No Lollipop update for the Samsung Galaxy Note II

The Samsung Galaxy Note II may be denied entry into the Lollipop world if the statement on Samsung Gulf's Facebook page is to be extrapolated to the global availability of the update. Thus, the two-generations-old flagship phablet is likely going to end up stuck on Android 4.4.2 KitKat in most markets.

The news comes as a disappointment after a couple of months ago it was claimed by Samsung's Polish branch than an update for the Note II was planned. It won't be the first time that a Lollipop update has been region-dependent, but the chances are indeed getting slimmer.
However, it shouldn't be a surprise in a world where even one year-old smartphones often end up without the most recent OS version and the Android realm remains heavily fragmented. The flagship status of the phablet fueled hopes that it may be graced with a new firmware, but apparently that's not going to be the case.

Net Market Share data reveals IE 11 leading desktop browser market, Chrome at third spot

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 11 is currently the leader in the browser market with 25.04% market share, according to Internet statistic firm Net Market Share, which has recently released its stats for the desktop web browser market for April 2015.

As clear from the pie chart shown above, IE 8.0 came in second with 16.05 % share, while Google’s Chrome web browser (version 41.0) captured the third spot with 8.86% market share. IE 9.0, Chrome 42.0, and Firefox 37 rounded up the top 5 with 8.10%, 7.69%, and 6.45% market share, respectively.
In addition, the research firm also released similar stats for the desktop OS market for the last month, revealing that Windows 7 is still the top OS in the world.

YU Yuphoria getting Launched on May 12 in India

YU Televentures, a Micromax subsidiary, is ready to introduced its second major smartphone after the Yureka. The Indian company has been sharing teasers about the new smartphone under the label Project Caesar.

Now the YU Televentures official Twitter account has shared an update which clearly states the arrival of the next major handset. Quite obviously the Yuphoria will feature Cyanogen 12 OS based on Android 5.0 Lollipop.
YU will introduce the Yuphoria smartphone on May 12 but there are no details available on the specifications, price, and availability of the smartphone.

Apple iPad Pro dimensions detailed in a leak

The Apple iPad Pro has been an ongoing rumor for no less than a year and a half now, and at some point it was even expected last fall. So far the large tablet has remained elusive, but we've seen alleged live images of one or two bumper cases for it as well an artist's take on the slate's looks.
A new leak now claims to detail the iPad Pro's dimensions, and also suggests that the screen will be 12.9 inches instead of the 12.2 inches where the rumors had previously settled. The schematics reveal a footprint measuring 305.7 x 222.6mm. A 12.9-inch screen in 4:3 aspect should be 196.6 x 261.2mm, which would mean a screen-to-body ratio of about 75.7%. Compare that to the current iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 which are both around the 71.7% mark.

The tablet is reported to be 7.2mm thin, which is a good achievement, when Samsung's Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 and Tab Pro 12.2 are both thicker at 8mm. Such a large tablet would be prone to bending though, if the designers overdo it on the slimming down trend.

Other body elements that are noticeable in the schematics are the speaker grilles - typical iPhone 6 design, but there are no less than four of them. That should promise some serious sound output, unless it was merely symmetry the designers were after and there are no actual speakers behind all of the grilles.

A single port on the short side is also pictured, and our guess is that it would be a USB Type-C port, judging by Apple's latest MacBook 12". A volume rocker, headphone jack and a power button are also positioned on the sides, while a camera is drawn in one of the corners on the back.
Now, the source of the drawing is @OnLeaks, so it should be credible enough. But the blueprint itself is dated December 2014 and five months later we're yet to see more sound proof of the iPad Pro's existence, so don't get overly excited.

Xiaomi Mi 5, Mi 5 Plus get rumored specs

 Xiaomi may have unveiled the high-end Mi Note and Mi Note Pro this January, but those are both phablets. When it comes to a 'normal size' flagship offering, the Chinese company still relies on the Mi 4, which was announced in July 2014.

So a new top of the line device from Xiaomi (in a more pocketable form factor) is clearly going to arrive in the next few weeks or months. In fact, according to some new rumors out of China, we may see two Mi 5 flagships instead of one - the Mi 5 and the Mi 5 Plus.
Both of these are to be outed sometime in July, so around twelve months after their predecessor. As for specs, the Mi 5 is said to sport a 5.2-inch touchscreen, 3GB or 4GB of RAM, a 16 MP rear camera, a 3,000 mAh battery, and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 chipset at the helm.
As we told you a few days ago, the Mi 5 might get a fingerprint sensor too. On the other hand, the Mi 5 Plus will be a 6-inch phablet coming with QHD (2,560x1,440) screen resolution, 4GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, and a 16 MP rear camera with optical image stabilization. It will sport a 'bezelless' display design.
It's odd that the Mi 5 Plus will be even bigger than the two Mi Notes, but stranger things have happened in the mobile world. As for SoC choice, the Chinese sources haven't said anything, but since it's going to be a high-end offering it should also come with the Snapdragon 810.
Other details, such as pricing, haven't been revealed yet. Obviously you need to take all of this with a healthy dose of salt, since at this point it's nothing but unconfirmed information. As we get closer to July we should hear more.

Asus releases Lollipop update for ZenFone 5 (A500KL)

Asus has released the Android Lollipop update for its ZenFone 5 (A500KL) smartphone, which went on sale back in July last year.

 After installing the update (click the Source 1 link below to download it), which is 819.44MB in size, you'll be on software version TW_V12.4.5.21. However, the Taiwanese company is advising users to upgrade their devices to software version V11.4.6.94 before installing the Lollipop update.
As for other ZenFones, here's is the Android Lollipop update plan: