The Google Chromecast Audio has received a price cut in the United Kingdom, where retailer Currys is currently selling the device for just £14. That translates into a discount of £16.

A quick look at the device’s Google Store listing reveals a £30 price tag, meaning the discount is currently only available at Currys. Another important thing worth mentioning here is that the deal is for today only.

For those who aren’t already aware, Chromecast Audio – as the name suggests – is basically an audio streaming device that plugs into your speaker for streaming music through WiFi. It is compatible with the iPhone, iPad, Android devices, Mac and Windows laptop, as well as Chromebook.

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One would assume that when you’re fitting Qualcomm’s latest and greatest chipset in a smartphone, you’d want to be making good use of all of its advantages over the competition. One would be wrong, apparently.

Samsung’s top-end offerings this year, the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, only support QuickCharge 2.0, and not the third iteration of Qualcom’s fast charging tech, optional on the Snapdragon 820. The LG G5, on the other hand, is QuickCharge 3.0-capable. 3.0 should be up to 45% more efficient than 2.0, Qualcomm’s product info states, and while it can work with USB Type-C ports, implementation with the older microUSB connectors is still possible.

Why doesn’t the S7 support it then, we’re asking ourselves, and one potential reason is that the coexistence of Snapdragon and Exynos powered S7’s calls for a unification of charging standards and the Exynos 8890 is not fully compliant with Qualcomm’s specifications.

On the other hand, the lack of a QuickCharge 3.0 badge on Samsung’s phones doesn’t necessarily mean that the S7 and S7 edge won’t charge equally fast – after all, the Koreans have had a similar (and compatible) solution to Qualcomm’s for past generations of Exynos-powered devices, and chargers have been interchangeable between the differently specced versions.

Still, this makes for a nice argument for the LG side in the G5 vs. S7 battery debate, alongside the fact that the G5’s power pack is removable, while the Galaxies have their cells sealed in. Samsung camp can counter with higher capacities and wireless charging (fast wireless too) and we can picture the ongoing forum quarrels lasting for a while. A word from Samsung on the matter would also help in understanding what exactly is the case.

Thanks for the tip!

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Today, Samsung France added a new accessory for the Gear S2 smartwatch. It’s a special Ceramic Bracelet compatible with the Gear S2, in beautiful black color.

The new ceramic bracelet is universal at 20mm width and is made of hypoallergenic materials. It has invisible clips and weighs about 86 grams.

The Ceramic Bracelet is listed only in Samsung France, but we guess other markets will be getting it soon, too. No pricing and availability have been announced yet.

Meanwhile, a recent report suggests the overdue iOS compatibility, a.k.a. Gear Manager app for iOS, will be coming out this March, around the Apple’s event. Fingers crossed!

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Vivo Xplay 5 has been in rumorlnad since September 2014. First it was rumored to be the first Snapdragon 810 smartphone, but then the leaks stopped suddenly.

The new 2016 year brought us lots of new information on the Vivo Xplay 5 though – dual-edged screen, Snapdragon 820 chip, 6GB RAM. Apparently the Xplay 5 have been upgraded with the latest technologies on the market.

The latest rumor spills the beans on the Vivo Xplay 5 major specs – a 5.43″ Super AMOLED Quad HD display, Snapdragon 820 chipset with 4GB of RAM, a 16MP camera with a dual-LED flash, LTE connectivity, 128GB storage, fingerprint sensor, and a 3,600 mAh battery.

Vivo Xplay 5 runs on Android, probably Marshmallow, and will be skinned with Funtouch OS with split-screen support for running two apps side by side.

The most recent RAM specs, leaked on those slides and the AnTuTu test, contradict with the previous rumors and even with Vivo’s confirmation on the 6GB, but there is a good chance the missing 2GB are actually given exclusively to the GPU. Or maybe a throttled version is on the way, too.

The new live pictures just confirm the design with dual-edged screen and premium build.

