Sure, its phone launches may not be going very well, but OnePlus is now teasing something new. “Something luxurious”, to quote the Chinese startup’s official Google+ account. “Something luxurious is coming to OnePlus. What could it be?”

Well, going by looks alone, the teaser image which you can see below seems to imply that we’ll soon see a leather back cover for the OnePlus 2.

The company’s latest smartphone already has two different back cover materials available for it in the form of StyleSwap covers – which are sold on the OnePlus website. Currently these are made from wood (in three different variations) and kevlar. And now it looks like leather could be next.

This would follow in the footsteps of companies such as Motorola and LG, as they’ve already sold smartphones bearing that particular material on their backs – think Moto X and LG G4.

It’s still unclear when the new back cover will become available, but since the teasing has started it’s probably going to be soon.

Source |…

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We’ve already heard quite a few things about the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Mega On. It seems like it will be part of a new O-series of smartphones from the Korean maker, along with the Grand On. These are supposed to be the two models that will debut the new line.

They’ve already entered India for testing purposes, and last month we’ve even heard a rumor detailing their specs. Now someone decided to put the Mega On through the paces of the GeekBench benchmark for Android, and this has helpfully confirmed a couple of its specs.

The Galaxy Mega On that was tested has the model number SM-G6000, and it runs Android 5.1.1 Lollipop at the moment. It’s powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 410 SoC, just as previously leaked, but the RAM amount seems to only be 1GB. This is contrary to the 1.5GB that was rumored so far.

Other specs aren’t part of the benchmark’s hardware information section, but going by past leaks the Mega On should sport a 5.5-inch 720p touchscreen, a 13 MP rear camera, a 5 MP front shooter, 8GB of expandable storage, and a 3,000 mAh battery.

Source (in…

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A few months have passed since Oppo proudly announced that it’s become an official partner for FC Barcelona. And a few days have now passed since the Oppo R7 Plus FC Barcelona limited edition smartphone was announced.

So maybe you somehow forgot about Oppo’s partnership with FC Barcelona? Well, just in case you did, the Chinese company is happy to remind you. This time it released a new ad, one that’s all about said partnership.

Clearly then, Oppo wants to make the most of its investment as a FC Barcelona sponsor. So we expect to see many more such ads, featuring the football club’s superstars, in the…

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We’ve seen a lot of leaks originating in the databases of the various Android benchmarks lately, and this one’s no exception. What’s a bit different than usual is that in this case we aren’t sure what device this is going to be.

Rumor has it we’re looking at the GeekBench hardware information section for the upcoming Samsung Galaxy A9. That said, the benchmark itself is calling the phone “samsung msm8976fhdlte-eur-open” for now.

This lets us know that the device is rocking Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 620 chipset at the helm. This is an SoC that will come with an octa-core CPU, pairing four high-performance Cortex-A72 cores with four battery-friendly Cortex-A53 ones. The former cluster can be clocked at up to 1.8 GHz, with the latter going up only to 1.4 GHz. The Adreno 510 GPU is in tow too.

The prototype that ran GeekBench was capped at 1.4 GHz, as you can see from the screenshot above. So its results are clearly not indicative of real world performance. The benchmark has also revealed that this smartphone, possibly the Galaxy A9, will have 3GB of RAM and currently runs Android 5.1.1 Lollipop.

If this is the A9, then expect it to also feature 4G LTE connectivity, with peak download speeds of 300Mbps and 100Mbps uploads, thanks to the built-in Qualcomm modem.

Source |…

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Bezelless it was going to be, the first of its kind, but the Oppo R7 Plus didn’t quite live to the promised edge-to-edge display. Yet, you’d be foolish to dismiss it on those grounds alone, as there’s so more to a smartphone than the size of its frame.

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The Xiaomi Mi Band placed the company on the health and fitness tracking radar and according to Chinese sources, the successor is soon to launch. A purported photo of the Mi Band 2 shows the body of the tracker, but sadly it isn’t as revealing as we’d hoped.

Apart from the photo, there’s no new information regarding the Mi Band 2 at this point. It’s expected to pack NFC and slightly larger battery, but nothing is confirmed just yet. A teaser image has been published by Xiaomi, which suggests that we can expect news surrounding a new Amazfit product on September 16.

Amazfit could be the new name of the Xiaomi Mi Band

Back in the summer, we saw the alleged Xiaomi Mi Band 1s. It features the same design as the original Mi Band, but packs a heart rate sensor. We haven’t heard anything of the device since.

Expect more information about the fitness tracker duo on September 16, if the teaser above is anything to go by.

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Most of the recent waterproof Xperia smartphones and tablets come with the IP68-rating. This 6 translates into a dust-tight device, while the second digit – the 8 – means submersion into deeper than 1 meter clean water for 30 minutes or more.

Before the Sony Xperia Z5 lineup, many of the Xperia phones were advertised with press photos showing taking selfies or group photos underwater with fully submerged devices. Those images indirectly suggested you can actually do those things.

But we know Sony has been reluctant to repair devices with liquid damage. In many cases the company said the damage resulted by some of the plastic caps not being tightly closed and thus the warranty didn’t apply.

It turned out supporting waterproof phones is a tricky business and Sony has finally taken care of the problem by altering warranty terms and conditions.

