new Moto X, Moto G, and Droid models incoming? Motorola announces July 28 event;

Amid all the rumors and leaks exposing Motorola's upcoming gadgets, the company has announced that it has an event scheduled for July 28. And from the looks of it, something of great importance is coming, as the unveiling will take place in three major cities – London, São Paulo, and New York. "A better mobile relationship is on its way" – that's how the tagline goes, leaving us wondering what's to be shown off on stage. The evidence, however, leads us to believe that Motorola is going to unveil the latest Moto X and Moto G smartphones, among other devices. 

The latest Motorola Moto X (2015) leak came from Brazil (hardly a coincidence) and showed us what the back of the phone could look like. Rumor has it that the new Moto X will come with a 5.2-inch display and a Snapdragon 810 SoC. Its main camera is said to have been treated to a much-needed upgrade, which is great news given the average performance of last year's model. We're also hoping to see a beefier battery tucked inside Motorola's new flagship phone.

Now would be a good time to mention that a 5.7-inch Moto X model is rumored to be coming, but evidence in support of this claim is pretty scarce. Similar is the situation with the rumored Moto X Sport, which could be a rugged, water-resistant variant of the new Moto X. 

Just like the Moto X (2015), the budget-friendly Moto G (2015) was also leaked numerous times, including in high-quality renders. The handset will likely offer a 5-inch display, and a Snapdragon 410 is expected to power it. Several variants of the phone are said to be in the works, including one with 8GB of storage and 1GB of RAM and a more potent version carrying 16GB of storage and 2GB of RAM. Interestingly, it is claimed that the new Moto G will be water-resistant and will carry an IPx7 rating, which is a rare trait among phones of this price range. Speaking of which, the 2015-edition Moto G should start at $179.99 when released in the U.S. 

In addition to a new Moto X and a new Moto G, Motorola might also announce a successor to the Moto 360 smartwatch at its event. Little is known about the allegedly upcoming wearable, but according to rumors, it could have a higher-resolution screen with 360 pixels across its diameter. 

And if that's not enough, a new Motorola Droid model for Verizon could be coming as well. Unfortunately, very little is being passed along about this particular handset. We don't have any specs, price, or a possible launch date as of now. Whether Motorola will show us the new Droid at the July 28 event in New York remains to be seen.

Anyone excited about Motorola's upcoming Moto X or Moto G models? Or is the new Moto smartwatch you're more excited about? Feel free to let us know in the comments!

Samsung Galaxy S6 Active Review

This year’s Galaxy S6 saw a major redesign, one that’s highly acclaimed and showed to all of us that the South Korean company knows how to design premium smartphones. While the new, premium nature of the Galaxy S6 is a new direction, it sheds one of the key design qualities offered by its predecessor – a water-resistant construction. For a moment there, we thought that water-resistant designs would become a staple feature for Sammy’s flagship line, but alas, that’s not the case.

Since the S4, however, we’ve seen Sammy introducing its Active line, which manifests in the form of ruggedized variants of its flagship phones. So, if you were bummed by the S6 forgoing a water resistant construction, then you’ll undoubtedly be pleased to find it here once again with the Samsung Galaxy S6 Active. Not only that, but the phone is built like a tank – so fear not if you drop it!

There are some advantages with the Active, naturally, as well as some compromises too, which we’ll check out in detail through the review. Internally, the Active shares many of the specs of the S6, but superficially on the outside, it’s a totally different phone.

The package contains:

• Galaxy S6 Active
• Wall charger
• microUSB cable
• Quick start guide
• Health & Safety and Warranty Guide

Design

Hello water and drop resistant construction, the S6 Active is designed to handle life.

At a glance, the Samsung Galaxy S6 Active looks very much like last year’s model, one that shares the same tough construction. Comparing it to the S6, though, there’s no arguing that the S6 Active is meant to withstand serious punishment – whereas with the S6, its premium construction kind of makes it fragile.

