Telegram gets public groups, pinned posts, and 5000 member supergroups

Telegram has released an update which brings important features to group users.

Those who use supergroups might be glad they can now contain up to 5000 members from the previous 1000 member limit.

Supergroup admins can now also pin posts. These posts stay at the top of the screen and can also alert users even if they have muted the group.

Supergroups can now also become public. You can share the URL, allowing anyone to join. If someone gets annoying, you can use the admin controls to delete their messages, ban them, mark them as spam, and remove all their messages in the group at once.

These features are limited to supergroups but you can convert any group to a supergroup now.

The update is live on the App Store and Play Store but the public group feature is only available in Europe and America for now.

Microsoft Store stops accepting Bitcoin payments for Win10

Microsoft has announced that its online store has stopped accepting Bitcoin as a payment option - the change only applies to Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile. The announcement came in the form of an updated FAQ on the software giant's website.

Image credit: Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images

"You can no longer redeem Bitcoin into your Microsoft account," the Redmond, Washington-based company wrote. "Existing balances in your account will still be available for purchases from Microsoft Store, but can't be refunded."

This comes just a few months after Microsoft started accepting Bitcoin as a payment option. The exact reason behind the move is currently not known as the company is yet to issue a formal statement on this.

Select Surface Pro 4 models get $100 price cut in US

Microsoft has given select Surface Pro 4 models a price cut in the United States. Specifically, the Core i5 variants are now available for $100 less than their usual price.

The Core i5 Surface Pro 4 with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage is now listed for $899 on the Redmond, Washington-based company's online store. Similarly, the 8GB/256GB variant is being sold for $1,199. The deal is available until March 26.

In case you aren't already aware, the Microsoft Surface 3 is also being sold at discounted rates in the country.

Spotify for Windows Phone is no longer officially supported

Music streaming company Spotify has announced that its Windows Phone app will no longer receive any official updates. Of course, you'll still be able to use the app but without any new features, improvements, or fixes - the app was last updated in February this year.

"We can confirm Windows Phone 8.x is no longer supported. You can still use our Spotify application on the associated devices but it will no longer receive any further updates and download the application. We apologize for the inconvenience," Spotify said.

When asked about Spotify for Windows 10, the company said, "Regarding Windows 10, we can’t say at the moment if or when any specific release will be out, but as soon as there is something new, you will receive a notification on your device that an update is available and prompted to download it."

The Google Store is turning one, so the Nexus 5X and 6P come with $50 off

If are currently on the market for a shiny new Nexus device then now's definitely the time to strike. The Google Store is celebrating its first anniversary and is offering $50 off both the Nexus 5X and the Nexus 6P. This means that you can get the former for as little as $299 and the latter starts at $449.

The deal is also not limited to the US alone, as the Canadian store has the offer as well. The search giant is pretty generous in terms of time constraints, as the deal will be live all the way to March 27. It is also worth noting that the slashed price does not affect other current promotions for the devices. This means that purchasing a Nexus 6P will still get you $50 of credit towards a Huawei Watch.

And as an additional deal reminder, signing up to Project Fi can get you up to $150 off the Nexus 5X and over in India, the device also comes with a special price - about $60 down and now retailing for INR 27,900 ($415) for the 16GB model .

LG G5 up for pre-order at BestBuy starting March 18

Pre-orders of the Samsung Galaxy S7/S7 edge have already shipped, and the smartphones are also available for immediate purchase now, but the LG G5 is still nowhere to be found. A step in the right direction will be made on March 18, in the US at least, when BestBuy will start accepting pre-orders.

In all fairness, the date and retailer have been known since day 1, but now a landing page has cropped up on BestBuy's website confirming the initial announcement. That said, there's still no official word on actual availability, but April 8 has been sort of confirmed for the UK and Canada, so the US should be getting it around that time, though rumors of an April 1 launch have been heard.

One thing's for sure, however, the G5 will ship with an extra battery and a charging cradle, to better make use of that modular design. The rest of the G5's friends you'll have to buy separately, though.

Samsung Galaxy S7 keeps region lock, but that shouldn't concern you

Its officially happening, the first wave of Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge units have reached eager customers across Europe and a small storm seems to be brewing online. It concerns a rather inconspicuous black sticker, found on the box of unlocked units, reading - "EUROPEAN SIM CARD ONLY".

Why would the Unlocked phone, you payed top dollar for be locked after all? Is it a mistake? It must be serious since it is all caps. Well, it is all natural and nothing to get alarmed over. Your phone has a regional lock in place, bounding it to only European SIM cards, but it is very temporary. To be exact, it only takes five minutes worth of call time on a compatible network and then all restrictions are off.

This is actually something Samsung has been doing for a few years now and it was only natural that the SM-G930F and SM-G935F would have the protection in place as well. It is a protection mechanism aimed at gray market re-sellers, who might try to offer Unlocked EU units in places they weren't meant to go.

The bottom line is, if you are from Europe and currently have a Samsung Galaxy S7 box in front of you with the infamous sticker, you should simply relax and enjoy your shiny new phone. You've probably removed the lock by the time you finished bragging to all your friends about it.

More curved-edge display smartphones coming, Xiaomi Mi Note 2 next?

