latest
[Update: Launched in Korea] LG is making a new tablet with a 10.1" FHD screen and a 3 year old processor
The LG G Pad 5 has appeared online with a 10.1" FHD display, Android 9 Pie, and a 3 year old processor - the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821.
Google wants you to believe that Android tablets are thriving. In a recent blog post, the company said that there are over 175 million Android certified tablets. That number seems large, but I bet it mostly stems from budget and mid-range tablets since the flagship tablet market is basically on life support with Samsung being the only major player even bothering to compete with the Apple iPad. The Android tablet market is thus no stranger to new tablets being released with outdated hardware, so I'm not surprised to see that LG is looking to release a new tablet of its own with a years-old processor. The LG G Pad 5 is coming, and while its specifications are nothing to write home about, we hope its pricing will be.
[Update: Official] LG Q9 to launch soon as a rebranded LG G7 Fit
It looks as if we're currently seeing LG rebranding one of their previously released phones, the LG G7 Fit and giving it a new name as the LG Q9.
As sad as it is, it's common for smartphone OEMs to take previously released phones and launch them again under a different name. Sometimes there are specific circumstances for this practice. For instance, some companies have a unique brand in certain regions. Therefore it makes sense for them to take a phone they are already selling in other countries and slap the region-specific brand name on it. It helps to reduce cost, resources, time, and really only adds more work to the marketing department. It looks as if we're currently seeing LG rebranding one of their previously released phones, the LG G7 Fit, and giving it a new name as the LG Q9.
Testing Fortnite Mobile on Android's performance: Can your device handle Fortnite?
Fortnite Mobile on Android is here for devices with the Snapdragon 820/821, 835, 845, & Kirin 970. We tested the game's performance!
Just as Epic Games promised would happen, the free-to-play battle royale game 'Fortnite' finally became available last week. For the first 3 days of its release, the game was limited the Samsung Galaxy S7, Galaxy S8, Galaxy S9, Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy Note 9, Galaxy Tab S3, and Galaxy Tab S4. We expected a much longer exclusivity period, possibly limited to just the Note 9 and Galaxy Tab S4, but it turns out the exclusive content is just a free skin and 15,000 V-Bucks (the in-game currency.) Now that the game is officially available for non-Samsung devices, we decided to do some quick gameplay tests on as many supported devices as we could and capture the performance data thanks to help from our friends at GameBench. We tested several devices with most of the supported chipsets—that being the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821, Snapdragon 835, Snapdragon 845, Kirin 970, and Exynos 8895—just to get a feel for how well Fortnite Mobile on Android performs on most current Android smartphones.
How to check if your Android phone is powerful enough to run Fortnite Mobile
Are you wondering if your Android smartphone or tablet is powerful enough to run Fortnite Mobile? We have the detailed hardware compatibility list to check!
Fortnite, the massively popular free-to-play battle royale game, is coming soon to Android. Epic Games said the game would launch this summer but we now know that the game will likely launch as an exclusive on the Samsung Galaxy Note 9. It won't be on the Google Play Store (but possibly on Samsung Galaxy Apps) as the game will be distributed from Epic Games' website. If you're wondering whether your Android smartphone or tablet is powerful enough to run Fortnite Mobile on Android, we have put together a comprehensive list of software and hardware requirements based on a configuration file we obtained from a leaked build of the Android app.
How EAS helps make the Google Pixel the fastest Android phone
The Google Pixel smartphones are among the fastest Android phones on the market. Energy Aware Scheduling (EAS) is partly why the phone is so smooth.
Far back in the past when Linux was just an idea in the mind of Linus Torvalds, CPUs were single-core entities which required an immense amount of energy for little power. The first ever commercially available processor, the Intel 4004, ran at a clock-rate of 740kHz on a single core. Back then, there was no need for a load scheduler. Load scheduling was reserved for the dual-core "behemoths" such as the IBM Power 4 which came out some decades after. These ran at a beastly 1.1GHz to 1.9GHz and required programs and the system to utilize these cores correctly. How did we get from these machines to software algorithms that make use of multiple cores? You may have heard of Energy Aware Scheduling (EAS) on our forums before. It's part of the reason why the Google Pixel smartphones perform so well. What's so great about EAS and how did we even get to this point? Before we can explain that, we need to talk about Linux load schedulers.
Google Camera HDR+ Port Updated with Zero Shutter Lag, More Xiaomi Device Support, and Major Bug Fixes
Google Camera port with HDR+ for Snapdragon 820, 821, and 835 devices updated with Zero Shutter Lag, more Xiaomi device compatibility, and bug fixes.
As we reported earlier this month, Google Camera was ported with working HDR+ to any devices that used a Snapdragon 820/821 or 835 chip (with the exception of the ZTE Axon 7, according to reports from other users). It has also been reported to work on certain Snapdragon 4XX or 6XX devices such as the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 and the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4, though this requires the devices to have the Camera2 API enabled. Since the initial, rather buggy release, the Google Camera port has received updates to fix major bugs, bring more Xiaomi devices on board, and has also introduced Zero Shutter Lag for automatic HDR+ mode.
Google Camera with HDR+ Ported to Snapdragon 820/821 and 835 Devices
Google Camera with HDR+ has been ported to any device with the Snapdragon 820, 821, or 835. Works with LG G6, OnePlus 5, Samsung Galaxy S8, and more!
Despite the lavish praise the Google Nexus line received thanks to its openness to development, the smartphones have received much criticism for their camera prowess. That changed (though some would argue it hasn't) with the release of the Google Pixel and Pixel XL, however, as Google took a more consumer directed approach to their smartphones and the results showed in the camera department with the smartphones receiving top tier scores from DxOMark. Part of Google's more recent success with picture quality has been thanks to their amazing HDR+ technology that is exclusive to their smartphones. For the average user, HDR+ presents an incredibly easy way to produce stunning photographs without the need to learn manual photography or edit RAW images. And now, you can take advantage of Google Camera's HDR+ thanks to a modified version of the APK ported to work on any device with the Hexagon 680 ISP (found on the Snapdragon 820, 821, and 835 SoCs).
Xiaomi Mi Note 2 XDA Review: A Capable Flagship and a Solid First Step Onto the World Stage
Check out XDA's extremely in-depth Xiaomi Mi Note 2 review and learn how it compares to similarly priced phones. Did Xiaomi make the right move?
Xiaomi’s worldwide launch has been heralded for years, and with the Xiaomi Mi Note 2 it looks like the final pieces are falling into place. As Xiaomi’s first flagship phone to offer a model with worldwide frequency band support, the Mi Note 2 offers an exciting look into what we can expect from Xiaomi as they continue to expand internationally.