Five for Friday: Apps to wake you up.

From what I can tell, most people have trouble waking up in the mornings; we all want to sleep longer, more, and want to stay wrapped up in our little

Apple iPad Air 3/New iPad Pro Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

Apple has officially announced its long-rumored event for March 21. And it’s widely expected that we’ll see two new products unveiled there: a 4-inch iPhone (supposedly called the iPhone SE) and a new 9.7-inch iPad. Whether that new tablet is dubbed the iPad Air 3 or the “iPad Pro (9.7-inch)” — or something else — is anybody’s guess, however.

An iPad update comes at a time when overall tablet sales continue to slow. Last year’s iPad Pro, though well-received by some graphics and media professionals, hasn’t found the broad embrace — popular or critical — of its predecessors. The Mini 4, which also debuted in 2015, is a capable little tablet, essentially a shrunken Air 2. But most shoppers still opt for the older Mini 2, which is available for half the price. And the reception for these two has been especially muted compared to that of the celebrated Air 2, a CNET Editor’s Choice and still the gold standard for the category.

As is custom, Apple has kept mum on what’s coming next and when it’s coming, so we have no choice but to formulate hypotheses. We are fortunate, however, to have legions of Apple fanboys, supply chain moles and educated guessers churning out predictions that we will collect, collate and chronicle in the space below.

Editors’ note: This story was originally posted on January 19, 2016 and last updated on March 11, 2016.

The iPad Air 3 could be a slightly smaller version of 2015’s iPad Pro (far right).

James Martin/CNET

Announcement and release dates

Apple typically introduces new iPads in the fall. The newest models, the iPad Pro and Mini 4, were announced in September 2015, with the latter hitting immediately and the former two months later. The iPad Air 2 hit store shelves in September 2014.

Apple will host an event at 10 a.m. PT on March 21 on its Cupertino, California, campus.

Screenshot by Shara Tibken/CNET

Likely changes are afoot, however. On March 10, Apple invited selected media to a March 21 event at its headquarters. The invite, which teases, “Let us loop you in,” characteristically lacks detail about the nature of the event. Still, in the absence of official word, numerous sources are reporting that Apple will use it to introduce a successor to the 9.7-inch iPad Air 2 and a 4-inch iPhone that will replace the iPhone 5S as the company’s entry-level model.

Earlier rumors had suggested that Apple dedicate the event to the celebration of the Apple Watch’s first birthday — and the introduction of its successor. The current consensus, however, is that Apple is more likely to unveil only a WatchOS update and new bands — materials, designs, and colors — rather than new hardware.

Of course, nothing beyond the date of the event is official.

Design

With the Air 2, Apple basically perfected the dimensions of the tablet: it’s exceptionally portable, can be carried easily in one hand, and makes for comfortable reading, playing and viewing. Given the amount of time the company has taken to tinker with the next version, expectations are soaring. But Apple has improved on seemingly perfect products before.

The iPad Pro is far and away the fastest and most powerful Apple tablet at the moment, and, according to 9to5mac.com’s Mark Gurman, the next iPad will follow in its footsteps. He reports that the next-generation 9.7-inch model will be part of a new iPad Pro line and will set the stage for a streamlining of the iPad portfolio, which will include the sunsetting of the iPad Mini 2 and original iPad Air. As for the nomenclature — that’s anyone’s guess. The Apple iPad Pro Mini? The Apple iPad Mini Pro?

Foreshadowing this development, French site Nowhereelse (via AppleInsider) previously predicted that the iPad Air 3 could fold in such iPad Pro features as a quad-speaker upgrade, as well as a first-ever (for an iPad) LED flash for the rear camera. According to 9to5mac.com, the new iPad could feature the same 12-megapixel camera used in the iPhone 6S.

Recent stories from Techradar and Engadget bolstered the four-speaker rumor and suggested the Air 3 would also include Pro-style Smart Connectors for attaching peripherals like keyboards — upgrades that could add a sliver of thickness to the Air 3. Gurman also reports that the new model will include support for the Apple Pencil as well as a smaller version of the Smart Keyboard cover attachment.

Under the hood

Obviously, an iPad hitting in March would run the current iOS 9 operating system, and be in good shape to run its inevitable successor, iOS 10, which would presumably be unveiled in June and released concurrently with the iPhone 7 in September. And by iOS 9, of course, we mean version 9.3 (now in beta) which adds such notable new features as Night Shift, a setting that changes the colors on the screen at night; revamps of Apple’s News and Health apps and CarPlay technology; password protection for Notes; and multiple user accounts for educational settings.

iOS’s new Night Shift feature lets you change the screen color for better nighttime reading.

