Smartphone

If you were hoping that Samsung would be taking the wraps off its Galaxy S11 today, then you’re in for a surprise as the company has gone straight to the S20.

Its new flagship smartphone is available in three versions -- the Galaxy S20, S20+ and S20 Ultra -- and as you’d expect they don’t come cheap, but you do get a lot for your money. As was the case with Apple’s new iPhones announced last year, Samsung’s new devices focus on the imaging side of things with an entirely new camera system, powered by AI and with Samsung’s biggest sensor yet.

There is a resurgence of flip phones at the moment, but rather than old-school clamshells, we're talking about devices with foldable displays. Samsung has already launched the disastrous Galaxy Fold, but at last night's Oscars there was a surprise ad for the upcoming Galaxy Z Flip.

The handset is due to be officially announced at tomorrow's Galaxy Unpacked event, but now we've been given a sneaky glimpse of what's to come. The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip will compete with the likes of the  Motorola razr and Microsoft's Surface Duo.

Google has announced that it will now be offering customer support via Twitter.

Anyone with a problem with their smartphone is invited to tweet using the hashtag #AndroidHelp, and the company will do its best to help. The official Android Twitter account will be used to respond, and the team says it will be able to help with a range of issues.

Researchers at Malwarebytes have uncovered malware pre-installed on phones offered under the US government-funded Lifeline Assistance program.

Assurance Wireless by Virgin Mobile offers the UMX U686CL phone as their most budget-friendly option at only $35 under the scheme. However, users are getting more than they bargained for. An app called Wireless Update is designed to update the phone's OS but can also install other apps without consent.

Having just announced the Galaxy S10 Lite and Note10 Lite, Samsung is gearing up for another couple of announcements -- possibly the Galaxy S11 and Galaxy Fold 2. There have also been suggestions that one of the announcements could relate to the Galaxy S20.

The company has officially announced that its Galaxy Unpacked event will take place in San Francisco on February 11. Promised are "new, innovative devices that will shape the next decade of mobile experiences".

Ahead of CES, Samsung has revealed two new additions to its range of Android smartphones. The Galaxy S10 Lite and Note10 Lite are cutdown, cheaper versions of their expensive flagship stablemates.

But while these are not as feature-packed or powerful as the fully fledged Galaxy S10 and Note10, they are pitched as upper mid-range devices. Samsung is making much of the phones' cameras and display -- hardly surprising when the 6.7-inch handsets both feature 32MP units on the front and a trio of cameras on the rear.

Three smartphone manufactures came together last summer to create a new Peer-to-Peer Transmission Alliance with the aim of making it easier to share files between devices. Now it's available on selected handsets and is going global.

The alliance is made up of vivo, OPPO and Xiaomi and it was been created to develop what amounts to an Android version of Apple's AirDrop. File transfers are possible without the need for additional apps, and without the need to use mobile data or an internet connection.

OnePlus is a company that generates a lot of interest because of its low-cost-yet-powerful Android phones. It's also a company that's no stranger to leaks, and now we may have been given our first glimpse at the upcoming OnePlus 8 Lite.

OnePlus is usually a name associated with high-end "flagship killers", and it's not long since we saw the OnePlus 8 Pro leak. But with the latest leak, it seems that the company is re-entering the midrange -- something that will be welcomed by those who fear prices have been creeping too high of late.

Time for more smartphone leaks. This time around it is the turn of Samsung; specifically the Galaxy S11 range of handsets.

Thanks to reliable leakster Evan Blass, we now know that we can expect to see three the phone in three screen sizes: a 6.2 or 6.4-inch model, a 6.7-inch one, and a massive 6.9-inch version. In all, no fewer than five variants are due to go on sale, with mid- to late-February currently pegged as a launch date.

Trusted leaker Evan Blass has shared images of the yet-to-be-released folding Motorola razr.

It is a few years since the pre-smartphone era Motorola RAZR (note the different capitalization) earned itself iconic status, and now the clamshell is due to make a comeback. The new version of the phone looks remarkably similar to the original, but there's a key difference: this time around it seems that it will feature a folding screen.

Following reports that the fingerprint scanners of Galaxy S10 and Note10 handsets can be unlocked with any finger, Samsung is now rolling out a fix.

The security issue was caused by third-party screen protectors interfering with the fingerprint scanners, making it possible for anyone to unlock a phone with an unregistered fingerprint. While the patch is now rolling out, it remains to be seen whether the vulnerability has been addressed fully.

When Google launched the Pixel 4, one of the key features it pointed out was the Smooth Display feature, refreshing the screen at 90Hz. But all is not as it seems.

We already knew that the high refresh rate is not supported by all apps and all scenarios, so Google drops from 90Hz to 60Hz on occasion. But a new condition has been unearthed. It seems that the use of a 90Hz refresh rate is dependent on screen brightness levels... until Google issues a fix, that is.

True to its word, OnePlus has brought Android 10 to its OnePlus 6 and 6T handsets. Coming a matter of weeks after the launch of Android 10, OnePlus has released its own build as a beta.

As well as seeing OxygenOS upgraded to Android 10, there are a number of other OnePlus-specific tweaks and additions including full screen gestures.

It is only a matter of days since the OnePlus 7T and OnePlus 7T Pro launched, and already the leaks for the next versions of the handset are leaking.

We've already seen what the OnePlus 8 will supposedly look like and now a new leak gives us a glimpse at its big sibling: the OnePlus 8 Pro. A series of renders from the reliable @OnLeaks shows that the phone will feature a hole-punch display, no fewer than four cameras, and a 3D ToFsensor.

Yesterday's Made By Google event was primarily about the launch of the Pixel 4, the Pixelbook Go, and a range of Nest devices -- but there were a few extra bits and pieces to get excited about.

At the New York event, Google spoke about the second generation of Google Assistant, promising greater speed and more functionality than before. There's also a new look to the digital assistant.