Droid Life

There are so Many Great Alternatives to Shouting "Hey Google" at Google Assistant

Kellen — Mon, 10 Jun 2019 11:46:57 +0000

The "Hey Google" and "OK Google" commands have always been hit or miss for me. I can't tell if that's because I speak weirdly or if Google just hates me, but a reddit thread with alternatives to those two commands has me ready to take back control of my Google Home and Google Assistant devices. To be clear, you can't change the hotwords for Google Assistant, we're talking about using similar phrases that trick Google into thinking you are saying "Hey" or "OK Google." For example, "Cocaine poodle" is a fantastic option that fires up Assistant almost every time. "Hey Boo Boo," in your best Yogi Bear voice is bound to bring useful laughter. Someone in that thread below recommended "OK Pooper," which oddly works. I'm a fan of "Egg Noodle" or "Hey Doogle" too. "Eggo Waffle" supposedly works, but I've had no luck. Until Google gives us the power to control Google Assistant with our own phrases, these will have to do. Any other alternatives we should know? Anything creative or fun to get us off the classic, obnoxiously inconsistent "Hey Google?" // reddit

Waze Gets Google Assistant

Kellen — Mon, 10 Jun 2019 09:55:04 +0000

Waze, the social GPS and navigation app whose features Google Maps has slowly adopted over the years, is catching up for the first time. Google Assistant, which arrived in Google Maps back in January, is now available in Waze. The rollout has begun in the US first, with access that lets you get Assistant help without leaving the Waze app. You can launch music, send messages to friends, or call people, but you can also have the Assistant report traffic or help you avoid tolls while navigating. Check for updates at the link below or start shouting "Hey Google!" at your phone to see if it's live on your device. Google Play Link

// Google

Motorola AX Home Phone Has Built-In Alexa, Costs $99

Tim — Mon, 10 Jun 2019 09:08:30 +0000

If you need to upgrade all of the dumb things in your house to smart things, the home phone seems like a good place to start. Typically, home phones take up valuable counter space, and if all they're doing is connecting you to the outside world via a telephone cable, that space may be underutilized. Thanks to the new Motorola AX series, you can get a new home phone that has Amazon's Alexa built-in. According to SGW Global, the company who made the device and slapped Motorola's name on it, the product is very easy to use. Thanks to a dedicated Alexa button, you simply lift the phone off the dock, tell the phone who to call, and then your existing landline is used to place the call. Additionally, if you specify to call someone's Echo device, it can call that, too. Of course, Alexa being onboard offers a whole lot past making calls. Users can control aspects of their smart home, ask questions, access Alexa skills, and plenty more just by talking to the phone.

The phone is available for purchase right now, priced at $99.

Amazon Link // Motorola

DEAL: Google's Pixel 3 XL With 128GB Storage is $649 Right Now ($350 Off)

Kellen — Mon, 10 Jun 2019 08:48:35 +0000

You might want to run over to B&H Photo for the best deal we've seen in a while on the Google Pixel 3 XL. The retailer currently has the Pixel 3 XL with 128GB storage in "Not Pink" for $649.99. That's $350 off! I have no idea why it's $350 off, but it is and you should jump on this. This is the US unlocked model, so it'll work on any major US carrier. It'll get updates for years, has a fabulous camera, stereo speakers, and can already run Android Q. Sure, it has a terrible notch, but $350 can make any notch taste like fine wine.

Shop Pixel 3 XL at B&H Photo

Apparently, This is the Pixel 4.

Kellen — Mon, 10 Jun 2019 07:56:49 +0000

2019 has brought with it something we aren't used to - an ounce of Google secrecy. For years, Google's hardware products - its phones in particular - have been some of the worst kept secrets in all of tech. You may recall last year's Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL debacle, where we saw full reviews of the phones months before they were even announced. This year has been different so far. We know almost nothing about the next Google Pixel phones, which we assume to be called Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL. Well, today, we are supposedly seeing renders of each for the first time, thanks to CAD renders provided by @onleaks.

DEAL: The Pixel 3 XL with 128GB is $350 off right now!

What exactly do we have here? These renders, which are based off of leaked schematics, show a phone that looks more like the leaked iPhone 11 than a Google phone. You can see a square camera housing in the top-left rear corner, curved glass everywhere, a speaker grill at the top of the phone's display, and USB-C port with dual speaker cutouts at the bottom. There are power and volume buttons in familiar places too, as well as no sign of a fingerprint reader (it's probably in the display).

These renders are based off of "early prototyping schematics," so unlike other leaks from @onleaks, these are going to be tougher to fully digest. They could be the Pixel 4 or they could be a prototype that's already been dumped for something else. I don't have much of a reaction to these just yet. I want to tell you that the camera square looks terrible, just as it does in iPhone 11 leaks, that I'm worried we'll see another notch (where else will that earpiece grill sit?), and that those buttons better not be HTC-esque faux buttons, but an "early prototyping schematics" declaration has me hesitating. Your thoughts? // Pricebaba

Moto Z4 Review: It's Time to Move On

Kellen — Mon, 10 Jun 2019 06:00:37 +0000

Motorola's Moto Z4 arrives this month to extend the life of a phone line we weren't sure would continue to exist after last year's disappointing Moto Z3. Motorola mostly mailed in 2018 with a couple of Z phones that felt like they were created simply to fulfill the promise of three years worth of Moto Mods support before being able to exit the modular arena, yet here we are. I don't really know why Motorola is back with another Moto Z phone, but I have spent the past week or so with the Z4 to do some testing. I can tell you right now that I'm not a huge fan of this phone, though that's not saying it doesn't have some redeeming qualities. The problem for the Moto Z4, which we'll dive into, is that Google released the Pixel 3a a few weeks ago, a phone that is really going to make the Z4 a tough sell. Let's dive into it - this is our Moto Z4 review.

What do I like?

Software

Motorola continues to put out a decent software package. For years now, Motorola has provided its users with a clean and lean version of Android (Android 9 "Pie" here) that looks a lot like what "stock" Android might look like, but then adds useful tools or features on top. It's the same approach that OnePlus has implemented with its OxygenOS. From Motorola on the Moto Z4, popular features like Moto Display return, as does the chop-twice-for-flashlight gesture. Motorola lets you switch to a one-button gesture navigation that works better than the various gestures Google is trying to implement on its Pixel line. They still let you twist the phone in hand to launch the camera, touch the screen with three fingers to take a screenshot, and activate a one-handed mode.

Motorola doesn't have a full night or dark theme yet, but you can turn on a blue light filter or switch to greyscale. You'll find a launcher experience similar to Google's, with Google Feed off to the left, app suggestions at the top of the app drawer, and a clock with weather that Motorola has done well. There's just not a lot to dislike, because it's a software experience that gets out of your way by attempting to allow you to do things simply. And that's an experience I can get behind, unless we're talking about software updates, which I'll get into below.

Display

The big 6.4" FHD+ OLED display on the Moto Z4 is pretty solid. The overall largeness of it can be a bit much to handle at times, but it looks nice. The overall sharpness and clarity you find here makes for a pleasant-to-look-at screen. There are three color profiles to choose from too, so you can crank up the vibrance or tone everything down to a more natural setting. Brightness at both high and low ends is adequate for the most part, but using the phone in heavy sunlight could be frustrating at times. Viewing angles are solid, though, and consuming content is fun because of the size. Like Google's Pixel 3a, this is a good enough OLED display for the price.

Camera

For the camera on the Moto Z4, I went into it expecting to be disappointed, because for so long Motorola hasn't done cameras at an acceptable level. When you think good smartphone cameras, those found in Motorola phones are almost always going to be one of the last on the list for me. With the Moto Z4, I've been pleasantly surprised at times. The camera software experience is a bit of a mixed bag. It's easy to launch with a wrist twist and you've got obvious access to the shutter button, modes, and a variety of settings. It's certainly not that quick to load, though, and I found myself worrying that I was going to miss shots here and there. But once it's loaded up and ready, it can produce a solid image.

The camera has a set of fun modes you might actually use, like Night Vision to capture images in poorly lit situations, Cinemagraph to make interesting looking animated GIFs, and Spot Color, that lets you highlight colors within a shot while turning everything else to greyscale. I should point out that this phone has a Portrait mode, but it only works when you are taking pictures of people. You can't try and turn a shot of a beer into a bokeh masterpiece, because the mode needs to find a face in order to work properly. The Portrait mode here is pretty bad too. The 48MP camera on the Moto Z4 actually takes 12MP photos, using pixel binning to create larger pixels and help with lighting. I think you'll find in the image samples below that this camera is fully capable of being your daily shooter. The HDR goes wild with colors on rare occasions, most shots look pretty natural when blue skies aren't being turned up some, and there's enough magic in Night Vision to get you through a night at the club. Do I think this camera is better than the Pixel 3a's or the OnePlus 7 Pro's? No, I don't, but that doesn't mean this isn't a camera that could do the job for you on a $500 budget.

Battery Life

For the first few days of battery testing, I wasn't impressed with the 3600mAh cell that Motorola put in the Moto Z4. After Motorola told me during a briefing that this phone will get a solid two days of use on a charge and might even dip into a 3rd, I was expecting the world. I've seen no such battery life, but going to bed with 40+% is quite good. I wish they wouldn't have overpromised so much, because it partially takes away from the fact that this phone is still lasting longer than most other phones I've used.

Now, there isn't wireless charging here, but there could be a Moto Mod for that action, if you really need it. Instead, you should just top off during a day with the including 15W Turbo Charger. But again, I don't think you'll need to charge this phone until the middle of day 2, depending on usage. One of this phone's biggest strengths is going to be battery life.

What don't I like?

In-Display Fingerprint Reader

I was once a big believer in the future of fingerprint readers because the tech to put them under a phone's display seemed like such a game-changing play. But now that I've been through optical in-display readers on two OnePlus phones (6T and 7 Pro) and this Moto Z4, I'm not so sure I want to see this tech ever again. The fingerprint reader on the Moto Z4 is almost unusable. It's painful to setup, for one, but when you try and use it, you'll spend seconds and seconds watching a screen animation as it attempts to read your finger only to fail the majority of the time. I've had four fingers setup on this thing for most of my review period, none of which scan with any regularity or quickness. Why I'm so irritated over this fingerprint reader is because fingerprint readers were supposed to provide a secure and convenient point of entry to your phone. This reader provides nothing but frustration. Using this phone will force you into setting up a face unlock, smart lock, and every other option to help you avoid having to watch it struggle to read your fingerprint. I'm telling you, this is close to being a full dealbreaker. That's how bad this fingerprint reader is.

Performance

The Moto Z4 packs 4GB RAM, 128GB storage, and a Snapdragon 675 processor. It's pretty obvious after using this phone for a short period of time that those components, combined with software, have not really been optimized well. This phone can't tell half the time when you tap things, it stutters when you open apps, and it constantly jitters as you scroll within anything. There is noticeable touch latency issues when swiping, so much so that it reminds me of the early Android days where you'd swipe or try and scroll, and your finger would move a full inch before the screen would catch up. Everything about this phone just feels slow. The one-button gesture navigation felt like it slowed things down, so I turned it off. The fingerprint reader is slow. Typing anything is slow because it often doesn't register your first letter or can't keep up as you tap multiple letters in a row. Launching the camera is slow. Updates will be slow. It's all slow. Slow. Slow. Slow. Slow.

Software Updates

Speaking of software updates, don't expect many with the Moto Z4. Motorola has become one of the worst when it comes to monthly security patches and big version updates (the Moto Z3 finally got Android Pie in April). During a short briefing for the Moto Z4, Motorola would only commit to Android Q for this phone, but nothing beyond nor would they comment on regular security patches. I know that Android is quite mature and the big changes don't arrive like they once did, but there's no excuse for a company who releases barely-touched Android like this to not update it frequently. At one time, Motorola was the best outside of Google at providing regular updates, yet that's clearly no longer a priority.

Design, Shape, and Size

The Moto Z4 has a few things going for it in the design department, it's just that the overall shape and size need to go. But I do like this big, beautiful display that only has a baby teardop notch at the top. I like that the phone is crazy thin, yet still manages to have a decent-sized battery and headphone jack. I like the rear glass, that somehow doesn't ever show a single fingerprint. It's obvious, though, that Motorola is so limited by this Moto Mods situation, that the Z4 suffers from the same problems as its predecessors. This Z4 is hard to pick-up off a table, because of its squared-off thinness. It's too wide in the hand, plus you have little curvature on its backside to help it rest comfortably. The little curve that Motorola did add made it so that Moto Mods, when attached to the phone, don't fit as cleanly as they do on older Moto Z phones. Motorola told me that all the old Moto Mods will "still work," but that there may be a slight lip around the edges of some. Additionally, at 6.4", this display makes for a two-handed phone, and the quest for such a thin phone pushed the single speaker up to the top of the phone, rather than at the bottom or forward-facing. So yeah, while this is the best looking and designed Moto Z, it's still not great.

Moto Mods

Alright, let's talk about Moto Mods. The Moto Z4 marks the 4th year in a row that Motorola has released a phone with modular capabilities, and man, it's time to move on from this, Motorola. This experiment has gone on for too long and it needs to end. With the Moto Z4, Motorola is handing out a free Moto 360 camera Mod because no one buys 360 cameras - they are a worthless accessory. But they are likely including one to try and remind you that Moto Mods are a thing that the Z4 can use. Unfortunately, in this 4th year of Moto Mods, there are no new Moto Mods for you to try or get excited about. If you have been passing on Moto Z phones until something interesting joins the Moto Mods family, you won't find it this year. At launch, Motorola didn't have any news to share on future Moto Mods, so that means we're stuck with things like this bad included 360 camera Mod, a speaker Mod or two, a battery pack, and some other random things like an overpriced Hasselblad accessory or a projector that won't last through an entire movie with its less-than-HD output. To make matters worse, as I noted above, Moto Mods no longer fit neatly onto the back of this phone. It's sort of like Motorola is admitting that people either only rarely use Moto Mods or never do at all, so not having them fit properly is a worthwhile trade-off for a slightly better feeling phone. The bottom line is that Motorola is out of ideas for Moto Mods, but they have this ecosystem they may as well try to milk a bit before pulling the plug. They also need Moto Mods to exist so that they can claim to have a bunch of 5G phones, thanks to a 5G Moto Mod. In fact, with the Z4, Motorola will soon say that they have three 5G phones, as the Z2 Force will eventually join in on that action. That's a pretty misleading marketing pitch, since none of these Moto Z phones are actually 5G phones. Instead, they are 4G LTE phones that get to use the 5G connection that a Moto Mod can establish, almost like a hotspot device. And of course, this all only happens at this point on a couple of blocks in a couple of cities you probably don't live in. In the beginning, Moto Mods were the best modular implementation on a phone, but Motorola has failed to prove that they add any real value. In this 4th year, I think they've made that even more obvious. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iuP1RPlBgI

Should you buy the Moto Z4?

