Samsung to launch the Galaxy S8 on March 29

We’ve known for a while now that Samsung wasn’t planning on releasing its latest flagship at Mobile World Congress this year. But they did use MWC 2017 to announce when they are planning to unveil the Galaxy S8. The launch will be held in New York on March 29^th. After the disaster that was the Galaxy Note7 recall, Samsung wants to get things right this time. The S8 is rumoured to be sharing a lot of the LG G6’s features, such as slim bezels, higher screen-to-body ratio, dual-camera setup, wireless charging, and waterproof design. And to make sure the Note7 debacle doesn’t happen again, Samsung has a new, lengthier battery testing process.

Source: CNET

This is the reimagined Nokia 3310

The new Nokia 3310 is slightly rounder but with a slightly bigger color display and Snake, let’s not forget the iconic game. As promised, HMD Global has reintroduced the iconic basic phone for a new generation. Aside from Snake, the phone gets some of its must-have features—a great battery life and, hopefully, an almost indestructible build, too. It has a 22-hour talk time and standby time of up to a month. It has a 2.4-inch polarized and curved display that HMD boasts can be easily read even under sunlight. The back cover and battery are removable. And unlike its predecessor, this one sports a 2-megapixel camera. It also charges via microUSB this time, meaning you don’t need the proprietary Nokia pin charger of yore. Plus, it runs on an updated version of the original’s S30 software.

Available in Warm Red, Yellow, Dark Blue, and Gray, it seems to be a nod as well to the colorful devices Nokia has been known to produce. It’ll retail for €50 (around CA$70) and will be available around the second quarter of the year. If you’re looking for a more basic device or just want to bask in the nostalgia, this might be worth looking into.

Source: Nokia + The Guardian

Google Assistant to come to Android Nougat and Marshmallow

The Google Assistant on the Samsung Galaxy S7, LG V20, and HTC 10

One of the biggest differentiators for Google Pixel and Home is now coming to more Android devices. Google just announced at Mobile World Congress 2017 in Barcelona that starting this week smartphones running Android 7.0 Nougat and Android 6.0 Marshmallow will be getting Google Assistant. It’ll be coming first to English users in the U.S. and then those in Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. German users will also be getting this in Germany soon. Google promises to add more languages over the coming year. So devices such as the just launched LG G6 will be getting Google Assistant.

Huawei and Leica tease P10 and P10 Plus ahead of MWC 2017

Mobile World Congress in Barcelona is almost upon us. Ahead of it brands are teasing what they plan to bring to the showroom floor. Without beating around the bush, Huawei and Leica both promote two new co-branded and co-engineered smartphones—the P10 and P10 Plus. The two brands originally collaborated on the P9 and P9 Plus. This was later carried on to the Mate 9. These phones feature dual-camera system with one of the sensors being used exclusively for black and white photography. Having the dual-camera setup also makes it possible to have a DSLR-like shallow depth of field effect on the phones. We should be hearing more about these devices in the next few days.

Source: CNET