Android Marshmallow unofficially arrives for legacy Xperia models

We always talk about it here, the beauty of Android is that developers are free to play around with it and see what they get. Today, the “what they get part” is an Android Marshmallow custom ROM – the latest and greatest version of Android – now tweaked to work on the older models of the Xperia line, particularly the ones from 2011. Most of these models topped out at official builds of Android (4.1) Jelly Bean and Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich, you would never think they’d still have a taste of Android 6.0

.We’re going back to times when Sony still played tag team with Ericsson (hence, Sony Ericsson) and the models included in this experiment are the Xperia Arc/Arc S, Live with Walkman, Xperia Neo V, Xperia Neo, Xperia Pro, Xperia Mini Pro, Xperia Neo L, Xperia Active, Xperia Mini, Xperia Ray, and the Xperia Play. XDA developer “mikeioannina” has put out an unofficial ROM based on CM13, which as we know is the CyanogenMod ROM based on Marshmallow.

There are requirements if you want to bring your old Xperia model back to life, or at least give it a run at Marshmallow. First, a particular build based on ICS is needed – your phone must have the ICS 4.1.B.0.587 build on it before you start, and it is required that you have a fast SD card (class 10 or higher) to work with, and empty is good.

The complete instructions are over at the official XDA thread, so click on over at the source link below. Remember, always back up data that you need before going through anything like this. Who knows, that old phone might contain stuff that you forgot you had.

Xiaomi Mi 5 scores over 14 million registrations for its first sale

Xiaomi announced its newest flagship - the Mi 5 - at MWC last week. The device is all set to go on sale in China starting March 1 - tomorrow. In case you're wondering how many people have registered for tomorrow's sale, the figure stands at over 14 million. This was revealed by the Chinese company itself.

That's quite impressive, and is even said to be a new record for the company as the milestone was achieved in less than a week after the $300 handset was unveiled.

As for the sale, it begins 10AM China time, and will see the company offering only the white color variants of the 3GB/32GB and 3GB/64GB models. There's currently no word on when other versions, including the higher-end ceramic back variant will be available for purchase.

Teaser confirms camera-centric Oppo R9

Oppo has released a new teaser that confirms the existence of the rumored R9 smartphone. It seems to be a camera-centric device given that the Chinese text in the teaser translates as "This time, it is worth and other '9' point. #OPPO New camera phone R9 #."

Sadly nothing else was revealed, but given that the Chinese company has finally confirmed the handset, we expect to see more teasers and leaks in the coming days. A leak last year suggested that the device looks almost identical to the iPhone 6s Plus.

Specs-wise, from what all has been rumored until now, the Oppo R9 will be powered by a Snapdragon 820 SoC and sport a 6-inch (1440 x 2560 pixel resolution) display. It will come with 3GB or 4GB RAM and 64GB of expandable internal memory.

In terms of camera, the handset will feature 21MP rear unit and a 13MP front shooter. Packing in a 3,700 mAh battery, the R9 will run Android 6.0 Marshmallow out-of-the-box

T-Mobile Galaxy S7/S7 edge pre-orders shipping already

While Samsung's newest flagships - the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge - are officially scheduled to go on sale starting March 11, looks like a few lucky people in the US will have their pre-orders delivered before that date.

One of the country's "big four" carriers, T-Mobile, has already started shipping the pre-orders - many of those who pre-ordered the device(s) are getting their shipment notifications. Last year too, a few lucky ones got their T-Mobile Galaxy S6 pre-orders delivered before time.

In case you missed, the South Korean company's mobile chief Koh Dong-jin recently revealed that the Galaxy S7 flagship will be available in 60 countries in the first wave of its global launch.

No SD820-powered LG G5 for Latin America; SD652 version will be available there

Remember the LG H840 which was spotted on GFXBench earlier this month with Snapdragon 652 chipset and 3GB RAM? We initially thought that it could be a 'lite' variant of LG's latest G5flagship, but turns out it's a special LG G5 model aimed at specific markets.

While LG made no mention of an SD652-powered G5 at this year's MWC (where the flagship was unveiled), it has now come to light such a souped-down variant exists and will be available in Latin America at-least.

