Apple patent filing points at future waterproof iPhone

Future Apple iPhone models might be waterproof. A patent filing reveals that the Cupertino giant is researching waterproofing methods for its hardware.

Apple’s process involves coating the device’s internal components with hydrophobic substance via plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition. The layer thickness could vary between one and ten microns.

Uncoated connectors will be protected via silicone seals. Connector receptacles and mating flex cables can utilize the latter.

The technology Apple is working on will allow it to protect is devices against moisture without sacrificing their design. The commonly used smartphone and tablet waterproofing methods utilized by Sony and Samsung involve sealing of ports.

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MIcromax teases Android Lollipop update for YU Yureka

It looks like YU Yureka will be getting an Android 5.0 Lollipop update later this month. The Micromax sub-brand released a catchy teaser image for the for the new firmware on its social channels.

Yu's teaser image (click to enlarge)

As you can see above, the teaser image is a mini connect-the-dots numbers game. The final dot is number 26, so we reckon that it is safe to guess that the Cyanogen-modded Android 5.0 Lollipop will begin seeding to the YU Yureka on March 26.

With brand new ART runtime and Material Design design touches, Android 5.0 Lollipop will certainly improved the already stellar performance of YU Yureka. The handset launched with Cyanogen OS 11, based on Android 4.4 KitKat.

Source | Via…

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T-Mobile’s HTC One M7 to get Lollipop update on March 10

HTC showed the One M9 at the recent Mobile World Congress 2015 to shift the focus temporarily from its existing One family. Mo Versi, VP of Product Management at HTC America noted that the Android 5.0 Lollipop update is set to begin seeding on March 10 for One (M7) owners on T-Mobile network.

HTC One (M7) T-Mobile Owners! We've received technical approval on the L OS and OTA will start on Tuesday. #htcadvantage— Mo Versi (@moversi) March 7, 2015

Versi shared on Twitter that the Lollipop build has got the technical approval. The update will certainly package all the major Lollipop goodies such as refreshed recent apps menu, notifications and system wide tweaks.

The Lollipop OTA update will commence from March 10 onwards and can be downloaded over the wi-fi or cellular…

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Purported live images of HTC E9 (A55) make the rounds online

Alleged live photos of HTC E9 appeared online. The images came from the same source as yesterday’s HTC One M9 Plus photos.

Sporting the model number A55, HTC E9 is bound to be a budget friendly version of the Taiwanese manufacturer’s flagship, HTC One M9. The unannounced device will succeed HTC One (E8), who fulfilled the same duties a year ago.

The photos appear to reveal a plastic body with BoomSound speakers. The device’s camera has the same large circular cutout that we saw on HTC One M9 Plus.

Previously rumored specs of HTC E9 include MediaTek MT6795 chipset with an octa-core 2.0GHz Cortex-A53 processor, PowerVR G6200 GPU, and 3GB of RAM. A 5.5″ QHD display, 20MP camera, and Android Lollipop are also expected on board. HTC E9 is tipped to carry a sub-$500 price tag.

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Here’s what you can expect from the Apple Spring Forward event

MWC 2015 is now behind us, but that doesn't mean all is calm in the tech world. Apple might have skipped the Barcelona venue, but the tech giant has an event prepared for next Monday – March 9. It is entitled "Spring Forward" and will begin at precisely 10 a.m. PDT. It will be live-streamed on Apple's website, but, as usual, only for OSX and iOS devices.

The event is most likely going to be centered around the Apple Watch, the company’s highly-anticipated smartwatch. The watch is said to offer a set of premium materials and color choices, so a large part of the presentation will most likely be devoted to customization. Options range from rubber and a simple glass finish, through leather and steel straps and a sapphire glass, all the way up to gold, for the most extravagant users.

Another key topic at the presentation will surely be the device's functionality. Apple has decided on a feature-rich approach for its first wearable, as opposed to Android Wear devices, which aim to be more of a convenient side assistant.

Keeping this in mind, we are most likely going to see a large number of applications on the Watch that duplicate existing phone features, much like with the Samsung Gear S, but also dedicated new Watch experiences as well.

This is surely going to be a huge selling point and we have no doubt that a large portion of Monday's presentation will be devoted to what applications the wearable is going to offer at launch and also what can be achieved using the company's WatchKit.

Apple has invested a lot of effort in its future wearable ecosystem and developers have been actively participating along the way. Some estimates even claim that the Apple Watch will have as much as 100 000 apps at launch, but we'll just have to wait and see about that.

Besides the Apple Watch, however, there have also been a few other rumors floating around, regarding what the Cupertino giant might bring to the show on Monday. One prevailing speculation is that a new 12-inch MacBook Air with Retina display is going to make the rounds on March 9. While this is not entirely in tune with previous release schedules it is very plausible, considering all the recent hype.

Rumors also speculate that it will be joined by another 12-inch device, only this time it's a tablet. The 12-ich iPad Pro first popped up in the rumor mill in January and has been widely discussed since. The attention it generated was so great, that fans even produced gorgeous 3D renders of the alleged device.

Another thing that is a lot more likely to make an appearance this Monday is the new version of iOS – 8.2. It has been in development for quite some time now and 5 beta versions have already seeded to developers. Seeing how the main features in brings to the table revolve around expanding the fitness tracking functionality and the compatibility with the Apple Watch, it is more than likely that it will be officially start seeding to end users come Monday.

Last, but not least, a new music streaming service, based on Beats Music is on its way to becoming a part of iOS's stock music player. Recent reports hint at a likely delay with the new feature, but there is still a possibility we might see it on stage come Monday.

