LG G6 Review with Full Specs.

LG G6 Review

If the G5 was the low watermark for LG's mobile division, you might think there was only really up to go for LG in 2017. The G6 can feel like a self-fulfilling prophecy that way: the narrative around the G5 was almost universally negative, and the idea that 2017 would yield a "comeback" product from LG seemed to become a given. After all, it was obvious what LG did wrong last year, so how could they not address these issues?

At the same time, we often find ourselves saying tech companies make a habit of poor product decisions year after year, so it's never quite a sure thing that a new gadget really will check the very-obvious-to-us boxes we've communally decided are so important. With that in mind, LG does seem to have had its ear to the ground with the G6, iterating and changing things that clearly irked or concerned would-be customers.

Waterproofing, a more premium look and feel, upgraded cameras, more efficient use of space (bezels), good battery life - these are things that, to smartphone enthusiasts, sound so terribly obvious as ways to up your product's appeal. They're the areas where LG has focused, I would argue, and the result is a phone that fundamentally is much more palatable than the awkward G5, even if the G6 isn't what I'd call perfect. (In fact, the G6 can be fairly flawed at times.)
But if you were hoping that LG would show up with a competent, modern smartphone in 2017, I think the G6 will do the trick. It's not the kind of phone that immediately strikes you as to why it works, but it does.

Design and materials

If you're considering the G6, let me save you some time right now on which color to choose: black. Don't like black? Still get the black one. Really want a white phone? Get the black one. Think the silver looks flashy? Buy black.
Only the black G6 really does proper justice to the small bezels around the screen, because it's the only one with black bezels. They just kind of visually wash away when you're holding the phone. The dark gray aluminum frame blends in nicely, and while the glossy black finish on the back is fingerprint-prone, you can always use a case or skin to fix that. It has this sort of "stealth phone" look (thanks for that, Ryan) that really works for me. I also think it does a good job hiding the G6's rather ugly "surprised robot" face on the back of the phone. It's not as bad as it was on the G5 and V20, but, yeah. It's there, and the black version of the phone makes it the least apparent. Buy the black one.

The silver and white versions of the G6 kind of ruin all the magic of that tiny bezel.

The phone's material composition is glass sandwich, with a gently curved glass pane on the back, an anodized aluminum mid-frame, and a flat front glass panel. LG has tried to spin the flat screen as an ergonomic and durability choice, saying curved screens are harder to use (they are) and they're more fragile (they can be). LG even went as far as to say their phone is much less likely to crack from a drop impact than a device with a curved screen, claiming the design allows force to be distributed more evenly in the event of an impact. I'm not sure how much better it really is in that sense than any other flat phone, but hey, maybe there's something to it.

Overall, I like the feel of the G6. With the compact size coupled with the fairly large display, the G6 feels right at home in your hand and your pocket without seeming cramped to actually use. I find it very hard to go back to "normal" 5-inch smartphones anymore, and while the G6's 5.7" screen isn't actually as large as a 16:9 panel with the same diagonal, the added vertical space definitely helps for reading, typing, and web browsing. It's absolutely enough.
Compared to the 5.5" Google Pixel XL, the G6 is much more one-handed use friendly - though it is a fair bit more slippery.

Despite having screens of near identical surface area, the G6 is much more compact than the Pixel XL.

This is a phone that has a premium quality to it, and I think that's a story best told by the minimal bezel on the front - it has a slightly futuristic vibe that gives the G6 a little something beyond your average glass and metal smartphone visually. Again, I maintain this is only true with the black version: I find this phone kind of ghastly in silver. But it feels very well put together and, in that sense, is a complete departure from the disjointed and strange G5.

Waterproofing with an IP68 rating means the G6 doesn't just look the part, it can go for a swim and be no worse for wear. So not only does it look and feel better, it actually is better, too.

I do have some ergonomic complaints. The volume keys sit too high on the body of the phone (which makes camera quick launches harder), and I'd prefer a traditional power key. I like to check my notifications without unlocking the screen. You could make the fingerprint reader key a custom button. Just a suggestion.

Display

LG's IPS panels have been a mixed bag over the years, but what I hear from fans of the brand is that they're generally well-liked despite some technical shortcomings. The G6's screen gets very bright, though in direct sunlight it really fares no better than a modern Super AMOLED panel.

The intensely stark whites of LG's screens have their critics, me included, but some people prefer the more blue-ish whites because they give things a "cleaner," higher-contrast look. Colors are predictably oversaturated, but not annoyingly so, though there is no option to change the profile or white temperature. You can activate the "comfort view" on the lowest setting to get a more natural, albeit slightly yellow, white point. Confusingly, LG's blue light filter (comfort view) doesn't have an option to set automatic on and off times. Really?

