smartphones
Screen Skinz raises $1.5M seed to create custom screen protectors
There has been much evolution in the personalized phone protector market, but nothing has truly captured screens yet.
How PayJoy built $300M in revenue by letting the underserved use their smartphones as collateral for loans
Lerato Motloung is a mother of two who works in a supermarket in Johannesburg, South Africa. After her phone was stolen, Motloung had to go without a mobile phone for…
The much-teased and oft-leaked Nothing Phone (2a) is now officially official, just under a week after it made its limited debut at the company’s MWC after party. Nothing’s third phone…
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Punkt rocks its minimalist roots with first smartphone
Punkt first made a name for itself in the world of mobile with pared-down, monochromatic phones focused on voice, text and not much else. Now, the Swiss company has taken its concept of minimalism and changed it up, with the launch of its first smartphone — a device that positions itself at the crossroads of…
Apple tops Samsung in worldwide smartphone shipments for the first time
Apple’s iPhone has overtaken Samsung for the first time ever as the best-selling smartphone in 2023, according to a new report from IDC. The tech giant accounted for 20% of…
If every dumb idea I ever had as a teenager was permanently captured on the internet, I’d be in for a rainbow of embarrassment. In today’s always-on and very socially…
Samsung’s mobile division ditched the big show unveils a while back. Gone, too, it seems, are the days when the company would save its first big phone news of the…
Pixel 8 Pro becomes the first smartphone powered by Google’s new AI model, Gemini
The Pixel 8 Pro will now become the first Android smartphone to be powered by Google’s next-generation AI model, Gemini, starting today, the company announced. Gemini Nano, a version of…
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OnePlus Open is a foldable contender
In the earliest days of foldables, simply participating was enough to get people to take notice. With every new player on the scene, however, it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish oneself from the crowd. As we barrel toward the end of 2023, Samsung is far from the only game in town. We’ve got Google, Motorola,…
Google’s Pixel 8 Pro camera is the new mobile photography champ
Let’s not kid ourselves: The most exciting thing about the Google Pixel 8 Pro (and 8, for that matter) is the camera, and because of Google’s commanding position when it…
Google’s Pixel 8 delivers solid performance and design upgrades, plus a focus on the future
Google’s Pixel 8 smartphone is shipping tomorrow, and while the update this year was leaked far in advance of even the official announcement, knowing what a phone looks like on…
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Google’s Pixel 8 brings new camera tricks, better display and a thermometer
When it comes to hardware releases, Google zigs where the competition zags. Leaks are a virtual inevitability at this point. I know that, you know that and Google certainly knows that. Rather than fighting them, however, the company has begun to embrace the chaos, straight up announcing features and revealing images ahead of the product’s…
Honor is a top five smartphone maker in its native China. After more than three years the company is returning to India with the Honor 90, its first new device…
Longevity-loving Fairphone 5 unwrapped, with pledge of 8+ years software support
Ethical electronics startup, Fairphone, has taken the recycled wrapping off a new flagship smartphone, the Fairphone 5, which will start shipping to buyers in Europe next month. The Android 13-powered…
I got caught in the rain twice last week. That probably says more about my general lack of preparedness than anything, of course, but I was reminded both times how…
There’s no question anymore — Google’s Pixel 7a owns the mid-range crown
Google’s Pixel lineup has been a steady and stalwart performer for many generations now, and while the company is still obviously open to bold experimentation with its smartphones — the…
The spinning bezel is the best thing about Samsung Watches. And yet, every few generations, the company drops the hardware feature, customers push back and then it magically returns. If…
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Nothing’s Phone (2) is up for preorder, starting at $599
Nothing was founded on a simple premise: phones are boring. This wasn’t always the case, of course. There was a time before the smartphone became a commodity when the tech world waited with bated breath for the latest device from Apple and Samsung. Ultimately, however, these companies painted themselves into a corner. Phones got too…
Carl Pei’s Nothing raises something – $96M – ahead of the launch of its Phone (2)
Smartphone sales are in decline as handset makers grapple with saturated markets and a tough consumer economic climate. But some are betting on a future where new approaches in design…
Samsung surpasses Apple in smartphone shipments by 1% amid persisting market decline
Samsung overtook Apple through a slender 1% lead to secure the top spot in smartphone shipment volumes during the first quarter of 2023, despite the ongoing contraction of the smartphone…
Consumers are splurging on premium smartphones amid tough economic conditions, report says
Amid the declining smartphone market, premium devices are having their moment. These pricey devices made up more than half of the worldwide smartphone market’s revenue, according to a report by…
Samsung unveils its own solution for satellite-based smartphone communication
Earlier today, Samsung announced its own solution for satellite communication on smartphones. The company unveiled the 5G non-terrestrial networks (NTN) modem so phones can communicate with satellites in locations where…
There’s a lot to be said for consistency in this world. There’s also a lot to be said for realistic expectations. OnePlus should be applauded for both. While it’s true…
It there’s one thing Nothing’s first phone excelled at, it was bringing a bit of excitement to the staid world of smartphones. Shipments have been stagnating, slowing and contracting for…
2022 global smartphone shipments were the lowest in nearly a decade
One of these days I’ll have some positive news to share about the global smartphone market. Today is not that day. The industry capped off another dismal year with a…
Samsung is holding its next Galaxy Unpacked event on February 1, teases camera improvements
Samsung announced today that it’s holding the next Galaxy Unpacked event on February 1 at 10:30 AM PT/1:30 PM ET. The company will expectedly announce the S23 series of phones…
Solana’s web3 phone is an ‘opportunity’ against Google and Apple, co-founder says
It’s been almost four months since the layer-1 blockchain Solana announced its web3-focused smartphone Saga and as the phone is approaching its official release date, the plan has shifted. “Our…
More doom and gloom for smartphone manufacturers, as global smartphone shipments experience the third consecutive decline this year. Per numbers from Canalys, shipments dropped a lowly 9% last quarter, marking…
Here’s Google’s Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro, starting at $599 and $899
The Pixel 6 represented a rebirth for Google. After several generations of trying — and mostly failing — to distinguish itself as a late-comer to the smartphone game, the device…
Apple’s in-app purchase prices jumped 40% year over year, likely tied to privacy changes
It’s become increasingly difficult to estimate how much money Apple’s App Store business makes, as it’s lumped in with other services on Apple’s balance sheet — and because Apple has…