As of recently Sony does not allow full submersion underwater, no matter the kind of water. It says NOT to use any waterproof device for underwater actions, such as taking photos.

Here are some excerpts of the new waterproof conditions:

The IP rating of your device was achieved in laboratory conditions in standby mode, so you should not use the device underwater, such as taking pictures. Do not use the device to take photos while performing any type of activity underwater, including diving or snorkeling.

Taking photos and movies in wet surroundings. Remember not to use the device underwater. If you accidentally get the device wet with non-fresh water, wash the device with tap water.

Sony devices that are tested for their waterproof abilities are placed gently inside a container filled with tap water and lowered to a depth of 1.5 metres. After 30 minutes in the container, the device is gently taken out and its functions and features are tested.

The rest remains the same – close all covers, if you drop your phone/slate into a pool/salt water rinse it under tap water, and that speakers and mics can stop working for up to 3 hours after water exposure.

Reading further Sony still allows you to use your phone under rain, the shower or in pools where splashes of water are all around. Just not fully submerge it. And in case you do, it will most probably endure.

While some people may have been overly abusive with their waterproof phones, perhaps Sony should take a large part of the blame as it made the IP rating a key selling point for its devices. Now that it has changed its policy many will certainly be disappointed, but it’s better to be clear with customers about what they are getting rather than facing issues with after-sales support.

For more information you should definitely visit Sony’s support page. And do drop us a line in the comments section, saying whether you’d still be getting a Sony phone if it weren’t for all the water fun promises.

Sony |…

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OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei has issued an apology regarding the delay of the company’s second flagship, the OnePlus 2.

Despite making bold plans and preparing more inventory, he says that the OnePlus only began shipping in meaningful quantities this week. That’s a month later than the company’s initial targeted shipping date, he admits.

However, Carl Pei not only speaks to the customers with unfulfilled orders, but also apologizes to OnePlus employees, partners and fans. For the company’s team, this has been a huge opportunity cost, while for the partners the delay has caused “unnecessary complications.”

OnePlus CEO didn’t pinpoint the source of the delay. Despite the fact there are many more invites available, he revealed that the company plans to open up the OnePlus 2 sales for an hour in the near…

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The budget-friendly Galaxy J series just got a new member – the Galaxy J2, which was officially launched in Bangalore today. It is the fourth member of Samsung’s “J” line and can be best summed up as a device by ‘Make in India’ and ‘Make for India’, delivering on the Korean giant’s promise to tailor devices for the vast emerging market.

The Galaxy J2 improves on the specs of its J1 sibling and comes with a 4.7-inch qHD Super AMOLED display, an Exynos 3475 chip with quad-core 1.3 GHz CPU and 1GB of RAM. That is coupled with an entry-level camera setup (5MP f/2.2 on the back and 2MP f/2.4 of the front), a 2,000 mAh battery and an up to date Android 5.1 experience. But perhaps best of all – the small phone comes with dual-SIM support and a unique feature called Ultra Data Saving Mode.

It comes courtesy of Samsung’s R&D facility in India and just like other important elements of the OS and its UI is specifically tailored for meet local needs and desires. The feature itself can bring up to 50% savings on your data plan, free up to 11% of the RAM and extend the phone’s standby time up to two times. That is some impressive work from Samsung’s India division and it was rightfully praised by Mr. Asim Warsi, Vice President, Marketing, IT & Mobile at Samsung India:

Samsung Galaxy J2, our entry level smart phone, has been specially made keeping in mind the Indian consumer’s sensibilities to make 4G accessible and relevant for all. The Galaxy J2 reinforces our commitment to ‘Make for India’. Ultra Data Saving Mode, which is the key feature in the device, has been developed at our Indian R&D facilities to deliver the most cost efficient 4G device.

As for pricing and availability, the Galaxy J2 will be made available on September 21 and will come with an affordable price tag of only INR 8,490, or about…

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Sony has announced the new A7S II, the successor to last year’s excellent A7S, which redefined low light photography with its incredible high ISO performance. The A7S II improved upon several key aspects while maintaining what made the original so great.

Here is what’s new in the A7S II:

Internal 4K30 recording in XAVC S format with full-sensor readout without pixel binning.

120fps 1080p recording at 100Mbps with full-sensor readout without pixel binning for 4x/5x slow motion footage. Also, internal 4x/5x slow motion recording.

S-Gamut3.Cine/S-Log3 and S-Gamut3/S-Log3, two new video profiles for a wider dynamic range for those who like to capture as much information as possible with a flat profile and then grade the video later in post processing.

5-axis internal image stabilization, first seen on the A7 II and A7R II, which means you can now have image stabilization even if the lens does not support it.

169 point fast autofocus system with improved speed and accuracy.

New XGA OLED Tru-Finder with the world’s highest 0.78x viewfinder magnification offering roughly 38.5 degrees of diagonal field of view.

Improved grip and design for better handling (although the recording button is still in the same ridiculous location).

5fps silent shooting mode.

Reinforced lens mount.

USB charging while the camera is in operation.

Most of the other specifications are similar or identical to the A7S, including a 12.2 megapixel full frame sensor, ISO 409600 support, BIONZ X image processor, and Sony E-Mount.

The Sony A7S II is priced at €3,400, and will be available in Europe starting November…

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