Sporting that all too predictable rugged design, it’s clearly within what we’d expect out of a tough smartphone. Most of the body is comprised out of tough plastic, broken down to a rubbery textured camo back pattern and a sturdier matte frame outlining the sides. Superficially, it looks almost like an exact facsimile to last year’s Active, but this one is a closed design – so there’s no removable back cover to access its battery. Accentuating its rugged form are the screws found near the corners of the phone.

Thanks to its IP68 rating, it means that this bad boy is meant to handle nearly anything that everyday life has to throw at us. Therefore, that means it’s shock resistant, dust proof, and water resistant up to 1.5 meters for up to 30 minutes – the essential ingredients in giving it that sturdier protection than the S6. One less thing to remember: you'll be pleased to know that Samsung has improved the design, because there’s no longer need to cover the microUSB port with a flap. Instead, you’ll notice that the port is wide open, but there’s no fear in dipping it in water because the port has been treated to be water resistant.

During our review, we dropped it onto concrete pavement by accident, resulting in some noticeable scuffs along the plastic sidings of the phone. True to its claim, it survived the fall, but the downside in this is that being pristine looking isn’t going to be on the top of the list for this one.

Aesthetically, though, it’s just a very ordinary ‘ruggedized’ looking phone just like everything else out there. Sure, Sony has perfected the recipe for designing a premium looking phone that’s water resistant, but Sammy’s stance is more form than function – and to that degree, they succeed. It won’t win any awards for design, obviously, but nevertheless, its solid construction endows it with structural integrity to withstand all the unpredicatablities of life.

Were you not a fan of those capacitive Android buttons on S6? Well, the S6 Active now employs nothing but physical Android buttons for that true, tactile response. Sadly, there’s no finger print sensor whatsoever with this, so not only is there no option for unlocking the phone via fingerprint, but it won’t benefit from Samsung Pay either. Other minor changes include a nanoSIM slot (no SIM removal tool necessary), 3.5mm headphone jack repositioned to the top edge, and the speaker placed on the back side of the phone.

At the same time, too, the S6 Active continues to offer some of the S6’s staple features – like its heart rate sensor to measure our pulse, rapid charging microUSB 2.0 port, and wireless charging. Even though there’s still no expandable storage with this, it gets greeted to an even heftier sized 3500 mAh battery. While the power button and volume controls are in their usual locations on the sides of the phone, there’s another button found above the volume controls – it’s the Active key. More on that later!

Rumor with Samsung Galaxy Note 5 round-up: The next big thing

Legend says Samsung Mobile's year has two seasons instead of four - Galaxy S season, and Galaxy Note season. As months pass by, we're slowly drifting from 2015's "Galaxy S6 season" into "Galaxy Note 5 season". It is arguably the most anticipated Samsung smartphone ever, especially since the Galaxy Note 4 laid out such a strong foundation before it, while the Galaxy S6 claimed the 2015 Android flagship crown for itself with its modern looks and cutting-edge hardware. After a year or two of slumping sales, Samsung is once again riding the high wave, and while we're anticipating the Note 5, we reckon it's time we rounded up all the rumors that have popped up interim.

Design

Reportedly, the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 is being referred to as "Project Noble" internally. You may remember that the Galaxy S6 was codenamed "Project Zero". Hence, "Project Noble" sounds like an immediate descendant with a pretty good "premium" ring to it, no?

Based on the rumors and the typical way smartphone manufacturers approach design, we expect Samsung will style the Galaxy Note 5 and Note 5 edge after the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge. That is, an abundance of glass-covered metal, and a familiar-looking design. The Note 5 is said to reach a 7.9mm-thin frame, which is not exactly pencil-thin, but is nevertheless very good for a device that packs all of Samsung's state of the art mobile technology, in addition to a large battery.

Moreover, the Note 5 is rumored to be among the first smartphones to ship with the new USB Type-C connector. The ability to plug the connector at any side, just like with Apple's Lightning port, is welcome, but it's the other virtues of the Type-C connector that deserve your attention, too, namely the throughput that will allow streaming 4K videos without a hitch, and the charging capabilities that can top up a battery in no time.

