Last year, Samsung unveiled its A-series crop for this year in December, and, judging from the increase of leaks about the eventual Galaxy A7 (2017), it might out the new models next month, which would be about a year after the A7 2016 model. A tipster has relayed detailed info about the A7 (2017), which mostly corroborates the leaks about the handset coming from its previous appearances on AnTuTu and Zauba. First things first, the new A7 is expected to sport a 5.7" 1080p Super AMOLED display, which would make it slightly larger than the 5.5-inch A7 (2016). Previous rumors pegged the 2017 edition as having a 5.7" panel, but things might have progressed since then, since the new A-series flagship is said to sport a 157.69 x 76.92 x 7.8mm chassis, against the 151.5 x 74.1 x 7.3 mm of its predecessor. That added bulk may have gone into the battery pack, as the A7 (2017) will apparently come with a 3600 mAh juicer now. The phone is expected to be powered by an Exynos 7880 and have 3 GB RAM as well as 32 GB storage plus memory card slot for its expansion. The camera duties may undergo an interesting twist - both the front and rear cameras are tipped to be with 16 MP resolution, though the main shooter would come with wide f/1.9 aperture. A finger scanner and USB-C port are par for the course on a phone marked with 2017 in its name, but the most intriguing part of the whole setup, save for the high-res selfie snapper, is that the Galaxy A7 (2017) is said to sport IP68 certification, marking a first for the A-series of Samsung phones.

Last month, we told you that the Sony Xperia G 3112 and Xperia G3121 would be unveiled at MWC 2017 in Barcelona. The annual trade show will be held between February 27th and March 2nd. Today, more information about the two handsets was discovered on Weibo. The smaller of the two handsets will feature a 5-inch or 5.2-inch display with a 1080 x 1920 resolution. The larger premium model will have a 5.5-inch display, and a 4K resolution.

We aren't sure if this is going to be similar to the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium, which offers a 2160 x 3840 (4K) resolution for certain content, mostly media. The rest of the time, the screen has a 1080 x 1920 resolution. Sony said that it had to dial down the resolution at times in order to keep the battery life at two days. The Weibo post adds that this phone will sport 4GB of RAM.

This is all speculation for now, and we do suggest that you take this story with the proverbial grain of salt. Remember, there is plenty of time before MWC for more information to leak.

Rumors about the next best thing from Samsung, the Galaxy S8, are coming fast and furious today. We just relayed that the phone may be doing away with the physical home key, but could introduce a side button for direct launch of the alleged Bixby AI assistant, and now comes info that the power key and volume buttons could be of the touch variety, along with other interesting tidbits.

Thanks to the time difference, it was still Monday night in the states when LG announced on Tuesday morning in Korea that it has started rolling out Android 7.0 Nougat for the LG G5 in that country. The phone is the first non-Nexus handset to receive the 7.0 update. Over the next several weeks, the update will roll out to the Americas, Asia and other markets. One new feature we are looking forward to is the one that brings seamless updates to Android. Downloads are sent out in the background, and the phone is updated the next time it is is booted up. Doze (from Android 6.0) is enhanced so that apps are turned off from running in the background, but certain apps are optimized to pass along a message or ring an alarm even when Doze is enabled. Emoji from Unicode 9 is included. And the long-awaited "Clear All" button closes all open apps with a tap of the screen. With Multi-window, users can run two apps side-by-side, or use a double tap to switch between apps. "At LG, we know our customers want the best, most up-to-date mobile experience. Getting software updates to our users faster than the competition is our way of demonstrating that LG is committed to supporting our products and customers to ensure they have a positive ownership experience."-Kim Hyung-jung, senior vice president, LG Mobile’s research and development LG says that as the update heads to other markets, announcements about the timing of these updates will be made locally. Keep checking in.

According to a couple of promotional posters, pre-sales for the Huawei Mate 9 are expected to begin November 4th in China. We expect to see the phone unveiled as soon as today in three variations. Those include 4GB of RAM with 64GB of internal storage, 4GB of RAM with 128GB of internal storage, and the top-of-the-line model with 6GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage.

The Huawei Mate 9 is rumored to feature a 5.9-inch screen with a 1080 x 1920 resolution. The home-grown Kirin 960 chipset is under the hood, and we should see a Leica built dual camera setup (20MP and a 12MP) on the back of the phone. Android 7.0 will be pre-installed, with Huawei's Emotion UI 5 running on top.

