WELCOME TO 360THINKERS

Artificial intelligence might not be theGalaxy S8's only big software upgrade, it seems.  SamMobile  sources claim that S Health is about to get a revamp that helps you get in touch with doctors. Tie-ins with partners like Amwell and WebMD would not only let you search for drugs and symptoms, but scheduleonline doctor's appointments using video chats. You could pay for appointments in-app, take photos to illustrate your condition and find nearby pharmacies if medicine is in order. The app isn't explicitly tied to the S8 launch, but Samsung historically brings major software updates to new phones first and likes to showcase them at major media events. Don't count on getting exactly what you've read about here, though --  SamMobile frequently has the inside track on Samsung's plans, but it's not perfect. As plausible as the S Health upgrade sounds, we wouldn't be shocked if it misses the S8 launch or doesn't include everything mentioned so far. Via: 

The iPhone is quickly on the way to dethroning Android's dominance in the U.S., though the platform continues to thrive overseas. Via Recode, Kantar WorldPanelreleased data that shows the iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, and the iPhone 6S accounted for about 31 percent of smartphone sales since Apple's flagship launched in September 2016. Samsung's Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge were up next with 28.9 percent of sales, while Google's Pixel managed a meager 1.3 percent. KantarWorld Panel refers to the Pixel's numbers as "strong gains," but it's a wonder if it would have sold better had Verizon not confused consumers about its exclusivity. It's worth noting that Big Red also made some gains over the holiday: "Verizon booked nearly a quarter of all US smartphone sales during the Black Friday period, playing a vital role for all brands, including Apple and Samsung." Despite the impressive sales of Samsung and Google's devices, Android's marke

You can now buy digital content on the Play Store with your carrier account. In a bid to make it easier for customers to purchase digital content in India on the Play Store, Google has rolled out carrier billing to Airtel and Vodafone customers in the country. The company tested the waters with Idea last year, and now Airtel and Vodafone subscribers can buy apps, games, movies, and ebooks on the Play Store and bill it to their prepaid or postpaid accounts. Paying through carrier billing is very straightforward. Select an app or game you want to purchase, choose payment methods, and tap the carrier option. If your number is set up for mobile payments, you will be able to buy content and charge it to your monthly bill if you're a postpaid user, or use the talktime balance if you're on a prepaid account. Photo credit:ANDRIODCENTRAL

It's an annual tradition in the tech news space that, after a shop-heavy holiday like Black Friday or Christmas, mobile analytics companies regale us with layman's explanations for the data they accrued. One such company is Yahoo-owned Flurry, which posted this week about how, as usual, "Holiday Shoppers Invest in Apple." By its count, taken from deals with app developers across iOS and Android, Apple's iPhone achieved 44% of the total device activations this year, followed by Samsung at 21%, and Huawei and LG following at a scant 3% and 2%, respectively. The data is meant to show that Apple dominated the U.S. smartphone market this holiday, as it has done every year for the past half-decade.Samsung did inch up 1% compared to 2015, and Huawei went from practically nothing to third place, but the story is, of course, spun to make it look like the iPhone won Christmas. And perhaps it did in a way, since more iPhones were activated than Galaxy devices, and for man

Many luxury smartphone makers see their work mainly as a matter of wrapping an ordinary device in upscale materials, maybe adding a concierge service and calling it a day.Gionee, however, is taking a different approach: it's giving you one huge feature that gives you a clear reason to pay a premium. It just launched the M2017, a metal-and-leather 5.7-inch phone whose centerpiece is its enormous 7,000mAh battery. Yes, there's a real chance that it has a larger power pack than your tablet. The company estimates that it'll last for nearly 32 hours of talk time and 26 hours of non-stop video, or enough to get you through a few days of moderate use. If you're a jetsetting business type (Gionee's target market), you might never need to plug in during that all-important day trip. Thankfully, the M2017 is (mostly) above-average beyond its epic longevity. It packs a curved quad HD AMOLED screen that's bound to be noticed, a hefty 6GB of RAM, at least 128GB of storage, a

Instagram live  story  works... Only in the  USA  for  now  actually... But sources  say  instagram live  story ... We works in other countries  soon...