Samsung pioneered in the field of curved edge displays with the Galaxy Note Edge, and has since toned down the implementation to gentler curves but on both sides with the Galaxy S6 edge, S6 edge+ and now the latest S7 edge. Other manufacturers are starting to join in on the fun, for example Vivo with the recently announced Xplay5.

Reports are coming in that Samsung will be (or in fact already is) selling curved displays to other Chinese makers, including Xiaomi. The rumor has it, Xiaomi's Mi Note 2 will be the next in line to have an extra bit of flair on the sides. The current Mi Note, already a couple of months past the usual one-year life cycle, is due to be replaced some time soon and the successor will allegedly feature such a display.

The other manufacturer that's been mentioned is Huawei, and with costly curved edge displays destined to come in flagships only at this point, it's likely we're talking about a potential future Mate, possibly the successor to the Mate S. On the other hand, the Huawei P9is coming in less than a month, and while leaks of its dual-camera setup on the back have been abundant, the front was only featured in a single render and never photographed in the wild. To be fair, we are clutching at straws here, it may end up being all smoke and no fire.

Third-party app brings Always On Display to the Samsung Z3

Always on displays are definitely not a novice concept(remember how elegantly old STN displays used to handle the task?), but rather one of those ideas that is making a comeback as the tech world is rediscovering its appeal. This year it seems many of the new flagship offers, like the Samsung Galaxy S7 and the LG G5 are rekindling the functionality, the latter even going to great lengths to do it with an LCD screen, so, Always on is back in style.

Naturally, this has resulted in a spike withing the developer realm to bring new implementations of the feature, which OEMs seems to be currently launching only on new flagship models. Older models can quickly be mended through the use of a tird-party solution, like AcDisplay from the Google Play Store.

Now app developer Amit Kushwaha has given Tizen users the opportunity to experience always-on as well. The app in question is specifically designed for the Samsung Z3, which, unlike its other smaller Tizen-powered Samsung sibling, the Z1, does have an AMOLED screen and is more than happy to light up a few pixels for an extended period of time, without killing the battery. In its current state, the software can only display an analog clock and a date. It can also use the phone's proximity sensor to turn itself off when inside a pocket.

As per the description and the developer's own report, a digital clock option is also on the way, but, sadly, users shouldn't expect notification display any time soon, as the required API is not accessible on the still developing Tizen OS.

Here's how to roll back from Android N to Marshmallow on your Nexus

If the title peaked your interest, then we probably don't need to fill you in on the fact that Google released an early Android N build a couple of days ago, along with a Beta program to easily receive updates over the air.

If you are anything like us, then you probably ignored the bugs and stability warnings and might currently be in a situation where your phone isn't exactly 100% usable and that fact eventually managed to outweigh the Android N bragging rights. Naturally, you can always manually flash a Marshmallow build back to your handset, or any custom ROM for that matter, but if you are after a more streamlined solution, Google has you covered.

The Beta program seems to work with the same ease both ways. To roll back to the latest Android Marshmallow build, you simply have to go back to same page, where you opted to participate in the Beta and click the UNENROLL DEVICE button. This will result in an OTA being send to your unit within minutes, which is also stated in the confirmation prompt. But unless you clicked it out of curiosity, you probably weren't in the know about the reverse OTA.

However, be advised that any path you chose to swap Android N back to an earlier OS build will result in a restart and a data wipe. So, be sure to back everything up if you haven't already.

Oppo's upcoming R9 and R9 Plus have their full specs leaked

Scheduled to be unveiled next week, both Oppo R9 and R9 Plus have already passed through TENAA, giving us a good idea about their specs. Now, leakster Steve Hemmerstoffer (aka @OnLeaks) has leaked the complete specifications for both devices.

The specs leaked by @OnLeaks are more or less inline with what TENAA revealed (except for internal storage). Also, the rumor that the Plus variant has the Snapdragon 652 inside is corroborated by the new leak.

The Oppo R9 will sport a 5.5-inch 1080p AMOLED touchscreen and pack in an octa-core processor. Other specs of the device will include 4GB of RAM, 64GB of expandable storage, 2,850 mAh battery, and 16MP/13MP camera combo.

The R9 Plus will come with a 6-inch 1080p display and be powered by the Snapdragon 652 chipset. It will also have 4GB of RAM, but offer 64GB and 128GB internal memory options. Both rear and front cameras will come complete with 16MP sensors while a 4,120mAh battery will provide the juice.

Oppo has been running a teaser campaign for the R9, revealing features like VOOC fast charging and fingerprint sensor. Both R9 and R9 Plus will be announced on March 17, and are expected to carry price tags of RMB 2,498 (around $385) and RMB 2,998 (around $460).

LG G5 to cost CAD300 on-contract in Canada, CAD800 sans agreement

While we already know that LG's newest flagship - the G5 - will go on sale in Canada on April 8, there has been no word on its price all this while. That, however, was until now as a couple of Canadian carriers have revealed the device's pricing information.

Fido will be offering the handset for as low as $300 on a 2-year contract (depending on the plan, the cost may go up to $550), and $800 without any agreement. Similarly, Rogers will also be charging as low as $299.99 on contract and $799.99 if you purchase it outright.

Other carriers like Wind Mobile still haven't put any price tag on the device, but we assume there won't be much of a difference. Aside from the three carriers mentioned here, the G5 will also be offered by Bell, Telus, Eastlink, MTS, SaskTel, and Videotron.