ZTE is going all in with the Blade V8 Moniker. Following the launch of the Blade V8 Pro back at CES and the regular V8 a few days later, the company has just taken the wraps off of the Mini and Lite versions of the device. As the names suggest, these devices fall at lower-end of the specifications spectrum, but do continue to offer some unique features like their more powerful siblings. We go hand on and give you a quick look at the ZTE Blade V8 Mini and the Blade V8 Lite!
Some say that smaller phones are better because you can use them with just one hand. For everybody else though, having a large screen for consuming media, browsing the web, and being productive is totally worth the occasional feat of finger acrobatics.
At 5.7-inch, the Galaxy Note 3 is clearly a device that’s meant for two-hand usage, and while that’s not bad in itself, there are times when you have to operate it with just one.
According to industry sources, Samsung Electronics will begin mass production of a new type of storage for smartphones come the end of 2014. The new UFS 2.0 NAND flash memory modules will eventually replace eMMC storage found in current smartphones.
The sources also suggest that Samsung may make the switch to UFS come its next flagship smartphone, as the company typically strives to offer some of the best tech in the industry in its flagships.
Oliver Cragg / Android Authority
TL;DR
Xbox Cloud Gaming is coming to Samsung smart TVs. Gamers will be able to play their favorite games on their TVs without a dedicated console. Microsoft plans to bring the service to additional TV brands in the future. Gamers on Samsung smart TVs are about to gain easier access to Xbox Cloud Gaming, with Microsoft and Samsung partnering to provide the service directly on Samsung’s TVs.
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
Android Device Manager has saved our guts at least once, right? The ability to find, ring, block and wipe a device remotely can be very convenient when a phone gets lost or stolen. And now we are finding out Chromebooks with access to the Google Play Store can also take advantage of these neat features.
While it seems to be an accidental side feature, the ability to use the Android Device Manager with a Chromebook will prove useful to many.
Google has a reputation for launching and ditching numerous messaging and communications apps over the years. It looks like the search company isn’t giving up yet, as it’s apparently working on a mobile app that unifies various Google services.
According to The Information (paywall), citing several sources who used the app or were briefed on it, the new app is set to be part of its G-Suite collection of enterprise services.
The Google Glass kiosk at I/O 2013
A new update for Google Glass is available to Explorers starting today bringing some new features to the wearable gadget.
According to details posted on Google+, Google Glass will get more voice commands, will let users message or call any Gmail contact and will let you browse the web.
New voice commands will let users use Glass to read text messages aloud and answer them, but also answer phone calls.
Samsung has been the number one Android manufacturer for almost a year now, capturing majority market share in most markets around the globe. While a lot of the company’s lead can be attributed to the success of its high-end devices, another important factor is Samsung’s continuing effort to cover the entire spectrum of the smartphone market. As such, today, Samsung unveiled two entry level Android smartphones, both running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, called the Galaxy Star and the Galaxy Pocket Neo.
Verizon is giving its 5G network a bit of a boost, as the carrier has just turned on 5G uploads in 35 major cities for mobile users and in Chicago’s 5G home market. These cities already had 5G support for download speeds, but this change will give users a massive boost to how fast they can upload data. This announcement comes hot on the heels of the company announcing a new Samsung Galaxy S20 with faster mmWave 5G support.
Eric Zeman / Android Authority
Update: Check out our full Xiaomi 12 Pro review at the link!
Xiaomi first introduced its Xiaomi 12 family of flagship phones in late 2021 and is just now bringing them to the global stage. The series consists of the Xiaomi 12 Pro, the Xiaomi 12, and the Xiaomi 12x. The three phones share the same basic design language, which has been updated when compared to the Mi 11 series, but target slightly divergent market segments thanks to differences in size and specs, and pricing that ranges from $649 to $999.