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Showing posts from December, 2018

WhatsApp kills support for Nokia S40 devices today

Key Highlights: WhatsApp will cease to work on S40 devices This includes Asha devices that were launched around 2011   If you're using a Nokia S40 device, we've got bad news for you. WhatsApp will stop working on your device by the end of the day. WhatsApp announced over a couple of years ago on its blog that it would kill support for a list of operating systems by the end of 2018 and S40 is part of it. This includes Nokia Asha devices introduced in the market over five years ago, like Asha 201, Asha 205, Asha, 206, Asha 208, Asha 210, Asha 230, Asha 301, Asha 500, Asha 501, Asha 502, Asha 503, and Asha 505. In a June update to the original blog, WhatsApp wrote, "You won't be able to use WhatsApp on the following platforms for: Nokia S40 after December 31, 2018, Android versions 2.3.7 and older after February 1, 2020, iPhone iOS 7 and older after February 1, 2020". If you own and use a Nokia S40 device, you will have to switch to a newer device to continue using ...
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Sony to ramp up 3D sensor production amid high demand from phone makers: Report

Highlights: Sony to boost camera 3D sensors’ production The sensors are said to power the front as well as the rear 3D cameras They will go into mass production in the summer of 2019   Japanese multinational company Sony will boost the production of its next-generation of 3D sensors amid high demand of the product from phone makers, including Apple, a Bloomberg report has said. These sensors are said to power the front as well as the rear 3D cameras of models from customers in 2019. Sony will commence the mass production in late summer to meet demand, Satoshi Yoshihara, Head of Sony’s sensor division, was quoted as saying. The executive, however, declined to provide sales or production targets, but said the 3D business is already operating profitably and will make an impact on earnings from the fiscal year starting in April. Bloomberg says that Sony’s technology “provides much needed optimism to the global smartphone industry, which is suffering a slowdown as consumers find fewer ...
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Popular Android apps are sharing sensitive data with Facebook: Report

Key Highlights: "At least" 20 out of 34 popular Android apps found sharing sensitive data with Facebook without user consent. The apps are reportedly using an older version of Facebook Developer Kit Some app developers weren't even aware the apps have been sharing user data   It was found earlier that health and dating apps routinely violated user privacy by sharing data with Facebook. According to a study by Privacy International, “at least”  20 out of 34 popular Android apps are sending sensitive data to Facebook without explicit user permission. The apps include Kayak, Skyscanner, MyFitnessPal and TripAdvisor. The report states that the data includes the analytics data that is sent during the app launch, as well as the unique Android ID. Later, the apps were found to send more sensitive data. Kayak, the popular flight-booking app, was found to be sending destination and flight search data, travel dates and whether or not someone is traveling with kids. It can be argue...
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China approves release of 80 new games but leaves out PUBG Mobile developer Tencent: Report

Key highlights: China has approved the release of 80 new games However, games from PUBG Mobile developer, Tencent have not been included China reportedly banned nine games last year   After imposing a ban on online video games, Reuters reports that China has now approved the release of 80 games. The report notes that the list of approved titles were listed on the website of the State Administration of Press Publication, Radio, Film and Television. One notable omission was Tencent Holdings, the publisher behind popular games like PUBG Mobile.  It was reported that 20 games were assessed by China’s Online Gaming Ethics Review Committee, and 9 out of the 20 were banned. This included PUBG, as well as Fortnite. According to the report, PUBG was banned due to “blood and gore,” whereas Fortnite was banned for “blood and gore, vulgar content.” The remaining 11 games on the list required corrective actions. For example, Blizzard’s Overwatch reportedly required corrective action ...
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Nubia Red Magic Mars RNG Edition with up to 10GB RAM, 256GB storage launched in China

Highlights The Nubia Red Magic Mars RNG Edition comes in 8GB and 10GB RAM options The phone sports signature of Royal Never Give Up (RNG) e-sports players on its back panel The handset comes in only a red colour version   Nubia is one of many smartphone manufacturers who make handsets that appeal to mobile gamers. The company recently launched the Nubia Red Magic Gaming smartphone in India and it has now launched another variant of the phone in its home country, China. The new version is called the Nubia Red Magic Mars RNG Edition and the highlight of the phone is basically in its name. RNG Edition is a reference to the Chinese eSports team, Royal Never Give Up (RNG). The new variant comes in red colour and sports signatures of the RNG players on its rear panel. Additionally, it comes in 10GB and 8GB RAM versions.  Nubia Red Magic Mars RNG Edition specifications The Nubia Red Magic Mars RNG Edition features specifications almost identical to those of the Nubia Red M...
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Apple iPhone XS Max explodes in mans pocket

