Sure, the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus are only a couple of months old at this point, but we’re already starting to hear rumors and predictions regarding their successors.

One such report came out from research company TrendForce. It says two things will stand out in the next generation of iPhones: 3GB of RAM and waterproofing. These are supposed to be the defining new features of the next iPhones. However, it’s possible that only the iPhone 7 Plus will get its memory bumped up. On the other hand, both models should be waterproof, marking a first for Apple – though this is something quite common in the Android world, especially when it comes to Sony devices.

The same source reiterates that we’ll see a new 4-inch iPhone next year (and pegs its release in the second quarter, so from April to June), and understandably says the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will be unveiled sometime during the second half of 2016. TrendForce estimates that Apple will sell 260 million iPhones next year, 12.5% more than in 2015. It won’t, however, manage to take the smartphone sales crown from Samsung, which is expected to move around 310 million units.

Source |…

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We already know that Xiaomi plans on unveiling both the Redmi Note 2 Pro smartphone and the Mi Pad 2 tablet at its big event on November 24. That’s because the Chinese company itself has already teased these devices.

Now though it turns out that there may be (at least) a third product starring in Xiaomi’s show: a smartwatch. According to a leakster based in China, the company will also present a Mi watch at that event. This would be Xiaomi’s first smartwatch, following two iterations of the very successful Mi Band fitness tracker.

Sadly no other details have been outed just yet, but we’re mere days away from the event anyway. So we’re bound to find out if this rumor’s been true pretty soon.

Source (in Chinese) |…

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Today Samsung has outed a fresh new promo video for its latest smartwatch (and its first round wearable), the Gear S2. We’d call this an ad, but at over two minutes it’s unlikely you’ll ever see the full version on TV.

The new video is all about the rotating bezel that the Gear S2 features (unlike any of its competitors). Interestingly enough, the previous such commercial from the Korean company was also focused on the rotating bezel of the smartwatch, so it’s clear that it thinks this is a big differentiating feature for its product.

This time around, though, Samsung’s gone with a big, synchronized choreography to get the point across. With every turn of the bezel, an app comes to life, as you can…

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Samsung has made a new clamshell smartphone official in China today. It’s called W2016, and we’ve already seen it passing through TENAA not long ago. That said, it appears not to bear the Galaxy Golden 3 name as previously anticipated.

The W2016 is now listed on Samsung’s official website for China, but oddly enough there isn’t a proper spec list over there, at least not yet. So when it comes to the handset’s innards, we’ll have to mostly rely on TENAA’s data.

The Samsung W2016 thus comes with two 3.9-inch 1,280×768 Super AMOLED touchscreens, a 16 MP rear camera with LED flash, a 5 MP selfie shooter, the Exynos 7420 SoC at the helm, 3GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, 4G+ and dual-SIM support, and a 2,000 mAh battery. It runs Android 5.1 Lollipop. It has support for both fast charging and wireless charging. Like Samsung’s top of the line smartphones of 2015, the W2016 is built only with metal and glass.

It’s apparently 15.1 mm thick, and it weighs 204g. It’s said to cost a whopping CNY 9,999, which is $1,565 or €1,470 at the current exchange rates. So this is one for clamshell lovers who are also quite rich. There are two color options as you can see, grey and gold. For now, it’s only out in China and only for China Mobile. And you probably shouldn’t expect it to ever be officially sold elsewhere.

Source (in Chinese) | Via (in…

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Smartwatches offer few practical uses, have terrible battery life, and are little more than plasticky toys – you’ve heard the rants. Well, while we’re waiting for developments on the first two counts, the Huawei Watch addresses the last one.

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Some users have reported problems with the iPad Pro freezing after charging and unable to respond to pressing the wake or home buttons.

Users are suggesting the culprit is iOS 9.1. Hopefully this is the case since a simple software update to iOS 9.2 can fix the issue.

Apple released a short support document explaining how to fix the issue. You need to force-restart the iPad Pro by holding the sleep/wake and home button together for 10 seconds.

Source |…

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Google released Brillo’s source code for connected things. Manufacturers of appliances and home gadgets can start developing Brillo for their own products.

