Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro gets certified by TENAA

Samsung launched the Galaxy A9 in December last year, and soon after reports suggested that Samsung is working on a beefed up version of it, called Galaxy A9 Pro (model number SM-A9100). Since then, the Galaxy A9 Pro has surfaced on  benchmarking websites (1, 2), revealing key specs.

Now, the Galaxy A9 Pro has been certified by China's Telecommunication Equipment Certification Center or TENAA, giving us the first look at the device and confirming the rumored specs.

As per TENAA listing the Galaxy A9 Pro will have a 6-inch 1080p Super AMOLED display and equipped with octa-core Snapdragon 652 SoC, 4GB RAM and 32GB internal storage (microSD card support). For imaging there is 16MP rear camera and 8MP front facing camera. The Galaxy A9 Pro supports 4G LTE and runs Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow.

For comparison sake, the Galaxy A9 comes with 3GB RAM, 13-megapixel rear camera and runs Android 5.0.1 Lollipop. The rest of the specs is similar to Galaxy A9 Pro.

It is also likely that the Galaxy A9 Pro will have a fingerprint scanner embedded into the home button and support Samsung Pay.

There are no details when Samsung will announce the Galaxy A9 Pro, but since it has passed TENAA, an official announcement is expected soon.

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Lenovo is reportedly working on a 4.7-inch ZUK smartphone

A rumor coming out of China suggests that Lenovo's sub-brand ZUK is reportedly working on mini phone that will sport a 4.7-inch 720p display. The mini ZUK would appeal to those who would prefer, smartphones with a smaller screen size instead of 5-inches and up screen.

The 4.7-inch ZUK will come in two variants, one will have 2GB RAM & 16GB storage, while the other will have 3GB RAM & 32GB storage. It is said to be equipped with 2GHz octa-core MediaTek Helio P10 processor w/ Mali T860 GPU and will have fingerprint scanner, though it's placement is unclear for now.

Apart from this not much is known of the mini ZUK smartphone.

ZUK so far has launched only one smartphone, the ZUK Z1, and is yet to launch in India. The Z1 comes with 5.5-inch 1080p display, Snapdragon 801 w/ Adreno 330 GPU, 3GB RAM, 64GB inbuilt storage, 13MP rear & 8MP front camera, USB Type C port, fingerprint sensor, 4100mAh battery and 4G LTE support. The international version runs Cyanogen OS.

It is also not known whether the 4.7-inch ZUK will run Cyanogen OS or Android.

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Android N leak indicates redesigned notification shade, quick settings panel, Hamburger Menu, and absence of app drawer

Google's I/O is a few months away, and now there are rumors of what we can expect from Google's next Android OS, Android N.

First up, an official video of Google Maps app has revealed a major design change in Android N - the app drawer. The mock up video shows the absesnce of app drawer on the bottom panel instead there are three apps - Dialer, Contacts and Camera.

Google has denied the changes, stating the that the video showed an inaccurate version of its UI and does not relate to future software changes. However, the removal of app drawer might be a trend being followed., the recently launched LG G5 did not have an app drawer, and Chinese smartphone makers such as LeECo, Huawei, Xiaomi and Lenovo's proprietary skins and ROMs don't have app drawers.

Meanwhile, Android Police says that Google's next Android OS version will have more than just cosmetic changes. The publication has shared a few-mock up screen shots of Android N, showing tweaks in notification tab and quick setting panel. As per the screenshot, the notification tab will show more details, while the quick settings panel gets an edit tab, so that users can make any changes to the toggles. One thing missing is the expandable WiFi and Bluetooth option.

Lastly, a recent finding on the Android's official developer site, reveals a screenshot showing Day-Night theme in the system settings and Hamburger Menu in settings app. The Hamburger Menu when tapped, open up side drawer, and displays all additional settings that can be accessed. The Day/Night theme mode lets users to change the background color of native applications. This featured was included in the Android M preview 1, but was removed in the final release.