Sarah Tew/CNET

One thing you likely won’t see on the iPad Air 3 is 3D Touch, the pressure-sensitive display on the newest iPhone models. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that feature is an unlikely to surface on the iPad Air 3 due to “production issues.”

Another area of interest is processing power. A recent Bloomberg profile of Apple SVP for hardware technologies Johny Srouji confirmed that the next iPad Air will come equipped with the A9X chip — the processor currently available only in the iPad Pro.

The iPad Air 2 delivers pretty solid battery life — right around Apple’s rated lifespan of about 10 hours between charges. (You can use the iOS 9 battery-saving feature to extend that as needed, and standby time is especially good.) Though thinner is almost always better, we would hope that Apple would not shave down run time for a microscopically thinner profile.

Pricing

The high-end of the portfolio seems comfortably inhabited by the iPad Pro, which is priced more like a laptop than a tablet and sells for $799 for the 32GB entry-level model. If the iPad Air 3 were to stick to the current pricing scheme as the Air 2, we’ll see something like $499, £399 or AU$699 for a 16GB model; $599, £479 or AU$829 for a 64GB model; and $699, £559 or AU$959 for a 128GB model. LTE connectivity will likely add $130, £100 or AU$160 for each.

But, if Apple leaves the Air 2 in the lineup and dubs the new model a smaller iPad Pro, it’s possible that prices and capacities could be more like $599 (£479 or AU$829) for 32GB, $749 for 128GB.

Scroll down for a reverse-chronological look at the latest rumors.

March 10, 2016

CNET: Apple sends invites for March 21 event with clue ‘let us loop you in’

A 4-inch iPhone and an updated iPad are among the new products expected to be announced.

February 29, 2016

9to5mac.com: New 9.7-inch iPad Pro may best 12.9-inch model with 12MP camera, 4K video

Apple’s next iPad will include a 12 megapixel rear camera comparable to the sensor in the iPhone 6s, according to sources.

February 25, 2016

9to5mac.com: Apple’s next iPad — a 9.7-inch model — will be part of Pro line

Apple could differentiate the next-generation 9.7-inch iPad from its predecessor by making it part of the iPad Pro line.

February 18, 2016

Bloomberg: iPad Air 3 to come equipped with A9X processor

Bloomberg profile of Apple SVP confirms that the next iPad Air will use the A9X currently found only in the iPad Pro.

February 12, 2016

9to5mac.com: 4-inch iPhone 5se & iPad Air 3 planned to go on sale March 18th

Mark Gurman doubles down, calling Apple’s debut of the next iPhone and iPad for mid-March.

February 2, 2016

Buzzfeed: Apple To Debut New iPad, Smaller iPhone At March 15 Event

John Paczkowski predicts that Apple will have a small event on March 15 to announce a 4-inch iPhone and new iPad.

February 1, 2016

Engadget: iPad Air 3 drawing hints at a smaller iPad Pro

Engadget shows off a leaked drawing that seems to confirm the iPad Air 3 will borrow the quad-speaker and Smart Connector design of the larger iPad Pro.

January 28, 2016

CNET: Apple iPad Air 3 may spring up in March

The company will host an event during the week of March 14 to unveil its first products of 2016.

January 25, 2016

Apple Insider: Leaked ‘iPad Air 3’ design suggests four speakers, LED flash

Apple’s rumored third-generation iPad Air might adopt not just a quad-speaker design, but also an LED flash for its rear-mounted camera, according to a design illustration.

January 12, 2016

CNET: 7 new features coming to your iPhone and iPad with iOS 9.3

Apple’s given its next iOS update to developers to test; here’s what’s new and noteworthy.

January 8, 2016

CNET: Hey, Apple, leave that jack alone

The iPhone 7 may be missing a 3.5mm headphone jack when Apple releases the phone this year. A new petition begs the electronics giant not to switch to a Lightning jack.

December 31, 2015

CNET: Apple Byte: Apple’s secret lab is working on 3D Touch for bigger screens like the iPad

Sources report that the iPad Air 3 will be released in the first half of 2016 but is unlikely to get a 3D Touch display.

