The upcoming Android 4.4 KitKat and Nexus 5 appear in live photos

Android 4.4 Kitkat and LG Nexus 5 appeared yet again before hitting officialdom. Android’s next major release got caught running on the upcoming Nexus smartphone in live photos.

The leaked images allow us to catch a glimpse of the Android 4.4 KitKat settings menu, which reveals some new features coming our way. They include a "tap & pay" option, as well as new location settings menu which offers high accuracy, battery saving, and device sensors modes. The high accuracy mode is said to use a combination of GPS, Wi-Fi, and mobile networks, while the other two rely on GPS or mobile networks alone.

Furthermore, the images also give us a look at the UI of Android 4.4. In line with previous reports, the status bar is transparent and with white icons.

There's also a camera shortcut placed in the lower right corner of the lockscreen – much like on iOS 7. The ability to access the camera via a swipe gesture is also available.

The homescreen has a few new icons, including Google Photos, which comes to replaceme the Gallery app. A rearranged, transparent app drawer grid which lacks direct access to widgets is also present. A couple of new wallpapers are also coming with the next Android release.

Android 4.4 KitKat and the Nexus 5 availability is expected to be officially detailed before the end of this month.

LG announces 6-inch flexible display – smartphone coming in November

LG has unveiled its 6-inch flexible OLED display panels ahead of an alleged device launch in November

Following numerous leaks and rumours, LG has officially announced its 6-inch flexible OLED panels have entered mass-production.

Production starting now means the panels will be ready for the launch of a smartphone carrying the tech to arrive in November, according to Reuters’ source “familiar with the matter”.

If previous rumours are accurate, that device could be the LG G Flex or LG Z, fitted with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor.

The new display will, as per rumours, be implemented as a curved panel with a concave curvature from top-to-bottom, it could be similar therefore, to the Samsung Galaxy Nexus curved display but the flexible screen technology is bound to make things easier.

Samsung is also known to be prepping a flexible display phone, dubbed the Galaxy Round, for October, though sources say its curved panel will curve from side-to-side. We’re yet to see evidence of these curved panels being anything more than a novelty at this point.

The true potential for flexible OLEDs which has analysts excited is for future implementations in genuinely bendable, foldable and retractable devices with completely new form factors. The first devices coming from both LG and Samsung simply exhibit more durable touch displays using conventional fixed chassis construction and the screens with a fixed curvature.

There are potentially other advantages to flexible OLED, however. According to reports, once all the kinks are ironed out the manufacture of flexible OLED plastic substrate is supposed to be cheaper and easier than the current glass substrate. At the moment it’s a bit expensive and tricky though, so both LG and Samsung’s handsets are expected to be limited-run products and it’s uncertain what the availability will be like outside of Korea.

Another key advantage is that the flexible OLED tech allows for overall thinner display panels. While that does mean we could see thinner devices, what’s more interesting is it could mean manufacturers could fit larger capacity battery packs into handsets which are the same thickness as current smartphones.

Samsung said to release the Galaxy S5 in January

According to Korean media outlets citing sources inside Samsung, the Galaxy S5 will see its official announcement in January next year. The earlier than expected release is dictated by the disappointing sales of the Galaxy S4.

It appears that despite the excellent sales performance of the flagship, Samsung is still not really pleased and think it could've done better. As a result, the company is pushing the Galaxy S5 release to mid-January, instead of March as was the case this year and May as it was in 2012.

The actual market availability of the next Samsung flagship is tipped for February, which makes sense if the actual announcement is pulled for the start of the year.

As far as actual specifications of the Galaxy S5 are concerned, Samsung is expected to debut its 64-bitExynos 5430 chip, which will feature 8 cores with Heterogeneous Multi-Processing capabilities.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 is tipped to boast an updated 16MP camera with enhanced low-light performance and optical image stabilization. Earlier, the company unveiled its ISOCELL image sensor, which is expected to debut on the upcoming flaghip.

All of the information above is nothing more than speculation and hasn't been confirmed by Samsung in any way. However, given that Samsung has pushed its last flagship 10 months after its predecessor, it won't be a surprise if we get another update just as quickly.

Sony Xperia Z1 preview: A closer look

Introduction

One of the hot tickets at this year's IFA, the Sony Xperia Z is about to get the attention it deserves at ours. The smartphone left us feeling extremely positive the last time we met and we are hoping for more of the same.

