Week 47 in review: a Pepsi phone, another HTC One and a $10 droid

Our weekly news recap is due, with a roundup of the most interesting stories from the past few days.

The Pepsi Phone P1 was by far the most intriguing read of the week - it's got to be the first time we've seen a beverage company slap its brand on a smartphone, and it is a pretty well-specced one, at a bargain price, too. And "bargain price" is all that can be said of the LG Lucky LG16 smartphone, listed on Walmart for less than ten bucks, though unavailable at the moment.

Another top story was the launch of the Lenovo Vibe X3. A total of three versions, one of them practically a different phone, were unveiled in China and we're waiting for the global variants. And as if there weren't enough One-branded devices already, HTC pulled the wraps off the One M9s this week - with the body of an M9 and downgraded hardware.

There was about the usual amount of iPhone rumors too. The potential 4-inch iPhone keeps entertaining tech minds, and this latest bit claims it will be based on the 5s. And then the proper iPhone 7 could be waterproof, why not?

Samsung on the other hand went bonkers and launched a flip phone with dual 3.9-inch AMOLED displays, Exynos 7420, and a price tag upwards of $1500. Don't go rushing to the store as it's only available in China. Samsung's sane release of the week was the Galaxy J3 - an affordable 5-incher. Benchmark results of the Exynos 8890 also caught your attention.

Microsoft-related news also gathered a lot of interest. The mystical Surface Phone allegedly showed up on a browser benchmark, fueling rumors that Microsoft might indeed be working on 100% home-grown smartphone breaking all ties with the Nokia heritage.

Feel free to hit up the following links for more details on all of the above topics.

Pepsi Phone P1 - an affordable, metal phone with a fingerprint reader

The soda-branded smartphone has a 5.5" 1080p screen, octa-core processor and dual-SIM LTE connectivity.

Lenovo Vibe X3 launched in three versions

Two of those come with a Snapdragon 808 and 23MP camera, the third uses a Mediatek chip and 16MP shooter, all of them FullHD 5.5-inchers.

HTC One M9s launched, yet another One

A mixture of existing models, this new one comes with a 5-inch display in a metal unibody, Helio X10 chip and 13MP camera.

Next 4-inch iPhone to be based on the 5s, new rumor claims

This new information seems to contradict previous mumblings that spoke about a plastic iPhone 6c being on the way.

iPhone 7 might come with 3GB of RAM and waterproofing

A new rumor claims these will be the two main new features for the next generation of Apple smartphones.

Samsung W2016 high-end clamshell gets official in China

The phone comes with two screens, pretty good specs, and a form factor that reminds us of the past.

Benchmark score shows Exynos 8890 will be the next king of multi-core performance

However, the Apple A9 still packs the heaviest punch per core.

Samsung Galaxy J3 launched with quad-core CPU, 720p screen

Listed as Galaxy J3⑥ on Samsung's China website, the device has design and specifications similar to the J3 model that recently passed TENAA.

Microsoft Surface Phone shows up in browser benchmark

This could mean the company is looking to expand its Surface brand beyond tablets and laptops in the future.

Wait, what? An Android smartphone for less than $10?

An Android-powered smartphone carrying a price tag of just $9.82 has been spotted listed on Walmart's website (yes, you read it right - an Android phone for under $10). Listed as TracFone LG Prepaid L...