Confirming that Latin Americans won't officially get the standard SD820 G5, LG's Sales manager for Chile, Cristián Correa, said that the decision was taken based on the feedback they received from several operators in the region as well as keeping in mind the currency appreciation in Latin America.

What's more, the LG 360 virtual reality headset - one of G5's friends - will also not be available in the region. Correa cited Latin America's lack of interest in VR as the reason behind the move.

Weekend poll: LG G5 vs. Samsung Galaxy S7 edge

If you think about it, Samsung and LG are to "blame" for the current dominance of huge-screen handsets. Samsung got the ball rolling with the Note, LG killed off the phone/phablet distinction with the G3.

This year, however, both companies pulled back and their new flagships are smaller than their predecessors: from 5.7" S6 edge+ to 5.5" S7 edge, from 5.5" G4 to 5.3" LG G5. Their screens have another thing in common too, Always On mode.

The two diverge when it comes to the camera. The G5 has a secondary wide-angle camera while Samsung focused on low-light shooting and ultra-fast focus locks.

The Galaxy S7 edge is not nearly as locked down as the S6 before it. No, you still can't change the battery, but you get your microSD slot back and water resistance too (IP68).

The LG G5 went all metal and LG used a unique process to hide the unsightly antenna lines. The killer feature, however, is modularity - currently, a camera battery grip (with extra hardware controls) and a hi-fi DAC from Bang & Olufsen give you the option to upgrade your G5 even after purchasing it.

Well, you've probably read our thoughts on the LG G5 vs. Samsung Galaxy S7 edge, now we want to hear what you think. Vote away!

Weekly poll: Xiaomi Mi 5 vs. Sony Xperia X Performance

Xiaomi traditionally serves the Asian market, but there's talk that the new Xiaomi Mi 5 will be its first phone to officially launch internationally. Sony, meanwhile, said the Xperia X Performance will definitely launch in Asia while its European availability is still being sussed out.

Both phones stick to the 5" 1080p format (the Mi 5 is 5.15", but close enough). They bring powerful Snapdragon 820 chipsets and a heavy focus on camera - 16MP OIS for the Xiaomi, 23MP for the Sony.

The Xperia X Performance is waterproof (only one in the current X lineup) and features Sony's traditional front-facing stereo speakers. This model has an option for a beautiful brushed metal back.

The Xiaomi Mi 5 comes with a glass/metal build as standard, but the premium Pro model will use ceramics and have a roomy 128GB storage option (there's no microSD slot here).

Both companies stepped up their design game, but spotty availability may hamper their growth. Still, if it was available in your region which one would you pick - the Xiaomi Mi 5 or the Sony Xperia X Performance?

February security update starts hitting Samsung's flagship devices

Samsung has announced that it has started rolling out the latest Android security update to its "major flagship models." The update includes patches from both Google and Samsung.

What's worth mentioning here is that the South Korean company didn't explicitly mention which of its flagship devices are getting the update, although reports say the list includes the Galaxy S5, Galaxy S6 family, Galaxy Note 4 and Note5, as well as the Tab S and Tab S2.

Of the devices mentioned above, the Galaxy Tab S2 has already started receiving the February security update. In addition, handsets from Huawei, Motorola, and BlackBerry, as well as Nexus devices have also received the update.

Samsung reportedly manufacturing 17.2 million S7 units before April

The highly anticipated Galaxy S7 and S7 edge are expecting to break last year’s initial number of Galaxy S6 units in the first three months following its announcement.

A Korean media outlet reports that Samsung is preparing to manufacturer a total of 17.2 million Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge units by April of this year.

Samsung is really hoping to break its previous record set by the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge which sold roughly 15.8 million units in its first three months after launch with the second most successful device title held by the Galaxy S4 selling just over 15.2 million units in its initial sale period.

Also, the company has reportedly changed its ratio of S7 and S7 edge where the S6 was manufactured 4:1 with the S6 edge constantly in short supply. This time around, Samsung wants to use a 6:4 ratio since it was not able to predict the roaring demand that the S6 edge had last year.

Samsung hopes the overwhelming reception to the Galaxy S7’s announcement this year at MWC is indication to the S7 and S7 edge’s success and should break the S6’s record for the first three months of sales.