Highlights: iPhone XS Max catches fire in an Ohio man’s trouser pocket The phone dissipated heat and coloured smoke The victim is “contemplating legal action”   Apple is going through a difficult time. Its products have been banned for import and sale in China and Germany. It is at loggerheads with chipmaker Qualcomm and is reportedly struggling and their recent update apparently left iPhone users in a lull after several of them reported that they were no longer able to use LTE on their new iPhones. Now, an iPhone XS Max has reportedly exploded in a man’s trousers in the US, putting too much in Apple’s plate to finish. According to a report by PhoneArena, an Ohio man escaped an unfortunate incident when his three-week-old iPhone XS Max (unidentified variant) exploded while it was in his pocket. Josh Hillard says that his phone was in his rear trouser pocket when it randomly began to dissipate “a large amount of heat” as well as green and yellow coloured smoke. By the tim...
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Samsung reportedly working on smaller, more affordable smart speaker

Key Highlights: Even though the recently announced Galaxy Home speaker is yet to become available, Samsung is reportedly working on a second smart speaker The model number revealed indicates the speaker will be smaller and more affordable than the present one.   The weirdly shaped Samsung Galaxy Home speaker powered by Bixby was announced alongside the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 back in August. Yet, five months after its announcement, the speaker’s status is still “coming soon” on the Samsung website. Meanwhile, another smart speaker is reportedly being developed by Samsung. All that is known so far is that the new Galaxy Home speaker will be offered in a black colour finish and will carry the model number SM-V310. Compared with the present Galaxy Speaker’s model number, SM-V510, it seems like the one under development will be a smaller speaker. It could also be more affordable than one announced so far, although the price is still not disclosed. The Galaxy Home speaker that Samsu...
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Essential PH-1 discontinued, company reportedly working on its next mobile product

Key Highlights: The Essential Phone is now out of stock across multiple retail locations A company spokesperson said the phone will not be restocked, indicating it is now discontinued Essential is now working hard on its next mobile product and will continue to support the PH-1 with regular updates and accessories   The Essential Phone (or PH-1) may have seen the last light of the day. The “modular” smartphone created by Android co-founder Andy Rubin is now out of stock on its website, and according to the company, it won’t be restocked. The PH-1 came with flagship hardware, regular updates and was the first phone to sport a notch. However, it often found itself painted negatively in the news what with delayed availability, job cuts and more. Eventually, it had to be heavily discounted to ensure the inventories are cleared.   It was noticed earlier that the PH-1 was out of stock across multiple retail locations including the company’s own website. There was also a recent Fire...
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Apples discounted battery replacement program for iPhones ends today

Highlights: Apple’s battery replacement program ends today The company is offering battery replacement at reduced prices  Apple will charge as low as Rs 2,000 for installing fresh batteries on your old iPhones last year, Apple announced its battery replacement program after it admitted throttling the performance on older iPhones whose batteries were degraded. The company is charging Rs 2,000 instead of the usual Rs 8,200 for replacing the batteries. Under this program, the iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, iPhone SE, iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus smartphones are eligible for getting the battery replaced at a lowered price.  The offer also extends to the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X, however, with iOS 12.1, the company introduced a new ‘Battery Health’ option that enables one to find out the maximum capacity of an iPhone's battery. Do note that the discounted pricing is valid only till December 31 and today is the last day to avail benefit of the discounted pricing.  This is ...
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Nokia 9 PureViews leaked press render hints at in-display fingerprint sensor, reaffirms penta camera setup on the rear

Highlights: Press render of the Nokia 9 PureView smartphone has leaked online The image hints at an in-display fingerprint sensor There is also the alleged penta-camera setup on the back   Recently, images of the Nokia 9 PureView smartphone's cover were posted online, strengthening previous claims of the device featuring a penta-camera setup. Now, a new image leaked on Twitter (via Evan Blass) shows the device with the same camera setup, reaffirming the previous reports. The image also suggests that the smartphone might be launched with an in-display fingerprint sensor, and there is also the expected "Android One” branding on the device's back panel.   The render also suggests that the handset could sport noticeable bezels on the sides, and considerably thick bezel on the top and a noticeable chin. The phone seems to have just one selfie shooter and ambient light/proximity sensors on the front. There is a Nokia branding on the top bezel as well a...
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NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 to ship from January 15 for 349

