Droid Life

Samsung Cyber Monday Deals are Live! Note 9 Up to $300 Off Still

Kellen — Sun, 25 Nov 2018 20:41:30 +0000

Samsung Cyber Monday deals are now live, just in case you were ready to be done with Black Friday and move onto the next round of internet discounts. Samsung's Cyber Monday offerings are very similar to their Black Friday deals, but that's nothing to complain about, right? We've got $200 off Galaxy Note 9, Galaxy S9, and Galaxy S9+. The $200 savings is on all of the above devices except for Sprint models, which are $300 off. Also, if you buy a 512GB Galaxy Note 9, you can add a 512GB microSD card for just $49. And don't forget, you can trade-in your current phone for up to $300 off instantly in Samsung's really good trade-in program.

Buy Galaxy Note 9 | Buy Galaxy S9, S9+

Samsung's smartwatch and wearable sale continues too, with up to $100 off watches like the Gear S3. The new Galaxy Watch is still $70 off, as it was all last week.

Buy Samsung smartwatches

For tablets, Samsung is dropping $100 off their newest tablet, the Galaxy Tab S4. That gives us a starting price of $550 for 64GB or $650 for 256GB. The year-or-so-old Galaxy Tab S3 is $150 off.

Buy Samsung tablets

Need accessories for your new Samsung phone? Samsung has a bunch of accessories deals, like $60 off a 2-pack of their fast wireless charging pad, $30 off their fast wireless charging stand, $40 off U Flex headphones, and $120 off AKG noise cancelling headphones.

Buy Samsung accessories

Finally, Samsung is running a deal on its Smart Things line. None of the discounts are that big, but if you are into Smart Things and need some sensors to monitor your house, you could save a few bucks here and there.

Buy Samsung Smart Things

Cyber Monday, y'all, here we go.

Verizon Black Friday Weekend Deals Include $30 Off Pixel Stand

Kellen — Sun, 25 Nov 2018 20:19:01 +0000

Black Friday deals week is coming to a close, just in time for Cyber Monday deals week to start, and Verizon still has some good deals running. Their two best deals are on Google's Pixel Stand and JBL's Link View smart display. Verizon currently has the Pixel Stand at $49.99, which is a $30 discount. I know that isn't the $40 off deal from Best Buy, but it's the best available and the only other discount we've seen. Your Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL probably deserves this. Additionally, the JBL Link View smart display is $100 off, dropping its price to $149.99. That's the best price on it, as every other retailer only dropped it by $50. We included this in our best Black Friday deals round-up, but it's worth pointing out again if you want a smart display that can create beautiful sound, unlike Google Home Hub. Verizon has a handful of other notable deals as well that we've linked to below.

Verizon Black Friday Weekend Deals

Google Pixel Stand - $49.99 ($30 off)
JBL Link View - $149.99 ($100 off)
Spend $200 on accessories, get $50 gift card
Google Home Hub - $99.99 ($50 off)
UE Boom 2 - $79.99 ($100 off)
Google Home Mini - $24.99 ($25 off)
All Verizon Black Friday accessory deals

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjI-anCl7Tc

We Like These 25 Black Friday Deals (2018)

Kellen — Fri, 23 Nov 2018 10:26:18 +0000

You probably know how to find Black Friday deals at this point, so a giant list from us of 700 items that might be discounted is a waste of everyone's time. Instead of spending 1,700 hours doing that and then hoping you pick through them all, we went ahead and shortened it all down to our favorite deals of the day/weekend. These are 25 or so Black Friday deals that will make you happy, or the person that you buy them for, which probably means you'll be happy because they'll be happy too. Everyone should be happy.

DL's Top 25 Black Friday 2018 Deals

1. Pixel 3 XL

400 off (Verizon model) – Verizon, Best Buy
$200 off – Google Store
$200 off + $200 Fi credits – Project Fi

2. Google Home Hub - $99 ($50 off)

Buy: B&H Photo | Target | Walmart | Google Store | Best Buy

3. Pixelbook - $699+ ($300 off all models)

Buy: Amazon | B&H Photo | Best Buy | Google Store

4. NVIDIA SHIELD TV ($139.99, $159.99)

Buy w/ Remote : B&H Photo | Best Buy
Buy w/ Remote and Controller: B&H Photo | Best Buy

5. Sonos Beam - $349.00 ($50 off)

Buy: Amazon | Sonos | B&H Photo | Best Buy

6. Nest Hello - $179 ($50 off)

Buy: B&H Photo | Walmart | Best Buy | Google Store

7. Galaxy Note 9 up to $400 off

$400 off (Verizon model) – Samsung, Verizon
$300 off (Sprint model) – Samsung, Best Buy
$300 off (AT&T model) – Best Buy
$200 off (Unlocked and others) – Samsung, Amazon, Best Buy

8. Amazon Fire TV Cube - $59.99 ($60 off)

Buy: Amazon

9. Google Home Max - $349 ($50 off)

Buy: B&H Photo | Target | Walmart | Google Store | Best Buy

10. Pixel Stand - $39.99 ($40 off)

Buy: Best Buy

11. Nest Thermostat E - $139 ($30 off)

Buy: Walmart | Nest | Google Store | Best Buy

12. Jaybird X3 - $59 ($70 off)

Buy: Jaybird

13. Audio-Technica ATH-M50x - $129 ($20 off)

Buy: Amazon

14. Audio-Technica ATH-M70x - $249 ($50 off)

Buy: Amazon

15. TaoTronics Noise Cancelling Bluetooth Headphones - $49 ($10 off)

Buy: Amazon

16. Samsung CHG90 Curved 50" Monitor - $899 ($200 off)

Buy: Amazon

17. Marshall Stanmore Bluetooth Speaker - $249 ($100 off)

Buy: Amazon

18. Google WiFi 3-Pack - $249 ($29 off)

Buy: Best Buy | Amazon
Buy: 1-Pack - $99 ($29 off)

19. TP-Link Smart WiFi Plug 2-Pack - $31 ($13 off)

Buy: Amazon

20. TicWatch S - $159.99 ($40 off)

Buy: Amazon | Mobvoi

21. JBL Link View - $149.99 ($100 off)

Buy: Verizon

22. Lenovo Smart Display 8" and 10" - $70-$100 Off

Buy 8" ($100 off): Walmart | Lenovo | Best Buy
Buy 10" ($70 off): Lenovo | Best Buy

23. 30% off Fossil Smartwatches (Code: BF30)

Buy: Fossil

24. Philips Hue White & Color LED Starter Kit (3-Pack) - ($70 off)

Buy: Best Buy

25. TP-Link Smart WiFi LED Light Bulb - $24.99 ($15 off)

Buy: Amazon

What else you guys finding? Drop it in the comments.

Black Friday 2018: Best Google and Samsung Phone Deals

Kellen — Fri, 23 Nov 2018 08:25:26 +0000

Black Friday 2018 is here and we bet that many of you are looking for the best deals on Google and Samsung phones, like the Pixel 3 or 3 XL, Galaxy Note 9, and Galaxy S9. We've done our best to compile the best prices from around the web in one spot to make it easy on you. The highlights are $400 off the Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, and Galaxy Note 9 at Verizon, but if Verizon isn't your thing, there are other discounts to be had. Google is dropping up to $200 off its Pixel 3 phones, there are $200 discounts on all of Samsung's unlocked 2018 phones, and Sprint is doing some crazy $5/mo deals on the S9.

Google

Pixel 3

$400 off (Verizon model) - Verizon, Best Buy
$150 off - Google Store
$200 off + $200 Fi credits - Project Fi

Pixel 3 XL

$400 off (Verizon model) - Verizon, Best Buy
$200 off - Google Store
$200 off + $200 Fi credits - Project Fi

Pixel 2 XL

$400 off (Verizon model) - Best Buy
$100 off + $350 Fi credits - Project Fi

Samsung

Galaxy Note 9

$400 off (Verizon model) - Samsung, Verizon
$300 off (Sprint model) - Samsung, Best Buy
$300 off (AT&T model) - Best Buy
$200 off (Unlocked and others) - Samsung, Amazon, Best Buy

Galaxy S9

$672 off (Sprint model) - Best Buy, Sprint
$400 off (Verizon model) - Samsung, Verizon
$300 off (AT&T model) - Best Buy
$200 off (Unlocked and others) - Samsung, Amazon, Best Buy

Galaxy S9+

$672 off (Sprint model) - Best Buy, Sprint
$400 off (Verizon model) - Samsung, Verizon
$400 off (AT&T model) - Best Buy
$200 off (Unlocked and others) - Samsung, Amazon, Best Buy

See any we've missed? Drop the deals in the comments.

Black Friday Deal: OnePlus Accessories Up to 50% Off

Kellen — Fri, 23 Nov 2018 07:31:14 +0000

OnePlus may have sold out of the OnePlus 6 at $100 off, but they still have accessory deals for you to pick-up on Black Friday. Accessories for many of their phones are up to 50% off, plus you'll find additional deals on cases and protectors for the OnePlus 6 and OnePlus 5T, dropping them down to rock bottom prices. Accessories like the OnePlus Fast Charge Power Adapter ($9.97) and Fast Charge Car Charger (14.97) are 50% off. Those two will fast charge not only the 6 and 5T, but the 6T too. For other deals, you've got cases, tempered glass protectors, and bundles for the OnePlus 6 at 20% off. The handful of cases for the OnePlus 5T are all 50% off.

OnePlus Deal Link

Buy OnePlus 6T, get $20 in accessories

Black Friday Deal: $200 Off Pixel 3, 3 XL + $200 Service Credit at Project Fi

Kellen — Fri, 23 Nov 2018 07:13:34 +0000

Google's Project Fi is getting in on the Black Friday deals action with a double discount on its own Pixel 3 phones, plus big price drops on the others it sells. What we've got here is a $200 price drop on the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL with an extra $200 in Fi service credit. You have to make sure you activate the phone within 30 days, though, or Google may charge you the full amount for the phone. The Fi credit is simply applied to your Fi account to cover costs. Need another option? The Pixel 2 XL is $100 off and comes with a $350 Fi credit. Don't want Fi credit? Motorola phones from Project Fi are up to $250 of, but the bigger deal is LG G7 ThinQ and LG V35 ThinQ at $400 off.

Sign-up for Project Fi

Verizon Black Friday Deals are Live!

Kellen — Thu, 22 Nov 2018 10:28:04 +0000

Like Google and Best Buy, Verizon has kicked off Black Friday weekend with their own set of Black Friday deals. They teased these already, but to recap, you've got $400 off devices like the Pixel 3 XL and Galaxy S9+, 50% off Pixel 3, and 40% off Galaxy Note 9. These deals are actually semi-decent from Verizon, something we don't say often. No trade-in is required. You can upgrade to these. You don't need to add a new line. The only catch, which is always the catch, is that you have to sign-up for a device payment plan and the $400 off or $50% discount is applied via bill credits over 24 months. If you plan to stick with Verizon, I'm sure you are fine with that. Here's the list of the best phone discounts:

Don't need a new phone? Here are some other Verizon Black Friday deals:

$100 off Android tablets and Chromebooks
$150 off new Palm side-phone
$100 off JBL Link View Smart Display
$30 off Pixel Stand
$150 off JBL Everest 710GA Google Assistant headphones
$50 off Google Home Hub
Spend $200 in accessories, get $50 gift card
Verizon accessory sale

Those are just a sample of the deals that Verizon has. Also, they are offering free 2-day shipping.

Verizon Black Friday Deals

Google Store Black Friday Deals are Live!

Kellen — Thu, 22 Nov 2018 10:09:33 +0000

Google Store Black Friday deals are live! Well, they went live last night, but you are free to get to shopping as you wait for that turkey to cook today. Deals include the Pixel 3 at $150 off, Pixel 3 XL at $200 off, all Google Home products with discounts, Chromecasts discounted, Pixel Buds with a price drop, and most Nest products at lower-than-usual prices. Below, we've got the breakdown of everything Google Store is offering from today through the weekend (and longer).

Black Friday Pixel 3 Deals

Black Friday (11/22 – 11/25): If that’s not your deal of choice, Google will follow that up with a $150 price drop on Pixel 3 and $200 on Pixel 3 XL.
Cyber Monday: Buy a Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL and get a Google Home Hub ($149 value) and $50 to spend on Google Store

Other Google Store Black Friday Deals

Google Home Hub: Save $50
Google Home Mini: Save $24
Google Home Mini + Chromecast: Save $39
Google Home Mini + Smartlight bundle: Save $24
Google Home: Save $50
Google Home Max: Save $50
Pixelbuds: Save $50
Chromecast Audio: Save $20 (11/22-2/28)
Chromecast Ultra: Save $20
Chromecast: Save $10
Titan Security Key kit: instant 20% discount; exclusively available on the Google Store. The price during the promotion will be $40.
Pixelbook: Save $300
Clips: 50% off
Nest Learning Thermostat: Save $70
Nest E Thermostat: Save $30
Nest Hello: Save $50
Nest Cam Indoor: Save $70
Nest Cam Outdoor: Save $50
Nest Protect: Save $20

For Cyber Monday, we have the following:

Daydream View: Save $60
My Case: Save $20
Buy 2 Google Home Max: Save $150
Google Home Hub + Google Home + Wifi 3-pack (Wifi PDP): Save $129

Google Store Link

Black Friday: Best Buy has the Pixel Stand for $40 ($40 Off)

Kellen — Wed, 21 Nov 2018 22:31:11 +0000

UPDATE: The deal is back for Cyber Monday!

Google's Pixel Stand, the overpriced Pixel 3 and 3 XL fast wireless charger, is now at a reasonable price, thanks to a Best Buy Black Friday deal. For a limited time, Best Buy has the Pixel Stand priced at $39.99, which is $40 off its normal price. It might actually be worth buying now. To recap, the Pixel Stand does a bit of "rapid" wireless charging when you put a Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL on it. That's not wired "rapid" charging, but still pretty fast for wireless charging. It also pulls up a pretty good Google Assistant-powered experience that lets you get more info about your day, check the weather, control your smart home, that sort of thing. It will let your Pixel 3 act as a beautiful Google Photos digital picture frame too. It's a cool accessory that I'm sure most would enjoy, it's just not $80 cool. But at $40, now we're talking.

RELATED: $400 off Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL at Best Buy!

The deal is likely limited to the next couple of days. Best Buy Deal Link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjI-anCl7Tc Cheers Steve!

Black Friday: Best Buy's $400-Off Pixel 3 Deal is Live!

Kellen — Wed, 21 Nov 2018 22:20:36 +0000

You know that Best Buy Black Friday Pixel 3 deal we told you about the other day, the one where you could save $400 off both Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL that no one believed was real? It's now live. Yep, you can get the Verizon Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL from Best Buy for $400 off for the next two days. How does the deal work? Best Buy is taking $400 off either phone. You can get the deal with an upgrade, by adding a new line, or signing up as a new Verizon customer. Everyone appears to be eligible. The deal also doesn't seem like a stretched out bill credit deal. Instead, it might be $400 off, then cheaper payments each month for the next 24 months, because a device payment plan is required. It actually seems like a good deal, which is something we don't say very often.

RELATED: Pixel Stand is $40 off at Best Buy!

You ready to take advantage? Hit that link below. The deal runs through Friday, November 23. Best Buy Deal Link

DL 2018 Holiday Gift Guide

Droid Life — Wed, 21 Nov 2018 14:30:12 +0000

It has been years since we put together a Holiday Gift Guide at Droid Life, but this year, there seem to be so many cool toys available that would make for awesome gifts. We wanted to share some of our favorite things of the moment, a handful of which might end up under the tree of friends and family. We've broken the DL Holiday Gift Guide out by price, to help you find the section that is within your budget. We've got expensive ideas (phones, of course) all of the way down to items under $20.

Budget: $500 and up | $200 | $100 | $50 and under

$500 and Up

Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL ($799+)

If you've got a big ass budget and want the phone(s) that we consider to offer the best Android experience, then you can't go wrong with the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. We've got reviews of each (Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL) in case you need to know the specifics, but they have the best smartphone cameras in the business, are always running the newest version of Android, and look pretty slick, assuming you can get over the most obnoxious notch of any smartphone (3 XL). To help stomach the price, there are all sorts of deals on these two phones. Verizon has $400 off for Black Friday, as does Best Buy, plus Google will drop $150 (Pixel 3) and $200 (Pixel 3 XL) off each. There are bound to be other holiday discounts after Black Friday too. Buy: Verizon | Best Buy | Google Store

Optional overpriced accessory: Google Pixel Stand

OnePlus 6T ($549+)

The OnePlus 6T offers the best Android experience outside of Google's own phones, includes specs that compete with the big dogs, and still manages to hit a starting price point of $549. In our review, we liked most of what the 6T offers, we just weren't impressed by the camera. But if you can get beyond that and aren't a wannabe photog, this phone is tough to beat, especially now that T-Mobile sells it and it works on Verizon. Buy: OnePlus Store | T-Mobile

Even cheaper, just-as-good OnePlus option: OnePlus 6

Google Pixelbook ($699+)

I know, you'll hear people like Tim complain that this isn't a real computer and that it's overpriced, but as someone who has used a Pixelbook since it first launched, I've got a different story to tell. The Pixelbook is the best computer I've purchased in recent years, and I'm putting it over the new Macbook Pro with Touch Bar I just bought a couple of months ago. The Pixelbook is crazy fast, folds into a tablet, has a gorgeous screen, will match the design of your Pixel phone, is super slim and light, can take advantage of a pen, runs Android apps, and will probably never slow down. I'm telling you, the Pixelbook is awesome. It's being discounted for Black Friday by $300 for all models, so hurry if you do want to pull the trigger. Don't be surprised if there are other holiday deals after Black Friday, though. Buy: Amazon | B&H Photo | Best Buy | Google Store

Awesome, cheaper option: Samsung Chromebook Plus (V2)

Edifier AirPulse A100 Studio Monitors ($799)

When I think of expensive toys, it's not just phones that get me excited. How about some dope home studio/office stuff? This year, I'm focusing more on audio goodness, and to help, I've been using a set of Airpulse A100 studio monitors from Edifier. Not only do they have exceptional high-res audio support, but a load of ways to set them up is what has me most excited about them. These monitors allow for audio connections via Bluetooth, 3.5mm, USB, as well as Optical/Coaxial. If you produce music or videos at home, or in your office, I would definitely recommend a pair. Buy: Amazon | Edifier

$200 Budget

SHIELD TV ($140+)

This little Android TV-powered box may be running 2-3 year old hardware, but it's still the king of Android TV boxes. All you need to do is hook it up to a TV and you'll get access to your favorite streaming apps (Netflix, HBO, YouTube, Hulu, etc.), incredible game selection thanks to NVIDIA's Geforce services and Google Play, Google Assistant, and more. It spits out 4K, looks sharp, and will likely be discounted all holiday season. You can get a couple of different versions, one with the gaming controller and one with just a remote. The remote-only model has already seen a $40 discount for Black Friday, but the version with the gaming controller will be discounted too. Buy: B&H Photo | Best Buy

Solid alternative: Xiaomi Mi Box S ($49.99)

Nest Hello Video Doorbell ($179+)

The Nest Hello doorbell is one of my favorite smart home gadgets. Not only does it look sweet in place of your old ring-only doorbell, it's smart as hell. Once you buy a Home Hub and pair it with your Nest Hello, you'll get instant video feeds of your front door every time someone rings it. Nest Hello is smart enough to recognize faces too, lets you set zones to check for motion, and can see at night. For the holidays, it'll be on sale all over the place. For example, it's $50 off for Black Friday. And don't worry, you'll be able to install it yourself. Buy: B&H Photo | Walmart | Best Buy | Google Store

Really good alternative: Ring Video Doorbell Pro

TicPods Free ($130)

Because AirPods are actually pretty brilliant and you are on Android, you need a comparable option. The TicPods Free from Mobvoi are a solid option. They come in three colors (red, blue, or white), include a portable charging case, last for hours, and are truly wireless. They look only somewhat-goofy when warn, but at least you have color choices to give you some style. I've been using a red pair off and on for weeks and mostly enjoy them. The sound quality isn't going to win any awards, but it's decent enough. They've held up well during workouts and have always been within reach for their no-wire experience. Buy: Amazon

Peak Design Everyday Messenger Bag ($180+)

All the tech blog bros use this bag, and so you'll look like a damn tech blog bro wearing it, but it is a really, really nice messenger bag. It's the bag I use (13-inch in "Heritage Tan") when traveling for DL events and absolutely love it. Peak Design really knows how to make a bag with functionality pockets and flexibility. This bag isn't cheap, but also isn't stupidly expensive. You've got laptop and tablet pockets, pockets for your camera, foldout pockets for accessories, dividers that make for internal stacking, all sorts of combos for the straps, and more. If you are in the market for a bag, watch this video to see the magic. Buy: Peak Design Store | Amazon

Surprisingly good alternative: OnePlus Travel Backpack

Eufy Boost IQ RoboVac 11S ($219)

I always wanted a robot vacuum in my home, but considering the pricing for some, it was never something I could realistically do. Then I found Eufy, a sub-brand of Anker, a company we know and trust to make quality products. At just over $200, the Eufy RoboVac is exactly what I wanted and is doing its job just as intended. And believe me, vacuums in my home are very important considering the size of dogs I have roaming around and the amount of crap/dirt they drag in. You can schedule Eufy to clean up at certain times or you can manually control it to pick up whatever might've been spilt on the carpet or hardwood. Plus, watching the dogs follow Eufy (we call it KIPP in reference to Interstellar) around is the highlight of my days now. Buy: Amazon

$100 Budget

Google Home Hub ($99-$150)

I know that the Google Home Hub costs $150, but during most of the holiday season, don't be surprised if you can get it for $99. During this Black Friday weekend, it'll be $99 almost everywhere, thanks to a $50 discount. Why Home Hub? It let's your house be smarter, you can ask it fun sh*t and check the weather on it, and it's the best digital picture frame you'll find, because it constantly updates through your Google Photos feed. The sound quality on it isn't amazing by any means, but at $100, it'll be a good pick-up for your Google Home collection. Buy: B&H Photo | Target | Walmart | Google Store | Best Buy

Possibly better option: Lenovo Smart Display 8"

TaoTronics Noise Cancelling Headphones ($59.99)

I recently took these headphones on a flight from Portland, OR to Hawaii, and man, they saved my ears from a whole lot of nonsense. Not only was sound quality over Bluetooth very good with plenty amount of bass, but the active noise cancellation basically cut out all surrounding sound (kids screaming, jet engine roaring, etc.), letting me enjoy my music and movies. I also found that the battery life was insanely good. After my 6 hour flights, I still had loads of battery life left, so I can easily tell you that for $60, these headphones are a complete no-brainer. Buy: Amazon

$50 and Under

DL T-Shirts and Hoodies

We've got swag and it's the perfect gear present. Our DL t-shirts start at $16.99 and the hoodies, which are super soft, cost just $29.99. They will take a few days to print once you order, so try and do so quickly. Buy: DL Teespring Store

Google Home Mini ($25-$50)

Like Google Home Hub, Google Home Mini is going to be heavily discounted all holiday shopping season. It normally costs $49, but it'll be $24 or $25 for Black Friday and likely again before Xmas. Also like Home Hub, the sound quality isn't great, but Minis are perfect for those random rooms in your house where you just want Google Assistant available. Buy: B&H Photo | Target | Walmart | Google Store | Best Buy

Sweet accessory: This Home Mini Mount is a must-have

Pixel USB-C Earbuds ($30) or OnePlus Type-C Bullets ($20)

Your phone probably doesn't have a headphone jack anymore, so rather than use a stupid dongle, you might want to toss a pair of USB-C earbuds in the stocking this year. Google's Pixel USB-C earbuds are my favorite right now because they are insanely lightweight, sound good enough, and included full Google Assistant support with notifications, The new OnePlus Type-C Bullets aren't bad either at $10 cheaper. They feature a built-in DAC, come in black, and offer a more minimal in-ear fit. Buy: Google Store | OnePlus Store

Alternative dumb accessory: USB-C to 3.5mm dongle

Anker Powerline+ USB-C Braided Cables ($16)

If you own a Google Pixel phone and are continuously frustrated by the short-as-hell USB-C cable they included in the box, buy one of these Anker Powerline+ USB-C to C cables. They are super high quality, really long at 6 feet, and still supply all the current you need for rapid charging. Buy: Amazon

Spotify Premium $0.99 for 3 Months

The title here explains it, but if you haven't yet tried out Spotify Premium, now is the time to. Spend a $1 and you get it for three months, living a life filled with non-stop tunes and quality music app experiences, unlike Google Play and YouTube Music. Buy: Spotify Store

Camera Shootout: Pixel 3 XL vs. OnePlus 6T vs. RED Hydrogen One vs. Galaxy Note 9 vs. Mate 20 Pro

Tim — Wed, 21 Nov 2018 13:16:53 +0000

2018 has been a very good year for mobile photography. There is a new Pixel device from Google with an exceptional shooter on back, Samsung is still churning out legit cameras on its flagship phones, Huawei is out here packing triple Leica camera setups, and even RED, a company known solely for cameras, now has its own smartphone on the market. With so many options, your question may be, "Which one should I get?" Well, if taking pictures with your phone is one of the more important things you do, then this post may help. You see, I recently took a trip to Hawaii and decided that since I'm already going to take a bunch of photos with my daily driver (Pixel 3 XL), I might as well take some other phones and do a big camera comparison post. This won't be scientific or even very comprehensive, but it'll give you a great idea at how well or how not-so-well these phones perform in the point and shoot category. We've reviewed each of these devices individually already, with exception to the Mate 20 Pro, so if you're looking for a more detailed look at the cameras and software, check out our reviews. Reviews

If you just want to see what photos look like from each device, with absolutely no editing minus resizing, here you go. The order, not a ranking, is Galaxy Note 9 (top), followed by Pixel 3 XL (middle left), Mate 20 Pro (middle right), OnePlus 6T (bottom left), and RED Hydrogen One (bottom right).

4X Zoom

Night Shooting

Thoughts

So, after looking at all of these photos while uploading and choosing which ones to use, I have a couple of takeaways. The first one is somewhat funny, so I'll start with that. Don't buy the RED Hydrogen One. While in some shots it can keep up with the Pixel 3 XL and Galaxy Note 9, there are other photos that show off the camera's shortcomings. For me, it has one of the least accurate portrayals of what I saw in person, especially in terms of lighting and color. Also, in terms of usability, the camera app itself is still lacking while we continue to wait for RED to push out an update that brings a true Pro mode. For now, skip Hydrogen One. As for the most accurate, it's a bit of a toss up depending entirely on the shot itself. Pixel 3 XL excels in lower lighting, especially with the new Night Sight mode. I used OnePlus' Night Mode, too, but because it was such a windy night, you can see the outcome with the branches looking completely blurred out and the photo is unusable. The Pixel 3 XL not only brought in plenty of light, but the branches look decent enough if I wanted to share the photo on social media. If I was forced to choose one to keep in my pocket, it'd be between Pixel 3 XL and Galaxy Note 9. These cameras are easily the most versatile of the two, with excellent contrast, color reproduction, and overall clarity. I'd also like to extend props to OnePlus, because the 6T's camera kept up very well in my opinion during the trip. As for the Mate 20 Pro, it also shines in certain areas. When it comes to zooming in on things, it was great. However, the phone tends to over expose things when using the Auto shooting mode. If I was to do it over, I'd toggle down the brightness a bit on some shots. At the end of the day, I don't think you can go wrong with any of these phones, with exception to Hydrogen One. That phone just isn't ready for the public yet, something we discussed in our full review. For the other four, I can easily recommend them to folks looking for a phone with a great to excellent camera experience.

Google is Sending Pixel 3 and 3 XL Units to People That Can't be Bootloader Unlocked

Kellen — Wed, 21 Nov 2018 08:46:26 +0000

When you choose to buy a Google Pixel phone directly from the Google Store, like the Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL, some of you do so knowing that there are extra benefits. The biggest reason you do so is because you want the "unlocked" version, which is basically the Google version that ships without any worries of it being the "Verizon" version. That distinction is important because if you want to unlock the bootloader of your Pixel 3 (review) or Pixel 3 XL (review) and get to tinkering, the Google version is the only one that allows it. The Verizon version, because Verizon is a meanie face to freedom, won't let you do that. As shipments of the new Google phones have continued to flow into the hands of many, thanks in part to new deals like this BOGO 50%-off deal, some are finding that Pixel 3 and 3 XL devices they expected to have no attachment to Verizon aren't allowing bootloaders to be unlocked. Specifically, the "OEM unlocking" toggle within Developer Options is greyed out. There is a growing list of owners reporting the problem to Google's Issue Tracker, as well as a bunch of folks at XDA who are also chiming in. It's tough to say what the exact problem is, but it appears to be happening to both direct orders and replacement devices. When diving into the devices with "OEM unlocking" greyed out, users have noticed a string suggesting they were mistakenly or wrongly sent Verizon models of the 3 and 3 XL ("ms-android-verizon" instead of "ms-android-google").

Shop Verizon Black Friday Pixel 3 deals

Google support has told owners that a fix is in the works, likely through a software update. We've also reached out to Google looking for an official response and will update this post. I should point out that a similar situation unfolded with the Pixel 2 last year. Google eventually fixed it on their end, but factory resets were required from end users. If you are one of the unlucky few who received a non-unlockable device, keep an eye on this post as well as the links below. // Google Issue Tracker | XDA [2] Cheers Jake and Jeromy!

Google Play Black Friday Deals are Here!

Kellen — Wed, 21 Nov 2018 07:58:12 +0000

Google revealed its plans for Google Play and Black Friday week early this morning with deals on apps, games, movies, and more. Depending on your taste for entertainment, you are bound to find something here...maybe. You can find the link to all Google Play Black Friday deals below, but some of the best are:

$0.99 movie rentals on Thanksgiving only
80% off select games (Monument Valley, Final Fantasy Tactics, Trivia Crack)
$5 movies, other top movie discounts
Up to 50% off apps and subscriptions
Audiobooks under $10
Starz for $5/mo for three months

Ok, so these aren't great deals outside of the Thanksgiving rental deal and the movie discounts. Oh well. Google Play Link // Google

DEAL: Monument Valley, Monument Valley 2 Discounted to $1 on Google Play

Tim — Tue, 20 Nov 2018 13:41:34 +0000

If you still haven't played either Monument Valley title on your mobile device, now is the time. For a limited time, likely due to the holiday season, you can grab both titles at a $1 a piece. That's $2 in total for two of the better games to ever grace the mobile gaming platform. If you weren't aware, Monument Valley 2 is typically listed at $5, while the original is priced at $4. This is a good deal. Follow the links below to take advantage. Google Play Links

Google's Digital Wellbeing Exits Beta, Available to Pixel and Android One Phones

Kellen — Tue, 20 Nov 2018 13:06:25 +0000

Google's Digital Wellbeing, the suite of features that helps you disconnect from your phone or at least realize how addicted to it you are, is out of beta and now available to all Pixel and Android One phones as long as they are running Android 9 "Pie." If you haven't been running Digital Wellbeing yet, you'll find features like Wind Down, which turns your phone to greyscale at night as a reminder that you need to put the phone down until the next morning. Digital Wellbeing lets you set app timers, so that you can self-limit your YouTube or Instagram or Twitter usage, see general usage patterns, and tweak your do not disturb settings too. To grab it, hit that Google Play link below. Google Play Link

Assassin's Creed Rebellion Now Live for Android

Tim — Tue, 20 Nov 2018 12:39:30 +0000

The latest entry in the Assassin's Creed franchise is now available for download on Android and iOS devices, Assassin's Creed Rebellion. Considering it's a mobile game, I don't expect you'll find the same amount of immersion that comes with the console titles, though, the game still looks pretty enjoyable. According to the listing, you'll find access to over 40 characters, some old and some new, building a group of assassin to take on the Templars and an oppression taking place in Spain. As you play, you'll level up characters with new abilities, as well as build new rooms in your assassin mansion for training and crafting equipment. Ubisoft details that the game is free to download and play, though, there will be plenty of in-app purchase opportunities should you choose to use them. Have at it! Google Play Link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5PcQeFve0A

Report: Variant of Galaxy S10 to Offer 5G, Four Rear Cameras

Tim — Tue, 20 Nov 2018 11:11:49 +0000

Samsung's mobile phone business has been slumping in recent years according to the data, but it still holds the #1 position in the smartphone market. To help maintain its spot at the top, and to mark the upcoming tenth anniversary of the Galaxy S lineup, Samsung has something pretty special planned for 2019, according to a report from Wall Street Journal. From what WSJ reports, we can expect to see four phones early next year from Samsung, ranging in size from 5.8-inch to 6.7-inch, and at least one of the Galaxy S10 variants (the largest one) will come with 5G connectivity and six cameras in total (four on back, two on front). We've already heard a few Galaxy S10 tidbits from @evleaks, who mentioned we'll see a punch hole notch, as well as ultrasonic in-display fingerprint readers. While the idea of some ultra Galaxy S device with 5G and a ton of cameras is enticing, its release is said to be subject to 5G availability in the US. Thankfully, US carriers are currently in a race to see who can launch their 5G network first, with Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile showing great strides. Because of this, 2019 should be a pretty exciting year for the mobile space. So, to sum up what we think we know about Samsung's 2019 lineup, look to have up to four phones, with one of them sporting a 6.7" display, 5G connectivity, and six cameras. // Wall Street Journal

Fossil Sport Review: Nothing Special

Kellen — Tue, 20 Nov 2018 10:32:34 +0000

I wasn't originally going to take that deep of a look at the Fossil Sport after it was announced with a decent price point and the new Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100 on board, but you all talked me into it. So, I've spent the past week with one on the wrist, using it as a smartwatch, doing sport things, and trying to figure out if this is going to be the new default Wear OS watch everyone should consider. In short, I haven't actually been that pleased with the Fossil Sport. It's not doing anything particularly special, which is disappointing knowing that it runs the newest processor on the market. It's not awful, though, it's just not going to takeover and carry Wear OS into any sort of rebirth. Let's talk about it - this is our Fossil Sport review.

What is the Fossil Sport?

This new smartwatch from Fossil is a $255 Wear OS device that not only runs the new version of Wear OS, it's powered by the brand new Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100 platform. You can buy it in a variety of fun colors (red, blue, grey, and gold) with even more color choices in bands. The Fossil Sport is available in both 41mm and 43mm case sizes (I tested the 43mm), with easily swappable 18mm or 22mm straps, respectively. It features a 1.2" AMOLED display, 350mAh battery, heartrate monitor, NFC, GPS, 4GB storage, and is swimproof (5 ATM). On the 12mm thick case, you have two pushers on each side of a rotation crown button. Speaking of that case, it's basically all-plastic, so it is incredibly light. I don't know that I'd consider this an entry level Wear OS watch, but it is one of the cheaper you'll find, especially with the new Wear 3100.

What’s good, what’s bad about the Fossil Sport?

Design: I actually quite like the design of the Fossil Sport. It's round, has that racing watch style with the pushers and crown, and is a great size at 43mm or 41mm. It's only 12mm thick, so it sits nicely on the wrist, plus it's so light with the mostly-plastic case that you'll hardly know you are wearing it. I'm loving the multi-color approach from Fossil here, as it lets watch wearers show some personality and customize a bit. The Fossil Sport is definitely the "fun" Wear OS watch of the moment. Now, the watch is plastic, so it won't feel like a premium, all-metal watch that wears like a piece of jewelry. You really should think of this as a sport/fitness watch that's meant to be light, worn while working out or as your fitness accessory throughout the day. Sure, you could dress it up some by putting a metal band on it, but that might look ridiculously cheesy. Actually, it probably will. Overall, though, the Fossil Sport looks great as a casual Wear OS watch that can be worn daily, with almost anything, and that isn't big or heavy enough to get in your way.

Display: The Fossil Sport's 1.2" AMOLED display isn't awful or great, but probably somewhere in the middle. In sunlight, it will be hard for most people to see, the colors in the always-on display don't pop or standout as much as they did for me on the Montblanc Summit 2, and the extra bit of black bezel surrounding it might turn some off. The display doesn't appear to be that close to its cover glass either, which could be why I had some performance issues (see below). Other than those complaints, it's a fully-round display without a flat tire, is quite colorful, and gets the job done in most situations. There's just nothing remarkable about it. That's probably fine. Battery Life: Like with the Montblanc Summit 2 (review) and its Wear 3100 chip, you go into these new watches expecting battery greatness. But like that expensive Summit 2, the Fossil Sport is just average in battery life. The 350mAh battery lasts about as long as any Wear OS watch, which is about a full day. My typical schedule has me charging the Fossil Sport around 9AM, putting it back on wrist an hour later once it reaches 100%, then wearing it until the next morning. In between those hours I'm lightly checking notifications, the time, and the weather. I tend to get a workout in on most days, which could mean circuit or strength training, as well as a good run here and there. On days where I worked out (45-60 minute workouts), the Fossil Sport still lasted until the next morning (anywhere from 10-25% remaining). For the single run I was able to get in during testing, I hammered out 5.3 miles with both GPS and heartrate running at all times. That run took about 22% off my battery. For other workouts, the battery drop was less significant. Again, even with workouts, I was still getting a full 24 day out of the battery.

To get there, I turn off the tilt-to-wake gesture, but do leave on the always-on display. Since this watch is built to work with Google Fit, I also let it read heartrate throughout the day. On a related note, since this watch is a 3100-powered watch, it has Time Only Mode or whatever its called. It's really just a battery saver mode that turns everything off on the watch except the screen to allow it to act only as a watch. It's a useless feature unless you really are in a pinch, forgot your charger, and need to have a timepiece on your wrist. But this is a smartwatch, so why would you turn your Fossil Sport into a dumb watch just to get a couple of days use without the smarts? I don't know. So not 2-day or 3-day battery life, just a solid full day. That's fine, if you are used to charging a smartwatch everyday, but if you were hoping for some Wear 3100 magic, thanks to its low power co-processor, you won't find that here. GPS and Heartrate: The Fossil Sport does have both GPS and heartrate, which is good, since it's called the Fossil Sport. As I mentioned above, I was able to get out for a single run during testing, a 5.3 mile casual, crisp Portland Sunday morning jog. I used Strava's Wear OS app on the Fossil Sport while simultaneously running my Garmin Fenix 5 watch to compare. The GPS tracking of the Fossil Sport matched my Fenix 5. The Fossil Sport pegged my run at 5.25 miles and an 8:59 min/mile pace, with the Fenix 5 showing 5.29 miles and an 8:54 min/mi pace. That's pretty damn close, especially for a first run with the Sport. Even the mile breakdown was spot on, something that couldn't be said for the Summit 2 during run testing. As for the heartrate monitor, it's not one I'd fully trust. I've been thoroughly slacking in my running these days, so my heartrate has climbed from its normal rate during runs. Even so, the Fossil Sport showed for the first 2.5 miles that my heart was about to explode at 180+ bpm. It then began to fall for the final 3 miles, down to the 120s, yet the run became more difficult and I pushed through the finish. That just isn't a correct reading. My Fenix 5, on the other hand, showed a more realistic and consistent readout in the 160s as I settled in and then finished.

I used the Fossil Sport to track a bunch of non-running workouts too, with heartrate monitoring active in the Google Fit app. It kept better track during those times, showing the proper ups and downs between sets and rest periods. So it does work, I'm just not sure I'm ready to completely trust it during more intense or longer runs. And maybe the Strava app is to blame there, but the only fitness app that comes with the Fossil Sport is Google's Fit app. To recap, even though I only took the Fossil Sport on a single run, the GPS performance was good enough and matched my Garmin running watch. The heartrate stuff is something I just wouldn't look to seriously at. Typically, these casual fitness devices aren't meant to provide you with the best vital sign readings. Performance: I wouldn't say that the performance of the Fossil Sport is all that impressive. The Snapdragon Wear 3100 runs the same processor as the old Wear 2100, so there isn't going to be a performance boost, I guess I just hoped there would be one knowing that the Sport is running the newest of the new. The only real difference is the addition of a low power co-processor to help with battery life. For me, the Fossil Sport stutters while scrolling, doesn't load apps all that quickly, and is really slow to wake. Since I have tilt-to-wake turned off, the watch requires me to touch the screen or press a button to wake it. Almost every time I do that, I have to tap on the screen twice before it recognizes my finger and wakes. That's been pretty frustrating and discourages me from wanting to use it much.

Nothing happens particularly fast on this watch, ever. It takes seconds and seconds for the Alarm app to load or to pull up contacts in the Contacts app. When you do wake the phone after a second tap, the whole screen has to flash or refresh to get out of always-on mode and show you an active screen. That handoff seems to take far longer than it should. I'm borderline disappointed here in the performance department with the Fossil Sport, if you can't tell. Because of the price, I was hoping this little guy would step up, show true optimization, take advantage of the new chipset inside, and be the watch to recommend, but it's going to be tough with these stutters and slowness. Price: At $255, the Fossil Sport is probably properly priced. It's not ultra-expensive nor is it a budget-device, yet it contains everything you want in a smartwatch. It has the newest Wear OS processor, GPS, NFC, and heartrate sensor. It has a fully-round display with interchangeable watch bands, a good-looking round and slim case, and isn't a huge tank of a watch.

Other notes:

Sport Mode: Part of the deal with the Snapdragon Wear 3100 is a feature called Sport Mode that flips your watch into a low-power mode that allows you to workout for hours with GPS and heartrate and not use up much battery. That mode isn't here and we don't know if it ever will be. Fossil would likely have to update to it once Qualcomm releases it. We still don't know when that will be.
Rotating crown: The Fossil Sport features a rotating crown that lets you scroll through pages without having to touch the screen. It's a cool little addition that makes navigating the watch easier, similar to what we saw on the Summit 2.
Included band: The 22m band that Fossil includes with the Sport is about as cheap as it gets. It's a soft plastic or rubber that wears nicely, just don't expect the quality to blow your mind. That's no biggie, though, because there are plenty of watch bands out there that will fit it.

Unboxing and First Look

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4osCGF4h3A

Should you buy the Fossil Sport?

If you can get this Black Friday deal that drops the price by 30% to $178, sure. That's a good deal. Should you buy it at its full $255 price? Maybe...if you really like the look, are a fan of fun colors, aren't worried about the average battery life, and don't need the best display. I know that sounds kind of harsh, and I don't mean for it to, but this watch is just a load of average in a plastic case that's getting nothing extra out of the new chipset inside.

Buy Fossil Sport

DEAL: Woot has Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL (Refurbs) Starting at $419.99

Kellen — Tue, 20 Nov 2018 07:55:51 +0000

Woot has a Black Friday week deal I think you might be interested in - Pixel 2 or Pixel 2 XL as low as $419.99! Now, these are refurbished phones, which is why you are getting such a discount. The Pixel 2 with 64GB starts at $419.99, then jumps to $459.99 if you want 128GB. The Pixel 2 XL starts at $439.99 for 64GB and jumps to $469.99 with 128GB storage. For the Pixel 2, Woot has Clearly White and Just Black version; the Pixel 2 XL is available in Just Black and Black & White. The listing says that these are the US unlocked versions that work on both GSM and CDMA carriers, which means universal connectivity in the US, including Verizon support. This deal only lasts for a few hours or until they sell out. I'd guess that they'll sell out quickly. If you need to catch up before buying, our review is here.

Woot Pixel 2, 2 XL Deal Link

Cheers flosserelli!

Verizon's Black Friday Includes $400 Off Pixel 3, 3 XL, S9, S9+, and Note 9

Kellen — Tue, 20 Nov 2018 07:24:23 +0000

Verizon announced its Black Friday weekend deals this morning and if you were hoping to snag a top-tier Android phone, you are about to be in luck. Verizon will drop $400 off "the best Android phones," including the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, Galaxy S9, S9+, and Note 9, and LG V40 ThinQ.

Verizon's Best Black Friday Phone Deal

The $400-off deal (like Best Buy's) is the big one from Verizon on Black Friday, so it is temporary. In fact, it starts online Thursday (Thanksgiving) and runs through Friday, but that's it. The deal does not require you to trade in a current phone or add a new line. We are also under the impression that this deal will be available to both new customers and those upgrading. Of course, because this is a device payment plan deal, the $400 is spread out over the 24 months as bill credits. Again, you can get $400 off the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, Galaxy S9, S9+, and Note 9, and LG V40 ThinQ, but only on Thursday (11/22) or Friday (11/23). In addition to the $400-off promo, Verizon is dropping $200 off all of those same phones on Saturday and Sunday too, in case you miss out on the big one.

Verizon's Best Non-Phone Deal

Don't need a phone? Verizon is also hosting a connected device deal that drops $150 off connected devices, like a smartwatch or that silly new Palm non-phone. You will need to buy a smartphone first, though, to get the $150 discount. Eligible items include the Galaxy Watch, Samsung Gar watches, Apple Watch, and the Palm. The $150 arrives as a one-time bill credit.

Other Deals

According to other Verizon Black Friday info we've seen from an insider, Verizon will drop $100 off Android tablets on Thursday and Friday. Eligible devices include all Android tablets, as well as the Chromebook Plus and Galaxy Book 2. Over the weekend, this switches to a $50 off deal.

SHOP VERIZON HOLIDAY DEALS

// Verizon

OnePlus 6 Now Available for $429!

Kellen — Mon, 19 Nov 2018 23:54:05 +0000

The OnePlus 6 is now available for its Black Friday week deal! You can pick-up the earlier-2018 release from OnePlus for $100 off, dropping the starting price to $429. That's a great deal! Options and inventory likely won't last long, so you may want to hurry. As I mentioned in an earlier post, if you aren't a Verizon customer looking for a OnePlus, this might be the better of the two OnePlus phones released this year (our review). It has a headphone jack, better fingerprint reader, and is cheaper than the 6T. It's looking like OnePlus restocked the Red version, still has Silk White available, and has the standard Mirror and Midnight Black models with a couple of setups. For pricing, the cheapest is the 6GB RAM-64GB storage combo at $429. From there you've got 8GB RAM-128GB storage choices at $479, followed by the top dog with 8GB RAM and 256GB for $529.

Buy OnePlus 6, get $20 in accessories

NOTE: That is our referral link that gets you $20 in accessories. Our hope is to do something sweet for the DL community with all of the points should we get enough referrals.

Hisense H9E Plus Android TV Review

Kellen — Mon, 19 Nov 2018 16:39:08 +0000

Over the summer, just as the World Cup was kicking off, the folks at Hisense announced a new high-end line of 4K TVs with Android TV on board and asked if we'd be interested in reviewing one. While TVs are something we don't typically take a look at, having Android TV as the only operating system - as well as the reasonable price tag and set of features - was enough for us to get busy with a bit of testing. Specifically, I've been using the Hisense H9E Plus 55" with 4K resolution. They sell a 65" model as well, but for testing purposes, I didn't really have room for that bad boy and went with the smaller of the two. The two TVs are essentially identical outside of the size difference.

What should you know about the Hisense H9E Plus 55"?

For one, this TV can be had right now for around $600, which is kind of bonkers for the package you get. This is a 4K TV (3840x2160) that uses Hisense's ULED technology with features like Wide Color Gamut, HDR, Ultra Motion Rate 240 (native 120Hz), and a UHD Upscaler. It also supports both Dolby Vision and HDR10, and does 4K Casting, like Google's Chromecast Ultra. For specs, you've got 2x2 dual band 802.11ac WiFi plus a gigabit ethernet port, 4 HDMI ports, 2 USB ports, 1 RF sensor, 1 RCA composite input, and 1 Digital audio optical output.

It runs Android TV, as I just mentioned, without any other Hisense UI anywhere to be found. All settings for the TV are built into the Android TV experience, the only home UI you have is that of Android TV, and you get access to Google Play and Assistant. Everything is controlled with a Hisense Bluetooth remote that has a dedicated Google Assistant button, as well as shortcuts to Netflix, Google Play, Sling TV, YouTube, Fandango Now, and Tikilive. It's a dead simple remote, which is pretty on-trend for TV remotes at the moment. Finally, the TV comes with a stand, but I went ahead and tossed it on the mount I already had in my house while testing.

What's the Android TV and software experience like?

Hisense was one of the first companies to ship a TV with the new Android TV Oreo experience. In fact, in the summer when I first starting using the TV, it was already on Oreo out of the box with the new and improved layout. It hasn't picked up many updates since (still June security patch), but Google also hasn't really pushed out any to the platform that I'm aware of. The UI is arranged sort of like a TV guide where the channels on the home screen are the apps you have installed and content you may want to check out or have already been watching. You can customize this to an extent to show only specific apps and types of content. It's a massive improvement over the previous Android TV experience for finding quick content to watch. If you own an NVIDIA SHIELD TV, you know exactly how this all works. All of the TV apps you want are available: Netflix, Google Play Movies, HBO Now and Go, Hulu, ESPN, YouTube, YouTube TV, YouTube Kids, Sling, Starz, Disney Now, etc. Since Google Play is there, you can download other Android apps too, like Spotify, Nest, and any number of games. It's Android TV, which is pretty solid as a TV platform.

Hisense still gives you a number of settings to tweak for the TV too, even if it is all run through the Android TV UI. There are 7 picture modes (Vivid, Standard, Energy, Theater, Game, Sport, and Calibrated), manual controls over things like contrast and brightness and color, just like most TVs, some settings over motion enhancement, and noise reduction options. You have multiple sound profiles, timers, and more. Overall, the software experience is quite good if you are a fan of Android TV (I am). It's a bit stuttery here and there, though, and there are some annoying UI bugs (Ex: selecting apps often opens a weird menu rather than just opening the app), but it all works pretty well as the only software experience on the TV. I was worried that Hisense was going to combine their own TV software with Android TV in a bad way, yet they completely refrained from doing that. This is pure Android TV from what I can tell. That's important because an Android TV lets your TV act a bit like your phone, where you are in complete control. I've owned other "smart" TVs before that use their own software and suggest they support some apps like Netflix, yet are always half-baked, frustrating to navigate, and often don't support some of the more random apps I might want. This Hisense TV, with Android TV, has everything I need. If I want to pull up all of my Nest cameras, I can do that. If I want to check the weather on Google Assistant, I can. If I want to tell Google Assistant on my Google Home to open Stranger Things on Netflix on that Hisense TV, that's just a voice command away.

How's the picture quality?

Look, I'm not exactly the typical TV reviewer, but I think this 55" ULED 4K panel looks fantastic. This H9E Plus has that OLED-like color pop that wows during demos if you want it. You can drop the color profile to a more natural look too, optimize for sports, change the motion rate to match whatever you are watching, that sort of thing. The clarity, the sharpness, and the 4K experience are far better than I expected from a TV at this price point. Now, ULED is not OLED. In fact, ULED ("Ultra LED") is just a fancy spin on an LED panel that Hisense has named through improvements like support for Wide Color Gamut, Local Dimming, 4K, and Smooth Motion Rate. And that's why this TV is so much cheaper than an OLED TV, because it's not OLED. Like I just said, though, it looks great to me. I have a Sony 65" 4K Android TV with HDR that I bought in 2016 for $1,700 and the colors on this Hisense panel are far more appealing to my eye. A $600 TV crushing my supposed-high-end Sony TV from 2 years ago is a constant reminder why buying ridiculously expensive TVs is never really a smart idea.

Other notes:

Design: This Hisense H9E Plus is a nice looking TV. There isn't anything particularly exciting about the design, but the bezels are quite slim, with only a thin black border encasing the display. Hisense tells me that they did quite a bit of bezel slimming this year for this H9E Plus line. I will say that the marketing imagery are somewhat misleading in bezel representation. There is a good inch in bottom bezel and 3/4" on the left, right, and top, while promotional images try to show it as almost non-existent. It still looks fine while you are watching a movie or show or while the TV is doing its best to look pretty on your wall, just don't fall for that sneaky promos.
Sound: The four speakers (including two 10W speakers) on this TV are crazy loud if you want them to be. For built-in TV speakers, I've been impressed by the level of audio they put out. Sure, you aren't going to get a full surround sound experience or even soundbar quality sound, but the Harman Kardon system is quite good. Not only that, but with Bluetooth built-in, you can easily connect a soundbar or pair of your favorite headphones.
Remote: The remote is really cheaply made. It feels like cheap enough plastic that if you squeezed it hard enough or accidentally stepped on it, that you would crush it. The buttons aren't satisfyingly clicky by any means and are squished together in a way that caused me to constantly mix-up the home and down buttons, plus the permanent Fandango Now and Tikilive buttons are a head-scratchworthy decision. You don't often buy TVs for their remotes, so even if this one is pretty cheap, I wouldn't worry too much about it.
2nd review unit: The H9E Plus I'm reviewing here is actually the second unit I've had from Hisense. The first had some sort of issue where the TV would take a long time to wake up from being asleep and also struggle to stay connected to my home WiFi. Hisense assured me that this wasn't a widespread problem and sent me a new unit to test. I haven't had those issues with this unit.

Should you buy one?

If I was in the market for a new TV, had a sub-$1000 budget, and don't necessarily care about having a TV that says "Samsung" or "Sony" or "LG" on the front, then yeah. For $600, you get a 55" 4K TV with a really nice picture, all of the fancy TV technologies you'll want going forward (Dolby Vision, HDR10, Wide Color Gamut, etc.), and Android TV powering it. Buy Hisense H9E Plus 55": Amazon | Best Buy | Walmart

Samsung EVO Select MicroSD Cards are So Cheap Right Now: 128GB for $19.99

Kellen — Mon, 19 Nov 2018 14:01:50 +0000

Samsung EVO Select microSD cards are at all-time low prices right now, thanks to Black Friday 2018 deals. Amazon currently has 256GB, 128GB, 64GB, and 32GB cards from Samsung, all with insane price drops. The 256GB Samsung EVO Select card is just $44.99, 128GB card is $19.99 (!), 64GB card is $10.99, and the 32GB card is $5.99. What the hell, man? How is removable storage this cheap now and why would anyone ever think about paying more than this?

Buy Samsung EVO Select MicroSD Cards

LG's Hybrid Wear OS Watch W7 Disaster Drops to $249.99 ($200 Off)

Kellen — Mon, 19 Nov 2018 13:07:25 +0000

The LG Watch W7, a watch that sounded like an interesting idea on paper, but is one of the most baffling product releases in recent memory because of its obvious flaw, has been discounted by $200 at Best Buy to $249.99. Is that a deal? Honestly, I don't know, but it is a price drop! The W7, for those not familiar, is a hybrid Wear OS watch. LG's implementation of that idea was to create a Wear OS watch with mechanical hands that lay over the top of a round touch screen. Look at the picture above and tell me that doesn't look nice. It does! However, in use, those mechanical hands cover up incoming notifications and other information at almost all times, even though LG tried to work around this issue with a button press that shuffles the screen some. Watch faces also don't work great here, because they don't know what the hell to do with mechanical hands, so you get mechanical hands moving on top of digital hands. It's a disaster of an idea. In addition to that mess, the watch still runs the older Snapdragon Wear 2100, doesn't have GPS, heartrate monitoring, or NFC, is on the larger side at 45mm, and has a small 240mAh battery. LG initially wanted $450 for it. I think it's also pretty obvious at this point that LG has no plans to push this thing and might be embarrassed of it. Not a single publication has reviewed this watch, and trust me, we asked for a unit. There are a couple of reviews of it at Best Buy, but they certainly are not good. The W7 might be one of the biggest flops in recent memory. However, at $250, thanks to that $200 discount, should you consider it? Probably not, no.

Best Buy Link

Google Posts November Security Patch for Pixel and Pixel XL

Kellen — Mon, 19 Nov 2018 12:07:15 +0000

We aren't sure what the hold-up was, but Google finally posted the November Android security patch for the original Pixel and Pixel XL today. The builds arrive as PPR1.181005.003.A1 (Telus only) and PPR2.181005.003.A1 (all others). You can grab each image or OTA file at the links below. For instructions on how to flash a factory image, here you go. For instructions on how to flash an OTA .zip file, here you go. To check for the update, head into Settings>System>Advanced>System update. Links:

Anyone Buy the Essential Audio Adapter HD?

Kellen — Mon, 19 Nov 2018 11:54:28 +0000

Essential's Audio Adapter HD went up for sale a week ago and immediately sold out, even at $149. It has now restocked, for those who missed out, but I just want to know one thing about - did you buy one? Not that I'm questioning why you would buy one, I'm just wondering if you did. And if so, is it great? Is it worth it? How's the sound quality? How's the snapping onto to the phone part? Does it make you wish for more accessories from Essential? Is it as pretty as the pictures make it look? Buy Essential Audio Adapter HD

Is the Verizon Pixel 3 Getting RCS Support Tomorrow? (Updated: "Early 2019")

Kellen — Mon, 19 Nov 2018 11:42:15 +0000

UPDATE: This could be a coincidence, but Verizon is hosting a big RCS event on November 15, the day after RCS is supposedly going live on Pixel 3. Samsung and Google are supposed to provide updates on the platform, plus AT&T and Deutsche Telekom will be there too. I get the feeling something is going down.
UPDATE 11/14: Today is the day and we've heard nothing from Verizon. We'll update this post if anything changes.
UPDATE 11/19: Verizon held its RCS event and only said that RCS will arrive in "early 2019."

RCS is supposed to be the future of messaging across the globe when you aren't using an iPhone or iMessage. It's supposed to be the "Universal Profile" of messaging that lets you send cross-carrier beautiful high-res imagery over SMS, have bigger group chats, see when someone is typing, etc. The rollout has been painfully slow, though, mostly because carriers seem unwilling to speed up adoption. Sprint was one of the first to do so, while T-Mobile followed, only to enable it on a couple of old Samsung phones. Verizon and AT&T will at some point, they just won't commit to any sort of time line. With that said, reddit users are under the impression that RCS (rich communication services) is coming to the Verizon Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL tomorrow, November 14. Is it really coming? Well, in general, the Verizon subreddit is filled with Verizon employees who aren't shy about sharing information. When a Verizon business customer yesterday posted a screenshot of his bill showing a "GOOGLE RCS SOLUTION ON PIXEL 3" feature, replies acknowledged that Big Red had told employees internally that RCS was indeed launching for Pixel 3 on November 14. Another Verizon customer also said he was in a Verizon store and supposedly heard employees talk about it. We reached out to Verizon yesterday to see if they would tell us anything and they simply acknowledged (again) that they will support RCS, but still have not announced a timeline for rollout. At this point, that's all we can go with. We have Verizon reps on reddit saying that RCS is coming tomorrow and official Verizon PR not denying or confirming that it's coming. If anything, we'll know tomorrow.

Best Buy Will have Verizon Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL at $400 Off For 2 Days Only (Updated)

Kellen — Mon, 19 Nov 2018 11:11:17 +0000

Best Buy has already told us about most of its Black Friday 2018 deals, including discounts on the Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, and Pixel 2 XL. But they may be holding out on revealing one more deal on the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL that could get you an even bigger price cut. According to a flyer posted up in Best Buy stores, the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL will have a $400 price drop on Thursday and Friday of this week only.

UPDATE: DEAL IS LIVE AT BEST BUY!

The previously announced deal was a $200 drop on the Pixel 3 and 3 XL for most of this week, as well as a $400 drop on the Pixel 2 XL. This semi-secretive deal is (obviously) better for the Pixel 3 and 3 XL, assuming you are able to take advantage. The reader who sent this image in tells us that the Best Buy store made it sound like supplies at this price will be limited. Here is a picture of the flyer:

Worried that this is a typo on Best Buy's part? There are terms at the bottom of the image we received that you can see below. They specifically call out the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL as being $400 off on 11/22-11/23, just as the image above says. That price drop brings the Pixel 3 XL to a starting price of $499.99 and the Pixel 3 to $399.99. Good prices, for sure! The only catch is that you have to activate with Verizon and sign-up for a device payment plan. But with the massive reduction in overall price, the monthly payments should be pretty low.

To see if your local Best Buy is participating, you might want to give them a ring or stop by. This is the best Pixel 3 deal we've seen so far for Black Friday.

Best Buy Links: Pixel 3 | Pixel 3 XL

NOTE: Specified Verizon in the title, since it's now clear that not everyone knows that Best Buy only sells Verizon Pixel phones and has done so for 3 straight years now. Cheers Jonathan!

DEAL: 30% Off Fossil Store Black Friday Sale Gets You a New Fossil Sport for $178.50

Kellen — Mon, 19 Nov 2018 09:47:27 +0000

It's only Monday yet the Black Friday 2018 deals are flowing steady, some that you might want to jump on immediately. For example, if you want a Wear OS watch, Fossil is running a 30% off deal that'll get you a Fossil Sport for just $178.50 ($76.50 off). That's a crazy deal on their newest watch, which also happens to be one of the first to run the new Snapdragon Wear 3100. It's not just a 30% discount on the Fossil Sport, though. A Fossil Explorist HR Gen 4 or Venture HR Gen 4 drops from $275 to $192.50, plus accessories and almost any other good on Fossil's store gets the 30% off.

How do you get 30% off at Fossil? Just use code "BLKFRIDAY" at checkout. That's it.

Shop Fossil Smartwatches

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4osCGF4h3A Cheers Ian!

DEAL: OnePlus 6 Will be $100 Off Tomorrow! (Updated: Live!)

Kellen — Mon, 19 Nov 2018 08:58:23 +0000

OnePlus doesn't discount its phones often, but plans to do so tomorrow, November 20. You'll be able to buy the OnePlus 6 at $100 off, dropping the starting price to just $429. Well, that's assuming they are dropping the lowest model, which they didn't specifically say.

UPDATE: It's now available for $429!

Either way, the OnePlus 6 (review), which is arguably a better phone than the newly released OnePlus 6T (review), will drop to an insanely low price. Why is it better than the 6T? It still has a headphone jack, it has a reliable fingerprint reader in a familiar spot, comes in super hot red, and matches all other 6T specs outside of battery size. Honestly, I'd probably buy it over the 6T unless I was a Verizon customer. The deal goes live at 3AM Eastern (12AM Pacific). Once it does, we'll let you know which models, colors, etc. are discounted.

Buy OnePlus 6, get $20 in accessories

NOTE: That is our referral link that gets you $20 in accessories. Our hope is to do something sweet for the DL community with all of the points should we get enough referrals.

https://twitter.com/OnePlus_USA/status/1064533757665849344

DEAL: Amazon Matches Samsung's $200 Off Galaxy S9, S9+, and Note 9 Deal

Kellen — Mon, 19 Nov 2018 08:30:50 +0000

Samsung's Black Friday 2018 deals kicked off yesterday with a $200 price drop on the Galaxy Note 9, Galaxy S9, and Galaxy S9+. Today, Amazon went ahead and matched them, giving you another spot to upgrade to the latest from Samsung and get it incredibly quickly through Amazon Prime. If you head over to Amazon, you'll find the Galaxy S9, S9+, and Note 9 all at $200 discounts in all colors and all storage sizes. The S9 and S9+ can be had with 64GB, 128GB, or 256GB storage, while the Note 9 comes with 128GB or 512GB. Black, purple, and blue choices are there, just not the new silver Note 9. Best price yet on Samsung's phones!

Amazon Samsung Deal Links:

Galaxy Note 9 ($799.99)
Galaxy S9 ($519.99)
Galaxy S9+ ($639.99)

LG's XBOOM AI ThinQ WK9 Smart Display Arrives, is Already Discounted to $200

Kellen — Mon, 19 Nov 2018 08:17:01 +0000

LG first showed off its upcoming Google Assistant-powered Smart Display device back at CES in January along with JBL and Lenovo, two companies who have been selling their own Smart Displays for months. LG's almost arrived months and months ago, but today, the company finally made the device officially available. It's called the - this is not a joke - LG XBOOM AI ThinQ WK9. That's the name of LG's Smart Display. The device will cost around $300 on most days, but for the holidays, LG appears to be discounting it to $200. As of right now, no one really has it for sale, outside of a listing on LG's site, as well as on B&H Photo's store. What should you know about the XBOOM AI ThinQ WK9? It has an 8-inch HD touch screen, 2 channel speaker output at 20W, 5MP front camera for video calls, WiFi, and Bluetooth. It comes in all-black, looking like a big black box of blandness (which could be good in most homes!). The 20W speakers with Meridian technology are "the most powerful offered in a smart speaker," according to LG. Nice.

// LG

T-Mobile OnePlus 6T Gets Its First Update

Kellen — Sun, 18 Nov 2018 08:06:56 +0000

The T-Mobile OnePlus 6T (review) is picking up its first update this weekend. This is the update that the unlocked 6T received on day 1. The update (version A6013_34_181029, 132.3MB) includes the November Android security patch, fine tuning to Nightscape mode in the camera, an algorithm update to the in-display fingerprint reader, and the new Gesture Mode 2.0. We knew that T-Mobile's OnePlus 6T was going to get software updates after the unlocked 6T, so this first update gives us an idea as to how long that delay might be. A week isn't the end of the world, but it is something you should be aware of. To check for it, head into Settings>System>System updates>Check for updates.

Cheers Srinivas!

Black Friday Deal: Google Pixelbook Drops by $300, Starts at $699

Kellen — Sun, 18 Nov 2018 07:47:21 +0000

The Google Pixelbook, the computer I'm pretty sure everyone should buy if they could just get over the the negative thoughts about paying $1,000 for a Chromebook, is now discounted by $300 for Black Friday 2018. We're talking all models too. The starting price for the Google Pixelbook is now $699, which includes an Intel Core i5 with 8GB RAM and 128GB SSD. If you want to double the storage to 256GB, while keeping the same Core i5 and 8GB RAM, you jump to $899. And if you want the fully spec'd out Pixelbook with Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM, and 512GB SSD, you are looking at $1,349. I don't know why you would need that version, but it is discounted. What's so good about the Pixelbook? It just runs flawlessly. ChromeOS is no longer "just a browser operating system" or whatever people's previous complaints about it was. It runs Android apps, works more and more like a traditional computer all of the time, folds into a tablet, has solid battery life, gives you quick keyboard access to Google Assistant, has an amazing touch display, gets updates all of the time, and looks great. But maybe more importantly, Chromebooks like this just don't slow down. My wife and I used Google's first two Chromebook Pixel devices for years and never saw a hiccup on either. She's now full-time on a Pixelbook for work managing a new business venture and it does every single thing she needs. What doesn't a Pixelbook do? Video editing. If you need to do any sort of semi-heavy lifting in the video editing department (Adobe Premiere, Final Cut, etc.), you won't find that here. All of the Android video editing apps are 100% garbage, I don't care what anyone tells you. And yes, I've tried them all. Other than that, the Pixelbook does it all. $300 off is a good, good deal.

Google Pixelbook Deal Links:

Samsung Black Friday Deals Now Live: Up to $300 Off Galaxy Note 9, S9, and S9+

Kellen — Sun, 18 Nov 2018 07:25:37 +0000

Samsung Black Friday 2018 deals are now live to kick off the start of this holiday shopping week. Those deals include a straight $200 discount on their top Galaxy phones, including the Galaxy Note 9, Galaxy S9, and Galaxy S9+. Smartwatches are discounted heavily too, as are many accessories, tablets, and TVs.

UPDATE: Amazon matched the $200 price drops!

Galaxy Note 9, Galaxy S9, and Galaxy S9+

Buy Galaxy Note 9 | Buy Galaxy S9, S9+

There are multiple potential Black Friday discounts here on the Galaxy Note 9 and S9. First, you have the straight $200 discount on unlocked models, as well as those from AT&T, T-Mobile, and US Cellular. That drops the Note 9 to a starting price of $799.99, Galaxy S9 to $519.99, and Galaxy S9+ to $639.99. Verizon's versions are only $100 off, but Sprint's are $300 off. Now, on top of the discount, Samsung's best-in-the-business trade-in program is there too. That could get you up to $300 off instantly depending on the phone you have to trade-in. And yes, the discount really does come off today, you just send your old phone in once your new one arrives to confirm to Samsung you weren't lying. Also, all storage models are discounted from 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB.

Samsung Galaxy Watches

Buy Samsung Smartwatches

Samsung's entire line-up of smartwatches has been discounted for Black Friday, which means up to $100 off. The new Galaxy Watch is $259.99 ($70 off), Gear S3 is $100 off in all models and sizes, as is the Gear Sport. Finally, the Gear Fit2 is $50 off.

Samsung Accessories

For Samsung accessory Black Friday deals, there are a lot.

Gear IconX - $129.99 ($50 off)
Fast Charge Wireless Charging Pad (2-Pac) - $39.99 ($60 off)
Wireless Charger Pad Slim - $14.99 ($20 off)
Fast Charge Wireless Charge Stand - $29.99 ($30 off)
AKG N60 Noise Cancelling Headphones - $179.99 ($120 off)
AKG N200 Wireless Headphones - $89.99 ($60 off)

Samsung TVs

We don't cover TVs often, so I'm not going to tell you much about Samsung's TVs, but their new QLED screens are up to $1,500 off.

Buy Samsung QLED TVs

Google Store's BOGO-50% Off Pixel 3, 3XL Deal is Live

Kellen — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 13:18:19 +0000

The first of Google's Black Friday 2018 deals is now live on the Google Store. If you don't want to wait for the straight $150-$200 discount on Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL that arrives next week, the BOGO-50% off deal is available. Starting today and running through 11/21, if you buy a Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL, you'll get up to 50% off a second Pixel 3 or 3 XL. There isn't really a catch here from what I can tell. The only thing to note is that the second phone must include a Pixel 3 or 3 XL and be of equal or lesser value than the first phone. So choose the first phone wisely.

RELATED: Google Store Black Friday 2018 deals

You don't need to sign a 3-year contract or add additional lines or any of that shady business that T-Mobile is hawking these days. Basically, you just need to have the cash to pay for 1.5 Pixel 3/3 XL phones. Google Store Link

T-Mobile Now Trying to Lock You Into 3-Year Contracts With Bad Holiday "Deals"

Kellen — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 12:59:36 +0000

The holidays are here and so we're seeing a bunch of borderline-horrible deals pop-up at all of our favorite carriers. For example, Verizon is doing a BOGO-like deal that requires you to add a new line in order to get a free phone. They won't just let you upgrade two current lines and "thank you" for being a current customer. No, they want you to add a new line and then sign a 2-year payment contract, which is a garbage play on their part. But forget Verizon because it's T-Mobile who now has the worst holiday deal of them all. A month ago, we noticed that T-Mobile was now offering a 36-month equipment installment plan (EIP) for the Galaxy Note 9, a phone that could probably use some spread for its payments because it's quite expensive. Overall, though, we aren't fans of 36-month EIPs because they are 3-year contracts. No one should have to commit to a wireless carrier for that long because 3 years is an eternity in technology years. (Note: T-Mobile tells us that you can pay your phone off early if you want out before 3 years) We thought T-Mobile may only offer this new 36-month plan for select phones, but they are now pushing it into their holiday "deals" and seem fully invested in switching to them for most phones. If you buy a Samsung Galaxy S9 or iPhone Xr from T-Mobile today, they'll tell you that they'll try and cover the cost of it as long as you follow a whole bunch of special orders. In order to get the phone cost covered, you'll have to activate 2 lines (or be a customer and add 1 new line), plus trade-in a phone from a specific list of eligible phones where they'll give you "up to $750." Oh, and you'll have to sign-up for a 3-year EIP that I just talked about. So the breakdown of this "deal" is that T-Mobile will force you into a 36-month or 3-year ~~contract~~ EIP for an S9 or Xr, ask you to trade in your current phone, which they'll give you "Fair Market Value" for before applying that value to your account in bill credits. You will then pay the rest of the phone off via bill credits over the remaining months that your trade-in didn't cover. Oh, and none of those credits start until 1-2 billing cycles have ended. Good lord, this is a shitty deal. T-Mobile is running similar deals for the OnePlus 6T and V40, where they'll give you choices between 2-year and 3-year contracts, but they are still requiring 2 lines to be activated (just 1 new one for current customers). What phone are we supposed to use on this 2nd line, T-Mo? Oh right, you probably hope that people fork out more money to you for another phone. Got it. So smart. Hey, T-Mobile, this isn't Canada. We don't do 3-year contracts. Cut this shit out.

Google's Budget Pixel 3 "Sargo" May Have Just Been Outed

Kellen — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 10:27:52 +0000

A Pixel 3 Lite, already?

It looks like the Russians have struck again, this time by outing the yet-to-be-released-or-announced budget Pixel 3 that has been rumored recently. A device under the codename "sargo" has appeared in a massive leak, revealing almost all of its details. The leak arrives from Rozetked, the same site that did a whole bunch of Pixel 3 and 3 XL leaking. The device they have their hands on looks like a prototype ("Pixel 3 Lite"), similar to that first Pixel 3 XL prototype we saw, with weird logo in place of the "G" you see above. So what is this "sargo" Pixel 3? According to this leak, it features a 5.56" IPS FHD display (2220x1080), Snapdragon 670 processor (Adreno 615 GPU), 32GB UFS 2.1 storage, 4GB RAM, 2915mAh battery, 12MP rear camera, 8MP front camera, rear fingerprint reader, and a headphone jack. Seriously, this phone has a headphone jack.

It looks a lot like a Pixel 3, only with a smaller profile, bigger bezels, a headphone jack, and possibly a different exterior material. In fact, that looks almost like an all plastic build, rather than glass. The leak also mentions that "bonito" is another in-the-works budget Pixel 3 and that it may feature a Snapdragon 710. We've heard that name before. What do you guys think about this? How much would you pay for this device? // Rozetked

OnePlus 6T Review: Still the Value Buy

Kellen — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 09:07:28 +0000

The OnePlus 6T is the biggest launch yet for the one-time underdog out of China. After years of selling their phones directly and unlocked, OnePlus has now found a carrier partner (T-Mobile) and also opened up their phone to usage on Verizon's network here in the US. So even though the hardware isn't a massive upgrade over the OnePlus 6, which was released only a few months ago, the reach for the OnePlus 6T is a big, big deal. But we're not necessarily here to talk about how big some carrier deals and connectivity are for OnePlus. We're here to tell you if the OnePlus 6T is the phone you should buy. In short, the OnePlus 6T remains the king of value. The OnePlus 6T isn't the best phone you can buy, though, but it is a really good one. Let's dive deeper in - this is our OnePlus 6T review.

The Good

Specs Overall, the specs list for the OnePlus 6T is right up there with the best of them. You've got a big full HD display, Snapdragon 845 processor, 6GB or 8GB RAM, 128GB or 256GB storage, big 3700mAh battery, dual rear camera setup (20MP + 16MP), front 16MP camera, NFC, in-display fingerprint reader, fast WiFi, and Android 9 underneath OyxgenOS. What's missing? Not much. The 6T doesn't have a headphone jack, like so many others these days, there's no wireless charging, which isn't really a dealbreaker omission, and the display isn't Quad HD, but is that really that big of a deal? There's no microSD slot, though the 128GB and 256GB built-in UFS 2.1 storage should be plenty for most. It doesn't have stereo speakers either. And that's pretty much it. It's missing a couple of things, but what you do get for the price seems pretty spot on when compared to other top tier phones.

Display The 6.41" 1080p AMOLED on the OnePlus 6T is a good one. Some may not be fans of anything less than QHD these days, but 1080p is totally fine to me. That's plenty of detail, even with this large of a display, and the potential battery savings are worth the reduction in pixels. OnePlus includes 5 different screen calibration modes, so every single person should be able to find a setup that looks good to their eye (I just stuck with "Default"). On top of that, you've got night and reading modes, as well as brightness levels that get perfectly dark at night and bright enough during the day. Viewing angles are good too. OnePlus also included a baby teardrop notch on the display that is so subtle, I haven't really noticed it during the past week or so of testing. That's worth pointing out, since I've come from the Pixel 3 XL which constantly reminds you it has a notch, thanks to the double thick disaster that Google included. OnePlus made all the right moves with this 6T display. Battery Life OnePlus has (rightfully) taken some flack for ditching the headphone jack in this phone, but they said that it allowed them to increase battery capacity over the OnePlus 6. And they did that, which has let this phone to turn into a battery god. Battery life on the OnePlus 6T is stupid good. The 3700mAh battery in this phone easily lasts me a day and a half. As you'll see from the battery screenshots, those off-the-charger numbers show usage over 30+ hours most days before I'm around 20% and looking for the phone's fast charger. 30+ hours! On any other phone I've used this year, if I was to push 4-5 hours of screen on time with a phone, it would be struggling to get me to bed at night. With the OnePlus 6T, that is never a worry.

On top of the good battery life, once that battery does drain, OnePlus gives you one of their fast chargers, which fast charges phones faster than any fast charger I've come across. I don't have the numbers on how quickly it charger, but it sure seems like the phone only sits plugged in for a few minutes before it's quickly back up to 50%, then 75%, then fully charged. OnePlus did leave out wireless charging again, but the combination of the battery life with their industry-leading quick charging system is good enough for me. Software and Performance Like almost all other OnePlus phones, the OnePlus 6T has both great software and killer performance. The software is a good mix of what Google pushes as its Android experience, but then OnePlus tops it off with a bit of its own flavor and features. They then make that flavor of Android run incredibly quickly using ample amounts of RAM (6GB or 8GB) and the Snapdragon 845 inside. For software, the OnePlus 6T runs Android 9 "Pie" out of the box with OxygenOS 9 on top of it. I'm not really sure where to start as far as how good this is and what it is that makes it so good, so I'll just start listing off features I like. I like the off-screen gestures that let you quickly launch any app or turn your flashlight off and on. I like the dark or light themes with custom accent color choices. I like the reading mode on top of the night mode, the multiple navigation choices that let you go with buttons or gestures, the audio tuner and vibration strength adjuster, the quick face unlock on top of the fingerprint scanner, gaming mode, scheduled power on/off, and the status bar icon manager. The list could go on too, but I don't want you to be here all weekend.

OnePlus packs all of that into a phone OS that still looks very much like Android. It's a feature list that compares to what Samsung and LG do, except they do it without throwing on a custom skin that makes you want to vomit. OnePlus continues to produce one of the best Android experiences you'll find. As far as performance goes, all of that RAM and the 845 really do make for a quick phone. It holds apps in memory long enough to help with app switching and there are almost no stutters ever. It's fast. You can get things done. It feels stable at all times. And OnePlus seems to really care about software at this point, which means they'll likely take care of any issues that could pop up. Hardware and Design The OnePlus 6T is a well made and designed phone, like the 6 was. It continues that OnePlus aesthetic we're so used to, with the soft curve to the rear panel, metal frame, and proper button placement. They've really stepped things up, though, thanks the stretching of the display and decreasing the notch size down to a baby teardrop. This phone certainly looks like the future most manufacturers are trying to get to, yet here we are at the end of 2018 and OnePlus is there. The 6T has a nice weight to it, but I'd argue that it is borderline too big. This phone is almost the same size as the Pixel 3 XL, which is large. If you like big phones, this probably won't offend you, but if you were looking for something more in line with the Galaxy S9 or Pixel 3, this isn't it. It's a two-handed phone that can be difficult to use with just one.

As far as finishes go, I'm a big fan of the Midnight Black over the Mirror Black. I like matte finishes more than glossy reflective ones, and that's mostly because the OnePlus 6 I tested was Mirror and the fingerprint situation there was too much for me to handle. Hopefully, we see OnePlus continue to test the waters with additional colorways beyond the newest Thunder Purple edition, which (if I'm being brutally honest) is below OnePlus' standards. But look, moving the fingerprint reader back to the front, trimming that notch, and seemingly reducing that chin has made for an impressive-looking phone. When sitting next to the Pixel 3 XL, I'm sure it's laughing deep inside. Price, Availability, Connectivity As I mentioned in the opening, this is a huge phone for OnePlus. You can buy it at T-Mobile or directly from their own store. It works on Verizon and AT&T too, so you've got the three major US carriers covered, opening up the phone to a whole new wave of customers. And on top of that, it starts at just $549 and tops out at $629, still hundreds less than the phones it's competing against. This is the best value in smartphones even as OnePlus continues to raise prices. The list of specs I ran through, the enjoyable software experience, the absolutely incredible battery life, the good enough display, and the premium design all add up to a phone that so many of you should consider.

Buy OnePlus 6T, get $20 in accessories

Somewhere-in-the-Middle

In-Display Fingerprint Reader I've got to be straight with you guys - this in-display fingerprint reader isn't that great. I'm sure this will be the future of fingerprint readers and they'll continue to get better, but the OnePlus 6T's leaves a lot to be desired. To recap, the big innovation for the 6T is the move into in-display fingerprint readers. The fingerprint reader sits below the front display and uses light to scan your finger in order to match-up to one you've trained it to recognize. It works, just not that quickly or reliably, plus the light beam it requires to work can be obnoxious in dark situations. My issues here are that in order to work, you have to first wake the phone on some level. Unlike the fingerprint reader on the backs of phones, which let you scan your finger when the phone is locked and asleep, an in-display fingerprint reader needs the display to wake up. You can do this somewhat easily by telling the 6T to wake when you move, lift, or tap the phone. With that feature enabled, it uses a half-baked always-on display type of experience to at least show the clock, notifications, and get the fingerprint reader ready for reading.

Now, I've retrained the fingerprint reader on my 6T 2-3 times now and they still don't read every single time with the quickness I'm used to. The angle of my finger placement seems obnoxiously important, it struggles to read as the room darkness around you increases, and more often than not I feel like I'm leaving my finger on the screen for seconds at a time hoping it scans properly. I actually think that the performance of it worsened after the phone's first update, which was supposed to improve the fingerprint reader. You guys know that I'm all for technology that takes steps away from normal patterns and removes barriers while maintaining security. This particular fingerprint reader does not do that just yet, unfortunately. So look, I like the idea of an in-display fingerprint reader, but I think I'd rather just reach to the back of a phone to unlock with a traditional reader until these in-display joints get better. Camera This OnePlus 6T camera might not be very good either. The camera app is slick and has a good amount of features, though, so there's that. And as far as the app itself goes, it really does have everything from auto and portrait modes to time lapse, slow motion, and pro. The video can be cranked all of the way up to 4K at 60fps, Google Lens is built in, it launches quickly, and I didn't have any issues with focus. I have no complaints in the 6T camera software department.

But look at these photos real quick.

Is it me or do these all just look dull, lifeless, and with horrible processing? I'm probably spoiled coming from the Pixel 3 right before this, but this is not very impressive for a phone with specs that look as they do on paper. The combination of 16MP and 20MP shooters at f/1.7 sounds nice, right? What are they doing together, though? What benefit are we getting if this is what they are producing? Here's an example of a Pixel 3 photo next to a OnePlus 6T photo. See how the exposure is out of whack on the 6T and doing this hazy background texture, while also going nuts with edge processing on everything not in focus? And the red of the earbuds case is washed out, not the vibrant red that it really is and that you see in the Pixel 3 shot.

Pixel 3 vs. OnePlus 6T

Look, the bells and whistles are there and OnePlus will likely continue to incrementally improve the camera experience. I just don't know that you should ever expect greatness from this setup. Just know that you are buying the OnePlus 6T because of price, performance, software, and design, not because it has the best camera.

The Not-so-Good

It's not really an upgrade I know that OnePlus is trying to bring us the future with its in-display fingerprint reader, reducing display notches, and killing headphone jacks, but this phone really doesn't feel like any sort of upgrade over the OnePlus 6, which was released only a few months ago. This is very much in line with the 3T release after the 3, rather than the 5T after the 5 - that's not necessarily a good thing. I'd argue that if you aren't on Verizon and want a OnePlus phone, that you should consider the 6. The 6 has a better fingerprint reader, a headphone jack, and comes in a stupidly pretty red color. It has the same software experience and camera, is slightly smaller, and is available with the same RAM and storage setups. It also starts at $20 less.

Video

Unboxing and First Look https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaaKvnG-Jg4 First 10 Things to Do https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPiTPAEqexM

Gallery

The Verdict

If your budget is around $600, the OnePlus 6T is going to be a great buy. This is the value phone still to this day, and not just because it's cheaper than the phones it competes with. The OnePlus 6T is legitimately a good phone with impressive hardware, almost all the specs you need, great software and performance, a solid display, and battery life that few can match. It now works on Verizon, is sold at T-Mobile, and has an in-display fingerprint reader, which is super cool. Now, that new fingerprint reader tech is somewhat frustrating to use, the headphone jack is gone, and the camera isn't even close to being the best in the business, but the rest probably makes up for those areas. Again, this is a sub-$600 phone. For that price, what the 6T offers is nothing short of amazing. Go buy one, unless your budget is sky high and you can afford a Pixel 3 XL or Galaxy Note 9.

Buy OnePlus 6T, get $20 in accessories

Verizon Now Lets You Buy Multiple Phone Numbers for $15/mo

Kellen — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 07:54:16 +0000

Verizon introduced a new service today called Verizon My Numbers. The whole idea of this monthly add-on is to let you add up to 4 extra phone numbers to your phone without actually needing an entirely separate line, like you would in the past. Let me try to explain that. With Verizon My Numbers, you have your normal phone number that's attached to your account, but what if you want a separate business line or for that "side hustle," yet don't want to pay for a separate line that could cost $30 or $50? My Numbers is an app that lets you pay $15/mo per number to have access to another phone number or 4 on your phone. Verizon says that the messages and calls to those other numbers are all synced across up to 5 smartphones that have the My Numbers app, plus you can customize the name, icon, notification and ringtones for each number. You can setup auto-reply on them and mute calls during do not disturb hours, as well. What else should you know? You can't place international calls with a My Number number and voicemails to them arrive in the My Numbers app as an audio file. Oh, and yeah, everything happens through the My Numbers app, not through your normal dialer, if you couldn't gather that. If you want to sign-up, you can right now. Google Play Link | Verizon My Numbers Sign-Up // Verizon

Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL Pick-Up Pixel 3's Call Screen Feature

Kellen — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 07:37:02 +0000

Google's Call Screen, the spambot owning call screener that was introduced to the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, is now rolling out to the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL in the latest Google Phone update. So not only do you now have dark mode, friends with Pixel 2, you get to troll-back to robocalls multiple times per day. Prepare for fun. Once you've updated, you'll find settings for it within the Phone app, then in Settings>Call Screen. From there you can change the voice that callers here or walk through a quick demo to see how you'll utilize its powers. Still not sure what Call Screen on Pixel is? OMG, let me explain! With Call Screen, when someone calls you, an optional "Screen Call" button will appear when an incoming call arrives. If you tap that button, the caller will get to talk to your Google Assistant and have to tell them who is calling and what they want. You'll see all of that transcribed on the screen, live, while they are talking. If you would like to pick up the call at any time, you can, or you can keep pestering them with questions from Assistant, send them to spam, or tell them you'll call back later. It's pretty damn amazing. It appears to be slowly rolling out (we don't have it yet on our Pixel 2 XL), so just keep an eye on your phone app over the next few days. Google Play Link Cheers Salvador!

DEAL: Pixel 3 and 3 XL Now $200 Off at Best Buy, Pixel 2 XL $400 Off (Updated)

Kellen — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 15:29:15 +0000

We aren't yet to the biggest Black Friday 2018 deals, but Best Buy has already offered up some of the best prices on the Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, and Pixel 2 XL. If you go with Google's newest phones, you'll save $200, and if you go last year's Pixel 2 XL, you'll save $400.

UPDATE: Best Buy will actually drop Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL by $400 on Thursday and Friday only

In order to get these deals, you'll need to buy the phone with a 24-month device payment plan. Best Buy isn't going to let you pay full retail and get hundreds of dollars off. But if you are fine locking in with Verizon for the next two years, this is a good deal. Pricing breakdowns would be:

Pixel 3 64GB: $24.99/mo
Pixel 3 XL 64GB: $29.16/mo
Pixel 2 XL 64GB: $18.74/mo

Best Buy Deal Links:

Pixel 3
Pixel 3 XL
Pixel 2 XL

Cheers Charlie!

Video: First Look at Samsung One UI Beta on Galaxy S9!

Kellen — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 14:35:43 +0000

Samsung's One UI Beta is here as Android Pie and we've got it up and running on a Galaxy S9! Yes, friends, depending on the Galaxy S9 or Galaxy S9+ you own, you too could be running this fresh new Android skin from Samsung. In the video below, we take you on a brief tour of the big changes with a big focus on the UI tweaks that look pretty good to me. This UI comes off as a good mixture of both Google and Samsung's takes on how Android should look. So far, I think the combination might be a winner from a company whose design ideas we haven't been fans of in years.

RELATED: Download Samsung One UI Beta for Galaxy S9, S9+

You'll also see the Night Mode, gesture navigation option, tweaks to Always-on Display, floating keyboard, Camera's scene optimizer, and more. What other cool things are you finding? Everyone who signed-up, you enjoying the new One UI?

Samsung One UI and Pie Beta Program Now Live in the US for S9, S9+ (Updated)

Kellen — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 11:10:41 +0000

The One UI Beta with for the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ is now live in the US! (Well, registration is for now.) In order to register and get started, you'll need to open the Samsung+ app on your phone. Once opened, you should see a section on the Home page that says "One UI Beta" and mentions the Galaxy S9. Tap on that and register your device/account. Once done, you'll find more information about the program by tapping on your profile icon in the top right corner, then the "One UI Beta Program" option that's listed on that page. If you go in there, you'll find a full FAQ on how to get started. We've included that entire FAQ below. After you have registered, you should be able to check for the One UI Beta update by heading into Settings>Software Update>Download updates manually. UPDATE: The file is 1.8GB in size, so be sure you have some storage available and enough battery before installing.

There is a chance that the Beta is now live for the Galaxy Note 9 too. If you have one, please check and let us know.

Samsung One UI Beta with Android Pie FAQ

Notice

This beta software isn't perfect yet, so we recommend that you back up your important data to keep it safe before installing this software.
BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) software will be disabled if you install this beta software. Do not install this beta software if you want to continue to use BYOD software (BRJ5) with your phone (SM-G960U and SM-G965U models).
The current beta release doesn't support Sprint's Calling Plus feature. Support for this feature will be added in a later release.
Our testing as of 11/15/2018 found that the following apps are not compatible with this beta software. Other apps may have similar issues.
- Lineage 2 Revolution
The following features may not work in certain apps:
- Biometric authentication within financial apps.

1. What is the One UI Beta Program? Samsung is conducting a One UI Beta Program, which was designed to provide a better customer experience through a more reliable operating system (OS), as well as make updates based on user feedback. If you participate in the One UI Beta Program you will be one of the first to experience the new features and the latest (UX) with the Android 9.0 Pie OS. During the One UI Beta Program you will be able to send us your feedback on areas including: device performance, stability, and usability. The One UI Beta Program is owned and operated solely by Samsung. ※ Caution: The Samsung One UI Beta software may cause unexpected errors or malfunctions and may not contain all of the features that will be released with the official software. 2. How can I participate in the One UI Beta Program? To participate in the One UI Beta program you will need to download the Samsung+ app from Galaxy Apps or the Google Play Store.

Once installed launch Samsung+, and submit the “One UI Beta Program” application. This can be located on the Home Screen of the app.

※ In order to participate a valid Samsung Account is required, along with additional information that is required in order to finalize the registration process. 3. How do I install the Beta software? Once the registration process has been completed click the “Software Update” menu found in “Settings > Software Updates”. ※ Software updates will be pushed out in phases, which may cause some user’s to receive updates later than others. 4. Do I have to pay to participate in the One UI Beta Program? The One UI Beta Program is free, however in order to participate you will need a Mobile Data Plan or access to a WIFI network in order to connect and install updates. Using mobile data networks may incur costs, so we recommend you download and update the software using a Wi-Fi connection. 5. How can I send my feedback to Samsung? After installing the Beta software, please launch the “Samsung Members” app.

In the app you can send performance-related feedback such as: errors received, OS malfunctions, and/or any instances of any poor performance you may have experienced. This can be located in: "Beta Feedback" > "Send Feedback" > "Error Reports".

※ It is important that the background logs are captured properly when submitting an error. This can take up to 5 minutes and requires the logs to be captured within 2-3 minutes after the issue occurs. While capturing the logs you cannot exit the process or the logs will be corrupt and unusable.

If you have any UX/UI-related feedback, such as new suggestions or usability, please post it up under “Suggestion” in the “Beta Community” section. You can also send general recommendations about beta software through the “Contact us” menu.