December 15, 2015

9to5mac: KGI: iPad Air 3 to be released in 1st half of 2016, ‘unlikely to have 3D Touch because of production issues’

Research notes suggest that iPad Air 3 will not feature 3D Touch due to “insufficient supply chain capacity.”

December 3, 2015

CNET: Is the iPhone 7 getting rid of the 3.5mm headphone jack?

A report claims Apple will make Lightning its do-everything port for a slimmer iPhone 7.

Dell XPS 13 (2016, Gold Edition) review – CNET

The Good This updated XPS 13 has a stunning nearly edge-to-edge high-res display, and an upgraded processor and graphics.

The Bad This gold edition is very expensive, and battery life isn’t as good as some other 13-inch laptops. The touchpad is tricky to use for some multitouch gestures.

The Bottom Line The excellent Dell XPS 13 series gets a high-end upgrade in this gold edition with improved performance, but also a high-end price to match.

Picking the perfect portable laptop can be a trying task for both head and heart (and wallet). Some sentimental longtime favorites, such as the 13-inch MacBook Air, are still good general-purpose laptops, but with each year that goes by, the design gets older, and features fail to keep up with the times. Slick hybrids like the Lenovo Yoga 900 are powerful, slim, and play at the tablet game, too, but you’ll pay for the privilege of folding the screen all the way back. Even the new Razer Blade Stealth manages to nail a lot of functionality for a decent price, but the gamer-centric design skews toward Call of Duty players.

Shoppers are stuck between choosing based on price, features, or design — and generally speaking, settling on two out of those three is the best one can hope for. The Dell XPS 13 came close to nailing the perfect formula last year, with an eye-catching barely there screen bezel, decent power, and a sub-$1,000 starting price in the US. But, that entry-level model skipped the touch screen, a must-have feature for a premium Windows laptop (while the more expensive touchscreen model also had less battery life).

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Sarah Tew/CNET

Despite this, the XPS 13 became one of our favorite 13-inch class laptops, and the recent 15-inch version (naturally called the XPS 15) impressed with its own large screen and minimal bezel.

Rather than continuing to try squeezing out features to hit a more mainstream price, the latest version of the XPS 13 takes a more premium approach. The processor is a current-gen Intel Core i7, paired with 8GB of RAM and a big 256GB of solid-state storage. The touchscreen display has a very high 3,200×1,800-pixel native resolution, and the same very narrow bezel (Dell calls it the Infinity Display) that made last year’s original such a standout. Graphics get an upgrade, too, adding the Intel Iris GPU, which isn’t as good as having a discrete graphics card from Nvidia or AMD, but is a big step up from standard laptop fare.

Finally, as if to drive home all the premium features and upgrades, the aluminum outer shell is now gold-colored. And it’s got a price to match, topping out the XPS 13 line at $1,649 in the US.

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Sarah Tew/CNET

Yes, it’s a premium price (for example, we’ve even seen some Oculus Rift-ready gaming desktops for less), but the gold XPS 13 has a great design, a fantastic keyboard, and even more than one year later, no one else has come close to matching the striking no-bezel look. If it’s just too expensive, dropping the gold design, downgrading to a Core i5 CPU and losing the Iris graphics gets you down to a much more reasonable $1,399 configuration.

Dell XPS 13 (Gold Edition)

$1,649

13-inch 3,200 x 1,800 touchscreen

2.2Ghz Intel Core i7-6560U

8GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,600MHz

128MB Intel Iris Graphics 540

256GB SSD

802.11ac wireless, Bluetooth 4.0

Windows 10 Home (64-bit)

Going for the gold

While the gold chassis is a selling point, the look is actually rather muted in person. It’s gold-ish, rather than bright and in your face. It’s also not the first time we’ve seen this in a laptop, as gold hues are available as an option in the Apple MacBook and LG Gram, although it’s still rare. Still, it’s a nice break from the usual silver/gray look of most laptops, just don’t expect it to read as especially bling-y.

Color aside, this new update doesn’t stray much from the original. It’s still a wedge-shaped laptop with a wide touchpad and generous keyboard, with enough ports and connections to keep most users happy. New is a USB-C port, used for data and video, but not power (other systems such as the 12-inch Apple MacBook and Razer Blade Stealth also use USB-C for power).