Speculation has the price of the model with 4GB RAM/64GB flash storage starting at the equivalent of $480 USD-$510 USD. The unit carrying 4GB RAM/128GB of flash storage is said to sell for the equivalent of $585 USD. The top price of $705 USD is expected for the model with 6GB RAM/256GB of flash storage.

 

Apple has been granted a patent for a foldable and/or bendable iPhone made from advanced carbon nanotube structures. Recently uncovered by Patently Apple, the patent application dates back to 2014 and describes what looks like a flexibledevice with a clam shell design. Another patent for a solely bendable phone filed back in 2013, serves as further evidence that the Cupertino giant has had continuous interest in this concept over the last couple of years.

The patent filed in 2014 uses the iPhone moniker explicitly, instead of the generic “electronic device” or derivatives of it, and contains illustrations of both the familiar iPhone design (not pictured), albeit in very simplified form, as well as concept drawings for a new, foldable device that may also have a bendable display.

The documents also offer some details regarding the possible materials of which this iPhone of the future could be made, mentioning ceramic, glass, fiber, aluminum, and plastic as possible contenders, but explicitly names carbon nanotubes as the material that would make the foldable design possible: 

These patents are proof that Apple is showing some interest in bendable/foldable devices, but should not be taken as a clear indication that the next iPhone, or any future Apple phone for that matter, would sport this type of design.

Other major phone makers, such as LG and Apple’s main rival Samsung, have also expressed interest in foldable smartphones in the past year, with rumors claiming that next year will see the technology used in mass-produced mobile devices.

Earlier today, Samsung Electronics announced that it will invest more than $1 billion by the end of next year to increase application processor production in its facilities in Austin, Texas.

Samsung says that it plans to use this investment to boost production output from the existing facilities in the city. Since opening shop in Austin back in 1996, Samsung invested more than $15 billion in the Austin, Texas site, which is the largest international investment in the history of the state. Samsung made no provisions regarding the output increase that it expects to obtain through this investment.

Although $1 billion is a hefty amount for any company, it represents just a fraction of Samsung's total investments for 2016. The tech giant recently announced that it expects its conglomerate's capital expenditure to set a new record this year, $24 billion. About half of that amount go to the semiconductor business.

Sony's Xperia X lineup didn't seem to have attracted too much appeal from customers, but what matters is for the Japanese company to redeem itself in the eyes of its most loyal fans.

The next devices coming from Sony are likely to be presented next year at Mobile World Congress, which set to take place between February 27 and March 2. This means that we are still four months away until the supposedly reveal of the next Xperia phones.

However, the first details on unannounced Sony smartphones have just emerged at the Eurasian Economic Commission. Two presumably Xperia handsets that go by the model number G3112 and G3121 have been spotted, but no additional details on specs are available yet.

The only thing that makes us believe these phones will be revealed next year at MWC is the model number, which follows the same pattern as the previous phones introduced by Sony at the same trade fair: Exxxx in 2015, Fxxxx in 2016. 

Google has inferred something troubling about the new Nexus 5X and 6P – they don’t seem to support Qualcomm QuickCharge technology. Despite the fact that QuickCharge 2.0 and 3.0 are compatible with the new USB-C port, the new Nexus Snapdragon 808 & 810 devices will only charge at standard USB speeds.

In this article, we dive deep on Qualcomm, and Intel/USB-IF’s rival accelerated charging standards… and why Google likely cut a corner here.

What is Qualcomm QuickCharge Technology?

In a nutshell, QuickCharge is a tool that Qualcomm uses to push more power over USB lines, than the USB specification allows.

The tactic is not new. Apple pioneered it, and got away without reprisal from the USB Implementation Forum. Apple has used the USB-IF to punish others (ahem, Palm), but this time – they got through without reprimand. Thankfully, it’s a good thing. It has helped prevent USB from needing auxiliary charging ports.

When you plug an iPad into its USB wall charger, or an iPhone into a Macintosh computer – something special happens. The charger and mobile device perform a hardware handshake, by phasing their voltage regulation in a rhythmic manner. This variance is statistically impossible to occur otherwise, and validates that the two devices can supply and receive amperage higher than what the USB specification allows.