6. What is the reward for participating in the One UI Beta Program? The One UI Beta is based on user opt-in and was developed to ensure a better experience for our customers through feedback. You could make a difference for all Samsung customers receiving this software release through your suggestions and findings. 7. Is the Beta software confidential? The One UI Beta Program can only be used for personal or non-commercial purposes and must follow the guidelines outlined in the Terms & Conditions. 8. Is there any preparation required for the One UI Beta Program? Unexpected data loss can occur during the Beta program, so Samsung strongly recommends that users perform a device backup with Samsung Smart Switch PC Version before installing the Beta software, as well as updating all apps to the latest version to reduce any compatibility issues. 9. How can I unregister from the One UI Beta Program? To unregister from the beta program go to: “Settings > One UI Beta Program > Deregister” in the “Samsung Members” app.

You will need to re-install (rollback) to the Samsung Official software that was being used prior to participating in this Beta program. This can be done with Samsung Smart Switch PC Version.
Once the software is re-installed, the device will be reset and all data that was generated during the One UI Beta Program will be erased.

All data that was backed up before installing the Beta software can be recovered, however there may be limitations in recovering data that was created after installing the Beta software. If you need assistance having your software rolled back to the latest approved version you can call us at 1-800-726-7864 and request the location to the nearest Service Center or go to Samsung.com and locate the Service Center in your area. ※ Please call the service center prior to visiting to ensure that you are able to bring your device before making a trip. 10. How do I rollback to my previous software during the Beta program?

Download and Install the Samsung Smart Switch PC Version.
Connect your phone to your PC > launch Smart Switch > Press “Update” button to roll back to your previous Samsung approved software.

11. After finishing beta program, is it possible to keep using the Beta software? Yes, you can use it until the new official version releases! Once the official version is available you can update to it by going to Settings > Software update > Download Updates Manually. 12. What if an error occurs while installing the Beta software. What should I do? One UI Beta Program is run by Samsung, independently conducted without network operators. If you receive an error during the software installation, please go to your nearest Samsung Service Center. To locate the nearest Service Center, please call 1-800-726-7864. 13. If my device was repaired at a Service Center during the One UI Beta Program, can I re-install the Beta software again? Yes, you can update the software to the latest official version or reset it in a Service Center. You can also re-install the beta software through a software update by going to “Settings > Software update > Download Updates Manually”. ※ This option is only available if you have not opted out or canceled your participation in the One UI Beta Program. 14. Who should I reach out to if I have questions about the One UI Beta Program?

For Beta Registration Issues, please post your question/issue in the “Beta Registration Issues” thread in Samsung Community.
For all other beta program queries, please contact us through the Community section in Samsung Members App.

Cheers Bob!

Google Phone App Update Just Brought Us a Dark Theme

Kellen — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 10:46:05 +0000

Back in August, Google told us that a dark theme was "coming soon" to the Google Phone app. Today, almost two months later, that dark theme has arrived! The update showed up in the latest update to the Google Phone beta as v26.0.221539659. If you want to opt-in to the beta, hit that Play link below and join the program in the section just below "Developer contact."

UPDATE: The update also brought Pixel 3's Call Screen feature

To switch to the dark theme, head into Settings>Display options and you should see a toggle for "Dark theme." Tap that and your Google Phone app will go dark. Of course, we are now expecting this to happen on all Google apps that recently went full-white because Google now realizes that all-white apps are bad for battery. Google Play Link

Cheers Arie!

Samsung Doesn't Want You Using Free Themes Anymore

Kellen — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 09:30:04 +0000

When Samsung rolls out Android Pie early next year, expect a major change to the free themes they offer in their Samsung Themes shop. A notice has gone out to Samsung phone owners to let them know that free themes won't last very long before Samsung starts recommending you buy them. The notice can be seen below, but the basics are as follows. Samsung is putting a 14-day cap on the use of free themes in its Samsung Themes store with Android Pie. After 14 days, they'll let you know that your free theme will soon go away and your phone will switch back to the default "Touchwiz" theme. At that time, they'll be sure to suggest more to help you "easily change your theme." This may seem confusing, but you should know that Samsung Themes offers both free and paid themes. Some designers are comfortable offering up themes for free, yet Samsung still wants to limit the use of those to just 14 days. Is it safe to assume that Samsung is doing this because they want you to buy themes that they'll get a cut of? Probably. It's also a garbage move. We aren't sure if you'll be able to simply re-apply your current free theme or not, but either way, there is a chance that many of us never use Samsung Themes again. I often find a free one I like ("PixelizeD"), apply it, settle into it, and then rarely think about changing it. If I'm now going to be asked to make a change to my theme every two weeks, I'd rather just not deal with it. Plus, Samsung's One UI looks nice enough without a theme. Again, you don't have to worry about any of this until your Galaxy S9, S9+, Note 9, or older Samsung phone gets Android Pie, which won't be until next year, so you've got a while.

Cheers Jeremy!

Google Introduces Wear OS Version "H" With Battery Improvements

Kellen — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 08:23:59 +0000

Google quietly announced a new version of Wear OS this morning called the "H update." The update will rollout as a system update to Wear OS watches and includes mostly battery efficiency tweaks, but will also make jumping between apps work better. The big change appears to be a new battery saver mode that lets you switch your watch over to a time-only experience once your watch drops below 10%. That's basically the same battery saver mode that's been on Snapdragon 3100 watches since they launched. Google is also improving off-body efficiency, which means they'll put your watch to "deep" sleep if they don't detect activity for 30 minutes. For other changes, Wear OS will have a "smart app resume" that lets you "easily pick up where you left off across all apps on your watch." And finally, powering off your watch will no longer be a chore and instead drop down to a 2-step process. Here is the H update changelog:

Battery Saver Mode Updates: This update extends your battery life even further by turning on Battery Saver to only display the time once your battery falls below 10%. Improved Off Body Efficiency: After 30 minutes of inactivity your watch will go into deep sleep mode to conserve battery. Smart App Resume for all Apps: You can now easily pick up where you left off across all apps on your watch. Two Step Power Off: You can now turn off your watch in two easy steps. To turn off your watch, simply hold the power button until you see the power off screen and then select 'power off' or 'restart'

Google says that it could take the "next few months" before people see this update on their Wear OS watches.

// Google Support

OnePlus 6T in Thunder Purple Now Available for Purchase

Kellen — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 07:43:15 +0000

You can buy a OnePlus 6T in "Thunder Purple" starting today, friends. The first non-black version of the OnePlus 6T arrives with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage at a price of $579. Nothing is different about this phone when compared to Midnight and Mirror Black options outside of the color. That's not to say anything is wrong with it, because the OnePlus 6T is a really nice phone. Oh, yes, this version also works on Verizon. Our review will be up shortly, in case you were waiting for our final word. If not, have at that link below.

Buy OnePlus 6T, get $20 in accessories

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPiTPAEqexM

LTE Speeds in the US are Really Pathetic

Kellen — Wed, 14 Nov 2018 16:12:30 +0000

As 2019 quickly approaches and every single major US wireless carrier tells you about a near future that includes 5G flowing at gigabit speeds through your veins, just remember that most of their LTE networks haven't lived up to the hype they built around them. That's not to say that your LTE connection these days isn't mostly solid, I'm just pointing out that all of their supposed advanced upgrades haven't turned into the high speeds testing shows. The folks at OpenSignal put out a state-by-state report today that ranks each in terms of download and upload speeds. The report is not something this country should take anything positive from. Now, we already knew that the US compares poorly in internet speeds to the rest of the world, but look at these sad numbers. In the image below, the darker the blue in a state means it has faster speeds than those with lighter blue. While that's awesome for New Jersey, who topped the charts, we're talking about average speeds that are only ">20" Mbps. Seriously, that's where this map tops out at as far as speed scales go, with New Jersey winning at just 24.1Mbps.

It gets worse when you start breaking down the country by states. New Jersey may have hit average speeds at 24.1Mbps, but there are only 6 other states that managed to break that 20Mbps barrier. The rest of the country is in that 15-20Mbps range, while two states managed to average less than 10Mbps (Mississippi and Wyoming).

I point all of this out because a number of carriers like Verizon and T-Mobile have spent the better part of the past year talking about LTE Advanced and Gigabit speeds, License Assisted Access that does similar things, and maybe one day eclipsing the 2Gbps mark. That sh*t is never happening. If it does, maybe it'll be 10 years down the road when 5G has been fully developed, but on LTE? Come on. Of course, speeds in cities are going to be better than in rural areas because carriers spend more money building out those areas. I'm still not sure that's a great excuse for the average download speed in the US to not even top 20Mbps. The report from OpenSignal also dives into upload speeds - do we need to go there? So yeah, 5G sounds great! Hopefully, it comes closer to matching the hype than LTE has. // OpenSignal

Pocket Casts Hits Version 7, Gets New Interface and Bunch of Other Goodies

Kellen — Wed, 14 Nov 2018 13:06:00 +0000

Popular podcast app Pocket Casts picked up a big update today to version 7 that includes a handful of important changes. First, we've got a new "streamlined" interface that's fill with darkness and a bottom navigation bar. It's a nice change from the previous top menu bar that felt like pre-Material Design days. The Pocket Casts team also says that they've overall made it smoother, faster, and better. You can now play podcasts without having to subscribe, search podcast episodes, find Up Next Syncing to other platforms, and view your Listening History, which is a history of all that you've listened to. The big update is available now in the Android beta channel. Links below to get you into that. Google Play Link (Beta Sign-Up) // Pocket Casts

Google's Night Sight Mode Rolling Out This Week to Pixel Phones

Kellen — Wed, 14 Nov 2018 09:11:19 +0000

Google's Night Sight mode that first debuted on stage during the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL unveiling, which we already know produces insane low-light photography, is now officially rolling out. Google says to expect it on your phone (all Pixel phones) in the next couple of days, thanks to an update to the Google Camera app. The feature won't work exactly the same on Pixel 2 and Pixel as it does on Pixel 3. Google explains the difference as:

Night Sight works best on Pixel 3. We’ve also brought it to Pixel 2 and the original Pixel, although on the latter we use shorter exposures because it has no optical image stabilization (OIS). Also, our learning-based white balancer is trained for Pixel 3, so it will be less accurate on older phones. By the way, we brighten the viewfinder in Night Sight to help you frame shots in low light, but the viewfinder is based on 1/15 second exposures, so it will be noisy, and isn't a fair indication of the final photograph. So take a chance — frame a shot, and press the shutter. You'll often be surprised!

Fun af. Google Play Link

Without vs. With Night Sight

// Google | Google AI Blog

Google Store Black Friday 2018 Deals Kick Off November 16, With Pixel 3 on BOGO 50% Off

Kellen — Wed, 14 Nov 2018 09:07:04 +0000

Google revealed its Black Friday 2018 deals today for the Google Store and they kick off on November 16 with a Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL that gets you a second phone for 50% off, once you buy the first. They've also got cash discounts on Pixel 3 and 3 XL, plus deals on Google Home Hub, Mini, regular Home, and Max, Pixelbook, Chromecast, and Nest products, just like we expected.

Black Friday Pixel 3 Deals

Black Friday (11/16 - 11/21): Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL will go up for a BOGO 50% off deal. That's buy one, get one 50% off, for those new to the deal business.
Black Friday (11/22 - 11/25): If that's not your deal of choice, Google will follow that up with a $150 price drop on Pixel 3 and $200 on Pixel 3 XL.
Cyber Monday: Buy a Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL and get a Google Home Hub ($149 value) and $50 to spend on Google Store

Other Google Store Black Friday Deals

Outside of Pixel 3/3 XL deals, all of Google's other products will be discounted at some point too. With a start date of 11/22 and ending 11/26, we have the following:

Google Home Hub: Save $50
Google Home Mini: Save $24
Google Home Mini + Chromecast: Save $39
Google Home Mini + Smartlight bundle: Save $24
Google Home: Save $50
Google Home Max: Save $50
Pixelbuds: Save $50
Chromecast Audio: Save $20 (11/22-2/28)
Chromecast Ultra: Save $20
Chromecast: Save $10
Titan Security Key kit: instant 20% discount; exclusively available on the Google Store. The price during the promotion will be $40.

With a start date of 11/18 and ending 11/28, we have these:

Pixelbook: Save $300
Clips: 50% off

For Nest products, starting 11/21 and ending 11/28, we have these:

Nest Learning Thermostat: Save $70
Nest E Thermostat: Save $30
Nest Hello: Save $50
Nest Cam Indoor: Save $70
Nest Cam Outdoor: Save $50
Nest Protect: Save $20

And finally, for Cyber Monday, we have the following:

Daydream View: Save $60
My Case: Save $20
Buy 2 Google Home Max: Save $150
Google Home Hub + Google Home + Wifi 3-pack (Wifi PDP): Save $129

Google Store Link

Look at All This Cool Sh*t Google Just Added to Google Home and Assistant

Kellen — Wed, 14 Nov 2018 08:00:49 +0000

The Google Assistant and its friends in the Google Home world are about to get a whole bunch of new things for you to try out that will prepare you for the holidays, get you and your family together for more activities, start and end your day with a single command, broadcast in two directions, and more. The list of stuff that Google announced this morning is quite lengthy, so we're just going to list it all out. If you want to know deeper details, you've got a source link at the bottom of this post:

Broadcast messages can now be replied to. If you send a broadcast message from your phone, a person at home can reply to it and you'll receive a voice or transcribed message back. This should be great when you are at the grocery store.
A new Recommended Recipes tab has been added to the Smart Displays with step-by-step instructions. It'll eventually get smarter and recommend recipes based on time of day. Additionally, as you find recipes you like, you'll soon be able to save to your own personal cookbook.
Google added a bunch of kids stuff:
- New alarms with LEGO and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters
- Added "Ara the Star Engineer" to their new Read Along feature
- Will add 25 new stories that Google can play for you from the likes of Paw Patrol, Dora the Explorer, and Blaze and the Monster Machines
- A new The Wiggles choose-your-own-adventure game has been added
- New commands for "Hey Google, I lost my tooth" and "Hey Google, check for monsters" were added
When listening to audiobooks or podcasts, Google Assistant can adjust playback speed with a command like, "Hey Google, play at twice the speed"
Trivia game "Are You Feeling Lucky?" has been added for group play sessions
Routines picked up a really cool feature that works off of your Google Clock and alarms (see below). You can have it set to kickstart an Assistant Routine once you dismiss an alarm, which could mean setting the temperature in your house, turning on a coffee maker, and telling you about the weather

All of this fun stuff should rollout in the next few weeks. // Google

Verizon Completes 5G Data Connection With Moto Z3, 5G Moto Mod

Kellen — Tue, 13 Nov 2018 20:44:44 +0000

The Moto Z3 launched months ago with a promise that it would be the first device to access Verizon's 5G network once it arrives in early 2019. Today, Verizon and Motorola used a Moto Z3 to make a successful first data transmission over that network, bringing 5G a step closer to reality. While paired with a 5G Moto Mod, Motorola and Verizon used a Moto Z3 to transmit data over a commercial 3GPP 5G New Radio (NR) network. That's the 5G standard that all major 5G networks will operate over, unlike their Verizon 5G Home service, which uses a proprietary Verizon 5G standard. During the transmission, Verizon said that they browsed the internet and placed a video call. This milestone is notable because the phone used is a consumer device, the Moto Z3 (review), which you can buy today knowing it'll access Verizon 5G later on. The Moto Mod and Moto Z3 accessed Verizon’s 28 GHz spectrum and a Qualcomm X50 5G modem. We still don't know when Verizon will launch 5G, only that it'll be in early 2019. We also have no idea when the 5G Moto Mod will go up for sale or how much it'll cost. It's mid-November, so we could know soon. // Verizon | Motorola

Video: Fossil Sport Unboxing and First Look!

Kellen — Tue, 13 Nov 2018 15:26:11 +0000

After writing up the Fossil Sport announcement last week, a number of you made it clear that you'd like us to take a look at one. Sooooo, we got one! We have a Fossil Sport on the wrist and have begun testing. To recap, the Fossil Sport is the first from Fossil to run the new Snapdragon Wear 3100 platform and also the first that's somewhat affordable. It comes in two sizes (41m and 43mm), with a 1.2" AMOLED display, 350mAh battery, heartrate monitor, NFC, GPS, and the latest in Wear OS. The 43mm model we have here accepts 22mm watch bands, while the 41mm drops down to 18mm. Fossil is offering up the Fossil Sport in a number of fun colors with numerous band choices. The concept from Fossil is probably the most fun we've seen from a Wear OS watchmaker and I wouldn't be surprised if this quickly becomes a big seller for them. Want to see it in action and also how it compares to the Montblanc Summit 2? We've got you covered in the unboxing and first look video below! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4osCGF4h3A

Galaxy S10 May Skip the Notch for an Infinity-O Display

Kellen — Tue, 13 Nov 2018 14:01:02 +0000

It's Galaxy S10 rumor time!

We're still months away from Samsung announcing the Galaxy S10, but our first batch of rumors from a reliable source are here. Leaker @evleaks provided a "few preliminary" details about the S10's display, cameras, fingerprint reader, and Android status. For display news, the rumor states that the Galaxy S10 will feature a "punch hole," which could be in reference to one of the prototype display designs that Samsung showed off last week. Remember this post, where we showed you Samsung's first notch displays? One of the prototypes was called Infinity-O based on the fact that it included a "O" cutout to the left side of the display, rather than a notch. A "punch hole" description sure does match up to that styling, rather than a drop down notch like we have seen from others. In addition to the possibly-huge display news, Blass says to expect an ultrasonic, in-display fingerprint reader, three rear cameras (standard, wide, and telephoto lenses), and Android Pie underneath Samsung's new One UI. I should also point out that fellow leaker @Universeice replied to this bit of insider info with a simple "Yes," as if to confirm the news. Some exciting stuff there, but I'm somewhat concerned about a display with a circle cutout off to the side. You can't blend that into a notification area. Your thoughts? https://twitter.com/evleaks/status/1062313739842654208

Essential Phone's Audio Adapter HD Now Available for $149

Kellen — Tue, 13 Nov 2018 11:30:40 +0000

The second (and likely last) snap-on accessory for the Essential Phone is here. Essential's Audio Adapter HD can now be purchased for $149 through the Essential Store. The Audio Adapter HD has been in the works for some time (recently hit the FCC, picked up software support for it) and we're actually kind of surprised it ever arrived for purchase. Essential has all but ditched making phones and the original Essential Phone is now over a year old. Still, it's here for those who need high-quality audio and a headphone jack. And that's the sell from Essential. This Audio Adapter HD features a high-resolution ESS Sabre DAC with hardware MQA rendering. We're talking an audiophile-grade amp made from machined titanium that has LED lights to tell you the level of content being played. And yeah, it adds a headphone jack to a headphone jack-less phone. To attach to your Essential Phone, all you'll do is slap it on the backside where its PINs are. That's at least kind of handy. Interested? Have at it. Buy Essential Audio Adapter HD

Project Fi Improves Security and Connections Through "Enhanced Network"

Kellen — Tue, 13 Nov 2018 09:33:45 +0000

Google's Project Fi didn't change its name this week, but it is getting a couple of upgrades. Through an "Enhanced network" toggle that will rollout this week, Fi users will get more privacy and security on all connections, plus handoffs between WiFi and cellular will get even faster. In the security and privacy department, Google is extending its Project Fi VPN service over to cellular (LTE) connections. Google previously enabled VPN while on public WiFi, but with enhanced network turned on, that VPN service will cover you at all times, ensuring that your Google account or phone number isn't tied to your traffic. In addition to more security, Google has found a way to speed up WiFi to LTE handoffs. They claim to have reduced time without a working connection by up to 40%. The example they mention is the daily handoff many of us run into where we are on home WiFi, get in our car to leave the house, and find frustration in the bad connection as our phones try and stay attached to that home WiFi, even as we drive away.

As long as your phone is running Android P and on Project Fi, you should get this new enhanced network toggle later this week. You'll find it within the Fi app under "Fi Network Tools." // Google

Razer Phone 2 Heads Exclusively to AT&T This Week

Kellen — Tue, 13 Nov 2018 07:09:25 +0000

The Razer Phone 2, an excellent gaming-focused phone with notable improvements over its predecessor, will be sold at a carrier this week. AT&T nabbed the exclusive and plans to start selling Razer Phone 2 this Friday, November 16. In our Razer Phone 2 review, we came away pretty impressed. Razer fixed one of the main issues from the original Razer Phone by improving the camera, but then added wireless charging and included their Chroma lighting system. Performance is still really good, battery life was incredible, the 5.7" IGZO display is still the best gaming display you'll find at 120Hz (brighter now), and the audio experience is awesome. AT&T lists pricing at $799.99 full retail or as low as $26.67/mo for 30 months on an AT&T Next plan. That's the same price Razer sells it at. The Razer Phone 2 will be available online and in select stores in Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, or Seattle. Buy AT&T Razer Phone 2 // AT&T

Verizon Updates Galaxy S9, RED Hydrogen, Moto Z, and More

Kellen — Mon, 12 Nov 2018 15:26:07 +0000

Verizon has pushed out a number of updates since the beginning of November. The Galaxy S9 and S9+, Moto Z DROID, RED Hydrogen One, and a couple of Galaxy Tab A device have all picked up new software. Most of the updates are nothing but security patches. However, I'm assuming that the RED phone is getting more than just a security patch. A bigger update is supposedly headed for retail phones at launch. The changelog only says that the update "improves your mobile experience with user experience enhancements and fixes."

Galaxy S9: G960USQU3BRJ5 (October security patch)
Galaxy S9+: G965USQU3BRJ5 (October security patch)
RED Hydrogen One: H1A1000.010ho.01.01.01r.089 (October security patch)
Moto Z DROID: OCL27.76-69-6-3 (September security patch)
Galaxy Tab A (8.0): T387VVRU1ARJ2 (October security patch)
Galaxy Tab A (10.5): T597VVRS1ARJ2 (November security patch)

To check for updates, head into Settings>System update.

It's the Little Things About Pixel 3, Plus 2 Big Ones, That Makes It Easy to Recommend

Kellen — Mon, 12 Nov 2018 13:09:30 +0000

I keep recommending the Pixel 3.

My son turned 5 this weekend, and so the party to celebrate it inevitably led to some conversations with friends about their next phone purchase. At this point, I just default to - "You should probably buy Google's phone." That probably won't surprise many of you who read this site on the regular, but I used to recommend Samsung phones and have since switched now that the Pixel line has arrived. For me, there are a bunch of little things that the Pixel line does that add to its user friendliness, plus 2 big items that make it a really easy choice to recommend. Let's start with the big ones because they really are the most important. They are: the camera (obviously) and the software.

Big: Camera

For camera, I'm not sure I really need to go into this, but when someone asks me which phone they should buy, I often know them and know whether or not they take lots of pictures. Most of my friends are at the point where they have kids now and so having an archive of really incredible photos of those kids is important. They take trips if they can, host and attend kids events, and generally want to preserve as many memories as possible. The Pixel 3 (review) and Pixel 3 XL (review) take incredible pictures. Not only that, but Google gives owners of Pixel phones unlimited storage of full resolution photos. Google's Pixel 3 (Pixel 2 and 2 XL too) camera fires up quickly in an easy-to-use app, has an incredible Portrait mode, and takes really good low-light photos that will soon improve further once Google officially rolls out Night Sight. If I know that someone wants a phone that takes great pictures, Google's phones are the obvious choice at this point.

Big: Software

The other of the two big reasons has to do with software. I, of course, am going to bring up software updates (Pixel phones get them for 3 years) as being important here, but the UI and UX that Google offers is a part of the reasoning, as is the fact that should I need to provide support to people, I know exactly what I'm dealing with. What I mean by that is since I tend to stick with Google's Pixel phones as my day-to-day phone of choice when not reviewing something, I'm using the phones my friends and family are. I know where all the settings are, which version of Android and security patch they are supposed to be on, and if there are currently known issues that may be affecting them. That's not to say my job isn't to keep up with Samsung and LG's 215 different phones from the past few years, how far behind in updates they, or how weirdly they've laid out settings and put Bixby front-and-center. Instead, it's me pointing out that all of Google's Pixel phones from the past 3 years are running the same software and offer the same experience. My mom and brother own a Pixel, my wife and dad are on a Pixel 2, and I'm on a Pixel 3, but I still know how to help them should they run into an issue. That's a big deal! And yeah, I recommend Google's software with its lean and clean approach, lack of bloatware, use of straight-forward Google apps, and speediness. I just think it'll be easy to adopt for most people, they can then make it their own if they want, and it gives them the best of Google, which most people are heavily invested in these days.

Little Things

Those two items aside, Google is doing some stuff with Pixel phones that are added bonuses, yet are important enough that they've won me over too. These are the features or tricks I like to point out that I think others would get some use out of without having to do any extra work. Now Playing: I love Now Playing. Whether your are in a restaurant or sitting on your couch and a fresh jam comes on that you don't know, being able to look down at your phone and see that it's telling you the name of the song without having asked for it on your lock screen, is awesome. And now, with a Now Playing history here, re-living your musical day is easier than ever. This is the classic "little thing" feature that Google has added on that I'm sure will soon be copied. Active Edge: The squeezy side of the Pixel 2 and Pixel 3 has gotten me to use Google Assistant more. Google has officially won. In order to control my smart home or launch a playlist or ask a question or check on the weather, I just squeeze my phone and ask, rather than shout out that damn Google hotword. I don't have to unlock it or long-press on a home button - I just squeeze. Always-on Display: I know that other phones have an always-on display and Google was by no means first, but their's is one of the best. It cleanly shows you the time, date, and weather, a line of pending notifications, your battery percentage, and upcoming calendar items. This is a feature that you won't be able to live without once you've used it, which I'm now dealing with, thanks to the OnePlus 6T, a 2018 phone that still lacks always-on display. Recent app shortcuts in Pixel Launcher: This little feature won't ever get much of a shoutout from Google, but within the Pixel Launcher, as you swipe up into the app switcher, Google shows you 5 app shortcuts that constantly change depending on your usage. I use these shortcuts constantly throughout a day, much more than the actual app switcher itself.

So there you have it. When someone asks me which phone they should buy, this is basically where my mind goes. There are two critical items that I think the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL excel at, along with a bunch of added bonus features that will provide use to people that just work out of the box. Sometimes, particularly with smartphones that consume so much of our lives, the easy recommendation is the simple choice.

DEAL: LG's V30+ 128GB is Just $399.99 Today at Amazon ($260 Off)

Kellen — Mon, 12 Nov 2018 10:38:40 +0000

We may be waiting for some good Black Friday 2018 deals from Google and Samsung, but here's one today through Amazon that you might want to look at right away. Today only, Amazon has the unlocked LG V30+ dropped to $399.99 - that's a $260 discount. What's different about the V30+ over the V30? Umm, it has 128GB storage and comes with LG Quadplay Earbuds. That's it. We really liked the V30 when we reviewed it last year. At the time, it was easily the best LG device to date, had a solid camera setup, great overall size, and looked pretty with all of its glass. As a reminder, the V30+ has a 6+ QHD OLED display with Snapdragon 835, 4GB RAM, 128GB storage (with SD slot), dual rear camera (16MP + 13MP), Quad DAC, fingerprint reader, IP68 water and dust resistance, and 3300mAh battery. This is the US unlocked model and works on all major US carriers, including Verizon.

Amazon Deal Link

Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1 App Makes Your Phone's Internet Faster and Private

Kellen — Mon, 12 Nov 2018 10:11:00 +0000

Cloudflare, the company that makes a whole chunk of the internet faster and more stable, released an Android app today called 1.1.1.1 you might want to consider installing. It's goal is to make your internet connection faster and more private, for free. Sound too good to be true? It's from Cloudflare, so it's probably no joke. I'm no internet backend pro, nor do I know all of the fancy internet speak that Cloudflare will talk to you about (1.1.1.1 is a DNS resolver), but I do know that they specialize in speedy internet. Cloudflare helps Droid Life stay up all day, every day. With 1.1.1.1, Cloudflare is letting your phone use their 1.1.1.1 DNS resolver to connect to the internet. That's where the faster and privacy parts come in. Cloudflare expects you to get a faster connection to 1.1.1.1, which should lead to faster connections to websites or apps or whatever your internet connection is trying to do. Cloudflare currently lists out 7 million or so domains on the Cloudflare platform that 1.1.1.1 should instantly connect to. For privacy, Cloudflare is suggesting that since this is their DNS resolver, they don't plan to track or sell any of the information on you, like your ISP could currently try and do from their own DNS. Well, Cloudflare needs to keep logs of user data for 24 hours "for debugging purposes," but will then purge it. To get started, you hit the link below, install 1.1.1.1, let it create a VPN profile on your phone, and then turn it on. Once you have done that, your internet connection will start using 1.1.1.1 to connect to the internet, hopefully making it faster and safer. Google Play Link // Cloudflare

You Buying a Foldable Galaxy F Phone for $1,700?

Kellen — Mon, 12 Nov 2018 09:38:55 +0000

A foldable phone is a multi-use device. You not only get a phone with a typical-sized phone screen that can do what you do today with your current device, you get the bonus of having a bigger, tablet-sized screen a flip away. That experience, which shows a major advancement in display tech and essentially gives you two devices in one, is going to carry a steep price. According to a report out of Korea, Samsung's Galaxy F foldable phone could cost around 2 million won or $1,770 USD when it arrives next year. That's the prediction of industry analysts, anyway. The report states that Samsung will likely show the phone off at MWC in February 2019 before selling it in March, along with the Galaxy S10 and a Samsung 5G phone. I'm just curious - are any of you interested in paying a price like that for a phone that doubles as a tablet? We're talking high-end computer pricing for a gadget that still just runs a smartphone OS. You readying the credit card? // Yonhap News

Black Friday 2018 Deals Lookin' Great for Pixel 3, Galaxy Phones

Kellen — Mon, 12 Nov 2018 08:02:47 +0000

Black Friday 2018 is approaching and a number of companies have begun to share their lineup of deals. That means it's the time of year where you should probably hold off from buying much for a couple of weeks unless we get pre-Black Friday deals that are too good to pass up. This year in particular is looking really good for those interesting in Google and Samsung products. For Google stuff, including the Pixel 3, we know that the following deals are coming:

Google will likely match all of these, but Best Buy is dropping the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL by $200 with installment plan.
Best Buy will drop the Pixel 2 XL by $400 with installment billing.
Best Buy, Target, and other retailers will have the Google Home Hub at $99 ($50 off), Home Mini at $25 ($24 off), Google Home at $79.99 ($49 off), Chromecast at $25 ($10 off), Chromecast Ultra at $49.99 ($20 off).
A bunch of retailers, including Best Buy, will drop the Pixelbook price by $300 too (starting at $699).
Best Buy Black Friday Deals

So far we know the following from Samsung:

Samsung is going to sell the Galaxy Note 9 at $799.99, Galaxy S9+ at $639.99, and Galaxy S9 at $519.99. Those are straight $200 discounts, plus you can trade-in a phone and get up to $300 off. These deals go live on November 18.
Samsung's brand new Galaxy Watch will also be $70 off, dropping the price to $279.99 or $259.99 depending on model. This deal goes live November 16.
Best Buy will slash $300 off the Note 9, S9, and S9+, but you'll have to buy them with installment plans.
Samsung Black Friday Deals

There are tons of other deals coming from other gadget makers. We'll highlight 'em as we see 'em.

Oh, so the OnePlus 6T in Thunder Purple is Coming to the US

Kellen — Mon, 12 Nov 2018 07:14:43 +0000

A week ago, when the OnePlus 6T showed up in "Thunder Purple" in China, we weren't expecting it to later make its way to the US. We were wrong. Today, OnePlus announced that the OnePlus 6T in Thunder Purple will be available in the US on November 15 - 3 days from now. When it goes on sale, the purple OnePlus 6T will cost $579 and come with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. There isn't anything else to mention about it, since the only difference between this and the Mirror Black and Midnight Black options is the color. Is this a fun color? While I haven't seen Thunder Purple in person, my opinion is that OnePlus has certainly provided better color choices in the past. You can buy it right here.

Buy OnePlus 6T, get $20 in accessories

Podcast: 1 + 6T

Kellen — Fri, 09 Nov 2018 10:30:26 +0000

On this episode of the Droid Life Show, we're looking at the OnePlus 6T! It is official, can be purchased, and we've spent a good chunk of the past week with one. We've got some thoughts to share! We'll also dive into our RED Hydrogen One review, Samsung's foldable phone and One UI, and more. It's a packed show after a week off. Trivia is back too! Be sure to stick around until the end of the show to win one of our new Droid Life shirts from our new store here on YouTube! We'll be live at 12:00PM Pacific (3PM Eastern).

Google Admits White is Bad for Battery Life After Making All of Its Apps White

Kellen — Fri, 09 Nov 2018 09:29:41 +0000

"We kind of shot ourselves in the foot slightly in terms of power."

Google's Android Dev Summit has been going on since Wednesday morning and was the site for Google's acknowledgement that foldable displays are coming and that Android will support them. But yesterday, Google hosted a particular session called "Cost of a Pixel Color" that might be the most important of the entire event. Although, I'd say "important" in a, Google just had to admit how badly they've f*cked up in their app designs recently, so hopoefully change arrives soon. What was the big topic on "Cost of a Pixel Color," you ask? Battery life differences between dark and light app designs. Guess which one was better on battery life? I don't think you need to me to tell you, but Google admitting that they've probably wrongly been pushing developers towards overuse of white was something to see.

The session shows a bunch of fun stats and graphs that all compared a phone with a heavily white theme to one with a dark theme and how each impacted battery life. Look at this shit. If you crank brightness on your phone, a damn dark theme on your keyboard could save you 21%.

Now, this is all important because Google has spent the past year making all of its apps stupidly, overly, ridiculously white. We've made fun of each update, mostly because all-white apps are boring, but this just shows you the level of dumbness here. And this session is also probably why they are starting to offer dark modes and themes for each and every app they've updated. After admitting that white is bad and dark is good, the session then dove into how developers can easily implement a dark theme, use other colors in themes, theme to dark or black for AMOLEDs, etc. If anything, this should all be good news for those of us who like dark themes and hate the excessive use of white in apps. I'm sorry that it took until 2018 for Google to realize this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_6sPd0Jd3g // Slashgear

DEAL: Verizon Galaxy S9, Note 9 are $100 Off From Samsung With $300 Bonus Bundle

Kellen — Fri, 09 Nov 2018 08:34:31 +0000

Been eyeing the latest and greatest from Samsung, like a Galaxy S9 or Galaxy Note 9, but were waiting for Black Friday deals to kick in? The time has come. Samsung has a solid deal right now on Galaxy S9 or Galaxy Note 9 that includes a $300 gift bundle. They also have an exclusive $100-off discount on Verizon models and will still give you up to $300 off with trade-in. The deal works like this. If you go with a Verizon Galaxy S9, S9+ (review), or Note 9 (review), and sign-up for a device payment plan, they'll chop $100 off. That brings the S9 to $619.99, S9+ to $739.99, and Note 9 to $899.99. From there, Samsung will toss in a bonus gift bundle that includes AKG Bluetooth noise canceling headphones, fast wireless charging stand, DeX cable, and a rugged style cover. Samsung puts the value there at $300. Now, if you want to save more, Samsung always does their instant-discount trade-in program, where they'll slash off up-to $300 today and ask for your old phone later. It's the best trade-in program in the business.

Samsung Deal Links:

DEAL: SanDisk Extreme A2 128GB MicroSD Card is Just $29.99 Today

Kellen — Fri, 09 Nov 2018 08:10:56 +0000

Good lord, this is a good price - $29.99 for a 128GB SanDisk Extreme A2 microSD card. How is this reality? I don't think I need to say much more, but that price from Best Buy is a part of their pre-Black Friday sale and is lower than even Amazon's pricing. The Extreme line is SanDisk's fastest, plus with the A2 rating, it's the fastest card you can find for an Android phone because it was built for Android phones. This is the microSD card to get unless you need even more storage. Jeez, good time to be in the market for phone storage.

Best Buy Deal Link

Cheers David!

Teslagrad Hits Google Play With Discounted Launch Price of $5

Tim — Thu, 08 Nov 2018 14:02:53 +0000

Teslagrad, a hit game on Steam, is now available on Google Play with a discounted launch price of $4.98 (30% off). The game is a 2D puzzle platformer where players wield the power of electromagnetism to solve puzzles and battle baddies. In the early part of the game, you'll have no powers except for jumping and running. As you progress, though, you'll find power gloves for controlling electrical currents, as well as other tools for completing puzzles you encounter. While the puzzles are there to test your mind, the boss battles will test your patience. Teslagrad has solid controls on mobile, with dedicated buttons for activating whatever tool/weapon you're using, as well as a jump button. So far after 20 minutes of playing, I'm enjoying it quite a bit. Follow the link below to pick it up for your Android device. Google Play Link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZOatc67ZKM

OnePlus 6T: First 10 Things to Do!

Kellen — Thu, 08 Nov 2018 12:32:21 +0000

Just grabbed a OnePlus 6T or have one on the way? Our "First 10 Things" video is here to guide you as you start this new journey. For those not familiar with this series, we try to offer new top tier phone owners 10 tips that we think are a good place to start to make sure you are setup for phone success. With the OnePlus 6T, we dive into the in-display fingerprint reader and its various settings, which navigation button or gesture setup you might like, some camera tricks, home screen tweaks, and a number of bonus "utilities" that OnePlus includes. It's a lengthy video, but I promise it'll be worth your time as a new OnePlus 6T owner. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPiTPAEqexM

Buy OnePlus 6T, get $20 in accessories

Huawei Band 3 Pro ($69) and Band 3e ($29) Available in US Today

Tim — Thu, 08 Nov 2018 11:40:02 +0000

Huawei has two new wearable devices available in the US today, Band 3 Pro and Band 3e. For the Band 3 Pro, the price is set at $69.99, and the wearable features a 0.95" AMOLED touchscreen, heart and sleep monitor, GPS, plenty of fitness tracking software, 5ATM water resistance, dedicated Find My Phone and remote camera shutter features, plus week-long battery life. It comes in either Black, Blue, or White/Gold.

Band 3e costs just $29.99, featuring an OLED display, 5ATM water resistance, 2 week-long battery life, 360-degree data monitoring, Dual Wrist and Foot tracking modes, and Smart Assistant alerts for incoming notifications from your smartphone. Band 3e comes in either Black or Pink. You can find both of these wearables on Amazon right now by following the links below. Purchase Links: Band 3 Pro | Band 3e // Huawei

With New API, Developers Can Now Force You to Update Your Apps

Tim — Thu, 08 Nov 2018 10:07:20 +0000

One of my pet peeves would be app updates. Let's say my mom or girlfriend hands me their phone, telling me that an app in acting funky. Naturally, I go into Google Play to see if there is an update, only to find nearly half of the apps on their phone in need of updating. Come on, people, keep your apps updated! Thanks to a new API that Google announced this week during the Android Dev Summit, developers will soon have the power to force users to update apps, which we think is a good thing. Called the In-App Updates API, there are two options developers can choose: Immediate or Flexible. With Immediate in-app updates, the application will show a notice as soon as the app is opened that an update is required in order to start using it. From that notice you'll see an update button, meaning you won't need to go into Google Play to retrieve the update. It should be a quick and painless experience. There is also the Flexible option. With this, you can receive a notice from the app that an update is recommended, though, you can continue using the app normally while it updates in the background. Once the update is downloaded, simply restart the app and you're done. This API is currently in testing with select developers and will be available to all Google Play developers soon. Be on the lookout for it. // Android Developers

Google's Files Go Becomes "Files by Google," Because Everyone Was Using It

Kellen — Thu, 08 Nov 2018 08:55:42 +0000

About a year ago, Google introduced a semi-secret app called Files Go. The app wasn't aimed at you and I in the US, but was instead aimed at parts of the world with slower internet connections and where ultra-affordable phones without much storage are king. As word got out about Files Go and we all started sideloading it, Google opened it up for all to use in beta form. Today, because the app has become so popular (30M monthly users), Google is taking it out of beta and rebranding it to "Files by Google." In other words, this is Google's files app that they'd like you to use on your phone going forward, no matter what type of connection you have or how much storage is in your device. The UI has been spiced up (see above) to "make sure that the content of your mobile phone is the focus when you use the app, all while keeping the same functions and playfulness that people love." Not sure what Files by Google is? It's a file manager, but it offers suggestions to help clean-up your phone. It'll recommend you delete "junk" or duplicate files and tell you how much storage you'll free up by doing so. It'll show you how much storage you are using, let you browse all files on your device, and let you send or receive them to a friend without using an internet connection. It's awesome and free. You can download it through the link below. Google Play Link

DEAL: NVIDIA SHIELD TV is $40 Off Everywhere, With Free Echo Dot ($139.99)

Kellen — Thu, 08 Nov 2018 07:50:53 +0000

The NVIDIA SHIELD TV, even if it is almost 2 years old now (our review), is still the smart home gadget I use the most every single day. It controls my entire living room operation, from the content I consume on my TV, thanks to Android TV, to some smart home items. It's still awesome at what I need it to do, still runs great, and is small enough that you can really tuck it out of sight if that's your thing.

UPDATE: Not only is the NVIDIA SHIELD TV $40 off, you can score a free Amazon Echo Dot with it at both Amazon and Best Buy.

Today, probably because of some sort of Black Friday deal, the NVIDIA SHIELD TV with remote is $40 off almost everywhere. That drops the price to $139.99 Worried that it has become outdated? I'm not sure it has. Not only does the unit I have run really good, including the 2015 model I have in my bedroom, but NVIDIA keeps updating it. SHIELD TV picked up its 20th software update in September and another with Amazon Alexa integration week ago.

SHIELD TV Deal Links:

Amazon
Newegg
B&H Photo
Best Buy

DEAL: Lenovo's 8" Smart Display is $100 Off Right Now ($99)

Kellen — Thu, 08 Nov 2018 07:38:34 +0000

Best Buy kicked off its pre-Black Friday sales period this morning by dropping the price of the Lenovo Smart Display 8" by $100. That price drop essentially makes this Google Assistant speaker half off at $99. I probably don't need to tell you that, but that's a steal. The Lenovo Smart Display was one the first of the smart displays and it's pretty good. In our review of the 10" model, I was pretty clear in the fact that I was buying one for myself because I like the visual interactions you get when controlling things like your smart home. It's also pretty nice as mini TV wherever you have it setup and a photo viewer. Don't forget, it also just picked up a major update with even more controls over smart home items. At $99, why wouldn't you?

Best Buy Link

New Fossil Sport Offers Snapdragon Wear 3100, Available Today Starting at $255

Tim — Thu, 08 Nov 2018 04:00:00 +0000

Fossil has a new smartwatch powered by Wear OS, Fossil Sport, available this week starting at $255. Fossil Sport comes in two different case sizes, 41mm or 43mm, but it's also the first Wear OS device from Fossil to feature the new Snapdragon Wear 3100 processor. This watch joins the Montblanc Summit 2 as being one of the first smartwatches to offer Qualcomm's latest wearable chip. For specs, the watches feature full circle touchscreen displays (exact display sizes unlisted at the time of this writing), 24+ hour battery life, heart rate monitor, NFC, GPS, magnetic charging, as well as interchangeable strap options (18mm, 22mm). As I said, the watch is available starting today, priced at $255+. However, if you're in the NYC area and want to check out a special pop-up experience Fossil has set up, check out 138 Wooster St, NYC on November 9-11 from 10AM to 7PM. Fossil says you'll be able to get the watch, buy some straps, and maybe even win some prizes. Fossil Link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4osCGF4h3A

Samsung Revealed Infinity Flex Display Specs for Its Foldable Phone

Kellen — Wed, 07 Nov 2018 15:38:46 +0000

Samsung's foldable display device, even as it made its first appearance on stage today, is still mostly a mystery. Samsung covered the device in a case while revealing it for the first time, they wouldn't tell us what the device is capable of beyond running 3 apps at once, and we have no idea when it'll arrive outside of an "early 2019" suggestion from Google. One thing we do now know are the display specs, thanks to a slide they showed at their developer conference! The specs were captured by CNET, who must have been in attendance at a developer session during Samsung's Developer Conference. The slide shown to attendees shows details for the "cover" display, as well as the main, larger display. According to the image below, the cover display will feature a 4.58" (21:9) panel with a resolution of 1960x840 and pixel density of 420dpi. The larger display that unfolds will be 7.3" from corner to corner with a ratio of 4.2:3. The resolution weighs in at 2152x1536 with a pixel density of 420dpi. https://twitter.com/sharatibken/status/1060300207894650881 https://twitter.com/sharatibken/status/1060300400887091200 If you were worried that this first generation of foldable Infinity Flex displays from Samsung was going to be low-res, you can relax. Instead, you should be worried about how awkward this device might be in pocket with that long body and weirdly centered cover display.

You Know You Want That Wallpaper From Samsung's One UI

Tim — Wed, 07 Nov 2018 13:30:11 +0000

As soon as I saw the wallpaper associated with One UI from Samsung, I thought of Jelly Bean wallpapers from back in the day. You know, these ones. It's bit a brighter than Jelly Bean's, but it's still pretty similar. Anyway, I was sneaky enough to highjack it from Samsung's display units that are running the beta for One UI, so here you go. Remember, I love you. Full Res Download Here Resized Sample Below

Here's a Photo Tour of Samsung's One UI

Tim — Wed, 07 Nov 2018 13:08:35 +0000

One UI from Samsung is coming to a Galaxy phone near you quite soon, but we figured we could take you on a mini tour of Samsung's refreshed user experience ahead of the company's public beta. After spending five minutes with it, I can tell you that it's actually pretty nice. The animations are smooth, icons look good, and Samsung's idea of things being more comfortable to look at actually plays well here. Naturally, the big addition is the Night Mode, accessible via the Display menu in Settings. Once enabled, it darkens portions of the UI, though, I didn't see an option for changing your accent color. Maybe that can be built in ahead of launch. Other than that, you can see where Android Pie shines through Samsung's skin, with plenty of rounded things being front and center, such as system toggles and pretty much every corner of the UX. I mean that literally. Here are some photos, then head here to get signed up to try One UI on your own select Galaxy device.

Samsung, Who Laughed at Google's Notch, is Ready to Introduce Notches

Kellen — Wed, 07 Nov 2018 12:42:07 +0000

Prior to Samsung showing off its foldable display today called Infinity Flex, the company waxed poetic about all of the display innovation they have introduced over the years. They talked a lot about curved edge displays before transitioning into a new display type that might be a bigger deal than their foldable idea, at least as it relates to your next phone purchase, like the Galaxy S10. Samsung showed off a series of prototype/concept display designs called Infinity-U, Infinity-V, Infinity-O, and New Infinity. They revealed these four display types after talking about further pushing boundaries and reducing bezel. And as you can see in the image above, that'll all happen as Samsung transitions into the world of display notches. That's kind of funny. They didn't say much else, only that these concepts are "just right around the corner" and they can't wait to tell us more. What we can gather from the images are a couple of things. For one, the Infinity-U and V displays have notches that match the shape of their names. They are minimal notch designs, unlike what Google and Apple have done. The Infinity-O concept looks more like a display with a "O" cutout off to its left side, rather than as a drop-down notch. And finally, New Infinity looks more like a fully notchless design, which is the future we all want today not tomorrow. Will we see one of these in the Galaxy S10? Or will we jump straight to New Infinity and skip the notch phase? I don't know!

Samsung One UI is the Software UX Refresh We've Been Waiting For

Tim — Wed, 07 Nov 2018 11:33:53 +0000

Samsung unveiled a major overhaul for its custom skin at SDC this week. What used to be called TouchWiz has recently gone by Samsung Experience UI, but today, we were introduced to One UI, which is the UX users should see on Samsung devices going forward. Said to be designed for natural interactions, Samsung took a step back and really looked into how people interact with their smartphones. After a year of research, Samsung got to work on a new UX.

RELATED: Photo tour of the new One UI!

From what know right now, there are a few major changes, but there are a lot more details we'll probably find out later. For now, we can expect a true Dark Mode experience, a streamlined Settings menu with a new layout, and an increased level of visual comfort. From what we can tell, this means bubble-looking emoji and rounded corners on almost everything on the phone. If you want One UI sooner rather than later Samsung announced an open beta program, coming later this month. The beta program will be available in the US, Germany, and Korea, coming to owners of Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9+, and Galaxy Note 9. According to Samsung, it hopes to push a public update to One UI to owners in January.

RELATED: Here is Samsung's first foldable display device!

Samsung fans, ready for a new UI? Cheers to David Imel for the image!

Here is Samsung's Foldable Display Device

Kellen — Wed, 07 Nov 2018 11:30:29 +0000

Ready to see Samsung's foldable device? Here you go!

Oooooh, look at that. Phone. Then tablet. Phone. Then tablet. Amazing. Fits in a pocket. Tells you the time. Runs some apps. Beautiful. Not impressed? It's in a case, silly. That's not the device that Samsung will sell. Instead, it's probably just an early prototype that isn't anywhere near a finished product, but will be used to hype this foldable display tech. They'll save the finished product fun for next year when the device will go on sale.

What is this vision of display future? It's called the Samsung Infinity Flex display. Samsung says they made a display without cover glass that could bend, so they created an advanced composite polymer that bends and is still tough. They used a special adhesive that would allow a display to fold over and over again, possibly hundreds of thousands of times. And finally, they made the display super thin, thinner than any they've ever made.

Samsung says that they are ready to mass produce this Infinity Flex display in the coming months. Google already told us that this device was coming in early 2019, so they better get after it. As far as a UI would work with a foldable display, Samsung envisions both phone and tablet UIs with a seamless transition and continuous experience between each. The tablet experience will allow you to run up to 3 apps at a time in a feature they are calling "Multi Active Window,"

Fun.

RELATED: Samsung's new One UI has been announced for Galaxy phones!

Google Announces Android Support for Foldable Devices

Kellen — Wed, 07 Nov 2018 10:22:41 +0000

Before Samsung could announce its first foldable device, Google took the stage today at its Android Dev Summit and announced Android support for Foldables. Foldables is the official device type, by the way. Google's Dave Burke described the experience as both a phone and tablet, with a feature called "Screen Continuity," where your app experience seamlessly transfers between bigger and smaller screens. That sounds like native support then, which would be huge for a standard experience across devices from different makers and sizes. That also means that developers won't have to do much to get their apps ready. I'm sure we'll learn more in the next few minutes, but Burke also confirmed that they are working with several device makers on foldable devices, including Samsung. He said that Samsung's first foldable device will arrive "early" next year.

Cool or nah?

Samsung's Galaxy Home Bixby Speaker Arrives at FCC in Time for Launch Details

Kellen — Wed, 07 Nov 2018 09:08:51 +0000

Samsung's Developer Conference kicks off this morning and we are expecting the Korean electronics giant to announce launch details for its smart speaker, Galaxy Home. Before they can start selling it, though, the speaker needed to stop off at the FCC for approval. This morning, it did just that. Galaxy Home and its Bixby-powered, AKG-tuned self have already been announced, so we aren't necessarily learning much here. What we do know is that Galaxy Home's model number is SM-V510 and that the FCC tested Bluetooth LE, Zigbee (for smart home stuff), and WiFi. Cool! What we need to know now is how much it'll cost and when we can buy one. Well, when we can tell you that you can buy one. I want no part of this, hah.

// FCC

Watch Samsung's Developer Conference, Where We May See a Foldable Phone

Kellen — Wed, 07 Nov 2018 08:54:47 +0000

The Samsung Developer Conference kicks off today. Normally, we'd casually pay attention to this sort of gathering because no one cares about Bixby and DeX development, but this year could be different. We may finally see the foldable phone that Samsung has been teasing since 1925. Don't care about foldable phones? You should, according to phone manufacturers across the globe who are running out of ideas to sell you on and improve margins!

RELATED: Google announced "foldables" support for Android, said Samsung's device arrives in 2019

Samsung's phone will likely just be a tablet that folds into a phone, or a phone that folds out into a tablet. That could be kind of cool, though, assuming it doesn't cost as much as an iPad Pro (it probably will). Multi-use devices with big screens are fun because we all love watching YouTube, right? But really, if foldable phones really do not interest you at all, Samsung will also likely talk about Android Pie on its Galaxy line of phones. It should announce a beta program today and tell us how little Project Treble means to them. The event kicks off at 10AM Pacific (1PM Eastern)! Tim is there, just in case anything cool happens.

FYI: OnePlus 6T $300 Trade-In Deal at T-Mobile Ends Tomorrow

Kellen — Wed, 07 Nov 2018 08:07:38 +0000

T-Mobile's $300 trade-in deal that dramatically reduces the monthly payments on a brand new OnePlus 6T is coming to an end tomorrow, November 8. It only just kicked off on November 1, so we're talking about an incredibly short promo period that you better hurry to if you were considering the first carrier-tied OnePlus phone. What's the deal? T-Mobile is using the launch of the OnePlus 6T to get you a $300 trade-in that will be applied over 24 months in bill credits should you hand over any number of phones. It's our least favorite type of deal, because it's basically T-Mobile asking you to sign a 2-year contract with them, but it's the best deal we've got at the moment. To get the $300 in trade credits, they'll accept any previous OnePlus phone (One, 2, 3, 3T, 5, 5T, 6, X) in good condition, as well as iPhones dating back to the 6, Galaxy S phones back to the S6, Note phones starting with the Note 5, and Google phones as far back as the original Pixel. There are more, which you can see at the link below.

RELATED: Differences between T-Mobile and unlocked OnePlus 6T?

Once you've made that trade, bought a OnePlus 6T on an equipment installment plan (EIP), and activated it on a postpaid T-Mobile plan, you'll get eligible for the bill credits. Those credits will show up within 2 billing cycles and last for 24 months. Again, the "deal" ends tomorrow. Buy T-Mobile OnePlus 6T // T-Mobile Cheers Mike!

OnePlus 6T Grabs Update With Screen Unlock Improvements

Kellen — Wed, 07 Nov 2018 07:34:24 +0000

The OnePlus 6T is picking up a fresh update today as OxygenOS 9.0.5. It's minor and only a few MB in size, but does suggest that it'll improve the Screen Unlock feature of the phone, which is the in-display fingerprint reader. No specifics were provided as to what those improvements were. Other than that, there are "general bug fixes and improvements" that should cleanup some software issues for the 6T. It's a minor update, guys. NOTE: I forgot I need to start mentioning this, but this is for the unlocked version. The T-Mobile version will almost always get updates later because of that carrier partnership and approvals and all that jazz. To check for it, head into Settings>System>System updates and "Check for updates."

Buy OnePlus 6T, get $20 in accessories

T-Mobile Offers $50 Unlimited Prepaid Plan for Limited Time

Kellen — Tue, 06 Nov 2018 14:30:53 +0000

Verizon isn't the only carrier updating its prepaid line-up this week. T-Mobile kicked off a limited time promotion yesterday that will get you into unlimited data for as little as $50 per month. The $50 plan includes unlimited talk, text, and data with a 50GB per month cap before they can throttle you. There is one catch, though. In order to sign-up for this limited time $50/mo plan, you'll have to find a participating store and then stop by to get setup. You can't sign-up for this deal online. With that said, if you hit up the T-Mobile link below, it'll help you find a store nearby that is participating. Sign-up before it's gone! // T-Mobile | Best MVNO

DEAL: $55 for a SanDisk UItra A1 256GB MicroSD Card is Crazy

Kellen — Tue, 06 Nov 2018 10:15:23 +0000

Removable storage made a comeback a couple of years ago, with most phone makers outside of Google, OnePlus, and Apple all re-embracing it. That has meant a wide range of microSD cards at multiple price points and increasing levels of capacity from various makers. SanDisk has continued to lead the charge, particularly with their A1 class cards that were built specifically for Android phones. Today, you can grab their 256GB Ultra A1 card for just $54.99. That's insane. Why is that insane? This same card debuted in January 2017 and cost $200. I know that they have since released an even faster Extreme version that costs over $100, but to think that you can add an extra 256GB of storage to your phone for $55 is amazing. I can still remember when 64GB and 128GB cards cost more than that. Tough to say how long this SanDisk Ultra A1 256GB deal will run, so you may want to hurry.

Amazon Deal Link

OnePlus 6T Struggling With Incoming SMS on Verizon, But There is a Fix (Updated)

Kellen — Tue, 06 Nov 2018 09:01:53 +0000

The OnePlus 6T is certified to work on Verizon, thanks to included LTE band support. That means you should be able to take an unlocked OnePlus 6T over to Big Red, slap in a SIM, and enjoy OnePlus' newest phone for the first time outside of a GSM network in the US. There is one issue that is popping up for almost everyone, though, and that's issues with incoming SMS or text messages. At this time, there is a fix, but it'll require you to either call into Verizon support or jump onto a live chat. From what I can gather from this lengthy OnePlus thread, the OnePlus 6T may not be registering properly when activated on Verizon. And what I mean by that is the phone or Verizon's systems aren't fully recognizing the 6T and that it lacks CDMA radios, possibly for receiving SMS or text messages. And that may be happening because this is an unlocked device that may need some time before it is properly added to Verizon's systems, even if it is fully supported and certified. So what can you do to fix it? Almost everyone at the thread above was able to call into Verizon or talk to a support rep through chat and add something called "CDMA-Less Roam" or "CDMA_Less" to their accounts, device, or lines. That must be a trigger to the system to properly route SMS to the OnePlus 6T over LTE, I'm assuming.

UPDATE: Verizon tells us that an easier fix than calling into support may be to login to your account, then head to My Verizon>My Device>Activate or Switch Device>Activate On an Existing Line, and then follow the instructions that pop-up. If that solves your SMS issues, let us know.

Most have had to escalate to a tier 2 specialist, but that then seems to speed up the process of adding this "CDMA-Less Roam" feature to accounts. Once that has been done, SMS works almost immediately. Do keep in mind that it may take you more than a couple of minutes to go through this process. The rep I talked with had to re-sync my 6T in their system, then add "CDMA-Less Roam." Of course, there is the whole explaining-the-situation-thing too, which takes time.

Buy OnePlus 6T, get $20 in accessories

Will this get fixed so that every time someone buys a OnePlus 6T and tries to activate it on Verizon they don't have to chat with support to get SMS working? I don't know! Hopefully, Verizon realizes the problem and tweaks their systems. Cheers Michael! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaaKvnG-Jg4

Pixel 2, 2 XL Get 'Now Playing History' for the Songs Your Phone Hears

Tim — Tue, 06 Nov 2018 08:58:27 +0000

At long last, Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL owners no longer need to rely on a 3rd-party application to figure out the songs your phone hears via Now Playing. Now Playing, for those not aware, automatically identifies music that is playing in the background, then displays it on your Always On display. Until this change, there was no way to go back and see what songs the phone has identified, unless you used a 3rd-party app. For many, this is a welcomed change. Yesterday, folks on reddit started seeing the "History" option appear in their Settings menu under the Sound section. For you Pixel 3 and 3 XL peeps, this has already been available for you, so you don't have to worry about this. Are you seeing the change, Pixel 2 and 2 XL owners?

// reddit

Verizon Updates Prepaid Line-Up by Dropping Some Prices, Removing an Option

Kellen — Tue, 06 Nov 2018 07:25:13 +0000

Verizon Prepaid has been a solid value for a couple of years now, and this morning, the carrier tweaked its line-up by dropping some prices and eliminating or combining a couple. Instead of having 5 separate prepaid plans, Verizon now only has 4. You've got $30 (500MB), $35 (3GB), $45 (8GB), and $65 ("Unlimited") options. I should point out that the prices are actually $5 higher on the $35, $45, and $65 plans, it's just that Verizon will give you a $5 discount to those price points if you sign-up for autopay. That's an old trick that I'm surprised wasn't implemented sooner. The older 10GB ($60) and 7GB ($50) are now gone and replaced by the 8GB ($45) plan. Or you could look at it as the 10GB plan gone and the 7GB plan given another 1GB of data and a $5 autopay discount. You decide. The unlimited plan was $75 and is now $65 (with autopay).

Nothing else really changes as far as I can tell. You still get hotspot on all but the "Unlimited" plan, the top two plans have unlimited calling to Canada and Mexico, and you can mix and match them to create family plans with discounts. The new plans are live right now. Feel free to bring your OnePlus 6T on over. // Verizon

Google Pixel Slate Up for Pre-Order at Best Buy (Updated: Google Store Too!)

Kellen — Tue, 06 Nov 2018 07:01:26 +0000

The Google Pixel Slate, Google's first tablet in some time, is now up for pre-order at Best Buy after previously being listed as "Coming Soon." I'm not sure that it's supposed to be yet, as Google isn't even selling its new Midnight Blue Slate, but multiple configurations, its keyboard, and new blue pen are all available. Best Buy has the 64GB Core m3 model at $799, 128GB i5 model at $999, and the 256GB i7 model at $1599. The cheapest $599 option with 64GB storage and a Celeron processor is not showing as being sold by Best Buy. They keyboard and pen are $199 and $99, respectively, just like Google plans to sell them for. In terms of shipping, since these are pre-orders, we have one date here. The only item showing a date is the new Pixelbook Pen in blue that has a release date of November 22. The actual Pixel Slate and its keyboard show "Not announced" as their release dates. I'm assuming if pre-orders are opening up, they'll arrive around that time too.

UPDATE: DL reader Seth pinged us saying that if you go through with a pre-order for the devices, they all then show a release date of 11/22 in the confirmation.
UPDATE 2: The Google Store now has the Pixel Slate up for pre-order too! Orders are showing shipping estimates fo 2-3 weeks.

Best Buy Links:

Pixel Slate
Keyboard for Pixel Slate
Pixelbook Pen (Blue)

Cheers Jerry and @jfbuhay!

Open Google Play Now, There May be Free Money Waiting for You

Kellen — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 15:10:41 +0000

Google Play is in the giving mood at the moment, with free Google Play credits showing up for many. Pixel 3 owners are for sure getting a couple of dollars worth, while others might be in luck too. To check, simply open Google Play and scroll a bit on the main page. If you are a part of this Google Play promotion, you should see a banner letting you know that free money is yours. If you aren't seeing anything there, head into Account>Rewards. If you qualify for something, it should be listed there. I was handed $2 for being a Pixel 3 owner, yet others have seen $1, $3, and $5. Do keep in mind that the promo credits seem limited. You need to use them pretty quickly, plus my Pixel 3 $2 credit can only be spent on something that costs more than $2. How do you qualify? Good question! My promo specifically said that I was getting $2 for being a Pixel 3 owner. Others are seeing cash and may not be a Pixel owner. All I can tell you is that you should open Google Play and see if there is a reward waiting.

Samsung May Launch Android Pie Beta Program During SDC This Week

Tim — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 15:08:47 +0000

Much like Google I/O, Samsung has a dedicated app for its SDC event that takes place this week. In this app, it showcases each and every event that is to take place during SDC. Thanks to SamMobile, who spotted a particular listing in the app, it's believed that Samsung is to launch an Android Pie Beta Program this week, likely for owners of newer Galaxy devices. As we can see in the screenshot of the app below, it clearly says, "Explore the new Galaxy UX with Android 9.0 Pie (Beta Program), and see how a Foldable display creates a totally new experience." We've already talked about folding phones from Samsung today, so we'll ignore that for now. I tried to find this page in my SDC 2018 app, but I had no luck in finding it. I suppose we'll have to wait until Wednesday to figure out the specific details of this "Beta Program." Galaxy owners, Pie is apparently on the horizon!

// SamMobile

OnePlus 6T Unboxing and First Look!

Kellen — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 13:24:41 +0000

Hey, it's a OnePlus 6T in house! We weren't sure we'd ever see one of these, but here we are, thanks to a super fast order on OnePlus' store that arrived this morning and is no review unit. This is mine, dammit. Ummm, you probably know everything there is to know about this phone, since we're a week after a bunch of reviews dropped. I don't care, though. Treat us like nobodies, industry - we'll still do what we do for the crew here that hangs with us at Droid Life each and every day for the past 9+ years.

Buy OnePlus 6T, get $20 in accessories

In this unboxing, we dive into some differences in this OnePlus 6T over the 6, show you its baby teardrop notch compared to the Pixel 3 XL's, setup the in-display fingerprint reader, and remind you that we are big fans of the OnePlus experience. Apparently not big enough fans to get review units in a timely fashion, but still...big fans. Review up soon! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaaKvnG-Jg4

Essential Phone Gets November Security Patch, Support for Audio Adapter HD

Tim — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 11:29:19 +0000

Essential, always timely with its updates, is pushing out the newly released November security patch to device owners. That's great news, but it's not really what we're excited about. Also mentioned in the changelog is "Support for Essential Audio Adapter HD." That adapter is the still unreleased module owners have been waiting some time for, and with this update, it has to be right around the corner. In case you've missed it, here's our recap of the Audio Adapter HD.

To recap, the Audio Adapter HD is a high-res ESS Sabre DAC with hardware MQA rendering, and an audiophile-grade amp that slaps onto the back of an Essential Phone. With this machined titanium adapter attached, you should be able to plug-in your high-end headphones to get a top-tier audio experience.

So, if you're rocking an Essential Phone, go grab that update! https://twitter.com/essential/status/1059524544602488832

November 2018 Android Security Update Goes Live for Pixel, Nexus Devices (Updated)

Kellen — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 10:10:53 +0000

Google just released the November 2018 Android security patch for Pixel and Nexus devices, and that means the first update for the new Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL has arrived. It looks like we already have both factory image and OTA files ready to be downloaded for those willing to do some manual labor, or you can sit back and wait for the update to arrive over-the-air to your device. So far, we are seeing new 9.0.0 files for Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL (PQ1A.181105.017.A1) and Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL (PQ1A.181105.017.A1). The regular Pixel and Pixel XL do not have November builds available just yet.

UPDATE 11/19: Google finally posted the Pixel and Pixel XL November updates with builds PPR1.181005.003.A1 (Telus only) and PPR2.181005.003.A1 (all others).

Other Google devices that still receiving security patches on Oreo are getting the following updates: Nexus 6P (OPM7.181105.004), Nexus 5X (OPM7.181105.004), and Pixel C (OPM8.181105.002). Functional Patches for Pixel/Nexus: [table id=150 responsive=scroll /] You can grab each image or OTA file at the links below. For instructions on how to flash a factory image, here you go. For instructions on how to flash an OTA .zip file, here you go. To check for the update, head into Settings>System>Advanced>System update. As more details arrive, we’ll update this post. Links:

Latest Samsung Foldable Device Report Aligns With Concept Image From 2017

Tim — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 09:58:36 +0000

SDC, short for Samsung Developer Conference, kicks off this week on Wednesday. Typically, nothing too noteworthy comes out of this annual event, though, this year might be different. You see, for years now, we've been hearing rumors and writing up reports that Samsung is working on a device with a foldable display. This year, those reports really picked up steam when Samsung's own DJ Koh said the time had come to unveil its work and that SDC was a potential place to do it. We haven't attended an SDC in years, but because of the hype surrounding this foldable display device, you'll find me in SF later this week. Anyway, the latest news surrounding this reported device are a few specs, mainly for the display size(s). According to The Bell, when folded, the device acts a standard smartphone with a 4.58-inch OLED touchscreen display. When unfolded, it acts more like a 7.29-inch tablet with an OLED display. From what we can tell, the smaller display is on the outside of the device, and then when unfolded, you'll find the larger display. This aligns with a concept image we posted in January of this year (header image above), taken from a video published in December, 2017. Here's how The Bell puts it, but mind you, the translation is a bit wonky.

Samsung Foldable is an in folding method that is visible when the 7.29-inch main display is located inside. The 4.58-inch display is located on either side of the front or back of the product when folded.

According to this report, Samsung Display will start mass production of components this month, but Samsung isn't looking to sell millions of this device because the price is said to be very high. From the totals cited, it appears that only 100,000 units will be made a month, which is much lower than the millions of Galaxy S devices the company manufactures a year. Lastly, while we may see the hardware at SDC this week, it's also said that Samsung will showcase the software UI it has designed for this foldable device. Of note, it's reported that Samsung has worked with Google and Task Force to develop it. We may see an actual product this week, folks! // The Bell (Translated)

Chrome 71 is Going Further to Block More Bad Ad Experiences

Kellen — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 09:00:53 +0000

At the beginning of this year, Google added protections to Chrome that helped protect users against abusive experiences. "Abusive experiences" was basically in reference to all of the super obnoxious ads across the web that open new tabs or windows and redirect you to pages you don't want to go. Today, they are taking those protections a step further. Google announced that in Chrome 71, which will begin rolling out in December, they will fully remove ads on the small number of sites that have "persistent abusive experiences." These are sites that not only offered up pop-ups and redirects, but sites that try to trick you into clicking on things, like system warnings or "close" buttons that don't actually do those things. After putting those initial protections in place, Google learned that they didn't go far enough and that "more than half" of abusive experiences were not blocked. Now, it's full block time for internet website ad assholes. Of course, if you want to experience the web in its shittiest form, Google will let you disable abusive site filtering in Chrome settings. // Chromium Blog

China Gets OnePlus 6T in Thunder Purple

Tim — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 08:55:27 +0000

Here in the US, we have two variants of OnePlus 6T, Mirror and Midnight, but both are a Black color. In China, OnePlus released a new color for the OnePlus 6T this week, Thunder Purple, and we're officially jealous. The Thunder Purple color essentially starts as a more light purple at the bottom (similar to a Samsung Lavender Purple color) and then gets a bit darker as it goes toward the top of the device. It's pretty hot, but according to OnePlus, the color will stay a China exclusive for the time being. For pricing, you can get it in China now for ¥3,399 (around $490) with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. If and when OnePlus announces something for the US, we'll let you know. // OnePlus

Google Plans to Fix Pixel 3's Sh*tty Memory Management in "Coming Weeks"

Kellen — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 08:15:20 +0000

The Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL are by no means perfect phones. They are really good phones, but there were a handful of issues that accompanied each at launch that need to be addressed pretty quickly. One such issue is a memory management problem that only allowed 2-3 apps to remain running in the background during normal use. Google says they have some sort of related fix in the works that will arrive in the coming weeks. Their statement on the issue is as follows:

We’re rolling out a software update in the coming weeks to keep background apps from being prematurely closed in certain situations.

OK, so they'll fix a bug that was prematurely closing background apps in "certain situations." Does that not mean during general use, but possibly because using things like the camera was causing other apps to close? I just want to be able to quickly switch between more than 2 apps without them fully refreshing, Google, is that too much to ask? I'll take what I can get, though. Google told 9to5Google that this memory fix won't arrive in today's November security patch. In other words, we're probably looking to December's patch before this is fixed. One month to go! // 9to5Google

Open Beta 6 for OnePlus 6 Brings 6T's Nightscape, Gesture Controls, and More (Updated: Stable!)

Tim — Sun, 04 Nov 2018 08:36:05 +0000

OnePlus 6 owners are being offered the ability to load up what appears to be most of OnePlus' latest software enhancements that will launch with the OnePlus 6T, courtesy of OxygenOS Open Beta 6.

UPDATE 11/4: This update, labeled OxygenOS 9.0.2 is now rolling out to the stable channel. Your OnePlus 6 just became a OnePlus 6T, sans baby teardrop.

The changelog includes things like Nightscape and Studio Lighting camera modes, improved Launcher app, new navigation gestures, the latest Android security patch, as well as an updated Gallery app. Besides the teardrop baby notch, it'll be like you're running a 6T on the OnePlus 6, so we can't argue with that. Here's the full changelog.

System
- New navigation gestures
- Improved UI for About phone
- Updated Android security patch to 2018.11
- Improvements for taking screenshot experience
Launcher
- New Google quick search box design
Camera
- Added Nightscape and Studio Lighting
Gallery
- Gallery smoother and improved zooming gesture and magnification

Want this on your OnePlus 6? It's super easy! Head here on your phone and download the Beta Build file, then go to Settings > System update > Settings (top right corner) > Local upgrade. Find the zip file and click Install to confirm. That's it! Keep in mind, should you want to return to stable, you'll need to flash the latest public build and wipe your device. You will not receive stable OTA updates when in the beta channel. Let us know what you think about Nightscape! // OnePlus

Motorola One Comes to the US With a Clean Android One Experience for $399

Kellen — Sun, 04 Nov 2018 08:31:41 +0000

Motorola One, an Android One phone with a notch and familiar industry design, will arrive in the US after all. After being announced back in August with only international availability, Motorola is bringing this device to Best Buy at a $399 price tag. Why should you care at all about this device? Umm, I'm not sure. The overall list of features aren't bad, plus Motorola is promising big things in the update department? For specs, you've got a 2.0GHz Snapdragon 625 processor, 4GB RAM, 64GB storage, 3000mAh battery, fingerprint reader, USB-C port, headphone jack (!), and dual rear 13MP cameras. It also features a 5.9" display with notch and a 19:9 ratio, but it's only 720p. As for the OS, it is an Android One phone for so it runs the cleanest version of Android you'll find. Motorola says it'll get updates to Android P and Android Q, as well as 3 years worth of security patches. The weird thing there is that Android P has been out for three months and yet this phone still runs Android 8.1. This is a GSM-only phone, so it won't work on Verizon or Sprint. AT&T and T-Mobile customers are the target here. The Motorola One comes in white or black, is up for pre-order now at Best Buy, and ships November 9.

Best Buy Link

Pre-Register for Diablo Immortal, Blizzard's Upcoming MMORPG for Mobile on Google Play

Tim — Fri, 02 Nov 2018 14:30:56 +0000

Blizzard has a new MMORPG for mobile devices coming... Diablo Immortal. You can now pre-register for the game on Google Play, but fret not if you're on iOS, it's going there, too. In this game, you'll choose from six classes, then use abilities and attacks to defeat your opponents. Basically, think any other MMORPG, add in the fact that Activision is the company pulling the strings and they are one of the greediest gaming companies on Earth, then spin that around in a can. The result will likely be a mobile MMORPG that has insane incentives for making in-game purchases, along with a story that fits between Diablo II: Lord of Destruction and Diablo III on the timeline. According to Blizzard, the game will be a, “living, breathing, and constantly evolving experience.” Right now, all we know is that Diablo Immortals is coming soon. There is no official launch date set by Blizzard. Google Play Link

Pixel Slate Stops Off at FCC

Kellen — Fri, 02 Nov 2018 12:34:33 +0000

Google's first tablet in years, the Pixel Slate, stopped off at the FCC this week. We don't necessarily learn any fun new stuff, since the tablet was announced a month ago, but this could be a sign that it'll be up for sale shortly. For those curious, the listing didn't show up under Google's FCC ID and that's because Quanta manufactured it. Quanta made the Pixelbook as well, so this isn't all that surprising. The FCC ID is HFSC1A and you can view it at the link below. In the listing, the typical test reports are there, but we also get a look at some user manual pages that do indeed show off the device, reference Google and Chrome OS, and talk about accessories. It's the Pixel Slate.

When Google announced the Pixel Slate in October at their fall hardware event, they would only say that the Pixel Slate was launching later this year. We assumed that meant right around the holidays and an FCC approval helps that cause. The Pixel Slate will debut at a starting price of $599 and rises quickly to $1599 depending on how you configure it. It should be a little beast of a tablet. // FCC | Chrome Unboxed

Call of Duty Companion App Released for Black Ops 4, Tracks Your MP, Zombies, and Blackout Stats

Tim — Fri, 02 Nov 2018 10:36:46 +0000

For anyone who has started the Black Ops 4 grind, an official Call of Duty Companion App is now available on Google Play. This app, as of right now, is specifically catered to the BO4 title, complete with sat tracking across all of its Game Modes. That includes Multiplayer, Zombies, and Blackout. Right now, the app is very basic. With it, you can track your stats, such as Win-Loss Ratio and Kill-Death Ratio, but according to the app, more features are on the way. In the future, this app will offer Custom Class editors, something that has been available from CoD Companion apps in the past. One feature I'd like to highlight is a KDR Heat Map for every single Multiplayer map. With this, you can create what's essentially a game plan in your mind of where you dominate and where you don't do so well on any given map. For example, I don't do very well on the backside of B bomb site for Firing Range. Because I tend to use a shotgun or AR in Search and Destroy, I always seem to get outplayed by SMG players in that part of the map. It's something to keep in mind. To use the app, simply download it to your phone, then log into your account. Google Play Link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuoczksOgNo

Google's Sights of Sound Pop-Up Tour Features Pixel 3 and Rooms Inspired by Music Artists

Tim — Fri, 02 Nov 2018 08:47:38 +0000

To celebrate the launch of Pixel 3, Google is teaming up with YouTube Music to create the Sights of Sound pop-up shop experience. With this, YouTube Music has collaborated with a few of today's hottest artists to showcase a stunning visual experience. The point of it is to show off the Pixel 3's camera capabilities, which we already know are pretty darn good. This pop-up experience will be available for a couple of days in five cities across the US. As for the artists that are showcased in Sights of Sound, here's Google to explain.

We collaborated with Ella Mai, Future, J Balvin and Marshmello to create each immersive space in the pop-up. Dive deep into Ella Mai’s Inner Reflections, sit like royalty among snakes and nine-foot tall golden lions in Future’s Trap Mansion, dance your way through J Balvin’s Reggaeton World, bounce your troubles away in Marshmello’s Happier Place and capture it all on the Pixel 3’s incredible camera.

The pop-up dates are as follows, and if you want to attend, follow the below RSVP link.

SF -- 11/1 - 11/3
LA -- 11/9 - 11/11
Austin -- 11/27 - 11/29
Miami -- 12/6 - 12/8
Atlanta -- 12/14 - 12/16

RSVP Here // Google

RED's Hydrogen One Phone Now Available for Purchase at Verizon and AT&T

Kellen — Fri, 02 Nov 2018 08:09:57 +0000

The RED Hydrogen One, a phone with a "holographic" display and what can only be described as a unique design, is now available for purchase from Verizon and AT&T. It'll cost you around $1,300 if you want one. We reviewed the RED Hydrogen One this week and weren't exactly blown away by anything it offered. It came off as an unfinished product, with poorly tuned software, an average camera, and a display that gave us a headache in 4V (the holographic thing) and didn't look great in 2D either. It's huge, has a year-old processor, and may some day be a part of a modular ecosystem, but isn't now. Hey, battery life was good, though! If you are indeed still interested after reading that, Verizon will sell you a RED Hydrogen One in "Shadow" or "Titanium" at a cost of $53.95/mo for 24 months. AT&T would rather you spread the cost out over 30 months and would run you $43.17/mo. Want one today or at least take a look in-person? Store availability is going to be hard to come by. Verizon's site lists it as "available online only," while AT&T's site couldn't find any stores near me (Portland) that have them. Verizon's site also shows shipping dates of 11/13 (Black Aluminum) and 11/21 (Shadow). On a related note, a weird story was floating around yesterday suggesting that Verizon units had been put in "quarantine" and were not going to be sold today. We reached out to Verizon who said that is not true at all and that launch today is still on. Buy RED Hydrogen One: Verizon | AT&T

Your Wear OS Watch Should Have the Wear OS 2.0 Update by Now

Kellen — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 15:43:02 +0000

Google first revealed its big Wear OS 2.0 update at the end of August. They didn't start rolling it out until a full month later to only a handful of watches, though some were able to force the update. The rest, well, they've been picking it up here and there, outside of the Huawei Watches and Moto 360 (2nd gen). Owners of those watches have been waiting and waiting and waiting. This week, the Huawei Watch, Huawei Watch 2, and Moto 360 (2nd gen) all picked up the update, completing the rollout for most of the watches you know. The folks at the Wear OS subreddit have been diligently tracking the progress of most watches and their list is basically complete at this point. And it's complete because Huawei and Moto finally got their act together a provided the update. If you have no yet seen the Wear OS 2.0 update, with Assistant and Fit access, smaller notifications, and an improved settings shade, try rebooting your watch. Try uninstalling the Wear OS on it and then re-installing. Something should work because the update is available. Related - for those who have the update, how's it been? // reddit

Google Home Hub Will Drop to $99 Again on Black Friday

Kellen — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 14:20:12 +0000

If you are still kicking yourself over missing out on that pre-launch $99 Google Home Hub deal from Home Depot, try and calm yourself. When Black Friday 2018 rolls around here in a couple of weeks, it's looking like Home Hub will once again drop to that same price. Target released its Black Friday ad today and is planning a doorbuster sale that includes a $50 discount on Google's first smart display. While I have no idea what other retailers will do with Google Home Hub, I'm guessing that they will also price drop similarly. Most Google Home products see their best discounts at that time. At $99, we're talking about a steal for Home Hub. It may not have the audio powers of Home Max or the display of Lenovo's smart display, but it is a great size should you want a smart display tucked into almost any corner of your house. Buy Google Home Hub // Target

Sonos Can't Figure Out Google Assistant, Delays Integration Until 2019

Kellen — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 10:07:43 +0000

Sonos keeps telling us that Google Assistant integration will come to their Sonos One speaker, and possibly their new Beam soundbar too. The last we heard, we were going to get Assistant access before the end of 2018, likely in time or the holidays. Today, the company has said that 2018 is no longer happening. According to blog from the company that was posted today, Sonos says that they "need a bit more time to get the experience right" with Google Assistant and their speakers. We don't actually have a new time frame for when Assistant might arrive either, with Sonos only suggesting they'll "look to lock down a date in 2019." The only sort-of guarantee we have now is an update on the situation that will be provided in early 2019. Ugh. With that said, if you are interested in helping Sonos develop Google Assistant for their speakers, you can do so by signing-up for their beta program here. In order to qualify, Sonos wants you to be able to listen to music for at least 14 hours per week, use 10 voice commands in a day, and respond to surveys they provide within 72 hours. Welp, scratch that off the holiday fun. // Sonos

Project Fi May Soon be Google Fi, Get Fancy New Logo

Tim — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 08:39:34 +0000

We all know Google's history of throwing things at the wall to see what sticks. We've seen plenty of projects launch and then be taken away, so the following news is almost somewhat surprising. Project Fi may soon be getting a rename to Google Fi, complete with a brand new logo. According to a post on reddit that shows a piece of startup documentation, all of the Project Fi wording appears to be going away and is being replaced with Google Fi. That includes a new logo that showcases the classic Google colors. From what we know so far, nothing else is changing, such as pricing or how you sign up for the service. We suppose this means Project Fi has so far been a success in the eyes of Google. In our minds, what Google labels as a success is rather subjective, because we thought Inbox was pretty awesome and popular, but that's being shut down anyway. And Google+? That place was dead for years, and finally, Google decided to close the doors. Google, you're super weird/funny about these things. Congrats to Project Fi for being elevated out of Project status.

// reddit

Are There Differences Between T-Mobile's OnePlus 6T and Unlocked Versions? Yes.

Kellen — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 07:26:53 +0000

Since OnePlus is selling the OnePlus 6T at T-Mobile, you might be deciding to buy the phone directly from T-Mobile rather than OnePlus. And that's not a bad idea, especially with the trade-in program ($300 off) that T-Mobile is running for it. Just keep in mind that there are some differences between the T-Mobile OnePlus 6T and the unlocked version sold by OnePlus. Hardware differences? For one, T-Mobile only carries the $579 8GB model with 128GB storage in Mirror Black. You can't up the storage to 256GB, choose Midnight Black, or go with the cheapest $549 model with 6GB RAM. As the chart below shows, the T-Mobile version also only has 1 SIM slot (bad for global travelers) and includes a couple of bloatware apps. But maybe more importantly, the T-Mobile version is locked to T-Mobile until you pay it off and use it on their network for 40 days. In other words, you can't buy the T-Mobile version and then walk over to Verizon or AT&T to use it, even if you pay for it in full because you'll still need to use it for 40 days on T-Mobile's network. Additionally, the bootloader is not unlockable at first until you SIM unlock it after 40 days of use on T-Mobile's network and have paid it off. 99% of us are fine with that, but if you are a bootloader unlocking machine for all the h4cks, know what you are getting into. [table id=149 /] What about software updates? OnePlus has acknowledged that there "may be a slight offset" in updates between T-Mobile and unlocked version because of an "additional level of certification required by T-Mobile." So updates will come to T-Mobile versions later than the unlocked models. What about software betas? Nope, the T-Mobile model will not be eligible for OnePlus beta builds. Are those major differences that should force you to buy the unlocked version from OnePlus? Maybe. If you travel a lot and want to use 2 SIMs, like Midnight over Mirror Black, need more storage, don't want to spend 40 days with T-Mobile, and want updates the fastest, then yeah, you should go directly from OnePlus. If none of those things matter, go to T-Mobile and use their trade-in deal. Buy OnePlus 6T: OnePlus Store | T-Mobile // OnePlus

OnePlus 6T Now Available for Purchase!

Kellen — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 06:44:21 +0000

The OnePlus 6T is now available for purchase, my friends. OnePlus' newest device, with a starting price of $549, can be head with either 6GB or 8GB RAM, with 128GB or 256GB storage, and in Mirror Black or Midnight Black finishes. Prices top out at $629 if you max out the RAM and storage, just FYI. Let's not forget that the phone is available through T-Mobile, which is OnePlus' first carrier partner. The new OnePlus 6T is also the first from OnePlus to work on Verizon. This is probably the company's biggest phone release to date because of those two moves. The specs are right too, in case you were wondering. Looking for our review? Hah, yeah, that's funny. Some day we'll get a phone, we just don't know when that'll be. Fun times. Good industry. Ready to buy? Link below that will award you $20 off accessories. (It's our referral link.)

Buy OnePlus 6T

Honor Unveils Magic 2 and Honor Watch, Not Coming to US

Tim — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 15:14:20 +0000

It wasn't long ago when we were able to get excited about announcements from Huawei and Honor. These days, since we live in the US, it's hard to get pumped for devices that we'll never get our hands on. Depression aside, at a launch event this week, Honor unveiled Magic 2, a followup to the original Magic device, as well as the company's first smartwatch, Honor Watch. The original Honor Magic was announced in December, 2016, but that phone never came to the US either. This year's Magic 2 features a 6.39" AMOLED 2.5D bezel-less display, Kirin 980, 6GB or 8GB RAM, 128GB or 256GB storage, triple rear-facing camera setup (16MP + 20MP + 16MP), triple front-facing cameras, (16MP + 2MP + 2MP), 3,400mAh battery, and USB-C. Due to its slide design, the screen-to-body ratio is able to reach nearly 100%, similar to designs we are seeing from others in the industry. Magic 2 is already up for pre-order in China at RMB 3,799 (around $545 US).

As for Honor's first watch, it's suitably named Honor Watch. It sports a 1.2" AMOLED round touchscreen, is said to last up to 7 days on a single charge, supports heart rate tracking and "precise navigation," but is scheduled to launch globally in January, 2019. Again, don't expect to see either of these devices come to the US.

Pixel 3 XL Review

Kellen — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 14:04:29 +0000

When I reviewed the smaller Pixel 3 a couple of weeks ago, I told you that a Pixel 3 XL-specific review would follow. That's what we're about to dive into here. I separated them because while the software experience, camera, and availability do not differ, the designs, size, batteries, displays, and prices are certainly different. So, I wanted to spend plenty of time with each to really get a feel for them, rather than rush the two in a single lumped-together review. That make sense? Whether it does or not let's jump into this mini review of the Pixel 3 XL.

Pixel 3 XL Mini Review

Why mini and not full review? Because there really are only a couple of specific differences to look at between the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. If you want to know about the software experience, the camera capabilities, availability, performance, and and specs, you will find those details at our Pixel 3 review. For this 3 XL review, I want to talk about its display, design, battery life, and if the price is right.

Notch!

Alright, let's get this out of the way - the notch on this phone is pretty bad. It's an eyesore. It looks terrible next to other notches on the market today, especially phones like the OnePlus 6T who are already bringing us baby teardrops. What was Google thinking here? It's obvious they wanted to keep the front-facing speakers and double up the front cameras, so they doubled the width of the notch and made it the worst we've seen to date. Look, I've been using this phone off and on for weeks and the notch still catches my eye at times. I'm not sure the notch is reason enough to completely run away from the Pixel 3 XL, but it also hasn't just faded from view and my mind after using it as I expected it might. It's there. When the background of your phone isn't black or a dark color, there is a giant notch that you will see.

Beyond how it looks, the notch is big enough that it does affect some of the experience too. Because Google moved the clock to the left side and included this giant notch, you only get to see two notification icons at a time now, followed by a little dot to let you know that there are more. That also means that status bar icons get cut and are buried if you want to show more than battery percentage, WiFi, and cellular connectivity. The notch has made it so that you get less information at all times and tend to have to interact with your phone even more. So much for Digital Wellbeing, eh? And finally, the notch here looks old and behind the times. There is a large chin on this phone that matches the width of the top notch, which I'm assuming Google did on purpose for some sort of balance. Chins aren't the end of the world, nor are notches, but I'm just at a loss for why Google went this dramatic route, during a time where everyone else keeps on slimming things. They said that this gives us more display, but it doesn't really, right? All we got was something not-so-fun to look at and a double-thick status bar that shows us less info.

Design (rest of it)

Now, notch aside, the phone design isn't bad and I'm mostly a fan. It's got that Google look and feel to it, with two tone/texture backside. It feels quite premium, because of the seamless flow of front to back glass with a metal frame in between. In fact, I think Google has done that flow from front to back better than anyone this year. They also managed to fit everything in this new Pixel 3 XL (larger 6.3" display) into a body that's the same size as last year's Pixel 2 XL. I know there isn't more RAM or a bigger battery, but it does have higher water resistance, wireless charging, and more cameras. Overall, the phone is large and you'll notice that size at all times, particularly with a case on it. It's not unreasonably large by any means, just know that it doesn't give off that smallish feeling like the Pixel 3. There aren't squeaks or wiggles or bendy parts - this phone feels super solid. The fingerprint reader is in the right place, it doesn't wobble on a table when you lay it down because of the camera sensor, and the power and volume buttons are easy to interact with. Like the Pixel 3, the Pixel 3 XL is the most put-together phone Google has made to date.

Display

The 6.3" QHD AMOLED display on the Pixel 3 XL is fantastic. After a year where the Pixel 2 XL was constantly trashed over its sub-par display, Google really went for it here and delivered. It's a Samsung panel that has good brightness levels, sharp colors that you can tune some, excellent viewing angles, and superb touch sensitivity. We often talk about displays that appear to float at the very top of a phone and this is one of them. Google included Natural, Boosted, and Adaptive color profiles. In order, those go from more muted colors to more vibrant. I've been running my 3 XL on Adaptive to really get a punch because who doesn't like punchy colors? Videos really pop on this big display, as do all of the incredible photos you'll look at that were taken with its best-in-the-business camera. I really don't have anything negative to say about the display, other than it can be slightly jarring here and there when your eyes remember there is a notch always staring at you with the saddest of eyes.

Battery Life

The 3430mAh battery on the Pixel 3 XL may be slightly smaller than the 2 XL's, but it has been mostly solid, and by that I mean full-day. Google hasn't worked any special mystery magic with Adaptive Battery on Android Pie here, though. My battery life on most days consisted of 3.5 hours of screen on time and with 30%+ left when I'd go to bed. That's pretty good for me!

On top of the decent battery life, you've got Google's rapid or fast charging if you need to top off mid-day. That'll get you a full charge in under an hour or hours of use within a few minutes. It has wireless charging too, but the faster speeds are limited to Google-approved chargers which are stupidly expensive. If you aren't interested in their chargers and want to go the cheaper route, you can still wireless charge throughout a day, just not super quickly. Again, battery life has been fine for me on the Pixel 3 XL. It matches most other phones in the category.

Price

The Pixel 3 XL starts at $899 for 4GB RAM and 64GB storage, then jumps up to $999 for double the storage and same amount of RAM. As I mentioned in my Pixel 3 review, it's missing some stuff that Samsung always puts in its phones that are priced lower or the same. There's no headphone jack, 4GB RAM is low for a phone this expensive, and there's no storage expansion via SD slot. For some, when we think value, those missing items and the high price will be tough to stomach.