64GB ZTE Axon Pro now selling for $324 in US

The 64GB variant of Axon's ZTE Pro smartphone has received a price cut in the United States, where B&H Photo is currently selling the model for $323.95. Those purchasing the device from the retailer will also get a gift card worth $50.

ZTE is officially selling the 64GB version for around $380 in the country, meaning B&H photo is offering over $50 direct discount, which coupled with the included gift card takes the total discount figure to over $100. Available color options include silver, gold, and blue.

Amazon also has the device listed for around $325, but the blue color variant is currently out of stock.

Android 6.0 factory image for Moto X Pure Edition (2015) now available for download

Motorola started rolling out the Moto X Pure Edition Marshmallow update back in December last year. Now, a couple of months after that, the first Android 6.0 factory image for the device has been made available for download.

The image carries a build number of MPH24.49-18_18, and to download it you need to first request access to a Google Drive folder, something which you can only do after logging in with a Motorola or Google account (head to the Source link below).

In case you missed, the Moto X Pure Edition has also started receiving the latest Android security update which brings up the handset's security patch level to February 1, 2016.

New OnePlus X update is aimed at fixing image corruption issue with device's camera

A month after the OxygenOS 2.2.0 update started rolling out to the OnePlus X, the company has pushed out another update that it says includes a hotfix for an image corruption issue with the device's camera. The issue in question has been reported by some users following the last update.

The update weighs in at 9.5MB. It's an incremental roll-out, meaning it may take some time before the update hits your device if it hasn't already. "We will try to cover everyone within the next 48 hours," OnePlus said in a post on its official forum.

For those who aren't already aware, the last month's OxygenOS 2.2.0 update brought along things like manual mode and save to SD card option in Camera App, USSD bug fix for India. as well as some other changes.

New 4-inch Apple device now rumored to be called iPhone SE

March is only a few days away now, and that means we're ever closer to Apple's much rumored spring event during which a new 4-inch iPhone is set to become official. Alleged details about this handset have been leaking for a long time, but perhaps the most disputed aspect of it has intriguingly been the name.

We've so far heard it could be called iPhone 7c, or the iPhone 6c, or the iPhone 5se. And today a new report claims it will be none of those. Instead, Apple is likely to choose to call it iPhone SE. "SE" will apparently stand for "special edition", if the unnamed sources behind this one are to be believed.

If this is true, then it will be interesting to see what a possible successor to the iPhone SE will be called, if there will ever be one. iPhone SE2? iPhone SEs? The New iPhone SE? It's anyone's guess at this point.

Anyway, the iPhone SE's pricing will match that of the iPhone 5s (pictured above), it's been revealed. It will look identical to that handset, except for slightly curved edges around its sides. It will come with the A9 chipset, an "upgraded" 8 MP main camera, NFC and Apple Pay support, as well as the latest Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and LTE radios. It will be offered with either 16 or 64GB of storage.

Apple's event during which the iPhone SE will be announced might take place on March 15 orMarch 22, according to some contradictory rumors we've heard. In either case, it's availability should follow mere days after the unveiling. A new 9.7-inch iPad Pro will be revealed on the same occasion.

Xiaomi at MWC 2016 Xiaomi Mi 5 hands-on

The MWC 2016 welcomed another much-hyped flagship. Xiaomi VP Hugo Bara was the one to introduce the Mi 5 alongside a beefed-up 64GB model and the exclusive ceramic version called the Mi 5 Pro.

We also caught the Xiaomi Mi 4s, an upgrade of the popular Mi 4c.

The Xiaomi Mi 5 will be available in three different editions: the basic 32GB model, an enhanced 64GB flavor with faster processing, and an exclusive ceramic back edition with a whopping 128GB of storage, a more potent processor, and 4GB of RAM.

Sony Xperia X - release date TBC

Sony managed to pull the wool over everyone's eyes with its smartphone announcements at this year's MWC. Instead of announcing the Sony Xperia Z6 as everyone expected, it instead announced three handsets under the 'Xperia X' moniker. There's the Xperia XA, which is the lower-tier device, and the Xperia X and Xperia X Performance. 

