Samsung Galaxy S7 release date, specs & price rumours – BIG battery and an SD card slot coming We round up the latest rumours surrounding the Galaxy S7, which will be released in early 2016 Katharine Byrne

The Galaxy S6 was one of the best phones of 2015, but Samsung's decision to drop the microSD card slot upset a surprisingly large number of fans, as it made the phone's storage capabilities less flexible than its competitors. It also meant you had a shell out a lot more money to get one of the higher capacity models (much like Apple's iPhones), but this could all be a thing of the past if the latest rumours are to be believed, as a new report from VentureBeat claims that both the Galaxy S7 and its curved companion the Galaxy S7 Edge will indeed come with microSD card slots.

According to "a person briefed on the company's plans", both of Samsung's top end 2016 smartphones will be compatible with cards up to 200GB. They will also be rated as IP67 dust and water resistant, meaning that Sony's Xperia Z5 might not be the one of the only waterproof smartphones on the market any more. Of course, without concrete confirmation from Samsung itself, it's difficult to say for certain whether these details are actually correct. Still, microSD card support would certainly go a long way to appease fans who felt slightly put out by the Galaxy S6, and the added protection against water and dust would be an excellent bonus in terms of everyday practicality.

While two rumours don't make a fact, yet another leak points at the return of the SD card slot, plus a couple of surprises. According to a spec sheet posted on Weibo, the Chinese social networking site (see below), and discovered by PhoneArena, the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge will have a microSD card slot. In addition, the leaked sheet suggests that the S7 Edge will have a 5.5in screen, making it he same size as the existing S6 Edge+. To me, this move makes a certain amount of sense, as the Edge+ was really just a big version of the existing S6 Edge.

Interestingly, the camera resolution is being predicted to drop from 16-megapixels to 12-megapixels. However, while the resolution may be lower, f/1.7 lens will let in more light (the current S6 has an f/1.9 lens). Rumours abound that the new sensor will be comparatively large at 1/2". A larger sensor means that each pixel gets more light, so noise is reduced and quality is improved. I'm a big fan of quality of specs, so if this turns out to be true, it's a good move from Samsung.

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Release date

To be honest, it doesn't take a genius to work out roughly when the S7 will be launched: one year, or so, after the S6 made its debut. Now, it appears as though we have our first confirmation on this, with the China Mobile, reported on by SlashGear, showing a chart that states that the S7 will hit the network in March. The image, captured be a Weibo user and show below, seems to be legit. So, what can we learn from that?

Well, if March is when the networks are going to get the phone, then it means that Samsung will definitely have announced the phone at some point earlier in order to generate interest and to get the pre-orders going. The most likely scenario, then, is that Samsung will announce the Galaxy S7 at an event in February. Given the company's most recent form, the most likely date is going to be during MWC 2016, which takes place between the 22nd and 25th February. However, there is an outside chance that Samsung will decide to avoid the other MWC releases and have its own event sometime before the show; some Galaxy S handsets have had their own dedicated events before, so the company has been known to do this. As it is, all I can say is that it looks likely we'll see the phone in February and I'll bring you more details as I have them.

Samsung's latest smartphone, and the update to the existing Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge

It should be announced at MWC (22-25 February 2016), with the phone hitting the shops in early April, although we may get a surprise launch in January
	Don't expect a lot of differences from the outside, but we may see 4K displays (not that likely), a return to Qualcomm processors (more likely) and Android Marshmallow (very likely)

Best new phones coming in 2016 - the smartphones worth waiting for

Some smartphones are worth waiting for, and there are some stunners coming in 2016. These are the best new phones coming in 2016, including the best new Android phones, best new iPhones, best new Windows phones, best new Samsung phones, best new Sony phones, best new HTC phones, best new LG phones and more.

Some smartphones are worth waiting for, and there are some stunners coming in 2016. These are the bestphones coming in 2016, including the best new Android phones, best new iPhones, best new Windows phones, best new Samsung phones, best new Sony phones, best new HTC phones, best new LG phones and more.

In this feature we'll show you some of the exciting new iPhones and new Android phones (listed alphabetically) that will launch over the coming year. We'll also look back on some of the best new phones of 2015 so far.

Best new phones 2016:Apple iPhone 7

The iPhone 7 will be Apple's brand-new flagship phone for 2016, and following tradition should be announced in September. Although the final release date is still many months away, that hasn't stopped the rumour mill going crazy over the upcoming iPhone.