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Sarah Tew/CNET

Just as it the original XPS 13 did, this system has a relatively small footprint — largely because there’s no thick border around the display. The end result is that the XPS 13 has smaller dimensions than a MacBook Air, Lenovo Yoga 900 or Microsoft Surface Book, while weighing just about the same, 2.8 pounds (1.27kg) in this case. That makes the XPS 13 feel a little heavy when picked up, because you’re packing the same weight into a smaller volume of space. Plus, recent lightweight laptops such as the Razer Blade Stealth and Lenovo LaVie have really spoiled me when it comes to laptop weight.

President Obama urges SXSW audience not to be ‘absolutists’ on encryption

South by Southwest managed to get a pretty good keynote speaker as it kicked things off today: President Obama. The president sat down with Evan Smith, editor-in-chief of The Texas Tribune, for a quick but wide-ranging interview loosely focused on civic engagement in the 21st century, but he also spent about ten minutes discussing the ongoing battle between privacy and security as highlighted by the battle between the FBI and Apple. As a practiced politician, Obama avoided coming down too hard on any one side, and he said he wasn’t able to discuss the ongoing FBI vs. Apple case at all. But by and large his message was that sacrificing some degree of privacy for the sake of our safety has served the country well for hundreds of years, and he expects we’ll figure out a way to do so digitally as well.

“If there is probable cause to think that you have abducted a child, or that you are engaging in a terrorist plot, or you are guilty of some serious crime,” the president said, “law enforcement can appear at your doorstep and say ‘I have a warrant’ and go into your bedroom to rifle through your underwear and see if there’s any evidence of wrongdoing.” Obama said we’ve all agreed that this lack of privacy in this specific situation is worth it because it keeps us safe.

“The quesiotn we now have to ask is if technologically it is possible to make an impenetrable device or system where the encryption is so strong that there’s no key or no door at all,” Obama pondered, “how do we apprehend the child prnoographer? How do we solve or disrupt a terrorist plot?” It’s an argument similar to the one the FBI itself made in a court hearing last week, but Obama went on to note that he definitely sees the concerns that citizens have, given the amount of data stored on their phones.

And it’s not just personal data — Obama noted that all of our infrastructure depends on security against malicious hackers. But ultimately, despite saying he’s “way on the civil liberties side of this thing,” it seems the president thinks that the government should figure out a way to have access to devices that otherwise have strong encryption.

As to how to balance these things Obama said we’ll have to figure out “how do we have encryption as strong as possible, the key as secure as possible and accessible by the smallest pool of people possible, for a subset of issues that we agree is important.” From a policy side, it sounds like he thinks we need to clearly outline the specific circumstances in which it’s reasonable to go through someone’s device — and also figure out from a technical perspective how we can do that without fear of a backdoor key getting out into the wild.

Ultimately, it appears the president has a balanced, realistic view of what’ll need to happen going forward in cases like the one we’re seeing now. “I am not interested in overthrowing the values that have made us a great nation for expediency,” Obama said, “but the dangers are real, maintaining law and order in a civilized society is important, protecting our kids is important, so i’d caution against an absolutist view on this.”

He also noted that it’s better to figure these things out now, rather than right after “something really bad happens.” At that point, he imagines a world in “the politics of this will swing” and Congress will be empowered to push through “sloppy and rushed” legislation. “Then,” Obama warned, “we really will have issues with our civil liberties.”

In closing, he implored the technology community in the room and watching online to contribute to the debate and lend their skills to figuring out both the technical and political challenges surrounding this issue. “The notion that our data… can be walled off from other trade-offs we make [for security] I believe is incorrect,” Obama said. “But we do have to make sure, given the power of the internet and how much of our lives is digital, is that [government access] is narrow and constraigned and there’s oversight. I’m confident that this is something we can solve, but we need the tech community to help us solve that.”

How to move apps to the microSD card on your Galaxy S7, S7 Edge – CNET

Enlarge Image

Jason Cipriani/CNET

Samsung brought back expandable storage on the new Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge. Each device comes with 32GB of internal storage, some of which is used up by the OS and default applications installed on the device. Both devices support a microSD card of up to 200GB, which is more than enough for music, photos and videos.

Another important advantage of having expandable storage on the shiny new devices is the ability to move large apps or games to the added storage space.

The process to move apps is simple and shouldn’t affect your day-to-day use of any apps or the device.

Here’s what you need to do:

Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET

• With a microSD card installed, launch the Settings app.
• Find and select Storage from the list of options.
• Tap on Internal storage.
• Select Apps.
• Locate the app you’d like to move, and tap on it.
• Under the “Storage Used” section, tap on the Change button and select SD Card.