Because the Pixel 3a (our review) exists in two sizes, both of which are at price points lower than this Moto Z4, I can't recommend you pick-up this new phone from Motorola. It's software experience, camera, and battery life are all solid, but Google's Pixel 3a bests or matches the Z4 in all of those areas. On top of that, the Moto Z4 struggles with performance, its design is dated and unpleasant, it might see only a handful of software updates before being cut off, its fingerprint reader is one of the worst I've ever used, and Moto Mods have failed to offer any additional value that would get you to choose this over a handful of other phones. This is just not a good all-around phone, even at $500. You can do better and should look elsewhere. And for Motorola, it really is time to move on. We're ready for something new. Please, bury the Z line. Buy Moto Z4:

Time to Get That Nexus 6P Class Action Money, so Check Your Spam Folder

Kellen — Sat, 08 Jun 2019 07:57:34 +0000

Back in April, we shared info from a class action lawsuit that had been brought against Google and Huawei over issues (bootlooping and battery drain) that plagued the Nexus 6P, the flagship phone the two released in partnership back in 2015. At the time, Google and Huawei had agreed to pay a settlement to owners of the phone up to $400 depending on the issues they experienced. Yesterday, owners of the Nexus 6P were given the opportunity to file a claim from the settlement. Just to be clear, not everyone is entitled to $400 from this settlement. While the lawsuit does cover anyone who "purchased a Nexus 6P smartphone, other than for resale, between September 29, 2015 and May 3, 2019," you'll have to show documentation of issues to get anywhere near $400. The two issues included in this settlement are battery drain and bootlooping. Here's the quick-and-easy details to know. The email is titled "Nexus 6P Settlement Information" and the website for the lawsuit is www.Nexus6PSettlement.com. If you received the email, you'll have your own claim link that when clicked will prefill a lot of your details to help you "collect your recovery in just a few minutes." If you owned a Nexus 6P, you should probably check your spam folder for the email that directs you to file a claim. Mine was in my spam folder, as were emails to at least two other people I know who owned the 6P. Gmail isn't a fan, clearly. How much money will you get? Again, that depends on what your experience with the Nexus 6P was. The full details can be found at this link, but to get $400, you'll need to show proof that you experienced bootlooping and/or battery drain on multiple devices. That means documentation that "is not limited to, photographs, screenshots, emails, customer service chat logs, repair records, insurance claims, Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) confirmations, or other credible contemporaneous evidence of alleged 'bootloop' or 'battery drain.'" If you only experienced bootlooping on a single device, you could still get up to $325. If you had battery drain issues, you could get up to $150. If you didn't experience either of these issues, but did own a Nexus 6P, you could still get up to $10. To be a part of the settlement, you need to submit a claim before September 3, 2019. If you owned a Nexus 6P, by no means do you have to participate in this settlement. Also, a court apparently still needs to decide on whether or not to approve the settlement, even as claims are now being submitted.

DEAL: Verizon Drops $300 Off Pixel 3 for Upgrades, $800 Off 2nd

Kellen — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 13:27:31 +0000

Looking for a good weekend deal on the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL? Verizon brought it today. The best deal is on the regular Pixel 3, which Verizon has discounted by $300 if you buy it on a 24-month contract. That $300-off works for upgrades and no trade-in is required to get it. It's a $300-off bill credit that is spread out over 24 months and drops your monthly device payment to $20.83/mo for the 64GB model. To make the deal sweeter, Verizon is giving you $800 off another Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL when you add a new line. Additionally, if you buy a Pixel 3 XL upfront (no $300-off on 3 XL), you'll also get $800 off another Pixel 3 or 3 XL. To recap, you can buy a Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL and get $800 off a 2nd one. If you buy a Pixel 3, you also get $300 off.

Shop Verizon Pixel 3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdvTe_iTvYw&t=1s

Google Discontinues Entry Level Pixel Slate Model, Now Starts at $799

Tim — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 11:27:23 +0000

The Pixel Slate from Google previously started at $599 with 64GB storage and a Celeron processor. However, Google has discontinued the entry level model of the device, and with that, the Pixel Slate now starts at $799. The Pixel Slate first went up for pre-order in November, 2018, but since launch, the device has been met with pretty critical reviews. The main issues stem from software, and while Google was trying hard to make Android apps feel native on a Chrome OS-powered tablet device, it just wasn't a great overall experience. If you need or want a Pixel Slate, don't worry as they're still available. You'll just have to spend a bit more money to get one. Google Store Link https://youtu.be/uUUV8JBPfuo

This Trick can Force Available Updates Onto Fossil Wear OS Watches

Kellen — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 09:05:43 +0000

The Fossil Sport is receiving a new update today that includes the May security patch. That's likely all that's included, but if we find out more, I'll be sure to let you guys know. Instead of that, I wanted to point out this neat little trick that helps you force available updates onto Fossil Wear OS watches, in case you check for one and get the "System is up to date" message.

Fossil Smartwatch Update Trick

Assuming an update is available that you know of, you can head into Settings>System>About>System updates on your watch. As it checks, it may finish by telling you that the "System is up to date." But if you know there is an update available, stay on that screen and casually tap it for 30 seconds or so. If an update is indeed available, don't be shocked if your watch all of sudden starts downloading it.

DEAL: Fossil Sport drops to $149.25 today

Why would that work? Tough to say if Fossil left this open on purpose or if it's a bug of some sort we are exploiting. In theory, it seems plausible that by keeping that screen open and awake, the watch is constantly checking for the update and then eventually force pulls it. This move has been an ongoing trick/secret at the Wear OS subreddit for some time and I've had success with it on multiple occasions. Give it a try! Does it work on other Wear OS watches? Not that I am aware of, but feel free to check.

Build Your Own Meth Empire in the New 'Breaking Bad' Game

Tim — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 08:55:03 +0000

Breaking Bad was a kickass TV show. Building upon that franchise, a new game for Android called Breaking Bad: Criminal Elements is available for Android, allowing you to build up your meth empire. Now, the game never says you're making drugs in your fancy chemistry labs, only that you're making "product." I think we all know what they're referring to, though. Like other build-your-base games, you will start off low on the boards with minimal money coming in, but after grinding the game and putting a few bodies 6ft. deep, your control of the "product" underworld will soon grow. I don't know about y'all, but the app's description makes me think America is morally bankrupt. That could just be the liberal cuck in me, though.

Start your career under the wings of the legendary duo, Walter White and Jesse Pinkman, and help them transform their fledgling operation from stolen chemistry equipment in a broken-down RV to a global powerhouse with far-reaching influence. Learn what it takes to climb to the top -- improve the lab, perfect your product, protect your base, build your army, and expand your territory.

The game is rated "T" for teen, so as long as you meet the age requirement, go build your meth empire with Walter and Jesse! Google Play Link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ND3iqxAb954

OnePlus 7 Pro Gets a Big Camera Update, Touch Display Fixes Too

Kellen — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 07:51:55 +0000

The OnePlus 7 Pro is getting a sizable update today that includes a bunch of camera improvements along with some system fixes that hopefully address the touch display issues several owners have complained about recently. The update will arrive as OxygenOS 9.5.7 and you should be able to check for it by heading into Settings>System>System updates. If available, you'll see a button to "Download & Install Now." These updates are staged, though, so you may not see it right away and it could take a few days before you are able to pull it on your phone.

OnePlus 7 Pro review

In the camera department, OnePlus says it improved overall contrast and color performance, white balance consistency, accuracy and stability of auto focusing, clarity and color of Nightscape shots, and brightness and clarity of Nightscape in extreme low light. Additionally, in the ultra wide camera, they improved contrast and color saturation as well as clarity and noise reduction in low light situations. Finally, telephoto shots have improved clarity and noise reduction, plus OnePlus fixed a noise issue in some HDR scenes. As far as system fixes go, OnePlus optimized the double tap to wake feature, fixed issues with Ambient Display, improved audio quality for voice calls from third party apps, and improved touch sensitivity for the screen. That last one could address the ghost touches we talked about earlier in the week. Again, the update is slowly rolling out, but feel free to check for it. // OnePlus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFq8nck4enM

DEAL: Fossil Sport Drops to $149.25 With Promo Code, Other Watches Too (Updated)

Kellen — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 06:48:11 +0000

The Fossil Sport is currently down to its lowest price ever, thanks to a 25% off promo code that's live at Fossil's site. We've seen discounts on this watch to as low as $154, but it's even cheaper today. Thanks to an already discounted price of $199, after you apply code "GOODBUY" at checkout, the price drops an extra 25% to $149.25. That's $149.25 for the Wear OS watch we recommend and one of the few the runs the new Snapdragon Wear 3100 processor. This deal is good enough that it looks like it's selling out pretty quickly. If you have been eyeing the Fossil Sport, be quick. Also, the deal works on almost all of Fossil's smartwatches, because of a big smartwatch sale that has dropped most to $199. The Explorist HR Gen 4 can be had for the same $149.25, for example.

UPDATE: It looks like Fossil realized they had already discounted their smartwatches and likely didn't mean to give them an extra 25% off. The code might be dead. Give it a try, but after working for me earlier, it's no longer working.
UPDATE 2: The code still works on refurbished smartwatches! You can grab a refurb Explorist HR Gen 4 for $134.25!

Fossil Sport Link | All Fossil Smartwatches

Fossil Sport review

VIDEO: 5 Reasons to Buy the OnePlus 7 Pro!

Tim — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 16:00:43 +0000

Our complete review of the OnePlus 7 Pro is finished, but if it wasn't enough to persuade you into picking up the latest from OnePlus, allow this video to briefly sum up why it's a good pickup in 2019. The main things highlighted are the display, specs at this price range, software experience, hardware, and the cameras. Starting at $669, each one of these categories are worth a look. We know some of you may already be screaming, "No wireless charging, no headphone jack!" etc., etc., but for some folks who aren't you, those may not be dealbreakers. Check it out! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFq8nck4enM

DEAL: Get a Nest Hub, Google Home Mini, GE Smart Bulb for $99 ($85 Off)

Kellen — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 15:09:37 +0000

Google is quietly hosting one of the best Google Home-related deals I've seen in a while. For $99, you can get a Google ~~Home~~ Nest Hub, Google Home Mini, and a GE C-Life smart bulb. If you were to buy these separately, you'd be looking at a bill of $184. I'm not sure what else there is to say other than, this is a really good deal. To get this deal, the links below will let you select all of the products necessary. Google has been running it for a few days, so don't expect it to be around much longer.

Best Buy Link
Google Store Link

Verizon’s Galaxy S9, S9+ Get RCS Support and Prove That RCS is Dumb

Kellen — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 13:11:22 +0000

Verizon is making RCS available to the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ this week. After launching similar RCS service for the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL last year, these are the only other devices to support the future of text messaging on Big Red's network. An update should rollout shortly to the Galaxy S9 (G960USQU5CSE6) and S9+ (G965USQU5CSE6) to get both phones ready. Once you have it, the Samsung Messages app will prompt you to opt-in to Advanced Messaging or "Chat." This Advanced Messaging feature does a lot of what RCS Chat does on Pixel 3 devices. You'll get read receipts, typing indicators, the ability to sender bigger media, chat over WiFi, file sharing, and better group chats. Unfortunately, because RCS is a sh*t technology that has too many variables for it to work as intended, the RCS Advanced Messaging on the Galaxy S9 and S9+ doesn't even work with Verizon's Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. I'm not kidding with this. Verizon's Advanced Messaging (RCS), as far as we know, doesn't run on Google's Jibe technology for RCS, which the Pixel 3 uses. Because of the different platforms, for now, you can only RCS message between the Galaxy S9 or Galaxy S9+ on Verizon. Verizon says that other phones will receive this new Advanced Messaging, but they haven't announced any yet. Oh, that also means that Verizon's RCS won't work between carriers, which is the whole point of RCS. RCS is dumb. NOTE: To be clear, RCS in theory, is not dumb. The problem with RCS is that Google began pushing it as a magical messaging unifier that all carriers and partners would get behind. That was foolish. That might never happen. Because as Google has its own RCS platform (Jibe), not everyone wants to use it (T-Mobile and Verizon). Currently, all of these separate RCS platforms don't work together, so the cross-carrier, between-all-phones dream of advanced messaging is no where near happening. And we're 3+ years into this with only select devices even attempting to introduce RCS, most of which can't even talk to one another. Verizon pushing their own version of RCS to the S9 is the perfect example of how dumb of an idea this all is unless Google can find a way to truly unify it all. // Verizon | reddit | Android Police

Galaxy Note 10 CAD Renders Detail Headphone Jack-Less, Centered Display Cutout Beast Phone

Tim — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 10:52:17 +0000

Thanks to @Onleaks by way of @91Mobiles, we're getting our first look at CAD renders for the Galaxy Note 10 by Samsung this week. Now, brace yourself Note fans, because if these renders are accurate, Samsung appears to be getting a bit wild with the Note lineup this year. From the renders we can see that the phone may feature a triple rear camera setup placed on the left of the phone's backside, centered display cutout for the front-facing selfie camera, no headphone jack, and no buttons on the right side of the phone. On the left is where you'll find the power and volume buttons, but note that there does not appear to be a dedicated Bixby button. On the bottom we can see the S Pen is being housed on the right side when the display is facing towards you.