We've already seen rumours that the new iPhone will feature big design changes, with an all-new D-jack headphone jack, waterproofing protection and an eSIM. Loads of rumours are circulating about the screen too - will it get bigger? Will it feature a curved edge? Will it have a Touch ID display, or edge-to-edge glass?

One things for sure, the new iPhone will be faster than ever, with an A10 processor and embedded M10 motion co-processor, plus 2GB of RAM.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 First Impressions

Xiaomi last month caught some eyeballs when it launched its third-generation Redmi Note smartphonein China, its first device to feature a fingerprint sensor. The Redmi Note 3 is priced at CNY 899 (approximately Rs. 9,500) for 2GB of RAM and 16GB of inbuilt storage, and CNY 1099 (approximately Rs. 11,500) for 3GB of RAM and 32GB of inbuilt storage. We recently got our hands on a unit and these are our first impressions.

The metal-clad, dual-SIM Redmi Note 3 is Xiaomi's latest flagship model, and it certainly lives up to that standard in most areas. The smartphone has a sturdy build, offering just enough grip to prevent it from slipping from your hands. Measuring 150x76x8.65mm, the device has its power button placed in the middle of the right side, making it easy to reach. The volume buttons sit above the power button, while the SIM tray is on the upper left. Of the three colour variants, gold, silver and dark grey, we found the gold version the most eye-catching.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 sports a 5.5-inch full-HD (1080x1920-pixel) screen, which is the same as its predecessor, the Redmi Note 2. Reaching all four corners of the display with a thumb can be difficult, but one-handed typing is possible. The fully laminated display is bright and vibrant, but not any more so than the panels Samsung has been putting out for quite a while now. Although other similarly high-specced devices have gone beyond full-HD, most users shouldn't care as the tradeoff is better battery life. Also, the screen is quite reflective and is difficult to use under direct sunlight.

Under the hood, the Redmi Note 3 packs a 64-bit octa-core MediaTek Helio X10 processor, clubbed with either 2GB or 3GB of RAM. The processor and RAM team up to handle all day-to-day tasks such as video streaming, document editing, image editing and more without any problem. Our sample unit had 2GB of RAM, and we were able to open around 10 applications including some graphically intensive games, and had no trouble while switching between them and multitasking. Our time with the unit was too limited to arrive at any firm conclusion about how powerful the processor is in different scenarios. Therefore, we will reserve our verdict till we can do a full review. Out of 16GB inbuilt storage, users will get almost 9.5GB for app and other media storage, with rest reserved for the OS.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 camera impressed us with its overall image quality, compared to other smartphones it will compete with. The rear 13-megapixel camera features Phase Detection Auto Focus (PDAF) and a true-tone flash. The pictures we took under artificial lighting were detailed and crisp. The phone was quick to capture both HDR and non-HDR images. The user interface is simplistic but covers almost a quarter of the display with a side panel for the shutter button, gallery shortcut and video mode switch. Users can swipe on the screen to choose filter options that include fisheye, blur, dawn, mono, vivid and mirror, and for other modes such as manual, gradient, HDR, timer, panorama and more. The Redmi Note 3 also has a 5-megapixel front-facing camera, which we found to be decent in the short time we had to experiment with it.

The 4G-enabled Redmi Note 3 runs the company's latest MIUI 7 skin based on Android 5.1 Lollipop. The interface has been improved with some new features such as themes, a larger font size, a child mode, claimed 30 percent better response time, and more. Global stable builds of MIUI 7 were released for a number of Xiaomi of devices in October. It is easy to use with straightforward controls. Those who have used previous versions of MIUI should not find it difficult to get around.

The fingerprint sensor placed on the rear is quick to recognise which finger has been used, and unlocks the smartphone in under half a second. Setting it up was also hassle-free. The speaker on the bottom rear is average.

The latest smartphone by Xiaomi is powered by a 4000mAh battery, which is a pretty large capacity compared to recently launched options in the same price bracket. The company claims that the battery can be charged up to 50 percent in an hour, which we will need to test for ourselves.

Xiaomi is yet to announce when it will launch the Redmi Note 3 in India. Stay tuned for updates and our full review.

