HTC 10 Mini running on Snapdragon 823 scheduled for September

The HTC 10 announcement is just around the corner - it is going to happen in 12 days, and we know most of the details already thanks to the numerous leaks throughout the past few months. We guess it's time to move onto the next big thing, which in this case is a little flagship.

Apparently the HTC 10 will be getting a mini flavor - the HTC 10 Mini. As per the leaked memo sent to selected HTC insiders, the HTC 10 Mini will feature a 4.7" display (probably a 1080p unit) and will be powered by the Snapdragon 823 chipset with 4GB of RAM.

The Snapdragon 823 chip is the same as the S820 model, but the quad-core Kryo CPU will run on a higher clock. We already heard of this new SoC two days ago with the Xiaomi Mi Note 2 leak, which reported Xiaomi's next phablet to be powered by the same thing.

Anyway, the HTC 10 Mini should be introduced this September. We'll certainly get a few more leaks until then though.

HTC 10 swings by FCC ahead of announcement

The HTC 10 is now approved by the FCC making the phone that little bit readier for its launch. HTC will officially unveil its upcoming flagship on April 12 in an online events.

An interesting bit revealed by the regulatory is that there are actually two new HTC models - the 2PS6200 and 2PS6500. Unfortunately, there are no photos provided in the documents, as HTC has requested the FCC to withhold public information disclosure. It's also unclear what the differences between the two are, but we are guessing it boils down to network bands support.

HTC 10 : Black/White • White/White • Gold • Black

HTC 10 is expected to have a 5.1" QHD screen of the Super LCD 5 variety (not AMOLED), a Snapdragon 820 chipset with 4GB of RAM and a USB Type-C port. HTC has hinted the 10 will have a "very compelling camera" (12MP UltraPixel say the rumors).

You can expect the HTC 10 to come in a variety of colors including black front with black or silver rear, and a white front with white or gold rear.

Alleged Meizu Pro 6 mini and m3 note leak ahead of announcement

The Meizu Pro 6 and the Meizu m3 note has been popping in our rumor section for quite some time. The Meizu Pro 5 mini was part of the rumors for quite some time, but it got cancelled due to production delays.

Today, we got a new picture revealing the Meizu m3 note and the Pro 6 mini. Check it out:

The Meizu m3 note is supposed to go official on April 6. It should offer a 5.5" 1080p display, Helio X10 chipset with 2 or 3GB RAM (storage dependent), and a 3,200 mAh battery. One of the key upgrades over the m2 note is the new shiny metal chassis, probably following the footsteps of the Meizu m1 metal and the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3.

The Pro 6 mini first appeared in a leaked Meizu roadmap, then it should pack a 4.7" 1080p display, and run on the Helio X25 chipset with a deca-core processor. The battery behind this impressive hardware should be a 2,800 mAh unit.

One of these phones beats the Galaxy S7 in 4K video quality

Yesterday we gave you a mystery to solve. Could you guess which phone beats the Samsung Galaxy S7 in 4K video quality? We already gave you a little hint - it's not the LG G5.

If your initial guess included the Alcatel Idol 4s, Motorola Moto X Force, Apple iPhone SE,Acer Liquid Jade Primo or the HTC One M9+ Supreme Camera, then we have good news for you, you're one step closer.

Now is the time to cast your votes - we'll reveal the result later tonight when the review of the phone in question will hit our homepage.

Huawei saw 37% annual revenue growth last year - biggest since 2008

Chinese company Huawei recorded an annual revenue of RMB 395 billion ($61.10 billion) in 2015, which translates into an year-on-year growth of 37%. This is the company's biggest annual revenue growth in the past seven years.

Huawei's net profit for the year stood at RMB 36.9 billion, up 32 percent from the RMB 27.9 billion figure it reported the year prior. The company's handset division played an important role in this with a 44% jump in shipments. In case you don't already know, Huawei became the first smartphone company in China whose shipments crossed the 100 million mark in a year in 2015.

The company's carrier business - which now accounts for around 59% of the company's revenue - also saw a jump of 21.4% last year primarily due to China's adoption of 4G mobile technology.

Huawei's growth is "a direct result of strategic focus and heavy investment in our core businesses," said Guo Ping, one of the CEOs. The company expects its annual revenue to increase to $75 billion this year.

Google to wind down support for Wallet Card

Google has announced that it will drop support for the physical Wallet Card starting June 30. "You’ll no longer be able to add money to your Wallet Balance after May 1, 2016," the company said in a blog post. "Any transactions made with your Wallet Card after June 30 will not be processed. Any pending transactions made before June 30 will still post to your account."

Those looking for alternatives can opt for offerings from American Express or Simple, Google suggests, adding that both offer debit accounts with similar features, including a card. The Mountain View, California-based company has also teamed up these companies allowing you to get an added bonus after signing up.

For more information on the change, head to the Source link below.

LG G5 now available for purchase in the US

As scheduled, LG's newest flagship smartphone - the G5 - is now available for purchase in the United States. AT&T has listed the device on its website, and is selling it for $688 sans contract. Those opting for the carrier's Next plan can get the phone for as low as $22.97 a month.

As you might already know, the G5 comes with a free battery and charging cradle in the US. On top of that AT&T is offering a $49.99 LG G Pad X 10.1 on a 2-year agreement to those purchasing the phone on the carrier's Next plan.