For specs, the Note 10 is reported to feature a 6.3" Infinity display, latest Snapdragon or Exynos processor depending on your geographical location, up to 12GB RAM, as well as Android Pie with Samsung's One UI running on top. At 6.3" display size, this phone almost sounds manageable in terms of handling. Comparing it to the OnePlus 7 Pro with its 6.67" display, the Note 10 may almost feel small. We'll have to wait and see about that, though. Having looked at the renders, what are your thoughts so far? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duJDFPQOysY // 91Mobiles

Google Stadia Launches This November, Pro Subscription Priced at $9.99/Month

Tim — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 09:46:51 +0000

Stadia launch details have been announced by Google, with pricing and the game selection all made public. The service is set to launch in November, with a special Founder's Edition available for pre-order starting today. Here's what you need to know right now. Stadia Details Stadia is a cloud-based gaming service that will feature two tiers, Stadia Base and Stadia Pro. Stadia Base is accessible by anyone who has a certain game or games they wish to purchase themselves for playing on any compatible device. Stadia Pro is a monthly subscription that costs $9.99/month, allowing for game streaming at 4K and 60 fps at just a download speed of 35Mbps. As for compatible devices, essentially anything that can access a Chrome browser is compatible, such as a desktop, laptop, tablet, and Pixel 3 devices (Pixel 3 XL, Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL included). You can also access Stadia via a Chromecast dongle that is connected to your HDTV.

Games

At launch, it appears there will be tons of games to play, but Google decided to highlight a certain few for this event. Stadia players will have access to Baldur's Gate 3, Ghost Recon Breakpoint, Gylt, Get Packed, and The Division 2 to name just a few. For those who purchase a Founder's Edition, you'll also get a Destiny 2 package containing all add-ons and an annual pass.

Pricing and Availability

A premium subscription to Stadia Pro costs $9.99/month, but Google is also launching a $129 Founder's Edition that comes with an exclusively colored Stadia controller, 3 months of Stadia Pro for you and a friend, a Chromecast Ultra for plugging into your TV, as well as exclusive early access for choosing a Stadia name. Any gamer should know how important it is to have a kickass name. Stadia Base will be available next year for those without a subscription but still want to purchase and play games via the cloud.

Are you excited for Stadia? Stadia Link Launch Details Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-BbW6zAjL0

Google Pauses Android Q Beta 4 Because of Installation Issues (Updated)

Kellen — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 08:10:26 +0000

Rollout of the new Android Q Beta 4 has already been paused after the update caused installation issues on a number of Pixel devices.

UPDATE JUNE 11: We've got new builds that are replacing the original Beta 4 builds and should address installation issues. Everyone gets this new build, so be on the lookout.

The update was forcing some Pixel devices into a bootloop that wouldn't let users past the white screen with Google logo. That doesn't mean that the update was fully killing devices, but a factory reset was required to fix everything, a process that I'm not sure all Pixel owners know how to perform during a bootloop.

What's new in Android Q Beta 4?

Google says that they will provide an update on the update once they have resolved the bug. // reddit

DEAL: Refurbished Ring Video Doorbells for Only $54 ($36 Off)

Tim — Wed, 05 Jun 2019 16:05:38 +0000

If you watch the news, you may be aware that package thieves are a real threat these days. With Amazon boxes easily spottable, as well as Nike using branded tape to mark its own packaging, it's easy for thieves to know which packages might be worth swiping from a porch. As a method to deter such acts, video doorbells have become pretty common, with Ring being one of the more popular brands. For a limited time with Amazon Prime, you can score a certified refurbished Ring video doorbell for just $54, thanks to an additional 10% savings being applied at checkout. That's quite the savings from their usual $89.99 price. With the Ring doorbell, you can be alerted via your smartphone when someone approaches your porch or when they ring the bell. Additionally, Ring sells cloud storage for your video recordings that you can also access on your smartphone. Even though it's refurbished, it's from Amazon, so if you run into any problems, returning it won't be an issue. $54 is worth it.

Amazon Link

HTC Pulls Pie Update for U11 After Users Report Soft-Bricking Issues

Tim — Wed, 05 Jun 2019 15:10:29 +0000

HTC recently began shipping out the Pie update to U11 owners in Taiwan, but unfortunately for some, the update was causing phones to become soft-bricked. HTC has pulled the update and according to its forum, the company plans to have a fix later this week. Apparently, after the update, users are unable to enter the phone due to not being able to bypass their passcode and pattern protected devices. Whoopsies. HTC states that any users encountering this issue will receive free service to get it corrected. We assume and hope that bugs such as this will be worked out by the time the update makes it way to the US. // XDA | HTC

Verizon's LG G7 Gets Updated to Android Pie

Kellen — Wed, 05 Jun 2019 13:30:43 +0000

LG is pushing its 2nd Android Pie update in the US, this time to the G7 ThinQ on Verizon. It's June 5 and Android Pie was released in August of last year, so there isn't much to say here. It's absolutely pathetic that it has taken this long for LG to release these updates. The update arrives as build G710VM20a and only contains the April Android security patch. LG G7 users will get optional gesture navigation, volume keys that default to adjusting media, new camera modes (Cine shot, Part Slo-Mo, and AI composition), the ability to run two accounts through the same app, annnnnnnd that's mostly it. It's freakin' June. We're on the Android Q Beta 4 with stable Q about two months away. Good lord, LG, you are bad at this. // Verizon

Essential Phone Gets Android Q Beta 4, Other Devices to Follow

Kellen — Wed, 05 Jun 2019 12:16:52 +0000

Now that the Android Q Beta 4 has been released to Pixel devices, you are probably wondering when you might see it on the other devices participating in the program. The answer is pretty simple for one phone - Essential has already pushed the update live to the Essential Phone. If you own an Essential Phone still and are in the Q beta program, it's update time. If you are not yet in the program, signing up is as simple as installing the Essential Q Beta app from Google Play and then filling out a form. Once you have been approved or verified, the update will appear as ready on your phone (Settings>System>Advanced>System update). https://twitter.com/essential/status/1136338624096677888 What about non-Pixel or Essential phones, when will they get the update? Google announced today that their partners "will also be updating their devices to Beta 4 over the coming weeks." That means you might see an update quickly like we have from Essential or it could be further down the road. To check on the status of your phone, be sure to follow through Google's Android Q Beta devices page.

What's New in Android Q Beta 4? (Updated)

Kellen — Wed, 05 Jun 2019 11:12:38 +0000

Eh, not a lot. This Android Q Beta 4 appears mostly to be a final-ish build with final APIs and the official Q SDK along for the ride. After this build, which should be quite stable, we'll get two release candidates for final testing before stable arrives in Q3. In other words, we're not surprised that there might not be significant changes to share here. Here are a few we're discovering, though.

Gesture navigation gets a color-changing arrow, smarter gestures

The full gesture navigation controls are still here if you want them, and they aren't really any different. The biggest change I can see is an easier-to-see back arrow that shows when you swipe in from the left or right sides. The arrow now shows as black with lighter backgrounds and then inverts to white on darker backgrounds. Google also seems to have found a way to turn off the back gesture in certain situations. For example, in Q Beta 3, when swiping between home screen pages, a swipe too close to the edge would activate the back gesture. In Q Beta 4, the back gesture is basically disabled as you move around home screens.

Notifications controls change some, and the broken notification swipe is fixed

Q Beta 4 Notification Controls

Q Beta 3 Notification Controls

Notifications types have changed from "Interruptive" and "Gentle" to "Prioritized" and "Gentle" in Q 4. The layout and icons of the notifications controls section looks somewhat updated as well, with toggles instead of checkboxes to turn things on and off. Overall, the options all do the same things, it's just presented differently. Oh, and "Prioritized" is a much nicer word than "Interruptive." Additionally, in Q Beta 3, if you swiped from left-to-right on a notification, it was basically broken and always showed the notification controls instead of the snooze button. That has been fixed in Beta 4. I should probably point out that in early Q builds, Google let you choose which way was swipe-to-dismiss on notifications. In this build, you can swipe notifications either way to dismiss, just like in Android Pie, even though the controls to decide are still there.

They moved the lock icon on the lock screen to the top.

Q Beta 4 vs. Q Beta 3

4 new accent colors were added.

The new colors, which can still only be accessed through Developer options, are Cinnamon, Ocean, Space, and Orchid. We're pretty sure Google will eventually build this into the Display settings or a Pixel theming app, but for now, they are semi-hidden.

Matching dark Google Search, more colors in dark mode notifications

Q Beta 4 vs. Q Beta 3

Some minor changes to either the Pixel Launcher or Google App have allowed the Google Search bar to flip to dark when the dark theme is applied. There are also more colorful notifications in dark mode on Beta 4 vs. Beta 3.

Face authentication incoming?

The guys at 9to5Google noticed that if you searched for "face" within settings, that a bunch of face authentication settings show up in the list of results. I was not able to find these on Q Beta 4, but I did find them on Q Beta 3. Who knows what Google is doing here, but the settings do tell us some stuff! Once implemented, you'll be able to unlock your phone, sign-in to apps, and make payments by authenticating with your face. There will be options to only scan if eyes are open and to always require when authenticating apps. It's all pretty standard face unlock stuff that Google is simply years late to.

Dark Theme switching gets a toggle

Instead of choosing between dark or light themes, Android Q Beta 4 introduces a simple toggle to flip from light (default) to dark. Now we just need the ability to schedule it.

Power button may let you choose Google Pay cards

The guys at 9to5Google found a hidden setting that looks like it'll let you use the power button on phones to quickly choose between Google Pay cards. That could be a cool shortcut. We'll update this as we find more.

Android Q Beta 4 Now Available for Pixel Devices! (Updated)

Kellen — Wed, 05 Jun 2019 10:11:17 +0000

Android Q Beta 4 is now available for Pixel devices! The Android Q Beta 4 is available now for Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, Pixel 3a, and Pixel 3a XL. The newest build arrives as qpp4.190502.018.

READ: What's new in Android Q Beta 4?

Android Q Beta 4

Date: June 2019 Build: QPP4.190502.018 Emulator support: x86 (32/64-bit) Security patch level: June 2019 Google Play services: 17.4.55

If you’d like to test or load this onto your supported Pixel device in the easiest way possible, head over to the Android Beta site and sign-up. Once the update is made available there, you'll get it as a system update, just like you would any other update.

UPDATE: The over-the-air Q Beta 4 is already live! No need to flash files, friends.
UPDATE 2: Google paused the update after some users ran into installation issues.
UPDATE JUNE 11: We've got new builds that are replacing the original Beta 4 builds and should address installation issues. Everyone gets this new build, so be on the lookout.

If you’d like to manually flash the files instead of waiting for the over-the-air update, you can download the Beta 4 images right here. Instructions on how to flash a factory image can be found here.

Home Not Compatible With Nest Hello Video Doorbell? This $29 Adapter Can Help

Tim — Wed, 05 Jun 2019 09:31:29 +0000

If your current residence doesn't already have a wired doorbell or possibly doesn't feature the correct transformer to power a Nest Hello video doorbell from Google, the Google Store is now selling a $29 wall adapter from a company called Ninety7. With it, instead of the Nest Hello being powered by the home's internal wiring, you'll essentially plug the video doorbell into a wall outlet via a grommet. This solution makes the Nest Hello compatible with any home and owners can then use a Google Home device to act as the chime. This is clever. The $29 package includes the adapter itself, 20ft of wire, 10 cable clips, plus a wall grommet. If you're concerned about having to install this yourself, I wouldn't, as most Nest Pros should be able to handle running a bit of wire through a wall. If you're a DIY person, here's an instructional PDF. Not everyone's home is the same, so if this adapter can help turn your home into a smart home, then $29 (not including price of professional installation and additional hardware) doesn't seem like a bad price to pay. Google Store Link

Google Photos Goes Dark...Mode

Kellen — Wed, 05 Jun 2019 08:56:10 +0000

Google Photos initially picked up a dark mode this week for users running the Android Q beta, but the darkness is now spreading to phones running Android Pie and Oreo. Versions 4.17 or 4.18 of that app appear to pack the darker theme, though there isn't necessarily a toggle for it within the app from what I can tell. Instead, the app is relying on the system to determine if it should go dark or not. For example, if I flip my Pixel 3 with Android Q over to the system dark theme, Google Photos recognizes that and switches to dark. If you own a Galaxy S10 with One UI on it and switch to dark, the same should apply, even if it's only on Pie. Make sense? Again, there isn't a toggle, the app simply follows your system theme. Google Play Link // reddit

I'm so Excited About Wider Unlocked Google Pixel Availability

Kellen — Tue, 04 Jun 2019 14:46:49 +0000

When Google announced the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL during Google I/O, they also announced wider availability of the Pixel 3 line. There were new carrier partners to highlight, and those are certainly a big deal, but I'm more excited about the fact that the unlocked models are now available for purchase at a number of new retailers. We've always been big fans of unlocked phones, especially when they work on all carriers like Google's do. Buying an unlocked Pixel 3, 3 XL, 3a, or 3a XL and then deciding which of the major US carriers you want to take it to rather than being forced by a exclusive partnership is the dream. It's what we've been complaining to Google about for 3 years. These unlocked units get updates just as quick as you expect Pixel phones to. Unlike Samsung's unlocked phones that are the last of any to receive major updates, Google's are probably closer to being first in line. The problem in the past has been limited availability of those unlocked units. Previously, they were generally only available from Google's store, while Verizon and Best Buy sold models that were temporarily SIM locked to Verizon's network. We called those "Verizon Pixel" devices. When deals for Pixel phones would pop-up at retailers or if you wanted to get your hands on one in a physical store, all that was available were the Verizon units. Since not all wireless customers (especially our readers) are subscribed to Verizon, that's kind of a problem. But now, you can jump on Best Buy or B&H Photo or Newegg's sites and shop for the best deal on the unlocked versions of Google's phones. Best Buy stores have them in-stock too, so you can walk in and buy one today, not just order them and then have to wait for days. In the grand scheme of Google's wireless ambitions, the carrier partners are a bigger deal, but to those of us trying to live this unlocked dream and keep a little bit of freedom in our pockets, this new Pixel unlocked availability is huge. Cheers Kevin!

