Articles about Smartphone

Before unveiling its latest flagship, OnePlus announced that it had partnered with DxO to improve the camera performance of the OnePlus 5. That was interesting mainly for one reason: DxO, on top of making software that enhances photos, frequently puts popular smartphones to the test to assess their photo and video quality.

So, at some point, we would find just what sort of effect that partnership had on the OnePlus 5, using DxO's own metrics. As it turns out, the new flagship still has some way to go before it can challenge the elite.

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Global shipments of smart devices including PCs and smartphones are set for a surprising decline this year, according to new Gartner figures.

Shipments will hit 2.3 billion this year, representing a 0.3 percent decline compared to the year before, the analyst firm said, before returning to growth next year.

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Google is making an important change to Google Maps that will help to make life a little easier for wheelchair users and people with other accessibility needs. Last year the company added accessibility information to locations on Maps, but now it is taking things a step further.

Recognizing that it will take a long time to wait for individual establishments to supply information about whether they have wheelchair access -- and even longer for Google to manually check things -- the power of crowdsourcing is being embraced. It's now easier than ever to add accessibility information about places to Google Maps.

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5G mobile networks have come a step closer to reality following a new announcement from Qualcomm and EE today.

The two companies have teamed up with Sony to show off Europe’s first commercial Gigabit LTE network, offering quicker mobile download speeds than ever before.

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It is tough to get excited about a new smartphone these days, but RED's new Hydrogen One might just pique your interest. What makes it so special? It features a novel display that uses nanotechnology to deliver a holographic experience.

In RED's own words, the Hydrogen One's "retina-riveting display features nanotechnology that seamlessly switches between traditional 2D content, holographic multi-view content, 3D content, and interactive games." That headline feature is so important that RED hasn't actually bothered to say much about what other specs the Hydrogen One has. Oh, and, no glasses are needed.

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UK mobile operator Three has introduced a new tariff that lets subscribers stream music, TV and movies from a number of services without eating into their data allowance. The Go Binge Tariff allows for all-you-can-eat streaming access to Netflix, TVPlayer, Deezer and SoundCloud.

If this sounds a little familiar, that's because T-Mobile has a similar tariff with an incredibly similar name: Binge On. Of course, there is potentially a slight catch: price.

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The OnePlus 5 launched only two weeks ago, and it has already received four software updates -- one of which was released before it was even widely available. The new flagship killer is not without fault, as user reports indicate, but OnePlus has been working to address them as quickly as possible.

The fourth and latest software update for the OnePlus 5, OxygenOS 4.5.5, was just released, and it brings a number of improvements and bug fixes that should enhance the user experience. Here's what's new.

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If there is one thing that you can expect from a smartphone in the ZenFone Max series it is a seriously large battery. The latest model, the ZenFone 4 Max, is no different, packing a 5,000mAh battery. But it does also have a feature that you might not expect: a dual camera setup.

The ZenFone 4 Max is a pretty interesting proposition in its segment, thanks to its up-to-date internals and massive battery, but the dual camera setup makes it stand out from the crowd. After all, only a handful of devices have one, and they're typically flagships.

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There is no such thing as a problem-free smartphone, and the OnePlus 5 is no exception. A few issues have cropped up since customers started getting their hands on the new flagship killer, and now we can add one more to that list.

The OnePlus 5 exhibits a rather strange audio recording behavior, wherein holding the smartphone in a certain way causes the audio channels to be inverted. Could this be another case of "you're holding it wrong?"

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The disaster that was the Samsung Galaxy Note7 has been well-documented. After battery defects caused the handset to catch fire,  the phone was remotely crippled by Samsung and a recall issued. Now the South Korean company is ready to relaunch the device.

This is not to say that Galaxy Note7 lives on. Rather the smartphone is relaunching as the Galaxy Note Fan Edition (or Galaxy Note FE), using refurbished parts cannibalized from returned Note7s. Bixby is on board, and there have been some hardware changes to ensure history does not repeat itself.

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Modern takes on Maslow's hierarchy of needs (jokingly) refer to a wireless internet connection as being a necessity. While Wi-Fi may not be -- in the strictest sense of the word -- necessary, it's certainly true that it has become the prey that we now hunt for.

To make the search a little easier, Facebook is now rolling out its Find Wi-Fi tool globally. What previously started as a small-scale test is now available around the world for Android and iPhone users, so anyone looking to minimize data usage will be able to find an easy way online.

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The OnePlus 5 may have received positive reviews, but the launch has not gone as smoothly as OnePlus might have hoped. The new flagship killer was found to boost performance in benchmarks to get higher scores, and, most recently, users have reported a strange scrolling issue as well.

This does not appear to affect all OnePlus 5 units, but some users say that they have noticed what is commonly referred to as "jelly" scrolling. OnePlus calls this a "subtle visual effect," but it says that this kind of behavior is perfectly normal for the AMOLED display that it uses.

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When I dream of being rich, the one thing that I never imagine buying is a luxury smartphone. It just doesn't make sense to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a device that, realistically speaking, isn't better than an iPhone or Galaxy S flagship. I have not conducted a scientific study to back this up, but I suspect that people who are actually wealthy would agree.

A luxury item, at least from my perspective, has to stand the test of time. It has to be just as attractive today as it was yesterday. A Rolex Submariner from 10 years ago isn't looked down upon now or perceived as worse compared to the latest model. But a phone, that's different. It actually becomes less appealing as time goes by, because its core functionality becomes less and less attractive to the owner when new generations hit the market.

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It may seem strange now, but when the iPhone originally launched (10 years today, as if you didn’t already know by now), it wasn’t viewed as a smartphone in some quarters because of restrictions placed on the device by Apple.

Wireless industry analyst firm ABI Research’s definition of a smartphone was "a cellular handset using an open, commercial operating system that supports third-party applications", but Apple at that time was blocking third-party apps from the iPhone.

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The original iPhone went on sale ten years ago today, and in celebration I’ve been trawling through the BetaNews archives. Sadly we didn’t review the first iPhone, but we did gather together some of the best press and user comments following the device’s announcement, and they are amusing to say the least.

Below is the original story written by Ed Oswald, and underneath that are some of the best reader responses to it. Knowing what we know now, I think you’ll find it entertaining.

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