After a two-month delay while Apple was ironing out some problems with the product, the wireless Bluetooth powered AirPods finally launched on December 13th. Already, AirPods own 26% of the online wireless headphone market, cementing what Apple CEO Tim Cook has called "a runaway success." The data comes from Slice Intelligence and is generated from actual receipts. This means that the figures should be very accurate.

In December 2015, wireless headphones accounted for half of the entire online U.S. headphones market for the first time. Last month, three out of every four headphones sold online in the states were of the wireless variety. Besides Apple, Samsung has its Gear IconX wireless ear buds that compete with the AirPods. But Apple does have the benefit of having sold millions of Apple iPhone 7 and Apple iPhone 7 Plus handsets, all sans a 3.5mm earphone jack. All of these iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus owners are potential AirPods buyers. On the day of the product's launch, December 13th, wireless headphone sales made online were ten times higher than the pre-holiday figure for an average day in 2016. For all of 2016, it was the single day with the most online sales of wireless headphones.

Apple has been dominating the category, and not just because of the $159 AirPods. Prior to the product's launch, Beats had the leading market share based on online sales, with 24.1%. That company of course, is owned by Apple. After the AirPods launch, Beats owned 15.4% and Apple had 26% for a combined market share of more than 40%. It might have been coincidence, but Bose got a huge lift from the AirPods launch as its share of the online wireless headphones market rose from 10.5% to 16.1%

Now that we now who is selling product, the question is, who is buying it? Female Boomers have the largest share at 38% followed by male Millemmials at 35%, and female Millennials at 32%. You can check out all of the data by clicking on the slideshow below.

Citing industry sources, Korean news outlet The Investor reports that Samsung is targeting 60 million unit shipments for its upcoming Galaxy S8 flagship smartphone. The company has placed component orders to match this target and is working towards a mid-April release date for the product. This means the Galaxy S8 could take about a month longer to land in retail stores than its predecessor. This may or may not owe to Samsung extending its quality assurance process to prevent potential product-breaking flaws.

The sources claim that Samsung will begin mass-producing the Galaxy S8 in March. One of the reports suggests that an initial batch of 5 million units will be completed in March, while the other suggests that 5 million units will be Samsung's monthly production capacity for the months after. Either way, the sources claim the company will be showcasing the smartphone "a month or two" before its mid-April release. This means the Galaxy S8 could be announced at MWC 2017, either in late February or the first days of March, while being shown to carriers and retail partners behind the scenes.
60 million is quite an ambitious target. The past three generations of Galaxy S smartphones managed between 45 to 48 million units, with a record of 70 million units still held by the Galaxy S4 (2013). Its predecessor, the Galaxy S3, came close with 65 million units. Reportedly, Samsung set such a goal to help overcome the losses sustained after pulling the faulty Galaxy Note 7 off the market last year.

The report names iris scanner module maker Partron, camera lens firm Sekonix, and connectivity-handling Samsung Electro-Mechanics and Amotech as component delivery partners.

If there’s one thing nobody can deny Apple’s good at, it’s creating lasting designs. A testament to that is the angular Macintosh 128K from 1984 – a computer with such an iconic look, 30 years later people are using it as a design piece. The cuboid Mac has been repurposed to such things as a flower pot, an aquarium, an iPad stand, a DJ-ing helmet (yes, really), and many, many more. While some techies may find these “reincarnations” of the classic machine blasphemous, they are a testament to its lasting design.

If you are among the many who like the look of this Macintosh computer, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to learn that accessory maker Elago has released a 128K-styled stand for the Apple Watch. It comes in black and classic white/beige and looks really cool when you slip your watch in, especially if you’re using a watch face with green accents.

The W3 Elago Apple Watch stand is made from silicone and supports both generations of Apple Watches. It also supports Nightstand Mode and has a slot to fit the official charging cable. Both colors of the W3 start at $13.49 and can be purchased at Elago’s online store.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 Active is poised to receive an update to Android 7.0 Nougat. The smartphone surfaced in the GFXBench database running the latest version of Android, which means the update is in testing and being primed for a release in the near future. Samsung has already published beta builds of Android Nougat for the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, so it's highly likely that the Active will receive a Nougat update around the same time they do. The company has committed to delivering the Nougat update for the S7 and S7 edge this January, so the Active should get it around this time, or a little later.