Spotify Stations Allows You to Sit Back and Let Algorithms Decide What You Listen to

Tim — Tue, 04 Jun 2019 13:00:31 +0000

An entirely new app from Spotify is available this week in the US for Android users called Spotify Stations. With it, users can simply tell the app what genre of music or certain artists they want to listen to, then the app curates a collection of music (essentially a radio station like on Pandora) for listening. As Spotify explains, "With the world's music at your fingertips, finding the right thing to play can feel like a challenge. Stations gets you to music instantly — no searching or typing needed. As Stations learns more about what you like, it creates stations packed with the music you love, made just for you." This app is labeled as an experiment, so if you run into issues or have feedback for Spotify, you should let them know. In the meantime, go listen to some jams. Google Play Link // Billboard

T-Mobile Customers, Don't Forget Your Free E-Copy of John Legere's Slow Cooker Cookbook

Tim — Tue, 04 Jun 2019 11:41:23 +0000

If you're a customer of T-Mobile, you may be aware that the company's CEO fancies himself a pretty decent slow cooker chef. He even has his own slow cooker cookbook titled #SlowCookerSunday. Well, if you're into slow cooking, you can grab a digital copy of the book for completely free through the T-Mobile Tuesdays app. I've gone ahead and looked over the contents for you, just in case you're curious what Legere has cooking up. The forward is by Martha Stewart and there are solid recipes for lamb shanks, vegetarian Sloppy Joes, beer brats, corned beef, plus plenty of more tasty sounding dishes. Keep in mind, this isn't only a cookbook. Throughout the book are stories that John shares about being a CEO, and of course, even knocks on AT&T and Verizon make quick appearances. It's free, so you can't really go wrong. Head into the T-Mobile Tuesdays app to download the PDF. Google Play Link

$10/Month Device Protection Now Available for AT&T Prepaid Customers

Tim — Tue, 04 Jun 2019 10:56:26 +0000

AT&T Prepaid has launched Mobile Device Protection from Asurion for customers, priced at $9.99/month. Normally, AT&T Prepaid customers would have 30 days after activating their new or BYOD phone to sign up for the Mobile Protection plan. However, now through June 30, the carrier is allowing existing customers to add Mobile Protection to their existing phone. According to AT&T, these are the benefits of MDP. Benefits of Device Protection

Comprehensive phone coverage that protects you against loss, theft, physical and liquid damage, and out-of-warranty malfunction.
Fast and convenient replacement process to get a working phone back in your hand, and in most cases, delivered the next day.
As soon as same-day cracked screen repair.
ProTech support that connects customers with a friendly, knowledgeable ProTech expert for help with device set-up, troubleshooting, and more.

If you'd like to add Device Protection for your device, you can head into any local AT&T retail store or follow the link below. // AT&T

Google's Sunday Service Outage Caused by an "Incorrectly Applied" Server Configuration

Kellen — Tue, 04 Jun 2019 09:59:03 +0000

Yesterday's Google Fi outage wasn't the only major outage Google services suffered this week. On Sunday, a somewhat major outage took out Gmail, YouTube, Google Drive, and other services for a number of hours for millions of users. Google blamed "network congestion" for the down time at first, but has now released official findings. According to the Google Cloud blog, the disruption was caused by an "incorrectly applied" server configuration. The configuration was supposed to be applied to a small number of servers in a specific region, but was applied to a larger number across several regions instead. That configuration limited network capacity, hence the congestion explanation. Google says they identified the issue within seconds, but it took much longer to fix the problem. How many people were impacted? While not a single DL reader reached out to tell us that they were impacted, Google did see a 2.5% drop in views from YouTube for one hour and a 30% reduction in traffic across Google Cloud Storage. They estimate that 1% of Gmail users were affected, which sounds small, but still means millions of people. Google says that it is taking steps to be "guarded against the entire class of issues illustrated by this event." // Google Cloud Blog

Samsung Galaxy Home Launch Still Happening, Scheduled for Q3

Tim — Tue, 04 Jun 2019 09:42:58 +0000

Galaxy Home, Samsung's Bixby-powered hub for your living space, is now scheduled to launch at some point during Q3, according to a Samsung's CEO Kim Hyun. This is interesting because we've been following the Galaxy Home since last year in August when the device was made official, and with every new Samsung press event, we keep expecting for the company to provide launch details. At the launch of the Galaxy Note 9, Samsung lined the floor with Galaxy Home units, but didn't give us any sort of release schedule. Same went for the Galaxy S10 launch and the annual Samsung Developers Conference. They came and went with no mention of a Galaxy Home release. Considering how much of a non factor Bixby appears to be, at least in the US, there was a part of us that thought Samsung may even cancel the speaker. That doesn't seem to be the case, though, as Hyun is quoted to say, "The Galaxy Home speaker, which will be the center of Samsung’s home appliances, is planned to be launched in mid-second half of the year." Samsung fans, hang in there. Galaxy Home is coming soon! // Korea Herald

Today is Galaxy Day, Month-Long Celebration With Deals and Promos From Samsung

Tim — Tue, 04 Jun 2019 08:48:27 +0000

Today marks the official 10th anniversary of Samsung Galaxy. Time flies, folks. To celebrate, Samsung is launching Galaxy Day, a month-long celebration with deals, discounts, and other various promotions for Galaxy owners. Here's what you can expect from Galaxy Day, which should've actually been called Galaxy Month. Promotions

Score a free 1-year subscription to YouTube Premium ($144 value) with a new purchase of an eligible Galaxy device
Take advantage of the best trade-in offers such as receiving up to $450 off the purchase price of a new Galaxy device on Samsung's website
Samsung will throw in a free pair of wireless Galaxy Buds when you purchase any Galaxy S10 or Note 9 on Samsung's website by June 8
Starting June 4, stop by participating locations to earn 2,000 Samsung Rewards points. Redeem them for a free $10 promo code to Lyft, FandangoNOW or Shutterfly

If you don't already own a Galaxy S10, the trade-in deal along with the free Galaxy Buds is a solid offer. We still think it's easily one of 2019's best releases. If you already own a Galaxy phone, 2,000 Rewards points ain't bad at all. Follow the link below for all of the official details. Buy Galaxy S10| Samsung Promotions Link

Google Trips is Shutting Down and We Still Don't Have Trip Bundles in Gmail

Kellen — Tue, 04 Jun 2019 08:21:24 +0000

Google Trips, the poorly-put-together trip planning app from Google that hasn't ever really seen much love, will be shutdown on August 5. That's worth pointing out, even if no one uses it, because it's the last remaining trip bundling or organizing solution from Google with trip bundles still not arriving in Gmail from Inbox. Not sure what I'm talking about? One of the best features of Google's now-dead Inbox app was its ability to automatically create bundles of emails that showed you were going on a trip. It would try and grab your flight and hotel reservations, restaurant bookings, and any updates that arrived before you left. You could manually add or remove items to trips too. It was an incredibly useful tool that we keep hoping will one day show up in Gmail, now that Gmail is Google's only email app. With no signs of Gmail picking up where Inbox left off, Google Trips was really the only option for trip planning. With that now going away too, what's left? Google says that you can find trip info in Google Search, but that they also plan to add a "Trip reservations" section in Google Maps. And actually, I just looked in Google Maps>Your places>Upcoming and it's already keeping tracking of some destinations I have on the calendar. Unfortunately, it's no where near the level of organization that Inbox and Google Trips offered. It's basically an acknowledgement that you will need to go to the airport on a date and is ready to help you find directions. So yeah, Google Trips is dying on August 5 and Google isn't really replacing it. // Google Travel Help Cheers Sam!

T-Mobile Adds Bigger High-Speed Data Bucket Options to International Pass Line-Up

Kellen — Tue, 04 Jun 2019 07:54:14 +0000

For international travelers who need high-speed data when in other countries, T-Mobile introduced new International Pass options today. The new passes will get up you up to 15GB of data in bunches, or you can still go for the daily Pass they made available a year ago. The first of the new T-Mobile International Pass options can be added as a 5GB high-speed data package that lasts for 10 days and costs $35. The second Pass is a 15GB high-speed data package that lasts for up to 30 days and costs $50. If you won't be out of the country that long during a 10-day or 30-day trip, the regular $5/day Pass is still available and includes the same 512MB of data. To add any of these passes, you will open the My T-Mobile app (or online) when you arrive at your destination and select one. T-Mobile says that you don't need to sign-up ahead of time or call before you go. Also, don't forget that if you have a T-Mobile Magenta plan, you'll get 2G international data speeds without adding any of the above plans. I'm not sure what you could possible do on a phon with 2G speeds, but that's a thing. // T-Mobile

Pixel 3a Review: Tough to Beat for the Price

Kellen — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 12:05:55 +0000

A couple of days after Google announced its Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL phones, I wrote up a short piece suggesting that the phone was "boringly good" and an excellent choice if your budget is $400. After spending several weeks with the phone by my side since then, I still feel the exact same way, which again, is good. This is a short Pixel 3a review.

What do I like?

Software Because this is a Pixel phone made by Google, you get the cleanish Android software experience that Google thinks is the best. I tend to prefer their take on Android over others', so as you can imagine, I like what the Pixel 3a offers. You get Google's Pixel Launcher with easy access at all times to apps, a news feed, and Google Assistant. You get Google's always-on display, a feature that not even OnePlus can figure out how to do on its $700 phones. The Pixel 3a will listen for and then tell you about music playing around you, there are night light filters and darker themes, as well as access to Google's Digital Wellbeing suite. By no means is the Pixel 3a packed with software features like a Samsung phone might be, but it's lighter and cleaner, lets you add to it to your liking, and is always up-to-date. Speaking of up-to-date, you'll get a full three years of software updates with the 3a and 3a XL that includes both security and major OS upgrades. Updates will arrive monthly to patch bugs and security holes, plus you'll get new OS features before any phone not a part of the Pixel program. Starting this month, the Pixel 3a and 3a XL will be some of the most current Android phones on the planet, which is something no Samsung phone, even at $1,000, will ever be able to say.

Camera The big sell for the Pixel 3a and 3a XL is the camera, there's no question about it. Google put the same 12.2MP camera in these $400 phones as they did in their $800 Pixel 3 line. It's got all the AI smarts, with Night Sight and Portrait modes, shoots at f/1.8, is stabilized, and can utilize Google Lens. It's got it all and that's why you should take these phones seriously. Right? Yeah, the camera is solid and pretty amazing to see in a phone at this price. While in my pocket and traveling about the past few weeks, I never hesitated to reach for it. I never questioned whether or not it would take a shot I'd be happy with. And I knew it could create solid shots in dark situations. In the images below, I think you'll come away thinking this camera lives up to the hype. Great dynamic range. Portrait mode shots that don't suck. Acceptable shots in all lighting conditions. Need some negatives to counter-balance this lovefest? It can be slow to process tougher photos, like portrait or night shots. This phone doesn't have the Pixel Visual Core of the regular Pixel 3, so it's relying on the Snapdragon 670 for heavy photo lifting. Just prepare to have to wait an extra few seconds before viewing some items, that's all.

Display The display in the Pixel 3a and 3a XL is not going to be up there with the displays you'll find in Samsung or OnePlus' newest phones and that's to be expected. This phone doesn't have the budget to be that good, but the displays here are absolutely good enough. This particular 3a unit sports a 5.6" full HD (1080p) OLED panel that gets plenty bright, dark enough, has three different color settings profiles, and can be viewed clearly at the steepest angles. As noted above, you get a night light to filter blue light at night, adaptive brightness that tries to keep up with your daily brightness-adjusting-routine, and an always-on display. My only concern with this setup is Google's use of Dragontrail Glass instead of Gorilla Glass for protection. That's not a product we see often on phones in the US, so the jury is still out on whether or not it'll hold up well over time. I also worry that the oleophobic coating on this phone will suck, because it sucks on every single Google phone, even their $1,000 dollar Pixel 3 units. Overall, this display is perfectly fine for a $400 phone.

Design As you know, the Pixel 3a is plastic on plastic. It wont try and trick you into believing it's metal or premium, because it's not trying to be. The thing is, plastic is fine. It's more durable than glass and will probably hold up well to regular daily usage. This phone's plastic body does not offend me at all. I actually despise all of the glass usage in phones these days, because glass is fragile and not premium. Using this phone has been somewhat refreshing, mostly because I don't have to worry about putting a case on it over fears that setting it on a counter will crack its backside. I have less stress handing this phone to my son than any other phone in recent memory. It's lighter in the hand too. As far as design and appearance, the Pixel 3a and 3a XL look like Google phones. They have glossy and matte finishes on their backsides, accent colors in power buttons, and a general minimal aesthetic I can get behind. Neither phone is particularly small, but the regular 3a hasn't been frustrating to use by any means. It is quite a bit taller than the regular Pixel 3 and Galaxy S10e, though, so if you were looking for something in the "mini" category, this isn't it. Battery Life At 3000mAh (3a) and 3700mAh (3a XL), battery life on the Pixel's new phones has been solid. The Pixel 3a I'm testing hasn't had any problem getting me through a full day with decent usage. On lighter usage days, I'd go to bed with 40% battery, while heavier days would still leave me around 25%. We're talking between 2.5 to 4 hours of screen on time that is made up of Twitter, Chrome, Spotify, and Google News. These aren't 2-day battery life phones, but you shouldn't expect them to be with those capacities. They'll certainly last you a day, though.

Price and Availability I get the feeling that tech fans in countries outside of the US think the Pixel 3a and 3a XL aren't great buys because of the combination of price and specs. And maybe that's because they are flush with $300 phone choices that are packed with all the goodies. What I know here, is that we aren't rich in mid-range options that are worth a damn. The Pixel 3a and 3a XL at $400 and $480 are a good buy in the US. You get a decent set of specs, software updates for three years, a great camera, and connectivity on the major US carriers. The phones are easy to find and buy, and I'd imagine there will be plenty of opportunities to buy them for discounted prices. Honestly, I'd challenge someone to find me a better smartphone buy in the US at $400. I know this is a price category that doesn't have much competition, but I'm not sure I could find a $300 phone to buy where you shouldn't just pay the extra $100 or a $500 phone worth skipping the 3a for. Other Features

Headphone jack: It has one! I haven't use it yet, but it's there for those who are in need of a 3.5mm port. Some day, I'm thinking it'll come in handy when I want to charge this phone and listen to music without any Bluetooth headphones nearby.
Active Edge: Like the Pixel 3 and 2, these 3a phones have Google's Active Edge, which allow you to squeeze their sides and access Google Assistant at all times. I know that some wish there were ways to customize this a bit more, but I actually like using it to open Assistant. This is a much better solution than shouting that still-awful, "Hey Google!" command.

What don't I like?