HP followed suit with its webOS TouchPad, then Samsung did the same… and now Qualcomm has standardized the practice across multiple device makers, with one single standard. Since most high-end mobile devices today use Qualcomm SoC’s, it was logical for Qualcomm to provide the standard.

By default, QuickCharge 2.0 provides up to 18W of power, through two alternate amperage/voltage combinations. The preferable rate is 9V, 2A – but it can also charge similarly using 12V and 1.5A.

Google did, at least at one point, embrace QuickCharge 2.0. The Motorola Nexus 6 was one of the first devices to support QuickCharge 2.0.

But now there’s USB-C. And that makes things more… interesting.

USB-C And The Growing Charging Web

Intel created USB, and it wasn’t going to sit idle as PCs, phones, and tablets converged. It has its own return-fire against QuickCharge.

The world’s largest chipmaker comes from the PC universe, where laptops and 2-in-1’s routinely require dozens of watts of power. So, USB-C had to provide something more than just 15W to do everything Intel wanted from it.

USB-C by default, adopts USB 3.1’s enhanced power delivery specification. A standard USB-C cable can handle up to 5 volts, 3 amps of power, for 15W of total power delivery. This is the same as what USB 2.0 and 3.0 devices could deliver – provided the manufacturer overcharged the cable. An ASUS Transformer Book T100 for example, comes with a 5V, 3A charger… but the charger notes clearly not to use it with other devices, because it is not USB certified (it supplies too much power, as 2.1A is the USB 2.0 cap).

Alongside USB-C, there’s the all-new (optional) USB Power Delivery standard. Think of it as QuickCharge on steroids. It’s a new feature of the USB-C specification, that supports up to 100W of charging power, in a USB-C cable. The USB PD function, as it’s called, requires using the active switching cable options of the USB-C port that extends functionality to new technologies; Thunderbolt and DisplayPort Alternate Mode.

Neither of the new Nexus devices benefit from USB PD (they don’t need it), but they do embrace USB-C’s native 15W charging. The first USB PD-enabled USB-C device, is Apple’s 12-inch Retina MacBook. The laptop benefits from being able to charge, and supply power to other devices, at up to 100W from a single USB-C cable.

USB PD also supports daisy chaining. For example, you can have a MacBook plugged into the wall via a USB PD wall charger. And, that MacBook can then be plugged into a USB-C hub, that also gets power from the MacBook… and passes that power onto a Nexus 5X. The Nexus 5X, MacBook, and the USB-C hub, all pull down maximum power – up to 100W – from the a single USB-C AC adapter.

Frustration Remains

Now that you are briefed on USB-C and QuickCharge… hence the question – why don’t the Nexus 5X and 6P support QuickCharge? The Snapdragon 808 and 810 both are flagships for QuickCharge 2.0.

Qualcomm has been adamant that Google didn’t need to take this step. QuickCharge 2.0 and 3.0 both support functioning over USB-C, just as it performs over older versions. You can use a USB-A to USB-C cable, plugged into a QC adapter. This is particularly nice during the USB-C transition, because, you were supposed to be able to keep your QC 2.0 charging gear – even while picking up (or rather, upgrading to) USB-C phones and tablets.

To give another example that might further clarify, take the OnePlus 2. The OnePlus 2 uses a USB-C port and a Snapdragon 810. It supports QuickCharge 2.0 while using older chargers, when connecting a USB-A to USB-C cable. Also, it charges at 15W using standard-fare USB-C chargers too. This is how Qualcomm envisioned the transition – letting people charge at full speed using either their older QuickCharge 2.0 chargers (with a new cable) or with new USB-C pure chargers.

So, we frustratingly, can’t get a clear answer from Google as to why LG or Huawei couldn’t, or weren’t allowed to use QuickCharge standard formally in the Nexus 5X or 6P.

The most likely scenario is that Google instructed LG and Huawei to remove the authentication chip needed for QuickCharge 2.0. Unlike QuickCharge 3.0 and USB PD, QC 2.0 requires a physical chip in the device’s charging circuit – to enable the necessary hardware handshake.

