Google Pixel phone could be released by end of this year

Google is said to have its own self-made smartphone out by the end of this year. It could even be the previously rumoured Google Pixel phone.

A report from the Telegraph cites sources that say the search giant is in talks with mobile network operators. It says that Google seeks to secure deals to sell its phones through carriers as well as – presumably – through its own direct channels. 

This Google-branded phone will be different from the current Nexus phone arrangement, which allows manufacturers to have their brand name stamped alongside the Nexus moniker on the device.

It has been suggested in the past that Google’s aim is too have more control over hardware, in order that its operating system can be better optimised and provide a consistent and reliable experience. If true, it’s unlikely that we’ll see anything other than Google’s branding on the hardware. 

With key technologies like Daydream VR and Google Assistant on their way out, it certainly seems a prudent decision by Google to get a better handle on the hardware side. Devices like the Pixel C tablet and Chromebook Pixel show that the company clearly knows how to make hardware that’s attractive, well-made and unique, but we’ve not yet seen a phone with Google’s design stamp on it. 

In the past – with the Nexus phone series’ – Google has partnered with a number of different manufacturers to release phones running a completely pure version of Android. In these arrangements, however, Google has reportedly been taking a 15 per cent cut of the RRP from online sales, leaving the manufacturers with low profit margins.

With so many Android OEMs struggling to make a profit generally, getting them to agree to take a cut as well as being forced to meet a strict set of hardware guidelines is a deal with little in it for them. This is perhaps why HTC is going to be the next Nexus maker, and why Google is looking at releasing its own smartphone hardware. HTC is having a tough time of late, and can’t afford to turn down the opportunity to make a popular phone.

If the rumours of HTC-made Nexus phones, and today’s rumour are one and the same, it could well be that although HTC is building the devices, they won’t have HTC’s name on them. Instead, Google is essentially using HTC as a contractor to build the phone that it has designed, rather than partnering with HTC to build a traditional Nexus.  

Apart from the rumour that Google is making a Pixel smartphone, there’s very little else that’s been said about the device. The Telegraph says it will be released by the end of the year, which is roughly the same time it traditionally releases its Nexus phone updates. 

Apple Celebrates Pride Festival With Rainbow Apple Watch Bands for Staff

Apple helped celebrate equality at the LGBT Pride festival in San Francisco yesterday and thanked employees who registered to take part in the event by gifting them a limited edition rainbow Apple Watch band.

Participating staff received the bands with a card from the company explaining the idea behind the Apple Watch accessory. Reddit user ‘Sakusuhon’ shared the above image of the band and card, which reads:

Apple’s first Diversity Network Association, Pride, turns 30 this year and we’re thrilled to celebrate this tremendous milestone with you! As recognition for everyone who registered to participate in the Pride event this year we created something special.



This limited-edition band is a symbol of our commitment to equality and we hope you’ll wear it with pride.

Apple staff including CEO Tim Cook joined the annual parade on Sunday as a mark of the company’s continuing support for equality and diversity, with many employees taking to social media to show off the colorful bands.

Proud to be representing #applepride #sfpride #applewatch #nylonband

A photo posted by @rikiri on Jun 26, 2016 at 1:27pm PDT

Happy Pride to everyone who turned out this weekend to celebrate! #applepride #pride2016 pic.twitter.com/3GZlc9s6bl

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) June 26, 2016

Sadly, there’s no indication that Apple plans to include the nylon rainbow bands in its official Watch accessory range.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

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Vodafone Smart Ultra 7 preview: A new standard for affordable smartphones

When looking for affordable devices, it can often be difficult to find a phone without too many compromises, especially on the lower end of the scale. With the Smart Ultra 7, Vodafone is looking to give you as much for your money as possible, all in a phone that costs just £135.

Like the Platinum 7, the Ultra 7 is essentially a rebranded Alcatel phone and comes with some admirable specifications. It could well be the Android device to buy if your budget doesn’t stretch beyond £150.

