The Xiaomi Mi 4 Aloysius Low/CNET Xiaomi, a popular Chinese smartphone maker, apologized to customers and made key changes to its cloud-based messaging service, the company’s vice president announced Sunday. In a lengthy post to Google+, Xiaomi Vice President Hugo Barra responded to a report published last week from security firm F-Secure that claimed Xiaomi’s …

The Galaxy S5 may still be the top end of Samsung’s mobile line, even after the Alpha’s launch. Andrew Hoyle/CNET Samsung’s long-rumored Galaxy Alpha may finally make the leap from rumor to reality. The Galaxy Alpha smartphone will launch Wednesday, according to Korean media reports that cite information from Samsung. Rumors have been swirling for months over what the Galaxy …

Microsoft’s Surface Pro 3 Sarah Tew/CNET Microsoft has seemingly decided that the best way to take on Apple is to go straight at the iPad maker. In a new set of ads released this weekend, Microsoft compared its Surface Pro 3 and to Apple’s MacBook Air , claiming its tablet goes above and beyond what customers can expect from Apple’s …

Counterpoint Research Samsung still can’t be beat in the US smartphone market, according to new data from Counterpoint Research. In the second quarter, Samsung accounted for 36.1 percent of US smartphone shipments, topping Apple’s 29.7 percent, the research firm reported Wednesday. During the same period in 2013, Samsung tallied 33.9 percent of shipments and Apple held 25.9 percent LG came …

Is this the charging dock for the Moto 360 smartwatch?Mister Gadget Motorola’s upcoming Android Wear-based Moto 360 smartwatch could come with a wireless charging dock that shows the screen while the battery charges, if newly leaked photos turn out to be true. An Italian blog, called Mister Gadget, claims to have obtained images of how the Moto 360 will charge …

Apple’s iPhone 5S (left) and iPhone 5C. Apple One of the big questions surrounding Apple’s expected iPhone 6 : what size battery it will come with? An industry analyst believes it might be bigger than earlier rumors suggested. The 4.7-inch model of the iPhone 6 could ship with a 2,100mAh capacity battery, rather than the 1,810mAh battery previously believed to …

CNET Samsung will significantly reduce orders to one of its mobile parts suppliers after uncovering the use of child labor at a Chinese facility. Samsung will cut its orders to China-based Dongguan Shinyang Electronics by 30 percent, the company told Reuters on Tuesday. The electronics giant said Chinese authorities found that a subcontractor for Dongguan Shinyang had hired minors to …

Counterpoint Research Samsung has fallen from the pedestal and become the No. 2 handset maker in India. The company held a 14.4 percent share of the handset market in India in the second quarter, putting it in second place behind India-based device maker Micromax, which owned 16.6 percent share, Counter Point Research reported this week. Nokia came in third place …

Apple/USPTO The US Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday published 58 newly granted Apple patents, but one that envisions communication between a device like the iPhone or iPad and a wireless disposable wristband has received some attention. The patent, which was earlier reported on by Patently Apple, covers technology for an “autonomous battery-free microwave frequency communication device” that could be …

Irrational Games/2K Games BioShock, the wildly popular franchise from video game developer Irrational Games, is coming to Apple’s iOS this summer. Publisher 2K Games is launching an iOS version of the original BioShock, complete with all of the first-person shooter action found in that title, the company has confirmed. Gamers will play through the game in the underwater city of …