The screen has excellent viewing angles and neither of my test units has any appreciable light bleed around the edges (a problem last year on the G5). As to the 18:9 aspect ratio, I don't find it's really impacted the appearance or usability of any apps on the phone. Some very old apps may have an issue with the effective software aspect ratio (16.7:9 - excluding the nav keys), but LG allows you to set them to compatibility mode (16:9) or even extend them to full-screen (18:9) if you want. So that's nice - good thinking, LG.

The screen is a clear focus on the G6, and it works. I like the extra vertical real estate and could definitely see myself buying a phone with a wider aspect ratio display in the future. There's benefit here, ergonomically and visually, and LG has made the case for me.
Battery life

The G6's 3300mAh battery may not sound like much when you're thinking about a 5.7" device, but you have to remember that the surface area of this panel is actually just a little bit greater than a 5.5" screen with a standard 16:9 aspect ratio like the one on the Pixel XL. So, the battery isn't large given the display's size, but it's not comically small, either. I found the G6's battery life to be above average, but not amazing. LG's automatic brightness is very, very conservative, and that probably helped things a bit.

I reliably and consistently hit over four hours of screen-on time during normal usage, sometimes closing in on five. So, not as good as the Pixel XL, but within shouting distance. It's acceptable, just not remarkable.

Quick Charge 3.0 is on board (LG is including a quick charger in the box), as is wireless charging (only in North America the USA), if that's something you want. I can understand leveling some criticism at LG for not fitting a larger cell here, though. A 10% boost in capacity would probably push the G6 into the 'very good' battery life column, as opposed to the 'just good' one. It's not what I'd call a deal breaker. The phone lasted long enough for me and I never felt like I was getting shortchanged on the longevity front, as opposed to the rather frustrating experience I had with the HTC U Ultra.
Storage, wireless, and reception

Storage is one place where the G6 falls short for me. Not only does it start at 32GB, that's your only option. There are no 64GB models being made available here in the US, and with rumors saying Samsung's Galaxy S8 will come with 64GB standard, that stings. I really would like to see all major smartphone vendors move to make 64GB the baseline for storage on a flagship phone. OnePlus can offer it at $440 - LG can't at over $200 more?

My Verizon unit came with just over 19GB of room available out of the box. That's not much. There is a microSD slot, so you're not totally without options here. Still, it's one of those flaws I spoke of earlier: LG could have done better.
Wireless performance has been fine for me on both the unlocked preproduction version of the phone I tested as well as the retail Verizon unit I received more recently for testing. Bluetooth reception has been just OK - it's not as bad as it is on the Pixel XL in my car, which will cut out even just sitting in the passenger seat at times - but it's not fantastic, either. For example, I can't keep a steady Bluetooth audio stream if the G6 is in my pocket (to be fair, my leg is resting against the transmission tunnel).
Call quality has been fine and I have no signal issues to report at this time.

Audio and speakers

Most G6s sold across the globe will not feature LG's "Hi-Fi" Quad DAC and amplifier, but the standard Aqstic part from Qualcomm, which is fine. While not as powerful as the third-party solution LG will be using in some Asian countries, this really only matters if you're trying to drive very big or very high-impedance headphones, and shouldn't impact most people. I maintain that the audio from Qualcomm's DAC and amplifier combination hub is perfectly good, though I wouldn't mind a little more output for those times when I would like to wear my big over-ears. Quality-wise, though, it's still excellent.

The G6's bottom-firing speaker is reasonably loud but pretty tinny, not quite as balanced as the speaker on my Pixel XL. It is noticeably more powerful - and loudness tends to be king on phone speakers. I still don't love the direction it's facing, as I don't on any phone with this configuration, but it's passable and by no means bad.
Oh, and the G6 has a headphone jack, because LG doesn't hate you.

Camera

I have a feeling my sentiments about the G6's cameras will not echo many other reviewers. I don't like the G6's rear-facing cameras very much. Don't get me wrong, they can produce some very striking images with incredible contrast... but it's not real. LG's processing is so aggressive that when you zoom into full crop it's like somebody oil-painted your photo. This makes framing adjustments a real bear: you can't crop too close, otherwise the oil-painting effect becomes obvious, especially in low light. The photos also just don't look good on big screens a lot of the time because the processing becomes so much more apparent on a 27" monitor.

Some people, though, love the cameras on this phone. They produce images that are instantly ready for social media, because they almost look a little filtered right out of the gallery. And when you're looking on a 5-6" smartphone screen, you're not going to notice the processing nearly as much. Take this shot of the beach taken with the wide angle camera. Looks solid, right?