Another design addition could be a new pop-up S-Pen stylus. Samsung has patented a mechanism that automatically slots the S-Pen out of its silo after a voice or gesture command is issued. This ejection system may employ an electromagnet to push the stylus out, alongside a locking mechanism to keep the stylus safe at bay.

2K or 4K - the ultra-high resolution divide

One of the most persistent and interesting rumors suggests that the Galaxy Note 5 will become the first commercially available ultra-high resolution (4K) smartphone. For something that sounds fairly far-fetched, considering most of the industry is still hesitant to jump from 1080p screens into the crystal-clear pond of Quad-HD, there's actually quite a bit of substance behind this rumor. Consider this - as early as last year, Samsung has been presenting its display production pipeline to analysts, and has non-ambiguously stated that it has 4K mobile display panels in the works that will be production-ready by 2015. 

There are even some purported technological details available - said panels' are Super AMOLED and their resolution is a jaw-dropping 2160 x 3840 pixels. The pixels are arranged in a diamond pattern, similar to the PenTile arrangement witnessed in the Galaxy Note 4's critically acclaimed display. Moreover, the screens' precise diagonals were implied as well - coming up at 5.9 inches for the regular Note 5 and 5.78 inches for the highly probable Note 5 edge variant. Given the resolution and screen diagonals, the Note 5's pixel density adds up to 748ppi for the regular version and 762ppi for the variant with edges. These are mind-boggling values in both cases, and arguably present more pixels than you will ever need inside a 6-inch panel. However, this stupendously high pixel count will do wonders for experiencing ultra-high resolution video and VR content on the Galaxy Note 5. An extremely impressive display like this will also let graphic designers showcase their work in all its detailed brilliance.

Now that we've gotten you all high and worked up with excitement, let's pour the proverbial ice bucket on you before somebody calls the fire department! The latest slab of info demotes the 4K resolution version to an engineering prototype that's being tested alongside a 2K device. Given that ensuring a great enough yield of 4K AMOLED screens - not to mention curved screens - could prove challenging for Samsung, we won't put our hopes up for a full-on onslaught of 4K Note devices this year. Perhaps Sammy could introduce a limited run of 4K phablets, either at launch or down the road. Really, there are many ways Sammy could work around a shortage of 4K screens if it has the technology and puts its mind to bringing it to the market. But just in the event it doesn't, we reckon an eventual 2K (1440x2560) resolution Galaxy Note 5 is more than enough to please any smartphone enthusiast.

Processing grunt

Reportedly, the Galaxy Note 5 is being tested with an Exynos 7422 chipset hulking within. What makes this one special is that it will combine all components into a single chip. Utilizing its own ePoP (embedded package on package) production method, Samsung was able to fit 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage into a 225 square mm chip (we think it went into the GS6, but we don't have official confirmation). Basically, this lets them stack complete systems on top of each other, decreasing the total semiconductor area and opening up space for other good stuff, such as bigger batteries. In this regard, the Note 5 is expected to receive a sizeable 4100mAh battery, which will certainly enable impressive battery life achievements. Oh, and throw in wireless charging while you're at it!

In the Exynos 7422, Samsung may stack together the CPU, GPU, DRAM, storage, and its homebrew LTE modem in a single package. This is very ambitious, needless to say - but it's also the exact reason Apple choose Samsung and nobody else to produce the Apple Watch SoC. So we believe Sammy can pull this off pronto.

Modern processor aside, the Note 5 is expected to rock Samsung's UFS 2.0 flash storage, which became famous for its outrageous data reading and writing speeds. If there's one place where smartphone manufacturers everywhere didn't stand a chance catching up with Samsung, it's this baby.

Smile for the camera

The rumor mill has surpisingly failed to deliver crunchy camera data about the Galaxy Note 5, so all we got on that end are some educated guesses and industry "he said, she said" to consider. The Note 5 might get a 16MP main camera with optical image stabilization, along with an 8-megapixel front cam.