The Xperia X has a smooth metal back, which is a nice change from the glass-panel backs on the previous Xperia Z models. There's a 23 megapixel rear camera with new predictive hybrid autofocus. The lens hasn't changed from the Z5 but the new AF should be a big improvement. microSD card slots are available and you can install a card up to 200GB to supplement the built-in storage. There single- and dual-sim options, with the latter having more internal storage at 64GB. The single-SIM model will make do with 32GB. Sony is making some bold 'two-day battery life' claims, too, but we'll need to get one in to see how it fares in reality.

Sony keeping quiet about UK pricing and release dates right now but I'll update when these are announced. Read our hands-on review of the Sony Xperia X to find out more.

LG G5 - April

Arguably the most interesting of the big announcements at MWC 2016. The LG G5 now has a magnesium alloy chassis, so its build quality has vastly improved on last year's plastic affair. LG's taken a surprising modular approach with its latest flagship handset. While replaceable batteries aren't exactly the most exciting things in the world, things get a little more intriguing with the LG G5's manner of battery swapping.

The entire bottom now slides off and you can simply swap the battery over and slide it back in. But that's the least interesting part of the G5's modularity. Various different modules are available that add extra functionality, such as the Cam Plus module that will be useful for photographers, or the Hi-Fi Plus module for the audiophiles. The LG G5 will also work with a number of separate devices from LG, which the company refer to as 'Friends'. This includes the LG 360 Cam for 360-degree video.

Samsung Galaxy S7 - March 11th

Samsung's handset plan for 2016 is as predictable as Apple's. Samsung took to MWC 2016 to unveil the new Galaxy S7 at its Unpacked event. To get the important parts out of the way, the new Samsung Galaxy S7 will be available from March 11th, although pre-ordering directly from Samsung will get you the device a whole three days earlier for the particularly impatient. The 32GB unlocked version will cost £569.

Externally, the chassis isn't drastically different from last year's Galaxy S6, as the same materials and colours have made a return. Instead, changes have been made internally. This is beyond just the specifications upgrades, so expect the S7 to be more than just faster than last year's model. The S7 is now IP68 waterproof, meaning it can handle being submerged to 1.5m for 30 minutes and there's no need to use rubber caps to block the ports, either.

What will make a lot of people happy is the return of the microSD card slot. This can be expanded by up to 200GB (but expect such cards to be very expensive). Adding another 32GB of storage won't cost much, however, so the return of expandable storage is great news. Android Marshmallow also handles extra storage far better than previous versions, too. The S7's battery life has also seen a capacity increase, so we're hoping for more longevity.

February security update starts hitting Verizon Samsung Galaxy Tab S2

Verizon has started pushing out the February Android security patch to Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 units on its network. The update - which started rolling out yesterday - bumps the tablet's software version to LMY47X.T817VVRS2APB2.

Sadly, there isn't any detailed change-log included with the update, meaning it isn't yet clear what else the update brings along. "The current software update gives you the most up to date Android security patch on your device," Verizon's release notes say.

Given that the update has just started rolling out, it won't hit all Verizon Galaxy Tab S2 units at the same time, so be patient if your device hasn't got it already. In case you missed, the Motorola Moto X Pure Edition has also started receiving the February security update.

Vivo XPlay 5 with 6GB RAM spotted for the first time in a live shot

The Vivo XPlay 5 has been frequenting the rumor mill for quite some time now, with speculations going as far back as 2014. Initially, the device was hailed as one of the supposed early adopters of the Snapdragon 810 chip. Obviously, that didn't happen, and Snapdragon 810 is no longer Qualcomm's greatest chip. However, we are still waiting on the handset, which impresses with a Snapdragon 820 SoC as well as 6GB of RAM - a world first.

The aforementioned specs have already been confirmed by Vivo and the launch date set forMarch 1. There is even an impressive AnTuTu benchmark score already circulationg online, meaning that all we are left with is to wait for an actual glimpse of the device itself.

A newly uncovered live shot claims to provide precisely that. While we have seen renders in the past, a real unit in the flesh can be used as definitive proof of the Vivo XPlay 5's design. The front of the phone clearly features a pretty curved display on both sides and Vivo's typical row of capacitive buttons. As for other suggested specs - the panel itself is allegedly a 5.5-inch one with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels. We already mentioned the Snapdragon 820 SoC and whopping 6GB of RAM. Other than that, we have some insight on the camera setup, which will allegedly consist of a 16MP rear and 8MP front shooter.

