This week, on our weekly news roundup: the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 got benchmarked and it seems to be performing worse than Apple's iPhone X, Fortnite Beta is now available for everyone, and more.

The Galaxy Note 9 turns out to be weaker than iPhone X?

Just a week ago we saw the Note 9 being revealed. Shortly afterward, people started benchmarking it. Funny thing is that it scored lower than the iPhone X in almost every test. Now, of course, this is just a benchmark and real-world usage may differ.Still, Samsung fans are already raging in the comment section of every website which mentions this. Lots of excuses are coming in saying that Geekbench just sucks, or that iPhone got the lead simply because it's running iOS - which is optimized especially for its hardware.But, wait, there's more! The Note 9 didn't just score lower against the iPhone X, but also against the OnePlus 6.Needless to say that the OnePlus 6 runs on Android as well and that renders the whole iOS argument rather useless - not to mention that this device costs half as much as the Note 9. But, let's not forget that it doesn't offer nearly as much storage.So, what's the big deal? There is a chance that whoever performed these benchmarks hadn't closed the background apps which could explain a lot. While we are at it, let's not forget this:https://youtu.be/Jd-FKm27IWECongratulations, Samsung. You just played yourself.As for the GPU benchmarks, there is the solid argument that Android benchmarking apps are still relying on OpenGL instead of Vulkan. Apple benchmarking apps are relying on Metal which is much closer to Vulkan than OpenGL and that's why this test is a bit unfair.Other than that, we honestly have no idea. And at the end of the day, all of these devices are extremely fast. So fast, that you won't have to worry about which one to pick solely on the speed difference. Just go with whatever you prefer.

Galaxy Note 9: the first smartphone that allows you to achieve 1 terabyte of local storage

Back in my day, we had floppy disks the size of a smartphone which usually gave you no more than a few kilobytes of memory. And here we are now - the age where you can have a terabyte of storage on the palm of your hand with a device that performs numerous functions.To be fair, the Galaxy Note 9 doesn't offer a terabyte of storage as it is. There is a version of it that comes with 512 gigabytes of storage and offers support for 512-gigabyte microSD cards - and that's what essentially allows you to get a terabyte of storage.Not too long ago, as you saw above as well, Samsung had started a YouTube series which is called 'Ingenius'. What it basically did, is that it sort of made fun of iPhone's weak points with one of them being the storage.https://youtu.be/QyDo4wmQ0HQSo, at this point, we can probably safely assume that while creating this, they had the Note 9's terabyte storage in mind. And they are not wrong. We could all use a bit of extra local storage.Still, 1 terabyte may still be a bit too much for a smartphone. What do you think? Will you be able to utilize a terabyte of storage? Was this a smart move from Samsung? Let us know in the comments down below.

Huawei promises to deliver "real generation upgrades"

Huawei posted a tweet which mentioned that they are all about "real upgrades" that will really make a difference. To be more precise:
We took a leap when we launched the #HuaweiP20Pro, we're all about real upgrades that will make a difference everyday like a triple lens camera with 40mp, 5x zoom and much more. Imagine what will come next…
At this point, we're not sure if Huawei is getting ready to announce something big, or if it's just trying to make fun of Samsung just like Samsung makes fun of Apple. It could be both of these as well. After all, the Tweet came on the same day with the Galaxy Note 9 reveal.Guess we'll never really know. We can all make our own assumptions. However, if Huawei doesn't approve of anything, then we'll be stuck with just that - assumptions and theories. We'll keep you updated if we hear anything new from Huawei regarding this matter or anything else really.

Fortnite Beta is now available

Good news for Fortnite fans! You can now sign up for an invite to download, install, and play Fortnite Beta on your Android device.If you wish to do so, all you have to do is go to the official website of Epic Games, sign up for the invite with your real functional email, wait for the invite, and proceed to download Fortnite. In case that you own a Samsung device, then you should be able to install Fotnite straight from the Galaxy App Store without going through this process.At this point, you're probably wondering if your phone will be able to run this game. Well, if you own a high-end device, then chances are that you won't run into any problems. Epic Games have mentioned that the Beta will initially work on these devices:
  • Samsung Galaxy: S7/S7 Edge, S8/S8+, S9/S9+, Note 8, Note 9, Tab S3, Tab S4
  • Google: Pixel/Pixel XL, Pixel 2/Pixel 2 XL
  • Asus: ROG Phone, Zenfone 4 Pro, 5Z, V
  • Essential: PH-1
  • Huawei: Honor 10, Honor Play, Mate 10/Pro, Mate RS, Nova 3, P20/Pro, V10
  • LG: G5, G6, G7 ThinQ, V20, V30/V30+
  • Nokia: 8 OnePlus: 5/5T, 6
  • Razer: Phone
  • Xiaomi: Blackshark, Mi 5/5S/5S Plus, 6/6 Plus, Mi 8/8 Explorer/8SE, Mi Mix, Mi Mix 2, Mi Mix 2S, Mi Note 2
  • ZTE: Axon 7/7s, Axon M, Nubia/Z17/Z17s, Nubia Z11
Even if your phone is not listed here, it most certainly won't hurt you to give the Beta a try - especially if you've got a high-end phone. And before we change the subject, let's not forget that you shouldn't expect Fortnite to come into the Google Play Store.As we mentioned last week, Epic Games confirmed that Fortnite will not be available in the Google Play Store. The reason? Google keeps a 30% cut over the Play Store sales (including in-app transactions) and Epic Games wishes to avoid that.