Release date

There is no shortage of sources claiming that the Galaxy Note 5 is due for an earlier than usual release. Although Samsung Mobile CEO J.K. Shin personally denied the rumors of a July launch, he didn't outright deny the possibility of the Note 5 launching into the stratosphere before the annual IFA expo in Berlin. Held early September, the conference has been the Galaxy Note's traditional launchpad since the original 5.3-inch phablet was unveiled in 2011. However, this time around, Samsung might just skip a week or two of anticipation and go ahead for a late August announcement. The rationale? Sammy wants to out-race Apple to the retail shelves and bring the Galaxy Note 5 to people before the headline-generating, best-selling iPhone 6S and 6S Plus inevitably invoke their attention. 

Seems a bit pushy and desperate, but think about it, if Samsung is able to bring the goods before Apple, it is entitled to every bit of head-start it can manage! Besides, we're sure fans of Samsung's Note line-up will be ecstatic to meet, and possibly buy the next big thing in the series sooner than they're used to!

vivo X5Max review - Alzicx

Introduction

It's not every day we have a true record holder in our hands, and that's exactly what we were getting ready for waiting for the vivo X5Max to arrive. The slimmest smartphone in the world for more than six months now, the 4.75-mm X5Max snatched a crown that had been tossed between the Gionee Elife S5.1 and the Oppo R5, each of them holding it for a fleeting month or so.

You can then imagine our disappointment when it turned out we have the global version, which is "only" the third-slimmest phone in the world. A fraction of a millimeter thicker than the China model, the vivo X5Max is an extraordinarily slim device nonetheless, most certain to impress with a profile you wouldn't normally attribute to a smartphone.

It really looks almost like a planar object, its two dimensions much greater that the third, so to speak, in math terms.

In terms of hardware, the X5Max is less exciting, relying on the now ubiquitous midrange Snapdragon 615, coupled with the equally commonplace 2GB of RAM. It doesn't skimp on features though sporting a 13MP primary camera behind a fast f/2.0 lens, as well as a 5MP front-facer.

A 5.5-inch FullHD display helps keep thickness in check thanks to the Super AMOLED tech, while providing the signature colors and contrast. The extra 0.33mm thickness have allowed designers to fit a larger-capacity battery, though it still looks underpowered on paper for its screen size.

Key features

Dual-SIM dual-standby capability, microSD slot shared with second SIM
5.5" 1080p Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 401ppi
Octa-core Cortex-A53 CPU (4x 1.5GHz plus 4x 1.0GHz), 2GB of RAM, Adreno 405 GPU; Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 chipset
13MP autofocus camera, f/2.0 lens, single-LED flash; HDR, Panorama, Night, Pro mode with long exposure (up to 32s)
1080@30fps, 1/4x slow motion video recording, 10x speed timelapse
5MP front camera, f/2.4, 720p video recording
16GB of built-in storage
Cat. 4 LTE (150/50Mbps); dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n; Bluetooth 4.0; GPS with A-GPS; microUSB
2,300mAh battery
Standard 3.5mm headphone jack

Main disadvantages

Dated Android KitKat 4.4.4
No FM radio or NFC

Another in a long line of designer Chinese smartphones, the vivo X5Max relies on the proven formula of striking looks and all-round capable hardware. We don't expect it to outperform flagships, but its priorities lie elsewhere and the X5Max scores high on style. While it will certainly be on the short list of anyone looking to stand out, the smartphone needs to prove it has enough substance to match its upmarket exterior.

Controls and handling

The vivo X5Max relies on capacitive buttons in the bottom bezel for navigation in a Menu/Home/Back arrangement. Above the display there's the earpiece in the middle with the 5MP front camera to the left and the proximity/ambient light sensor on the other side.

The back features the 13MP camera in the top left corner, joined by its single-LED flash and a secondary mic midway between the two. The speaker mesh is mostly a design element, as the actual speaker is no more than a quarter of its length and is situated in its right end.

The right side is home to the volume rocker and the power button towards the top and the card slot closer to the bottom. The card tray is made of metal as well, and despite its miniscule thickness is quite sturdy. It will take a micro-SIM and a microSD card or a micro- and a nano-SIM card, but never all three at the same time.

The left side is completely bare.

5.5 inches of Super AMOLED goodness

It you want thin, AMOLED is the way to go, and in the case of the vivo X5Max it's a 5.5-inch FullHD panel. That results in 401ppi, which is more than enough for sharp text.