Take a peek at a slightly less forgiving crop.

The rocks actually look like they were painted onto the picture. Come on. The HDR algorithm also halos like crazy around buildings, making photos look like they were run through the Snapseed gauntlet. It's just not to my taste.

The G6's cameras, then, really depend on what your priorities are. For me? I'm still taking the Pixel every single day of the week over the G6 for the camera. Not even close in my book.
The other party trick is obviously the wide-angle lens that allows you to capture a scene from a much different perspective than the standard camera. LG talks about its "zoom" feature but really that's kind of a load of crap - you're just digital zooming on the wide angle sensor until it effectively hits the point at which the narrow-angle lens sees from. LG says it's smoother and more natural than it was on the G5 and V20, and I guess it kind of is, but not enough that I'm really impressed by it at all. I just switch between the two cameras with the toggle - the zooming is nice for grandma, but not for anyone who knows to avoid digital zoom like the plague.

Launch speed of the camera from sleep is good, about on par with the Pixel, in my experience - just double-tap the volume key and you're off. I do wish switching between the sensors was faster, though. The issue is that the phone remembers whichever one you were last using, and launches with that one selected. That's fine, but if I want to switch to the normal, narrow-angle lens camera, I'm wasting an extra few seconds to find the button, hit it, and then wait for the switch to happen. It's definitely a usability issue, and I know it's not one with an easy solution, but there it is.

Performance and stability

While I would hesitate to say the G6 is Google Pixel levels of smooth or consistent, it's still a very quick phone. It doesn't have the almost manic rapidness of the OnePlus 3T, and the animations hang consistently more often than on the Pixel, but it's fast. I can definitely tell I'm not using a Samsung phone, I'll say that much.

So, let's talk about that Snapdragon 821. It's not an 835. The Galaxy S8 will almost certainly have a Snapdragon 835. The G6 does not. This will upset people on the internet who tend to become upset about such things. If you are liable to be upset about this, by all means, rant. But it's not like LG had much choice in the matter unless they wanted to delay the G6's launch by several months, and it's not like the Snapdragon 821 is at all a bad chipset. We quite like it in the Google Pixel and OnePlus 3T. And let's not forget: the Pixel XL, which I still heartily recommend to almost everyone, is substantially pricier than the G6.

If you have to have the newest processor, you're not going to buy this phone anyway, so it's kind of a moot point. If you don't care about that, I don't think the Snapdragon 821 in any way makes the G6 a worse product.

Bug-wise, I haven't encountered any major issues, or really any minor ones that come to mind, either. The phone feels stable and I've not had any strange problems.

Software

I still take issue with some of LG's aesthetic modifications. Their UI is inconsistent visually, though they did finally drop that awful sea green teal color. But, that aside, they really don't mess with Android in many ways I'd call annoying. You have your standard quick settings titles, Nougat's bundled notifications, a comprehensible settings menu, and not too many unnecessary bloat apps (from LG, at least) or legacy features (Samsung) crowding things up. Once you throw on a custom launcher and ditch LG's not-good keyboard, you won't find that LG's changes to the software are going to come up too often. And that's a good thing.

While not as light a hand as you'd find with something like Motorola's UI these days, LG's additions can be genuinely useful, allowing you to customize the theme, navigation bar, the aforementioned aspect ratio scaling for apps, and double-tap to wake the screen. There aren't nearly as many features as you'd find on a Samsung phone, but that's not necessarily bad - LG keeps the clutter relatively low.
There really isn't that much to say about the software, if I'm honest, and I mean that in a positive sense. It feels like Android 7.0, albeit with some aesthetic and a few functional modifications here and there. Sure, you'll want to replace the launcher and the keyboard, but that's true of almost any smartphone not made by Google or Motorola these days, and it's hardly what I'd call a "problem."

  

LG has gone out of its way to talk up a few apps that it has "enhanced" for the new aspect ratio, but I can't recall a single time I ever noticed one - aside from the photo roll in the camera app. But there really haven't been any major changes made for the screen's new shape, that was definitely more marketing than substance. I mean, unless you count the rounded corners. Those are a thing.
The one real complaint I do have about the software is the Android version: 7.0, at least on my US Verizon unit. LG told me, though there may have been some confusion around this, that the phone would launch with Android 7.1 by the time it went to retail. My retail unit is decidedly not running Android 7.1. I've asked LG about this and will update if I get a response. To be fair, LG is generally much quicker than Samsung about OS updates, so maybe we'll see a 7.1 update soon.

