Apple may have been the first to put Force Touch technology in a smartwatch, but Huawei has beaten the Cupertino company to putting it inside a phone.
At the IFA trade show in Berlin today, Huawei used the Force Touch display in its new Mate S smartphone to weigh an orange, a week before the technology is expected to make its way to the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.
Apple’s iPhones might be on the verge of a big refresh this month, but that doesn’t make them any less appealing to those looking to take a break from Android.
In Europe, 27 percent of smartphone shoppers swapped their Android for an iPhone last quarter, while 9 percent of consumers made the same switch in the U.S.
Android Wear made the leap to iOS yesterday, meaning that iPhone owners can now buy and use Android Wear smartwatches should they feel so inclined.
One thing they can’t do, however, is to use Apple’s HealthKit platform to monitor their Android Wear fitness data. According to Apple, data such as step count and heart rate can only be tracked via the Google Fit dashboard — meaning that health-conscious users will want to hang onto their Apple Watches.
And somewhat surprisingly, the decision was entirely Google’s.
Not content with competing with Apple in the smartphone and wearables category, noted ripoff artists Xiaomi are reportedly considering unveiling their very first notebook computer early in 2016.
Photo-sharing service Instagram takes another step closer to becoming its own self-contained social network today with features aimed at the 85 million folks using Instagram Direct, which lets you send direct messages to individual users or groups of up to 15 people.
The new features include threaded messaging and a new way to share Instagram videos or photos within those direct messages.
Google revealed it’s getting a new logo today that ditches its rough edges for a more simplified (some would say childish) design. The change comes just a month after the company announced it was being restructured with Sundar Pichai taking the CEO reigns of the company now owned by Alphabet.
The new logo was introduced this morning on a blog post from Google’s VP of product management, Tamar Yehoshua, and UX director Bobby Nath, who justified their kiddie logo, saying it’s supposed to reflect the many platforms users interact with Google on throughout the day.
Amazon Prime Video today took a massive step toward beating Netflix by adding offline video to its growing list of advantages. The feature allows users to download movies and TV shows and enjoy them without a data connection while they’re on the go.
After teasing the new Gear S2 smartwatch during its Galaxy Note 5 unveiling earlier this month, Samsung has confirmed all the juicy details we’ve been waiting for.
The new wearable will be available in two flavors — the Gear S2 and Gear S2 classic — both of which have round faces and are aimed at consumers who “prefer more timeless watch design.” But will the devices be good enough to trip up the Apple Watch?
Google’s smartwatch platform, Android Wear, has officially gained support for iPhones. The Android Wear for iOS app is currently rolling out and anyone with an iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s, iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus can start using the Android Wear app at last. Just make sure you’re running iOS 8.2 or later.
The move comes somewhat randomly but makes total strategic sense for Google.
Instagram is no longer a photo sharing service just for squares. The company today announced that it will finally support portrait and landscape photos and videos with its latest updates on Android and iOS.
Don’t believe the critics who tell you wearables will never take off, because they’re wrong. During the second quarter of 2015 alone, the wearables market grew a staggering 223.2 percent, according to the latest figures from IDC, and Apple Watch is working its way to the top to tackle Fitbit.
Android Wear, on the other hand, is nowhere to be found.
Amazon has dismissed dozens of engineers and ditched a handful of hardware projects following its dismal attempt at tackling the smartphone market, according to a new report.
The retail giant has also restructured what’s left of its hardware division, combining what was two separate units into one.
Backed by ex-Apple CEO John Sculley, Obi Worldphone is a startup company that’s hoping to shake up the affordable Android market with two new devices that combine stylish designs and decent specifications with even more attractive price tags.
Meet the Obi Worldphone SF1 and SJ1.5, which start at as little as $129.
Pocket updated its apps for Android and iOS to version 6.0, which now tailors to your interests. The release brings a new Recommendations tab that scans your activity in Pocket and, armed with that knowledge, presents you with new stories and other content you might find interesting.
To see how fast the Galaxy Note 5 is compared to last year’s iPhone hardware, DroidModderX pitted the two devices against each other in a speed test designed to mimic everyday use, and the results were quite surprising. The iPhone is running on weaker hardware, but thanks to Apple’s software it managed to blow the Note 5 out of the water, thanks to Samsung’s horrible TouchWiz UI that bogs down all the memory.
Watch iPhone 6 destroy the Note 5 below:
HTC appears to have given up on its own design language in an effort to make its next flagship smartphone an iPhone clone. Leaked images of the so-called HTC Aero look almost identical to an iPhone 6, with the same flat form factor and protruding camera.
What’s the fastest-charging smartphone? It’s not an iPhone. If you care about how fast your phone goes from 0 percent to fully juiced, you should buy an Asus Zenfone 2 or Samsung Galaxy S6. Here’s why.
Samsung has been forced to postpone its Ultimate Test Drive promotion that gives iPhone owners the opportunity to try out its latest devices free for 30 days. The South Korean company says it ran out of test drive devices in just a few hours after “overwhelming demand.”
Riot Games, developer of insanely successful online battle arena game League of Legends, has created a new game as a love letter to its fans. Titled Blitzcrank’s Poro Roundup, the side-scrolling game is available for Android, iOS and as a web app.
Got an iPhone and want to try out the competition?
For just $1, Samsung will let you test drive its brand new Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S6 edge+, or Galaxy S6 edge for 30 days — and provide you with free cellular service during the trial.
The latest “flagship killer” from Chinese startup OnePlus is getting even more attention that its predecessor. And rightly so: The OnePlus 2 is better looking and more advanced than the OnePlus One, with a faster Snapdragon 810 processor, up to twice as much RAM, and a new 13-megapixel camera sensor.
The device also comes with OnePlus’ latest OxygenOS software pre-installed, which offers a pure Android experience with some added extras.
All these things come in a pretty package that costs just $329 with 16GB of storage and 3GB of RAM. (You can bump up to 64GB of storage and 4GB of RAM for $389.) But is this a great smartphone that’s worth waiting for?
Sony’s second-generation SmartBand 2 is here, and it’s a big improvement over its predecessor. The wearable’s new design packs an intelligent heart rate monitor that constantly measures your excitement and stress levels throughout the day.
The Apple Watch doesn’t work with Android smartphones, and probably never will. That means if you’re an Android fan who loves the Apple Watch’s Bubble UI, you’ve got two choices: get an iPhone, or install this new launcher that will turn your Android smartwatch into a virtual clone of the Apple Watch’s launch screen.
Google is getting into the router business. The search giant today announced a new $200 device called OnHub, and it’s coming later this month to make setting up and managing our home Wi-Fi networks easier than ever before.
