Samsung’s latest Gear S2 smartwatch is so unlike any other on the market, that the company felt a series of how-to videos was warranted. Unlike the myriad of Android Wear offerings, which are nigh identical software-wise, the Gear S2 (Classic or not) runs on Samsung’s own Tizen OS, has a rotating bezel and a couple of buttons, on top of the touch operation.

The five videos are arranged in a sequence by the degree of importance and the likely order in which you’re going to be familiarizing yourself with the features, once you take the watch out the box. You wouldn’t want to be the guy deciding whether the how-to on touch operation or pairing should come first chronologically – as it stands right now the first video refers you straight to the second from the get go.

Anyways, the videos detail the interaction with the smartwatch using its various controls, connection with the smartphone, file transfers between the two, battery saving and using the call…

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Popular photographer and developer of Camera+ app on iOS – Lisa Bettany – has been doing iPhone camera comparisons since the 4s. This year, we get to see how the new iPhone 6s compares against its predecessors, that is the iPhone 6, 5s, 5, 4s, 4, 3GS, 3G, and the granddaddy of them all, the original iPhone.

As a recap, the original iPhone and iPhone 3G had the same camera module, a 2 megapixel fixed focus sensor. 3GS brought with it a 3 megapixel sensor and more importantly, autofocus. The iPhone 4 bumped the sensor to 5 megapixel and the 4s to 8 megapixels. The 5 and 5s benefitted from five element lenses and bigger sensors. 6 had even bigger sensor and phase detection autofocus. The 6s gets bumped up to 12 megapixels with deep trench isolation to prevent crosstalk, improved local tone mapping, and better temporal and spatial noise reduction.

And it shows. As expected, the iPhone 6s looks better in all of its predecessors in most shots. The macros have more detail, the backlit scenes have more detail in the shadows and the dynamic range is vastly better, the colors are more distinct, the white balance is more accurate, and there is much less noise in the shadows. Only area of complaint remains skin tones, which have a watercolor look similar to the iPhone 6. In this comparison, the iPhone 5 has the best looking skin. Otherwise, it’s a clean sweep for the 6s.

The tests were performed using the Camera+ app, although that shouldn’t significantly impact the quality.

You can check out the full comparison in the link…

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After long and arduous development, the ambitious Samsung Pay service is now showing a lot of promise. Despite still being in its infancy, the phone-based payment platform is already off to a flying start on the OEM’s home Korean market, with over $30 million worth of transactions for a single month since its launch.

All seems to have went well with this beta rollout and Samsung Pay is now officially live in the US as well. The service has already undergone beta testing in the US as well and the Korean giant is now spreading the word and trying to tempt users to give the platform a try. Samsung’s latest ad highlights just how easy using Samsung Pay is, the main focus being the industry-leading combination of NFC and MTS-based technology. The video is done in a very lighthearted and wholesome tone, but it does take a few stabs at competitors.

For anyone unfamiliar with the concept, here’s the short version: When Samsung set out to create its mobile-based payment solution it wanted to go one step beyond competitors such as Apple Pay and Android Pay. Instead of relying solely on NFC and potentially requiring additional hardware from merchants, like the latter two, Samsung Pay also supports MST-based transactions, or in other words, uses a technology that imitates a card swiping through the payment terminal via magnetic waves. This new concept was a great technological challenge, but, in the end, Samsung achieved an almost magical result – paying with a phone at almost any conventional terminal.

This definitely gives the platform an edge over its competitors and so do future plans for implementation of online payments (PayPal style) into the system as well. This could make Samsung Pay incredibly popular in the US as a universal payment tool. But, before you get too excited and start tossing your credit cards in the drawer, Samsung Pay still has some important limitations. First, you need a compatible Samsung device that has the MST hardware to use Pay. Currently, these are the Samsung Galaxy S6, S6 edge, Note5 and S6 edge+. Then, you need a compatible card, from a supported bank.

These currently include VISA, MasterCard and AMERICAN EXPRESS, issued by a supported bank. This list is sure to grow in the future with more credit and debit cards, as well as merchant cards and vouchers all with the ultimate goal of getting rid of those clunky plastic cards. To sweeten the deal even more and facilitate a quick US expansion, Samsung is also offering a free gift to early Pay adopters. If you download and activate the app on a supported carrier and with a supported card before October 11, you can choose between a free wireless charger or a flip case. More details can be found at the second source link.

Source 1 | Source 2 |…

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The Blackphone 2, which is the successor to last year’s Blackphone, is now available for purchase in the US. The device was unveiled back in March at this year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC).

The security-focused handset can now be ordered from Silent Circle’s (which is the company behind the smartphone) website. As for the price, it will cost you $799. There is currently no information on if and when it will be available in other markets around the world.

Specs-wise, the device is powered by a Snapdragon SoC with 1.7GHz octa-core processor, and sports a 5.5-inch FullHD Gorilla Glass display. It comes with 3GB RAM and 32GB expandable internal memory, and packs in a 3060 mAh battery with support for Quick Charge 2.0.

In terms of camera, the Blackphone 2 features a 13MP rear unit and an 8MP front shooter. It runs security-hardened, Android-based Silent OS.

Source |…

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Samsung’s YouTube competitor Milk Video, which was launched back in November last year, is shutting down. According to the South Korean company, it will pull the plug on the service in the month of November.

