The new Samsung H7 Wireless Speaker combines retro design with 32-bit audio

This article originally appeared on our sister site, Sound Guys

Samsung has a lot of products it plans to show off next week in Las Vegas at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show. Some of them are audio devices, including its newly revealed H7 Wireless Speaker.

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Samsung has designed this new speaker with a decidedly retro look. Indeed, its old-fashioned shape and feel would look right at home in your grandfather's study. However, the H7 Wireless Speaker also has a more modern metal finish for its compact design. The speaker uses wheel controls to not only alter the volume levels but also to select playlists from the user's favorite streaming audio services.

It's what inside this wireless speaker that may make it stand out from the crowd though. Samsung says it uses the company's proprietary UHQ (Ultra High Quality) audio technology, which can upscale audio sources to 32-bit output. The company said this will allow sound from the speaker to come closer to the quality of the original recording than current HD audio technology. In addition, Samsung says it has developed its own audio algorithms for even more sound improvements available in the H7 Wireless Speaker.

Samsung will also show its new MS750 Soundbar at CES 2017, which it says will be the company's first to embed subwoofer performance directly into the primary unit. Finally, Samsung's M9500 UHD Blu-ray Player will be showcased at the trade show, which will automatically set up your TV display and audio to the optimal level, so you won't have to go into a lot of menus to set it up.

Samsung has not yet announced when these new audio products will be released, nor has it revealed any prices for these devices.

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Huawei shipped more than 10 million P9/P9 Plus smartphones globally

Huawei has hit a new milestone. In a press release, the company announced that it shipped more than 10 million P9 and P9 Plus smartphones globally, which is a first for Huawei's flagship series.

The devices have proven to be quite popular among consumer and have also won a few award including "European Consumer Smartphone 2016-17" from EISA and "Best Personal Computing Device" at CES Asia. Announced back in April, their biggest selling point just might be the Leica-branded dual-camera setup, although the devices do have more to offer.

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Huawei announced that it shipped 33.59 million smartphones in Q3, which represents a 23 percent increase when compared with the same period last year. Its mid-range and high-end devices accounted for around 44% of the shipments.

According to the press release, the company's market share is now above 15 percent in 30 countries and above 20 percent in 20 countries. More importantly, Huawei states that it has made "substantial breakthroughs" in key European markets including the UK, France, and Germany.

Huawei really is becoming more and more popular, especially in Western markets. It knows how to make great devices, which are normally a bit more affordable when compared to other big brands like Samsung and HTC.

What do you think about Huawei and their devices? Share your thoughts with us down below.

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Some Google Pixel devices shutting down at 30% battery

It seems that some Pixel devices are affected by the same infamous shutdown bug that plagued the Nexus 6P where the device would prematurely turn off at 25 to 35 percent.

The Huawei Nexus 6P has finally received the Nougat update. But ever since, Google's last ever Nexus device has been on the news, and for all the wrong reasons. Among the problems was a shutdown bug: the phone would shut down when the battery is at 30 percent or so.

Well, it looks like the issue isn't unique to those Nexus 6P users. A few Reddit users are reporting that their Pixel devices are also suffering from the same shutdown bug. Some Pixel phones would prematurely shut down at or around 30 percent and would not turn back on until a charger is connected. A user by the name of vrski_15, who started the thread explains:

Twice in last 5 days, has the phone shutdown abruptly while I am in middle of something. In both instances, battery was between 25-35%, and the phone under normal conditions should have lasted for at least next 3-4 hours.

With the Nexus 6P, Huawei first ruled that this was not a hardware problem but a software-related one. However, users found that the problem persisted even after downgrading to Android Marshmallow. This led Huawei to investigate further with Google, and although the company hasn't revealed the cause yet, it is probably related to the problem that these Pixel users have been experiencing.

Google announced its very first smartphone back in October, and its design wasn't the only thing that was controversial; its premium price tag was also pretty shocking for many. A premium price tag means a premium device. However, there have already been a few too many separate issues reported regarding the Pixel duo. With Samsung determined to gain back customers with the Galaxy S8 and with a fleet of affordable premium Android devices coming from Chinese companies, Google may need to step up its game if it wants to stay relevant in the insanely competitive market of smartphones.

Is your Pixel phone affected by the shutdown bug? Let us know by leaving a comment below!

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Soft Gold version of OnePlus 3T coming to India on January 5

The OnePlus 3T, which started selling in India a couple of weeks ago, was initially only available in the Gunmetal color option. Now, the Chinese manufacturer is also bringing the Soft Gold version of its flagship device to the Indian market.

The OnePlus 3T in Soft Gold will go on sale on January 5 and will be available for purchase exclusively through Amazon's app. You'll be able to get your hands on it for Rs 29,999. Keep in mind that the device comes with 64 GB of storage, as the 128 GB variant of the OnePlus 3T is only available in Gunmetal.

