​Verizon Samsung Galaxy S5 cameras are failing spectacularly

Well, this is embarrassing: the Samsung Galaxy S5 has only been on the market for two weeks, and it's already developed a major fault -- at least for Verizoncustomers. "Warning," the devices reads. "Camera failure." The camera module appears to be failing outright, with no hope of being revived. Users have triedrestarting their camera apps, rebooting devices and even performing factory resets, but nothing works. For now, the only working fix seems to be replacing a device, but some users are still holding out for a software fix.Fortunately, Verizon and Samsung are both being fairly candid about the issue -- both companies have acknowledged the faulty camera and are asking customers to contact support for troubleshooting and warranty replacements. Most of the failed devices seem to be coming from Verizon specifically, but BGR says it's seen similar reports from Sprint customers, too. Have a faulty device? Skip past the break for Samsung's official response and customer service instructions.

iOS 8 release date, screenshots, features, news and rumours for new iPhone 6 and iPhone 5 operating system

A new version of Apple's iOS operating system is in the works and is set to launch alongside the iPhone 6 later this year. Reports suggest that while it will look a lot like iOS 7 a host of new features will bring it bang up to date. A new version of Siri, new health apps, improved Apple Maps, support for iTunes Radio in the UK, more TouchID features and much more besides are all expected for iOS 8.

We're keeping an eye on all the latest iOS 8 rumours and will be regularly updating this page.

UPDATED 23 April 2014: Siri getting Shazam integration in iOS 8

iOS 8 features - what will iOS 8 look like?

A lot like iOS 7. Apple won't want to rock the boat too much after it made wholesale changes last time out. Expect the same icons, the same layout with most the changes being made behind the scenes or on features like Siri. Also expect some new apps from Apple – more on that later.

The most credible iOS 8 leaked image to date (not that there's much competition) is this one nabbed from Chinese social network Weibo.

It looks an awful lot like iOS7, with the same layout and the same apps and icons. Three new apps caught our attention: Healthbook, Preview, TextEdit and Tips. While we're dubious about the authenticity of this leaked image, one new feature that seems certain for iOS 8 is a big tie-in with fitness.

A mocked-up video on YouTube suggests that Apple should make notifications more interactive in iOS 8. The video shows someone receiving a text message, tapping Reply and composing a message before the notification zooms off the screen. This would certainly be an improvement on the current, somewhat clunky implementation of notifications in iOS 7.

Siri on iOS 8

Siri could see more changes than any other aspect of iOS 8. Apple has been busy acquiring speech recognition firm Novauris and it is very likely that Siri will get a major update. Novauris might not be a recognisable name, but the company was formed out of Dragon Systems and has a long history in dictation and speech recognition.

The company claims its technology "identifies complete phrases from start to finish" rather than recognising words in sequence. This reportedly makes the technology more accurate.

One of Siri's biggest failings is its lack of support for third-party apps. While it is well integrated into iOS 7 and select apps such as Facebook and Twitter, it can only work with other apps if Apple does some legwork to add support. That's a major stumbling block and something that will hopefully be fixed in iOS 8. Expect the updated version of Siri to be smarter, quicker and be able to understand a huge range of commands for just about any apps on iOS 8.

Bloomberg reports that Apple is planning to add a track ID feature to iOS 8. It will work with Siri to identify any piece of music, with Apple partnering with Shazam to make it happen.

Two people "with knowledge of the product" confirmed the plans but didn't give exact details of how the new feature would work. It also isn't clear what Siri voice command will trigger a search for a song, or if a voice command will be used at all. Song identification would be built into iOS 8 in the same way that Twitter are in iOS 7, meaning smartphone and tablet owners won't have to manually download the app first in order to start looking up songs.

Shazam integration for Siri in iOS 8 would give Apple an edge over streaming music competitors like Spotify, just in time for a UK launch of iTunes Radio.

iOS 8 release date

September is the best guess, but we could get a sneak peak of iOS 8 at WWDC in June. A September release would also mean that iOS 8 will launch at the same time as the iPhone 6. This would certainly follow the trend of Apple's past iOS launches.

Will iOS 8 be available for the iPhone 5?

Yes, almost certainly. But you might not get iOS 8 if you have an iPhone 4 or 4S, or an older iPad.