Key Highlights: NVIDIA's new graphics card, GeForce RTX 2060, will go on sale from January 15, 2019 It's expected to cost $349 in the US   How about a last-minute leak before we wind up the year that's seen so many hardware leaks and rumours? According to a recent report by VideoCardz.com, NVIDIA is preparing to introduce its newest graphics card, the GeForce RTX 2060 on January 7. The base Turing model will be available for sale from January 15. It will come bundled with Anthem or Battlefield V for free. It's expected to retail for a price of $349 in the US, which is approximately Rs 24,385. Along with news about the launch, the VideoCardz.com report also proudly presents the confirmed specs of the new card. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 comes packed with 1920 CUDA cores, 240 Tensor cores, 30 ray tracing cores, 120 texture mapping units, and 48 render output units. The GeForce RTX 2060, with its boosted clock speed of 1680 MHz, is a mid-range model replacing the GeForce...
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LG G7 ThinQ to get Android Pie update in Q1 2019: Report

Highlights: LG G7 ThinQ will get the Android Pie update in Q1 2019 in South Korea The update may come to other countries in the Q2 It will bring performance-related upgrades   LG has announced that it is working on an Android Pie update for the LG G7 ThinQ and according to a report, will start rolling out the stable version of the update in the first quarter of 2019 in South Korea. The report in mylgphones.com says that it assumed that it would release for other markets in the second quarter of the next year. The news comes after LG officially launched the Android 9 beta programme for the G7 ThinQ in November in South Korea. The update seems to be very important as LG has listed a number of performance-related issues that will be addressed with this update. This includes an improvement that rectifies the screen freezes when the FPS setting is repeatedly changed in the professional video mode of the camera app. It will also address an issue in which fingerprints are not recogn...
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Google clarifies Android One promise of guaranteed updates for 2 years

The Android One program by Google has come to replace the Nexus devices. In 2017, Google jumpstarted the program globally with the Xiaomi Mi A1. When earlier it was to make entry-level phones more responsive and usable, Android One became an embodiment of devices that would run a vanilla flavour of Android (always the latest), and offer two years of version upgrades and security patches. At that time, the promise of regular updates was a big selling point and a year down the line, we had quite a few Android One certified devices in the Indian market. On the landing page of the official Android One website, the promise of regular updates was highlighted explicitly — 2 years of guaranteed updates. However, a couple of days back, Reddit user anshumanpati6 spotted the mention of that same promise of regular updates missing from the landing page. This led many to believe that Android One no longer came with the compulsion of regular updates. However, Google denied there had been any ch...
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Googles Messages app is reportedly getting new spam protection feature

Key Highlights: Google is said to be activating Spam protection feature on its Messages app The new feature is reportedly being enabled via a server-side update The spam protection feature could be rolled out soon for everyone   Google is reportedly enabling a new spam protection feature on its Messages app for some users. Android Police reports that some users who launched the app were greeted with a notification stating, “New! Spam protection” and it seems that the new feature, which is said to have been under development for more than a year, is finally being made available. As of writing this article, Google has not posted anything regarding the spam protection rollout and the feature is reportedly being enabled via a server-side update and only for a few people. We checked for the option on some of our devices but they have not received it yet.  As per the report, those who have received the spam protection feature on their Messages app will see a new “Spam protection" o...
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China to land on the dark side of the moon: Report

In what will soon become another first for all of humanity, China is planning to land its lunar probe Chang'e 4 on the dark side of the moon. According to a recent report by the state-owned Xinhua News Agecny, the unmanned spacecraft was launched on a Long March-3B rocket on December 7. Chang'e 4 reached lunar orbit five days later and deployed its landing craft and surface rover in preparation for descent. The planned landing site is Von Kármán, a 180-kilometre crater in the South Pole–Aitken basin. The spacecraft reportedly entered an elliptical orbit around the moon on December 12 at 6:25 AM IST (12:55 AM GMT). From the pericenter, the point of closest approach for any celestial body in an elliptical orbit, the spacecraft is only 14.4 kilometres from the moon's rocky surface. The China National Space Administration reportedly announced that it would soon "prepare for the first-ever soft landing on the far side of the moon".  From the dark side of the moon dire...
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Netflix cancels in-app subscription option for iOS users

Key Highlghts: Netflix will no longer allow users to pay for their plans on iPhone or iPad New Users will have to go to the Netflix website to pay and login to the app in their iOS devices The move is presumably a backlash against Apple's claim of a high 30 percent revenue cut from in-app purchases You can no longer renew your Netflix subscription from your iPhone or iPad. Along with other prominent app developers, Netflix will no longer allow customers to subscribe via iTunes by way of an in-app purchase on iOS devices. While the change was spotted earlier in November, Netflix delved deep into the move in a VentureBeat article on Friday. The report explained users who are already paying via iTunes may continue to do so. However, users renewing after a month or new sign ups will have to bill their purchase in the Netflix website and then login into the iOS app. Netflix is not the only streaming service to do so. Presumably done against Apple’s move to take a larger revenue share f...
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OnePlus 6T6 OxygenOS Open Beta 210 update brings caller id feature, new tools for Gallery and more