The panel is a fine representative of the MOLED tech and offers plenty of punch and wide viewing angles, though it does exhibit a greenish tint when viewed from the side.

There are no color adjustments to be found in settings, nor is there a glove mode.

Out microscope shot revealed the expected diamond pentile arrangement, with twice as many green subpixels as any other color.

Connectivity

For starters, the vivo X5Max is a dual-SIM dual-standby device. One of the cards gets the full 2G/3G/4G treatment with multiple bands each, while the other is limited to 2G. You can set which one is which in the settings and the micro/nano SIM slots mean you can use either form factor as your main card. You'd need to go microSIM though if you value the memory expansion, as the microSD slot is shared with the nanoSIM.

The smartphone has dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n with DLNA, Wi-Fi direct and hotspot support. There's Bluetooth v4.0, but no NFC or FM radio.

There's GPS with A-GPS for precise positioning over cellular, but for all we know, there's no GLONASS to utilize Russian satellites.

The microUSB 2.0 port supports USB On-The-Go and lets you attach peripherals. A standard 3.5mm jack completes the wired connectivity package.

Battery life

Slim phones typically struggle in this very part of our test for very obvious reasons - less space means less battery capacity. The thinnest 4.75mm vivo X5Max comes with a modest 2,000mAh cell, but the version we have for review is a bit better equipped with a 2,300mAh unit.

To put it simply, the X5Max amazed us in terms of its battery performance. It posted impressive scores across the board, not only considering its screen diagonal and battery size, but also in absolute values. Standby endurance, which is not included in the scorecard, is about 11 full days with a single SIM, and a day less with a second SIM inside. Call times on a 3G network are more than 17 hours, well above average.

Moving on to on-screen activities, the smartphone is good for nearly 11 hours of video playback - it can easily last you a transatlantic flight with constant movie watching.

Web browsing is the most taxing on the battery, but it also shows a marked difference between the stock browser and the also available Google Chrome. While the vivo offering manages a little over 6 hours, Chrome is substantially more efficient and with it the X5Max scored upwards of 9 hours of web browsing.

Synthetic benchmarks

We've lost count of the number of devices, utilizing Qualcomm's upper-midrange Snapdragon 615 chipset (though a quick free-text search in our Phone Finder returned 36 entries from our database alone).

As you probably know, the chipset comes with a dual quad-core processor setup and in the case of the vivo X5Max the two clusters of Cortex-A53 cores are clocked at 1.5GHz and 1.0GHz for power and efficiency respectively. There are 2GB of RAM on board, when we're seeing a gradual move towards 3GB even in the midrange, though the real-life benefits of this are still debatable.

We've already had the opportunity to test a bunch of similarly equipped devices and had a general idea what to expect. We have picked out the more-popular of those and it turns out implementing and utilizing the said Qualcomm chipset is still a challenge for a lot of vendors. Results vary greatly, but a lot of that can also be attributed to custom OS overlays.

For a broader comparison we have also thrown in a few devices that you can pick up for around the same price as the vivo - the LG G3, HTC One E9+, Samsung Galaxy E7 and the Asus Zenfone 2. Others like the Huawei P8 are simply there because of their stylish exterior and design - a major selling point for the vivo X5Max.

Final words

The third slimmest smartphone in existence, the vivo X5Max turns out to be a multidimensional performer. Sure, its claim to fame lies in its upmarket design, which we need to be really picky to find fault with. The execution is top-notch as well, and the smartphone is working hard to justify its price tag, though of course you need to be willing to accept the premise that style and build are worth a premium.

Believe it or not, this nearly paper-thin smartphone excels in battery life, of all areas. If you steer clear of the proprietary browser, you're in for a pleasant surprise in terms of uptime. An endurance rating around the 70-hour mark is the summary of a balanced performance in all areas, both active on-screen time and standby.

The 5.5-inch FullHD Super AMOLED is another excellent performer scoring high in the brightness department, for a Super AMOLED that is. It's sharp, has lively colors and only exhibits a slight green tint when viewed from an angle.

