Update: a few more Galaxy A-series 2017 slides have been sent our way, adding real images of the phones, as well as filling out details that confirm a new glass design, IP68 waterproofing for all, and 3000 mAh, 3300 mAh, and 3500 mAh battery capacities, respectively. Also, judging from the date on the Always-on display, release may come January 2nd.

Seven, Galaxy A7 '17 - that should be the promo invite of Samsung's upcoming alpha midranger. Last year, Samsung unveiled its A-series crop in December, and, judging from the recent deluge of certifications for the eventual Galaxy A7 (2017), it might out the new models in a week or two, which would be about a year after the A7 2016 model.

If you don't grow, you shrink. That seems to be Apple's mentality, as the company is reportedly looking forward to opening a new flagship store in Washington D.C.'s Carnegie Library. The Washington Business Journal reports that the local convention and sports authority has agreed to let Apple proceed with its plans, which include renovating the 113-year old building.

The company will work in tandem with Foster + Partners of London in redesigning the 63,000 square feet of space, possibly borrowing ideas from central Apple stores in London, California, and San Francisco. The design company is the one behind the aforementioned outlets, notable for elements like giant video screens, glass windows, and gathering places.

Apple's London store at Regent Street is also situated inside a historic building, and the company has been given a preservation award for its sensitive repurposing of historic properties, which means Apple knows how to handle the Carnegie Library's time-tested look and build. It will eventually become the company's second store in the District, the first one being in Georgetown.

The deal will be considered this Thursday. It's not known when Apple will be able to begin the renovation, and there's no schedule for the store's eventual opening.

Apple often sits on the sidelines regarding a new and unproven technology, and when it matures enough, it decides that it's good enough to be applied on a grand scale. Case in point is the OLED screen tech, and grand scale in Apple's case might mean that up to 70 million such panels might be needed for a premium iPhone 8 modelwith curved display next year

5 Jet and Glossy Black alternatives to the iPhone 7

Everyone wants the Jet Black versions of iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Units are sold out worldwide and Apple still struggles to catch up with the high demand. In the meantime, Samsung is looking to fill the niche and is about to release its own shiny black version of the Galaxy S7 edge. All eyes are on the two giants battling for the glossy black supremacy this winter, as people eagerly wait for the opportunity to wipe fingerprints off their phones' glass backs every five seconds.

But we here at PhoneArena began to wonder, aren't there any other glossy black options? Of course there are. So, in case you're not too keen on waiting for an iPhone 7 Plus or the new glossy Galaxy S7 edge, here are some alternatives that you can buy right now.

2017 marks the 10th anniversary of the iPhone, and it could be a huge year for Apple in terms of sales, obviously thanks to the much anticipated iPhone 8. 

According to famous KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (known for his accurate predictions when it comes to all things Apple), iPhone suppliers are getting ready to produce between 120 and 150 million new handsets in the second half of fiscal year 2017 (for Apple, this means March - September 2017).

As previously reported, no less than three iPhone 8 models are expected to debut next year. Alongside direct successors to the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus (which should sport screens of 4.7 inches and 5.5 inches, respectively), a third model with a curved OLED screen of around 5.2 inches could hit the market in 2017. As mentioned yesterday, Apple is seemingly testing more than 10 iPhone 8 prototypes, and still has time to decided what models to release.

If Apple sells more than 120 million iPhone 8 units, this will become the company's best selling handset series to date, surpassing the iPhone 6 in popularity.

Ming-Chi Kuo notes that the high demand for iPhone 8 models will likely be driven by the new curved OLED screen, as well as by wireless charging. Interestingly, right now, it's said that only the 4.7-inch iPhone 8 may feature wireless charging (in addition to a "glass casing"). If a recent rumor is to be believed, Apple's wireless charging technology could be like no other out there, allowing the iPhone 8 to be charged even if it's up to 15 feet away from its transmitter. Of course, it remains to be seen if there's any truth to this.

On the heels of Kirin 960's debut last month, new rumors are suggesting that Huawei is already working on a next generation processor. Predictably dubbed the Kirin 970, the new chip will reportedly be a big leap in terms of performance from the 960, which was built on the FinFET 16 nm process just like the Kirin 950.

The Kirin 970 is said to be an octa-core chip built on the 10 nm process and will reportedly support global LTE. Huawei's decision to switch to the 10nm process for its next-gen silicon may have been spurned by recent announcements from Qualcomm and Samsung whose next processors, the Snapdragon 835 and the Exynos 8895, will be built on Samsung's new 10 nm process and be able to fit 30 percent more transistors than current 14 nm offerings.

There is no info yet regarding Kirin 970's debut, but it will likely power Huawei's 2017 high-end flagships and come out in time to compete with 10nm offerings from Samsung, Qualcomm, and MediaTek.

Japanese company Sony started the rollout of Android 7.0 Nougat concept to Xperia X (single SIM model) about a week ago, and promised users to keep the updates coming until the final version will be launched for the masses.