So far, the beta Nougat updates have added a fair bit of functionality to their designated smartphones. There are new features such as adding third-party app functions as quick toggles, improved battery saving, an overhaul to the Calendar app, a Video Enhancer feature for better video and sound quality, repositioned toggles, new Device Maintenance, screen resolution adjustments, and other goodies on top of all the patches and fixes. All in all, this should be a fine update when it's pushed out.

When deciding which smartphone to purchase, there are a number of different factors that come into play - the camera, screen resolution, internal storage capacity, battery size, and more. When looking at Android-powered phones specifically, there's another area to be concerned about, and it has to do with software updates. Not all OEMs are made equal, and while some provide consistently fast and reliable software updates, the same can't be said for other brands. Sony has recently been doing a commendable job at getting their hardware updated to Android 7.0 Nougat, and in a recent post published to their Xperia Blog, it looks like Sony isn't calling it quits just yet. Android 7.1.1 was released to both Pixel and Nexus hardware a few days ago on December 5th, and Google also released this latest Android update to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) on the same day so that other manufacturers and OEMs could update their hardware to the next version of Android as well. Samsung has recently announced that they'll be skipping the Android 7.0 and 7.1 updates and going straight to 7.1.1, and while this rollout for the S7 and S7 edge is expected to take place at some point early next year, the development team over at Sony has said that "if you spot any other vendor (excluding Google) releasing this (Android 7.1.1) faster than us, prepare your rotten tomatoes!" Sony's goal is to be the first non-Google OEM to update their devices to Android 7.1.1 There's currently no word as to when Sony will actually be releasing the 7.1.1 update to their hardware, but their development team has said that it's currently their concept team's "number 1 priority." As for what devices will be receiving 7.1.1, it's pretty safe to assume that both the Xperia X Performance and Xperia XZ will be getting the latest software as they were just recently updated to 7.0. It's also been confirmed that the Z5 line of devices, the Z3+, and the Z4 Tablet will be getting Nougat at some point in the future, so it wouldn't be a surprise if we saw 7.1.1 Nougat make its way to these devices as well.

We've referred to high-end smartphones before as "beasts, " but this might be the first time that one actually has a "Beast mode." Samsung has filed with the EU to trademark the phrase Beast mode. Knowing full well the pitfalls of making an assumption, we will say that this could be a new mode for the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S8. The latter is expected to be unveiled in New York City, possibly as soon as April.

Supporting this theory is the documentation, which shows that the name could be applied to a smartphone or even a smartphone operating system. In certain regions, the Galaxy S8 is rumored to be powered by the new Snapdragon 835 chipset. Other markets will use the next-generation Exynos chip. Both will be manufactured using the 10nm process, allowing either chip to bring the power without consuming excessive amounts of energy. We also could see 8GB of RAM inside, giving the device smooth multi-tasking capabilities.

One thing for sure, if Samsung does include some sort of overdriving Beast mode on the Galaxy S8, we're sure to hear about it in Samsung's marketing of the device.

So now there could be two reasons to look forward to April; it will be the start of the 2017 Major League Baseball season, and it could be the month that sees Samsung introduce its new flagship handset.

The FCC has certified four new handsets from LG with the model numbers of LG-M150, LG-M151, LG-M153 and LG-M154. Based on the diagram that accompanied the FCC documentation, the phone will carry a single rear-facing camera; with the FCC label placed inside the battery compartment, it would appear that the cell will be replaceable. The four new model numbers certified by the FCC could each represent one of the four new K (2017) series handsets that LG is reportedly going to introduce at CES next month. Those handsets are believed to include: LG K10 2017 - 5.3-inch HD screen, 5 MP wide-angle front-facing camera, 2.5D glass (slightly curved) on front and back, and fingerprint reader LG K8 2017 - 5-inch HD screen, 13 MP rear camera, 5 MP front-facing camera, and a 2500 mAh battery LG K4 2017 - 4.7-inch screen, 8 MP rear camera, 5 MP front-facing camera, and a 2500 mAh battery LG K3 2017 - 4.5-inch screen, 5 MP rear camera, 2 MP front-facing camera, and a 2100 mAh battery The CES opens on January 5th next month, and closes on January 8th.

