First Leaked Photos with a Supposedly Real iPhone 6 Turned On

TMZ, the celebrity gossip blog, of all places, has posted some photos with a supposedly working and assembled iPhone 6.

The next-generation device is handled on camera, turned upside down and taken out the box for the first time. To an iOS device user , there a few small details that look wrong and may prove the pictures or the device itself is fake. TMZ believes these are pictures of an iPhone 6 because they were told the phone was smuggle out of Foxconn factory in China. Foxconn is the traditional Apple partner and the tech giant works with them to manufacture most of their devices. The TMZ blog post says the iPhone 6 was taken from the factory by a guy who used to work in the hardware design department. The casing looks similar to other iPhone parts we've seen so far.

The strangest bit of information comes towards the end of their tip: "It's not running an authentic Apple iOS, which is SOP during the development stage for security purposes". Apple actually runs iOS on all their devices, whether it is iOS 7 or a beta version of iOS 8. One of the pictures, has the Assistive Touch function ON and that is presents two important signs that it may be fake: the date - August 13 is written in a different font. Also, the Assistive Touch buttons on the home screen do not match the shape and look of the iOS 8 ones, but the ones for an earlier version of iOS, which is unlikely to be installed on an iPhone 6.

iPhone 6
Image credits to tmz.com

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Meizu MX4 Specs Leak Online Along with First Live Photo

Chinese OEM Meizu is expected to reveal its next flagship smartphone in the next couple of weeks, perhaps sooner. Luckily, a new wave of leaks have just flooded Weibo, the Chinese version of Facebook, which hint to some of the specs Meizu fans should expect from the upcoming handset.

In fact, according to these rumors, Meizu is likely to announce no less than 4 new products along with the MX4, though some are tipped to be variations of its flagship smartphone. As GizChina points out, Meizu is likely to launch a mid-range Android smartphone, the MX3S, as well as three different MX4 models, which will be priced differently according to their specs sheet. This means that we will have three different versions of MX4 available on the market at some point, each with different specs sheets and price tags. The bad news is that Meizu’s products are rarely available for purchase outside China. The company recently entered some European markets, but it’s unclear whether or not its smartphones sold well among Android fans in Europe.

Either way, there’s a chance that we might see some of these MX4 models being released in more regions, other than China. Until then though, let’s see what the smartphone is likely to bring on the table in terms of hardware configuration. Well, it appears that the previous rumors claiming the Meizu MX4 will boast a stunning 5.4-inch display were accurate, as the recent leaks report the same size for the smartphone’s screen. However, while the standard version of MX4 will come with support for full HD (1080p) resolution, the MX4 Pro, one of the three variants of the phone, will pack an incredible QHD display that would offer a 2560 x 1535 pixels resolution.

Furthermore, the MX4 Pro will be equipped with a powerful Samsung Exynos 5433 chipset, while the other two versions may feature Exynos 5430 or MediaTek MT6595 processors inside. All versions of Meizu MX4 are likely to pack 3GB of RAM and will run Flyme 4.0, which is based on the latest version of Android. Word is that the Chinese company also plans to include dual ES9018MK2 Hi-Fi audio decoder chip in all three Meizu MX4 models in order to boost their multimedia capabilities and differentiate their device from others in the same range. We expect more details on the MX4 to continue to emerge in the next few weeks, so stay tuned for more details on the matter. Keep in mind that Meizu may reveal the MX4 on September 2.

Meizu MX4
Image credits to Weibo

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Moto X+1, Moto G2 to Go Official at Motorola’s September 4 Press Event

Mobile phone maker Motorola is getting ready for the release of successors for its Moto X and Moto G devices, and chances are that these smartphones will go official on September 4.

 The handset vendor has started to send invitations to a press event that will take place on that day, and it appears to be hinting at the release of two smartphones, which should be accompanied by a series of accessories and wearables as well, as droid-life notes. While no confirmation on the aforementioned two handsets has been provided as of now, the vendor has been rumored for a long time to plan on making them official before the end of this year, and chances are that said reports will indeed pan out early next month.

At the same time, we should note that the company is expected to launch the successor of Moto X under the name of Moto X+1 and to pack it with a 5-inch or larger touchscreen, as well as with a full set of high-end hardware capabilities. As for the successor of Moto G, it should be released as Moto G2, while expected to prove a mid-range device, thus featuring better hardware when compared to the current phone.