Key Highlights: OnePlus 6T and 6 are now receiving Open Beta 2 and 10 updates respectively The two phones get the same features with the new update OnePlus is introducing a caller id feature for OnePlus 6T/6 users in India   OnePlus is rolling out the OxygenOS Open Beta 2 and Open Beta 10 for the OnePlus 6T and the OnePlus 6 respectively. Both open beta updates bring the same updates and features for both the phones, which includes optimisations for their System, Phone, Gallery and the Launcher. A notable addition in these builds is the introduction of caller identification feature, which is available only for OnePlus 6T/6 users in India. Do note that the new builds are being seeded OTA and the company notes that since these are in beta, one might encounter some bugs or issues. Those users who are already running beta builds on their OnePlus 6T/6 should soon receive the update and those users who are on the stable builds will need to flash their phone with the new build, which can...
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Sony Xperia XA3 will be priced much higher than its predecessor: Report

Key Highlights: Sony will announce its 2019 mid-range lineup of smartphones at CES 2019 in January The price of the Xperia XA3 Plus was revealed in a new report, which is significantly higher than its predecessor The same report also mentioned the Xperia XA3 Plus will be offered in three colour variants -- Black, Gold and Silver Sony has made it a habit to launch its mid-range and entry-level lineup of smartphones at CES every year. The Sony Xperia XA2 lineup was announced in January at CES in Las Vegas, and the successor Xperia XA3 range is likely to be announced in the next few weeks at the same event. Now, a new leak from a news blog citing sources claimed the Xperia XA3 Plus will be priced at EUR 519 (approximately Rs 42,000) in European markets. The price revealed is a significant jump from that of the Xperia XA2 Plus, and while the hardware specs are not clear, it is expected to offer something in return for the premium it will reportedly charge. What’s known so far is that the ...
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Realme 2 Pro, Realme C1, and Realme 2 and Realme 1 now receiving stable ColorOS 52 update

Key Highlights: Realme 2 Pro, Realme C1, and Realme 2 and Realme 1 phones are now receiving ColorOS 5.2 update The OTA update brings all the phone’s Android Security Patch to December, 2018 Users who can’t wait can also download the update file   About 20 days ago, Realme announced that it will roll out the ColorOS 5.2 update for its Realme 2 smartphone by the end of December 2018. Making good on its promise, the company is now seeding the new ColorOS 5.2 update for the Realme 2 smartphone, along with the Realme 1, Realme C1 and the Realme 2 Pro. Realme announced the news on its forums and also listed the changes that the update brings for all the devices. Do note that the update is being rolled out OTA, in a staged mannered and some users might not get the update for their phone immediately. Realme 2 Pro ColorOS 5.2 update: Coming to the ColorOS 5.2 update for the Realme 2 Pro, its build number is RMX1801EX_11.A.13 and it brings new features for the phone’s Battery, System, Camer...
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NASA astronaut relearns to walk after six months in space

We all know space can have various effects on an astronaut’s body, but to actually witness them is something else altogether. NASA astronaut Andrew Feustel recently posted a video in which he’s seen relearning to walk after his return from a six-month voyage in space. All those months of microgravity have clearly had an effect on his motor skills. In the video he’s seen teetering across the floor with his eyes closed to regain his sense of balance. “On October 5th this is what I looked like walking heel-toe eyes closed after 197 days on @Space_Station during the Field Test experiment...I hope the newly returned crew feels a lot better,” Feustal wrote on Twitter, along with the video taken by his wife, Indira Feustel. Andrew Feustel went aboard the International Space Station as part of Expedition 55/56 on March 21 and returned to Earth on October 4. He performed his duties initially as Flight Engineer and then as Commander of the International Space Station. During his stay in space, ...
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Huawei P Smart 2019 smartphone announced with waterdrop notch, Krin 710 SoC