Does Your Battery Life Stink? Try Some High-Tech Workarounds

It's enough to make you want to drop everything and race for the nearest power outlet: Your workday isn't even done, and your smartphone or laptop battery is already in the red zone.

If you're hoping that techno-progress will dispel that depleted feeling, you may be in for a long wait. Battery life is constrained by limitations in chemistry, and improvements aren't keeping pace with demands from modern gadgets.

We're still dependent on the venerable lithium-ion cell, first commercialized by Sony in 1991; it's light, safe and holds a lot of charge relative to most alternatives, but it isn't getting better fast enough to keep up with our growing electronic demands.

So instead, manufacturers are doing their best to "cheat" their way around lithium-ion's limitations. The CES gadget show in Las Vegas this week featured plenty of workarounds that aim to keep your screen lit longer.

Proceed with caution, though: Manufacturer claims of battery life improvement can fall short of real-world experience.

New chips
Not that long ago, computer-chip makers competed to make their chips ever faster and more capable, with power consumption a secondary consideration. But the boom in energy hungry smartphones and laptops means that companies like Intel need to put much more emphasis on power efficiency these days.

Intel says its sixth-generation Core chips, known as Skylake, add a little more than an hour to battery life to laptops compared with the previous generation, according to spokesman Scott Massey. The chips utilize a more compact design, hard-wired functions that used to be run via software and fine-tuning how they ramp power use up and down.

Better-designed laptops
Laptop manufacturers are smartly sipping power, too.

HP says the Spectre x360 notebook it introduced in March gains up to 72 minutes of battery life, for a total of up to 13 hours, thanks in part to Intel's new chip. Among other tricks, the PC doesn't refresh the screen as often if the image isn't moving. "If we can solve a bunch of small problems, they can add up," HP vice president Mike Nash said.

Similarly, Lenovo's new ThinkPad X1 Yoga tablet turns off its touch screen and keyboard backlight if it senses its owner is walking and has the screen folded back like an open book. Vaio, the computer maker formerly owned by Sony, says its Z Canvas launched in the U.S. in October benefits from shrinking components and efficiently distributing heat to make more room for a bigger battery.

And Dell says it has worked with manufacturers to squeeze more battery capacity into the same space. It says its efforts recently boosted the energy storage of its XPS 13 laptop by 7.7 percent compared to an earlier version of the same model .

New chargers
Maybe it's your phone that's not keeping up. If so, you might check out new accessories designed to make it easier and faster to charge back up.

Kickstarter-funded Ampy uses your body's kinetic energy to charge up a pager-sized device. Strap it to your arm or a belt and it can recharge a smartphone in real time; an hour of jogging or similar exercise yields about an hour of use. You could also just throw it in your bag and get the same extra hour of gadget life after a week of walking around - not an awesome trade off, maybe, but possibly better than nothing.

The wireless-charging technology Qi makes it possible to charge a phone without plugging it in. Instead, you lay it down on a special pad and let electromagnetic field coupling do the work. Wireless charging has always been much slower than wired, although Qi's backers say it's speeding up. But wired charging is getting faster, too, at least for phones with the latest hardware- and with Qi, you still have to line up your device just right on the sometimes fussy pads.

Secure Android Smartphone 'Blackphone' Had a Major Vulnerability

The BlackThe Blackphone smartphone, a handset that was touted as one of the most secure smartphones in the world, had a vulnerability that could lead to its modem being exploited by attackers, according to researchers from SentinelOne, a cyber-security firm.The smartphone was a joint effort by SilentCircle and Geeksphone, and has since been patched.

As per the researchers, exploiting the vulnerability a hacker could send and receive text messages; dial or connect calls; view phone call status including the phone number dialled; reset APN/SMSC/Power settings; force conference calls with other numbers; mute the modem speaker; force/unforce caller ID settings; force/unforce caller ID settings; find neighbouring cell towers connected to, and register a call forwarding number without letting the Blackphone owner know about it.

The vulnerability was found last year by Tim Strazzere of SentinelOne, and was addressed and accepted by SilentCircle in September and was resolved in a patch released by the company in December. The fix for the CVE -2015-6841 vulnerability come with the PrivatOS v1.1.13 update.

Although the flaw was fixed by the company, it still raises a question about user data security and privacy. This also makes it apparent that all the devices have vulnerability in one way or another - even the most secure device. SentinelOne said it found the Blackphone vulnerability during a training exercise, adding that it would have been very difficult to find or exploit by attackers.

