Read all TECHRUMOURS: LG G5 ahead of its launch

It all started with the G2. That was the one that started to catch the eyes of the technology world, shifting eyes to the “other” Korean smartphone maker. The next iteration, the G3, an amazing smartphone that is said to be even better than the Galaxy S5. It had during its time the best screen resolution, a QHD Display. One of the first smartphones to ever have it. Not forgetting the auto-laser focus that brings fast focus to its camera. The following year saw the G4, a very good smartphone with an unusually but not all that bad leather backside. And a contender for last year’s best camera on a smartphone.

Now it’s their time to really hit the home run with this year’s flagship, the LG G5.

No surprises in the name department obviously.

LAUNCH DATE

Not one to fear a challenge, LG has decided to launch their flagship on the same day as Samsung’s, which is on Feb 21 2016. The only difference is that their announcement would come a few hours earlier. This should be a very interesting day.

Source: BGR

Credits to BGR

DESIGN

As this year’s model is rumoured to be their first full metal build, there is always going to be issues regarding removable battery. Most would have to choose between either one.

Apparently from an image by CNET Korea, LG has found a solution to his by having a removable bottom. Imagine the bottom being able to be taken off allowing you to switch batteries by sliding them in and out. Here’s a rendered image on what it would look like based on “eyewitness testimony”

Source: http://www.androidheadlines.com/2016/01/lg-g5-rumored-to-have-a-removable-bottom.html

Latest Update:

Here’s a new render. As rumours are circulating that the G5 is to have a removable bottom, this left them having to sacrifice a few things. From the render, the G5 is set to lose their rear volume buttons and be fitted the usual side volume buttons.

At the bottom you could also see a USB-C port that is going to be the next norm. We’ll see if this is going to be true next week.

Source: Android Headlines

A leaked image for a casing by Spigen shows the back of the smartphone and tallies with the news that LG is getting rid of the rear volume buttons. Check it out here.

 Source: Android Headlines

Another leaked image of the front and back of the G5 was leaked by noneother than the famous Evan Blass. We thank you! 

Reported by Stuff, apparently someone in Dubai tried to sell a prototype of the device before the launch. They managed to take a screenshot of the ad and so far all the device matches most rumours.

Source: Stuff

DISPLAY

LG would most probably stick with a QHD display (2560x1440). Leaked specification points towards it having a 640ppi and being 5.3-inch in surface area.

Source: Evan Blass

Now apparently the G5 would also have a secondary display that will always be turned on, very much like their V10.

Source: Evan Blass, TalkAndroid

PROCESSOR

Last year they had to compromise by using the Snapdragon 808 instead as the Snapdragon 810 has heat issues. Qualcomm’s latest dragon seems cooler this time. All rumours now point to it being equipped with the Snapdragon 820.

Early Geekbench results even shows that it has the Galaxy S7 beaten in the single-core department. More on this here

This would be paired with 4GB of RAM.

CAMERA

Rear camera is said to have the same 16M shooter while there will be an 8MP front camera.

Another rumour indicated that the rear camera would actually be a 20MP sensor.

The things that can almost be confirmed would be the dual-flash, their trademark laser autofocus.

BATTERY

The G3 was known to be a battery juice guzzler (probably because of the screen resolution). They improved it a bit on the G4 but hopes are higher for the G5.

As the build material is expected to be full metal, the battery is sadly rumoured to be sized down to 2800 mAh from last year’s 3000 mAh.

Source: Stuff

New updates, one of Evan Blass' followers on twitter asked him regarding the size of the G5's battery and he responded saying that it will be 2800 mAh

Source: Android Headlines

This is interesting, a picture uploaded onto Weibo shows the creative solution that LG has came up regarding the issues of making G5's battery removable. It seems that the battery itself is joined to the bottom part of the smartphone. This looks like an elegant and visually appealing solution by LG.

Source: TheNextWeb

AUDIO

Looks like LG is not forgetting this aspect. They have collaborated with Bang & Olufsen to make the sound on the LG one of the best. 

Source: TalkAndroid

OTHER FEATURES

1)      ALWAYS ON SCREEN: First introduced on their V10 smartphone, it used a small second screen with lower resolution and presumably lower energy consumption for this.

2)       REMOVABLE BATTERY: Something that is going to be a rarity nowadays. LG is still cracking its head trying to get a design that still can incorporate this feature rated quite important by power users.

OTHER SOURCES:

microSD all but confirmed in the new leaked for the S7, along with a video too.

Out of all the latest leaks, I would say this is almost the clearest picture of the next Samsung flagship we'll see.

From Android Authority we have new images and even a video hands-on of the device itself. They also reported a few latest specs of the S7 which are IP68/67 rating, 12MP camera and a feature that will satisfy most power user, a microSD support.

This is seen in the picture below where you'll see that the sim tray for the phone has two slots, one for the sim and the other for a microSD card. Yahoo!

The only sad part would be that they reported the S7 would not be having a USB-C port :(

From the video, you'll get to see a snippet of the OS with Samsung's refined TouchWiz that comes with the phone. It seems pretty toned down and less bloated than previous versions which should be good and will satisfy many Android users.