Performance I should probably preface this by saying that the performance of this phone isn't bad. The reason I'm flagging performance is because this is a mid-range phone running a Snapdragon 670 processor with 4GB RAM and what I'm going to assume is cheaper, slower storage. The phone works well, it's just not going to win any speed awards any time soon. Opening apps, processing photos, and general usage all feel slower than on the phones I'm used to using. Coming from a Galaxy S10e and OnePlus 7 Pro before this, I can tell that this phone is not on their level. This phone costs a fraction of those, so I'm trying not to get too hung-up on that idea. I just think you should understand that Google didn't figure out any miracles here that will make you believe that you are getting the performance of a flagship in the body of a phone for half the price. If someone tells you that this is a better phone than the regular Pixel 3, they are not right in the head. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnPbvjYqJTM

Should you buy the Pixel 3a?

If your budget is anywhere from $300 to $500, it's probably the phone to beat. If your budget is higher, like in the $700+ range, you should probably buy a phone in that range, like a OnePlus 7 Pro, Galaxy S10, or Pixel 3. The Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL are not better than any of those phones, but they are still excellent for the price. With the 3a and 3a XL, you get a really good camera, software experience that won't get in your way, software updates that others won't see for months, and a non-fragile plastic body that'll relieve some stress from your life. Google just set the bar for mid-range phones.

Buy Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL:

Google Fi Calling is Down Right Now (Updated)

Kellen — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 11:27:44 +0000

If you subscribe to Google Fi, be aware that outbound and inbound calls might not work at the moment. The Google Fi team is aware and working on a fix. As a workaround, should you need to take or make calls, they are suggesting you use Hangouts and the Hangouts Dialer (download). They also suggest you head into:

In Hangouts, set incoming calls to "On": Settings > Your Fi Account > Google Fi Calls & SMS > Incoming Calls (On).

We'll update this post as things change.

UPDATE 12:06PM: Google says that this issue should now be resolved. Let us know if that's the case.

// Google Fi

Google Stadia Pricing, Games, and Launch Details to be Announced on June 6

Tim — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 10:42:21 +0000

We're finally getting the details we need for Stadia. Ahead of E3, Google will unveil all of the stuff we need to know, such as pricing and games that will be available, all on June 6. For those unaware, Google is launching a cloud-based gaming service called Stadia. Think of it like GeForce NOW from NVIDIA. With Stadia, you'll be playing AAA titles on what should be any compatible device, with all of the powerlifting being done by super computers in the sky. Google even has a little cute controller to go along with the service. Stadia will deliver up to 4K resolution streams at 60fps, in HDR, and with surround sound. Eventually, they’ll be able to scale to 8K too. As far as gaming performance goes, Stadia is boasting 10.7 GPU teraflops, compared to 4.2 and 6.0 from a PS4 Pro or Xbox One X, respectively. The event kicks off at 9AM PDT on June 6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-BbW6zAjL0

June 2019 Android Security Update Goes Live for Pixel Devices

Kellen — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 10:12:08 +0000

A fresh month of June kicked off over the weekend, so that means Google was preparing to release the June 2019 Android security patch for Pixel devices. They have now done just that and we already have both factory image and OTA files ready to be downloaded for those willing to do some manual labor, or as always, you can sit back and wait for the update to arrive over-the-air (OTA) to your device. We've got our first Pixel 3a updates too! So far, we are seeing new 9.0.0 files for Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL(PQ3A.190605.004.A1), Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL (PQ3A.190605.003), and Pixel and Pixel XL (PQ3A.190605.003). The Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL's first update arrives as build PQ3B.190605.006. The Pixel C picked up a new 8.1.0 build as version OPM8.190605.003.

Functional Patches

[table responsive=scroll id=166 /] 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:

Xiaomi Shows Off Its Under-Display Front Camera

Tim — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 10:09:40 +0000

Xiaomi took to Twitter this week to show off its upcoming under-display selfie camera tech, which is looking pretty good. Once this becomes mainstream, we can say goodbye to notches, cutouts, and mechanized pop-ups. Those will be good times. When the display is off, you can clearly see a darker circle in the screen, which is obviously the camera. However, when the display is on, it's not noticeable in the below video. The user in the video opens up the camera app, switches to selfie mode, then shows off that it works. This is what we all want, right? https://twitter.com/Xiaomi/status/1135447561202937857

Phantom Tap, Touchscreen Issue Fixes Inbound for OnePlus 7 Pro

Tim — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 09:16:06 +0000

Additional bug fixes for the OnePlus 7 Pro are inbound, according to statements from OnePlus. Most importantly, issues related to the phone's touchscreen, including the phantom taps and other miscellaneous problems shall be getting fixed via software. Apparently, some users have been experiencing phantom taps on the device, which is when input is received by the display panel without the user actually touching it. That can be annoying. Additionally, it's become noted by other users that portions of the touchscreen are not recognizing when taps happen, especially around the corners of the display. Here's what OnePlus said.

Phantom taps:

We have received limited reports from users describing their encounter of the “phantom taps” experience. Our team has worked hard to identify these cases, and we will release a firmware update in the upcoming weeks.

Other touchscreen problems:

OnePlus is aware of limited reports of this issue, and we will be issuing a software update to resolve it.

We'll let y'all know when these updates begin to roll out! // OnePlus | The Verge

Lenovo Smart Clock Review: About as Exciting as a Clock Can Be

Tim — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 07:00:28 +0000

Here we are, reviewing smart clocks. 2019 is awesome! After waiting months for Lenovo to release the Smart Clock since its unveiling at CES this past January, the time has come! Priced at just $79, there isn't a lot you need to know about this little device, though, I can tell you what not to expect from it. This is a clock that features Google Assistant -- nothing more. It's not a smaller option to the Google Nest Hub or even a competitor to Amazon's new Echo Show 5. All this device does is show you the time, play music, provide info via Assistant, and that's about it. If you're okay with that, then let's dive a bit deeper, shall we? The Smart Clock is rather small, featuring a 4" IPS touchscreen display. Navigating the UI is much like a larger Smart Display from any number of manufacturers, with swipes from the sides, top, and bottom of the display being the method for getting to the different features. You may think swiping on such a small screen might be a pain, but for me, I think the size of the Smart Clock is ideal. When laying in bed, it's just the right size to reach over and control when editing alarms. On the backside there is the power port, a mic on/off switch, and a USB 2.0 charging port. On the top of the clock, along with its cloth exterior are two volume buttons. Beneath the cloth is the speaker, which surprisingly sounds pretty good for its size and gets plenty deep with bass. Overall, the hardware is very nice and reminds me very much of hardware from Google.

So, let's go over what the clock does. The main point of it is to be an alarm clock and sit on your nightstand by the bed. It does that very well, but I did find it funny that there are only six alarm tones to choose from. Even my phone has about 20. The alarm tones are good, though. Past that, the Smart Clock does have Google Assistant, along with all of the features you expect from it. With it, you can get weather info, setup Routines, get traffic information, plus all of that other jazz. Sadly, the Smart Clock is not capable of video playback, such as casting things from Netflix and YouTube. This is why the clock may be a tough sell. For those who had hoped they could set this on their desk at work as a smaller option to a Smart Display, that's not a possibility. The Smart Clock is purely a clock with the added Google Assistant functionality. And unlike the Echo Show 5, the Smart Clock has no front camera, meaning you can't use it for video messaging or anything of the sort. In terms of everyday usage, I quite enjoy it. Instead of tapping on the screen to snooze the clock or turn it off, you can actually bop the device on its top. A single whack will do. Give it a good smack and it will snooze the alarm until it comes ringing again, at which point you can simply whack it again or turn it off altogether. Personally, I like to snooze for about 30 minutes, so I whack it a few times every morning.

For those curious about getting camera streams to the Smart Clock, that is doable, but only with Nest cameras. Lenovo mentions that Google will be adding support for other camera makers down the road. Additionally, smart home controls are also supported, just as they are on full grown smart displays.

The Verdict

So, yeah, that's about it. It's an alarm clock with Google Assistant built-in. Is it worth $79? While I do enjoy it very much so, the fact that you can't stream any videos to it is a big disappointment. Basically, this product will live on your nightstand and has a whole lot less functionality than the smartphone that likely takes up that current space. What I've done is plug the clock into the wall, then my phone into the clock via the USB port. It doesn't charge fast by any means, but it works. At the end of the day, once I return this unit to Lenovo, I will not be going out and buying one to replace my phone as my dedicated alarm clock.

Buy the Smart Clock ($79)

Gallery

Overview Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExkekRuJNc0

DEAL: Unlocked 256GB Galaxy S10e is $650 Right Now, Others $200 Off Too

Kellen — Sun, 02 Jun 2019 18:26:40 +0000

Samsung wants you to buy a Galaxy S10 with a lot of extra storage right now. If you buy any of the Galaxy S10 family members with 256GB or more of storage, they'll slash $100 off. If you decide you want a Galaxy S10 with that much storage, B&H Photo will give you another $100 off to bring the total discount to $200-off. The best deal is probably on the Galaxy S10e (review), which can be had with 256GB storage for $650. That's $200 off its usual $850 price. Other related deals drop the 512GB Galaxy S10 to $950 or the 512GB Galaxy S10+ to $1050. The 1TB versions have the $200-off discounts as well. All of these deals are on the US unlocked models, so they will work on all major US carriers.

B&H Photo Deal Link

DEAL: Fossil Sport Drops to $154 at Amazon, Explorist Gen 4 to $150

Kellen — Sun, 02 Jun 2019 18:01:30 +0000

Amazon is hosting a huge sale on two of the best Fossil smartwatches at the moment, with the Fossil Sport down to its lowest price ever. We aren't sure the occasion, but if you want a Fossil Wear OS watch, this is the time to buy. As I mentioned, the Fossil Sport (review) is at an all-time low at $154. The previous low was a Black Friday sale that dropped it to $178. Other Fossil smartwatches are super cheap too, like the Explorist Gen 4, which is just $150 in all-black or silver. With recent price increases to $275 for both of these, we've got discounts here around $120. UPDATE: This deal is done.

Shop Fossil Sport at Amazon ($154)
Shop Fossil Gen 4 Explorist at Amazon ($150)
Other Fossil Smartwatches at Amazon

DEAL: Google Nest Hub for $67, Down From the Usual $129

Tim — Fri, 31 May 2019 15:26:19 +0000

For a limited time, massgenie is hosting a big time sale on Google Nest Hub units, the smart displays from Google that used to be called Home Hubs. Thanks to the deal hitting its Power Deal minimum, the units are going for just $67, which is an insane mark down from its usual $129 price on the Google Store. I'd go so far as to say this is the cheapest we've ever seen them, so if you've been waiting, now's the time. If you don't buy it via the Power Deal, it still only costs $78, which is also a crazy good price. Both Chalk and Charcoal colors appear to be available for purchase at this time. Have at it. MassGenie Link

Podcast: Moto Mods Live!

Kellen — Fri, 31 May 2019 10:45:56 +0000

On this episode of the Droid Life Show, we're catching up on a couple of weeks worth of news, but will kick off with the Moto Z4. Motorola is back with another Moto Mod-ready phone that has some decent upgrades and a not-terrible price. We'll also dive into the future of headphone jacks, Sprint's 5G network, the new Google Play refresh, whether or not it's a good time to be a smartphone buyer, and share poll results on what everyone's least favorite Google phone was. Trivia is back again! We've got a whole bunch of OnePlus accessories to give away! We'll be live at 12:00PM Pacific (3PM Eastern).

Report: Amazon Has Interest in Buying Boost Mobile

Tim — Fri, 31 May 2019 10:27:22 +0000

For the merge between T-Mobile and Sprint to take place, it's been reported that the joined companies, known as the New T-Mobile, would have to sell off Boost Mobile, a Sprint-operated prepaid brand. A likely buyer appears to be Amazon, as reported by Reuters. Along with getting Boost Mobile, Amazon would receive 6+ years usage of New T-Mobile's network, as well as the possibility to acquire divested spectrum from the carrier merge. According to the Reuters, the sale price of Boost Mobile would be about $3 billion or up to $4.5 billion if it includes wireless spectrum. We have no idea what Amazon would do with a prepaid carrier, but if we had to guess, it'd be to sell its lineup of Prime phones that come loaded with Amazon's suite of apps and services. They could also use Boost as an outlet to sell its Echo devices. There are probably lots of possibilities, and as this develops, we'll keep you posted. // Reuters

New Google Home Device Stops at FCC, but What the Hell is It?

Kellen — Fri, 31 May 2019 10:08:45 +0000

I don't know what exactly it is, but a new Google "media device" showed up at the FCC this morning with a model number that looks like it would fit nicely into the Google Home or Google Nest families of products. The device is listed under Google's FCC ID as A4RH2B, or model number H2B. For reference, Google Home Mini was H0A, Google Home Max was H0B, Home Hub was H1A, and the new Nest Hub Max is H2A. As you can see, H2B is likely a Home or Nest-related device. But what is it? Well, you can see the shape of it below, thanks to a shot of its "bottom side."

The FCC tested it for both Bluetooth and WiFi (802.11ac), plus it's powered by a 3.8V lithium ion battery. That sure makes it sound like it takes replaceable batteries or needs to be charged, otherwise it would simply have a power source to keep it running. That make sense? I should point out that there is a chance this device doesn't have a display, because the FCC label is on the bottom, rather than buried within a software UI as an e-label. For example, the Nest Hub Max doesn't have an outside FCC label because you can navigate on its screen to the regulatory labels section. Then again, the original Home Hub's FCC label is indeed on the bottom, yet it has a display. However, both the Home Hub and Nest Hub Max are labeled as "video streaming device" whereas this is just a "media device."

So what is it? I don't think we know. The removable or rechargeable battery is making this super confusing, as is the possibility that it doesn't have a screen. I couldn't find the dimensions for it, so we don't know how big the bottom is where the label sits. Any guesses? A smart remote? A portable Google Home? // FCC

Google Play's Latest Redesign is Rolling Out, Brings That Bottom Bar Hotness

Tim — Fri, 31 May 2019 09:00:48 +0000

The latest redesign for Google Play is now hitting user devices, spotted by the fantastic folks over on reddit. The major change is the addition of a bottom bar for navigation. There are dedicated sections for Games, Apps, Movies, and Books. Previously, these sections were at the top of the app, and honestly, it was a pretty funky UI to navigate. This seems much better.

Of course, you'll also notice that essentially the entire UI has been whitened. We assume this move, like the other Google apps to receive this treatment, is in anticipation for Android Q's dark mode that is currently in beta testing. If you have yet to receive this redesign, you can either be patient or follow the link below to be taken to a download page.

