Google and the UK tax watchdog Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs have come to an agreement following a six-year open audit of the US company’s books. According to it, Google will be paying £130 million for a period dating back to 2005.

Google, among others, has been accused of avoiding taxes in the UK, thanks to its multinational tax structure, with EU headquarters in Ireland, where corporate taxes are lower than the UK, and also holding offices in corporate tax heaven Bermuda. This has lead to the company paying just £20.4 million in taxes on sales valued at £3.8 billion in 2013. The tech giant has agreed that, going forward, a larger portion of its sales activity will be registered in the UK.

Another change from now on will see Google paying taxes based on sales, rather than profit, which has been the case so far. Matt Brittin, president of Google’s EMEA business and operations branch, has insisted, that the company always followed the rules as they were at the time, and will continue to do so.

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The Samsung Galaxy S7 is now less than a month away, with a rumored announcement due for February 21. And right on schedule, after we’re almost entirely familiar with the specs and looks of the upcoming flagship, we’re now being treated to a couple of photos straight from its production line.

One shows an array of front camera modules, with the SM-G930F model name (which we already know is the Galaxy S7’s internal designation, plus the F at the end for regional version) clearly stamped on the board. If that means anything, it’s probably revision number 5 of the module, judging by the R05 marking.

Compared to the one inside the existing Galaxy S6, this new camera has its connector offset to one side, while the old one was centered, teardowns revealed.

The second photo depicts the entire smartphone, though in developer attire, making its design nearly recognizable. You’re getting the purpose of the rig – to have a functioning device for testing, without revealing the looks.

Despite the sticker on top of the brand name though, the home button and capacitive key markings clearly state Samsung. Which makes it all the more ironic that the shot is taken with what is almost certainly an HTC One, the first one.

Special thanks to Hiep Thong for the…

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A possible new 4-inch smartphone from Apple has been entertaining the mobile world pretty much ever since the company moved to larger diagonals with the iPhone 6/iPhone 6 Plus generation. Some have called it the iPhone 7c, others insist on iPhone 6c, and iPhone 5e was also mentioned.

Well, apparently, the latter is closest to reality, if this new report is to be believed. According to sources close to 9to5Mac, Apple’s return to 4 inches will be named iPhone 5se and will be a blend of the iPhone 5s, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s.

So the alleged iPhone 5se will drop the chamfered edges in favor of gently curved glass on the front, like the iPhone 6. It’s been said to come with the 8MP/1.2MP camera duo from the iPhone 6, which was in turn borrowed from the 5s. The iPhone 6s will lend its Live Photos to the new model too.

Apple iPhone 5s

What will come straight from the iPhone 6 is the A8 chipset, but it is said to be complemented by some iPhone 6s hardware, namely the Bluetooth 4.2, VoLTE and Wi-Fi 802.11ac chips. The iPhone 5se will also come with NFC support, so it could hop on the Apple Pay train.

The intel seems pretty detailed and thus perhaps believable. However, until we hear the announcement from Apple, we’re not betting on any of the above, and neither should…

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So far only available in select physical stores, the Apple Watch Hermes collection has been released to the masses. If the masses are willing to accept the $1,100 to $1,500 price tags, that is.

Listed on the Apple’s online store, 7 out of the 10 available models are based on the 38mm Apple Watch. The Double Tour models, which have dominated promotional material for the range, and counsequently are the ones to get, come in four colors and 38mm size only. Price is $1,250/€1,450/£1,150.

Single Tour models (which is basically your regular leather strap) go for $1,100/€1,300/£1,000 for the 38mm case and 50 more of either currency for the larger version. The most expensive option is the Apple Watch Hermes Cuff, only available in 42mm size and listed for $1,500/€1,750/£1,350.

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Just a week after we reported that the Honor 5X smartphone – which is set to launch in the US on January 31 – will get regular android security patches, the January update has hit the device.

As you can see in the screenshot above, the ‘Android security patch level’ field has a value of ‘January 1 2016’ after the update. The size of the update is 111 MB.

