Samsung will unveil the Galaxy Note 4 on September 3rd at IFA 2014, and will likely release the handset in the following weeks in an attempt to beat the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 to market. LG is more than aware that the Galaxy Note 4’s arrival may threaten its G3 flagship handset, and the company is apparently already working on a device that’s supposed to neutralize the threat. No, the company will not launch a next-gen G Pro model already. All it needs to compete against the Galaxy Note 4 is a stylus and a slightly bigger display – after all, the G3’s gorgeous screen is almost as big as most phablets.

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Apple is making Samsung pay, and it we’re not just talking about patent lawsuits. The Wall Street Journal reports that Samsung’s component supply business has taken a big hit recently because Apple has decided to branch out and use a wider variety of suppliers to cut down its dependence on the Korean electronics giant. While Apple has had mixed results in finding new supply chain partners and has even had to reportedly crawl back to Samsung on some occasions, the big picture is that Apple’s moves are still taking a bite out of Samsung’s bottom line.

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Microsoft is rumored to be working on worthy iWatch rival, a smartwatch of its own that will be compatible with various mobile operating systems and deliver certain smart features, including advanced health and fitness tracking capabilities. While the Windows giant has yet to announce such a product, designer Nadir Aslam has already imagined what a Windows watch will look like and what it will have to offer while posting several concept images on Behance.

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We all have witnessed the depressing news flow about slowing smartphone and tablet sales growth over the past 12 months. But this week, Semiconductor Industry Association threw a curve ball by announcing that chip sales actually increased by a surprisingly robust 11% in the first half of 2014 compared the same period in 2013. SIA is actually hiking its annual growth estimate to 6.5% from earlier projection of 4.1% growth. How can chip sales growth be accelerating if phone and tablet markets are mediocre?

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Even if you haven’t made the jump to the new generation of console quite yet, you’re still going to get an Assassin’s Creed title this holiday season. Game Informer revealed on Tuesday that Assassin’s Creed Rogue, a game exclusive to the PS3 and Xbox 360, will be gracing the cover of the September issue.

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Microsoft on Tuesday revealed that it’s not planning to release a major “Windows 8.1 Update 2” at any point in the near future, although the company will release several other smaller updates as part of its regular Windows 8.1 update release schedule.

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We’ve written before about how the Kim Kardashian: Hollywood app is the most ingeniously addictive mobile game we’ve ever seen, as its every detail is expertly crafted to get you to blow huge wads of cash on in-app purchases. And now Gawker reports that author Ayelet Waldman, who’s best known for her series of bestselling Mommy-Track Mysteries series of books, has just gone off on an epic rant against the Kardashians and their Satanic app after her son blew a whopping $120 on it in just two days.

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The box of a new, never-before-seen Motorola handset that has model number XT1096 has been photographed in the wild, Android Central says. The mystery device is sporting Verizon branding and is definitely a pre-release unit, although it’s not clear what kind of smartphone is inside the box. However, given what we’ve been reading about Motorola’s upcoming handsets, we can guess it will be the next-gen Moto X+1 flagship device, a Moto G/E successor, or something entirely different.

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Finally good news for parents — a well-constructed research study in a leading pediatric journal finds that children playing 1 to 3 hours of video games a day are more well adjusted than their non-gaming peers. Crucially, the mental health benefits go only to kids who play more than an hour a day. Playing just half an hour is not associated with either positive or negative effects.

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Shortly after Re/code reported that Apple would be revealing the iPhone 6 at a media event on September 9th, The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg were quick to back up the report with their own unnamed sources.

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