Articles about Smartphone

HTC, while not exactly a name to have the likes of Apple and Samsung quaking in their boots, has always been a brand to get rather excited about. Choosing a smartphone is clearly a highly personal affair, but in terms of build quality, features and value for money, HTC never fails to impress.

The newly announced HTC Desire 10 Lifestyle and HTC Desire 10 Pro both sit firmly in the mid-range for the company, and unashamedly ape the look of iPhones of yore. Despite the naming convention, both of the phones seem to be targeted at the millennial market, with a great deal of attention placed on selfies and music. Clearly the Pro model packs the most into the case, but do the handsets continue the HTC tradition of delivering more than you would expect?

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When Apple said that iPhone 7 sales will be determined by supply and not demand it meant it. Earlier this week it issued a statement saying that all iPhone 7 Plus versions and the Jet Black iPhone 7 sold out quickly after going up for pre-order -- and they will not be available to walk-in customers, as a result.

While we do not know how many iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus units Apple had available for the pre-order round, a Slice Intelligence report claims that the bigger model is more popular with early adopters. Last year, it was the iPhone 6s which enjoyed the biggest success during pre-orders.

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The latest iPhones may not be hugely different compared to last year's models, but consumers do not seem to mind it. According to pre-order reports from Sprint and T-Mobile, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are off to a great start, being received extremely well by their customers.

Sprint today announced that, in the first three days, pre-orders for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are more than 375 percent higher compared to last year. The carrier does not say whether that is a new record for the iPhone. Over at T-Mobile, however, the new smartphones did set a new bar.

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When batteries in the Samsung Note 7 started catching fire or exploding, everyone knew that the company was in for something of a rocky ride. The initial recall was deemed ineffective, leading Samsung to up its game in the US, UK and around the world.

But while the replacement program for one of 2016's biggest flagship handsets is already under way, investors are starting to feel a little wobbly. In to the estimated five billion dollars the recall and replacement program is going to cost, the value of Samsung shares has plummeted, wiping $14.3 billion off Samsung's market capitalization.

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The launch of the Galaxy Note7 has been nothing short of an unmitigated disaster for Samsung. Following reports of exploding batteries, the company announced a recall of the flagship handset which was criticized by many as not being urgent enough, and is expected to cost millions of dollars.

Sales and shipments of Galaxy Note7s have been stopped around the world, and Samsung has said that once safe handsets are ready, they will be identifiable because of a blue S sticker. The immediate advice is to "power down your device", but the recall is being handled differently around the world. In the UK, customers have been told to return them at the "earliest opportunity", while in the US Samsung says "we strongly advise that you replace it" -- and throws in a $25 gift card to sweeten the deal.

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The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus feature some pretty big improvements over the previous generation, but some folks are not convinced whether it is worth upgrading from an older iPhone or an Android smartphone. The main problem is the removal of the headphone jack, though it seems that the lack of enough (visual) differentiating features compared to the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus also play a part in this.

The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus may end up breaking sales records, but we will not find out until later this year. However, IDC already predicts that Apple's flagships will underperform in the world's largest market -- China. And there is some logic behind that.

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The new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will be hugely expensive in Europe when they go on sale later this month. Apple has decided to increase the prices of its new flagships compared to the previous generation, with the bump likely triggered by the US dollar's gains against the Euro and British Pound.

To put things into perspective, it is interesting that the iPhone 7 Plus will also see a $20 price increase over the iPhone 6s Plus in the US, while the iPhone 7 will continue to be sold at the same price as its predecessor. The bigger device now starts at $769, as opposed to $749 for the iPhone 6s Plus, while the iPhone 7 kicks off at $649.

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Today Apple unveiled, at long last, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus complete with a new quad-core A10 Fusion chip and iOS 10. Rumors have been circulating for some time about just what we could expect to see from the company's latest additions to the iPhone family, and many of them have turned out to be true. While much has been added, this years' model is also about taking away.

