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[Update: For real this time] Android 8.1 Oreo rolling out to Moto G5S Plus

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... Remember the Moto G5S Plus , the strangely-named almost-flagship that debuted about nine months ago? We haven't heard much about it for a while, but according to Motorola's support page, it's now receiving its Android 8.1 Oreo update. That means that it's skipping 8.0 Oreo, which comes as something of a surprise given Lenovorola's update reputation. The support page is pretty generic for the most part, not listing any specific features aside from a June 2018 security patch. But as with any Oreo update, it brings Instant Apps, picture-in-picture, smart text selection, as well as various 8.1 Oreo revisions like a new power menu and a different look for the quick settings. After taking my G5S Plus out of the drawer and charging it up to 30% so that it would install the several security updates it had available, I didn't have the 8.1 Oreo update available. If you have one of these phones, let us know in the comments if you'v

Huawei Mate 20 X, Mate 20 Pro release date and prices listed here

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Next to the Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, the Huawei Mate 20 series is perhaps the most leaked flagship in the market today. The Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro have been part of the rumor mill for weeks and were finally unveiled yesterday. We've got our hands-on feature and we can say it really is all about the cameras. The number of cameras at the rear is odd–three–although it's just the same as on the Huawei P20 Pro released at the beginning of the year. The Huawei Mate 20 arrived with the Mate 20 Pro and the Huawei Mate 20 X and we've showed you our hands-on feature  a while ago. We only heard about the 'X' variant last week when a video teaser surfaced online . The Mate 20 Pro's 6.39-inch screen is huge already but the Mate 20 X's is even larger at 7.2-inches with an even bigger 5000mAh battery so yes, the Mate 20 X is a bigger version of the Huawei Mate 20 Pro . So there are four Mate 20 phones in total: the Huawei Mate 20 Lite, Mate 20, Mate 20 Pr

Samsung updates the Galaxy S9 with a camera improvement and October security patch

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Samsung updates the Galaxy S9 with a camera improvement and October security patch Samsung released a rear camera update for the Galaxy Note 9 last month and now the Galaxy S9 and S9+ are getting a camera improvement, but for the front facing shooter. According to the changelog, faces will have improved brightness when when the backlighting is strong. The October security patch is also included in the update, which was recently pushed to the older Galaxy S8 . "General stability of features" is also listed in the changelog, which is vague, but should improve overall performance. The update is only rolling out in Germany for now, with the firmware version  G960FXXU2BRJ3 listed for the Galaxy S9 and  G965FXXU2BRJ3 for the S9+. The OTA update is 244MB in size and can be found in your phone's Settings » Software update menu. The update is again limited to Germany, but should have a more global reach soon. Source: SamMobile He was born and raise

It's not just you — YouTube TV is down

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Yes, again. If you're thinking to yourself "Ya know, you guys never mention the 99.9 percent of the time that YouTube TV is working just fine ..." Well, you're right. We don't. But this isn't one of those times and so we're going to mention ( again ) that YouTube TV (and YouTube proper, along with YouTube Music, apparently) is struggling a bit this evening. That in and of itself is not the end of the world. On the other hand, the end of the world will likely not cost us $40 a month. (Or cost us anything at all, for that matter. Or at least not for very long.) The point is, YouTube TV is down. It is not working. It is an ex-TV. Thanks for your reports about YouTube, YouTube TV and YouTube Music access issues. We're working on resolving this and will let you know once fixed. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and will keep you updated. — Team YouTube (@TeamYouTube) October 17, 2018 Last time this happened —  in the mi

It’s not just you, YouTube and other Google services are down

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Google's services are ubiquitous enough that it's pretty noteworthy when they go down. Tonight, it seems multiple services are suffering an outage, including YouTube, and a quick search on Twitter reveals that it's a fairly widespread problem. According to downtime tracker DownDetector , most people who are seeing the YouTube outage are in eastern and western United States and the UK. The site is seeing a very notable spike in reports of the web's most popular video hosting site being down. There have been more than 2,000 reports of the site being down on DownDetector in the last hour, compared to an average of less than 10 per hour. And as shown below, many users are seeing the usual "500 Internal Server Error" message that often appears when there's something wrong with YouTube. "A team of highly trained monkeys has been dispatched to deal with this situation," the site says. Beyond this, it seems the Google Play Store is also

