‘Destiny 2’ March update brings the thrill back to competitive play

Bungie has spent much of its recent time addressing gripes with Destiny 2’s story and cooperative play, but players in the competitive Crucible mode? Not so much — some have complained that the Crucible just isn’t that exciting, and the infamous Prometheus Lens incident arguably wouldn’t have happened if Bungie had been paying closer attention to Crucible gameplay. You might not have that complaint for much longer, though. The studio has detailed some of the changes coming with the March 27th update, and a large chunk of them are designed to ratchet up the intensity of player-versus-player fights.

Virtually every form of movement is faster — both overall and with abilities like gliding and Supers. Those Supers and power weapon ammo will be available more frequently, too. And if you thought the regular gameplay revolved too heavily around auto rifles, you’ll be happy to hear that hand cannons, fusion rifles and other guns should be more useful.

There are other competitive tweaks in line for March 27th, such as quitting penalties, a weekly playlist and 6-on-6 Iron Banner. All told, it’s evident that Bungie wants the Crucible to be more appealing in its own right, rather than something to grind when you’re looking for new gear. It’s just unfortunate that these updates will have taken half a year.

Source: Bungie

MacRumors Giveaway: Win a Protective ‘Limitless’ Case for iPhone X From Mous

For this week’s giveaway, we’ve teamed up with Mous to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win an ultraprotective Limitless iPhone case for the iPhone X, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, or earlier iPhones.

Mous’ Limitless cases all feature a shell that’s made from a high impact “AiroShock” material, TPU, and Polycarbonate. Mous says the AiroShock lining of its cases contains thousands of micro air pockets. Air in the micro pockets acts as a spring in the event of a fall, minimizing the damage from an impact.

Mous ships its cases with an included screen protector that’s made from a triple-layered blend of TPU, PET, and Silicon, which it says is able to absorb three times more impact than a normal screen protector.

Because of the AiroShock material, Limitless cases are able to offer military grade protection in a slim package. Each Limitless case adds 2.3mm to the thickness of the iPhone, and the tapered design at the middle allows the case to be flush with the iPhone screen.

In addition to offering complete device protection, Mous cases are also made from unique materials. Cases for the iPhone X, for example, are available in a dark carbon fiber, black leather, walnut wood, bamboo wood, or an iridescent shell, and every case is made from authentic materials.

Inside of each Mous case, there are small magnets that work with a series of accessories that are set to launch in early 2018, including different accessory plates. Despite the magnets, Mous cases are fully compatible with wireless charging.

Mous iPhone cases are priced starting at $45, but prices can vary based on material. We have 10 Mous cases to give away to MacRumors readers, with each winner able to choose case size and material. To enter to win, use the Rafflecopter widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winners and send the prizes. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page.

Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years or older and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory are eligible to enter. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.

a Rafflecopter giveawayThe contest will run from today (February 2) at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time on February 9. The winners will be chosen randomly on February 9 and will be contacted by email. The winners will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before new winners are chosen.
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Apple Now Selling Refurbished Apple TV 4K Models at $30 Discount

Just after adding refurbished iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus models to its online store, Apple is now selling refurbished Apple TV 4K models for the first time in the United States. Apple TV 4K was released in September 2017.

32GB and 64GB models are available for $149 and $169 respectively in the United States, reflecting modest savings of $30 off Apple’s regular pricing for the equivalent brand new Apple TV 4K configurations. We’ve yet to see any refurbished Apple TV 4K models listed in other countries.

Apple says its refurbished products are thoroughly inspected, tested, cleaned, and repackaged with a new white box and accessories.

Refurbished Apple TVs are covered by Apple’s standard one-year warranty effective on the date the device is delivered. The limited warranty can be extended to up to two years from the original purchase date with AppleCare for Apple TV for $29, but note this plan doesn’t include accidental damage coverage.

Apple’s refurbished products are virtually indistinguishable from brand new products, so they represent an opportunity for savings, but better Apple TV 4K deals are occasionally offered by resellers. Keep an eye on our Apple Deals roundup.

In addition to the iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, and Apple TV 4K, Apple also began selling refurbished second-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro models in January.

