Category: MOBILE

Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S24 FE this week, alongside two premium tablets. But is any one of them actually worth it? Let’s look at the phone first.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE starts at $650 and you can get up to $400 worth of trade-in credit. Additionally, you can pick up other FE gadgets, the Galaxy Watch FE and Galaxy Buds FE, at half price. We will have a look at the accessories in a moment.

The FE will receive 7 OS updates and 7 years of security patches. Will a device with 8GB of RAM and 128GB storage still be usable in 7 years? Who knows, Android is not as slim as it once was and it’s not getting any slimmer. Neither are all the apps.

The Samsung Galaxy S24+ also has a 6.7” display, but it’s a QHD+ LTPO panel versus an FHD+ non-LTPO display on the FE. And the Plus is actually a bit smaller and 17g lighter, despite having a battery that is 200mAh larger. The Plus also wins the charging race with 45W over a wire vs. 25W. Instead of the Exynos 2400e you will get a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and it comes with 12GB of RAM.

With no trade-in, the Galaxy S24+ gets a $200 discount so the base 12/256GB model drops to $800 – not that far off the 8/256GB S24 FE at $710. However, an old S21+ will fetch a $400 discount due to a promo campaign that boosts the trade-in value. That’s a worthwhile upgrade and a good price for a phone that’s three years old.

Samsung also has a certified refurbished program for its older models, but it doesn’t make too much sense – the Galaxy S23+ starts at $770 for an 8/256GB unit. However, the trade-in offer is even better here. Even old, cheap phones with cracked screens are valued at $300 – that’s how much you can get for a damaged Galaxy A13, for example. The S21+ is also valued at $300, it’s best if you have a cheap old device to send in.

Or you can grab a refurbished Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. The prices start at $920 and the trade-in offers aren’t as good, but a damaged Galaxy A13 will still get $150 credit, which is more than it’s worth. An S21+ in good condition can fetch $300.

We mentioned that you can get FE gadgets at 50% off if you buy them alongside the S24 FE. This includes the Samsung Galaxy Watch FE, which is normally priced at $200 for the Bluetooth model (currently it has a $20 discount). However, Samsung is also launching an LTE version of this watch, which is $250. Note that the Watch FE is available only in 40mm size. That isn’t a huge problem for what could be the main audience for a Galaxy Watch FE LTE – students who aren’t allowed to bring a smartphone to school.

You can also grab the Galaxy Buds FE, which are stemless, unlike the Galaxy Buds3 and Buds3 Pro. These are $100 (their MSRP) and we’ve certainly seen quite a few discounts for them, but $50 is a great price (when bought with the S24 FE).

If you do decide to go with a Galaxy S24 FE, here are some official cases to consider:

Samsung also introduced new flagship tablets, but only 12.4” and 14.6” models this time. Both use a Dimensity 9300+ chipset instead of a Snapdragon and have a heavy focus on AI – the optional keyboard cover even has a dedicated button for the Galaxy AI Assistant.

Speaking of, here is the Book Cover Keyboard Slim for the Galaxy Tab S10+ and Tab S10 Ultra.

We couldn’t find a good deal on last year’s Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra, but we did find a pretty cheap Galaxy Tab S9+. The upgrades for the 2024 generations are fairly minor. Samsung says that the Dimensity 9300+ has an 18% faster CPU, 28% faster GPU and 14% faster NPU. Not bad, but the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 inside the Tab S9 series is no slouch either.

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Samsung is having a bad day with leaks – first, it revealed the Galaxy Tab S10 pricing, then the Galaxy S24 FE pricing and now a promo video for the new tablets has surfaced.

The video shows off what should be familiar AI features by now – Circle to Search (with the S Pen, of course), AI image generation based on your doodles (again with the S Pen), there is now even an AI button on the keyboard cover (similar to the new Galaxy Book laptops). You can get a closer look at the AI button in these previously leaked images of the new keyboards.

Screengrabs from the Galaxy Tab S10 promo video

Just like the 2023 models, the new Galaxy Tab S10 slates will be dust and water resistant. They also support the usual second screen feature that lets you use the tablet as an additional screen for your Windows PC or laptop.

Here is the full video:

Tab S10 pic.twitter.com/LhOneWF3QE

— Arsène Lupin (@MysteryLupin) September 24, 2024

We mentioned the prices above, the Galaxy Tab S10+ will start at $1,000 (for a 256GB Wi-Fi slate) and the Tab S10 Ultra at $1,200 (also Wi-Fi 256GB). There will be 5G variants, of course, but their prices haven’t leaked yet. This year there will be no vanilla model.

Samsung hasn’t confirmed it officially, but the Galaxy Tab S10 tablets and the Galaxy S24 FE are expected to be unveiled on October 3 (that’s Thursday next week).