Sony did give the Xperia Z1 all they got. The latest screen technology, the fastest chipset around, a spanking new camera module that does 20.7MP stills on a sensor that's twice as big as those of the competition and waterproofing that even puts the Xperia Z to shame. And it's all packed in one of the best bodies in business.

And that's not all the Xperia Z1 has going for it either. The full list of features follows.

GENERAL	2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - all versions
	3G Network	HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100 - all versions
	4G Network	LTE 800 / 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1800 / 1900 / 2100 / 2600 - C6903
		LTE 700 / 850 / 900/ 1700 / 1900 / 2100 / 2600 - C6906 LTE 800 / 850 / 900/ 1700 / 1800 / 1900 / 2100 / 2600 - C6943
	SIM	Micro-SIM
	Announced	2013, September
	Status	Available. Released 2013, September

BODY	Dimensions	144 x 74 x 8.5 mm (5.67 x 2.91 x 0.33 in)
	Weight	170 g (6.00 oz)
		- IP58 certified - dust proof and water resistant over 1 meter and 30 minutes

DISPLAY	Type	TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
	Size	1080 x 1920 pixels, 5.0 inches (~441 ppi pixel density)
	Multitouch	Yes, up to 10 fingers
	Protection	Shatter proof and scratch-resistant glass
		- Triluminos display - X-Reality Engine

SOUND	Alert types	Vibration; MP3 ringtones
	Loudspeaker	Yes
	3.5mm jack	Yes

MEMORY	Card slot	microSD, up to 64 GB
	Internal	16 GB, 2 GB RAM

DATA	GPRS	Up to 107 kbps
	EDGE	Up to 296 kbps
	Speed	HSDPA, 42 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.8 Mbps; LTE, Cat4, 50 Mbps UL, 150 Mbps DL
	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot
	Bluetooth	Yes, v4.0 with A2DP
	NFC	Yes
	USB	Yes, microUSB v2.0 (MHL), USB On-the-go

CAMERA	Primary	20.7 MP, autofocus, LED flash, check quality
	Features	1/2.3'' sensor size, geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, image stabilization, HDR, panorama
	Video	Yes, 1080p@30fps, video stabilization, HDR, check quality
	Secondary	Yes, 2 MP, 1080p@30fps

FEATURES	OS	Android OS, v4.2 (Jelly Bean)
	Chipset	Qualcomm MSM8974 Snapdragon 800
	CPU	Quad-core 2.2 GHz Krait 400
	GPU	Adreno 330
	Sensors	Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass
	Messaging	SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, IM, Push Email
	Browser	HTML5
	Radio	Stereo FM radio with RDS
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS support and GLONASS
	Java	Yes, via Java MIDP emulator
	Colors	Black, White, Purple
		- ANT+ support - SNS integration - TV-out (via MHL A/V link) - Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic - MP4/H.263/H.264 player - MP3/eAAC+/WAV/Flac player - Document viewer - Photo viewer/editor - Voice memo/dial - Predictive text input

BATTERY		Non-removable Li-Ion 3000 mAh battery
	Stand-by	Up to 880 h (2G) / Up to 850 h (3G)
	Talk time	Up to 13 h 50 min (2G) / Up to 15 h (3G)
	Music play	Up to 110 h

MISC	SAR US	0.75 W/kg (head)     1.15 W/kg (body)
	SAR EU	0.77 W/kg (head)
	Price group

TESTS	Display	Contrast ratio: 1513 (nominal), 2.950 (sunlight)
	Loudspeaker	Voice 65dB / Noise 62dB / Ring 65dB
	Audio quality	Noise -91.8dB / Crosstalk -89.9dB
	Camera	Photo / Video
	Battery life	Endurance rating 53h

When you have as good a foundation to build on as the Sony Xperia Z, it's easy to make a great phone. What's harder to pull off is delivering an upgrade that's worth the users' time and money. Well, we guess Sony didn't have a hard time improving on all important aspects of the predecessor.

The Sony Xperia Z1 has one of the largest batteries in the 5" league and is probably the best looking Android phone there (the HTC One is a 4.7-incher, so even if you prefer metal to glass it doesn't really count). The smartphone also has the best-spec'd camera with the largest sensor and the highest pixel count and flagship-grade connectivity and processing power. Few smartphones match the Xperia Z1's Snapdragon 800 chipset and ample 3,000 mAh battery, so at least on paper, the Xperia Z1 is shaping up to be the smartphone to beat this season.