“While we remain committed to providing premium entertainment services, we have decided to end support for the Samsung Milk Video app as of November 20, 2015,” the company said in an announcement on Google Play.

The announcement comes just a few months after Samsung reportedly laid off a substantial number of employees (said to be around 15% of the total strength) at the company’s unit which works on Milk Video and Milk Music services.

Source | Via 1…

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The LG Class smartphone, which was announced last week and is currently only available in the company’s home country of South Korea, will be available on AT&T in the US, according to the usually reliable leakster @evleaks.

There was, however, no word on when it will be available in the US and what price tag it will carry. Currently, in South Korea, the handset costs somewhere around $340.

Specs-wise, the mid-ranger is powered by a Snapdragon 410 chipset with 1.2 GHz quad-core Cortex-A53 CPU, and sports a 5-inch 720p IPS touchscreen with 2.5D curved glass. It comes with 2GB RAM and 16GB expandable memory, and packs in a 2,050 mAh battery.

In terms of camera, the Class features a 13MP rear unit and an 8MP front shooter. It runs Android 5.1 Lollipop and features a unibody metal construction. Connectivity options include 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and NFC, while color options include gold, silver, and black.

Via 1…

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Google doubled the maximum APK file size limit for Play store apps and games. Going forward, Android developers can publish APKs as large as 100MB – up from 50MB in the past.

The change will allow for the submission of considerably richer apps to Google Play. It will also reduce the necessity to download additional expansion files when launching an application for the first time.

Despite the new APK file size limit, Google still advises developers to be cautious and not make their apps unnecessarily large. The search giant’s developer team points that larger apps require more data to download and install on a mobile network, as well as reduce performance on devices with limited RAM and built-in storage.

Source…

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The full specs of the upcoming LG Nexus 5X leaked out with less than 24 hours to go until its scheduled announcement. LG’s second Nexus smartphone will debut alongside Huawei Nexus 6P at an event in San Francisco tomorrow.

In line with past rumors, LG Nexus 5X will sport Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 chipset, coupled with 2GB of RAM. The display will be a 5.2″ 1080p unit with pixel density of 424 ppi.

Just like the Huawei Nexus 6P, the Nexus 5X will have a 12.3MP main camera with f/2.0 lens, large 1.55 μM pixels, laser autofocus, and 4K video capture. The front-facing unit will be a 5MP sensor with f/2.2 aperture and 1.4 μM pixels..

LG Nexus 5X will have physical measures of 147 x 72.6 x 7.9mm. Its weight will tip the scale at 136 grams.

Of course, the usual bevy of sensors will be present in the Nexus 5X. The handset will have a fingerprint sensor and USB Type-C port.

Earlier today, we found out that pricing of the Nexus 5X will kick off at $379.99 when its becomes available for pre-order tomorrow. A 32GB variant of the handset will also be available.

Via…

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Oppo may be best known for its mid-range and high-end offerings such as the R7, R7 Plus, or Find 7, but the Chinese company is also working on entry-level devices.

Case in point: the upcoming Oppo A33, which is going to be pretty low-end. This handset, currently known just by its model number (A33), has been revealed by TENAA, the Chinese regulatory agency tasked with certifying smartphones for sale on that market.

The Oppo A33 has a 5-inch 540×960 touchscreen, an 8 MP rear camera with LED flash, a 5 MP selfie snapper, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of expandable storage, 4G LTE support, and dual-SIM functionality.

It’s powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 SoC with a 1.2 GHz quad-core Cortex-A53 CPU, and it runs Android 5.1.1 Lollipop. The phone’s dimensions are 142.7 × 71.7 × 7.55 mm, and it weighs 145g.

It will surely be launched in China, where it should cost around CNY 800 ($125, €111) according to media speculations. It’s not at all clear if the Oppo A33 will be offered in other countries as well.

Source (in Chinese) |…

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Tomorrow Google has a pretty big event planned, during which the LG Nexus 5X and Huawei Nexus 6P will become official. A new Chromecast may be outed too, along with a new family plan for the Play Music All Access streaming service. But that may not be all Google’s got in store for us.

A new rumor says we might see a new tablet getting revealed as well. Intriguingly though, this will not be Nexus-branded. Even if it doesn’t get showcased tomorrow, this is apparently in the works and will be released sometime in November.

It will be called Pixel C. Google will interestingly be using the brand it’s so far reserved for high-end Chromebooks with premium materials. That said, the Pixel C tablet will run Android, not Chrome OS.

In terms of hardware, we’re told we’ll see a 10.2-inch touchscreen with 308ppi pixel density (but the actual resolution isn’t mentioned), and 500 nits of peak brightness. Running the show will be Nvidia’s Tegra X1 chipset with a quad-core CPU and Maxwell GPU, paired with 3GB of RAM. A USB Type-C port will be in too.

The tablet will be very close to the new Chromebook Pixel when it comes to design, and it will even feature that lightbar on the back, which glows to show how much battery life you’ve got left. Because of the Pixel branding, we assume the device will be made from a premium metal alloy.

The Pixel C will have two optional keyboard accessories, one aluminum and one leather. Both of them will attach to the tablet through a dedicated mechanism, and you’ll be able to ‘close’ them onto the screen, laptop-style.

Given how expensive both Chromebook Pixels have been, you shouldn’t expect the Pixel C tablet to be…

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