When iOS 7 was released it supported the iPhone 4, iPhone 4s, iPhone 5, iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s. It also supported the 5th generation iPod Touch and the iPad 2, 3rd generation iPad, 4th generation iPad, iPad Mini, iPad Air and iPad Mini 2. It might be the case that Apple will not release an iOS 8 update for the iPhone 4 and iPad 2 as both devices are now old and slow compared to more recently released Apple devices.

iOS 8 health and fitness apps

With the much-rumoured iWatch in the works, it is expected that iOS 8 will also have lots of health and fitness features. Samsung has already stolen a march on with the Gear 2 and Apple will be keen to catch up. Apple is reportedly working on an app called Healthbook, which will have a similar interface to its Passbook app. Healthbook will work in a similar way to a lot of other health and fitness trackers and measure steps taken, calories burned, distance travelled and weight loss.

Speculation has also suggested that the new Healthbook app will be able to track blood pressure, blood sugar, heart rate, hydration and respiratory rate. The iPhone doesn't currently have sensors that can detect this sort of information and it seems unlikely that the iPhone 6 will be able to do the job. That makes it even more likely that the iWatch will be packed with tech to track and monitor your body.

Mobile payments on iPhone 6 and iOS 8

With TouchID and Passbook already available, Apple is reportedly working hard to replace your wallet with your iPhone. Apple has reportedly met with key industry executives to discuss paying for physical goods and services using iPhones and iPads, while long-time Apple exec Jennifer Bailey has moved into a new role to build a payment system for iOS.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple has already developed and then dumped a wallet app over concerns of implementing it with retailers. Speculation is now mounting that Apple will launch such an app for iOS8 and couple it with TouchID and other authentication technology and sensors to make mobile payments for physical products more secure and widely used.

iTunes Radio finally coming to UK in iOS 8?

Apple's Spotify and Google Play Music All Access competitor is already available in the USA and it should finally be coming to the UK, possibly in iOS 8. Apple has been meeting with media agencies in the UK to arrange advertising deals to fund iTunes Radio and it surely won't be long before it launches.

Like Spotify, iTunes Radio plays music interspersed with audio and display advertising unless you pay for the 'premium' version. If iTunes Radio doesn't come to the UK in the next few months, it is a certainty for iOS 8.

iphone 6 could use curved glass front panel

In what would be a big departure from the recent squared-off designs of the iPhone 4 and iPhone 5, new rumours suggest that the next iPhone – dubbed the iPhone 6 or iPhone Air – will use a more curved design.

Previous rumours suggested that curved corners would feature, making the latest iPhone more similar to the original iPhone in concept. Now Mac Otakara is suggesting that the front and back panels may be made up of curved glass. This would give the handset a far more friendly-to-hold shape. It must be noted though that such a curved panel, even on the front, doesn't necessarily mean a curved display underneath, as a subtle curve could still be laid over a traditional flat screen.

The iPhone 6 is said to be coming in two sizes, a 5.5in display and a 4.7in display, the site suggests the larger handset will use a 1,920x1,080 display, with and the smaller handset a 1,334x750 resolution.

We're not sure about the idea of a front curve, though a device with a rear curve and slender edges does ring true, as it would be reminiscent of the design of the current Apple iMac, which cleverly hides its actual depth in a pleasing bulge which tapers to very thin edges.

An aluminium rear casing looks a possibility too, again curved, though this does cause issues with antenna placement, as the metal blocks the signal, which is why the HTC One (M8) has a pair of horizontal lines across it, which allow the rear antennas to pick up a mobile signal.

Image created by www.ciccaresedesign.com, head over there for more great-looking Apple-related renders.

For all the latest information on the upcoming iPhone read our iPhone 6 price, specs, release date rumours.

iPhone Air – What does the iPhone 6 have in common with Bigfoot?

If you simply want to know all the latest about the next iPhone then head over to our more traditional roundup of iPhone 6 price, specs, release date rumours.

Time for a little navel-gazing on our part. The phrase 'iPhone 6' has been an important one to technology journalists for a couple of years now. As far back as 2012, as soon as the iPhone 5 was launched back, speculation immediately began as to what form the iPhone 6 would take.

Some might argue that journalists were responsible for this, but today's search-driven internet doesn't really work that way. Instead, people around the world starting typing 'iPhone 6' into Google search to see if anyone knew anything about the next handset. At first it was a trickle but soon it grew into a torrent of searches.