This means that those purchasing the handset in the US will have the latest security patch pre-installed on their device. The $200 handset is currently up for pre-order in the country, available from Amazon, Newegg, and…

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Xiaomi has announced that it will be offering the Windows 10 version of the Mi Pad 2 tablet starting on January 26. The company had promised back in November last year that such a Mi Pad 2 would exist, but it’s only now that it will actually be available for purchase.

The Mi Pad 2 features a 7.9-inch display with 2,048 x 1,536 pixels resolution and is powered by an Intel Atom X5-Z8500 chipset with a quad-core 2.24GHx processor. There’s 2GB of RAM on board, and internal storage for the Windows 10 model is 64GB, while you can alternatively get 16GB if you go Android. Neither model has a storage expansion slot, though.

The tablet has you well covered and future-proofed on all other fronts with Wi-Fi 802.11ac, USB Type-C connector, and an 8MP/5MP camera combo. The battery inside packs 6,190mAh worth of juice and it all comes in a nicely finished metal body.

The Windows 10 Mi Pad 2 will retail for CNY 1,299 ($200 minus change), which is the same price as the 64GB Android version.

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Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S7 smartphone has been the subject of endless rumors and leaks until now, revealing its design, variants, specs, and even accessories. As for its availability, an MWC 2016 unveiling has been rumored.

However, what we haven’t heard yet is when it will go on sale, especially in the US. Well, looks like now we have an answer to that, too. According to the usually reliable leakster ‏@evleaks, the flagship will be available for purchase in the US on March 11.

Starting to look like a Friday, March 11th Galaxy release in the U.S.— Evan Blass (@evleaks) January 22, 2016

To refresh, the S7’s predecessor – the Galaxy S6 – was unveiled at last year’s Mobile World Congress and went on sale in the US and several other countries on April 10.

Needless to say it’s still just a rumor despite coming from a leakster of repute, and as we all know, rumors aren’t always correct. So, take it with a pinch of…

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According to a new report, Apple will release new Watch band color options in March this year. In addition to partnering with fashion firms, the Cupertino-based company is also developing bands made out of new materials.

The report also noted that the WatchOS 2.2 update will also be released in the month of March. If you recall, the the watchOS 2.2 beta was made available to developers last week.

The new version features the ability to pair multiple Apple Watches with one iPhone, as well as a new Nearby menu (in the Glances section of the Maps app) with sub-categories like Food, Drinks, Shopping, Travel, and Health to choose from.

Finally, the report says that the next generation Apple Watch will be made official in the month of September, adding weight to recent reports that the new iteration won’t be unveiled in…

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As scheduled, Asus has launched its Zenfone Zoom smartphone in India. The device, which is claimed to be the “thinnest phone with 3x optical zoom,” has only been available in the company’s home country of Taiwan until now.

The handset carries a price tag of INR 37,999 in India (around $560), and is available for purchase from online retailer Flipkart, which has both black and white variants in stock. Asus Exclusive stores in the country will start carrying the device starting next month.

The company is also offering a bundle consisting of the phone, Zenflash, and Tripod. The bundle costs INR 39,999 (around $590) – apparently, it isn’t available on Flipkart yet. Announced way back at last year’s CES, the smartphone is currently up for pre-orders in the US, and will start shipping there in February.

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Back in October last year, Microsoft said that Windows 10 Mobile rollout for older Windows Phone device will begin in December. That obviously didn’t happen. Then the Redmond, Washington-based company said the rollout will begin early 2016.

The software giant has been mum since then, although there have been a couple of reports of Windows Phone handsets receiving the update, as well as a French carrier first announcing that the update will rollout this month and then saying it’s delayed until late next month.

Now, according to a new report, Microsoft has confirmed to its partners that the update has indeed been delayed. Not only this, the monthly service update for its Lumia 950 and 950 XL flagship smartphones has also been pushed back. Both updates will now be rolled out in the “early to mid February” timeframe.

Let’s hope there are no further…

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