Related Roundup: Apple TVTag: refurbishedBuyer’s Guide: Apple TV (Buy Now)
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iPhone Was Best Selling Smartphone in Q4 2017 Amid Industry Wide Decline

Apple yesterday announced that it sold 77.3 million iPhones during the first fiscal quarter of 2018 (fourth calendar quarter of 2017), and according to data shared by Strategy Analytics, Apple’s record sales made the iPhone the top selling smartphone in the world during the quarter.

In Q4 2017, Samsung shipped 74.7 million phones, 2.6 million fewer than Apple’s 77.3 million. Other vendors like Huawei and OPPO shipped far fewer devices at 41 million and 29.5 million, respectively. Apple also beat out competitors with the average selling price of its iPhones during the quarter, which came in at $796.

Apple beat out all other smartphone vendors including Samsung, Huawei, OPPO, and Xiaomi, but its overall iPhone shipments were down from 78.3 million in the year-ago quarter. It’s worth noting, however, that Q4 2017 was a 13 week quarter, while Q4 2016 was a 14 week quarter.

While Apple came out on top in global smartphone shipments during the quarter, Samsung continues to be the top vendor overall. Apple’s share of the market was 19.3 percent in Q4 2017, compared to Samsung’s 18.6 percent, but its overall marketshare for 2017 was 14.3 percent, compared to Samsung’s 21.1 percent.

Overall global smartphone shipments declined year over year, falling from 438.7 million units in the fourth quarter of 2016 to 400.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2017. According to Strategy Analytics, it was “the biggest annual fall in smartphone history.”

Over the course of 2017, though, smartphone shipments actually grew 1 percent and topped 1.5 billion units for the first time ever.

Apple does not break down its iPhone sales, but yesterday, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that the iPhone X has been the top selling iPhone every week since it shipped in December. Cook also said that the iPhone X, iPhone 8, and iPhone 8 Plus lineup brought in the highest revenue of any lineup in the company’s history.

Related Roundup: iPhone XBuyer’s Guide: iPhone X (Buy Now)
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Review: Lifeprint’s ‘Hyperphoto’ Printer Lets You Instantly Print Your iPhone Photos and Videos

Lifeprint, a company known for its iPhone-compatible ZINK photo printer, recently introduced a new, larger photo printer that’s able to print images that are 3 by 4.5 inches instead of 2 by 3 inches, the normal standard size for mini printers designed for the iPhone.

The new Lifeprint 3×4.5 Hyperphoto Printer for iPhone, priced at $150, is an Apple exclusive that’s designed to give customers a quick and easy way to instantly print their iPhone photos. Lifeprint asked me to check out the new 3×4.5 printer, and while I loved the larger image size, there are some drawbacks to be aware of before deciding to purchase one.

Design

The new Lifeprint printer is similar to a large hard drive or an iPad mini, and it’s a little over an inch thick, so not quite as portable as the original version, but also not a space hog like a traditional printer. I can easily fit it into my backpack for use while on the go, but it’s not pocketable like the ZIP.

It’s constructed from plastic, with a silver plastic at the bottom and a glossy white plastic at the top, which matches the aesthetic of the iPhone. It’s lightweight, but it doesn’t feel like a cheap product.

The Lifeprint printer has a top that slides off, which is where the printer paper and the printing internals are located. When you need to add more printer paper, you’ll need to slide the top off, put the paper in facedown, and then slide the top back on. It’s a simple process.

At one side, there’s a slot where the printed photos come out, and at the other side, there’s a microUSB charging port, which is how the Lifeprint charges. The battery is rechargeable, so this printer is fully portable and does not need a constant power connection.

Aside from the slot for the paper and the charging port, there’s a slot where you can plug in a locking cable and a power button on the left side to turn it on.

Setup

Setting up the Lifeprint was simple aside from the account creation process, which required everything from my phone number to my birth date. Pairing essentially consisted of charging the printer via micro-USB cable, turning it on, downloading the app, and connecting it to my phone using the traditional Bluetooth interface in the Settings app.

