Androidifying

Update:  The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus are now available to buy in the US unlocked. The handsets can be purchased at Best Buy and the official Samsung site, though, as expected, they only come in the Midnight Black color variant. If you buy at Samsung, you have the chance to both trade in a previous Galaxy device (between the Note 5, S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge Plus, S7, S7 Edge) and pick up the new Gear 360 camera for just $49. That’s not a bad offer, seeing as it went on sale last week for $229 . Check out the phones at Best Buy and Samsung via the links at the bottom of the page.  The unlocked versions of Samsung’s flagship devices have finally arrived in the US. You can now pre-order the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus on the company’s online store or at Best Buy. The S8 will set you back $724.99, while its bigger brother retails for $824.99. The two devices will officially be released on May 31 and only come in the Midnight Black color option. If you plan on getting the unlocked version o

Andy Rubin, the co-creator of Android, isn’t resting on his laurels. He may have helped develop a mobile operating system that boasts two billion monthly active users , but he’s now eyeing the next big thing. His company is set to release its first smartphone, titled the Essential Phone, in June, and we already know a bit about it from the specs and price details announced yesterday . Last night, Rubin also took part in a Code Conference interview to discuss why the Essential phone is here and what makes it special. It’s an interesting interview, providing lots of insights into the industry. You can watch it in its entirety above, but I’ve also summarized the main talking points regarding the phone below. “What’s post-mobile?” Rubin said he and his team at Playground  (the parent company of the Essential brand) were trying to figure out what was “post-mobile” when they started working together two and a half years ago, and believed it would involve “some form of machine-learnin

ARM recently unveiled its next-generation CPU cores, the Cortex-A75 and Cortex-A55 , which are the first processors to support the company’s also new DynamIQ multi-core technology. The A75 is the successor to ARM’s high performance A73 and A72, while the new Cortex-A55 is a more power efficient replacement for the popular Cortex-A53. Cortex-A75 Starting with the Cortex-A75, this CPU is more inspired by the Cortex-A73 rather than a direct upgrade of it. ARM states that there’s been a much larger number of micro-architecture changes this time around compared to the introduction of the A73, or even the move from the A57 to the A72. The result is that ARM has made performance improvements across the board, resulting in a typical 22 percent boost to single threaded performance over the Cortex-A73 on the same process node and running at the same frequency. More specifically, ARM quotes a 33 percent boost to floating point and NEON performance, while memory throughput sees at 16 per

Consumers in the Indian market are spoilt for choice when it comes to picking the right smartphone. Whether it be the latest and greatest, or the affordable mid-range, or the ultra low-cost, there is something for everyone, and you can make your decision based on how powerful a device you want, the size of the display, other peripheral features, and price. Luckily for those on a tight budget, or for those looking only for a basic smartphone experience, there are a lot of really good options available. Here is a roundup of some of the best smartphones in India that are priced under Rs 10,000! Editor’s note:  This list includes phones that essentially fall in the price range between Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000. There will be separate lists to showcase devices priced below Rs 30,000 and below Rs 10,000 as well.  Xiaomi Redmi 4 Xiaomi has found immense success in the Indian market by managing to undercut the competition even in the ultra-affordable segment. The recently-launched Redmi 4

LG has had its share of ups and downs in the smartphone game, and the company hasn’t made as much of an impact in the market as they would have liked. From being one of the first companies to feature a flagship with a Quad HD display, to the unique rear button layout, along with the experiment in modularity that was the LG G5, LG hasn’t shied away from taking chances, even if not all of them have clicked. Apart from solid flagship offerings, LG also boasts a robust mid-range and entry-level portfolio that range the price spectrum, so there is an option available for everybody. Here is a roundup of some of the best LG smartphones you can buy! Editor’s note:  We will be updating this list regularly as new devices launch. Best high-end LG phone: LG G6 The LG G6 may appear to be a step back for the company with the phone being more standard than its modular predecessor, but the device offers everything that you would expect from a current generation flagship. Apart from the high-en

  Over three months after it was officially announced at MWC 2017 , Sony’s latest flagship phone, the  Xperia XZ Premium , will finally go on sale in mid-June in the US. Online pre-orders will begin on June 12, via Amazon, Best Buy, Fry’s and other retailers. Brace yourself for some sticker shock: the unlocked phone will have the very high-end price of $799.99.  Shipments of the phone will begin on June 19. See also: Sony Xperia XZ Premium hands-on February 27, 2017 The Xperia XZ Premium will have a 5.5-inch 4K LCD screen with HDR (High Dynamic Range) support, along with Gorilla Glass 5. Inside, it has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, Android 7.1 Nougat , 4 GB of RAM, and 64 GB of onboard storage, with a microSD card slot to add more storage. The phone will also have a 19 MP rear camera with the ability to capture slow-motion video at 960 fps . Finally, it will also have a 3,230 mAh battery and a side-mounted fingerprint sensor. The phone will have three color optio

The Moto G5 and G5 Plus may have not long hit the market, but slides from a leaked presentation suggest that Motorola is already planning to release two more G series phones later this year, called the Moto G5S and G5S Plus . A mid- or later-year refresh is out of step with the long running cycle for the G series, leaving some to wonder if more meaningful changes could be afoot. So far, we don’t have too many details on either of these devices, aside from a few leaked specs and some press renders . Both devices will come with 1080p displays at 5.2 and 5.5 inches, respectively, and the Moto G5S will feature a dual camera setup. These are decent enough starting points for Motorola’s most popular budget-friendly range, but I have quite a wish list for these upcoming models. See also: Moto G5S and G5S Plus: all the rumors in one place 6 days ago Even out the hardware While already decent enough performers for your day to day tasks, the first thing I would like to see w