Motorola to host press event on September 4, Moto X+1 and Moto G2 expected
Image credits to droid-life

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BlackBerry Classic Specs Spotted in Benchmark: 1.5GHz Dual-Core CPU, 2GB RAM

BlackBerry Classic, one of the upcoming smartphones to be launched by the Canadian company, is still a mystery when it comes with hardware configuration.

The company’s CEO John Chen confirmed that the smartphone will be launched this year, but did not share too many details regarding the Classic’s specs sheet. Well, not anymore. The folks over at N4BB have just spotted the smartphone’s benchmark scores, along with some of its specs in Geekbench Browser’s database. According to these results, BlackBerry Classic will be powered by dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor clocked at 1.5GHz, as well as 2GB of RAM. These are the same specs as the BlackBerry Z10, but the Classic seems to have achieved a better score than the former.

While the BlackBerry Z10 has been listed with a score of 453, the Classic managed to hit 500 points in Geekbench Browser benchmark. The reasons are unknown for the moment, but more details on the phone’s specs could shed some light on this one. BlackBerry Classic is the spiritual successor of the Q10, which means it will pack a full QWERTY keyboard. The smartphone is expected to arrive on the market sometime in November, but an exact release date has yet to be announced.

BlackBerry Classic
Image credits to BlackBerry

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Nexus 6 Specs Leaks: 5.2-Inch QHD Display, Snapdragon 805 CPU, 3GB RAM

The previously thought to be canceled Nexus 6 has just been spotted online in a benchmark’s database, along with some of its specs. We reported yesterday that the smartphone appeared in GFXBench as Motorola Shamu, but apart from its performance score, no other details on the device were made available.

However, it looks like Dutch blog TechTastic uncovered the specs of the device that’s been listed in GFXBench’s database as Nexus 6, so we now know what to expect from Google’s next flagship smartphone. For those unaware, Google was previously rumored to have canceled the Nexus lineup of smartphones, and some sources claimed the search giant might have replaced it with the new Silver series. Soon after these speculations hit the Internet, several Google officials denied that the company had decided to cancel the Nexus lineup and that a new device would be launched, as expected, this fall, along with the next version of Android. The problem is that we still don’t know which company will manufacture the next Nexus smartphone. Google worked with LG, Samsung and HTC in the past, but now it appears that the search giant is going to pick one of the not-so-successful handset makers.

We’re talking about Motorola, the company purchased by Google and then sold to Lenovo. Even though the US-based handset maker had a rough start this year, according to the latest financial results, Motorola made a lot of money from Moto G and Moto E sales. Regardless of the reasons, there’s a high chance that Motorola will produce the next Nexus device, which was recently spotted in GFXBench and seems to pack lots of top-tier specs. First of all, the alleged Nexus 6 has been listed with a 5.2-inch QHD display that supports 1440 x 2560 pixels resolution. At the heart of the flagship smartphone, there’s an incredible quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor clocked at 2.7GHz.

The phone’s powerful CPU is complemented by a no less impressive Adreno 420 graphics processing unit and 3GB of RAM. The smartphone also packs 32GB of internal memory, but only 24GB will be available to use, while the rest will be occupied by the Android L operating system On the back, the Nexus 6 will boast a 12-megapixel photo snapper with autofocus, LED flash and 4K video recording. In the front, the handset will pack a standard 2-megapixel camera for selfies and video calls. The Nexus 6 is expected to arrive around the same time Google announces Android L, which means we should expect it this fall.

Nexus 6 benchmark results
Image credits to GFXBench

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Samsung Galaxy Alpha Officially Introduced with 4.7-Inch Display, Octa-Core CPU

Samsung has just taken the wraps off the long-time-rumored Galaxy Alpha. The smartphone has been confirmed to arrive in more than 150 countries beginning September, but no details on price tag have been shared yet.

Little information has been offered on the phone’s specs as well, though Samsung is calling the Galaxy Alpha a series, which means there will be other handsets with the same branding launched in the not so distant future. For the time being, we know Samsung Galaxy Alpha will be released in five color options, so customers will be able to choose from White, Black, Gold, Silver and Blue. Samsung Galaxy Alpha looks almost identical to the Galaxy S5, but it’s slightly smaller and features a metallic body. Basically, this is the device that everyone was expecting when Samsung announced the Galaxy S5, minus the specs. In this regard, the Galaxy Alpha has been confirmed to sport a 4.7-inch Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen display that supports HD (720p) resolution.