Value

The G6 will cost anywhere from around $650 to a little over $700 here in the US depending on your carrier or retailer, pretty much in line with the G5 last year. If you're going to pull the OnePlus 3T out, as I know some of you are dying to, obviously the G6 doesn't come out of a value analysis as the best smartphone bang for your buck. But that's true of essentially every $600+ smartphone, including Google's Pixels.

Most people in the US buy their phones using installment plans now, and by that metric, the G6 costs a Very Average High-End Smartphone Amount of Money. Is it worth it?
I think you'll need to consider your priorities. First, compared to what I'd call the benchmark high-end Android phone right now (Pixel XL), the G6 obviously has a few advantages. It's more ergonomic, it's actually waterproof, it costs less money, and it's going to be much more readily available (an area where Google is seriously dropping the ball). Dual cameras may be an advantage, if you really care, and while it's US-specific, wireless charging is something to consider.
If you're looking a bit further out to smartphones yet-to-be-announced, that's a harder question. We don't know how much the Galaxy S8 will cost or exactly when it will launch, and we also don't know for sure just what all the changes are yet. I will admit, it's hard for me to see LG coming out of such a comparison on top, but I guess it could happen.

Conclusion

You may be thinking "That's it? That's the whole review?" (OK, maybe you aren't, but this one felt short to me when I was writing it.)

But I think it's a good sort of 'that's it.' The G6 isn't the most exciting phone we're going to see in 2017, but it's a reassuringly competent improvement on the smartphone formula, at least for most people. You get more screen in a smaller package, two cameras on the back instead of one, respectable battery life, and software that doesn't make you want to tear your hair out. I remember when we would have been excited to have just one of these things (sorry, I don't mean to dig the "in my day" trope up), and even in 2017, I think we'll still see a handful of phones that don't get all of this right.
Where could the G6 improve? I would have liked a larger battery, as we all know decent battery life today does not necessarily mean decent battery life one major Android platform update down the road. And batteries age. I still don't like LG's camera processing techniques, but realize I may be in the minority here. The software is not visually appealing, even if it doesn't do much to functionally impede the user experience. I'm also not a fan of the power button being the fingerprint reader; I'd prefer a separate power key on the side so I can check my notifications without unlocking the phone and thus having to hit the power key again to put it back to sleep. 64GB of storage should have been standard. And my last gripe is really to America's carriers, not LG: Stop changing the software just to change it (Verizon, I'm glaring at you in particular).

Overall, though, there are few fundamental changes I would make to the G6. I think the constituent pieces are there: this is a good smartphone. I'm also naming it one of our editor's choice "Most Wanted" smartphones - LG did a lot right with the G6, and it's refreshing to see them build the kind of product I think we all knew they could.

Affordable Android Phone with 4G VoLTE Support Launched (Zen Admire Swadesh)

Cheap Android Phone

Zen Mobiles launched their latest affordable smartphone, Admire Swadesh in the India. The Chinese smartphone brands are now targeting sub Rs. 15,000 price segment, but the Indian brands chose to bring even more cheaper smartphones. With the Jio 4G launch, we have seen many VoLTE enabled smartphones launching at Rs. 5,000 price range. Now, the new Zen Admire Swadesh priced at Rs. 4,990 joins the list of affordable VoLTE smartphones. At such a low price, the company is also offering a screen guard and transparent case for free with the device. There is also a six months screen replacement warranty that can be availed for one time. It will be available in Champagne and Blue color options.

Speaking on the occasion, Sanjay Kalirona, CEO of Zen Mobile, said,
Regional languages are becoming increasingly important, specially, in a country like India where multiple languages are spoken. Keeping that in mind, we have introduced 22 regional language support feature in Admire Swadesh to serve the unique needs of Indian consumers, and to overcome communication hindrance. We, at Zen Mobile are poised to drive the next step smartphone evolution by offering a comprehensive ZENERATION 4G portfolio of quality devices. Going forward, we will continue focus on strengthening our 4G portfolio in 2017, by launching exciting new devices at the most competitive price points.

Talking about the specifications, 

it sports a 5-inch IPS display offering HD (1280 x 720 pixels) resolution.
It comes powered by an unknown quad-core processor clocked at 1.3GHz.
The Admire Swadesh also packs 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage that can be expanded up to 32GB.
It runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box and included pre-installed apps that decrease the available storage on this device.
 Coming to the cameras on this device, there is a 5MP camera on the rear with LED flash and a 2MP selfie camera on the front.
 It supports dual SIM dual standby, and only one SIM offers 4G LTE connectivity at any point of time.
The company mentioned the device to support 22 Indian regional languages like Telugu, Tamil, Oriya, and Urdu on the system level.
 With all these low-power specifications, the 2,000mAh battery on the Admire Swadesh can give at least a day long battery life.
 Connectivity options include 4G, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, 3.5mm Audio port, and a MicroUSB 2.0 port.
Recently, Xiaomi launched the Redmi 4A priced at just Rs. 5,999.