As mentioned above, when setting the printer up, you’ll need to slip the top off and add in the paper. It’s a simple process, though, and you really just need to slide the lid down at the arrow and then slide it back on.

ZINK Paper

Lifeprint is a ZINK photo printer, like many of the smaller iPhone photo printers on the market, which means it uses ZINK paper. ZINK stands for zero ink, because there’s no ink involved, and thus there are no expensive color cartridges to buy. ZINK is thermal paper that works when heat is applied via the Lifeprint printer.

ZINK paper is nice because there’s no ink involved, it’s fast, there’s no smearing or fading, and it’s sticky on the back so you can turn all of your photos into stickers.

On the downside, though, ZINK paper is expensive, and that’s the one major thing to be aware of when purchasing the new Lifeprint printer or a similar device. It’s $50 for a 40 pack of the new larger photo paper, which translates to more than $1 per picture. That’s not terrible if you’re used to polaroids or developing film, both of which are also expensive, but it’s a shock for those of us who are used to digital-only formats.

App

To print photos on the Lifeprint printer, you have to use the Lifeprint app. The app is also used for setting up the printer and pairing it to your iPhone. The Lifeprint app is okay but could stand to be improved. It’s a little bit slow, buggy, and sometimes prone to crashing.

When opening the Lifeprint app, it pulls in all of your Camera roll photos, which you can then select to print. You can also take a photo directly in the app, and there are built in editing tools you can use before printing to spruce up the quality of your photo or add stickers, labels, meme text, artful blur, and other effects.

The editing tools are fine and will work for simple editing jobs, but they’re limited in scope and you’ll probably be better off editing your photos with a third-party photo editing app before porting them into the Lifeprint app. If you don’t want to hassle with that, the Lifeprint app is fine on its own.

You can also import photos from popular social networking apps like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Once you’ve selected a photo to print, sending it to the printer is as simple as tapping the print icon in the upper right hand side of the app.

I had some specific frustrations with the Lifeprint app. When I went to print a Live Photo, for example, the Lifeprint app would pull it in as a video clip with the focus set to the beginning of the clip, which is not typically the clear part of the Live Photo.

It ignored the main photo part of the Live Photo, so each and every Live Photo required me to look for and select the ideal clip, a process I wish was better optimized.

Another source of annoyance was the app’s built in social networking features. The Lifeprint app creates a profile for you and adds each photo you print to that profile, and if you don’t uncheck “share with friends” each time you print, the photos you print are uploaded to that profile.

I don’t want to join a social network for my printer, I don’t want all my printed photos uploaded to a profile, and I don’t want to see other people’s printed photos in the “Inbox” and “Explore” feeds that are also available in the app.

I’m sure these features are useful to some people, but there should be an opt-out option for people who just want a printer, not a slow-to-load social network filled with photos from strangers.

Augmented Reality Features

Lifeprint bills its printer as an augmented reality printer because you can print a still photo of a video or a Live Photo and then scan the print with the Lifeprint app to see the original source material, something that Lifeprint calls a “Hyperphoto.”

So, for example, you can print a video featuring your cat, give that photo to your friend, and then your friend can scan it with the Lifeprint app to see the original video overlaid on top of the photo.

Lifeprint claims that this is like the magical animated photos in the Harry Potter movies, and that’s not an inaccurate claim, but I have a hard time believing people are using this feature on a regular basis.

To watch the video, the person on the receiving end of the photo has to go to the App Store, download the Lifeprint app, open the app, allow permission for it to access the camera, and then scan the photo. That’s a lot of hassle when I could just send the video directly to someone.

I wouldn’t buy the Lifeprint printer for this feature, nor would I give someone a photo with the express purpose of watching a video, but I suppose being able to scan a photo to watch a video is a neat little bonus.

Photo Quality

There are some caveats to using thermal paper compared to traditional ink, and convenience does come at the cost of quality. You’re not going to get super crisp, color accurate prints with the Lifeprint printer or any other printer that uses ZINK paper, just due to the nature of thermal paper.

It’s best to think of Lifeprint photos as similar to Polaroid pictures. They can be a little bit fuzzy, and the colors aren’t always quite right, but they have a certain charm to them, especially with filters and edits applied.