Funtouch OS is perhaps a little controversial. Some will embrace the fresh-looking Android skin with its customization options and nifty gesture controls. Others won't be able to get over how disorganized it is and the strong iOS influence will certainly bother Android purists. It may also be hard to swallow the fact that you're buying into a year-old OS release.

Granted, hardware performance isn't the X5Max' strong suit. Vivo apparently held back a little when tweaking the chipset and that may have something to do with the great battery numbers, but we don't see much fault with such a bias, certainly not in the case of the X5Max.

The 13MP camera creates images with a lot of detail, but also plenty of noise, though we appreciate the conservative approach to noise-suppression. True-to-life colors and dependable exposure round up a good overall experience in terms of stills, while 1080p videos are decent at best.

Key test findings:

• Premium looks, amazing thinness, quality materials and solid build
• Sharp 5.5-inch FullHD AMOLED display, vibrant colors, good viewing angles with a slight green tint, above average AMOLED brightness
• Dual-SIM dual-standby capability, otherwise average connectivity package
• Excellent battery life: 71-hour rating with a single SIM inside and stellar individual numbers
• Quirky Funtouch OS takes a bit of getting used to, but is rich in customization and added functionality; the bundled app package only covers the basics, but does it well; the gallery has a rich editor, video player ran everything we threw at it, music player is straightforward and functional
• Raw performance fails to impress, likely due to poor software optimizations
• Very good photos with nice detail and good color rendering, but there is a lot of noise
• Okay 5MP selfie cam, images a touch too soft
• Video recording is passable, but nothing memorable

The Oppo R5 is among the most obvious rivals of the vivo X5Max. Fractions of a millimeter are for bragging rights only, and where it matters, the smaller-screened 5.2-inch R5 loses by a country mile - for every full battery charge on the X5Max you'll need to do two on the R5, and no fast charging tech will offset that.

Then there's the Oppo R7, a more balanced offering where battery endurance is not such a limiting factor. You'd be sacrificing even more screen real estate here, as the R7 is only 5.0 inches in diagonal. We'd be hard-pressed to pick the best of these three in terms of build and finish, but there's something about the 2.5D glass of the R7, which may tip the scales in its favor.

 
Oppo R5 • Oppo R7

The Samsung Galaxy A7 has a marginally smaller footprint, and at 6.3mm is not exactly thick either. It's also substantially lighter and has a slightly better battery life, even on top of the already excellent X5Max. The Galaxy A7 has already gotten the Lollipop update, while the X5Max may never live to see one.

Samsung Galaxy A7

The LG G Flex2 is being heavily discounted in many parts of the world, despite the fact that it's rocking proper flagship hardware. You could easily snatch one for even less than the X5Max, and the dramatically curved 5.5-incher has a lot of appeal for the style-conscious too. The G Flex2 has a superior OIS camera, laser autofocus and 2160p video recording.

LG G Flex2

The Meizu MX4 Pro is worth a look as well. Yes, it's roughly twice as thick, but it's cheaper, its 5.5-inch display has QHD resolution, its camera can shoot 4K video, and it will significantly outlast the X5Max if you're mostly into web browsing. It also has a fingerprint sensor. But did you go on reading after we said twice as thick? The newly released MX5 is in the picture too, and it's thinner, while retaining most of its predecessor's virtues, save for the QHD resolution.

 
Meizu MX4 Pro • Meizu MX5

Older flagships are also within reach of the buyer ready to pay the vivo X5Max' asking price. The Sony Xperia Z2 is one that comes to mind. Although two-generations-old already, the Z2 can easily outperform the X5Max, and has environmental sealing and better battery backup. It does have a smaller screen though, and is just another mainstream device, unlike the X5Max.

Sony Xperia Z2

There's a lot to like about the vivo X5Max, in fact it must be one of the more pleasant surprises recently. It can't outgrow the limitations of its chipset paired with less than perfectly optimized software, and Funtouch has a long road to maturity. But it has a beautiful display, it shoots fine images and scores high in the most unexpected area, battery life. The X5Max is another fine phone to help overcome prejudice against Chinese designs but also one that argues premium looks do not necessarily imply usability compromises.

