Mihăiță Bamburic

Qualcomm officially announced Quick Charge 4 late last year, alongside its Snapdragon 835 processor which continues to reign supreme in its mobile lineup. However, the fast charging technology now gets an update, which adds three key improvements.

Qualcomm says that Quick Charge 4+, as the new version is officially known as, operates up to 3°C cooler, is up to 15 percent faster and up to 30 percent more efficient than Quick Charge 4. And it is already live in the ZTE nubia Z17 smartphone, which is powered by Snapdragon 835.

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There are not a lot of smartphones nowadays that offer support for hardware add-ons. The just-unveiled Essential Phone is among the few that have this feature, and so is the new Motorola Moto Z2 Play.

The Moto Z2 Play is the successor to last year's Moto Z Play, and is positioned as a mid-range smartphone -- albeit at a price that is much closer to the premium segment than the entry-level. It also comes with a bunch of new Moto Mods for users to customize their experience.

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For a newcomer, it is reassuring to know that HMD Global cares about software updates. The company has announced that the Nokia 6, Nokia 5, and Nokia 3, which were unveiled earlier this year, will all receive an update to Android O.

HMD Global has not provided an estimate as to how long it will take for the Android O update to be available for the Nokia 6, Nokia 5, and Nokia 3 but, in the past, large manufacturers have needed a few good months to push out such major software releases.

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Intel revealed in early-May that there is a critical security vulnerability in its Active Management Technology, which can be exploited to gain remote access to PCs. The feature is designed to help system administrators manage devices, so, due to its nature, it is more likely to affect enterprise users than consumers.

However, since the Surface line is popular with businesses, Microsoft wants to let its enterprise users know that no Surface devices are affected by the AMT vulnerability, despite it being offered in some of the processors available with its tablets and laptops.

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On top of the official software releases, OnePlus 3T and OnePlus 3 users also have access to beta versions of OxygenOS. The builds, which are labeled "Open Beta," typically add new features and improvements to the Android distribution, but may also cause some issues -- something that's to be expected, given their nature.

The latest Open Beta build, which was just released, bears the 17/8 version number and comes with a number of new features, improvements, optimizations and changes to OxygenOS. Here's what you should be looking forward to.

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LG started giving users of select devices the ability to unlock the bootloader a few years ago, and the tradition continues with its latest flagship Android smartphone, the G6.

This option is not available to every LG G6 user, however, as the official tool provided by the South Korean maker only supports the European model, featuring the H870 model number. The unlocked bootloader makes it easy to load custom ROMs on the device.

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Nearly two weeks after introducing the iPhone app, Microsoft officially announces the availability of Planner on Android. The tool was released a year ago to help teams using Office 365 better manage and collaborate on projects.

Microsoft says that Planner is available to Office 365 subscribers on the Business Essentials, Business Premium, Enterprise E1 to E5 and Education plans.

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Microsoft and Qualcomm announced late last year that Windows 10 will be available on ARM-based Snapdragon devices. And, unlike with Windows RT, this time around x86 programs are welcome, giving users the ability to run full-blown software like Office 2016 and Adobe Photoshop CC.

And now Microsoft and Qualcomm have provided an update on the project, announcing the hardware partners that will release ARM devices with Windows 10 and the sort of benefits that users can expect to receive from the "Always Connected PCs" that will arrive.

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OnePlus has been great when it comes to supporting the OnePlus 3T and OnePlus 3. The company has released a ton of software updates for the two flagships, including an upgrade to Android 7 Nougat. But it will not be long before Google takes the wraps off Android O, so what can users expect?

First of all, we do not know exactly when Android O will be introduced, but it is likely that Google will stick to a late-summer/early-fall release schedule. But the good news is that OnePlus will update the OnePlus 3T and OnePlus 3 to Android O.

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Smartphones have come a long way since Apple introduced the first iPhone, but there are people who believe that all the advancements that we've seen in recent years are not enough. Andy Rubin, who created Android, is one of them, which is why he has come up with an interesting new design for his new company's first smartphone.

It's called the Essential Phone and it has everything you could want in a flagship smartphone today in a package that comes in at just under $700. But is it all that different to the typical flagship?

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When it comes to Android flagships, specs matter. Consumers love to compare the processors, displays, RAM, storage and other important features when assessing the platform's high-end devices, which is why manufacturers cannot afford to fall behind their competitors.

LG has ignored this, as for the past couple of years it has released flagships with outdated processors. The G6, for instance, ships with last year's Qualcomm Snapdragon 821, even though there's the Snapdragon 835 available. And, judging by the sales figures, consumers have penalized the company. However, that practice will end with its next flagship.

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Samsung has released a new app which is designed to give users more control over the audio on their Galaxy devices. It's called SoundAssistant and it is compatible with the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S7 lines as well as other handsets running the latest version of Android.

There are three main features in SoundAssistant that are worth your attention. First is the option to change the behavior of the volume keys which, by default, will raise or decrease the volume for the ringtone.

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I like routers that look the part, but not everyone is fond of the traditional design. A plastic box that lights up and has a bunch of cables and antennas sticking out is not exactly what you might call pretty. However, there are some attractive options out there. ASUS's new Blue Cave, which was just announced today at Computex 2017, is one of them.

Actually, save for the bottom part of the rear panel which houses the ports, I believe that the Blue Cave does not look like a router at all. Yes, it is a big plastic box too, but it has a big hole in the middle and no visible antennas. Looking at it, you might be inclined to believe that it is something else entirely. But, a sleek design is not all that it has, as its specs are pretty attractive as well.

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At Computex 2017, ASUS just unveiled what is probably the most impressive 15-inch laptop today. It's called the ZenBook Pro and it comes with everything that you can expect in a premium offering in this segment right now.

What are the standout features? Well, there are several, but the 15.6-inch UHD display, the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti graphics, and the Intel Core i7-7700HQ quad-core processor are likely to impress consumers the most.

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ASUS announced a whole suite of new products today at Computex 2017, and one of the most interesting to debut is the ZenBook 3 Deluxe, which the company says is the thinnest 14-inch laptop in the world.

This is not the first "world's thinnest" product that ASUS unveiled today, as the company also introduced the world's thinnest two-in-one convertible laptop, called the ZenBook Flip S.

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