The Vivo Xplay 5 is expected to go official tomorrow in China, so stay tuned.

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The Huawei P9 hasn’t exactly been the best kept secret, with images detailing its dual-camera setup dating as far back as October. Schematics of the smartphone came out last month followed by full-color renders, but it is only now that we get to see the P8 successor out and about.

The couple of live images serve to confirm the arrangement on the back with the pair of lenses sharing a single glass panel in one, and then seemingly separate ones in the other. The dual-LED flash and possibly a laser autofocus window are both revealed, and a fingerprint sensor is where we’ve come to expect it from Huawei. However, the phone is fitted in a case on both occasions, so design details have been kept from prying eyes.

Alleged Huawei P9 live images

Not so with the other leak, which allegedly shows the P9’s outer frame in the latex-clad hands of an engineer/assembly worker. Controls and ports placement checks out with existing P9 cases, so we are likely looking at the real deal.

Huawei P9 outer frame

As far as announcement timeframe goes, all we know for now is March, or several weeks after MWC – not overly specific.

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Raspberry Pi is celebrating four years since the launch of their first Raspberry Pi computer. The company has also announced the new Raspberry Pi 3.

The new model has two major changes. The SoC has been upgraded to a new Broadcom BCM2837 with a 1.2GHz 64-bit quad-core Cortex-A53 CPU that is 50-60% faster than the Raspberry Pi 2 and about 10x than the original Raspberry Pi.

The other major change is the inclusion of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, which means you no longer have to deal with additional cables just to get it online.

Best of all, the Raspberry Pi 3 is priced at $35, same as the Raspberry Pi 2, which, along with the first generation model, will continue to be…

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Google has posted a new Android advertisement on its YouTube channel. Its moto is “be together, not the same” and animated rock, paper, and scissors help deliver the message.

Here is the commercial itself.

Two months ago Google had a similar ad under the same moto. It’s called Android Fingerprints and here it is, if you need a…

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Samsung has increased its smartphone SoC share, and it’s now in the Top 5 application processors designers in the world. Thanks to its Exynos expansion to the mid and low tier smartphones, the Exynos chips shipped in 2015 were about 500 million units or about 15% of the total shipped Samsung smartphones.

Qualcomm keeps the leading spot, followed by Apple’s solutions while the third spot is occupied by the MT silicones offered by MediaTek. Samsung’s Exynos platform has now ensured the maker the fourth spot, pushing down Spredtrum at the fifth place.

With the new Samsung Galaxy S7 series and other upcoming Samsung smartphones in 2016, there is a good chance Samsung solidifies and even improves its standing.

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The Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro is apparently nearing official status if benchmark listings are any indication. After it was spotted on GFXBench earlier this month, the upgraded variant of Samsung’s 6-incher has now made its way to AnTuTu, confirming the key upgrades over the vanilla A9 (2016).

For one, the 13MP primary camera gets a bump to 16MP, so the A9 Pro won’t have the same sensor as the rest of the A (2016) lineup. You’d also be getting higher-res selfies than on the regular A9 – 8MP vs. 5MP. Befitting the Pro moniker, RAM is also a gig more, at 4GB.

Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro on Antutu

The rest is all the same as the Galaxy A9, meaning a Snapdragon 652 chipset and 32GB of storage. The older GFXBench listing put screen size at 5.5 inches, but we all know how benchmarks can get that particular bit wrong. We’d say that 6 inches is the safe bet here, even if AnTuTu stays mum on the matter.

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HTC already announced what the Vive VR headset is going to cost you in the US at launch (which is $799, in case you missed it). Now the company has also revealed what the device will set you back in other regions of the world.

The company has listed all the regions that will be getting the device, most of which are European countries. In those regions, including countries like Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden, the Vive will be sold at €899.

In Australia, the Vive is priced at US $899. In Canada it is CAD 1149, in UK it is £689, in China it is CNY 6,888, and in Japan it is JPY 111,999.

You can get the full list in the link…

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