You’ve had the time, and you’ve had your say – the new Nexuses went through our Yay or Nay weekly and the response is mostly positive.

It’s the premium Huawei Nexus 6P that’s gotten fan love by the heaps with the crowd split 4-to-1 in favor. A metal build and top-end specs are apparently exciting enough to offset the unsightly bulge on the back. And who knows, maybe some of you actually like that, judging by the fact that the vote on the matter isn’t exactly unanimous here at office.

The LG Nexus 5X isn’t doing quite as well, though. Which is somewhat odd, as we’ve been hearing users complain about the push for large screens and high densities, and it would seem a 5.2-inch 1080p stock Android phone would be a dream come true for purists. And it’s not exactly underspecced either, with a Snapdragon 808 inside, same camera as the 6P with 4K video capture, Type-C USB and fingerprint reader on the back, all for a lower price.

That’s not to say that the Nexus 5X result isn’t positive. It’s just that the 59% of upvotes is somewhat of a mediocre achievement for a device that should by definition be at the forefront of the Android…

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This week’s headlines were dominated by Microsoft. The Lumia 950 announcement article was the most-read by quite some margin, followed by the article for the Lumia 950 XL. Does that suggest the 950 will see much higher demand? If so, things don’t bode well for the Lumia 550, which didn’t even make it into the Top 10. By the way, it seems that the smaller iPhone 6s is drawing more interest than its bigger sibling too.

The Lumia 950 and 950 XL garnered interest from the UK when the pricing was unveiled. The Microsoft Surface Book proved a very popular product in its own right, especially for a laptop (well, okay, a hybrid).

OnePlus management has been hinting at a Mini device for a while now, but it was mum on details. Those details leaked and they resonated with people, the OnePlus Mini leak article came second only to the big Lumias.

The popular Galaxy S name was also on people’s minds, when a rumor suggested there will be three different versions of the Galaxy S7.

Meanwhile some controversies were brewing. Apple sources chipsets from both Samsung and TSMC and some early tests showed both get different battery lives. Google’s decision to drop Qi wireless charging on the new Nexus phone was also met with some arguments.

Sony made (some) people happy with the list of Xperia phones scheduled for a Marshmallow update and keeping heat in check when recording 4K videos. Speaking of software updates, Yu switched the Yuphoria from Cyanogen OS to stock Android (and slashed the price for good measure).

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Microsoft Lumia 950 goes official with PureView camera, liquid cooling
The new screen is bigger and sharper, the camera has been polished, the chipset has been beefed up.

Microsoft Lumia 950 XL: legendary camera reborn on the big screen
A 5.7″ QHD display brings some modern phablet action, while the 20MP camera with Zeiss optics resurrects the PureView name.

Upcoming OnePlus Mini has all of its specs detailed
A new leak apparently sheds light on everything there is to know about OnePlus’ next smartphone.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 might actually have three processor variants
A new rumor suggests the future Galaxy S7 will have a total of three chipsets variants to add to the alleged edged option.

iPhone 6s: Samsung and TSMC A9 chips yield different battery life
The Samsung-made chip depletes the battery up to 33% faster in consecutive GeekBench runs, real-life difference much smaller.

Microsoft reveals Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL UK pricing
Both devices will be offered SIM-free from Microsoft’s official UK store in November.

Sony releases Android 6.0 Marshmallow update device list
Sony’s update plans for Android 6.0 Marshmallow include older devices like the Xperia Z3 and Xperia Z2.

Yuphoria switches over to stock Android from Cyanogen, drops price
Now available for $100.

Xperia Z5 Compact victorious in a Sony 4K video overheating contest
It’s probably a full year now that the Snapdragon 810 is mentioned in every article with the word “overheating” thrown in somewhere.

iPhone 6s is four times more popular than the 6s Plus
The iPhone 6s has been four times more popular than its larger sibling, as both devices account for 1.9% of all Apple smartphones ever sold…

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We get excited every time a new phone comes to the office, so we decided to share some of that excitement. One lucky winner will receive a new OnePlus 2 64GB. And if everything goes well, we’ll be holding more giveaways, we’re still hammering out the details.

The OnePlus 2 unit has been provided by HonorBuy, who occasionally supply us with phones for use in our reviews. Check out the terms of the giveaway below and drop us a line in the comments if you have any issues with your participation.

Good luck, everyone!

Contest rules

The submission and winner drawing process is operated by our partners from Gleam.
The contest is open to people 18 or older from all countries
We may be unable to ship the prize to your country – in that case you will be compensated with an online gift card of equal value to the prize.
We cannot be held responsible for lost shipments or items damaged during shipping
Any duties and import taxes that you may incur are the sole responsibility of the winner.
Only 1 entry per person. If we detect multiple email addresses by the same person you may be disqualified.
GSMArena reserves all rights to make changes to the giveaway in case of unforeseeable circumstances
The prize will be shipped directly from our partners from Honorbuy.
Winner will be requested to take a photo with the prize upon receiving it for our winner gallery.

OnePlus 2 64GB…

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Days after Google announced its smartphones that will pioneer Android 6.0 Marshmallow, the LG Nexus 5X and Huawei Nexus 6P, the Chinese manufacturer is rolling out a Lollipop update for its own aging Ascend P7 flagship.

The device will be updated straight to 5.1.1, the latest pre-Marshmallow version of the OS. It sure took a while – the update has been into public beta testing since late June. The rollout should start today over the air, but if you’re not getting it just yet, you can head over to the company’s website and download the 1.26GB firmware file.

There has been a Lollipop update for the Ascend Mate7 for a a few days, but apparently a new one is out now for the same exact version of the smartphone. It is again Android 5.1.1, just a newer release, this one headed for the European market.