Today, that promise is partially fulfilled with the release of the first Android 7.0 concept update for the Xperia X. Among the many new features and improvements included, Sony confirmed that the update adds the latest November security patch.

For those who have been accepted into the beta program, we're looking at firmware version 38.1.A.0.342, which is about 223MB in size. That's not a heavy sized update, so it shouldn't take too long to download and install.

According to Sony, the update contains a new Home that has some issues with icon packs, so if you have added an icon pack in the past you must remove it from Home settings. In order to do that, you must switch to default before updating to this version of Android 7.0 Nougat.

In terms of new features, the update adds X-reality support for pictures in Sony Album app, as well as updated driver for the fingerprint sensor. New versions of Xperia Home and Xperia Transfer will be added too.

Some bugs present in the previous build have been addressed in the update, such as an issue with FM Radio along with NC (Noise Canceling) headset. Also, a fix for Camera not available “ok google” related has been deployed as well.

Huawei announced no less than three Mate 9 variations in less than two weeks, so the fact that it's just silently released another one won't surprise anyone. After announcing the regular Mate 9 flagship and the premium Porsche Design Mate 9, the handset maker unveiled the Mate 9 Pro model in China. Today, a new, “lighter” version of the Mate 9 makes its debut on the market, the Mate 9 Lite. The smartphone has already been listed on the company's website, but no details about availability or pricing options have been disclosed yet. It's good that we have info on its specs though. According to the listing, the Mate 9 Lite is a mid-range smartphone that will ship with Android 6.0 Marshmallow and EMUI 4.1. That's pretty sad considering the other three models run Android 7.0 Nougat right out of the box. Also, the Mate 9 Lite comes with a 5.5-inch display that supports full HD (1080p) resolution. On the inside, instead of the powerful Kirin 960 chipset, Huwei added a 2.1GHz octa-core Kirin 655 processor, which is complemented by 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. Huawei also states that the a slightly bumped version of Mate 9 Lite with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage will be launched on the market. The Mate 9 Lite retains the dual-camera setup (no Leica though), but in a slightly downgrade form: 12MP + 2MP camera. In the front, there's a secondary 8-megapixel selfie shooter. The smartphone is powered by a 3,340 mAh battery and packs a fingerprint sensor on the back side, below the dual-camera setup. Huawei Mate 9 Lite will be available in three color variations: Gold, Grey and Silver.

As the end of the year approaches, we're getting closer to more and more smartphone reveals. Many companies have decided to save some “spots” between Black Friday and holiday shopping season to launch a few new products that could boost their revenues.

Samsung is one of the companies that are likely to introduce a couple of new smartphones in early December. One of them could the Galaxy A7 (2017), which has just received its Bluetooth certification.

This isn't the first time we here about the Galaxy A7 (2017), also known as Samsung SM-A720F, as the smartphone made the rounds at GFXBench and AnTuTu benchmarks not long ago.

Samsung's mid-range handset is expected to ship with Android Marshmallow onboard. It will sport a more than decent 5.7-inch display that supports full HD (1080p) resolution and a powerful 1.8GHz Exynos 7880 processor.

The listing of the phone at GFXBench also revealed the Galaxy A7 (2017) will pack 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal memory. We can safely assume that Samsung will add microSD card slot for memory expansion, too.

Although it hasn't been confirmed yet, Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017) is said to feature an impressive 16-megapixel rear camera, as well as a 3,300 mAh battery under the hood. Other specs could include fingerprint sensor, USB Type-C port, water resistance and 4G LTE support.

During the primary season that led up to the recent election of Donald Trump as president, the billionaire real estate developer and reality television star had some rough words for Apple. Besides trying to start a boycott of the company for its failure to unlock a terrorist's iPhone, Trump was upset at the tech titan for building its products overseas. Trump had floated the idea of a 35% tax on imported products made outside of the U.S. A Trump administration, said The Donald, would force Apple "to build their damn computers in this country instead of other countries." Today, a story in the Nikkei Asian Review cited an anonymous source for its report that Apple is investigating the possibility of manufacturing the iPhone in the states. Apple allegedly spoke with Foxconn and Pegatron, the two contract manufacturers it uses to build its smartphones and tablets. Apple allegedly brought the idea of moving production to the attention of the two companies back in June. That was five months after Trump originally made his comments about Apple's overseas device production, but five months prior to his election. According to the source, Foxconn agreed to help Apple come up with a plan to move iPhone production to the U.S. Pegatron, on the other hand, refused to get involved because the cost would be prohibitive. The source told the publication that moving iPhone production to the U.S. would more than double the cost of making the device. One of the problems facing Apple is that not all of the components for the iPhone can be produced in the U.S. The report added that the Taiwan based supply chain believes that Trump will force Apple to make a certain percentage of iPhone components in the states.