For the record, I think the Lifeprint 4×3.5 Photo printer has some of the best ZINK prints that I’ve seen. They’re definitely much better than the prints I get from my Polaroid printer, and while they’re not as color accurate as professionally done prints, they’re good enough to hand out to friends and family.

Bottom Line

Having the ability to print and share your iPhone photos at anytime is undeniably useful, especially if you’re someone who values physical photos over digital. The larger Lifeprint printer is great for travel, perfect for parties, and ideal for journaling or scrapbooking.

It’s portable, easy to use, and for an instant ZINK photo, the quality is decent. Not perfect, but passable and nice enough for sharing with friends, sticking in a journal, or hanging on the wall. You need to know what to expect with ZINK, though – these are not high quality crystal clear prints.

Unfortunately, the entire Lifeprint system is cost prohibitive. I can stomach $150 for a fun little photo printer, but the paper is incredibly expensive on top of that. It’s $30 for 20 prints or $50 for 40 prints, which works out to $1.25 to $1.50 per picture. That’s more expensive than the smaller version, and a lot more expensive than using an online photo service.

You can walk into a Walmart and print a photo for something like 20 cents, or use a service like Shutterfly, which charges 15 cents. The Lifeprint printer is providing instant gratification, though, and it’ll be up to consumers to decide whether that instant gratification is worth ~$1.25 per picture.

I do want to point out that all of the ZINK photo printers that compete with the Lifeprint all use the same ZINK paper, so there’s no real cheaper option. Lifeprint isn’t ripping anyone off or anything. All ZINK paper is expensive. With the 2.3 x 3 inch ZINK printers, you can get slightly more affordable paper on Amazon, but the larger Lifeprint’s unique size means the paper has to be purchased from Apple at full cost.

So, in a nutshell, the Lifeprint is convenient and a lot of fun, but be prepared to shell out a decent amount of money for the paper if you purchase the printer.

How to Buy

You can purchase the Lifeprint 3×4.5 Photo and Video Printer from the Apple online store for $149.95. Paper is also available, with a 20 pack priced at $30.

Note: Lifeprint provided MacRumors with a 3.5×4 Lifeprint printer for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received.
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Changes at eBay are on the way as it reduces ties with PayPal

Attention, eBay shoppers and sellers. Changes are on the way.

The ecommerce giant is planning to ditch PayPal as its primary payments processor and replace it with Adyen, an outfit you may not have heard of but which already has big-name clients that include Netflix, Uber, and Spotify.

The online resale giant said it will make the move in 2020 when the current deal with PayPal expires. PayPal will remain a payment option for eBay shoppers, but will no longer be featured prominently.

Netherlands-based Adyen is a global online payments firm that was founded in 2006. It provides back-end payment services that include point-of-sales systems and credit card processing. The partnership with eBay means shoppers will stay within the eBay website when they go to pay, instead of being taken to an external service to complete a transaction.

In other words, for buyers the change will result in a more integrated user experience, with the shopping site itself taking care of the entire checkout process, “delivering a more streamlined experience for consumers,” eBay said. With PayPal staying on eBay (at least for now), the addition of a new system also means more payment options.

Sellers will also see some benefits, as eBay promises “most” sellers will see a reduction in costs related to payments processing, and also benefit from “a simplified pricing structure and more predictable access to their funds.”

Ultimately, the change has the potential to result in more sales, eBay says, as the new system will expand payment options into more markets and also offer buyers more choice in how they pay, thereby improving the shopping experience.

The new payment system will be introduced gradually, beginning on a small scale in North America in the second half of 2018, with full integration expected to be completed by 2021. eBay has signed a deal with PayPal to keep it as a payment option on its marketplace until at least 2023.

“In a rapidly changing and competitive ecommerce landscape, shoppers expect to be able to both shop and checkout on the site on which they transact,” eBay said in a blog post. “Building out eBay’s payments capabilities is the next step in the company’s strategy, with the goal of driving significant benefits and efficiencies for its buyers and sellers globally.”

PayPal was acquired by eBay in 2002 for $1.5 billion, and eBay spun off the online payments company in 2015.