Note that, the screenshots and shared video claimed to be from Android N, may be an early version of the OS and is not the final build. We can expect Google to bring a lot of changes to the OS in the final build. Earlier rumors also claimed the Android N will get split screen multi-tasking support

Huawei P9 leaked live photos show dual rear camera setup and fingerprint scanner

Huawei's upcoming flagship, the P9, last month appeared in render images, and now we've gotten the first look of the P9 in live photos. 

The photos confirms that the P9 will have a dual-camera setup. The rear camera will be accompanied by LED flash and laser auto focus. There P9 will have a metal body and include a square-shaped fingerprint scanner at the back.

According to the leak, the Huawei P9 will sports a 5.2-inch 1080p display and powered by octa-core Kirin processor with 3GB RAM along with 32GB on-board storage (no details on expandable storage). The P9 will house USB-C connector at the bottom and will pack a large 3900mAh battery. The dual-camera on the rear are said to feature 12-megapixel sensor, that could be the first result of Huawei-Leica partnership.

As for the release date, the Huawei P9 is expected to be unveiled in Q2 2016.

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Apple iPhone 7 reportedly to be 6.1mm thick; ditch headphone jack, camera bump; gain stereo speakers

Apple is reportedly making the next iPhone thinner than the previous iPhone models. It was previously reported that Apple would be ditching the 3.5mm audio jack, and make some other changes to make the iPhone 7 slimmer.

Now according to Japanese tech blog Mac Otakara, the iPhone 7 will have a design same as the iPhone 6 and 6s model, but will be thinner by almost 1mm. To recall the iPhone 6s is 7.1mm thin.

In line with previous reports, the report claims that the iPhone 7 will ditch the 3.5mm headphone jack. This also means that the lightning port will be an all-in-one port supporting both charge and headphone. Apple is also said to do away with the small camera bump at the rear, so that the rear camera stay flush with the body of the phone. Also to make the iPhone 7 slimmer, the lightning port cutout will be thin, allowing reduction in size.

The new iPhone will come with aluminum material and the same level of water resistance as the iPhone 6s. The report also mentions that the iPhone 7 will sport a dual-speaker setup and will not have the antenna lines on the back.

As usual we can expect the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus at Apple's keynote event that happens in September. But before that, on March 21, Apple will host a media event where the 4-inch iPhone (iPhone SE), 9.7-inch iPad Pro (iPad Pro Mini) and new Apple Watch bands are expected to announce.

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Apple's 9.7-inch iPad Pro may sport 12MP rear camera with 4K video support

Apple's upcoming tablet is said to be the mini version of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, that will have a screen size of 9.7-inch. As per new rumors the 9.7-inch iPad Pro may include camera specs that top the 12.9-inch sibling.

9to5Mac reports that the 9.7-inch iPad Pro might have a12-megapixel rear camera, with the same sensor found as iPhone 6s. To remind you, the iPad Pro (12.9-inch) has an 8-megapixel rear camera. And just like the iPhone 6s, the 9.7-inch iPad Pro's rear camera is capable of recording 4K videos.

Besides, a better camera and smaller display, the 9.7-inch will have the same hardware features of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, that includes Apple A9X SoC, a four speaker setup, Apple Pencil support, a Smart Connector

The 9.7-inch iPad Pro is expected to launch alongside the 4-inch iPhone SE and new Apple Watch bands on March 21.

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Vivo Xplay 5 and its Lite variant photos and details surfaces

The world first smartphone with 6GB RAM, the Vivo Xplay 5 will break cover on March 1. Ahead of the official announcement a couple of live photos of Xplay 5 has surfaced online. In addition, specs of XPlay 5 variant with 4GB RAM has also been leaked.

For those hearing the brand Vivo for the first time, the smartphone maker is based in China and is known for their sleek devices. Vivo branded smartphones are already available in India, but are not popular as its Chinese counterparts, Lenovo, LeEco and Xiaomi.