// reddit

#TBT: 8pen is Just as Painful in 2019 as It Was in 2010

Tim — Thu, 30 May 2019 14:10:03 +0000

If you have been following Android for a while, then maybe you'll remember 8pen. The app was a keyboard replacement, but unlike Swype or SwiftKey, 8pen was a complete reimagining of what we know as a keyboard. 8pen used gestures and swipes for input, and after trying it for 10 minutes, I quickly realized that I didn't want to relearn how to type. Considering the app never took off, it's safe to assume that is what most people felt. We've actually done a #TBT post about 8pen before, back in 2016, but at that time, there was no downloadable 8pen experience. That changed in late 2018, when an app called Vi8 was launched as an "Unreleased" app on Google Play. It's still there today, and with it, you can experience what we went through back in November, 2010. I will say, it's brutally difficult to use. From what I've gathered after 5 minutes of frustration, the center circle is your space bar. Hold down your finger in the center, then with swiping motions with your finger, circle the letters you want to make out a word. When a word is complete, let go. Then tap the center for space, then start all over again on the next word. It's a blast from the past that will surely kick your ass. Could you see yourself using this keyboard in 2019? I still think it looks exceptionally cool, just not very practical considering the effort it takes to learn how to use it. Google Play Link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3OuCR0EpGo

Google Maps Can Now Show You Photos of Popular Dishes at Restaurants

Tim — Thu, 30 May 2019 13:10:11 +0000

I heard a long time ago that if you go to a restaurant and there are pictures of food on the menu, don't expect anything life changing to come out of that kitchen. In direct opposition of this, Google is making an effort to turn restaurant menus into a very visual experience. Earlier this week, they announced that Google Lens can recognize dishes on a menu, then show you photos of the dishes. Today, the Google Maps team is announcing something similar. The new feature is called Popular Dishes, which uses machine learning to recognize what dishes people are talking about in their reviews of any particular place. As you look up a new place to eat on Google Maps, the app can show you photos of those popular dishes.

Simply pull up a restaurant on Google Maps to find its popular dishes in the overview tab. Feeling extra peckish? Dive into the menu tab to scroll through all the most-talked about meals, and tap on a popular dish to explore reviews and photos. In a country where you can’t read the language? Maps will also translate the reviews for you too.

Google says the feature is available right now for users on Android, while those with an iOS device will have to wait a while for it to come. // Google

Not Back: Galaxy Note 10 Reportedly Ditches Headphone Jack, All Buttons

Kellen — Thu, 30 May 2019 11:26:28 +0000

It never fails, guys. This never-ending saga of the world hating Kellen by providing the opposite of what I hope will happen, continues. Just this morning, I talked about how the smartphone world appeared to be warming back up to the idea of the headphone jack again, since we have seen the majority of phones feature one this year. And now, hours after that write-up, we get a report suggesting that Samsung is killing the 3.5mm port in the upcoming Galaxy Note 10. I mean, lol. A rumor shared by Android Police says that Samsung will finally follow the 2016 trend of eliminating a popular port from its Galaxy Note line. Not only will the Note 10 lack a headphone jack, but there will be no buttons on the device either. This isn't the first time we've heard that the Note 10 might ditch physical buttons for touch sensitive areas. This is the first time since last October that we've heard again that there might not be a 3.5mm port. The report also suggests that there will be two models of the Note 10, a smallish version alongside a bigger version. We've heard this before too. Assuming this is true, Samsung deciding to kill the headphone jack is a sad scenario to consider. As the biggest smartphone maker in the world, continuing to keep that port in their best phones while also continuing to improve on design and features proved that the excuses for leaving it out were bogus. Displays and batteries have gotten bigger in Samsung phones, they've added more cameras, and high levels of water resistance remains, yet they didn't need to cut like others have. As for the no-button setup, well, HTC proved that to be a terrible thing on multiple levels. Good luck, Samsung. // Android Police

Plex Update Exits Beta, Brings Refreshed UI and Picture-in-Picture

Tim — Thu, 30 May 2019 11:14:25 +0000

Plex announced that an update featuring a refreshed UI and new features has exited beta for Android users and is now rolling out. Inside, the updated look offers a new video UI, the same as what's available currently for music playback. In addition, folks running a compatible version of Android will now see picture-in-picture available. Here's the full list of highlights, straight from Plex. What's New

Updated UI - Experience video with the same elegant user interface as music
Picture-in-Picture - Press the home button during video playback to enter PIP mode. Enjoy other apps or browse through your Plex library while continuing to watch videos
Better Seeking - Scrub along the seekbar by dragging to see a thumbnail preview (note this requires that previews be enabled in your Plex Media Server) OR double tap the left or right side of the video to seek backwards or forwards quickly
New Viewing Modes - Change the display mode to fill, stretch and show the video at original size (under Playback Settings > Display Mode). Watch videos with your phone in portrait, landscape-lock can be used to keep landscape only mode (under Playback Settings > Lock to Landscape)
Chapters - Jump ahead or skip back to your favorite chapter without digging. around for the right spot
Preload Next Videos - When the countdown takes place on the post-play, the next video in your play-queue begins to buffer for an instant start

Go grab that update, Plex fans. Google Play Link // Plex

Silly Name and US Unavailability Aside, the $245 Meizu 16Xs Looks Impressive

Tim — Thu, 30 May 2019 10:06:53 +0000

Meizu, a company we hardly ever discuss because their phones are not readily available in the US, has me wishing just a little bit that America and China were getting along. With pre-orders up in certain markets and priced at around $245 is the Meizu 16Xs, a budget smartphone that looks like something not made for a budget. The phone features a 6.2" Samsung-made AMOLED display, Snapdragon 675 processor, 6GB RAM, 64GB storage, 4,000mAh battery, tripe rear-facing camera setup (featuring a 48-megapixel shooter), in-display fingerprint reader, and some sweet backside color options. While you can find a few Meizu devices on Amazon, this phone is not scheduled to launch in the US. You'll be able to find it in some Asian and European markets, but for us in the US who always want more options, it shan't be coming. And again, this is a $245 phone. If the camera setup is even somewhat decent, those specs speak for themselves. It looks like a solid phone. Who do we have to elect in 2020 to get some Meizu, Huawei, and other Chinese OEM action in the US?

Sprint Launches Mobile 5G Network in 4 Markets

Tim — Thu, 30 May 2019 08:41:52 +0000

Sprint's mobile 5G network goes live today in four markets: Atlanta, Dallas-Forth Worth, Houston, and Kansas City. In the coming weeks, Sprint says it will also launch in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Phoenix, and Washington DC. Once those nine markets are lit up, the 5G network should cover around 11.5 million people. What's important is the type of 5G network Sprint is launching. Unlike Verizon's mmW network, for example, Sprint is using mid-band spectrum, combining both 4G LTE and 5G in what's called dual-connectivity. In doing so, Sprint is able to get 5G out to a broader area and to more people in less time. However, the speeds probably won't be the same as what you would see from a 5G mmW site.

RELATED: List of all US 5G cities by carrier

As Sprint details, "At the foundation of Sprint 5G is Massive MIMO, a breakthrough technology that dramatically improves network capacity. Sprint is using 64T64R (64 transmitters 64 receivers) 5G Massive MIMO radios from Ericsson in Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and Kansas City. These radios support split-mode, enabling Sprint to simultaneously deliver LTE Advanced and 5G NR service. Sprint’s 5G Massive MIMO radios run on its 2.5 GHz mid-band spectrum, and they are deployed on Sprint’s existing 4G cell sites, providing a nearly identical footprint for both 2.5 GHz LTE and 5G NR coverage."

Sprint's First 5G Markets

Atlanta: Sprint 5G covers approximately 150 square miles and 565,000 people from downtown to Dunwoody!
Dallas-Fort Worth: Sprint 5G covers approximately 575 square miles and 1.6 million people across the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area serving Irving and downtown Fort Worth, including Sundance Square, Las Colinas, and the North Dallas area from Preston Hollow to Addison.
Houston: Sprint 5G covers approximately 165 square miles and 800,000 people across the cultural center of Houston from downtown to Memorial City Mall/City Centre Plaza.
Kansas City: Sprint is the first wireless operator to launch 5G in its hometown, with service covering approximately 225 square miles and 625,000 people from downtown Kansas City, MO, to Overland Park, KS where the company is headquartered.

And just because you may be in an area where 5G now exists, that doesn't mean your phone is going to automatically pull faster download speeds. You need a compatible device. Currently, Sprint is advertising the LG V50 ThinQ (available in retail stores tomorrow), HTC's 5G Hub, as well as the Galaxy S10 5G (launches this summer). If you're on Sprint and live in one of these areas, let us know if you plan on picking up a 5G-capable device. We want to see some speed tests! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94tHT0HV71k // Sprint

Is the Headphone Jack Back?

Kellen — Thu, 30 May 2019 07:14:57 +0000

It took "courage" from Apple to start us down the headphone jack-less path in 2016. Motorola wasn't far behind them. Google followed their leads in 2017's Pixel 2 by suggesting USB-C and digital audio were better audio. OnePlus joined the party in 2018 after ribbing competitors for years for ditching 3.5mm ports. All signs from the past three years suggested that the 3.5mm port was only a couple of random sightings away from becoming extinct. Something seems to have changed, though. Is the headphone jack back?

UPDATE: Samsung may now be ditching the headphone jack in the Galaxy Note 10. You can't make this sh*t up.

For 2019, we've seen a lot of headphone jacks. Samsung's entire Galaxy S10 line-up has them. The LG G8 has one, with a Quad DAC to boot. Huawei's P30 has one (the P30 Pro does not). The mid-range Pixel 3a and 3a XL have them. And now the Moto Z4 has one, even as Motorola was one of the original 3.5mm killers. So far in 2019, it's more rare to not have a headphone jack than it is to have one. When the initial cuts began to happen, we heard a lot of ~~excuses~~ reasons for doing so. Companies needed to make room for more battery or they wanted to trim bezels, so they left out the headphone hole. If we were going to get to an all-display world with the slickest designs, something was going to be removed and it happened to be the 3.5mm port. But as we have seen in 2019, those reasons weren't exactly true. The Galaxy S10 line is as all-display as it gets, with almost zero bezel and the biggest batteries for the Galaxy S to date. The Moto Z4 is still stupid thin, with its largest display, and a whopping 3600mAh battery. The Pixel 3a and 3a XL have bigger batteries than the Pixel 3 and 3 XL. All of these phones found room. And look, Google admitted when they released the Pixel 3a that headphone jacks are important because "a lot of people [already] have headphones." They acknowledged that flexibility for customers is a good thing and that forcing you to go out and buy additional digital headphones (probably) isn't necessary. In other words, the space excuse was never a real excuse, they all just wanted to match Apple's courage. So is the headphone jack back? We'll have to wait and see what happens in the 2nd half of 2019, but you can almost bet ~~with certainty that the Galaxy Note 10 will have a 3.5mm port~~ (maybe not!). Will the Pixel 4? That might be the true decider over whether or not we can point fingers at all of these companies and say, "Hah ha, you were wrong."

Moto Z2 Will Get 5G Moto Mod Access Later This Summer

Kellen — Thu, 30 May 2019 06:00:52 +0000

The Moto Z2 Force, as old as it is, will get access to 5G, thanks to the 5G Moto Mod that provides it to the Moto Z3 and Z4. Motorola announced the news today alongside its unveiling of the Moto Z4. How can a 2-year old phone that runs a Snapdragon 835 possibly find 5G connectivity. In case you forgot, the Snapdragon 835 is the same chip that's in last year's Moto Z3 and it's able to use the 5G setup within the 5G Moto Mod to connect to Verizon's new 5G network. It's actually not that surprising to learn that Motorola can make this work. A specific date for Moto Z2 5G access wasn't given, but Motorola tells us to expect it to arrive this summer. Once that arrives, Motorola will have three phones capable of accessing Verizon 5G.

Moto Z4 is Official at $499.99, Keeping the Moto Mod Dream Alive

Kellen — Thu, 30 May 2019 06:00:00 +0000

Some dude may have ordered a Moto Z4 on Amazon before Motorola got around to announcing it, but things are now official. The Moto Z4 is here! What should you know? It's the 4th generation Moto Z device, works with all of the currently available Moto Mods, will get 5G support through the 5G Moto Mod, and brings back the headphone jack. It sports a 6.4" full HD OLED display, Snapdragon 675 processor, 4GB RAM, 128GB internal storage (with SD support), and a 48MP rear camera that pixel bins down to 12MP. You'll find a 3600mAh battery with fast charging, an optical in-display fingerprint reader, and support on all major US carriers. The Moto Z4 features a Night Vision in the camera, the clean Android software experience we all love from Motorola (it's Android 9 Pie too), and a battery that Motorola says should last at least 2 days. The display stretches edge-to-edge with only a front camera notch in the way and the back utilizes 2.5D curved glass to give a better in-hand feel than previous Moto Z phones. Speaking of previous phones and Moto Mods, Motorola is keeping them alive, but just barely. Moto doesn't have any new Mods to announce alongside the Moto Z4, so if you didn't find it necessary to own any of the old ones, nothing is going to change for 2019. With that said, if you do own Moto Mods from previous Moto Z years, they'll all work here. They may not fit that well because of the slightly curved backside, but they'll work. The Moto Z4 will go on sale June 6 as an unlocked unit for $499.99 at Best Buy, B&H Photo, and Amazon. At that price, Motorola is tossing in a free Moto 360 Moto Mod. Pre-orders open today. Verizon will sell the Moto Z4 on June 13 for a limited time price of $240 with new lines. Everyone else at Big Red will pay the unlocked price. Want the 5G Moto Mod from Verizon? It's still available for $199.99. Pre-order: Motorola | Amazon | B&H Photo | Best Buy

Moto Z4 Unboxing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iuP1RPlBgI

Moto Z4 Specs

[table id=165 /]

DEAL: Anker Roav Bolt Car Charger With Google Assistant is $10 Off, Down to $40

Tim — Wed, 29 May 2019 15:35:23 +0000

Need Google Assistant in your vehicle? Well then, Anker's Roav Bolt car charger with Google Assistant built-in may be for you. Priced at $40 for a limited time on Best Buy, which is $10 off the usual price, this little car charger comes with Assistant and Bluetooth connectivity, allowing you to get turn-by-turn directions read aloud to you and music playing all via your voice. The charger supports fast charging, plus it features far field mics for hearing your commands. As Kellen put it in our original announcement post, "With a product like this in your car, you can use your voice to get turn-by-turn audio directions, play music, call or text people, check on your calendar, and control your smart home." Cool, right? If you want one, follow the link below. Best Buy Link

What Are the Odds: Google Play Begins Requiring Games With Loot Boxes to Disclose the Odds

Tim — Wed, 29 May 2019 14:16:49 +0000

Loot boxes are a major part of the video game industry right now. Basically, inside of a lot of games you may already play, you pay for a randomized prize, with the odds always being substantially low to receive anything considered cool, let alone valuable. To help gamers with this, Google will begin to require game developers to make public the actual odds, also known as probabilities, of scoring something good. Noted by Android Police, the language Google chooses to use is very straightforward with how odds should be provided to potential in-game buyers.