According to Adyen‘s own data, its business is growing fast, as it processed $50 billion worth of transactions in 2015, up from $14 billion in 2013. To what extent eBay’s move will affect PayPal’s business isn’t yet clear.

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Sony CEO Kaz Hirai decides to step down after six-year tenure

Sony CEO Hirai Kazuo, best known outside of Japan as Kaz Hirai, will step down from his role at the company on April 1, 2018. His successor is current Chief Financial Officer Yoshida Kenichiro. Hirai will not leave Sony, but will instead take on the role of director and chairman at that time. The decision came from Hirai himself, and his proposal was approved by Sony’s board of directors on February 2.

In a statement, Hirai says, “As the company approaches a crucial juncture, when we will embark on a new midrange plan, I consider this to be the ideal time to pass the baton of leadership to new management, for the future of Sony and also for myself to embark on a new chapter in my life.”

Hirai became CEO in 2012, but was well known before then as president of Sony Computer Entertainment, during which time he turned the PlayStation brand around and returned it to success. According to Hirai he has been working closely with Yoshida since late 2013, who has been a “valuable confidant and business partner,” and the pair took on, “the challenge of transforming Sony together.” “As chairman,” Hirai continues, “I will offer my full support to Mr Yoshida and the new management team.”

Yoshida became CFO in April 2014, around the same time Sony faced damaging scandals after hackers exposed emails revealing private information about the company, its staff, and future plans. In an interview with the Financial Times in December 2014, Yoshida is described as “straight-talking,” and with a “reputation for being ‘blunt’ and ‘ruthless’ when it comes to achieving targets.” He was instrumental in changing the way Sony Entertainment was managed, and in making other decisions key to turning around Sony’s fortunes.

In Sony’s official statement, Yoshida says, “Together with the outstanding talent we have across the Sony Group, I will aim to build on the business foundations established by Mr. Hirai, and execute further reform measures that enhance our competitiveness as a global enterprise, and enable us to realize long-term profit growth.”

Yoshida’s first order of business will be to finalize Sony’s plans for the near future, and to put its 2018 plan into action. Hirai has not announced any future plans beyond his role as chairman at Sony.

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Clear out your inbox with the 10 best third-party email apps for iOS

Email is an essential method of communication in our everyday lives, one we use for work and play. But the interminable threads can go on forever, and your inbox can quickly become a cluttered mess. Thankfully, there are many email apps that are designed to help you better manage your inbox. Some apps filter emails based on conversations or popular contacts, while others filter content based on attachment type. Below are some of our favorite email apps for iOS, so you can boost your email productivity right on your smartphone.

To enhance your productivity even further, check out our picks for the best calendar apps for iOS and Android.

Astro — Email & Calendar

Are you looking for a unique email experience? Well, you’ll be hard-pressed to find something close to Astro. It’s an email and calendar app that’s powered by an assistant. The assistant can respond to hundreds of commands, so it can manage and search your inbox, add events, set reminders, and more. There’s a focused inbox that brings in your most important mail, and Slack integration enables you to search your Slack messages and share emails to specific Slack channels. Astrobot is so smart you can even communicate with it using Amazon Echo. The downside is that it only works with Gmail and Office 365 at the moment.

Download now from:

App Store

Gmail

If you use Google services, then the official Gmail app is a must-have. It supports multiple accounts, and it integrates perfectly with all Google services. You can manage calendar invites or invitations to edit a document directly within Google Docs. Speaking of Google Docs, when you attach files, they will seamlessly integrate with Google Drive, so you can share them via the cloud.

Download now from:

App Store

Outlook

Microsoft Outlook is one of the best email clients for iOS. It offers several attractive features, one of them being Focused Inbox. The way this works is that Outlook will present only the most important emails to you, instead of showing you a big list of every email you get. The emails you see are emails from contacts that you interact with most frequently. Next to that, you will see a tab labeled Other. This is where the less important, bulk emails will be. You can also see your calendars, and you can add Gmail or iCloud accounts. This app is even compatible with the Apple Watch.