Samsung's near monopoly on OLED display supplies might be challenged a year from now, as Apple, Google and Microsoft are reportedly partnering with LG on the production of flexible OLED panels. While Apple's name comes as no surprise here, as it is heavily rumored to introduce an OLED iPhone 8 next year, and is trying to diversify its screen suppliers, the fact that Google and Microsoft may be in the mix raises some eyebrows. As per the source of this rumor, Google is interested in flexible OLEDs for future iterations of its Pixels, while Microsoft is actually shopping for Surface line ideas. In any case, there are three powerful potential customers with money and enthusiasm to burn, so LG is said to take the opportunity, and be ready for mass production by 2018. The other important tip here is that those LG flexible displays are meant to be used into foldable devices, with a mechanism that keeps the screen stretched over the outer surface. Samsung has been developing such panels for a while now, allowing the OLEDs to bend numerous times without picture deterioration at the folding area, but it's the first time we are hearing LG might be up to something similar. In any case, it seems that we will be encountering much more unorthodox shapes and forms in phones going forward, which can only benefit the end users, if done right. Needless to say, LG Display has denied commenting on its future customers.

The Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017) received its Bluetooth certification last month, and was certified by the FCC earlier this month. Today it has received its Wi-Fi certification from the Wi-Fi Alliance. The model number is SM-A720X. With Both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi certified, there is talk that the phone could be unveiled sometime later this month. Meanwhile, the SM-A720F, which is the international version of the handset, was spotted on Indian import-export site Zauba a number of times. The latest rumored specs include a 5.5-inch or 5.7-inch screen with a 1080 x 1920 resolution. Powering the phone will be the Samsung Exynos 7880 SoC containing an octa-core 1.8GHz CPU and a Mali-T860 MP4 GPU. 3GB of RAM is inside along with 32GB of native storage. Both the back-facing and front-facing cameras will weigh in at 16MP, and Android 6.0.1 will be pre-installed. With an IP68 certification rating, the device will be able to withstand getting submerged to a depth of five-feet for as long as 30 minutes. The Galaxy A7 (2017) will be equipped with a Type-C USB port. We expect to see the Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017) unveiled at the same times as the Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) and the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017). The smaller Galaxy A3 (2017), with its 4.7-inch screen offering a 720 x 1280 resolution, already received its Wi-Fi certification last month. The Galaxy A5 (2017) and its 5.2-inch 1080 x 1920 resolution display, has received certification for both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

Although previous rumors suggested Huawei might start updating the P9 and Mate 8 to Android 7.0 Nougat operating system in early 2017, it appears that the Chinese handset maker decided to rush things up a bit.

We're now getting reports from China that the Android 7.0 Nougat update is now live for both the Huawei P9 and Mate 8. These are not just beta builds pushed to a small number of users, it's the real deal and it's rolled out to all users.

Unfortunately, Huawei's Android update roadmap leaked a while ago might have gotten one thing right, as the update is limited to China for not.

There's a high chance that Huawei won't widen the availability of Android 7.0 Nougat in other countries this year, so P9 and Mate 8 users worldwide might enjoy the advantages of the new update starting early 2017.

However, if you're located in China, you want to look for firmware version B352 if you own the Huawei P9, and firmware version B552 in case you're rocking a Mate 8.

Those who installed beta Android builds should rest easy as they will receive the Android 7.0 Nougat update as well, though the firmware versions will be different: B363 (Huawei P9) and B562 (Huawei Mate 8).

So, there you have it folks, it looks like Huawei P9 and Mate 8 users in China are already getting the update, while the rest of world might have to wait until early 2017.

Update: a few more Galaxy A-series 2017 slides have been sent our way, adding real images of the phones, as well as filling out details that confirm a new glass design, IP68 waterproofing for all, and 3000 mAh, 3300 mAh, and 3500 mAh battery capacities, respectively. Also, judging from the date on the Always-on display, release may come January 2nd.

Seven, Galaxy A7 '17 - that should be the promo invite of Samsung's upcoming alpha midranger. Last year, Samsung unveiled its A-series crop in December, and, judging from the recent deluge of certifications for the eventual Galaxy A7 (2017), it might out the new models in a week or two, which would be about a year after the A7 2016 model.

If you don't grow, you shrink. That seems to be Apple's mentality, as the company is reportedly looking forward to opening a new flagship store in Washington D.C.'s Carnegie Library. The Washington Business Journal reports that the local convention and sports authority has agreed to let Apple proceed with its plans, which include renovating the 113-year old building.