Dan Ford, the Chief Security Officer at Silent Circle in a blog post thanked Strazzere and said the flaw only affects the Blackphone first-gen model with Nvidia Icera modem chip and the open socket used to communicate with it. "Vulnerabilities are inevitable. It is how you react to those vulnerabilities that counts. How does Silent Circle react? We patch vulnerabilities and give credit where credit is due," he said.

iPhone 7 to Be 'Waterproof', Support Wireless Charging: Report

Earlier this week, it was rumoured that Apple will do away with the 3.5mm headphone jack on the iPhone 7, and release wireless earphones alongside. Now, a few more details have been reported regarding the headphones, water-resistant design, and wireless charging. The report once again suggests that the company will ditch the 3.5mm headphone jack.

According to a recent report by Fast Company, the upcoming iPhone model might ditch the 3.5mm headphone jack and instead use the Lightning port for wired headphones. The piece of information has been rumoured previously as well. However, there is no confirmation on the news as of yet. The previous report added that Apple will make available a Lightning "convert up" to allow headphones with a 3.5mm outlet to be used with the Lightning connector. The new report added that Apple is working with Cirrus Logic to "adapt the audio chipset in the iPhone to work with the Lightning port."

In addition, it has been mentioned that the rumoured iPhone 7 audio system will include new noise-cancellation technology from UK-based company, Wolfson Microelectronics, now a part of Cirrus Logic. This software from Wolfson "will be backed into the phone and the headphones that plug into it," the report added, helping reduce background noise during calls and music playback. The report carries on to say that third-party manufacturers will have to buy a licence to use the technology in their headsets.

Fast Company said while recent reports claim Apple will bundle Lightning-connected EarPod earphones with the iPhone 7, its sources add that is "more likely" Apple will sell a costlier pair earphones separately that's complete with noise-cancellation and a Lightning port, apart from the Beats brand.

It is worth adding that last year also, a report claimed that Apple was planning to ditch the 3.5mm headphone jack in an attempt to make the iPhone thinner by 1mm.

The Fast Company report adds that the rumoured iPhone 7 will boast of a "completely waterproof" design, using nanocoating. However, we feel it is more likely to be water-resistant in reality. The iPhone 7 will reportedly also feature wireless charging support, though the method of its implementation was not detailed. The report concluded that both these features may be pulled from the design before launch, Apple known to ditch features very late into the development process.

Samsung Galaxy S7 Cases Again Tip Design of Upcoming Flagship

In the last few weeks, we have seen multiple case leaks tipping design of the unannounced Samsung Galaxy S7 and its variants. Now, latest in the series comes from Spigen case maker. Additionally, uSwitch has published some high-resolution renders of the Galaxy S7 claiming to show the handset in its full glory.

Amazon has listed (via 9to5Google) various Spigen cases for the Samsung Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Plus, Galaxy S7 Edge, and the Galaxy S7 Edge Plus - all rumoured to be announced next month. As with othercase leaks, the Galaxy S7 and its variants are seen partially. In the case images, the Galaxy S7 is seen sporting a narrow square-shaped home button along with the usual multi-window and back buttons on either side below the display. The front-facing camera is placed at the top-right corner of the panel. The rear camera can be seen accompanied by an LED flash module.

In separate leak, uSwitch and OnLeaks have published a bunch of Galaxy S7 renders. In the leaked renders, the Galaxy S7 front and rear is purportedly seen sporting a somewhat similar design language as the Samsung Galaxy S6. Further, the site claims that the Galaxy S7 will measure 142.5x69.5x 7.9mm. If the alleged renders are true then the Galaxy S7 will be thicker than the Galaxy S6, which measures 6.9mm in thickness.

There have been recent reports pointing out that Samsung may unveil its next flagship Galaxy S7 and it variant smartphone models earlier (ahead of MWC 2016) on February 20 at the company's Unpacked 2016 event.

Recently, purported specifications of the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge were tipped. The Samsung Galaxy S7 was said to sport a 5.1-inch display while the Galaxy Edge a 5.5-inch curved display. Both the smartphones were claimed to sport Super Amoled display with QHD (1440x2560 pixels) resolution. Both the handsets were rumoured to be powered by Exynos 8 octa-core or Snapdragon 820 processor. The leak further added that the handsets may come with 2.3GHz quad-core + 1.6GHz quad-core. Both the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge were said to include 4GB of RAM.