What do  love about your  Google  pixels

The US smartphone market is dominated by two big brands, Apple and Samsung, and when one of them flubs its lines, the other one stands to benefit in a substantial way. To wit,the latest quarterly data from Kantar Worldpanel, which breaks sales down on a country-by-country basis, shows Apple's iOS rising to a 40.5 percent share of US smartphone sales. That's up 7 percentage points, or more than a fifth, on the same quarter (ending in October) last year, and appears to be explained in large part by Samsung'sdisastrous Galaxy Note 7 release and subsequent recall. The instrumental influence of the Note 7's demise is best illustrated by looking at what happened in markets where Samsung isn't as prominent. iPhone sales in urban China, for example, declined on a yearly basis, even with the new iPhone 7 models on sale. Facing stiffer competition from local Android rivals like the rising Oppo, Apple commanded 17.1 percent of Chinese sales in the third quarter, down from 22.

Say hello to a slightly different black GS7 edge. With the Note 7 consigned to the dumpster fire of history, it seems Samsung is looking to new color options for the Galaxy S7 series to boost sales in the run up to the holidays. We've already seen the "blue coral" GS7 edge, and now it looks like it may be joined by a darker, glossier version of the "onyx black" color that's been available from launch. The GS7 you already know, now with a darker, shinier metal trim. The "glossy black" Galaxy S7, first reported by Korea-based rumormonger  The Investor , will allegedly arrive in early December, in response to strong sales of the "blue coral" model — a reported 15,000 units daily — in Samsung's home market. And yes, you'd have to be pretty naive to not believe the "jet black" iPhone 7had something to do with that decision as well. Today  SamMobile  has scooped up the first live photos of the "glossy black"

No  doubt that Android  is really Ready to battle with  Samsung  and  apple  in the market... But  with  the  release of the  pixels launcher  which is really  impressive... Do  you  think  Google  could  be the next  problem for  Apple  after  Samsung   note7

Apple is reportedly asking its manufacturing partners to investigate moving iPhone production to the United States, according to the Japanese newspaper  The Nikkei . According to the report,   sources claim that Apple has approached Foxconn and Pegatron, the two manufacturing companies that are largely responsible for assembling iPhones. Foxconn is apparently exploring the possibility, while Pegatron has elected to decline due to cost concerns. According to  The Nikkei , Apple made the request to explore moving manufacturing to its partners in June, prior to President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in the recent election. But despite that, this report has to be considered in light of Trump’s comments regarding Apple earlier this year. Trump has repeatedly suggested that Apple move its manufacturing back to the US. His most recent comments were made in January at a talk at Liberty University where Trump said, “We're gonna get Apple to start building their damn computers and things in

Next year’s Android smartphones will be really fast If you’re looking at buying a high end Android smartphone, you might want to hold off until next year. That’s because Qualcomm just announced its new, top of the line mobile chip, the Snapdragon 835. The new design promises to be 27 percent faster while using 40 percent less battery. It will also feature Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 4.0 technology that can get you a whopping five hours of use from just five minutes of charging. The Snapdragon 835 will be built in collaboration with Samsung, so there’s a pretty good chance it’ll be inside Samsung’s Galaxy S8 which theoretically launches in March 2017. Also look for the new chip in new offerings from LG and HTC. Apple’s OLED iPhone woes The killer new feature on the iPhone 8 is rumored to be an edge to edge OLED screen. However, according to Bloomberg, the displays may be in short supply. The new OLED panels are both thinner and deliver a more vibrant picture, but they’re also more diffi

In an effort to restore some consumer goodwill after the discontinuation of the Galaxy Note 7, Samsung ran full page apology ads in three major US daily newspapers today. The letters, which appeared in Monday editions of The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times , and  The Washington Post , were aimed at English-speaking consumers,according to  The Korean Herald .  The letter is signed by Gregory Lee, the president and CEO of Samsung Electronics North America. "An important tenet of our mission is to offer best-in-class safety and quality. Recently, we fell short on this promise. For this we are truly sorry," the ad reads. "We will re-examine every aspect of the device, including all hardware, software, manufacturing and the overall battery structure. We will move as quickly as possible, but will take the time needed to get the right answers.” The company says it’s continuing to investigate the device’s development and manufacturing processes to fully unearth what ex

In early October, Samsung acquired Viv Labs, a startup formed by the creators of Siri, which impressed audiences with its digital assistant called Viv. Now, the company has confirmed that it will be including the service in its upcoming Galaxy S8 smartphone. According to  Reuters , Samsung is planning to incorporate Viv into its "Galaxy smartphones and expand voice-assistant services to home appliances and wearable technology devices." The company didn’t specify what features the service would cover when the phone is released sometime early next year, but it did indicate that it would integrate with third-party services, according to Samsung Executive Vice President Rhee Injong. "Even if Samsung doesn't do anything on its own, the more services that get attached the smarter this agent will get, learn more new services and provide them to end-users with ease." Integrating an AI assistant into the company’s numerous product lines would give Samsung a significan

