Having apparently learned little from all the privacy woes of the last year or so, Samsung is reportedly developing a service that records smartphone users' actions and shares them with other apps.

The service is called "Context," according to a report on The Information.

Beyond collecting keystrokes from users, the report says Context would also record what apps are used and even the data that a device's sensors (camera, microphone, etc.) pick up.

All that data would then be available for app developers to use to tailor app content to specific users.

Red flags

Context may never actually make it onto devices, however, reportedly because Samsung is unsure whether it will actually help the company sell more phones.

In other words, Samsung can't figure out whether users are interested in having their every action recorded, catalogued and exploited by developers.

In related news, The Information also dropped a new hint about a meeting that supposedly took place between Google and Samsung just a day before Google announced it would sell Motorola.

The two companies supposedly discussed the future of Android - specifically, how much freedom device makers will have to customize the operating system on future devices.

But the outcome of the meeting is unknown.

• At least the Samsung Galaxy S4 doesn't record your every move. Click the link for TechRadar's review.

A new year, another set of flagship handsets from the twin titans of smartphones, Apple and Samsung -- but will this finally be the year such devices can shake off the bezel in an effort to slim down even further?

The Korea Herald reported Tuesday that Samsung and Apple may face another rivalry in 2014 as speculation runs rampant the Galaxy S5 and iPhone 6 may each feature bezel-free, edge-to-edge displays.

Korean mobile giant Samsung Electronics appears likely to launch the initial offensive later this month when the manufacturer is expected to announce the Galaxy S5, which unnamed industry sources claim will be the model to finally ditch a hardware-based home button.

Samsung is also rumored to be following Apple into the fingerprint scanner market, which will reportedly be offered on the bottom left and right sides of the bezel-free screen.

Begone, home button

Apple is also said to be testing a prototype of this year's iPhone 6 with a larger, bezel-free display that could also move the Touch ID fingerprint scanner found on the iPhone 5S onto the actual display itself.

The eventual goal of both companies appears to be an edge-to-edge screen offering button-free fingerprint scanning from anywhere on the display, but "technological hurdles" remain that could delay such a feature until the second half of the year.

Now that Apple has staked out the early fall season for its smartphone launches, that could give the iPhone maker an edge over Samsung, who is expected to begin selling the allegedly slimmer Galaxy S5 much earlier in the year.

Samsung is also reportedly hard at work on touch panels that would allow its Galaxy devices to be used even while wearing gloves, part of a bezel-free initiative launched in 2012 under the code names "Project B" and "Galaxy B."

1. It may have a bezel, but our Samsung Galaxy S4 review shows it's still a fine handset!

More than a year after its launch, Windows Phone 8 will finally get its first major update in the form of Windows Phone 8.1.

Now that the update's release is imminent, developers have begun getting their hands on the new version's software development kit, and they're reporting on the improvements Microsoft has made.

The biggest news is that one important Windows Phone 8.1 change points to the possibility that the smartphone operating system may finally be merged with the tablet OS Windows RT.

It seems Windows Phone 8.1 includes support for universal apps built using a shared HTML and JavaScript language that can be used between Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8, one supposed developer revealed on Reddit - most likely breaking his or her NDA in the process.

The first step is most important

In addition, with Windows 8.1 Microsoft will begin using the same .appx package for apps that Windows 8 apps already use.

Although it's not a full unification yet, this could be the first step toward merging the operating systems for good.

If Windows Phone and Windows RT are using the same apps, there's little reason to keep them separate, after all.

And if iOS and Android can be more or less the same between smartphones and tablets, then so too should Windows be able to.

The Windows Phone is 'a changing

The unification of Windows Phone and Windows RT may be the most exciting part of these Windows Phone 8.1 leaks, but there are plenty of other features being revealed by developers too.

For example, Windows Phone 8.1 appears to let users choose different default messaging apps for the first time.

There's also a "Battery Power Sense" feature to monitor battery life, VPN support, a "Storage Sense" feature for installing apps to SD cards, newly separate video and music apps, a new podcast app, and the rebranding of SkyDrive to OneDrive.

Multitasking is different in Windows Phone 8.1 too, according to this developer. Pressing the back button now sends apps into the background instead of closing them, while swiping downward closes them, much like Windows RT. The camera app has a new layout as well.

Finally the browser has been updated to Internet Explorer 11, Facebook account and photo integration appears to be gone (though Twitter is still present and iCloud has been added), and there's support for on-screen buttons, possibly to accommodate future phones without physical buttons.

Notably, two important Windows Phone 8.1 features are missing from this SDK: the new "action center" notification center, and the "Cortana" virtual personal assistant and Siri rival.

But those are expected to appear before Microsoft sends the final version of Windows Phone 8.1 to developers around April.