What You Should Know About Encrypting Your Data's

What You Should Know About Encrypting Your Data's 

Encryption is a topic that comes up with not only Android, but other smart devices. It's important to keep your data safe, and it's important to understand how it works. Encryption ensures that prying hands and eyes won't access your sensitive data, but what if encryption stopped you from accessing that data?

Android encryption isn't 100% foolproof, and it even works against the user if they aren't lucky. The last thing you'll want to do is factory reset your device because of bad encryption, but sometimes you don't have a choice. So your Android can hopefully stay safe in the future, let's go over some of the problems with Android encryption.

More About Android Encryption and How it Works

I won't spend too much time here about how Android encryption works, but I wanted to address it one more time. We've talked about encryption in full here, so please read more about it when you have the time.

After you know the results from when everything goes right, let's talk about the problems that happen when encryption goes wrong.

How did this work for you?What Can Go Wrong During the Encryption Process

While encrypted storage is a requirement on most devices on Android 6.0 and above, it's instead just an option on devices with earlier firmware. We've talked about the process here, and if you want to go through with it, the process can still go wrong if you aren't careful.

More than a few users have had the encryption screen hang after the phone reboots, or have had the encryption process stall halfway through. Turning off your Android during the encryption process will corrupt your data and force you to wipe your phone completely. This is devastating, so here are a few things to be aware of before encrypting:

Backup your Android's important data. If you something does go wrong, you need to make sure you have a backup to load for later. Remember that no matter what precautions you take to avoid an encryption problem, it can still fail. Always backup your Android.

Charge your phone to at least 80% or higher. I recommend that you get your Android to 100% battery before encrypting, but 80% is as low as I would go for the process.

Be patient. The encryption process will take at least an hour if not longer, so if you're worried everything is frozen, please wait a little longer before turning your Android off.

Performance will be slightly slower after encryption. What you gain in security you lose in speed. Imagine if you started keeping your calculator in a safe, it would take a few extra seconds to get it out each time when you want to use it.

If your Android is rooted, it's better to run stock firmware while encrypting. Once the encryption process is done, it's easy to root your Android again just like nothing has changed.

How did this work for you?How Do You Fix a Failed Encryption?

The short answer here is that you can't. If the encryption process fails at the start, halfway through, or when it's almost finished, your data is compromised. When your data is compromised, all you can do to fix it is to start over. This unfortunately means the only tool in your arsenal is a factory reset.

A factory reset isn't the end of the world as long as you have proper backups, but it's more of your time that's unfortunately wasted. After you've reset your Android, try the encryption process again after restoring your data. Follow the guidelines I set above, and then wait for the process to finish with hopefully no problems.

How did this work for you?Android Encryption Security Risks

Now that your Android's data is successfully encrypted, it sounds like you don't have anything to worry about anymore. With your data hidden, and locked away behind a password, pattern, or PIN, or even a fingerprint, no one should be able to access it except you.

Unfortunately, there are exploits that take advantage of Android's encryption system, letting someone brute force their way into your phone. It's a fault of the qualcomm system, and the way Android handles its encryption, but the specific issue I'm talking about has already been reportedly fixed through patches last year.

So why am I bringing up an exploit that's already been fixed? Exploits are discovered all the time, but they aren't always reported on depending on who finds them. It's important to remember that while it's important to take security measures like full disk encryption, your data isn't completely safe.

This isn't just true for Android encryption, but with any type of encryption, or password system. Because of this, it's important to have as many security measures as possible in place for anything you deem important.

How did this work for you?Conclusion

Android encryption has its problems, and its risk, but as long as you take the right precautions, even the biggest problems aren't a problem for long.

If you need help recovering information after a bad encryption, or need help with the process in general, please comment about it below! 

Featured Image Credit

Sad truth about the excitement over the Nokia 3310

Sad truth about the excitement over the Nokia 3310

'It's a damning indictment of the state of the smartphone market that the world is so excited and obsessed with a retro feature phone that shipped 17 years ago' – Ben Wood, chief of research at CCS Insight. Photograph: Martin Landi/PA

Mobile World Congress – the showcase of the most cutting-edge technology on the planet – is in full swing in Barcelona this week. Phones, wearables and everything else with a microchip is showing off fantastic new features. But all anyone really seems interested in is a remake of a phone from 17 years ago, the Nokia 3310.

