Week 45 in review: Huawei Kirin 950 and Galaxy S7 rumors

Yet another week is behind us and it's time to recap the major events from it in case you've missed any of them. Huawei released its new Kirin 950 chipset - despite widespread criticism, the Chinese OEM never gave up on its ambitions to deliver custom chipsets and its latest looks ready to compete with the best out there. All that remains now is to really see it in action, hopefully in the eagerly-anticipated Huawei Mate 8, said to arrive on November 26.

But, don't be too quick to bet it all on Huawei, as the Samsung Galaxy S7 is already on its way, with rumors of an early 2016 launch and also, apparently, a brand new 12MP sensor. Sources suggest that it will be a type 1/2" sensor and be dubbed "BRITECELL". This contradicts previous speculations that Samsung will be utilizing the Sony Xperia Z5 sensor for its next flagship, but nothing is confirmed yet. You can also watch out for the upcoming Meizu Pro 5 mini, the Galaxy J3 and the Vivo X6.

But, enough about rumors, there were quite a few interesting device announcements during the week as well, like the Micromax Canvas 5, with an octa-core Mediatek SoC and an undoubtedly competitive price tag. Gionee also has a new addition to its ranks – the powerful Elife S Plus. Also, there is yet another Zenfone 2 now available in the US. It is dubbed "Laser", so you can start from there when trying to explain which one you want exactly.

In other news, you probably shouldn't leave the Nexus 6P in a back pocket, unless you fancy a quick LG G Flex-style curve redesign. And if you are looking to save a few bucks on iPhone or iPad storage, a repair shop in China can allegedly do some chip-swapping surgery for a fraction of the price.

Samsung Galaxy S7 to feature a 12MP camera with a type 1/2" sensor

The imager allegedly features dual-photodiode technology, nearing mass production.

Micromax launches Canvas 5 with octa-core 1.3GHz MediaTek CPU and 5.2-inch display

This comes over a couple of years after the company launched the Canvas 4 smartphone.

Nexus 6P fails the bend test, again

A couple of weeks ago, JerryRigEverything.com made a video where they put the new Nexus 6P through a series of tests, including scratch tests for the glass, a heat test for the display, and finally a ...

Huawei Kirin 950 SoC beats Exynos 7420 in leaked GeekBench score

The result lists the same device model as an earlier GFXBench score and could be from the upcoming Huawei Mate 8

Asus unveils a new Zenfone 2 Laser for the US, out today for $199

The handset is part of the company's expanding Zenfone-branded line of Android smartphones.

Repair shop in China can upgrade the storage on your iPhone, iPad

A complicated procedure that involves soldering the chips at 300°C and bypassing software blocks.

LeTV receives over 11 million Le 1s pre-orders in a week

Carrying a price tag of around $173, the smartphone features a MediaTek Helio X10 chipset and sports a 5.5" IPS LCD display of 1080p resolution.

Analyst: Apple will bring back the 4'' iPhone in next year

iPhone mini rumors are almost as old as the iPhone itself. However, the iPhone 5s can't last another year.

The Kirin 950 SoC goes official, posts a record AnTuTu score

Now that the specs of the HiSilicon chip are clear, all that remains is to see if it debuts inside the eagerly-anticipated Huawei Mate 8.

New powerful Huawei handset pops up on GFXBench, could it be the Mate 8

The leaked specs could very well be of the Mate 8, but there are a few discrepancies with past rumors.

Gionee Elife S Plus goes official with AMOLED screen, USB Type-C port

Gionee Elife S Plus with a 5.5" AMOLED screen and MT6753 chip is now official, costs $260.

BRITECELL is a new Samsung trademark, likely for the 1/2" Galaxy S7 sensor

A Korean report now suggests a February release for the next generation, support for Cat. 12 LTE mentioned.

The Sony Xperia Z5 Premium on sale in Taiwan, gets first OTA

The flagship is seeing a limited launch in the market, earlier than initially expected.

Meizu Pro 5 Mini said to be powered by Mediatek's 10-core SoC

The device is also said to sport a 4.7-inch Full HD display, and come in 32GB/64GB internal memory options.

Apple releases second public beta of iOS 9.2

The new experimental version comes out six days after the first public beta of the upcoming iOS iteration.

Samsung Galaxy J3 certified by FCC

The yet-to-be-announced device was spotted listed on GFXBench earlier last month.

HTC Desire 828 featuring OIS now up for pre-orders in China

This is the first device in the Taiwanese company's Desire line-up to feature Optical Image Stabilization technology.

Meizu Pro 5 mini shows up in online store with super-mini specs

The Xperia Z5 Compact may soon feel the heat from the Meizu Pro 5 mini, which boasts a 4.7" 1080p screen, 16MP camera and 10-core processor.

YU Yureka and Yureka Plus start getting Cyanogen OS 12.1 update

Following this roll out, a similar update would hit the Yuphoria smarphone.

Windows 10 reaches 8% market share, but adoption is slowing down

Windows 10 has been around for a good three months now and Microsoft hasn't skipped on any opportunities to boast its growing popularity. About a month ago, Executive VP Terry Myerson pointed out that...

Marshmallow enters Google's Android distribution chart for the first time

The monthly report finally shows the latest version of the mobile OS, though its market share is small for now.

Vivo X6 teasers confirm 4GB RAM, 4G LTE

Also, the X6 races against the iPhone 6s PLus unofficially.

LG device rolls through the FCC, looks like a new G4 variant

The new LG device has a product number "H815PX", while the LG G4's product number for the South America and South Africa is "H815P".