Vodafone Smart Ultra 7 preview: Design

As you’d expect, being a phone targeted at the low end of the market means compromises had to be made. The most notable of those is in materials and build. In other words: you won’t find any premium anodised metal or high-end Gorilla Glass here. Instead, it’s an-all plastic device with a screen covered in a less expensive Dragontail glass.

Just because it’s plastic, doesn’t mean there’s nothing to like about its design though. There is the odd flourish of aesthetic appeal. The plastic frame around the edges has an attractive brushed metal-effect finish to it, and the glass on the front subtly curves towards the edges. A chrome finish around its edges ensures the home button stands out on the front, while the volume rocker switch and power button have the same textured finish we liked on the more expensive Platinum 7.

Similar to Galaxy S phones of old, the rear plastic shell is removable and gives access to the micro SIM card slot (note: not nano SIM) and the microSD card slot. The rear cover itself is pretty flimsy and is finished with a ever-so-slightly grippy, subtle geometrical pattern. Sadly, the battery is not removable, and is sealed inside a metal casing with a warning not to make attempts at taking it out.

Pocket-lint

Vodafone Smart Ultra 7 preview: Display

With this being a low-end device, it’s great to see a large 5.5-inch full HD display on the front. On first impressions, it certainly seems sharp and colours are natural.

Again, with it being a low cost phone, there were compromises made here too. The most noticeable being that the screen isn’t fully laminated to the front glass surface. That means you will notice a slight gap in between the display panel and the glass. Thankfully, it doesn’t cause any major issues, but there is a slight warm tint when looking at the screen from an angle.

The only other minor complaint on first look is that the bezel around the edges is quite thick, which makes the phone relatively wide and hard to use one-handed. Still, when looking at the display head-on, it’s hard not to be impressed by the sharpness and clarity. Granted, this phone’s screen won’t compare to the high-end flagship phone displays, but it’s brilliant for a device as affordable as this.

Pocket-lint

Vodafone Smart Ultra 7 preview: Hardware

In the past, budget phones have been forced to run with a distinctly average processors. Not so much in this phone. While it’s not the most high-end of powerful mobile chips, the Helio P10 inside the Ultra 7 is quick and features eight cores. As a reminder, this is the same processor found inside the Oppo F1 Plus; a phone which costs more than double what the Smart Ultra 7 from Vodafone costs.

Again, there are are compromises in the hardware, but none that should affect your daily use too much. It has 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage (around 10GB of which is usable). You’re not limited to 16GB however, you can expand using a microSD card and you can even make use of Android Marshmallow’s ability to adopt microSD card storage as internal storage to save app data and so on.

As you’d expect from a phone at this end of the market, there’s no fingerprint sensor or quick-charge support. Neither is there a USB Type-C port. That means it could take some time to fill up the 2,960mAh battery. With a battery that big, it should easily last a full day on a single charge, if not more.

Vodafone Smart Ultra 7 preview: Software

Like its more expensive sibling, the Smart Ultra 7 comes loaded with some custom Vodafone apps and software but it’s mostly a clean, stock Android Marshmallow experience. Apps like Call+ and Message+ plus help Vodafone customers take advantage of the carrier’s advanced phone and messaging services, while the Tips app helps get first-time smartphone users up to speed with how to use their new phone.

Otherwise, it’s virtually identical to a plain Android experience. Everything from the app drawer and settings menu is just you’d find it in a Nexus phone. Because of this, our early experiences using the device have been fast, fluid and responsive. What’s more, the Doze mode in Android Marshmallow means that any time that it spends in standby doesn’t consume too much of its battery juice.

Pocket-lint

Smart Ultra 7 preview: Camera

Like the rest of the phone’s features, the camera should definitely be good enough for most users. It’s a 13-megapixel sensor with phase detection autofocus (PDAF), which is also equipped with HDR and an f/2.0 aperture.