As for pricing and availability, we know the March 1 unveiling is official and sources suggest that the Vivo XPlay 5 could cost as much as INR 50,000 although we find that a little too steep to believe.

Ulefone Power has a 6,050mAh battery, metal frame and wooden back for $180

While the established manufacturers got caught up in a race towards thin phones, battery capacities have suffered. Meanwhile, a clutch of lesser-known makers has realized there is untapped potential in this niche, and they've been coming out with monstrous battery capacities and attractive designs.

Take Ulefone, for instance, the maker of the Ulefone Power. The phone packs a massive 6,050mAh Sony battery, over twice the iPhone 6s Plus battery capacity. The battery promises four days of normal use, 63 hours of talk time and 75 days of standby.

Quick Charge tech is enabled and will fill up the whole battery in 2 hours. A 30-minute charge should be enough to last a typical day while a 5-minute charge is sufficient for 2 hours of talking.

The Ulefone Power has a metal frame around its 5.5" 1080p display (which sits behind 2.5D Gorilla Glass 3). For the back, you have a choice of abrasion-proof material or wood. There is even a fingerprint reader located on the back.

The phone comes with a 13MP Sony camera (IMX214, f/1.8 lens) with 1080p video capture with Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS) and a dual-LED flash. The front camera is a 5MP shooter.

The Power runs Android 5.1 (to be updated to 6.0 Marshmallow) on a 1.3GHz Mediatek octa-core processor with 3GB of RAM and a hybrid card slot - two microSIMs or SIM + microSD. There's LTE connectivity (150Mbps) and an IR blaster.

The best part is that the Ulefone Power is already available on certain online stores as a gray import for merely $180, and that's with all Google services preinstalled.

Wow, Chinese manufacturers are really into changing the smartphone market. This phone seems like a great deal even if you factor in the fact that there will probably be no aftersales support.

Galaxy S7 and S7 edge won't have front Samsung logo in South Korea and China

Samsung announced it's latest flagships - the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge - at the just concluded Mobile World Congress. Set to go on sale next month, the devices will be available in 60 countries in the first wave of their global launch.

However, it has now come to light that some regions will see slightly different looking Galaxy S7/S7 edge units - the difference is in terms of the front Samsung logo, which appears to be missing in the Chinese and South Korean variants of the handsets.

There's currently no information on exactly what's the reason behind the move, although reports say it could be related to how "simplified and elegant" the devices look sans the front logo as well as the customer feedback Samsung received through its surveys in these regions.

Also worth mentioning here is that this is not the first time the South Korean tech giant has done something like this - back in April last year, the company dropped its logo from the Japanese Galaxy S6 and S6 edge units.

LG G5 to launch in India in the next quarter

LG has announced that it will be releasing the G5 in India in the next quarter.

Speaking about the device, Mr Amit Gujral, Marketing Head – Mobiles, LG India, said “We are really happy to see all the positivity around the LG G5 ever since its global unveil at the MWC. In fact, in a survey conducted in Korea the LG G5 topped consumer preference leaving its closest competitors trailing far behind. We hope to make this available to users in India very soon and are optimistic that consumers will love its revolutionary design and features.”

The G5 is the company's latest flagship smartphone with a unique modular design that allows the users to swap out the bottom portion for a camera grip with an extended battery or a H-Fi DAC and amplifier with B&O Play. It also features two cameras at the back, one with a particularly wide-angle lens.

More details about the launch will be released at a later date.

24K gold-plated Samsung Galaxy S7/S7 edge now on pre-order

The oldest status symbol meets the newest - the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge were announced barely a week ago at the MWC and there's already a company advertising a gilded version.

You have a choice of 24K Gold, 18K Rose Gold or Platinum plating. The company, Truly Exquisite, is already taking pre-orders starting at £1,700.

If you pre-order, you can expect your S7 or S7 edge 21 days after Samsung officially launches the flagships on March 11. Worldwide shipping is free and there's a 1-year warranty.

The gold plated phones will arrive in a "Luxury Wooden Box" and besides the usual accessories and Gear VR headset, the box will contain a free Wireless Charging Pad.