Coming to the live photos, they are in line with what we have seen in earlier leaks. The handset will have a premium build, and sport a metal body and have a slightly dual curved edge display.

With the inclusion of 6GB RAM, the Vivo Xplay 5 will offer seamless multitasking, and we can expect it to break benchmark records.

Vivo has already confirmed that the Xplay 5 will be armed with Snapdrgaon 820 SoC, and as per rumors the handset will have 5.5-inch QHD display, 16MP rear camera, 8MP front camera and a 4300mAh battery.

The lite variant of Xplay 5 will be equipped with 5.43-inch QHD Super AMOLED display, Snapdragon 615 SoC, 4GB RAM, 128GB storage, 16MP rear camera, 8MP front camera, 3600mAh battery and Cirius Logic CS4398 DAC.

The Vivo Xplay 5 will be officially unveiled at an event on March 1 at 7:30pm China time (5pm IST).

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Apple iPhone SE reportedly to launch on March 21

Apple is holding a media event in March where it is expected to launch a 4-inch iPhone, iPad Pro Mini and new Apple Watch bands. The media event was rumored to take place on March 15, but a new report from BuzzFeed suggests that the event will be on March 21.

It is worth noting that the event is one day prior to Apple's March 22 showdown with the U.S government over a motion that would compel Apple to hack an iPhone used by one of San Bernardino terrorists to help FBI and other intelligence agencies for accessing data.

Meanwhile more details related to name, pricing and specifications of the 4-inch iPhone has surfaced. The 4-inch iPhone so far has been called by many names- iPhone 6c, iPhone 7c and till now it was iPhone 5se. However, according to a new report the 4-inch iPhone will be called iPhone SE. SE stands for Special Edition.

Additionally analyst Ming Chi Kuo at KGI Securities in a research note mentioned that the iPhone SE will have a design similar to iPhone 5s, but with slightly curved edges. It will come with an A9 SoC w/ M9 co-processor, 12-megapixel rear camera, Apple Pay and 1642mAh battery.

As per Kuo the iPhone SE will be priced between $400 and $500. He claims that the iPhone 5s will get a 50 percent price cut, so it coulbe be available for around $225 off-contract. Kuo also estimates 131 percent growth in 4-inch iPhone shipments, which will be around 37 million units in 2016. 

Apple iPhone SE rumored specs

• 4-inch display
• A9 SoC w/ M9 co-processor
• 12-megapixel rear camera
• 1.3-megapixel front camera
• support for larger panorama for video recording
• Barometer for tracking elevation in the Health app
• Live Photos, no 3D Touch support
• NFC chip for Apple Pay
• Apple Pay
• 1642mAh battery
• Space Gray, Silver, Gold, Rose Gold color options.

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Apple is reportedly launching a 9.7-inch iPad Pro in March

Apple is reportedly hosting an event in March, to launch new products - a 4-inch iPhone, a tablet and new Apple Watch bands. The tablet was said to be the iPad Air 3, however, according a report from 9to5Mac, the tablet will not be called iPad Air 3, instead it will be a smaller variant of the 12-inch iPad Pro. The mini variant will have a 9.7-inch screen.

This means that Apple will have two models of its top of the line iPad Pro tablet - a 12.9-inch version and a 9.7-inch as well.

The report also mentioned that the 9.7-inch iPad Pro tablet will have the same features as the iPad Pro, including the A9X processor, RAM, Apple Pencil support and have smart connector. It will come with a smaller Smart Keyboard accessory.

The 9.7-inch iPad Pro will be available in the same color options as the 12.9-inch model- Silver, Gold and Space Gray. The storage options will also be the same. It will be available in WiFi (32GB and 128GB) and WiFi + Cellular (128GB) just like the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. It will also house the four speaker set up. 

It is not clear exactly when in March, Apple is going to launch the iPhone 5se, iPad Pro mini and new Apple Watch bands. Rumors suggest that it could be on March 15 or 22. As March is fast approaching, we can expect Apple to send out an event invite soon confirming the date. 

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