Welcome to TechZ

A world about tech's news, created by PhuongZ


 Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S6 is a regular visitor to the rumor mill. This time, industry insiders from the Samsung Electro-Mechanics (SEM) subsidiary hint that the top-end smartphone will pack a 20MP main camera with optical image stabilization.



 Last year's poor financial results of SEM were caused by the predominant market distribution of low-end camera modules with small profit margins. What's interesting is that profits for this year are expected to be on the rise, thanks to the production of premium 16MP and 20MP OIS camera modules. We haven't seen Samsung make a 20MP stabilized camera yet, but who would be more likely to rock it, if not the upcoming flagship.
 While Samsung has previously been caught employing Sony sensors, this report in Korean media suggests that won't be the case for the Galaxy S6. And with the likely utilization of an in-house chipsetfor the future flagship, a home-brewed camera will further increase the Korean giant's profits.
[Via Gsmarena]
 Walmart is offering Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus with significant discount in the United States. Major US carrier versions of both devices are available with $150 off Apple’s regular price without contract.
 A 16GB iPhone 6 is priced at $498, while its bigger brother goes for $598 for a model with 16GB of built-in memory. Apple typically asks $649 and $749 respectively for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.
 It is worth noting that Walmart’s promo is valid for refurbished devices in like new condition with 90-day warranty. Refurbished hardware has been thoroughly inspected and tested before hitting the shelves.
 Currently available models include 16GB iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus for AT&T and iPhone 6 model for Sprint with the same amount of memory. Larger memory models are not yet available.
[Via Gsmarena]
 Xiaomi has a trade-in program for Apple iPhone users in the works. The word about the bold marketing stint arrived from an executive from the ambitious Chinese startup.
 Reportedly, iPhone 5s owners will be able to trade their device for the freshly announced Xiaomi Mi Note. Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users on the other hand, will be able to set themselves up with the drool-worthy Xiaomi Mi Note Pro.
 According to the report, users will be able to trade their iPhone in regardless of its condition. However, we do suspect that a functioning device is required for the swap to take place.
 Official details about the program are yet to be revealed. We reckon that, at least initially, the trade-in program will only be available in China.
[Via Gsmarena]
 Samsung will manufacture the Tizen-based Z1 smartphone in India. The Korean giant launched the affordable device in the country earlier this month.
 The device’s manufacturing process will take place in Samsung’s Noida facility in India. The company’s Vice President of Marketing for India confirmed the news.
 Targeted a first-time smartphone buyers, the dual-SIM Samsung Z1 is priced at Rs 5,700 (about $93). According to industry sources, the Korean giant has sold about 50,000-55,000 units of the handset since its launch in mid-January. This is a stellar achievement for the Tizen device considering the highly competitive price segment it inhabits.
 Samsung will soon launch the Z1 in Bangladesh. The device is not likely to make it to more mature global markets.
[Via Gsmarena]
The Moto G from 2013 (pictured below) is now in the process of being updated to Android 4.4.4 KitKat. No, this isn't a blast from the past, as we're only talking about the units sold by Republic Wireless.
And unfortunately while other Moto devices sold elsewhere have already received the tasty treat called Android 5.0 Lollipop, if you bought a Moto G from Republic Wireless you'll have to make do with the last iteration of KitKat for now.



The situation is similar for the original Moto X sold by Republic, with the sole difference being that its Android 4.4.4 update will only start rolling out next month.
The Moto E offered by this carrier is also getting an update, but a smaller one that's entirely security-focused. As the Moto E is already running Android 4.4.4 KitKat, this won't bump its version upwards.
The Moto X and Moto G do go from 4.4.2 to 4.4.4. As for Lollipop, the small carrier promises that it's hard at work on making that happen. No timelines though, so one might wonder what's taking so long.
                                                                                                                                                                                                [Via GSMArena]
It was just yesterday we saw the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 8.0 (SM-T333) running on a Snapdragon 410 chipset, offering a performance upgrade over the previous generation Snapdragon 400 chip and also a future-proof 64-bit processor. The specs of the updated devices were spotted in the GFX Bench.
Today we got a report on another slated from the Tab 4 series - the Galaxy Tab 4.0 10.1. The new SM-T533 model was spotted on the Bluetooth database and judging by the model number, the new Tab 4 10.1 should also be running on the Snapdragon 410 chipset.



There is only one more member from the Tab 4 lineup - the Galaxy Tab 4 7.0, which we bet would be getting a 64-bit upgrade as well.
We expect the hardware refresh of the Galaxy Tab 4 slates to be made official on the MWC expo in Barcelona in March, or shortly after. Does this mean we won’t be getting a new Galaxy Tab 5 series in a while? Only time will tell.
                                                                                                                                                                                                [Via GSMArena]
It looks like LG G3 owners in the United States are soon going to get the Android 5.0 Lollipop treatment. LG USA told its followers on Twitter that the new Android version is “coming soon” to G3 smartphones across the Atlantic.

LG G3 has already received Android 5.0 Lollipop in a plethora of regional markets. The latter include a number of European countries, South Korea, and India.
The Korean giant is the first major smartphone manufacturer to deliver the latest Android build to its halo smartphone. LG will subsequently announce Android 5.0 upgrade schedule for the rest of its lineup of mobile devices.
As expected, Android 5.0 Lollipop will bring a host of improvements to LG G3. They include new UI design language, new security features, as well as a brand new Android ART runtime.
[Via GSMArena]