Other Notes

Earpiece crackling during calls: The earpiece on my Pixel 3 XL has the slightest crackle in it that can be heard while on calls and there is silence. I really noticed it at first, but haven't so much in recent days unless I really try to find it. I'm not sure if that was the phone warming up or if I've gotten used to it. It's a known issue, though I haven't found it to be something that would cause me to send the phone back.
Speakers: I've seen some complaints about speakers on the Pixel 3 XL, but I have zero. These stereo front speakers are loud and greatly improved over the Pixel 2 XL's. They are overall clearer, especially at higher volumes, and even produce a minor about of bass. It's a night and day improvement. I'm actually impressed.

Video

First 10 Things to Do Tips and Tricks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4nICi3n6RQ

Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL?

I said before the Pixel 3 XL ever launched that I'd likely go Pixel 3 because that notch just wasn't for me. After spending a couple of weeks with each phone, I still pretty much feel that way and am excited to go back to the Pixel 3 for a while. I'm worried that dropping down from this large phone will be a bit freaky, since the regular 3 is quite small, but I also just want to look at a notchless display before fully deciding. With that said, the Pixel 3 XL is a fantastic overall device, just like the regular Pixel 3 is. It has an incredible camera, really-really good display, solid battery life, the best Android experience (in my opinion), improved external speakers, and a unique design. If you can get over the notch and like bigger phones, then yep, this is a phone you would be happy with.

FlexPai Foldable Device Makes Me Feel Old and Grouchy

Tim — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 11:48:06 +0000

2018 was all about the notch. It seems 2019 may be all about folds, and for some odd reason, looking at foldable devices makes me feel like a cranky old man. You see, a device called FlexPai was recently showcased at what appears to be an overseas industry event, and just like we imagined, it can bend, fold, and do all sorts of crazy things. But is it really necessary? That's what I can't figure out. While I get the concept just fine, with what's essentially a 4" display folding into a 7.8" display for consuming content, this rendition of the idea doesn't look all that great to me. Is this similar to what we'll see from LG and Samsung? As you'll see in the video below, as well as the photos we've included in this post, FlexPai can most definitely fold.

While I get why people might call this a folding phone, I refuse to do so. This thing is a folding tablet in my book, regardless if it folds into something more manageable and has cellular connectivity. It's a tablet, end of discussion. And no, I'm not even going to try to fit that thing in my pocket. Ugh, I'm reminding myself of that time Steve Jobs called the DROID X a Hummer with its 4.3" display. What's happening to me? We've already asked you to voice your opinion on foldable displays, but what's your take on this FlexPai? https://twitter.com/UniverseIce/status/1057568515324952577 // GSM Arena

Poll: Do You Care About Foldable Phones?

Kellen — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 09:15:46 +0000

At Samsung's Developer Conference next week, we should finally see some sort of rendering or prototype of their years-in-the-making foldable phone. It'll probably just be a phone that folds out into a tablet (which is fine), but it's clear that the next big move from companies is going to be a push into folding sh*t. LG is about to. Other companies too. I can't tell if anyone cares, though. We write up these rumors and the response is mostly crickets. Is it because all of the big new ideas from companies almost never stick or are too gimmicky and people are hesitant to get overhyped? Maybe. The hype sure was huge for things like Android tablets, smartwatches, DeX-like systems, smart glasses, VR, etc. yet none of them has really turned into a very big deal on Android. One of the few things that companies have delivered on in recent years is bigger displays in smaller phones. Well, that was great until they started throwing notches onto everything, but I digress. So tell me, are you into this whole foldable phone idea? Does it interest you at all? Or are you cool with the typical, modern day big smartphone? [poll id="500"]

Spotify Users With Family Accounts Can Redeem a Free Google Home Mini This Week

Tim — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 09:13:44 +0000

Spotify users with a $14.99/month family account, Christmas is coming early for you. Spotify is handing out free Google Home Mini units, redeemable starting November 1. If you don't know about Spotify's family account, let me fill you in. A family account comes with up to five individual Premium accounts, with each member of the family getting their sets of playlists, stations, and favorite artists. For the person who pays the bill, it's a single payment of $14.99/month, which is only $5/month more expensive than your standard Spotify Premium account. And considering our audience, I don't know if I have to explain what a free Google Home Mini means. It's Google Assistant wherever you want it. It can be in your kitchen, living room, at the office, in your bathroom, or wherever the heck you want to put it. Redemption starts tomorrow, so don't forget. Redeem Here Cheers Brad!

LG Might Show Off a Foldable Phone at CES

Kellen — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 07:55:28 +0000

CES 2019 is a bit of future hell I'm not quite ready to try and wrap my brain around yet, but I have to, thanks to a suggestion by @evleaks that LG has big plans for it. We're talking plans that involve folding things, which appears to be the next big trend in mobile. According to Blass, LG will use its time on stage during a scheduled pre-show keynote to show off a foldable phone. That keynote will take place on Monday, January 7, and will be delivered by I.P. Park, LG's president and CTO. LG really wants us to pay attention to this keynote and has sent us a couple of press releases about it in recent weeks. CES is also putting plenty of push around the keynote too. LG said that Park will speak heavily about artificial intelligence (insert giant eyeroll), AI technologies that enrich users' experiences in life, and how LG is now a lifestyle innovator, rather than just a product manufacturing company. If correct, he'll top all of the boring AI stuff with whatever their vision for a foldable device is. https://twitter.com/evleaks/status/1057571022931722240 We don't know anything about LG's plans for a foldable device at this time, outside of this Tweet. With that said, if Samsung is close to showing off its first foldable device, we'd be foolish to think that they are the only ones working on such tech. In fact, leaker @Iceuniverse suggested this morning that we could see three companies show off foldable devices between CES and MWC next year. I'm not sure how excited I am just yet for the next wave of all-things-being-foldable, but if everyone in the industry is on board, that should at least give us multiple implementations to consider. I don't necessarily see anything wrong with a phone that can become a tablet, I just need to be sold on the experience and value adds. If anything, it's something new!

August Rolls Out Alexa and Google Home Integration for Locks and Doorbell Cameras

Tim — Tue, 30 Oct 2018 15:09:21 +0000

August, makers of smart home tech, introduced new integrations with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant this week. Specifically for its smart locks and video doorbells, users will now be able to lock/unlock an August Smart Lock by speaking a command, then following up with a secret code. This code means even if you ask your Google Home to unlock your door, it won't do so unless the secret code is spoken. This is a good thing. Additionally, if someone rings your doorbell, Alexa and Google Home will now announce someone is at the door. If you're looking to get this up and running with your Google Home, follow the below instructions.

To enable this, open your Google Assistant and go to Settings > Home control. Then link your August account to Google to activate the visitor announcement feature. You will need to unlink and relink if you’re already connected to Google Home.

If you want this to go along with your Alexa household, just enable August’s Alexa Smart Home Skill and then use the Alexa app to activate the announcements and routines. // August

Montblanc Summit 2 Review: First 3100 Watch Change Anything?

Kellen — Tue, 30 Oct 2018 14:42:32 +0000

Google's Wear OS platform hasn't produced or been involved in anything particularly exciting in a number of years. Part of that is Google's fault, some of the blame lies with watchmakers, and the rest is probably attributed to Qualcomm. As Google has continued to try and figure out what a good watch OS might be, the companies making the watches that run that OS haven't done much to keep us interested, thanks in part to Qualcomm's outdated wearable chipsets that only recently received an upgrade. With the launch of the Montblanc Summit 2, the watch we're about to review here, all of those issues get addressed. Do they get addressed in a way that will make Wear OS a proper smartwatch platform that we can all get excited about? In some ways, yes. In other ways, well, there are still issues here. Let's talk about it! This is our Montblanc Summit 2 review.

What is the Montblanc Summit 2?

The latest Summit device from Montblanc is a $995 Wear OS-powered smartwatch that runs not only the latest in Wear OS UIs, it's also the first watch to use Qualcomm's new Snapdragon Wear 3100. It comes in multiple colors with multiple band options, has all of the watch specs you could ask for in 2018, and is ridiculously pretty and properly sized for almost any wrist. The Montblanc Summit 2 specifically features a 1.2" full circle AMOLED display (390x390), 1GB RAM, 8GB storage, GPS, NFC, heartrate monitor, 5ATM water resistance, 340mAh battery, rotating crown with two pushers on each side of it, 22mm bands, and a really nicely sized 42mm case. Montblanc included some of their own software on it, like a workout coach, a couple of travel apps, and a handful of well-designed watch faces that have ample customizations. Because of the Snapdragon Wear 3100, it also has a watch-only mode that turns everything off outside of a single watch face, allowing it to last up to a full week without needing a charge.

What's good, what's bad about the Summit 2?

Design: As I mentioned above, this watch is probably the best looking Wear OS watch to date. At 42mm, it's the perfect size for a smartwatch, doesn't look stupidly oversized like most, and isn't so thick that its wrist presence will annoy you or get in the way. I have the stainless steel case here, which has a combination of polish and brushed finishing, but Montblanc is offering other finishes, including bicolor, black steel, or titanium. I'm pretty sure this is one of the first smartwatches I've warn that hasn't felt like a smartwatch on wrist, doesn't look like a smartwatch, and could pass for a high-end mechanical piece. This is a beautiful watch. Display: This AMOLED display is quite nice on the Summit 2. Most of that is because the Snapdragon Wear 3100 allows for more colorful ambient setups, but I've also noticed it being easy to read indoors and out, it gets plenty bright if you need it to, and touch sensitivity has been good. The pixel density is higher than we often see, so watch faces look sharper and more like an actual watch with mechanical hands, assuming that's the type of watch face you go with. Speaking of those watch faces, I really like the upgrades Qualcomm has helped enable that let your watch look more like a watch at all times. You can set your watch face and then enjoy it even in ambient mode with the screen not really active or doing anything. This is probably (until sport mode arrives) the best new feature that the Wear 3100 has added to Wear OS. Here are a handful of shots of the watch in ambient mode without the screen active. You can see the potential here, especially once watch face makers get busy with this.

Battery Life: The battery life on the Summit 2 has been solid, but not necessarily massively improved over a watch like the Huawei Watch 2. With tilt-to-wake off on the display, I'll go through a full day, get in a workout, and wake up the next morning with 30% left. So we aren't talking 2-3 day battery life, but more-than-a-day. I've got in a couple of 4 mile runs and that seemed to only gobble up 5-10% too, so there is some optimization there, possibly through the Wear 3100. With tilt-to-wake on, battery life wasn't great and I often was down to 20% before bed. As it relates to working out, I should point out that this watch does not include the new sport mode that we are expecting to arrive on Snapdragon Wear 3100 devices. At least as far as I know, Qualcomm and Google will ready that when they launch a specific sport watch later this year. So while I'm only seeing 5-10% drop in a 30-40 minute workout with GPS and heartrate monitor running, which I think is quite good, that could improve even more if this watch picks up that sport mode. As for the watch only mode that was introduced with Wear 3100 and that could allow up to 7 days use, I've got to be honest in admitting that I never ran it for more than a few minutes. I get why this feature could come in handy if you are in a pinch, don't have a charge, and would still like a clock on your wrist, I just can't see myself ever using it. This is a smartwatch and I want to do smartwatch things on it. Additionally, flipping to the watch only mode is a pain in the ass. You switch to time-only mode by turning on Battery Saver, which then reboots the watch into the time-only mode, shutting off all other parts. Unfortunately, to get out of time-only mode, you have to put the watch back on a charger which reboots it. There is no other way to flip out of that mode, which is insane. Not even long-pressing on buttons for a minute or three does the trick. Finally, I found that it charges quite quickly on the included PIN charger. I don't have numbers for you, but within an hour it sure seemed to be back to 100%. As I've been writing this, I dropped the watch to 5% or so and am back up to 71% within about 30 minutes. I never felt like I had to keep the watch off for very long. Overall, battery life has been solid for me, but nothing incredible. Maybe that will change some with updates.

GPS and Heartrate: As I mentioned, I've taken the Summit 2 on a couple of runs that used GPS and heartrate monitoring. Performance of both hardware components worked better than I expected. My running has been slacking lately, so my heartrate has elevated some over what I'm used to, and I initially thought the Summit 2 was misreading it as high. However, once I tossed on my Garmin Fenix 5 to compare, it came up with the same embarrassing reading. So yeah, the heartrate sensor was fine while working out, but I did find it unreliable while not working out and trying to pull readings through Google Fit or the Montblanc heartrate app. It just jumped all over the place. For GPS, it mostly matched my Fenix 5 in terms of overall pace and distance once finished, but between miles it was all over the place (see below). I did use the Strava app during that run, because the Montblanc fitness app has something wrong with it. I went on a 30 minute run using that app, which I stopped precisely at 30 minutes, and it then showed a 35 minute workout once it processed. I have no idea what that's supposed to mean. Anyways, here is that comparison Strava Wear OS run vs. my Garmin Fenix 5.

Could this watch be your running and workout buddy? If you get in regular workouts yet aren't a super serious runner, sure. You have options for different apps for running and workout tracking, since this is Wear OS, the heartrate monitoring works pretty well, and the GPS performance wasn't terrible. In the end, I'd probably still stick with my trusted Garmin Fenix 5, but this Summit 2 would be sufficient for those going from work to casually working out and not wanting to switch devices. Performance: The Snapdragon Wear 3100 with full 1GB RAM here runs quite nice. Even though the Wear 3100 really just runs the same processor as the 2100 (MSM8909w), with a low-power co-processor there for helping with battery life, this is a speedy watch for a Wear OS device. I wouldn't necessarily say that there is a dramatic increase in performance over other recent Wear 2100 watches (again, like the Huawei Watch 2), but touch responsiveness, opening or updating apps, accessing notifications, etc. all happens smoothly. The previous performance champ for me was the original TAG Heuer Connected, which ran an Intel chip. This is probably on-par with that watch. With that said, this is Wear OS, which still isn't a great watch platform. This Summit 2 does run the newest Wear OS 2.0 update, so you've got a better overall experience than before with easier-to-read notifications, quick access to Google Assistant and Fit panels, as well as a more feature-rich settings shade. Using quick replies in notifications works, I feel like notifications actually disappear when they should now, and general navigation throughout makes a lot more sense these days. Plus, Google removed that stupid swipe on the home screen to change watch faces, so that's a plus. Still, something just seems lacking at times with Wear OS, and that doesn't change here on the Summit 2. For me, I mostly just use Wear OS watches, like the Summit 2, to see a notification here or there, make a mobile payment (it has NFC!) when available, and act as some wrist candy. This watch is certainly good wrist candy.

Price: The Summit 2 is an expensive smartwatch. For the most part, I don't think anyone should really consider buying a $1,000 smartwatch that tops out at around $1,230 depending on finish and band. I haven't noticed any significant features that put this watch into that super-premium price bracket. What you are paying for here is the brand and the design they've come up with. And look, this is the best looking Wear OS watch, but unless you have boatloads of cash to burn, I don't know what this offers over what Fossil may offer here in a month when they start releasing Wear 3100 watches. Other Notes:

Watch bands: The 22mm watch bands can easily be swapped. The included bands on the watch use quick release switches, so you can swap them for anything. The pictures in this post are all on non-Montblanc bands that I like much better (this and this).
NFC: Yep, as I just mentioned, this watch has NFC and it works well. I've made multiple payments through Google Pay with the Summit 2.
Rotating crown: The rotating crown on this watch is a huge crown, but it also works well for navigating in and out of menus or screens. It came in handy while running too, as I was able to jump between Strava screens using it rather than pawing at the screen with my sweaty finger.

Unboxing and First Look

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kONMT4CN1Y

Should you buy the Montblanc Summit 2?

Ummm, I like this watch a lot, I'll say that. Do I think you should run out and spend $1,000 on one? Ehhhh, I can't recommend you do that unless money isn't something you worry about. Like I said above, this watch looks and runs great and is probably the best Wear OS watch you can buy. It doesn't really have flaws, plus it really is super pretty and the perfect size. I've enjoyed wearing this every single day. But yeah, man, it's $1,000. That's a lot of money that is mostly going towards the brand name rather than extra features you can't find elsewhere. By the time the holidays roll around, you should see many more watches that match-up spec-for-spec to the Summit 2 without the hefty price tag.

Gboard Intros Mini Emoji to go Along With Your Custom Stickers

Tim — Tue, 30 Oct 2018 12:44:55 +0000

Earlier this year, Google introduced custom stickers in Gboard called Minis. We've been playing with them for a bit, but today, Google announced that Gboard is getting the ability to create Mini Emoji, too! Using machine learning, neural networks, and wizardry, you can create a whole bunch of custom emoji, regardless of what you may look like. Have piercings? That's supported. Freckles and glasses? That's fine, too! Once Google's algorithm gets the basic look of your face, you can then choose a color for your hair, facial hair or different types of head coverings and eyewear. Then it's up to you to add freckles or wrinkles—a little or a lot—if you'd like. It's all up to you. I'm not seeing Mini Emoji in Gboard yet, but it's coming. Grab the latest Gboard from Google Play to get started. Google Play Link

// Google

Google's Call Screen Needs a Save or "Send to Voicemail" Option Right Away

Kellen — Tue, 30 Oct 2018 08:15:28 +0000

The Call Screen feature that Google included with the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL is one of my favorite new software features. It's built almost as a counter-troll for the robot troll callers that have flooded all of our phones in recent years. It' a way to fight back against the never-ending spam that rings up my phone multiple times per day. It has one issue that needs to be addressed pretty quickly, though. We need a way to view transcripts once a call has been completed. And, like, this needs to be here right now. You see, when someone calls your Pixel 3 and you send them to Call Screen, the Google Assistant starts talking to them to let all parties know that you have screened their ass. I cannot explain the level of sinister joy this brings to me. The caller gets to try and explain who they are and what they want, which allows you to decide how long you'd like to further mess with them, answer the call, or eventually hangup to let them know that you'd rather poke your eye with a needle than chat. The problem is that once you do hangup, the record of that call mostly disappears. If you don't attempt to screenshot the Call Screen, all record of what the caller said to you is gone. Sure, you can view the missed call in your recent call log, but none of the conversation that Google had with the person can be seen again. While I'm sure some appreciate the fact that those conversations disappear from a privacy standpoint, losing all of that information, which could include specific information you may need should you want to call them back, isn't great.

So, three things here: 1) Google needs to save transcripts to your phone (which they say "may" be coming soon); 2) Call Screen needs a "Send to voicemail" option; or 3) Give us an option to save individual calls. Because Call Screen acts in a way like a real-time voicemail, people say their name, give a callback number and stated reason for calling you. That's important info that I don't necessarily want lost, especially if that record disappears and I have no way of retrieving it later. And if Google doesn't want to automatically save that information anywhere over privacy concerns (and possibly because most calls you don't need a transcript of), then we really do need a "Send to voicemail" option to allow callers to leave information that can be retrieved. And if none of that works for Google, then add a button at the bottom (or prompt as the call ends) that says, "Screenshot or save call," so that we can at least do it on an individual basis. At this point, Call Screen is great and I'll probably use it non-stop going forward with a giant grin on my face, but there have already been numerous times where I'd like to have been able to retrieve a record of one.

Video: Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL Tips and Tricks!

Kellen — Mon, 29 Oct 2018 14:09:43 +0000

How's the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL experience been so far? Getting used to it? Ran through our First 10 Things video? If you are ready for more goods, our Pixel 3 tips and tricks video is here. In this video, we dive into the new gesture navigation again, just to make sure you all know its dirty little secrets. From there, it's on to a handful of example Google Assistant commands using Active Edge, ways to get the most out of the Pixel 3 camera (Lens, Night Sight, etc.), and some buried settings, like Network resets. The clip also takes a look at managing notifications, changing default apps, looking at Now Playing history, and why you should use Screen Call. It's all there. You should be good with your Pixel 3 now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4nICi3n6RQ

Monday Poll: Do You Intend to Buy a OnePlus 6T?

Tim — Mon, 29 Oct 2018 10:33:42 +0000

OnePlus 6T is now official, and as we expected, it's a pretty intriguing smartphone. Not only will you be able to purchase the phone from T-Mobile or unlocked via OnePlus' website, but we also know that the phone will work on Verizon, which is major.

Buy OnePlus 6T, get $20 in accessories

Priced starting at $549, the device has all of the 2018 specs you'd expect, which also means no headphone jack. However, you do get that baby teardrop notch, in-display fingerprint reader, and Pie with OxygenOS out of the box. Making the phone an even better deal if you get it through T-Mobile is the fact that a trade-in program is available, which can net you $300 towards the purchase of a 6T, even if it is an original OnePlus One, OnePlus 2, or any other OnePlus device. That's a serious deal, one that OnePlus is likely paying for. So, are you convinced yet? Are you buying a OnePlus 6T? Why or why not? [poll id="499"]

Download: OnePlus 6T Wallpapers!

Kellen — Mon, 29 Oct 2018 10:23:32 +0000

Not buying the OnePlus 6T but do want the always-impressive set of wallpapers that OnePlus is including on the device? You can download those all right now.

Buy OnePlus 6T, get $20 in accessories

Hampus Olsson once again put together the wallpapers for the latest OnePlus device, the OnePlus 6T. There are only three wallpapers, but they do come in various sizes (up to 4K, with oiptional "Never Settle" branding) and are quite pretty. If you are interested in the story of the 'papers, Olsson explains his approach and process at the link below. If you just want the goods, the link is right here:

Download OnePlus 6T Wallpapers

// Hampus Olsson

New Skill Brings Amazon Alexa Integration for NVIDIA SHIELD TV

Tim — Mon, 29 Oct 2018 09:15:12 +0000

SHIELD TV is getting Amazon Alexa integration, thanks to a new skill that is launching for Echo owners. With it, you'll be controlling your Android TV box from NVIDIA with nothing but your voice. Clutch. As SHIELD TV owners likely know, NVIDIA's box already offers Google Home/Assistant support, so the added function of Alexa integration is only making the device more appealing. With the skill, you can tell SHIELD to turn up the volume, pause playback, turn on/off SHIELD, plus more. A few list of commands can be seen here. To get started, head into the Alexa app on your phone, then search for and enable the NVIDIA SHIELD TV skill. Complete the setup and log into your NVIDIA account, then you're good to go. To celebrate, anyone who purchases a SHIELD TV today through November 10, 2018 from Amazon or Best Buy will receive a free Echo Dot (3rd Gen) for free. // NVIDIA

OnePlus 6T Specs (Official)

Kellen — Mon, 29 Oct 2018 08:37:22 +0000

Now that the OnePlus 6T is official and we know that it's coming to T-Mobile with additional support on Verizon, you might want to know the full list of specs in case this is likely to be your next phone. They've leaked plenty, but we have them all for you below. To quickly recap, we've got a 6.41" FHD AMOLED display, dual rear camera setup (20MP + 16MP), 6GB or 8GB RAM options, 128GB or 256GB storage, 3700mAh battery, and that could-be-super-awesome in-display fingerprint reader. Android 9 Pie is here too, as is the latest Oxygen OS. The phone looks like a nicely updated OnePlus 6.

Download: OnePlus 6T wallpapers

Anyone buying with that starting $549 price?

OnePlus 6T Specs

[table id=148 /]

Buy OnePlus 6T, get $20 in accessories

OnePlus 6T is Official and Will be Sold at T-Mobile in the US

Kellen — Mon, 29 Oct 2018 08:23:13 +0000

OnePlus just announced the OnePlus 6T, and yep, T-Mobile has the exclusive on it in the US. The phone will also work on Verizon. The OnePlus 6T will feature a 6.41-inch Full Optic AMOLED display (19.5:9, "baby teardrop," Gorilla Glass 6, 2340x1080, 402ppi), 6GB or 8GB RAM, 128GB or 256GB storage, Snapdragon 845 processor, 3700mAh battery, and dual rear camera (20MP + 16MP). It'll run Android 9 Pie out of the box with OnePlus' Oxygen OS on top and come in both Mirror and Midnight Black colorways, just like the OnePlus 6. Full specs here.

Buy OnePlus 6T, get $20 in accessories

Being sold at T-Mobile stores (over 5,600) is a huge move for OnePlus. They are not just an online-only, direct-to-consumer brand any longer. Now, they get to really compete with the big dogs in a carrier store with wide distribution outside of their own online shop. As you can see below, Verizon is listed as a supported carrier as well. That might be even bigger news to many than the T-Mobile partnership.

The OnePlus 6T will start at $549 for the 6GB + 128GB model (Midnight Black). They'll also have 8GB +128GB (Midnight and Mirror Black) and 8GB + 256GB (Midnight Black) models at $579 and $629, respectively. T-Mobile will only carry the 8GB + 128GB model in Midnight Black. If you buy from T-Mobile, you'll get to participate in a $300 off trade-in deal. You can trade any number of devices (see below) and get the deal. With no trade, you can sign-up for an equipment installment plan and pay $0 down followed by $24.17/mo for 24 months.

Download: OnePlus 6T wallpapers

The OnePlus 6T goes on sale November 1 at 9AM Eastern (6AM Pacific).

Android Distribution Updated for October: Where Pie At?

Kellen — Mon, 29 Oct 2018 07:56:07 +0000

Android Pie has been available since early August, so that's meant we have had three separate updates to the Android Distribution numbers since its arrival. In those three, the newest version of Android has failed to make its debut appearance. The latest set of platform distribution numbers were posted on Friday and they show little change across the board. Oreo jumped up, while the rest dropped.

October 2018 Android Distribution

Oreo: 21.5% (+2.3%)
Nougat: 28.2% (-1.1%)
Marshmallow: 21.3% (-0.3%)
Lollipop: 17.9% (-0.4%)
KitKat: 7.6% (-0.2%)
Jelly Bean: 3.0% (-0.2%)
Ice Cream Sandwich: 0.3%
Gingerbread: 0.2% (-0.1%)

Why hasn't Pie showed up yet? Google says that a version needs to make up for 0.1% of the Android pie in order to make an appearance. We're three months in and can only assume that Pie is still on less than 0.1% of phones if it's not on these numbers. That's not great. Project Treble, you there? Then again, only a handful of phones have Android Pie to date. Google's Pixel and Pixel 2 lines, Essential Phone, and OnePlus 6 have all received an official update to Android 9. A Sony phone or two may have it as well, but none of these phones have sold in large volumes. So when you've got billions of Android phones in the wild and only a few million running Pie, I guess that may not be 0.1%. Last month's numbers can be seen right here.

// Android Developers

WATCH: OnePlus 6T Launch Event at 11AM Eastern (8AM Pacific)!

Kellen — Mon, 29 Oct 2018 06:58:10 +0000

The OnePlus 6T's day in the spotlight is here. OnePlus is hosting a launch event in NYC this morning, an event they are calling their biggest ever, to make the phone official. I think I would tend to agree that this will be their biggest. While the OnePlus 6T will have minimal upgrades over the OnePlus 6, the big part arrives via carrier support here in the US. OnePlus is expected to announce a partnership with T-Mobile, plus the phone should be the first from OnePlus to work on Verizon. Those are major moves. Other than that, it'll be a slightly improved OnePlus 6 with in-display fingerprint reader that looks like this. We also know that it won't have a headphone jack or an IP rating or wireless charging. The price will undoubtedly be higher than the 6. How much higher? We'll find out this morning. The OnePlus 6T event kicks off at 11AM Eastern (8AM Pacific). You can watch it above!

RED Hydrogen One Arrives at AT&T, Verizon November 2 for $1,295

Kellen — Mon, 29 Oct 2018 06:37:54 +0000

RED's Hydrogen One phone is finally here after a handful of delays and arrives at AT&T and Verizon this week. On November 2, you'll be able to buy this phone with its holographic display if you are willing to spend $1,295. Should you buy one? I don't think so, no. Tim's review of it is what you should read if you are actually considering this phone. He doesn't hold back, points out the few good qualities, as well as the many bad. Both AT&T and Verizon will let you buy this bad boy on monthly payment plans. AT&T's 30-month plan drops the phone to $43.17 per month, while Verizon's 24-month plan is $53.95 per month. That's a hefty amount of coin for what we can really only describe as an unfinished product. RED Hydrogen One Links: Verizon | AT&T

RED Hydrogen One Review: Late and Not Great

Tim — Mon, 29 Oct 2018 05:00:37 +0000

We've made it, folks, launch of RED's Hydrogen One! Announced in July, 2017, there were plenty of people who didn't expect this phone to come to fruition, but as I said at time of announcement, RED seemed like a company that could get it done. Did the company run into a few issues and delays, as we assumed they would? Yes, but considering this phone is the RED's first attempt to launch a smartphone, I'd say being delayed from an expected Q1 launch to a late-2018 release isn't the worst thing ever. Not only is RED releasing an unlocked model, but they even convinced Verizon and AT&T to sell the phone, so if anyone is a winner here, it's RED. Now, before I dive straight into this review, allow me to be completely transparent and honest. This review will not be as full and detailed as our other reviews. Upon receiving our Hydrogen One unit, we were told by RED that it was a pre-launch prototype. When clarifying this statement with AT&T, since we have an AT&T unit, they were under the impression that the phone we have is exactly what will be sent out to buyers in terms of hardware/specs, though, software could change a little. Considering the software performance and optimization issues I experienced, as well as a camera experience that is currently beyond lacking at a price of $1,200+, this phone is one of those devices that was very difficult to use for a full week. With all of that said, let's go ahead and get into it. This is our Hydrogen One review.

The Good

Hardware This hardware matches exactly what RED showcased last year when they announced the device. It has the rubber grips and metal frame combined to make this super industrial looking smartphone that feels like a tank. By no means does this phone look or feel fragile when in hand. While it's large and somewhat hard to manage with one hand, it's exactly what RED promised, and if that doesn't bug you, you'll be delighted with the results. To compare the hardware, it's very similar to Razer Phone for size, but then add the rubber side grips and all of the stuff going on with the backside and you have a thicker, taller device. While the grips do make this phone look very different, they actually work very well and I'd argue that they're quite ergonomic. Because the phone is heavy, the grips do allow you to get a better hold the device when in one hand or holding it in landscape to take photos and video. I don't expect to see any other OEMs adopt this grip design, but for a phone designed to take lots of pictures in all sorts of environments, I think it's cool. On the bottom of the backside you'll find the POGO pins for modularity. At this time, there aren't any modules you can buy for the phone, but the idea of it being a modular phone helps you think that RED has plans for the device in terms of future proofing. Being RED, though, we assume the modules will be focused on the camera, and a few details about potential modules have already been disclosed by RED. Things like a camera module, power pack, and expandable storage have been discussed. But again, none of that is ready for the phone's launch and RED says modules can be expected in 2019. Specs Besides shipping with a Snapdragon 835 processor, the specs on Hydrogen One are good. The Aluminum model comes with 6GB RAM, 128GB storage, dual rear-facing 12-megapixel cameras, dual front-facing 8-megapixel cameras, 5.7” 3D WQHD LTPS-TFT display (2560 x 1440) with Gorilla Glass 3, expandable storage up to 256GB, 4,500mAh battery, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, fingerprint reader in the power button on the side, and Android 8.1 Oreo at launch. No word from RED as to when buyers can expect Android 9 Pie. While we're not huge fans of seeing a Snapdragon 835 processor launch on a $1200+ phone in late 2018, there's not much RED can do about it at this point. Frankly, the processor should be able to hold up just fine, but as you'll read below, it is RED's software that really needs to be improved for any sorts of high-end specs like 6GB RAM and large amounts of built-in storage to matter. Here's a spec sheet provided directly from RED, which doesn't disclose exact camera specs. Battery This phone comes with a 4,500mAh battery, basically unmatched by any other major Android smartphone. From my time using it, I can say this thing lasts forever. My typical day is 7AM-ish to 11PM-ish, and I was always going to bed with plenty of juice left. Battery size and life is definitely a major positive for Hydrogen One.

Somewhere in the Middle

Display Hydrogen One's display is a 5.7" WQHD 3D, LTPS-TFT panel (Low-temperature polycrystalline silicon). When not in a 4V mode, the display looks fine in terms of color and brightness, though, my main gripe is that it's rather easy to see the added display layer that offers that 3D/4V look. When looking at a page that is mostly white, it's very easy to see. When on a dark screen or playing games, it shouldn't be very noticeable. Unfortunately, Hydrogen One doesn't offer any type of Always On display or even Ambient Display. This isn't surprising, but there's also no control over the resolution of the display. A lot of phone makers are offering the ability to toggle up or down your phone's display resolution, but on RED's phone, there are hardly any customizable settings to play with when it comes to color profiles or resolution. As for brightness and usability in direct sunlight, after cranking up the brightness, the phone is plenty usable and I don't foresee any issues there. I'll discuss 4V in detail down below. Camera For Hydrogen One, given RED's current position as an extremely high-end camera maker that has its hardware used on some of Hollywood's biggest films, I was expecting a game changing camera experience. That's not what I got. When shooting in a standard Auto mode, photos look pretty bad. There is not a ton of detail, colors are bland, and there's an exposure issue when shooting in outdoor conditions. However, the saving grace at this time is a Bokeh mode, which isn't even labeled or explained in the camera app. When toggled, the camera instantly has more vivid colors, better contrast, and of course, offers a great depth of field effect that looks terrific. Sadly, it's not like every shot you take on this phone will be useful in a Bokeh mode, so I'm hoping RED will recalibrate the rear-facing shooters. As far as opening the camera, focusing on something and then snapping a shot is concerned, Hydrogen One is plenty fast. When you tap on different objects in the viewfinder to change your focus, that action seems pretty fast, too. However, my general takeaway is that if you're outside, you can expect the exposure levels to be really heavy and sliding the brightness down is something that might be able to help with that.

RED disclosed to me that it has a Manual mode for the camera coming that will offer greater control over settings, but of course, it doesn't appear to be ready yet. This is a problem, again, considering this is RED we're talking about. When you open up the camera, you have a couple of modes to choose from: Beauty and Panorama. Beyond that, you can toggle a histogram on/off, as well as a setting for manually adjusting colors (kelvin, saturation, contrast, and brightness). You can set up color profiles and save them to the device, then load them for when you're snapping photos. There is also a toggle for HDR, as well as a very basic Manual mode that only lets you adjust shutter speed and ISO. There are a few filters, too. Of course, the big draw to this phone is its 4V shooting and viewing capability. I'll dive deeper into 4V down below, but when it comes to shooting in 4V, it's either in landscape (horizontal) when using the rear cameras or in portrait (vertical) when using the front. When in the 4V shooting mode, there are no settings to manage. With it, you simply point and shoot and that's it. The results are subjective. I'd say you either enjoy the look of it and can't get enough of the 3D look or it hurts your eyes and you'll go on thinking it's not something phones do well. We've been down this 3D road before on past devices, and from what we can tell, none of those phones went on to revolutionize the mobile experience. Here are a few samples from Hydrogen One, resized, but not edited in any other way. You'll see a few Bokeh mode shots, as well as standard Auto shots. Keep your eye out for the Bokeh mode, easily noticeable with more intense colors, contrast, and detail.

Bokeh vs. Auto

Audio There are a few marquee features that RED lists as game changers. Besides the 4V display and shooting mode, the company talks about audio, A3D multi-dimensional surround sound to be exact. While the sound from the device is fine with headphones plugged in via the USB-C port or 3.5mm headphone jack, the dual speakers on this phone don't seem very good. When listening to music, there isn't much power in the low end and mids/highs almost sound screechy. The audio lacks depth is the best way I can describe it. Oddly, when the Audio 3D mode is enabled, it sounds even worse, removing almost all low end from music and videos you watch. I assumed there would be a few settings to play with, such as presets or an EQ to help boost the lows, but there is nothing. In the Settings menu on the phone, it's either On or Off, then a preset for headsets that you can set to Movie or Default. Now, even though I'm sitting here and saying the audio isn't all that great, it's my belief that RED can fix this. The phone does have dual stereo speakers and a 3.5mm headphone jack, so it's got the hardware to make things happen. What RED needs to do is revisit the software and allow folks to tweak things more, either with predetermined presets or an EQ. Users want that kind of power, and with such a high price, buyers deserve it.

The Not-so-Good

Software/Performance Even with the Snapdragon 835 processor, I wasn't expecting the amount of software performance issues I encountered with this phone. When separating the software from the performance issues, I think the software is fine and completely usable. It's actually a very barebones Android approach, similar to what Essential did with its phone. As an Android purist kinda guy, that excites me. However, using the phone day to day, it's impossible to look at them as separate issues and it's beyond clear that RED needs to retool its software optimization. There are hiccups, stutters, and jank all over the place. I've recently gotten back into Candy Crush, not a very intense gaming experience, but even that game runs slow and feels extremely clunky on this phone. As I keep saying, at the price of this phone, that's unacceptable.

Beyond a few custom app icons, there is no theme on Hydrogen One. In Settings, you'll actually find no real customization efforts on RED's part. There is no advanced settings, tweaks to make, or anything like that. If you were expecting what's essentially a RED-branded camera that runs Android and can make phone calls, that's basically what this is. Now, this wouldn't be a bad thing at all, but as I covered already, the camera isn't that great and this software is in dire need of fixing.

I'll reiterate my feelings in the verdict of this review, but right now, RED's phone feels incomplete and the performance aspect of the phone seems to exemplify my overall issues. 4V 4V on Hydrogen One is a gimmick, there's no other way to slice it. It's exclusive to those who have this exact phone, so unless you have one, you can't experience it. When you send 4V content to those on another phone or share it via social media, folks on the other side see a regular 2D image. Considering the fact that I doubt your whole family or group of friends intends on purchasing this phone, you may tend to feel like that Forever Alone meme when it comes to watching or looking at something in 4V. To sum it up, since you can't really see the 4V effect in 2D photos or videos of the device, think HTC EVO 3D from back in the day. That's what it looks like to me. It's really not that intriguing of a 3D effect, and the first time I viewed it, my eyes started to hurt as they were adjusting to it. After a few minutes, it was fine. RED offers a few 4V samples in the library of the phone, but really, it's going to be up to you (the buyer) to create content that you can enjoy in 4V. AT&T is offering buyers a couple of movies in 4V at launch, but I can't imagine watching a whole movie in 4V on this thing. If you're looking for games and apps that utilize 4V, there's an app preloaded onto the device called RED|LeiaLoft. This is a store that showcases games, apps, as well as Editor's Choice apps that help you get the most out of 4V. I downloaded a game called Flippy Knife and the experience was pretty bad. The game starts out in 4V just fine, but then I turned the volume down which disables 4V while the notification shade is down, then the game appeared as regular 2D and wouldn't toggle back to 4V. So, yeah, there's still work to be done there.

When you shoot a video or photo in 4V, you'll need to access it via the Red Player app. This app shows every photo on your phone, whether it be 2D or 4V. If you want to share 4V content with other RED owners, you can do so via a specially made Instagram-like app called Holopix. It supports 4V and you can browse other people's photos, as well as share your own. While some of the photos look great when lit perfectly and angled just right, most of the 4V content I've seen isn't too amazing. I mean, it's certainly different, but not something I absolutely need on my phone. That could be different for you, though, which is why we love Android. Back to Holopix real quick, you may come across a few photos featuring barely clothed individuals. I'm not against this, in fact I think that's pretty cool, I'm just letting you know that browsing Holopix in public could get you some odd looks.

Other Notes

Girlfriend Impressions - *Handed phone to girlfriend with her eyes closed* Me: Tell me what you think about the hardware. Her: Wow, is it in an OtterBox case? Me: Nope. Her: What are these on the side, grips? Me: Yep. *She opens her eyes* Her: This looks pretty cool, but it's way too big for me. *I show her a few 4V camera samples* Her: I don't like this, it kinda hurts my eyes. Me: It hurts mine, too, but you get used to it. Her: I don't think anyone like me would ever use this. Me: You're probably right.
Water Resistance - From what we know, Hydrogen One doesn't have an IP rating, so be aware of using it by the pool or water. Better safe than sorry!

Pricing and Availability

RED makes some of the best cameras in the world, many of them priced at tens of thousands of dollars. I could be mistaken, but Hydrogen One might be one of the least expensive things RED makes. If you're big into brands, this is a good way to get into the world of RED. However, $1,200+ for an Android phone is nothing to take lightly. Samsung's best would cost you $1,000 and even Google's Pixel 3 XL, which arguably has the best mobile photography experience of any smartphone, can be had for $899. That's something to keep in mind. For pricing, AT&T will sell the Hydrogen One at $43.17/month for 30 months on AT&T Next. That's a total of $1,295. We don't yet have Verizon pricing, but assume it's very similar. The phone will be available starting Friday, November 2. While the phone is gettable via carriers, which is great, you can also get it unlocked via RED. RED's pricing should remain unchanged from when pre-orders first went up -- $1,195 for the Aluminum model and $1,595 for the Titanium model (not yet available).

Gallery

The Verdict

In my mind, this is an unfinished product that still needs a lot of work in the software department. A lot of the bad things I experienced can be fixed, so while it's fine to still have hope for this phone to be good, it's not something I would come close to recommending at this time. Maybe after a few months and the stress of launching the product for RED has passed, then when software updates begin to roll out, it's something we can revisit. In its current form, and if RED doesn't address the camera and software performance, Hydrogen One is $1,200+ of letdown.

Here is AT&T's First Mobile 5G Device

Kellen — Fri, 26 Oct 2018 14:08:46 +0000

When AT&T launches its 5G mobile network in the next few weeks, the first device they plan to sell to access it will be Netgear Nighthawk 5G Mobile Hotspot. Nope, that's not a phone, but this is exactly what we expected them to release first. AT&T announced today that it has used the Nighthawk 5G to complete the "world's first millimeter wave mobile 5G browsing session with a standards-based device on a mobile 5G network." They are referring to the 3GPP 5G NR standard while also taking a subtle shot at Verizon for using their own non-standards-based 5G solution for its 5G Home service. The Netgear Nighthawk 5G is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon X50 5G modem. That's the same modem we'll likely see in the first wave of 5G phones next year, so this device could give us a nice taste for what to expect in terms of performance and data speeds on AT&T's network. If you haven't figured out what this device is, it's the "puck" device AT&T said we'd get this year rather than a phone. This device broadcasts a 5G signal that your phone or laptop or other electronic device can attach to. It's a hotspot, plain and simple. AT&T did not announce pricing for the device or its 5G service.

AT&T reminded us today that they plan to reach "at least" 12 cities this year for their mobile 5G before adding another 7 cities in early 2019. Which cities are those? For 2018, cities like Charlotte, Indianapolis, New Orleans, Dallas, Atlanta, and Louisville are a part of the list. IN early 2019, cities like San Francisco, San Diego, Nashville, and Orlando will join the party. The full list of AT&T 5G cities can be seen below.

// AT&T

Droid Life Q&A Sessions: Volume 53 Answers

Tim — Fri, 26 Oct 2018 11:21:53 +0000

Wow, y'all came hard with the questions for Volume 53 of Q&A Sessions, but don't worry, that's a good thing! This time, we were asked a few more personal questions with regard to the job (Android blogging) itself, Smart Displays, if you should be upgrading your Pixel, and something about a giant hamster(?). Look below to see our complete responses to your fabulous inquiries. Reminder: K is Kellen, T is Tim.

What's the background for you (Tim and Kellen)? How did you meet? What inspired you to begin Droid Life?

K: This is like an 18-part question that would take too long to answer. But DL was inspired by me just liking to share stuff on the internet and had great timing in writing about the original DROID. It was obvious early on that people were like me and had a really cool new toy to play with and wanted to know how to get the most out of it. T: I was once a commenter on Droid Life after I got my first Android phone, the "OG" DROID. Represent! I was always commenting on posts and I think one day, Kellen put up a request that he was looking for contributors. I did ROM reviews and interviews with developers and things, then after a while it became a full-time position and I've been with Droid Life ever since. I've always been drawn to the community aspect of Droid Life and I still think it's as kick ass as it was back in the day.

It feels like the openness we were all drawn to is starting to go away. Do you like the direction Google is going with regard to hardware and software?

K: Well, Android is still the platform for choice. Android is still open enough that everyone can use it and customize it to how they think their customers will enjoy it. We all get to decide which version we like the best, which is something you don't get on iOS. If we're talking bootloaders and rooting, I just don't care. We did that stuff years ago because phones needed improvements. Now, phones are pretty good without all of that access. T: I feel that this was going to come eventually. We had OEMs making devices and never shipping updates and providing support, so I feel that what has taken place so far in the ecosystem is a good thing. When people buy a product, they should be assured to receive timely updates and support. As far as Google's concerned, I suppose it's their OS and hardware so they're free to do whatever, but as far as the company's direction, I suppose I'm for it.

Do you see any reason to upgrade from the Pixel 2 XL to a Pixel 3 or 3 XL?

K: If you want wireless charging, like glass, want an improved display, and like "not pink" phones, then yeah, sure. But really, if your Pixel 2 XL is still running great, there isn't really a need to upgrade. T: If you own a Pixel 2 XL, I'd say you're fine holding onto it another year. If you have the means, I wouldn't not recommend trading the phone in towards a 3 XL, but I would not go from a 2 XL to a Pixel 3. Other than slight things, 2 XL is basically the same as 3 XL.

Would you rather be a giant hamster or a tiny rhino?

K: What in the...hamsters are worthless. At least a rhino has a horn. T: Gimme that giant hamster life. Sounds like fun!

At this point do you get tired of reviewing all the new phones or does it still excite you?

K: Reviewing phones is somewhat exciting still, but not like it once was. That's not because I've lost a passion for phones, it's because phones don't change very much these days. All phones are good and there are only minor differences between most. That means we just sound like whiny tech bros who complain about the smallest, most nonsensical stuff. In the early days, we saw dramatic improvements from one month to the next. Now, we kind of know exactly what we'll get with only one or two new things to try and get excited about. T: There are certain phones that are not fun to review, whether it's because certain aspects of it are really bad or you're burnt out from doing other things, but for the most part, I always love playing with new things and doing the reviews. It's a time consuming process, but that's the job!

What is your daily driver and what is the longest you have used one phone in particular?

K: Jumping between Pixel 3 and 3 XL at the moment, but I used the Pixel 2 XL for most of the past year. I typically switch phones a couple of times a year, but I just kept going back to the 2 XL. The past year of phones hasn't been anything special. T: I'd say my daily driver is Pixel 3 XL, as soon as I wrap up all of the other phones I'm working on. There's RED, then there's OnePlus 6T. It's entirely possible 6T becomes the new daily, but I'll have to review it first and see if it's better than Pixel 3 XL. Google's camera experience is just too sweet, though. For longest period I've used a phone for, I suppose it'd be Nexus and Pixel devices. I always seem to gravitate towards those for the longest when I'm not busy using other phones.

Has any carrier and/or device brand tried to sway your opinion in less than ethical means?

K: The short answer is "no." With that said, we've been threatened legally by a device maker you all know very well, because we leaked a lot of their stuff. That certainly wasn't fun, but didn't change the way we reviewed their products. It did cause enough stress in my life that I'd probably punch the head of their legal department in the face if I ever saw him in person. And recently, a company (who I'm not going to name) asked us to pull an unfavorable story on their struggles because they think it's hurting their future prospects. They offered exclusive details on their next move if we could make that happen. We laughed at them and stand by our reporting. T: Thankfully, no. We get asked how much it would cost to write up an app review or something, but we just ignore those requests. I can honestly say, though, no company has ever tried to pay me for positive press.

Which Smart Display would you recommend?

K: Probably Lenovo's smart display. Google's Home Hub is cute, but it's also really small, lacks a camera, and has a lousy speaker. The Lenovo version at least comes in multiple sizes, probably has a better display, and is very much like a mini TV you could put in any room. I've had Google's Home Hub on my desk for most of the week and haven't used it once. My Lenovo smart display still gets used almost daily because of its bigger screen and better speaker. T: I use a 10" Lenovo on my desk. I really like the size of it and the speakers are pretty darn good. I haven't used a Home Hub, but I hear they're rather small and that doesn't sound like an enjoyable experience when you're trying to watch something.

Do you miss the early days of Android, like running custom ROMs with overclocked kernels and skins?

K: While fun at the time because you were always playing with something new, I don't really miss it. I like where phones are today. Everything runs so good and I never feel like I need more that rooting or a custom ROM would give me. I no longer have to worry about backups and what kinds of bugs there are and which version of a recovery I need and how I'm going to downgrade to get off the ROM and on stable. I don't miss those headaches. T: I suppose I miss the excitement of that, sorta like the Wild West of Android. However, I don't miss the potential of hurting my phone and the negative affects some would have on battery life and performance. I'm just happy Android is at a place where all of that stuff isn't really necessary.

Do you use a launcher when using phones for review? Do you use a launcher on your daily driver phone? What launcher is it?

K: When reviewing, we use the phone as presented by the company, so no launchers. They obviously feel like that's the best experience, so we test it that way. Since I typically use Google's phones when not reviewing, I stick with Pixel launcher. If some other phone grabs my attention for a bit, then yeah, I'd probably throw Nova on. But I haven't really liked a Samsung or LG or Huawei phone enough to get that far in quite a while. T: For reviews, no. We always use whatever the company ships out of the box. Once a review is done, it depends on the phone. LG and Huawei phones, I always switch to Nova Launcher Prime. On Samsung, Google, and OnePlus devices, I use the launcher they provide because they're solid launchers.

Do you believe Google Play Editions will ever return?

K: I wrote a piece not long ago about how Android One was basically the new Google Play Edition. I still think that's mostly true, so like GPE phones, it's up to manufacturers to decide if they want to participate and give that idea a shot. LG did with the G7, which is awesome. Now, we just need Samsung to do it again. T: Sadly, no. I think those times are long gone.

Who do you think does the best phone/tech reviews outside of DL (either written or on YouTube)?

K: I often checkout Ron's stuff at Arstechnica, because he's such an Android purist, has deep knowledge of the platform's changes over the years, and isn't afraid to tell companies how dumb they are. I also used to look to Anandtech's hardware reviews because of their technical deep dives. That's pretty much it. The rest of the reviews are just opinion-based word vomit like ours, heh. T: I always try to read the larger site reviews, as well as watch the major YouTubers. I like to see how my opinions differ, but for the most part, it's all about the same. I also like to look at formatting, like how it's written or presented, seeing if I can tweak things in the way we do our own reviews to make them more enjoyable.

What are the most/least rewarding parts of running Droid Life?

K: This is starting to feel like a Q&A job interview. Ummm, rewarding stuff has been being a part of a really cool community that has been here for the 9 years we've been doing it. Getting emails from people or seeing comments that let us know that we really helped them out always feels great. Being able to do this from my own house, where I get to see my wife and kid all of the time without hours of commuting is something I'll never complain about. This job has allowed some traveling too, which I both appreciate and hate. As for least rewarding, having to act like I think Samsung makes good phones? I'm kidding! I don't know, there aren't many bad things with this job. T: Well, I'd say the most rewarding part is getting to meet all sorts of people at events. For example, you get an idea of how someone is online via their Twitter or their work, and maybe you don't much care for them, but then you meet them in person and they're always very nice and you share a beer and things are great. As for least rewarding, I suppose for me it'd be the pressure of needing to have an opinion on basically everything related to Android/Google. Honestly, there are some things I just don't care about, but because of my position, it feels like I have to have a hot take on everything that happens. That can be stressful because while I'd love to share my insight on something, it's possible I have absolutely no care to comment on it.

Check out all of our past DL Q&A Sessions!

Podcast: October's Home Stretch

Kellen — Fri, 26 Oct 2018 11:12:32 +0000

On this episode of the Droid Life Show, we're just trying to survive a few more days of this wild October. We only have one phone launch left, but that doesn't mean the work or news flow will slow any time soon. This week, though, we've got our Razer Phone 2 review out, Pixel 3's Night Sight mode in the wild, and OnePlus 6T specs from a retailer, all topics that we'd like to dive into. We'll also run through some of the Pixel 3's supposed issues, the latest on Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S10 and foldable phone, the hotness of the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3, some new Wear OS watches, and the free 4K upgrades some of you should have already gotten. It'll be another good show! Trivia is back too! Be sure to stick around until the end of the show to win fabulous prizes (Google Play credit). We'll be live at 12:00PM Pacific (3PM Eastern).

Samsung Still Seems Confused on Its Foldable Phone, But It'll Run Special Android

Kellen — Fri, 26 Oct 2018 09:18:55 +0000

Samsung is planning big things for its next round of phones, that much has been made clear by rumors and on-the-record interviews from executives. A new report today adds additional clarity into what we can expect from the Galaxy S10 when it arrives in 2019, but Samsung's years-in-the-making foldable Galaxy phone sure sounds like it's still in limbo or that Samsung isn't sure what to do with it. The scoop comes from Bloomberg, who dropped a bunch of little bits of info that help round out the story of Samsung's upcoming phone launches. To start, we're now supposed to expect not only a Galaxy S10 (codenamed "beyond") with in-display fingerprint reader, but Plus and cheaper models too. There may be a 5G variant at some point, one that will work with Verizon's 5G network when it launches early next year. The Galaxy S10 and S10+ will have curved edge displays with almost no bezel on top or bottom, triple cameras on their backsides, with front cameras being embedded underneath the front glass. I'm not sure if that refers to a display breakthrough that'll eliminate notches by simply cutting out holes for front cameras or if that means a similar setup to what we already have with Samsung phones. Either way, I'm now more curious than ever. Samsung is reportedly working on a prototype Galaxy S10 without a headphone jack, but it may never move out of the prototype stage. I sure hope it doesn't. As for the foldable or bendable Galaxy phone that we've been hearing about for so long, we may not see it until Q2 of next year. I know that Samsung's mobile boss already said they'd show it off at their developer conference next month, but Bloomberg isn't so sure they'll have a physical model on hand and may instead just show a detailed conceptual image of it. Ugh. Codenamed "winner" and with a 4-inch outer display, the foldable phone is still supposedly not finalized. Samsung can't figure out if they want it to unfold vertically or horizontally and they aren't super excited about the display or how people might react to it, as it's "coated with a film that feels like ones used in photography." That sounds awful. In an interesting tidbit, it's being reported here that Samsung has worked closely with Google to develop some sort of special version of Android for the phone. The interface isn't quite finalized and will depend on which way they decide to unfold it. So to recap, the foldable phone is still not ready, the Galaxy S10 sounds fun, and it's Friday. // Bloomberg

Anker's Nebula Capsule II Projector Runs Android TV, Ups Resolution to 720p (Updated)

Kellen — Thu, 25 Oct 2018 15:29:50 +0000

Anker's original Nebula Capsule was a pretty cool piece of technology, mostly because of what was packed into its little body. It was a projector first and foremost, but it also ran Android for streaming all of your favorite content and didn't cost an arm and a leg. Today, Anker announced the follow-up, called Nebula Capsule II, with some nice upgrades, including Android TV. The new Nebula Capsule II pushes a video resolution of 1280x720 (upgrade from 480p in the original), 200 ANSI ln brightness, 8w speaker with dual passive radiators, Bluetooth, WiFi, USB-C port in addition to HDMI and AUX, 10,000mAh battery, and Android TV (which means you can Cast to it too). With Android TV on board, you'll get more of a TV experience like you might find through NVIDIA SHIELD TV. That's a much better experience (in my opinion) than simply trying to Cast items to it. However, if you can't find an Android TV app that you need, you can always fall back to Casting to this new Nebula Capsule II. If you were looking for a negative in the new model, it would be in battery life. Even with the battery size almost doubling, that higher resolution must be the reason video playback time has dropped from 4 hours to 2.5 hours. That's barely enough time to watch a full movie. The device will hit Kickstarter starting tomorrow, October 26. Pricing for super early bird runs $349, early bird is $369, and pricing after that jumps to $399. We don't yet know how much the Nebula Capsule II will cost at retail. We'll update this post with a link one we have it.

UPDATE: It's live on Kickstarter!

You'll Now See a Google Lens Shortcut When Doing an Image Search on Mobile

Tim — Thu, 25 Oct 2018 15:20:18 +0000

Google announced it was bringing Google Lens functionality to Google Image searches last month. Well, it's now there. When inside of an Image Search on mobile, you'll see the Google Lens logo in the bottom right. When you click it, Lens can give you more insight into what you're viewing and help you find related things. For example, if you're looking a product, it can tell you where to purchase it. As Google explains, "To start, the dots will appear on products and other objects Lens has identified, and in the coming months the dots will appear in more types of images, such as landmarks, animals and plants. You can still draw around anything you’re interested in inside of an image to get more information and see related content." We aren't sure when the extra functionality will come, but we assume it's relatively soon. Google Lens is starting to take over. // Google

Razer Phone 2 Gets Verizon Certification!

Tim — Thu, 25 Oct 2018 13:55:07 +0000

Earlier this week, we heard Razer Phone 2 owners were running into LTE issues when inserting their Verizon SIM into the phone. As we expected, this was a certification issue, but Verizon announced this afternoon that the phone has received approval and is ready for BYOD activation on its network. There's not too much else to say, as now everything should just work as intended. On reddit, owners were finding workarounds for the issue, but with network certification here, there will be no more need for extra work. Have fun, Razer Phone 2 owners.

You Should Read the NY Times Piece on Google and Andy Rubin (Updated)

Kellen — Thu, 25 Oct 2018 13:02:37 +0000

The New York Times has an article you should probably read today, assuming you are a follower of Google, Andy Rubin, and the story of Android. It's not necessarily a topic that we typically dive into on Droid Life, but it'll certainly help you form an opinion on the founder of Android, how his departure was handled with Google, and some of the culture inside of the search giant. The basics of the story here are that Andy Rubin had multiple affairs while married and at Google. Those relationships (possibly in violation of company policies) eventually cost him his job with Google, who paid him some $90 million to leave quietly and not work for competitors. That sum was paid out in monthly installments that started at $2.5 million per month and then dropped to around $1.25 million per month. Of course, Google sure made it sound like nothing was wrong when they announced his departure from the company in 2014. That's not all of it, though. Here are some other notable items in the story:

The NY Times piece suggests that Rubin was not a great boss and often berated subordinates as stupid or incompetent.
At one point, Google security staff discovered bondage sex videos on a work computer, which cost him a bonus.
His wife, Rie Rubin, filed for divorce in August. In the civil suit from her, she included a screenshot of an email from Rubin to a woman he had an affair with that suggested she "will be happy being taken care of," because “being owned is kinda like you are my property, and I can loan you to other people.” He's allegedly paid out hundreds of thousands of dollars to various women.

There's more too. There are specific sections about how Google tried to keep it all quiet and lengthy reports on various other executives and their transgressions. It's not a good story for Google and Rubin, that's for sure. Andy Rubin's spokesperson disputed the idea that he had relationships that weren't consensual while at Google. He didn't deny that Andy Rubin was a dick to his employees, saying that Rubin "is known to be transparent and forthcoming with his feedback." Be sure to follow through that link below and read the full thing for yourselves. UPDATE: Google sent Arstechnica the following email that went out to employees--

From: Sundar Hi everyone, Today's story in The New York Times was difficult to read. We are dead serious about making sure we provide a safe and inclusive workplace. We want to assure you that we review every single complaint about sexual harassment or inappropriate conduct, we investigate, and we take action. In recent years, we've made a number of changes, including taking an increasingly hard line on inappropriate conduct by people in positions of authority: in the last two years, 48 people have been terminated for sexual harassment, including 13 who were senior managers and above. None of these individuals received an exit package. In 2015, we launched Respect@ and our annual Internal Investigations Report to provide transparency about these types of investigations at Google. Because we know that reporting harassment can be traumatic, we provide confidential channels to share any inappropriate behavior you experience or see. We support and respect those who have spoken out. You can find many ways to do this at go/saysomething. You can make a report anonymously if you wish. We've also updated our policy to require all VPs and SVPs to disclose any relationship with a co-worker regardless of reporting line or presence of conflict. We are committed to ensuring that Google is a workplace where you can feel safe to do your best work and where there are serious consequences for anyone who behaves inappropriately. Sundar and Eileen

No denials in there on the reporting. UPDATE 2: Andy Rubin has also responded via Twitter-- // New York Times

DEAL: AUKEY Dual Port USB-C Charger With PD 3.0, $28 With Coupon Code

Tim — Thu, 25 Oct 2018 12:53:07 +0000

Chargers are important, everyone knows this. They keep that mighty little pocket-sized super computer you own full of battery juice so you can do world-changing things, such as swiping in Tinder and scrolling on Twitter. Currently on Amazon, you can pick up a really good charger, an AUKEY dual-port USB-C charger with Power Delivery 3.0. With it, you can charge two USB-C devices at once at not only fast speeds, but safe. The usual price of this charger is $39.99, but with the below listed coupon code, you can get it for just $28. That's $12 off, and considering AUKEY says this is one of the only dual port chargers with PD 3.0, we suppose that's a solid deal. If you need a dual port, follow the link below. Amazon Link (Coupon code: AUKEY16W)

DEAL: NVIDIA Hosting Halloween Sale on SHIELD TV Games

Tim — Thu, 25 Oct 2018 11:35:16 +0000

Have yourself a SHIELD TV? To celebrate Halloween, NVIDIA is hosting an Android game sale, complete with plenty of great titles. To name just a few, you can get Doom 3 for $5 at 50% off, Death Road to Canada for just $2.50 (75% off), and Resident Evil 5 for $5 at 50% off. Not too shabby! Here is the full list with links to Google Play.

Death Road to Canada – 75% (Reg. $9.99, Sale $2.49)
Gurgamoth – 50% (Reg. $5.99, Sale $2.99)
Wayward Souls – 79% (Reg. $6.99, Sale $1.49)
Doom 3 – 50% (Reg. $9.99, Sale $4.99)
Whispering Willows – 50% (Reg. $4.99, Sale $2.49)
Radiation City – 60% (Reg. $4.99, Sale $1.99)
Radiation Island – 67% (Reg. $2.99, Sale $0.99)
Resident Evil 5 – 50% (Reg. $9.99, Sale $4.99)

Get on it.

You Can Now Follow and Get Alerts From Your Favorite Places on Google Maps

Tim — Thu, 25 Oct 2018 10:31:19 +0000

Google Maps is rolling out a new feature to users this month -- the ability to follow your favorite places and receive alerts directly from them. Let's say you like a certain boutique, but you keep missing out on all of their awesome sales. With this new feature, you can follow that shop in Google Maps, then be notified when things like sales, events, and updates take place. Additionally, if you want to be in the know when it comes to new places opening up, you’ll start seeing profiles for places before they open on Google Maps. To see these, look for the opening date in orange. You'll be seeing both of these things roll out over the next few weeks.

// Google

Many Verizon Phones Getting Updated With Security Patches

Tim — Thu, 25 Oct 2018 09:04:15 +0000

A few Verizon smartphones, seven to be exact, are picking up security patch updates. Updates rolling out to LG G5, Galaxy Note 8 and 9, Galaxy S8, and Moto Z2 Play to name a few include various security patches, with the only two not being October's belonging to non-Samsung devices. You can see all of the necessary details below.

Updates

LG G5: August security patch, version VS98730b
Moto Z2 Play: Sept. patch, version ODS27.76-12-42
Galaxy Note 8: Oct. patch, version R16NW.N950USQS5CRID
Galaxy Note 9: Oct. patch, version M1AJQ.N960USQU1ARJ5
Galaxy S8: Oct. patch, version R16NW.G950USQU5CRIB
Galaxy S8+: Oct. patch, version R16NW.G955USQU5CRIB
Galaxy Tab S3: Oct. patch, version R16NW.T827VVRS2BRJ1

Go grab them updates!

Xiaomi's Mi Mix 3 Really Does Have Zero Bezel, Thanks to Slideout Cameras

Kellen — Thu, 25 Oct 2018 08:14:28 +0000

Xiaomi announced the new Mi Mix phone today, dubbed Mi Mix 3. It looks stunning, shows where this whole "all-display" device thing is headed, and has me already hunting import sites. Look at this bad boy and tell me you don't want one even before I tell you what's inside. Xiaomi has incorporated a 6.39" AMOLED full screen display (1080p) with almost zero bezel. This is a true all-display phone, so that means Xiaomi has tucked the front cameras into a sliding mechanism, since there wasn't room on the front of the phone. To access them, you simply slide the front half of the phone down to reveal cameras housed within the backside of it. It's a similar setup to Oppo's Find X, only this is a manual slide, rather than a motor-powered one.

As for specs, this thing has it all. You've got a Snapdragon 845 processor, 6GB/8GB/10GB RAM options, 128GB or 256GB storage, 3200mAh battery (QC 4.0 and 10W wireless charging), USB-C port, and rear fingerprint reader. For cameras, Xiaomi included a 24MP+2MP front setup, as well as dual 12MP shooters on the back (f/1.8, 4K@60fps, etc.). DxoMark rated the camera system a 103 overall (108 for camera alone), if you care. It won't run super clean Android and is instead filled up with Xiaomi's MIUI. That's potentially dealbreaker stuff for me because these overdone skins out of China always seem to do really weird things with notifications while trying their hardest to be iOS clones. In other words, their UIs are the opposite of what we tend to look for in the US. The Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 won't come to the US, let's just get that out of the way. None of the previous Mi Mix phones have and I don't expect that to change here. With that said, you should be able to buy this phone on eBay or Amazon at some point, and it should work on GSM carriers in the US (AT&T and T-Mobile) without much work. Anyone willing to take it for a spin?

// Mi | Mi Store

Florida's Panama City is Newest Verizon 5G City

Kellen — Thu, 25 Oct 2018 07:34:06 +0000

As Florida begins to rebuild communities following Hurricane Michael and the massive damage it caused, Verizon has announced that while it rebuild its network in the area, they'll upgrade everything to be 5G compatible. They'll start in Panama City, making it the 5th Verizon 5G market. Verizon didn't specify if this is a move to prepare Panama City for mobile 5G or if this is another 5G Home market. If it's the 5G Home type, this isn't Verizon's 5G network that your phone will utilize and is instead their 5G Home broadband technology, which is built on Verizon's own network standard that no one else in the industry is following. At some point, they will flip everything over to the industry standard 3GPP 5G. Panama City will join Houston, Indianapolis, Sacramento, and Los Angeles as the only official Verizon 5G markets. Of course, Verizon's mobile 5G network is coming in early 2019 and that should mean expansion outside of those first 5. // Verizon

Google Agreement Threatens to Withhold Device Approval if OEMs Don't Push Updates

Kellen — Wed, 24 Oct 2018 15:47:07 +0000

A new Google licensing agreement for the European Union that was obtained by The Verge may detail a stricter update schedule for Android devices that are released here in the near future. The agreement appears to be strict enough that Google will hold the power to slow down device releases if manufacturers fail to update their previous phones. The agreement lays out a schedule of sorts of phones that have been released since January 2018, as well as those that are released going forward. It shows that Android device makers have to commit to at least two years worth of security updates, with "at least four security updates" needed within the first year of a phone's release. Additionally, a second year of updates is required, though Google doesn't appear to have specified an exact number of them like they did for year one. Google is also pushing another timeline on what The Verge refers to as security mandatory devices. These devices must receive security patches by the end of a month that were identified more than 90 days ago. And that's probably how they are getting to the "at least four security updates" number. In terms of delaying the release of phones, Google's agreement suggests that they could withhold approval if manufacturers aren't hitting those requirements I just laid out. And by "withhold," I'm going to assume we're talking about Google Play and Google Apps approval. In a statement, Google basically confirmed that most companies are complying with this sort of agreement, noting that "the majority of the deployed devices for over 200 different Android models from over 30 Android device manufacturers are running a security update from the last 90 days.” Great. Now, how do we do something similar for general Android updates? // The Verge

Trivia Crack 2 Now Available for Download on Google Play

Tim — Wed, 24 Oct 2018 15:01:07 +0000

Trivia Crack 2 is now available for download by all on Google Play, so it's time to brush up on your trivia skills. Finally, the sequel we've been waiting for is here. Just like the original, players can opt to test their trivia knowledge against friends or random opponents, with the objective being to collect all of the subject-based characters. The first person to answer all of the questions necessary to collect the characters wins the game! Trivia Crack 2 also offers a team aspect, where players can create trivia teams who can climb in-game leaderboards and win prizes. It's an entirely new element for the franchise, which could help get more people taking the game seriously. Follow the link below to download, then challenge your friends to a match. Google Play Link

OnePlus 6T Reportedly Passes Verizon Certification

Kellen — Wed, 24 Oct 2018 12:30:39 +0000

A report from last week sure made it sound like the OnePlus 6T was going to work on Verizon. Not only that, but the phone maker was reportedly in the process of getting it certified, which would mean proper functionality when used on the biggest carrier in the US. Today, PCMag is now following up that news with word from sources who believe that the OnePlus 6T has indeed been certified to work on Big Red's network. That's pretty major news, as it will be the first OnePlus phone to do so. For years, OnePlus has missed out on a potentially large customer base who may be interested in their phones, but who weren't willing to jump over to T-Mobile or AT&T. With certification, you should have no problem buying an unlocked OnePlus 6T next week after it has been announced, then inserting a Verizon SIM, and being on about your way. It also will mean that the possibility of running into embarrassing issues like we saw with the Razer Phone 2 won't surface. Now, this doesn't mean Verizon is going to sell the OnePlus 6T. Please keep that in mind. We still think T-Mobile will do that here in the US, but as I just mentioned, the OnePlus 6T as an unlocked phone, sold through OnePlus' site, will simply support the proper Verizon LTE bands. Verizon customers, how excited are you to (possibly and finally) be able to pick-up a OnePlus phone? // PCMag

Mobvoi Unveils $199 TicWatch C2 With Smaller Wrists in Mind

Tim — Wed, 24 Oct 2018 11:00:23 +0000

Mobvoi announced TicWatch C2 this week, designed for folks with smaller wrists. That means it was designed for me. Thank you, Mobvoi. Listed at $199, TicWatch C2 comes in two models, 18mm and 20mm, which refers to the band size. Both models feature a 1.3" AMOLED display (360 x 360), Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor, Bluetooth connectivity, GPS, NFC for mobile payments, IP68, 400mAh battery, interchangeable watch strap system, and both run the latest Wear OS. The C2 comes in three colors: Rose Gold, Black, and Platinum. If you want that Rose Gold option, Mobvoi says its the thinnest option at 12.80mm, "Built for slimmer wrists." Considering C2 has everything you might need from a smartwatch/fitness wearable, at $199 this seems like a great buy. Sure, it has no Snapdragon Wear 3100, but that's not the end of the world like we initially thought it would be. The watch is up for pre-order today, with shipments expected to go out in early December. Currently on Mobvoi's website, you can pre-order the smartwatch for 10% off, bringing it down to $179. Pre-Order TicWatch C2

What's Wrong With Your Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL?

Kellen — Wed, 24 Oct 2018 10:25:11 +0000

Now that Google's Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL have been released and are in the hands of so many of you, the flood of issues related to each are filling up reddit, Google's own product forums, and the comments of various other media outlets. This happens every time Google releases a product. I don't know if that's because Google sucks at contracting people to make hardware, if the people who buy their stuff are extremely picky nerds, or some combination of both. Whatever the case, like all previous Google Pixel launches, the people are not all having a great time with their new phones. And if they are running into issues, that makes sense - Google's phones are not cheap and should work properly. So, because it's almost impossible to keep up with what is or isn't the next big scandal involving the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, we thought we'd just let you all have at it in the comments. Seriously, just dump it on us down there and tell us if your Pixel 3 or 3 XL is having issues or if things are fine. Are your speakers garbage and imbalanced? Does your 3 XL earpiece do this subtle crackling noise during calls (mine does)? Is your display showing odd tints or an awesome pink line through it? Is your Pixel 3 or 3 XL failing to keep more than 2-3 apps in memory at all times (yep!)? Are you frustrated at the poor audio quality recorded during videos? What's wrong with your Pixel 3? Also, I'll point you to this excellent XDA post with a long list of the major issues being reported. It dives into background on each, their guesses on whether or not a fix will arrive, etc. Alright, go!

German Online Retailer Details OnePlus 6T Specs and Pricing

Tim — Wed, 24 Oct 2018 09:46:01 +0000

October 29 is still the date for the OnePlus 6T unveiling, but of course, we're learning much more about the device as we get closer to that date. This week, a German online retailer listed the phone early, complete with specs and pricing for the European model. So far, we're liking what we see. For specs, OnePlus 6T is listed to come with a 6.41" FHD+ display, Snapdragon 845 processor, 6GB and 8GB RAM configurations, up to 256GB storage, what appears to be an identical rear camera setup as OnePlus 6 (16MP + 20MP rear cameras), 3,700mAh battery, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, and run Android 9 Pie with OxygenOS on top. The listing also showed that there is no 3.5mm headphone jack and no IP rating, but both of these we already knew from OnePlus itself. For pricing, the German retailer listed the 8GB RAM + 128GB storage option at €579, which converts to around $660 US. Currently, an 8GB + 128GB OnePlus 6 costs $579 in the US, leading us to believe we won't see a direct conversion take place for this pricing and instead we'll see a small bump in price as we've seen in all past iterations from OnePlus. I wouldn't worry about a $100 more expensive 6T model over a 6, that's not how OnePlus does things. Again, October 29 is when this phone will be made official, with launch likely to happen in early November. // Caschys Blog

AT&T Says Its 5G Network Launches in "Next Few Weeks"

Kellen — Wed, 24 Oct 2018 08:39:32 +0000

During its earnings call this morning, AT&T said that it is preparing to launch its 5G mobile network within the "next few weeks." That's according to John Donovan, AT&T's mobility business boss, who was pinpointing launch timing for his company, which has said all year that they'd be the first to do so. When AT&T fires up their 5G network, they hope to activate it in up to a dozen markets this year alone. Some of those launch markets include Indianapolis, Atlanta, Charlotte, and Dallas. Curious about which phones will be able to connect to AT&T's 5G network? The answer: none. No phone can currently connect to 5G. What AT&T will do is sell a hotspot "puck" that will connect to 5G and then offer that connection up to your phone or tablet or computer. No 5G phones are expected until 2019 and Sprint says they'll have the first, a phone made by LG. Verizon will also bring 5G via Moto Mod at some point in early 2019. We don't yet know pricing for AT&T's 5G mobile service, but we do know they are lining up all of the tricks. We should all be prepared for increased pricing, tiers upon tiers, and à la carte service choices that nickel and dime the sh*t out of us. We'll let you know when AT&T's service goes live! // Fierce Wireless

Google Makes It Easier to Review and Delete Your Search Data

Kellen — Wed, 24 Oct 2018 07:59:19 +0000

Starting today, when you open up a Google Search page on your phone or desktop, you'll be able to easily get into your search history, to see the links you've interacted with, the terms you searched for, etc. Google is adding a "Your data in Search" option from the Search page, taking all sorts of steps out of how you take a look at your history. Now, you'll be able to open a side menu from the Google home page and tap on "Your data in Search." That will open up a dedicated page to your Search world, so you can delete any of your history, adjust Google ad settings, checkout the voice data Google has on you, and learn more about the stuff that Google is tracking. If you aren't yet seeing the side menu on mobile, just go to google.com and you should see a "Control your data in Google Search" link just below the search box. That'll get you into the page I referenced above. This new control is available on mobile and desktop today, but won't hit the Google App on Android or iOS for a couple of weeks. // Google

To Clarify, Again, Huawei Isn't Selling Mate 20 Series in US

Tim — Tue, 23 Oct 2018 15:41:20 +0000

I recently read a review of Huawei's Mate 20 Pro. It summed up the phone by saying, "The Huawei Mate 20 Pro is one of, if not the, best phones ever made." Well damn, that makes me want to get my hands on one! Unfortunately, Huawei and the US government don't currently see eye-to-eye on a matter of national security, and until they do, it's safe to say Huawei won't be selling phones here. Huawei said in a clarifying statement to Business Insider this week, "We are not planning to sell the Mate 20 Series in the US. While international variants of the Mate 20 Series may be available on some US online retail sites, we encourage individuals to carefully read the details about the warranty and network compatibility before purchasing." We knew this already, but it's good to remind yourself if you intended on getting one. While you may find one unlocked via a online US retailer, it's definitely going to be an International model and when it comes to warranty issues and network compatibility, you're basically on your own. While the phone looks cool, I wouldn't recommend purchasing one unless you don't mind running the risk of network incompatibility issues and potential warranty problems. If you like living on the wild side, by all means then. // Business Insider

Facebook Announces Messenger 4 Update With Focus on Simplicity and Less Tabs

Tim — Tue, 23 Oct 2018 12:57:51 +0000

Facebook has an all new Messenger app, rolling out to all users over the next few weeks. I feel like we've heard this before, but Facebook mentions this update is focused on simplicity, ease of navigation, and is "created with you in mind." For what's new, it's all about tabs. Apparently, the standard Facebook Messenger app has nine tabs. That's a whole lotta tabs. Messenger 4 will have just three tabs -- Chats, People, and Discover. You'll find all of the same features that were available, but everything from the games you play to the conversations you have should be more easily found. Facebook is also adding chat bubble color gradients as a way of customizing the look and vibe of your conversations. Each chat can have their own color scheme going on and Facebook says, "you can see the colors change from red to blue, for example, as you scroll up and down a conversation." As stated, this big change to Messenger will be rolling out in the coming weeks. Google Play Link https://www.facebook.com/messenger/videos/174792473428347/ // Facebook

Hmmm: Google Created a Proprietary Fast Wireless Charging Solution for Pixel 3

Kellen — Tue, 23 Oct 2018 12:38:12 +0000

For the first time in a couple of years, Google's new phones support wireless charging. The Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL both have fast wireless charging embedded should you use Google's Pixel Stand. However, as was discovered by a Pixel 3 owner testing out Anker's newest wireless charging stand, not all wireless chargers get the same speedy experience as Google's own. Why is that? Because Google embedded its own proprietary wireless charging solution, that's why. To back up for a second, you have to understand that Google's Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL can fast wireless charge at 10W. They are also Qi supported wireless charging devices, Qi being the industry standard. Those two things do not combine at this moment. Let me try to explain that. Google's phones are Qi compatible, but it appears that they only charge on a Qi wireless charger at up to 5W. On the Pixel Stand, though, they ramp up to 10W and the phone shows a "rapid charging" as that happens. That 10W power is only happening through that proprietary wireless charging solution I just mentioned. See the difference there? Google made its own fast wireless charging solution, but does still support the Qi standard, only at 5W. Google, in response to Arstechnica who reached out for comment on the situation, confirmed this to be the case. In order to get in on the 10W fast wireless charging action, you'll have to buy accessories that implement Google's solution. For now, that includes an option from Belkin called the BOOST UP Wireless Charging Pad that's made specifically for Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL and does indeed use "Google’s 10W proprietary wireless charging technology." Belkin's charger costs $59.99. Google's Pixel Stand costs $79. You know what Anker's new fast charging stand costs? $30. Google says that it is working on certifying additional chargers through its "Made for Google" program. That's fine, but if this program means wireless chargers that are potentially double+ in price over chargers that already support fast charging through the Qi standard, this news kind of sucks. If you wanted to skip Google's Pixel Stand because of price and were considering another option, you are going to have to wait a while longer if you want the faster speeds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjI-anCl7Tc // reddit | Arstechnica

Lenovo to Send Out Update to Smart Displays That Has All the Google Home Hub Goodies

Tim — Tue, 23 Oct 2018 11:12:21 +0000

When Google unveiled Google Home Hub, it was announced with a few features that aren't available to all Smart Displays, notably Nest Hello video feeds, multi-room audio support, Home View dashboard, and more. This week, Lenovo announced that it is sending all of this awesomeness out to existing 8" and 10" Smart Display model owners over the next few weeks. Yesssss! Labeled as version 3.63.43, the updates will carry quite a few new things. Here's the entire changelog from Lenovo.

With multi-room audio, you can add your Smart Display to a speaker group and play music throughout the house.
With Live Albums from Google Photos, your Ambient Mode will always show off the best photos of your favorite people and pets without you having to curate them. It will also make sure to pick your best photos, so that receipts, screenshots, duplicates, and blurry or sensitive photos will not appear on your Smart Display.
With Nest Hello Doorbell, your Smart Display will now show who is at the door when someone rings, and allows you to send quick responses.
With Home View, you can see and control all of your smart home devices in a single dashboard by swiping down from the top edge of your Smart Display.
Your Google Assistant can now also control many popular media and entertainment devices, including TVs (Hisense, Philips, Sharp,Sony, Vizio, Xiaomi), set top boxes (Dish, Foxtel, nVidia Shield, Sling, Vodafone), speakers (Denon), smart remotes (Logitech Harmony) with many more coming soon from Caavo, LG, Panasonic, Roku®, Telus, and Telstra. Enjoy universal controls to power devices on and off, adjust playback/volume, and browse a visual channel guide—all by touch or by voice on your Smart Display.

Again, Lenovo says this update will be rolling out over the next few weeks. // Lenovo

Razer Phone 2 Owners on Verizon are Running Into Certification Issues (Updated)

Tim — Tue, 23 Oct 2018 10:02:57 +0000

UPDATE 10/25: Verizon certification has arrived and the phone is now ready for BYOD activation on its LTE network.

When Razer Phone 2 was announced, Razer's CEO was on stage and specifically said Verizon compatibility was there, meaning if you are a Verizon customer and buy the phone then pop in your Verizon SIM, you should be up and running and everything will be great. However, it appears that wasn't entirely accurate when it was said. As Verizon owners are now finding out, Razer Phone 2 is running into issues with regard to basic things like phone calls and text messages when using LTE. This should not be an issue considering the phone does have the necessary bands to run on Verizon's network, most notably LTE Band 13. From what we can gather, Razer has not received certification for the device to run on Verizon's network, and the process is a bit more than Verizon simply flipping a switch. Is this something that can be remedied? Absolutely, but it could take some time, unless Razer has already been in the process of receiving certification. From what we've been told by a Razer employee, the phone was supposed to be certified already, but the company is actively working with Verizon to get certification up and running. Razer sent out a tweet this morning, stating the same thing. https://twitter.com/Razer/status/1054749294509649922 This isn't the first time we've seen unlocked phones run into issues on Verizon's network. Looking back, the original Essential Phone had to go through this same process, as well as HTC's U12+. At the end of the day, both phones were certified and everything was fine for buyers. It's our belief that the timing was simply messed up on Razer's part, with the company hoping to have certification by the beginning of this week, but it didn't come. The important part is, it's apparently coming and those on Verizon should have a working phone shortly, we hope. // reddit [2]

Google Play Movies Hands Out Free 4K Upgrades, Drops 4K Pricing Too

Kellen — Tue, 23 Oct 2018 09:09:19 +0000

Guys, Google is doing it! After code hinted at the move, Google is handing out free 4K movie upgrades to past purchases on Google Play Movies & TV. Not only that, they will also start selling 4K movies at lower prices. Yesssss! The news dropped this morning on Google's Keyword blog, where they announced that they'll begin upgrading your past movie purchases to 4K, even if you bought in standard (SD) or high (HD) definition. They'll do the upgrades automatically if your movies are available in 4K from participating Hollywood studios. Once upgraded, you'll be notified within the app the next time you open it. As for better pricing, Google says that starting today, 4K movies simply cost less on Play Movies & TV. You can see the "top" 4K movies here, and yep, they are all down to around $20 or under. 4K movies used to sit at around $30. Along with the upgrade and price drop news, Google mentioned that they are continuing to upgrade the Play Movies app on Samsung, LG, and Vizio TVs, plus 4K viewing is available on Sony Bravia 4K TVs and most Samsung Smart TVs. Google Play Link // Google

OnePlus 6T Pop-Up Shops Will be the Best Way to Get the Phone Quickly

Tim — Tue, 23 Oct 2018 08:54:04 +0000

OnePlus is bringing its patented pop-up shops back for OnePlus 6T, something they've been doing for the majority of its phone launches. If you ask me, these pop-up events are the best way to score the device in a timely fashion. In going and buying the phone there, you don't have to risk the OnePlus site crashing due to traffic when attempting to buy the phone, then waiting for your shipment to come, and whatever else may happen during the online buying process. The issue is, OnePlus doesn't seem very enthusiastic about getting the phone into the hands of Americans as it does other countries. There will be only one pop-up shop in the US, located in New York City. That's right, just one shop for the 325 million of us. However, if you're located in Europe, India, or even a Nordic country, there appears to be a pop-up shop on every corner. I'm exaggerating a bit, but seriously, there are a lot of shops across Europe and India, but just one in the US. That's weak sauce, OnePlus. On top of getting the phone there, OnePlus also has goodies at these shops. You'll find OnePlus accessories, swag items, as well as snacks and like-minded people to talk about phones with. Seems like a fun time, but it's unfortunate the nearest pop-up shop to me is a 5-hour cross country flight. Womp womp. To check the location of each pop-up shop across the globe, look here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ht_cDhe_4x8

Misfit Vapor 2 is Now Official in Two Sizes, $250 Price, and Snapdragon Wear 2100

Kellen — Tue, 23 Oct 2018 07:41:59 +0000

The Misfit Vapor 2, a smartwatch you could buy for a brief moment yesterday, even though it had not yet been announced, has now been announced. Since this has popped up a couple of times already with plenty of details, I'll try to make this one quick. The Misfit Vapor 2 is the follow-up to the somewhat-disappointing Misfit Vapor. It comes in two sizes: 41mm and 46mm. Both sizes carry the same price of $249.99 to start, but go up to $269.99 if you upgrade the band. They feature 1.2" (41mm) and 1.4" (46mm) displays, 4GB storage, 512MB RAM, 300 and 330mah batteries, heartrate sensors, standalone GPS, NFC, and 30M water resistance. It also runs on the Snapdragon Wear 2100 platform, which we assumed it would. That's worth pointing out, because it's the 2.5 year old chipset from Qualcomm, which was replaced in September by the Wear 3100. I'm actually not sure why we're still releasing watches running 2100, but this watch did stop off at the FCC months ago and probably should have been announced months ago. At $250, it's not horribly priced, it's just going to be a tough sell knowing that it runs the old Qualcomm wearable chip and not the new one. // Misfit

Oh Man, the Pixel 3 Night Sight Camera Mode is Actually Nuts

Kellen — Tue, 23 Oct 2018 07:17:40 +0000

There was a moment during the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL event where Google first showed off an upcoming camera feature called Night Sight. The picture they showed on stage was a comparison of a photo taken with the brand new iPhone Xs and another taken with the Pixel 3. The iPhone Xs photo was dark and not at all interesting because of the lack of light. The photo next to it taken with Pixel 3, well, it kind of blew everyone's mind a bit, both in "Holy sh*t!" and also in, "Yeah, but this is just a marketing thing and can't possibly be real-world" ways. Here is the photo I'm referencing. Can't be real right? Yesterday, the Google Camera received an update to v6.1 that brought with it the new Pixel 3 camera UI to the Pixel 2 and Pixel. Within that app, the folks at XDA discovered that Google had included the Night Sight mode they showed off on October 9 and found a way to enable it. They've shared a modified .apk file to let Pixel, Pixel 2, and Pixel 3 users all take it for a spin before Google makes it official, and man, it's pretty damn cool. The new mode is accessed within the Google Camera app, in the "More" section where you'll find Slow Motion, Photo Sphere, Playground, and Settings. If the lighting conditions are dark enough, the camera app will recommend you try out the Night mode. And yes, it works with selfies too.

Below, I've taken a handful of photos around my house in varying light conditions. You can see the Google Pixel 3 camera doing well in low light situations without Night Sight (or "Night" mode), but once that mode is enabled, things get a little wild - in a good way. LOW LIGHT (Camera, Night Sight)

LOWER LIGHT (Camera, Night Sight)

CLOSE TO DARK (Camera, Night Sight)

MORE SAMPLES (Camera, Night Sight)

PIXEL 2 (Camera, Night Sight)

Crazy, right? What we've got here are (likely) the results of a final product made from an experimental night mode that Google shared with us back in April 2017. Anyone remember this? That experiment took a simple camera app that snapped up to 64 frames with manual control over exposure time, ISO, and focus distance. Those images were then processed (I believe manually) into incredible final stills that we couldn't believe at that time. If that's what Google is using, then they've figured out how to take bursts in extreme low light conditions, which are then processed on the Pixel phone and turned into what you've seen above. While not official yet, the modded camera app can be downloaded and installed on all Pixel phones for you to try out right now. Prepare to have your mind blown some.

Samsung, You Best Not be Trolling

Tim — Mon, 22 Oct 2018 15:58:17 +0000

We're scheduled to be in attendance at the Samsung Developer Conference on November 6-7, and so long as Samsung isn't trolling me right now, it appears we could catch a glimpse of its foldable device at the show. In a short video attached to a tweet promoting the event, we can clearly see what looks like some folding action going on in the middle. If that's not what Samsung is trying to do, then I quit. We've been talking about a folding phone from Samsung for years now, and honestly, I'm about over it. Whether it's CES or Samsung's dedicated events for products, we always hear that its foldable phone is indeed coming. Recently, we're hearing that it may just be a folding tablet, but also important to note, DJ Koh said that SDC is a potential candidate for its unveiling. Will you be in San Francisco for SDC? Let us know! https://twitter.com/SamsungMobile/status/1052892046288011264?s=19

Monday Poll: Are You Interested in a Smart Display?

Tim — Mon, 22 Oct 2018 13:51:26 +0000

Smart Displays are a new category this year, with Lenovo, JBL, and Google leading the charge as of right now. Earlier this year saw the launch of Lenovo and JBL's options, but this week, anyone can go pick up a Google Home Hub at Best Buy or on the Google Store. Are they worth it, though? We reviewed Lenovo's Smart Display and while it is a useful thing to have sitting on the desk, I wouldn't say it's groundbreaking or a must-buy. With them, you get access to the same Google Assistant that is on your phone, but of course, the display aspect helps you watch videos, view photos, as well as access a library of recipes and other content. They're certainly cool little things, but what's your take on them? Awesome or no? [poll id="498"]

Video: Google Home Hub Unboxing and First Look!

Kellen — Mon, 22 Oct 2018 13:31:32 +0000

Google Home Hub is now available! The first smart display from Google is in house, so we've got a little unboxing here for you as well as a tour for those who curious about some of the early exclusive functionality over other smart displays. In this short video, we also compare the size of the Home Hub to the Lenovo Smart Display (10" model), walk through the new smart home controls, and take a tour of its little cloth-covered body. If you want to buy one before our Home Hub review is ready, all major retailers have them today for $149. In fact, you could walk into a Walmart or Target and walk out with one in minutes. Buy Google Home Hub: Walmart | Target

Droid Life Q&A Sessions: Volume 53

Tim — Mon, 22 Oct 2018 11:10:07 +0000

Tech-tober is coming to a close, but wouldn't you believe, there are still more phones coming! LG V40, Pixels, and Razer Phone 2 are somewhat in the rearview, so we'll now be focusing in on OnePlus 6T, RED Hydrogen One, and others for a little bit. Seriously, this has been a crazy second half to the year, but what better way to put everything in perspective than with a DL Q&A Session? These posts allow you, our beloved readers, to ask us anything that might be on your mind. It can be about phones, tech in general, or anything else. Nothing is off limits here, so don't be shy. This upcoming Friday, we'll round up all of the questions, then post up our answers for all to see. Dig in!

Google's Digital Wellbeing Arrives on Google Home With Downtime and Filters

Kellen — Mon, 22 Oct 2018 11:01:01 +0000

Google is really big on this whole Digital Wellbeing thing, where they want to give you the tools to help you disconnect a bit more from the technology around you. First starting with smartphones, they are now expanding Digital Wellbeing to Google Home products. The rollout of Digital Wellbeing to Google Home started today, with Google posting support pages on how to get everything setup. And to set everything up, you'll do so within the Google Home app. Google says to head into the Google Home app, tap on your Account tab, then "your structure," and then Digital Wellbeing. From within there, you will be able to setup Downtime schedules or Filters. What the hell is Downtime and Filters, you ask? They are:

Downtime With Downtime you can help your family take a break from Google Home. When your Google Home devices are in Downtime, they will not respond to most commands or questions. During Downtime, you also will not receive notifications from your Google Home devices. Alarms and Timers will still work. During downtime, Routines can not begin to run, even if they are scheduled. A Routine that has already begun, will not be stopped by Downtime. Example: You have scheduled a routine that plays video on your Android TV. If Google Home is in Downtime when the Routine is scheduled to begin, the Routine will not start and no video will be played on your TV. If the Routine has already started, and video is playing on your TV when Downtime begins, the video will still play uninterrupted. Filters Filters can help you place limits on how people in your household can use Google Home. You can use Filters to do things like block access to music with explicit lyrics, or define which video services are available. Routines do not bypass filters. Music, video services and other actions that are part of a routine will still be restricted or blocked by filters. For example, if music is blocked when a routine that includes playing music starts, music will not be played.