We know this because last month around 823,000 people in the UK searched for iPhone 6 and over 12,000,000 people did so worldwide. Websites get these figures, largely thanks to Google's own Keyword Planner tool; this is designed to sell advertising around search terms, Google's main income stream, but also provides fascinating insights into what people are searching for. Websites then react by writing more iPhone 6 news stories to cater for demand – in exactly the same way the Daily Mail writes endless celebrity stories.

The iPhone 6 is the celebrity cellulite story of the tech world

iPhone 6 traffic has been running high for some time too, many Google searchers presumed it would be the name of the 2013 handset following on from the iPhone 5. When that turned out, predictably, to be the iPhone 5S, the term then quickly morphed to represent that of the upcoming 2014 handset.

And to this day it remains consistently the most important keyword in online tech journalism, a brilliant example of the modern internet, and of the 'tail wagging the dog'. There were a handful of months where it was surpassed by the launch of the much-awaited Xbox One and PS4, devices fans had waited a whopping seven years for, but excepting that iPhone 6 remains the number one driver of traffic to many tech sites worldwide.

Pretty impressive for a device that not only doesn't exist but which may never exist.

The problem Apple has is excessive 'sequelisation' a phenomenon where the perception of a product's worth is degraded by increasingly high numbers. A popular example being the creative slump of Hollywood in the late eighties, when huge numbers of sequels were produced, such as 1989's Police Academy 6: City Under Siege. Now we're not likening the next iPhone to that risible piece of cinema, but the same rule applies, if the number gets too high, it looks like you've run out of ideas.

Whatever it may be called, the new iPhone might look something like this

Apple has long been criticised for not producing a larger-screened handset to compete with the ever-growing displays on flagship Android smartphones, which are all over 5in diagonally. A bigger screen is not only nicer to look at, it also provides more space behind it to spread out the various components, which results in phones that while larger to look at, are actually considerably slimmer, something that consumers value highly.

With the iPad recently being reborn as the slinkier and lighter iPad Air. Our bet is that the iPhone too will undergo a naming revamp, possibly the iPhone Air, possibly not. It will be brave for Apple to move away from a numbering system that has served it so well, but the company would look increasing bereft of ideas to continue with it.

That would make iPhone 6, alongside possibly the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot, one of the most searched things that never actually existed. Which would still put it one step ahead of Police Academy 6, something that sadly does exist but that hardly anyone ever searches for.

< Bigfoot remains popular to this day, with 301,000 searches every month

Samsung Galaxy K Zoom cameraphone pictured ahead of official reveal

Samsung's camera-focused follow up to theGalaxy S4 Zoom is fast approaching, and it now looks as though the Galaxy K Zoom has broken cover ahead of an official announcement from the company.

First posted to Chinese blog tieba.baidu, the leaked images appear to show the rear of the Galaxy K Zoom with the same dimpled texture as the Galaxy S5, which is itself covered in a clear plastic protective case. The lens assembly is split into three sections, rather than two, and appears to sit fairly flush to the phone when fully retracted.

The Galaxy S4 Zoom felt more like a compact camera with a large touchscreen than a phone, as it was very chunky and the lens assembly stuck out of the back of the handset. Samsung appears to be making the Galaxy K Zoom more of a phone first, with a flatter (though still fairly thick) design that should better fit in a pocket. Unfortunately it's impossible to read the markings on the lens, so we can't tell what zoom, crop ratio and aperture it uses.

Originally hinted at in a cryptic Samsung invite where the company promised to unveil a "new mobile product", the Galaxy K Zoom (possibly known as the Galaxy S5 Zoom in territories outside of Samsung's native Korea) is expected to be heavily based on the Galaxy S5 - albeit with a much larger camera sensor, paired with an optical zoom lens.

So far, rumours have pointed to a 20-megapixel camera sensor paired with 10x optical zoom lens and Xenon flash. The phone part of the device should comprise of a 4.8in AMOLED display, hexa-core Samsung Exynos processor and 2GB of RAM, with Google's Android 4.4 KitKat operating system powering the handset.

Samsung's Kapture the Moment event is due to take place on the 29th of April, so we only have a week to wait to see what the company has in store.

Samsung Galaxy K Zoom cameraphone pictured ahead of official reveal

Samsung's camera-focused follow up to theGalaxy S4 Zoom is fast approaching, and it now looks as though the Galaxy K Zoom has broken cover ahead of an official announcement from the company.

First posted to Chinese blog tieba.baidu, the leaked images appear to show the rear of the Galaxy K Zoom with the same dimpled texture as the Galaxy S5, which is itself covered in a clear plastic protective case. The lens assembly is split into three sections, rather than two, and appears to sit fairly flush to the phone when fully retracted.

