Last we heard, the Oppo Find 9 was a Snapdragon 810-powered device and was expected to launch in September, something which – quite obviously – didn’t happen. Now, a new report out of China is suggesting that the device won’t be coming until next year.

Reason? The report says it’s going be powered by Qualcomm’s upcoming SD820 SoC, which the chip giant says doesn’t have SD810-like overheating issues, and is expected to be released in Q1 2016. This adds Oppo Find 9 to the list of devices, which includes the Xiaomi Mi 5, that are rumored to feature the chipset.

Other rumored specs of the Oppo device include a 5.5 inch 2K display, 4GB RAM, 21MP rear camera, a fingerprint sensor, and Android Lollipop OS. And if this SD820 rumor turns out to be true, it wouldn’t be a far stretch to say that the flagship would likely use the SoC’s Ultrasonic Fingerprint Recognition technology.

Via…

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Back in September this year, there were reports that Samsung is planning huge layoffs. While the South Korean company quickly denied those reports, another report followed up claiming that around 1,000 jobs are at stake in China.

Image credit: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg

Now, a new report from the tech giant’s home country is claiming that the company is planning to lay off managerial-level workers and executives in an effort to cut more costs. “Samsung’s top priority is to save costs. Average workers with mediocre performance are being advised to leave the company with a sizable compensation,” the report cited a Samsung official as saying.

It was also revealed that the said job cuts will happen in countries where the company has manufacturing units, and respective HR teams have been asked to persuade employees in question to join the “voluntary retirement system.”

The report also notes that the layoffs are expected to result in Samsung Electronics firing around 30% of its workforce in finance, human resources and marketing…

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Facebook has announced that it is making a couple of amendments to its ‘real names’ policy that requires users to use their real name on the social networking website. The announcement came in the wake of an open letter from groups including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Human Rights Watch, and ACLU of California, claiming the policy is flawed and needs to be fixed.

Firstly, those asked to confirm their name will now be given a chance to explain the context and other details related to their choice of name – till now, the company asked only for confirmation, with no room for any sort of explanation.

“We want to reduce the number of people who are asked to verify their name on Facebook, when they are already using the name people know them by,” said Alex Schultz, Facebook’s vice president of growth, in a letter the company. “We want to make it easier for people to confirm their name if necessary.”

The second change Facebook is making is aimed at making the fake name reporting process less abusable – those reporting will now be required to provide more details on why they are doing so. Both the aforementioned changes are expected to come into effect starting December this year.

Back in July this year, a German privacy watchdog said that Facebook cannot force its ‘real names’ policy on users of the social networking website, and also cannot ask them to provide an official…

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As expected, the Sony Xperia Z5 smartphone – which was made official last month along with its Compact and Premium variants – has been officially launched in Canada, where local carrier Bell is exclusively selling it for CAD 649.95, which translates into just under $500.

The handset, which is available in black and white color options in the country, can also be purchased for CAD 199.95 (just over $150) on a regular two-year contract.

It’s worth mentioning that the Xperia Z5 series isn’t yet officially available in the US, although a couple of third-party retailers (Expansys and Amazon) are currently offering the international variants in the country. In the UK however, it went on sale earlier this…

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Last month, there were reports that Twitter-owned live video streaming service Periscope is developing an app for the fourth generation Apple TV. Well, the company has now announced the availability of that app.

“In our living rooms today, broadcast television is the closest thing we have to this. However, as live television becomes more and more produced, it can also become less genuine,” Periscope said in a blog post. “This is what excites us about bringing Periscope to the Apple TV — the notion that you, your friends and family, can share what’s happening in the world right now, together.”

As you can see in the GIF image above, you’re greeted with a collection of live broadcasts from around the world when you open the app – no account signup needed. The usual experience of comments popping up and floating hearts is also there.

At any moment, you can skip to the next broadcast as well as hide comments and hearts. There’s also an option to return to the main menu, and the app automatically starts playing the next broadcast after the current one…

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Back in the days, when the BlackBerry Priv was just a rumor, the usually reliable leakster @evleaks revealed that the device – which was known then as the Venice – will be available on all four major US carriers. While none of the carriers have yet mentioned their launch plans for the handset, a Verizon variant has been spotted online.

