You may no longer have to shell out big bucks to get high-end smartphone features like artificial intelligence. Qualcomm on Tuesday unveiled its newest processor family, intended to bring premium features to more affordable smartphones, particularly in places like China. The Snapdragon 700 series of chips will enable on-device artificial intelligence support, improvements to the …

Samsung’s Galaxy S9 is all about the refinements. So forget about any big leaps — at least for now. The device, along with its bigger sibling, the S9 Plus, made its debut Sunday at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona. The phones, which hit stores March 16, feature improved audio capabilities, thinner bezels around the display and the ability …

Apple wowed the world with its iPhone X. Now it’s Samsung’s turn. The South Korean electronics giant on Sunday will unveil its latest phone, the Galaxy S9, at its Unpacked event at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona, Spain. Samsung’s invitation for the launch featured the number nine — for the name of the device — as well …

Uh-oh. Smartphones finally took a nosedive.  In the fourth quarter of 2017, smartphone sales fell for the first time ever, according to Gartner. Handset makers sold nearly 408 million smartphones to customers in the quarter, down 5.6 percent from the same period a year ago, the research firm said Thursday. That marks the first annual decline since Gartner started tracking …

Consumers have been slower than expected to embrace using their phones to pay for goods and services at the cash register. Yet Apple CEO Tim Cook is still hoping for the demise of physical currency. That’s one of the key takeaways from Cook, who spoke at the company’s annual shareholder meeting Tuesday. The comment was a response to a question …

As questions about iPhone X demand grow ever louder, Apple gets a chance to set the record straight. Apple on Thursday will report financial results for its fiscal first quarter, which ended in December. The period is typically the company’s biggest of the year because it benefits from the release of the newest iPhones and the holiday season. This time …

For Apple’s HomePod, it’s better late than never.  The smart speaker became available for advance orders in the online Apple Store in the US, UK and Australia on Friday. While you can typically put in an order for new Apple products at 12:01 a.m. PT, the HomePod wasn’t available until just before 5:45 a.m. PT.  A little patience was required …

Games that let you bounce virtual balls off the floor and wall. Apps that make you feel like you’re at the 1969 moon landing after pointing your phone at a poster.   These are a couple of the new things you’ll be able to do on your iPhone and iPad with Apple’s augmented reality update, ARKit 1.5. The software, which …

I open the Amazon Go app on my phone, scan a QR code on top of the white turnstile and watch as electronic arms open to let me in. Glancing around the convenience store, which is bustling with Amazon employees shopping for lunch items, I head left to the cold drinks section, grab a can of Diet Pepsi and exit …

After acknowledging a major security flaw in modern smartphone chips, the head of one of those chip design companies is delivering more grim news. “The reality is there are probably other things out there like it that have been deemed safe for years,” Arm Holdings CEO Simon Segars said in an interview last week at CES 2018 in Las Vegas. …