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You can already register for the sale on Amazon's website. Registrations start today and will end on January 3. If you're interested in getting the OnePlus 3T in Soft Gold, simply head over to the retailer's website by clicking the button below.

Register for the sale

The OnePlus 3T has proven to be quite popular in India. The Gunmetal version of the device is already sold out, but the company has said that it will be back in stock soon.

Let us know which color you prefer in the comment section below. Would you rather opt for the Gunmetal or the Soft Gold version of the device?

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And then there was Alexa: how Amazon Echo might solve a murder case

Victor Collins lay there, facing down in James Bates' hot tub. Strangled and drowned. What started off as a group of friends watching a football game turned into a brutal murder. And there may have been a female witness in the scene: Amazon Echo's Alexa.

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Sound like a detective novel with an absurd twist? Well, this is real life: in Bentonville, Arkansas, police think that the suspect's Amazon Echo may have some crucial evidence from the night of the murder.

Police think that the suspect's Amazon Echo may have some crucial evidence from the night of the murder.

According to authorities, Bates invited Collins and two other friends to his house for a football game. Collins was found dead in the morning, strangled in Bates' hot tub, and Bates was consequently charged with first-degree murder. Bates claimed that he had gone to bed around 1 a.m., leaving Collins with the other two friends – Owen McDonald and Sean Henry – but it was later confirmed by McDonald and his wife that McDonald had left Bates and Collins around 12:30 a.m.

Now, the interesting part is Bates had a few IoT devices around the house, including an Amazon Echo. Police records show that this Amazon Echo may have been used to control music and that Alexa may be a key witness to this crime. Technically, the Amazon Echo has seven microphones that are always listening – listening for your wake-up command. This means that police could use its data to see whether it has recorded anything from the night of the murder. Accordingly, police have issued a warrant to Amazon, asking for the said data in order to help prosecute Bates, but Amazon is reluctant:

[We will not release customer information] without a valid and binding legal demand properly served on us. Amazon objects to overbroad or otherwise inappropriate demands as a matter of course.

The Echo device has been seized by the Bentonville police, and although it's unclear whether Alexa will speak what may have happened that night, this is just one example of how Internet-connected devices around us may one day become a key component in solving crimes.

Do you have IoT devices at home? Let us know by leaving a comment below!

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Qualcomm fined $854 million for unfair business practices

Qualcomm, the leading mobile chip maker, has recently been hit with a large fine in South Korea in the sum of 1.03 trillion won (around $854 million). According to a report published by Reuters, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) has ruled that Qualcomm abused its market position by charging royalties to smartphone manufacturers for several unnecessary patents.

In addition, the company also restricted competition by limiting and in some cases even refusing to license its patents related to modem chips to its competitors. These competitors include Intel, MediaTek, and Samsung, among others.

The Korea Fair Trade Commission has also ruled that the company must start negotiating with honest intentions regarding patent licensing with its rivals. And if requested, Qualcomm will also have to renegotiate the chip supply agreements it has with smartphone manufacturers.

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As you can imagine, Qualcomm is not very happy with the fine, which is said to be the largest to date in South Korea. The company has already announced that it plans on challenging the decision in court, though it may take some time before the court makes its final ruling on the case.

It's not the first time Qualcomm runs afoul of competition regulation. In 2015, the chip maker paid $1 billion to settle an antitrust investigation in China over its patent licensing practices.

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2017 Galaxy A series likely to be unveiled on January 5

We all love to talk about flagships, but when it comes to actually buying phones, most of us actually settle for the middle of the range. In Samsung's case, that means the popular Galaxy A series, whose latest generation is about to be unveiled.

Samsung Malaysia, the branch that recently teased the water resistance capabilities of the Galaxy A (2017) series, just sent out invitations for a local press event scheduled for January 5 (via Lowyat.net).

Southeast Asia is a crucial market for Samsung's mid-range sales, so there's a good chance the Kuala Lumpur event will mark the global launch of the device. Incidentally or not, Samsung's CES 2017 conference will kick off just hours after the Malaysian event on January 5.

The copy is rather generic, but the invitation features the same water imagery that led us to believe that the Galaxy A (2017) will be water resistant, just like Samsung's higher-end devices.

The current A series was launched almost exactly a year ago, so the timing is right for a new generation. The Galaxy A5 (2017) will be available in four colors at launch and come with features like a 5.2-inch Full HD display, an Exynos 7880 processor, 3GB of RAM, and a 16MP camera. The A5 (2017) is likely to cost around $400, according to reports out of China. Meanwhile, the Galaxy A7 (2017) is expected to come with similar specifications and a larger 5.5-inch display.

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