With the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus Apple has introduced the 3D Touch feature, which works because the two handsets’ displays are pressure-sensitive. Although this hasn’t really taken the world by storm like some previous Apple innovations, it looks like its Android competitors are still looking into adding 3D Touch functionality to their devices.

A new rumor out of China today claims that Google will add the necessary software to support this feature into the next Android release. As this will be built into the OS, phone makers won’t have to create their own software implementations for it, which should speed up adoption.

In fact, HTC is said to be adding 3D Touch to this year’s Nexus phone, which it will make. It’s been a while since we’ve heard anything about an HTC Nexus, and the last rumor on the matter said we’d see not one but two HTC-made handsets in 2016. If that’s true, perhaps they’ll both have pressure-sensitive screens.

But the Nexus line isn’t the only one getting the functionality. Xiaomi, Meizu, Oppo, and vivo are all said to be working on future devices with pressure-sensing displays. So it looks like this is bound to become a staple feature of Android smartphones later this year. That is, of course, if this particular rumor turns out to have been true. That’s a big if, so don’t take anything for granted just yet.

Source (in Chinese) |…

from GSMArena.com – Latest articles http://ift.tt/1p33iDG
via IFTTT

Xiaomi announced the Mi 5 flagship at the MWC a few days ago, and it quickly became one of the most anticipated smartphones this year. The Mi 5 will be available in three different editions, and China is the first market to get it.

The first flash sale in China sold 4 million units in no time – all Xiaomi has prepped for the occasion – and registered more than 17 million interest entries. The second flash sale is scheduled for March 8 (10 AM Beijing time) and is expected to sell at least as many phones.

As it turns out Xiaomi didn’t anticipate the huge demand, and it asked Foxconn and Inventec to increase the Mi 5 production.

Naturally, China is the first market to get the Mi 5, but Xiaomi plans to bring the flagship to other key markets shortly after. And it can expect similar high demand there, too.

We’ll keep you in the loop as the story develops, but if you live in China and want a Mi 5, you should act fast. And with the second batch to enter production only now, some of the pre-orders may ship in April, or even May, as a report suggests.

Source 1 | Source 2 |…

from GSMArena.com – Latest articles http://ift.tt/1p31sCP
via IFTTT

Today Samsung has announced the Upgrade Programme for the UK. This is basically the company’s own device leasing scheme, which should also make its way to South Korea as past rumors have told us.

The Upgrade Programme lets you get a Galaxy S7 or S7 edge by paying a 10% deposit upfront, and then making monthly payments for the phone. For the S7, the deposit is £56.90, and after that you’ll pay £24.58 per month. After 12 months, you can upgrade to the next Samsung flagship (let’s call it the Galaxy S8), by simply returning the S7 in “good working condition”. And from that point on you pay 12 monthly installments for the S8.

The good thing is that you can upgrade your device every year. On the other hand, there are plenty of caveats. First off, if you don’t upgrade the handset after a year, you’ll still have another 12 monthly payments to make on that S7, as the agreement is for 24 months (but Samsung will “cover” the 12 remaining installments if you upgrade and return your S7). And once you’ve upgraded to the S8, you’ve entered another two-year agreement (so if you don’t upgrade to the S9 in 2018, then you still have 12 more payments to cover the price of the S8… and so on).

The installments are not interest-free, as they are in the case of certain smartphone purchases from US carriers. With the Samsung Upgrade Programme, there’s a 14.9% APR. And obviously the scheme does not include an actual contract with an operator, so you’ll have to get that separately – or use a Pay as you go SIM.

Still, despite the caveats, it’s always nice to have yet another option to purchase a much-craved item such as a Galaxy S7 or S7 edge. It remains to be seen how far this Upgrade Programme will spread, geographically speaking, in the coming…

from GSMArena.com – Latest articles http://ift.tt/1RLSmnf
via IFTTT