Yep, YouTube is down

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YouTube is experiencing a major outage. Users across the world started to notice that the video service's sites and mobile apps were down around 9:20pm ET, and everything remains inaccessible more than half an hour later. YouTube TV is also affected by the service disruption. As with all Google-operated services, serious downtime for YouTube is pretty rare. YouTube TV did suffer service interruption at an inopportune time during this summer's World Cup, however, and channel pages went down for a while in April. Perhaps most infamously, Pakistan's government accidentally caused an hours-long global YouTube blackout a decade ago by attempting to censor a trailer for an anti-Islamic film. Never seen YouTube down for 30+ minutes like this... Continue reading… #Google #Android #Smartphones #OS #News @ndrdnws #ndrdnws #AndroidNews

Google Pixel 3 XL teardown reveals Samsung-made screen, loads of glue

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If you were dying to see some nice high-res shots of the Google Pixel 3 XL 's innards, wait no more. The teardown experts over at iFixit have once again done what they do best and picked the smartphone apart. The teardown has revealed that the display Google is using this year comes from Samsung (while the touch controller is the same part used in the Galaxy S9+ ). That's in contrast to last year, when the Pixel 2 XL 's OLED panel was manufactured by LG. The switch of suppliers isn't at all surprising, however, in light of DisplayMate's evaluation of the Pixel 3 XL's screen. The company gave it its highest ever rating, one that is currently only achieved by four other devices - the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Note9 , as well as the Apple iPhone X and XS Max . See the pattern? All of these handsets have screens made by Samsung. Anyway, back to the teardown. The Pixel 3 XL receives a 4 out of 10 repairability score - where a 10 means easiest to repair. Th

It's not just you: YouTube is down for many

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... No, you're not alone; YouTube has been having some server issues today. I personally first began receiving 500 Internal Service Errors this afternoon, though I was still able to watch videos at the time. Now, though, YouTube has gone completely dead. YouTube TV and YouTube Music are also affected. Thanks for your reports about YouTube, YouTube TV and YouTube Music access issues. We're working on resolving this and will let you know once fixed. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and will keep you updated. — Team YouTube (@TeamYouTube) October 17, 2018 YouTube is aware of the issue, though no ETA has been given on when we can expect a fix. For now, you'll have to put your BuzzFeed "$x vs $xxx" binging marathon on hold. Source: Team YouTube (Twitter) Thanks: Moshe, Anthony, and everyone who sent this in #Google #Android #Smartphones #OS #News @ndrdnws #ndr

Google Maps adds electric vehicle (EV) charging stations to keep you on the road

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Google Maps adds electric vehicle (EV) charging stations to keep you on the road Google periodically updates Google Maps with new and helpful features, and today added electric vehicle (EV) charging stations to help Tesla, Chevy Bolt and other electric car owners keep their batteries topped up. All it takes is a quick search for "ev charging" or EV charging stations," etc. to find detailed information in your area. Google Maps will also show information about the business where a station is located, how many ports are available and the port types, and charging speeds. Photos, ratings, reviews and questions from drivers are also included. Businesses with charging stations will now feature a link that provides more information about their chargers. The new Google Maps EV feature is also a global addition: Global: Tesla, Chargepoint US: SemaConnect, EVgo, Blink UK: Chargemaster, Pod Point AU & NZ: Chargefox The new Google Maps EV feature is r

You can buy the Nokia 7.1 with PureDisplay HDR screen technology today in Australia for $499

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HMD Global's latest Nokia handset, the Nokia 7.1, is now available to buy in Australia at JB Hi-fi and Harvey Norman stores. The $499 handset features a compact 5.8-inch 19:9 notched display with Full HD+ resolution. This makes it refreshingly compact given the number of phones crossing the Ausdroid review desk recently that are over … The post You can buy the Nokia 7.1 with PureDisplay HDR screen technology today in Australia for $499 appeared first on Ausdroid . #Google #Android #Smartphones #OS #News @ndrdnws #ndrdnws #AndroidNews