Back in May at I/O, Google announced it was working on a project called Brillo. Brillo was to be derived of Android as a barebones OS with a minimal footprint.

Requiring the very lowest of hardware to operate, Brillo promises to be the OS for your connected things, gadgets, and appliances.

The idea is for connected things to work together seamlessly and share a standardized language for easier…

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The season’s hot Star Wars PlayStation 4 bundle includes a special edition of the console, the anticipated Battlefront game and four downloadable classics – Super Star Wars, Star Wars: Raced Revenge, Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter, and Star Wars: Bounty Hunter.

As it turns out those four games, once downloaded, are actually untouched PS2 ROMs running via emulator on the PS4 console. Naturally Sony was asked to respond on these findings and the official statement confirms Sony is prepping a PS2 emulator for the PS4.

“We are working on utilizing PS2 emulation technology to bring PS2 games forward to the current generation … We have nothing further to comment at this point in time.”

It seems Microsoft’s bold move to add Xbox 360 backward compatibility on the Xbox One finally worried Sony and made the Japanese company take additional actions.

Shortly after Microsoft announced its plans to add X360 emulation on the X1, Sony was asked for comment and the reps said the company had no plans for backward compatibility outside the PlayStation Now streaming service PS3 games.

The PlayStation Now service is a subscription-based streaming of PS3 games on a PS4, selected Sony Bravia TVs and Samsung Smart TVs. It requires a compatible PS4, PS Vita or just a smart TV, a DualShock 4 controller and $20 per month. This seemed like a tempting workaround for those not owning physical copies of the games, but not so much for fans with the original discs still in their collection.

Now that Microsoft released the Xbox 360 emulator on the Xbox One with the latest software update, many people are opting for the Xbox One as a great holiday gift instead of the PlayStation 4. Sure, the PS4 has a great sales record so far with Microsoft always needing to catch up, but it seems things may change in a few months.

Many of you will probably ask – why not PS3 instead of PS2? First – there is the PlayStation Now service, which we doubt Sony will retire after all the investments it made to make it happen. And second, the PS3 hardware was a lot more complex than the X360 and it may be impossible to make a proper emulator anyway.

So, Sony is going to bring PS2 compatibility on the PS4. Are you…

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Less than a week after the Lumia 950 XL officially went up for pre-order in the US, its smaller sibling Lumia 950 is now also available for purchase through the Microsoft Store. The smaller flagship is selling for just $19.97 on contract.

Keep in mind that the listed device is an AT&T variant – for those who aren’t in the know, Microsoft has already confirmed that the Lumia 950 will be exclusive to the carrier at-least for some time initially. The $649 Lumia 950 XL, on the other hand, won’t be available subsidized on any carriers in the US.

As always, you can purchase the Lumia 950 sans contract, too – that’ll cost you $598.99. The handset is available in black and white color…

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ZTE has updated its Blade smartphone lineup in Russia with the launch of three new devices: the X3, X5, and X9. The trio covers the different segments of the mid-range market, aiming to bring lots of bang for your buck.

Starting with the ZTE Blade X9, which is the most interesting of the lot. It is powered by a Snapdragon 615 SoC with octa-core CPU, and sports a 5.5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixel resolution) IPS display. It comes with 2GB/16GB memory configuration and 13MP/5MP camera combo, and packs in a 3,000mAh battery. This phone actually features a fingerprint sensor on the back.

The Blade X5 is powered by a MediaTek MT6735 chipset with quad-core CPU, and sports a 5-inch 720p display. It has dual 8MP shooters back and front and packs in a 2,400mAh battery. It’s worth mentioning that the control below the rear camera isn’t a fingerprint sensor but a shutter button for capturing selfies.

Cheapest of the lot, the Blade X3 is powered by the same MediaTek MT6735 chipset with quad-core CPU, and packs a 5-inch 720p display. It comes with 1GB RAM and 8GB internal memory, and a large 4,000mAh battery – it is capable of charging other devices as well. In terms of camera, the handset features a 8MP/2MP combo.

The Blade X3 carries a price tag of RUB 8,990 ($138), while the X5 and X9 will set you back RUB 10,990($169) and RUB 17,990 ($277), respectively
There’s also currently no information on if and when they’ll be available in other regions…

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