Apps offering mechanisms to receive randomized virtual items from a purchase (i.e. ‘loot boxes’) must clearly disclose the odds of receiving those items in advance of purchase.

Thankfully, a lot of big titles have already gone ahead and have been disclosing this information in their games for a bit. For example, Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes began offering Pack Probabilities in August of last year. The same goes for recently-released Godzilla Defense Force, which states that the chances of getting a 5 star-level card in certain packs is 4%. In other packs, it's a lowly 1%. The preemptive disclosing of this information likely stems from the various lawsuits and legislature that is popping up all across the world. Let's just say, if you have to ask what the odds are, they probably aren't very good. But hey, at least we'll know for sure just how bad they are. // Google Developers | Android Police

Google Lens Upgrade With Dining and Translations is Rolling Out

Tim — Wed, 29 May 2019 12:17:56 +0000

At Google I/O earlier this month, Google announced new features for Google Lens, a couple of which appear to be rolling out right now. The two that we're seeing available are instant translations, as well as web photo retrieving for restaurant menus. The first one is self explanatory, but for the menu one, let's say you're at a restaurant and not sure what a menu item is. You can now point Google Lens at the item, then Lens will return photos of what the dish is. Who knows, maybe you'll finally be able to get something other than the Pad Thai at your go-to Thai spot. On a personal note, if you're not trying the larb, you're doing it wrong. What we should also be seeing soon is a "popular dishes" feature that goes along with the menu photos. At I/O, the company said we'd soon be able to determine which dishes were the most popular via a cross reference of the menu against online reviews of the restaurant. That will be super handy when going to new locations to eat. Be sure you're running the latest Google Lens update by following the link below. Google Play Link https://twitter.com/Google/status/1133775387836551168

Google Says Digital Wellbeing Isn't Slowing Down Your Pixel Phone, but Something Else Is

Kellen — Wed, 29 May 2019 11:32:30 +0000

Earlier this month, a bunch of Pixel 3 owners decided that turning off Digital Wellbeing was instantly improving the performance of their laggy phones. We talked about it at the time because it was big-if-true type of news, but also because the Pixel 3 was suffering from performance issues and we'll try anything to help it out. Google finally responded to the idea that its help-you-unplug-more software was a problem by suggesting on reddit that we were all wrong. The official PixelCommunity account said the following yesterday:

Thank you for bringing this to our attention and sharing bug reports with us. We’re committed to continually improving Pixel based on user feedback. We conducted a thorough analysis based on the bug reports and internal testing, and have found no performance issues associated with the Digital Wellbeing app on Pixel. During the investigation, we identified changes unrelated to the bug reports for improving performance, and we are in the process of rolling out those changes to make your Pixel device better. As always if you experience issues related to performance or any other aspect of Pixel, please review the troubleshooting steps in our online support tool or reach out to customer service.

So it sounds like they took a serious look at Digital Wellbeing's performance and found no evidence that it was bad for your phone. However, that testing helped Google identify changes they could make that will help with performance, though they are unrelated. Google is in the process of getting those changes ready for Pixel devices. To recap, your brain was tricking you into believing that Digital Wellbeing is a supporter of slowness, according to Google. There are other issues slowing down your phone and they hope to roll them out (likely in an update) soon. // reddit | 9to5Google

OnePlus Still Won't Give Us an Always-on Display

Kellen — Wed, 29 May 2019 09:33:24 +0000

Motorola introducing their Active Display on 2013's Moto X paved the way for the always-on display, a feature that is arguably one of the most important to a modern smartphone. Being able to see the time, date, weather, and awaiting notifications at all times, without having to touch your phone or speak to it is a wonderful convenience. LG gave us that beautiful always-on action first in 2015 (on an LCD too!), before Samsung and Google followed with their own interpretations. It's basically a standard feature at this point. Well, it's standard unless you own a OnePlus phone. Yesterday, in a forum post setup to respond to user comments or suggestions, OnePlus said that they are once again only considering an always-on display option with their new OnePlus 7 Pro. That's pretty disappointing when you consider that the $400 Pixel 3a has this same type of feature that OnePlus can't figure out for a $700 phone. OnePlus explained that an always-on display is "still under consideration," but that they "are working on improving power consumption efficiency for this feature before we implement it." Here's the thing - they said the same thing with the OnePlus 6. Not only that, but the OnePlus 6 arrived on doorsteps with an always-on display option that was removed through a day 1 update. OnePlus said at the time that there were battery concerns, yet here we are a year later still making the same excuse for not including a feature that all major competitors have. It's a weird deal too, because OnePlus phones are built with everything necessary for an always-on display. They use AMOLED panels, which work the best in an always-on environment. They already have the basics setup with ambient display controls that light up portions of the screen when notifications arrive or if you tap the display once. It's all there! I'm not sure I'd call this a dealbreaker level omission from OnePlus, because the OnePlus 7 Pro is a fantastic phone (our review), but leaving out a feature this important isn't something I want to see from a phone that's supposed to get me away from Google and Samsung phones. While I lived with it during my 7 Pro testing, not having an always-on display was a constant area of frustration for me after coming from phone after phone that just had it.

Amazon Echo Show 5 Up for Pre-Order, $89 for a 5.5" Alexa-Powered Smart Display

Tim — Wed, 29 May 2019 08:43:09 +0000

Amazon announced a compact version of the Echo Show today, and instead of calling it what I imagine was the obvious choice, which would have been Echo Show Mini, they decided to call it the Echo Show 5. Echo Show 5 features a 5.5" HD display, front-facing camera, built-in speaker, plus all of the functionality of a larger Echo Show in a more compact $89 package. It comes in either Charcoal or Sandstone. Considering the standard Echo Show costs $229, the $89 is price is somewhat insane in terms of affordability. Google's alternative, the Nest Hub costs $129, so already this is probably very tempting for fans of Alexa. The device is up for pre-order on Amazon right now, with the launch date set for June 26. Amazon Link

Open Beta Update for OnePlus 6, 6T Brings Zen Mode and Screen Recorder Features

Tim — Tue, 28 May 2019 14:56:33 +0000

A new open beta for the OnePlus 6 and OnePlus 6T is bringing a couple of features from the newly launched OnePlus 7 Pro, as well as other various optimizations. The big additions are Zen Mode and Screen Recorder. For Zen Mode, this feature is OnePlus' way of telling you it's time to put the phone down for a bit. When enabled, it turns off all non-critical aspects of the device for 20 minutes, though, you can customize it however you want. The other is Screen Recorder, which is a built-in... you guessed it, screen recorder. Here's the full log.

What's New

System
- Fixed the bug where Facebook messenger pops up notifications when in gaming mode
- Improved smooth-scrolling experience
Message
- Supported PIN-TO-TOP for notification category (India Only)
Network
- Support Telia Denmark VoLTE/VoWiFi
Zen Mode
- Added Zen Mode feature
Screen Recorder
- Added Screen Recorder feature
Communication
- Optimized the logic of dialing a contact while using two SIM cards

If you're a 6 or 6T owner, follow the link below to get the update. // OnePlus

OnePlus 7 Pro has Hidden Bottle Opener

Kellen — Tue, 28 May 2019 13:23:26 +0000

It doesn't really have a hidden bottle opener, but a crazy person used the selfie camera on the OnePlus 7 Pro to open a bottle. Watching that happen will give you instant anxiety, in case you are interested. The subtle flex of the camera backwards until it appears to reach a breaking point, only to then thrust off the bottle cap, is a motion that will make my teeth cringe every time. What the hell, man? https://twitter.com/rushilandrews/status/1132321422934626305 Please don't do this with yours. Or you could, just make sure to send us the video of it.

DEAL: SanDisk 200GB, 256GB, and 512GB MicroSD Cards are so Cheap Today

Kellen — Tue, 28 May 2019 12:42:02 +0000

Amazon's deal of the day today includes big discounts on "PC products and accessories," which normally wouldn't grab our attention except there are a bunch of heavy price drops on SanDisk's best microSD cards. 512GB, 256GB, and 200GB SanDisk cards are all available with some of their lowest prices. The best deals are on the SanDisk Extreme 256GB and 512GB cards. You can grab these at $43 or $140, respectively, with both offering A2 speeds for Android apps and the fastest read and write speeds. If you don't need that much storage or your budget is limited, the 200GB Ultra card is still plenty fast with an A1 rating and can be had for $25. This is a today-only thing, folks, so get after it.

SanDisk Extreme 512GB A2 microSD ($139.99)
SanDisk Extreme 256GB A2 microSD ($43.19)
SanDisk Ultra 200GB A1 microSD ($25.00)

DEAL: Pixel 3 and 3 XL Down $200 on Google Store, Starting at $599

Tim — Tue, 28 May 2019 11:38:20 +0000

For those in the mood for some sweet Pixel Experience action, the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL are down $200 from their usual pricing on the Google Store, which makes the Pixel 3 start at $599 and the Pixel 3 XL start at $699. Is that a good deal? Well, if you want a Google phone that isn't made with an exterior of plastic, features water resistance and wireless charging, these will be good options for you. Yeah, buddy! Google Store Link

T-Mobile Galaxy S8, S8+, and Note 8 Updated With April Security Patch (Updated)

Tim — Tue, 28 May 2019 10:41:58 +0000

T-Mobile customers with a Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+, or Galaxy Note 8 should be seeing the *April* security patch hit their devices some time this week. In each of the device changelogs, T-Mobile simply lists, "security fixes." It's pretty vague, but it's better than no changelog at all. Once updated, S8 owners will be on software version G950USQU5DSD3, the S8+ will be on G955USQU5DSC1, and the Note 8 will be on N950USQU5DSD3. Get on it, Galaxy peeps! Update: Apparently it's the April security patch, not May's. We don't have an S8 or Note 8 to confirm, but either way, security update! Thanks, Christopher! // T-Mobile [2] [3]

Samsung has Plans for 100W USB-C Chargers

Kellen — Tue, 28 May 2019 09:00:23 +0000

Fast charging is arguably one of the greatest mobile inventions of recent years. Speeding up the time it takes to charge your phone, which more than likely still to this day has poor battery life, is a rare game-changing type of feature. And we've seen charging speeds get faster, while remaining safe. Just look at what OnePlus is doing. Samsung is now ready to get in on the next level of charging too. Today, Samsung announced two new USB-C power delivery (PD) controllers, SE8A and MM101, both of which will be able to handle 100W charging (20V / 5A). They feature embedded Secure Elements to add a layer of security, as well as eFlash, so that their software can be modified to meet the latest charging specifications. These new controllers meet USB-PD 3.0 standards, so they'll be able to charge or power everything from your smartphone to tablets, laptops, and monitors. Will Samsung push 100W charging to your next phone? That's tough to say. What we're likely looking at are chargers that'll be able to push 100W, but only on compatible devices. I'm not sure we have a phone yet that can handle that much fire. // Samsung

Report: Galaxy Fold Release in June is Unlikely

Tim — Tue, 28 May 2019 08:55:32 +0000

We know that Galaxy Fold lovers are still waiting to hear from Samsung concerning a new launch date for the device, after Samsung delayed launch following multiple broken review units on account of pocket lint, user error, and just regular usage. According to a new report from South Korea, the device is now not expected to launch in June, which was an initial guess-timation from industry analysts for its official launch. Apparently, it's taking quite a while to redesign and rebuild the phone in a way that won't allow it to break in such an easy fashion. If you ordered through Best Buy, you'll already know that your pre-order was cancelled. The whole situation is a real downer. Foldables were supposed to usher in a new age of mobile devices, but as with most things in life, there are always going to be a few bumps in the road. My hope is that Samsung can ensure the strength of the new Galaxy Fold design or else people may begin to lose faith in folding tech. And that goes especially for the US, since there is no way we're going to see a launch of Huawei's foldable on our soil. It's all up to you, Samsung! Oh, and Motorola too, I guess. We'll continue to update you on Galaxy Fold happenings. // YNA

Some Dude Ordered a Moto Z4 on Amazon, a Phone That Hasn't Been Announced

Kellen — Mon, 27 May 2019 23:44:08 +0000

Motorola hasn't announced the Moto Z4, but some guy found the listing for it on Amazon a couple of days ago and then ordered one. He received that order, if you can believe that, has now unboxed it, and is providing all sorts of information about it over on reddit. You can't make this up. From what we can see from the cached listing at Amazon, the Moto Z4 will cost $499.99. It'll come with 128GB of storage at that price and a Moto 360 Camera Mod. The rest of the specs listed reveal a 6.4" Full HD+ OLED FullVision display (2340x1080) with Gorilla Glass 3, 4GB RAM, in-display fingerprint reader, microSD slot that supports up to 2TB storage, Snapdragon 675 octa-core processor, Adreno 608 GPU, 3600mAh battery with 15W fast charging, USB Type-C port, headphone jack, and unlocked support for all the major US carriers. Everything is exactly like the leaked report we wrote up here a month ago. The rear camera weighs in at 48MP, but that's processed down to 12MP using Motorola's "Quad Pixel" technology. The front camera is a 25MP selfie beast. Since this is a Moto Z phone, Moto Mod support is there in case you didn't grasp that from the included Moto 360 Camera Mod. There appears to be two models going up on Amazon once Motorola announces the Moto Z4 (XT1980). You'll have an Amazon exclusive version with all sorts of pre-loaded Amazon apps, along with another that should be less bloaty. What else is there to know? Ummm, that kind of covers almost all of it. If you want to see more, the unboxing is below. After watching that, head on through the reddit link down there to see sample images. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReMqXAv3ot0 // reddit | Android Authority

DEAL: Google Home Max is Down to $254 Right Now ($145 Off)

Kellen — Mon, 27 May 2019 09:46:04 +0000

Google's largest and loudest Google Home speaker, the Google Home Max, is often overlooked because of its high original $400 price tag. Today, as a part of a Memorial Day weekend sale at Rakuten, you can grab one for as low as $254, which is a heck of a price. To get the $254 price, you'll simply need to apply code "SAVE15" at checkout. With the Google Home Max already discounted (permanently dropped?) right now to $299, this will save you an extra $45 and get your house boomin'. To recap, the Google Home Max features dual 4.5" woofers, customer tweeters, and the ability to sit landscape or upright depending on your space needs. It tries to use its AI smarts to provide you better sound, has Google Assistant ready when called upon, and can pair up with other Google Home speakers.