The Galaxy S4 Zoom felt more like a compact camera with a large touchscreen than a phone, as it was very chunky and the lens assembly stuck out of the back of the handset. Samsung appears to be making the Galaxy K Zoom more of a phone first, with a flatter (though still fairly thick) design that should better fit in a pocket. Unfortunately it's impossible to read the markings on the lens, so we can't tell what zoom, crop ratio and aperture it uses.

Originally hinted at in a cryptic Samsung invite where the company promised to unveil a "new mobile product", the Galaxy K Zoom (possibly known as the Galaxy S5 Zoom in territories outside of Samsung's native Korea) is expected to be heavily based on the Galaxy S5 - albeit with a much larger camera sensor, paired with an optical zoom lens.

So far, rumours have pointed to a 20-megapixel camera sensor paired with 10x optical zoom lens and Xenon flash. The phone part of the device should comprise of a 4.8in AMOLED display, hexa-core Samsung Exynos processor and 2GB of RAM, with Google's Android 4.4 KitKat operating system powering the handset.

Samsung's Kapture the Moment event is due to take place on the 29th of April, so we only have a week to wait to see what the company has in store.

iPhone Air – What does the iPhone 6 have in common with Bigfoot?

If you simply want to know all the latest about the next iPhone then head over to our more traditional roundup of iPhone 6 price, specs, release date rumours.

Time for a little navel-gazing on our part. The phrase 'iPhone 6' has been an important one to technology journalists for a couple of years now. As far back as 2012, as soon as the iPhone 5 was launched back, speculation immediately began as to what form the iPhone 6 would take.

Some might argue that journalists were responsible for this, but today's search-driven internet doesn't really work that way. Instead, people around the world starting typing 'iPhone 6' into Google search to see if anyone knew anything about the next handset. At first it was a trickle but soon it grew into a torrent of searches.

We know this because last month around 823,000 people in the UK searched for iPhone 6 and over 12,000,000 people did so worldwide. Websites get these figures, largely thanks to Google's own Keyword Planner tool; this is designed to sell advertising around search terms, Google's main income stream, but also provides fascinating insights into what people are searching for. Websites then react by writing more iPhone 6 news stories to cater for demand – in exactly the same way the Daily Mail writes endless celebrity stories.

The iPhone 6 is the celebrity cellulite story of the tech world

iPhone 6 traffic has been running high for some time too, many Google searchers presumed it would be the name of the 2013 handset following on from the iPhone 5. When that turned out, predictably, to be the iPhone 5S, the term then quickly morphed to represent that of the upcoming 2014 handset.

And to this day it remains consistently the most important keyword in online tech journalism, a brilliant example of the modern internet, and of the 'tail wagging the dog'. There were a handful of months where it was surpassed by the launch of the much-awaited Xbox One and PS4, devices fans had waited a whopping seven years for, but excepting that iPhone 6 remains the number one driver of traffic to many tech sites worldwide.

Pretty impressive for a device that not only doesn't exist but which may never exist.

The problem Apple has is excessive 'sequelisation' a phenomenon where the perception of a product's worth is degraded by increasingly high numbers. A popular example being the creative slump of Hollywood in the late eighties, when huge numbers of sequels were produced, such as 1989's Police Academy 6: City Under Siege. Now we're not likening the next iPhone to that risible piece of cinema, but the same rule applies, if the number gets too high, it looks like you've run out of ideas.

Whatever it may be called, the new iPhone might look something like this

Apple has long been criticised for not producing a larger-screened handset to compete with the ever-growing displays on flagship Android smartphones, which are all over 5in diagonally. A bigger screen is not only nicer to look at, it also provides more space behind it to spread out the various components, which results in phones that while larger to look at, are actually considerably slimmer, something that consumers value highly.

With the iPad recently being reborn as the slinkier and lighter iPad Air. Our bet is that the iPhone too will undergo a naming revamp, possibly the iPhone Air, possibly not. It will be brave for Apple to move away from a numbering system that has served it so well, but the company would look increasing bereft of ideas to continue with it.

That would make iPhone 6, alongside possibly the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot, one of the most searched things that never actually existed. Which would still put it one step ahead of Police Academy 6, something that sadly does exist but that hardly anyone ever searches for.

< Bigfoot remains popular to this day, with 301,000 searches every month