On the inside, the handset is equipped with an Exynos 5 octa-core chipset and a hexa-core Mali-T268 graphics processing unit, as well as 2GB of RAM. The smartphone also packs 32GB of storage, but for the time being we don’t have any confirmation that the phone will also pack microSD card slot for memory expansion, so for now we assume the Galaxy Alpha lacks this feature. On the back, the Galaxy Alpha has been confirmed to boast a 12-megapixel photo snapper with autofocus, LED flash and full HD (1080p) video recording, while in the front there’s a secondary 2.1-megapixel camera for video calls and selfies. Software-wise, Samsung Galaxy Alpha will ship with Android 4.4.4 KitKat operating system out of the box, but that’s no surprise given the fact that it’s a premium smartphone.

The smartphone is only 6.7mm thin and weighs 115g (battery included), which makes it a lot sleeker and lighter than the Galaxy S5. Samsung also announced that the Galaxy Alpha would offer LTE-A support and it will be powered by an 1860 mAh battery that features Ultra Power Saving Mode that should offer better energy efficiency. We’re still waiting for Samsung to release more details on the Galaxy Alpha, but for now this is all the info the South Korean company was willing to share with its fans. How do you fancy the new Galaxy Alpha that has just been unveiled by Samsung? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section. UK-based retailer Clove is selling the Galaxy Alpha Prime for no less than £500 (€630 / $840) outright, so there you have it.

Samsung Galaxy Alpha (click for larger image)
Images credits to Samsung Mobile

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AMD Tonga GPU Has 2,048 Cores, but Radeon R9 285 Won't Use Them

Advanced Micro Devices may have launched the FirePro W-Series professional graphics cards, but that doesn't really help everyone who was rooting for a new “normal” video board. It doesn't really help that the Sunnyvale, California-based company is supposed to have prepared a new GPU called Tonga.

However, it turns out that AMD did release some information on this particular graphics processing unit. It was sent out to some web entities at the same time as the Quadro W press kit. Apparently, the W7100 is powered by the Tonga graphics chip, the same GPU said to be at the heart of the AMD Radeon R9 285. We didn't immediately spot this because the W7100 chip only has 28 of the 32 compute units active, meaning that it uses only 1,792 stream processors instead of the full 2,048. Which brings us to the main topic: the core count has been confirmed. There are 2,048 Graphics Corenext 1.1 stream processors in the Tonga GPU, distributed across 32 CUs. There are 128 texture mapping units as well, TMUs for short, plus a memory interface of 256 bits, which goes well with the 2 GB of the Radeon R9 285. Same for the 8 GB of the W7100.

Most of this information is corroborated by the block diagram in the picture up on the right. You can see there the 256-bit interface, the 32 ROPs (raster operating units), the TrueAudio DSP, and even a modern XDMA CrossFire interface. This does bring up another point though: contrary to our assumptions about the Radeon R9 285, the board probably won't have all 2,048 SPs activated. Instead, it will use only 1,792, like the Quadro W7100. Even so, though, it should be able to match the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 in terms of performance, power use, and price ($230 - $250 / €230 - €250). That only leaves the question of what consumer video board will use the Tonga at full power. So far, we've only heard about the Radeon R9 285, but if this latest report is true and AMD could make a much stronger adapter based on it, we can't dismiss the odds of a Radeon R9 285X or some other X-branded model. Such a card would probably also have 4 GB of GDDR5 instead of 2 GB.

We can only wait and see at this point. And the wait probably won't be too short. AMD isn't going to have a visible presence at IFA 2014, in early September, so we can already discount a back-to-school high-end video card release.

AMD Tonga GPU diagram
Image credits to VideoCardz

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OnePlus One Receiving Android 4.4.4 KitKat Update, Brings Bug Fixes and Improvements

Good news for the lucky owners of the OnePlus One, as the company has just announced the highly-anticipated Android 4.4.4 KitKat upgrade is now available for download via OTA (over the air).

Aside from the usual bug fixes and improvements included in the Android 4.4.4 KitKat update, the file also includes some specific improvements and new features for the OnePlus One. According to the official changelog, the folks selling the OnePlus One have addressed lots of bugs that affected the smartphone since its launch back in June. Speaking of which, those who are not aware, OnePlus One ships with Android 4.4.2 KitKat operating system out of the box and can exclusively be purchased on an invite-only basis. This means that, if you don’t receive an invitation, you can’t purchase the high-end smartphone, which is now available for $300 (€225) outright.