There are a few ways to look at the Nokia 3310. It could just be a marketing ploy, or a Hollywood-esque remake because the industry has run out of ideas. Or maybe it's trying to tap into the feeling that modern life is too connected, harking back to a simpler time. But whatever you think the Nokia 3310 is, it tells us something interesting about the state of the smartphone industry in 2017.

"It's an absolutely damning indictment of the state of the smartphone market that the world is so excited and obsessed with a retro feature phone that shipped 17 years ago," said Ben Wood, chief of research at CCS Insight.

The Nokia 3310 mobile phone is back.

He's right. Launched in the centre of what should be the most exciting technology fair on the planet, a so-called dumbphone, or more kindly a "feature phone", is all anyone's interested in. And the truth is the new Nokia 3310 isn't actually anything special. Nokia dumbphones just like it have been made for years – take the Nokia 105, which has even been made by three separate companies: first Nokia outright, then Microsoft when it bought Nokia phones, and now HMD Global, the firm that has licensed the Nokia brand name.

If HMD had simply pushed out what we now know as the new 3310 as the new Nokia 230, would anyone have batted an eyelid? But with the right brand name and model number, HMD has reinvigorated a classic that has the developed world buzzing.

So why does a nostalgia trip like the 3310 take the spotlight when Sony launched a phone with a 4K HDR screen, LG's G6 is "made for split-screen apps", Huawei's P10 has a fancy Leica dual-camera setup, and there's even a new BlackBerry with a keyboard and everything?

Perhaps it's because smartphones are boring now. It's not because they aren't marvellous machines that have become central to our lives, but they're all much of a muchness. One smartphone is the same as the next. It has a camera, a screen, it plays music, runs apps and games, shoves the internet in the palm of your hand and forms a conduit for all your life to flow through. But if you broke it and bought a new one, it would do more or less exactly the same, perhaps in a dazzling new colour.

Sony launched a phone with a 4K HDR screen, the Xperia XZ Premium, at MWC. Did anyone notice? Photograph: Alberto Estevez/EPA.

It's not only that smartphone manufacturers are struggling to differentiate between each other, it's also that each iteration of a Sony, an Apple, a Huawei or a Samsung smartphone looks pretty much the same as the last one.

Francisco Jeronimo, research director for European mobile devices at research firm IDC, said: "We've got to a point where improving phones by creating megapixel increases in the camera or improvements in the screen is a lot harder than it was five years ago."

The big leaps in technological advancement are mostly behind us. There is only so much you can do to a smartphone that already does it all.

Jeronimo explains: "We've got to such quality in the devices that we've started hitting the physical limits, which means most of the innovation going forwards is likely to be in software, voice, your interaction with the phone and its services, to make the smartphone much smarter than it is today."

The one primary feature left open for obvious innovation is within screen design, and that's where the envelope is being pushed this year. The holy grail of an all-screen phone will be the biggest change in design since the phablet came along.

According to Jeronimo and others talking behind the scenes at MWC, including people talking privately to the Guardian, Samsung's Galaxy S8 with its new "infinity display" is likely to represent the biggest change in phone hardware design in the last three years.

But even the all-screen sci-fi dream may not be enough. People will buy new phones in their millions, of course, but they're not going to be excited about their third, fourth or fifth smartphone that looks just like the old one.

Once manufacturers have completed their bezel-less transformations, where do you go with a phone that's already all-screen? Bendable, fold-out or roll up phones, perhaps, or will the next big leap be holographic?

In the meantime Amazon, Google and many others are betting on voice. But voice assistants in their most advanced forms are less of a smartphone feature and more of a technology delivered by the smartphone.

So perhaps that's it for major smartphone innovation. Maybe they're destined to be relegated to commodity items. The new PC for the post-PC era; the beige box for the 21st century.

Nokia 3310 stole Samsung's show at MWC 2017

Nokia 3310 stole Samsung's show at MWC 2017

The immediate impact on Samsung in particular is obvious. In previous years, the crowds at the company's booth were larger at least to our eyes than they were this year. That may be because the company's two tablet announcements at the show were not especially exciting. Samsung itself seemed keenly aware of how uninspired its new products were, frequently referring to its "upcoming smartphone" during its tablet press event and even ending the keynote with an official launch date for the Galaxy S8.

On the other hand Nokia via current brand owners HMD delighted fans by unveiling the revived 3310. Although we had already heard rumors about the old-school device making a comeback, it was still exciting to get our hands on the actual handset. There's something about picking up the new version that transports you to a simpler time, and that feeling is perhaps what drew the crowds that mobbed the company's booth on the convention floor. Plus, Nokia still clearly has hordes of loyal fans that wanted to see this happen.