PS. Samsung India is already accepting pre-orders for the Galaxy S10 tablets, which is just a promo campaign that can net you a free charger.

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The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is the hottest story this week. We learned that it will be thinner than the Galaxy S24 Ultra at 8.2mm and that it will have thinner side bezels too – enough to outdo Apple’s latest iPhone 16 Pro Max.

We also learned the battery capacities of the S25 series – a 4,900mAh unit in the S25+ matches its predecessor, the S25 will have the same 4,000mAh unit as its predecessor, and unsurprisingly, the S25 Ultra will match the S24 Ultra’s 5,000mAh unit.

Xiaomi released official press renders of the Redmi Note 14 Pro and Pro+. The pair will launch in China next week. Both have curved displays and three-camera islands – the Pro with a dome glass design and the 14 with four separate lenses (one for the flash)

Apple unleashed iOS 18 to the masses. It supports a huge number of iPhones from the iPhone XR to the latest 16 units. iOS 18 brings a slew of features like the ability to change the look of your icons, put them anywhere you like on the homescreen, and much more.

The Infinix Zero 40 5G is official with a 144Hz OLED display and a Dimensity 8200 chipset. It will be available in India starting September 21 through Flipkart in 12GB/256GB and 12GB/512GB configurations, priced at INR27,999 ($335/€300) and INR30,999 ($370/€330), respectively.

The Android 15 update will come to Pixel devices on October 15. Google did hint that it’s possible for the date to change, though. Android 15 will be available for the Pixel 6 and newer devices. Hopefully with the delayed release (compared to AOSP), what comes out will be fully baked and devoid of any glaring issues.

Not long ago Beats decided to Kardashianize the Studo Pro headphones with some new colors, and today – coincidence or not – Sony is following suit. Only there’s no Kim Kardashian here, and we’re only getting one new color, not three.

Both the WH-1000XM5 over-ear headphones and the WF-1000XM5 true wireless earbuds are now being offered in pink. This seems to be true across regions, but the exact name of the new colorway will vary by locale for some reason. Rest assured that it is, however, the exact same pink everywhere.

The products are identical in every other respect to their non-pink siblings that have already been available for some years now. Sony’s marketing materials seem to be implying that this new color will attract more women towards its flagship headphones and earbuds, so that’s probably what the thinking was behind the scenes.

Sony WH-1000XM5 (left) and WF-1000XM5 (right) in pink

Whether that’s going to prove true or not, we’re just glad we’re getting a new hue for products that are generally not very excitingly colored. The pink 1000XM5s should go on sale at the same price as their non-pink versions.

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Have you ever been annoyed by receiving a ton of expired notifications on your Android tablet? You are not alone. However, with Android 15, Google is finally introducing a solution to the problem by syncing your notifications across devices.

Buried deep in Android 15 QPR1 Beta 1, Mishaal Rahman of Android Authority found evidence that Google is working on the said feature. It will allow you to sync notifications, so once you dismiss them on one device, they will disappear from the notification shade on your other Android devices assigned to your Google account.

Unfortunately, nothing is certain. We don’t know whether the feature will arrive with Android 15, in a later version or if at all. The good news is that if it arrives, it won’t be a Pixel-exclusive feature and will be available to all Android-running devices.

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Tecno unveiled its latest crop of foldabels today with the Phantom V Fold2 and V Flip2. With a starting price of $1,099, Phantom V Fold2 is one of the most affordable large-screen foldables and we’ll be taking a closer look at it ahead of our detailed review.

In terms of looks, V Fold2 is a big departure from last year’s Phantom V Fold – it’s both thinner (12mm folded and 6.1mm unfolded) and lighter (249 grams) than its predecessor which is immediately noticeable once you pick up the device.

Phantom V Flip2 (left) and Phantom V Flip (right)

V Fold2 features a much cleaner camera island, replacing the trypophobia-inducing look of last year’s V Fold.

Another neat design change on our review unit is the light blue vegan leather back which was developed alongside Loewe Design Studio. It feels great in the hand providing just enough grip while also feeling soft on your hands.

The displays are carried over from last year with a 6.42-inch panel (21.3:9 ratio) on the front and a 7.85-inch main screen (10.3:9 aspect) – both LTPO AMOLEDs with FHD+ resolution and 1-120Hz refresh rates. You also get the same Dimensity 9000+ chipset and 12GB RAM as standard.

Phantom V Flip2 cover and main screens

The other new bit is the added active stylus support via Phantom V Pen.

Tecno also added IP54 dust and splash resistance this time around which is always nice to see on a foldable. Even more impressively, Tecno fitted a 15% larger battery which now comes in at 5,750 mAh and it supports 70W wired charging – a nice bump up from the 5,000 mAh cell and 45W charging on its predecessor. You also get 15W wireless charging this time, which was missing on last year’s device.