To get started, grab the latest Google Home app and then be on the lookout for that Digital Wellbeing section. For other FAQ on Google Home Digital Wellbeing, hit up this link. Google Play Link

Save Your Neighborhood From a Spirit Invasion in Ghostbusters World

Tim — Mon, 22 Oct 2018 10:31:57 +0000

A new game is available on Google Play this week, Ghostbusters World. To describe it, I'd say think Pokemon GO, but Ghostbusters. In the game, you can capture and battle tons of different ghosts using augmented reality, then battle your own team of spirits against other players. However, when you aren't battling other players, you'll need to work together to fight bosses through the real world, including the one and only Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. In between the AR battles and collecting, you'll find that there is a storyline taking place, featuring original Ghostbusters characters. If you're a fan of this series, then you're sure to enjoy. Go grab the app on Google Play by following the link below. Google Play Link

Pixel 3's Camera App is Now Available on Pixel 2 and 2 XL (Updated)

Kellen — Mon, 22 Oct 2018 10:23:20 +0000

The new Google Camera that shipped on the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL is now available to Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL. The app starting rolling out this morning, as far as we can tell, bringing with it the new swipey UI.

UPDATE: This camera update included a buried Night Sight mode that when enabled, does some pretty crazy low-light photography

The update to the Google Camera shows you the mode you are shooting in at the bottom of the viewfinder, just above the shutter button. If you'd like to switch modes, you can simply swipe left or right on the screen, rather than swipe out a side menu and individually pick a mode, which was the case in the previous build. This update also lets you long-press on the screen to quickly launch Google Lens. Top Shot did not make it into this update, nor did Night Sight or Photobooth. The update is rolling out at as Google Camera v6.1.013. Google Play Link

Misfit Still Hasn't Announced the Vapor 2, but You Can Buy It at Best Buy Right Now (Updated)

Kellen — Mon, 22 Oct 2018 09:09:23 +0000

The Misfit Vapor 2 showed up at an overseas retailer last week, revealing many of the new watch's details before Fossil and Misfit had a chance to announce it. Today, even though it still hasn't been officially revealed, can be purchased from Best Buy. OK, then!

UPDATE: Best Buy pulled all listings.
UPDATE 10/23: The Misfit Vapor 2 is now official

Best Buy has listings for two different sizes of Misfit Vapor 2 watches in a number of colors. The Vapor 2 will arrive in 46mm or 41mm sizes and come in black, stainless steel, or a rose tone. Each will also feature a round AMOLED display, 20mm straps, heart rate tracking, standalone GPS, NFC for Google Pay, water resistance, and 512MB RAM. At least one of them will feature a 1.39″, with resolutions on each at 454x454 (46mm) and 390x390 (41mm). Best Buy listings suggest a $249.99 price for all models, with no price difference between sizes. Neither listing calls out the processor, so once again, we're assuming this watch is not running the new Snapdragon Wear 3100. I'm not sure why this watch has been outed without mention from its makers, but that's where we are.

Best Buy Link

Heads-Up: You Can Still Type in Google Assistant Even if the Keyboard Button Disappeared

Kellen — Mon, 22 Oct 2018 08:04:57 +0000

Google Assistant picked up a keyboard input option well over a year ago, giving those of use who may not like talking out loud to Google a way to get help with daily tasks. In a recent update (possibly just in a Google app beta build), for whatever reason, the keyboard shortcut disappeared. I just wanted to point out that it's still there, just not visible. When you fire up Google Assistant today, you'll see the typical Assistant pop-up that starts listening for your every command. In the bottom left, you should see a Google Lens icon. On the bottom right, where they keyboard shortcut used to be, you'll see nothing. However, if you tap in that right corner, the keyboard will pop-up allowing for input. I point this out because we often see changes move from beta to stable and if that should happen here, I want you to know that you'll be OK. If you are on stable and not the Google App beta, feel free to ignore this...for now. That's all. Cheers James!

Here's How to Get a Free Week of Service to YouTube TV After Last Week's Outage

Kellen — Mon, 22 Oct 2018 08:03:11 +0000

YouTube and YouTube TV had a rough October 16, where services were down for hours before being fully restored. The timing was extra awful for sports fans, as the 16th marked the beginning of the NBA season and also featured MLB league championship games. Because Google feels bad about that, they are giving YouTube TV subscribers a "week of free service." This isn't the first time that Google has felt the need to handout free service following an outage. They did the same back in July when YouTube TV went down during the World Cup. To get the free week, you'll need to fill out a form that simply asks for the email address you use to subscribe to YouTube TV. You'll need to do this by October 24, though, so please hurry. Here is the form.

Razer Phone 2 Review: This is What a Sequel Should Be

Tim — Mon, 22 Oct 2018 00:01:13 +0000

Razer Phone 2 is a direct followup to last year's original Razer Phone. Honestly, I wasn't expecting Razer to release a sequel so quickly, considering the company is very new to the smartphone game, but here we are and you aren't going to hear me complaining about a new phone to play with and review. While the Razer Phone 2 looks very much like the first, Razer has changed up a substantial amount on the inside of the phone, and you will notice that the backside has changed, too. Yes, I'm referring to the sweet Chroma light show on the back. The phone seems like a much better package than last year's offering, but is this a phone any serious Android fan should consider over something from an established brand like LG, Samsung, or Google? Let's take a look. This is our Razer Phone 2 review!

The Good

Specs If you care about specs over other aspects of a phone, Razer Phone 2 may be calling your name. It has what I think is everything you can ask for in a phone. Inside you have the latest processor from Qualcomm, a big amount of RAM, large battery, dual cameras, water resistance, wireless charging, dual front stereo speakers, as well as a display that is still unlike anything else on the market. If you need specifics, here we go. Razer Phone 2 features a Snapdragon 845 processor, 8GB RAM, 5.7" IGZO LCD display (1440 x 2560) capable of 120Hz refresh rate (16:9, 580 nits), 64GB built-in storage, dual rear-facing cameras (12MP standard lens, f/1.75, OIS + 12MP Telephoto, f/2.6), 8MP front camera, dual front-firing stereo speakers with dual amplifiers and Dolby Atmos, 4,000mAh battery, Qualcomm's Quick Charge 4.0 tech, fingerprint reader inside the power button, wireless charging, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, IP67 water and dust resistance, and Android 8.1 Oreo. Seriously, that's quite the spec lineup and it aligns with the best of the best as we get closer to the end of 2018. If you're looking for something wrong with it, the only thing I can point to is the lack of Android 9 Pie, even though it's been available from Google for a bit now. Obviously, Razer will push it at some point to this phone, but we aren't sure when. Display Side by side to the last Razer Phone, I can't notice too many differences in terms of the display, even on paper. The only thing Razer highlights to the end user is a display brightness increase in the Razer 2, which certainly has been upped a bit. Other than that, it's the same 120Hz UltraMotion experience that really is unlike any other display on the market. When the screen is set to 120Hz, you can clearly see just how smooth UI animations are, as well as in-game content. If you have seen video of the 120Hz in action, I can tell you that the display is not done any justice by cameras and only the human eye can truly appreciate what Razer is doing here. I said last year in my original review that I had hoped Razer's effort would get other display makers thinking, but so far, LG and Samsung, the companies that make most of the smartphone displays across the globe, aren't stepping away from the 60Hz industry standard. Beyond the awesomeness that is 120Hz refresh for a phone, the colors on this screen really pop when the display is set to Vivid inside of the Settings menu. Purples, reds, and blues really take on a life of their own and when looking back at photos you have snapped, things just look really good. If you aren't overly fond of saturation, though, you can always opt for the Natural look mode the display offers. Razer, keep pushing smartphone display tech to its limits. I love it. Camera Last year, Razer launched its first phone with less than stellar cameras and that's me being pretty generous. The cameras were hot garbage. This year, Razer really honed in on giving users all of the good stuff the first phone had, plus a whole lot more, which includes much improved rear-facing shooters. On the back you have dual 12-megapixel cameras, one standard RGB lens with OIS and one Telephoto lens. For me, the Telephoto is hardly something I ever use, because I know from experience that distance shooting has never been a strong suit for phone cameras. However, this standard lens is much, much improved over last year's offering. It's actually usable, folks! Now, I'm not here to blow smoke up anyone's ass and this camera probably won't outperform the latest from Samsung and Google, but it's solid and easily one of the better shooting experiences I've had this year. If we were giving Best Improved trophies for phones, Razer would be the winner.

The act of opening the camera, focusing on a subject, then hitting that shutter button is a much better experience than last year. Taking photo's on the original Razer Phone seemed like a hassle, but with Razer Phone 2, everything feels and looks smooth. After shooting, photos have great color accuracy and detail, plus the addition of OIS makes photo and video results a night and day difference. While I'm pleased to report that Razer Phone 2 has a good camera, it is missing a couple of advanced features in the software. There is no Pro/Manual mode, and this bit me pretty hard when attempting to take a few shots. For example, if I had control over the focus instead of having to rely on the phone's Auto Focus, I could have snapped some legit macros, but instead, I walked away empty handed because I could not get the camera to focus on exactly what I needed it to. When you tap to focus, you only have control over the brightness and the Settings menu offers no options for the way focus is controlled. Honestly, this situation could be worse, and we know that from last year's model, but I'd love to see Razer push an update that introduces even greater software controls to match the work they put into the lenses themselves. Here are a few resized shots from Razer Phone 2 with no other edits. There's a mix of HDR and non-HDR shots, and while I could label them for you, I think you'll be able to spot when the phone automatically applied HDR and when it didn't.

Battery With a 4,000mAh battery, I can't imagine this section being anywhere else than The Good. This phone was easily powering through my typical day with plenty of juice to spare, and that's with me doing a bit of extra gaming and Twitter browsing to enjoy that 120Hz refresh rate a bit more. Beyond good battery life, this phone does come with wireless charging thanks to its now glass back, as well as Qualcomm's Quick Charge 4.0+. With that, even if you somehow blast through your entire battery, you can replenish your battery at a faster and safer pace.

Software Much like last year, Razer took a minimal approach to its Android UI. You won't find much of a skin, and instead, Razer employs its own Theme Store to help you change up the look of the phone. Themes can change up your notification pulldown, icons, wallpaper, and the color scheme of select apps. Other than that, this is a very straightforward version of Android 8.1 Oreo and there's nothing wrong with that.

Past the looks of it, Razer built in a few things to help gamers get the most out of this phone. Inside of the Settings, you'll find Game Booster software, which allows you to choose performance profiles for every game title on your phone. You can opt between Custom, Power Save, and Performance options. When you go for performance, the phone enables the 120Hz refresh rate, clocks the processor to its top speed (2.80GHz), ups the resolution to 1440p, and you can also toggle anti-aliasing on or off. If you're playing a performance intense game, Game Booster is a mightily powerful tool to have.

Just like last year, Razer includes Nova Launcher Prime on the device, allowing owners to seriously customize their home screen. As a Droid Life reader, I'll be seriously mad if you don't know about Nova Launcher Prime, but to sum it up, you can use custom icon packs, switch up your search bar's look, customize the dock and app drawer, plus so much more. This is a great touch by Razer and you have to appreciate software additions like this. Performance This phone is fast and smooth. The 8GB RAM coupled with Snapdragon 845, as well as any optimization tweaks Razer has done for the software, on top of the 120Hz refresh rate on the display and damn -- this thing flies. When browsing through the phone and going in and out of apps, as well as playing games, I never came across any type of jank, stutter, or lag. This experience doesn't differ from last year's model, because that phone also had some crazy good performance. But seriously, would you expect anything else from a company that says this phone is built for gaming and top-tier power? Razer set the bar high last year and it has delivered yet again in 2018. Audio You'll find dual front stereo speakers on Razer Phone 2, said to be even louder than last year's model. While I can't say for sure if they're louder, they're just plain loud in general. Not only are they loud, they have some serious depth, too. There are plenty of lows when listening to your rock and hip-hop, but lots of clarity when listening to more vocal-heavy pieces. Compared to other phones on the market, even ones with dual stereo speakers, this phone seems to blow them away. Sadly, there is no 3.5mm headphone jack, but when you have a set of USB-C headphones plugged in (or you use the 3.5mm headphone adapter), you have lots of control over your audio by way of software. Thanks to Dolby Atmos integration, you can choose between plenty of presets like Music, Movie, and Dynamic, as well as customize each and every band of a 10-band EQ. There's also an underlying Intelligent EQ that has Balanced, Warm, and Detailed presets. On top of all of that, there's a toggle for a Bass Enhancer, just in case you're all 'bout that bass, 'bout that bass, no treble.

Somewhere in the Middle

Hardware Four 90-degree angles is potentially the most boring design for a phone ever. And because this phone's overall hardware design hasn't really change since last year, I feel like I'll be repeating a lot of the same things I said in my original Razer Phone review. Again in 2018, this is a beefed up, murdered out Nextbit Robin. Now, the reason I'm not totally hating on it is because if you don't mind this hardware, then you're really going to love this phone. And really, to offer the speakers, display, battery, and everything else, I don't know if Razer could really change anything. While the bezels could use a trimming, gamers need a place to put their hands and phones with super thin bezels aren't necessarily that comfortable to hold when gaming. Realistically speaking, this hardware suits the needs of the users it was designed for, so I suppose it's perfect when looking at it from that perspective. Is it out here trying to be the prettiest phone ever? F*ck no. Razer Phone 2 is here to provide a mobile performance experience unlike any other and when you accept that and stop caring about fancy curves and notches, Razer Phone 2 hits the spot just right. Chroma I love the addition of the Chroma RBG LED on the back of this phone, but when you think about it, it's kinda pointless and it's just another thing that can drain your battery life. How it relates to the operation of your phone is minimal in the concept that it can act as a notification light. This is only useful when you place the phone on its face, and this could just be me, but I don't do that.

Look at this way -- Razer added wireless charging. Sweet, but that requires the phone to sit or lay on its back, so if you're doing that, you aren't able to see the Chroma LED do its thing. When you're holding the phone and watching something or scrolling through Instagram, the LED is facing away from you on the back of the phone, so you can't see it. Really, unless you turn the phone around or are an unusual person and put your phone face down on a flat surface, you'll never get to enjoy the Razer logo lit up sexily on the back. That really sucks. And I get it, Razer likes flashy lights and Chroma is its calling card on nearly all of its products, but this just doesn't really add up to anything entirely beneficial for the user. Now that my nagging practical opinion is out of the way, I think it looks awesome and that's all I have to say about that.

Other Notes

Girlfriend Impressions - "Where's the power button? Oh, it's flush. That's cool. And it's the fingerprint reader? That's nice. I like the glass on back and the way it lights up looks cool."
Water Resistance - The addition of IP67 is much appreciated by me. To me, it exemplifies the notion that Razer brought everything they did last year, but added in a ton of goodies to really round out the package and make it a real option for those who want a phone that isn't made by one of the bigger phone brands.

Pricing and Availability

Razer Phone 2 is available for pre-order at $799. That's the same price the original Razer Phone launched at, which should definitely be noted as a positive. I mean, we see plenty of phone lineups get price bumps each year, so the fact that Razer kept the same price, but added in so much, is fantastic. You can find Razer Phone 2 via pre-order on Razer's website, Best Buy, or Amazon. Each retailer shows the phone's launch date as October 26, which is later this week. As for carrier support, while you won't find Razer Phone at your local AT&T or Verizon store, it is compatible with the networks. It's fully supported for GSM and Verizon's LTE networks, so don't worry about network compatibility.

Video

First Look and Impressions 10+ Tips and Tricks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6I0_BAADRI8

Gallery

The Verdict

I'm happy because this verdict is very easy for me. Can you get over the fact that this phone isn't pretty? Then buy it! It's a really good phone and it makes quite a statement compared to all of the notches and slaps the face of beauty standards. Again, to reiterate what's essentially the bulk of this review, Razer has rereleased the original Razer Phone in the Razer Phone 2, but changed everything that needed to be changed and made additions that really help push this phone over the finish line. To recap, the camera is much better, the battery life is still awesome, the display is legit, performance is killer, and you won't find a better mobile gaming experience on the market. What else could you ask for from a mobile phone made for gaming? Exactly. Now, go buy it if it makes you happy.

Floating Keyboard Now Available in Gboard Beta

Kellen — Sat, 20 Oct 2018 10:22:38 +0000

Back in September, Google briefly activated a floating and movable keyboard within their Gboard app. It didn't last long and was quickly removed, but we assumed it would be back before long. It has now returned for good, we think. In the latest Gboard beta that rolled out over night, the floating is once again an option to enable if you like floaty things. You'll need to opt-in to the beta, which you can do through the link below and install version 7.6.13.215505041. Once you've got that build, you'll open up the keyboard, tap on the top left arrow in the Gboard suggestion row, then the 3-dot button next to Google Translate, and you should see "Floating" as an option (see below). Tap that and your keyboard will pop-up from the bottom of the screen. Gboard's floating keyboard can be moved wherever, resized, swiped on for gesture typing, and dragged back to the bottom of the screen to re-pin it to its normal spot. Google Play Link

Verizon Stops SIM Locking Pixel 3 and 3 XL for Now

Kellen — Fri, 19 Oct 2018 13:04:08 +0000

The SIM locking of Verizon Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL saga will be no more. Verizon reached out to us this afternoon to update us on the situation, telling us that they have temporarily removed the lock on devices, including those sold at Best Buy stores. To back up for a second, for those who missed out - yesterday, Verizon confirmed to us that the SIM locking policy they began implementing earlier this year was being applied to the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. That policy involved locking Verizon phones to Verizon's network until they had been activated on Verizon's network and then went through an overnight unlocking process. The point of this policy, according to Verizon, was to deter theft. As you know if you read DL comments, people weren't exactly thrilled with this move, especially since the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL are built to work on every single major US carrier, even if Verizon is the exclusive carrier partner. If you want the Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL, aren't a Verizon customer, and don't want to order it from Google, this lock made it impossible for you to get one in the US. You couldn't just walk into a Best Buy, buy a Pixel 3, and slap a T-Mobile SIM card into it. Today, that changes some. Verizon relayed the following to us:

At launch, there was an update related to an automatic overnight unlock on Pixel 3s, which also showed up on phones sold in Best Buy stores. We have temporarily removed it from Pixel 3 and are assessing where it will be implemented in the future. As you may recall, earlier this year we began locking phones until they were initially activated on the Verizon network to prevent theft and protect employees.

When asked specifically if this means that they have removed the lock on Pixel 3 phones, they confirmed that to be the case. For now, if you walk into a Best Buy store to buy a Pixel 3 or 3 XL, you should be able to do so without needing to wait for Verizon's systems to SIM unlock it.

Unsympathetic Apple Forces OnePlus to Bump 6T Launch Up to October 29

Tim — Fri, 19 Oct 2018 13:01:18 +0000

All OnePlus wanted to do was show off its greatest phone ever on October 30. But no, big bad Apple had to come and ruin everything! This week, Apple announced it has an event planned for October 30, which just so happens to be the unveiling date for the OnePlus 6T. Keep in mind, OnePlus has had this date secured since October 8. And because both events are scheduled to take place in NYC (Brooklyn for Apple, to be exact), OnePlus decided to avoid any awkwardness and has bumped up its launch date from October 30 to October 29. October 29 is now OnePlus 6T day! This is a portion of what Pete Lau told OnePlus fans.

As ambitious and passionate as we all are, we have to acknowledge the reality of this situation. There are no winners here. Over the course of almost 5 years, we have been proud to witness the rise of one of the most passionate and powerful communities in all of tech. But, we have to remain realistic. We have only just begun our journey and cannot afford to let one of the most important products in our history be affected by another great product launch. So after deep reflection, we have decided to move the OnePlus 6T Launch Event in New York City to October 29.

If you planned on attending this event and even got a hotel or flight, don't worry, OnePlus says they are willing to, "cover any costs you might incur to change your plans." That's most generous of them, especially when they could've just kept the same date. I mean, it's just an iPad/Mac event after all. If anything, this is cool for the rest of us because we'll see the phone one day earlier. Sweet! // OnePlus

Podcast: Pixel 3 Review!

Kellen — Fri, 19 Oct 2018 09:16:56 +0000

On this episode of the Droid Life Show, we're running through our review of the Google Pixel 3! We have had the phone in house for almost two weeks now, put it through plenty of testing, and want to talk more about it on the show. In addition to Pixel 3 chat, we can show you the RED Hydrogen One phone and Montblanc Summit 2 on air, discuss the OnePlus 6T possibly working on Verizon, what cuts to Essential's workforce mean, and why the Palm companion phone is actually kind of an interesting idea. Trivia is back today, with fabulous prizes provided by our friends at iFixit! We’ll be live at 11:00AM Pacific (2:00PM Eastern). If you miss us live and/or want the audio version of our podcast, you can subscribe through the various links below.

Here's the Verizon Carrier Lock Removal Message Pixel 3 Devices Will See (Updated)

Kellen — Fri, 19 Oct 2018 08:25:10 +0000

The Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, two phones that are fully capable of working on every major carrier without issue, are SIM locked out of the box when purchased as a "Verizon" model. That means they are locked to Verizon because Verizon says they have a theft problem, or something. As we first reported yesterday, the lock is only in place for about a day and goes away automatically overnight once a Verizon SIM card has been inserted and the phone activated.

UPDATE: Verizon tells us that it has stopped SIM locking the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL

This morning, a couple of readers who first fired up their Pixel 3 and 3 XL units yesterday, let us know that their phones notified them today of their carrier locks being removed. And again, this all happens automatically, just as Verizon told us it would. Neither reader tried to use another SIM from another carrier, yet still received the notification that their phones were now unlocked. Below you can see the notification on a Pixel 3 that says "Carrier lock removed" and "The device can now be used on any network."

To recap, Verizon is SIM locking most of their phones at this point. That SIM lock is only temporary and goes away automatically overnight, once the phone has been activated on Verizon. If you buy a Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL from Best Buy, you need to first activate it with Verizon before you can take it to another network. That's going to be somewhat tricky for most, so you should instead just buy the phone directly from Google. Cheers Bryan, Jake, Dennis, Mike, and Raymond!

Sharing Your Location and ETA in Google Maps is Much Better Now

Tim — Thu, 18 Oct 2018 15:46:43 +0000

In March, 2017, Google introduced real-time location sharing in Google Maps. The feature works fine and dandy, but apparently, Google thinks it can do better. In an update headed out to users this week, you'll see an improved experience when sharing your location, ETA, and route. To break it down, let's say you begin navigating to your destination. From here, tap on the ˄ button and then on “Share trip progress.” From here, you'll be able to share your live location, route, and ETA with any contact you have. The update also includes support for sharing across 3rd-party apps like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and more. Naturally, once your journey ends, you’ll automatically stop sharing your location. Check out how it works on Apple's glorious old iPhone below and then go grab that update! Google Play Link

// Google

Verizon Pixel 3 Units Have to be Activated on Verizon First Before Heading to Another Carrier (Updated)

Kellen — Thu, 18 Oct 2018 13:52:58 +0000

Thought about heading into Best Buy to buy a Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL and then slapping a SIM card in from T-Mobile? You can't, even with the phones being capable of working on almost any network. The Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL sold as "Verizon" models are SIM locked until they've been activated on Verizon's network. We reached out to Verizon to confirm after seeing this reddit post about a Pixel 3 XL getting a "not supported" message when a non-Verizon SIM was inserted. Verizon tells us that if you buy a Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL through retailers, it must first be activated on Verizon. They implemented this policy earlier this year as an attempt to deter theft. They also want you to know that the Pixel 3 is their exclusive. How long will it take for the phone to be unlocked and ready for another network? Reddit is filled with suggestions that it takes 24 hours, but Verizon would only say that they are "automatically unlocked overnight." In other words, it could possibly be up to 24 hours from the time you first activate it on Verizon's network.

UPDATE: Verizon has stopped SIM locking the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL

So how do you go into Best Buy, buy a Pixel 3 or 3 XL and then use it on T-Mobile? You would have to first activate it on Verizon for up to a day. That sounds like a giant pain in the ass. Yikes. If you want a Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL, you should buy it from the Google Store.

RED Hydrogen One Hardware and Side-by-Side Size Comparisons [Gallery]

Tim — Thu, 18 Oct 2018 12:55:22 +0000

We recently got our hands on a Hydrogen One from RED and I'm excited to check this thing out, to say the very least. I mean, there's a reason why many of the great Hollywood directors and YouTube personalities shoot with RED, right? While we're very limited in what we can talk about with regards to the phone at this time, we can at least share a hardware overview gallery and side-by-side comparisons to other devices on the market. Below you'll find shots of Hydrogen One next to Pixel 2 XL, Razer Phone 2, LG V40, OnePlus 6, and Galaxy Note 9. That should give you a decent idea of what to expect in-hand. If you are interested in specs, we can point you to a leak from this week. This is but a taste of further Hydrogen One coverage that is to come down the road. Until then, here you go.

Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL First Factory Images are Available!

Kellen — Thu, 18 Oct 2018 10:34:33 +0000

Google just posted the first factory image and OTA files for the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. Since today is basically launch day, the timing seems just about right. The files are available as Android 9.0.0 builds PD1A.180720.030 and PD1A.180720.031 for both phones, the second being the Verizon specific build. This is the build you should find out of the box. These contain the September security patch, for those curious, which is odd knowing that we're almost to November. Google could either push an update before November to get us on October's or they may wait and just give us November's. We'll have to see how that goes. You can grab each image or OTA file at the links below. For instructions on how to flash a factory image, here you go. For instructions on how to flash an OTA .zip file, here you go. Links:

SHIELD TV and Google Home Integration Cranked to 11

Tim — Thu, 18 Oct 2018 09:06:50 +0000

Earlier this month, NVIDIA hosted a promotion that netted you a free Google Home Mini with the purchase of a SHIELD TV. At the time, NVIDIA touted the ability to turn on SHIELD by asking Google Home to do so, as well as playing content from Netflix on SHIELD TV simply by speaking the command. Today, NVIDIA announced a bounty of new integration coming soon to Google Home and SHIELD TV. For a few examples, you can tell Google Home to set the volume to a particular level on SHIELD TV, mute the device, play and pause playback of media, get shown photos, as well as much more. Seriously, look at all of these controls and commands. Basic Commands

“Turn on SHIELD”
“Turn off SHIELD”
“Open [name of app] on SHIELD”

Volume Control

“Set volume to 50% on SHIELD”
“Increase/decrease volume on SHIELD”
“Mute/unmute volume on SHIELD”

Playback Features

“Play [name of Netflix, HBO NOW, CBS, Viki, or Starz show] on SHIELD”
“Play [name of song] on [name of app] on SHIELD”
“Watch [name of channel] on YouTube TV on SHIELD”
“Play on YouTube on SHIELD”
“Pause on SHIELD”
“Play on SHIELD”

Photos and Smart Home

“Show me my pictures from Egypt on SHIELD”
“Show me my pictures from last weekend on SHIELD”
“Dim the lights”
“Set the temperature to 72 degrees”

NVIDIA says all of this integration will roll out to all SHIELD TV owners this month. Wicked. // NVIDIA

OnePlus 6T Going to Work on Verizon?

Kellen — Thu, 18 Oct 2018 08:28:33 +0000

Will the dream come true? Could the OnePlus 6T work on Verizon? Maybe! According to a report out of PCMag, the OnePlus 6T may work on Verizon when it arrives on October 30. That's not a slam dunk guarantee that it will, but the report states that "multiple different industry sources" have suggested that will be the case. The phone is said to have support for Verizon's Band 13 LTE and that it may be going through certification at the moment. While OnePlus could potentially release the phone with Band 13 support and without certification, getting it to work the best on Big Red's network typically would require certification, like we saw with the Essential Phone, Sony Xperia XZ2 and HTC U12+. Assuming this happens, this is huge news. OnePlus has made some of the best phones for the price since they launched back in 2014, but have never had Verizon network support. In the US, which is a big market for OnePlus, you kind of need to be on the biggest wireless carrier in the land or at least let your phone work with it. And that's what we're talking here - support for Verizon, not sold at Verizon. We still think T-Mobile will be OnePlus' first carrier partner, but this news today would mean that you could buy the phone from OnePlus and then slap a Verizon SIM card in to get service. Please be true. // PCMag

DEAL: Nest Hello Doorbell is Up to $50 Off Right Now

Kellen — Thu, 18 Oct 2018 07:50:22 +0000

Nest kicked off a sale on its Nest Hello doorbell today, dropping the price by $30 at most retailers that sell it. There's a better deal on it at Macy's and B&H Photo, though. For a limited time, Macy's has Nest Hello for $50 off, bringing the price down to just $179. B&H Photo, on the other hand, has the $30 price drop, but is also tossing in a free Google Home Mini in any color ($50 value). To recap, Nest Hello is the smart home company's first doorbell product. It features HD video, night vision, a 160-degree wide-angle lens, HDR, and sleek, minimal design. It works with Google Assistant and displays, so you can pull up your camera feeds by voice and will soon automatically display the camera feed on Google Home Hub or Pixel 3 when someone rings the bell. Both Tim and I use Nest Hello at our own homes and are pretty big fans of it. It's super easy to install and isn't awkward for visitors to try and figure out like some doorbells.

Nest Hello Links:

Macy's ($179.00)
B&H Photo ($199.00 + free Google Home Mini)
Newegg ($189.95)
Best Buy ($199.99)

Spotify Premium Improves Navigation and Search, Adds Artist Radio Stations

Kellen — Thu, 18 Oct 2018 07:10:56 +0000

Fresh off its Wear OS app announcement, Spotify revealed new features for Spotify Premium owners today. The changes involve navigation, searching, and a new type of radio station. The new navigation is being called "refined," as it aims to help "people quickly find what they’re looking for." That doesn't actually tell us much, but the video above shows the removal of "Radio" and "Browse" tabs from the nav bar at the bottom of the app. With the updated search Spotify will start showing you Top Genres in an ever-changing page that is probably more about discovery than anything. And last, Spotify has added a bunch of Artist Radio stations that only play music you like based off that artist. Wait, was this really not a thing until now? No? Weird. These new changes start rolling out to iOS and Android today. Google Play Link // Spotify

Video: Montblanc Summit 2 Unboxing and First Look!

Kellen — Wed, 17 Oct 2018 14:02:42 +0000

The Montblanc Summit 2 arrived this week as the first Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100 powered Wear OS. We grabbed one because not only are we Android fans, we like a good watch too, and this guy happens to have a lot to like. The price certainly isn't one of 'em, but we figured it was worth it to dive into what could be the beginning of a Wear OS revival. To recap, the Montblanc Summit 2 features that Snapdragon Wear 3100 with lower power co-processor for longer battery life and special Time Only and Sport modes (in the future). It also allows for better always-on watch faces with more color that make for a better looking watch when not in use. For specs, this watch includes a 1.2" full circle AMOLED display (390x390, 327ppi), 340mAh battery, 1GB RAM, 8GB storage, heart rate sensor, GPS, NFC, Bluetooth, WiFi, and 5ATM water resistance. The case weighs in at a nice 42mm with sapphire glass on top and comes in silver steel, black steel, bicolor steel, or titanium. It also houses two pushers on each side of a rotating crown. This watch costs $995 to start and tops out at around $1,230 depending on how you configure it. Should you buy one? Well, we're just now beginning our review, so I don't have those kinds of thoughts to share yet. It's expensive and might not even but something most will consider. I am excited to dive in, though, because it looks really great on wrist, has the perfect case size, and should showcase the latest in Wear OS with that new Wear 3100 chipset on board. Below, we've got our unboxing video with full tour, as well as a bunch of images. Buy Montblanc Summit 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kONMT4CN1Y

Verizon Galaxy S9, S9+ Updated With October Security Patch (Updated: G7 Too)

Tim — Wed, 17 Oct 2018 13:46:15 +0000

A small update is rolling out to Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ owners on Verizon, October's security patch! For Galaxy S9, the software version number is labeled as R16NW.G960USQS3ARIB, while S9+ will see R16NW.G965USQS3ARIB. If you spot anything else that's different once you receive this update, let us know! And if you own another Samsung device on Verizon, such as a Galaxy Note 9, you can probably expect the same update soon if you haven't already gotten it. These Samsung updates tend to roll out in batches. Update: Batches, folks! LG's G7 ThinQ is also getting an update, but only to September's security patch. Additionally, LG has a few changes for the camera app, all of which are detailed in Verizon's changelog. // Verizon [2]

Essential Cuts 30% of Workforce

Tim — Wed, 17 Oct 2018 12:19:16 +0000

We recently learned Essential is working on an AI-focused smart device of some kind, but the latest news from the company doesn't sound great. According to Bloomberg, Essential is cutting 30% of its workforce, mostly in the hardware and sales department. The following message was in an email from an Essential spokesperson.

This has been a difficult decision to make. We are very sorry for the impact on our colleagues who are leaving the company and are doing everything we can to help them with their future careers. We are confident that our sharpened product focus will help us deliver a truly game changing consumer product.

So, while none of us like to hear about workforce cuts, it does seem like Essential is focused on a "game changing" product. We'll see how this goes. // Bloomberg

RED Hydrogen One Specs Detailed in Full Ahead of Launch

Tim — Wed, 17 Oct 2018 11:32:30 +0000

Considering all of the hype surrounding Hydrogen One from RED, we've never actually seen a complete spec breakdown for the $1200+ device. Looking back at the coverage we've done, we know it has a 5.7" "Holographic" LCD display (resolution 2560 x 1440) and 4,500mAh battery. Really, that's it. For those who shelled out over a grand for this phone, props to you. Thanks to a graphic that has been posted online, we now know essentially all of the specs. The only spec not listed is the processor, though, it was announced to be a Snapdragon 835 from last year, not 845. According to the graphic, Hydrogen One features 6GB RAM, 128GB built-in storage, dual 12MP rear-facing cameras, USB-C, headphone jack, SD slot, dual SIM support, Gorilla Glass, spatial surround sound, dual front cameras, and front-facing stereo speakers. Couple all of this with its unique hardware design and that's Hydrogen One from RED.

Right now, Hydrogen One is still on track for its carrier launch of November 2. For those who pre-ordered, you should be getting your phones soon. Excited? // UberGizmo

Spotify Will Soon Work Perfectly on Wear OS Smartwatches

Tim — Wed, 17 Oct 2018 10:25:28 +0000

Spotify announced a major update to its Android app this week, one that introduces full Wear OS support. Starting soon, you'll be able to control all of your favorite tunes and playlists directly from your wrist. Beyond the ability to pause playback and change tracks, Spotify added a few more handy features. For instance, if you hear a song while on-the-go that you like, you can tap on the ♡ icon on the watch, which will then save the song to your collection. In addition, Spotify announced a partnership with Fossil that will have the app preinstalled on all Fossil Gen 4 and MK Access Runway watches.

Starting in November, Spotify will be auto-installed on all Fossil Gen 4 Smartwatches and Michael Kors Access Runway Smartwatches.

According to Spotify, this Wear OS integration is rolling out over the next few weeks. Excited? Google Play Link // Spotify

OnePlus 6T Will Launch With Android 9 Pie, Updates for OnePlus 3 and 5 Lineups Will Take Time

Tim — Wed, 17 Oct 2018 08:53:20 +0000

This week on Weibo, OnePlus CEO Pete Lau stated that the company's upcoming OnePlus 6T will indeed launch running Android 9 Pie. This is great because besides Google's latest Pixel devices, every phone announced and launched this month has come running last year's Oreo OS (including LG V40 and Razer Phone 2), meaning buyers are already wanting a major update within days of owning their new phones. On top of Pie talk for OnePlus 6T, Lau also mentioned OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 5 lineups. According to him, OnePlus engineers are still working to get the Pie update up and running for them, but asks current owners to remain patient. As of today, only OnePlus 6 owners have received an update to Pie. We already heard OnePlus 6T would run a whole new UI, and if pressed, we assume Pie is what they meant by that. So, maybe don't expect many drastic changes to OxygenOS, just the fact that it's running Pie and not Oreo. OnePlus 6T is scheduled to be unveiled October 30. // GizmoChina

Misfit Vapor 2 Shows Up at Retailer With Solid Upgrades

Kellen — Wed, 17 Oct 2018 08:00:31 +0000

The Misfit Vapor 2 has arrived, although possibly unintentionally early. Thanks to a retailer posting with numerous details and pictures, we've now found multiple listings for the watch, an FCC listing, and see a couple of color variants. This looks like a nice upgrade, assuming we've got an announcement on the way. The new Misfit Vapor 2 will sport a 46mm case with 20mm watch bands, heartrate monitor, integrated GPS, 5ATM water resistance, 4GB storage, 512MB RAM, NFC, and a 1.39" display with resolution of 454x454. Some models are listed with a 390x390 display resolution, so there is a chance that a second, smaller model will be available too. From listings, it looks like there will be black, rose gold, and silver case options, as well as a variety of bands. Some of the model numbers you'll find include MIS7100, MIS7101, MIS7104, MIS7200, MIS7201, MIS7202, and MIS7203.

This watch is certainly an upgrade over the original Misfit Vapor, which took far too long to be released and then lacked features originally planned once it shipped. Unfortunately, for those hoping this runs the brand new Snapdragon Wear 3100 chip, I'm not sure that it does. This watch hit the FCC back in June, months before Qualcomm had announced it. I'm not saying there is zero chance, but don't be shocked if this has the 2100 inside. We aren't sure on pricing or a release date. Misfit Vapor 2: Cool Blue // reddit | FCC

YouTube TV Struggling Tonight! (Updated)

Kellen — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 20:04:38 +0000

UPDATE: All good now, even the "Home" page on YouTube TV. Sorry we're so late to this (blame the margaritas), but YouTube and YouTube TV have been having problems tonight. Both were down for a while at around 6PM Pacific. Services are coming back up now, though. YouTube appears to be fully restored, while YouTube TV is still having trouble. The "Home" screen on YouTube TV is broken and openly admitting that it is "having technical problems." It's bad enough that YouTube TV is referring you to the "Live" tab where content is still viewable. So if you are trying to watch opening night of the NBA and not whichever baseball game is happening, you'll find it in that tab. Cheers Tristan, David, Jack, James, Eric, and everyone else!

Verizon Giving All Bay and Gulf County Customers in Florida 3 Months of Free Service

Tim — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 14:54:08 +0000

Storms have been wreaking havoc in the Florida panhandle and Verizon says it's committed to repairing the damage done to its network. While it's working to get operations back to 100%, the carrier announced this afternoon that is crediting every Verizon customer in Bay County and Gulf County with 3 months of free service for each line. This free service is for both consumer and business accounts. Additionally, here are the locations of Verizon portable cells to, "support the critical effort of first responders and other mission critical organizations."

Bay County Emergency Operations Center and 911 Center
Bay County Sheriff’s Office
Blakely Emergency Operations Center
City of Parker Police Department
FDOT Chipley Office
FEMA Office
Gulf Coast Regional Medical Center
Gulf County Emergency Operations Center
Lynnhaven Emergency Operations Center
Mexico Beach
Miller County 911
Panama City Police Department
Springfield Police Department
TECO Peoples Gas, Panama City
Tyndall Air Force Base
Washington Emergency Operations Center in Chipley

While free cell service is always nice, we'd like to remind everyone to stay safe down there! // Verizon

Video: Pixel 3's Pixel Stand Tour!

Kellen — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 14:21:58 +0000

With our Pixel 3 review out of the way, we wanted to take a longer look at the Google Pixel Stand, the official wireless charger for Google's new phones. At $79, it is by no means the most affordable wireless charger on the block, so let's talk about what it does and whether or not you should spring for one. For one, the Pixel Stand is an upright wireless charger that positions your phone in a way that lets you easily interact with it as it charges. The stand itself features a rubberized bottom to prevent slippage, as well as soft touch coating throughout the body of it that should hold your phone in place. It is powered by a Google USB-C power adapter that supports Google's rapid charging. For features, the Pixel Stand does do fast wireless charging, just like Samsung and LG's phones do or have done for years. That's good! That's not the selling point, though. Google wants you to own a Pixel Stand because it turns your phone into a little Google Assistant docking station. You get quick access to Google Assistant from the lock screen, shortcut button recommendations (for events, the weather, playing music, etc.), and quick access to your daily overview within Assistant. It'll take Assistant commands to play music, control your smart home, set reminders, and anything else Assistant does. Outside of Assistant actions, the Pixel Stand has some other smarts. It'll automatically flip your phone into Do Not Disturb if you want it to. It'll recognize when you are in a dark room too, so that it can automatically turn your Pixel 3's screen off. Both features are (obviously) good for night time. It can act as a photo album viewer too, bring up your Nest doorbell cam feed when someone rings the bell, and help you wake up in the morning with a sunrise alarm screen. Is all of that worth the steep $79 price tag? That depends on how much you want to interact with your phone as it charges and if you think those automatic activities it can do at night are convenient enough. Buy Pixel Stand: Verizon | Google Store https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjI-anCl7Tc

DEAL: Get a TicWatch Pro for $212 From Amazon Lightning Deal, Plus Free TicBand

Tim — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 13:22:30 +0000

At 2:35PM Pacific, buyers will be able to pick up a TicWatch Pro for 15% off its usual $249.99 price on Amazon, bringing it down to $212. In addition to the discount, buyers will receive a free TicBand ($50 value), all part of a Lighting Deal hosted by Amazon. Not too shabby. If you're unfamiliar, TicWatch Pro is relatively new, announced back in July. With a dual display setup that includes an OLED underneath a FSTN display (film-compensated super twisted nematic), Mobvoi claims the TicWatch Pro can last anywhere from 5 to 30 days on a single charge. Specs include a 1.39-inch OLED display, 512MB RAM, 4GB storage, GPS, NFC for Google Pay, Bluetooth and WiFi, 415mAh battery, IP68 water and dust resistance, heart rate monitor, stainless steel bezel, and a Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 chip. As for TicBand, it's a small activity tracker you throw on your wrist, capable of checking your heart rate and has automatic sleep tracking. For free, it's not bad. Again, the deal kicks off at 2:35PM Pacific and ends at 8:35PM. Amazon Link

New MEATER+ Quintuples Wireless Range Over Last Model, Available for $99

Tim — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 10:37:49 +0000

Earlier this year, I checked out a smart meat thermometer called MEATER. I really, really liked it and I still use it in my home when cooking steaks, pork, and large pieces of chicken. Well, the folks behind the original are back with updated hardware, fittingly called MEATER+. MEATER+ doesn't change all too much from the original MEATER, because why fix what isn't broken? Instead of changing anything on the outside, such as its dual temperature sensors or water resistant stainless steel body, they added only good things like much improved range via a Bluetooth repeater. How improved is the range? The original MEATER is rated with a range of about 33 feet. MEATER+? A max range of 165 feet. That's a fivefold increase, meat lovers. Here's a handy dandy graphic for you visual learners.

The original MEATER can still be purchased for $69 and MEATER+ is now available for $99. If you're interested in the improved MEATER+, follow the link below to their store. MEATER+ Link

Google Maps Adds EV Charging Stations to Map

Kellen — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 09:52:21 +0000

The latest addition to Google Maps list of features benefits those who have opted to lessen their carbon footprint. When you fire up Google Maps today, you'll be able to search for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations! Searching for "ev charging stations" will bring up a map view of nearby stations, let you scroll through a list off them, and then tap on individual stations to find out more info. The listings might mention businesses where the station is located, which types of ports and charging speeds are available, and how many ports there are. Users can add photos and reviews too, so you'll know just what to look for, plus each listing should have a link for more info on the charger. Google Maps supports charging station searches globally for Tesla and Chargepoint. In the US, they also support SemaConnect, EVgo, and Blink. UK searches will turn up Chargemaster and Pod Point. EV station searches start rolling out today on mobile and will arrive on desktop in the "coming weeks." // Google

Huawei Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro Sure Look Cool, But US Support Will be Lacking

Tim — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 09:31:40 +0000

Huawei announced its latest lineup of Mate devices this week, consisting of Mate 20, Mate 20 Pro, and Mate 20 X. While I can easily say that these phones look quite cool from a distance, the phones are not scheduled to receive a whole lot of US support, likely due to the US government and its continued fear that China is trying to spy on us. Not much we can do about that. Anyway, like I said, the phones look cool. The standard Mate 20 sports a teardrop notch on its 6.5" FHD display, as well as the easily spotted triple camera setup on back. The three cameras consist of a 12MP Wide Angle lens, 16MP Ultra Wide Angle lens, and 8MP Telephoto lens. The front camera is listed at 24-megapixel, so I'm assuming selfies are important to this phone. Other specs include a Kirin 980, 4000mAh battery, Android 9 with EMUI 9 on top, up to 6GB RAM, and a headphone jack. For Mate 20 Pro, it has a 6.39" OLED display (3120 x 1440) with a bit wider of a notch, Kirin 980, up to 8GB RAM, no headphone jack, 4200mAh battery, same EMUI 9 atop Android 9, plus a big upgrade in the camera department. On the back are three shooters in the same configuration, but you'll find a 40MP Wide Angle lens, 20MP Ultra Wide Angle lens, and 8MP Telephoto lens. If you need something even larger, look at the Mate 20 X. The phone features a 7.2" OLED FHD+ display with teardrop notch, Kirin 980 processor, 6GB RAM, 128GB storage, Android 9 (with the same EMUI 9 UI on top), 3.5mm headphone jack, the same camera setup as Mate 20 Pro (40MP + 20MP + 8MP), and 5000mAh battery. For pricing, Huawei will list Mate 20 at EUR799 for the base configuration, while Mate 20 Pro starts at EUR1049. If you're interested and don't live in the US, it appears you can pre-order these phones starting today. For Mate 20 X, it will go up for sale later this month, priced at EUR899. According to Gizmodo's writeup, the phones will be available through select authorized online retailers in the US, but you'll only find unlocked International models. That means no support for CDMA carriers (Verizon, Sprint, etc.). Bummer. // Huawei

Huawei's New Watch GT Doesn't Run Wear OS, But Wants to Do Fitness

Kellen — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 09:17:06 +0000

A couple of weeks ago, when the Huawei Watch GT first leaked, I pointed out that a similar watch had arrived at the FCC that wasn't running Wear OS. My gut told me that it was the same watch and that Huawei's next wearable would skip Android in favor of something custom. Today, Huawei announced the Watch GT and sure enough, it's not a Wear OS watch. Why should you care about it then? Ummm, I'm not sure you should, unless you want a fitness-focused wearable that fits nicely into the Huawei ecosystem and has really long battery life. But if you want a smartwatch that works well within Android and Google's watch platform, this isn't it. I hate to say this, but I have to assume it'll suffer from the lack of app availability, just like Samsung's watches do. Then again, maybe you don't want all that Wear OS app integration and would rather have a sport watch that does the basic smart stuff well as it tries to compete with Garmin's Fenix 5 series, which Huawei says they are trying to compete with here. Still interested? OK, here is the Huawei Watch GT.

This watch comes in Sport (black) or Classic (silver) models in a 46.5mm case. It features a 1.39-inch AMOLED display with a wild resolution of 454x454 (326ppi), GPS, NFC, and a battery that could last for up to 14 days. The official spec sheet on Huawei's own site says that it has 128MB of internal storage, 16MB RAM, and no WiFi. Wait, what? The Huawei Watch GT utilizes a "dual-engine architecture" that allows it to reduce power consumption while in use, their own TruSeen 3.0 heartrate monitoring, which provides real-time measurement, sleep tracking, all sorts of fitness coaching, and does some notifications. It'll work with Android phones running 4.4+. Huawei really wants you to take this watch from the office to the mountain and go for a run or hike with correct GPS tracking, hammer out a swim, kill some miles on your road bike, and do so with proper monitoring and without having to worry about battery life. So again, this isn't necessarily a smartwatch as much as it is a fitness watch. Huawei just wants to compete with the big dogs in fitness wearables rather than Fossil in fashion smartwatches. That's totally fine too! As for pricing, we have Euro pricing of €199 (GT Sport) and €249 (GT Classic). More info available at Huawei's site.

Pixel 3 XL's Much Improved Display is a Samsung OLED (Updated)

Kellen — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 07:57:24 +0000

The Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL feature AMOLED displays that are dramatically improved over last year's Pixel 2 XL. You all remember the drama that surrounded the Pixel 2 XL's blue shifting and possible burn-in, right? This year, those complaints haven't been there and there's a good reason for it. Google is using a Samsung OLED panel on the 3 XL, according to a teardown by iFixit. Last year on the Pixel 2 XL, Google used a P-OLED panel made by LG and the reaction to it wasn't exactly pretty.

Review: Pixel 3

As iFixit mentions in their teardown, this Samsung panel should be a "little more reliable" than last year's from LG. Or in other words, that's why it looks better. Samsung is known for its quality OLED production and typically owns the title of "Best Smartphone Display" whenever they release a new phone with one of their displays, topping their previous phone which held the title.

UPDATE: iFixit weighed in on the Pixel 3 and found it to be an LG panel. We still found it to be a solid display in our review.

Speaking of smartphone display kings, it's DisplayMate that mostly talks about display quality in this industry and they've given the Pixel 3 XL an A+ rating. They put the highest-end phones through all sorts of tests to determine if their displays are good or not. The Pixel 3 XL is only the third phone to receive a "green" in all categories they tested. The other two? The Galaxy S9 and Galaxy Note 9. If you were worried about last year's display in Google's Pixel phone, it's not looking like that should be of any concern this year. Oh, as for repairability, the Pixel 3 XL scored just a 4 out of 10 from iFixit. That's not a great score if you were hoping to be able to self-repair your 3 XL if it were to break. While the phone might not be difficult to break into, replacing something like the display would not be fun. // iFixit

Google Offering $50 Google Store Credits for Pixel 3 as Pre-Orders Ship

Kellen — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 06:55:35 +0000

Maybe this wasn't made obvious at the time pre-orders for the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL went live, but Google is running a $50 Google Store credit promo should you slap down cash on their new phone. Last night, I received an email telling me that I was "now eligible to get $50 Google Store promotional balance" that would be available within 4-6 weeks of my Pixel 3 pre-order shipping. It was a somewhat odd email, almost as if Google forgot to tell everyone that they were running such a promo and just realized they should inform us of the incoming credit.

Pixel 3 Review

In addition to those emails showing up, Google is also sending out emails to those who signed-up to be informed about the Pixel 3. Those emails are clear, that if you pre-order, you can get the same $50 Google Store credit that Google says they are sending me. The only problem is that the pre-order promo is only running through 10/17, the day before pre-orders are supposed to ship and/or arrive. In other words, if you want the $50 back from Google, you've got to place a Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL order within the next two days. Didn't sign-up to receive more info from Google Store? You are out of luck. The email below says specifically that the $50 promo is "only available to select customers opted in to receive marketing emails from Google Pixel or opted in to receive personalized emails from Google Store" and that "Customers who checkout as guests are ineligible to receive the Promotional Balance."

And finally, pre-orders are beginning to ship to at least two of our readers. Neither of the devices we pre-ordered (both a Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL in clearly white) have shipped, though. Our orders were placed within minutes of the Google Store links going live. Anyone else's ship? Cheers Josh, Shaun, and Scott!

Muzei is Back With Version 3.0, Offers Improved Tasker Integration and Gesture Controls

Tim — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 15:22:31 +0000

Muzei, one of our favorite live wallpaper apps from back in the day, is back with version 3.0 rolling out to Google Play right now. According to Ian Lake, one of the people behind Muzei, "This is a culmination of over a year and half of work and comes with significant new features, a visual refresh, and a brand new API that greatly improves reliability." As for what's new, Muzei's developers state improved Tasker integration, detailing the ability to change to any source from Tasker. As written, "Now when you select Muzei from Tasker’s Plugin screen, you’ll be given the option to choose between all of the Sources built with the new API on your device as the action to trigger." Also mentioned is an Auto Advance feature, having to do with the wallpapers that will show next on your device, as well as a new plugin API. For users, you'll also see improved controls over effects, such as blur and dim. These controls will not only apply to your home screen, but to the lock screen, too! Lastly, users will see new gesture controls, 2-finger and 3-finger taps to be exact. These gestures can be used to change up the artwork that is shown, disable the effects, and more. Now, stop reading and go download the update! Google Play Link // Muzei

Palm is Releasing a Mini Companion Android Phone at Verizon for $350

Kellen — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 14:17:32 +0000

Palm has made its way back into the phone space today by way of a companion-like phone that runs Android and will be sold by Verizon. I said "companion" because this isn't supposed to be your main phone, but rather a secondary phone. Confused? Let me try to explain it. The Palm, which is its name, is a mini-phone with a 3.3" HD display that's about the size of a credit card, so it should fit nicely in your palm. It could be put on a chain or tossed in a small pocket or tucked just about anywhere, thanks to that small size. It's still a mostly fully-featured smartphone, though, with cameras and access to Android apps and your Verizon phone number and texts. The idea here is that you have a normal phone with powerful processor and big screen that you use most of the time. But when you want to disconnect some, while not being fully disconnected, you could grab Palm instead of your other phone. It uses Verizon's NumberSync to bring your existing phone number with you, just like you would if you had an LTE smartwatch or other LTE equipped device.

It runs Android 8.1, has access to Google Play and the Google suite of apps, you can make and receive calls, snap photos with the 12MP rear and 8MP front cameras, unlock with face recognition, and access Google Assistant. It's all powered by a Snapdragon 435 processor, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage, and 800mAh battery. It is IP68 water and dust resistant, has GPS, and comes in either black-titanium or black-gold. See, this isn't a phone that you would want to use all of the time. It's tiny and lacks proper specs for a phone you'd want to get serious with. However, this isn't the worst idea I've ever heard. It does cost $350, which is a lot for a faux phone, but imagine you go for a run or to the gym or on a date or to the beach and don't want to bring your big ass Note 9 with you - this would be perfect. It's weather resistant, tiny, and can still take pictures or make calls. That's kind of neat. The Palm arrives at Verizon in November. Find out more at Palm's site and this Verizon page.

T-Mobile Offering 36-Month EIP Option for Galaxy Note 9

Tim — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 13:16:07 +0000

T-Mobile's EIP (Equipment Installment Plan) allows buyers to afford high-end smartphones by breaking up the total amount of the device over a 24-month period. Let's say your phone costs $850, but not everyone has $850 laying around. With an EIP, your monthly payment would only be $35/month for 24 months, which is much more doable than a one-time payment of $850. This also lets T-Mobile keep you as a customer for that contracted amount of time, which is a good thing for their books. Spotted by a reader of TmoNews who was doing some shopping, T-Mobile is offering a new 36-month EIP option, making even more expensive devices affordable. When we went to see if we could find this new 36-month option, it is there, but only for Samsung's Galaxy Note 9. Additionally, no 24-month EIP option appears to be available anymore, only the new 36-month option.

Let's take the Galaxy Note 9 as an example, since it appears to be the only phone available through the new 36-month option. With the detailed EIP change, there would be zero money down with 36 months of $24.17 payments. That reflects a $870 full retail price, thanks to a deal T-Mobile is currently hosting. Before this change went live, the buyer would pay nearly $300 down, followed by 24 months of $30+ payments. So, in the long run, this is a better deal, but you're paying T-Mobile a whole extra year of payments. Whether that's something you want to do is entirely up to you. To check this change out yourself, look at T-Mobile's Galaxy Note 9 listing. // TmoNews

Google Play Movies App Code Hints Free 4K Movie Upgrades for HD Owners (Updated)

Tim — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 11:45:11 +0000

Thanks to a bit of code digging from the folks at Android Police, details of a possible 4K upgrade for owners of HD movie titles from Play Movies has us quite excited.

UPDATE 10/23: They did it! Free 4K upgrades and lower pricing!

To understand the context of this news, let's rewind to last year. In September, Apple introduced 4K HDR content to iTunes. When this was done, owners of existing HD titles on iTunes saw supported movies get a free upgrade to the 4K version. When Google started offering 4K HDR movies on Google Play, us Android folk wondered if we'd be treated to the same. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened yet, but the recent code seen and shared by Android Police has everyone thinking that it's soon to happen, which is fantastic news for movie lovers. The code specifically mentions an "Upgrade" button, which could relate to an HD movie you already own and the action of upgrading it to a 4K version. What's not known is if the upgrade will be free of charge or Google will require a small payment for the upgrade from HD to 4K. Even when Google launched its own library of 4K HDR content, no option was ever provided for existing owners to upgrade their content. At this time, it's also unclear if any upgrade ability will be available to owners of SD titles. Because code is already being spotted, it seems like a safe bet that whatever Google is planning, an announcement could be right around the corner. Of course, we'll update you as soon as we hear anything. On that thought, now seems like a good time to purchase an HD movie, then potentially get a free upgrade to the 4K version when/if this is announced. Sales and discounts are always happening for HD titles on Google Play, so give it a look. // Android Police

Montblanc's Summit 2 Wear OS Watch is Here With Snapdragon 3100, $995 Price Tag

Kellen — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 09:30:31 +0000

The Montblanc Summit 2, the first Wear OS watch released running the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100 platform, is now available. At a starting price of $995, it may be out of reach for many, even if it sure does check all the boxes for what we want in an Android smartwatch. The Summit 2 sports a nicely sized 42mm case and comes in steel, black steel, or a bicolor option mix of both steel and titanium. It features two pushers and a rotating crown to help with navigating the watch's UI, as well as a mix of materials that include resin and sapphire glass, in addition to steel. The lug width is 22mm and strap changing shouldn't be difficult at all. As for tech, it has the Snapdragon Wear 3100, which means you have multiple battery modes. You can run the watch in full smartwatch mode to get a full day on its 340mAh cell or you can switch to Time Only mode and get multiple days (4-5) worth without needing a charge. Montblanc is also including a fitness and running coach that measures performance off of VO2max scoring. Their goal here is to give you both an elegant timepiece that can be dressed up, but one that also acts as your fitness buddy. The display is a 1.2" full circle AMOLED with a resolution of 390x390 (327ppi). You have a full 1GB RAM and 8GB of storage, heart rate monitor with "improved" algorithm, GPS, NFC (with access to Google Pay), and 5 ATM water-resistance. To be honest, this looks like the perfect smartwatch. The specs are there. The size is right. It looks sharp and comes in multiple color variants. That price, though - that's going to be tough to swallow. Still, we have one on the way and will be sure to share plenty of thoughts. The Montblanc Summit 2 ships today. Buy Montblanc Summit 2

// Montblanc

Google Pixel 3 Review: I Just, Like It

Kellen — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 09:00:09 +0000

Alright, it's Pixel 3 review time. Oh, and this is only a Pixel 3 review. If you want a Pixel 3 XL specific review, that'll come later once we've spent more time with it, but as you can probably guess, almost everything in this here block of text applies to the bigger of the Pixel 3 units, outside of notch impressions (meh), overall size (same as Pixel 2 XL), and (possibly) battery life. You cool with that? Back on track here - as you know, the Pixel 3 from Google is the most leaked phone in the entire history of the f*cking world. Not that that matters much when it comes to reviewing one, but good lord does this phone arrive as a phone that we feel like we already know. That's partly a leak problem, yet is also due to the fact that this isn't a massive change over last year's Pixel 2 line. Things are very familiar here in good ways and also in some non-exciting ways. I'm being purposely vague as to not spoil my thoughts (which the title sort of did), so let's just talk about it.

READ: Our special Pixel 3 XL review is here

The Good

Camera Yep, the single 12.2MP camera (dual pixel, f/1.8, 1.4μm, OIS+EIS) is really, really good. Google spent a lot of time talking about the Pixel 3 camera on stage during its unveiling event, pointing out that they've added a number of features to further enhance things. They also couldn't stop reminding everyone that last year's Pixel 2 camera was still beating 2018 phones in comparisons, as a way to say, "Prepare yourselves for this, if you can." This is the best mobile camera you can find, I'll just say that now. It just is. From a software perspective, you've still got a super clean and simple camera app with what is (probably) the best portrait mode in the business, as well as additional modes like panorama, Photosphere, slow motion, and some AR action called Playground. Google introduced a Top Shot feature that will suggest the best shots from a series it took before and after you pressed the shutter button, it uses a Super Res Zoom technology to present cleaner, less blurry photos when you zoom in on them, and will eventually try and blow minds with a Night Sight feature for darker situations. Night Sight is not yet out, so we couldn't test it. The camera incorporates Google Lens too, in both real-time settings and also in a fully-featured way that helps you save info, identify items, etc. Finally, the camera lets you tap on an object to track it should it or you move during a shoot.

It does lack a full manual control setup, which is kind of a big omission, but the photos you get are so good I'm not sure most will care. Video is capped at 4K and 30fps too, which is slightly disappointing now that some phones are doing 4K at 60fps. While I'm not a selfie guy, I should add that Google did include a second front-facing camera this time (both at 8MP) with a wide-angle lens for capturing more. They want you to get all them group selfies and you go do that if that's your thing. The front cameras do portrait mode too, so yeah, get busy. The camera fires up and is focused and ready to shoot faster than most phones I've used this year. Snapping off multiple shots in a row is also about as fast as it gets. I'm being somewhat chill there, because I actually do believe it's the fastest. This camera experience is the camera experience for me because it doesn't get in your way, it's insanely fast, and the pictures are phenomenal. So what about those results? Here are a few that have been resized to fit better on the site.

To my eye, it's a lot of the same story from the Pixel 2. Google's processing pushes contrast and ramps up some colors. While they may not be the purist photos that something like an LG phone might capture, they sure do look pleasing to the eye. And in the end, that's what matters. Google's algorithm is basically a mathematical equation for how to seduce your eyeballs. Additionally, even when not in portrait mode, the f/1.8 lens adds nice depth to any shot and also plenty of light when your life gets dark. Again, the photos above have all been downsized to fit better here, so they don't show you the full results. However, even at these sizes you should be able to see the quality. And just wait until Night Sight shows up. Software and Performance This might sound like a negative, but on the Pixel 3, Google hasn't done much in terms of new stuff over the Android 9.0 Pie that many already have on the Pixel or Pixel 2. In fact, when putting together this review, I was wondering what to really point out. Again, it's fast and minimal, but it's not really that fresh if you already own a Pixel device. With that said, there are two software experiences on Android that I prefer - the one that Google makes and the one that OnePlus makes. Since the Pixel 3 is a Google phone, it is no surprise that this is once again exactly what I look for when it comes to a phone experience. It's lean and clean Android, it runs fast, it has just the right amount of features, and I know it's the newest version available. I never feel overwhelmed or wonder if I'm missing something or not taking full advantage of Google's phones. Should I need something that's missing, I can always find an app that does it. Although, I'm not sure I've really needed to pick-up an additional feature, I'm just saying that in theory, I could. We do now have a screen calling feature that will help you screen spambot calls, some new camera options that I already mentioned, a flip-to-shhhh Digital Wellbeing feature to quickly put your phone in do not disturb, and some other yet-to-be-released things, like Google Duplex. The thing is, most of these will come to the Pixel and Pixel 2.

What you have to understand is that even without a major overhaul of the UI or an entirely new exclusive feature set, this is still the best version of Android in my opinion. This is Google's vision, which means all of your Google apps match the UI, you get to use the new Android Pie gesture navigation and the Pixel Launcher, always-on (Ambient) display which now shows parts of your wallpapers, access to special gestures, Active Edge for launching Google Assistant, free unlimited high-resolution photo uploads for years, the full suite of Digital Wellbeing to help you disconnect more often, and Now Playing music recognition. Of course, you also get monthly security updates, you'll get the next big Android Pie update as well as Android Q before anyone else. You'll get to test beta builds of Android Q and never again have to worry about whether or not you are a part of the latest and greatest in Android if you own a Pixel 3. Well, you have 3 years worth of major updates, so 3 years, not "never again." You really just can't beat Google's take on Android, unless you need edge lighting and side-swipe-out panels and extra multi-tasking things, and S Pen controls, and double mail, calendar, fitness, and appstore apps,. Me, I don't need or want that stuff. As for performance on the Pixel 3, it's incredibly smooth. The software has obviously been fine-tuned to run very well, the haptic feedback you get as you use the phone is satisfying, and apps fly open without extra garbage animations. How well will this phone age with its 4GB RAM? That's tough to say. I know that some Pixel 2 XL owners ran into sluggish phones about a year into ownership, so there is always a chance that happens here or maybe Google has fixed whatever was causing that. Google still hasn't really acknowledged that issue, though. Again, the Pixel 3 runs great now and I've only been testing for a week. I can't predict the future.

Design Google's hardware design language for the Pixel 3 is a continued push from the original Pixel. You've got the two-tone backing again with black, white, and "not pink" colorways. You know right away that these are Google phones because of the color blocking on the backside. It is their signature look and I'm a fan. The Pixel 3 now sports an all-glass back to allow for wireless charging, but Google coated the bottom portion of its glass with a matte or soft touch finish that feels nice in hand and resists fingerprints for the most part. Like all glass phones, this material choice makes for great in-hand phone presence that comes off feeling high-end. The Pixel 3 is identical in size to the Pixel 2 and Galaxy S9, in case you need a comparison. It feels slightly better in hand than both, though, because it's much more rounded from front to sides to back. The Galaxy S9 has definitive edges where it meets its side metal, while this Pixel 3 is perfectly rounded for a more comfortable grip. Coming from a Pixel 2 XL for most of the year, this Pixel 3 feels kind of small even if it isn't. It still has a 5.5-inch full HD display and is the size of the Galaxy S9. I do think that a number of you will enjoy this size, especially if you planned on skipping the Pixel 3 XL and its notch. On a related note, and this is going to sound weird to those of you who know me, but I've been using a case on it. The glass scares me and the size after using the Pixel 2 XL for so long had me itching for more thickness. And yes, the Pixel Stand still works just fine with a case on.

Display The 5.5-inch FHD AMOLED display panel on this Pixel 3 is pretty solid. It is 100% an upgrade over last year's smallish panel on the Pixel 2 and certainly doesn't have the blue characteristics of the Pixel 2 XL that turned so many of you off. It has solid viewing angles, good levels of brightness that I often wish would get dimmer in darker situations, and three color profiles to help you find the best experience for your eye. I've been running the Pixel 3 with Adaptive Brightness on, so that it constantly learns from my usage patterns. It has Night Light mode to add that amber color to the display at night and help ease eye strain. And it (of course) has an Ambient (always-on) Display to show you the clock, date, weather, and notifications on the lock screen at all times. This display has all of the features you could ask for in a top tier phone. For color profiles, Google is offering you Natural, Boosted, and Adaptive. Natural shows more muted or "natural" colors, Boosted slightly cranks up the vibrance, and Adaptive goes a bit overboard with color ramping. I've left the phone on Boosted, but if you really want those wild color pops, you might want to go with Adaptive. I do wish there were some manual controls over blues and reds, or warmth and coolness, and I'd imagine more than a few of you would have liked to see a QHD resolution on it. The 1080p resolution is fine to me, as someone who often sticks with OnePlus phones for weeks at a time, but I get that you want as many pixels as you can get. Overall, I think this is a much improved AMOLED panel in the Pixel 3 that you won't find much to complain about. Battery Life My initial testing of the Pixel 3's 2915mAh battery shows positive results. I've had a couple of days with heavy use and plenty of battery at the end of the night. I've also had some days where my child grabbed my phone and crushed some kiddie games for excessive amounts of time and ran down the battery faster than normal. The problem with my testing is that I've had the phone for a week. I'm going to keep testing it and will likely update this portion if things change, but again, so far things have been mostly positive.

I've kept Adaptive Battery on, hoping that Google's AI smarts can predict my usage and extend battery life. Like I said, some days it did and I felt like I had 40% battery left at the end of a night, while other days I reached for a charger at some point before going to bed. I wish I had more exact numbers for you than that, but I forgot that Google has buried usage stats some in the top menu of the battery section and forgot to screenshot that section each day. Instead, I got the shots you see above which don't actually tell you much outside of screen on time. Thankfully, this phone has both fast wired and fast wireless charging. You can charge it pretty damn quickly both ways should you ever need some juice to finish out a day. Pixel Stand Wireless charging isn't a feature I've ever cared much about, but the Pixel Stand that I've been testing has convinced me to get one for my desk and night stand. Even at $79, I think they'll be worth it in the long run. For one, they do fast wirelessly charge the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. More importantly they are smart wireless chargers that don't just charge your phone. When you place a Pixel 3 on the Pixel Stand, a special UI appears within your always-on display that gives you quick access to Google Assistant and your daily overview. It also shows you timely quick buttons to end your night by turning all your smart lights off, check the weather for tomorrow, see what's on your calendar, or learn about the latest news. Additionally, you can have the Pixel Stand smartly turn your phone's screen dark when docked and in a dark room, utilize the Night Light display to carefully wake you up in the morning, act as a photo frame with pictures from Google Photos, and flip to do not disturb. It really is more than just a wireless charger and makes for the perfect accessory to launch Pixel 3 with.

Somewhere-in-the-Middle

Specs The spec list for the Pixel 3 isn't the worst in the industry, but I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't point out some missing pieces. For the most part, it's all there, like the Snapdragon 845, incredible 12.2MP camera, dual 8MP front cameras, front-facing stereo speakers, USB-C port, IP68 water and dust resistance, improved 5.5" full HD AMOLED display, and Android 9.0 Pie. What's missing? Well, the RAM tops out at 4GB, while most phones these days are carrying 6GB to 8GB. The storage options are 64GB or 128GB, which isn't awful, but you can't expand either because there isn't a microSD slot. The battery on this Pixel 3 is arguably on the smaller side at 2915mAh, there's no headphone jack, and while the display is a nice size, some might want more pixels. Look, the Galaxy S9 checks all of those boxes and still manages to drop in at a price $75 lower than the Pixel 3. Google will try and keep our attention away from the specs on the Pixel 3 and instead push our focus to Google Assistant, the camera, and some unique software features. But come on, we're Android folk - we care about the little bits of hardware that most think consumers ignore.

Price and Availability The Pixel 3 starts at $799 (64GB) and goes up to $899 (128GB). Is that expensive for what you get? Yes. As I just mentioned, the Galaxy S9, a phone that was released 7 months ago and packs in all the specs, including the ones the Pixel 3 is missing, costs $725. So, even as Google has upgraded the Pixel 3 over the Pixel 2, we got a $150 price jump over last year's Pixel, but still aren't matching competitors on paper. That's not good for the vocal folks who want the most bang for their buck. In terms of availability, Google has once again given Verizon an exclusive to be the only carrier in the US. That sucks for those who buy phones from their carriers and want no part of Big Red. Sure, you can go buy the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL directly from Google or Best Buy and both phones work perfectly fine on any network. But the problem is, that people in the US like to get their hands on phones before they buy them and they like to get them from their carriers. I still think the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL are worth buying. The pricing and availability aren't great, but the phones are pretty great. You would have to look past the value of the Galaxy S9 or S9+ or LG V40 and understand that the software experience and camera on the Pixel 3 are probably enough to justify some of those missing items.

Other Notes

3.5mm headphone jack: It doesn't have one! But you do get both a dongle in the box and a nice pair of USB-C earbuds with full Google Assistant optimization.
Phone calls: It makes them. Calls sounded fine to me. I wish I could tell you more, but I talk on the phone like twice a month.
Speakers: They get louder than the Pixel 2's front speakers and are much better at handling loud audio. Audio is overall cleaner this year and really packs quite a punch.

Video

First 10 Things to Do First Look Pixel Stand https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjI-anCl7Tc

Gallery

The Verdict

Alright, the fun part! Should you buy the Pixel 3? I did. This is the Android experience I prefer, the camera is unstoppable, the phone looks and feels great, I'm appreciating the Pixel Stand experience, I love Android updates, and its ability to run on any network is a plus. Specifically to the Pixel 3, the size is really nice for those of us who don't love a massive phone and don't want a double-wide notch. So yeah, I think you'll be happy if you decide to buy the Pixel 3. It's a really good phone from Google. Why wouldn't you buy it? Maybe you want a bigger phone? Maybe you need a headphone jack or bigger battery or more storage or are worried about the 4GB of RAM? Maybe you'd rather go with whatever OnePlus is about to release because you know it'll be similar to the Pixel 3, yet cost a couple of hundred dollars less? Those are decent reasons to pass. Also, if you own a Pixel 2 XL and it's running fine, this isn't that much of an upgrade. But if you are in need of an upgrade, this is a good choice for an Android phone.

Buy Google Pixel 3:

DEAL: Google Home Hub is $50 Off at Home Depot, Just $99 (Updated)

Kellen — Sat, 13 Oct 2018 19:22:02 +0000

Whoa, ummm, if you want a Google Home Hub or already pre-ordered one, stop and/or cancel it now and head over to Home Depot, who happens to have a crazy deal on it. The brand new Google Home Hub can be pre-ordered from the home improvement store for $99. That's $50 off!

UPDATE: Well, Home Depot either sold out of the lot they had priced at $99, realized they made a mistake overnight, or ended the promo. Either way, we're back up to full $149 prices.

I'm not sure I need to sell you on why this is a deal but that's a 1/3 off the normal price of a device that hasn't even been released yet. That's cheaper than a regular Google Home, which is 2 years old and doesn't have a display. This might be the best discount outside of a Black Friday sale we've seen on Google Home. To recap, Google Home Hub sports a 7" touch display, "full-range" speaker, light sensors, and works within the rest of the Google Home ecosystem for multi-room play. It also has access to a wide range of smart home product controls, plays videos, acts as a beautiful photo slideslow machine, and more. Home Depot currently has both Chalk and Charcoal options. Free shipping is included and no code is needed.

Home Depot Links:

Google Home Hub (Charcoal)
Google Home Hub (Chalk)

Cheers Fredy!

Pixel Buds Real-Time Translations Available on All Google Assistant Headphones

Kellen — Sat, 13 Oct 2018 08:52:30 +0000

Google's Pixel Buds may not be the smash success that Apple's AirPods have become in the wireless earbuds space, but there's no denying that their ability to do real-time translations in conversation with another person is both ridiculously cool and useful. In a move that appears to have come without much public acknowledgement, Google is making those same real-time Google Translate powers available to all Google Assistant-optimized headphones. Google updated one of their Pixel Buds support pages yesterday to note that "Google Translate is available on all Assistant-optimized headphones and Android phones," where it used to say "Google Translate on Google Pixel Buds is only available on Pixel phones." This change makes a lot of sense since the USB-C buds that Google includes in the box with the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL can do real-time translations. We also should have assumed this was coming after the newish LG Tone SE neckbuds arrived with Translate too. What's maybe more important, though, is the fact that these real-time translations aren't a Pixel phone exclusive either. I just tried it with my Essential phone and the Pixel USB-C earbuds and it works like it does on the Pixel 3. There aren't many other details available or a list of headphones that can use Google Translate like the Pixel Buds, but if you own a pair of Assistant-optimized cans (Bose Quiet Comfort 35 II, Sony 1000XM2), give it a try.

Samsung's Foldable Phone Really is a Tablet You Can Put in a Pocket

Kellen — Fri, 12 Oct 2018 13:51:18 +0000

Samsung really wants us to be prepared for a foldable phone. Whether we'll see one in November or three years from now is anyone's guess, but the frequency of it being hyped by the company's mobile leader is only increasing these days. This week, during the unveiling of their 18-camera phone, the Galaxy A9,000-mid-ranger, Samsung's DJ Koh talked about foldable things again. He said that it won't be a "gimmick product," that it will be around longer than six months, it'll ship globally, and is definitely not another taco phone. He also mentioned that it's basically a tablet that folds up and can fit in your pocket. That's funny because in September, Koh specifically said that he doesn't just want this to be a phone that folds out into a tablet. He noted that he doesn't understand why people would buy that. Now, I'm on the side of believing that a 2-in-1 product that is both phone and tablet is actually a good idea. I never did understand his initial take, but maybe he just meant that it'll need unique features, rather than just be a tablet. And I get that, but again, a phone that converts into a tablet for better media consumption or productivity or whatever is a decent idea. Outside of the coolness of folding up a gadget, a multi-use device is something I think people would buy. Either way, we'll probably see it in November at Samsung's developer conference. If not, well, maybe in 3 years. // CNET

Samsung's New Chromebook Plus V2 Has LTE, Available Next Month for $599

Tim — Fri, 12 Oct 2018 13:45:22 +0000

Samsung is expanding its Chrome OS offering this week, announcing Chromebook Plus V2 LTE. As you might imagine, given the name, it has LTE. If you didn't already know, a Chromebook Plus V2 already exists from Samsung, but again, this one has LTE. Samsung didn't provide many specs besides the LTE part, but because this Chromebook already exists, we'll assume the specs are either identical or nearly the same. The existing V2 features a 12.2" touchscreen display with stylus support, 4GB RAM, 32GB storage, Intel Celeron processor, as well as dedicated SD card slot. You can see all of the current V2 specs at Best Buy's listing. Chromebook Plus V2 LTE is scheduled for launch on November 2, priced at $599.99. You'll find it at Samsung.com, Best Buy, and Verizon. // Samsung

OnePlus 6T Will Have a "Whole New UI," Improved Camera

Kellen — Fri, 12 Oct 2018 12:12:44 +0000

In the lead-up to the OnePlus 6T unveiling on October 30, the company behind the phone can't stop talking about it. (That's OK with me! I just hope they leave some surprises!) Today, during an interview posted to their forums, OnePlus talked about some of the big software changes that are coming to the 6T and also that we should expect an improved camera experience. OnePlus' "resident software expert" Szymon K. and User Experience Lead Crayon Hsieh, were the two speaking during the interview. They actually provided some depth in their description of the UI that has us both excited and worried. For one, they called it a "whole new UI" that will "express the OnePlus design language" while making it the "most distinct and intuitive version of OxygenOS yet." OK, so what does that mean? We aren't getting a whole OPPO-esque skin now, are we? I don't think so. I hope not. They talked more about it just being faster and smoother than ever before with the addition of new features, rather than a heavy skin. Again, I hope. As an example, they talked about a refreshed or improved gesture navigation. With this new version, swiping up on an app will grab ahold of the app you are in to let it follow your finger. As they describe it, this makes for a "more natural experience." Additionally, a flick from bottom right of the screen lets you quickly jump between your two most recent apps, which you used to not be able to do without an app switcher button. They've also implemented a short-press on the power button to activate Google Assistant, which is already a OnePlus 6 Pie feature. You'll find overall, better animations and smoothness throughout too. Another example would be a better AI algorithm that keeps track of your sleep schedule to help extend battery life at night and reduce power consumption. So yeah, these changes don't necessarily seem like a full UI makeover, but rather improvements. For the camera, they really just mentioned that they "put a lot of work" into improving the camera, but can't say what exactly that means. That sure doesn't sound like we're getting new sensors in the OnePlus 6T, so hopefully they've figured out a system that brings smarts and processing closer to Google's with the Pixel camera. // OnePlus

Alleged OPPO R19 Render Shows Display Cutouts Can Look Cool

Tim — Fri, 12 Oct 2018 12:03:52 +0000

A render of an upcoming OPPO device, called R19, was posted onto Weibo this week. The render shows a smartphone with a notch, but we can't even call it a notch. It's definitely more of a display cutout, so that's what we'll call it. As you can see, at the top of the display is a legit circle cutout for the front-facing camera. This design allows there to be no actual notch in the display, and if you're asking my opinion, I'm all for this look. The render also details an in-display fingerprint reader, something we're anticipating for OnePlus 6T. We've seen a few takes online mentioning this could be the OnePlus 7 for next year. While there's always a possibility for that, we still don't have the OnePlus 6T, so let's not get ahead of ourselves. What do you think of this front cutout for the camera? Could this be the future for mobile instead of big notches? // Gizmochina | Weibo

Podcast: Google Brought Some New Stuff

Kellen — Fri, 12 Oct 2018 07:34:18 +0000

On this episode of the Droid Life Show, we're recapping the big Made by Google event that went down this week! For some of us in this Android world, this is the big one each year, because it often gives us the vision for Google's platforms for the next 12 months and beyond. Whether you like the hardware or not, there is a lot to digest. So we'll dive into the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL (obviously), share first impressions, talk about the notch, figure out who is buying either phone, and which features are coming to your older Pixel or Pixel 2. Then, we'll move into Google Home Hub, Pixel Slate, new Chromecast, and general themes out of the festivities. After that, assuming we have time, we'll get into the Razer Phone 2, new Essential Phone news, the death of Google+, and when the OnePlus is coming. We're still deciding on trivia, but may pass on it this week because of the number of big topics. We'll be live at 9AM Pacific (12PM Eastern)!

Video: Razer Phone 2 First Look and Impressions!

Tim — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 14:56:14 +0000

Another entry into this busy month of October is Razer Phone 2. Unveiled this week, Razer was kind enough to provide us with a review unit, but before we get to the full review let's take things slow and go through a first look and impressions. You can find all of the specs and details for the phone here, but really, the big changes are Chroma LED logo on back, improved rear-facing cameras, brighter display (same 5.7" QHD IGZO LCD), and water resistance. There are other things, too, but we have to save some details for the video. While I'm busy busting out a full review, check out the video below!

LG V40 Getting Another Camera Improvement Update

Tim — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 11:33:02 +0000

Our unlocked V40 from LG is getting another update, aimed again at the five cameras found on the device. This update follows a camera update this phone received earlier this week. This time around, LG specifically highlights improved HDR performance, sharpness and color improvements in outdoor conditions, auto focus improvements for the Triple Shot mode, as well as "Black phenomenon of video recording." So, yeah, if you're getting a V40, expect a pretty darn good camera experience.

You No Longer Need an Invite to Play Fortnite on Android

Tim — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 10:42:54 +0000

Epic Games announced this morning that Android players no longer need an invite to download and play Fortnite. Woot! Looking back at Fortnite's Android rollout, it was first available to select Samsung Galaxy devices, then a few more devices from different OEMs a bit later, but finally, anyone with an Android phone powerful enough to run the title can drop into Season 6 and start pwning. I recently reviewed Fortnite for Android and my feelings haven't changed. It's a mess of a game on mobile, especially if you're used to playing it on console or PC. It takes some getting used to, but if you master it, it's the same exact game you know and love. Ready to drop in on your Android device? Scan the QR code below. And yes, we have to deal with QR codes in late-2018 because Epic Games is greedy and hates Google Play. Sorry, it had to be said.

// Epic Games

Essential's Audio Adapter HD Hits FCC, Will Hopefully be Sold Soon

Kellen — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 09:48:15 +0000

I tend to forget that the Essential Phone wanted to be a modular phone. Andy Rubin and Co. wanted this phone to be a phone that lasted you for years through upgrades with accessories that attached via magnetic connection. They haven't actually succeeded in doing any of that, as the only accessory released so far to use its magnetic pins is a 360-camera, which 4 people on Earth have a use for. A new option is about to arrive, though. The Essential Audio Adapter HD arrived at the FCC this week, which means it should be released here in the very near future. Essential told us last month that the audio accessory was in the final stages with the FCC. Once done there, they planned to give us release timing and price. Well, we're here! To recap, the Audio Adapter HD is a high-res ESS Sabre DAC with hardware MQA rendering, and an audiophile-grade amp that slaps onto the back of an Essential Phone. With this machined titanium adapter attached, you should be able to plug-in your high-end headphones to get a top-tier audio experience.

Are we too late for its arrival? Essential Phone owners do love their phones, so maybe the timing isn't that big of a deal. Assuming the price isn't going to be ridiculous (it might be), this sort of seems like an accessory worth picking up. // FCC

Samsung, Whose Phones Were Once Banned From Planes, Makes Plane Joke About Pixel 3 Notch

Kellen — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 09:22:07 +0000

Samsung has jokes, guys. Shortly after the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL were announced, a Twitter user roped them in to a @madebygoogle Tweet, asking for their take on the notch that Google included in their bigger phone. They responded, suggesting that you could "land a plane on it." See? Jokes! That's, of course, pretty hilarious coming from the company who recently had one of their phones banned from airplanes. Banned with enough depth that flight attendants told every single passenger on every single flight in the US for months that they weren't allowed to have said phone on a plane. You couldn't even check the phone, turned off, in a bag. Plane jokes, though.

Now, I'm all for clowning on the Pixel 3 XL notch! It's pretty much a design disaster. I'm also not opposed to Android-on-Android battles, even if it's from the king smartphone sales guy punching down to one who doesn't ship so many, yet does supply Samsung with their operating system (because their own was a comical disaster) and app ecosystem. But follow-up Tweets from Samsung's now super-edgy, got-an-attitude Twitter account brings things to another level of hilarity. Another Twitter user suggested to Google that they "copied a lot from [Samsung]," to which Samsung replied with:

I mean, I know it has been a while since Apple starting suing Samsung over its blatant copying of iPhones in 2010 and 2011 that helped it rise to where it is today, but are we really doing this, "We're the leaders!" thing? History never forgets. That said, Samsung deserves credit for introducing a number of items in recent years that others have picked up. Fast wireless charging, all-glass everything, better displays, better cameras, and plenty of software ideas. Thankfully, the world didn't follow their lead in fingerprint reader placements, attempts at virtual assistants, and extra year or two of plastic devices with faux stitching and metallic paint. Everyone poaches in this industry, just as everyone has ideas that they hope will stick. If anything, at least Google hasn't tried to become Wendy's Twitter yet.

Assassin's Creed Rebellion Coming to Android on November 21

Tim — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 09:16:14 +0000

Ubisoft announced this morning that Assassin's Creed Rebellion is coming to Android next month, a strategy RPG with characters that remind me very much of old Wii looking things. That's not important, though. Set in Spain against the oppressive Templars, the goal of the game is to form a group of different assassins, rank them up and max all of their abilities, and basically kick some Templar ass. The game revolves around your HQ, which is where all of your characters will be housed. This HQ can be upgraded with new rooms, be used for making new equipment, plus much more. In order to defeat the Templars, you'll create a group of assassins with particular skill sets. Different assassins will be better suited to various missions. And like any good Assassin's Creed title, you can opt for a sneaky approach or an all out brawl. It's up to you. Assassin's Creed Rebellion is developed exclusively for mobile, available November 21. Google Play Link

Google Shares Even More Google Assistant Upgrades, Days After Pixel Event

Kellen — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 09:00:38 +0000

On Tuesday morning, Google didn't just show off its next generation hardware line-up. They also announced a bunch of Google Assistant-related features that are coming soon, like Screen Call and Duplex on Pixel. This morning, they shared additional related news. For one, Google Smart Display products (like those from Lenovo and JBL) will get a "major" update over the next few weeks with features that were first shown on Google Home Hub. The update includes the new Home View UI, that allows you to swipe down on the top of the screen to reveal smart home controls. They'll get access to the new Nest Hello Doorbell integration that immediately shows you a video feed if someone rings the doorbell and offers up quick responses to them. They'll get access to new Google Photos live albums and also be eligible for multi-room audio grouping. For phones, Google says that the new visual snapshot that was just introduced, will soon show you event recommendations, recent notes and lists, and get you important reminders. Google Assistant now has more capabilities from the lock screen too, with access to your calendar events and unread emails. Google is adding Digital Wellbeing commands to Assistant too. You will soon be able to tell Assistant to "Set wind down for 10PM" and have it slowly flip your phone to grey scale or ask "How much time have I spent on my phone today?" to be reminded of your addiction. And finally, in the new Google Home app, a new "Filters" setting will be added that lets you manage your kids' experience on Smart Displays. That will include a "Downtime" feature to set limits on when they can use one. // Google

Razer Phone 2 Has Many Welcomed Changes, Pre-Orders Live Oct. 11 for $799

Tim — Wed, 10 Oct 2018 20:34:13 +0000

Razer made Razer Phone 2 official this evening at an event in Hollywood, CA. On the surface, you may think Razer Phone 2 looks the same as the original Razer Phone. However, as I heard from a Razer employee this evening, "It's the same, but everything is different." Saying it's different doesn't quite describe everything that's new, so allow me to break it all down for you. For starters, the phone now offers IP67 water and dust resistance, which ups the overall size of the device over last year's model. However, even with a slight increase in size, it still has a 5.7" IGZO LCD display capable of 120Hz refresh rate. Also unchanged is the amount of RAM, 8GB, though you will find Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 845 processor powering the show. And even though the body is every so slightly larger, it still has a 4,000mAh battery, which is plenty fine. If we go to the backside, you'll start seeing big changes. Instead of a matte black backside with what I think was a sticker logo, Razer Phone 2 has a glass backside, complete with a Chroma RGB LED logo. Inside of the Settings menu, owners can access the LED's settings, complete with battery saving options, color options, and more. The coolest thing this LED can do is display different colors for notifications from certain apps. For example, Gmail notifications will be red, WhatsApp will be green, Facebook will be blue, etc. Razer also spent time discussing the cameras. The company seems to know it dropped the ball last year, but this time around, they think they have some solid shooters. On the back are dual cameras, both 12-megapixel, one lens being wide angle with OIS and the other being a telephoto. You'll find phase detection autofocus, 4K video recording with stereo audio, as well as an 8-megapixel camera on the front of the device. Other specs include 64GB of built-in storage, front-facing stereo speakers, wireless fast charging (thanks to that glass back), an improved antenna setup (again, thanks to the glass back) capable of 1.2Gbps speeds, and Android 8.1 Oreo. No word on a Android 9 Pie update, but we'll let you know. Razer Phone 2 is priced at $799 with pre-orders starting tomorrow, October 11 on Razer's website. Pre-Order Link // Razer

Google Wallpapers Just Got a Whole Bunch of New Wallpapers

Kellen — Wed, 10 Oct 2018 16:06:38 +0000

The Google Wallpapers app just picked up a fresh batch of wallpapers in a number of categories. At first, I thought these had only rolled out to my Pixel 3 review unit, but they are available on my Pixel 2 XL and Essential Phone too. From what I can tell, there are a new wallpapers in the Landscapes, Textures, Life, Earth, and Art categories. I've captured thumbnails of some of them below, but you should dive in and check them out yourselves. You shouldn't need an update in order to get the new wallpapers. They appear to be arriving via server-side update that simply refreshes your Wallpapers app with shortcuts to them. That may mean it'll take a minute to load one as a wallpaper, as it needs to load it on your device. Google Play Link

Which Pixel 3 Features are Coming to Older Pixel Phones?

Kellen — Wed, 10 Oct 2018 14:02:30 +0000

During yesterday's Made by Google event, the company announced phones that we knew everything about on a hardware front. What we didn't know was how Google would try to differentiate their new Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL phones from the market through software. They briefly laid out some of their planned tricks, like access to Google Duplex at some point, new Night Sight camera modes, and a potentially game-changing Screen Call setting. Because those were software ideas, Pixel and Pixel 2 owners quickly asked, "Will we get those things?" The short answer is, "Yeah, probably most of them." Let's breakdown Google's plan for the new Pixel 3 software features and whether or not they'll arrive on your Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2, or Pixel 2 XL.

Google Duplex

Google's Duplex technology, where Google Assistant can book an appointment for you by calling and talking to someone as a futuristic robot being, is coming this year to Pixel. Actually, it's coming next month (November). Notice how I said "Pixel" and not just Pixel 3? That's because Duplex should be available as a feature to other Pixel phones. Google hasn't limited any of Duplex's announcement to Pixel 3, instead only saying that it'll arrive next month at restaurants in select cities. Those cities are New York, Atlanta, Phoenix, and San Francisco. They'll roll it out to more later on. This is coming to Pixel and Pixel 2.

Call Screening

Google showed off a feature called Call Screen for the Pixel 3. It uses the Google Assistant to screen your calls from unwanted spam, jumping in before you ever talk to someone to see if they are a person and not some damn robocall bot. It looks like a super useful feature and you can see a demo of it below. They showed this off on the Pixel 3, but it's really just a Google Phone app update that arrives in version 24 and up. The support pages (more) for Call Screen do not mention an exclusivity to Pixel 3 and presenters on stage said to expect it on older Pixel phones. This is coming to Pixel and Pixel 2 next month.