All in all, Apple's "Spring Forward" event is shaping up quite nicely. Be sure to check back on Monday for our coverage of what Apple have in store for the tech…

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Sony to release Android 5.0 Lollipop for Xperia Z series only

Sony Mobile introduced quite an interesting bunch of mid-range Android 4.4 KitKat devices last year. But the company's main focus remains on the Xperia Z series.

While most other Android smartphones are getting the Android 5.0 Lollipop update, the owners of Sony Xperia devices inquired about the same for their devices.

Sony surprised everyone by stating via its official Twitter account that the Lollipop update will be released only for the the Xperia Z series devices. That means, the Xperia E1, E2, C3, M2, M2 Aqua, T3, and T2 Ultra will not be getting the Lollipop update.
@VIVSNO Hi. We can advise that the Android 5.0 Lollipop update is going to be released for the entire Xperia Z series only, we do apologise.— Sony Xperia (@sonyxperia) March 4, 2015

Sony has been clear about the Lollipop update for the Xperia Z series since October last year and affirmed that at the MWC 2015 in Barcelona,…

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Week 10 in review: MWC announcement, Apple rumors

Another week has passed and boy, was it intense! Our news section has been overflowing and almost everything has been about MWC. A lot of new phones were announced at the Barcelona venue and excited the tech world, but there is no doubt that Galaxy's latest flagship device stole the show. The Samsung "Unpacked" event was a grand spectacular in itself, but what really wowed the audience was the new Galaxy S6 and its curved variant – the Galaxy S6 edge.

Both phones are at the tip of mobile innovations. The duo is powered by Samsung's own Exynos 7420 SoC and boast the latest and greatest 3GB LPDDR4 RAM modules. Of course, the double-curved screen of the S6 edge, really sets it apart from the competition in terms of visuals alone, if nothing else.

HTC also captivated fans with its brand new top-of-the-line device – the HTC One M9. It was also unveiled at MWC and is a logical continuation of the One device line. So much so, that the design looks almost unchanged. The handset does offer a new specs sheet, featuring the beastly Snapdragon 810, as well as a single 20MP main camera.

There were a few other notable device debuts at MWC 2015. Microsoft showed off the new Lumia 640 and its, hmm, larger brother – the 640 XL.

BlackBerry had a few tricks up its sleeve. The Canadian company unveiled a brand new 5-inch, entry-level smartphone, called the BlackBerry Leap and also teased a very interesting slider phone, with a physical keyboard and a double-edged display, much like the one on the Galaxy S6 edge.

In other news, Apple fans have been on their tips and are gearing up for the company's "Spring Forward" event, set for March 9. This anticipation has naturally sprung various talks and rumors concerning the next version of iOS, as well as the future iPhone 6s handset. The rumor mill has also been busy, discussing the Galaxy Note 5 Edge and the possibility of a double-edged screen in the future device, as well as Google's plans to collaborate with Huawei on the next Nexus device and a rather interesting benchmark of what looks like a new Nokia 1100 smartphone.

If you think you might have missed something from the busy week, here is a list of what you, our readers, found most interesting in the tech world.

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Samsung unpacks Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge at MWC 2015
The first Samsung unpacked event for 2015 brought us a duo of flagships – Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge.

Microsoft unveils 5-inch Lumia 640 and 5.7-inch Lumia 640 XL
Both will launch with WP8.1 but will be updated to W10. The Lumia 640 XL packs a 13MP Zeiss camera.

Check out the Samsung Galaxy S6 camera samples
Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge went official today with 16MP F/1.9 rear cameras and OIS.

HTC One M9 goes official with a refined design, Snapdragon 810
HTC One M9 comes with the same 5" 1080p display, but upgrades to Snapdragon 810 and 20MP camera.

A Nokia 1100 with quad-core CPU and Lollipop spotted online
The device named Nokia 1100 has popped up in a Geekbench result and is possibly in the works.

HTC One M9 and Samsung Galaxy S6 have already been priced
As you may have imagined, the two upcoming flagship smartphones will not be cheap at all.

iPhone 6s rumored to sport 2GB of RAM, Apple SIM too
Apple's next generation smartphones will bump up the memory capacity, a new report claims.

HTC One M8s with slower CPU to replace the One (M8) soon
The phone will be virtually identical to the One (M8) we already know, save for the different…

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Alleged HTC One M9 Plus photos make the rounds

Purported live photos of HTC One M9 Plus made the rounds online. The yet to be revealed handset is expected to be a version of One M9 with beefed up hardware.

The unannounced device sports similar design as the regular HTC One M9 save for its main camera unit. The latter’s cutout is circular as opposed to squarish in the One M9 that already debuted.

HTC One M9 Plus might debut with two different chipsets – a MediaTek MT6795 model could cater to the Chinese market, while a Snapdragon 810 version will be sold elsewhere. The rest of the device’s rumored specs include 5.2″ QHD display, fingerprint scanner, 3GB of RAM, and 32GB of expandable memory.

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JDI outs WQHD LCD display with in-cell touch integration

Japan Display Inc. took the wraps off a WQHD (2560 x 1440 pixels) LCD display with in-cell touch integration. The high-end component is the first of its kind to enter mass production.

The newcomer will have a diagonal larger than five inches. It incorporates in-cell touch used in JDI’s “Pixel Eyes” technology. In-cell touch integration has been difficult to incorporate in high-resolution displays, so the new LCD panel is quite an engineering feat.

Viewing angles of the display will be larger than 160 degrees. Its surface luminance and NTSC ratio are 500cd/m2 and 85% respectively. The unit’s contrast ratio is 1500:1.

The component is certain to debut in a high-end smartphone at some point in the near future. JDI also made noise recently in a rumor about potential partnership with Apple.

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