Verizon stops supporting Galaxy Beta Program for the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge

Samsung will proceed with its Android 7.0 Nougat beta test for the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, but apparently it will continue without the many Verizon owners of those phones. The carrier has reportedly sent messages to Galaxy Beta app users, informing them that their phones will "stay on the original software for the remainder of [the] trial."

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This is Nougat on the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge

1 week ago

What exactly does that mean for Big Red users currently enrolled in the beta program? Well, if and when Samsung releases another Nougat beta build for those phones, they will not be accessible to Verizon owners. They can choose to stick with the current Nougat beta build that have already installed, or they have the option to roll back to Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. Verizon owners will have to wait until sometime early next year before the official Nougat update begins rolling out for those phones.

Again, this change affects only Verizon customers with the Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge. People who have those phones on other networks can get the latest Nougat beta if they have an active Samsung account, and if they install the Galaxy Beta Program app from Samsung's Galaxy Apps store.

If you are a Verizon subscriber, how do you feel about your carrier ending the Nougat beta for the Galaxy S7 ahead of schedule?

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Google Wifi officially goes on sale for $129

Google Wifi was first unveiled at the company's Pixel event way back in the beginning of October, but unfortunately users had to wait to purchase the new product. Now, after three weeks of being available for pre-order, we're happy to tell you Google Wifi is now available for purchase from the Google Store, Amazon, Best Buy and Walmart.

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7 hours ago

As noted in our full review, Google Wifi is meant for folks who need a strong, reliable internet connection that's easy to set up. It's certainly not the cheapest router on the market, but it does offer a reliable connection, a wide range, and can be paired up with multiple units if you have a big house.

Interested in picking one (or three!) up for yourself? You can purchase one unit (or Point) for just $129, or grab three Points for just $299. All four retailers listed below are selling one and three packs for the same price.

• Buy now from Amazon
• Buy now from the Google Store
• Buy now from Best Buy
• Buy now from Walmart

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Huawei will reveal new Honor concept smartphone on December 7

Huawei is getting ready to launch its own concept smartphone, which it will release under the Honor brand. The phone is scheduled to be officially revealed on Wednesday, December 7.

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November 4, 2016

Of course, the speculation has already started on just what this concept phone will be like. GizmoChina reports many of the rumors surrounding the device claim it won't have some of the standard smartphone components, such as a camera or a speaker. Instead, those parts will reportedly be offered as accessories for the Honor concept phone. If true, this product could be a modular phone similar to Lenovo's Moto Z family.

Other online reports claim that it will have a curved display, provided by Samsung. Finally, the Honor concept phone is supposed to incorporate Huawei's own fast charging battery technology, which is supposed to provide the phone with a 50 percent battery charge in just five minutes. It's possible that the Honor phone will only be made available in Huawei's home country of China in limited quantities.

It will be interesting to see how this Honor branded phone compares with the rival Xiaomi Mi MIX. That phone, which was also labeled as a "concept" when it launched in China earlier this year, has a 6.4-inch display with a near-bezel free design as its main feature.

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Google Play Movies officially adds over 125 UHD 4K films to its library

A few weeks after they accidentally started appearing for some users, Google has now officially flipped the switch on UHD 4K film support in Google Play Movies. Users can purchase or rent access to over 125 movies in 4K resolution from the app.

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October 4, 2016

At the moment, support for these higher resolution films is supported only by 4K TVs if they have the Chromecast Ultra dongle attached, along with Sony's Bravia televisions with Android TV. Google is offering a free Ghostbusters UHD 4K rental with the purchase of the Chromecast Ultra from now until December 31.

If you are thinking that prices for these 4K movies will be higher than SD or HD films, you would be correct. Older 4K films are priced at $24.99 to own, with $29.99 for more recent releases. Google is using its own VP9 codec for the 4K movies in Google Play. At the moment, they are only available in the U.S. and Canada, but it's likely they will expand to other territories in the months to come.

Google also announced that all the 2016 models of Samsung's Smart TVs will include the Google Play Movies and TV app. That means any films rented or purchased from the app can be viewed on those televisions.

Get it at Google Play

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U.S. Supreme Court sides with Samsung in patent fight with Apple

The long and bloody court battle between Samsung and Apple over design patents took yet another turn today. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-0 that Samsung does not have to pay $399 million to Apple, overturning an earlier appeals court ruling in this case.

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Samsung officially takes the Apple Patent case to the Supreme Court

December 14, 2015

This case started in 2011 when Apple filed a lawsuit against Samsung, claiming the Korean company had violated its design and other patents for its iPhone on many of Samsung's Galaxy smartphones. In 2012, a jury ruled in Apple's favor, stating Samsung must pay $930 million in damages. In 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the jury's verdict, but also ruled the iPhone's appearance could not be protected through trademarks, and cut Samsung's payment down to $548 million, which it paid Apple in December of that year,

However, Samsung decided to take the case to the Supreme Court. Today all of the Justices ruled that patent violators, like Samsung in this case, don't have to give up all the profits of their device that is infringing on patents, if the violations are just for specific components in that product.

The battle between the two tech titans is not over yet. The Supreme Court has now sent the matter back to the lower courts to see if they can decide what specific patents, and what amount of money, should be considered in this case. In other words, get ready for more legal briefs and court documents to come in this legal slug fest.

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Google Pixel and Pixel XL get VoLTE support for Reliance Jio with Android 7.1.1 update

The Pixel and Pixel XL snagged the Android 7.1.1 update this week, which also brought the much-requested VoLTE support for the smartphones in India.

After the public release of Reliance Jio, and the free run for initial customers, Jio has acquired over 50 million subscribers already, and as a 4G-only carrier, Jio only supports voice calls over LTE. Hence, there was considerable interest in the feature, but the Pixel and Pixel XL devices sold in India did not have VoLTE support as yet.

With the latest update though, you can now make voice calls over LTE. In the Network settings, you can now enable the Enhanced 4G LTE Mode which allow users to Use LTE services to improve voice and other communications. Once enabled, the 'HD' symbol in the status bar on the top indicates that VoLTE is enabled.

The Android Nougat 7.1.1 OTA update comes bundled with the December security updates and is available across entire Nexus line-up as well as the Pixel devices.

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Latest Google app update will now separate news from upcoming events

Google is making a small yet significant change to its Google app for Android. The company will begin rolling out an update to the app today that will break up the info into two tabs; one for news and trending topics and the other for any upcoming personal events you have on your schedule.

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The news feed will be the default tab in the updated Google app. It will offer users a customized brief on the news they care about, including the latest sports scores, entertainment gossip, and more. Google will begin adding a card in the news feed for U.S. users that will allow them to pick specific topics they're interested in seeing in the search app.

The upcoming events tab will be designed to give users a chance to check their calendar for upcoming meetings and events, along with items like the latest travel time estimate for the office. It will also give out info like when your package is supposed to be delivered, when your busy holiday flight is scheduled to depart and more.

It's interesting that Google has decided to refresh its app so that it can become more of a one-stop shop for all of a person's daily interests and events. The update is rolling out starting today on Android, and iOS users can expect the same update to arrive in the near future.

Get it from Google Play

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