Anyway, here are some of the most important new features, improvements and bug fixes included in the Android 4.4.4 KitKat update for OnePlus One:

• Updated to new versions of Google apps;
• Added Clear Image;
• Added new (colder) calibration for the screen;
• Proximity sensor prevents activation of off-screen gestures while in your pocket;
• Capacitive touch keys supported in the recovery mode;
• Increased capacitive button illumination;
• Improved overall stability;
• Fixed issues with vibration being disabled during Quiet Hours;
• Fixed lockscreen not updating the track information during music playback;
• Fixed microphone volume for all formats in the Voice Recorder app;
• Fixed “OK, Google” not triggering voice search in Google Now;
• Fixed Viber calls not working;
• Fixed battery percent not updating in custom lock screens;
• Fixed PicasaSync;
• Fixed Camera “O” gesture activating lockscreen instead of triggering camera;
• Fixed wallpapers not applying in full screen, taking the wrong size when cropping, etc.

Aside from the changes listed above, the folks over at AndroidPolice found a few more improvements that haven’t been mentioned in the changelog. For example, the speaker volume is now much better during calls. The mobile data icon that was displaying 4G has been replaced with the LTE symbol. The dialer application has been redesigned as well, but this is part of the Android 4.4.3/4.4.4 KitKat upgrade anyway. OnePlus One owners will now be able to search in Settings as well. Last but not least, the microphone’s sensitivity while using voice commands has been enhanced considerably. If you noticed any other improvements or new features, don’t hesitate to share the news with us in the comments section.

OnePlus One
Image credits to OnePlus Tech

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More Samsung Galaxy Alpha Photos Leak Ahead of Official Announcement

On August 13, South Korean mobile phone maker Samsung Electronics should make official a new Android-based handset, most probably the first device in its Galaxy lineup to sport a metallic body, namely the Samsung Galaxy Alpha, and some newly leaked photos with it are now available.

As it turns out, the phone won’t be made entirely out of metal, but will sport only a metallic frame, with a glass front and a plastic back plate (which is now said to be identical with the one present on Galaxy S5). The newly leaked images with the smartphone, available courtesy of hi-tech.mail.ru, show that the smartphone will arrive on shelves with a metal nano SIM card slot that can be ejected, something that no other Samsung handset features at the moment. One of the new images also shows the AnTuTu 4 score of the new device, suggesting that it would be more powerful when compared to the latest flagship devices out there, such as HTC One (M8) or the Galaxy S5.

The newly rumored specs list of the device matches the previous reports on the matter, suggesting Samsung would pack it with a 1.8GHz octa-core Exynos 5 Octa chipset and with hexa-core Mali-T628 GPU. The upcoming mobile device is also expected to sport 2GB of RAM, a 4.7-inch HD screen, a 12-megapixel rear camera, and a 2MP front camera, while being powered by an 1850mAh battery. Galaxy Alpha should run under Android 4.4 KitKat from the start.

Samsung Galaxy Alpha
Images credits to hi-tech.mail.ru

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Nexus 8’s Tegra K1 “Denver” Processor Has Been Announced

Talk about the upcoming HTC Nexus 8 tablet has resurfaced these days, as the slate has been spotted in a few leaks.

The device is expected to arrive with an NVIDIA Tegra 64-bit processor, and coincidentally, on Monday NVIDIA unveiled what’s being touted as the “first 64-bit ARM processor for Android” called K1 “Denver.” The SoC will consist of a dual-core CPU with the same 192-unit graphic processor that can be found in the current 32-bit version. But the 32-bit SoC has a quad-core CPU, instead. During the official announcement, the company didn't say anything about HTC or Google, but it did say “Project Denver” would land into several “amazing” mobile devices” in order to preserve the mystery.

Despite early positive feedback, NVIDIA didn't manage to achieve high popularity with its Tegra 4 and Tegra K1 chips, apparently due to power management and performance issues. This problem reflects in adoption, so for now the 32-bit Tegra K1 has been spotted only in the company’s own Shield tablet, the Xiaomi MiPad and Acer’s Chromebook 13. Apart from the highly anticipated Nexus 8 tablet, Google’s “Project Tango” tablet development kit might also take advantage of the 64-bit Denver platform.

Project Denver might power the Nexus 8
Image credits to NVIDIA

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