Whether it's nostalgia, curiosity or simply the need to find something cool to post to Instagram, something is driving people to the Nokia 3310. And since the phone will cost just €49 when it arrives in the second quarter of the year, it's extremely possible, given the hype here at the show, that the handsets will sell out the day they're available.

Enjoy the Return of our lovely Nokia 3310

How to Disable WhatsApp New Status Feature On Android

Just last week WhatsApp rolled out an update to its app in which status messages were replaced by Stories similar to that found on Instagram and Facebook. We guess Facebook saw how well-received the feature was on Instagram and decided to replicate it on WhatsApp, although we're guessing not everyone is necessarily a fan.

The good news is that if you don't like this change and would much rather disable it, you'll be pleased to learn that there is now a guide in which it will teach you how to disable it. However note that this guide is aimed only at Android users and it will require users to own a rooted device, so if you aren't either of these things then we guess you'll just have to live with it.

The guide was put together by XDA forum member GokuINC and can be found on the XDA forums. It appears to be pretty straightforward and simple, but like we said you will need a rooted device so if you don't, you'll need to root it first and that will be a completely separate guide depending on your device.

If you're one of the guys who's hating the new "WhatsApp Status" feature like me, this post is for you!!

Requirements:

1. ROOTed device

2. Any Root File Explorer or SharedPreferences Editor

Steps:

0. Force Stop WhatsApp before proceeding.

1. a. For Root Explorers, open the file '/data/data/com.whatsapp/shared_prefs/com.whatsapp_preferences.xml'

b. For SharedPreference Editors, select 'WhatsApp' and then select 'com.whatsapp_preferences'.

2. Find the key name: 'status_mode' and edit its value from '1' and make it as '0'.

For text editors, change

Code:

<int name=”status_mode” value=”1”./>

to:

      Code:

<int name=”status_mode” value=”0”./>

3. Now, launch WhatsApp and see if there's a difference

Note: This is currently working in version 2.17.81.. This may or may not work with future WhatsApp updates. It may require you to do these steps again :/

As is the case with all attempts at tweaking your phone and apps, do proceed with caution. That being said for those who do miss text status updates, it was recently discovered in the latest WhatsApp beta that text status messages could be making a return in future versions of the app.

Read more about Android, Apps and Whatsapp.

New Gionee A1 specs revealed

Gionee A1 and Gionee A1 Plus

Gionee, one of the growing Chinese smartphone manufacturers will be presenting at Mobile World Congress with the Gionee A1.

Just a couple of weeks ago, the company sent a media invite for a special event that will take place on February 27. Highlighting the mid-range Gionee A1 and A1 Plus.

At the same date, the live images of the A1 have leaked together with the spec sheet and further proved to be true with the latest benchmark.

Gionee A1 Specs

In terms of size, the 5.5-inch display of the base model seems to be larger than a regular "base model". The relatively large screen presents a 1080p resolution with 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass on top.

A MediaTek chipset with an octa-core CPU runs under the hood along with 4GB of RAM. There will also be a 64GB internal storage for your photos, videos, and whatever you may want to put there. In addition, it comes with a microSD card slot.

The rear camera carries a 13MP sensor with LED flash while the front-facing camera has a higher 16MP count to go with, possibly, a front flash. It seems like Gionee A1 will join the selfie race against Vivo and OPPO.

see also:

The 4100mAh battery inside the A1 comes with 18w fast charging, as for the Plus version we still don't have any information about it.

Both are expected to run Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box with Gionee's Amigo 4.0 OS on top.

Gionee A1 is expected to be priced at $336USD or almost Php17,000 Philippine peso, that's before taxes.

The bigger sibling, Gionee A1 Plus was just teased as a "bigger" phone so we might have a 6-inch device from the company.

What do you think of the Gionee A1 Specs? Share us your thoughts and let us know in the comment section below.

How to watch LG's G6 unveiling live in Barcelona

LG is stepping into the world's biggest phone show with a new flagship handset, the LG G6.

The event, which takes place this Sunday, February 26 in Barcelona, will kick off the press day of Mobile World Congress. The fun begins at 12:00 noon Spanish time from the Sant Jordi Club, just next to the city's Olympic Stadium. That's 11 a.m. if you're in the UK, but it's more than a little early on a Sunday morning for US residents at 6:00 a.m. ET and 3:00 a.m. PT.

If you're up and about, you can watch it on LG's live stream above. And if you live elsewhere using this facebook live stream LG G6 live streaming, here's the start time for your place on the planet.

LG

Though the official details of the G6 are still under wraps, LG has been releasing choice morsels about the phone over the past few weeks. CNET's Lynn La expects it to have a bezel-less display with rounder edges, a waterproof design and Google Assistant AI software built in. But unlike the previous phone in the LG G family, the G5, the G6 won't have a modular design.

