Android

It seems that the troubles of what should be Google’s most powerful smartphone has just gotten started. And it seems that most of them might be about the Pixel 2 XL’s screen. While reports and complaints of muted colors might be a subjective matter at best, a software problem at worst, this latest one is a bit more severe and more problematic. Users are reporting that the larger Pixel 2 is exhibiting burn-in behavior that produces a ghost navigation panel that will haunt your fullscreen content.

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No one is probably going to argue over a change that makes a premium product very much affordable. But depending on when the price cut takes place, it could, instead, raise concerns. The Essential PH-1, the first and so far only smartphone from Andy Rubin’s startup, is barely three months in the market. But as of today, the smartphone that was pitting itself against the likes of Samsung, Apple, and maybe even Google itself, is $200 cheaper. That means that the Essential phone is now almost half the price of this year’s top models.

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If 2017 was the year of nearly bezel-less phones and 18:9 screens, 2018 could be defined by foldable devices. That might very well be the trend next year if the forward-looking statements from two of the world’s biggest smartphone makers truly come to pass. Samsung has already made it known that it’s long awaited and speculated foldable phone could make a debut next year. Now Huawei CEO Richard Yu is chiming in, saying that it, too, has a working prototype and that its foldable smartphone might be ready in 2018 as well.

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It's been less than half a year since the Essential Phone debuted with a camera cutout in its display, introducing us to the soon-to-be-ubiquitous "notch." Apple's iPhone X was next, of course, and now the design is making its way to Japan's domestic market smartphones. Sharp has announced its latest Aquos model, complete with barely-there bezels on three sides of the display, and a camera notch that's just like the Essential Phone's.

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It was recently revealed that the OnePlus 5 is completely out of stock in most markets around the globe, including the US and Europe, prompting the smartphone maker's CEO, Carl Pei, to admit that demand for the device has been higher than expected. Alongside this news has been increased rumors about a OnePlus 5T, and while solid details remain slim, a pair of images of the supposedly upcoming phone have been leaked on China's Weibo.

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Over the past few days a bit of controversy popped up over the display on the Pixel 2 XL. The most common issue seen in descriptions of the device seems to have to do with the device's coloring and/or texture. Our own review by Chris Davies said that the display on the Pixel 2 XL is "muted and blue-tinged off-axis."

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This week the folks at HTC have a big set of leaks on their hands - maybe even the entirety of their Fall Lineup, unless they have a third device that we've not seen yet. The device we're looking at right this moment is the Android One of the two devices. This means it's mid-range, coming with a relatively affordable price (more than likely) with specs that aren't mind-blowing, but certainly aren't bad.

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Pokemon GO Halloween is here again, marking the 1-year anniversary of the very first event in the Niantic-made game. The next Pokemon event starts at midnight tonight, so today we're getting busy with preparations for the launch. While in the past we might have started playing right as the bell tolled, this event is set to last an extra-long amount of time - over a week!

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Back when the Google Pixel 2 was announced, Google touted the high marks its camera received from DxOMark. In fact, the Pixel 2 became the highest-rated smartphone camera in DxOMark's history. At the time, we assumed that it wouldn't be long before that score was challenged, and even though Huawei's Mate 10 Pro didn't manage to surpass the Pixel 2 in terms of overall rating, it's coming mighty close.

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The Pixel 2's Active Edge is a fairly neat feature, but unfortunately, it's limited in usefulness out of the box. While being able to squeeze the sides of your phone to perform an action seems like it would be really handy, Google has limited you to using it to either silence incoming calls or pull up Google Assistant. In that sense, Active Edge is a lot like the Bixby button - potentially useful, but far too limited by the manufacturer for that usefulness to be fully realized.

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You can't be a modern smartphone platform without apps, and Google is aiming to make Android more appealing to developers and users alike. On the developer side, the company has announced it will change its fee structure for app subscriptions from the new year, matching Apple in the process. For consumers, there'll be more "Instant Apps".

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We just recently got a peek into the Pixel 2 and learned from iFixit how easy, or not, it was to open up and repair. But before repair comes the damage that causes the need to repair. And for that, we turn to JerryRigEverything’s trinity of durability tests. Though he just recently gave the LG V30 a thorough torture, he has lost no time giving the nominal king of Android phones the same equal treatment. And the king, it seems, might not be all that royal after all.

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