The company will work in tandem with Foster + Partners of London in redesigning the 63,000 square feet of space, possibly borrowing ideas from central Apple stores in London, California, and San Francisco. The design company is the one behind the aforementioned outlets, notable for elements like giant video screens, glass windows, and gathering places.

Apple's London store at Regent Street is also situated inside a historic building, and the company has been given a preservation award for its sensitive repurposing of historic properties, which means Apple knows how to handle the Carnegie Library's time-tested look and build. It will eventually become the company's second store in the District, the first one being in Georgetown.

The deal will be considered this Thursday. It's not known when Apple will be able to begin the renovation, and there's no schedule for the store's eventual opening.

Apple often sits on the sidelines regarding a new and unproven technology, and when it matures enough, it decides that it's good enough to be applied on a grand scale. Case in point is the OLED screen tech, and grand scale in Apple's case might mean that up to 70 million such panels might be needed for a premium iPhone 8 modelwith curved display next year

5 Jet and Glossy Black alternatives to the iPhone 7

Everyone wants the Jet Black versions of iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Units are sold out worldwide and Apple still struggles to catch up with the high demand. In the meantime, Samsung is looking to fill the niche and is about to release its own shiny black version of the Galaxy S7 edge. All eyes are on the two giants battling for the glossy black supremacy this winter, as people eagerly wait for the opportunity to wipe fingerprints off their phones' glass backs every five seconds.

But we here at PhoneArena began to wonder, aren't there any other glossy black options? Of course there are. So, in case you're not too keen on waiting for an iPhone 7 Plus or the new glossy Galaxy S7 edge, here are some alternatives that you can buy right now.

2017 marks the 10th anniversary of the iPhone, and it could be a huge year for Apple in terms of sales, obviously thanks to the much anticipated iPhone 8. 

According to famous KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (known for his accurate predictions when it comes to all things Apple), iPhone suppliers are getting ready to produce between 120 and 150 million new handsets in the second half of fiscal year 2017 (for Apple, this means March - September 2017).

As previously reported, no less than three iPhone 8 models are expected to debut next year. Alongside direct successors to the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus (which should sport screens of 4.7 inches and 5.5 inches, respectively), a third model with a curved OLED screen of around 5.2 inches could hit the market in 2017. As mentioned yesterday, Apple is seemingly testing more than 10 iPhone 8 prototypes, and still has time to decided what models to release.

If Apple sells more than 120 million iPhone 8 units, this will become the company's best selling handset series to date, surpassing the iPhone 6 in popularity.

Ming-Chi Kuo notes that the high demand for iPhone 8 models will likely be driven by the new curved OLED screen, as well as by wireless charging. Interestingly, right now, it's said that only the 4.7-inch iPhone 8 may feature wireless charging (in addition to a "glass casing"). If a recent rumor is to be believed, Apple's wireless charging technology could be like no other out there, allowing the iPhone 8 to be charged even if it's up to 15 feet away from its transmitter. Of course, it remains to be seen if there's any truth to this.

On the heels of Kirin 960's debut last month, new rumors are suggesting that Huawei is already working on a next generation processor. Predictably dubbed the Kirin 970, the new chip will reportedly be a big leap in terms of performance from the 960, which was built on the FinFET 16 nm process just like the Kirin 950.

The Kirin 970 is said to be an octa-core chip built on the 10 nm process and will reportedly support global LTE. Huawei's decision to switch to the 10nm process for its next-gen silicon may have been spurned by recent announcements from Qualcomm and Samsung whose next processors, the Snapdragon 835 and the Exynos 8895, will be built on Samsung's new 10 nm process and be able to fit 30 percent more transistors than current 14 nm offerings.

There is no info yet regarding Kirin 970's debut, but it will likely power Huawei's 2017 high-end flagships and come out in time to compete with 10nm offerings from Samsung, Qualcomm, and MediaTek.

Japanese company Sony started the rollout of Android 7.0 Nougat concept to Xperia X (single SIM model) about a week ago, and promised users to keep the updates coming until the final version will be launched for the masses.

Today, that promise is partially fulfilled with the release of the first Android 7.0 concept update for the Xperia X. Among the many new features and improvements included, Sony confirmed that the update adds the latest November security patch.

For those who have been accepted into the beta program, we're looking at firmware version 38.1.A.0.342, which is about 223MB in size. That's not a heavy sized update, so it shouldn't take too long to download and install.