A new firmware, part of the same batch, is out for the current P8 flagship too. Believe it or not, it’s based on Android 5.0, instead of the 5.1.1 the older models are getting. The P8 was launched with Lollipop on board to begin with, so this 1.72GB firmware is a bit puzzling, but we take it Huawei knows better than us what it’s doing.

Thanks to JamesRH for the tip!

Source 1 2…

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Mozilla has announced that it will be dropping support for most web plugins by end of 2016. This includes the likes of Java and Silverlight, although Flash will continue to be supported.

Web plugins used to be an integral part of the web experience, mostly to play back multimedia content, which wasn’t natively supported by either the web or the browsers. However, with the advent of HTML5 and browsers that can render full 3D games plugins have become increasingly irrelevant. Not to mention they were never particularly good, and offered poor performance and battery life and also increased security risk.

Other browsers such as Chrome and Edge have already dropped support for plugins. Chrome even disables non-essential Flash content by default. Mozilla’s end of 2016 date is perhaps a bit too far from now but at least the company has decided to drop support for plugins. And upcoming platforms such as 64-bit Firefox for Windows will not have support for plugins out of the…

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HTC is scheduled to announce a new device on October 20 and for all we know, it’s going to be the One A9. Not the best kept of secrets, the smartphone has been photographed on a few occasions already, but now we get a more detailed look at it, albeit through a dummy unit.

The leaked shots, courtesy of @OnLeaks, show the One A9 (conceived as HTC Aero) from multiple angles leaving little to the imagination. As a whole, it’s the iPhone 6 lookalike we’ve come to expect from previous leaks.

There’s the enormous bottom bezel, which has no excuse for its existence, now that the Back/Home/Task switcher buttons have moved to the display and the chin only needs to accommodate the fingerprint sensor. The back has the contrasting antenna bands, a necessary eye-sore on metal-built smartphones. The camera lens is sticking out by a millimeter, but it’s dead center, so Apple’s legal department can remain at rest.

HTC One A9 dummy unit

What’s offset from the center is the upside-down microUSB 2.0 port (no Type-C), but that’s been HTC’s way of doing it at least since the original One, so it must be an inherent part of the internal design. The bottom plate is pretty crowded too – other than the port, there’s the 3.5mm jack, mic pinhole and speaker grille – not the tidiest design, but at least it allows the top to be perfectly minimalist.

A microSD tray sits next to the one for the SIM card on the left side, so it’s nice to see that HTC isn’t turning its back on storage expansion. The right side is home to the volume rocker and power button, nothing revolutionary here…

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After a seven-month period following its MWC announcement, the GranitePhone is now available for purchase. The phone, conceived by IT security specialists from Sikur, and made by Archos, can now be ordered from its dedicated website for the hefty sum of $849.

The hardware you get for that is not unlike the existing Archos 50 Diamond. There’s the 5-inch FullHD display, Snapdragon 615 chipset paired with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of built-in storage. The camera combo is the same 16MP/8MP affair, and even battery capacity is identical at 2,700mAh.

Sikur GranitePhone

The big change is the OS, where instead of Android 4.4.4 KitKat, you get Sikur’s home-brewed Granite OS. The company promises “multiple levels of protection” including encrypted cloud storage, encrypted calls, encrypted messages, encrypted everything. The phone has been chosen by government and defense agencies, Archos informs us, as well as privacy-concerned…

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Chinese smartphone manufacturer Gionee, which has just launched its Elife E8 smartphone in India, has said that its first made-in-India smartphone will be launched in the country before the festival of Diwali, which is just a month away now.

“By March, 2016 we expect to assemble all phones that will be sold in India at two outsourced locations in the country,” said Arvind R Vohra, Gionee’s India CEO and MD. “So, we will be selling all ‘Made in India’ phones in India. We will have first such phone before Diwali.”

For those who aren’t in the know, the company announced last month that it will be partnering with Foxconn and Dixon to start manufacturing handsets in India. While the Foxconn facility will focus on the F and P series smartphones, the Dixon facility will take care of the feature phones and other smartphones.

In addition to this, Vohra also revealed that the company is also planning to enter the wearables market soon, with an announcement set for next year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) in February.

Via 1 2 | Image…

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The days when your brain used lack of content as a reasonable excuse not to follow your impulse and buy a VR headset seem to be numbered. For one, Hulu is launching its virtual reality app next month alongside the market release of Samsung’s latest Gear VR rig.

Not only will the new Oculus-made headset make it easier on your pocket with its $99 asking price, but you’ll now have one more source of VR videos to feed into it. Hulu will be offering traditional 2D footage, but will also be working on adapting such content to the new medium. Think “Seinfeld”, only you’re watching it from inside Jerry’s apartment.

It doesn’t stop there though, and the company is also working on an original series made straight for VR, without a 2D element at all. “The Big One”, meanwhile, is a VR short already in production, coming from YouTuber/filmmaker/gamer Freddie…

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Just days after co-founder Jack Dorsey – who is currently also the chief executive and chairman of payments startup Square – was announced as Twitter’s new CEO, there are reports that the company is planning cost cutting measures, including job cuts.

The layoffs are said to be company-wide, and are expected to be announced as soon as next week. There was, however, no word on which specific departments would be affected the most. In addition to job cuts, the microblogging company is also stopping a plan that focused on expanding its headquarters in San Francisco.

When reached out for comment, a Twitter spokesperson said, “We’re not commenting on rumor and speculation.” For those who aren’t aware, Dick Costolo, Twitter’s former CEO, stepped down from his position back in July amid mounting concerns over slow user growth.

Via 1…

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