Apart from that, there is an older image that popped up. This time it's from PCMag that shows the front and back of a gold S7.

If you like to know more about the S7 read up on it here.

Source: Android Authority, PCMag

Don't worry, the lack of headphone jack will make the iPhone "sound" better.

iPhone 7 Concept by Arthur Reis. Credits:Behance, Forbes

Here’s some iPhone rumours to dilute the amount of posts I’ve posted regarding the S7.

If you’ve been following the tech world, you are probably aware of the fact that Apple is said to consider removing the headphone jack altogether. Thus leaving the user to opt connect to the iPhone’s music through the Lightning connector or Bluetooth. 

So if you were wondering what would happened to the empty space left by the headphone jack then your question is now answered. According to an analyst at Barclays, that new available space will be occupied with an extra speaker. This would allow the iPhone to have a stereo sound compared to the lone speaker with current iPhones (The holes that you see next to the headphone jack are actually for the microphone).

To confirm it all, we just have to wait until the day of the launch for the next iPhone.

Source: The Independent

Samsung Galaxy S6/S6 Edge finally gets the Marshmallow

While it's almost a year to the point of which the Marshmallow is released, as least it came. Users of Samsung's current flagship will be happy to know that some of the S6/S6 Edge users have begun getting the update to Android's latest operating system

It took Samsung quite some time but it should be worth it for those with the S6 Edge variant as apparently they packed in a few new features.


The Edge panel which used to be limited to 260-pixel width is now expanded to 550 pixels wide allowing for bigger items to be displayed. The expanded space now can accomadate nine Edge panels as well as both People Edge and Apps Edge.

Another new feature added is the task edge that gives you the ability to create actions shortcuts and a Quick Tools Edge to things like rulers, compass and flashlight.

If it seems to take up too much screen space, you can also customise it to suit your personal preference.

This is all apart from the cool new features available on Marshmallow that are Doze, a battery saving feature, Google Now On Tap, and better control over App permissions.

So keep hitting that Check for Updates now and comment below if you have gotten your Marshmallow as well as things that you're loving/hating the new OS.

Source: TalkAndroid, Soyacincau

More leaked images of the S7 and S7 Edge

As we approach the launch day for Samsung, more images seems to get leaked.

I feel like Samsung doesn't even bother or mind to keep the design of their upandcoming smartphone under wraps.

Lately Evan Blass, the famous tech leaker, once again uploads pictures of the next flagship by Samsung on his Twitter account.

The pictures show that the S7 has the same design as the S6. Heck you probably can't really differentiate it from the front. For me this is not a problem as the S6 had an amazing design. Though there will be a few changes like the camera hump that will be reduced and there will be a USB-C port at the bottom.

In the first picture you can see all three supposedly colour options for the Samsung S7 Edge (Silver, Black, and Gold)

                                      

While in the second picture is the standard screen Samsung Galaxy S7

In addition, yes there's more,, a user from Weibo uploaded an image of the S7 Edge being turned on albeit being a bit blurry.

With all these leaked images out and about, some are saying that there's nothing more we could expect from the launch day itself but there's still excitement for me to see if all of these are confirmed as these new features seems to be quite a step forward for Samsung who I guess finally listened to their consumers.

For full report on the coming S7 flagship from Samsung, follow this post. 

Source: Techcrunch, Evan Blass

You'll get a Gear VR with a pre-order of a Galaxy S7/Edge, apparently.

As if the phone itself is not a draw magnet enough, Samsung seems to make it even more tempting for those planning on pre-ordering the coming Galaxy S7.

Get this, reported by Android World, Samsung is apparently offering a free Gear VR for those that pre-orders the phone within the first couple of weeks.

This has also been given the green light by famous leaker Evan Blass, who tweeted the link as true.

Virtual Reality (VR) is gaining speed day by day. With more manufacturer investing in this sector, it would be a surprise if this is going to be a big thing in the future.

Pre-orders are scheduled to open on February 21, 2016, the day of the launch itself.

If this is true, it would certainly be the final push needed for those on the edge of buying the S7. I know, cause I’m one of them J

Source: Stuff, @evleaks

LG G5 beats the S7 on Geekbench

One of the famous benchmark for smartphones performance is Geekbench. Now there's a new listing that is stirring interest. It looks like a device from LG, more specifically the up and coming LG G5.

LG G5 will come on the same date as the Galaxy S7 that seems to be a bold move from the people at LG. They'll be announcing it a few hours earlier than Samsung.

And now they seem to have an upperhand already. The test done on Geekbench shows that the LG G5 appears with a Snapdragon 820, 4GB RAM with Android 6.0.1 managed a single-core score of 2248 and a multi-score of 5061.

This beats the multi-core score by the Samsung Galaxy S7 with Snapdragon 820 that is 4979. Though Galaxy S7 beats the G5 in terms of single-core score with a result of 2282.

One good news for LG but it still hasn't been compared to the S7 with Samsung's own Exynos 8890 that is said to be more powerful.

Take in consideration though, all of these do not guarantee real-life performance.

Source: Techradar, Geekbench, Android Authority