Articles about Smartphone

Apple may have broken its Q4 iPhone sales record, according to analyst estimates.

Forbes has aggregated all the predicted sales figures for the last quarter (Q4 FY2015) and found that the average estimate was 48.72 million, a 24 percent increase when compared to twelve months ago.

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The Wi-Fi Assist feature found in iOS 9 has caught some people unawares, and many have complained that they have been landed with large bills due to increased data usage. Two individuals have filed a class action lawsuit in California against Apple, alleging that the company failed to properly explain how Wi-Fi Assist works.

While Wi-Fi Assist can be disabled, the plaintiffs say that Apple should reimburse anyone who found they were pushed over their data usage limits. The company now needs to defend itself against charges of violating Unfair Competition Law, False Advertising Law, and negligent misrepresentation. Apple is also accused of downplaying the risk of exceeding data limits.

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BlackBerry’s Priv handset is arriving sooner than we thought, and in fact pre-orders are now live with Carphone Warehouse.

And as expected, the company’s new smartphone, which runs Android rather than BlackBerry OS, is priced at the premium end of the spectrum. The SIM-free version will set you back £580, and is available in just the one color -- black.

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When Apple releases an update for iOS these days you can expect to find new versions of OS X and watchOS too. So, today, on top of making iOS 9.1 available for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices, Apple is also bringing OS X 10.11.1 El Capitan to Macs and watchOS 2.0.1 to Apple Watch. So, let's take a look at what's new.

The common denominator between the three operating system updates is a refreshed collection of emoji, which now includes over 150 new items -- and, yes, the middle finger emoji is among them as the controversial photo above would suggest. But, probably, the most-awaited changes are under-the-hood.

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With the first Windows 10 Mobile devices set to arrive in November, there is not much time left for Microsoft to get its new mobile operating system ready for prime time. Development is in full swing, with a new Insider Preview build available now on the Fast ring.

Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview build 10572, just like the one that arrived a week before it, requires users to go back to Windows Phone 8.1 to install it on their smartphones, but it more than makes up for the trouble thanks to all the changes that Microsoft has baked in.

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The question everyone should ask about Google-branded, LG-manufactured Nexus 5X: Who is it for? My first-impressions review primarily focuses on the answer. My wife is one person, and I am surprised. Because conceptually she steps down from the Motorola Droid Turbo, which by raw specs is the superior mobile. Budget buyers also should consider the 5X or anyone living the Google lifestyle or wanting stock Android.

The new handset course corrects last year's release blunder, when Google sized up to 6-inch screen with the Nexus 6, leaving many satisfied N5 owners in stunned silence followed by loud complaint. While a N6 fan, I agree: It is a huge phone that is overly large for the majority of prospective buyers. This year's solution is smart. Google released two smartphones: Nexus 6P, which while phablet-class is markedly more manageable in the hands than its predecessor; Nexus 5X, for people wanting something smaller and for N5 owners looking to upgrade.

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Because mobile use is becoming more popular, there are more and more security threats that are being designed specifically to target mobile platforms and operating systems.

As a result, many mobile users are starting to panic. Well don’t worry; here are the five best ways that you can protect the information stored on your mobile device.

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You may have read that some iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus units have better battery life than others, and that, in order to get the "best" version, your new smartphone must come with the TSMC-made A9 processor. The A9 processor manufactured by Samsung has been said to be less energy efficient, leading to shorter battery life. But how much of that is true though?

Consumer Reports has tested two iPhone 6s units, one with a TSMC-supplied A9 processor and the other toting a Samsung-made A9 chip, and found that that the difference in battery life between the two units is entirely negligible. So, naysayers can now put an end to all the "chipgate" talk.

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Over the past couple of days I’ve read two interesting iPhone 6s stories from my colleagues. Brian Fagioli says Apple’s Live Photos has a big privacy issue, while Joe Wilcox says the way the Nexus 6P’s fingerprint scanner works is superior to that of the Touch ID scanner on the iPhone 6s.

With respect to both writers, they are wrong. The problems they refer to with the iPhone 6s aren’t problems of Apple’s making, they are user errors, pure and simple.

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If you asked me two months ago about using a Huawei smartwatch or smartphone, I would have scoffed. Yet, here I am doing just that. Timing on the latter is ironic. On Oct. 15, 2015, I bought a 128GB silver (and white) iPhone 6s Plus using Apple's 24-month finance plan, rather than paying in full up front. Huawei-made, Google-branded 64GB Nexus 6P arrived the next day for review. The following morning (the 17th), I hauled down to Apple Store and returned the iPhone for full refund. That act sums up my reaction to the new Android flagship running "Marshmallow".

I didn't expect to be so wooed by Nexus 6P, but Google got me by delivering superior contextual experience. This device, and Android 6, is all about context, starting with what for me is the killer function I couldn't part with: the fingerprint reader on the back of the phone. Picking up the device and placing my forefinger on the circular indentation wakes and unlocks the 6P. Wow-way is right! The mechanism beats the Hell out of Apple's two-handed jimmy from the Home button.

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Finely balanced and contextually practical are the terms that best describe my first impressions of Google's flagship Android. Nexus 6P preorders are about to ship, and I was fortunate to receive a review model but with short embargo lift: Delivered Oct. 16, 2015 before every blogger and reviewer on the planet blasted out simultaneous reviews and first-reactions on the 19th. I choose the latter, because a scant three days isn't enough time to rightly evaluate the smartphone.

Much of my experience is cast in moving from the previous flagship, Nexus 6, although there was a day between them where iPhone 6s Plus and I fitfully danced. The 6P is in many respects what its predecessor should have been: Smaller. Much as I like the larger Motorola-made phablet, its Huawei-manufactured successor has greater physical and feature balance. Both are superb smart devices, but the newer Nexus is better tuned to practical purposes.

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South Korean maker LG has announced plans to roll out Android 6.0 Marshmallow as early as next week, making it the first vendor, outside of Google, to bring the new mobile operating system to existing devices.

The first handset that LG will upgrade to Android 6.0 Marshmallow is its current flagship smartphone, G4, with customers in Poland being the first to see the software update available on their devices.

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Samsung has unveiled the second smartphone to use its own Tizen operating system, as the South Korean company attempts to chip away at Android’s market share.

The Samsung Z3 will be available from October 21 in India at a cost of approximately $130. Its predecessor, the Z1 (Samsung appears to have misplaced the Z2), only cost around $90, so it remains to be seen whether consumers will accept the price increase.

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OK Google, Siri, and Cortana all make it possible to control a phone simply by speaking to it. In the case of Google, what you might not be aware -- it's hardly something the company shouts about -- is that recordings of every command, question, and request are stored online.

Listening back through these could well be interesting, embarrassing, perhaps even nostalgic. You can step back in time and remind yourself of trips abroad, fun nights out, and the like, but you might also be concerned about privacy. If you would rather these recordings were not stored online, you can delete them; here's how.

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No matter which flagship smartphone you get, you are very likely to be happy with its camera quality. According to DxOMark, this year's crop of premium handsets from Apple, Google, LG, Motorola, Samsung and Sony is extremely close in terms of photo and video quality.

But, while other makers have shown major improvements in this area over their previous efforts, Apple seems to have stagnated with its new iPhone 6s, which is no more better than last year's iPhone 6 despite having a new rear-facing camera. (DxOMark has not yet tested the iPhone 6s Plus phablet, but it is unlikely to be significantly better than its predecessor either.)

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