The handsets were claimed to come in 32GB and 64GB storage variants while were also said to support expandable storage via microSD card (up to 200GB). On the camera front, both the smartphones were rumoured to feature a 12-megapixel camera with f/1.7 aperture. Under the hood, the Galaxy S7 may pack a 3000mAh battery while the Galaxy S7 Edge a 3600mAh battery. To compare, the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ featured 2550mAh and 3000mAh batteries.

Google, Lenovo Unveil First Project Tango Smartphone at CES 2016

As teased earlier this week, Google and Lenovo in collaboration announced their first consumer-targeted product with Project Tango technology at the ongoing CES 2016 trade show - smartphone. The Chinese tech firm plans to launch the smartphone "this summer" with a "less than $500" price tag.

Lenovo demonstrated some applications of Project Tango at its joint event, showcasing the indoor area mapping that's possible with the 3D machine vision technology. Three vertically stacked lenses in the smartphone camera will deliver colour and depth information, while a fisheye lens is supposed to give a wide-angle peripheral vision around the device. All the data gathered by the camera are then compiled by the Lenovo smartphone's processor, about which the company failed to give details, to build a 3D map of the area. The technology will allow near real-time mapping, with measurements down to the centimetre.

The Lenovo-made Project Tango-based handset will run on Android OS and will feature a display size that will be less than 6.5-inches. As for the developers, they can submit their Project Tango application ideas to Google until February 15. Selected developers will get funding for their idea, and their apps will be preloaded on the Lenovo smartphone. The search giant will be shipping the smartphone to select developers based on their app ideas.

"This was not designed as a niche device," said Lenovo vice president Jeff Meredith. "We want this to be accessible to a large audience," he added.

Project Tango leader Johnny Lee, who joined in the Las Vegas announcement, said the technology "transforms the smartphone into a magical window on the world."

Lee, who demonstrated various uses of the technology, said it could help consumers find their way in a large hotel or mall, or take precise measurements of a room before shopping for furnishings.

He showed how to get instant measurements of ceiling height, square footage and more, and then tested how certain furniture pieces would look in a room.

"There is much more in the space around us that we can see with our eyes," Lee said.

Project Tango is an imaging technology that uses a combination of various sensors to view the environment around you and generate spatial awareness for your phone. Developed by a team led by former Kinect lead Johnny Lee, Tango was created by Google's Advanced Technology And Projects group, and uses a number of different sensors on your phone or tablet to create a sophisticated picture of the world around it.

An infrared emitter and infrared camera act as a range-finder to measure the distance between your phone and various objects, allowing them to be mapped in three dimensions. A wide angle camera adds details about the location, and other phone sensors including accelerometers, gyroscopes, and barometers combine to help Tango calculate not just what is around your phone or tablet, but also the angle at which you are looking at an object, how far away it is, and what it looks like. Project Tango partners include Nvidia, Qualcomm, and Intel.

To recall, Lenovo in late 2014 acquired Motorola Mobility from Google, though the Internet giantretained the mobile firm's Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) group.

Windows 10 Mobile is rolling out 'soon' promises Microsoft

It's been a long wait for Lumia users stuck with Windows Phone 8.1 on their handsets: the Windows 10 Mobile upgrade was supposed to arrive before the Christmas holidays but then got pushed back to the start of 2016.

We still don't have an official release date but tweets from the @LumiaHelpTwitter feed promise it's on the way "soon". How soon? One anonymous tipsterhas told NPU that 12 January is the day that Windows 10 Mobile rolls out to the masses.

Right now the mobile OS is only available on the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XLhandsets. A variety of bugs and issues have been reported that are linked to software updates, which could be the reason Microsoft is holding back on letting other Lumia users download it.

What you'll need

That 12 January date may or may not be accurate, but it seems to fit with the official comments that have come from Redmond so far. Among the changes is a new browser in the form of Microsoft Edge, an app we've already seen in the desktop version of Windows 10.

The last we heard, you'll need a Lumia 430, Lumia 435, Lumia 532, Lumia 535, Lumia 540, Lumia 640, Lumia 640 XL, Lumia 735, Lumia 830 or Lumia 930 to qualify for a Windows 10 Mobile download. You also need a free 8GB of internal memory and the Lumia Denim update (Windows Phone 8.10.14219.341 or above).

