Samsung Galaxy Buds pop up on Bluetooth SIG: Gear IconX to get a new name?

Bluetooth earbuds have become another trendy device category for mobile manufacturers, as the likes of Google, HMD Global and Samsung all now offer their own products. Today, it looks like the latter company is readying its next take, possibly called Galaxy Buds.

A filing for “Galaxy Buds” popped up on the Bluetooth SIG website earlier, noting the product was a “Samsung Smart Wearable.” The listing also reveals the new hardware will support Bluetooth 5.0.

The model number in the filing (SM-R170) seems to line up with a previous claim by SamMobile. The Samsung-focused outlet noted at the time that these were the 2019 Gear IconX earbuds. It’s unclear if Samsung will keep the IconX name or if they’ll adopt the Galaxy Buds name per the Bluetooth listing.

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We’d expect a new generation of Samsung earbuds to support Bixby for voice commands, much like the company’s previous buds. However, the confirmation of Bluetooth 5.0 means the new hardware has at least one improvement over the 2018 IconX (which used Bluetooth 4.2).

Our sister website Soundguys found the 2018 Gear IconX to be a pretty solid pair of buds, but noted that battery life was its fatal flaw. Additionally, the website’s Adam Molina said the touch-sensitive pads were “fundamentally flawed”. Hopefully, Samsung addresses these issues with the Galaxy Buds, or whatever they end up being called.

What would you like to see from Samsung’s new Bluetooth buds? Let us know in the comments!

NEXT: Everyone seems to be making high-end headphones except Google

Source: Android Zone

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TCL might have yet another sketchy app that you should stay away from

According to BBC, free weather app Weather Forecast — World Weather Accurate Radar has been collecting an inordinate amount of information. The developer behind the app? TCL, the company that manufactures Alcatel and BlackBerry smartphones.

Security and mobile commerce firm Upstream Systems found that the app transmits information to servers in China. Collected information includes email addresses, IMEI numbers, and your location.

Exacerbating matters is the finding that Weather Forecast attempted to subscribe users to pornography and virtual reality services. Affected users include Alcatel smartphone owners in Brazil, Malaysia, and Nigeria.

Brazil, in particular, received over 2.5 million subscription attempts between July and August 2018.

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To TCL’s credit, Weather Forecast no longer tries to subscribe users to third-party services. However, Upstream Systems found that the app still collects the aforementioned information.

TCL declined to comment for this article.

This isn’t the first time TCL released a sketchy app that collected a weird amount of information. In January 2018, folks noticed that a third-party app on the Play Store replaced the default gallery app on their Alcatel smartphones. Called Candy Gallery, the app asked for a laundry list of permissions when first opened. The app’s cryptographic key matched that of Alcatel’s old gallery app. That could mean Alcatel either sold the app itself or the app listing.

Source: Android Zone

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