the rumored Moto G6, Moto G6 Plus and the cheaper Moto G6 Play.
Moto has likely been spending its time getting its new phones up to speed with Google's current software platform, but hopefully it doesn't keep its loyal users waiting for too much longer.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is shaping up to be a 2018 powerhouse. A recent rumor states that the productivity and fun-focused phone may have a 4,000mAh battery that’s big enough to last for multiple days.
This would be a sizeable leap over the 3,300mAh battery we saw in the Samsung Galaxy Note 8. The smaller battery was an intentional decision following the Samsung Galaxy Note 7’s combustible battery fiasco.
Despite sticking with a battery that you’d usually see in a 5.5-inch smartphone, the 6.3-inch Note 8 was still able to deliver all-day battery life. Theoretically, with a lot more juice in the tank, we could even be looking at multi-day performance with the Note 9.
Previously, we’ve heard that the Note 9 will feature a 3,850mAh battery – something this rumor states is still a possibility– but the jump up to 4,000mAh would defintiely be welcome.
Could the Note get even bigger?
The Note 8 arrived with a palm-stretching 6.3-inch screen, thus necessitating two-hand use for most of us. Whether it's because of a bigger battery, or simply the desire to outdo itself, the company may add even more size to the Note 9 by including a 6.4-inch display.
The sources of these rumors are dubious, both coming fromTwitter, one of which claims to have originated on Weibo, a Chinese forum where news often breaks on upcoming smartphones.
As such, it’s tough to make the call on whether these rumors are likely to pan out. That said, the claims above don’t sound too wild, given they are both pretty close to what we’ve already reported on.
As we approach the Note 9’s launch, which will likely happen in August, we’re likely to hear even more about Samsung’s next phone.
Your search for the original Google Pixel just got more difficult as the phone maker has confirmed to TechRadar that it delisted the 2016 phone from its global online storefront.
Sold alongside the Google Pixel 2 and Google Pixel 2 XL as the more affordable option, the first-gen Pixel phone has now made way for what is likely to come this October (or sooner): the Google Pixel 3.
It’s news to nobody that products get older and are removed as company’s see fit, and in this case, the Pixel’s delisting isn’t unique. But your search to find a Pixel may get tougher in the near future.
Should you still buy a Pixel?
The price for the Pixel had dropped considerably since its successor launched in October 2017, bringing the Google Pixel down to a much more palatable $549 on the US Google Store in recent months. Despite its disappearance on Google’s store, some carriers like Verizon still stock the phone.
But at this point, is it worth your money? The Pixel is still a great phone by today’s standards and will be updated to Android P later this year, but in hindsight, while we miss the 3.5mm headphone jack, the lack of waterproofing is a big knock against it.
You’ll likely be able to find a good deal on the Pixel and Pixel XL if you look soon, but these phones could quickly become collector’s items.
You can now order the new red iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus through Apple’s website. It entered its pre-sale phase today and if you order before 5PM in your respective region, it will arrive at your door the next day.
If you want to try Apple’s Product Red phone before you buy, heading to the Apple Store is something that you’re probably going to want to do. However, keep in mind that though it’s now available for purchase online, it won’t actually be in stores until Friday, April 13.
The differences between the new color and the iPhone 8’s previous options are slim. It’s really just the red color that sets it apart – you’ll still get the same glossy, wireless charging-supporting phone.
Interestingly, Apple opted for a black and red color combination instead of the perhaps more well-trodden white and red mixture.
In the UK the red iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are available from Apple, O2, Vodafone and Virgin Mobile.
