Samsung’s Oreo beta for the Galaxy S8 and S8+ is officially ending on Jan 26th

Samsung has been testing Android 8.0 Oreo in a public beta for the Galaxy S8 and S8+ since last November and it's been a fun ride. After 7 updates and rumors that the most recent beta — builds G950U1UEU2ZRAE for the S8 and G955U1UEU2ZRAE for the S8+ — would be the last, Samsung is now sending a notification to beta users letting them know that the program is, in fact, officially coming to an end.

According to notification, the Samsung Beta Experience 9.0 will officially be ending on January 26th. Once the beta has drawn to a close, there will be no further beta updates and Samsung says they'll no longer be responding to beta feedback. So where does that leave beta users?

 

Well, you now have to wait until the official Android 8.0 Oreo + Samsung Experience 9.0 software update is ready for the devices, something that hopefully wont take much longer considering all the feedback Samsung has received along the way. The beta program included T-Mobile, Sprint, and unlocked devices, so it's possible they could be first in line to roll out the update. Stay tuned!

via Droid-Life

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New images show off the Xiaomi Mi 6X and its familiar camera bump

Xiaomi is one of those companies which is most intriguing to someone like me, as the company offers extremely excellent options, although these devices almost never are readily available in the US. Sure, you can go through the likes of Gearbest or eBay to pick up these devices, but Xiaomi has never released a smartphone here in the States.

Nonetheless, the company continues to churn out new options on a regular basis, and a new leak shows off the upcoming Xiaomi Mi 6X in a series of images. These images show off the new 2:1 display, which could measure in around 6-inches, but we don't know if this will be an OLED panel or something else.

The images also show off the rear of the Mi 6X, which features a rather familiar camera bump, a la the iPhone X. The dual-camera setup has been oriented vertically, with the LED flash placed in between the two sensors. It's unknown just how thick this camera bump is, but it's sure to rattle back and forth on your desk regardless.

As expected, there is also a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, which is placed in the center for optimal quick-unlocking. Other rumored specs for the Mi 6X include the Xiaomi Surge S2 processor, which could be coupled with either 3GB or 4GB of RAM.

It's possible that the Xiaomi Mi 6X could be unveiled at MWC 2018, so we'll be keeping an eye on TENAA to see if the device passes through certifications anytime soon.

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Robinhood brings zero-fee crypto trading to the forefront

Over the last few months, you have more than likely been hearing about "Bitcoin" and "cyptocurrency", but the entire space is a bit confusing for the uninitiated. Thankfully, due to the increasing popularity of cyrptocurrency, we are seeing more apps hit the Play Store, but an old friend is joining the space.

Robinhood is a popular stock trading application which has made life extremely easy for those who want to invest in stocks, without worrying about the hustle and bustle of Wall Street. Today, the company announced that it will soon be bringing crypto-trading to its application.

What makes this announcement even more exciting is the fact that there will be no fees attached to trading your various cryptocurrencies. This is a big blow to Coinbase, which primarily specializes in Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum, but also includes up to a 4% fee when trading or cashing in your crypto of choice.

While trading is not available in the Robinhood app as of yet, the app has now been updated with the ability to track up to 16 different cryptocurrencies including the Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, and Ripple. Here is the full list of crypto coins that you can track with Robinhood:

• Bitcoin
• Bitcoin Cash
• Bitcoin Gold
• Ethereum
• Ethereum Classic
• Litecoin
• Ripple
• Zcash
• Monero
• Dash
• Stellar
• Qtum
• OmiseGo
• NEO
• Lisk
• Dogecoin

There is a bit of a catch here, as Robinhood will limit trading of Bitcoin and Ethereum to just California, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montan, and New Hampshire when its crypto-trading feature arrives. Speaking, there is currently a waitlist over at the Robinhood Crypto landing page for those who are looking to get "Early Access" ahead of the official launch of crypto-trading via Robinhood in February.

At the very least, if you want to check out the updated Robinhood app, hit the button below and let us know what you think about cryptocurrencies.

Download Robinhood

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LG’s mobile division posts another loss for Q4 2017

The last few years have not been too kind to LG as the company has struggled to keep up with the competition, being completely overshadowed by Samsung year-after-year. This is even more apparent in 2017, as LG has shared its Q4 2017 financial results, showing that the mobile division had an operating loss of $192.33 million.