On the next screen, select Next and let the phone complete the move.

With the transfer complete, the app will run and act normally. Should you remove the microSD card from your device, the app’s icon will be replaced with an icon indicating it is stored on an SD card. You will be unable to use the app until you place the microSD card back into the device.

If after moving an app to the SD card you experience performance issues, you can move the app back to your phone’s internal storage by following the same directions outlined above, and select “Internal storage.”

Android Central 278: Android N Developer Preview

This is a big one, folks. Google has dropped the Android N Developer Preview on us a good month and a half ahead of the Google I/O developer conference. Some important things to know:

• What’s new in Android N … so far
• Android N’s under-the-hood changes might point to a new future for OS updates
• Huge changes in the settings menu
• A major revamp for the notification shade

And so much more. You can keep up with all of it at our Android N page.

Thanks to this week’s sponsors!

• Harry’s: Start shaving better today and save $5 off your first purchase with coupon code AC.
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Podcast MP3 URL: http://traffic.libsyn.com/androidcentral/androidcentral278.mp3

Hearthstone expansion Whispers of the Old Gods will awake from its sleep later this spring

Blizzard’s hit collectible card game Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft is getting its third major expansion pack soon. It’s called Whispers of the Old Gods and it will be released sometime in late April or early May.

The expansion centers on the Lovecraft-themed creatures in the Warcraft universe. It will add 134 new cards to the game. Blizzard says:

These are no ordinary cards! Steeped in the insidious influence of the Old Gods, unknown terrors will give your decks new and bizarre forms. You may even recognize some old friends that have succumbed to the seductive promise of Ancient Cosmic Power.

Players can pre-order a 50 card pack for Whispers of the Old Gods starting March 14 for $49.99. Those folks will also gain access to an exclusive card back as a bonus. You can download Hearthstone now from the Google Play Store.

How to return from the Android N Developer Preview

We’ve got the details on how to unenroll your device from the Android N Developer Preview

The internet got a surprise when Google released the developer preview of Android N a month ahead of Google I/O. If you were one of the lucky folks who had a compatible device, then you might have spent the evening checking out what was new and different. That doesn’t mean that you meant to keep the developer preview installed on your phone indefinitely though, especially if you only have one device.

Thankfully, getting your phone back to the latest public version of Android is really, really easy. If you decided to flash manually, you’ll need to head over to the Google Developers page and follow the instructions there to manually revert to the latest Marshmallow build. For everybody else, you just need to go to the Android Beta Program page. This is the same page where you opted in to the Android N developer preview, and includes info like the FAQ. About halfway down the page you should see which of your Nexus devices were opted in to the program.

Just to the right of a photo of your device model, there is a green button that should say ‘unenroll device’. It’s in the same place that the enroll button was previously. Once you’ve clicked that, you’ll also want to confirm that you are unenrolling your phone or tablet. After that, you’ll get an OTA update in just a few minutes, which will revert you back to the latest public version of Android. Make sure you keep in mind that doing this will reset your phone and kill any data that isn’t backed up, so before you install you should make sure you are ready to climb back out of the rabbit hole of Android N.

As you can see, once you are done checking out Android N it’s quite easy to head back to Marshmallow. The big thing to remember, whether you loved what you saw or hated what you saw, is that this is just the beginning of what we’re going to see from Android N. What were your thoughts on the developer preview? Let us know in the comments below!

Android N Developer Preview

The Android N Developer Preview is just that — a developer preview. It is not intended for daily use. That doesn’t mean it’s not cool, and that you shouldn’t poke around. But know that things will break. Tread carefully. (And have fun!)

• What’s new in Android N
• All Android N news
• About the Android Beta Program
• Download system images
• Android N easter egg
• Join the Discussion

Smartphone sizes are finally leaning back towards the ‘smaller’ end

Giant phones are being balanced by whatever it is we’re calling small now.

Three years ago, I was deeply concerned about the direction the smartphone market seemed to be heading. Samsung had created a massive market of people who wanted larger phones with the Galaxy Note series, and their competition was scrambling to release something to compete in that space.

Sony, LG, HTC, and eventually even Apple stepped into this larger phone space in variously failed attempts to keep Samsung from dominating this market. Meanwhile Samsung was pushing further with things like the Galaxy Mega, making phones that weren’t all that different from small tablets being released at the same time.

