Smartphones have long since surpassed the old MP3 player when it comes to portable music, and continue to include more and more impressive audio hardware to win over the audiophile crowd – from front facing speakers, to DACs and even new USB Type-C digital audio. Of course, the other half of a good audio experience is the file type you’re using, and today’s smartphones can play back a wide variety of audio file formats, including the popular MP3 and FLAC formats.

Supplied by Xiaomi TL;DR Xiaomi has launched two Mediatek Dimensity flagships in its Redmi K50 series. The Redmi K50 and K50 Pro bring QHD+ displays, sizeable batteries, and fast wired charging to the table. They could launch globally as rebranded devices sometime in the future. The Redmi K50 and K50 Pro pack Mediatek’s flagship processors. The vanilla K50 gets the Dimensity 8100 SoC, while the K50 Pro features the Dimensity 9000.

Samsung Galaxy S GT-I9000 owners who have previously rooted their phones can now upgrade their phones to the latest update of Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread build XWJVZ. This firmware update fixes several bugs in the previous version of Gingerbread for the Galaxy S (e.g., the bug that causes the phone to heat up when users play games that are heavy on graphics). Installing the firmware update is encouraged to get rid of many of the bugs in the previous version.

Robert Triggs / Android Authority The Huawei P40 Pro will be remembered as a turning point in Huawei’s smartphone fortunes. After years of riding high and gaining ground on the market leaders, the US/China trade-dispute changed the fortunes of the P series on a dime. In our review of the Huawei P40 Pro, we praised the handset for a range of improvements across the board. From tweaks to its already excellent camera system, to a new 90Hz display, and stellar ergonomic design.

When developing a game or app, it is always important to consider the strengths and weaknesses of the platform you’re targeting. This way, you can ask what kinds of software work best in that context and thereby create something that will provide the best possible experience for your users. This is a particularly important issue for game developers working on mobile. While mobile gaming is big business, the limitations of the platform are very apparent: screen sizes are small, there are no physical buttons and processing power is modest compared to consoles or PCs.

Eric Zeman / Android Authority After a few weeks of various leaks and rumors, Motorola took the wraps off the Motorola Moto G Power (2022). As with the 2021 iteration of the phone, it’s a budget Android device with a huge battery. See also: Our Motorola Moto G Power (2021) review Unfortunately, Motorola didn’t make the phone too much better than the 2021 model. In fact, it even made things slightly worse by offering a slower wired charging speed.

Update: According to several reports on Reddit and throughout the web, many folks saw the device listed and were able to pre-order, but now it seems that the device is listed “out of inventory” for everyone (or at least just about everyone). Considering how short the ordering window was, it was very possible that there was a glitch or that the page’s pre-order status wasn’t supposed to go live yet. Either way, we’ll keep you updated as we learn more about the Nexus 6’s ordering status.

The Google Pixel series received a so-called “feature drop” this week, bringing quite a few additions to these devices. One of these additions is an improved way to manage RAM, compressing cached apps to reduce their footprint. Now, The Verge has interviewed a Google representative and reported that this method of RAM management “should” make its way to other Android phones. As for a timeline? The website says it’s possible the functionality will only come to other Android phones in the next Android version (Android R/11).

Update: At Xiaomi’s first-ever press event in Germany, Xiaomi confirmed the Redmi Note 8 Pro will be sold as a “middle-class king,” on sale from October 7 exclusively on Amazon.de. The 6GB/64GB model will be sold for €249.90, with the first 3000 devices sold on Amazon.de for €229.90. The 6GB/128GB option will be on sale for €279.90. The quad-camera device does include NFC in Europe, a variant to the original version released in India.

If history has taught us anything, its that a Google phone launch never goes quite as smooth as one might hope. In the past, we’ve seen delays on the Nexus 6P and the original Pixel, and now the brand new Pixel 2 is joining the club. To Google’s credit, the company always tries to make up for it with some sort of incentive and that’s no different this time around. Why I am put off by the Pixel 2 XL display, but you might not be