Facebook now lets you 'Like' 360-degree videos in virtual reality

Merging social networks with virtual reality, one emoji at a time

Facebook now lets you 'Like' 360-degree videos in virtual reality

Today, Facebook-owned Oculus announced the launch of 360-degree video reactions for the Gear VR headset. So now, when watching Facebook videos using Samsung's virtual reality goggles, you'll be able to choose between the social network's standard series of reactions, including the like or one of the five new emoji reactions. When viewing 360-degree videos, you'll also be able to see others' reactions float by on the screen as well.

Huawei is working on its own mobile OS, just in case things ever change with Google

Huawei has gotten heat about its EMUI skin being too much like iOS which is why the company is working hard to make EMUI 5.0 feel much less complex and "trying to be like iPhone". Rather, Huawei wants the UI to be more user friendly for US consumers, while still keeping the advanced features that its customers love overseas.

WSJ: Company suing Apple in China has no phone, no office and "barely exists"

Almost a week ago, we told you how Apple had seemingly infringed on a design patent held by an unknown Chinese smartphone manufacturer called Shenzhen Baili. The latter requested an injunction on sales of the Apple iPhone 6 and Apple iPhone 6 Plus in the country, a request granted by Beijing’s intellectual property regulator. China's property office released a statement saying that "The Apple's (sic) iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have minor differences from Baili's 100C. The differences are so tiny that the average customer could not notice. So, this case falls into the patent rights protection category." For the moment, Apple was able to wrangle a stay on the ruling as it appeals.

Apple Now Says It Meant to Open Up iPhone Code

The iPhone maker says it stopped obscuring crucial operating system code to boost performance—a change that could also improve device security.

Apple Opens Up iPhone Code in What Could Be Savvy Strategy or Security Screwup

Developers got a pretty big surprise with the first preview release of iOS 10. It turns out that the iOS 10 kernel, the heart of the operating system, was left unencrypted by Apple. This is not only the first time that Apple has released an unencrypted version of its kernel, but no one knows why it happened, or even if it was intentional.

Samsung Galaxy S7, S7 Edge: Hilarious New Ad Highlights The Power Of Rapid Charging Feature

Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge

Samsung is believed to have sold roughly 25 million Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge units across the globe, according to Phone Arena. The S7 series also brought the glory back to the South Korean tech giant as it trumped Apple and gained the number one spot after a long time.

Asus Zenpad Z8 leaks with SD650 SoC, 8-inch display

 

A new Asus tablet - dubbed Zenpad Z8 - has leaked courtesy of the usually reliable leakster @evleaks who posted an image of the device along with some of its key specifications on Twitter.

Phil Schiller thinks you're saying Apple product names wrong

Long time readers will know that we like to talk about semantics from time to time, like the value (or lack thereof) in the word "fragmentation" or whether the word "smartphone" is even necessary. However, it's rare for there to be a story about execs at a big company like Apple taking on grammar. Today is that rare exception, because Phil Schiller apparently has strong opinions about how to pluralize the names of Apple products.

Lenovo starts rolling out Vibe P1 Marshmallow update

Lenovo has started rolling out the Marshmallow update to its Vibe P1 smartphone, which was launched late last year. The Chinese company announced the roll-out in a post on its official forums.

Here’s How Much Less Yahoo Inc. CEO Marissa Mayer Made In 2015 As Company’s Share Price Plunged

Yahoo Inc. CEO Marissa Mayer earned $36 million in total compensation in 2015, down nearly 15 percent from the previous year, according to a regulatory filing published after markets closed in New York on Friday.

YouTube Just Made A Very Silicon Valley Argument To The Music Business

ustin Bieber performs at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in 2013. Bieber built his first fanbase on YouTube, the ad-supported video service. Photo: Ethan Miller / Getty

After weeks of taking body blows from the recording industry, YouTube came off the ropes and let its first counterpunch fly Thursday, with a blog post by Christophe Muller, the Google-owned company's head of international music partnerships.

Meizu M3: 450,000 preorders in 24 hours!

The Meizu m3 - which was announced a couple of days ago, recorded a total of around 450,000 pre-orders in just 24 hours. This was revealed by an official statement by the Chinese company.

EE is taking pre-orders for its exclusive White Pearl Galaxy S7 and S7 edge

In the UK, EE has started taking pre-orders for a new color variant of the Samsung Galaxy S7 and the S7 edge. This is called White Pearl and it's a hue that will be exclusive to this particular operator in the UK. So if you live over there and want to grab one of Samsung's newest flagships in white, you'll have to go with EE as your network of choice.

Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) already available for purchase in Europe

When the Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) and Galaxy J5 (2016) were made official last month, there was no word on whether or not they'll be available outside of China. There have been reports since that the new J5 will be launched in Europe soon and now we learn the J7 is already on sale in the region.

BlackBerry Priv Price Slashed By $200, Offer To Expire In 4 Days

A Blackberry sign is seen in front of their offices in Waterloo, Canada, June 23, 2015. Photo: REUTERS/Mark Blinch

BlackBerry Priv is now available with a price cut of $200 on Daily Steals. It is a limited period offer that will expire in four days.

New Sony Xperia X Premium To Feature HDR Display With Maximum Brightness: Report

A file photo showing a slew of Sony Xperia X series of devices. Photo: Sony Mobile

Sony’s Xperia Z series of smartphones ended with the Xperia Z5, Xperia Z5 Compact and Xperia Z5 Premium in 2015. The Japanese tech giant introduced a new series — Xperia X — at the Mobile World Congress 2016 and launched three devices under this brand — Xperia X, Xperia X Performance and Xperia XA.

HTC 10 arrives with 12MP UltraPixel camera, BoomSound speakers

HTC went off the right track, but now it's going back to the glory days of the HTC One. The new phone is called HTC 10 and we like to read the "10" in binary, making this the HTC Two in a way.

AT&T tries to sweeten DirecTV bundles

The telecom giant offers two-year guaranteed pricing for customers who bundle a new DirecTV subscription with another AT&T service

Alleged Sony Xperia C6 with 6-inch display leaks online

A new Sony smartphone - alleged to be the Xperia C6 - has leaked online. The leaked images show a handset with large display (said to be 6-inch), very thin side bezels, and a large front shooter with flash.

New rumor says Galaxy Note 6 will be powered by SD823 SoC

The successor to the Samsung Galaxy Note5 - which isn't due anytime soon, but has already been the subject of a few rumors in the last couple of months - will be powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 823 chipset, according to a new rumor out of China.