Hot Take: Huawei unveils the new Mate 20 lineup and much more

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Join us as we sit down and discuss some of the hot tech topics out there today. Huawei held an event where the company showed off a total of four new smartphones and an interesting smartwatch. Andrew and Donovan sit down and discuss all of these products and what they mean for the market as a whole. What we talked about today Huawei unveils its new lineup of smart devices including: Huawei Mate 20 Huawei Mate 20 Pro Huawei Mate 20 X Huawei Mate 20 Porsche Design Huawei Watch GT More News Amazon introduces waterproof Kindle Paperwhite for $130 Google tapped Samsung for the Pixel 3 XL's OLED display The OnePlus 6T will ship with Android Pie Google will alter Android business model to comply with EU regulations Razer Phone 2 will launch on October 22nd #Google #Android #Smartphones #OS #News @ndrdnws #ndrdnws #AndroidNews

Google Pixel 3 XL torn down by iFixit revealing Samsung display

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Oct 16 AT 8:15 PM Dima Aryeh 0 Comments Just like every popular phone, the Google Pixel 3 duo got the teardown treatment courtesy of  iFixit . We see a fairly average construction, a bit more difficult than last year's model. The final score is 4 out of 10, which isn't very good. However, that's not the interesting tidbit. The teardown revealed a display made by Samsung, a big change from LG supplying last year's displays. After the huge controversy over displays in the Pixel 2 XL , we can't blame Google for switching suppliers. This may put Pixel fan's minds at ease about the Pixel 3 display quality, and more importantly, consistency between units. But if you break it, it'll be difficult to fix without replacing the entire frame of the phone. Be warned! Source: iFixit Dima Aryeh is obsessed with all things car and tech. His time is split between gaming and fixing his racecar. He also does photography in his

Nokia X7 debuts, Nokia 7.1 Plus probably around the corner

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Huawei has just unloaded its not two but three Mate 20 flagship phones but not everyone might be interested in such a high-end device. Not to mention able to afford its equally high-end price tag. For those with simpler needs and simpler budgets, HMD Global has finally announced the Nokia X7 plus, its newest and so far greatest mid-range offering. … Continue reading #Google #Android #Smartphones #OS #News @ndrdnws #ndrdnws #AndroidNews

Facebook Reportedly Plans To Creep Into The Living Room With Camera For The TV

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Facebook Reportedly Plans To Creep Into The Living Room With Camera For The TV In brief: Facebook's next attempt at hardware will reportedly come in the form of a device that can be attached to a TV and provide the user with access to some video content. While this in principle sounds like what an Amazon Fire TV Stick or Roku Stick does, the difference will be Facebook's option is expected to come equipped with a camera and will be a unit that needs to be attached to the top of the TV, instead of hidden behind the TV like most media devices these days. Though not confirmed by the company, who have reportedly declined to comment, the information on this new product comes courtesy of a new report out of Cheddar , which in turn credits " people familiar with the matter " for the details. While the device does not have an official name as of yet, the report details it's currently being referred to in-house as " Ripley " and is understood

Esports company raises $50 million to train future star gamers

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Esports is just getting bigger and bigger, with eager fans tuning in all over the world to watch their favorite personalities kick ass at video games. And just like with physical sports, this kind of success attracts cash. A lot of cash. One rising star in the esports business scene is Cloud9, an American company which just raised $50 million in funding. Have you ever heard of OSIRIS? Choose "Yes, I have!" or "Never heard of it.". Oops! Seems like something went wrong. Reloading might help. Yes, I have! Oops! Seems like something went wrong. Reloading might help. Never heard of it. Forbes reported that the round of fundraising was led by Valor Equity Partners, with manager partner Antonio Gracias joining Cloud9's board to cement the relationship. Cloud9, or C9, was founded in 2013 by husband and wife Jack and Paullie Etienne when Jack bought the former Quantic Gaming League of Legen