Fast forward to today, and it looks like the giant phone revolution has calmed down considerably. There are still some big options out there for folks who want that experience, but this year it looks like there will be plenty of options for those who shy away from the 6-inch phone.

We’ve come a long way from folks joking about that old TV-sized Galaxy S3 promo in Best Buy stores being a glimpse at what would be considered normal before long. Samsung’s Galaxy S7 looks positively tiny compared to the Nexus 6P and Galaxy Note 5, the sizes of which had basically been deemed the new normal over the last year. Even these larger phones last year were a minor step back from the Galaxy Note 4 and Nexus 6 in terms of overall size. Some of this has to do with manufacturers getting much better at eliminating bezel without increasing the potential for damage to the phone, but this year we’re also seeing reductions in display size away from 6-inches.

The space Samsung created for folks who appreciate these larger phones isn’t going away anytime soon.

When screen sizes were ramping up, it was difficult to get a single answer when asking why these design decisions were being made. Several folks from different companies talked about Asian markets, and how their usage was different from U.S. and Euro markets. These markets focused on larger screen size because the phone display was frequently the only display, where in the U.S. nearly everyone with a smartphone has a television for consuming a significant amount of entertainment. This was one of the explanations for the design of the Nintendo Wii U as well, offering a console-quality gaming experience that played nice with a television but didn’t require one for everything. In those markets, the dramatic increase in display size makes sense. If it’s your only display, bigger is certainly better for entertainment and chat.

Some of that carried over to the U.S. and Europe as well. There are plenty of folks who appreciated the larger display sizes of phones released in the last year or two. Ask anyone who jumped at the opportunity to own an Xperia Z Ultra how they feel about the new Galaxy S7, and you’d be hard-pressed to find one of them happy with the display size. Having these giant screens are great for games and videos, and a significant portion of Android users consumer a ton of media so it makes sense.

At the same time, there are still plenty of folks out there who appreciate phones that fit in their hands and pockets. It’s undoubtedly why Samsung went with different display sizes for the S7 and S7 edge this year, and why it’s likely we’ll see something different when it comes to display size with the Note 6 later this year. The LG G5 and Galaxy S7 are fantastic for those of us who prefer a phone that can be enjoyed in one hand without stretching, but the space Samsung created for folks who appreciate these larger phones isn’t going away anytime soon.

The end result is more choice for everyone, and fewer opportunities to see whether you need bigger pants to hold your phone once you put it in a case. This particular trend will hopefully stick around for a while, as not only is there no such thing as one perfect screen size but it’s clear more options means more opportunity for differentiation.

It’s unlikely that we’ll see every manufacturer go the Samsung and Apple route in releasing two difference sizes with every launch, but if you look at options for HTC and LG you can see the efforts to cater to each of these groups throughout the year, and that’s good for everyone.

Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge

• Galaxy S7 review
• Galaxy S7 edge review
• Galaxy S7 edge with Exynos: A Canadian perspective
• Here are all four Galaxy S7 colors
• Details on the Galaxy S7’s camera
• The SD card is back on the GS7
• Join our Galaxy S7 forums

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LG G5

• LG G5 hands-on
• LG G5 complete specs
• LG G5 CAM Plus module
• LG G5 B&O Hi-Fi audio module
• The G5 has an always-on display
• LG G5 keeps the SD card, shuns adoptable storage
• Join the LG G5 discussion

Canada’s Fido prices LG G5 at $300 on-contract, $800 outright

Canadian customers looking to pick up the LG G5 on Fido now have a price to put on the smartphone. The Canadian carrier is offering the G5 at $300 on-contract with the company’s Max plan, while going sans contract will cost $800. In between, Fido is offering the phone for $400 or $550 with its Smart and Standard plans on a two-year contract, respectively. Parent company Rogers has also priced the device at $299.99 on-contract and $799.99 outright.

While this pricing is for Fido customers, it is indicative of what we can expect from other Canadian carriers as pricing is announced. As for when that will be, the LG G5 has been confirmed to be headed to Canada starting April 8, so we should hear more soon.

LG G5

• LG G5 hands-on
• LG G5 complete specs
• LG G5 CAM Plus module
• LG G5 B&O Hi-Fi audio module
• The G5 has an always-on display
• LG G5 keeps the SD card, shuns adoptable storage
• Join the LG G5 discussion