Huawei has unveiled a new smartphone called the P Smart 2019. The new phone features a 6.21-inch FHD+ display with a waterdrop notch. It is powered by the company’s own Kirin 710 SoC with 3GB of RAM. The phone is available with 32GB or 64GB of onboard storage. The company notes that the phone comes with Huawei’s GPU turbo tech as well. The phone aslo packs a 3400mAh battery. The phone comes with EMUI 9.0, which is based on Android 9 Pie.  In terms of optics, the Honor P Smart 2019 sports a 8MP front camera and a 13MP + 2MP dual camera setup at the back. The company notes that the phone features AI scene recognition technology that can identify 22 categories and 500 scenarios in real-time. Further, the company notes that the front camera can recognise eight selfie scenes and can optimise photos in real-time.  Huawei’s sub brand, Honor, recently unveiled the Honor View 20 smartphone (Honor v20). The phone sports a 6.4-inch FHD+ display with a ‘punch-hole’ front camera. The phon...
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Xiaomi Mi 9, Mi Mix 4 to come with triple rear camera, Snapdragon 855 chipset

Dual cameras are simply not enough on flagship smartphones these days, it seems, because smartphone makers are advancing to triple cameras. Xiaomi, refusing to be left behind in the race to add more lenses to its phones, is said to add three rear cameras to two of its upcoming models: the Mi 9 and the Mi Mix 4. The two smartphones are also expected to come with Qualcomm’s latest chipset, the Snapdragon 855. According to GF Securities, Hong Kong, Xiaomi’s market performance report indicates that the Mi 9 will be the first smartphone from the company to feature three cameras on the back. What’s more, the Mi Mix 4 is reportedly going to have a periscope lens, which enables optical zoom without requiring additional real estate on the phone’s body. Both these models are expected to be the Chinese electronics company’s flagships for the year 2019. Both the Mi 9 and the Mi Mix 4 are expected to be powered by the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset. While the 5G version of the Mi Mix 3 is sti...
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Samsung Galaxy A50 may offer 4000mAh battery, 24MP rear camera: Report

Key Highlights Samsung Galaxy A50 may offer of a 4000mAh battery and a 24MP rear camera It is also tipped to be powered by an Exynos 9610 chipset and 4GB RAM It may offer wireless charging and an in-display fingerprint sensor While the current focus may be on Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S10 flagship smartphones, it looks like the company is also preparing its mid-range lineup for next year. According to a report by galaxyclub.nl, the Korean manufacturer is planning to launch the Galaxy A50 with a 4000mAh battery and a 24MP rear camera. The phone is also expected to be powered by Samsung’s Exynos 9610 chipset with 4GB RAM. It is expected to offer 64GB or 128GB of onboard storage. Further, the device is expected to come with Android 9 Pie out-of-the-box, possibly with the company’s new OneUI. Other features that the Samsung Galaxy A50 may offer include wireless charging and an in-display fingerprint sensor.  Samsung is also expected to unveil a new series of devices under the Galaxy M...
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Oppo R17 Pro Review

Oppo R17 Pro faces fierce competition at its Rs. 45,990 price point but does it have what it takes to stand out? Check our review. from RSS Feeds | MOBILES - RSS Feed - NDTV Gadgets360.com http://bit.ly/2SiN1tf
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Reliance Jio Happy New Year Offer announced with 100 cashback on Rs 399 recharge

Key Highlights: Reliance Jio announces ‘Happy New Year Offer’ Jio users will get to avail 100 percent cashback on Rs 399 recharge One will get Ajio voucher worth Rs 399   As the year comes to a close, Reliance Jio has announced a ‘Happy New Year Offer’ for its customers. The new offer is somewhat similar to what the telco has offered in the past and Jio users will get to avail 100 percent cashback when they recharge their connection with the Rs 399 plan. It should be noted that the telco is offering Ajio coupons worth the recharge value (Rs 399) under the new offer, which will be credited to their coupons section, in the MyJio account. One will get to avail the benefits of the new offer between December 28, 2018, and January 31, 2019. Additionally, the coupons that are credited after the recharge will be valid until March 15. The coupons will also be eligible over the existing Ajio offers and will be available via the Ajio app or the website when one places an order with a minimum...
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Upcoming Samsung Galaxy M-Series smartphones to have Infinity-V display: Report

Highlights: Samsung Galaxy M-Series phones to have Infinity V-type Display Samsung may launch up to four phones under the new series The displays could be up to 6.4 inches in size   Samsung is reportedly launching a new series of smartphones in January in India. It is expected to launch four phones under this new Galaxy M-Series, which is said to be a consolidated series for Galaxy J, On and C series of smartphones. According to The Economic Times (via IANS), the Galaxy M-Series smartphones are said to sport Infinity-V displays up to 6.4 inches in size. According to the report, these smartphones are expected to have large batteries, which could be the largest ever on any Samsung smartphone. “The launch of the M series in India, following months of R&D carried out by Samsung India, would be in line with the company's strategy to consolidate its position among the country's millennials,” the report said. The South Korean company is expected to launch four smartphones: the Ga...
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