Samsung has been trying to give its devices more of a "premium" feel with the launch of its Galaxy A series, although so far the only two Galaxy A devices that have been released so far have midrange specs. That could soon change, however, because SamMobile points out that the high-end Galaxy A7 has just passed through the Federal Communications Commission for approval, which means that Samsung will likely unveil the device in the near future.
If you're looking for more evidence that Apple Pay is already a big success, look no further than a recent estimate put out by Mike Dudas, the cofounder of mobile payments rewards startup Button and a former executive at Google Wallet. Using data from both regulatory filings and from Whole Foods CIO Jason Buechel, Dudas estimates that Apple Pay has accounted for roughly 1% of all transactions at Whole Foods since its launch three weeks ago.
One of the more promising under-the-radar phone releases of the fall now has a launch date. Droid Life points out that Verizon has started a countdown timer on its Droid Does website that teases an October 28th launch date for a new device that we can only presume is Motorola's Droid Turbo.
Many reports so far have revealed that Apple is working on an even bigger tablet than the 9.7-inch legacy iPad, a 12.9-inch device — the iPad Pro — that would better appeal to professionals. The device is expected to arrive in mid 2015, according to people familiar with the matter that spoke with various publications, although it’s not clear what new differentiating features the device will have to offer. Meanwhile, Digitimes has learned that Apple might be developing two iPad Pro versions and one of them will supposedly offer users the kind of operating system that Apple has vowed not to make.
Apple has mentioned more than once in the past few weeks its commitment to offering iOS 8 device users, including iPhone 6 buyers, better security and privacy. In the process, Apple also explained that it doesn’t hold the keys to iOS 8 data encryption — which is protected by the user’s PIN code — and therefore it can’t offer access to that encrypted data to law enforcement agencies. It turns out that Apple’s encryption is so good that law enforcement agencies are already criticizing it, and thus indirectly advertising this particular iOS strength.
While Apple is in the process of finalizing iOS 8.0 for a release to consumers in the next week or two, we have been told by sources that the company is already preparing to seed a new version of iOS to testing partners. iOS 8.0.1 is currently planned to be seeded shortly and should contain further enhancements to iOS 8.
What's the biggest gripe that people have about the iPhone? Conventional wisdom says that many people are put off by the device's comparatively small display size, which explains why Apple will likely release two larger new iPhone models this fall. However, a new survey of more than 1,000 smartphone users conducted by uSell.com has found that it's actually stronger battery life that iPhone users crave more than anything else.
NVIDIA on Monday unveiled its Tegra K1 “Denver” processor, which the company says it’ll be the “first 64-bit ARM processor for Android.” Interestingly, the HTC-made Google Nexus 9 has been rumored for quite a while to come with a NVIDIA Tegra 64-big processor on board, and the K1 “Denver” may be exactly that processor.
If there's a better way to promote Microsoft's OneNote solution and its new Surface Pro 3 tablet, we have no idea what it is. Several members of the Microsoft OneNote team recently came together to film a parody of LMFAO's hit song of yesteryear, "I'm Sexy And I Know It." Since they're promoting the Surface Pro 3 and Microsoft's great cloud-syncing notes solution OneNote, their cover is appropriately named "I Click It And I Note It," and it focuses on OneNote's simplicity as well as the speed with which people can take notes using the Surface Pro 3 tablet.
Apple’s new operating systems for mobile devices and computers will not launch simultaneously, 9to5Mac has learned from sources familiar with the matter, but that’s not necessarily surprising, even though iOS and OS X will be tied together more than ever once iOS 8 and Yosemite are released.
Frequent fliers who also happen to own various smart devices including smartphones, tablets and laptops should make sure their toys have good-enough battery charges and can be easily turned on during security checks, so agents can play with them, Engadget reports. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said on Sunday in a press release that it requires certain overseas airports with direct flights to the U.S. to check whether electronic devices power on and work as supposed to.
Kanye West is known for saying and doing some silly things so it shouldn't surprise us that his take on why Apple "really" decided to buy Beats for $3 billion is less than astute. Per AppleInsider , Yeezy thinks that Apple needed to buy Beats because it couldn't let Samsung hog all of the "cultural credibility" in the hip-hop world after Samsung got Jay-Z to promote its phones.
In addition to confirming sales numbers for the Galaxy S5’s first month in an interview with The Wall Street Journal , Samsung has also mentioned several details about upcoming devices including the Galaxy Note 4 and the Galaxy Tab S.
In an interview with Reuters , Samsung said that it’s studying various ways to improve device sales while it’s dealing with slowing growth in the high-end smartphone market. One of these devices may be a redesigned Galaxy Note 4 smartphone expected to be launched in the second half of the year.
With support for Windows XP due to end next week, XP's market share has predictably started to decline... but it's not benefiting Windows 8 nearly as much as it's benefiting Windows 7. The Next Web points out that NetMarketShare's latest numbers show a predictable decline of nearly two percentage points for Windows XP over the last month along with a rise of a combined 0.62 percentage points for Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 and a rise of 1.46 percentage points for Windows 7. This means that between the end of February and the end of March, Windows 7 adoption grew more than twice as fast as Windows 8 adoption.
What began as a curious and expensive Google experiment is fast becoming a much-needed catalyst for change in an industry that has long been considered among the most anti-consumer businesses in America. Often characterized by poor customer service and regional monopolies, pay TV and Internet service providers have continuously raised service prices while also helping to ensure that broadband and TV competition is kept at a minimum. But despite the current state of the industry and its long history, Google Fiber is quickly becoming a disruption that can't be ignored.
Google on Tuesday unveiled Android Wear, a clear sign that wearable devices are very important for the company, and that it certainly wants smartwatch designers to first consider Android than anything else when creating new devices. The company has already made available several Android Wear resources for interested developers and OEMs, including videos that describe how an Android Wear watch should work, and what smartwatch-optimized apps should look like.
9to5Mac's Mark Gurman has been on a roll all week with leaked information on iOS 8 and he continues on Friday by giving us some more details on changes being considered for the Notification Center and Messages. According to Gurman's sources, Apple is considering greatly simplifying the Notification Center in iOS 8 by adding all your missed notifications in with the general pile of notifications. In this way, instead of having three columns in the Notification Center for today's notifications, missed notifications and all notifications, you'll only have two for "Today" and "All."
The All New HTC One , or HTC’s 2014 flagship smartphone has appeared in a variety of new leaks over the weekend, with the company also releasing a third teaser video for the handset to build up anticipation. In the third video clip, HTC hints that the new smartphone will have an even better Ultrapixel camera, without actually revealing what’s new about it.
One of Samsung’s most promising smartphones could be announced very soon