There's a new phone from Meizu which has no ports, no buttons, no slots. This is the Meizu Zero, a smartphone that takes minimalism to a new level. Unlike the rest of the smartphone industry (with a few notable exceptions) this smartphone does not hesitate to remove all unnecessary bits and pieces from the smartphone experience. But has it gone too far?
Car dashboards are about to get more interesting, with Volvo's electric performance brand Polestar revealing a sneak preview of the Android-based Google HMI that the companies have been collaborating on. Set to grace the touchscreen of the upcoming Polestar 2, the Swedish automaker's all-electric car, the new interface will be among the first to be completely based on Android.
2019 is not only the year of punch hole camera cutouts, it could also be the year of the foldable phones. Of course, not all OEMs will be able to jump on that trend, unlike with cutouts, but those that do will be racing for the best possible foldable design. Samsung’s way is, of course, just one and it seems that Xiaomi already has its own version in the works. And if it manages to pull it off, it could very well steal the spotlight. Especially if it comes with the company’s usual pricing strategy.
It isn’t dropping any hints about its rumored foldable or modular dual screen phone but LG has practically confirmed two things it will be revealing next month. While it’s almost a no brainer that it will be talking about the 5G buzzword as well, LG’s invitation to its MWC 2019 press event seems to confirm rumors that it will have a smartphone that won’t require you to touch it or even speak to it just to use it.
Not all smartphone users are after the greatest and most expensive handsets money can buy. Many are perfectly fine with a serviceable and affordable smartphone that will hopefully last them throughout the day. For them, mid-range phones like the Moto G series could be more than enough. But while Motorola’s G phones have once been hailed as the best bang for buck mid-tier phones you could get, leaks of the Moto G7 models suggest this year might disappoint fans.
DxOMark has always prided itself for being the benchmarking experts not just for digital cameras in general but even more for smartphones. They have become so popular that OEMs have even started using them in their marketing. But throughout the years, DxOMark has avoided testing one of the most important uses of a smartphone. That has finally changed and it is now benchmarking how front cameras perform for selfies, bokehs, and even video recording.
Consider skipping the most expensive phones this year, looking instead to up-and-coming brands with lesser-known devices. Not because it's the cool thing to do, but because we've reached the concentration point. We're at a point where Samsung is battling Apple, and Apple hasn't made any major changes to their iPhone since iPhone X. If you want to continue using your smartphone the way you use it right now, by all means buy a Galaxy S10 or iPhone XI. If you want to try something new, consider something else.
This week the folks at Target announced they'd be bringing multiple new payment types to their stores. That'll include Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, and contactless cards from Discover, American Express, Visa, and Mastercard. This comes ALL AT ONCE this year after Target's early attempts at creating their own payment solution in the Target App, started in 2017.
This afternoon the Honor View 20 was revealed in full, officially, with details that let us know the Honor brand means serious business. This device looks a lot like the front facade of several phones coming in 2019 - but it's done quite well right here and now. The back side - well - the back side is something altogether new - it's dazzling.
Today some images of the Vivo Apex 2019 were leaked - or revealed on purpose - before the official launch of the Vivo Apex 2019. These images showed the device to look, at first, like a smartphone without a frontside camera and with a near-full-coverage front display. The back was silver, with two camera lenses and an LED flash - also, no buttons appeared on the sides, the top, or the bottom.
Even before it's officially launched, the Galaxy S10 is already earning mixed "reviews". And we're not just talking about controversial punch holes and in-screen fingerprint scanners here. The past few days have witnessed the appearance of benchmarks for both the Galaxy S10 as well as its processors, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 and Samsung Exynos 9820. The numbers vary depending on the source but one thing they all seem to have in common is that they fall below the iPhone XS and Apple's A12 processor. As disappointing as that may sound for Android and Samsung fans, in the end, those benchmark scores really don't matter.
Being the Mobile World Congress, it’s only natural to see so many smartphone and accessory makers show off their stuff that week. Most of the time, however, they try to steer clear of each other to maximize their time on stage. But whether it’s by accident, intention, or fate, it seems that at least three of the big smartphone makers will be making their announcements on the same day, which could overwhelm both event participants and onlookers as well.