Truly Exquisite has committed to donate 5% of its revenues to various charities around the world.

Xiaomi Mi 5 coming soon to India, will also be available in “other global markets

Xiaomi announced its latest flagship smartphone - the Mi 5 - at this year's Mobile World Congress yesterday. While we already know that the SD820-powered device will be available for purchase in China starting March 1, we now have at-least some idea on its international availability, too.

Clearing any doubt whatsoever we've had until now, the Mi 5 will indeed be available in markets outside of the company's home country of China. Xiaomi VP Hugo Barra revealed yesterday that the phone will land in the neighboring country of India soon. This will be followed by a release in "other global markets," he said.

The handset carries a price tag of around $300 in China. We expect the company to reveal region-specific pricing info once the exact launch markets and dates are announced.

Samsung Galaxy S7 edge hands-on( Camera test)

We had the opportunity to spend the day with the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge and we set out on a photo tour of Barcelona, MWC's home city in the last ten or so years.

The camera is quick to launch and shot to shot time is lightning fast. We noticed the Galaxy S7 edge comes with a few more pre-installed shooting modes than the S7 and both had fewer out of the box than the S6.

The interface favors one-handed use and even on the 5.5" screen of the S7 edge, the home screen shows a 4x4 grid of huge icons. We flipped that to 5x5 and prefer it that way, but we can see where Samsung is coming from.

The Galaxy S7 edge feels really comfortable in the hand and we attribute that to the curved back. The smaller Galaxy S7 definitely feels thicker and heavier than its predecessor.

Despite their metal and glass build, we had a pretty firm grip on the two phones (all metal phones can be harder to hold). That said, they got smudged up with fingerprints really fast.

The Always On screen gets the job done and while it's faint compared to the maximum brightness of the screen (for the sake of battery life), we could still see the clock even in direct sunlight.

The day may be over, but we're not done yet with the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge. The latter will take on the LG G5 in an epic head-to-head before we leave Barcelona.

The ZOPO Speed 8 is now official, the first with Helio X20

Today at the Barcelona venue we made sure to make some time for a quick visit to ZOPO's booth, We had a very good reason for doing so too, and it is called the Speed 8. Now, we won't go into praising nor dismissing the not particularly famous Chinese manufacturer, but an ambitious slogan, such as "the first deca-core smartphone in the world" definitely deserves some attention.

As promised, the Speed 8 was unveiled today at the MWC venue by none other than MotoGP World Champion Jorge Lorenzo. Promises also look to be kept as the handset is indeed powered by Mediatek's Helio X20 SoC. Seeing how this is the first deca-core mobile chip in production and the Speed 8 is the first product to utilize it, the aforementioned title looks to be deserved, although there is the small matter of actually launching to market, but we won't get into semantics too much.

Other than that, the ZOPO Speed 8 comes with a 5.5-inch FullHD display, 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, all powered by a quite spacious 3600 mAh battery. Its camera setup consists of a 21MP main camera with a Sony IMX230 sensor, a dual-tone LED flash, and an 8MP selfie shooter. There is also a round fingerprint scanner on the back, and the USB port is of the new Type-C variety.It is also worth noting that the ZOPO Speed 8 is a Dual-SIM handset with 4G LTE connectivity on board and boots Android 6.0 Marshmallow.

Microsoft giving away a Display dock and Office 365 subscription to Lumia 950/950XL owners in India

Yes, you read it right - free stuff is awaiting any current of future owner of Microsoft's pair of flagship phones in India. The first deal is for a one-year subscription to Office 365 Personal. The suite will allow you to use the latest Office apps on the device, as well as PCs and tablets, along with cloud storage and syncing. Normally, it would cost you about INR 3,299, so it's a fairly good deal. You can get it from the Lumia Offers app, just tap on the "1-year Office 365" deal.

The other offer is actually even more tantalizing. If you are planning on getting a Lumia 950 or Lumia 950XL, you can skip on purchasing the dock as well. Just go over to Amazon India, for instance, get the phone and then, once you have it in your possession, head on over tohttp://getdock.in and insert your IMEI for verification. Then the Display Dock and an HDMI cable should come within the next seven working day. We are not exactly sure if the offer will apply to all units already in the wild, but, you can always try for yourself and share your results in the comments.