Adobe isn't always quick to bring newcreative apps and features to Android. It took the company over a year to deliver a version of Photoshop Fix for those devices. After making its debut for iOS last October, the mobile software brings some powerful desktop editing tools to phones and tablets that run Google's OS. Tools like the face-aware Liquify tool to adjust facial expressions are here alongside Heal, Smooth and other adjustments that can make precise changes to images from a mobile device. Photoshop Fix for Android also offers tools to tweak more general characteristics like focus, color and paint as well as the ability to adjust exposure, saturation, contrast and more. When you get back to your desktop machine, Adobe's CreativeSync tech takes the work you've started on mobile and packages it in a layered PSD file so you can easily continue the task. Of course, you'll need a Creative Cloud subscription to employ that workflow. If you aren't paying for Ad

How do I extend battery life on my Google Pixel? Google's Pixel XL offers impressive battery life for a phone of its size, but determined users can definitely drain it over the course of a hectic day. The smaller 5-inch Pixel with its 2770 mAh battery doesn't always offer the same longevity, offering less wiggle room if you have heavier-than-usual use or forget to charge overnight. Though both should be able to make it through an average day for most people, if you're finding your Pixel's battery coming up short sometimes, you'll want to follow a few of these handy tips to make the most of what you have. Check for battery-draining apps The Pixel really uses its systemwide battery-saving function called Doze, which puts the system and apps into a low-power state to help save battery when the phone isn't in use. A vast majority of the time the system can handle all sorts of apps and manage them so you still get notifications even while other apps are "sl

The iPhone 7 surprised many in the industry when Apple announced its LCD screen, a technology most smartphone manufacturers have left behind in their most recent flagships. But a new report suggests Apple is finally preparing to forge ahead with light-emitting diode (OLED) screens in a future iPhone model. The Nikkei Asian Review reported that Tai Jeng-wu, the president at Sharp, which supplies smartphone panels to Apple, said “the iPhone has been evolving and now it is switching from LTPS (low-temperature poly-silicon) to OLED panels.” Tai started working with Sharp after Foxconn purchased the company in August. “We don’t know whether Apple’s OLED iPhones will be a hit, but if Apple doesn’t walk down this path and transform itself, there will be no innovation. It is a crisis but it is also an opportunity,” Tai told students at Tatung University. While the iPhone 7’s screen has beenpraised despite featuring outdated technology, OLED screens would offer sharper color contrast, as we

Not content with a simple navigation app, Google has updated Maps for IOS with a handy food delivery shortcut. So when you tap on a nearby restaurant, perhaps to see its opening times, you'll soon see a button titled "Place an Order." Tapping this will give you a few different options (these will vary depending on your country and the business in question) such as Grubhub, Seamless and Eat 24 in the US. Select your preferred service and you'll be thrown across to the relevant iPhone app. It's a small addition, sure, but one that could make ordering dinner just a little faster at night. Via: Mac Rumors Source: Google Maps (iOS)

Whatsapp, the $19 billion app used by over a billion folks, may finally be ready to support video calls.  The feature now works for some Android users, even without an update. However, anyone can try it by installing the latest beta (2.16.318), which is up onAPK Mirror. If you do so, you'll notice a camera icon next to your contacts and will be able to place video calls provided your friends have the feature, too. Hopefully it will stick this time. A Whatsapp beta from May had video calling enabled, but the company pulled it shortly afterwards. The feature is becoming more common with chat apps -- parent company Facebook's Messenger app has supported it for over a year on mobile. Other popular apps, however, like Telegram and Signal, lack video calling for now. The feature wasn't turned on for me in the latest release, but I was able to use it by installing the APK beta. After my colleague Nick installed it too, I was able to place a video call between France and the UK.

Apple has released iOS 10.1, the first revision of its popular iOS 10. The update is an incremental one, but it adds some pretty cool new features — most notably Portrait mode on the iPhone 7 Plus. Portrait mode on the iPhone has been in the works for months now, but while it’s finally rolling out to customers, it seems as though the feature isn’t  completely  finished just yet. After you update to iOS 10.1, open up the camera app, and swipe down to Portrait mode, you’ll be asked if you want to “try the beta.” Thankfully, while the feature may not be completely finished just yet, it seems to produce some pretty nice shots. In case you missed Apple’s announcement, Portrait mode basically uses the iPhone 7 Plus’ two camera sensors at the same time — the standard 12-megapixel sensor takes a photo as usual, then the second sensor, which is a wide-angle sensor, is used to see how far away the subject is. When used together, the effect is a blurry background with a sharp and in-focus prima