CNET will be on the ground in Barcelona to bring you full coverage of the G6 in words, pictures and video so check back with us then.

Mobile World Congress: Catch CNET's full coverage.

CNET Magazine: Check out a sampling of the stories you'll find in CNET's newsstand edition.

Malicious Virus Attack on Android Phones in Disguise on the Google Play Store

Just as security experts have predicted, the source code of a potent Android banking trojan that was leaked online in mid-December 2016, is now being seen in live attacks on a regular basis.
At the time of writing, security researchers have observed three different campaigns that involved this trojan, which an unhappy customer leaked online on a Russian-speaking underground hacking forum on December 19, last year.
With the source code available to anyone, it took crooks around a month to craft their own version of this Android banking trojan and start distributing it online via malicious applications hosted on third-party app stores.
Three campaigns already detected
Dr.Web security researchers spotted this first campaign around mid-January 2016, and they say crooks only targeted the customers of several Russian banks.
A second and third campaign came to light over the past two weeks, after ESET researchers came across two separate apps on the official Google Play Store.
Both the second and third campaigns shared the same modus operandi, leading ESET researchers to believe they might be the work of the same group.
Crooks sneaked two infected apps inside Google's Play Store
For each of these latter campaigns, crooks took a legitimate Android weather app, embedded the banking trojan in its source code, repackaged the app, and successfully uploaded the app in the Play Store, passing Google's Bouncer security scanner.
According to ESET researchers, who discovered and reported the apps to Google's reviewers, the name of these two applications were Good Weather (cloned after the eponymous app) and Weather (cloned after the World Weather app).
For the second campaign, distributing the Good Weather malicious clone, attackers configured the banking trojan to show fake login pages for the apps of 22 Turkish banks.
Third campaign was the most sophisticated
The third campaign was a little bit more sophisticated and broad-reaching, as it was configured to targeted the mobile apps of 69 banks from the UK, Austria, Germany, and Turkey.
Furthermore, for the third campaign, the banking trojan was also configured to show unsolicited notifications that lured users into accessing their mobile apps but showed the fake login screen instead.
Detected by Dr.Web as Android.BankBot and by ESET as Trojan.Android/Spy.Banker, this Android banking trojan is a very advanced threat.
The malware includes more than just the ability to overlay fake logins on top of legitimate apps, as it can also lock the user's device via a ransomware-like behavior, and intercept SMS messages for the ability to bypass two-step verification operations.
C&C control panel source code leaked as well
Additionally, the banking trojan's leaked source code also included the C&C server's control panel, which any crook must have in order to control his malware after infecting victims.
According to ESET researcher Lukas Stefanko, the malware's backend featured a different version number for each of the first three campaigns, starting with version 1.0, and going through 1.1 and 1.2.
It is unknown if the same group is behind all three BankBot campaigns, but it's generally a sign of more trouble to come when crooks find a way to bypass Google's security scans and sneak malware in the Play Store.

The good news is that ESET intervened in time during the last two bankBot campaigns, shut down the crooks' C&C server, and had Google take down the apps, which weren't installed on more than 5,000 devices per app.
As we've seen in the past years, whenever crooks leak or intentionally open-source a malware family's source code, other crooks quickly jump on the opportunity to create their own brand of malware on someone else's work.
This has happened with the Zeus banking trojan, the GM Bot Android banking trojan, the EDA2 and Hidden Tear ransomware building kits, and is now happening with BankBot.

Tecno L9 and Tecno L9 Plus Coming Soon!!!

Tecno L9 and Tecno L9 Plus will be the latest addition to the L-Series and also Tecno first Smartphone this 2017. As expected, there will a much better design and software upgrade on the L8.

As we all know, the TECNO L-series devices are known for lunching with high capacity batteries, wich are long-lasting. Just as the L8 and L8 plus has a beastly 5050mAh battery capacity, its expected that the TECNO L9 and Tecno L9 plus will not be an exception, however, the RAM size of the L9 is expected to be 2GB while the L9 Plus should come with a 3GB RAM.

Both the L9 and L9 plus are expected to come with Android 7.0 Nougat. We expect both devices to come with an internal memory of 16GB - More details below.

TECNO L9 Specifications and Expected Price

Screen Size: 5.5 inch IPS screen

Resolution: 1280*720 pixel HDD

Processor: Quad-core

Memory: 2GB RAM, 16GB ROM

Camera: 5MP front and 13MP rear.

PRICE: The L9/L9 Plus is expected to retail for 60-65,000 NGN