You can also get a LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition LTE smartwatch for $99.99 on contract. As for colors, the AT&T LG G5 is available in all four options including silver, titan, gold, and pink.

Apple releases iOS 9.3.1 to fix crashes caused by tapping links

iOS 9.3 was released to the public on March 21, the same day as Apple's big event where it unveiled the iPhone SE and iPad Pro 9.7 (both of which are now available, by the way). Yet here we are just 10 days later and the company has deemed it necessary to already issue an emergency update for its mobile operating system.

iOS 9.3.1 is now rolling out to supported iPhones, iPads, and iPod touch units across the world. Its only function is to fix a very nasty bug that somehow made the cut to the final version of iOS 9.3. This bug will render your Apple device useless after tapping on links in Safari and other apps.

Thankfully, after you update your device to iOS 9.3.1, the crashing and unresponsiveness associated with tapping on links in certain circumstances will happen no more. So clearly this is one update that you should apply as soon as possible, especially if you have been affected by this bug.

Nothing else is included in this iOS release, so you don't get any new features or anything like that. Then again, iOS 9.3 itself comes with plenty of those, and it's only been out for everyone since last week, so that makes perfect sense.

Apple iPhone SE and iPad Pro 9.7 now shipping worldwide

Apple iPhone SE and iPad Pro 9.7 went official a few days ago and were made available on pre-order shortly after. While just a few markets participated in the first week of pre-orders, two days ago Apple extended the list by adding many more countries.

The first batch of pre-orders was supposed to begin shipping today, and indeed it did. The new iPhone SE and iPad Pro 9.7 are now shipping as promised. Both devices are also available for purchase in Apple Retail Stores while other retailers should be offering them in few days, if not already.

The iPhone SE launch, as suggested by the worldwide traffic data, was a huge hit in China and India, while the rest of the key markets seemed a lot less excited. Naturally, China and India are not only the biggest markets in the world but also the ones where the affordable smartphones usually sell the most.

Bearing top-notch Apple hardware within a smaller chassis and with more attractive pricing, the new iPhone SE is also reported to attract more Android users than any other iPhone to date.

Anyway, there are millions of pre-orders worldwide, and some of the latest iPhone SE orders are being pushed from a week up to 4 or 6 weeks depending on the configuration. So, whatever the data is suggesting right now, it seems the iPhone SE will be selling well no matter what.

Suppliers say iPhone SE sales probably won't be enough to offset expected Q2 revenue drop

Apple's new reboot of the 4-inch iPhone factor is doing pretty well. The pocket-friendly device has reportedly received 3.4 million registrations in China and is expected to sell between four and five million units in the second fiscal quarter. Its more affordable price point is also serving great in attracting Android converts, so, in a nutshell, the little handset can be considered an overall success.However, industry supply chain sources have warned that the iPhone SE won't manage to overcome the already expected 11% or so decrease in Apple's revenue in Q2 this year. To quote the source itself:

Shipments for the new iPhone SE will be unable to offset the fall in shipments for the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus devices in the second quarter ... The shipment target for the SE in the second quarter is four to five million units

So why is this happening? Well, one possible reason has to do with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Back in 2014, Apple had some trouble in keeping up with demands after their release and a lot of sales were inadvertently put off for January. This has resulted in an inflated year-over-year figure to beat. Also, an endlessly increasing market value isn't really possible and Apple has already over-exceeded market predictions in this respect.

In any case, we won't know any market figures for certain before the official report becomes available on April 25.

New update for the Samsung Gear S2 is now available for download

Last week, Samsung released an update for the Gear S2 smartwatch and now owners of the watch are treated to another one. The latest update weighs in at 20.39 MB and is available from the Samsung Gear app.

Sadly, the company didn't update the change log of the latest update and you can find the same bullet points from the one from a week earlier. We can only guess what changes the new update brings, but it's safe to assume that some bugs needed ironing out and there are no new features this time.

A screenshot from the new update shows an old changelog

The size of the update also points in that direction with the new release costing just over 20MB, while the previous one exceeded 80MB. Still if you notice anything make sure to drop us a line in the comments.

Xiaomi Mi 5 to hit India on April 6

Xiaomi Mi 5 was officially unveiled at the MWC in Barcelona last month, and we enjoyed having it in our office. The phone is already on sale in China, but India was promised to get it soon after.

Today, Xiaomi officially announced the Mi 5 availability and pricing for India. The flagship is going on sale through mi.com on April 6, 11 AM local time. Its official price is INR 24,999 or $378.

The pricing is for the 32GB model of the Mi 5, which in addition to the lower amount if gigs, comes with a Snapdragon 820 chip with a down-clocked processor - 1.8GHz instead of 2.15GHz.

Unfortunately, the so-called Prime (64GB, 2.15GHz) and Prime (128GB, 2.15GHz, 4GB RAM, ceramic) editions won't be sold officially in India. There is a good chance those get imported though through some retailers.

So, Xiaomi Mi 5 will become available for purchase on April 6 at 11 AM, the same day as the Mi Fan Festival celebrating Xiaomi's sixth anniversary.

If you want to get a Mi 5 in India, we suggest you get prepared, as the first batch of units will probably sell out in a flash.