Gmail Smart Compose

Smart Compose is a feature inside of Gmail that uses machine learning to predict what you are about to type and help you write out emails faster. It's been on desktop for a bit, but it'll come to mobile first on Pixel 3. It won't be limited to Pixel 3, though. Google announced that it's starting there but that it will reach other mobile devices in the beginning of 2019. This should be coming to Pixel and Pixel 2.

Playground

Google re-branded its AR Stickers app to Playground this week and updated some of its features. Since this is an app that's already available on the Pixel and Pixel 2, then yeah, it'll come to those phones under the new name if it hasn't already. This is coming to Pixel and Pixel 2.

New Google Lens

Google is introducing an upgraded Google Lens experience within the Google Camera app on Pixel 3. Using the built-in Pixel Visual Core, they are able to quickly pull information in front of you, like an address or phone number or email address, all without actually opening Lens. Additionally, you can long-press on the camera screen to get into the full Lens experience. Since Google Lens is available on all Pixel phones, some form of this new Lens experience will be available to all of them. However, since Google is using the Pixel Visual Core to do the instant Lens Suggestions, my guess is that only the Pixel 2 will be able to handle that and the Pixel will be left out. Google has said that Lens Suggestions are exclusive to Pixel 3, though. I guess we'll see for how long. Some new Lens stuff will come to Pixel and Pixel 2, just not Lens Suggestions.

Camera Improvements

The Pixel 3's camera is getting a handful of new improvements, like Night Sight, Top Shot, Photobooth mode, and Super Res Zoom. You can read more about all of these at this post. Of those announced, we only know for sure from Google that Night Sight, which is arguably the most important, is coming to the older Pixel phones. The others, we'll just have to wait and see, but I wouldn't be surprised if Photobooth and Top Shot both make their way to Pixel and Pixel 2. Some of these are coming to Pixel and Pixel 2.

Depth Effect Adjustments

Google's Pixel 3 is getting access to depth adjustments for pictures that are taken in portrait mode. You can change focus after the fact and adjust the amount of blur or bokeh. This was announced for the Pixel 3, but it's coming to Google Photos on devices that support Google's portrait mode, like the Pixel 2. This is coming to the Pixel 2, not likely on Pixel.

Flip to Shhh, Digital Wellbeing

One of the new features added to Digital Wellbeing is called "Shhh." When turned on, this puts your phone in do not disturb simply by flipping your phone on its face. They announced this for Pixel 3, but I don't see any reason why this wouldn't work on other Pixel phones. My assumption is that it uses the sensors on the front of the device and the gyroscope within to recognize that you've flipped it over and want DND. All of those parts are in the Pixel and Pixel 2. This is likely coming to Pixel and Pixel 2.

Wireless Charging

Ummm, no, wireless charging and Pixel Stand support isn't coming to the Pixel or Pixel 2 XL. They lack the hardware components to wirelessly charge. Any features we missed that you would like to know about?

Video: Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL First Look!

Kellen — Wed, 10 Oct 2018 12:01:47 +0000

I promised you a Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL video in our short "First Look" write-up yesterday, so here it is. That's it.

Google Details Google Lens Improvements for Pixel Phones, AR Stickers Rebranded to Playground

Tim — Wed, 10 Oct 2018 10:36:35 +0000

Pixel 3 buyers, as well as Pixel phone owners in general, will soon have a more integrated Google Lens experience. On top of that, Google introduced a rebrand for AR Stickers, now called Playground, with a new experience coming to Pixel 3 devices first, followed by all other Pixel phones. For changes, Google announced Lens Suggestions, which bring common actions right to the main Pixel camera. With it, you'll simply point camera, then with a single tap, you can access information inside of the viewfinder. This includes phone numbers, emails, or addresses. All of this happens on-device and utilizes Google's Pixel Visual Core chip, so no internet connection is required. Additionally, Google is making Lens accessible from the Recent Apps screen, making it accessible regardless of which app you're currently browsing in. For what's new, there's Playground, a rebrand for AR Stickers. It's a mode inside of the Pixel camera and it's all about augmented reality. Last year, we had the ability to place Stormtroopers and Porgs into our shots, but thanks to a new deal, you'll soon be adding MCU characters to your shots, taking selfies with Iron Man, and also accessing a ton of new AR Stickers.

As Google puts it, "Playground brings you more powerful AR experiences and uses AI to recommend content for expressing yourself in the moment. You can make your photos and videos come to life with Playmoji—characters that react to each other and to you—and tell a richer story by adding fun captions or animated stickers you’ll recognize from Gboard." As I mentioned, the new Playground experience will be available first to Pixel 3 owners, then to other Pixel device owners later. For Google Lens, Google mentions these changes should be available for all Pixel owners. // Google

Verizon's Safe WiFi VPN Ditches Ad Tracker Blocking Because App Stores Made Them

Kellen — Wed, 10 Oct 2018 09:06:59 +0000

In July, Verizon introduced a new service called Smart WiFi. It was their take on a VPN service that wanted to help you maintain privacy when using WiFi that you may not trust, in order to "safeguard your personal data and online activities from spying cybercriminals." That's not all it did, though. It was also supposed to act as an ad tracker blocker, which was arguably its best feature. As of this week, it no longer does that. A reader pointed out to us that starting October 9, Verizon discontinued the Block Ad Tracker feature from Safe WiFi. In other words, the VPN service from Verizon that costs $3.99 per month and originally included two features, now only has one. Why remove Block Ad Tracker? Verizon says in a hidden-ish FAQ that app stores weren't fans of ad tracker blocking and instructed them to remove the feature as it violated policies. Otherwise, Safe WiFi would be removed. What did Ad Tracker Blocker do? Verizon described it as a way to prevent ad network tracking while you browsed the internet, as well as the ads generated from the apps on your phone. It might show grey boxes over ads that it blocked altogether, plus some websites weren't accessible at times because of it. Verizon is offering credits for this month's service if you aren't happy about the change. You can discontinue usage of it at any time too, by visiting My Verizon. Cheers John!

Xiaomi's New Mi Box S is Up for Preorder, Offers New Oreo UI and 4K HDR

Tim — Wed, 10 Oct 2018 08:53:28 +0000

Xiaomi has a new Android TV box available for preorder at $59 in the US, Mi Box S. The new Mi Box offers the latest Android TV UI powered by Oreo, as well as support for 4K and HDR. The box comes coupled with a remote that has a dedicated Google Assistant button, making access to content an easy task. Xiaomi lists a few specs on its webpage, including 2GB RAM, 8GB built-in storage, quad-core processor, Dolby + DTS audio, as well as support for both wireless and wired internet connections. According to the preorder listing on Walmart, the device will be available in early November. I know many of you love Mi Box, so is this a definite pickup for you? Walmart Link // Xiaomi

Essential Now Building New Phone, Report Says, With All the AI

Kellen — Wed, 10 Oct 2018 08:14:58 +0000

In May, just as we were preparing mentally for a wonderful world filled with nothing but joy that could possibly include a refreshed Essential Phone with a proper camera and display, a report arrived suggesting that Andy Rubin and Co. were setting all follow-up phone desires aside to work on their always-going-to-be-a-tough-sell smart speaker hub thingy. Today, a new report says that things have changed and we're doing the opposite of that. That's right, an Essential Phone 2 might be happening. Let's not get too excited, though. According to Bloomberg, Essential has set aside its smart speaker plans and is instead working on a new type of phone. This phone "isn't like a standard smartphone," and will instead feature a small screen that you interact with via voice. The phone is an AI phone (of course) that can respond to emails, book appointments, and send text messages on its own. This new phone is said to be quite different than what we think of as a phone and could be used to complement your current phone rather than replace it. You know Google's big Digital Wellbeing push? This phone, like Digital Wellbeing, wants you to step away more. Essential could show a prototype off as early as January at CES. Just curious, but does this sound interesting to any of you? I just want an Essential Phone 2 like I described here. Is that too much to ask? // Bloomberg

First Look: Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL

Kellen — Tue, 09 Oct 2018 17:21:04 +0000

So, I'm out of Google's "Made by Google" hardware event. There weren't many surprises, but at least things are official and we can stop talking about how much they've leaked. I spent quite a bit of time with both the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL and wanted to share some quick thoughts before I get back on an airplane to head to Portland. First, they feel nice in hand and also very familiar. I can't tell if that's a good thing or not yet. The glass, as glass always does, gives a premium feeling even if glass is a trash material that I wish everyone would stop using. But the shapes and sizes and in-hand presence remind me a lot of last year's Pixel 2 XL, only now you get the same feeling in the regular Pixel 3 also. The unique two tone color is there again, plus the matte finished portion of the glass on the bottom half of each's backside is mostly fingerprint-resistant, which I appreciate. Overall, in terms of hand-feel and design, I'm a fan. Because again, they are familiar with some subtle changes that potentially upgrade the experience. These are certainly Pixel phones that further advance the design language of Google. If anything, they feel the most Google-y of any of their phones yet. As for software, I'm not going to lie - nothing feels that new. The Pixel 2 XL that I've been using for weeks basically runs this exact software. Sure, Google is tweaking the camera and adding new features to Digital Wellbeing and is giving us a fun Pixel Stand wireless charging experience and call screening and (soon) Google Duplex, but the overall software vibe isn't really new. A number of those features are coming to older Pixel phones too. I wouldn't say that I'm mad about that, it's just that we're so used to holding a new phone and expecting all new software that no one else can have. Maybe I just need to get used to this idea, which is a good thing for older phone owners. I'm excited to test the camera and some of its new modes and features, I can't wait to add a Pixel Stand to both my bedside table and desk (we'll talk more about it later), and I'm even looking forward to this more refined hardware from Google. But at the same time, this is one of the first times I've picked up a new phone and not been immediately blasted by newness. I'll blame the leaks for that, or something.

We all know that the notch is controversial and the prices are arguably high for what you are getting, but I could probably also argue that these two phones still will feature the best Android experience you'll find. In fact, I'll probably use one after reviewing them because this is the experience I want and prefer. They'll probably be the phones I recommend to friends and family too. With that said, yeah, they only have 4GB RAM and cost upwards of $1,000 depending on how big you go. That's kind of bullsh*t. We really are approaching the V30 and Note 9 pricing here, yet those phones have so much more baked in. Maybe they have meaningless stuff and things that you won't use, but we're big on value here, almost to a fault. I'm almost thinking I need to do a full iPhone Xr-like rant to keep it real. I guess my takeaway today is that these are such Google phones. They are promising the smart stuff to the ceiling and trying to keep the hardware part a side story. They want you to think of these phones as tech that improves your life without fuss. They'll be great, I'm sure. But I get it if people's reaction right away isn't supremely positive. This will take some convincing for many, I think. Or won't it? I'll have video tomorrow. Apologies for the delay on it.

Google Home App Update Makes It the Smart Home Hub App We've Wanted

Kellen — Tue, 09 Oct 2018 16:58:10 +0000

During today's unveiling of the Google Home Hub, Google announced that a major update is coming to the Google Home app. And when I say "major," I'm talking about an update that turns it into the ultimate smart home hub app we've dreamed of. The new Google Home app brings a new home tab that includes a breakdown of your smart home by room and device. That way, instead of thumbing through multiple apps to control your home, you can do it all within a single app, the Google Home app. For example, you can quickly turn off or on the lights in your kitchen, pause music in the living room, and turn off the smart plug in the garage, just by tapping on shortcuts to each rather than telling Google Assistant too. Should you want to talk to Google Assistant, you now can within the app. The app, which you can see below, features a shortcut to Assistant to get things done without having to shout out "Hey, Google" or long-press on your home button. Additionally, the new Home app has quick actions at the top of your room and device list for actions you might complete regularly.

Outside of the new quick controls, the new Google Home app gives you controls over items even when you aren't at home. On your way home and want to get your temperature right and turn on the porch lights? You can do that from the Google Home app now. Finally, the Google Home app is gaining the ability to control multiple homes and also let others in to control items as well. If someone is at your home and on the same WiFi, they can have select controls over items you select, like lights and temperature, for example. That means that your less tech-savvy friends can give you access to their homes to in case they run into issues. This new update will start rolling out this week! Google Play Link // Google

New Chromecast Costs Same $35, Comes in Chalk and Charcoal

Tim — Tue, 09 Oct 2018 15:46:36 +0000

Google launched its 3rd-generation Chromecast dongle today, still priced at a very reasonable $35. The new Chromecast comes in either Chalk or Charcoal, but really, the device hasn't changed all that much. In its blog post, Google states this Chromecast has a 15% improvement in hardware speed, plus they say, "Our newest Chromecast supports smooth streaming in 1080p at 60 frames per second." On top of that, Google says you'll be able to add this refreshed Chromecast to speaker groups, meaning multi-room audio goodness. Sadly, that's coming "later this year." If you're in need of a fresh dongle, follow the link below. Google Store Link // Google

Verizon is Charging a $30 Notch Fee on the Pixel 3 XL

Kellen — Tue, 09 Oct 2018 15:18:08 +0000

Ok, not really, but what the hell?

Verizon is once again the exclusive carrier of Google's new Pixel phones. They have also decided that matching the price that Google is selling one of its phones at isn't something they are interested in. The Pixel 3 XL is priced higher at Verizon than it is when purchased from Google. It's the same phone. Pre-orders for the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL are live at Verizon, for those interested. The Pixel 3 is priced at $799 for 64GB and $899 for 128GB. That's what Google wants for them. But the Pixel 3 XL, well, it's $30 more from Big Red. If you want the Pixel 3 XL in 64GB, you'll pay them $929.99. If you want double the storage, you are looking at a bill of $1,029.99. That's ridiculous. There is nothing different about the Pixel 3 XL that Verizon is selling. In fact, Google is selling the Pixel 3 XL at its own store in a "Verizon" variant, which means it comes with a Verizon SIM, and they only want the normal $899.99 and $999.99. Why does Verizon want $30 more? When I mentioned the price difference to Tim, he responded simply with, "Notch fee?" I like that. Let's go with that. Verizon is charging Pixel 3 XL owners a $30 notch fee. Ugh. Oh, Verizon is doing a BOGO Pixel 3 deal where they'll give you a $799.99 to spend on a second Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL, plus they are tossing in a free Pixel Stand ($79 value). That's something. Verizon Pre-orders: Pixel 3 | Pixel 3 XL

Tuesday Poll: Are You Buying a Pixel 3?

Tim — Tue, 09 Oct 2018 14:55:44 +0000

At long last, Pixel 3 Day is over! Have you made a decision yet on whether to purchase one or not? If so, we want to know! We've already posted up all of the details and specs you need to know about, but really, you've had quite some time to make this decision. Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL have been leaking all over the place for the past month, so it's hard to imagine anyone is still on the fence. If you're ready to take the leap into #teampixel, though, look here. Let's hear your thoughts below! [poll id="497"]

Marshall Intros Minor II Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds for $129

Tim — Tue, 09 Oct 2018 14:02:03 +0000

Marshall announced a new set of Bluetooth wireless earbuds called Minor II Bluetooth this morning, available starting today for $129. According to Marshall's announcement, the earbuds feature Qualcomm aptX technology and 12 hours of wireless playtime on a single charge. Hardware features include a microphone and a multi-directional control knob to answer phone calls or control your tunes When not in use, you can connect the magnetic earbuds together. When connected, Minor II Bluetooth goes into a low-energy standby mode that will completely shut down after six hours of no usage. That should help with battery life in the longterm.

For the battery life, Marshall lists 12 hours of music playback with it taking 2 hours to fully recharge the earbuds. With a quick charge feature, though, you can charge the buds for 20 minutes and get 2 hours of playback. Follow the link below if interested in Minor II at $129. Marshall Link

Pixel 3, 3 XL, and Pixel Slate Come With Google's In-House Titan Security Chip

Tim — Tue, 09 Oct 2018 12:01:58 +0000

Following yesterday's news that Google+ is shutting down because it was leaking tons of user data, Google discussed user security when announcing Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, and Pixel Slate. The company has integrated its in-house Titan Security chip into the devices, making for a more secure experience for users. Here's how Google puts it.

We’re committed to the security of our users. We need to offer simple, powerful ways to safeguard your devices. We’ve integrated Titan Security, the system we built for Google, into our new mobile devices. Titan Security protects your most sensitive on-device data by securing your lock screen and strengthening disk encryption.

Known as Titan M for these mobile devices, Google says because of this chip, these are the most secure devices they've built yet. Titan M works to protect your unlock credentials, disk encryption, app data, and the integrity of the operating system code itself.

More Pixel News

// Google

Pixel Stand is a $79 Wireless Charging Dock for Your Pixel 3

Tim — Tue, 09 Oct 2018 10:20:06 +0000

Google announced a new accessory for future Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL owners this morning, the Pixel Stand. The stand is a Qi-compatible wireless charger for the devices, but in addition, it does some fancy things when the phones are docked into it. For example, if you have a Nest Hello video doorbell and when the phone is docked into Pixel Stand, a video feed will automatically appear on your phone when someone rings the doorbell. Additionally, when the phone is charging, you can have albums from Google Photos appear on your phone to act as a screensaver of sorts, just like on a Smart Display. If you're curious about using this dock and don't have a Pixel phone, any phone that fits and has Qi wireless charging should be compatible, according to the specs. Pixel Stand is up for pre-order right now, priced at $79. Google Store Link

Pixel Slate is Latest Chrome OS Device From Google, Available Later This Year Starting at $599

Tim — Tue, 09 Oct 2018 09:22:03 +0000

Google unveiled Pixel Slate this morning, its vision for the future of Chrome OS. According to Google, much time was spent on tuning the 293ppi display (exact dimensions unknown at this time), as well as ensuring the Chrome OS UI was reconfigured for a touchscreen experience. For the launcher, Google states it has machine learning built-in, offering app recommendations when you need them most. Both the front and back house 8-megapixel cameras, with the front camera being wide angle and the rear capable of Portrait Mode. Slate is said to be powerful enough to run all of your favorite Android apps from Google Play, as well as development tools, G Suite apps, Adobe Acrobat, and full Linux apps. Essentially, you'll have a complete desktop experience, but in this portable tablet form, coupled with a Titan Security chip and built-in virus protection for added protection. For hardware, Slate was designed to offer a perfectly balanced center of gravity. In the power button, you will find Slate's built-in fingerprint reader and for sound, Google has incorporated dual front stereo speakers. To go along with this hardware, Google also announced a backlit folio keyboard designed specifically for it. The keyboard is fully adjustable and requires no pairing to be used with Slate. According to Google, the typing experience is quiet and soft, so no annoying clicking sounds when hammering out your screenplay in the local Starbucks. Google says Pixel Slate is launching later this year, starting $599 in Midnight Blue. For those who want the keyboard, it will be priced at $199 and the Pixelbook Pen is still $99. For those who order, you'll get 3 months of YouTube TV for free. Complete Pricing Breakdown

$599 (4GB RAM, 32GB SSD, 8th Gen Intel® Celeron processor)
$699 (8GB RAM, 64GB SSD, 8th Gen Intel® Celeron processor)
$799 (8GB RAM, 64GB SSD, 8th Gen Intel® CoreTM m3 processor)
$999 (8GB RAM, 128GB SSD, 8th Gen Intel® CoreTM i5 processor)
$1599 (16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 8th Gen Intel® CoreTM i7 processor)

Thoughts?

Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, Home Hub Now Up for Pre-Order!

Kellen — Tue, 09 Oct 2018 09:03:10 +0000

Ready to spend all of your money? The Google Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, and Google Home Hub are now up for pre-order! The Pixel 3 costs $799 (64GB) or $899 (128GB), Pixel 3 XL costs $899 (64GB) or $999 (128GB), and the Google Home Hub is $149. We've got links for each below:

Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL Official Starting at $799, Available for Pre-Order Today

Tim — Tue, 09 Oct 2018 09:00:09 +0000

We knew today would be awkward, considering all of the previous leaks, but Google made Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL official this morning. So far, there hasn't been any surprises and these phones align with basically everything we've seen up to today. For specs, Pixel 3 features a 5.5" FHD AMOLED (2160x1080, 440ppi) display, Snapdragon 845 processor, 4GB RAM, 64GB storage (up to 128GB available for extra price), single rear-facing 12-megapixel camera, 2915mAh, Active Edge, and Android 9 Pie. Pixel 3 XL's specs are nearly identical, though, the display is 6.3" QHD AMOLED (2960x1440) with a top notch and the battery size is 3450mAh.

Official Pixel 3, 3 XL Specs

Something different from last year is the ability to wirelessly charge Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. This is where Pixel Stand comes in, a new Google-made accessory that acts as a wireless charging dock for the devices. On top of that, marketing material for these devices mention "long-lasting battery." A lot of the new features for Pixel 3 and 3 XL appear to be software-based. For example, Google highlights the changes for Google Lens, Google Assistant, and Gmail. Many of these things were detailed at this year's Google I/O, but because these phones ship with Android 9 Pie, they'll be available immediately for Pixel buyers. Lastly, Google is offering unlimited Google Photos storage when uploading in Original Quality, good until the year 2022. Pixel 3 starts at $799 ($899 for 128GB) and Pixel 3 XL starts at $899 ($999 for 128GB). Both phones go up for pre-order today. Google Store Link

Google Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL Specs (Official)

Kellen — Tue, 09 Oct 2018 08:57:23 +0000

The Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL are no super official, and even though you know the whole story, including most of the specs, we still wanted to lay them out for you. It's a tradition, right? What you've got are two phones that are almost identical in size to last year's Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, except Google increased the screen size. So you've got a 5.5" FHD AMOLED on the Pixel 3 and a 6.3" QHD AMOLED on the Pixel 3 XL. Battery size increased on the Pixel 3 to 2915mAh, but dropped slightly on the 3 XL to 3450mAh. You've still got 12.2MP single cameras on the back, which shouldn't worry anyone, as well as dual 8MP cameras up front. The rest of the story is familiar. These are Google phones, so they run clean and lean Android, yet have powerful tools handy like Google Assistant. [table id=147 /]

Google Announces Google Home Hub, Its First Smart Display

Kellen — Tue, 09 Oct 2018 08:34:23 +0000

Google announced its first smart display today, the Google Home Hub. This device previously leaked, but we now know more of the details on how this unit can standout from other smart displays. Google Home Hub, for one, doesn't have a camera, in case you were wondering. Even though other smart displays do, this doesn't, and that seems to have been a privacy issue for Google. That means no video chats, though. Home Hub features sensors, which Google is called Ambient EQ, to allow it to automatically adjust the screen to match your room. Rather than being too bright or too dim, the sensors make for a smarter display. Google wants it to be the ultimate photo album viewer too, thanks to integration with Google Photos. They are introducing a new feature called Live Albums that refreshes albums often, to keep them showing new photos all of the time.

Google is also introducing a "swipe down" feature on Hub's display that lets you view a new "Home View" section of the smart display that gives you quick controls to your home. That means controls over lights, media, thermostats, cameras, and broadcasts. Oh, the Google Home app has also been re-done to help you get into all of those shortcuts too. Google made sure that YouTube and YouTube Music look and work perfectly on the display too. Also, if you buy one, it comes with 6 months of free YouTube Premium to help you take advantage. Google Home Hub will be available today for pre-order for $149. It comes in four colors: chalk, charcoal, aqua, and a pinkish tone. It'll arrive at retail spots on October 22.

AmpliFi Instant Brings Mesh WiFi at a Starting Price of $99.99

Kellen — Tue, 09 Oct 2018 06:06:27 +0000

Ubiquiti, whose AmpliFi HD mesh WiFi system is arguably the most popular mesh solution, announced AmpliFi Instant today, a more affordable version that can be setup within minutes. With AmpliFi Instant, you get a starting price of $99.99 for the router, which is $30 cheaper than Google WiFi single units. If you want to expand Instant and use its mesh capabilities, you can get a two-piece kit that includes the router and a MeshPoint for $179.99. If you want to further upgrade your network beyond that kit, you can add AmpliFi HD pieces onto it. AmpliFi Instant features 802.11ac WiFi with both 5GHz and 2.4GHz radios. The router device has a WAN port and Gigabit Ethernet port, while individual MeshPoints each have a single Gigabit Ethernet port. Of course, it also comes with an app that lets you monitor your network, control it remotely, or give access to guests.

Overall, AmpliFi Instant looks like a nice option for those without a huge budget but that still want to expand their home network. AmpliFi Instant goes up for sale today at Amplifi.com, Amazon, and Best Buy.

Pixel 3 Pricing May Start at $799.99 at Verizon, Plus BOGO and Free Pixel Stand

Kellen — Tue, 09 Oct 2018 05:30:54 +0000

For a brief moment last night, Verizon posted details for a Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL deal that will likely go live within the next couple of hours after Google's fall hardware event and could land you a free phone, as well as a free Pixel Stand. The deal that has (apparently) since been pulled from the My Verizon app, says to "Unleash the power of 3," and that if you buy a Pixel 3, you'll "get $799.99 off another when you add a line." Additionally, if you pre-order, you'll get a free Google Pixel Stand, the new wireless charger from Google that we expect to be announced alongside both Pixel 3 phones. As you can see from the imagery here shared by a reader of ours (and at this reddit thread), we have a picture of the Pixel 3 XL, but our assumption is that this promo will start with the base model of the Pixel 3 - like other Verizon promos - and give you bill credits to cover the second device (up to $799.99), then make you pay for any difference in higher priced models. If that's the case, then we now have an idea of starting pricing for the Pixel 3, one of the few items that has yet to be leaked. And if correct, it sure looks like the Pixel 3 will start at $799.99 at Big Red. You may recall that last year the regular, smaller Pixel 2 started at $649.99 and the Pixel 2 XL started at $849.99. If the Pixel 3 is starting at $800, how much will the bigger 3 XL cost? $100 more? $200 more? Tough to say since we can no longer access that promo page and we're expecting a couple of different storage options.

Cheers @bobmyrvold!

WATCH: Made by Google Event Kicks Off at 11AM Eastern!

Kellen — Tue, 09 Oct 2018 05:25:08 +0000

The big Made by Google hardware event of 2018 is here after months and weeks filled with leaks of everything we expect to be shown off. Google is hosting a handful of events around the globe to show off new goodies, and we're at the New York hub. What are we expecting? You know this. We'll see the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. They'll be joined by a Pixel Stand. We'll see the Google Home Hub. We'll see a Pixel Slate. There may or may not be a new Chromecast, though its only upgrade is Bluetooth. If there are surprises, it would be in the form of a new pair of Pixel Buds and a refreshed Pixelbook. We know there won't be a Pixel Watch or a third phone. Google Home Mini isn't due for a refresh, nor is Max. However, Google is still teasing us as if they do have something they've managed to keep under wraps. I guess we'll soon find out. Either way, the event today kicks off at 11AM Eastern (8AM Pacific)!

Microsoft's xCloud Gaming Service Will Bring Console Games to Mobile

Tim — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 13:18:25 +0000

Project xCloud was announced by Microsoft this week, an effort to bring Xbox and Windows PC games to a variety of devices, including smartphones and tablets. Public Project xCloud system testing is set to begin next year, but ultimately, Microsoft's plan is to upload any Xbox and Windows game into the cloud, then have it streamable to mobile devices. According to Microsoft's blog, xCloud will have the capability of streaming games over a 4G network, and should only get better as 5G becomes readily available to mobile gamers. As for where the games are being streamed from, Microsoft is utilizing its own cloud computing service called Microsoft Azure. We're still a ways from regular players streaming their Xbox titles to a smartphone, and Microsoft admits this is a "multi-year journey." However, we already know Microsoft isn't the only company trying to bring AAA gaming titles to the mobile masses. Google's Project Stream is quite similar, offering desktop users the ability to stream high-end PC games directly through a Chrome browser. Unlike xCloud that won't be up and running publicly until next year, invites for Project Stream are already going out and gamers are having fun. We'll keep you posted, gamers. // Microsoft

Verizon Gets Pixel 3 Exclusive Again, Says T-Mobile

Kellen — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 12:41:12 +0000

T-Mobile wants you to bring your Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL over to their network, once Google announces it and then sells it starting tomorrow. Why bring it to and not buy it from T-Mobile? Because Verizon once again has an exclusive on this year's Pixel phones, according to T-Mobile. The Uncarrier sent out a press release this afternoon suggesting that your experience with them will be better than at Verizon with a Pixel 3 or 3 XL. And they are posting this up now to get in headlines because they know they won't have the phone for sale any time soon. While not exactly the most shocking of news (this was previously rumored), we were always holding out hope that maybe this year would be the year that Google ditched the exclusivity with Verizon. But nope, assuming T-Mobile is right here. It'll be another year of Pixel phones where Verizon is the only carrier partner. Keep in mind that Google will still sell the phone through its own store. The Pixel 3 and 3 XL will also be fully unlocked with network band support for all major carriers, including T-Mobile. Best Buy will likely sell the "Verizon" models too. But yeah, unfortunately if you wanted to walk into a T-Mobile or AT&T or Sprint store to check out the new Pixel phones, you won't be able to. // T-Mobile

Google+ is Shutting Down for Consumers, Adding More Controls Over Shared Data (Updated)

Kellen — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 10:56:24 +0000

Update (Dec, 10): Google is pushing up the shutdown date for the consumer version of Google+, now listing the closure to take place in April, 2019 instead of August, 2019. Furthermore, shutdown of all Google+ APIs will take place within the next 90 days. In total, the bug connected to a Google+ API affected 52.5 million users, though, Google states, "No third party compromised our systems, and we have no evidence that the developers who inadvertently had this access for six days were aware of it or misused it in any way."

Google just announced that its failed social network, Google+, is shutting down for consumers. It has been garbage for a long time and neglected by its creators, so it's probably about time this happened. Unfortunately, the reason they are finally shutting it down is because the service possibly exposed the data of 500,000 users' profiles. In addition to shutting down G+, Google is also going to attempt to introduce limits on the access APIs have and give you more control over app permissions. Just as the Wall Street Journal was posting an article that dove into the data exposure, Google announced Project Strobe. What is Project Strobe and how does it relate to this G+ security issue? Google explains Strobe as "a root-and-branch review of third-party developer access to Google account and Android device data and of our philosophy around apps’ data access." In other words, Google neglected Google+, possibly exposed profile info, and is now realizing that it should probably tighten things up a bit. They came to four findings with Project Strobe with four actions to take. They are:

Finding 1: There are significant challenges in creating and maintaining a successful Google+ product that meets consumers’ expectations.
Action 1: We are shutting down Google+ for consumers. Finding 2: People want fine-grained controls over the data they share with apps
Action 2: We are launching more granular Google Account permissions that will show in individual dialog boxes.
Finding 3: When users grant apps access to their Gmail, they do so with certain use cases in mind.
Action 3: We are limiting the types of use cases that are permitted.
Finding 4: When users grant SMS, Contacts and Phone permissions to Android apps, they do so with certain use cases in mind.
Action 4: We are limiting apps’ ability to receive Call Log and SMS permissions on Android devices, and are no longer making contact interaction data available via the Android Contacts API.

What do you need to know from each? A few things. For action 1, Google+ for consumers is shutting down. That's probably a good thing. Google found that no one was using it, saying that "Google+ currently has low usage and engagement: 90 percent of Google+ user sessions are less than five seconds." They do see some companies using it for business purposes and will keep it as an enterprise product, similar to Hangouts. As for the possible data exposure, Google found a bug in an API that developers could use that exposed profile data for up to 500,000 people, even if you had marked it as private. Google says they have no evidence that any developer harvested that data and don't show evidence that any even knew the bug existed. The info that was possibly exposed was only name, email address, occupation, gender and age. That's it, according to Google. Google will take the next 10 months to kill off G+ for consumers, finishing it off by August of 2019. Over the course of this slow shutdown, they'll let you know of ways to download and migrate your data from it. If you want to know more on that, be sure to follow through that source link.

For action 2, Google is preparing to give you more fine-grained controls over permissions in Android apps and the account data you share with them. Above, you can see how those controls will soon look. Rather than seeing all requested permissions on a single screen, you'll soon go through each permission individually to allow to deny. For action 3, this is related to Gmail and is limiting what permissions apps can seek as it relates to Gmail data. Google says that "only apps directly enhancing email functionality—such as email clients, email backup services and productivity services," will be given authorization. And finally, for action 4, Google is going to limit how many apps are allowed to ask for phone and SMS data permissions in Google Play. Soon, only the apps that you have selected as defaults for these apps will be able to make those requests. They'll further limit these permissions by removing contact interaction data for the Android Contacts API. So, quite a few security and privacy changes were announced here. I just gave you the briefest overview, but I suggest you jump through that link below for lengthier details. For timing, these changes will start rolling out right away and continue over many months. RIP, G+. You won't be missed. // Google

LG V40 Update Aims to Increase Camera Performance

Tim — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 10:33:41 +0000

Folks intending on purchasing a V40 from LG can look forward to what's potentially a Day 1 update, aimed at improving the three rear-facing cameras in a variety of ways. According to the changelog I received on my unlocked unit, LG is improving low light image quality, low light HDR, AI Camera image quality, white balance and brightness in outdoor shooting conditions, as well as auto focus performance. That's a lot of improvements. In our full review for V40, I discussed the desire for LG to issue a software update addressing the slow auto focus times. Beyond that, though, pictures seemed very good. After installing, I can say that focusing times seem dramatically quicker, so that's good. LG V40 is up for pre-order right now, starting at $900. In-store availability begins October 18.

T-Mobile's Metro and New Unlimited Plans Arrive, Hopes for 5G Next Year

Kellen — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 09:10:01 +0000

MetroPCS is now officially know as Metro by T-Mobile.

Starting today, MetroPCS customers are customers of Metro, a re-branded version of the prepaid service that T-Mobile bought years ago. In addition to the new name, a couple of new unlimited plans are available, plus we now know when T-Mobile plans to push 5G to Metro. After announcing the change at the end of September, T-Mobile made the new Metro branding official today at an event in NYC. There, they are showing off demos of something...it sounds boring. What you should care about as a Metro customer are the new plans. For one, the $40 plan now has double the data it used to. Instead of 5GB data per month, it sits at 10GB. If you need even more data, Metro added two "unlimited" plans at $50 and $60 per month. Each includes hotspot data and a Google One subscription. The $60 plan also features an Amazon Prime membership. The value there is certainly tempting. The full rundown of each can be seen in the table below.

Unlimited plan news aside, T-Mobile made sure we knew that Metro will be one of the first prepaid services to connect to a 5G network. T-Mobile plans to launch 5G as early as next year and so that means Metro will get in on some of that action too. Of course, we'll need phones that can connect to 5G (which we don't have yet) and you'll need to live in an area that has it (no area does yet). 5G! Metro! Unlimited! Fun! // T-Mobile

Facebook Intros Portal, Portal+ Video Chat Displays With Amazon Alexa

Tim — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 09:03:36 +0000

Facebook introduced Portal and Portal+ this week, smart displays of sorts that are catered to video calls, powered by Amazon Alexa and other AI features. Already up for pre-order starting at $199, Portal has a 10-inch 1280 x 800 display. If you need something bigger, there's the 15-inch 1920 x 1080 Portal+ for $349, complete with auto-pivoting screen. Facebook describes these machines as perfect for video chatting on Facebook Messenger. Whether the person on the other line has one of these displays or just the Messenger app on their smartphone, you can chat with loved ones where they may be. Thanks to Alexa from Amazon, you can initiate video calls simply by using your voice, plus a suite of AI tech makes your experience more rich. For example, Facebook includes Smart Camera that automatically pans and zooms to keep everyone in the shot. As for privacy, Facebook claims they're taking it very seriously. According to its announcement, all calls are encrypted, each device comes with a camera cover for added privacy when you want it, both the microphone and camera can be disabled with a single button, and the AI features (not including certain Alexa functions, we assume) run on the devices, not on Facebook's servers. Again, Portal and Portal+ are up for pre-order in the US on Facebook, as well as Amazon and Best Buy. Shipping will begin in November. Portal costs $199 and Portal+ is $349. Additionally, you can also receive $100 off any two devices, meaning a bundle of two Portal devices will be priced at $298. Pre-Order: Facebook | Amazon | Best Buy https://www.facebook.com/facebook/videos/320275651886768/ // Facebook

Hey, Here's the Google Pixel Slate

Kellen — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 07:10:52 +0000

Over the weekend, because Google is really bad at keeping anything a secret, the Pixel Slate was fully revealed. It sure looks like the device that showed up on Brydge's site a few weeks back as a high-end Chrome OS tablet in a dark blue color. There isn't a ton of new stuff to learn since that first leak and a following benchmark, but this is the first all-angle look we've really got. As you can see below, the device is a tablet. Shocker. It has a simple design, blue color, single camera on its rear and another up front, fingerprint reader on top, dual front-facing speakers, USB-C port or two, and will work with a new blue Pixelbook Pen. It runs Chrome OS, of course, which Google is ready to really push into the tablet form.

In addition to the tablet, we're getting a first look at one of its accessories too. Below, you can view a keyboard accessory for the Pixel Slate in the same deep blue color. It features a keyboard with circular keys, Google Assistant button, and pins that will allow the Slate to dock. That also looks like a soft top cover that can be folded to prop the Slate up while using the keyboard and act as a cover when not in use.

The Pixel Slate is likely to run an Intel Core i7 processor with configurations that include 16GB RAM. We aren't sure on storage, but my guess is that Google will allow you to fully deck this little guy out. That also means it won't be cheap. We'll know (officially) tomorrow! // MySmartPrice

OnePlus 6T Arrives October 30

Kellen — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 05:26:15 +0000

The OnePlus 6T will be fully unveiled on October 30, the company announced this morning. OnePlus is hosting at event on that day in NYC, which they are calling their "largest fan gathering ever." Like past events, not only will OnePlus announce the phone, they'll also let you attend as a fan. You can book tickets right now, if interested. Should you attend, you'll get to go hands-on with the OnePlus 6T, "receive a selection of exclusive gifts worth several times the value of admission," and walk away with their Bullets Wireless earbuds. If you can't make it out to NYC, they'll also live stream the happenings. Book OnePlus 6T Event Tickets // OnePlus

Google Maps Music Integration, Dark Google Feed, New Assistant UI All Rolling Out

Kellen — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 14:11:45 +0000

Over the past couple of weeks, Google has announced some pretty big changes to some of its apps and services, like Google Assistant, Google Maps, and the Google Feed, which is now called Discover. As we approach the weekend, a number of those changes are arriving on phones, according to so many of you readers. For Google Assistant, Google announced just this week that Assistant is getting a bit of a makeover. That makeover includes more touch controls, bigger touch points, and a balancing of voice and physical interactivity. The new Assistant also lets you quickly swipe up as it listens to get into your updates for the day. You can see just how that new Assistant UI looks above. As of today, it seems to be widely rolling out. Check for a Google App update on Google Play if you aren't seeing it just yet. For Google Maps (below), Google introduced music controls within the navigation UI and a new commute tab to help you better manage your daily to-and-from work route. We haven't seen the commute tab yet, but the music support is there. Currently, Maps has support for Google Play Music, Spotify, and Apple Music, so you can jump between tracks without ever leaving your navigation screen. For Spotify, users also have quick access to their library of songs, albums, podcasts, and playlists.

To turn on the new music controls in Google Maps, you'll head into Maps, swipe out the side bar and go into Settings>Navigation Settings. From there, scroll all of the way to the bottom and toggle on "Show media playback controls." Once you've done that, you'll be able to tap on the "Default media app" and choose the music service you use. And finally, the new "Discover" feed has rolled out to most, but what users are finding is a dark theme or mode with supported launchers. If you own a Pixel or Pixel 2 and have the Google app enabled as a swipe to the left of your home screen, this Discover feed now pays attention to your phone's theme. If you have the light Pixel theme applied, Discover will match that. If you have the dark theme selected, it'll turn dark as you can see below.

Google Play Links: Google App | Google Maps Cheers Brent, Derek, Randy, Mark, and everyone else!

Pixel 3 XL Gets Reviewed... Again, Full Retail Packing Shown Off

Tim — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 10:31:17 +0000

Does Google even need to do an unveiling event next week for Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL? I mean, we've seen the phone in the hands of many, with full reviews out of Russia and unexpected photoshoots by way of supposed Lyft drivers. It's been pretty bad this year. Definitely comical, but still bad. Anyway, Pixel 3 XL got reviewed yet again, this time in Hong Kong. The reviewer for Unwire.HK shows us the retail packaging for the phone (including the coupled USB-C earbuds), talks about the specs, shows off wireless charging, provides camera samples, and everything else you might expect from a phone review. It's quite detailed, even with comparisons to Apple's latest devices. If you're curious about the reviewer's final thoughts, they really like the camera, enjoy the addition of wireless charging and Android Pie, though, they do wish Active Edge had more functionality. The summary of the review is titled, "Small change, big improvement." We'll of course provide our own review and coverage once we get the phones, which should be shortly after Google's event next week. We're ready! // Unwire.HK [2]

Podcast: Days From Pixel 3

Kellen — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 09:40:24 +0000

On this episode of the Droid Life Show, we're basically just preparing for a wild next week. The Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL will finally be official, as will Google Home Hub, and (likely) a new Pixelbook or Pixel Slate. We can't wait for the hype to die and the review period to start. So we want to walk through any last minute happenings involving all of Google's new stuff. Then, we'll talk LG V40, since it's now official and we've already reviewed it. We also want to dive into LG's new Watch W7 with mechanical hands, other Google updates, Wear OS news, and the latest on the OnePlus 6T. Trivia is back today! Google Play credit to all 5 winners! We'll be live at 11:00AM Pacific (2:00PM Eastern).

Moto G7 Renders Detail a Really Funky Looking Phone With Teardrop Notch

Tim — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 08:59:46 +0000

Expected to launch next year, we're already getting renders and a full CAD video of Lenovo's Moto G7. Well timed considering a recent tweet from @evleaks that tells us to expect four upcoming models of Moto G, including Plus and Power models, these renders essentially confirm that 2018 hardware design will be alive and well in 2019, at least from Motorola. Sh*t. The first thing to notice is the display's teardrop notch, similar to the Essential Phone and OnePlus 6T. That little notch will house the phone's reported 12-megapixel front-facing camera. On the back is a dual camera setup, consisting of rumored 16MP and 5MP cameras. Other specs include a Full HD+ display, 4GB RAM, 64GB built-in storage, unknown octa-core processor, 3,500mAh battery, headphone jack, and Android 9 Pie. Take a look at the video, then share your thoughts on this supposed Moto G7 in the comments below. Are you feeling it?

// MySmartPrice

Google News Gets a Dark Theme!

Kellen — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 08:29:11 +0000

A Google News update began rolling out early this morning and it includes the setting we've been waiting for since it first arrived back in May. Yes, my friends, we have a Dark Theme in Google News! You can see the theme applied above. It does indeed turn everything dark, or in some instances, black. What's cool here is that Google is giving you some control over when it shows up. You can have it always show, show automatically at nighty or when battery saver turns on, only when battery saver turns on, or leave it off. The update is a part of Google News v5.5. Once you update at the link below, you'll find the setting by tapping on your profile icon in the app, then Settings. In Settings, an option for "Dark theme" is listed under "General." Google Play Link

DEAL: Get Up to $600 Off With Trade-Ins for Note 9 or S9 Purchases

Kellen — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 08:04:58 +0000

Samsung just kicked off a really big trade-in deal for Galaxy Note 9, Galaxy S9, and Galaxy S9+ purchases. For a limited time, they are doubling trade-in values, giving you up to $600 off any of those three phones. The deal starts today and runs through November 3, so you do have a little bit of time to decide. How does it work? As we've said in the past, Samsung has the best trade-in deal every year. They offer you an instant discount upfront for the phone you are trading in. That means you get a discount off your new Galaxy Note 9 or Galaxy S9 today. Depending on the phone, you could get $600 off a Note 9 right now. Once your new phone arrives, you ship them your old trade-in and they evaluate it to make sure its in the condition you described. Assuming it is, you go on about your day. Which phones give you the $600 off? A Galaxy S9+ trade will get you $600 off, as will an iPhone X or iPhone 8 Plus. An iPhone 8 will get you $550 off, while a regular Galaxy S9 or Galaxy Note 8 will get you $500 off. Other notable trade values are the Pixel 2 XL at $400 off, Galaxy S8+ at $450 off, and LG V30 at $300 off. The last time Samsung ran this deal for the Note 9, they gave up to $450 off, which we thought was good. This is, obviously, a better deal.

Samsung Shop: Galaxy Note 9 | Galaxy S9, S9+

Pixel 3 Isn't Google's First "Sand" Colored Product

Kellen — Thu, 04 Oct 2018 15:17:52 +0000

This morning, we got a first look at Google's new Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL in what's been dubbed the "Sand" colorway. It looks pink to me, but a reader pointed out that this won't actually be the first "Sand" we've seen from Google. So as a little #TBT, let's talk about the original "Sand" product, the Nexus 9. That's right, in 2014, when Google first announced the Nexus 9 in collaboration with HTC, they showed off three colors: Black, White, and Sand. At launch, though, only the Black and White versions were available. In fact, the Sand option wouldn't arrive until three months later with only a 32GB storage option. Because of the late launch and more expensive (at the time) storage choice, I never actually saw one in person. I'd imagine I'm not alone in that. With that aside, the reader who pointed out the second coming of "Sand," asked if I thought the Pixel 3 might look more like the Nexus 9 than the Pixel 3. Unfortunately, if these pictures are accurate and you put them next to one another, I don't really think so. The Pixel 3 is certainly a light pink rather than the tan or soft gold of the Nexus 9. If you are interested in the "Sand" Pixel 3, prepare for pink. Or, you can wait until next week when we hopefully get to see it in person.

Anyone own the Nexus 9 in "Sand?"

YouTube TV Adds Full DVR Controls to AMC, Disney, Turner, and More

Kellen — Thu, 04 Oct 2018 14:14:04 +0000

YouTube TV upgraded the DVR playback capabilities of a bunch of networks today, giving you full control over pausing, rewinding, and fast forwarding. The networks receiving this full support are AMC, Disney, Fox, NBC, and Turner. Their content going forward, is "immediately available for DVR playback." This upgrade should allow you to control the shows you watch as you watch them, rather than have to wait to control those actions when the shows become available on-demand. Fun! https://twitter.com/YouTubeTV/status/1047898035747926016

Tasker 5.5 Update Makes Automation Easy for Dummies Like Me

Tim — Thu, 04 Oct 2018 13:40:25 +0000

The last time we wrote about Tasker was in 2015 when Google removed the app from Google Play, then reinstated it shortly after. Since then, Tasker has continued to be a mess of an automation experience with triggers, actions, tasks, scenes, and even standalone app creation. It's simply too much for my tiny brain to comprehend. A new update is rolling out on Google Play right now, though, labeled as version 5.5. Inside, Tasker lets users access Google Drive for file and data backups, but the big new shiny thing appears to be TaskerNet. According to the description in the changelog, as well as the promo video below, TaskerNet is a "place to share and import pre-made projects." With this, you can simply import pre-made projects from others, a lot like recipes on IFTTT. Ultimately, it means I don't have to be a wizard to get Tasker running and doing a lot of automated tasks on its own. Thank goodness! Here's the full changelog from Google Play. What's New

Super easy importing makes Tasker usable by everyone
TaskerNet: a place to share and import pre-made projects
Google Drive Upload File and Data Backup
Custom Setting Event and State: monitor changes in any system settings
New Actions: Data Backup, Display Size, NFC, Status Bar Icons, Force Rotation, Ping, Ask

The developer states that this update is rolling out gradually, but if all goes well, all users should have it within the next few days. Google Play Link

Nokia 7.1 Launches Later This Month for $350 With Zeiss Optics and Android One

Tim — Thu, 04 Oct 2018 12:11:23 +0000

HMD Global announced Nokia 7.1 pricing and availability this week, detailing a mid-range device that brings plenty of premium specs for the price of just $349.99. Nokia 7.1 features a 5.8" FHD+ display with top cutout, 64GB storage, 4GB RAM, Snapdragon 636 processor, dual rear-facing Zeiss Optic cameras, 3060mAh battery, and the Android One OS (Oreo at launch, but Pie will be made available). While the phone will not ship with Android 9 Pie, HMD does talk about it in the press release and all of the features it will bring. Because of this, we have to assume Pie will come shortly after the launch of this phone, and since it is an Android One device, rest assured that it will come in a timely manner. Nokia 7.1 will be available late October with pre-orders at Amazon, Best Buy and B&H starting October 5, 2018. Best Buy in-store availability will begin November 5. Nokia fans, where you at?

LG VP Talks 5G Plans for 2019, Possibility of Foldable Phone

Tim — Thu, 04 Oct 2018 09:40:08 +0000

In a discussion with reporters there to cover the V40 ThinQ launch, Jae-Hwan Hwang, an LG vice president, discussed 5G plans for 2019 and the possibility of a folding smartphone, so long as LG can, "provide enough customer value." For 5G, we all know 2019 is going to be an important year. It's already believed that Samsung is working to launch a 5G-ready smart device (possibly a Galaxy S10 variant), so it's fitting that LG would intend to do the same. Back in August, it was announced that LG was working with Sprint on this very thing for early 2019, then this week, Sprint mentioned it would look quite unique. Speaking about his own company, Hwang stated, "We have been preparing for 5G products in the first half of next year for a long time. There are only two or three companies that can respond properly to 5G at present." Continuing he said, "If we work on a long-term [5G product] I have confidence. Interestingly, a brief discussion over a potential folding device also popped up. Hwang said to reporters, "We are working hard with our partners on various obstacles that can occur while folding. We will release it at a time when we can provide enough customer value rather than releasing it for the first time in the world." This statement somewhat goes against years of mobile OEM actions. From our viewpoint as consumers, it tends to always be about being first to market with the latest innovation, but here, LG says they would rather have a product that actually does something useful. We can get behind that. We're still waiting to be sold on the concept of a foldable phone, but if there are more players in the game, it could become interesting. // Yonhap News

Verizon Stops Selling Pixel 2 Days Before Pixel 3 Arrives

Kellen — Thu, 04 Oct 2018 09:16:50 +0000

Just the Pixel 2.

With the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL event only days away, Verizon appears to have either run out of Pixel 2 stock or decided to pull it. The regular Pixel 2 is "no longer available for purchase" from Big Red. You could still buy a Pixel 2 from Verizon as recently as Tuesday, but within the past day, that all changed. As the exclusive carrier of Google's phone, this means your only options for buying the smaller Pixel 2 from last year will be either directly from Google or from Best Buy, assuming both continue to carry it. The Pixel 2 XL is still available from Verizon.

Cheers Stuart!

Google Assistant Makes It Easier to Book a Ride and Compare Prices

Kellen — Thu, 04 Oct 2018 09:00:30 +0000

In a moment where you need to quickly book a ride, but don't want to fidget with ride-sharing apps or would like to see a comparison of fares? Google Assistant can now help in an easier way. Just say to your phone or Google Home, "Hey Google, book me a ride to the airport." Once you do that, your phone will pop-up a list of available options including price and how far away the next driver may be. Depending on market, it should bring up both taxis and ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft. Tapping on an option will take you right into Uber or Lyft to show you pricing and exact wait times for drivers. You'll still need access to apps, if you go with a ride-sharing service, but the quick comparison is handy. Google says that this new ride requesting in Google Assistant is available in English and "any country where one of our supported ride service partners operate." In the coming months, they'll expand to more languages. Google Play Link // Google

Here is the Google Pixel 3 and 3 XL in "Sand"

Kellen — Thu, 04 Oct 2018 07:58:40 +0000

We are days away from Google announcing the Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, when you can buy them, and how much they will cost. Before we get there, why not reveal one last unseen item? The first pictures of the Pixel 3 in its "Sand" colorway have arrived. In the images below, you don't get to learn anything new about the phones except that this could be the third color option in addition to black and white (or will there be four colors?). You can see both Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL here, side-by-side, front and back. You know these phones. They've leaked and leaked and leaked. But this is "Sand!" It's like a soft pink. I don't have anything else to offer here, but yes, I'm still all-in on Pixel 3, not Pixel 3 XL. Tim will be our resident notch expert with the Pixel 3 XL. What about you? You going Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL when pre-orders open? Remember, each is roughly the same size as last year's Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, only now we have more screen real estate on each. // Android Headlines

AT&T Adds Another 99 5G Evolution Markets

Kellen — Thu, 04 Oct 2018 07:33:07 +0000

AT&T's 5G Evolution solution, which is not 5G and is really just upgraded 4G LTE, expanded to 99 new markets today. Their total number of 5G Evolution markets now sits at 239. To recap, AT&T 5G Evolution uses a combination of features like 256 QAM, 4x4 MIMO, and 3-way carrier aggregation to reach peak theoretical speeds of 400Mbps on a mobile device. 5G, on the other hand, could reach multi-Gbps speeds at some point, but will likely hover around the 1Gbps zone. While 5G Evolution is certainly capable of reaching ridiculous speeds, it's no 5G. AT&T will continue this expansion of 5G Evolution this year to a total of 400 markets. Over the first half of 2019, they expect to have 5G Evolution connectivity nationwide. How can you attach to a 5G Evolution connection and get the bump in speeds? You'll need a proper phone with support. As of today, the phones that work on AT&T's 5G Evolution are LG V30 and LG V35 ThinQ, Motorola Z2 Force Edition, and Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S9 series. To see if you live in a 5G Evolution market, as well as one that supports LTE-LAA (another advanced LTE connectivity type that enables faster speeds), check out the refreshed map below.

// AT&T

LG Announces V40 ThinQ Availability and Pricing

Tim — Wed, 03 Oct 2018 14:02:32 +0000

After what feels like weeks of teasers and feature previews, V40 ThinQ is now all official and detailed. As we already knew, the phone features five cameras (3 on back and 2 on front), a Snapdragon 845 processor, 6.4" OLED display with top notch, 3,300mAh battery, HiFi Quad DAC, 3.5mm headphone jack, IP68 rating, and Android 8.1 Oreo. In terms of it being a 2018 flagship, it certainly plays the part well. For all V40 ThinQ details, check out our full review.

Availability and Pricing

V40 ThinQ will be available in-store starting October 18, with pre-orders starting as early as today. Pricing begins at $899.99 at US Cellular, gradually going up until you hit Verizon's unit at $980. We'll provide links to each carrier-specific model as they are made available by the carriers.

US Cellular – $900
T-Mobile – $920
AT&T – $950
Sprint – $960
Verizon – $980

Should you pre-order, LG is tossing in a DJI Osmo Mobile 2 gimbal and SanDisk 256GB Micro SD Card with adapter (Approximate consumer value: $258.00). If you don’t pre-order and end up buying afterwards, you’re eligible for a free SanDisk 256GB Micro SD Card with adapter. I expect select carriers to offer their own promotions, too.

More LG V40

Full Review
Official Specs
Video: First Look and Tour

LG Watch W7 is a $450 Hybrid Wear OS Device With Mechanical Hands and 100-Day Battery Life

Tim — Wed, 03 Oct 2018 14:01:41 +0000

Announced alongside V40 ThinQ this week, LG introduced Watch W7. It's a hybrid smartwatch running Google's Wear OS, combining mechanical hands and digital functionalities. We have all of the specs right here, but to sum it up, the watch features a 1.2" LCD display (360 x 360) with mechanical hands running on top. Inside is a Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor (yes, it's the 2100 and not the 3100), 240mAh battery, 768MB RAM, and 4GB of storage all wrapped in a 44.5mm case size. Notably, the mechanical hands are capable of more than just telling time. With them, you can access other functions of the timepiece, such as a compass, stopwatch, timer, barometer, and altimeter. According to LG, when in a Watch-Only mode, the device is capable of 100-day battery life, compared to just 2 days when using all of its digital functions. Watch W7 will be available at Best Buy starting October 14 for $449.99, with pre-orders set to begin October 7. Thoughts on this timepiece?

LG V40 ThinQ Review

Tim — Wed, 03 Oct 2018 14:00:58 +0000

LG announced V40 ThinQ today, the first phone in an incredibly crowded month of October. Is it a good idea to be the first phone announced in a busy month? Isn't it likely people will forget about you after a few more phones are announced? Possibly, but I think LG believes they have a very compelling smartphone offering in the V40 ThinQ, complete with a 5 camera system, redesigned V series hardware (fancy speak for display notch), and a continued dedication to giving buyers easy access to the latest AI-powered services from Google. Is it going to be enough to make anyone forget that there are a ton of other phones coming this month, though? Let's dive in and find out. This is our LG V40 ThinQ review!

The Good

Specs V40 ThinQ is equipped with all of the goodies you'd expect from a 2018 flagship, plus a little more considering LG's focus on the audio experience for buyers. The phone has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, 6GB RAM, 64GB of built-in storage, microSD support for up to 2TB, 6.4" QHD+ OLED display (3120 x 1440), three rear-facing cameras (12MP standard lens with OIS, 16MP wide angle lens, and 12MP telephoto lens with 2X optical zoom), dual front-facing cameras (8MP standard + 5MP wide angle), 3,300mAh battery with Fast Wireless Charging and Quick Charge 3.0, USB-C, NFC, IP68 water and dust resistance, 32-bit HiFi Quad DAC, 3.5mm headphone jack, Boombox speaker, and Android 8.1 "Oreo" with LG's custom skin on top. As you can see, LG spared no expense when it came to equipping this phone with everything you might need. We realize the battery spec could be a little more attractive, considering the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 comes with 4,000mAh, but we'll discuss battery life down below. Spoiler alert, we didn't notice much difference between this and Galaxy Note 9. Display Last year's V30 came with a 6" P-OLED display with a resolution of 2880 x 1440, 18:9 aspect ratio, and 538ppi (pixels per inch). This year we have a larger OLED display at 6.4" with max resolution of 3120 x 1440, 19.5:9 aspect ration (due to display cutout), and ever so slightly decreased ppi at 536.92. Besides the change in size, I don't quite think you're going to notice any real differences if coming from last year's V series, though, LG does say you should be able to spot a few things. From my time with the phone, I've had no issues with the Auto setting for screen color, which allows you to balance the display however you might see fit. If Auto isn't your thing, the V40 is equipped with settings for Cinema, Sports, Game, Photos, Web, and even Expert that lets you tune saturation, hue, and sharpness. In addition to these standalone presets, you can dial in color temperature, as well as RGB levels on a per-color basis. Long story short, it's highly tweakable, likely something most buyers will never look at. As for brightness, LG states the display capable of a peak brightness of 500-600 nits. In direct sunlight, I did notice that the display doesn't get nearly as bright as I had hoped, especially when compared to the LG G7 or Samsung's Galaxy Note 9. Speaking of Galaxy Note 9, since this phone is a direct competitor and it's the last phone I used before V40, when the phones are sitting side-by-side, it's hard to declare an absolute winner. Galaxy Note 9 has a ppi of 516 (compared to V40's 536), but when you're up in those numbers, you can't tell any major differences with the naked eye. For color, I find Samsung's Super AMOLED to be a bit more brighter and saturated, but I wouldn't necessarily say that's a great thing for every individual. If you're expecting me to give LG a hard time for introducing a top notch on the V series, I'm sorry to disappoint. While anyone can argue that it wasn't necessary, it does allow the display to be bigger and not really change the in-hand feeling to anything uncomfortable. It should have been expected anyway, considering LG implemented a notch on the G7 earlier this year. It's the year of notches, folks! Hardware and Design Compared to the G7, the V40 ThinQ is extremely similar in terms of design and overall hardware. It's glass and metal. In-hand the phone is quite light, much lighter than the Galaxy Note 9 and just slightly heavier than the G7 (V40 is 168.9 grams, G7 is 162 grams). With regard to the difference between V40 and Note 9, this weight is likely all due to the battery size difference, but again, we'll get to that. In-hand, I really quite like the V40. Thanks to the fingerprint reader being a nice big circle in the middle of the backside, my index fingers tends to rest naturally in that spot for easy unlocking. LG also seems to have rounded out the sides a bit more, minimizing any feelings of sharpness or jaggedness around the edges. For buttons, LG incorporated physical buttons for the volume, access to Google Assistant, and power. It's funny we have to mention this, but since HTC decided to invent new kinds of buttons that are horrible, I feel it necessary to describe exactly what we have from LG. I received the Aurora Black color from LG, and honestly, I was really hoping for that new dark reddish color. Unfortunately, from the word we've gotten, that color won't be available to US buyers. Instead, we'll be limited to Aurora Black and Moroccan Blue. Damn. One thing that is noticeable about this Aurora color is a slight color shift in certain lighting. When hit with just the right light, you get a little hint of Blue, which looks pretty cool. The other drawback to this Aurora Black color are the fingerprints. Interestingly, LG mentions a special process they used to minimize fingerprints on the V40. From my testing, it doesn't really help at all, but having a clean cloth around tends to do the trick when attempting to clean them up. To give you a few comparisons for in-hand size and usability, the phone is only a tad bit larger than the Pixel 2 XL and not much bigger than the G7. Next to Galaxy Note 9, the phone almost feels small and lightweight. For having a 6.4" display, the usability is surprisingly good and when you get used to having such a large display, it's somewhat hard to give that up and go back to something more compact. The V40 seems like the best of both worlds here. It's large, but entirely manageable. Battery When you first heard this phone has a 3,300mAh battery, you were probably disappointed and didn't expect to see it in The Good section of this review. I'm glad I can be full of surprises. Coming from the excellent battery life I had with Galaxy Note 9, thanks to its massive 4,000mAh battery, I was also expecting a downgrade in performance, but really, I haven't noticed any differences. When speaking to LG about this, their own internal testing found only a 10% overall difference between the battery life. 10% doesn't really translate to real-world usage, but I've had the phone for roughly a week and I haven't had any battery issues or instances where I wished the phone had more capacity. Are bigger batteries always good? Sure, but should a single spec on a piece of paper keep you from the device? Definitely not. Here are some battery usage stats, which align very similarly to my usage stats with Galaxy Note 9. My typical day is 7AM to 11PM, and if I can go to bed with over 4 hours of screen on time and a bit of battery juice left, I'm happy. Naturally, your results may vary.

Cameras Five cameras! Penta-cams! Indeed, V40 ThinQ comes equipped with a triple camera setup on back and dual setup on front. On the rear, we have a 12MP standard lens with OIS (optical image stabilization), 16MP wide angle lens, and 12MP telephoto lens with 2X optical zoom. On front there is an 8MP standard lens and 5MP wide angle lens. Over the past few years, LG has certainly been stepping up its camera game, with the V40 being a solid addition and continuation of that approach. Not only are the sensors capable of taking good shots, but all of the software LG includes to help you get the most out of each every potential shot is appreciated. Allow me to walk you through the software, then we'll go over picture/video quality. When you open up the camera, you'll be met with the standard 12MP lens in the viewfinder. There are quick toggles to access the different lenses, depending on the shot you want to take. If you long press on these toggles, you can access quick views of each lens, a very nice touch. Additionally, a software mode called Triple Shot will take a shot with each lens individually, which can be used to make a zoom-in effect video of sorts. To put that plainly, the shot starts with the wide angle, then goes to standard, then zooms in with telephoto. Additionally, LG is offering its complete Manual mode for both photos and videos. This lets you control all of the finer levels you might need, such as white balance, exposure levels, and everything else. And yes, you can manually adjust the shutter speed in here for some great waterfall or light trail shots. To list all of the modes available, there is Auto, Manual, Cine Video and Cine Shot (we did a whole writeup on that new mode), Food, Slo-mo, Portrait, Panorama, Flash Jump-Cut (GIF-making mode), and AR Stickers (complete with Google Lens integration).

Moving past all of the software, let's get the main question out of the way: Are these cameras any good? Most definitely! Like other phones, these cameras seem to have their strengths/advantages, as well as weaknesses. Thanks to software work, LG mentioned it did during development, I've found that the low-light photos are pretty good and well-lit photos are quite exceptional. Greens and purples seem to be duplicated very well, and even minute details in macro shots are left when zoomed in. However, the only real negative I can come away in the camera section with is the focus time and shutter speed. When tapping to focus on something, it does take a considerable amount of time when compared to other devices, then on an initial shutter tap, there's a slight pause. Once you get that first shot out of the way and you're focused, you can blast off shots in rapid succession. I think a bit of software tuning could be used on the overall focus speed, though.

I honestly can't wait until we have Google's upcoming phones so we can do a full camera shootout between Pixel 3, Galaxy Note 9, and V40. All makers seem to offer good cameras these days and I've seen many say it comes down to a personal preference. Either way, I'll let the below photos speak for themselves. They've been edited in no way except for resizing.

Wide vs. Standard vs. Telephoto

Dark vs. Backlit vs. Very Well Lit

Audio Goodness LG continues to stress the importance of audio performance on mobile devices, so of course, V40 comes equipped not only with a 3.5mm headphone jack, but a 32-bit HiFi Quad DAC. In addition to the DAC, LG has plenty of software tweaks available for tuning just the sound you want. When you enable the phone's DTS:X 3D Sound or HiFi Quad DAC, you can customize levels and balances to your own taste. For example, you can set your equalizer to rock for increased high and low levels, as well as set the digital filter for short, sharp, and slow responses. It's quite comprehensive and as far as I know, there still isn't any other major phone maker going to this much trouble to offer buyers exactly what they want with regard to streaming Lil Yachty over Spotify. Props, LG. If you want my exact setup, I go with a Rock setting on the equalizer, DTS:X disabled, Quad DAC preset of Enhanced, Digital Filter set to Slow, and my balance on right and left set to 0dB. Now, let's say you care more about external volume. As was available on G7, V40 also offers that Boombox speaker, which is the hollowed out portion of the phone's internals. When playing music through the external speaker and the phone is placed on a flat surface, it can get very loud and has plenty of low end to compliment. It's a solid addition to the overall audio experience that I wouldn't mind other manufacturers take a look at. Performance Thanks to its Snapdragon 845 processor and 6GB RAM, the V40 handled all of my usage without any noticeable stutters. Considering my history with LG software, I was honestly expecting to run into things, such as jank, here and there. On the contrary, I was flipping through apps, playing all of my favorite mobile games with no issues, and still had solid battery life to go with it. Of course, I think better performance is something that can always be achieved by limiting the amount of 3rd-party software running on top of Android, but LG seems to have done a good job at optimizing performance on this device and still baking in all of its software. And since I'm now talking about software, let's head down to the Somewhere in the Middle section of this review.

Somewhere in the Middle

Software V40 ThinQ launches with Android 8.1 "Oreo" and the company's custom skin on top. If you're curious about Android 9.0 Pie, LG has yet to provide word on when buyers can expect it. We seriously hope it's before year's end, though. I've had issues with past LG device software, but on the V40, it's not bad at all. I don't feel overwhelmed but tons of proprietary software, and unlike Samsung who essentially copies all of Google's software and rebrands it, LG is all-in on Google's AI effort and services. For example, we don't have a Bixby button on this phone, we have a Google Assistant button. When opening apps for the first time or logging into things, we don't have Samsung Pass, we have Google's Smart Lock. And because Google's features are automatically tied in with the Google account we use our phones to begin with, it makes for such a more convenient process instead of signing up for separate things from Samsung.

What I don't care for in terms of LG's software is the overall look. The thing is, we're on Android, so most of this can be changed by 3rd-party applications. Because we review things exactly how they're given to us, I can tell you that I dislike LG's launcher app and the standard theme of the software. Something about all of the icon profiles LG includes are also quite hideous and appear to go against everything Google has outlined in its design initiatives. But again, we're on Android so I change these things and have a completely different looking phone in 5 minutes. No big deal at all. Built inside the phone are various settings, nothing really new that wasn't available to owners of G7. You'll find Contextual Awareness for setting up certain profiles when at set locations, KnockON (of course), Gaming settings, Floating Bar, and Smart cleaning. All of these goodies are tucked into the Extensions menu inside Settings. We've gone over all of these before, so if you'd like more info, check out our G7 Tips and Tricks video.

Other Notes

Girlfriend Impressions - "Very large, but feels pretty good in hand. I like that it has three cameras. It's cool that there is a button for Google Assistant. Also like where the fingerprint reader is. Screen looks really nice."
Software Updates - Did you know LG has a dedicated software update center? Given the considerable time it takes for LG to update devices, you probably haven't really noticed it. We expect Android updates to get much better over time thanks to Project Treble, but it is a bit interesting that this phone launches this month with Oreo and not Pie. It means anyone who buys it will definitely be waiting by the window for LG to ship it out, but at this time, there's no word from LG on when to expect it. It's not a great feeling buying a new phone and having outdated software, but that's Android right now.

Availability and Pricing

Depending on which carrier you purchase a V40 through, you're looking at pricing anywhere from $900 to $980. That's a hefty chunk of change, and because of this price, we have to compare it directly to Samsung's Galaxy Note 9. In doing so, the major things that stick out are the battery and Samsung's AMOLED display versus LG's OLED display. It's not a long list of things that are different, but at this price, it could be a tough sell for LG. LG V40 ThinQ will be available beginning Thursday, October 18. Carriers may have their own promotional deals, bundles, and due to pricing differences, each will have different monthly payment options. If you want to pre-order the device, those are live right now at each carrier or will be at a later date. If you pre-order, LG is tossing in a DJI Osmo Mobile 2 gimbal and SanDisk 256GB Micro SD Card with adapter (Approximate consumer value: $258.00). If you don't pre-order and end up buying afterwards, you're eligible for a free SanDisk 256GB Micro SD Card with adapter. For complete pricing and availability details, see here. Carrier Pricing

US Cellular - $900
T-Mobile - $920
AT&T - $950
Sprint - $960
Verizon - $980

Videos

First Look + First 10 Things to Do!

Gallery

The Verdict

While this phone has a great display, cameras, and solid performance, I can't see myself going out of my way to recommend it until we see everything else that is coming this month. We're expecting Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, OnePlus 6T, Razer Phone 2, and probably more in the coming weeks. With so much on the radar, it's hard to tell anyone that ordering this device immediately is the best thing to do. At the end of October and we know the solidified device lineups for this holiday shopping season, then you can start the buying process on whatever you like best. If you do end up with V40 ThinQ, I think you'll like it. I know I've personally enjoyed the Stuff & Things life quite a bit this past week. Side Note: Because we enjoy keeping it real here, I'll be honest with you. If you're interested in buying this phone, don't do it now. If it were me, I'd wait until later in the holiday season or shortly after, when LG begins discounting the device. $900+ is a lot for a smartphone and given LG's history of discounting phones, I think it's safe to assume we'll see price drops down the road.

LG Watch W7 Specs (Official)

Tim — Wed, 03 Oct 2018 14:00:47 +0000

LG's Watch W7 is the first hybrid Wear OS device to be announced by the company, and on the surface, you may be somewhat disappointed in what it offers on paper at a price of $449.99. Notably, there is no new Snapdragon Wear 3100 processor and the battery is listed at only 240mAh. That's not exactly what we'd expect near the end of 2018. Oh, and there's no NFC or standalone GPS, so mobile payments will be impossible and workouts may be hard to track. However, as for what it does have, there are mechanical hands capable of relaying digital functionalities (compass, barometer, etc.), 1.2" LCD display (360 x 360), 768MB RAM, as well as the latest Wear OS software from Google. Here is the complete spec breakdown for Watch W7.

LG Watch W7 Specs

[table id=146 /]

LG V40 ThinQ Specs (Official)

Tim — Wed, 03 Oct 2018 14:00:40 +0000

V40 ThinQ from LG is now official, meaning we have all of the specs you need to know about before making any type of buying decision. Because this is a high-end 2018 device, you can rest assured LG spared no expense when picking which components to throw into this phone. V40 ThinQ comes with a Snapdragon 845 processor, 6GB RAM, 64GB storage, 3,300mAh battery, triple rear-facing cameras, dual front-facing cameras, Android 8.1 "Oreo," as well as all of the audio stuff us sound nerds care about (HiFi Quad DAC, DTS:X surround sound, etc.). Here is the complete spec breakdown.

LG V40 ThinQ Specs

[table id=145 /]

Presidential Alert!

Kellen — Wed, 03 Oct 2018 11:24:12 +0000

You got it just now, right? The Presidential Alert we told you was coming should have just arrived on your phone here in the US if you are on Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, or other participating carrier. As we explained yesterday, the first test of a nationwide "Presidential Alert" as a part of the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system was happening today, October 3, after a slight delay. The message was simply a "THIS IS A TEST" notice to make sure this emergency service works during times of danger. You weren't charged for the message and a simple press of the "OK" button on your Android phone should dismiss it. In the future, should it be used, it could be a warning of a natural disaster, for example. As you saw, "no action is needed" on your part for this test. For more information, you can check out this FEMA document.

Microsoft is Bringing Android App Mirroring to Windows 10

Kellen — Wed, 03 Oct 2018 10:20:37 +0000

Microsoft held an event yesterday in New York where they unveiled a new family of Surface devices that all look pretty incredible. They also announced the availability of the big October Windows 10 update that prepares the OS for what could be a really important new feature: Android app mirroring. Within the October update for Windows 10, Microsoft is including a new Your Phone app, that lets you send and receive text messages from your Windows computer (see above). It lets you view the photos you've recently taken with your Android phone too. But in the future, Microsoft says that they will expand the functionality to include use of any app on your Android phone within Windows. They've haven't posted any details on this future upgrade, but The Verge was at the NYC event yesterday and says that Microsoft showed off a brief demo that involved Snapchat messages between people. That's really all we know. No date for expansion of Android app mirroring was mentioned, nor was the level of functionality. However, if Microsoft can figure out a way to do Android app mirroring of any app, we're talking about a pretty significant integration of Android and Windows. Chrome OS currently does this best, since it has Google Play and the ability to run Android apps, but this would give similar power to your Windows computer. For now, if you want to try out the SMS and photo mirroring portion, you can install the Your Phone app (Windows, Android) on your Windows machine and also on your Android device. // Microsoft

Google Assistant Gets a Makeover on Phones

Kellen — Wed, 03 Oct 2018 10:00:53 +0000

Google is rolling out a visual makeover to Google Assistant today, one that should cater to both visual and touch fans. Google says that this new design "combines the best of text and talk," with bigger visuals in the Assistant, new controls and sliders for managing your smart home or speakers, a more interactive messaging interface, and an easy way to get an overview of your day, sort of like what Google Now used to be. Things are more bubbly, in other words, with bigger touch points. This is the UI one of our readers first saw back in early August. I'd also compare the UI to that of Google's smart display UI. The sliders for controlling lights or temperature, as well as the overall roundness and shape of buttons looks just like that. To get a feel for that, be sure to check out our Lenovo Smart Display review. Below, though, you'll see that new swipe-up gesture in the Assistant that gets you an overview of your day. Prior to this update, you would view this screen by opening Assistant and then tapping the little box icon with the 3 marks above it. Now, you no longer have to hunt for that button and can seamlessly swipe up to see if your flights are on time, what reminders are upcoming, how long your commute is, the weather, and what your daily schedule looks like.

There's a chance that a number of you already have this new UI. If you don't, expect it to rollout shortly. // Google

Google Heard Your Pixel "Mini" Rumors

Kellen — Wed, 03 Oct 2018 08:35:59 +0000

Actually, I have no idea what any of this about. "Mini" Pixel? Pixel Mini? Google sent a Tweet this morning referencing "rumors of a mini Pixel" and then shared this image from hardware designer Jacqueline Bae. They followed that up by saying that they "have a feeling the next one will be a bit bigger than this." That would be the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, of course. Is this cute little phone an attempt to mock the Pixel Ultra non-sense, which was quite honestly one of the dumber times in Android history? Maybe. They went opposite of ultra and are joking about mini? Are they referencing "bonito," the rumored mid-range Pixel phone that is thought to arrive in 2019? I don't, I don't know. Google is weird. But hey, a tiny phone on a keychain? Sure! I totally get it. If anything, I do see black, white, mint, and pink (or sand?) colors, two tone white shades, and some coffee. Everything but the coffee is semi-associated with the Pixel 3.

Someone tell me what I'm missing. Right over my head? Anyone? // @madebygoogle

Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL Pre-Orders Will Start Immediately After Google's Event

Kellen — Wed, 03 Oct 2018 07:23:40 +0000

Right after Google wraps up its Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL event on October 9, they'll open up pre-orders for the devices they show off. That's according to a Pixel promo email they just sent out. The email urges you to use Google Assistant to ask about the event with commands like, "What's this announcement about?" or "When are you making this announcement?" If you do, Assistant will tell you that it is rehearsing lines for the event, but that it could be about a new phone and "maybe, just maybe a few other new things." As of today, we think those few things will be the Google Home Hub and Pixel Slate and/or Pixelbook, in addition to the phones. Oh, the email also features a "3" that rotates between white, black, and mint (or is it aqua?). So yeah, we still think we're getting all three of those color choices for Pixel 3. But again, the email says that pre-orders "start immediately after the event." Get your bank accounts situated.

Huawei Watch GT Could Have 14-Day Battery Life

Kellen — Tue, 02 Oct 2018 13:56:14 +0000

Two new Huawei watches appear to be on the way under the name Huawei Watch GT. If a new report is correct, Huawei could show off a Huawei Watch GT Classic, as well as a GT Sport, in the coming weeks alongside the Mate 20. An image of the Huawei Watch GT Classic can be seen below with silver and black colorway. The GT Sport is said to feature a similar design with an all-black body. Both watches will feature two pushers on the right side of their cases, similar to the Huawei Watch 2.

According to today's report on the new Huawei Watch, we could see waterproofing, sport modes, GPS, NFC, and a 420mAh battery that could last up to 14 days. With that kind of battery life, one has to imagine this watch (assuming it's running Wear OS) will feature the new Snapdragon Wear 3100. Qualcomm's new chip is all about extended battery life through new modes that utilize its low-power co-processor. Throwing a bit of confusion into the mix is a new Huawei smartwatch that stopped at the FCC a week ago. It doesn't appear to be running Wear OS, but does have NFC and GPS, as well as a 410mAh battery. It looks more like a dedicated fitness watch from Huawei that possibly runs a proprietary OS, like their Huawei Fit. These new Huawei Watch GT devices are said to cost around 200 to 229 euros. If the watch above is the Huawei Watch GT Classic and runs Wear OS, you interested? // WinFuture

Google's Pixel Slate Shows Up at Benchmark With Core i7, 16GB RAM

Kellen — Tue, 02 Oct 2018 12:02:39 +0000

If Google shows off a new Pixel tablet on October 9 that's powered by Chrome OS, expect it to be as high-end as previous Chrome OS-powered Pixel devices. A device under the codename "nocturne," which is thought to be Google's Pixel Slate (rumored name), stopped off at GeekBench to reveal some specs. A handful of benchmarks were run and they all show a Google device under that "nocturne" name with 16GB RAM and a dual core Intel Core i7-8500Y processor. It's also running Android 9 "Pie." Most Chromebooks (maybe all of them) that are capable of running Android apps, currently run Android 7.1.1 (the Pixelbook does). This is the first appearance of Android 9, which could mean that we'll not only get new Pixelbook and Pixel Slate devices in a week, we may also see an Android update within Chrome OS. That's big news. The thing to keep in mind here is that these specs are not on the low-end. If were you were hoping that Google would go light on the Pixel Slate or Pixelbook specs in order to make their computing devices more affordable, I doubt that's happening. Google is targeting the high-end, even if that high-end is Chrome OS and the sell there has remained a difficult one for many. // Chrome Unboxed | Geekbench

OnePlus 6T Won't Have Wireless Charging or an IP Rating

Kellen — Tue, 02 Oct 2018 09:58:18 +0000

I promise this isn't a post about OnePlus phones and never settling, but man, OnePlus sure doesn't seem interested in meeting all needs, at least as long as those needs add cost. Today, OnePlus CEO Pete Lau confirmed that the OnePlus 6T is going to miss a couple of features that the rest of the industry has made standard at this point, and these are in addition to their removal of the headphone jack. During an interview with CNET, Lau talked about the OnePlus 6T in detail. He acknowledged the in-display fingerprint reader and that it might have been partly at fault for the phone not having a headphone jack. He talked a bit about price too, specifically as it relates to that new in-display fingerprint reader that carries a "definite cost," meaning you should all prepare for a higher price than the OnePlus 6. He also noted that you shouldn't expect wireless charging (again) on this phone or an official IP rating. Why? Lau said that they are "working hard" on wireless charging, but that they aren't ready to include it until it "can get up to speed without the implication of heat." In other words, he wants it to be as fast as their own rapid charging solution, which is one of the best in the industry, and not cause a phone to melt. That's fair. As for an IP rating, well, the OnePlus 6T will be more water resistant than any previous OnePlus phone, it just won't have a rating. The cost to certify for an official IP rating apparently isn't worth it, as it could raise the price $30. With that said, the phone should survive a sink drop or some splashing, just don't go swimming with it. Again, this isn't supposed to be a post that mocks the settling, but I'm starting to think it's time for a slogan change. We know what OnePlus is and does at this point. They are a company that makes affordable flagships that has to cut corners in order to hit specific price points. And that's fine! There is nothing wrong with that model! I'm a big fan of their phones, as are many of you, but I'm OK if they want to stop acting like something they aren't. // CNET

You'll Get a Text Tomorrow as Part of a Nationwide Wireless Emergency Alert Test (Updated)

Kellen — Tue, 02 Oct 2018 08:40:08 +0000

Tomorrow, at around 2:18PM Eastern (11:18AM Pacific), you'll get a text message flagged as a "Presidential Alert." Your phone may even make a loud noise that you aren't used to hearing.

UPDATE: Test has been completed!

The message is arriving as a part of the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system, which broadcasts messages to the public when they need to be informed about dangerous situations. This is the first nationwide Presidential-level test, and no, you cannot opt out of it. The only reason you would not receive it is if your carrier isn't a part of the program. Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, and Sprint all participate in the program, so you'll likely get the test message. The test was supposed to happen on September 20, but was pushed back to October 3, which is tomorrow. Here is the message that should pop-up on your phone:

“THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.”

If you want to learn more, you can checkout the FEMA link below, as well as a link to a FAQ in PDF form. // FEMA [FAQ]

DEAL: Galaxy Note 9 Bundle With Gear IconX and Wireless Charger is Just $929

Kellen — Tue, 02 Oct 2018 07:25:41 +0000

Amazon has a heck of a deal today on the Galaxy Note 9.

For $929, you can get yourself into a Samsung Galaxy Note 9 (US unlocked model), pair of Gear IconX (2018) wireless earbuds, and Samsung fast wireless charging stand (2018). I don't know the exact math there, but that's a straight $70 discount on the Note 9, plus almost $200 in freebies. Yeah, that's a good deal. This is the US unlocked Galaxy Note 9 with 128GB of storage and 6GB RAM. This version of the Note 9 works on all major carriers, including Verizon. The bundle deal is good for both blue and purple models, but it is time limited. This is an Amazon Deal of the Day and will end in a matter of hours. In case you weren't aware, the Galaxy Note 9 is a really, really good phone. Our review is here.

Amazon Deal Link

Google Releases New Color of Google Home Mini

Kellen — Tue, 02 Oct 2018 06:30:23 +0000

Google Home Mini now comes in four colors. The Chalk, Charcoal, and Coral Home Minis welcomed a new friend this morning: Aqua. What else is new about it? Nothing. It's got the same soft touch finish wrapped around it, same size, same power supply, and same Google Assistant inside. It'll help run your smart home and answer questions and play music, just like other Google Home products. This one just comes in Aqua. The new Google Home Mini color will hit Google Store and Walmart later this month, probably when Google announces the Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, Google Home Hub, and Pixelbook. The Aqua Google Home Mini costs the same $49 as the rest. // Google

You Can Now Sign-Up for NBA League Pass on YouTube TV

Kellen — Mon, 01 Oct 2018 15:50:52 +0000

The 2018 NBA season is almost upon us and that means it's once again time for you to try and convince the world that you need NBA League Pass, even if there is no way to justify it being worth $250. But you will do it, NBA fan, or at least attempt to talk someone into thinking you should do it, so that you can then do it and be the proud NBA fan you are without (as much) guilt. And if you do want to sign-up, you can now do so through YouTube TV. After dropping details on the service back in August, YouTube TV just fired up the subscription options for NBA League Pass. If you don't have $249 to throw down upfront for the entire season, you can opt for the monthly subscription, which runs $40/mo and lets you cancel at any time. Whichever option you choose, you'll be billed through your YouTube TV account. For those new, NBA League Pass gives you ad-free viewing of out-of-market games where you can often choose to listen to either home or away broadcasters, plus you get on-demand playback of games. Also, YouTube TV should show upcoming games in your Home and Live tabs one hour before they start. That's pretty cool. To sign-up, open YouTube TV and head into Settings>Membership. You should see both options in there.

Mmmmhmmm, OnePlus 6T

Kellen — Mon, 01 Oct 2018 15:27:13 +0000

More OnePlus 6T, guys.

It looks pretty nice in these here renders that are likely official. It looks like a OnePlus 6 with smaller teardrop notch and possibly, slightly smaller chin. There's a double camera and no fingerprint reader on the back. Mirror and Midnight Black colorways are present, as is the alert slider. It wants you to "Never Settle." Who wants to settle? I don't. It'll probably be here on October 17. That's soon. There are, like, 18 phones that need to be announced before then. Cool. I have nothing else to add. The pics arrive via WinFuture.

Essential Phone Gets October Update, Control Over Notch Area

Kellen — Mon, 01 Oct 2018 12:08:46 +0000

As is the case almost every single month, Essential has already pushed the newest security update to its Essential Phone minutes after Google released it. The update is minor, but does bring with it the October security patch and the return of notch display support for apps. With notch support, users get to decide how the UI utilizes colors from apps into the status bar. If you don't want to see the notch on the Essential Phone, you could tell it to "Never use the notch area" and then see a black status bar. That's a way of hiding the notch, assuming it bugs you. If you want the phone to show off that notch and bleed colors from apps up into the status bar, you can allow it to. To find that setting, do a search within settings for "notch." It should pop-up there, or you can head into developer options to customize it. To grab the new October update from Essential, open Settings>System>Advanced>System update.

// @Essential

Google Fixes Pixel and Pixel XL Fast Charging Issues With October Update

Kellen — Mon, 01 Oct 2018 10:45:36 +0000

Almost immediately after receiving the update to Android Pie at the end of August, original Pixel and Pixel XL owners noticed that their rapid or fast charging had stopped working. Google said they'd work on a fix and it looks like they included that fix in the October security patch. In the functional patches area of the October update, Google specifically says that they "Improved fast-charging behavior for Pixel devices" and that the patch only affects the Pixel and Pixel XL. For most of you, that'll be build PPR2.181005.003. So, now all Pixel and Pixel XL owners need to plug-in their rapid chargers and tell us if it's fixed.

Google's Project Stream Wants to Make Game Streaming Awesome

Kellen — Mon, 01 Oct 2018 10:36:43 +0000

Streaming. What would our world be like today without streaming? We stream everything from music to movies to YouTube to live news and sporting events. We stream and stream. But one thing we don't necessarily stream, are graphically intense video games of the AAA variety, because we have to worry about this little thing called latency. Google thinks they may have a solution, though, and it's called Project Stream. On October 5, Google is going to open up a test of Project Stream to a limited number of people. During this Project Stream test, they'll give participants a chance to play Ubisoft's not-yet-released Assassin's Creed Odyssey for free in a Chrome browser on a laptop or desktop. The point of this testing is to stream "graphically-rich" content that as Google puts it, "requires near-instant interaction between the game controller and the graphics," to try and do so with milliseconds of latency and no graphic degradation. Gamers don't want lag or latency or hiccups or slowness or stuttering. They want precision with controls and a game that still looks great. Google wants to try and give you that through a stream that is playable through a browser. Below, you'll find a video they've shared of gameplay at 1080p and 60fps: This news obviously makes us think about Google's rumored "Yeti" service that was supposed to be a game streaming service similar to NVIDIA's Geforce Now. NVIDIA's product allows you to stream AAA gaming titles from their own servers to your home through a computer, as well as SHIELD TV. Google was reportedly working on some sort of console device to help with this, but this test sure makes it sound like they may instead bring game streaming to Chrome. Again, there are limited spaces available, but if interested, you can hit that link below. The only real requirements are that you have an internet connections capable of 25 Mbps down and are at least 17 years or older. Sign-up for Project Stream // Google

October 2018 Android Security Update Goes Live for Nexus, Pixel Devices

Kellen — Mon, 01 Oct 2018 10:06:21 +0000

Google just released the October 2018 Android security patch for Pixel and Nexus devices. It looks like we already have both factory image and OTA files ready to be downloaded for those willing to do some manual labor, or you can sit back and wait for the update to arrive over-the-air to your device. So far, we are seeing new 9.0.0 files for Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL (PPR2.181005.003), as well as for Pixel and Pixel XL (PPR2.181005.003, PPR1.181005.003). Other Google devices that won't receive the update to Pie are getting new Oreo builds with the latest security patch. The Nexus 6P will get build OPM7.181005.003, Nexus 5X will get OPM7.181005.003, and the Pixel C will get OPM8.181005.003. For specific build notes:

Pixel and Pixel XL builds PPR1.181005.003 are Telus only
Pixel and Pixel XL builds PPR2.181005.003 are for everyone else

Functional patches: [table responsive=scroll id=144 /] You can grab each image or OTA file at the links below. For instructions on how to flash a factory image, here you go. For instructions on how to flash an OTA .zip file, here you go. To check for the update, head into Settings>System>Advanced>System update. As more files arrive as well as additional details, we’ll update this post. Links:

This Trick Might Help You Force the New Wear OS 2.0 Update on Your Watch

Kellen — Mon, 01 Oct 2018 09:56:06 +0000

Google began pushing the new Wear OS 2.0 update to watches at the end of last week. If you are like me and impatient af, then you probably spent most of the weekend being frustrated by numerous checks, all that kept saying "System is up to date." There is hope now, though! A little trick I just tried may bring you the goods today. A reddit user suggested that watch owners try tricking watches or forcing the update to start by doing the following:

On your Wear OS watch, go into Play Store and find Wear OS app
Uninstall Wear OS app
Once done uninstalling, its Play Store page should say "Update"
Tap "Update" to re-update the app
Once that finishes, you may see a notification to further update to the new Wear OS 2.0

Does this work? I've now tried it on three watches and it only worked on my LG Watch Style. It didn't work on my Huawei Watch 2 or TicWatch S. Others have reported that it did work on the LG Watch Sport, TicWatch Pro, and Wear24. I can confirm that my Wear24 does indeed now have the update, but I didn't try this trick - it just popped up to update. Give it a shot!

DEAL: Buy NVIDIA SHIELD TV, Get Free Google Home Mini

Tim — Mon, 01 Oct 2018 09:04:00 +0000

Starting today and running through October 27, if you purchase any model of SHIELD TV from NVIDIA through either Walmart or Best Buy, you'll receive a free Google Home Mini. The pairing is capable of a few things, such as the ability to tell Google Home Mini to, "Turn on SHIELD" or "Play Daredevil on SHIELD." Of course, you may know that SHIELD is still running strong in homes, thanks to its 20th software upgrade recently rolling out. Seriously, NVIDIA has been killing the update game. There are still a couple of options when deciding on a SHIELD TV with regard to price. There's the $179 option that includes a SHIELD Remote and 16GB SHIELD TV or the $199 option that offers a SHIELD Controller in addition to SHIELD Remote and 16GB SHIELD TV unit. If you want to game, you'll definitely want that SHIELD Controller option. From what we can tell, the Pro option ($299) does not include a Google Home Mini. Have at it. Purchase Links: Walmart | Best Buy

Android Distribution Updated for September: Still No Pie!

Kellen — Mon, 01 Oct 2018 08:55:36 +0000

Google last updated the Android distribution numbers at the end of August, the first time since releasing Android Pie. Pie didn't make the cut then and here we are just wrapping up September and Google is back with another update. Pie still isn't there, and as you can imagine, the numbers haven't changed much in general in such a short time. Here is a quick breakdown of the September Android distribution numbers:

Oreo: 19.2% (+4.6%)
Nougat: 29.3% (-1.5%)
Marshmallow: 21.6% (-1.1%)
Lollipop: 18.3% (-0.9%)
KitKat: 7.8% (-0.8%)
Jelly Bean: 3.2% (-0.3%)
Ice Cream Sandwich: 0.3%
Gingerbread: 0.3%

See, not much of a difference. Oreo certainly picked up some growth, but we really just want to see how Pie is doing with 4 Pixel phones running it, as well as the Essential Phone and OnePlus 6. Last month's numbers can be seen here.

