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Samsung Galaxy Note 4 may include retinal scanner

The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 may well be coming our way in September during the IFA 2014 in Berlin, and a specific tweet by @SamsungExynos – Samsung’s Twitter account for all things pertaining to their proprietary chipset and processor brand – has hinted that the next gen phablet may probably have a retinal scanner, or at the very least, security features that deals with the human eye. How many of those could there be?



The tweet was posted yesterday under the hashtag “#ExynosTomorrow”, vaguely hinting at the future of Samsung chipsets. The tweet mentions security features “unique to us” – meaning Samsung, of course, and includes an image with a device that looks like a phablet. Very notably, the images shows a human eye reflected on the phablet. Go figure.


What else could it be, right? Alright, well it could be anything. BUT, it could well be retinal scanning as well. The tweet mentions about improving security features, and a retina scanner would indeed be that. In May, there was talk of Samsung going into research for biometric security for almost all its devices across all tiers – fingerprint scanners and specifically, iris (not retina) scanners were mentioned.


The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is rumored to be a beast if current spec leaks and assumptions are to be believed. The two variants of the Galaxy Note 4 made an appearance in AnTuTu’s benchmark database, and the variants carried the spanking new Snapdragon 805 “ultra HD” chip (quad-core at 2.7Ghz) and the Exynos 5433 octa-core chip respectively. We will of course be hearing more of the Galaxy Note 4 as September nears, but what is known about the device is certainly impressive at this point.


SOURCE: Samsung Exynos





Unknown device runs MediaTek SoC, hits over 43k in AnTuTu

AnTuTu’s cred has not been all that great these days, especially as anybody who’s anybody in the smartphone manufacturing industry – particularly South Korean giant Samsung – tried at one point or another to “game” its devices’ benchmark results to get higher scores. Still, anyone with enough Android knowledge would know that the higher tier scores belong to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips. But what do we have here? A MediaTek-based device beating premium Snapdragon-based devices?



This is virtually unheard of, as you may know. And the fact that the owner of said screenshots did not want to broadcast the device’s true identity may reek of something fishy. But taken at face value, the 43,149 AnTuTu benchmark score from a device running MediaTek’s MT6595 chip is considerably higher than premium devices which run the Sanpdragon 801 chips, whose scores usually top out at 40,000.


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The mystery device is powered by the octacore SoC and has 3GB of RAM in it, as well as dual-sim support and LTE connectivity, running Android 4.4.2 Kitkat. We have seen a lot of improvement in performance from devices made by China-based outfits – although software development still has a lot to improve – and it is quite probable that this mystery monster device hails from China.


Is it the new and improved Xiaomi Mi4, whose photos straight from the assembly line has been leaking recently? There have been rumors that Xiaomi is actually considering either NVIDIA or Snapdragon processors for its new flagship phone. A move to MediaTek could seriously bring down the retail price of the new device, although we can only hope that happens. Of course, this is all down to if the screenshots we have seen are legit, and if they didn't "game" their AnTuTu results.


VIA: GizChina





Android security chief: anti-virus apps are overrated

When you are partly in charge of making a product, of course you want to project your product in the best light possible. But when Google's chief security engineer for all things Android, Adrian Ludwig, downplayed the value of anti-virus apps before Google I/O 2014, he might have projected a different and harmful image instead. While he claims that majority of users won't benefit from malware-hunting apps on Android, the number of malware on the platform, even those that get through Google Play Store's own bouncers, prove otherwise.



Ludwig perhaps cannot be faulted for claiming that Android and Google by themselves are more than capable of protecting their users. After all, it is bad marketing to publicly extol the inadequacy of your own products. However, Ludwig's eyes might have been far too jaded to make an objective assessment of the matter. In fact, he was so bold to claim that 99 percent and more of Android users do not need to install such things. Only those who work in the line of fire might need to, but for the rest of the world, what Android provides is enough. Or so he claims.


Sure, Android does have its own malware protection, and Google Play Store also makes frequent checks of its catalog. But if you follow our security and malware tag portals, you will know that neither always work. Ransomware to even fake security apps have been able to exist on Google Play Store, sometimes even for days, with Google none the wiser. But there are also other sources of Android apps, from full-blown market alternatives to just sideloading an APK directly. Google has no direct control over these and Android has been proven sometimes inadequate to stop their rampage as well.


Ludwig was also quick to point the finger at anti-virus security companies that do make a profit from these apps. He practically accuses them of crying wolf in order to get users to run to them for protection. While we can neither prove nor deny such underhanded tactics, security apps such as these do provide some features that Google does not provide in a stock Android, like protected or private apps, frequently updated databases of known malware, and more. More than protecting users from malware, these sometimes also protect users from themselves as well, something Google might be better off not doing itself, lest it cause the ire of majority of Android users who do prefer the tech giant to keep the platform open and free.


VIA: Naked Security





Upcoming Xperia Z2 tablet now getting CyanogenMod 11 builds

This must be a boon to all CyanogenMod fans out there, that even Sony’s upcoming Xperia Z2 tablet – launching on July 17 exclusive with Verizon – now have CM 11 experimental builds that will be available for all 5 variants of the device. This was announced via CyanogenMod’s Google Plus account yesterday.