Those prerequisites may change between now and the time that Windows 10 Mobile finally sees the light of day, however - let's hope there aren't too many more days to wait.

Microsoft unveiled a new version of its operating system last year breaking the mould and skipping ahead right to the number 10.

Windows 10's main aim was to connect its ecosystem of devices using the same apps across desktop, tablet, smartphones and even its own Xbox One.

Even the mega exciting Microsoft HoloLens reportedly runs in conjunction with the OS. And Windows 10 is now here for computers; but the mobile version still isn't coming until later in the year.

Microsoft revealed back at MWC 2015 that any device currently running Windows Phone 8.1 will be upgradeable to Windows Phone 10 by the end of the year. An actual release date isn't on the cards yet though.

We managed to get a bit of hands-on time with the developer version of Windows 10 Mobile at MWC and have since installed the developers preview of the system onto a Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE we have in the office.

The biggest change in Windows 10 Mobile is the look of the OS. Each page has a translucent background meaning if you place an image as your background it'll follow you through whilst not being too distracting from the content in front.

It does add a different flavour to the design and makes it all look that little bit nicer than the boring solid colour backgrounds within WP 8.1.

The Settings menu has had some touch up changes organising it in a way you'd expect to see on desktop. Quick settings have also expanded this time around adding in a few more useful options that can be accessed within a couple of taps.

A swipe right will still get you to the list of all installed apps, but now at the top is a new section called the 'Download Tank'.

This is where all the recently installed apps will sit to make sure it's easy to access the newest software additions to your phone. It's a novel idea but I can't help but feel this section of the menu could have been better used as a selection of favourite apps.

I would prefer this space to be used for apps that I don't want to install as live tiles on the home screen but I also find easy to access, especially if they're toward the end of the alphabet and it takes what feels like forever to scroll down and find them.

Microsoft's main push with Windows 10 is the collaboration aspect meaning all Windows devices can interconnect. Universal apps means all the applications will look the same and sync across mobile and desktop devices instantly.

We managed to play around with one connected and the action center, what Microsoft calls notifications, was updated in real time. I think it's great news as it can be properly frustrating to check a notification on your phone but it doesn't notify your tablet that you've already seen it and you have to dismiss it twice.

Using the cloud you can even begin typing out a new document before picking up where you left on another device seamlessly.

Project Spartan has now been officially titled Microsoft Edge within the developers preview. It's the new version of Internet Explorer that promises to offer a better internet browsing experience than we've seen before on Microsoft devices.

Cortana has also undergone some more upgrades to ensure it acts as the personal assistant Microsoft wants it to be.

When we did our intital hands-on it was in Spain, a territory currently not receiving access to Cortana's voice control, so we couldn't use it.

Now we've got it running in the UK we've found some real issues. Cortana isn't currently picking up anywhere near as many instructions as it did on Windows Phone 8.1. It must be a problem with the developer addition as now it can't even set up calendar reminders.

I don't want to fully judge the system in the developer preview but it would be great to try out the new email feature. According to Microsoft you'll be able to send emails with your voice, but at the moment I'm just greeted with a message saying "Sorry, something must have gone wrong."

There's also a new section under the Windows Store Beta that shows "Apps for Cortana" suggesting some third-party offerings are in the making. We haven't heard any confirmation directly from Microsoft yet.

Windows 10 Mobile will be launching in the UK, USA and China later this year but there is still no news on when it'll arrive in Australia.

We thought it'd be announced at the October Windows device announcement but there was no update alongside the launch of the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL.

Some reports previously claimed the update won't be coming until November so it may still be quite a wait for it to come around. We'll update this review once we know more details after Microsoft tells us.

Early verdict

A brief amount of time with the Windows 10 Mobile platform shows some real promise and everything is taking a step in the right direction for an OS that always feels like it's playing catch up. Windows Phone is looking the best it has ever done and it offers more functionality than ever before.

The main focus of the new upgrade is to connect it with our Microsoft products and if you haven't got one it won't feel like the substantial update the mobile platform deserves.

For those who do have Windows 10 devices it will offer a lot more collaboration functionality meaning it'll strengthen itself as a mobile operating system but I don't think it'll ever compare to the big guns of iOS or Android.

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