// Android Distribution

Louis Vuitton's Next Wear OS Watch Arrives at FCC

Kellen — Mon, 01 Oct 2018 07:26:20 +0000

When Qualcomm announced that its new Snapdragon Wear 3100 chipset was finally ready for the next wave of watches, they mentioned that Louis Vuitton would be one of the first to introduce a watch with it. Today, a new Wear OS watch from LV stopped at the FCC and we can only assume it's their Wear 3100 watch. The watch will come in two models, QA05 and QA08. Below, one of the report documents shows off the case size from left side to the edge of the right side crown's notch. It'll wear at 47.49mm wide. That's not small, but pretty typical for a smartwatch. The FCC tested for both Bluetooth and WiFi. We didn't find any mentions of GPS or NFC, though. That seems odd. While they don't show any of the UI, we know it's a smartwatch and that you access its FCC E-label by heading into Settings>System>About, just like you would on Wear OS. The Tambour Horizon line is also the name of the previous generation of Wear OS watches from Louis Vuitton.

For those interested, just remember that the original Louis Vuitton Connected Tambour Horizon smartwatches start at $2,450. These are luxury goods that are certainly not meant for everyone. We'll keep an eye on them as we get closer to some sort of launch and let you know final details. // FCC

LG V40 ThinQ Has New Camera Mode Called Cine Shot

Tim — Mon, 01 Oct 2018 07:01:39 +0000

Ahead of its October 3 unveiling, LG continues its tease of V40 ThinQ. The latest piece of intel LG decided to tease us with is Cine Shot, a new camera mode that is launching with the device. Think of it like a GIF or living picture of sorts. After snapping a Cine Shot, which is a 3 second video, on either of the five cameras accessible on the phone, you can select which part of the video is left in motion while the rest of the photo is left as a still. It's somewhat hard to explain in words, but once you see it in person and see what it's capable of, it's actually quite cool. Once you have snapped your Cine Shot and edited it to however you see fit, you can share it as an MP4 on social media or wherever else you would like. From what we were told by LG, this feature is great for shots of moving water, bubbles flying around, plus all sorts of other instances. LG allowed us to share a few of examples of Cine Shot that we received during a recent meeting. In the first, the video was snapped as a Cine Shot, then the pinwheel and bubbles were highlighted afterward to show movement. Everything else, including the woman, remain still. To help with this, you can zoom in on the video in the editing process, letting you really get into the details for what you want moving and not. Due to them being exported by the phone as MP4s, they had to be uploaded to YouTube for sharing. If you plan on doing something for Instagram, it should be a bit more fluid of an experience. Cine Shot Example 1 In the below example, the river has been selected to move, while everything else is still. Because the water wasn't moving very fast, it doesn't translate well to a Cine Shot, but it's an example nevertheless. Imagine this with a quickly running river or the ocean. There are a lot of possibilities. Cine Shot Example 2

LG will unveil the V40 ThinQ on October 3. We'll have all of the phone's details for you then!

Verizon's 5G Home Internet Service is Now Live

Kellen — Mon, 01 Oct 2018 06:57:28 +0000

Yep, Verizon now has a live 5G network. It may not be to the 5G wireless standard or capable of working with your phone or currently produce next-level speeds, at the moment, but it is technically 5G and US residents in select cities can sign-up to access it. Verizon has started installations of 5G at homes today.

RELATED: Verizon 5G Home quick facts

The service is called 5G Home from Verizon and if you live in Houston, LA, Sacramento, or Indianapolis, you may able to sign-up to be one of the first with "5G." I'm not getting the feeling that this is a city-wide 5G rollout in any of those markets, but if you hit the link below, you can input your address and find out if you are eligible. And in case it wasn't clear, this is home internet, not 5G for your phone. Sign-up Verizon 5G Home As of today, Verizon customers can pay just $50/mo for Verizon 5G Home, while non-VZW customers will pay $70/mo. There are no contracts, no installation costs, no modem costs, and the taxes are rolled into that price. Additionally, if you sign-up, Verizon will give you free three months of service, YouTube TV free for three months, and either a free Apple TV 4K or a Chromecast Ultra. In terms of speeds, Verizon says that you'll experience no data caps and should see typical speeds of 300Mbps down with peaks reaching 1Gbps. Since this is Verizon's 5G TF network standard, that means they'll one day need to upgrade you to the industry-approved 3GPP 5G NR standard. When that time comes, Verizon says they'll upgrade customers at no charge. By going with their own 5G TF standard, they were able to launch now, rather than wait for the industry to approve everything. I'll let you decide if that's good or bad. Anyone able to sign-up? If so, we'd love to hear from you. // Verizon

Google Maps Adds Music Integration, Better Commute Controls, More

Kellen — Mon, 01 Oct 2018 06:36:45 +0000

Google Maps is getting a whole bunch of new fun this week to help with commutes, give you quicker access to music as you commute, and show you exactly where your train or bus is as you head out of the office. Seriously, this is a big time update for Google Maps. Google is adding better commute controls with more info. They are adding real-time location viewing of transit. And, and you can now control music through Google Maps as you head out for a drive. A lot of the news surrounds Google Maps' new commute controls. You can see how these look below, but the basics are that you now get comprehensive commute information with multiple route options. Google will tell you if your drive is "going to be a normal one or if you’ll need to budget extra time due to things like an accident or heavy traffic." They'll give you a meter, sort of like the restaurant location wait time meter, to show you if you are traveling at a busy time. And they can now break up your commute if it includes part driving and part transit (see image up top).

Speaking of transit, Google has added even better real-time transit info. Now, in 80 regions around the globe, you'll be able to see exactly where your train or bus is on the map, as it moves from stop to stop. In addition to that, Google has already partnered with one transit company in Australia that will show you how full your bus or train is. They expect to add this feature to more carriers in the near future too.

Finally, Google has added music controls to Google Maps and they support Google Play Music, Apple Music, and Spotify. As the image above details, you can keep your navigation session up while you change tracks or pause music. With Spotify, Google has also added controls for browsing through songs, albums, podcasts, and playlists. Pretty big update! Google Play Link // Google

New Chromecast Shows Up at Best Buy Two Weeks Early

Kellen — Sat, 29 Sep 2018 07:48:04 +0000

Another new surprise may have just been ruined from the upcoming Google hardware event on October 9. It sure looks like Google is also going to announce a new Chromecast device. Now, this could just be the Chromecast that went back through the FCC with Bluetooth, but the device itself has some exterior changes. The images of the new Chromecast (3rd gen?) arrive via reddit, where a user said he walked into a Best Buy to pick-up a new Google dongle. As he went to checkout, the device wouldn't ring up because it supposedly wasn't in Best Buy's system yet and was instead flagged as scheduled for release on October 9. They sold it to him anyway at the normal $35 Chromecast price and off he went. When the redditor got home, he noticed that the device was indeed different than others he owned. As you can see here, the device is indeed different looking. It now has a matte finish and a "G" logo instead of the glossy finish with Chrome logo. It supposedly doesn't have the magnetic clasp on its rear any longer, but is still microUSB. It's a little thicker than the original too.

If you look closely at the box for the device, it has the same NC2-6A5 model number as the Chromecast (2015), which is why we think this might just be the Bluetooth-enabled model in a new case. There is also another Google number listed as GA00439, but references to that online just point to other Chromecast devices.

The redditor said he tried to setup the device and was not able to. Apparently, his Google Home app needs an update in order to allow that, but that update probably won't arrive until October 9, when the device was supposed to be released. Cheers Michael!

Verizon is Doing Big Speed Things With...4G LTE

Kellen — Fri, 28 Sep 2018 15:55:13 +0000

5G is right around the corner. In fact, Verizon's home 5G broadband service kicks off its first day in service on October 1. But this week, Verizon is talking about 4G LTE and hitting wild Gbps speeds for some reason. The wireless carrier announced yesterday that through work with Nokia and Qualcomm, they managed to reach a peak data speed of 1.45Gbps in a "live commercial environment." Cool! They used six channel carrier aggregation that was a combination of Verizon's licensed PCS and AWS spectrum, as well as four carriers of License Assisted Access (LAA) spectrum. The test also used 256 QAM and 4x4 MIMO. Verizon is talking about all of this by trying to tie it back into 5G and how this will help their work there. Sure. It just comes off a bit empty with these tests being done for Gigabit LTE as far back as October of last year, yet I'm not sure I can point to a time where I connected to Verizon's network, even with a supported device, and saw anything near Gbps speeds (this guy did, though). Gigabit LTE is supposed to be available in up to 560 markets. And while I'm well aware that this was in a controlled test environment where things are very theoretical, these bits of bragging just aren't that impressive unless a customer can actually take advantage of them. Happy Friday! // Verizon

Podcast: October Fun is Here

Kellen — Fri, 28 Sep 2018 10:42:49 +0000

On this episode of the Droid Life Show, we're back after a couple week break to prepare for an October that is going to be wild. Next month, we'll have new devices from Google, Razer, OnePlus, Samsung, and LG, just to name a few. For this show, we'll try to catch you up on what to expect from each. After that, we'll talk about Amazon's crazy device reveal day, Wear OS 2.0 and new watches, as well as the worst news ever - that Google is killing Inbox. Trivia is back today! Our sponsor is AUKEY, who has put up 5 of their USB-C desktop charging stations. These chargers feature a 60W Power Delivery 3.0 USB-C port, as well as dual USB ports. We'll be live at 12:00PM Pacific (3:00PM Eastern).

Facebook Says 50 Million Accounts Affected by Security Vulnerability

Kellen — Fri, 28 Sep 2018 10:10:26 +0000

So, Facebook just admitted to a major security issue. Not only that, but 50 million accounts were affected after hackers took advantage of a vulnerability that could have allowed them to take over those accounts. Facebook disclosed the breach today, suggesting that attackers used a vulnerability in the "View As" feature, which allows you to view your profile as if you weren't you, to steal access tokens. Those tokens, if in someone else's hands, could be used to gain access to an account. Facebook says that they've already fixed the vulnerability and informed law enforcement. They've also reset access tokens to "almost" 50 million accounts that they know were affected. They plan to reset another 40 million accounts' access tokens too. That means that roughly 90 million people have been logged out of Facebook and will have to login the next time they visit. Additionally, Facebook will turn off the "View As" feature until they can conduct a thorough security review. Facebook isn't suggesting that anyone change their passwords. Feel free to if you are worried. // Facebook

According to Renders, Razer Phone 2 Looks Like First Razer Phone

Tim — Fri, 28 Sep 2018 09:58:48 +0000

Last year, Razer announced Razer Phone, which essentially created a whole new category in the mobile phone space. With an announcement for Razer Phone 2 looming, renders of Razer Phone 2 show that Razer isn't looking to reinvent the phone's hardware design whatsoever. As you can see in the image above, Razer Phone 2 looks nearly identical to last year's original. The rear-facing cameras are situated a little differently, and apparently the Razer logo lights up on back of the device (Chroma support already detailed), but other than that, we're getting a large display (likely 120Hz refresh rate capable), dual front stereo speakers, and that's about it. If you were a fan of the first Razer Phone, you're sure to like this one, too. Unveiling is scheduled for October 10. // @evleaks

After 14 Months and No Phone, RED Delays $1600 Titanium Model Because It's a "Disaster"

Tim — Fri, 28 Sep 2018 08:58:03 +0000

In a forum post titled, "The post I don’t want to make," RED's Jim Jannard calls the first batch of Titanium model Hydrogen One units a "disaster." And because it's a disaster, those who pre-ordered the $1600 phone 14 months ago will not be receiving it in October as they expected, but RED does intend to make up for this delay. According to Jannard, "I told you how difficult Ti [Titanium] was to make but I was assured by our ODM and vendors we would make enough for the pre-orders. We didn’t." He also says the phone is, "All fail." Sadly, he doesn't go into specifics with what's wrong, but does mention, "We are left to rely on the schedules and representations of our suppliers. In this case… we were let down pretty severely." So, anyone who pre-ordered this phone is not receiving one next month, but we feel that RED's way of making it up to you is quite solid. As stated in the forum post, RED will compensate you with an Aluminum model of Hydrogen One when they are ready for shipment. Additionally, once Titanium is not all fail and a disaster, RED will send you one at no charge and you can keep both phones. Should all go according to plan, you'll have a free Hydrogen One at the end of the day, which isn't bad at all considering their price tags. Are we surprised RED is running into trouble with its first phone launch? Not at all. These things are to be expected. We'll judge RED on how they respond to this adversity, and so far, the company is being transparent and generous in an attempt to keep customers happy. You have to appreciate that. // RED

Wear OS 2.0 Arriving as Early as Today and Most Watches Will Get It

Kellen — Fri, 28 Sep 2018 08:29:55 +0000

Google has told select press outlets that its new Wear OS 2.0 update is ready and should start rolling out as early as today. It's been a month since they announced the update, so that's good news. The update, for those who missed last month's story, brings a new home screen to Wear OS. You now have Google Assistant and a Google Now-esque feed off to the left side, while Google Fit now sits to the right. Notifications are still at the bottom and the settings shade is up top. Notifications have been revamped to act as a scrolling stream rather than a paginated annoyance, plus they should offer better quick replies. Overall, the UI is trying to make info easier to find. While I haven't used it yet, I'm just glad they are killing that stupid f*cking swipe gesture that let you change your watch face. Will your watch get the update? Probably. Google says to as long as your watch was running Android Wear 2.0 or greater, then you should be good. The watches that won't see the update include the LG G Watch, Samsung Gear Live, Moto 360 (1st gen), Sony Smartwatch 3, and Asus ZenWatch (1st gen). Everyone else should be on the lookout. // Ars Technica

OnePlus Teaser Says 6T is Coming Soon, Which We Knew

Kellen — Fri, 28 Sep 2018 08:01:50 +0000

This morning, OnePlus posted one of its first teasers for the OnePlus 6T. The teaser shows off an animation for the phone's in-display fingerprint reader and tells us to "Unlock the future." They didn't provide a launch date, only that "It's coming." Yeah, you already told us it's coming and that it has an in-display fingerprint reader. Is the next teaser to remind us that dongle life is going to be fun? We're still thinking October 17 is the day. https://twitter.com/oneplus/status/1045644295741427712

DEAL: Google Home Max, Which is Rarely Discounted, is $50 Off Right Now

Kellen — Thu, 27 Sep 2018 14:51:13 +0000

Google's biggest Home speaker, the Google Home Max, hasn't been discounted many times since it launched at the end of last year. Sure, we've seen it discounted when bundled, but we don't often see it with a straight price drop. Today at Best Buy and Google and various retailers, that's what we've got! Google Home Max is currently $50 off at retailers in both Chalk and Charcoal colorways. It also comes with a free month of TikiLIVE's premium TV streaming service too ($29.99 value), if that matters to you. Should you pull the trigger knowing that Google is about to show off a bunch of hardware on October 9? We aren't currently expecting Google to show off a new Home Max, only a Home Hub, which likely won't have the audio expertise of Max. So yeah, if you've been waiting for a discount to Google's highest-end smart speaker, this is a good time.

Google Home Links:

Fortnite Season 6 is Live for All Platforms, Offers Player Pets and Big Map Changes

Tim — Thu, 27 Sep 2018 12:38:40 +0000

Season 6 for Fortnite's Battle Royale mode is now live, complete with an all-new Battle Pass for unlocking new content, big map changes, as well as a few mysteries for players to discover on their own. Cosmetically speaking, there are of course a ton of new player skins and outfits to unlock, but in addition, you'll notice there are now pets in the game. As far as I know, these pets don't do anything besides sit inside of your backpack, but they're super adorable even if they aren't there for anything too useful.

As for the map, players will find that there are "corrupted areas" now (dark patches in image above), which is where you may come across Shadow Stones. I'm traveling currently and have yet to try these out myself, but apparently, once you consume a Shadow Stone you can pass through objects, so this opens up a whole new meaning of flanking your enemy. You'll also notice that the island inside Loot Lake has lifted off the ground, so that's sweet. Check out the "Darkness Rises" Season 6 trailer below, then stop reading this and go play the game on either PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox, iOS, or Android! // Epic Games

Swiftkey Adds Microsoft Translator for Easy Translations

Kellen — Thu, 27 Sep 2018 12:11:30 +0000

Microsoft updated its Swiftkey keyboard today and included Microsoft Translator. This allows for quick translations without actually having to leave conversations or an app to go copy and paste in a separate translator. Swiftkey and Microsoft say that you can translate from Swiftkey in over 60 languages. You'll access it through a shortcut on the Swiftkey Toolbar. You may recall that Google's Gboard picked up a similar feature in March of last year. The update to Swiftkey with Microsoft Translator is only on Android for now. Google Play Link // Swiftkey

Pixel 3 Tutorial Videos Arrive, Show Off New Camera App

Kellen — Thu, 27 Sep 2018 08:43:06 +0000

The leaks of Google's Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL continue today, this time through a software video tutorial. The video is two minutes long and walks through the basics of the Pixel 3, like swiping up on the home button to access the app switcher and app drawer. It shows how to dismiss notifications, turn WiFi on, tap to wake the phone, take a screenshot, video chat through Duo, etc. We don't learn anything particular new, but we do get to see a slightly revamped camera app. In most of the Russian Pixel 3 leaks, we saw hints of a new camera being tested. Almost all of those leaks showed a camera icon with a little dog paw on it, which means the app is being dogfooded internally for testing. What's new with the Pixel 3 camera? Not much, actually. Google has added in a swiping gesture that will jump you between modes, like Portrait, Camera, Video, and More. This is a gesture that has been on other phones for years, if I'm not mistaken. Other than that, there is a moment where an email address for someone is captured without the user opening Google Lens, a hint at real-time Lens processing. The video also shows off Active Edge returning for Google Assistant launches and gives us more views of the smaller, non-notched Pixel 3. // MySmartPrice

Galaxy Note 9 in Black Finally Arrives, Silver Model Too

Kellen — Thu, 27 Sep 2018 08:01:42 +0000

When Samsung announced the Galaxy Note 9 and its US availability, folks weren't happy that their two color choices out of the gate were either blue or purple. The homies wanted the black model, or something not so non-traditional. So Samsung listened and the Galaxy Note 9 in Midnight Black will soon be here. In addition to black, a Cloud Silver model is coming first. The Cloud Silver model (above) arrives October 5 at Best Buy stores, BestBuy.com, and Samsung's own store. Midnight Black (below) with 128GB of storage will start to rollout everywhere on October 12. If you want 512GB of storage, you'll have to wait until October 26. Samsung didn't announce pricing, but it should match up exactly to the first color releases. Feel better, purple and blue haters?

// Samsung

LG Shows Off V40 ThinQ With Triple Camera, 6.4" Display

Kellen — Wed, 26 Sep 2018 18:44:34 +0000

LG will announce its next phone, the LG V40 ThinQ, at an event on October 3. For some reason, they went ahead and revealed some parts of the phone tonight, including the design and display size. A teaser video and blog post hosted on the company's official Social LG site shared the details, many of which we've included here. LG says to expect the LG V40 ThinQ in three colors: Platinum Gray, Carmine Red, and Moroccan Blue. It will sport a 6.4-inch display in a body that is the same size as the LG V30. And finally, it will indeed have 3 cameras on the back. Other specifics weren't mentioned, but we've certainly seen the device now in an official capacity alongside leaks. It's a slick-looking phone in Carmine Red, even if that triple camera layout is somewhat weird. What do you guys think?

// LG

Google Maps Adds Group Planning Feature

Kellen — Wed, 26 Sep 2018 15:50:00 +0000

Google Maps is more collaborative than ever today, thanks to a new group planning feature that is going live on the service this week for both Android and iOS. Starting today, if you are ever trying to plan an outing with friends but can't decide where to go, you'll be able to group locations together, share them with friends, and then allow everyone to vote for the place to go. To get started, you'll look for something like "restaurants" on Google Maps. In the list that pops up, you can long-press on a location to have it added to a shortlist. To keep adding additional places, just keep long-pressing on more locations. You'll then share the list with friends, add or remove places, and even let them vote for their favorites. The feature is already live for me, so feel free to grab the latest Maps update and give it a shot. Google Play Link // Google

Pixel 3 XL Screen Protector Next to Pixel 2 XL Helps Visualize What to Expect

Tim — Wed, 26 Sep 2018 15:02:50 +0000

A user on reddit recently purchased a Pixel 3 XL screen protector, then placed it up against a Pixel 2 XL. In doing so, it shows what we can expect from Pixel 3 XL in terms of size and how it relates to Google's larger Pixel from last year. In the photos, with regard to the display cutout, we can see that the screen protector essentially has the Pixel 3 XL display going all the way up to the top of the Pixel 2 XL, but leaves room for the dual front cameras and top speaker. On the bottom, they're basically the same size, but you can clearly see the protector is thinner in the corners, potentially meaning less bezels all around on Pixel 3 XL. I'll let the photos speak for themselves, but really, I'm just ready to get this device in-hand and have all these leaks, rumors, and reports be done with.

// reddit

2019 Jaguar, Land Rover Vehicles Will Come With Android Auto Support

Tim — Wed, 26 Sep 2018 14:04:38 +0000

Have your eyes on a 2019 Jaguar or Land Rover vehicle? Maybe you already own an existing model equipped with an InControl Touch Pro or Touch Pro Duo infotainment system? You're in luck! Android Auto support is coming soon. According to a brand spokesperson, all 2019 and beyond Jaguar and Land Rover models will come with an Android Auto option. As a bonus, anyone with one of these cars with one of two aforementioned particular infotainment systems will be able to receive an update at authorized dealers that brings Android Auto functionality. It's been a busy month for Android Auto. // MacRumors

Here is the OnePlus 6T From Every Angle

Kellen — Wed, 26 Sep 2018 11:03:33 +0000

The OnePlus 6T should be announced around October 17. When that happens, the remaining surprises will likely involve how high the price has jumped from the OnePlus 6, what kinds of accessories OnePlus might sell alongside it, if the in-display fingerprint reader will be any good, and how the phone will be sold at T-Mobile. Because we now most definitely know exactly what it will look like. Fresh 3D CAD renders of the OnePlus 6T arrived today via @OnLeaks, showing every single angle of OnePlus' new phone. We can see the teardrop notch at the top, its subtle chin, the dual camera setup on its back, the lack of a rear fingerprint reader (because it's in the display), button placements, and the lack of a 3.5mm headphone jack.

For sizing, we should see a phone that is 157.5 x 75.7 x 8.2mm. That's slightly taller, wider, and thicker than the OnePlus 6, but not by much. The display will weigh in at 6.4-inches and probably won't change in resolution from the 6, which had a 1080p AMOLED. For more, you can check out the video below which shows the OnePlus 6T in full rotation, giving you a view of each little button, crack, and missing headphone jack. It's all here, again, outside of final specs and pricing. // MySmartPrice

DEAL: 200GB SanDisk MicroSD Cards are $35 Today

Kellen — Wed, 26 Sep 2018 10:07:27 +0000

Amazon's deal of the day today is here for those of you in need of some removable storage from SanDisk. They've got everything from microSD cards to regular SD cards and flash drives to hard drives. Since we talk mobile stuff, I'm just here to tell you that their SanDisk Ultra A1 microSD cards, the ones built for Android phones, are insanely cheap. Amazon has price drops on 200GB, 256GB, and 400GB cards today. The 200GB version can be had for $34.99, 256GB for $51.99, and 400GB for $99.99. As far as I can tell, those are the lowest prices yet on all of them. This is a deal of the day, so again, it's only available today. Amazon Link

Here's Another Look at Upcoming LG V40 With Triple Rear Cameras

Tim — Wed, 26 Sep 2018 09:20:16 +0000

Thanks to @evleaks, we're getting yet another look at LG's upcoming V40 ThinQ. If you don't recall, we saw this phone all the way back in August, with this new image aligning exactly with that. We've got a big front display with a display cutout, dual front cameras, triple rear camera setup, rear-facing fingerprint reader, and dedicated power button on the right side of the phone. Of course, you can expect all of LG's DAC hotness and stuff and things specs to go along with it. V40 ThinQ will be unveiled October 3. // @evleaks

Trivia Crack Sequel Launches October 25 for Android and iOS

Tim — Wed, 26 Sep 2018 09:01:36 +0000

Finally, after years and one spinoff game that wasn't too awesome, Trivia Crack is getting an actual sequel. Announced this morning, Trivia Crack 2 will launch October 25, free to download for Android and iOS. According to the announcement, Trivia Crack 2 will feature a fresh design, new features and game modes, plus an enhanced competitive experience. If you never played the first, think of this game like Trivial Pursuit. You spin a wheel that lands on various subjects. If you answer correctly, you go again. Sometimes, you'll land on a "Crown" subject that awards you a character when answered correctly. The first player to collect all of the characters wins the match. Considering how much I played the original, and even got lots of my family and friends to play it against me, I'm pumped for this release. Usually I don't see the point in pre-registering for games, but for this title, the developers mention you can get in-game goodies (Gold Chests and Expert Packs) if you register to be notified when the game goes live, so I'd recommend it. October 25, y'all! Pre-Register on Google Play

Pixel 3's Pixel Stand Makes First Appearance (Updated)

Kellen — Wed, 26 Sep 2018 08:08:30 +0000

Google's Pixel Stand or "Pixelstand" has finally leaked. The wireless charging stand that will help turn a Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL into a little desktop Google Assistant specialist, has been revealed in a new leak. You can see the Pixel Stand below and it looks just like the teaser animation for it from last week. It has a round base and a back poking up from that where the Pixel 3 will sit against to wirelessly charge. The bottom is a fun orange color like other Google devices, including Google Home Mini. The device shown here is listed as model number G019C. While nothing pops up through the Google Search machine when we search for that, the model number is close to the model numbers of the Pixel 3 (G013A) and Pixel 3 XL (G013C), which we learned about from FCC documents. What's maybe more important is the suggestion on the bottom of the charger that say "9V 2A." That could be a hint at fast charging or at least faster wireless charging, similar to what Samsung has included with its Galaxy wireless charging solutions. And that's significant, because Google told us in the past that they basically ditched wireless charging because it wasn't fast, added bulk to a phone, and using a wired USB-C connection was simpler. The re-introduction of wireless charging should mean that Google has found something they like again.

UPDATE: An FCC filing for the device proves that this is a wireless charger.

You buying? // MySmartPrice

DEAL: Save $42 on Nest Hello Video Doorbell, Down to $187

Tim — Tue, 25 Sep 2018 13:51:07 +0000

Shortly after Nest's Hello video doorbell and Nest x Yale lock were made available, I installed them in my home and wrote up a review. I'm still using both devices, and every time I have a guest over, they ask about the Hello doorbell. We're living in the future, people! For a limited time, you can purchase one through Newegg at a discounted price, just $187, down from usual price of $229. For some odd reason, Newegg lists the usual price at $299, but don't mind that that, it's not accurate. If you're unfamiliar, Nest Hello features a camera that can send video to your smartphone or compatible Android/iOS device when someone rings the bell, is capable of recognizing people, has night vision, and does capture HDR video. For more info on the doorbell, check out my review. Follow the link below to get one for your own home, and as a bonus, every purchase comes with a $10 gift card. Newegg Link

Now Anyone Can Sign-Up for Verizon's Visible Phone Service, so Long as You Have an iPhone

Tim — Tue, 25 Sep 2018 10:33:57 +0000

Visible, the Verizon-owned app-based phone service, has ditched its invite system. Before this, you'd need an invite code from an existing Visible customer to get access to the service, but now, "anyone can sign-up for the service." Unfortunate for Android users, what Visible means by "anyone" is actually anyone with an iPhone. This is decent news for iPhone users. Visible offers a single, $40/month unlimited plan running on Verizon's 4G LTE network. This includes unlimited text, talk, and data. Just note, your data is limited to 5Mbps at all times. Much like Project Fi from Google, everything about Visible is ran through an app on your phone. Once you sign-up, you'll receive a Visible SIM card, then you'll manage the entirety of your account via the Visible app. Here is what's new with Visible.

While Visible is still in early access, as of last week, the invite codes are now gone which means anyone can sign-up for the service.
Since their official release in May, the hotspot feature has been added to the platform.

Visible claims they are bringing Android compatibility at some point, so when/if that does happen, we'll let you know. Sign-up for Visible

Verizon Outage Going Down at the Moment (Updated)

Kellen — Tue, 25 Sep 2018 09:17:04 +0000

It looks like a Verizon outage is happening this morning. A reader first tipped us to the possibility of an outage a couple of hours ago and it looks like service disruptions are picking up steam in parts of the southern US, midwest, and now Texas. Reports of texts and calls not working are flooding both Twitter and Down Detector. Some are reporting that only Verizon-to-Verizon calls work, but that calling *611 to contact support isn't working. Others we've talked to aren't having any issues at all. Either way, a whole bunch of Verizon customers are not happy at the moment. Data services do not appear to be impacted. Verizon's (non-wireless) Twitter support account is basically just repeating to customers over and over again they that "apologize" and that there is a "high volume" contacting them at the moment. We have not yet seen a confirmation of a major outage by them.

Are you having issues with Verizon service at the moment? What's working? What isn't working? Feel free to let us know in the comments, as well as the state you are in. We'll update this post as we have more. UPDATE 9:20AM: Verizon's Wireless Twitter support is acknowledging some outages, but have not yet called it nationwide by any means. To see if your area is affected, head into their replies or send them a message.

UPDATE 10:04AM: The outage is still ongoing. Verizon has confirmed that the outage is affecting voice, text, and data services.

UPDATE 12:43PM: Verizon service is still struggling in much of the south, with things in Texas really not going well. No update from Verizon, only that they are trying to resolve whatever has happened.

UPDATE 8:37PM: Soooooo, just checking in here, but Verizon customers are still reporting an outage. The number of reports has reduced, but that could be because many are in bed. Otherwise, we're still seeing outages in the same southern region as earlier. Cheers Matthew!

Pixel 3 and 3 XL Live Wallpapers Available for Download

Kellen — Tue, 25 Sep 2018 08:40:27 +0000

After teasing thumbnails for the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL's wallpapers yesterday, we now have them for you to download, including some live papers that are pretty incredible. There are 28 still wallpapers, all of which can be downloaded individually at the links below. If you want to take the risk, there is also a live wallpaper APK file that can be installed to get you the live experience. And should you take that risk, you'll be rewarded with some pretty cool papers, many that show up on the always-on display of Pixel 2 devices. In order to get in on this fun, you'll have to install Google's Wallpapers app too, if you don't already have it. From there, you can install this new Pixel 3 live wallpaper app. You'll find the papers available for application in the Wallpapers app and then the "Live wallpapers" section. Android Pie was originally a requirement. However, there are two links for you to try below. The Pixel 3 wallpapers feature some that try to show you the "current of the world around you," others that bubble or burst or pop to music playing or touches, and a few that take a pixie on a magical journey. There are a couple of satellite imagery, including a boat ride that's fun to watch. Again, this all happens through an APK file that can be found at the MEGA link below. It appears to be packaged up by someone not named Google. Install at your own risk. Download Links:

Pixel 3 Wallpapers (MEGA, Android Pie)
Pixel 3 Wallpapers (Android 6.0+)
Google Wallpapers

// @IshanAgarwal24 | MySmartPrice

Android Messages Gets Much Improved Search Options

Tim — Mon, 24 Sep 2018 15:31:44 +0000

Looking through conversations in chat apps in an attempt to locate shared photos or address can be a real pain. In a move announced this week, Android Messages is getting a comprehensive search feature, allowing you to pinpoint the exact information you're looking for. With this update, you'll be able to search via content type as well as by contact. For example, an image sent from your mom six months ago will be easily tracked down with this feature.

After tapping on the search icon, you'll be able to select a specific contact and see your messaging history with them, including one-to-one and group conversations, and all the photos, videos, addresses or links you shared with each other.

Google says this search functionality is rolling out this week to users. Google Play Link // Google

Verizon Galaxy S9, S9+, and Note 9 Get Security Updates, LG G5 Gets Oreo (Update: Note 8, too!)

Tim — Mon, 24 Sep 2018 13:53:30 +0000

Security updates are rolling out to various Verizon devices, as well as one for Galaxy Note 9 owners on T-Mobile. For Verizon, owners of Galaxy S9 (Version number: R16NW.G960USQS3ARI6), Galaxy S9+ (Version number: R16NW.G965USQS3ARI6, and Galaxy Note 9 (Version number: M1AJQ.N960USQS1ARH6) devices are receiving September's security patch, while those with an LG G5 are getting updated to Oreo (Version number: VS98730a). Very nice. Over on T-Mobile, anyone with a Galaxy Note 9 should also be seeing September's security patch, labeled as version N960USQS1ARH6. Get those updates! Update: Verizon's Galaxy Note 8 is also receiving September's security patch, labeled as R16NW.N950USQS5CRI4.

// Verizon [2] [3] [4] [5] | T-Mobile

Google Lens Functionality Coming to Images in Search

Tim — Mon, 24 Sep 2018 12:54:16 +0000

Google announced changes for image searches on mobile this week, with the company stating that it is bringing Google Lens to the service to help dive deeper into image results. Written in its blog, "In the coming weeks, we’ll bring Lens to Google Images to help you explore and learn more about visual content you find during your searches." Once this happens, should you come across an image in Search that you want to find other relevant info on, you can tap on a new Lens button right below the image. Once tapped, Lens will analyze the image, then provide additional information, such as other photos and product links. Furthermore, Google will allow users to draw on any part of a photo to be analyzed, just in case the part of a photo you want scanned wasn't picked up properly by Lens. Again, Google says this Lens functionality in Image Search will be available in the coming weeks. // Google

Google's News Feed on Mobile is Now Called Discover, Gets Redesign and New Features

Tim — Mon, 24 Sep 2018 11:43:29 +0000

Google Now was awesome, but got replaced by what's known as Google Feed or News Feed. We haven't been fans of it since that major change, but this week, Google is changing it yet again with a new name, new features, and a new look. On mobile, this feed will now be called Discover. It's the same basic experience with various spotlighted articles related to what interests you and things you follow, but Google thinks that a list of new features will have you enjoying it very much. For what's new, Google lists a change to the articles and videos you'll encounter. As an example, let's say you're planning a trip. Because of this, Discover will highlight places to eat and things to do in that area, or even share a related travel article that was published months ago that is now relevant to your situation. Whether you find this change helpful or not, you'll be able to better manage what you see with new controls. On everything posted in Discover, you'll see a toggle that lets you choose to see more or less of any given topic. This is very similar to what's already available, but it looks different. Also new is support for multiple languages. Google uses the example of food recipes in Spanish, while sports will be in English. Should you want results in multiple languages, you'll select that from within the settings menu.

Lastly, Google says it is implementing most of these changes to the Google homepage when visiting on a mobile device. As they put it, "Think of it as your new mobile homepage where you can not only search, but also discover useful, relevant information and inspiration from across the web for the topics you care about most." Google says you can expect these changes rolling out over the next few weeks. Thoughts on Discover? // Google

SiriusXM Acquiring Pandora for $3.5 Billion

Tim — Mon, 24 Sep 2018 10:35:04 +0000

Announced today, SiriusXM has agreed to acquire Pandora in an all-stock deal, valued at $3.5 billion. As of now, nothing for either company changes and Pandora will go on and be the same Pandora you know and love. Same goes for SiriusXM. However, the companies did provide an overview of how they'll use each other for future growth, which we'll list below. Long-term Growth Initiatives

Capitalizing on cross-promotion opportunities between SiriusXM's base of more than 36 million subscribers across North America and 23 million-plus annual trial listeners and Pandora's more than 70 million monthly active users, which represents the largest digital audio audience in the U.S.
Leveraging SiriusXM's exclusive content and programming with Pandora's ad-supported and subscription tiers to create unique audio packages, while also utilizing SiriusXM's extensive automotive relationships to drive Pandora's in-car distribution.
Continuing investments in content, technology, innovation, and expanded monetization opportunities through both ad-supported and subscription services in and out of the vehicle.
Supporting and strengthening Pandora's highly relevant brand.
Creating a promotional platform for emerging and established artists, curated and personalized in ways to deliver the most compelling audio experience that connects artists to their fan bases, as well as new listeners.

The deal is expected to close Q1 of 2019. // Pandora

Check Out the Wallpapers Coming With Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL (Updated: Download)

Tim — Mon, 24 Sep 2018 09:18:43 +0000

With October 9 coming up soon, there really isn't much we don't know about Google's Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. We know what they look like, we know what kind of specs to expect, and now, we know what wallpapers Google intends to ship with the phones via the company's Wallpapers app.

UPDATE: You can download them here!

If you use this app on non-Pixel phones, you'll notice that there are two sections not available -- Come Alive and Living Universe. Those are exclusive to Pixel devices. Thanks to a user on reddit, we have screenshots of each section, giving us a very good look at what wallpapers upcoming Pixel 3 and 3XL owners will get to choose from. Inside Living Universe, we see a few new entires, including City Silhouettes. These silhouettes appear to be 3D models of NYC and SF, which do look quite awesome. You'll also find wallpapers for Zion National Park, Malolo Barrier Reef, plus the usual Marvelous Marble (Earth) and New Horizons (Mars) choices. Under Come Alive, there are also new options. On Pixel 3 and 3 XL, we'll get Groove, Bloom, and Pixie. All of the options we see here align with the wallpapers shown in nearly all past Pixel 3 and 3 XL leaks, so this all seems pretty convincing. See one you really like?

// reddit

Report: Toyota Bringing Android Auto to Its Vehicles

Tim — Mon, 24 Sep 2018 08:45:54 +0000

On the heels of the Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance agreeing to implement Android Auto into vehicles, Toyota is reported to be doing the same. According to sources of Bloomberg, Toyota is finally caving in to Google's platform for motor vehicles, "ending years of resistance to the Google infotainment software due to safety and security concerns." Because this move is not yet official, though an announcement could come as early as October, we don't yet know how Toyota intends to roll this out. It's possible that only new vehicles supporting Android Auto will come down the line or Toyota could decide to update existing models with Android Auto compatibility. That all remains to be seen. If this move makes it likely you'll soon have your first Android Auto experience, note that Google continues to update the platform with new features. I've been using Android Auto for some time now and I still find it highly enjoyable. Once this move by Toyota is made official and how customers will see it, we'll let you know. // Bloomberg

OnePlus Asked What Your Favorite OnePlus 6 Feature is and You Know the Response

Kellen — Mon, 24 Sep 2018 08:16:47 +0000

OnePlus wants you to know that they build phones that people actually enjoy using. If you own one, particularly the OnePlus 6, they've asked on Twitter that you share which feature from it is your favorite. Of course, that's hilarious since we know how every single person is going to respond, especially after OnePlus confirmed that its next phone will remove one of the features they've bragged about having over other phones in recent years. Yes, the headphone jack was always going to dominate this Tweet. Here it is:

I scrolled through the first 30 or so responses and all but two included some form of mockery over OnePlus removing the 3.5mm port from the OnePlus 6T, calling it their favorite feature from the 6. Steve Harvey and Spongebob made appearances too, as did an iPhone getting a headphone jack drilled into it. There were a couple of references to the phone hopefully not costing $1,000 and something about Dash charging too. Maybe OnePlus will find inspiration from those when they launch the 6T in a couple of weeks. Because we know they don't listen to their customers all of the time.

Silly, OnePlus.

MetroPCS Becomes "Metro by T-Mobile," Gets New Unlimited Plans With Amazon Prime

Kellen — Mon, 24 Sep 2018 07:49:27 +0000

MetroPCS, the prepaid wireless brand that T-Mobile has owned since 2013, will re-brand on October 1 to Metro by T-Mobile. The name change is a way for T-Mobile to try and prop-up its prepaid arm, hoping to let customers know that prepaid doesn't just mean cheap service, plans, and phones. When Metro by T-Mobile launches next month, T-Mobile will introduce two new plans while improving one of MetroPCS' current options. They'll also make sure their Metro stores have better phone selections and that you know that T-Mobile customers are the priority on the network they share. I'm not kidding with that - that's actually in the press release. The image below shows off the Metro plan line-up that will go live next month. You've still got $30 and $40 plans from MetroPCS. Neither has changed outside of the data on the $40 plan doubling to 10GB per month. For new plans, things are slightly interesting.

You now have $50 and $60 plan options that includes "unlimited" LTE data, as well as 5GB and 15GB hotspot pots, respectively. Both plans include a subscription to Google One storage, plus the $60 plan includes an Amazon Prime subscription. So you know, Metro can throttle data after 35GB used in a billing cycle. They also throttle video down to 480p (DVD quality). Sign-up for Metro by T-Mobile // T-Mobile | Metro

T-Mobile Reveals Plans for 5G Home Internet, Possibility of Opening Up Phone Hotspots

Kellen — Sat, 22 Sep 2018 08:06:01 +0000

Verizon is days way from firing up its 5G Home internet service and now T-Mobile has quietly announced its own plans for a similar service. In a prepared statement to the FCC, T-Mobile COO Mike Sievert laid out the general goals for T-Mobile with 5G as a home broadband option that can compete with Comcast and Charter. Sievert was sharing some of T-Mobile's plans should they be allowed to merge with Sprint and create New T-Mobile. He explained that most people in the US have few options when it comes to in-home internet and that their choices often include high prices and slow internet speeds. With T-Mobile's 5G, they expect that they'll be able to cover millions of US households, offer internet as fast as wired solutions, and create a competitive environment that lowers prices.

T-Mobile in-home 5G internet

T-Mobile's in-home 5G plans include 100Mbps download speeds out of the gate, but would increase those speeds to between 300Mbps and 500Mbps for 200+ million people by 2024. Worried if T-Mobile and Sprint's combined network can actually support both mobile 5G and home internet? T-Mobile says that it will only be available in areas where network "capacity exceeds mobile requirements and is sufficient to support the in-home services." That should mean coverage in at least 52% of US zip codes. T-Mobile could have 1.9 million 5G home internet customers by 2021 and 9.5 million by 2024. T-Mobile also wants to make 5G home internet available without the need for installation of devices by a professional, which would mean eliminating expensive setup costs. Their goal is to allow customers the option to "self-provision the necessary in-home equipment." That's the opposite of how Verizon's new 5G home service works. And finally for T-Mobile 5G home internet, they'll introduce it without contracts or strict monthly data caps, according to Sievert.

5G hotspot as an in-home option

As a possibly-more-interesting idea, Sievert also talked about allowing customers to simply use their mobile 5G plan as their only home internet solution. He explained that "New T-Mobile will also enable consumers to use their mobile services as a substitute for in-home broadband." My guess is that T-Mobile could have an option within their wireless plans that opens up data caps for higher usage. Right now, T-Mobile offers wireless plans that can throttle users after 50GB of data use in a month and also limits hotspot usage in many cases. For a customer to be able to use their mobile 5G plans for home internet, they'd have to remove those caps or offer some sort of tier that expands them. A home internet connection that powers streaming services, your daily internet use, smart home products, etc. can gobble up hundreds of GB of data each month. Again, a lot of these ideas are all dependent on T-Mobile and Sprint merging, so today, they don't mean much. But should the two combine, these are some of their 5G goals that they expect to accomplish within a couple of years. // FCC | Fierce Wireless

Google Testing 6DoF Controllers, Ability to Run Any Android App in Daydream VR

Tim — Fri, 21 Sep 2018 13:21:15 +0000

Google wants to keep improving the Daydream virtual reality experience for mobile users, and to do so, it's currently experimenting with new hardware and software features that are already in the hands of select developers. For hardware, Google is testing 6DoF (6 degrees of freedom) controllers, which look similar to those found with PlayStation VR (Move Motion). This type of controller tracking has been limited to those with lots of money to spend on PC-based VR with external tracking. With it potentially coming to mobile VR users, you can move your hands more naturally in VR, just like you would in the physical world. According to Google's blog post, "Instead of using expensive external cameras and sensors that have to be carefully calibrated, our system uses machine learning and off-the-shelf parts to accurately estimate the 3D position and orientation of the controllers." To go along with this new hardware, Google also mentions new software to play with. The first is See-Through Mode. With this, you can be inside your own VR world, but still see the outside world, too. Google gives a nice little example of this in its blog with two people able to play ping pong through the VR headset.

The other software feature is the ability to play any Android apps and games inside of VR. From a develop standpoint, Google says enabling VR support for any existing 2D Android app is easy with no need to rebuild the app from scratch. As we can see the image below, someone already has Mini Metro up and running in Daydream.

Google stresses that these features and the controllers are experimental, but if you're a developer, you can get your hands on all of this stuff soon. // Google

RED Hydrogen One in Titanium Passes Through FCC, Has Fantastic Model Number

Tim — Fri, 21 Sep 2018 11:21:33 +0000

RED's $1,595 Titanium model of Hydrogen One has passed through the FCC. It appears RED's request of confidentiality did not include external and internal photos of the device, so because of that, we get to see it from a whole bunch of outside angles and its guts. We have seen this device in hands-on videos before, but what we do get from this filing that we believe is new is the model number. According to the Product Change Description file, RED has changed its model name from H1A1000 to... H1T1000. Why is this awesome? Um, because we can now call it Terminator Phone! Beyond that, we're not seeing too much that we didn't already know. The phone has 4 cameras in total (2 on back, 2 on front), 4,510mAh battery, side grips, dedicated camera shutter button, USB-C port on bottom, and an overall design that you'll either love or hate. Here are all of the photos.

And here's the 4,510mAh battery and charger.

Oh, and internal shots.

// FCC

Here are More Pixel 3 XL Photos

Tim — Fri, 21 Sep 2018 10:20:22 +0000

As we inch closer to Google's set unveiling date for Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, we're getting more photos of the device courtesy of another leak. By now, you're either feeling this device or despise it, and frankly, that's understandable. As for me, I'm hoping all of you Pixel 3 XL notch haters are serious, that way I won't have any issues buying one on launch day. In these new photos we get a real good look at that whopper of a display cutout, the single rear-facing camera, fingerprint reader, two-tone finish backside (matte and glossy), and mint-colored power button. According to the Twitter user who posted these, the SIM tray is located on the bottom of the device, which is a bit different from what we've seen from past Google devices. Look at that freakin' notch, dude. It's massive.

// @IshanAgarwal24

Pixel 3's "Pixel Stand" Could Look Similar to This

Kellen — Fri, 21 Sep 2018 08:24:44 +0000

We're pretty sure a Pixel Stand will be sold alongside the new Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. We think it'll do wireless charging and help turn your new Pixel phone into a desktop Google Assistant powerhouse. That's all thanks to an expected glass back on both phones that will bring wireless charging back to a Google phone for the first time in a few years (since the Nexus 6 I think).

UPDATE: Check it out, this is the Pixel Stand

What will it look like, though? Probably like almost any other wireless charging stand, heh. It could also look like the placeholder stand you are seeing below that the guys at 9to5Google discovered.

RELATED: Hey, look, some more Pixel 3 XL photos

While doing some fresh APK brodownsighting, they found a fun little animation within the Google app that featured the "Pixel Stand" you are seeing here. Now, this is no official reveal. Animations or imagery that Google uses for tutorial purposes are rarely ever perfect representations of an actual product. But again, wireless charging stands all look pretty similar. What we've got is a circular stand with a little lip on it that should help hold a Pixel 3 in place. Once you set your phone up against the stand's back, you'll charge and then hop into fun stuff from Google Assistant, if you so choose. The animation Google uses shows a phone sitting on the Pixel Stand, going through a slideshow of photos. And that makes sense, since the stand will likely allow you to run through Google Photos slideshows, just like Google smart displays do.

On a related note, please feel free to fire up the Pixel Ultra conspiracy theories again in the comments. That phone above will undoubtedly spark a few fresh YouTube videos with no substance at all, as well as a thumbnail or two that looks like the YouTuber is attempting to take a sh*t after not drinking water for 3 days. Pixel Ultra confirmed. You heard it here first. (/s)

OnePlus 6's Android Pie Update is Ready!

Kellen — Fri, 21 Sep 2018 07:39:38 +0000

After a couple of open beta updates, OnePlus is ready to send the Android Pie update to your OnePlus 6. This is the stable Android 9.0 OnePlus 6 update for everyone! The update, like the open beta builds, includes not only Android 9.0 "Pie," but the updated UI bits from it, adaptive battery support, Google's new home button gesture navigation (in addition to OnePlus' version), improved do not disturb settings, new gaming mode 3.0, and accent color customizations. This Pie update for the OnePlus 6 will rollout in stages, so try and contain yourself if you don't get it right now or tomorrow. As OnePlus notes, a limited number of users will receive the update today to make sure all is well and not ruining $500+ phones. Once it's ruled to be cool, they'll ramp up the rollout until everyone receives it over the next few days. If you are on the open beta track and were testing any of the Pie betas, you won't get this stable update over-the-air. Instead, you'll have to manually flash it once it is ready, and that will require a wipe (factory reset).

OnePlus 6 Android Pie Changelog

Updated system to Android™ 9.0 Pie™
- Brand new UI for Android Pie
- New adaptive battery support
- New Android Pie gesture navigation
- Updated Android security patch to 2018.9
- Other new features and system improvements
Do Not Disturb mode
- New Do Not Disturb (DND) mode with adjustable settings
New Gaming mode 3.0
- Added text notification mode
- Added notification for 3rd party calls
Accent color
- Supported accent color customization

To check for the update, head into Settings>System updates. // OnePlus Cheers Sergiy!

Google Keep is Now Called "Keep Notes" on Your Phone

Kellen — Thu, 20 Sep 2018 14:42:05 +0000

I still can't tell if this was triggered by an update or some server-side magic from Google, but Google Keep on phones is now called Keep Notes. As in, if you head into your app drawer looking for Google Keep, you'll now find it as "Keep Notes." I don't necessarily know if this is Google working towards a switch to just "Google Notes," but that wouldn't shock me. Simplifying names so that they are better understood by a big audience probably isn't a bad thing. I wonder how many Android users want to take notes on their phone and have no idea what in the hell Google Keep is. It sounds like a password locker. Anyways, Keep Notes is here, probably just before it becomes Google Notes. Google Play Link

Verizon LG V30, G6 Updated With September Security Patch

Tim — Thu, 20 Sep 2018 14:28:28 +0000

Verizon is pushing September's security patch to LG V30 and G6 owners. The V30 update is labeled as software version VS99620f, while G6 folk will see VS98820d. Verizon's changelogs don't mention anything else and we also aren't sure how large the updates are. Now also seems like a good time to remind LG fans that the company's V40 ThinQ will be announced October 3. That's very soon! // Verizon [2]

Bixby Update Should Reduce Accidental Presses on Galaxy Note 9

Kellen — Thu, 20 Sep 2018 13:54:15 +0000

Bixby still can't be disabled.

An update to Samsung's Bixby rolled out this week to Galaxy Note 9 owners and it fixes one of the frustrations (our review) I had when using the phone. While you still can't turn Bixby off, you can set the button to open only after consecutive presses now. If you head into Bixby settings on your Note 9, there is a Bixby Key setting that you should toggle to "Press twice to open Bixby." With this, any accidental single press on the Bixby button won't launch Samsung's no-one-wanted-this assistant. Instead, you'll have to add a second tap on it. Again, we wish Samsung would just let us turn Bixby off (like they did with the Galaxy S9), get rid of dedicated Bixby buttons, and move on from this experiment, but this is at least somewhat helpful. Because seriously, I can't tell you how many times Bixby opened during my testing, and no, none of them were on purpose. Go grab that Bixby update!

Amazon Announces Ton of New Echo Products, Including an Echo-Controlled Microwave

Tim — Thu, 20 Sep 2018 12:21:23 +0000

Amazon just announced a slew of new products, enough to fill your entire house and take the entirety of multiple paychecks. We've got an Alexa-powered wall clock, microwave, receivers, as well as updated an Echo Dot. And that's just the start. Below you can view all of the new products and a rundown of what they do, but a lot was done for Alexa products behind the scenes, too. Amazon announced offline home control as well as a Whisper Mode for Alexa devices. For Whisper Mode, an Alexa product can tell if you whisper to it and it will reply in a whisper voice. For offline home control, this will let you control pieces of your smart home via Alexa, even if there is no established internet connection. This is a major plus if you have multiple things running through Alexa and happen to lose your internet connection. There's quite a bit more. To give you an idea, Amazon lists email management, step-by-step cooking, location-based Routines, smart home and home monitoring features like Alexa Guard, Hunches, Local Voice Control, and FreeTime on Alexa features like kid-focused Routines, podcasts, new skills, and more. Notably, Alexa Guard turns your Echo products into little monitors that listen for breaking glass and smoke detectors.

Alexa can help keep your home safe when you’re away with Alexa Guard–just say, “Alexa, I’m leaving” to activate Guard. When you enable Guard, Alexa can send you Smart Alerts about the sound of glass-breaking, smoke detectors, or carbon monoxide alarms detected in your home. This feature will be available on select Echo devices later this year.

Seriously, there's a lot going on. Here's everything Amazon announced today.

New Echo Dot

Amazon announced an updated Echo Dot, which is smaller and has a different design than the original. According to Amazon, it's 70% louder and much clearer when blasting tunes, thanks to a much larger driver. Available starting today for $49.99.

New Echo Plus

The new Echo Plus is basically the same thing as last year's Echo Plus, but in a package that conforms to what we have with the current line of Echo tubes. You know, the cloth look. Available in October for $149.99, pre-orders live today.

New Echo Show

Amazon is refreshing Echo Show, too. The new design features a 10" display (up from 7") and new speaker system for enhanced audio with real-time Dolby processing. Still no word from Amazon if it can access YouTube videos natively. On the upside, Amazon says it's bringing a web browser to the device. Pre-orders go live today for $229.

Echo Auto

An Amazon-made Echo device for your car. Connects to the Alexa app on your smartphone, then lets you play music or access all of the same Alexa skills you know and love. Available via invitation for $24.99.

Echo Input

Think of an Echo Dot and then flatten it and remove the speakers. That's Echo Input. With it, you can connect to any speaker in your home and turn it into a smart speaker. It can connect via 3.5mm or Bluetooth, and with 4 separate microphones, it should be able to hear you quite well from across the room. Available later this year for $34.99.

Echo Sub

To give your existing Echo speaker a deeper range, Amazon announced Echo Sub. Yup, it's a subwoofer that can pair to your Amazon Echo, up to 2 to be exact. Pre-order available today for $129.99.

Echo Link Amp and Echo Link

For you home theater people, Amazon announced Echo Link Amp and Echo Link. Link Amp features multiple inputs and outputs, two channels, and 60 watts of power. Unfortunately, neither Link has microphones, meaning all control will be done via an existing Echo device in your house. Echo Link Amp and Echo Link will be available later this year at $299 and $199.

Smart Plug

It's a smart plug. Put it in an outlet and an Echo in your house will automatically detect it and get you through the setup process. Once complete, you can use Echo to control the power flowing to anything plugged into it. Smart Plug will be available in October for $24.99, pre-orders today.

Ring Stick Up Cam

Amazon has two Stick Up Cams for the Ring brand, a wired and wireless model. The wired camera features two-way walk, 1080p HD video capability, a siren, night vision, motion detection, and an IPX5 weather rating. Will be priced starting at $179.99 and launch later in October.

Amazon Microwave

Finally, a microwave that can communicate wirelessly to my Amazon Echo! This microwave is through AmazonBasics, meaning it's not supposed to be an overly fancy piece of hardware. Basically, you can control it via voice or manually. Sadly, it has no mics, so it won't be a standalone Alexa experience. Available in October with pre-orders today, the microwave will be priced at $59.99.

Echo Wall Clock

Echo Wall Clock tells time and can help visualize timers. Oh, and when it Daylight Saving's Time comes around, it will automatically adjust itself. Available later this year for $29.99.

Fire TV Recast

Amazon now has its own DVR, available in two models: 500GB with 2 tuners or 1TB with 4 tuners. In order to record channels, you will need a separate HD tuner, Fire TV streaming media player or Echo Show, as well as something that can access the Fire TV app. With Alexa onboard, you can tell it to record shows, tune to different channels, or even open a channel guide. Available this November with pre-orders now up. Priced starting at $229 for 2 tuners and 500GB of storage. 4 tuners and 1TB of storage will cost you $279. // Amazon [2] [3]

Apple Watch Series 4 Reviews are a Sad Reminder of How Lost Wear OS Is

Kellen — Thu, 20 Sep 2018 11:36:39 +0000

Apple announced its Apple Watch Series 4 a week ago and the early reviews that dropped this week are about as glowing as is possible. I'm not shocked by that either, because it was pretty obvious as Apple revealed their new watch that it was the most impressive hardware from their fall event. The reason it's sad is the fact that it shows how badly Google and its partners screwed up wearables on Android and just how far behind Apple they are. Android Wear was originally announced in March of 2014. At that time, Motorola showed off the original Moto 360 and LG showed off the original G Watch. We then got a taste of both at Google I/O that year and have since seen years of Android Wear watches from a variety of manufacturers. None of them would probably be categorized as a major success. In fact, we've seen some of the players give up completely on wearables in recent years, as Google's wearable OS now seems to be mostly driven by fashion brands. Now called Wear OS, I'm still not sure I could point to a watch that has done anything to advance the platform. You would think that Google might want to take a stab at it, you know, since this is their wearable OS. You may recall a Nexus line from Google that was once used to showcase each year's new Android release on phones or tablets and possibly introduce a new hardware or software idea. Google has never taken a single shot at showcasing what it believes to be the best use or representation of Wear OS. That's odd. It's frustrating to watch as Apple continues to improve upon its wearable side and define its focus while Google and partners can't figure any of it out. Apple keeps introducing new custom chips that are more efficient, they've put bigger screens in smaller bodies, created a vibrant ecosystem of watch bands, have regularly added to the health and fitness side, and are at the point where their watch is saving lives on the regular and will only save more going forward. The new Apple Watch Series 4 can generate a f*cking ECG. Wear OS watches are still dancing around with cheap heart rate monitors that I'm not sure anyone trusts. There is some hope on the horizon for Wear OS because Qualcomm has finally made a new chipset. It'll offer multiple battery life profiles that could last for weeks, possibly open up the platform for better health monitoring like Apple is doing, and give us a better looking experience. But why is it that we are relying on Qualcomm to come around for Wear OS to advance? I know that Google has only started making chips with its Pixel Visual Core, but it feels like Wear OS died over the past two years because they were waiting on someone else to make it better, someone who may not have been all that interested in doing so. And they are doing that with hardware too. Google isn't making a watch this year (again) because they want to focus on their partners and the watches they have in the pipeline. That's been the story from day 1, though, and it hasn't worked. We thought that we might finally get a Google-made watch this year, possibly named Pixel Watch, but Google has already squashed that rumor. What's troubling about that bit of news are the quotes that accompanied it. Google's Wear OS boss, Miles Barr, was asked about the possibility of a Google watch and his answers make it sound like Google still has no idea what a proper smartwatch is or what it should do. He gave a vague response to his vision for a Google watch, where it would have a heavy AI influence and Assistant, except that's already kind of a part of Wear OS. But he also suggested that a one-size fits all watch might not exist because some people want fashion accessories while others may want a sports experience. In other words, Google doesn't know and aren't really interested in trying. I bring this all up because Apple has what Google thinks doesn't exist. The Apple Watch is meant to be a one-size-fits-all device. It's both a fashion accessory and a sports watch, for those who need it. While I may not love the look of the Apple Watch, it's pretty obvious that a whole bunch (like, millions) of people do or are at least comfortable enough with it. It's really starting to feel like Apple has lapped Google in this department six or seven times now. We're not just talking about a slight edge here where Google and its partners are really close to coming up with the watch we all want. Apple is on its 4th series of watches and 5th version of its watch OS. They've fully defined the smartwatch category. Each new Apple Watch gets better at fitness. They get better at health. They get better at providing information. They get better at connectivity. They get better at being social. They get better at being watches. Google still hasn't given us a series 1 watch and after four years of making a wearable OS, doesn't even know what that might look like. Additionally, some of its previously key partners weren't even mentioned when Qualcomm revealed the future of Google's platform, as if they still aren't ready to try again. The only partners we know on board are more fashion brands, some of which none of us will be able to afford. Let's also not forget that the newest version of Wear OS that was just unveiled almost a month ago as the latest revamp to try and turn this thing around, has still not rolled out to a single watch. That's funny too, because if Google had its own watch, like its Pixel and Nexus devices, I may not be able to say that. I don't get it. What are we doing, Google?

Keyboard Maker May Have Revealed Google's New Chrome OS Tablet

Kellen — Thu, 20 Sep 2018 09:24:57 +0000

Brydge, a keyboard maker that is apparently a big deal in the iPad and Surface circles of the world, might have mistakenly given us our first look at an upcoming Google Chrome OS tablet. We aren't sure if it's a Pixelbook tablet, a mock-up, or something else, but it certainly is new. The tablets were spotted by About Chromebooks, who notes that the keyboards shown are Wallaby and Goanna. Wallaby is a keyboard that you would mount or dock a Chrome OS tablet to, while Goanna appears to be a stand-alone Bluetooth keyboard. Both have Google Assistant keys, just like the current Pixelbook has, as well as the Chrome OS keyboard layout.

Where this gets interesting is in the tablet shown attached to Wallaby. This could very well be "Nocturne," one of the rumored Chrome OS devices (possibly tablet) that we believe to be on the way from Google. Nocturne is thought to feature a fingerprint reader, which this device is showing on its top left side. It also has at least one USB-C port on one side with an elongated speaker grill above it, and multiple microphones. Nocturne is rumored to have a second USB-C port, likely on the opposite side of the one shown here.

This could also just be a mock-up based off CAD renders, like we see from other accessory makers who make items for phones. I only bring that up because the Chrome OS version here is old and the general styling of this device doesn't necessarily remind me of a Pixel device. Then again, maybe Google is branching out from the white exterior of the original Pixelbook with its next-gen line-up. Either way, I'm pretty excited for new Google-made Chrome OS devices. Chrome OS is quite mature these days and the Pixelbook is easily one of the best computers I've used. // About Chromebooks

Samsung Testing Triple Rear Camera Gimmick in Asia, Europe With Galaxy A7

Tim — Thu, 20 Sep 2018 09:04:43 +0000

Samsung introduced its first smartphone with a triple rear camera setup this week, Galaxy A7 for Europe and Asia markets. Back when seeing three rear-facing cameras on a smartphone was new, I believe we all assumed more was better. Having a variety of differing lenses on your device can make it more suitable to an assortment of shooting conditions. However, now that we know Google can somehow get just as good of shots, better in most cases with a single lens as opposed to two or even three, there's something about triple camera setups that get under my skin. Beyond three rear-facing cameras, Galaxy A7 features a 6” FHD+ (1080×2220) Super AMOLED display, undisclosed octa-core processor (most likely Exynos), 4GB + 64GB storage or 6GB + 128GB storage depending on the option you choose, 3,300mAh, NFC, and Android 8.0 "Oreo" with Samsung Experience on top. As for the cameras, Samsung lists a 24-megapixel shooter at F1.7, 8-megapixel Ultra-Wide at F2.4 (120°), and a 5-megapixel Depth lens at F2.2. We have yet to see any camera samples from Samsung's first attempt at three rear cameras, but I'm looking forward to see how it compares. Already mentioned, this phone will be available this Fall in Europe and Asia for an yet-to-be-announced price. Also, Samsung specifically mentions its upcoming press event in the announcement for this phone, which is still scheduled for October 11. Related? Does this point to triple cameras on other upcoming Samsung devices? Quite possibly, should it sell well. // Samsung

Google Home Hub Likely Just Stopped at FCC

Kellen — Thu, 20 Sep 2018 07:27:52 +0000

The Google Home Hub, a device that we believe was first revealed earlier in the week as Google's first smart display, likely just stopped off at the FCC. A device under Google's FCC ID and labeled as a "interactive video streaming device" had its RF, Bluetooth, and WiFi tested. The device carries a model number of H1A and FCC ID A4RH1A. There is no specific mention of this being a Google Home device, but so you know, the original Google Home has a model number of A4RH0ME, the Home Mini is A4RH0A, and the Home Max is A4R-H0B. The next wave of Google Home devices jumping from H0 to H1 is a likely next step. As far as new info, we've got the below image for where the Google Home Hub label will sit. This is a bottom view of the device, which shows a curve that matches up to the retail listing images from a couple of days ago. It's clear that they've cut off a portion to help conceal its identity. The portion they cut off is where the display would sit if you were looking at the Hub from underneath.

As I mentioned, the FCC tested Bluetooth, as well as 2.4GHz and 5GHz WiFi. We should see this device alongside the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL on October 9. // FCC

Emergency Location Service Announced for US Android Owners, Provides Better GPS Data to 911 Centers

Tim — Wed, 19 Sep 2018 15:30:44 +0000

Should you ever need it, placing a call to 911 on your Android phone will now let responders on the other line know much more about your location. Announced today, Google is launching ELS (Emergency Location Service) in the US with RapidSOS, T-Mobile, and West in an effort to bring more accurate location to emergency call centers. ELS itself is not new to Android. Launched in 2016, ELS has provided faster and more accurate location to emergency communications centers when an Android user places an emergency call in various countries around the world. Now in the US, with the RapidSOS integration and T-Mobile compatibility to start, the process of locating someone who placed a 911 call from an Android will be even better. As Google explains, there will be no need for a separate app to be installed, OS update, or special hardware requirement. The improved location is computed on the device and delivered directly to emergency service providers. Here's a breakdown of the benefits following the RapidSOS combo.

In partnership with emergency technology company RapidSOS, we provide ELS location directly to emergency communications centers through their secure, IP-based data platform. RapidSOS integrates with existing software at emergency centers in the U.S. to provide a faster, more accurate location with ELS. In testing the technology in the U.S., emergency centers have told us ELS has already helped save lives in their jurisdiction, decreasing the average uncertainty radius from 159 meters to 37 meters (from 522 feet to 121 feet).

Now, just because this has been announced for T-Mobile's network to start, that doesn't mean we won't see it on others. Additionally, the standard ELS is already present on all Android devices (Android 4.4 and up), so rest assured that whenever you call 911, your GPS information is likely being shared. // Google

Verizon Galaxy Note 9 Grabs a Fresh Update (Updated)

Kellen — Wed, 19 Sep 2018 14:26:29 +0000

Verizon's Galaxy Note 9 picked up a fresh update today, its second since launch. The update will arrive as software version N960USQS1ARH6. The update includes the September Android security patch and nothing else from what readers are telling us. Typically, when these updates rollout, Verizon posts changelogs (here) that deliver the details. They haven't done that yet, but everyone that tipped us off says it's a security update only.

RELATED: Bixby update should stop accidental button presses

To check for the update, which should be live for everyone, head into Settings>System update. If we get an official changelog, we'll update this post with any new info. UPDATE: Changelog posted, and yep, it's just a security patch.

Cheers Alfredo and Justin!

Latest Essential AMA: Software Update Speed, DAC Whereabouts, and Camera Improvements

Tim — Wed, 19 Sep 2018 14:13:03 +0000

Essential continues its stellar record of transparency with yet another installment of monthly AMA over on its subreddit. This month, folks are still being impatient over the launch of Essential's DAC (Audio Adapter HD), people want to know how Essential is so quick with the software updates, and there is also plenty of curiosity around whether or not owners can expect new features for the camera and software in general. What we do with these posts is try to summarize the AMA into a few of the bigger topics answered by the Essential team. Honestly, the biggest piece of info from this month's entry is that Essential has thought about a trade-in program for a potential followup device, which Kellen has already wrote about. Hypebeasts will hypebeast. Here's the juicy stuff, but if you'd like to see the AMA in its entirety, look here.

Do you have an update for us on the DAC accessory?

We can confirm that Audio Adapter HD is nearly ready for release. We're in the final stages of certification with the FCC (we've been told this process takes approximately 6 weeks) and will share more information on release dates and pricing soon. The team has been working hard and we're excited to deliver one of the best mobile audio experiences available.

If you guys introduce a new device, do you think you would open a trade-in program for PH-1s?

Thanks for the suggestion! It's something we've definitely discussed.

Can you tell us about how your software team managed to launch Pie the same day as Google released it for the Pixels?

First off Google does a staged rollout of all of their software and app updates. That should explain why you received your update before your friend.

Normally we will receive final code updates 2-3 weeks before we can push an OTA. We have an incredible engineering team who is able to implement those patches quickly and will normally have 2 weeks to test out the build. We'll push it out to our internal employees and have them live on the build before we're comfortable pushing it out to all of you.

Are you bringing back notch settings in this security release?

We sure are! It's in for our October security patch release and we'll be working to get it out to you as quickly as possible.

Android Pie supports dual camera streams. Does this mean sometime we will get it in the Essential [camera] app?

Android Pie is fairly new and we feel that it will have at least one maintenance release. We want to see how that shakes out. Meanwhile, we do not have any immediate plans to leverage Multi-Camera API Support in Android Pie.

Any chance we can get portrait mode using monochrome?

Portrait mode requires the use of both the RGB and Mono camera to create a shallow depth of field. So really this is more a question of how we would apply the filter to just the monochrome image in post processing. Theoretically possible but would take some deep work that I don't think we have the cycles for right now. Work around would be to apply a B/W filter to your portrait shot. That's what I've been doing.

Are there plans to fix the well-known scrolling smoothness problem?

We have exhausted what we can do programmatically to tune in Software given the touch panel HW limitations BUT we have added an option in developer options (developer options/Touch Sensitivity) under Input settings that allows you to control the sensitivity. I recommend playing around with the slider in there and see if there is settings that works well for your liking. We did this in hopes our users could find their sweet spot.

When will we get Digital Wellbeing?

This is currently still only available to Pixel users in their beta. Unfortunately I'm unsure if this will be opened up to non Pixel phones.

Are you going to upgrade the linux kernel inside the OS from 4.4 to the latest linux kernel?

We are always striving to be up to date on LTS patches, but we probably won't do a new kernel version unless its part of a major OS upgrade (ie P->Q).

How long is this phone supported?

We'll provide platform updates for 2 years (until August 2019) and security updates for 3 years (until August 2020).

Can you add a panorama mode to the camera app?

Our goal continues to be to improve the Essential Camera app through periodic app updates. Top crashes, performance improvements, security fixes and high impact bugs will be on top of our to-do list. Select feature updates could likely make their way into these updates. At this time we have no few features planned for immediate release.

Essential has Discussed a Phone Trade-in Program for Its Next Device 😎

Kellen — Wed, 19 Sep 2018 13:32:21 +0000

Essential Phone 2 confirmed...probably not.

I want an Essential Phone 2, probably more than anyone. You guys are well aware of that. Today, Essential left the door open for such a sequel during their monthly AMA, and yeah, I'm (over)hyped. This entire post might also be a massive reach, but sometimes that's where we start when trying to make dreams come true. The Essential team was asked today if they would consider a trade-in program should they introduce a new device as a way to reward loyal customers. Their response?

Thanks for the suggestion! It's something we've definitely discussed.

Wait. A company who supposedly isn't making a new phone and was trying to sell itself off, is discussing a trade-in program for the new phone they supposedly weren't making? 🤔 Of course, this could mean nothing (probably means nothing!)! It could be in reference to the home hub thing they are making or something else...be a new phone, dammit! Be the PH-2. Be the Essential Phone 2. OK, I'm done.

Reviews Say iPhone Xs Dual Camera Isn't as Good as Year Old Pixel 2 XL's Single Camera

Kellen — Wed, 19 Sep 2018 10:45:24 +0000

Camera battle: iPhone Xs vs. Pixel 2 XL

iPhone Xs and Xs Max reviews rolled in this week and the general takeaway seems to be that they are iPhones. That's a hell of a take, I know, but we aren't here to talk about that. No, we're here to pile on the fun news from those reviews that confirms that Google's Pixel 2 phones still have (arguably) the best smartphone cameras on the planet, even if they only feature a single camera and are a year old. A number of reviews ran comparisons of the new iPhone Xs dual camera to the Pixel 2 XL and rarely found the Xs shooters to be better. Before we get into this, let's recap the specs for each phone:

iPhone Xs and Xs Max: Dual 12MP (wide-angle at f/1.8 + telephoto at f/2.4); dual optical image stabilization; Smart HDR; Portrait Mode
Pixel 2 and 2 XL: Single 12.2MP (f/1.8); optical and electronic image stabilization; HDR+; Portrait Mode

So we've got very similar cameras, it's just that the iPhone Xs has a second telephoto lens. Otherwise, these two shooters stack up almost spec-for-spec, including in HDR, where they are both doing similar processes of stacking multiple photos in order to create the final product. Apple is apparently taking a variety of exposures for their HDR magic, while Google underexposes the photos it uses. Now, what exactly are the reviews saying about the iPhone Xs camera vs. the Pixel 2? That Apple has improved over the iPhone X, which wasn't as good as the Pixel 2, but isn't quite at the level of Google's year-old phone in all situations. The reviews I'm referring to are those from Tom's Guide and The Verge. You should check them out as they dive deeply in. Also, be sure to look at Mashable's, as they've done a really nice job of comparing photos from various devices (Note 9 in there too). Mashable doesn't exactly love the look of the Pixel 2 photos over the Xs, though, so take off your fanboy pants when you head over there. The first example I saw from those with an iPhone Xs comparing to the Pixel 2 XL's camera was The Verge's James Bareham. He Tweeted the images below, suggesting that they show "just how much better" the Pixel 2 is over the new iPhone. Now, the replies to his comparison are pretty funny, with many iPhone fans arguing that he is incorrect. He is not incorrect.

Pixel 2 XL (left) vs. iPhone Xs (right)

But what you get here is really two different finished products that each company is likely aiming for. Google's Pixel 2 camera, which I do prefer, always goes nuts with contrast and adds some color punch in order to create really nice depth and a shareworthy photo. The iPhone Xs picture does none of that, really. In many of the comparisons at those links above, you'll see that iPhone Xs photos come off flat, lack the contrast and punch, and might take a little extra work in the editing department in order for you to become the Instagram king with. So it's a preference thing for users. Do you want Google to do all of the work or do you want to do some work on your own? Here are some additional examples from Tom's Guide:

Pixel 2 XL (left) vs. iPhone Xs (right)

These shots really show the Pixel 2 XL excelling. The portrait shot is clearer and cooler without the skin smoothing that the Xs is trying to do. The clock picture differences are pretty remarkable. Sure, the iPhone Xs brought in more light, but in this case, that doesn't at all make for an appealing photo. It shows more of that smoothing, plus it fails to highlight the star of the show, which is the clock. There is also this really sharp line around every human that looks completely unnatural. Anyways, the point is that after years of putting out sub-par cameras, Google really has found some magic with its Pixel line that others keep trying and failing to replicate. And guess what? The Pixel 3 is still coming.

Samsung Phones With AR Emoji Can Now Access a Zootopia Pack

Tim — Wed, 19 Sep 2018 10:42:00 +0000

Yet another Disney-inspired AR Emoji pack is available for Samsung devices that support it -- Galaxy S9, S9+, Note 9. Hurry, call your kids, because a Zootopia pack is now available for download. I've never seen Zootopia, so I'm not going to name any characters or even attempt to speak like I know what I'm talking about. From that header image alone, I can compile that there is a fox, rabbit, and sloth. They're cute. To download this new pack, open up your camera app, select the AR Emoji mode, then hit the "+" button to find the pack and install from Galaxy Apps. // Samsung

Files in Android Pie Update for Galaxy S9+ Point to 4 Galaxy S10 Models, One With 5G Support

Tim — Wed, 19 Sep 2018 09:04:34 +0000

The existence of particular XML documents inside the Android Pie update for Samsung's Galaxy S9+ has Android nerds excited this morning. You see, it's been known for a while that "Beyond" is the codename for Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S10. In an analysis of system apps found inside the Pie update for Galaxy S9+, XDA stumbled across the Beyond codename, but with a few interesting variations to go with it. Listed is beyond0, beyond1, beyond2, and beyond25g. From information provided by XDA, they believe Beyond 0 will be a Galaxy S10 with 5.8" display and single rear-facing camera, Beyond 1 will have 5.8" display and dual rear cameras, while Beyond 2 and Beyond 2 5G will be Galaxy S10+ models. Of course, the big news here is that there's the potential for a Galaxy S10+ model with support for mobile 5G. We already know mobile 5G is coming, but we've been waiting patiently to hear from phone manufacturers when we'll see hardware that can access it.

You'll also notice in the XML file names that there is sometimes a "Q" listed. It's believed that Q signifies a Qualcomm processor inside. When there is no Q, it's an Exynos-powered variant. Because this is nothing more than XML files inside of an update for Galaxy S9+, it's hard to call any of this concrete. Samsung could merely be starting work on software development for its next phones, but that doesn't mean we'll see 4 Galaxy S10 models launch early next year. It's always a possibility, though. // XDA

OnePlus 6T has a Dual Camera, Guys

Kellen — Wed, 19 Sep 2018 08:31:46 +0000

Within the past few weeks, a couple of purported renders of the OnePlus 6T floated around the tech media-sphere, showing that the upcoming device from OnePlus may feature a triple camera layout. We didn't post them, because they looked fake as f*ck. Today, a new image as well as a teaser video show the OnePlus 6T and it certainly does not have a triple camera. The first image, which you can see below, arrives via WinFuture, showing a device that looks almost identical to the OnePlus 6 on the back. It has a mirror black finish, dual camera setup, and similar shape, though they believe it to be slightly taller than the original 6. As you can see if you look close enough, there isn't a rear-fingerprint reader either. Then again, that's not surprising as OnePlus already confirmed the fingerprint reader would be placed on the front of the phone, within the display.

Additionally, a teaser video for the phone has surfaced and it too shows a dual rear camera setup, lack of fingerprint on the back, and lets you know that the OnePlus 6T has a "cooler way to unlock your phone." The phone in the video here sure looks like the OnePlus 6T from above. If we get that teardrop display notch and this in-display fingerprint reader is decent, man, I'm going to want this phone. We know it'll be fast. We know the rest of the specs will be right. We know the software will be good. And we think the price won't scare everyone off.

Samsung is Bringing Major Changes to Galaxy S9 With Android Pie

Kellen — Tue, 18 Sep 2018 15:13:59 +0000

Galaxy S9 Android Pie gets a first look.

Android Pie is still likely months away from a release to Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ owners, but an early preview build has given us a look at the major changes that are coming. Not only that, we're getting a first look at Samsung Experience 10, which will arrive alongside the latest in Android as it hits Samsung's phones. The folks at XDA were sent screenshots of Android Pie running on the Galaxy S9+. The series of shots they shared show huge tweaks to the UI and an adoption of a Pixel-esque theme, as well as an abundance of rounded corners. This is looking a lot like a Google UI, only Samsung might have gone a bit overboard. First up, we've included a shot of the home screen, notification shade, and app switcher. All are quite different. You've got a new theme for the navigation (thank you, Samsung!), a much-more rounded experience in the notification shade, and a new vertical UI to the app switcher. While I have often criticized Samsung in the past for creating a UI that barely resembles what Google wants with Android, this is very much in line with Google's Android Pie.

When I made a comment about Samsung going overboard, I was referring to what you'll see below of the settings menu. Samsung seems to have taken Google's rounded corner boxes (like is in the Google Feed) and applied them to settings sections. Rather than a single screen of settings for display, everything is now weirdly broken up into boxes. I should point out that XDA believes the screenshots here to be showing off a night theme. That could be why we're seeing such separation between items with the black in the background. Then again, how would that really change with a day or light theme other than there being a different color there. I don't know - it's weird, but this is early.

Samsung may consider introducing its own gesture navigation too, though this isn't like any of the other options available on the market. Samsung's version is having a user hide the navigation bar, then use swipe up gestures to go back, get home, or open the app switcher.

This early Android Pie build also shows a revamped Bixby UI and refreshes to many Samsung apps. This is a fun leak because we get to see at an early stage what Samsung is working on for the big Android Pie update on the Galaxy S9, S9+, and (more than likely) Galaxy Note 9. And they are doing this without a new phone in sight, so that could mean a major software update that hasn't been held back because they'd rather push out a new phone with new software first. What do you guys think? // XDA

DEAL: Buy Galaxy Note 9 512GB and Get Free Gear S3 or Fit 2 Pro, Buy Verizon 128GB and Get the Same Goodies

Tim — Tue, 18 Sep 2018 14:13:52 +0000

Galaxy Note 9 hasn't been on the market for too long, but we're already seeing Samsung sweeten the pot a bit if you purchase the device through its website. Should you purchase a 512GB model, you'll be treated to your choice of either a Gear Fit 2 Pro wearable or Gear S3 + wireless charger combo. However, if you purchase through Verizon, you can get the same choice of free goodies, but only need to purchase a 128GB model. Important to note, though, the Verizon deal is only eligible if you purchase the phone through a Device Payment Plan. On top of the free wearable, Samsung is also granting Note 9 buyers 10,000 V-Bucks for use inside of Fortnite. And yes, you'll get the Galaxy skin, too! This is only 5,000 less V-Bucks than the initial pre-order promotion, which isn't bad at all. If you need more info on Galaxy Note 9, we have a full review, as well as 5 reasons the phone is worth buying. Samsung Link

Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL: What Do We Know?

Kellen — Tue, 18 Sep 2018 13:05:05 +0000

We know almost everything about the Pixel 3.

From time to time, we try and recap the story of a phone, according to leaks, rumors, and reports, before it arrives. With the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, this feels a bit weird because we know almost the entire story already, including when it'll be announced by Google. But you are all the most excited about the Pixel 3 over any other October release, so it's time to recap what we know so far.

Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL

Those are the names of the two phones that Google will announce: Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. Those are the only two phones that Google will announce. If you came to this post looking for a third phone called Pixel Ultra, you came to the wrong post. That is a made-up phone by thirsty YouTubers. The Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL are Google's 2018 phones. We know they exist as "blueline" (Pixel 3) and "crosshatch" (Pixel 3 XL) at Google, two codenames we first revealed back in October of last year. They have popped up regularly at AOSP, where Google was referencing them as they prepared Android P and readied the phones for launch. Google, again, hasn't referenced a third phone to date, only these two.

When will Google announce the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL?

On October 9. It's official. The event is going down in NYC and will take place at 11AM Eastern (8AM Pacific). It'll be streamed too, in case you aren't media and want to watch it.

What do they look like?

This is the Pixel 3:

And this is the Pixel 3 XL:

They look a lot like last year's phones with couple of major tweaks. For one, the Pixel 3 is the smaller of the two, yet looks a lot like last year's Pixel 2 XL. It has smaller bezels this time around and is about the same overall size as last year's Pixel 2 only with a bigger display. We'll get stereo front facing speakers again, as well as a dual front camera setup. As for the Pixel 3 XL, it sports an already-controversial notch at the top of its display. It's still about the same size as last year's Pixel 2 XL, though, it just has that giant notch up top that some can't seem to get over without ever having touched the phone or used it. Like the Pixel 3, it'll feature front stereo speakers and dual front cameras. Both phones will sport two-tone colorways, but we are under the impression that their backsides are glass panels that likely just have different colors underneath to show that color-blocked look of previous Pixel phones. That glass back will allow for wireless charging. Each also has a rear-fingerprint reader and single camera out back. In terms of colors, Google has teased us with white, black, and mint models. There may be a pink version on the way too.

What about Pixel 3 specs?

The Pixel 3 will likely feature a 5.5" FHD (2160x1080, 440ppi) AMOLED display, 2915mAh battery, dual front 8MP (f/1.8) cameras , rear 12.2MP (f/1.8) camera, Snapdragon 845 processor, 4GB RAM (could be other variants), either 64GB or 128GB storage, wireless charging, USB-C port, stereo front speakers, and a squeezy side to activate Google Assistant. The Pixel 3 XL will be almost identical to that, but with a 6.2" QHD (2960x1440) AMOLED display (it's also possibly 6.7") and 3430mAh battery. Both phones should have decent water and dust resistance, fast charging, and no headphone jack. According to the FCC filings for each phone, they have all the big bands needed to support every major US carrier. On T-Mobile? Yes, band 12, 66, and 71 are all there.

Anything else interesting?

Rumors of a Pixel Stand sound somewhat interesting. It could be a wireless charging stand sold separately that turns your phone into an always-listening Google Assistant machine. That would mean using "OK, Google" commands while your phone is docked to get weather, play music, read messages, set alarms or timers, etc. through a special UI. In the box, we also expect Google to include USB-C earbuds for the first time. These buds will not only plug directly into the Pixel 3 USB-C port, they'll have controls to activate Google Assistant and control media too.

How much will they cost and when can I buy them?

That we don't know. Those are basically the only two bits of info we don't know. Last year's Pixel 2 started at $649 and the Pixel 2 XL started at $849. I don't think we should expect lower price points, but we should probably prepare for a higher starting point for the Pixel 3 because of its larger display. The Pixel 3 XL could see a jump too, thanks to that new notched display. As for when you'll be able to buy a Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL, I'd imagine Google will put them up for pre-order pretty quickly after announcing each on October 9. They could then begin shipping them in about two weeks time. The Pixel 2 was announced on October 4 and given an October 17 ship date out of the gate. The Pixel 2 XL wasn't as lucky and there were delays for select versions of it. That's how Google rolls, though.

YouTube Shutting Down YouTube Gaming App Next March

Tim — Tue, 18 Sep 2018 11:37:29 +0000

In March, 2019, the YouTube Gaming app is going into retirement. Don't be sad, though, as YouTube plans to focus its entire gaming effort into the regular YouTube app and web experience. According to YouTube, 200 million people across the globe access gaming videos on the platform daily. Want another impressive stat? 50 billion hours of gaming content has been watched on YouTube in the last year alone. To help cater a special place for these gaming fans, YouTube is redoing its current youtube.com/gaming landing. With this rolling out now, you'll be met with the top streams currently taking place, a selection of games to watch, trending videos, plus more. In an effort to help those who are new to content creation, YouTube is also creating a dedicated On the Rise section. This is where you'll find creators who are just getting started, but show plenty of potential for the gaming community. So yes, YouTube Gaming as an app is going away, but it's bringing a better game viewing experience to the regular YouTube, which is just fine. // YouTube

Google Home Hub Smart Display Makes First Appearance (Updated)

Kellen — Tue, 18 Sep 2018 09:58:11 +0000

Rumors suggesting that Google would release its own Google Assistant-powered smart display first surfaced about a month ago. Today, we're getting what sure appears to be our first look at the device, dubbed Google Home Hub. The device reportedly features a 7-inch touch display that is attached to a speaker outfitted with familiar Google Home-esque fabric that should be available in both white or charcoal, like other Home units. It looks a lot like a Square stand with iPad attached.

UPDATE: The Google Home Hub just showed up at the FCC!

The front of the device includes a couple of sensors (ambient light and color), but may not feature a camera, which is odd. One of the big selling points of the Lenovo Smart Display is the front camera that can be used for Duo calls. On the back, we have a mute switch and volume rocker, as well as the power plug port. WiFi support over 2.4GHz and 5GHz is there too, as is Bluetooth, and the unit weights 480g. For speakers, listings for the unit that revealed all of this info say that you should expect "Full-range speaker for crystal clear sound," as well as far-field voice recognition for Assistant commands.

And that's pretty much it. Google Smart Displays aren't new and the functionality that Google will embed probably won't change much over those from Lenovo (our review) or JBL. You'll get access to Google Assistant with visuals, a speaker for listening to music, and a clean design. We don't know pricing, but current Smart Displays are starting as low $199.99. This could be priced similarly. // MySmartPrice

Razer Phone 2 Listing in Play Console Details Chroma App, 8GB RAM, and Snapdragon 835(?)

Tim — Tue, 18 Sep 2018 09:34:00 +0000

For those with access to the Google Play Console, which would be any Android app developer with an active app listed, Razer's upcoming Razer Phone 2 is now listed inside. This doesn't mean much, but it does give us a fresh look at the phone, as well as a few specs that we've been dying to know about. From what we can take away, Razer Phone features 8GB RAM, an undisclosed display size with a resolution of 2560 x 1440, Android 8.1, and a Snapdragon 835. Before you grab the torches and pitchforks, note that this listing is likely in error and the phone is most likely to ship with a Snapdragon 845, not the 835. Beyond a few specs, we can clearly see a Chroma app shown on the phone's home screen. Razer's Chroma is all about the lights, but as of right now, we don't know how this phone will benefit from it. If I had to guess, I'd suspect the Razer logo on the back of the phone will be an LED that can be lit up in cool colors or maybe we'll see added control over the phone's existing notification light. Your guess is as good as ours right now. We don't have long to go before Razer Phone 2 is official, with the unveiling scheduled for October 10. Frankly, this phone looks a helluva lot like last year's Razer Phone, which isn't very inspiring. What are your thoughts?

// XDA | Google Play Console

DEAL: Racing Computer Chair With Footrest for Snoozing in Office, Just $108 ($51 Off With Coupon)

Tim — Tue, 18 Sep 2018 08:51:00 +0000

I don't think we've ever shared an office chair as a deal on the site before, but I'm all for changing that. You see, it's possible that some of you are sitting at your computer reading this, just as I am sitting at my computer writing this. The point is, being comfortable if you sit at a computer all day is important, but not only do I want my chair to feel good, I want it to look good, too. If you've watched any online streamers in the past couple of years, you'll know that these racing seat-style computer chairs are all the rage, and over on Amazon currently, you can get one for just $108 with a coupon code, $51 off the usual $159 price. I've never ran down the specs for a chair, but according to the listing, we've got a reclining/adjustable backrest and fixed cushion armrest that adapts to the backrest, non-reflective materials for your livestreaming needs, plus a footrest that slides out from under the chair for maximum snooze capability. I'm not here to judge your sleeping habits at work, but if you need something like this, now seems like a good time to pull the trigger. Amazon Link (Coupon Code: Coavas02)

Gboard Gets a Floating Keyboard, But It Might Not be Ready Yet

Kellen — Tue, 18 Sep 2018 08:13:30 +0000

Last night, Google pushed out a new update to its Gboard keyboard app on Android and included a somewhat exciting new feature. If found right away, you could turn on a new floating keyboard that would allow you to take your keyboard to any portion of the screen and tap or glide away. I've attached a couple of screenshots here, but the keyboard is no longer accessible to me. It's almost as if Google added it and then realized it shouldn't be public quite yet. Before it was gone, you accessed it by tapping the keyboard arrow menu, then the 3-dot menu from within that menu. It was listed next to One-handed mode and Settings. The floating Gboard keyboard could be resized, slid to any point on your screen, and dropped back into the bottom of the screen. It was pretty slick, though I'm not sure I could see myself using it much on a phone. On a tablet or Chromebook, yeah that makes sense. Any get the update and still seeing the option? Google Play Link

Verizon LG V20 Grabs Oreo Update

Kellen — Mon, 17 Sep 2018 23:32:49 +0000

After announcing that the LG V20 in Korea was scheduled to get the update to Oreo at the end of August, then pushing it to the AT&T model, LG is now pushing Oreo to Verizon's variant too. The Verizon LG V20 will see software version VS99520a and the August Android security patch. The update includes icon masking, to help your home screen look cleaner. You've also got app shortcuts, notifications badges, settings reorganization, and other optimizations. It's a pretty big update, even if it does seem to be months and months late. To check for it, head into Settings>System updates. Verizon didn't offer up an update size, but my guess is that it's well over 1GB. And for those who missed the AT&T V20 Oreo update, you should have received software version H91020g back at the end of August. That update was 1.7GB in size. // Verizon Cheers R H!

Twitter is Giving You Your Timeline Back

Kellen — Mon, 17 Sep 2018 18:06:40 +0000

Twitter chronological timeline is coming back.