The camera’s results seems a far cry from the fuzzy, distorted and over-saturated photos we’re used to seeing in the ultra-affordable market. Our first few shots show up ample detail and great colour. Perhaps more surprising is that it even has manual controls within the camera app for adjusting brightness, shutter speed and white balance. It also shoots in full HD resolution and sits alongside a dual-tone LED flash on the back of the phone.

If selfies are a big deal to you, you’ll be pleased to know the front-facing 5-megapixel snapper also comes with a dual-LED flash, but results will likely be a little fuzzy from the less pixel-dense sensor.

First Impressions

At this moment in time, it’s hard to think of a phone that competes with the Smart Ultra 7 in its price range. The recently announced 4th generation Moto G features many of the same specifications and benefits, but costs £169; a full £34 more than this Vodafone device.

It looks like BlackBerry Hamburg won’t even be made by BlackBerry anymore

BlackBerry has previously and publicly pulled out of making devices around its own operating system, opting for layering its own security software onto Android going forward.

Now though it looks like it won’t even make its own phones by heading down the ODM route – having another manufacturer make them and branding them “BlackBerry”.

It is claimed that the oft-rumoured BlackBerry Hamburg will be manufactured by TCL Communication instead. TCL is the company behind the Alcatel smartphones for consumer use.

A Wi-Fi Alliance certificate – needed to ensure the phone meets international wireless communication standards – was found by Twitter user Roland Quandt and shows the model number STH100-2 and the manufacturer TCL. However, the exact designation “STH100-2” has been linked with the forthcoming Android phone from BlackBerry for a while.

@rquandt

The certificate does indeed list the handset as being tested with Android M, so the clues are there. In addition, the Wi-Fi Alliance has since removed the listing, which often serves as validation in our experience.

Wi-Fi Alliance took down the listing for the BlackBerry STH100-2 made by Alcatel/TCL. Any more confirmation needed? https://t.co/fjAHF39tx0

— Roland Quandt (@rquandt) June 27, 2016

READ: BlackBerry Rome and Hamburg: New renders show mid-range Android phones

So, unless Alcatel is also mysteriously making a separate phone with the same model number, it is highly likely that BlackBerry has decided to outsource its hardware production going forward.

CEO John Chen did recently say, “We are at the point that where our business are extremely efficient and we no longer really making any hardware. We are really a hardware design house. I do design, I don’t really make hardware.” Pushing production to TCL fits those words.

It is not known whether the other rumoured mid-range Android handset, the BlackBerry Rome, will also be made by TCL. We’ll keep them peeled.

Amazing iPhone 7 leaked pics again show headphone jack is gone forever

New pictures of the alleged metal casing for the iPhone 7 have emerged which further show the absence of a 3.5mm heaphone jack this time around.

Apple has long been rumoured to remove the audio output if favour of using the Lightning connection for all purposes, including headphones, and these hands-on images further propagate such a move.

The pics, posted by French website NowhereElse, show that instead of a headphone socket at the bottom of the phone, there will be two speaker grilles. This would likely improve loudspeaker abilities of the forthcoming handset, but is hardly likely to curb the ire of those who are angry that their existing headphones will not be supported natively.

It’s worth considering that these images come from an “unknown source” and could be from a prototype model rather than the full consumer release, but there seem to be more rumours that suggest the jack’s removal than refute it.

READ: Apple iPhone 7: What’s the story so far?

It has also been suggested that Apple will include an adapter with every device sold, so current users can continue to plug in their existing headphones, but when has that been the case in the past?

Did Apple include an adapter with every device when it switched to Lightning in the first place? Nope, it sold one for a fairly hefty price.

NowhereElse.fr

The other element of interest shown in the new leaked pictures concerns the camera. It had previously been widely speculated that the camera unit would be flush to the rear this time around. If these images are genuine, however, there will still be a significant bump.