Affordable vivo Y81i appears in Malaysia

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vivo first introduced the Y83 with a notch and a fingerprint scanner on the back in May and a month later the vivo Y81 appeared without the sensor and with a toned-down chipset. Now we get a third installment in the series and its most affordable member yet - the vivo Y81i. All the neat features in a promo slide The new device has the same - 6.22" HD+ display with a notch, single main camera on the back and 3,260 mAh battery as the regular vivo Y81. The manufacturer tweaked the insides and this time included the MediaTek MT6761 chipset that is a toned-down version of the already unimpressive MT6762 Helio P22 platform. RAM is listed as 2 GB, while storage is only 16 GB. Since vivo Y81i is aimed at countries where riding bikes is more prevalent, this device will come with dedicated Motorbike Mode that will enable you "to handle incoming calls in a safer way while driving". It will effectively hang up and send a text message as a reply, but you can add phone n

Winamp will be revamped into an all-in-one mobile music player

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For those who lived in an era when your mp3s weren't in a cloud and were actually stored in your computer's hard drive, Winamp was a staple program to have as it was a robust and highly customizable music player. There are still apparently a lot of users to this day but the "new" owners of the music player thinks it's about time it joined the mobile age. Radionomy is planning to put out an updated version of it, which includes an all-in-one mobile music player. The freeware media player has undergone quite a tumultuous history these past few years. It was acquired by AOL back in 2002 but nothing really significant happened to it in that era. They were eventually sold to the current owners, Radionomy, back in 2014. But since 2013, there hasn't been any significant changes within the program. So news that they are going for a sort of "revival" is very much welcomed by the community, especially those hoping for a mobile version. According to

BlackBerry KEY2 on sale from Amazon Germany for as much as €100 off

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The BlackBerry KEY2 is now on sale from Amazon Germany, with the 128GB Black Dual-SIM model priced at €599 EUR (equivalent to $630 USD). That is a discount of €100 EUR ($116 USD) or 14% from the phone's usual price of €599 EUR. The 64GB Single-SIM model in Black and Silver are both priced at €569 EUR (equivalent to $659 USD) for an €80 EUR ($93 USD) discount. That works out to a 12% savings. It is possible that a similar discount could make its way to the U.S., especially with the holiday shopping season set to begin soon. For now, the ... #Google #Android #Smartphones #OS #News @ndrdnws #ndrdnws #AndroidNews

Google Pixel 3 pre-orders are now shipping (for some)

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Google Pixel 3 pre-orders are now shipping (for some) If you pre-ordered a Pixel 3 directly from Google, shipment notifications are starting to hit email inboxes. Actual delivery dates are a little hazy at the moment, with some suggesting a delivery as early as tomorrow (Oct. 17). Unfortunately, Google's and FedEx's delivery estimates don't always agree. The general target date for deliveries at this point is October 18th if you pulled the trigger early. Friday, October 19th is possible for later orders. If you ordered (early) from Verizon, the only US carrier to offer the Pixel 3 models, deliveries were estimated for October 18th as well. I haven't gotten a shipment notification yet from my Verizon order, but it clearly listed October 18th in my confirmation email. Verizon is usually reliable with delivery dates, but for now I'll have to just wait and see. Keep in mind that if you did order from Verizon, the phones are factory unlocked like the mode

Donald Trump-Inspired Dating App Exposed User Data

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Donald Trump-Inspired Dating App Exposed User Data In short: A dating application called DonaldDaters  launched earlier this week and has already suffered a serious security breach according to a message from the CEO posted to the service's website. The company says that the breach was due to a lack of appropriate security measures specifically on DonaldDaters's chat feature. Although no figures are noted with regard to how many users may have been affected, that vulnerability could have allowed bad actors to impersonate users and engage in chats with other users. Chat services, which are maintained by a third-party developer, have now been suspended in order to implement new security protocols in partnership with an independent cybersecurity firm. Background:  DonaldDaters was initially launched this week to help supporters of the 45th US President to get a date without "bias, judgement, or liberal intolerance," following an alleged wave of ridicu