Twitter announced this evening that they are giving you back the chronological timeline you never told them to take away. In the near future, you'll be able to sort your Tweets without all of the extra fluff and instead see them as they come in. The @TwitterSupport account ran through a couple of setup Tweets before breaking the news this evening, noting that they've heard you loud and clear, Most Recent Tweets Only, people. In the "coming weeks," you'll find a toggle that lets you choose between a timeline that is most relevant and one that shows you the latest Tweets in order. This is not a joke. Until that new toggle runs through, Twitter has tweaked the "Show the best Tweets first" toggle. When off, it now does this:

When off, you’ll only see Tweets from people you follow in reverse chronological order. Previously when turned off, you’d also see “In case you missed it” and recommended Tweets from people you don’t follow.

Be on the lookout for an update that gives you that toggle! https://twitter.com/TwitterSupport/status/1041838954008391680

Amazon is Readying the Alexa Device You Dreamed of: a Microwave

Kellen — Mon, 17 Sep 2018 15:38:34 +0000

Alexa, re-heat my 3-day-old white sauce pizza.

Amazon is about centuple down on its Alexa-powered devices, according to a new report. The online shopping behemoth will introduce at least 8 new devices that can be controlled by voice before the end of the year. They may show them all off before the end of the month. The report arrives via CNBC who says they've learned of the new devices, as well as an upcoming event, thanks to details in internal documents. The info they've reviewed shows a list of devices that includes a microwave oven, amplifier, receiver, subwoofer, and an in-car gadget. All of these products has Amazon's Alexa on some level and can act as a voice assistant. Pricing or a release time frame wasn't provided, but an event this month should mean that many of these items will be available by the holidays. And you know how much Amazon loves selling its own goods at big discounts during Black Friday. With devices like a microwave, subwoofer, and amplifier on the list of new Alexa-equipped Amazon goods, we're starting to branch further and further away from just smart speakers here and there. This is Amazon preparing to push into all of your home electronics and appliances. For someone like me, who loves smart gadgets that can be controlled remotely or via phone or voice, this is awesome news. If you like privacy, well, lol. Who wants the Amazon microwave? (Me!) // CNBC

Galaxy S8, S8+, and Note 8 to Receive Super Slow Motion and AR Emoji Modes in Coming Updates

Tim — Mon, 17 Sep 2018 14:51:27 +0000

An update for unlocked Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ models looks to be rolling out in the US, but possibly more important, unlocked EU models of Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+, and Galaxy Note 8 are receiving updates that point to big things coming for owners of last year's lineup. According to the changelogs posted to reddit by current EU unlocked owners, the updates bring Super Slow Motion and AR Emoji camera modes, as well as the September security patch. This means that US models, the ones powered by Snapdragon chips and not an Exynos, should also expect these changes coming soon. As for the US unlocked Galaxy S9 and S9+ update I mentioned, the changelog is rather short. You'll get September's security patch, as well as the ability to select a recording time inside the Super Slow Motion camera mode. It's nice to see Samsung bring a few 2018 features to 2017's lineup. // reddit [2] Cheers Taylor!

Carriers are Going to Bring Out All New Pricing Tricks With 5G

Kellen — Mon, 17 Sep 2018 13:14:22 +0000

5G pricing has me worried.

Once 5G gets here, I'm fully expecting my wireless bill to increase. Carriers have poured billions into their next-gen networks and they are going to want someone to pay for the investment. Sprint has already confirmed that they plan to raise prices. T-Mobile, on the other hand, keeps trying to get you to believe that they'll lower prices with 5G, assuming they are allowed to acquire Sprint. What we don't yet know is how 5G pricing will change in terms of how you are billed. AT&T's David Christopher, who is the man in charge of AT&T's consumer wireless and video businesses, acknowledged that they've got some ideas on deck. Speaking at MWC Americas where Fierce Wireless was on hand to pick-up his comments, Christopher said that "business models are still evolving," there is "an opportunity for new consumer consumption models," and that they could offer different tiers of service. Rather than the customers paying a standard flat monthly fee, we could see the addition of a low-latency video game service fee, for example. At least, that's the example he provided. Of course, my brain runs to night-sweat-inducing thoughts of high and low tiers of speeds (which carriers are already doing), a straight premium fee to access 5G, as well as preferred 5G band support, premium gaming tiers and music tiers and video streaming tiers, HD Netflix tiers, and complication and price increases. With 5G coming and net neutrality dead, carriers will do anything they want when it comes to your data connection and the price they want to charge for it. Thankfully, we've got some time before 5G phones are here to access these next-gen 5G networks. That should mean that you won't have to entertain 5G or carrier pricing tricks if you don't want to. The networks might be going live at the end of this year and early 2019, but the phones to access them are coming later. They may one day push you onto 5G, but it'll be a while. // Fierce Wireless

Play Crackables From OnePlus for Chance to Win Various Prizes, $30K Gaming Setup

Tim — Mon, 17 Sep 2018 12:04:27 +0000

OnePlus announced Crackables this week, a mobile web-based game developed in collaboration with teams at Google and other various studios. The game is a puzzle or codebreaker game of sorts, designed specifically to challenge even the brightest among us. Should you win, though, you'll be treated to a gaming setup estimated to be worth $30,000, but there are other prizes along the way. I can't tell you what the "crypto-puzzles" will be like, but we'll know once the Challenge goes live at 5AM Pacific on September 18. As for a story to go with the game, there seems to be an AI that is trapped and needs your help to escape. All I can tell is that it has a robotic female voice. I'm pretty terrible with puzzles and this game seems very involved, so I'll leave it to you to play it for me. To play, follow the link below via your mobile device. Sorry, PC players, this game is for mobile only. Play Crackables

OnePlus is Going to Make a Smart TV, You Can Name It (Updated)

Kellen — Mon, 17 Sep 2018 10:37:42 +0000

OnePlus has a smart TV on the mind.

Now that OnePlush has established itself as an important player in the smartphone industry, they are setting sights on another category of tech: TVs. OnePlus announced over the weekend that they are going to make a OnePlus TV that fits into the smart TV category. OnePlus CEO Pete Lau will lead this new division, where they'll attempt to balance "high-quality hardware with the latest in technology, developing a seamless user experience, and crafting hardware that is minimalistic and timeliness in design." Lau wants to make it easier for you to share photos from your phone to your TV. Apparently, he doesn't know about Google Cast? All jokes aside, OnePlus says they are only taking the initial steps to create a smart TV, so it could be some time before they ever release a product you can buy. This early of a tease is a bit odd, if I'm being honest. I'm also not sure I see a big need for another TV maker that makes good-enough products with really good prices and includes some form of a smart UI. There are dozens of those already in the TV market. That opinion aside, OnePlus wants your help in naming this new TV. You can offer up suggestions in their forums where you'll have a chance to win fabulous prizes should your suggested name be chosen. You can enter here.

UPDATE: Pete Lau spoke with PCMag and revealed more details about their upcoming TV. The TV will be a 4K LED TV and it'll run someone else's OS. OnePlus isn't creating its own TV OS, so don't be surprised if it's Android TV. Lau wouldn't say who the partner is, but who else is OnePlus going to use? Either way, the TV could have far-field microphones and act more like a smart speaker assistant than a TV. The goal is to create a TV that is "clean, efficient, and smart." The TV will arrive next year.

Interested in OnePlus' take on a TV?

Dead Trigger 2 Celebrates 100 Million Downloads With New Game Modes and Zombie Chickens

Tim — Mon, 17 Sep 2018 10:07:17 +0000

Dead Trigger 2 launched October, 2013. That's about 5 years ago. Because it's been so long, I assumed development on the game ceased a while ago, and I was also recently thinking how great it would be to see a Dead Trigger 3 on a new SHIELD Portable. Well, it turns out Dead Trigger 2 is not dead and a massive update is rolling out to celebrate 100 million downloads of the title. As for a new SHIELD Portable, I don't think NVIDIA has anything like that planned. Inside the update, the developers say there are all-new modes to play, including one where you'll be tasked with destroying zombie chickens. In addition, the Hideout (player's base of operations) has received an updated look for the occasion. Naturally, you'll also find new weapons for killing zombies. Nice. The update is going on to Google Play right now. Google Play Link

Poll: Which October Launch are You Most Excited For?

Kellen — Mon, 17 Sep 2018 09:59:39 +0000

Pixel 3. Razer Phone 2. OnePlus 6T. V40.

Apple did its song and dance last week and will pretty much own the month of September. October, though, that's another story. Next month is shaping up to be a hell of a month for Android fans. On October 3, LG will announce the V40. Then the following week, Google will unveil the Pixel and Pixel 3 XL on October 9, Razer will show off the Razer Phone 2 on October 10, and Samsung has a new Galaxy product for us on October 11. The week after that we'll get new products from Huawei (October 16) and quite possibly, the OnePlus 6T on October 17. And if you care, Microsoft is throwing a Surface event on October 2 too. Sooooooooooo, which launch are you the most excited for? [poll id="496"]

OnePlus 6 Owners Treated to Android Pie Open Beta 3 Update

Tim — Mon, 17 Sep 2018 08:56:06 +0000

Yet another open beta update (we're on #3 now) is available to OnePlus 6 owners, filled with system fixes, support for more Parallel Apps, and an updated OnePlus Switch feature. According to OnePlus' changelog, a stability issue has been resolved for ambient display and stability has also been improved for face unlock and the fingerprint reader. For new features in this beta build, OnePlus implemented support for a half second hold of the power button to open up Google Assistant or any digital assistant app of your choice. We'll have to test this ourselves to see if adding a hot button to the power button was a good idea. Notably, Google Pay is still not supported in this open beta build. Sorry.

Open Beta 3 Changelog

System

Fixed stability issues with ambient display
Improved stability for face unlock and fingerprint scanner
Added support to launch google assistant or other third party assistant app by holding power button for 0.5 seconds

Parallel Apps

Added support for more apps (Telegram ,Discord,IMO, Uber, OLA) in parallel APPS

OnePlus Switch v2.1.0

Added manual connection method if unable to connect switch with QR code on the old device
Supported backup and recovery for application data including home screen, lock screen and APP layout
Bug fixes and support for more Android models

Known Issues

Some applications may not function as expected when running on this beta version
Google Pay service is not working

If you're already in the open beta, you'll receive a notification automatically when the OTA hits your device. If you're not in the beta, follow the link below to download the file, then manually flash it to your phone from the System Updates section in the Settings menu. // OnePlus

First 5G Phones Probably Won't Work Between Carriers

Kellen — Mon, 17 Sep 2018 08:43:15 +0000

5G will be great, some day.

Mobile 5G in the US will start to arrive over the coming months, first with AT&T and a 5G hotspot product, followed by Verizon in early 2019. T-Mobile and Sprint will trickle in 5G too. When that happens, and the first phones are sold, you shouldn't expect them to all work interchangeably between networks as many of your LTE phones do now. That's not all that surprising, though. As these carriers build out their 5G networks, they will do so over different frequencies and bands. Gordon Mansfield, AT&T's VP of radio networks and device design, explained at the end of last week at MWC Americas that "nobody has figured out how to cram the 28GHz 5G that Verizon and T-Mobile are using, and AT&T's 39GHz 5G, into one box yet." Not only that, but T-Mobile is going to push 5G over its 600MHz band too, which Verizon isn't. So you may have some overlap, but the reality is that this stuff is new and will take time for cross-compatibility to arrive. Like with the launch of 4G LTE, if you have concerns over initial connectivity and any other items (like battery life), you may not want to be one of the first to dive in. 5G will take years and years and years to mature, just like 4G LTE did. And if you do take a chance, live on the edge, and buy the Thunderbolt 5G, know what you are getting yourself into. // PCMag

Razer Phone 2 to be Unveiled October 10

Tim — Fri, 14 Sep 2018 13:15:48 +0000

Razer is sending out save-the-dates for its Razer Phone 2 event, complete with an outline for the device -- the green outline in the invite below. We aren't yet sure what to expect from Razer Phone 2, but if it's anything like the first, you can expect much attention to detail with regard to the display, audio, and overall performance of the device. As of right now, the original Razer Phone is still the only smartphone capable of 120Hz display refresh (an amazing feature), so we don't imagine Razer Phone 2 will ditch that. Are you ready for Razer Phone 2?

If Swiping in Gboard is Wonky for You, You're Not Alone -- Google Working on Fix

Tim — Fri, 14 Sep 2018 12:08:48 +0000

Multiple users on reddit and other various product forums are reporting a bug inside Gboard, Google's keyboard app. The bug is apparently messing with glide typing, which is the function that lets you swipe across letters to type a message. While you can still glide around, the keyboard is inputting words that don't match with what users are typing through glide. Naturally, that would be extremely annoying when you attempt to say one thing, but the keyboard recognizes it as something else. Thankfully, Google has acknowledged the issue and is working on a fix, according to a statement provided to 9to5Google.

We’re aware of a bug that affects glide typing accuracy in Gboard. We’re working on a fix; in the meantime, force-quitting Gboard or rebooting your phone may provide a temporary solution.

So you can either wait for a fix or reboot your phone to see if that corrects the issue for a bit. We'll you posted when a fix is live. // 9to5Google

Did Google Just Show Us the Three Pixel 3 Colors?

Kellen — Fri, 14 Sep 2018 09:21:10 +0000

Pixel 3 in Mint, White, and Black lookin' fresh.

A Google promo page may have just revealed the three colorways that Google will sell its Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL in. The page, which is hosted on Google's withgoogle.com domain, features a "coming soon" message next to an outline of a phone that interactively shows off each color. I've included them all here, but you've got a two-tone black model, white version, and then a mint that could be really fun. The white version showing a mint outer lines up with previous leaks too, all of which show a mint colored power button like the orange button we got on last year's Pixel 2 XL. The website also color blocks the top portion of the phone to represent the two-tone look we've gotten used to in the Pixel line. And remember, we expect a glass back this time that should feature wireless charging. Which color you want? You can see them all here by clicking the "G" logo on the phone.

Verizon Galaxy S7, S7 Edge, Moto Z2 Force, and ZenFone AR Updated With Security Patches

Tim — Fri, 14 Sep 2018 08:52:23 +0000

Four devices on Verizon are picking up various security patches this week. For Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge owners, you're getting August's patch, labeled as R16NW.G930VVRS4CRI1 and R16NW.G935VVRS4CRI1. Moto Z2 Force folk, you're getting September's with build number ODXS27.109-34-17. Lastly, ASUS ZenFone AR owners are getting June's security patch, labeled as v3.8.3. Hooray for security patch updates, even if they're old! // Verizon [2] [3] [4]

If an Android Company Tried to Sell Us the iPhone Xr, We'd Mercilessly Mock Them

Kellen — Fri, 14 Sep 2018 08:35:26 +0000

Android users, we're a unique group. Some might call us cheap, but I think we just like value. We want phones that have everything, yet whose prices never rise. We want innovation, sometimes without having to pay for it. And if we go the budget route, we still expect a lot, because of companies like OnePlus who keep everyone in check. We also know our sh*t. We don't blindly dive in very often to brands, and yeah, we do know the processor and amount of RAM. That's not a bad thing. I bring all of that up because Apple introduced a new phone this week called the iPhone Xr. I have no idea who this phone is made for, but I have seen a lot of praise for it. I've seen people call it Apple's most interesting product from this week's big event, that it'll help introduce some drama in Apple's phone line-up, that Google's Pixel 3 line should be scared (or something along those lines), and that this is the new iPhone to get. The thing is, if an Android manufacturer released an iPhone Xr, we'd seriously ask, "Are you serious with this?" Let me describe to you the iPhone Xr in spec-speak, because that's what Android folk do. It has a sub-1080p display (1792x828). On top of its lower resolution, it's an LCD panel, which is largely thought to be an inferior smartphone display type to OLED at this point, even if it has a catchy name like "Liquid Retina" that's made to sound expensive with a Jony Ive voiceover. It has a giant notch. There is ample bezel around the entire device. It doesn't have a headphone jack or a fingerprint reader. There isn't expandable storage, but it does come in 64GB, 128GB, or 256GB variants. It's water and dust rating sits at a decent IP67. Wireless charging is onboard. It has a single camera at 12MP (OIS and f/1.8). The front camera weighs in at 7MP and f/2.2. Stereo speakers are here too, as is Apple's new top-tier A12 Bionic chip. The body is made of alu-min-nium and comes in fun colors, like yellow. It starts at $749. SEVEN HUNDRED AND FORTY NINE DOLLARS. First of all, look at this bezel. I mean, lol?

Look at this unprotected camera hump that will never let this phone lay flat on a surface. Smh.

This is the sucker phone. It's the phone that Apple has already led people to believe is the well-priced new iPhone. And it's only well-priced because their other Xs phones are at the $1,000 mark. The Samsung Galaxy S9, which is Samsung's finest outside of the Note category, starts at $720. Most days, you can find it for $100 off, so $620ish. Shall we run down its specs? 5.8" QHD+ Super AMOLED display (no notch). 64GB, 128GB or 256GB storage options with microSD expansion. It has 4GB RAM. It has a single 12MP camera, but it's dual aperture at f/1.5 and f/2.4. The front camera is 8MP and f/1.7. It has not just wireless charging, but fast wireless charging and fast wired charging. It has stereo speakers and a headphone jack. Its water and dust rating is IP68. A fingerprint reader is there, as is an iris scanner and facial recognition. Like the Xr, it is made of metal and glass. It's colors aren't as fun, though. Still, it has everything one could ask for in a smartphone at a price point lower than the iPhone Xr, which is...Apple's budgety new...iPhone? Again, I have no idea. I know that Android users really are thought of as being cheap and maybe I'm only furthering that take here. But good lord, the iPhone Xr is a pretty Apple package with some catchy Apple names surrounding a phone that no Android company could ever sell you and I. It's missing all sorts of items that a typical $750 Android phone would have. Hell, it's missing features a $400-500 Android phone would have. Again, this is a sucker phone. It's a phone you and I would be hard-pressed to consider and would laugh off stage. We wouldn't be writing opinion pieces about it being the one to get. We'd be asking, "Is this a joke?"

Samsung has Another New Device to Announce on October 11

Kellen — Thu, 13 Sep 2018 19:23:39 +0000

Samsung just announced that it will host some sort of event on October 11 to celebrate the arrival of a new device. The company that just released the Galaxy Note 9 has more to show off...what? The invite posted to their press site doesn't mention a location, so this could just be an online announcement. It mentions the event or device being "4x fun" and that the new device is "bringing more ways to express yourself than ever before." The word "capture" is also there. Are we talking about a camera of some sort? New mid-range phones? I have no idea. I don't think we're quite ready for the foldable Galaxy phone. That's supposed to be coming at Samsung's Developer Conference in November. Welcoming guesses in the comments! For those keeping track, we were already expecting the LG V40 on October 3, Pixel 3 on October 9, and (more than likely) the OnePlus 6T on October 17. Now a new Galaxy device on October 11 too? Fun month. // Samsung

We've Got a Google Pixel 3 Teaser!

Kellen — Thu, 13 Sep 2018 19:14:38 +0000

3 for Pixel 3.

Google has opened up a teaser page on the Google Store for its upcoming October 9 event where they'll (finally) announce the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. The page only features a giant "3," as well as a sign-up button to stay informed on upcoming Google happenings. Once you sign-up, you'll see the following message:

Stay tuned! Looks like you've already enrolled for updates from the Google Store. Be on the lookout for some news from us on Oct. 9.

That's it. Unless, they mean 3 phones, like the Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, and Pixel Ultra (lol)! Or Half-Life 3. Or...I'll stop. October 9 is coming soon and we'll be on hand for the fun. // Google Store | reddit

Battery Saver is Randomly Turning on For Pixel and Essential Phone Owners (Updated)

Kellen — Thu, 13 Sep 2018 14:21:55 +0000

Battery saver, leave my Pixel 2 alone

A couple of hours ago, after not having touched my Pixel 2 XL for a while, calmly unlocked it only to notice that the battery looked weird. The battery looked weird because it had a red outline with a "+" in the middle, signaling that battery saver was on. It was odd, since I'm not sure I've ever turned on battery saver, but I had been in my quick settings toggles earlier to turn on my phone's flashlight and assumed maybe I had accidentally turned it on. I was wrong in assuming that. A couple of readers pointed out to us that their Essential and Pixel phones both had randomly turned on battery saver mode today. We then looked at reddit for both phones and yeah, there are threads with hundreds of comments from similar things happening to people. It happened to my wife's Pixel 2 as well. Google has already acknowledged the situation at this thread and is looking into it. Essential is keeping an eye on it here. UPDATE: Google has weighed in, saying that the battery saver was turning on because they ran an internal experiment that "mistakenly rolled out to more users than intended." They've rolled those changes back. That's kind of scary. The full statement is below:

Hi all, some of you may have noticed that battery saver turned on automatically today. This was an internal experiment to test battery saving features that was mistakenly rolled out to more users than intended. We have now rolled battery saver settings back to default. Please configure to your liking. Sorry for the confusion.

We aren't sure the problem, but many have noticed that their automatic switch for battery saver to come on changed from 15% to 99%. And that would sure cause battery saver to come on at all times. I do not have an automatic rule for mine set and it still came on by itself, so I'm not sure that's actually the full issue. Of course, having battery saver turn on by itself is worrisome. Battery saver "turns off some device features and restricts apps" in order to extend battery life. If that were to happen to your phone and you didn't notice for hours, there's no telling what you may have missed. Also, what kind of weird switch can change battery saver settings without phone owners touching them? We'll update this post as Google figures it out. Cheers Michael and Steve!

DEAL: Hisense's New 4K ULED Android TVs are $499 (55") and $749 (65") at Costco Right Now

Kellen — Thu, 13 Sep 2018 12:54:20 +0000

The new Android TV-equipped Hisense 4K TVs that were released during this year's World Cup are heavily discounted at Costco at the moment. The 65" version is $250 off and the 55" version is $150 off. You can get into these new "ULED" 4K TVs for as little as $499. Pretty good! To recap, these are the new H9E Plus models with super slim bezels, Dolby Vision and HDR10, Motion Rate 240 (120Hz native), Wide Color Gamut, and Android TV built-in with Google Assistant. They include 4 HDMI ports, USB ports, WiFi and wired ethernet, and Bluetooth too. The 55" model also has 30w Harman/Kardon Sound. I'm testing the 55" model at the moment and can tell you that these TVs seems like a hell of a value. The ULED picture is super punchy, they look slick as hell, and the built-in Android TV is awesome. For $500, I'm not sure you'll find a TV at this tier for that price.

Costco links:

Hisense 65" ULED 4K Android TV (65H9050E) - $749.97
Hisense 55" ULED 4K Android TV (55H9050E) - $499.97

YouTube Kids Updated With "Older" Version as Young Billy Nears the Hell That is Puberty

Tim — Thu, 13 Sep 2018 12:48:03 +0000

Kids grow up. It's what they do. In a new update, YouTube is having the YouTube Kids app grow up right alongside your kid with the introduction of a new "Older" version inside of the app, aimed at kids age 8 to 12. Turned on from an existing Profile page, the Older version has more access to popular music videos and video games. Should you come across a video that you think is inappropriate for the Younger and Older versions, you can flag it to be reviewed by the YouTube team. Additionally, YouTube is also rolling out the ability for parents to handpick every single video and channel a child can access through YouTube Kids, which is great for the parent, but could easily been seen misconstrued as fascism to a young child. On a serious note, parents can enable the "Approved content only" mode, then can add channels and specific videos to a child's watchlist. However, after enabling this, note that a child will not be able to search for content on their own. These changes are rolling out right now to the YouTube Kids app on Google Play. Google Play Link // YouTube

Razer Phone Updated With July Security Patch, Undisclosed Bug Fixes

Tim — Thu, 13 Sep 2018 11:38:53 +0000

Razer Phone owners will see an update being pushed to their handsets this week, though, you may have issues when attempting to figure out exactly what's inside. Once installed, you'll find that the phone is now running July's security patch. Nope, not August's and not September's. It's definitely July's. In the changelog, "Bug fixes and performance improvements" are listed. Again, we have no official list of fixes from Razer, but according to users on the Razer Phone subreddit, the fixes appear to be aimed at external speaker volume and Timer/Alarm issues. If you own this phone, go grab that update! https://twitter.com/jamesontai/status/1040045288075882496

Poll: Will You Buy a Phone Without a Headphone Jack?

Kellen — Thu, 13 Sep 2018 10:45:16 +0000

3.5mm on Android is a rarity

I'm sure you have heard the news by now, but we lost another one today. OnePlus confirmed that the OnePlus 6T will not have a headphone jack. That's certainly noteworthy, since they were one of the few companies continuing to hold onto the 3.5mm port. With OnePlus now out of the game, that doesn't leave many options for those of you who do indeed rely on a dedicated jack and aren't interested in using a dongle. At this point, LG and Samsung are about the only two still including them. Google dropped headphone jacks with the Pixel 2 and won't include one with the Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL. We know that Apple and HTC ditched them. Motorola mostly has too. The Essential Phone doesn't have one. Huawei dropped them in their P20 line. They are rare. So, we haven't asked in a couple of years, but would you buy a phone without a headphone jack? Two years ago, 72% of you said that your phone needs to have one. What about today? [poll id="495"]

Moto Z Owners Won't Get Keyboard Mod That Received $165K in Funding Because No One Buys Moto Z Phones

Tim — Thu, 13 Sep 2018 09:13:24 +0000

According to Livermorium, the hosts of an Indiegogo campaign that received nearly $165,000 in funding for a slider keyboard Moto Mod, the Moto Z lineup of devices from Motorola are "extremely unpopular in most places," and not only that, but they have seen, "no commercial interest in selling" this mod. Motorola, if you feel a slight sting, that's pride messin' with you. /end Pulp Fiction reference. Couple the apparent lack of interest from retailers and production issues related to part suppliers, the Keyboard Mod has been cancelled and will not be made available to those who funded the campaign. Instead, Livermorium notes they will be happy to issue refunds to all, though, they'd much rather you support an entirely new phone called Q-Device (not the final name). Targeting a Q4 launch, Q-Device will have a slider keyboard for everyone dying to relive 2009, and is it noted to be much slimmer than the Moto Z + Keyboard Mod combination. In cancelling this product, Livermorium was very straightforward about all aspects, especially in the Moto Z isn't popular part. Here's exactly what was announced to campaign backers.

There is no commercial interest in selling / retailing Keyboard Mod from official Moto Mod sources.

It is very hard to sell this Mod via other retailers who wanted to help, as a phone accessory. Because Moto Z phones are very uncommon and have a very low % of market share.

We did not receive any external financial support from any entity, besides your contributions and donations, which has already been spent on 2017 for product development, moulding and sampling. We have been financing this project ourselves for pre-production, prototyping and component sourcing.

It is not feasible for us to do marketing ourselves because this product cannot be used alone, it has to be used with Moto Z, which are extremely unpopular in most places.

If you were looking forward to decking your Moto Z with this slider keyboard mod, we're sorry. // Indiegogo

You Can Now Sign-Up for Verizon 5G Home

Kellen — Thu, 13 Sep 2018 08:11:03 +0000

Want 5G first? Verizon is ready for you.

As was announced two days ago, Verizon 5G Home sign-ups are now available. If you want to be one of the first people to taste 5G, signing-up now will get your service going on October 1 when Big Red flips the switch to "ON." Of course, you have to be in a supported market and there are only four of those at the moment. Living in Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Sacramento, or Houston is a requirement, but our understanding is that the service area may be limited to specific neighborhoods within those cities. To find out if you are covered, you'll need to hit that link below and check for availability. Should you live within a Verizon 5G Home area, there are some things to know. We've got a Verizon 5G Home quick facts list, but the basics are this:

Cost is $50/mo for Verizon customers or $70/mo for non-Verizon customers. The first 3 months are free.
There are no annual contracts, equipment charges or installation fees, and the monthly fees and taxes are rolled into those prices I just mentioned.
By signing-up, you also get 3 free months of YouTube TV and either a free Apple TV 4K or Chromecast Ultra.
Your typical speeds should hover around 300Mbps, but peak speeds could reach 1Gbps.

If I could, I'd sign-up and give it some run, but I live in Portland. Someone sign-up and tell me about it. Verizon 5G Home sign-up

OnePlus Announces USB-C Earbuds Because OnePlus 6T Won't Have a Headphone Jack

Kellen — Thu, 13 Sep 2018 07:42:08 +0000

Oh no, OnePlus 6T is ditching our 3.5mm friend

OnePlus confirmed today that its next phone, the OnePlus 6T, won't have a headphone jack. That's not insignificant, especially since OnePlus has spent years ribbing the competition over ditching it while their phones have had a 3.5mm port all of the way through their last release, the OnePlus 6. That changes with the OnePlus 6T when it arrives next month and OnePlus seems to be OK with the move. Their reasoning involves the timing being right, that they'll substantially increase battery life and add other tech in place, and that an included dongle will ease the transition. They'll also start selling their first USB-C earbuds under their OnePlus Bullets line.

POLL: Will you buy a phone without a headphone jack?

Why now?

OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei shared the news with TechRadar, saying that the timing is right because their data shows that 59% of the OnePlus community already owns wireless headphones of some kind. Couple that with the included USB-C to 3.5mm dongle and optional new USB-C Bullets earbuds, Pei doesn't sound worried about any backlash. He's partly not worried because he said that removing the headphone jack has allowed them to include a bigger battery that will be "substantial enough for users to realize." In other words, OnePlus might have actually utilized the extra space, unlike some others. We also know that part of the removal could have been necessary to get an in-display fingerprint reader inside.

USB-C Bullets

Now that you know the bad news, let's talk about their new USB-C Bullets earbuds. OnePlus announced the new audio product this morning, suggesting that they've made "several big improvements and changes to the Type-C Bullets to deliver a crisp and powerful sound" over their Bullets V2 product. They added aramid fibers to the cord to prevent stretching and make them more durable, plus a DAC is included to offer "higher dynamic range, higher signal-to-noise ratio and lower noise floor." Bits of the design have changed too, "ensuring a comfortable fit and using the shape’s metal design to produce a balanced sound." UPDATE: Whoops, OnePlus sent me the info and it was sitting in my spam folder. Pricing news! The Type-C Bullets will cost $19.95, which is a solid price for USB-C headphones.

Thoughts on leaving the headphone jack behind, friends?

LG V40 and Its 5 Cameras Arrive October 3

Kellen — Thu, 13 Sep 2018 06:54:59 +0000

LG V40 is October's first.

October sure is looking busy! We know that Google will show off the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL on October 9 in NYC, and that OnePlus could unveil the OnePlus 6T on October 17. We also now know that the LG V40 is coming October 3. LG sent out invitations to an NYC event this morning that does in fact reveal their next phone's name to be LG V40 ThinQ. It also uses the phrase "TAKE 5" and tells us to "come and see what's next." For those who haven't been keeping up on the V40 story, it is rumored to have 5 cameras. That "TAKE 5" mention is no random coincidence. We're assuming that means 3 cameras on its back and another 2 up front. The phone could look like this too. We've also seen it at the FCC this week. As someone who was a fan of last year's LG V30, this is one I'll be paying attention to. I'm not sure 5 cameras are something I'll care much about, but the experience LG gave us last year with the V series was their best effort to date. UPDATE: LG posted this teaser, which shows a potential setup that includes a zoom, wide angle, and standard lens.

'Big Four' US Carriers Create Project Verify, the "Future of Mobile Authentication"

Tim — Wed, 12 Sep 2018 15:11:57 +0000

Our Big Four carriers in the US, which is Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint, announced a Mobile Authentication Taskforce at MWCA this week. This taskforce is focused on the future of mobile authentication, and with Project Verify, the companies think they have the ultimate solution for users. To break it down, Project Verify will change identity management and security, essentially replacing your typical password with, "More secure, device-based, multi-factor authentication." The way it works is straightforward enough. Using a phone number, IP address, account tenure, phone account type, and SIM card details, Verify (an app that will be downloadable) can handle logging into apps without the need for you to enter usernames and passwords, as well as manage second factor authentication. At the heart of everything will be a device-based ID that serves as a user profile during the entire authentication process. We're still in the early days of Verify, but this taskforce already has working demos available for select developers to play with and hopefully adopt into their own work. For an overview, check out the video below or check out the Project Verify website, which is managed by Verizon. Prepare to hear much more about Project Verify and the Verify app in the future. // AT&T | Verizon

Here are a Bunch of Features From Inbox We Still Need in Gmail

Kellen — Wed, 12 Sep 2018 13:37:44 +0000

Google announced this morning that it will kill off its Inbox email app in March of 2019. I've already had a full meltdown over it, so now it's time to prepare for the sh*tty world of Gmail that is almost upon us, the brilliant-minded Inbox users of the world. To do that, we need to make sure Google knows what we want from Gmail. Because even as Gmail has adopted many of Inbox's features and Google thinks this guide will help with the transition (lol), there are a whole bunch of things it could still take on. Inbox is still a far superior email app to Gmail, even if some bros on Twitter tried it once four years ago, couldn't wrap their little brains around its brilliance, and went back to Gmail.

Date Sorting and Separation

First up, can we get some day-date separation in the inbox already, Gmail? There are few things worse than opening up your email app and find little organization outside of a chronological order with no spacing, or whatever the f*ck "Priority" inbox is. I don't want AI in my inbox to try and tell me what it thinks is important - I just want proper sorting that my eyes can adjust to. A simple separation of emails by the day that could even break down to the week or month, like in Inbox, would be great. And look, I can acknowledge that some may want to sort by unread or "Priority" (lol x2), but an option that could add some date sorting would be much appreciated. You know what would also be awesome? Mass archive buttons like you can see above to the top right of each date section. Sometimes I wake up to a bunch of spam in the morning and a single tap can wipe out an entire batch of emails. Or maybe I'm finally done looking at emails that are 3 months old and want to rid my life of them with a single touch. Inbox does that.

Built-in trip bundles, not a separate Trips app

One of Inbox's best features is its trip bundling. Long before Google created its Trips app, Inbox did much of that within Inbox. As emails flow into your inbox that are related to a potential trip, Inbox smartly bundles them together. It lets you manually add others to the bundle too, which are always handy to have as you prepare for a flight, hotel stay, or some other type of rental or reservation. I use these trip bundles all of the damn time, as you can see from the screenshots above. Now, I know that Google has a Trips app. But this is built in to Inbox, so I don't need to ever use Trips. I'd much rather use the simpleness of Inbox's trip bundling that deal with learning another Google app or having to install another one. One app is almost always better than multiple.

Snooze in notifications

I know that Gmail is new to this whole snoozing thing, but we really do need a snooze button in Gmail notifications. I'm a snooze beast and imagine this will arrive before March 2019, though there are no guarantees of that happening. Please make it happen.

Built-in reminders are nice

Inbox also has a built-in reminder feature that lets you create reminders from within your email inbox. Rather than asking Google Assistant to do it or typing one out somewhere else, you could just do it there. But also, should you use voice to do it, those reminders would show up in Inbox! It's awesome. You could add that function to Gmail, Google.

Gestures are fun

Like this one, where you have an email open and then swipe it back down to close it. No back button tapping. It's nice. Bring these to Gmail, Google.

Oh and blue is better than red. Bring blue to Gmail, Google. You won't, but I can always dream.

Google is Killing Inbox, the Best Email App Ever, and I'm Mad

Kellen — Wed, 12 Sep 2018 11:51:08 +0000

Google is killing its best email app. Inbox, which Google created to do fun stuff with as Gmail sat in the dark ages never doing anything fun, has been given an end-of-life date. Inbox users, who are smarter than Gmail users, will have to switch off it by March 2019.

RELATED: Here are a bunch of Inbox features we still need in Gmail

I'm mad. Sure, Gmail has stolen all of Inbox's best features in recent months and probably makes it an easy choice for the chopping block, but whatever. I'm still mad. I don't like the color red either. Red email apps suck. Blue is cooler and superior. Trip bundles are cooler too. I don't even know if Gmail has those or not, but if it does, they work better on Inbox. Swiping too. All of your stolen Gmail features are better on Inbox because. March 2019, folks. I'll be here being mad. // Google

We Got That Apple Event Live Blog You Need!

Kellen — Wed, 12 Sep 2018 08:42:49 +0000

What time is the Apple Event, today, September 12? Chill, bro, it starts at 10AM Pacific (1PM Eastern).

That's right, my friends, it's Apple event day (aka Blazers and Jeans Day) and that means we're back for another super serious live blog. I don't think we even live blog Android stuff anymore, because none of it is ever a surprise, but Apple announcements are always worthy of ~~mockery~~ being super serious about. There will be iPhones (iPhone Xs Max HD Pro, probably), a new Apple Watch that all of your aunts and spread-collared shirt friends will own, and maybe some good ol' fashioned Android trashing over OS adoption. The event really does kick off at 10AM Pacific. If you want to watch (here), you might be able to on Chrome, but Apple used to force you to have to use Safari. Their requirements have changed some, though, so give it a go and avoid Apple's browser if you can. Predictions? Confessions? Will my boy, Phil Schiller, go with dad jeans or dad jeans? Join us to find out.

Samsung and Google are RCS Besties Now

Kellen — Wed, 12 Sep 2018 08:20:02 +0000

RCS will be cool in like 5 years when we have more than 1.5 carriers and some phones that can utilize it. Messages will be filled with typing indicators and higher-res images and all the group sh*t you could ever get into, in a group message. Trust me, we've only been telling you this for a cool 2+ years. I promise, though, some day. Some day. And when that day comes, your Samsung phone will likely be in on it and the RCS-powered messages you send from the Samsung Messages app will work nicely with Google's Android Messages app. The two announced as much today. Well, they told us that they are great partners or something and that one day their apps will play nice together, assuming your Samsung phone is on a carrier who supports RCS (which again, is like 1.5 today). Samsung says that they'll make RCS work between Samsung Messages and Android Messages starting with the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, two phones that will soon be 2 years old. Their verbiage is slightly unclear on one thing there, which is whether or not that RCS support depends on having Android 9.0 Pie or not. Samsung's RCS-related note today says to expect support between its messenger and Google's on the Galaxy S8, S8+, S8 Active, S9, S9+, Note 8, and Note 9, as well as select A and J series phones. At the tail end of their list of devices, they said "running Android 9.0 or later." The way it's written suggest that all of those phones I just mentioned will need Android 9.0 Pie in order to work between Google's messaging app and their own, or that could also mean that its the A and J series phones that need Pie and the others are cool on Oreo. For your sake, I hope we aren't all waiting on Pie updates. I don't know. RCS needs to get here for most of us to care and it's still not. // Samsung

Verizon 5G Home Quick Facts

Kellen — Tue, 11 Sep 2018 15:39:43 +0000

Today, Verizon announced a launch date for its 5G Home broadband internet service, as well as pricing, expected data speeds, where it'll be available, and what freebies you'll get for signing up. If you missed our original article on it or don't feel like reading, we've put together some quick facts for you here. We'll know even more details on Thursday, but this should help answer any initial questions that might come up.

What: Verizon 5G Home Where: Indianapolis, Houston, Los Angeles, and Sacramento When: October 1 launch; sign-ups September 13 at 8AM Eastern How much:

$50/mo for Verizon customers; $70/mo for non-customers (taxes included)
First three months free
No additional hardware costs
Free white glove installation and equipment
Free router and router upgrades

Data speeds:

Typical speeds of 300 Mbps; peak speeds of "nearly" 1 Gbps
No data caps

Free sh*t:

Free three months YouTube TV ($40/mo after)
Free Apple TV 4K or Google Chromecast Ultra
Option to be first to purchase 5G mobile devices

To sign-up, you'll go to Verizon's "First on 5G" site.

Verizon 5G Home Service Arrives October 1

Kellen — Tue, 11 Sep 2018 14:39:12 +0000

Verizon just announced that its 5G broadband service, officially called Verizon 5G Home, arrives October 1. The service will be available for order starting at 8AM Eastern, Thursday, September 13, in "certain neighborhoods" in Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, and Sacramento.

RELATED: Verizon 5G Home quick facts

How much will it cost? Verizon tells us that we'll learn more on Thursday, but consumers in those launch markets can get free Verizon 5G Home for three months as part of an introductory offer. After that intro period, the cost will be $50 per month with a "qualifying smartphone plan" or $70 per month if not a Verizon Wireless customer. Those prices included taxes and fees, plus there are no annual contracts for 5G Home. Verizon 5G Home won't have hardware costs and should produce "typical network speeds around 300Mbps" with peak speeds at "nearly 1 Gig." There are "no data caps" either. Signing up for service includes "free white glove installation and equipment," as well as free router and router upgrades as they become available in 2019. If you sign-up, not only do you get the first three months free, but you get free YouTube TV for three months too and a free Apple TV 4K or Google Chromecast Ultra. As a bonus, Verizon says that 5G Home customers get the ability to be first to 5G mobile phone purchases, once those are made available. If interested, you'll be able to sign-up here. // Verizon

New Verizon Device Unlock Policy Arrives Briefly, Gets Pulled, is "Inaccurate" (Updated)

Kellen — Tue, 11 Sep 2018 13:50:29 +0000

We still haven't heard back from Verizon after asking for an update on their supposedly incoming new device unlock policy, where they may temporarily SIM lock devices for a period of time after purchase, but our article from last week on the subject may have moved them in the direction of finally unveiling it. Verizon appears to be rolling out a new device unlock policy as I type this, one that will lock devices for 60 days post purchase if you buy at full retail, but could extend out for the life of a contract on a device payment plan.

UPDATE: Verizon's director of corporate communications, Kelly Crummey, reached out to let us know that the policy that was posted to many of their device pages and then pulled, happened in error and was "inaccurate." Crummey's full statement:

"Our unlocking policy remains unchanged. We've corrected an IT error that caused some smartphone product pages to show an inaccurate unlocking policy."

As of today, Verizon's device unlock policy remains unchanged. We can't tell you what it will be tomorrow or next week. My guess is that it'll look like what you see below. It sure seems odd to us that an entire policy change was written up and then posted to device pages for almost all to see as they browsed Verizon's site, yet was inaccurate and not the future policy. We'll let you know as we learn more.

The new unlock policy hasn't yet replaced their publicly posted policy (here), but Verizon was showing the new policy yesterday on device pages. They have since removed links to it. However, we were able to access it again today on some of their Spanish device pages, thanks to our friend, Google cache. The new postpaid policy will be put in place to "prevent identity theft and other fraudulent activities," according to Verizon. They plan to SIM lock devices for 60 days after purchase if purchased at full retail or from a retail partner, so that they can't be used on another network. Once 60 days is up, the lock will be "automatically" removed. Theft is not the only reason for the change, though. Verizon also states that phones purchased on device payment plans could be subject to SIM locks for the entire term of the sales agreement. This allows them to "reserve" their special 0% financing rate for consumers who "intend to use their handsets exclusively on the Verizon network." As for prepaid, there will also be a 60 day lock. To recap, Verizon plans to lock phones for a minimum of 60 days post purchase. In addition, if you buy a phone on a device payment plan, your phone could remain locked for the entire term of that contract, which for many, is 24 months. The full text of the changes to both postpaid and prepaid phone purchases can be read below, just keep in mind that this was translated from Spanish:

Unlock policy for phones purchased for postpaid service

To prevent identity theft and other fraudulent activities, we can block the phones you buy from us or our retail partners for postpaid service up to 60 days after purchase. After 60 days, we will automatically remove the blockade.

In addition, to reserve our 0% special financing rate for consumers who want to use their phones exclusively in the Verizon network, we can block the phones you buy through our device payment plan during the term of your sales agreement. of the payment plan of the device, after which we will automatically remove the blocking. Telephones purchased at the total retail price or from other sources will not be subject to this block, although they may still be subject to the 60-day blockage detailed above.

We do not block our 3G phones when we sell them, except for our 3G World devices that are not iPhone. The simple code to program those 3G phones to use with another provider is "000000" or "123456". If your phone's user guide does not have instructions to access the programming menu, you can dial * 611 from your Verizon Wireless phone or call 800.922.0204 for assistance.

The SIM cards used in our 3G World devices that are not iPhone are blocked. We will unblock a SIM card upon request.

Unlock policy for phones purchased for prepaid service

In order to deter arbitration and similar fraudulent activities, we may block the phones you buy from us or our retail partners for prepaid service up to 60 days after purchase. After 60 days, we will automatically remove the blockade.

We do not block our 3G phones, except for the new prepaid 3G phones. The simple code for programming those prepaid 3G phones to use with another provider is "000000" or "123456". If your phone's user guide does not have instructions to access the programming menu, you can dial * 611 from your Verizon Wireless phone or call 888.294.6804 for assistance.

New prepaid 3G phones can only be used with our prepaid service for 6 months after activation and are blocked in the Verizon Wireless network for 12 months after activation. After 6 months, the restriction of our prepaid service is automatically removed. If the service is disconnected within the first 6 months, a new period of 6 months will start if the phone is reactivated. After 12 months, you can dial * 611 from your Verizon Wireless prepaid phone or call 888.294.6804 and we'll give you programming instructions so you can unlock your phone. If your phone's user guide does not provide instructions to access the programming menu, we can also help you with that.

Verizon first acknowledged that new device lock changes were coming back in February and suggested at the time that a new policy would arrive by the spring. As we noted last week, we're almost into the fall and have heard nothing. Well, now we know. I'm still not sure how Verizon thinks this move doesn't violate the Block C spectrum rules they adopted years ago. Then again, we've currently got a very industry-friendly FCC who would need to enforce them. We don't yet know when Verizon will begin rolling this out. Once we have dates, we'll be sure to share. NOTE: Title of the post has been updated to add info from the statement that Verizon provided us.

DEAL: Get AUKEY's New Quick Charge 4.0 Chargers for the Low With These Coupon Codes

Tim — Tue, 11 Sep 2018 10:47:05 +0000

AUKEY has a gang of new Quick Charge 4.0 + Power Delivery 3.0 chargers available on Amazon, most of them discounted thanks to the below listed coupon codes. QC 4.0 and PD 3.0 coupled together allow for not only the quickest charge possible for your smartphones, tablets, and laptops, but it's the safety features built-in that also warrant mentioning. With concerns over lithium-ion batteries at a high these days, knowing that you're charging your device quickly and safely is key. On sale with the coupon codes are a standard USB C wall charger, car charger with dual USB ports, a 60W charging station, as well as a couple other wall USB C chargers varying in wattage. There's something here to suit everybody's needs. Follow the links below if you need that juice. Amazon Links

46W USB C Charger PD 3.0 - $25 (Code: AUKEYYP1)
Charging Station 60W PD 3.0, Dual Port - $38 (Code: AUKEYYP2)
27W QC 4.0 USB C Charger with PD 3.0 - $15 (Code: AUKEYYP8)
18W QC 4.0 USB C Charger with PD 3.0 - $14 (Code: AUKEYYP5)
27W USB C Car Charger PD, Dual Port - $15 (Code: AUKEYY17)

Render Points to Inbound Silver Color for Galaxy Note 9

Tim — Tue, 11 Sep 2018 09:06:08 +0000

Samsung has a tendency to release new color options for its devices a few months after initial launch in order to generate more publicity and get a few more people buying. It's been done for Galaxy S9 already, as well as last year's Galaxy S8. Thanks to a newly spotted render, it looks like Galaxy Note 9 will be getting this new color hype treatment as well, with a Silver model scheduled to make a debut exclusively in the US. Besides being a new color, most likely nothing else will be different from what's already available. You'll still have the large AMOLED display, Snapdragon 845 processor, as well as the Bluetooth-powered S Pen. The only thing we don't know is if this color will be exclusive to either the large or small amount of storage/RAM option, or available in both.

We don't yet know timing for release, but it seems like a safe bet that it could arrive around the holiday shopping season or some time before. Whenever you see Galaxy Note 9 marketing start to die down and those Sia TV commercials go away is probably when you can expect Samsung to make their move. Regardless, we'll let you know when it's available. What do you think of the new Silver color? // MySmartPrice

Google Releases Improved USB-C Headphone Adapter, Raises Price

Kellen — Tue, 11 Sep 2018 08:56:49 +0000

Without saying a word, Google quietly released a new USB-C Digital to 3.5mm headphone adapter for its Pixel devices in recent days. Maybe they didn't want to acknowledge the new release because of the price hike, but they should have since it features what appear to be decent upgrades. The new USB-C headphone adapter costs $12, which is up from the $9 previous model, but still way cheaper than the original $20 price Google tried to sell it at. What's new with it? Google lists performance upgrades that include "increased music playback time and reduced plug-in latency" with Pixel devices. Specifically, it provides 38% more playback time and has 53% improvement on plug-in latency, according to a footnote on the adapter's listing page. It's also ever-so-slightly-smaller than the previous model. Those seem like meaningful upgrades, right? Is $12 still too much for a little dongle? Probably. Would life just be better with a headphone jack? Yes. For more on that subject, you should check out this PCWorld article. Google Store Link // Android Police

Looks Like the LG V40 Just Hit the FCC (Updated)

Kellen — Tue, 11 Sep 2018 08:08:43 +0000

The fall smartphone bonanza is about to kick off. During these next couple of months, we have gotten used to getting new iPhones, new Pixel phones, a new OnePlus phone, and also, a new LG V series device. While talk surrounding the LG V40 hasn't built up the buzz of the Pixel 3 or OnePlus 6T, it's still coming (maybe in October) and it could be good. We also think it just stopped off at the FCC. A device under model number LM-V405UA popped up this morning looking like a phone built for all major US carriers. It has the LTE band support for all the big guys and that includes T-Mobile's band 71 and band 12, as well as CDMA support on Verizon. This sure looks like an unlocked phone with that universal support we love.

After a quick browse, I haven't found anything particularly unique or fun that isn't already known. A quick glance at some of the software screenshots they included may confirm a notch, though. You can see the split of the clock (moved to left) and other status bar icons, which is often how companies entertain the notch idea.

They've mostly blocked out the rest of the fun bits of info in software. There is no guarantee that this is the LG V40, but timing of the FCC stop fits. Also, LG did a switch in the last year for their model numbering scheme where the model numbers clearly represent the phone. The LG G7 was model LM-G710 and the V35 was LM-V350. The V40 at LM-V405 sure makes sense. UPDATE: Another variant under model number LM-V409V hit the FCC too. Could be the Verizon model. // FCC

T-Mobile's Band 71 is in 1,200+ Cities, Guys

Kellen — Mon, 10 Sep 2018 16:40:49 +0000

T-Mobile's 600MHz spectrum is a thing that T-Mobile customers should care deeply about. This is the band 71 LTE that will expand T-Mobile's network into rural areas and buildings before it becomes 5G. It's the band you should be making sure your next smartphone supports, like the Pixel 3. And today, that's even more important, as T-Mobile announced that they've expanded 600MHz into 1,200+ cities and towns. In other words, you probably live in an area that can access this low-band, better-range signal, assuming your phone supports it. T-Mobile calls this a part of its "Extended Range LTE," which is a decent descriptor and also includes their 700MHz spectrum (band 12). Their 700MHz spectrum already covers 80% of the US and this 600MHz fill continues to strengthen that rollout. This is the network advancement that will help put T-Mobile on-par with Verizon in terms of quality and reliability. As of today, T-Mobile's list of Extended Range LTE phones includes Galaxy S9, S9+, Note 9, S8 Active, LG G7, V30, and Moto E5. That list should continue to grow rapidly, and as I just mentioned, will include the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. If you keep worrying about T-Mobile's network based on its past reputation, these are the types of announcements that should make you feel much better about making the switch. In fact, you should jump in the comments right now if you are still worried about T-Mobile's network and ask around. DL readers migrated over to T-Mo years ago and sure seem to be happy with the switch. // T-Mobile

DEAL: Get a Google Daydream View for Just $49 on Google Store, Down From $99

Tim — Mon, 10 Sep 2018 14:28:59 +0000

The latest iteration of Daydream View, the one that's typically priced at $99 on Google Store, can be had for only $49 right now. If you're concerned you don't have a compatible phone, fret not. Many of today's devices from top Android phone makers are supported, including Pixel 2 (and XL), Galaxy S9 and S9+, Galaxy S8, LG V30, Mate 9 Pro, and Moto Z phones. For a complete list of supported devices, look here. As for what you can do with one of these, there's a lot! Chrome recently received support, allowing you to browse the web in virtual reality. Also, there's a growing library of Daydream experiences and apps that are available by browsing on Google Play. Get that savings. Google Store Link

Montblanc Summit 2 is One of the First Snapdragon Wear 3100 Watches, Arrives October

Kellen — Mon, 10 Sep 2018 13:27:25 +0000

Qualcomm talked a lot about its new Snapdragon Wear 3100 platform today, but what they didn't have much to say on was the release timing of the first watches running it. The best information we got surrounded Louis Vuitton, Fossil, and Montblanc, which are all in line to make and sell 3100-powered watches before the holidays, and Montblanc's will probably be the first. At the end of their Wear 3100 presentation, Qualcomm did announce that Montblanc's new Summit 2 Wear OS watch should be here by October. Unless something changes, it will likely be the first you can buy. They showed it off on stage (above), but wouldn't let anyone near it. How much will it cost? I don't know, but the original Montblanc Summit started at $930. This new one, especially since it's running the newest Qualcomm chipset, is almost guaranteed to not be priced much cheaper.

One thing to note, as far as specs and Wear 3100 go, is that the platform includes GPS and NFC (there may be a non-GPS version too). A Qualcomm rep told me that they wanted to make those features standard, rather than let watch makers pick and choose as much as they did with the 2100. So going forward, almost every watch you buy should include the base specs you'll want. After that, it's up to the maker to decide on display and battery size, design, etc. You guys ready to spend a grand on the Summit 2?

Video: Snapdragon Wear 3100 First Look!

Kellen — Mon, 10 Sep 2018 12:47:32 +0000

For those of you who missed our write-up this morning on the new Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100 platform, we've put together this brief overview of the big talking points. Since this is a major release that could (and should) do a lot to help Wear OS and smartwatches on Android, you should catch up. To recap, the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100 is the latest in top-tier wearable chipsets from Qualcomm, but the first in over two years. It replaces the Wear 2100 and improves on not only the experience, with a new and more colorful ambient mode, but it has a big focus on battery life too. The architecture now includes an ultra-low power co-processor in addition to the quad-core chip to help expand smartwatches expand for days.

RELATED: Montblanc Summit 2 is coming in October, likely first Wear 3100 watch

Snapdragon Wear 3100 will turn Wear OS watches into competitive sports watches too, thanks to a new sport mode, or you can just rock them as a watch watch, should the smart stuff not mean much to you. If you haven't been excited about Wear OS or the watches it runs on in recent years, now would be a time to watch as the first 3100 watches arrive.

Report: Galaxy S10 Will Have Ultrasonic Under-Display Fingerprint Reader From Qualcomm

Tim — Mon, 10 Sep 2018 11:54:36 +0000

If you've been reading Droid Life for a couple of years or more, you'll know that with every upcoming Galaxy device from Samsung, there's a report that says the latest flagship from Samsung will have an in-display fingerprint reader. It happened for Galaxy S8, Galaxy Note 9, and plenty others. Back in June of this year, there was a report that claimed the same thing that this week's report says, though, there are a few new spicy details. In the report, it says the Samsung Galaxy S10 (tentative name) will have an ultrasonic fingerprint reader, based Qualcomm's 3rd-generation Snapdragon Sense ID. Sense ID utilizes ultrasonic waves to penetrate objects and can detect fingerprints through thick glass, metal, and even if the fingerprint is wet or has other forms of debris on it. Based on the technology's fact sheet that was published in early 2016, with enhancements likely to have been made since then, it should be a very solid biometric authentication technology. With OnePlus set to introduce an in-display fingerprint reader for OnePlus 6T, it's hard to imagine Samsung doesn't jump on this in 2019. Maybe, finally after all of these years of reports, Samsung will include this type of fingerprint sensor on a phone and we can all stop having to read reports like these. Do it, Samsung. // ETNews

Possible Pixelbook 2 Ad Provides Glimpse at Minimal Bezel Design

Tim — Mon, 10 Sep 2018 10:46:08 +0000

From an apparent Google ad spotted on Facebook and shared by Chrome Unboxed, we may see very slim bezels on the upcoming Pixelbook 2. This July, we learned that Google does intend to release a sequel to the original Pixelbook, likely to be unveiled at next month's Pixel event on October 9. We still don't really know anything about the reported Chrome OS-powered laptop, but as we inch closer to an unveiling, these types of leaks are bound to happen. Interestingly, from the first tweet that @evleaks sent out that mentioned Pixelbook 2, he specifically stated it would have smaller bezels. As we can see in this image, with its extremely small bezels, the laptop fits that description very well. My money is that we'll soon find out a whole lot more about Pixelbook 2 as we get closer to unveiling. What are your thoughts on this design?

// Chrome Unboxed

Qualcomm's Snapdragon Wear 3100 is Here With Emphasis on Battery Life (Updated)

Kellen — Mon, 10 Sep 2018 09:10:06 +0000

UPDATE 12/20/18: An update is needed here. While there might have been some initial hype surrounding this announcement as a "new" chipset from Qualcomm to help Wear OS make a comeback, so far it has been nothing but a massive disappointment. The Wear 3100 runs the same quad-core A7 setup as the 2100, but Qualcomm then tossed in a new ultra-low power coprocessor. In theory, and maybe in due time, that co-processor will help extend battery life. Unfortunately, those old A7 cores provide the same poor performance and efficiency that Wear OS has been plagued with for the past several years. So nothing changes here in performance, while battery life improvements are only marginal. This processor is a bust.

Today, Qualcomm announced its new smartwatch and wearable chipset, the Snapdragon Wear 3100. This is the chipset that was first teased back at Google I/O in May and could bring major improvements to the Wear OS ecosystem as a range of new watches running the chip arrive over the coming months. So what's the scoop on the Snapdragon Wear 3100 and how does it improve over the aging Snapdragon Wear 2100? This new chip is made up of high-performance quad core A7 processors, a highly efficient integrated DSP, and a new ultra-low power co-processor. The hope there is to provide you with a full smartwatch experience, just like the one you've known for the past few years, but Wear 3100 will also let you run a Wear OS watch like a sport watch or regular, everyday watch that lasts for days, thanks to that new co-processor.

Qualcomm is pushing three modes for the next generation of smartwatches to run in: Enhanced Ambient Mode, Dedicated Sports Experiences, and Traditional Watch Mode. You can see the point of each in the image below, but you can think of it in a way as the least battery efficient to the most from left to right.

RELATED: Montblanc Summit 2 likely first Wear 3100 watch, arrives October

In Enhanced Ambient Mode, you get an improved smartwatch experience that doesn't hold anything back. It has an improved Ambient Mode that shows you a smoother second hand, up to 16 colors at a time, live complications, and is controlled by adaptive brightness. This is the mode that Qualcomm talked about in May, where they suggested that watches needed to look better when you weren't using them. We kind of thought that might mean a hybrid watch approach, but that's not actually the case. We're really just getting a better looking ambient mode. For the Sports mode, Qualcomm is hoping to power smartwatches that can last for up to 15 hours with continuous GPS and heart rate. That would be a massive improvement over current watches and would mean running a marathon without having to worry about your watch dying mid-way through. This mode will first arrive in a later smartwatch, though we have no idea who that might be. This mode will most definitely help push Google's new love for fitness. And finally, in Traditional Watch Mode, you'll get a watch that still has some of the smarts of a smartwatch, but is really there to look like a fancy timepiece and last for a really long time. With 20% battery, Qualcomm says that the 3100 could allow for up to a week in this mode, but that expands to almost 30 days with a full battery. As for straight battery life improvements, Snapdragon Wear 3100 offers quite a big jump over the Wear 2100. Qualcomm has reduced power consumption by 49% when GPS is being used, 35% for once-a-min clock updates, and 67% in lowest power mode. Depending on the watch and configuration, these improvements could add anywhere from 4-12 hours on a single charge.

Qualcomm is hoping that you'll get well over a full day of battery out of a watch in full smartwatch mode, but can then extend that charge through the end of a week if you switch over to watch mode. It's like the idea behind Mobvoi's TicWatch Pro, except Qualcomm is achieving this through the new Wear 3100 and that ultra-low power co-processor, rather than a dual display setup. The Snapdragon Wear 3100 is shipping now and the first customers expected to release watches with it are Louis Vuitton, Montblanc, and Fossil. This chipset will come in configurations for WiFi and Bluetooth, onboard GPS, and LTE. We'll have more here in a bit! Disclosure: I am in San Francisco to cover the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100 event and Qualcomm did pick-up the tab for my flight, hotel, and Uber.

NVIDIA's 20th SHIELD TV Update Offers 120Hz Support, New Companion App, and Lots More

Tim — Mon, 10 Sep 2018 09:00:02 +0000

NVIDIA announced the twentieth software upgrade for SHIELD TV this morning, which is pretty darn impressive considering the first model of the device launched in 2015 and is still entirely supported. Labeled as SHIELD Software Experience Upgrade 7.1, NVIDIA offers in-game voice chat for communicating in GeForce NOW games like Fortnite and others, improved keyboard and mouse support in GeForce NOW, a SHIELD TV companion app with a virtual keyboard and mouse that'll make entering usernames and passwords a breeze, the return of NVIDIA Share functions (Broadcast to Twitch, etc.), as well as 120Hz modes for supported televisions and monitors. Here's the entire changelog. What's New

In-game voice chat support – for communicating in top GeForce NOW games like Fortnite – with headsets connected to the 3.5mm headset jack on SHIELD controllers
Improved keyboard and mouse support in GeForce NOW
- Smoother, more accurate mouse movements
- Keyboard shortcuts
- Keyboard and Mouse games row
More day-and-date releases including Monster Hunter World and F1 2018
- The upcoming release of Shadow of the Tomb Raider
NVIDIA SHIELD TV companion app with a virtual keyboard and mouse that makes entering user names, email addresses and password simple
The triumphant return of NVIDIA Share features (Broadcast to Twitch, recording and screenshots)
120Hz modes for supported TVs and monitors
Quick settings for power off, restart and sleep

The update should begin rolling out to all SHIELD TV units right now. To download the new companion app, follow the link below. Google Play Link // NVIDIA

OnePlus has New Bullets Wireless Headphones on the Way

Kellen — Mon, 10 Sep 2018 07:29:55 +0000

When OnePlus announces the OnePlus 6T next month, it's likely that the company will announce a new pair of Bullets Wireless headphones too. An updated model just hit the FCC, right in time to be shipped alongside a new phone. The FCC docs that showed up this morning leave little room for confusion here. The label specifically calls these "OnePlus Bullets Wireless," plus we have a partial picture of them.

RELATED: Confirmed new feature of the OnePlus 6T!

We aren't sure how much these will differ over the original Bullets Wireless, but we do know the model number is BT32B and that the FCC tested Bluetooth. The original Bullets Wireless were BT31B.

These "wireless" headphones appear to sport the same dog-collar design as the original, so if you were looking for true wireless Bullets Wireless that could compete with AirPods or some of the other no-wire headphones from competitors, you'll be disappointed. That doesn't mean they won't be solid and likely sold at an incredibly reasonable price (original set was $69), you just have to be cool with this type of headphone. // FCC

Yep, OnePlus 6T Will Have In-Display Fingerprint Reader

Kellen — Mon, 10 Sep 2018 07:11:07 +0000

The supposed leaked box of the OnePlus 6T that showed up last week might be the real deal after all. Remember how it teased an in-display fingerprint reader for OnePlus' next phone? OnePlus confirmed that the 6T will indeed feature the new screen scanning tech. In a brief statement sent to CNET, OnePlus acknowledged the new addition while saying that "By adding this feature as an addition to other display unlocking options such as Face Unlock, users will have options to unlock the display in a way that is most efficient for them."

RELATED: New OnePlus Bullets Wireless on the way!

Curious how an in-display fingerprint reader works? Checkout this post from CES where we went hands-on with one of the first. That introduction of an in-display fingerprint reader caused them to have to re-arrange some of the internals of the 6T, though. So if you thought this was just a re-packaging of the OnePlus 6, you might be in for somewhat of a surprise. The OnePlus 6T will be slightly thicker too (0.45mm), but without the need for a rear fingerprint reader, the phone should look incredibly clean.

The screenshot above is from the OnePlus 6T and shows how the in-display fingerprint tech will look when you have it activated. I'd also point out that the date there says October 17, which could very well be the launch day for this phone. We were already expecting it to arrive in October (possibly on T-Mobile), but my guess is that that mention was deliberate. How exciting. And yes, I still think this phone is going to be tough to pass on.

DEAL: Anker Qi Wireless Charger for $11 ($5 Off), Wireless Earbuds for $99 ($50 Off)

Tim — Fri, 07 Sep 2018 14:48:25 +0000

Over on Amazon, you can pick up an Anker PowerPort wireless charger for just $11, down from its usual price of $16. Thanks to a coupon code that is listed below, you can snag it for that low-low. Additionally, Anker is offering Zolo Liberty+ wireless earbuds for $99, down from the usual $150. Using Qi tech, the wireless charger should work with most devices that support wireless charging, including those from Samsung, Apple, and plenty more. While the charger is swell at just $11, please note that it does not come with a power adapter. To use it, just use the included cable and plug it into your existing AC adapter and you'll be wirelessly charging in no time at all. For the wireless buds, they are listed at having enough battery power for 48 hours of usage, sweat resistance, and graphene-enhanced sound. Follow the links below to take advantage. Amazon Links

Wireless Charger (Coupon code: WIRELESSPAD)
Wireless Earbuds

Podcast: The Notch has a Date

Kellen — Fri, 07 Sep 2018 10:56:21 +0000

On this episode of the Droid Life Show, we can confirm to you the date of the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL reveal! We have some bad news as it relates to the Pixel Watch, though, but it'll still be an event to tune in for. We also want to talk about the wave of new phones on the horizon that aren't made by Google. Samsung said to expect a reveal of their foldable Galaxy X phone in November, plus a Razer Phone 2, OnePlus 6T soon, and more. Trivia is back today, and you'll have a chance to win Google Play credit! We'll be live at 12:00PM Pacific (3:00PM Eastern).

LOL "Pixel Ultra"

Kellen — Fri, 07 Sep 2018 09:41:22 +0000

One of my favorite things about the internet is seeing the birth of a conspiracy theory. Not only do we get to laugh at the whackiness, we also get to laugh at those pushing it. Because with any good conspiracy theory lies an individual hell bent on convincing you that it could be true. Not that the theory is true, but they'll point out enough weirdly related happenings to sow enough doubt that you'll soon question reality. And once you do that, you'll then start to ask questions and further the narrative, one that often makes little sense should you step back out of the comment section, off of YouTube, and away from your phone. And that leads me to the flurry of "Pixel Ultra" conspiracy theories that are the new hotness over on YouTube. The "PIXEL ULTRA REAL! GOOGLE TRICKED US! FAKED PIXEL 3 LEAKS!" narrative has run wild at everyone's favorite streaming video service, and because it's obviously eye-catching enough to garner views and advertising money for YouTubers, it won't stop being pushed any time soon. So let's talk about it for a second, because the entire thing was born from an original duping a year ago. Last year, days before Google announced the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, two phones we had just revealed in full, a video surfaced called "Google Ultra Pixel." The video tried to convince the world that Google had a secret third phone ready to be unveiled, according to a source who provided hilariously fake imagery and video. It was a grand walk-through of a video, one that hit all of the conspiracy checklist items. It raised questions without answers. It speculated heavily. It compared the idea of it to other popular brands to explain the possibility. It told you some history to try and justify this made-up future. It reminded you to take the info with a "pinch of salt" while calling it "very legitimate" seconds later, because in every conspiracy, the peddler needs an out. It was perfect. It was also 100% bullsh*t. As you all know, Google revealed the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL on October 4. They are really nice phones. But where that ties-in to the current "Pixel Ultra" world is in a particular demo on that day. Google's Sabrina Ellis came on stage just after the phone was announced to talk about some of its unique software features. When she brought up the phone's home screen, the upcoming meeting at the top of the phone has led us to where we are right now.

You can see the meeting at the top of this post, but also in the screenshot above. See it? "Pixel Ultra Meeting in 5 min" at "Secret Conference Room X." Yes, Google saw the "Ultra Pixel" video from days earlier and decided to troll the sh*t out of everyone. It was a good play and many of us who noticed it at the time got a good laugh out of it. But not all of us. Some are now using that slide as a way to justify this world where the Pixel 3 XL, that has leaked over and over again, isn't the actual phone Google will show off on October 9. Instead, Google is going to present something else that has never been seen before. Yeah, OK. The thing is, there is no evidence that that is true. There's speculation that leaks out of Ukraine and Russia are an elaborate prank by Google to trick everyone into believing that their notched wonder isn't real. There were supposed Google photoshoots in Hollywood that were going to out the real Pixel 3 XL, yet they showed nothing. A Madden commercial was supposed to bring that proof too, except anyone familiar with marketing mock-ups knows the reality of the situation there. Google is also apparently asking YouTubers for permission to use their Pixel 3 XL criticisms for use in a promo video, but again, that doesn't bring any proof that another phone exists. There is no actual evidence of another phone outside of the Pixel 3 XL and Pixel 3 that we have seen on numerous occasions. Here's what we know. There are two Pixel 3 phones on the way: blueline and crosshatch. The Pixel 3 XL is confirmed to be crosshatch, so that leaves the Pixel 3 as blueline. They are all over AOSP. There isn't a third mysterious phone there about to be announced. If there was, we would know about it. Google would have referenced it, just like they have every single device they've released in the years that I've been doing this Android news thing. Speaking of doing this for a while, remember those 3D CAD renders of the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL back in June? The phones that have leaked look exactly like those. You know what else I can tell you? That I'm not sure I can find a 3D CAD render like that, that leaked early and hasn't been spot on. Here is the Note 8, S9, Note 9, G7, V20, original Pixel, and the Pixel 2 and 2 XL. All showed the phones we ended up getting. I know that you may be disappointed in the giant notch on the Google Pixel 3 XL. I, too, am disappointed and will likely just go for the regular Pixel 3 this year. But don't be conspiracy theory guy. Don't go down that rabbit hole. Don't end up one day at a Congressional hearing shouting at Jack Dorsey. This Pixel Ultra that some want you to believe is real, all started as a prank that has morphed into something YouTubers are using to cash in on.

DEAL: Get a Razer Phone for $399, Even Limited Gold Edition ($300 Off)

Tim — Fri, 07 Sep 2018 08:39:14 +0000

In a bit of interesting timing, considering we just discussed the officialness of a Razer Phone 2 this week, Razer is hosting a sale on the original Razer Phone, bringing it down by $300 to just $399. Keep in mind, when we say original Razer Phone, it's not as if this phone is all that old. It was released in late 2017 and still has great specs, even by 2018 standards. At $399, this phone is a solid buy. If you're into mobile gaming and content consumption, the 120Hz refresh rate-capable display will blow your mind, a 4,000mAh battery will keep your phone chugging along, and its stereo speakers are some of the best we've heard on a smartphone. If you need more convincing, check out our full review. To get the phone at this low price, simply enter promo code WOOHOO at checkout. It's that easy. And yes, both the standard and limited Gold Edition are available at the discounted price. Razer Link

People Really Aren't Happy With the New Android Messages, Even With Dark Mode

Kellen — Thu, 06 Sep 2018 15:57:06 +0000

The new Android Messages should have arrived on your phone today if it hadn't already. That means you get the new super-white UI skin and optional dark mode. Hopefully, you like those two options a lot because two other changes that come with the update have angered many. For one, this new Android Messages no longer allows for custom colors for conversations or people. Previously, you could choose a specific color for people, which according to reviews on Google Play, was highly utilized. There are still some colors, but they appear to be randomly used in place of missing contact photos or created by some system that none of us have quite figured out. Either way, the custom color options are missed and users of the app are telling Google about it.

Outside of the color rage, people are also not happy that the Android Messages widget is gone. I'm not sure why Google killed it off with this latest update, but it's something that seems easy to bring back once they have time to splash this white skin all over it. At least, I'd imagine it would be easy to do. It's a weird takeaway, though, since widgets are a big part of Android and messaging for those looking to be as efficient as possible. So to recap, the new Android Messages picked up a fresh coat of white paint and optional dark mode as new features, but Google removed two of the most popular features at the same time. The 1-star reviews are flooding in to let Google know too. Loving the new Android Messages or are you with color and widget mafia?

Google's Pixel 3 Event is Official for October 9!

Kellen — Thu, 06 Sep 2018 14:27:40 +0000

It's official! The 2018 Google hardware event, where the company will show off the oft-leaked Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, is happening on October 9. New York is for some reason the host city, and the festivities will kick off at 11AM Eastern (8AM Pacific). We aren't sure just yet what else the company will show off, but you'd be wise to bet on a refreshed Pixelbook, some sort of new Google Home unit (possibly with a display), and new Pixel Buds. We'll be there to bring you the goods!

Video: OnePlus 6 Android Pie First Look!

Tim — Thu, 06 Sep 2018 13:08:53 +0000

OnePlus released an open beta for Android 9 Pie this week to OnePlus 6 owners, so we figured we'd flash it and check it out. If you ran the develop preview for Android P back when those were available, you'll be very familiar with what OnePlus is offering here. There has been a UI overhaul, complete with circular system toggles in the notification pulldown, but most notably, OnePlus has baked in not only their own navigational gestures, but Google's, too. In the open beta changelog, OnePlus mentions an updated Gaming Mode, ability for Pie users to change up the UI's theme, plus plenty more. Downloading and installing this open beta on your own OnePlus 6 couldn't be easier. Simply download the zip file, flash it from the System Updates menu, then reboot. OnePlus has complete instructions and links to download the beta here. If you're on the fence when it comes to messing with beta software, so long as you don't absolutely need Google Pay working for mobile purchases, we say you should go for it. So far, the software is very smooth and we haven't come across nearly as many bugs as we did during the developer preview phase.

Verizon was Supposed to Start SIM Locking Phones by Now (Updated)

Kellen — Thu, 06 Sep 2018 10:40:37 +0000

Verizon shared plans back in February for a future change that involved SIM locking of their phones. The news made headlines because for one, Verizon doesn't lock their phones and hasn't for years (unlike other carriers), but it also was a significant change because they aren't allowed to lock them. I'm not kidding with that. FCC rules they agreed to as part of their purchase of Block C spectrum prohibited handset locking.

UPDATE: Here is the new device unlock policy

We were told at the time of that reveal that we'd get a clearer outline of their planned changes once they rolled them out in the spring. If you've looked at a calendar recently, then you know that summer is almost over and fall is upon us. We are well past any sort of spring rollout of a policy change. We have no idea what Verizon is doing with the SIM locking policy they first shared back in February. We've reached out to Verizon for an update on multiple occasions and have not received a response. You can take that a couple of ways, but it should at least mean that they haven't actually SIM locked phones as they suggested they would start doing. Their public device unlocking policy hasn't changed at all since February. You can read it here. It still states the following:

We do not lock most phones or tablets that are activated with our postpay service either during or after the term of your service contract or Device Payment Plan installment sales agreement.
We do not lock our 4G LTE devices, and no code is needed to program them for use with another carrier.

As far as we can tell, these rules are still true. We haven't received any reports of people having trouble using a Verizon phone on another network or while traveling internationally. I also just tested the Verizon Moto Z3 by inserting a T-Mobile SIM. I was given a warning that I wouldn't be allowed to make calls, but could still use the data connection. That wasn't actually incorrect, as I made calls and used data, just not at the same time. So that's good. But customers should still be given an update on the situation. Earlier this year, Verizon made it sound as if a short-term change would lock phones in boxes before immediately unlocking them upon activation. They claimed this was a theft deterrent and maybe it was. However, they implied that a stricter, non-automatic lock would arrive that could force customers to jump through extra hoops in order to take their phone off of Verizon's airwaves. Since Verizon won't clarify their plans, we figured we would at least provide you with this update on the situation in case you were curious. Feel free to share your experiences in the comments if you've run into SIM locking issues with Verizon phones in recent months. We'll also update this post should we hear back.

Digital Wellbeing Update Brings App Shortcut, Quick Settings Toggle for Grayscale

Kellen — Thu, 06 Sep 2018 08:39:14 +0000

Google's Digital Wellbeing service picked up an update today that introduces two much-needed features. For one, you can now add Digital Wellbeing to your app drawer, giving you quicker access than ever before. At launch with the first beta, it wasn't exactly easy to find Digital Wellbeing, since the service was only listed in your phone's lengthy settings menu. Now, with this shortcut toggle added on, you can access all of your digital-disconnect settings easily from anywhere. To make Digital Wellbeing available with your other apps, open it up, scroll to the bottom of it, and toggle the "Show in app list" button to the right.

In addition to that shortcut, Google has added a Quick Settings toggle that will take you into Wind Down or grayscale. As you can see in the shot above, this mode can live alongside your Night Light mode on Pixel devices too, so you can easily switch between either. Again, like the app shortcut we now have, this is a super handy shortcut that eliminates having to head all of the way into your phone's settings. Finally, Google says that they visually improved some other stuff and added a new link to Night Light scheduling int he Wind Down page. The update is live now! Google Play Link

Fortnite Adds Voice Chat for Android Players, More Device Support

Tim — Thu, 06 Sep 2018 08:38:07 +0000

Patch notes for v5.40 of Fortnite are up for digesting, and as always, there's a lot to take in. Not only is there a completely new game mode called High Stakes (which sounds like great fun for squads of 4 players), but Android players also received a few good things in this patch. Following the update, Android players will have access to VOIP, which will let you communicate with your team directly in-game. Additionally, more devices are now supported by the game, including the Essential Phone, as well as various Motorola, HTC, and Sony Xperia devices. Here are the changes specific to Android.

Added VOIP to Android.
Expanded device support to the Essential-PH, Motorola, HTC, Sony Xperia devices.
Major memory optimization on Android devices with Adreno GPUs. This addresses the performance degradation seen due to memory pressure.
Corrected some issues with screen resolution in certain locales on Android.

Now get out there and hop into a game! // Epic Games

Check Out the New Google Photos UI That's Rolling Out

Kellen — Wed, 05 Sep 2018 17:01:59 +0000

Google starting rolling out a refreshed UI to Google Photos today, one that matches the other new Material tweaks they've done to Phone, Contacts, and Android Messages. That means a new font that you either love or hate (me!), a bunch of icons that lack filling, and more white, even if Photos was already plenty white. The new Google Photos will show up on your phone as v4.0.0.211496615. In terms of layout, not much has changed from what I can tell. You still have Photos, Albums, Assistant, and Sharing shortcuts at the bottom of the app. Within each, you'll notice the new font and some tweaks to visuals too. One cool new thing seems to be this swipe-up action when you are viewing a photo that lets you look at the photo's info, like the time and location of it, camera settings, size, etc. Head on over to Google Play to grab it! Google Play Link

Report: Google Play to Offer 'Play Points' Loyalty Program

Tim — Wed, 05 Sep 2018 15:11:51 +0000

Ever thought it might be cool to earn points whenever you purchase something on Google Play, ultimately leading to the potential of free movie rentals, Google Play credit, or something along those lines? According to APK digging done by 9to5Google, Google is working on exactly this and are calling it Play Points. Based on what we know thanks to a recent APK deconstruction, Play Points is a loyalty program for those who purchase apps, movies, books, and everything else on Google Play. Just as an example, let's say you make a $1 purchase on Google Play, which would result in 1 Play Point earned. Once you've accumulated enough Play Points, you can exchange them for Google Play credit which can be used on future purchases through the service. Interestingly, Play Points aren't just for Google Play credit exchange. In a thread from the discovered code it says, "Earn points on everything you buy. Use points for special in-app items or Google Play credit." From this we can assume developers will be able to offer special in-app content based on Play Points or something similar. From what was seen so far, at least for the Japanese version of Google Play, each ¥100 spent will equate to 1 Play Point. When converted to USD, that's a little under a dollar. Safe to assume $1 spent will get you 1 Play Point? Possibly. In addition, it's reported there are levels inside of this program, which will grant users unique benefits. We aren't yet sure what these benefits will be, but who doesn't want to have a sweet badge to go along with all of the money they spend on apps and things? We haven't yet heard any official word from Google for Play Points, but considering this all appears to be hidden inside of Google Play, it seems likely that we'll hear something somewhat soon. Are you interested in earning some Play Points? // 9to5Google

YouTube Dark Mode on Android is Here!

Kellen — Wed, 05 Sep 2018 14:09:08 +0000

Six months later, YouTube gets dark theme

It's here. YouTube's dark mode on Android is here. For real this time. We were first told about YouTube for Android's dark mode back in March of this year, as a coming soon type of item. It's September, so you know, it only took a cool six months to get here. It's there, though! Again, this is no joke. If you have the latest version of YouTube (13.35.51), feel free to open it and then head into the app's Settings menu, then General. If you are updated, you should see a "Dark theme" toggle in there that'll give you the goods. If you aren't seeing it, swipe the app away in your app switcher or force stop it in settings. Once you re-open, you should have the "Dark theme" option. YouTube now joins Android Messages, as recently updated Google apps that have picked up the darker UI. We're also expecting the Google Phone app to join the party here in the near future and wouldn't be surprised if other apps like the Google Contacts app aren't far behind. Google Play Link

5 Reasons the Galaxy Note 9 is Worth Buying

Tim — Wed, 05 Sep 2018 12:11:25 +0000

Our Galaxy Note 9 review is up and if you've read it or not and want a quick 5 reasons why you should buy this phone, we can help you with that. Honestly, we could easily give you more than 5 reasons the Galaxy Note 9 is worth buying, because it's a fantastic phone. Samsung threw everything in here, but of course, everything comes with a price tag to match. If you're looking to spend $1,000+ on a smartphone, here are five reasons we think the Galaxy Note 9 is worth buying.

1. It Has Everything... Really!

Looking back at five reasons to purchase last year's Galaxy Note 8, we said that phone had everything. At the time, we felt we were right. Enter Galaxy Note 9, it also has everything, but then some more. For 2018, Samsung added a much larger battery, no longer fearing explosive results, and they also added Bluetooth functionality to the S Pen. Buyers will also find dual stereo speakers, a first for the Galaxy Note series. In total, this phone truly is the pinnacle of Android right now. The phone features the latest chip from Qualcomm (Snapdragon 845), an option for 512GB of internal storage, large amounts of RAM, excellent dual rear cameras with OIS and one with dual aperture, 4,000mAh battery, NFC and MST for your mobile payment needs, and one of the best displays we've ever seen in a smartphone. If you were looking for a phone that has it all, you can't top Galaxy Note 9 right now.

2. It's Raining Software Features

As you'd expect from Samsung, Galaxy Note 9 is packed with software features. Everything from Multi Window to Edge Panel is still in there, and it seems each year there's a little more than last. Inside of the Settings menu under Advanced Settings is where you'll find a lot of the more interesting things, such as options for your S Pen, an advanced Game Launcher service (which adds shortcuts to your nav bar for recording gameplay), fingerprint gestures, options for quick launching the camera, plus plenty more. It would take an entire day just to walk through each setting, so you'll just have to believe me when I say you'll never get bored browsing through everything this phone is capable of. Topping off all of the software, the S Pen has gotten better than ever. Thanks to Bluetooth, users can now control their music with the stylus and can even use it as a remote shutter button for the camera. I don't know if I'll ever use it for that purpose, but hey, I probably won't use more than half of the features on the phone. The point is, it's there if you need it, which is great in my book.

3. Battery Life is Great

Packing a 4,000mAh battery, Kellen and I both had fantastic battery life during our review period with our Note 9 devices. I judge my battery on how much I have left at the end of the day, without really changing up the way I use my phone when I switch from device to device. On a lot of phones, I'll have under 15% or so at the end of my 7AM-ish to 11PM-ish days, but on Galaxy Note 9, it seemed I was always around 40-50% at the end of the day. A lot of times, I'd feel comfortable leaving it off the charger for the night, with no doubt that the phone could get me through another morning with the charge it had left. This feeling deviates from my routine of plugging in my phone at night, so I didn't try much. However, if you work a schedule that doesn't allow for such a routine, then this is a phone I'd recommend, as I'm confident it can hold plenty of juice throughout a day or two.

4. Camera is Beyond Reliable

On the back of this phone you'll find two cameras, both 12-megapixel and both have optical image stabilization (OIS). The wide-angle lens also comes with dual aperture support, which allows it to better handle varying lighting situations. During our review time and the time since (I've been using the phone as my daily driver for a couple weeks now), I've found the cameras to be very reliable in various shoots. Whether I'm trying to get a picture of my dogs running around (caution: full res) or want to take a macro shot of a pretty spider sitting atop a sunflower (caution: full res), I tend to be quite happy with the end results. Of course, the cameras are capable of so much more than just Auto shooting. There are loads of modes inside of the Camera app, such as your typical Pano mode and Pro mode for tweaking all sorts of values in any given shot, but Samsung also includes its Super Slo Motion setting, which captures video at 960FPS. You'd be amazed at how some things look at nearly 1,000FPS. I tried my hand at shooting some bees with this mode, and while I did get a couple decent shots, I fully recommend a tripod or mount of some sort because proper focus and movement play a key role when it comes to slow motion. For plenty of camera samples, check out our full review.

5. Hardware is Top Notch

Samsung has been utilizing this all glass and metal design for a few years now, and while parts of me would like to see them take a few drastic measures to change things up, I'm not out here looking for a display notch or anything like that. How do you build upon this design, which already has very large displays with minimal bezel? I suppose we'll see what Samsung intends to do with the Galaxy X and next set of Galaxy S devices next year, but I am intrigued to see what'll happen. For Galaxy Note 9 in particular, it's heavy in hand with that large battery, and it is tall, but completely manageable and oozes that premium feeling we sometimes talk about with smartphones. While I know some may not overly enjoy having a very large phone (looking at you, Kellen), playing games and watching videos always seems to be better on a large device. Doing everything on this hardware is nice and I've gotten quite a few compliments on it already when out and about. It's always nice when folks appreciate the look of what you're using.

Buy Galaxy Note 9

If you want 5 reasons for others phones, see our full list.

Bunch of T-Mobile Samsung Phones Picked Up Updates

Kellen — Wed, 05 Sep 2018 11:14:59 +0000

If you own a Samsung phone that was sold by T-Mobile, there is a good chance that your phone will see an update very soon, if it hasn't already. The T-Mobile Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+, Galaxy Note 8, and Galaxy Note 5 are all picking up new software right now. I wish I could tell you that these were Android Pie updates or something substantial, but it does appear that all are simply the August Android security patch. The new software versions are as follows:

Galaxy S8: G950USQS5CRH1 (August 30 release)
Galaxy S8+: G955USQS5CRH1 (August 31 release)
Galaxy Note 8: N950USQS5CRG9 (August 31 release)
Galaxy Note 5: N920TUVS6ERH1 (August 24 release)

T-Mobile only now posted the changelogs and version numbers for these, so it's hard to tell if the updates have started rolling out. With those dates attached, I'd assume so. Either way, be on the lookout if you haven't already seen them. To check for updates, head into Settings>Software update. // T-Mobile [2] [3] [4]

DEAL: Huawei Watch 2 4G at Woot for $189.99

Kellen — Wed, 05 Sep 2018 08:48:06 +0000

Before we get into this, I still don't think buying a smart watch is a great idea right now, but look, a good deal is a good deal. Woot has the Huawei Watch 2 "4G Edition" priced at just $189.99. With an original retail price of around $300, this is a really nice discount. So if you don't want to wait to see what Qualcomm has to announce on September 10, yet want a smartwatch, this is a good one to consider. This version is the sportier model, has GPS built-in, heartrate sensor, and NFC, plus it will certainly see the newest version of Wear OS. As a bonus, this Huawei Watch 2 can connect to 4G networks for a truly stand-alone experience (supported networks). Woot is listing these as brand new watches. Woot Deal Link

Been Using Google's Digital Wellbeing? What Do You Think So Far?

Kellen — Wed, 05 Sep 2018 08:22:23 +0000

Once Android 9.0 Pie went stable, Google published the first beta of its Digital Wellbeing suite to supported devices, which included the Pixel and Pixel 2 lines. We've now had it for about a month and figured it was time to see if everyone has been using it, if it has made a difference in your usage, or if you've completely ignored all of the data it shows you. To recap, Google Digital Wellbeing is a suite of features that attempts to disconnect you from your phone or at least notify you that you've stared at Instagram too long today and probably need a break. It also wants to help you wind down in the evenings by taking away that colorful screen of yours, realize how many notifications you get in a day, and how often you unlock your phone.

RELATED: Google added an app shortcut and Quick Settings toggle!

I can tell you that since it came out and I went through an initial setup, I haven't looked at the usage numbers much or set any app timers. I do use wind down, so that my phone turns to grayscale at night, but I have altered the timing to a later start after it annoyed me (lol). I guess it's like Tim said on one of our podcasts, that you have to admit to having a problem (phone addiction) in order to fix it. What about you, using Digital Wellbeing? If so, how's it going? Set any app timers?

DEAL: Buy a Lenovo Smart Display at Best Buy, Get Free Google Home Mini

Tim — Tue, 04 Sep 2018 15:13:18 +0000

If you checked out our Lenovo Smart Display review, you'll know we really enjoy having one of these in the office. Whether it's for quickly checking weather or even watching videos, they're just a very handy thing to have on your desk, living room, or kitchen. Over at Best Buy, should you purchase an 8" model of Lenovo's Smart Display for $199, they'll throw in a free Google Home Mini ($49 value). That means even more Google Assistant goodness for your home or office space. To claim this deal, simply add an 8" model to your cart on Best Buy's website, then a Google Home Mini will automatically be added and shipped to you. Best Buy Link

It's Going to be Hard to Say "No" to the OnePlus 6T

Kellen — Tue, 04 Sep 2018 14:19:28 +0000

I know that we're only four months removed from the launch of the OnePlus 6 and me calling it a "no brainer," but the OnePlus 6T is going to be tough to deny or say "no" to. Assuming the phone looks at all like the Oppo R17 (above) and includes features from that supposed retail box from earlier, the OnePlus 6T might be your best choice for a new phone in 2018. When OnePlus releases a phone, there are a handful of things we know will be a part of the story. The phone will have really good specs. The design will be familiar, if not slightly improved over the previous OnePlus phone. There will be stupid amounts of hype from the OnePlus army of superfans. And the price will go up, but still be lower than whatever Samsung, Google, and Apple are selling their new phones at. Before I've ever seen the OnePlus 6T, I know that it'll probably look a lot like this. I'm assuming it'll have a Snapdragon 845 processor, 6GB or 8GB RAM, 128 to 512GB of storage, some form of dual cameras, a sleek glass and metal body, super fast charging, and OnePlus' really smooth performing OyxgenOS software that they continue to update regularly. It could launch with Android Pie too. My guess is that the base price will jump up by $20-$30 over the OnePlus 6, which would put it at around $549 or $559. It'll ship in black, but also in another super sharp color with promises of limited editions along the way.

But where the OnePlus 6T might standout is in the subtle upgrades it'll have over the competition. It might be the first US phone with an in-display fingerprint reader. It also might have a shrunken notch that compares more with the Essential Phone's dip than Apple or Huawei or Motorola's. Why do those things matter? It's fun to have something unique. You may be able to unlock your OnePlus 6T by just touching the screen. That's cool! Samsung's phones don't allow that. Apple's don't. Google's new Pixel 3 won't either. That should also free up space on the back of the phone to look even cleaner and show off whatever backside colorway OnePlus decides to push. It's an advancement that other US phones have thus far ignored.

As for that notch I mentioned, well, a smaller teardrop notch is certainly an improvement over Google's take. It's been a rough year in the design department for most phone makers, yet this may help us finish it out on a somewhat positive note. I don't necessarily hate or love notches, but that picture above is not offensive to me at all. This looks like a company who really is trying to get to an all-display front and has almost pulled it off, unlike some others. Oh, and in case you didn't know, Oppo is owned by the same companies who owns OnePlus and their phones often borrow ideas from each other, hence all these references. Let's also not forget that the OnePlus 6T is likely headed to T-Mobile. It'll be super easy to get then, plus they'll probably have some sort of promo to get you one at a discount or on a BOGO option or with a payment plan. Not that the last couple of OnePlus phones have been tough to buy, but you may soon be able to walk down the street to your block's T-Mobile store and buy a OnePlus phone. So look, if you add in the couple of the improvements we expect, the price doesn't dramatically jump, and T-Mobile starts selling the OnePlus 6T, what's there to get you to pass on it? We know it'll have incredible performance, awesome battery life, competitive cameras, and one of the best software experiences around. Wait, do I even need to see it? Someone sell me a OnePlus 6T. RELATED NOTE: Unless you are on Verizon, of course, then ignore everything I just said.