According to Sony, the update contains a new Home that has some issues with icon packs, so if you have added an icon pack in the past you must remove it from Home settings. In order to do that, you must switch to default before updating to this version of Android 7.0 Nougat.

In terms of new features, the update adds X-reality support for pictures in Sony Album app, as well as updated driver for the fingerprint sensor. New versions of Xperia Home and Xperia Transfer will be added too.

Some bugs present in the previous build have been addressed in the update, such as an issue with FM Radio along with NC (Noise Canceling) headset. Also, a fix for Camera not available “ok google” related has been deployed as well.

Huawei announced no less than three Mate 9 variations in less than two weeks, so the fact that it's just silently released another one won't surprise anyone. After announcing the regular Mate 9 flagship and the premium Porsche Design Mate 9, the handset maker unveiled the Mate 9 Pro model in China. Today, a new, “lighter” version of the Mate 9 makes its debut on the market, the Mate 9 Lite. The smartphone has already been listed on the company's website, but no details about availability or pricing options have been disclosed yet. It's good that we have info on its specs though. According to the listing, the Mate 9 Lite is a mid-range smartphone that will ship with Android 6.0 Marshmallow and EMUI 4.1. That's pretty sad considering the other three models run Android 7.0 Nougat right out of the box. Also, the Mate 9 Lite comes with a 5.5-inch display that supports full HD (1080p) resolution. On the inside, instead of the powerful Kirin 960 chipset, Huwei added a 2.1GHz octa-core Kirin 655 processor, which is complemented by 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. Huawei also states that the a slightly bumped version of Mate 9 Lite with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage will be launched on the market. The Mate 9 Lite retains the dual-camera setup (no Leica though), but in a slightly downgrade form: 12MP + 2MP camera. In the front, there's a secondary 8-megapixel selfie shooter. The smartphone is powered by a 3,340 mAh battery and packs a fingerprint sensor on the back side, below the dual-camera setup. Huawei Mate 9 Lite will be available in three color variations: Gold, Grey and Silver.

As the end of the year approaches, we're getting closer to more and more smartphone reveals. Many companies have decided to save some “spots” between Black Friday and holiday shopping season to launch a few new products that could boost their revenues.

Samsung is one of the companies that are likely to introduce a couple of new smartphones in early December. One of them could the Galaxy A7 (2017), which has just received its Bluetooth certification.

This isn't the first time we here about the Galaxy A7 (2017), also known as Samsung SM-A720F, as the smartphone made the rounds at GFXBench and AnTuTu benchmarks not long ago.

Samsung's mid-range handset is expected to ship with Android Marshmallow onboard. It will sport a more than decent 5.7-inch display that supports full HD (1080p) resolution and a powerful 1.8GHz Exynos 7880 processor.

The listing of the phone at GFXBench also revealed the Galaxy A7 (2017) will pack 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal memory. We can safely assume that Samsung will add microSD card slot for memory expansion, too.

Although it hasn't been confirmed yet, Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017) is said to feature an impressive 16-megapixel rear camera, as well as a 3,300 mAh battery under the hood. Other specs could include fingerprint sensor, USB Type-C port, water resistance and 4G LTE support.

During the primary season that led up to the recent election of Donald Trump as president, the billionaire real estate developer and reality television star had some rough words for Apple. Besides trying to start a boycott of the company for its failure to unlock a terrorist's iPhone, Trump was upset at the tech titan for building its products overseas. Trump had floated the idea of a 35% tax on imported products made outside of the U.S. A Trump administration, said The Donald, would force Apple "to build their damn computers in this country instead of other countries." Today, a story in the Nikkei Asian Review cited an anonymous source for its report that Apple is investigating the possibility of manufacturing the iPhone in the states. Apple allegedly spoke with Foxconn and Pegatron, the two contract manufacturers it uses to build its smartphones and tablets. Apple allegedly brought the idea of moving production to the attention of the two companies back in June. That was five months after Trump originally made his comments about Apple's overseas device production, but five months prior to his election. According to the source, Foxconn agreed to help Apple come up with a plan to move iPhone production to the U.S. Pegatron, on the other hand, refused to get involved because the cost would be prohibitive. The source told the publication that moving iPhone production to the U.S. would more than double the cost of making the device. One of the problems facing Apple is that not all of the components for the iPhone can be produced in the U.S. The report added that the Taiwan based supply chain believes that Trump will force Apple to make a certain percentage of iPhone components in the states.