Download now from:

App Store

Inbox by Gmail

Inbox is a different way of dealing with your email. One of the best parts about it is that it will bundle similar emails together so that you can deal with them all at once. The app also houses a very useful ‘pin’ feature, which allows you to easily pin important emails to the top of the app so that you can access them more easily later on. Inbox really tries to tackle the problem of messy inboxes. If you’re constantly having to deal with a large number of emails, this third-party app should definitely make your shortlist.

Download now from:

App Store

Newton Mail by CloudMagic

Newton is a subscription-based service that costs $50 a year. It works with several other email services, including Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, Outlook, iCloud, Exchange, and all IMAP accounts. It has many of the features we’ve come to expect in an email app, including Snooze, Read Receipts, Send Later, and Connected Apps. This versatile app is also compatible with the Apple Watch, and there’s a companion Newton Calendar app to further enhance your productivity.

Download now from:

App Store

Edison Mail

This app is very easy and quick to set up. It supports Gmail, Hotmail, iCloud, Yahoo, Outlook, Exchange, and more. Edison Mail offers you access to a unified inbox, and it allows you to unsubscribe from junk mail and manage your subscriptions. You can manage the notifications by setting alerts for some senders and muting others. It supports Touch ID, 3D Touch, and it also has package tracking alerts. Edison Mail is one of the most feature-rich email clients that you will find.

Download now from:

App Store

VMware Boxer

Boxer’s main attraction is its ability to deal with emails in bulk using your own custom gestures. This app works with several cloud apps, too, including Dropbox, Box, Google Drive, and others. Much like Dropbox and Outlook, the design of the app is modern and clean, and this makes it very intuitive to work with. It’s an ideal solution if you need to manage emails in each of your accounts individually, or in a combined inbox.

Download now from:

App Store

Spark

Here’s another app that wants to take all your emails and organize them by categories within a unified inbox. Spark gives you a lot of freedom by allowing you to set swipe gestures. The app works with cloud services, too, allowing you to attach files from Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, OneDrive. It even works with apps such as Readability, Pocket, Evernote, and OneNote. Similar to a chat app, Spark allows you to quickly reply to someone with a “Like” or “Thanks.” Spark is also compatible with Apple Watch.

Download now from:

App Store

Triage

Triage aims to tackle the complexity of email on your smartphone, helping you to clean up the clutter and quickly reply to messages. When you log into your inbox, your new messages appear as a stack of cards. You can deal with them with a few gestures — just swipe up to archive a message or down to keep it in your inbox. If you want to deal with a particular email quickly, you can also tap the message to reply. Triage supports Gmail, Yahoo, and iCloud Mail, and most email services that support IMAP.

Download now from:

App Store

Yahoo

Yahoo’s official mail app isn’t just for Yahoo users because you can add your Outlook, Gmail, AOL, and a slew of other accounts. One of the best things about Yahoo mail is that it gives you 1,000 GB of free storage so that you can keep a lot of email in your inbox without having to delete it. This is great for folks who get a lot of emails with large attachments. It also connects to Google Drive and Dropbox, so that you can attach files directly from your cloud accounts.

Download now from:

App Store

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Leak reveals list of upcoming Samsung Galaxy devices in 2018

All eyes may be on the upcoming MWC 2018 announcement for the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus, but that doesn’t mean that Samsung doesn’t have other devices in the wings waiting for their time to shine.

Diligent work by the folks over at XDA Developers has revealed a large list of model names that supposedly showcase the new smartphones and tablets Samsung is currently working on. It’s definitely worth taking the findings with a pinch of salt, as a lot of the devices are educated guesses and come with varying degrees of plausibility. And while XDA identified a few model numbers on the list, there are still plenty of others we’re not sure about.

XDA Developers

Some are fairly easy to work out — we’ve known “star” was the working model name for the Galaxy S9 since The Bell revealed it back in May 2017, so it’s safe to assume “star” and “star2” are the Galaxy S9 and the S9 Plus. “astarqlte” at the top of the list is more interesting — clearly an S9 variant with “star” in the name, XDA has taken the additional “q” to stand for Qualcomm — it will be equipped with a Snapdragon processor — while the “a” likely denotes an entry in the Galaxy Active-series of rugged smartphones. Since Samsung has released an Active version of its flagship S-range since the Galaxy S4 Active, it’s fair to assume a Galaxy S9 Active is in the works.