Razer Phone 2 is Officially a Go

Tim — Tue, 04 Sep 2018 13:48:23 +0000

Word is out and it's official -- Razer is making a Razer Phone 2. In its Interim Results for 2018, Razer spoke highly of its first smartphone offering from last year, saying it has been met with much positivity, even spawning a whole new category in the industry. As you'll remember, Razer Phone was created to be a mobile gamer's dream phone, featuring a display capable of 120Hz refresh rate, as well as stereo speakers delivering excellent audio quality. Here's exactly what was said Interim Results.

With the launch of the Razer Phone in late 2017, Razer has since been widely recognised as the industry forerunner with the foresight of recognising the unmet demand for and being the first-mover to launch a mobile device for gamers, spawning a whole new category for the industry. The Group is very pleased with the success of its first generation Razer Phone, which was released in a limited run and has garnered very positive reviews internationally. Razer is now focusing its resources into the development of the second generation Razer Phone and accompanying software releases which will extend its software and services from PC into the mobile market.

When we reviewed Razer Phone last year, we loved nearly everything about the device, minus the bulky hardware and lackluster cameras. Our fingers are crossed that Razer works on a bit more interesting of a design and makes tweaks to the rear shooters, then we'll have yet another contender down the road. Now all we need is an Essential Phone 2 announcement and we can die happy. // CNET | Razer

2018 DL Football Eliminator Challenge is Open! Win a Smart Display! (Updated)

Kellen — Tue, 04 Sep 2018 12:34:20 +0000

UPDATE 12/31: My guy, AngryHampster won! Shoot me an email and we'll get you that prize!

The 2018 NFL season is days away from kicking off and that means the DL Football Eliminator is back! This is our 8th straight year doing this contest, which is kind of crazy to think about. This year, we're giving away a Google Assistant-powered Smart Display to the winner! We already have two options from Lenovo, another couple on the way from JBL and LG, and possibly one from Google. At the end of the season, we'll actually let the winner choose which Smart Display from those companies that they want. For those new to NFL eliminator challenges, they work like this. At absolutely zero cost to you, you pick one winner each week during the season out of all of the games being played. If your team wins, you move on to the next week. Just keep in mind that you can only choose a team one time per season, so there is some strategy involved. With that said, by no means are these challenges as intense as fantasy football or weekly pick’em challenges. This is the simplest form of an NFL challenge you can participate in. All you have to do each week is remember to pick a single winner. You can even make your picks via ESPN Fantasy app if that helps. The season kicks off this Thursday, September 6 (yes, in 2 days), so you will want to sign-up now. We will try our best to remind you throughout the next couple of days to sign-up, though.

Join the group: Droid Life Eliminator Password: droidlife Simple rules for those new to eliminator challenges:

Join the league up above. Create an entry for yourself. Get ready to pick winners.
Since this is an eliminator challenge, you only have to pick 1 winner each week.
Remember though, that you only get to use a team one time and cannot pick them to win again.
If you choose correctly each week, you continue to advance.
If you choose incorrectly, you are more than likely out. Still, continue picking though, as we may not have anyone finish the season perfect.
If that didn’t make sense, check out the full “How to Play” rules here.
If we run into a tiebreaker, we will decide a winner based on these rules. We go with ESPN’s rules and they determine the winner.

Prize: This year's prize is a Google Assistant-powered Smart Display of your choice. By the time the season is over, that should include more than just Lenovo's two options and could include a device from Google, as well as choices from JBL and LG. The winner gets to pick a Smart Display from one of those companies. Winner’s prizes will only be bought and shipped within the US. Good luck, everyone!

Essential Phone Picks Up September Security Patch, Various Fixes

Tim — Tue, 04 Sep 2018 11:19:24 +0000

Moments after Google made September's security patch available to Pixel and Nexus devices, Essential announced the same update for Essential Phone owners. On top of the monthly patch, Essential details audio fixes and accessibility fixes. When downloading, the update should weigh in at just over 81MB. Have at it, Essential folks. https://twitter.com/essential/status/1037040668730830848

September Android Security Update Goes Live for Nexus, Pixel Devices

Kellen — Tue, 04 Sep 2018 10:13:52 +0000

Google just dropped the September 2018 security patch for Nexus and Pixel devices on us. At this time, we already have both factory image and OTA files, so choose whichever works best for you if you don’t feel like waiting for the update to show up on your device. So far, we are seeing new 9.0.0 files for Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL (PPR2.180905.005) and Pixel and Pixel XL (PPR1.180905.003, PPR2.180905.006, PPR2.180905.006.A1). Other devices like the Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X, and Pixel C are not on Pie and won't get there, so they are seeing 8.1.0 files. Those files are OPM4.171019.021.Z1 for Pixel C, OPM6.171019.030.K1 for Nexus 6P, and OPM6.171019.030.K1 for Nexus 5X. For version notes, we've got:

Pixel and Pixel XL (PPR2.180905.006): General release
Pixel and Pixel XL (PPR2.180905.006.A1): Verizon
Pixel and Pixel XL (PPR1.180905.003): Telus

Functional Patches [table responsive=scroll id=143 /] You can grab each image or OTA file at the links below. For instructions on how to flash a factory image, here you go. For instructions on how to flash an OTA .zip file, here you go. As more files arrive as well as additional details, we’ll update this post. Links:

Chrome Turns 10 and Gets a Bunch of New Features

Kellen — Tue, 04 Sep 2018 10:00:46 +0000

Chrome turned 10 years old today and Google is celebrating the occasion with a huge update and bunch of new features across platforms. Chrome is getting a new look everywhere, major improvements to its password manager, smart answers within the Search bar, and more. Let's run through all of the new stuff on Chrome's birthday. The biggest change you'll notice up front is the new look. If you've been running any of the Chrome Beta builds, this will look familiar, but everyone should get the new coat of paint today. This new look includes rounder corners, new icons, and a new color palette. You can see the desktop version below.

After that, we've got a supercharged Chrome password manager to utilize. This new password manager can "more accurately fill in your passwords, addresses, and credit card numbers, so that you can breeze through online checkout forms." It'll help create strong passwords for you, but also make them available at all times through your Google account. The making them available isn't new, but creating them as you go to sign-up for services or change passwords is.

In the Search bar, you'll now get answers to some questions that you type out without having to open a new tab. Think weather, word translations, info on sporting events, etc. all within the Search bar. The improved Search bar will also tell you if you already have a tab open for a site you are trying to access and offer up a "Switch to tab" option. Finally for the Search bar, Google is preparing to let you search for files within your Google Drive account., And finally, in terms of new up front features, Google is letting you customize the new tab page with your favorites. I actually can't believe this wasn't already a thing, but you can manage shortcuts or buttons to your favorite sites, as well as the background image.

// Google

Supposed OnePlus 6T Retail Box Details In-Display Fingerprint Reader

Tim — Tue, 04 Sep 2018 09:23:32 +0000

Photos of supposed retail packing for OnePlus 6T have been posted online, detailing a phone that has us beyond intrigued at the moment. As we can see inside the box, there is a diagram of the phone, showing off the minimal top notch that we were already expecting thanks to a previous unveiling from OPPO, but it appears we may also see an in-display fingerprint reader, too. If true, OnePlus would be the first company to widely market this tech in the US.

RELATED: Going to be tough to pass on the OnePlus 6T

When we first discussed OPPO's R17, we didn't talk long about its in-display fingerprint reader, simply because we figured OnePlus would change up the design somewhat and place a physical button somewhere on the phone for fingerprint duties. We get the feeling that this minimal top notch and the possibility of an in-display fingerprint reader will send the OnePlus 6T to a whole new level of hype for fans of OnePlus.

Additionally, we can see many words printed inside of the box. From the brief research we've done, we can establish that these are usernames from the OnePlus forums. A couple that stick out are TheAvengingTITAN and MagicOneIt. Written next to all of these names is, "Hey, we couldn't have built it without you." While the box doesn't provide any specs, we can already expect a Snapdragon 845 processor, healthy amounts of RAM, dual cameras on the backside, and DASH charging. Is the OnePlus 6T shaping up to be your next phone? // EOTO

Samsung's Foldable Galaxy X is Coming Very Soon, For Real. Probably.

Kellen — Tue, 04 Sep 2018 07:47:12 +0000

On November 7, Samsung's Developer Conference will kick off and the company will further show off its Bixby-powered speaker called Galaxy Home. If that product doesn't interest you in the least, that's OK, because it will be upstaged by another Samsung product. Samsung's foldable phone, long-rumored to be called Galaxy X, will likely show up at the event. During a chat with CNBC, Samsung mobile boss DJ Koh said that "it's time to deliver" their foldable phone, which has been rumored or in the works for years. Koh mentioned that market research showed enough interest in this type of product and that their development of it is "nearly concluded." Koh wouldn't dive into specifics, but did offer the following description of the device to try and explain how it won't just fold out into a tablet:

"You can use most of the uses ... on foldable status. But when you need to browse or see something, then you may need to unfold it. But even unfolded, what kind of benefit does that give compared to the tablet? If the unfolded experience is the same as the tablet, why would they (consumers) buy it?," Koh said at the IFA electronics show in Berlin last week. "So every device, every feature, every innovation should have a meaningful message to our end customer. So when the end customer uses it, (they think) 'wow, this is the reason Samsung made it'."

I'm still not sure I'm sold on the need for this, and I really hope they aren't going to unfold a phone into a DeX experience. But I also have no idea what they'll do with a foldout screen to make it not just seem like a tablet, other than just launch a stupid DeX experience. I'm actually OK if it goes from phone to tablet, because that would mean a bigger screen for consuming content or playing games. People would buy it because it would be an all-in-one device, where they wouldn't need to own a separate tablet. What is Koh smoking that he doesn't think that that's a good idea? Your thoughts?

Android Pie Update Arrives on OnePlus 6 in Form of Open Beta

Kellen — Mon, 03 Sep 2018 07:51:43 +0000

The first Android Pie update is here for the OnePlus 6! This first build is an "open beta," so it'll likely have some bugs and is only the first of many releases before OnePlus takes Pie to stable. However, you can update to it right now if you like living on that beta edge. The update brings with it a new Android 9.0 Pie UI (probably a lot like we've seen on Essential and Pixel phones), new Android P gesture navigation, accent color customization, new Gaming Mode 3.0, and some tweaked Do Not Disturb settings. Here is the Android Pie changelog for the OnePlus 6:

Update system to Android™ 9.0 Pie™
- Brand new UI for Android P
- New Android P gesture navigation
- Other new features and system improvements
Integrated OnePlus customization features
- Supported accent color customization
- New Do Not Disturb mode with adjustable settings
- New Gaming Mode 3.0
  - Added text notification mode
  - Added notification for 3rd party calls

If you want to give it some run, it's pretty easy to get updated. You'll download the update file, drop it on your phone's storage, head into System updates, and update via local storage. OnePlus makes the process about as simple as you'd like to see it. Just know that once you get on open beta builds, you'll be off the stable track. Once stable builds rollout, you'll more than likely have to wipe your phone to get on it and off of beta. Instructions here!

Pixel 3 XL Enjoys Lyft Rides, Being Photographed

Kellen — Mon, 03 Sep 2018 07:40:41 +0000

The Pixel 3 XL is still showing up everywhere. No, not the made up I-got-hella-duped-and-it's-hilarious-and-we're-laughing-at-you-for-believing-it "Pixel Ultra" or some fake Pixel 3 XL that Google is using in a grand conspiracy to trick us all before revealing the real Pixel 3 XL. No, I'm talking about the Pixel 3 XL that Google will unveil on October 4 or 9 that has leaked a dozen times and practically been reviewed, keeps showing up. It's latest appearance is in the back of a Lyft car. Someone - probably a Google employee - jumped out of the back seat of a Lyft car and their Pixel 3 XL slipped out. The Lyft driver then snapped a handful of pictures and sent to Android Police. Here are those pictures:

The notch is there. It's the black version. It has a clear case on it. That's all.

DEAL: Samsung Discounts Verizon Galaxy Note 9 by $100, Includes Free Duo Charger & Case

Kellen — Fri, 31 Aug 2018 15:54:00 +0000

The big Galaxy Note 9 pre-order deals are long gone, so we're now to sitting back to wait for others to trickle in. One may have popped up today through Samsung's own store, assuming you are interested in the Verizon Note 9. If you buy the Verizon Galaxy Note 9 through Samsung's store on a device payment plan, they'll cut an instant $100 off. That puts the 128GB model at $899.99 ($37.50/mo) and the 512GB model at $1149.99. With $100 off, that should at least reduce that hefty monthly payment some, plus Samsung is running a current freebie promo that'll add on a Duo Wireless Charger ($119.99 value) and a case of your choice (up to $65 value). So to recap, the Verizon Galaxy Note 9 is $100 off right now from Samsung, plus they'll toss in a free Duo Wireless Charger and whichever Note 9 case you might want. Not bad. Buy Verizon Galaxy Note 9

If There is a Pixel Stand for the Pixel 3, It's UI Could Look Like This

Kellen — Fri, 31 Aug 2018 15:41:15 +0000

Once the launch of the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL goes down in just over a month, Google will likely try and add spice to the occasion with accessories that further explore each phone's set of unique features. Since we expect wireless charging to return with this year's Google phones, one of those accessories is reported to be called the Pixel Stand, a wireless charger that might do more than wirelessly charge your phone. Thanks to some fun software trickery, we may now have our first tease at what the software UI will look like from that stand.

UPDATE: Check it out, this is the Pixel Stand

The folks at XDA tweaked a recent Google App beta into firing up a UI that would typically only work with the Pixel 3 docked. As you'll see below, the UI turns a Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL into an information hub that pulls in your Google Assistant overview, but also reminds me of a Google smart display. The screenshots here not only show the weather, but we've got suggestions for Google Assistant commands, as well as other tasks or actions that you could complete. Each spot on the UI looks like a touch point, so you may be able to interact with it all without having to shout "Hey, Google." That's pretty awesome. Of course, this UI below shows a whole lot of white. I can't imagine that Google will let the Pixel 3 sit on a stand with full whiteness appearing at all times. Instead, this could flip over to a dark mode or always-on display type of experience. I mean, I hope so, anyway. Either way, a Pixel 3 and a Pixel Stand could mean that you won't have to consider a smart display any time soon. Instead, you could buy multiple Pixel Stands and then have a portable office assistant with you at all times.

Android Distribution Updated for August: No Pie Yet

Kellen — Fri, 31 Aug 2018 14:37:21 +0000

Google updated the Android distribution numbers today to show which versions of Android are dominating the landscape as of August 31. We were curious if Android Pie would make its debut this round, but are left disappointed. No Pie here, my friends. Instead, we've got a boost for Android Oreo to 14.6% (from 12.1%) and Nougat still sitting at 30.8%. Marshmallow dropped to 22.7%, Lollipop down to 19.2%, KitKat to 8.6%, and Jelly Bean to 3.5%. Ice Cream Sandwich remained at 0.3%, while Gingerbread somehow rose from 0.2% to 0.3%. You can view last month's numbers here.

Google Isn't Releasing a Pixel Watch This Year 😔

Kellen — Fri, 31 Aug 2018 14:18:47 +0000

Oh no, Google isn't going to release Pixel Watch this year. The company confirmed just that bit of news today, suggesting that they will instead help partners push out new watches and the new version of Wear OS. The sad news arrives via Toms Guide, who was told by Miles Barr, Google's director of engineering for Wear OS, that they have no plans for a smartwatch in 2018. That differs from a report back in May that led us to believe a Pixel Watch would show up alongside the new Pixel 3 phones in October. Barr mentioned something about a "one-size-fits-all watch" that he doesn't think they have dreamed up yet. That may be why they will help partners, rather than release their own wrist hardware. Should they come up with a Pixel Watch, Barr noted that it would have a heavy focus on Google Assistant and AI and machine learning. That's funny, because that's sort of exactly what the new Wear OS is focused on. Will we ever see a Pixel Watch? That's tough to say. Android Wear and Wear OS have been around for years now, and Google has had ample opportunities to create its own hardware, yet hasn't. This year seemed like the perfect year, especially knowing that Qualcomm is ready to release a new Snapdragon Wear processor in early September that could really change the Wear OS ecosystem. Maybe Google just wasn't ready for it. Insert your sadface in the comments.

Sprint Adds New Unlimited Premium Plan, Includes Amazon Prime Membership

Kellen — Fri, 31 Aug 2018 13:43:27 +0000

Sprint is kicking off the Labor Day weekend with a brand new unlimited plan in addition to Unlimited Plus and Unlimited Basic. This new option is called Unlimited Premium and according to Sprint, "includes a combination of top-notch features and services that customers won't find anywhere else in wireless." Well, let's explore that and find out if it's true. The new Unlimited Premium plan from Sprint includes the following:

Unlimited talk, text, and data
50GB LTE hotspot data
Amazon Prime membership
Hulu Limited Commercials subscription
TIDAL music streaming
Video streaming in Full HD
Global Roaming in 185+ countries
Unlimited talk, text, and 4G LTE data in Mexico and Canada
Lookout Premium Plus

The cost? For a single line with autopay, Sprint Unlimited Premium costs $90/mo. Sprint says that if you subscribed to all of the included services there, you'd spend $130 per month. Want to spend less than $90/mo? If you bring your own phone to Sprint or buy one at full retail, they'll reduce the monthly cost by $10/mo. How does this differ from Unlimited Plus? Sprint is bumping the hotspot from 15GB to 50GB, the Mexico and Canada data from 10GB to unlimited, and adding Amazon Prime and Lookout Premium Plus. Sign-up for Sprint Unlimited Premium

Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL Hit the FCC!

Kellen — Fri, 31 Aug 2018 12:34:46 +0000

Leaks aside, we still can't buy a Google Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL until both phones stop off at the FCC for testing. Well, that just happened. Both of Google's new phones are there and we're diving in! It's worth noting that each was filed through the FCC under Google's FCC ID for the first time, not another company's. With previous Pixel releases, where Google contracted others to build the phones, we saw HTC and LG drop off FCC docs. With the Pixel 3, it's all Google.

RELATED: Bad news, folks, no Pixel Watch this year

So far, we've identified the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL as model numbers G013A and G013C. My guess is that the A model is the Pixel 3 and the C model is the 3 XL, but I'll look deeper into the docs further to confirm that. And I say that because the Pixel 2 was G011A and the Pixel 2 XL was G011C. UPDATES: Let's start the updates! 1. Below are the supported wireless bands, which show that Google's phones are once again ready for all major US carriers (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint). The phones also have NFC, 802.11/ac WiFi, and Bluetooth LE.

2. There are mentions of testing "WPC Charging Mode," which could certainly be in reference to wireless charging. With a glass back and related leak, we assumed wireless charging would be on board, but this could be another sign pointing to that. Alright, that's about all these docs have revealed. Google and friends did a good job at not revealing anything noteworthy. Stay tuned, I'll update this if I find anything fun! // FCC [2]

Podcast: Pixel 3 Leaks are a Bit Much

Kellen — Fri, 31 Aug 2018 09:14:59 +0000

On this episode of the Droid Life Show, we're looking back at the past two weeks of Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL leaks. Neither phone can stay out of the spotlight, yet we're still at least a month from Google announcing either. It's getting ridiculous at this point. But IFA also went down this week, so we've got new phones from Motorola, LG, Sony, and HTC to talk about, as well as a bunch of new Wear OS watches and a new version of Wear OS. We want to talk about Verizon's unlimited mishap too and why this is going to be a smartphone year to forget. Trivia is back today, and you'll have a chance to win Google Play credit! We'll be live at 10:30AM Pacific (1:30PM Eastern). If you miss us live and/or want the audio version of our podcast, you can subscribe through the various links below.

Poll: You Going Regular Pixel 3 or What?

Kellen — Fri, 31 Aug 2018 08:37:26 +0000

Now that you have seen the regular Pixel 3 in great detail, are you ready to pull the trigger? You are buying the Pixel 3, right? That 5.5" display is plenty big, there's no notch, the camera will be legit, and hey, it might have wireless charging, wireless charging guy. No, going notch fam and the Pixel 3 XL? You aren't afraid to accept that kind of life, the double-thick status bar life?

RELATED: Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL just stopped off at the FCC!

Skipping both? I want to know. It's Pixel 3 poll time. [poll id="494"]

Motorola is Promising to Care About OS Updates With New Android One Phones

Kellen — Fri, 31 Aug 2018 07:55:52 +0000

Motorola announced two new phones today, the Motorola One and Motorola One Power. Both have leaked previously and both are indeed Android One phones. These aren't the first Android One devices from Moto, but they are getting a pretty big guarantee from Motorola in the update department. What are these new Motorola One phones? They are mid-rangers that run clean Android, thanks to Android One, though neither is scheduled to come to the US. Yes, you can stop reading now if you want unless you want to hear about the update business, because it is important.

The Motorola One is the lower-end of the two, while the Motorola One Power is the slightly upgraded version. A portion of the provided specs look like this: Motorola One

Display: 5.9" HD+ (19:9)
Processor: 2.0GHz Snapdragon 625
Memory: 4GB RAM
Rear Camera: 13MP dual camera
Front Camera: 8MP
Price: €299 RPP

Motorola One Power

Display: 6.2" FHD+ (19:9)
Processor: 1.8GHz Snapdragon 636
Storage: 64GB
Battery: "up to 2 days"

The Motorola One will arrive in the coming months in Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific, while the Motorola One Power is only currently scheduled for release in India in October.

Ok, so about this update business. Because these are Android One phones, this is mostly untouched Android that should be easy to upgrade. Neither phone will be filled with bloatware or a bunch of garbage and should (should) get updates. Motorola is promising two major OS updates (Android Pie and then Android Q), as well as 3 years worth of monthly security patches. And they slapped a "guarantee" on them too. Let's not forget that when we get a year and a half into these and Motorola goes quiet. If you are a Motorola fan and you have been frustrated by the update experience in recent years, you should beg them to release more Android One phones like these.

Logitech Introduces New UE Boom 3 and Megaboom 3 Speakers

Kellen — Thu, 30 Aug 2018 15:23:40 +0000

Logitech's popular Ultimate Ears (UE) Boom and Megaboom Bluetooth speaker lines added new family members today. The UE Boom 3 and UE Megaboom 3 are official with pretty incredible prices. Like previous generations, the Boom 3 and Megaboom 3 are waterproof (IP67, plus they float), feature 360-degree sound, and 150-foot Bluetooth range. They also have something called the "Magic Button" on top of their cylindrical bodies. This button lets you play, pause, and skip tracks, or access playlists on Apple Music and Deezer. Finally, these new Boom speakers can connect to UE's Power Up charging dock for wireless charging action. The UE Boom 3 and Megaboom 3 arrive in September at $149.99 and $199.99, respectively. As I mentioned above, that pricing is very reasonable. The current UE Boom 2 costs $179.99 and the current Megaboom is $249.99. // Logitech

Casio's New Wear OS Watch Costs $549, Available in January

Tim — Thu, 30 Aug 2018 15:17:31 +0000

Casio unveiled a new version of Pro Trek Smart this week at IFA, going by model WSD-F30. The watch doesn't hit retailers until next January, but Casio was kind enough to include pricing with its announcement. Are you ready for it? The new watch, powered by Google's Wear OS, will retail for $549. It does come in either black, blue or orange, though! According to Casio, this smartwatch is capable of offline maps and GPS log recording for up to three consecutive days, and also comes with MIL-STD-810. That's military standard, according to our fantastic US Department of Defense. Specs include a 1.2" dual-layer display (390x390), an undisclosed processor, undisclosed battery size, plus sensors for everything you might need. With regard to the sensor, we are assuming Casio isn't disclosing because this watch will utilize whatever Qualcomm has in store for later this year, but that's to be seen. We'll let you know when it's available in January. // Casio

BlackBerry Unveils KEY2 LE, Comes in 3 Colors and Costs $399

Tim — Thu, 30 Aug 2018 13:22:14 +0000

TCL, the manufacturers behind all of the latest BlackBerry devices, introduced a new device for the KEY lineup, KEY2 LE. While it looks like the KEY2 from only June of this year, it's different, according to TCL. As stated in the press release, "With this new addition to their product lineup, the KEY2 LE keeps the iconic BlackBerry styling while offering an accessible entry point for our fans around the world to enjoy a modern BlackBerry smartphone." For specs, KEY2 LE offers a 4.5" LCD 1080p display, Snapdragon 636 processor, 4GB RAM, 32GB or 64GB storage, 3,000mAh battery, dual rear cameras (13MP+5MP), NFC, fingerprint reader located in the spacebar, Android 8.1 "Oreo," as well as all of the security goodies you'd expect from BlackBerry. To help set this device apart from KEY2, besides the lower price, it will be offered in three colors: Slate, Champagne and Atomic. KEY2 LE will go on sale next month, priced at $399 for the 32GB model and $449 for 64GB. // BlackBerry

Oh, You Wanted Regular Pixel 3 Pictures? Here You Go.

Kellen — Thu, 30 Aug 2018 13:09:03 +0000

The overwhelming stream of Pixel 3 XL leaks in recent weeks sure has had Pixel fans wondering what the deal with the regular, non-notched Pixel 3 was. It's tough to say why the bigger Pixel 3 was the one that found its way in the hands of Ukranian/Russian phone dealers, but we've now got mostly clean pictures of the little guy for you. Thanks to a reddit thread that popped up moments ago, we have three solid pictures of the Pixel 3 as well as screenshots that detail some of its specs. Before we get into the specs, here is the phone!

Ahhh, that's the stuff. According to screenshots included, the Pixel 3 you are seeing above will sport a 5.5" 1080p display (2160x1080, 440ppi), 2915mAh battery, and dual front cameras at 8MP each. What's interesting is the suggestion from the system info app that one of the 8MP cameras will have a dual aperture setting (f/1.8 to f/2.2). Samsung is doing dual apertures already, so it's not that wild of a feature idea. But it's tough to tell if the app is confused by the two cameras or generally thinks one of them is dual aperture.

What do you guys think? It sure does look like the Pixel 2 XL from last year, only with a slightly different (glass) back and an extra front camera. You know what I think - this is the Pixel 3 for me.

YouTube TV Details NBA League Pass Pricing

Kellen — Thu, 30 Aug 2018 12:36:59 +0000

After announcing back in March that NBA League Pass would soon be offered for YouTube TV, the streaming TV service finally dropped details for subscribing to it when the 2018 NBA season arrives. YouTube TV customers will have three options to choose from. There will be a monthly NBA League Pass plan for $40/mo, a half season package at $124, or the full season package for $249. The NBA season doesn't kick off until October, so YouTube TV isn't planning to let you sign-up until then. Once it goes live, we'll let you know. To find it, you'll look in the YouTube App>Settings>Membership. It should be listed as an option in there with other premium services like Showtime, Starz, and Fox Soccer Plus. // YouTube TV Help

ZTE Axon 9 Pro Features Notch and Massive Battery, Not Coming to US

Tim — Thu, 30 Aug 2018 10:43:15 +0000

ZTE made Axon 9 Pro official this morning during IFA. While the phone has all of the specs you'd expect from a 2018 flagship, it also has another feature that we aren't insanely fond about that relates heavily to 2018 smartphones. Yup, it has a display notch. While the phone looks and sounds fine, this whole ordeal with the US government and ZTE looks to be keeping this phone far away from our shores, at least for now. This is upsetting not only because consumers have one less option in the market of Android phones with notches, but ZTE priced it rather competitively. Check out the full specs below.

Specs

Display: 6.21-inch FHD+ (2248×1080) 18.7:9 AMOLED
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 845
RAM: 6GB
Storage: 128GB, no microSD support
Cameras: 12MP (1.4 μm, f/1.75 aperture, OIS) + 20MP (130° wide-angle lens)
Battery: 4,000mAh
IP Rating: IP68
Ports: USB-C
Audio: Stereo Speakers
OS: Android 8.1 "Oreo"

Don't expect to see Axon 9 Pro come to US, but if you're in Europe, it will be available in September for €649. // The Verge

Google Assistant Now Speaks Two Languages Interchangeably

Kellen — Thu, 30 Aug 2018 10:00:15 +0000

Back in June, Google announced that Google Home could speak Spanish, a major upgrade to home assistant speakers. Today, they've gone well beyond just picking up a new language and have announced that Google Assistant is now bilingual. That means you can talk to Assistant in multiple languages interchangeably. To start, Google has added bilingual language pairing for English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, and Japanese. They'll add more languages in the coming months. Google says that this new bilingual feature is a first-of-its-kind addition that is "part of [their] multi-year effort to make your conversations with Assistant more natural." Google Assistant's bilingual feature starts rolling out today. While I don't have specific instructions on how to set it up, it should work similarly to June's Spanish addition. Heading into Google Assistant or Home apps, then More Settings>Preferences, should provide choices over language. To see just how this bilingual awesomeness could work, check out the video below.

Google Home Max Arrives in the UK, France, and Germany Today

Kellen — Thu, 30 Aug 2018 10:00:01 +0000

Google's super-sized Home unit, the Google Home Max, arrived in the US at the end of 2017. We're now more than half way through 2018 and Google is expanding that reach to the UK, France, and Germany. Starting today, Google Home fans in those countries who love loud audio and have $400 to spend, can spend away. By arriving in these new countries, Google Home Max is actually now available in six countries total, Canada and Australia have had it for a while. It still costs $399, comes in two colors, has dual 4.5" woofers, can stand upright or lay flat, and looks like a snuggly pillow that spews Google Assistant. Google Store Link

Marshall is Launching Alexa-Powered Smart Speakers, Google Assistant to Follow

Tim — Thu, 30 Aug 2018 09:32:30 +0000

Marshall announced two smart speakers at IFA this week, Stanmore II Voice and Action II Voice. Both speakers launch later this year, powered by Amazon's Alexa voice assistant. While we don't get too excited for Alexa products, simply because we're more aligned with Google's digital assistant, Marshall states that Google Assistant-powered speakers will come later this year. F*ck yeah. Once Assistant support arrives, think of these speakers similar to Google Home Max. These are tailored more towards those who value sound quality and the pricing hints at that. With regard to sound quality, I've had a Marshall Stanmore speaker sitting in my office for a few years now and use it daily. It's a great speaker, but Marshall hasn't yet provided all of the specs for each speaker. Speaking of pricing, Stanmore II Voice (the larger one) will go on sale October 2 for $399, with pre-orders beginning August 30. Action II Voice will go on sale November 9 for $299, with pre-orders starting October 2. Availability shows as US Only to start, but more countries to follow. Once these are up for pre-order, we'll let you know. // Marshall

AT&T: Mobile 5G Coming to Indianapolis This Year

Tim — Thu, 30 Aug 2018 08:57:33 +0000

AT&T is still on track to introduce mobile 5G in a dozen US cities by the end of this year. This morning, the company announced the 7th city that will see mobile 5G in 2018, Indianapolis, IN. If this city getting 5G sounds familiar you'd be correct, because Verizon recently announced it was launching 5G broadband there, so these folks are getting all sorts of speed. Lucky. From AT&T's press release:

We also launched 5G Evolution in Indianapolis last year. As a reminder, 5G Evolution markets are locations where we’ve deployed technologies that enable peak theoretical wireless speeds for capable devices of at least 400 Mbps. Indy was also one of the first U.S. cities to get LTE-LAA technology. With LTE-LAA, the network has peak theoretical speeds for capable devices reaching up to 1 gigabit per second.

Basically, Indy has been basking in the warmth of solid wireless speed for some time now it seems. We aren't exactly sure what to expect when mobile 5G launches in terms of average speed (everyone's will vary), but as long as we see an average of 2-3x 4G LTE speeds, I think that's a win. Here's the current list of cities that are getting AT&T's mobile 5G this year.

Indianapolis
Atlanta
Charlotte
Dallas
Oklahoma City
Raleigh
Waco

// AT&T

Google Titan Security Keys Now Available on Google Store

Kellen — Thu, 30 Aug 2018 08:36:31 +0000

It's 2018, so I hope that you are all using some form of 2-step verification (2SV) on your Google accounts and the other various services you sign-up for that offer it. If you aren't on your Google account, stop reading this and go enable it now. Then come back. (Don't know what 2SV is? Just go here and read.) OK, now that you've done that, let's talk about a new way for you to verify when you go to log in to your Google account. Google announced a product called Titan Security Keys a few weeks back at their Google Cloud conference and have now made those available to you and I. What are Titan Security Keys and why would you want them? Well, since you just enabled 2SV on your Google account, these would be a way to verify as you login to accounts. While verifying your Google account by doing so from a phone prompt or through SMS is fine, using a Titan Security Key could potentially be safer and easier. To use, once setup, you get to choose which you want to use here, since the Titan Security Keys is a 2-pack that includes both Bluetooth or USB keys. When prompted on a computer to verify your Google account login attempt, you would insert the USB key. If you are trying to verify on an Android phone, you could use the Bluetooth key or the USB-C adapter included with Google's Titan Security Keys. That's the basic overview here, but the idea is that you get to keep physical 2SV keys on you to help you login and sign-in to Google accounts in the most secure way. You should consider these. With that said, Titan Security Keys cost $50 for the bundle and are currently soldout. Join the waitlist! Google Store Link (More info)

Sony Unveils Xperia XZ3 With Butt Notch, OLED Display, Android Pie

Kellen — Thu, 30 Aug 2018 07:37:35 +0000

Sony announced a new flagship phone today that's a part of their never-ending Xperia XZ line. The newest is called the Xperia XZ3 and it's mostly just a slightly improved Xperia XZ2 without any meaningful upgrades outside of its display and battery. The Xperia XZ3 features a Snapdragon 845 processor, 4GB RAM, 64GB storage, 19MP rear camera, fingerprint reader, front stereo surround sound speakers, and IP65/IP68 water and dust resistance. The improvements are in the display, where it now features a 6-inch 18:9 QHD+ AMOLED display, bigger 3330mAh battery, and 13MP front camera. It also has more curved glass in a body that looks very much like the XZ2. Oh, it has a butt notch too.

As a new bonus feature, Sony built in some sort of side sensing touch panel, probably a bit like HTC and Google's squeezy sides. You can tap on the side of the XZ3 to bring up an app panel with recent apps or others you might want to use at the moment. Sony is calling it Side Sense. Sony plans to ship this bad boy at the end of September and says that it'll be one of the first phones to run Android Pie, which Google only released a couple of weeks ago.

HTC U12 Life is a Slick Looking Mid-Ranger That's Priced Well

Kellen — Thu, 30 Aug 2018 07:19:47 +0000

HTC announced that new U product that was teased a week ago, the HTC U12 Life. Like last year's U11 Life, this is a mid-range device from HTC, but the specs are solid, it looks nice, and the price is right. Unfortunately, this fresh glass won't come to the US. Should that change, here's what you need to know. In the specs department, the HTC U12 Life features a Snapdragon 636 processor, 6-inch FHD+ display (2160x1080), 4GB or 6GB RAM, 64GB or 128GB storage, rear dual camera (12MP + 5MP), front 13MP camera, 3600mAh battery, USB-C port, and Android 8.1 with HTC Sense. As you can see from the pictures, it's coated with HTC's Liquid Surface design and all sorts of glass. But it's unique a bit, thanks to a two tone look with some striping. It certainly has a Pixel vibe to it. HTC tells us that the U12 Life will start at a price of around £299 in the UK, which seems pretty reasonable for a display that size, upwards of 6GB RAM and 128GB storage.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Review

Tim — Wed, 29 Aug 2018 15:38:01 +0000

Samsung fans and Android enthusiasts as a whole are praising the arrival of Galaxy Note 9, the latest smartphone from Samsung. For good reason, too. On paper, it's the complete package, offering every specification you can think of in a gorgeous, yet familiar design comprised of nothing but glass and metal. With it, Samsung promises fantastic battery life, insane amounts of productivity thanks to a now Bluetooth-equipped S Pen, as well as hours of entertainment with a large Super AMOLED display and stereo speakers. It's almost what you'd call the perfect smartphone. Of course, we like to try things for ourselves. Kellen and I (Tim) have both used a Galaxy Note 9 since last week and we're ready to share our thoughts. Is this the best smartphone you can buy today? Should you even bother waiting to see what Google has to offer later this year with the Pixel 3? There is a lot to go over, so let's get started. This is our Galaxy Note 9 review!

The Good

Specs Let's say you're looking for an Android phone that has all of the specs one could ever want or need. It may be difficult for you to find a better offering than Galaxy Note 9, considering it has what appears to be everything under the sun. Galaxy Note 9 has the latest processor from Qualcomm, large amounts of RAM, fantastic dual rear cameras, water resistance, as well as ample battery life. If you were making a smartphone wishlist, you may come up with something similar to what Galaxy Note 9 offers. Galaxy Note 9's spec list features a 6.4" Super AMOLED QHD+ display (2960x1440, 516ppi), Snapdragon 845 processor, 6GB RAM with 128GB base storage or 8GB RAM with 512GB storage, dual rear-facing cameras (12MP wide-angle with dual aperture + 12MP telephoto, both with OIS), 4,000mAh battery, Fast Charging and Fast Wireless Charging, NFC, MST, iris scanner, fingerprint reader, facial recognition, and Android 8.1 underneath the Samsung Experience skin. Oh, and there's an S Pen too, which we'll get back to in a minute. Click here to see the complete spec rundown. Display Compared to last year's Galaxy Note 8, the display on the Galaxy Note 9 is 0.1" larger, according to Samsung's specifications. Due to that increase in size, while the resolution stays the same at 2960x1440, the pixel-per-inch goes down ever so slightly from 521ppi to 516ppi. Are you going to notice that sort of difference with the unaided eye? Definitely not. Inside the Settings menu, users can choose which resolution the display runs at -- HD+ (1480x720), FHD+ (2220x1080), and WQHD+ (2960x1440). During most of my review period, I ran the display at WQHD+, so as to see how running it at max would affect performance and battery life, especially during video playback and gaming. I'm pleased to report that the resolution hasn't had much of an affect on either, so feel free to crank that resolution up and enjoy high-res everything. Color wise, this display is extremely similar to what was found with Galaxy Note 8 and even Galaxy S9/S9+. Colors are bright and well saturated, but not too overdone. An option in the Settings menu lets you adjust the Screen Mode. With this, you can set various display profiles, some being warmer while others are more cool (Blue) to the eye. While in Adaptive Display, you can adjust full color balance, as well as access advanced options for toning exactly what you want on the RGB scale. Owners will be happy to see other standard features supported by the display, including a Blue Light Filter, Auto Brightness that tracks your own usage to provide intelligent settings, as well as Always On Display. Battery Inside this phone is a 4,000mAh battery, which is much larger than past Note devices from Samsung. To refresh you, Galaxy Note 8 had a 3,300mAh battery and Note 7 had 3,500mAh. It appears Samsung is confident in its battery tech this year, even incorporating a lot of battery life talk into its marketing campaign for the device. For me, I've seen very good battery life from the device, which is to be expected with such a large capacity. My usual day is 7AM-ish to 11PM-ish. During the past week, I've had absolutely no issues getting through an entire day with normal usage. I play plenty of games and watch a lot of YouTube videos, as well as browse Twitter and Instagram all day long. I feel like most nights I could leave the phone off its charger and have enough juice to get me through a morning, but because that's against my usual routine, I still end up plugging the phone into the charger when I go to bed. I imagine if I lowered the phones resolution and took advantage of the comprehensive power saving features the phone has, as well as limit my gaming, I could easily get 2 full days out of the device. If battery life is important to you, the Galaxy Note 9 will treat you well. Here are some battery samples from Kellen and I.

Camera On the back of this phone you'll find two cameras, both 12-megapixel and capable of some serious mobile shooting. One lens is wide-angle, with the other being labeled as a telephoto lens. The camera system features dual aperture capabilities, as well as optical image stabilization (OIS), leading to passable photos and videos regardless of your shaky hands or lighting. Specs wise, the wide angle is listed as a Super Speed Dual Pixel shooter with AF, F1.5/F2.4, and OIS. The telephoto has AF, F2.4, plus OIS. For zoom range, there is 2X optical zoom, as well as up to 10X digital zoom. On the front for your selfies, you'll find an 8-megapixel shooter with AF and F1.7. To put it simply, the cameras on this phone are very good, much like all other flagship phones from Samsung. I'm not seeing a huge jump in quality here from Galaxy S9 or Galaxy Note 8, but we'll let the samples speak for themselves. Colors such as green and purple turn out very well, and the details in photos when zoomed in on are strikingly defined. For performance, I do wish the camera app opened a bit quicker, but when it comes to snapping shots, the shutter is quick to react to your finger press.

One feature I wish I could find a use for more often is Super Slow-Mo. With it, you can capture video at up to 960FPS, which blows past slow motion functions away. Using it isn't as great as I'd hope, but it works. To use it, you will toggle the mode from the many different modes available in the Camera app, then choose if you want the Super Slow-Mo to detect movement automatically or if you want to capture it manually. I opt for manually, simply because I wouldn't want to miss a shot due to the camera not picking up on it. Then, you'll have to decide if you want a multi-take or single take capture. The multi-take option lets you capture multiple slow motion segments in an ongoing video. The single take is either a 0.2 second clip in slow motion or 0.4 second clip, depending on the quality you want. Again, this is all a bit too much for what I want -- a simple slow motion capture option. I suppose it's best to have the options, though. In addition to Super Slow-Mo, Samsung including everything you could ask for in a smartphone camera. It has a Live Focus portrait mode, Pro tools, panorama and hyperlapse options, etc. You can shoot video at up to 4K and 60fps, take pictures using your voice, and shoot in HDR. Again, it has it all and then some, including the ability to create AR Emoji. Camera Samples

S Pen The Note line's S Pen is without a doubt its most unique feature. That has been the case since it was first introduced, though. But while an S Pen has always been there, it's the Note 9 that finally turned it up another level. We've got Bluetooth on board! The Note 9's S Pen gives you the ability to control the phone from a distance. That Bluetooth connectivity lets you tap on the Pen's button to change songs, take pictures, flip between slides, pause video, and open a frequently-used app. It's an incredibly useful upgrade. The Pen charges while within the phone and does so within about a minute, even as it provides you with what seems like hours of use. Beyond having Bluetooth connectivity, the standard S Pen tricks are here, like screen writing, note taking, GIF creation, coloring, scrolling, live messaging, and more. It can't be placed in backwards either, and that addictive-yet-obnoxious clicky button is still there too.

Somewhere in the Middle

Software Galaxy Note 9 ships with Android 8.1 "Oreo" underneath Samsung's custom skin, going by the name of Samsung Experience. It's the same skin we've seen for a couple of years now, and really, it hasn't changed at all. Users can at least customize the look of it with themes, but if you've ever used a Samsung phone before, you'll know what you're getting in to. While I wouldn't go out of my way to use Samsung Experience, it's perfectly fine for your everyday smartphone consumer. Things are laid out plainly in the Settings menu, and it seems that every time you open a new function, the device has you go through a short tutorial to learn how to use it properly. That's all fine and dandy, but for me, I'd much rather have a stock Android experience. That's just a personal preference, so don't think of this as us trashing the phone because of its skin. The skin is fine, it's simply not my taste.

Like other phones from various OEMs, these skins and added features bring a lot of value and substance to the somewhat slow-to-adopt-change OS that is Android. For example, Samsung brought multi-window functionality years ahead of Google and even Motorola provided an always-on display feature before Google ever did. My point being, if you get a kick out of added things like Game Launcher, Smart Stay, One-handed Mode, Device Assistance Apps, Smart Capture, Easy Mute, Video Enhancer, Edge Panel, and plenty more "Advanced Features," Samsung phones are a great place to look. If you don't mind a more barebones approach, where apps will be the place to look for enhanced features, a stock Android phone may suit you better.

In past years, we've argued that skins put a damper on device performance, but it's clear these days that at least when it comes to Samsung's skin, that's not the case. This phone is packed with so much power that you can navigate through apps extremely quickly and I never felt that the phone's performance was hampered due to software bloating. At the end of the day, I think whether you want an Android skin or not is all personal preference and there is no wrong answer. If you like Samsung's take on Android, you'll love the Galaxy Note 9. If you want stock Android, you're probably going to stick to Google's Pixel and we can all still be friends. Remember, "Be together. Not the same." Hardware/Size No shocker here, Galaxy Note 9 is large. Packed inside of this body is not just its large 6.4" display, but a 4,000mAh battery. It takes a bit of space to pack such a battery in a phone, but then you remember it also has a dual camera system, iris scanner, fingerprint reader, stereo speakers, 3.5mm headphone jack, water resistance, NFC, MST, plus a mess of other things inside. To accommodate all of these things, but still come away with as pretty of a device as the Galaxy Note 9 is nothing short of a design and engineering marvel. The back and front of the phone is all glass, while the sides are metal. In-hand, the phone is heavy, and while I know some may hate me for saying this as it doesn't quite describe how it truly is, the phone feels premium. It feels like an expensive phone, one you wouldn't want to be dropping or you might be out another $1,000. While we may complain that this Galaxy design is getting a bit dated, not changing much over the past since Galaxy S6 (all glass and metal), it's a very refined design that I imagine is hard to improve upon. Where would Samsung go from here? I picture a phone with even less bezel on top and bottom, but then we're left wondering where cameras, sensors, and speakers would go, and we all know the current state of affairs with regard to Android phone design. The people have spoken and they don't seem to care much for notches, so we'll be carefully watching Samsung and what it intends to do for next year's Galaxy S10, aka Galaxy X or whatever it is they plan to call it. As it stands, Galaxy Note 9 could be seen as the only current Android phone that checks all of the specs boxes and doesn't have a notch. That's a win in and of itself, at least in the eyes of some. If I was to find one flaw with the phone's hardware design, it'd be the fingerprint reader's placement. Due to the phone's height, Samsung placed the sensor rather high on the backside. For my hand, it's an awkward position, forcing me to stretch my index finger a bit further to reach it than I would like. After a few days, I've gotten used to it, but it still doesn't feel natural.

The Not-so-Good

Bixby The Note 9 helped Samsung introduce a Bixby 2.0 client. Over the past couple of weeks, I found no interest in setting it up or getting to learn much of what it can do. That may seem like the wrong approach for someone reviewing a phone, but Samsung still has yet to sell me on why I need it or why it's better than the other options I've had. The first version of Bixby was a bloated mess that tried to do too much. Samsung wanted you to be able to control every single aspect of your phone by voice and it failed miserably because it was too complex and the learning curve too steep. With Bixby 2.0, they've dialed it back some by only letting Bixby work with select apps that now have a much smaller set of actions. Samsung wants you to use it to book hotels or find restaurants, pull up the weather or control some smart home devices, but there's already a better assistant that does that - Google Assistant. You can't fully disable the Bixby button on the Galaxy Note 9 without a 3rd party app, but you can at least disable most of the voice portion of it. It has been frustrating to open my phone multiple times per day and see that Bixby is open behind my lock screen because I (obviously) mistakenly pressed the Bixby button. That's just not acceptable. Samsung shouldn't force Bixby down our throats, especially after allowing us to disable it on the Galaxy S9. Bixby is not a reason to buy the Note 9. It's probably not a reason to avoid it either, but I may change my tune on that if they don't give us a way to fully disable it in the near future.

Other Notes

Stereo Speakers - I didn't think stereo speakers would be so crucial to this phone for me, since I'm so used to Samsung Note phones not having them, but they're awesome! The speakers get plenty loud and it's like having a little boombox inside of my pocket. Great addition to the Note series.
Updates - Recently, we've been critical of Samsung when it comes to updates, but rightfully so. We have detailed the time it has taken for even unlocked models of Samsung's latest to receive Oreo and security updates, and frankly, it's not good. This is an area for improvement for Samsung, and with Android Oreo onboard and the Snapdragon 845, we hope to see better. If this phone receives Pie before year's end, we'll see that as a success. If it doesn't see Pie until April, 2019, we will again be aggressively critical because we feel anyone paying this much money for a top-tier device doesn't deserve to be running old software.

Availability and Price

Being a flagship from Samsung, Galaxy Note 9 is available essentially everywhere in the world. Here in the US, you can find it on carriers and at big store retailers, starting at the price of $1,000. While you may assume we're outraged by this price, since we're sorta sticklers for that, you'd be mistaken. Considering everything this phone has to offer, we feel that $1,000 is perfectly reasonable and anyone with that kind of money to spend on a device should by all means pick it up. If you need to strut your stuff even more, why not opt for the 512GB model and spend $1,250? That's half a terabyte of storage, which is redonkulous for a smartphone. We're not here to judge, though! Buy Galaxy Note 9

Videos

Unboxing First 10 Things to Do Tips and Tricks S Pen Tips and Tricks

Gallery

Verdict

The Galaxy Note 9 is a hell of a phone. It's probably the best phone on the market today because it has and does everything. Excellent camera? Check. Excellent battery life? Check. Solid performance? Check. Amazing display? Check. All the storage, RAM, and connectivity you could ask for? Check, check, and check. S Pen? Yep, got that too. The problem some may find in buying the Note 9 is going to be the price. Yes, this phone is insanely expensive at $1,000. But you know what? It's probably worth that. When you compare the Note 9 to everything else on the market, nothing compares. It's not fair, actually. So yeah, it's expensive, but if you can afford it, can handle the size, and don't mind having older versions of Android under Samsung's skin, you should probably buy it.

Verizon's Galaxy S8, S8+, and Note 8 All Grab New Updates

Kellen — Wed, 29 Aug 2018 14:28:19 +0000

Verizon pushed out a bunch of updates to last year's line-up of Samsung flagships. The Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+, and Galaxy Note 8 are all receiving fresh software. It doesn't look like anything major is included, but all three phones are at least getting the August Android security patch...2 days before September. Nice. The new software versions are as follows:

Galaxy S8 - G950USQU5CRH1
Galaxy S8+ - G955USQU5CRH1
Galaxy Note 8 - N950USQU5CRG9

To check for updates, head into Settings>System update. // Verizon [2] [3]

Video: Galaxy Note 9 Tips and Tricks!

Kellen — Wed, 29 Aug 2018 12:21:26 +0000

The review will arrive shortly, but first, we've finally got for you our Galaxy Note 9 tips and tricks video. In this clip, you'll get a full tour of the Galaxy Note 9, many of the settings we feel are worth adjusting, as well as some of the advanced features or tricks to better navigate on the daily. We walk through getting the most out of the note 9's always-on display, adjusting home screens and turning off Bixby, managing notifications, choosing your first theme, which advanced features are the best and most useful, and which display and sound settings are the most important to your everyday grind. Enjoy!

OnePlus 5 and 5T Open Beta Updates Add Front Portrait Mode, UI Optimizations, More

Kellen — Wed, 29 Aug 2018 11:40:23 +0000

The OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 5T are receiving new open beta updates this week as builds Beta 17 and Beta 15, respectively. The updates include a bunch of tweaks to improve optimization, but some new features are there as well, like portrait mode for the front camera, hourly weather forecasts, and more settings for Gaming Mode 3.0. According to OnePlus, the following has been improved:

System

Added Toast message source for Toast messages sent by background apps

Added description about sleep standby optimization when the function is turned on for the first time

Optimized background power consumption control

Fixed call recording issue in India

Updated Android security patch to 2018.8

Camera

Added portrait mode for the front camera

Gaming mode 3.0

Added call suspension notification

Added text notification mode

UI and interaction optimization

Weather

Hourly weather forecast

8 units of meteorological data including precipitation probability and Perceived temperature

Improved weather data accuracy

Note

New OxygenOS UI

Optimized process for sharing notes as an image

Oneplus Switch

UI optimization

If you are interested in testing these betas, there are a couple of things to know. First, betas are never as stable as stable builds, so you could run into bugs or other issues. If that sounds fine, you can switch to the beta track, but understand that once you do, you won't receive stable updates any longer. Instead, you'll just pick-up beta builds as OnePlus rolls them out. You can switch back to stable, of course, but that often requires a factory reset and a fresh setup. Still interested? You can find the instructions at the link below. // OnePlus

Skagen's New Falster 2 Wear OS Looks Great and has Almost All the Features

Kellen — Wed, 29 Aug 2018 07:17:31 +0000

To go with today's big Wear OS redesign news, Skagen has announced its newest smartwatch, the Falster 2. It's a lot like the original Falster with its minimal design, but this time we get all the features, assuming you can ignore the old Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor inside. The new Falster 2 looks great, has NFC, built-in GPS, heart rate monitoring, Google Assistant, interchangeable bands, and a price that isn't absurd. The Falster 2 will cost $275 when it goes on sale, the same price as the original. But as I mentioned above, this watch still uses the old-as-hell Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100. That chip is 2.5 years old and should not be featured any longer, especially with a new Snapdragon Wear chip expected to be announced in 2 weeks. I'm not sure what the Fossil Group (who owns Skagen) is doing with all these new releases. Either way, as great as this watch looks, you should probably pass on it. // Business Wire

Google's Reveals New Wear OS With Focus on Fitness and Assistant

Kellen — Wed, 29 Aug 2018 06:54:01 +0000

With a new Snapdragon Wear processor on the way and a hopeful rebirth of Android-powered watches on the horizon, it only makes sense that Google give us something new to in the operating system department. Today, Google has revealed the newest version of Wear OS that will begin rolling out over the next month. The new Wear OS is setup quite a bit differently than what you know of today's Wear OS. You now have a simpler notification stream with a swipe below, a settings shade up top with shortcuts to apps like Google Pay, easy access to Google Fit off to the right, and a Google Assistant feed to the left, with information provided depending on the time of day or location.

RELATED: Checkout Skagen's new Wear OS watch that almost has it all

Here, take a look:

Quite a bit different, right? So again, the goal is to give you better health tracking with the new Google Fit, but also provide you with more useful information precisely when you might need it using Assistant. Think Google Now and the information it used to show you, only now on your Wear OS watch. The new notification stream will try and make responding to or dealing with notifications easier too, partly thanks to more smart replies. Google says to expect the new Wear OS on watches "over the next month." We'll let you know once that happens! // Google

Instagram Now Supports 3rd-Party Authentication Apps, Lets Users Apply for Verification

Tim — Tue, 28 Aug 2018 12:07:02 +0000

Instagram is introducing new tools to keep Instagram safe for users, including support for 3rd-party authenticator apps and the ability for users to request account verification. While we all understand how account verification works, which lets you know you're looking at the official page for a personality or brand, a bit more important is the added support for two-factor authentication. With this, you'll be able to use any authentication app you already have installed on your device. If you don't already use something like this, think of it as an extra layer of security for logging into your account. Instagram lays out how to use two-factor authentication for users.

To use a third-party app to log into your Instagram account, go to your profile, tap the menu icon, select “Settings” at the bottom and then choose “Two-Factor Authentication.” Select “Authentication App” as your preferred form of authentication. If you already have an authentication app installed, we will automatically find the app and send a login code to it. Go to the app, retrieve the code and enter it on Instagram, and two-factor authentication will turn on automatically.

Instagram states that initial support has already started to rollout and all users worldwide should see support within the coming weeks. Google Play Link // Instagram

2018 is Going to be a Smartphone Year to Forget

Kellen — Tue, 28 Aug 2018 11:01:10 +0000

At the end of 2016, I wrote a forward-looking piece about how 2017 was going to be an awesome year for smartphones and Android. It was the year that Samsung was due for a big leap in smartphone design, that Google would use to make-up for the iPhone clone first round of Pixel phones, that LG would attempt to get good in a hurry, and that OnePlus would use to propel its brand of affordable flagships into more households. And all of that mostly happened. The Galaxy S8 line brought in full-display fronts, the Pixel 2 XL was the phone of the year, LG made a hell of a device in the V30, and the OnePlus 5T ticked all of the boxes at hundreds of dollars less than competitors. 2017 was great. But as we approached 2018, my gut told me to expect much less. We knew that Samsung wouldn't do anything dramatically different, plus we saw the invasion of the notches was on the horizon after the release of the iPhone X. As we've checked the box next to each month, each has gone by without much to get overly-excited about. I hate to finally say it, but 2018 is going to be a smartphone year to forget. Now, that doesn't mean that 2018's line-up of phones has been bad, I just don't think we'll remember them much. It's very much been a year of manufacturers looking forward rather than living in the present while trying to sell you on why this new phone of theirs is the best ever, even if it has issues.

The notch situation is probably the best example. After the iPhone X debuted with a big forehead bulge, we were worried that Android manufacturers would follow that lead and embarrass themselves. They did just that by creating a bunch of iPhone X clones. But while doing so, they also told us that this was just a step in the direction they really want to be, which is a notchless future. The notch, according to all of these massive phone makers, is an unfortunate part of the world we live today, but hopefully not tomorrow. You see what I'm getting at? It's the worst possible sales pitch. They want you to buy their new phone that isn't even produced or designed the way they would like, because this is all they can do. Or what about Motorola? They skipped on making a high-end phone and decided to help push Verizon's 5G agenda, an agenda that won't be a reality until early 2019 at best. This may be the last of the Moto Z phones and Motorola instead chose not to take one last chance, but to sell its customers on Verizon's future network. Notches and Motorizon aside, the biggest changes from King Samsung have been a Bluetooth-equipped accessory in their new Galaxy Note phone and properly placed fingerprint readers. The Galaxy S9 and S9+, as good as they may be, are slightly upgraded Galaxy S8 phones that failed to generate any excitement. That's probably why Samsung's sales of them have been dismal. We shouldn't be surprised at this, because Samsung often does a 2 year cycle before refreshing, I'm just pointing out the situation. Everyone passed on the LG G7 ThinQ too, but what makes the situation worse there is that LG has proven that it has no idea what to do. They re-released the V30, then again as the V35, were rumored to be starting over from scratch only to release the G7 with its notch, and yet still may push out another V phone as if it's business as usual as their sales decline. As for Google, they haven't announced their new Pixel 3 line-up yet, but we know all about it. By the time they do get there, there may not be much for them to talk about. The Pixel 3, which looks like a smaller Pixel 2 XL with a glass back, is going to be good, I'm sure. It'll probably be the phone I buy. On the other hand, the Pixel 3 XL has angered people, thanks to leaks that show it adopting the notch trend in an obnoxiously large way. I'm not kidding - people are weirdly mad about a phone that hasn't been announced or handled by anyone not in Russia or on Google's campus. And that's been a downer for those of use looking for 2018 to go out with a bang. Google often has the last say, yet we are well aware of Google's phones in detail 3 months before they have acknowledged them.

In other depressing 2018 news, we aren't expecting anything ever again from Essential, who could have easily built the phone of the year. Oh, and HTC made that U12+ thing. One of the few bright spots has been the OnePlus 6, mostly because of its price. It's a really good phone, but it also adopted the notch trend, pointlessly included an all-glass back, does nothing new in the camera department, and will probably be laughed at when the OnePlus 6T shows up with less notch in a month. And again, I don't necessarily think either will be memorable. They fit the 2018 narrative like everything else I just mentioned. I know that many of you bought a phone this year and absolutely love it and that's great. There were plenty of good phones released that were better than anything released before them. That's kind of how this all works. My point is that phone makers appear stuck. They are spending 2018 trying to get to a place that they just can't get yet or are promising a future while forgetting about today. In doing so, they've failed to build excitement around what they currently have and that's left me already looking forward to 2019.

Google Assistant Can Finally Lock Your Nest x Yale Smart Lock

Tim — Tue, 28 Aug 2018 09:26:36 +0000

Starting tomorrow, August 29, Google Assistant will be able to lock your Nest x Yale smart lock. Back when this product launched, we assumed Google Assistant control would be available, but sadly, it wasn't. The wait hasn't been too long, though, and now anyone with Google Assistant can lock their smart lock with either a smartphone or Google Home product by only using their voice. No more opening the Nest app and manually locking the lock. With this support, users can also set your door to lock inside of a Routine, which you create from inside the Google Home app. Let's say you're going to bed and tell your Google Home, "Good night," you can have your lights turn off and your door locked on command. Something to keep in mind, you can only lock the door with Assistant, not unlock it. You know, because that wouldn't be smart. In addition, Google announced that Assistant is also getting integration with Nest Cam, allowing you to pull up your video feeds from your smartphone. // Google

Google Go Can Now Read Webpages Aloud for You, Thanks to AI

Tim — Tue, 28 Aug 2018 08:55:53 +0000

Google is updating Google Go, its lightweight version of Search made for devices with less powerful specs and less quality access to the internet. In the update, the company is including a natural language processing and speech synthesis AI-powered reading aloud function. To put it in the most simple of terms, you click a button and Google Go will read whatever it is that's on your display. For example, you're reading an exposé on any ol' subject. Should you wish to be read the piece instead of reading it all to yourself, simply have Google Go read it to you out loud. With built in controls, you can customize the speed of speech playback and can also have Google Go simply read a select passage. Don't worry, though, as the AI behind the scenes won't read things that aren't important to the context, such as ads, we assume. According to Google, "This technology relies on AI to determine which parts of a page to read, and which to leave out, so you only listen to what is important." Google capped its press release with, "In the future, we’d like to bring the ability to listen to webpages to more Google products. Long term, we hope this is just one way we can use AI to make accessing the web easier for everyone." So, yeah, bring this to Chrome next? If you're located in an area that supports Google Go, download the update from the Google Play link below. Google Play Link

// Google

LG Just Announced Its First Android One Phone and It has Good Specs

Kellen — Tue, 28 Aug 2018 08:20:53 +0000

I'm a big fan of Android One. I'm such a fan of the direction of the program, that I wrote up an entire piece on its history and where I think it'll go. You should read it (if you haven't) because it basically predicted today's big announcement from LG - a flagship level Android One phone. And that's a big deal because this is one of the first big steps towards a world filled with more stock Android phones, some of which are from companies who steered clear of them in the past. So yeah, LG announced its first Android One phone today called the LG G7 One. It's basically an LG V30 (from 2017) in the body of an LG G7 that runs stock Android and has few apps installed out of the box outside of Google's suite. It actually looks pretty great on paper, particularly because LG says to expect "exceptional" pricing for it. The specs for the LG G7 One included a Snapdragon 835 processor, 6.1" QHD display, 4GB RAM and 32GB storage (with SD slot), rear 16MP camera (f/1.6), and 3000mAh battery. It even has a 32-bit Quad DAC, Google Assistant button, and fingerprint reader to go with the clean Android 8.1 experience. Again, the chip here is from 2017, but that's still a top tier processor that isn't a year old and will probably help keep the price down, just like it did with the Moto Z3.

Why is the LG G7 One important? Because as I mentioned in that opening, this is really one of the first flagship-level Android One phones. I predicted that one was coming, because Google needed to start hitting more price points with Android One and now we're there. Now, if you want Android One, you don't have to settle for mid-range. Instead, you can go with a phone that should handle almost anything you throw at it. And the simple idea of its existence could grab the attention of others which could then lead to even more options. This also means an LG phone that could get updates on a regular basis. These Android One phones are built to see quicker updates than most phones and we know how bad LG is at that part of this Android game. So if you have been interested in LG because of their audio expertise or designs, but haven't wanted to touch their bad Android skin and poor update record, this could be a first good option. In addition to the LG G7 One, LG also announced the G7 Fit. It's similar to the G7 One, but it instead runs a Snapdragon 821. It should be even more affordable. LG wasn't ready to announce specifics on pricing or availability. We'll have to wait and see how that shakes out over the coming months.

LG G7 One Specs

Chipset: Qualcomm^® Snapdragon™ 835 Mobile Platform
Display: 6.1-inch QHD+ 19.5:9 FullVision Super Bright Display (3120 x 1440)
Memory: 4GB LPDDR4x RAM / 32GB UFS 2.1 ROM / MicroSD (up to 2TB)
Camera: – Rear: 16MP Standard Angle (F1.6 / 71°) – Front: 8MP Wide Angle (F1.9 / 80°)
Battery: 3000mAh
Operating System: Android 8.1 Oreo (Android One)
Size: 153.2 x 71.9 x 7.9mm
Weight: 156g
Network: LTE / 3G / 2G
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac / Bluetooth 5.0 BLE / NFC / USB Type-C 2.0 (3.1 compatible)
Color: New Aurora Black / New Moroccan Blue
Other: AI CAM^† / Bright Camera / Boombox Speaker / Google Lens / 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC / DTS: X 3D Surround Sound / IP68 Water and Dust Resistance / HDR10 / Google Assistant Key / Face Recognition / Fingerprint Sensor / Qualcomm Quick Charge™ 3.0 Technology / MIL-STD 810G Compliant / FM Radio

// LG

Google's Original Chromebook Pixel has Reached Its End of Life for Automatic Updates

Kellen — Mon, 27 Aug 2018 16:08:24 +0000

Well, this actually should have happened back in June of this year, but as you can see from the screenshot below, owners of the original Chromebook Pixel (2013) are now being notified that their device is "no longer supported." When Google says that they are referring to automatic updates that Chromebooks are scheduled to receive for around 5 years of life. Google details their "end of support" or Auto Update Policy here, as well as the dates for every Chromebook. Some of the wording of the policy is slightly confusing, as it leaves open the possibility that a device may continue to receive some updates after hitting their expiration date. With that said, this message below sure makes it look like the original Chromebook Pixel is done for. Now, even though the device will no longer receive updates, that doesn't mean it won't still run. Eric, who sent us the image here and who you know from his time working at DL, says that his 2013 Chromebook Pixel still works perfectly fine and that he uses it daily. My wife was using the same device as a daily computer up until a couple of months ago too, and hers was still a beast.

And that's sort of the biggest downside here. Google cuts off Chromebooks after 5 years because supporting the hardware is probably somewhat of a pain, which I can't say I blame them for doing. But users of Chromebooks know that these devices rarely slow with age and often work as good a couple of years down the road as they did the first time you pulled them out of the box. So, pour some out for our old friend, the original high-end Chromebook from Google that people mercilessly mocked for being a crazy expensive browser box. In the end, it paved the way for the Pixelbook, a device I would recommend almost anyone buy. Chromebooks are awesome. Cheers E!

Mini Stickers Come to Gboard, Little Personalized Toons for Sharing

Tim — Mon, 27 Aug 2018 15:01:20 +0000

Google introduced Mini stickers for Gboard users this week, little personalized emoji stickers that users can share with the world via messaging apps. Much like Bitmoji, which is an app that lets you make custom stickers for yourself, Mini will be much easier to create. You'll simply open up Gboard on your phone, allow the app to scan your face, then a custom set of stickers are created for you. Easy and awesome! There will be around 100 stickers in total once your pack is created. We're not seeing the update live for Gboard on Google Play yet, but once it's live, you'll have access to Mini. Google Play Link https://twitter.com/Google/status/1034191841569239040

Google Phone's Dark Mode is "Coming Soon"

Kellen — Mon, 27 Aug 2018 14:54:31 +0000

You are all aware that Google has changed most of its apps in recent weeks to being heavily white, which has led many to wonder if we'd finally get some dark modes. In a recent Android Messages update, we got just that, but apps like the Google Phone and Contacts flipped to white without the darker option. That appears to be changing with the Phone app, according to the app's Google Play listing. In the "What's new" section of the Google Phone app, Google added a note that says " The Phone app has a fresh new look. And coming soon - Dark mode." As far as I know, this is the first mention from Google of a dark mode for their phone app, so that's exciting. Unfortunately, "soon" could mean a few weeks from now or longer. It could also mean that they are going to start rolling it out right away and that we'll all have it shortly. If you've updated the Google Phone recently, be sure to start checking around in settings for a dark mode. Google Play Link Cheers Bardia!

DEAL: Amazon Fire TV Stick is $10 Off Right Now, Plus a Bunch of Echo Discounts

Kellen — Mon, 27 Aug 2018 13:26:05 +0000

I can't tell if Amazon is mad at the handful of stories suggesting that Google is now destroying them in the smart home speaker market or if they have a bunch of new products on the horizon, but they just keep dropping prices on almost everything they make and sell under Echo and Fire brands. Like the previous week's deal, you can get into a variety of Fire or Echo products right now for big discounts. The newest Fire TV Stick is $10 off, new Fire TV Cube is $30 off, Echo Look is $80 off, and the Echo Show is still $100 off. If there is an Amazon product that you've had your eye on, there is a good chance you can get one for a discounted price today. Also, if you are interested in multiple Amazon products, the link below will point you to some of the bundles they are currently offering too. All Amazon Device Deals

Fire TV Stick - $29.99 ($10 off)
Fire TV Cube - $89.99 ($30 off)
Echo Look - $119.99 ($80 off)
Echo Dot - $39.99 ($10 off)
Echo Show - $129.99 ($100 off)
Echo (2nd gen) - $84.99 ($15 off)

YouTube Can Now Tell You Exactly How Much Time You Spend Watching Videos

Tim — Mon, 27 Aug 2018 11:07:54 +0000

As part of Google's Digital Wellbeing initiative that was introduced at this year's Google I/O, YouTube is rolling out a function that allows users to view exactly how much time they've spent watching videos. Rolling out today and located via your account's menu in the YouTube app, you'll be able to view stats for "Today," "Yesterday," and "Past 7 Days." On top of that, YouTube was kind enough to include a daily average stat. All viewing is compiled here, except for YouTube Music stats. In this menu is where you'll also find the existing features for Digital Wellbeing, such as the ability to set a break timer, and notification limiters. Here's how to access the feature.

Sign into YouTube.
Tap your Account icon.
Tap Time watched.

Feel free to check those stats, but I warn you, you may feel like a lazy bum after doing so. // YouTube

Epic Games is Mad at Google for Publishing a Fortnite Security Vulnerability so Quickly

Kellen — Mon, 27 Aug 2018 10:56:26 +0000

When we told you that everything would be OK with Fortnite distribution happening through Epic Games, outside of Google Play, we did so because we operated under the assumption that Epic Games would take care of their users. We assumed that if you picked-up Fortnite directly from Epic and not some other shady 3rd party app site, you'd be fine. And that idea held up until the day Epic Games released Fortnite through an installer with a pretty major security issue that Google almost immediately discovered. On August 15, Google opened a private issue at their Issue Tracker to point out to Epic Games that their installer app could be hijacked to install almost any other app because of the way the installer was downloading the APK file for Fortnite. Fortnite's installer was originally just downloading the Fortnite APK to an external storage location rather than an internal location. By doing so, any app with a particular permission could replace the downloaded Fortnite APK and install in its place without the user knowing what had just happened. This is called a Man-in-the-Disk Attack and you can read more about it here. To fix the issue, Google recommended that Epic change that storage location to internal. Within minutes of being notified at Google's Issue Tracker, Epic Games responded, acknowledged the issue and said that they were "working around the clock to fix it." They did just that and issued an update to users. At that point, Epic asked Google to hold off from disclosing the vulnerability for 90 days in order to let their users update their devices with the fixed installer. Google made the issue tracker thread public on the 7th day after Epic told them that the issue had been fixed. Again, Epic asked for 90 days and Google went with 7 as that was "in line with Google's standard disclosure practices." That earlier-than-expected release sure pissed off Epic Games and they are now suggesting Google did this as a part of a "counter-PR" effort against Epic for not distributing Fortnite through Google Play. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney had this to say:

"Epic genuinely appreciated Google's effort to perform an in-depth security audit of Fortnite immediately following our release on Android, and share the results with Epic so we could speedily issue an update to fix the flaw they discovered. However, it was irresponsible of Google to publicly disclose the technical details of the flaw so quickly, while many installations had not yet been updated and were still vulnerable. An Epic security engineer, at my urging, requested Google delay public disclosure for the typical 90 days to allow time for the update to be more widely installed. Google refused. You can read it all at https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/112630336 Google's security analysis efforts are appreciated and benefit the Android platform, however a company as powerful as Google should practice more responsible disclosure timing than this, and not endanger users in the course of its counter-PR efforts against Epic's distribution of Fortnite outside of Google Play."

See, he's really mad at Google. Here's my little un-interesting take. Maybe if you plan to shake the system, Epic Games, you shouldn't f*ck up this badly out of the gate. Forget what Google just did. Remember, when you first acknowledged that you'd be releasing Fortnite directly to users, you said it was fine because your users were smart and knew how to get it legitimately. So they did that from you and yet you were the ones who ended up putting them at risk. Jesus. I still think this distribution model is fine and not worth the freakout from some in the press, but this is not exactly a great start. If Epic wants people to believe they care about security and that this method of distribution won't expose millions of people, maybe let's worry less about what Google is doing and instead get your own product right. // Mashable

Galaxy Note 9 Innards Detailed in Teardown From iFixIt

Tim — Mon, 27 Aug 2018 09:26:59 +0000

The good folks at iFixIt posted a new teardown this week, all about the Galaxy Note 9 from Samsung. In these teardowns, owners can get an idea of just how difficult self repairing one of these phones can be and non-owners can just take pleasure in watching phones get deconstructed. It's glorious! Design wise, Galaxy Note 9 doesn't differ hugely from Galaxy Note 8. Samsung included a larger battery, an S Pen with Bluetooth, and they also included a larger heat pipe for keeping your phone running cooler during hardcore gaming sessions. Cool to note, in the teardown iFixIt cut open the Bluetooth-powered S Pen, revealing a Dialog Semiconductor Bluetooth Smart SoC and a Seiko Instruments supercapacitor. They theorize that the capacitor's job is to power the Bluetooth radio, which is only used for the single button on the stylus, while all other functions continue to operate without internal power. Additionally, check out the coils near the tip, which is presumably how Samsung designed the S Pen to receive a charge from the phone. We've been using the phone for a solid week now, and so far, we think Samsung did a very nice job on this phone. Don't worry, full review coming soon. As for iFixIt's famous repairability score, Galaxy Note 9 scores a 4 out of 10. That's not great, but it's not the worst we've seen. While pieces of the phone are modular and easy to replace should they fail, tons of glue was used in the production process, making some things, such as the battery, very difficult to access. Opening the phone carefully so as not to damage it is also quite the task, according to iFixIt. Anyway, let's look at some awesome pictures! // iFixIt

Android Messages Receives Minor Update...Holy Sh*t There's a Dark Mode! (Updated: Back!)

Kellen — Mon, 27 Aug 2018 08:58:29 +0000

UPDATE August 27: Over the weekend, a new update (3.5.052) brought back the dark mode and lighter theme, according to reddit users. We have no seen the update yet, but if you get it, follow the instructions below to activate the dark theme.
UPDATE August 20: Google seems to have pulled the new dark mode and reverted everyone back that had already grabbed the update. That's odd, but it has happened to our phones as well as numerous readers of the site.

Google is doing this thing with their apps that receive updates, where they've hilariously convinced everyone to call new UI changes "Material Design 2." The funny thing is that nothing is really new or "2" worthy because it's just a change from whatever accent color they were using to white. Nothing but white on white on white. And that sucks when you don't like to be blinded by your phone with each use. It would be nice if those white changes were accompanied by dark modes, like with the new Android Messages update. That's right! Android Messages now has a dark mode in v3.5, which is rolling out starting today. I have no idea when you'll get it, because Google hates the idea of you having nice things at the same time as your friends, but it is coming. And when you get it, you'll notice all the f*cking white everywhere instead of blue. You'll also now find an option from the menu in the main screen that says, "Enable dark mode." Do a dance, kid, do it. You deserve this. Now, if Google would do the same to Phone and Contacts and probably every single other of their apps that are ~~doomed~~ destined to get this same "Material 2" refresh. Google Play Link

Pixel 3 May be Announced on October 9

Kellen — Mon, 27 Aug 2018 08:55:06 +0000

Google may have already changed up launch timing for its new Pixel 3 phones, according to a report. Instead of October 4 being the day for the third year in a row, Google will instead reportedly go with October 9. The news comes via Bloomberg who casually mentioned the date while reporting on Apple's new iPhones. In their story on the 2018 iPhones, they also suggest that Google will host an event in New York City on October 9 to talk about its new products. That's a change from previous Pixel launches that took place in San Francisco, which is much closer to their headquarters than New York. Google wouldn't comment on the news, but anywhere from October 4 to October 9 is probably a good bet. // Bloomberg

Verizon Will Give First Responders a Truly Unlimited Data Plan With No Caps

Kellen — Mon, 27 Aug 2018 08:23:02 +0000

Verizon is making changes to the data plans that first responders subscribe to following a story last week that showed the carrier limiting data speeds to fire fighters who were fighting wildfires. Going forward, Verizon claims that they will "refine" their service plan to better meet the needs of those in the public safety realm. According to a statement released from Verizon just before the weekend, the wireless carrier has removed all speed cap restrictions for first responders on the west coast and in Hawaii. Should other disasters pop-up, they'll continue to lift any restrictions for public safety customers. In addition to those current fixes, Verizon says that they have a new service plan that will meet the "unique" needs of first responders. They didn't reveal all details of that plan on Friday, but are expected to do so this week. The plan will at the very least feature (truly) unlimited data with no caps, plus it'll get priority access to the network. If first responders want to upgrade to this new plan, Verizon says that they'll make that easy to do at no additional cost. Good. // Verizon

DEAL: Snag a Huawei Watch 2 Classic on Clearance for $180, Down From $300

Tim — Fri, 24 Aug 2018 12:38:35 +0000

Huawei's Watch 2 Classic launched last year with an insane price of $369. Just a year later, you can now get the Wear OS-powered wearable for just $179.99 on clearance at Best Buy. That's not a bad bit of savings. For specs, there's a 1.2-inch round AMOLED display, Snapdragon Wear processor, 420mAh battery, 4GB storage, 768MB RAM, GPS, heart rate monitor, NFC, and IP68 water and dust resistance. The strap measures in at 22mm and the casing is made of stainless steel. As for connectivity, you'll only have access to WiFi. While it's tough to recommend a Snapdragon 2100 processor device at this moment, especially ahead of Qualcomm's next wearable processor being announced, these types of savings don't come around often and the watch will almost definitely be upgraded to whatever new version of Wear OS Google announces. Follow the link below to pick one up. Best Buy Link

Google Says Your Xbox One S Controller Should Work Fine With Android Pie

Tim — Fri, 24 Aug 2018 11:58:35 +0000

A developer at Google made a lot of mobile gamers happy this week, with a marking of "Fixed" on a bug report that was opened in August, 2016. The bug was centered around the Xbox One S controller and its button mapping for Android. With a fix now available and presumably already inside Android Pie, select games should be much easier to play with the controller. What game is most likely to benefit from this bug fix? Fortnite, of course! According to Epic Games, Bluetooth controller support is indeed on the roadmap, but we don't know exactly when it's coming. However, with Xbox One S controllers apparently working with Android now, life will be good once support rolls out. Cheers to Fortnite for getting Google to realize the importance of a functional Xbox controller for Android. // XDA | CNET

Samsung's First Android Go Phone, Galaxy J2 Core, Available Today in Malaysia and India

Tim — Fri, 24 Aug 2018 10:48:14 +0000

Galaxy J2 Core, Samsung's first Android Go phone, is official as of this week and available starting today in Malaysia and India. The device was first reported on in late June, then again in July. Because it was reported to be Android Go, which is a slimmed down version of Google's Android OS, we naively thought it would run stock Android and skip Samsung's Experience skin. We were definitely wrong. For specs, Galaxy J2 Core features a 5" TFT display (540 x 960), Exynos 7570 processor, 1GB RAM , 8GB storage, 2,600mAh battery, 8MP rear camera, 5MP front camera, Bluetooth, GPS, and Android Go "Oreo" with a trimmed version of Samsung's UI running on top. According to Samsung's press release, "The Galaxy J2 Core offers a complete smartphone experience, incorporating some of the key features available on high-end devices with improved battery, storage and performance that is particularly appealing to first time owners." The device is available for purchase today starting in India and Malaysia. Samsung says it will come to additional markets soon. // Samsung

Report: Pixel 3, 3 XL to Feature Updated Visual Core Chip From Google

Tim — Fri, 24 Aug 2018 09:46:50 +0000

While you can already read reviews and see numerous photos of Google's upcoming Pixel 3 XL, a new report from 9to5Google covers mostly everything you need to know about the cameras found on the device. According to a source of 9to5, the new Pixel phones will feature an updated Visual Core chip, which is Google's in-house Image Processing Unit (IPU). Apparently, this updated chip will offer more than, "just HDR+." Details remain scarce with regard to what all the new chip can do, but given the Pixel's track record for taking excellent photos with a single rear camera, we're sure it'll be fine. As for Pixel 3 XL's dual front-facing cameras, it's said that the phone will be capable of some great selfies. Reported to be internally called Super Selfies, the phone should be able to offer exquisite bokeh effects and likely depth control, thanks to the inclusion of a wide angle sensor. We've also heard that the dual camera would be used for enhanced facial recognition, but none of the early reviews or leaks have pointed to anything like that. Keep in mind, all of these leaked phones are probably running preproduction software, so anything can change. By the time Google releases Pixel 3 and 3 XL, there probably won't be much they can announce that will surprise us. If we're still on track for an October 4 unveiling, the real downer is that we still have the whole month of September to get through before everything is official. Anyone have a time machine? // 9to5Google

T-Mobile Data Breach Affects 2 Million Customers, Financial Data Not Compromised

Tim — Fri, 24 Aug 2018 08:16:28 +0000

Announced by T-Mobile this morning, the carrier was hit by a data breach on August 20, with roughly 2 million customers affected. Compromised information includes names, billing zip codes, phone numbers, email addresses, account numbers, and account types. Nothing with regard to financial information such as social security cards or banking info is said to have been lost. Affected customers can expect to receive a text from the carrier, if they haven't already. If you don't receive a text from T-Mobile by day's end, you're likely in the clear. Here's the full rundown from T-Mobile.

On August 20, our cyber-security team discovered and shut down an unauthorized capture of some information, including yours, and promptly reported it to authorities. No financial data (including credit card information) or social security numbers were involved, and no passwords were compromised. However, some personal information may have been exposed, which may have included one or more of the following: name, billing zip code, phone number, email address, account number and account type (prepaid or postpaid).

Another day, another breach. T-Mobile Customer Security Link // Motherboard

Galaxy Note 9's Bixby Button Cannot be Disabled

Kellen — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 16:03:16 +0000

When you pick-up your Galaxy Note 9 tomorrow and attempt to head into Bixby settings just after setup to turn it off for life and never look back, I'm here to tell you that you will only find disappointment, not glory. After spending the past week with the Note 9 and referencing my dissatisfaction over the Bixby button in various videos due to the lack of controls given by Samsung, I've continued to hold out hope that there would be a last minute update to bring relief. It doesn't appear that that is coming. You can't disable the Bixby button on the Galaxy Note 9. Well, there are some third party remapper apps that will likely do the trick here shortly, but there is no official shut-off. That's disappointing because Samsung gave us an official shut-off option for Bixby on the Galaxy S9 this past November. The option provided let you completely disable Bixby from opening no matter how many times you pressed that awful side button that no one asked for. And trust me, you will hit the Galaxy Note 9's Bixby button over and over and over again. I cannot tell you how many times within the last week that I've grabbed my phone, unlocked it, and found it sitting on the Bixby screen because I had obviously mistakenly pressed that stupid button. Sure, you can disable the voice part of Bixby, but as of right now, you cannot officially turn off the button. If something changes and Samsung stops hating its customers, we'll let you know. Meh.

DEAL: Last Day to Pre-Order Galaxy Note 9 and Get Free 15,000 V-Bucks or AKG Headphones

Kellen — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 14:19:17 +0000

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 arrives in stores tomorrow and that means the pre-order period is almost over. Actually, today is the last day for pre-orders, so your chance to pick-up the freebies that were part of pre-ordering a Note 9 are slipping away. To recap, if you pre-order a Galaxy Note 9, you will get to choose from a couple of free goods. You can choose the option that includes 15,000 V-bucks for use in Fortnite, as well as a special Galaxy skin ($149 value), or if you don't care about Fortnite, you have the option of a pair of AKG N60 noise cancelling headphones ($299 value). Should you want both, Samsung is cutting a deal that gets you all of those combined for just $99. Again, today (August 23) is the last day to be able to order and then claim those freebies. Also, don't forget that Samsung is currently willing to give you a massive, instant trade-in discount (up to $450 off) if you trade in a phone for the Note 9. The options for $450 off are limited, but there are a ton that will still get you $400 off. It's the best deal on the Note 9, in my opinion. Samsung Note 9 Link

RELATED: You can't disable the Bixby button on the Note 9

If You Miss Chrome Home, Turn on Chrome Duet in Chrome Beta

Kellen — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 12:35:37 +0000

As Google pushed a feature called Chrome Home from Dev to Beta to stable throughout 2017, I really took to it. At first, the move of the address bar from the top of Chrome to the bottom was an awkward adjustment, but once used to the location, it just made sense because it made using Chrome easier on bigger-screened devices. And like many good, under-appreciated Google services or ideas, it was killed in favor of something that was initially called Duplex. Duplex has since been renamed to Chrome Duet, more than likely because they don't want it to be confused with their 100%-going-to-kill-call-center tech. It was rough at first and still is in Chrome stable. However, if you've taken a peak at it on Chrome Beta or Dev in recent weeks, it's quite lovely now. In fact, you should give it a look. The latest build has an address bar up top, where you are probably used to seeing it, but the bottom bar now shows home, search, tabs, and menu buttons, all within easy thumb reach. Sure, the Duet experience does take up additional screen real estate with both address bar and this action or toolbar, but most screens these days have been stretched to 2:1 or 19:9 and it's not that big of a deal. It's also looking like the next feature to make its way to Beta from Dev is a color-matched toolbar. How do you enable Chrome Duet? Open Chrome Beta, head to chrome://flags, do a search for "Duet," and then flip it to "Enabled." Re-launch Chrome Beta and it should be active! Google Play Link

The Essential Phone was at Least a Year Ahead of Everyone

Kellen — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 11:36:55 +0000

When you look at the Essential Phone's unique design compared to the phones that have been released since it first arrived a year ago, there's no denying who was first to this notch craze and who had the initial vision for where the industry was headed. But when you take a look at phones that have just been announced or teased or leaked as upcoming, you realize just how far ahead Essential was in the design game. They were at least a year ahead of everyone else. I know that many forget about Essential, since their first phone flopped out of the gate, has only been purchased in recent months because of dramatic drops in price, and that there isn't much hope for a sequel device, but they really did do this first and deserve some credit. From that first teaser from Andy Rubin to the unveiling, the focus from Essential was all about its striking design with a notch that looked both silly and impressive. Since then, Apple has done it, as has LG, OnePlus, Huawei, ASUS, and a bunch of other companies that I don't have time to name. Google is going to do it too. The thing is, all of those companies did notches on the bigger-side like Apple rather than the minimal approach of Essential. Some even bragged that theirs was smaller than Apple's, even as Essential's device had been available for months. And that's fine, if that's what they think their customers will be OK with. But what we're seeing now, through announcements from Oppo and Vivo, as well as leaks of upcoming Huawei phones, is that Essential is where they all really want to be, it's just taken them a year to get here. For example, here's the new Oppo phone that has been widely praised, partly because people are hoping that this is the blueprint for the OnePlus 6T:

And here is the next Vivo phone that showed up in our inbox this morning:

And here is a supposed render for the next Huawei Mate phone:

Seeing anything familiar? Yeah, we're now doing the smallest possible notch we can, something Essential did when it released a phone in August 2017. These companies, particularly Oppo and Vivo, have basically copied the exact design of Essential, where they embedded the phone's earpiece within the frame and then dropped the tiniest notch they could into the display to house a front camera. Assuming that Huawei render is accurate, it's looking like they'll do the same. So as the next wave of notched phones arrive, not including Google's, and the companies that announce them brag about display ratios and how quickly they've moved to reduce the size of the notch from their previous phones, remember who did it first.

Droid Life

Samsung Cyber Monday Deals are Live! Note 9 Up to $300 Off Still

Buy Galaxy Note 9 | Buy Galaxy S9, S9+

Verizon Black Friday Weekend Deals Include $30 Off Pixel Stand

Verizon Black Friday Weekend Deals

We Like These 25 Black Friday Deals (2018)

DL's Top 25 Black Friday 2018 Deals

1. Pixel 3 XL

2. Google Home Hub - $99 ($50 off)

3. Pixelbook - $699+ ($300 off all models)

4. NVIDIA SHIELD TV ($139.99, $159.99)

5. Sonos Beam - $349.00 ($50 off)

6. Nest Hello - $179 ($50 off)

7. Galaxy Note 9 up to $400 off

8. Amazon Fire TV Cube - $59.99 ($60 off)

10. Pixel Stand - $39.99 ($40 off)

11. Nest Thermostat E - $139 ($30 off)

12. Jaybird X3 - $59 ($70 off)

13. Audio-Technica ATH-M50x - $129 ($20 off)

14. Audio-Technica ATH-M70x - $249 ($50 off)

15. TaoTronics Noise Cancelling Bluetooth Headphones - $49 ($10 off)

16. Samsung CHG90 Curved 50" Monitor - $899 ($200 off)

17. Marshall Stanmore Bluetooth Speaker - $249 ($100 off)

18. Google WiFi 3-Pack - $249 ($29 off)

19. TP-Link Smart WiFi Plug 2-Pack - $31 ($13 off)

20. TicWatch S - $159.99 ($40 off)

21. JBL Link View - $149.99 ($100 off)

22. Lenovo Smart Display 8" and 10" - $70-$100 Off

23. 30% off Fossil Smartwatches (Code: BF30)

24. Philips Hue White & Color LED Starter Kit (3-Pack) - ($70 off)

25. TP-Link Smart WiFi LED Light Bulb - $24.99 ($15 off)

Black Friday 2018: Best Google and Samsung Phone Deals

Google

Samsung

Black Friday Deal: OnePlus Accessories Up to 50% Off

Black Friday Deal: $200 Off Pixel 3, 3 XL + $200 Service Credit at Project Fi

Verizon Black Friday Deals are Live!

Google Store Black Friday Deals are Live!

Black Friday Pixel 3 Deals

Other Google Store Black Friday Deals

Black Friday: Best Buy has the Pixel Stand for $40 ($40 Off)

UPDATE: The deal is back for Cyber Monday!

Black Friday: Best Buy's $400-Off Pixel 3 Deal is Live!

DL 2018 Holiday Gift Guide

Budget: $500 and up | $200 | $100 | $50 and under

$500 and Up

Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL ($799+)

OnePlus 6T ($549+)

Google Pixelbook ($699+)

Edifier AirPulse A100 Studio Monitors ($799)

$200 Budget

SHIELD TV ($140+)

Nest Hello Video Doorbell ($179+)

TicPods Free ($130)

Peak Design Everyday Messenger Bag ($180+)

Eufy Boost IQ RoboVac 11S ($219)

$100 Budget

Google Home Hub ($99-$150)

TaoTronics Noise Cancelling Headphones ($59.99)

$50 and Under

DL T-Shirts and Hoodies

Google Home Mini ($25-$50)

Pixel USB-C Earbuds ($30) or OnePlus Type-C Bullets ($20)

Anker Powerline+ USB-C Braided Cables ($16)

Spotify Premium $0.99 for 3 Months

Camera Shootout: Pixel 3 XL vs. OnePlus 6T vs. RED Hydrogen One vs. Galaxy Note 9 vs. Mate 20 Pro

Thoughts

Google is Sending Pixel 3 and 3 XL Units to People That Can't be Bootloader Unlocked

Google Play Black Friday Deals are Here!

DEAL: Monument Valley, Monument Valley 2 Discounted to $1 on Google Play

Google's Digital Wellbeing Exits Beta, Available to Pixel and Android One Phones

Assassin's Creed Rebellion Now Live for Android

Report: Variant of Galaxy S10 to Offer 5G, Four Rear Cameras

Fossil Sport Review: Nothing Special

What is the Fossil Sport?

What’s good, what’s bad about the Fossil Sport?

Other notes:

Unboxing and First Look

Should you buy the Fossil Sport?

DEAL: Woot has Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL (Refurbs) Starting at $419.99