• Before there was Windows Phone 8.1, there was Windows 8.1! Read TechRadar's review for everything you need to know about Microsoft's last OS update.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 has a level of hype around it usually reserved for Apple products and a side effect of that is that there are enough rumours and leaks surrounding it to bury a small country.

The latest of these could be one of the most enlightening yet though, as there's now an image of what appears to be the phone's retail packaging.

That might not sound overly exciting, but it's the back of the box - AKA the bit with all the specs listed. The image, which was sent to SamsungGalaxyS5.nl by an anonymous tipster, claims the phone has a 2.5GHz quad-core processor, 3GB of RAM, a 5.25-inch QHD (2560 x 1440) Super AMOLED display, 20MP camera, 1080p video playback and recording and a 3000mAh battery.

The screen size and resolution match previous rumours and we've also heard previously that the Galaxy S5 might have a 2.5GHz quad-core processor and 3GB of RAM, so no real surprise there either.

Snap happy

What's more surprising is the 20MP camera, as earlier rumours pointed to a 16MP lens. While it can apparently only shoot 1080p video, which is slightly surprising given that the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 can shoot 4K video.

We've heard several possibly battery sizes in the past but the general consensus seems to be that it would be bigger than the one in the Samsung Galaxy S4, which this is, as the S4 has a 2600mAh juice pack.

Of course there's no guarantee that these specs are the real deal. The image certainly looks like a Galaxy box, but it could just be a Photoshop of a Galaxy S4 one.

• The Galaxy S5 might make its way to MWC, but there'll be plenty of other things to see too.

Just before the weekend it was uncovered that Apple was preparing to build large quantities of sapphire crystal displays.

This followed a patent filing which described the use of an extra-resilient material on the iPhone screen, so the natural assumption was that we'd see a sapphire crystal clad iPhone 6.

Unfortunately it doesn't look like that will be the case, as Chinese site MyDrivers is citing sources from Taiwan's industrial chain as saying that it's unlikely the iPhone 6 will have a sapphire crystal screen.

That's not for lack of trying as apparently there are already prototypes of the device that are rocking a sapphire display, but according to the unnamed sources the production capacity is too low and the costs too high.

It's not all bad news though as the same sources claim that Apple's iWatch will have a sapphire crystal display instead.

Tougher than a gorilla

Apple is no stranger to sapphire crystal as it already uses the super-strong material to cover the fingerprint reader on the iPhone 5S as well as for its camera lens, but making the move to displays is a big step and it could mean the end of scratched and shattered screens as sapphire crystal is substantially more resilient than Gorilla Glass.

Unfortunately it's also around ten times more expensive, so it's no wonder Apple is struggling to keep the costs down.

That's not to say that future iPhone's won't use it, but it doesn't look likely that it will appear in the iPhone 6's screen. If you can't wait any longer for a handset with a sapphire crystal screen though you're in luck, as the Vertu Ti has one and it can be yours for around £6,700.

• Gorilla Glass is the current favourite for screen protection. Head on through to find out how it works.

You. It's your fault that Flappy Bird is gone.

You took something that was meant as a quick five minute distraction, and you turned it into a rage-inducing competition to see who could waste the most time.

"I just wanted to create a game that people could enjoy for a few minutes," creator Nguyen Ha Dong told the WSJ. "It was just too addictive, that was the main negative. So I took it down."

You couldn't just settle for a high score of zero, could you. THIS IS WHY WE CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS.

More blips!

• Siri just became really, really human-like
• Aliens called, it wants its Power Loader exosuit back
• Xbox Kinect is keeping the peace on the Korean border

A phone that might well be the LG G2 Mini has popped up on not one, but two websites, and despite having 'Mini' in the name it could actually be pretty big.

First up a device with the model name LG D6218 (thought to be one of the G2 Mini's model numbers) is listed on the FCC's database.

The listing states that it's 65.8mm wide and 128.8mm tall, which would mean it's only slightly smaller than the LG G2 and gives it almost identical dimensions to the LG Optimus L9 II, a phone which has a 4.7-inch display.

The FCC listing doesn't say much else, though it does mention that the handset will have a removable battery.

The LG G2 Mini also seems to have appeared on Bluetooth Special Interest Group's website. This time it has the model number D6220, but both are thought to be the G2 mini.

The listing is even less enlightening than the FCC one, but with the handset popping up on both these sites it's likely to be launched before long.

Big is the new small

We'd heard initially that the LG G2 Mini might be as big as 4.7 inches and if true it would be the same size as the HTC One and substantially bigger than the 4.3-inch Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini or Sony Xperia Z1 Compact.

Previous rumours also point to it running Android 4.4 and having a Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM, which could give it a similar amount of power to the LG G2.

In other words the LG G2 Mini looks to be a big, powerful, high-end handset. If that all turns out to be true then LG might want to rethink the name.

• We might see the LG G2 Mini at MWC. Check out what else is on the agenda.