It is nice to remind people that neither Intel nor Qualcomm created this situation, and they are happy to support both their optimized charging standards (QC for Qualcomm and PD for Intel), and both at least USB-C’s baseline 15W charging.

This could boil down to marketing dollars. Google may have declined to engage in the QuickCharge requirements to post advertising stickers, and also possibly pay extra certification costs to Qualcomm, to license the QuickCharge standard. Intel and the USB-IF, do not charge any fee to use USB-C Power Delivery, though cable and manufacturing costs may increase if you need 16-100W of power.

But even that isn’t enough of an explanation. Qualcomm says the standard is open and royalty-free, provided certification is met. The QuickCharge support cost should be negligible… a few cents for a charging circuit.

Unfortunately, unless Google is willing to speak more on the subject – or even better, try to work around this in baseband firmware – we may never know why Google chose to opt-out of QuickCharge 2.0. It doesn’t make sense to us.

While it is possible that Google is still supporting QuickCharge 2.0, albeit, unofficially – we won’t be able to confirm until the devices ship. It just isn’t very likely.

Who This Hurts

Ironically, those that bought Nexus 6’s last time around, are likely to be the ones worst impacted by Google’s move to not include the QuickCharge 2.0 support.

Arguably, Google may have felt that extra effort to support QuickCharge 2.0 on a marketing basis, was not needed, since USB-C provides 15W of power natively. Though this does dramatically impact consumers (like myself) who already own a series of QuickCharge 2.0 gear that predates USB-C. I already own a QuickCharge 2.0 portable charger (10,000 mAh), as well as two AC adapters, and two car adapters. Now, with Google’s move, all of those will likely throttle down to USB 2.0 (5V, 2A) speeds.

Qualcomm’s original vision was that I would simply have to buy a couple of USB-A to USB-C cables, and all my QuickCharge 2.0 gear would keep charging at 15W… even that expensive 10,000 mAh portable charger. It was a standard built to be future proof. But, that required Google to opt-in on its new devices… which it didn’t.

By blocking, or at least, not implementing QuickCharge 2.0 on the new Nexus devices, Google is forcing consumers like me to purchase all new, USB-C aware chargers. The thing is, there’s no benefit had QuickCharge 2.0 been implemented, both standards charge at 15W. This means people like me just blew upwards of $100 on QC 2.0 chargers, and now have to blow $200 on cutting-edge USB-C aware 15W portable chargers and AC/DC adapters. It’s a waste. A gigantic waste of money, time, effort, and e-waste.

One Last Time

Thankfully, while this is yet another costly technology/hardware migration, it likely will be the last one. The USB-IF has caught up with the demands of modern technology, and USB-C, USB Power Delivery, and QuickCharge 3.0, all appear to act together in harmony. With consumers focused on devices that last for very long periods, rather than consuming high-wattages of power, it’s unlikely we’ll need to buy new chargers again… for a much longer time to come.

Chinese upstart manufacturer OnePlus has opened sales of its One smartphone to all who are interested without the need for a purchase invite to celebrate one year in business.

The manufacturer began under auspicious circumstances as a viral advertising campaign that emphasized a new way of doing things, while experienced observers quickly figured out that the company was started by former employees of Oppo Electronics, a company best known for region free Blu-Ray players and headphone amps, with its own line of Android smartphones that have proven to be popular in Southeast Asia as well as its native China.

So deep are the ties between OnePlus and Oppo owing to the former being a wholly-owned subsidiary, that the first waves of OnePlus smartphones were assembled and delivered from Oppo assembly lines in order to maintain their sales and thin profit margins to offer the lowest prices possible. Both the 16GB and 64GB are available for immediate purchase worldwide for $299 and $349, respectively with extensive discounts on accessories also available online.

The phone features a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor with 3GB of RAM and either 16 or 64GB of internal storage without a memory card slot along with a 5.5-inch 1080p display, 5.0-megapixel front-facing camera, 13-megapixel main rear camera with Sony-sourced imaging assembly and LED flash, 3100mAh fixed battery, and either Cyanogen 12S (based on Android Lollipop) or OnePlus’ own Oxygen OS. The OnePlus also supports US LTE on T-Mobile and AT&T as well as US HSPA.

The company has stated that its next flagship may reinstate the invite system and removed the invite system for the One as a result of the lessons learned from the first year of sale.