Apple has been famous for keeping its cool about the competition. This year alone we've seen Samsung launch 4 different smartwatch models, LG launch one, and there is a solid promise from Motorola and HTC to do the same. Even so, we have yet to see Apple launch its own iWatch, which is ironic since rumors of Apple building a wearable are older than Google's intentions of launching the already existing Android Wear. If you're wondering when we'll see Apple's contribution to the wearable market, it might be later than you think. New reports from Taiwanese sources claim that Apple's mass ...

The next couple months are shaping up to be chock-full of smartphone announcements. IFA in early September is bound to bring us a ton of new devices, and shortly after that we're expecting news of the iPhone 6. We've even been picking up on word of a few possible launches for August, and an invite just landed for what may be a notable one, as HTC prepares for an August 19 event. But what could the company have to share? A few subjects come to mind, like that One M8 for Windows (or W8, if you will) and the recent rumors that the phone could launch sometime this quarter. Sure, there's been ...

Windows Phone 8.1 has finally seen its public release, following months of availability as a Preview for Developers. But as Windows Phone users all over the world start installing their 8.1 updates, Microsoft already has its eyes on what's next, and today gives us a little taste of what to expect, announcing the coming availability of WP8.1 Update 1 and going over some of the software's key features. Remember that folder support we've been talking about? The update will introduce Live Folders to the platform, letting you group apps for a denser, more feature-packed Start screen. Even ...

Amazon's Fire Phone may be the company's new baby right now, but when it comes to Android devices, Amazon's best known for its family of Fire tablets. Last September we saw it introduce its latest lineup, including some new Fire HD models and the debut of the HDX series. With the anniversary of that launch coming up on us, can we expect a new offering of Fire tablets this year? Some benchmarks may give us an early look at what to expect, but from what we're seeing here, we wouldn't expect any massive changes. Last year's Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 was a pretty capable tablet at the time (and ...

Whether it's just a fad or a legitimately useful tool, there's no two ways about it: apps that offer users the ability to send messages that have a built-in expiration date are the hot thing to deliver right now. Following the success of Snapchat we've seen no shortage of copycats, including Facebook's recent launch of Slingshot. Last week, rumors about a new one emerged, with word that Instagram was preparing an ephemeral messaging service of its own, dubbed Bolt. While Bolt is still not widely available, Instagram has quietly gone ahead and publicly launched the service in select ...

This past weekend we brought you an exclusive leak concerning Verizon's plans for the LG G Vista. We got an updated launch date, with it looking like VZW would get the G Vista out by the end of the month, and also got to see some detailed descriptions of the phone's hardware. The odd thing was, some of this new data didn't agree with previous rumors – would the phone arrive with a qHD or a 720p 5.9-inch display? As we get closer to the G Vista's launch, a new leak attempts to set the record straight, and despite what we got from our source, it's looking like the phone might be 720p, ...

Back in early June, SwiftKey announced a pretty substantial change to its business model, making its keyboard free to download from the Play Store, and earning its money through the sale of add-on themes. Today it's got more good news for its users, announcing a pretty decent update to the app, the arrival of new themes, and the start of a theme sale. Let's dive right in to the changes arriving with this update. While on first impression it might look like a run-of-the-mill bugfix/tweak release, it's the scope of the changes here that make this release sound impressive: everything from ...

Last spring, Facebook and HTC asked the world the question “are you interested in a smartphone that puts Facebook front and center as the core of your user experience?” The answer from consumers was almost a resounding “no,” and the HTC First failed in spectacular fashion. Even the Facebook Home software that could be deployed on existing Android phones stagnated, and despite claims from Facebook that the project is still active, you wouldn't know it by the utter lack of public support. Is that it for Facebook's big smartphone ambitions? Will it resign itself to being just another ...