Twitter Lite is now available in 21 more countries

Twitter Lite is a, well, lite version of Twitter. It's specially made with data saving in mind. Other than that, it's also a bit more lightweight on the system which is a good thing for low-end smartphone owners.At the moment, it's not universally available but the folks at Twitter are trying their best to make it so. Just a few days ago, an announcement came in straight from the source stating that Twitter Lite is now available in 21 more countries.We don't have any information regarding which countries now support it. However, we do already know that it's not yet available in Canada - thanks to the comment section - and in Greece - thanks to me, the author of this article.That's all for now. We'll keep you updated once we find anything new about the availability of Twitter Lite.

Motorola P30 announced

Just yesterday we came across Motorola's official website and found the brand new Motorola P30. While it does look rather gorgeous, we can't help but notice that it shares a lot of similarities with the Huawei P20 Pro.The color, the camera placement - if it wasn't for the Motorola logo, then you could have been able to fool someone into thinking that this is indeed a P20 Pro simply from the back. And it doesn't end there, the front view is also strikingly similar to the iPhone X.While this is not necessarily a bad thing - especially if you consider that so many phones out there are copying the notch of the iPhone X right now - some Motorola fans seem to already be displeased with the look of the P30. More specifically, they mentioned that "copying Apple" was not necessary.Specification wise:
  • OS: Android Oreo
  • Chipset: Snapdragon 636
  • CPU: 8-core Kryo 260 at 1.8 GHz
  • GPU: Adreno 509
  • RAM and storage: 6 gigs of RAM and 64/128 gigs of storage
  • Display: 2246 x 1080/6.2 inches
  • Camera: rear: dual 16 + 5 MP/front: 12 MP
  • Battery: 3000 mAh
Considering that it has a 6-inch screen, the 3000 mAh battery may prove to be a bit of a disappointment for some people - especially those who often find themselves traveling.At the moment, we don't have any information on where and when it'll arrive, but we'll keep you updated once we do. What we already know, is that you can expect the price to be around 300 euros or $340 for our American readers.The price may slightly change because of taxes, import fees, and anything related to that. So, we'll just have to wait and see for a more accurate report.

Battery life tests for the Galaxy Note 9 have been rolling out

https://youtu.be/WohCuSb3dsMPeople are already testing out the battery life of the Note 9 and comparing it against other smartphones. Spoiler alert: it beats all of the competition.As you can see in the video above, the Note 9 was put to the test against the iPhone X, Galaxy S9 Plus, Huawei P20 Pro, and the OnePlus 6. The iPhone X was the first to die with the Galaxy S9 Plus following soon after it. A few minutes later came the OnePlus 6 and 1o minutes afterward the Huawei P20 Pro died as well with the Note 9 being the lone survivor.What's maybe a bit surprising, is that the Huawei P20 Pro also has a 4000 mAh battery. Yet, when it died, the Note 9 still had 15% of battery left. So, this is something to take into consideration as well.In some other tests, the iPhone 8 Plus performed significantly better than pretty much any other phone. And that, of course, includes the Note 9 as well.Still, when it comes to the most recent flagships, the Note 9 seems to be taking the lead for now.Feel like we forgot something important? No need to shy away. Let us and the whole world know about it in the comments down below!Like what you see? Then don't forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news, reviews, guides, and more!
SOURCES: TOM'S GUIDEZDNET, TWITTER, FORTNITE, TWITTER BLOG, MOTOROLA, YOUTUBE,

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What's my model number?

There are several ways to locate your model number:

Option 1
On your device, go to Settings, then "About device" and scroll down to "Model number"
Option 2
Often times you can view the model number inside the device, by removing the battery
Option 3
Using Samsung's model/serial number location tool

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