First up, we have the raw CPU performance test with GeekBench 3, which should be straight-forward enough. The eight Cortex-A53 cores inside the MSM8939 are by no means a bit-churning powerhouse, but have definitely proven themselves more than adequate in a lot of current devices. Yet, the Vivo X5Max doesn't seem to utilize them to their full capacity. As far as raw calculation goes, the handset falls behind most similarly equipped devices. Like we said, most of the performance drop can be attributed to poor software optimization and the custom OS. Still, we can see that ZTE has managed to do even worse with the Blade S6, powered by the same chipset.

UFC 189: McGregor TKO's Mendes to win the interim featherweight title

Conor McGregor told anyone who would listen that he was going to beat Chad "Money" Mendes. In the main event at UFC 189 Saturday night, he backed up the talk with a second-round TKO win over Mendes in the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas. 

UFC on Fox Sports tweeted out the result:

Those who said Mendes could take down McGregor were proven correct rather quickly. Those who said McGregor could spring right back up were also correct. Mendes got McGregor to the mat early in the first round, but The Notorious One worked to his feet and the fight went back to stand-up exchanges. 

The takedowns weren't done yet, though. Mendes went on to take down McGregor twice more in the opening frame. He ended the round on top and doing damage to a bloodied McGregor. 

Mendes once again went to the wrestling in the second frame. After McGregor landed a few strikes on the feet, Mendes scored another takedown and went to work with elbows to McGregor.

The knockout power of McGregor proved to be too much, though. After the two fighters scrambled to their feet late in the second round, McGregor started throwing combinations with a great sense of urgency. Mendes had the early edge, but the 26-year-old Irishman got the decisive blow when he caught his opponent with a left-handed punch to the jaw. Mendes fell to the floor, ultimately causing Herb Dean to call an end to the fight. 

"I knew I was going to prove to people I’m a true fighter. It doesn’t matter who it is," McGregor said after the fight, per MMAFighting.com.

The win marks the official dawning of a UFC star in McGregor. The Irishman has everything a fighter needs to become a cash cow for the organization—a divisive personality, endless confidence and an exciting fighting style that saw him finish four out of his five UFC opponents in the lead up to this fight. 

As Bleacher Report UK noted, the man can even fill out a venue to watch him stand on a scale:

Now, he can add the ability to beat a wrestler to his resume. 

After all, that was the question on everyone's mind heading into the match. The dynamic striker had never seen a wrestler of Mendes' caliber. McGregor was comfortable with the questions, though.

"This is part of the business. People want questions answered,” McGregor said per Tristen Critchfield of Sherdog.com. “That’s what makes money. People are interested to see. I’m happy that people have questions. If they didn’t have these questions, it wouldn’t generate as much interest. It’s part of the game, and I’m OK with it.”

The questions for McGregor aren't done yet, though. In fact, the biggest one still looms: Is he better than featherweight champion Jose Aldo?

The Brazilian was supposed to be McGregor's opponent Saturday, but an unfortunate rib injury forced him off the card. 

It's a question that will ultimately be answered. Dana White shed some light on the plans for McGregor going forward, per MMA Fighting:

The Irishman's victory will only make Aldo-McGregor an even bigger affair than it was before. Heading into UFC 189, it was about the bad blood between the two. There was still some mystery as to whether McGregor was truly an elite fighter. 

Now that question is out the window. Interim titles might not mean much, but in this case, it's a symbol of McGregor's legitimacy. With the added intrigue of McGregor proving himself against a quality opponent like Mendes, the anticipation for Aldo-McGregor goes through the roof. 

The Irishman should be savoring the opportunity to once again answer people's questions. 

New ‘Batman v. Superman’ trailer rocks eager fans

NOT MUCH is riding on this. Except the entire future of DC Entertainment’s cinematic universe.

Warner Bros. and DC screened the new “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” trailer Saturday afternoon at Comic Con, with the hopes that the 2016 movie not only successfully launches the DC cinematic universe, but also finally vaults DC into a true space race with Marvel’s live-action movie universe.