When it comes to storage, the 16GB is now a thing of the past -- 32GB, 128GB and 256GB models are your new options. As expected, also consigned to history is the traditional headphone socket, although there is a bundled 3.5mm to Lightning headphone adaptor for those who want to stick with their own earpieces rather than the bundled Lightning EarPods (which use Apple's proprietary Lightning technology). Destined to the technology trashcan as well is the clickable Home button, replaced by a touch-sensitive button with haptic feedback.

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Samsung has recalled the Galaxy Note7 after receiving reports of exploding batteries from early adopters, and the Federal Aviation Administration has taken notice. Due to the risks posed by the faulty batteries, the Android flagship could soon be banned on flights.

There is no telling when or if a Galaxy Note7 will explode -- which is likely why Samsung has announced a recall so early -- and there is no telling what could happen if that takes place during a flight. By the looks of units which have exploded so far, it could lead to some serious burns, at least -- which cannot really be treated in the air.

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LG is something of a quiet player in the mobile market, but that could be set to change with the launch of the LG V20 -- the first smartphone to ship with Android 7.0 Nougat pre-installed. Announced just hours ahead of Apple's iPhone 7 event, LG's new flagship handset boasts more than just the very latest version of Android.

There's a 5.7-inch, 513ppi screen which is supplemented by a secondary 160 x 1040, 513ppi ticker display. On top of this there is a 3,200 mAh removable battery, dual rear cameras, all powered by a Snapdragon 820 processor and 4GB of RAM.

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Samsung has decided to recall the Galaxy Note7 following reports of exploding batteries. US customers who have purchased the Android flagship can ask for a full refund or opt to have it exchanged for a new Galaxy Note7 or a device in the Galaxy S7 line, coupled with a refund of the price difference. Samsung will also throw in a $25 credit on the user's phone bill or a $25 gift card for putting its customers in this position.

The recall may work differently depending on the market, but it is clear that affected customers will receive a free replacement Galaxy Note7, at least. And, as you can imagine, it will cost a pretty penny, seeing as there is only one market which is not affected -- Galaxy Note7 units sold in China have different batteries which are believed to be safe.

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Android 7.0 Nougat may be making its way out to Nexus devices, but this accounts for only a tiny proportion of Android users out there. Owners of other handsets are starting to wonder when they will get their hands on Nougat, but rather than waiting for an official rollout, OnePlus 3 users can run Nougat right now thanks to an unofficial Cyanogenmod 14 build.

As this is an unofficial build there are -- as you will no doubt have gathered from the headline -- a few issues to bear in mind. The bad news is that battery life is described as 'horrendous', but the good news is that developers are beavering away trying to improve things. So if you decide to slap this build on your OnePlus 3, what can you expect?

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Two years ago, Huawei, one of the world’s largest mobile phone vendors, caused a surprise by unveiling a new brand called Honor which the parent company described as being a brand run by millennials for millennials.

Honor unveiled its latest flagship handset, the Honor 8, which is roughly equivalent to the Huawei P9 launched in April this year.

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There are few smartphones that pique consumers' interest more than a new OnePlus flagship. And it is easy to understand why, after you go through that impressive specs sheet and find out that it undercuts rival high-end devices by hundreds of dollars. The OnePlus 3 seems to be no different, using the same recipe as before, but is it a "flagship killer"?

It has the bases covered, featuring flagship-worthy internals, a close-to-stock take on Android, and a price tag of just $399. But, after using the OnePlus 3 as my daily driver for the past couple of weeks, it is clear that there is much more to it than that. In fact, the OnePlus 3 seems to be one of those rare smartphones the saying "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts" seems to have been coined for. The user experience is that good.

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Banks around the world are embracing biometrics as a way of securing customers' accounts. HSBC is taking things in a slightly different direction, however, giving business customers the ability to open a new account using a selfie.

While the selfie alone is not enough to open a bank account, it is used as part of the identity verification process. It uses facial recognition software to analyse a selfie taken on a smartphone.

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