The above image, which was shared by a user on Instagram, clearly shows the device is running on Verizon’s network – see the top right corner of the screen. What’s more, there’s also a notification that reads Enhanced Verizon Store visits.

Of course, a random image like this cannot ensure in any way that a Verizon variant of the Priv will indeed be available, let alone when and for how much. However, for existing Verizon customers, it could be a ray of hope, given that the Priv model which is officially up for pre-order in the US isn’t compatible with the Big Red, as well as other CDMA carriers like Sprint and US…

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After a not-so-successful stint with Google+, search giant Google is apparently dipping its toes into the social media waters again – the company has just launched a new app, dubbed Who’s Down, that’s specifically aimed at teenagers.

As you can see in the image above, the app lets you broadcast your availability for whatever you’re interested in (for example, lunch, movie, and workout), effectively helping you connect with similarly inclined people.

The app, which is available for both iOS and Android, is currently invite-only, and the reason we say it’s aimed at teenagers is when you try to sign up for it, you are asked to provide the name of your school alongside your email address.

“We’re not down to share more details just yet, but check out this page for more info in the meantime,” a Google spokesperson said when asked about the app.

Google Play link | App Store link |…

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Just days after it received Bluetooth certification from the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), the Samsung smartphone carrying model number SM-510F – alleged to be the successor to last year’s Galaxy A5 smartphone – has now shown up on GFXBench.

The GFXBench listing of the handset reveals that it is powered by Samsung’s Exynos 7 Octa SoC with four Cortex-A57 cores and four Cortex-A53 cores that are clocked at 1.6 GHz, and sports a 5.2-inch screen with 1080 x 1920 pixels resolution.

It has 2GB RAM, and internal memory should be 16GB. In terms of camera, the SM-510F features a 13MP rear unit and a 5MP front shooter. It runs Android 5.1.1 Lollipop, while connectivity options include Bluetooth, GPS, WiFi, and NFC.

Via…

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Here’s a surprising revelation: according to its co-founder Carl Pei, OnePlus was on the verge of launching two more products, but decided against both at the last minute.

We’re talking about a fitness tracker and a Bluetooth speaker. Both of these were apparently just one month away from launch when they were canceled by the Chinese company. A timeline for this happening isn’t given, but we assume either of these products could have been the one Carl Pei exclusively told us about back in March. So they may have been prepped for an April release, which eventually never happened.

As to why they did this, Carl Pei says the OnePlus crew decided they needed to focus on smartphones, “to ensure we’re launching quality products and leave the wearables and speakers to the people who know what they’re doing”. So that’s that then.

In the future, OnePlus doesn’t seem to be planning to add any new categories to its product line, sticking with the yearly flagship (now the OnePlus 2) and the design-led X range (of which the OnePlus X just got official). There won’t be a OnePlus flood of devices coming to all possible price points.

The company is also working on improving its customer services and the Oxygen OS that it plasters atop Google’s Android. And obviously we shouldn’t bet on OnePlus trying once again to enter the wearables market, at least not anytime soon.

Source |…

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Surely you know by now that Motorola has recently introduced what it’s calling the world’s first smartphone to feature a shatterproof display – the Droid Turbo 2 (as well as its twin headed to international markets, the Moto X Force).

For those people who for some reason simply can’t imagine why such a screen would be useful to have on a smartphone, Motorola has published an infographic that’s all about explaining how “a shattered screen is all too real”.

Having a cracked or shattered screen on a handset is a surprisingly common occurrence, and people generally don’t replace those broken displays because of how much that operation costs. Hence, some are using their devices even if they’ve cut their fingers on the screen. That’s certainly sad.

Obviously Motorola’s idea here is that if every person out there would buy the Moto X Force or Droid Turbo 2, the world would be a much safer place – for fingers, at least. The full infographic is below for your viewing…

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