So in dissecting today’s trailer, where do we begin? How about with a world that is divided over how it feels about Superman?

The trailer begins with Superman attending a Washington-style hearing, as he aims to explain the destruction resulting from his battle with General Zod in “Man of Steel.” Superman saved the world, but not without many lost lives. Now, many politicians are wondering whether his presence is endangering civilians.

Speaking of Kal-El’s battle with Zod in “Man of Steel”: It seems one survivor of the mass destruction of Metropolis was none other than Bruce Wayne. We see what seems to be a flashback scene of Superman and Zod’s battle. We see heat vision flying everywhere, and an angry Bruce Wayne looking toward the sky, with a expression that says he’s none too fond of Kryptonians.

Oh, and did we mention Zod? His dead body shows up. But who is experimenting on it, and what will be the result of those experiments?

Bruce Wayne is convinced that Superman by himself can destroy all of humanity, and that a power like that must be stopped. The one voice of reason trying to convince Batfleck that Superman isn’t the problem/enemy, though, is Alfred.

Meanwhile, when Clark isn’t getting chewed out by Daily Planet editor Perry White for writing too many stories on the Bat-vigilante in Gotham, Clark’s Earth mother, Martha, is looking him in the eyes and telling him he doesn’t owe the world anything.

Plus, we finally get a look (albeit a quick one) at Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman. She’s in action, slamming her two bracelets together — the impact of which suggests that she’s of equal strength to the Man of Steel. Indeed, Gadot looks the part as one of comics’ most important woman warriors. (Side note: There are no hints of a romance with Batman, but then it’s a trailer, so we can’t expect everything.)

Robin the Boy Wonder makes a surprise appearance in the Batcave. Well, his suit does, anyway. It hangs in what appears to be a tribute glass case. The suit has a spray-painted message to Batman, saying he was too late.

Hmm. Could this be a hint of what’s to come in a future solo Batman flick? We know that Jared Leto’s Joker will make his debut in “Suicide Squad.” Will a new Batman film focus on Batman’s effort to get the Clown Prince of Crime, to avenge the death of Robin? And could we see the Red Hood in the DCU live-action universe? The trailer intrigues…

And what about Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) and those locks? Is it a wig? We know that Lex will eventually be bald? Will it be due to Kryptonite poisoning? The deadly green rock also made a debut in the trailer.

As trailer concludes, we see Superman ripping open the Batmobile — and Batman standing up for an epic staredown. Yes, the Justice League is coming. Yes, this movie is the “dawn” of some of the greatest superheroes ever coming together. But first, there’s going to be a battle.

As Lex says: “ Black vs. blue. God vs. man. Day vs. night.”

By dialing up the duality with expert tension, the “Batman v. Superman” trailer does the geeked-up audience justice.

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Wimbledon 2015: Serena Williams wins title as 'Serena Slam' - Serena Williams wins sixth Wimbledon singles title

Serena Williams wins sixth Wimbledon singles title

• Serena Williams wins Wimbledon for sixth time for 21st Grand Slam title
• Williams holds all four grand slam titles
• Andy Murray's brother Jamie loses in men's doubles final
• Martina Hingis wins women's doubles with Sania Mirza

Grand Slam bid

If the American triumphs at the U.S. Open -- and the odds might be stacked in her favor given the 33-year-old is the three-time defending champion -- she would become the first player since Steffi Graf in 1988 to complete the calendar-year grand slam.

A victory would, too, draw the world No. 1 level with Graf on an Open Era leading 22 majors.

It didn't take long, Williams admitted, before New York crept into her mind.

"I did the whole presentation, I did the whole walk around the court," said Williams. "I was peaceful, feeling really good. Maybe a little after that I started thinking about New York."

Her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, made an early request to U.S. fans to back Williams in September.

"I think if the crowd helps her, it's going to be a plus," the Frenchman told a small group of reporters. "So of course I expect the American crowd to be the best ever for her because to have an American player like her who is probably the greatest (in) history writing history at the U.S. Open is huge, and I hope the American crowd will be so proud of that that they will help her."