MWC 2016: Samsung's Galaxy S6 edge and Gear S2 bag best smartphone and connected device awards

The Samsung Galaxy S6 edge smartphone - which is the predecessor to the South Korean company's newest Galaxy S7 edge flagship - has won the "Best Smartphone 2015" at this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Not only this, the tech giant's Gear S2 smartwatch - which comes in standard, 3G, Classic,and now Classic 3G variants - was named "Best Connected Consumer Electronic Device" in the Best Mobile Handsets & Devices category.

"We are honored to be recognized for our industry-leading technology," said DJ Koh, President of Mobile Communications at Samsung Electronics. "At Samsung we remain committed to providing mobile devices that are inspired by consumers and always underpinned by a focus on progress and innovation."

Xiaomi announces Mi 5 at MWC 2016

Xiaomi just dived straight into the international convention scene with its first ever global stage handset announcement. This, of course, is the eagerly-anticipated Xiaomi Mi 5.

The device is a flagship offer through and through, definitely worthy of rubbing shoulders with the likes of the LG G5 or the Samsung Galaxy S7, so also taking into account the growing international interest towards the brand, we can expect global announcements like this one to become a trend.

The Xiaomi Mi 5 comes with a trendy curved design on the back much like the Xiaomi Mi Note. In fact, the exterior of the Mi5 is heavily inspired by the Mi Note, which is very popular among fans.

The Xiaomi Mi 5 is equipped with a 5.15-inch IPS display with a 1080p resolution, ultra-bright 16-LED backlighting (as opposed to 12LEDs), and almost no side bezels for an exquisite look. Sunlight Display technology is upgraded as well and promises contrast adjustment on a per-pixel level.

Below the screen there is a physical home button, which is also a fingerprint reader. This is actually a first for Xiaomi.

The elegant body of the Mi 5 measures exactly 69.20 x 144.55 x 7.25mm, so it's just a tad thicker than the Mi Note. It is also surprisingly light, tipping the scale at 129g with a 3D glass back and including the fairly big 3000 mAh battery.

While the regular version will have a glass back, there will also be a higher-end ceramic back option called Xiaomi Mi5 Pro.

But, according to VP Hugo Barra, who led the presentation himself, the main treat hides under the hood of the Mi 5.

A recurring theme during the presentation was speed. The phone is allegedly fast on a whole different level. In part, this is thanks to Qualcomm's top of the line Snapdragon 820 SoC. This is backed up by 3GB or 4GB of fast LPDDR4 RAM for a snappy Android experience. Interestingly enough, the entry level 32GB one has a clock speed of 1.8 GHz and 3GB of RAM, the 64GB has the same amount of memory and a processor speed of 2.15GHz. The Pro simply adds another gig of RAM. Storage has also received a major upgrade with a focus on speed. Instead of using eMMC, the Xiaomi Mi 5 can be picked up with up to 128GB of UFS 2.0 memory, which promises significant increases of 80% and more over eMMC 5.0 (think what Samsung did with the Galaxy S6). The Snapdragon 820 chip also supports Quick Charge 3.0.

There is also a significant increase in network connectivity. Thanks to technologies like 3x Carrier aggregation, the onboard 4G+ or 4G Advanced is capable of theoretical Cat.12 LTE speeds of up to 600 Mbps. VoLTE is also included. NFC is now also smarter with card virtualization and write mode.

The camera setup on the Xiaomi Mi5 is also very impressive at 16MP with an aperture of f/2.0 and 4-axis optical image stabilization, which is a brand new technology as well. The sensor itself is the Sony IMX 298, which comes with phase detection auto focus and deep trench isolation technology. It is a worthy shooter for a 2016 flagship, and interestingly enough, Xiaomi has managed to fully tuck it inside the body, so there is no camera bump. Naturally, in combination with the powerful Snapdragon 820 chip, it can record 4K video as well. On the front, we have a 4MP UltraPixel camera - lifted from the Mi Note.

On the software side, the Xiaomi Mi 5 is running on the company's famous and quite popular MIUI 7 OS. It is still based on Android, but it is now version 6.0 Marshmallow.