Another of the obvious entries is “crown” — again revealed by The Bell (via The Investor) as the model name for the Galaxy Note 9. It gets more interesting with a mention of a “jackpot” model name. There are four slightly different versions of “jackpot” on the list, with the additional “2” likely denoting a Plus version, and “q” again likely to denote a Qualcomm-powered device, implying variations of the device alternately powered by Snapdragon and Exynos processors. It’s entirely possible this code name depicts the long-rumored Samsung Galaxy X with a foldable display.

There are also a large amount of J-range devices on the list, with Samsung seemingly experimenting with expanding its budget and midrange offerings in the Galaxy J-range, including the J2, J4, J6, and J8. Quite where these would fall in Samsung’s current catalog isn’t clear, but the Galaxy A-range is conspicuously absent from the list. Could Samsung be planning on replacing the A-range with an expanded J-range? It’s unclear, but it does seem like the C-range will be returning, with the Galaxy C10 and C10 Plus on the list.

Some Samsung tablets are seemingly present on the list as well, with the Galaxy Tab A 10.1 2018, Galaxy Tab E 2018, and Tab S4 all identifiable. However, a large amount of similar-looking model names are present, and could imply Samsung is looking to expand the Galaxy Tab range in 2018.

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Apple passes Samsung in smartphone sales, as newer models are shunned

Consumers of smartphones are choosing to ignore the shiny new models in favor of older, cheaper models, according to the International Data Corporation‘s (IDC) analysis of smartphone sales in the last quarter of 2017.

A disappointing holiday season punctuated the end of the year, with overall global sales dropping 6.3 percent when compared to the previous year’s final quarter. In real terms, that’s only a drop to 403.5 million units from the 430.7 million units shipped in the final months of 2016, but it paints a worrying trend for the mobile phone magnates at the top of the totem pole. Despite 2017 seeing some of the most gorgeous smartphones that we’ve ever seen, with powerful internal components and bezel-less designs that pushed style through the roof, it seems that consumers are reacting against the concurrent trend that saw prices rise, with the iPhone X — one of the year’s most anticipated phones — topping the scales at $1,000.

“The latest flock of posh flagships may have had consumers hitting the pause button in the holiday quarter,” said Anthony Scarsella, research manager for Mobile Phones at IDC. “With ultra-high-end flagships all the rage in 2017, many of these new bezel-less wonders proved to be more of a luxury than a necessity among upgraders […] the new and higher price points could be outweighing the benefits of having the latest and greatest device in hand.”

The end result of this consumer hesitation seems to be an increase in interest for older, slightly cheaper flagships. Interestingly, analysts had previously predicted this trend in December, when sales of the iPhone X turned out to be less than expected.

Despite the setback for the ultra-premium flagship and lower sales than the previous year, Apple still had a good quarter, beating Samsung to the top spot in overall smartphone sales for the fourth quarter. Shipping 77.3 million units compared to Samsung’s 74.1 million, Apple heads into 2018 in a good position, despite rumors that it will be retiring the iPhone X in the summer.

Still, Samsung won’t be too upset, as it leaves 2017 with a grand total of 317.3 million shipments over the entire year, easily beating second-place Apple’s total of 215.8 million units.

Chinese brands Huawei, Xiaomi, and Oppo come in at third, fourth, and fifth respectively, with Xiaomi in particular seeing a massive 96.9-percent growth over last year’s fourth quarter — the only phone manufacturer in the top five to successfully increase their global sales in the same period. Still, with 28.1 million units sold, it has a long way to go to beat Huawei’s 41 million-unit mark.

In terms of overall smartphone sales for 2017, we’ve seen a very small decline, year-on-year as global sales dropped from 1,473.4 million units to 1,472.4 million units — a fall of 0.1-percent. While it’s barely an official drop, the news that premium flagship handsets with the latest features are failing to attract consumers may well be a rude awakening for those companies who have let prices rise and rise over the year.

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