Verizon customers will get to have exclusive access to Sony’s new quarter-inch thick tablet just a few days from now, and undoubtedly there will be some among those crowd who will want CM 11 on the device to get the most out of it. The Xperia Z2 tablet is apparently aimed at media geeks who will want that touted 10 hours of playback time that Sony has announced upon the tablet’s launch.


As with a host of other Sony Xperia devices, this one is water-resistant as well – but we do hope you do not go swimming with the newfangled tablet when you do get it. That will probably lay waste to the wonderful quad-core Snapdragon 801 chipset that powers the tablet, and will utilize the high bandwith speeds of Verizon’s LTE network.


Those who are already familiar with CM 11 will understand how big a deal this is that the CyanogeMod team has put the device under its supported list. Custom ROMs just give you an edge when it comes to features and the sooner CM 11 is stable on the Sony Xperia Z2 tablet, the better it is for the users who want to take advantage of the CM 11 custom ROM.


SOURCE: CyanogenMod





Mobile game lets you use Sony Smartwatch2 and Smartband as controller

Europe is at war. England is under attack by Axis planes sent by an evil empire with “occultic" plans. You are one of the last hopes of a whole continent and they send you in together with other brave fighter pilots. You bring out your secret weapon. No, it’s not the latest bio weapon, but a Sony Smartwatch2 and Smartband! What?



Yes, the rise of the smartwatches does not only bring you a more convenient way to manage notifications and apps on your smartphone. Sony’s wearable devices can now even be used as game controllers for the mobile game Aces of the Luftwaffe. The game is set during the famous Battle of Britain, where the German Air Force conducted an aerial campaign against the United Kingdom in the 1940s, the biggest one during that period. Your role in the game is to defend England from these aerial forces by meeting them head on with fighter planes.


All you need to do is download the game on to your Sony smartphone, tablet or Xperia TV. By connecting your Sony Smartwatch2 and Smartband to the bigger screen, you can control your planes through movements and gestures. Your wrist might eventually get tired from all the moving, swerving and flicking, but hey, at least you get to defend an entire country against the Luftwaffe, or the aerial warfare branch of Germany during World War II.


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You can download the game for free through the Google Play Store. There are also in-app purchases available, but the free version is enough for your Sony wearable devices to have a bigger purpose in your gadget life.




SOURCE: Xperia


Wear Mini Launcher gives quick access to smartwatch apps

While smartwatches are supposed to make our lives easier by letting us read notifications and do tasks without opening our devices, it’s still in its early stages and so it’s still a pain to use sometimes. It takes users a few steps to open an app, even with the voice prompt feature. Wear Mini Launcher is a new app created for wearables, specifically to give easy access to locally installed apps on your smartwatch.



Based on its name, the app’s function is easy enough to understand. When you swipe right to the top left side of your smartwatch, it will launch an app drawer where you will be able to see all the apps that are installed in your wearable. Normally, it will take you several steps to be able to open the app that you want to use, and even if you use the voice prompt, it still doesn’t immediately boot up (and it sometimes doesn’t understand you, admit it).


Of course it’s a given already that in order for this to work, you need both a smartphone and a smartwatch that is running on Android Wear. For now, the only ones on this platform are LG G Watch, Samsung Gear Live and the upcoming Moto 360. You can download Wear Mini Launcher from the Google Play Store for free. Install it on your smartphone first, while the smartwatch is still connected. Then you need to open the app on your watch to be able to launch the app grid for the first time.


The app however, is also still in its early stages, and so expect that it still won’t work perfectly. Expect also a lot of updates for bug fixes and installation issues. But at least, if you do get it to work, it will make your wearable life even easier.


More Sony Xperia Z3 pics leak, this time with details

You might call this the first few semi-confirmable pics of what is most likely the Sony Xperia Z3, Sony’s upcoming flagship device. You will remember that we wrote on a couple of pics that leaked that showed what the front panel of the Z3 might look like. This time, there are more pics to ogle at and a bit more detail – and yes, the earlier front panel leak matches.



As this batch of photos conveniently include a snap of the device’s “About” panel, we can really start to speculate on Sony’s Xperia Z3, whose launch is probably coming rather soon. The device in the image carries the internal model moniker “L55t” – which corresponds nicely with the Xperia Z2, which we knew to be the “L50t”. The device, according to the detail page, is currently running Android 4.4.4 Kitkat.


This leak also confirms what most of us already suspected – the Z3 will most likely carry a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor running four cores at 2.5Ghz and an Adreno 330 GPU, judging from the chipset detailed in the images. The pictures also show what seems to be the same 20.7MP Exmor RS lens carried by the Z1 and the Z2.


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As we commented in our earlier coverage of this, the design of the Z3 seems to be very close to the Z2 before it, without any radical changes that we can obviously point out. As the leaks of the image are coming thick and fast, we may still be in for a launch schedule that may be in time for the IFA trade show in Berlin later this year.


VIA: Xperia Blog





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