At first glance, you are likely expecting for me to spell out the demise of LG, but if you look at the latest financial results compared to Q3 2017, LG has rebounded quite nicely. In Q3, the company posted an operating loss of $331.37 million, so essentially LG has shaved its losses by almost $150 million in just a quarter.

The positive outlook on LG's mobile division from Q4 2017 was driven by the release of the LG V30, which saw many different deals during the holidays as it competed against the more-expensive Samsung Galaxy Note 8. Looking to the future, things are looking a bit bleaker as LG has not only scrapped its plans for the LG G7, but the company is opting to delay the launch of a modified LG V30 due to Samsung's presence at MWC 2018.

2018 is going to be extremely interesting for LG, as the company has decided to end the rat-race of following a specific release schedule for its flagship lineup of devices. Instead, the company will be releasing new devices "when necessary", which could either help boost the company even more or could spell disaster.

Let us know what you think about the company's financial results and if you are looking forward to seeing what LG is working on for 2018.

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Registration for Google I/O 2018 opens on February 22nd

A couple of nights ago, Google released its teaser for Google I/O 2018, where the company wanted everyone to play a game to figure out the date and location of the latest developer conference. The game was pretty fun, and we learned that I/O 2018 will again be held at the Shoreline Amphitheater for the third straight year, taking place on May 8th.

At the time, we weren't sure of when registrations for the event would open, and if Google would be changing the way that folks are invited to the event. It seems that won't be the case, although the Google Developers Google+ account shared that you will be able to "apply to purchase a ticket" starting on February 22nd.

This registration period will last from the 22nd until February 27th, although pricing for the tickets was not shared at this time. As has been the case for the last few years, we are expecting Google to select attendees via lottery, meaning that unless you are specifically selected, you will be left out of the fun.

While Google Assistant and Android 9.0 (Pineapple?) will be at the forefront, Google has yet to really share much of what's going to be shown off at the conference as of yet. Of course, we'll be learning more in the coming weeks and months, and we'll be sure to keep everyone updated as more information becomes available.

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The Samsung Galaxy S9 will be revealed on February 25th

The time has come. Well, the time is coming. The device that will dominate the Android world in 2018 is exactly one month away. Samsung will officially unveil the Samsung Galaxy S9 on February 25th at Mobile World Congress. Get ready.

Samsung sent out an announcement teaser with one clue about what we can expect. The big "9" logo is flanked by the phrase "The Camera. Reimagined." So, obviously, the camera will be a big area of focus on the Galaxy S9. This is interesting because Samsung already makes probably the second best camera you can get on a smartphone (just behind the Pixel 2). Clearly, second place isn't good enough.

They could be referring to the variable aperture camera that they've started shipping on the crazy W2018 flip phone. It actually has real aperture blades that open and close to match light levels like a legit camera. In well-lit scenarios, you get a f/2.4 aperture, but it can switch to f/1.5 in low-light. By comparison, the Samsung Galaxy S8 camera is locked at f/1.7 all the time.

Mobile World Congress should be very exciting now that we know Samsung will be there. Expect the Galaxy S9 to launch sometime in March.

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JDI creates transparent fingerprint sensors that wont get in the way of the display

Chamfered edges are so 2015. Right now the current trend in mobile design are phones with displays that have painfully small bezels. Sparked by early leaks of the iPhone X, manufacturers the world over are doing anything they can to eliminate the bezel on their flagship devices, even at the cost of front facing fingerprint sensors.

On Android devices this isn't so much of a big of a deal, as rear facing sensors are pretty commonplace. Without getting into the debate of front vs rear fingerprint sensors (I still believe front is best) we're starting to see new options for manufacturers who want the best of both worlds: bezel-less displays and a front facing fingerprint sensors.

JDI has come up with an interesting solution. They've built a transparent fingerprint sensor based on their Pixel Eyes capacitive touch technology. This is built into the the glass substrate of the LCD panel, where the fingerprint sensor rests on top. Since it's transparent, there's nothing getting in the way of the display and the sensor is accurate enough to detect the ridges of your prints.

This is in contrast to the Synaptics fingerprint sensor that we saw in the Vivo X20 which is built underneath the display. JDI's sensor is set to being shipping next March with plans to also introduce flexible sensors. Whether we see these eventually make their way into devices we'll be using here in the states remains to be seen.

Japan Display Inc. | via GSMArena

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