Some quick words on the software – it’s Tecno’s HiOS 14 Fold based on Android 14 and brings a ton of AI features under the AI Vision suite. We have an in-depth article covering Tecno’s AI features which you can check out here.

Last but not least there’s a revamped triple camera setup with 50MP main, telephoto (2x optical zoom), and ultrawide sensors which we’re eager to test. That’s all we have for now, our Phantom V Fold2 review coming in due time.

Apple has never publicly revealed how much RAM its iPhones have, so we’re left waiting for teardowns usually in order to confirm the specific amounts. This time around, we might not have to. A new report from MacRumors, in partnership with iSWUpdates, tells us that all four iPhone 16 models, which were announced yesterday, boast 8GB of RAM.

That means the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max have kept the same amount their predecessors had, but the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus have 2GB more than the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus.

This probably explains why the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus won’t get the Apple Intelligence feature set, while the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will, when it lands in October.

The iPhone 16 family will become available for pre-order on Friday, September 13 and will be on sale on Friday, September 20.

The vanilla Google Pixel 9 and the flagship Pixel 9 Pro XL launched in late August, now in early September we welcome the other two members of the family – the small Pro and Google’s second generation foldable.

The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold costs the same as last year’s model, which is to say that it is not cheap. But few of the horizontal foldables are (and none that are available in the US).

For reference, here’s the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6. Another alternative available locally is the OnePlus Open, but that is almost a year old at this point, so you’d be better off waiting for the sequel.

Then there’s the Google Pixel 9 Pro – a relatively small flagship with the same high-end camera hardware as the Pro XL. It is larger than the Galaxy S24 and the iPhone 15 Pro, but with a 48MP 113mm periscope and 48MP ultra wide, it beats both, at least on paper. There is a 42MP ultra wide selfie camera too.

Of course, the vanilla Google Pixel 9 is very similar – same size, same Tensor G4 chipset, same main and ultra wide cameras (but no tele and a lower res selfie). The display isn’t an LTPO panel like on the Pro either. On the upside, the vanilla phone costs $200 less.

And here’s the large Pixel 9 Pro XL. It is essentially identical to the 9 Pro, except for screen size (6.8” vs. 6.3”) and battery (5,060mAh vs. 4,700mAh).

Apple recently dropped the price of the 2022 iPad to $300. That is for the 64GB model, of course, which can get pretty tight, depending on how you use it. And the 256GB version is quite pricey.

The older 2021 iPad (with Lightning instead of USB-C) is down to $200 for a 64GB slate.

If you prefer Android, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE is close in terms of pricing at $340. This buys you a 90Hz IPS LCD, not 60Hz like on the iPads, IP68 dust and water resistance and a microSD slot for easy storage expansion.

The Sonos Ace were unveiled recently. These are a comfy pair of over-ear headphones with Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and a transparency mode. The unique feature here is called TV Audio Swap – if you have a Sonos Arc soundbar, you can easily send the TV audio wirelessly to the headphones (complete with spatial audio).

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Oppo’s next book-style foldable is coming soon, according to a now-deleted post by prolific Chinese leakster Digital Chat Station. This will be called Find N5 and it will be the successor to the Find N3 from last October.

The company will skip “4” most likely because of tetraphobia. The Find N5 will be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 4. It will have a “2K+” inner folding screen, a 50 MP main camera using a Sony sensor, a periscope telephoto camera as well, and a circular camera island.

Oppo Find N3

The phone will be just over 9mm thick, which makes it very close to Honor’s Magic V3, the current record holder for world’s thinnest foldable smartphone. Whether the Find N5 can snatch its title remains to be seen, but even if it doesn’t, under-10mm thickness for a foldable is still very impressive.

The Find N5 is also rumored to have improved water resistance (its predecessor was only IPX4 rated for splash resistance), and a three-stage alert slider. The Find N5 is allegedly due to be released between January and March. It is likely to be launched only in China, and arrive in international markets rebranded as OnePlus Open 2, in which case all of the above information obviously also applies to that model.

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After dominating for two weeks, Google’s Pixel 9 lineup lost its top position in our trending chart. The Samsung Galaxy A55 returns to the lead, ahead of the Galaxy S24 Ultra, while the Pixel 9 Pro XL retained its third spot.

The champion from the past two weeks – the Pixel 9 Pro is now down to fourth, while the Redmi Note 13 Pro rounds up the top half of this installment.

Google Pixel 9 Pro

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Samsung Galaxy A15 is sixth this time around, while the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max climbs back up to seventh position.

The Redmi Note 13 is now eight, while the vanilla Pixel 9 slips to ninth spot and may be on its way out of the top 10.

Samsung Galaxy A35 completes the Week 35 trending chart, meaning that the iQOO Z9s Pro misses out this time around.