Shop Google Home Max

Samsung Loves Its Hole Punches, Shares Free Disney/Pixar Wallpapers for Galaxy S10

Kellen — Mon, 27 May 2019 09:31:00 +0000

As companies like OnePlus jump from notches right past the hole punch display phase of the smartphone world, Samsung is doing its best to fully embrace the design choices it made in its most recent phone releases. To kick off this long holiday weekend, Samsung released five Disney-Pixar wallpapers for the Galaxy S10 line-up that are free for you to use. While there is already an entire section in the Samsung wallpaper and theme store for hole punch-specific wallpapers, most aren't free. These new creations are (so are these). The wallpapers feature Olaf from Frozen, two of the kids from The Incredibles, Mickey Mouse, and the sloth from Zootopia. You can find them by searching for "Disney" in the Samsung wallpapers store.

Not seeing any you like or can't use these because you own a Galaxy S10+ with a double-wide cutout? Again, you should open the Samsung wallpaper and theme store to browse around, but know that Samsung plans to release even more wallpapers like this. // Samsung

OnePlus 7 Pro Update Improves Ambient Display, Camera

Kellen — Mon, 27 May 2019 08:59:57 +0000

Your OnePlus 7 Pro should see an update over the next few days if it hasn't already as build 9.5.4 or 9.5.5 depending on where you live. The update isn't large, but does aim to approve a number of items. From a system level, the update optimizes double tap to wake and ambient display while fixing an issue that causes audio delay with Bluetooth headsets. In the camera, OnePlus has tweaked some important areas. You should see improved HDR and low light images, a fix for white balance, and better focusing.

OnePlus 7 Pro 9.5.4/9.5.5 Update

System

Optimized Double Tap to Wake and Ambient Display

Fixed an issue that causes an audio delay with the Bluetooth headset when playing games

General bug fixes and improvements

Camera

Improved image quality in HDR scenarios

Improved image quality in low light

Fixed white balance issue in several scenarios

Fixed focus issue in several scenarios

This a staged rollout, so don't be alarmed if you aren't seeing it right now.

READ: Our OnePlus 7 Pro review!

// OnePlus

DEAL: Samsung's Fast Wireless Charger is 50% Off, Down to $14.99

Tim — Fri, 24 May 2019 13:25:01 +0000

On Samsung's website, you can pick up a fast wireless charger for your fancy new Galaxy S10 or any other device that supports it. We know how much you all love wireless chargers. This charger is one of Samsung's super thin models, measuring in at just under 12mm thin. This means it'll be good for your desk in the office or nightstand and shouldn't get in the way too much. If you need an extra charger laying around or haven't gotten into the wireless charging game yet, this is a good opportunity. Samsung Link

This Summer, Google Will Answer Stadia's Most Important Questions

Kellen — Fri, 24 May 2019 11:03:28 +0000

We haven't heard much about Google's Stadia gaming system since they first revealed it back in March, only that it'll show up some time this year. We still don't know pricing, a list of games to expect, or when we'll be able to sign-up. We'll apparently find all of that out in the next couple of months.

Google's Stadia Twitter account said this morning that "this summer" they'll share the most important info about Stadia. After all, if we don't know how much it costs or which games will be available through the service, it's going to be hard for anyone to get excited about it.

https://twitter.com/GoogleStadia/status/1131953000061243392

We still taking guesses on the monthly fee for Stadia? Anyone think Google will be able to deliver an excellent game catalog?

With Still No Word From Samsung, Best Buy Cancels All Galaxy Fold Pre-Orders

Tim — Fri, 24 May 2019 08:53:31 +0000

We've heard that Samsung has identified the major issues with the Galaxy Fold's design and is working to correct them, but with no new launch date set, Best Buy has gone ahead and cancelled all pre-orders for the device.

While they praise the device for its boundary pushing design, the retailer wants to make sure that it's doing right by its customers.

However, with breakthrough designs and technology come many hurdles and the possibility to face a plethora of unforeseen hiccups. These hurdles have led Samsung to postpone the release of the Galaxy Fold, and Samsung has not provided a new release date. Because we put our customers first and want to ensure they are taken care of in the best possible manner, Best Buy has decided to cancel all current pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy Fold.

This makes sense to us. If Samsung doesn't have a solid date in mind, you might as well as cancel the orders. Best Buy does state that anyone interested in buying the Galaxy Fold, should it attempt to be re-released, can sign up to be notified via its product page.

Let's say the Galaxy Fold did indeed launch. After the issues we saw, would you still want to spend the $2,000 on one?

// Best Buy | The Verge

DEAL: Motorola's Moto G7 is Just $269 Today ($30 Off), G7 Play $179 ($20 Off)

Kellen — Fri, 24 May 2019 08:24:32 +0000

It's Memorial Day weekend, so the sales are-a-flowin'. Motorola has a decent one too, with discounts on the Moto G7 and Moto G7 Play that drop their already-reasonable prices down further. You can buy a Moto G7 starting at $269 or a Moto G7 Play at $179.

What's good about Motorola's G7 line? The G line for Motorola always means quality hardware and software with a budget price. The G line has been their best selling line for years and there's a reason for that - Motorola does budget well. To check out the full specs, hit up this link.

Everyone has these prices, so pick your favorite retailer and go for it.

Moto G7 Deal Links:

Amazon
Motorola
Best Buy

Moto G7 Play Links:

Amazon
Motorola
Best Buy

LG is Finally Pushing a Pie Update in the US: Verizon's V40 ThinQ

Kellen — Fri, 24 May 2019 07:36:06 +0000

Just over a year ago, LG tried to sell the world on this idea that they were finally ready to take software updates seriously by opening a Software Upgrade Center. Since opening that center, I think it's safe to say that they've become one of the worst Android manufacturers when it comes to updating anything. The LG Software Upgrade Center does nothing, as far as we can tell. To prove that, all you need to do is look at the number of Android Pie updates LG has pushed out.

In the US, we might be getting our first Android Pie update today. Today. It's May 24 and Android Pie was released on August 6 of last year. We've seen all of Google's phones, 3-year old OnePlus' phones, and Samsung phones as old as the Galaxy S8 see the updates to Pie before LG pushed this first one.

Which LG phone is getting Pie? The LG V40 ThinQ on Verizon.

The Pie update for the LG V40 arrives as software build V405UA20a with April's security patch.

The update brings new camera features (Cine shot, Story shot, AI composition, YouTube live recording, etc.), Android P's pill gesture navigation, a game launcher, improved notifications, adjusted volume controls over media, and dual app access, where you can run the same app with different accounts.

The update is likely large, so be sure you have plenty of battery and a WiFi connection when checking for it.

Good job, LG. 🙄

// Verizon

DEAL: Buy a Nest Product at Discounted Price, Get a Free Google Home Mini

Tim — Thu, 23 May 2019 15:15:44 +0000

Following the rebranding of a few "Home" products to "Nest" products, the Google Store is having a sale on a whole bunch of items, while also handing out free Google Home Mini units with the purchase.

For example, you can get a Nest Thermostat for just $199 (usually $249) and also get a Home Mini for free. Same goes if you purchase the Thermostat E for $169, they'll just toss in a Home Mini for free.

Related: Nest x Yale Lock, Video Doorbell Review

There are also a few straight up deals that don't offer a free Home Mini. You can get a Nest Secure Alarm system for $299 (down $100), as well as a Nest x Yale smart lock for $249 (down from $279).

There are quite a few offers to look at, so follow the link below if your home is in need.

Google Store Link

Google Duo Now Supports 8 People in a Group Call, Doodles for Video Messages

Tim — Thu, 23 May 2019 13:19:53 +0000

If you're someone with a big family, you'll be happy to hear that Google Duo now supports up to 8 individual callers in a group call. Funny, to me this sounds like an awful time with people talking over one another, but it could be nice for some very loving families.

On top of that, Duo is adding support for adding custom text, doodles, and emoji on top of video messages. If you weren't aware, this video message feature has been around for a bit and can be used as a quick hello if you don't have time for a phone conversation.

The update is now live for Android and iOS!

Google Play Link

// Google

T-Mobile Magenta Replaces T-Mobile ONE and Some Things are Changing

Kellen — Thu, 23 May 2019 11:43:43 +0000

T-Mobile quietly announced a name change to its T-Mobile ONE and ONE Plus plans this morning, while changing a couple of pieces to each. So you know, prices are not yet changing.

The plans are now called Magenta and Magenta Plus and there are three changes to be aware of:

Magenta, which replaces T-Mobile ONE for new customers, now includes 3GB of LTE hotspot data. The previous ONE plan only featured unlimited 3G hotspot. Once 3GB is used up on Magenta, users will fall back to 3G unlimited speeds.
The Magenta plan no longer includes Netflix Standard because Netflix keeps raising prices. Instead, Magenta includes Netflix Basic. If you are a current customer and want to keep Netflix Standard on your ONE plan, T-Mobile will pass on the most recent $2 price increase starting in July. If you don't want to pay that, you can switch to Magenta or turn-off Netflix.
Magenta Plus keeps Netflix Standard for families with no price hike, as far as I can tell.

Again, T-Mobile says that prices aren't going up, so single lines should start at $70 for Magenta and $85 for Magenta Plus. The quality of streaming, international usage, and other features are the same too.

It looks like T-Mobile Magenta launches June 2.

// T-Mobile

Godzilla Defense Force for Android: I'm Already Addicted and Worried for My Digital Wellbeing

Tim — Thu, 23 May 2019 11:02:51 +0000

I have a tendency to get easily hooked on mobile games. The last game I got really addicted to was Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes. Thankfully, the publisher of that game, EA Games, became way too greedy and I was able to quit it entirely. Sadly, a new game that I've only played for an hour has its hold on me -- Godzilla Defense Force.

Without being an expert in tower defense games, I'm going to go ahead and call this is a tower defense game. To put it as simply as possible, you control defenses for cities across the world. The first location you defend is Tokyo. As you go through waves of what appear to be Beedrills from Pokémon, you must upgrade your defenses. To start there is only infantry, but once you have enough coins, you unlock various defenses like heavy tanks and automated turrets.

After a few levels come the boss stages. These bosses are the beloved Kaiju from the Godzilla franchise, as well as other characters from those movies. For example, there's Hedorah, King Caesar, Gigan, Mothra, Mechagodzilla, King Ghidorah, and of course, each iteration of Godzilla that has ever existed. There are even the evolutional forms of Godzilla from Shin Godzilla. If you're a fan of Godzilla, it's awesome to see these characters in animated action.

Anyway, once you beat a boss, you collect their Kaiju Card which you can use to help defend the cities. This is where things get really grindy and grimy. The boss stages can be incredibly hard, so much so that I'm pretty sure they're designed in a way that forces the player to watch advertisements or spend real money to get "Boosts." These boosts include an extra percentage in damage dealt, as well as additional money to upgrade your defenses. I'd say within the first hour of playing the game, I easily watched 5+ minutes of ads. Did you know you can get $100 in free delivery credit from Postmates by using a certain code? Yeah, I didn't know that either until I saw an ad for it about 15 times.

And of course, the entire game is built around this method with no way for removing ads or having it not be a part of the game's experience. Furthermore, this game has a ton of in-app purchases. You can buy Kaiju Cards, upgrades, auto-clicking mechanisms to save your fingers the trouble during gameplay, and plenty more. For some people, this will easily be the worst mobile game they've ever played, but as a Godzilla fanboy, I'm hopelessly in love with it.

If you can stomach the ads and the constant longing the game has for your actual money, check it out. It's fun to watch monsters attack each other.

Google Play Link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBs0JW3SMdg

You Can Now Order Food Delivery Through Google

Kellen — Thu, 23 May 2019 10:37:36 +0000

Google Search, Google Assistant, and Google Maps all now let you order food delivery from some of the biggest food delivery services. That's big because it means you might be able to place orders at your favorite restaurants without having to open a single food delivery app or remember which service you need to order through.

To start, Google says that DoorDash, Postmates, Delivery.com, Slice, and ChowNow are supported, but that Zuppler and others are coming soon.

How does it work? You start with a search for a restaurant. If they are a participating restaurant, you'll see an "Order Online" button in Search or Maps that walks you through choosing items, viewing delivery or pickup options, and checkout. The results will show you if restaurants are available from multiple delivery services too.

Want to try Google Assistant? Ask Google to order food from your favorite restaurants to get a step-by-step process from the Assistant. Again, this only works with participating restaurants.

// Google

NYC Commuters, Rejoice: MTA Now Accepting Google Pay for Select Buses, Subway Rides

Tim — Thu, 23 May 2019 09:13:12 +0000

Announced this week, starting May 31, New York City's MTA will enable the "pay per ride" feature on your supported smartphone with a public pilot at select subway stations and Staten Island buses.

This essentially means you'll soon be using Google Pay to purchase a digital MetroCard.

Part of OMNY, a contactless payment fare system, you can use your phone or wearable to pay for your ticket once the public pilot launches. Once launched, you'll be able to use it to board all Staten Island buses and subway stations along the 4-5-6 lines between Grand Central and Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center. That means no more standing in line, which probably sucks.

Additionally, Google announced that NYC subway riders can ask Google Assistant for real-time transit information from the MTA. For example, “Hey Google, when is the next 4 train arriving?” You'll then receive the answer directly from Assistant, along with walking directions to the station. Google Maps will also be getting a new feature soon, allowing you to see which routes accept Google Pay when you look up directions using public transportation. That's pretty clutch.

Google says this feature will roll out across destinations around the world in the next few weeks, including Melbourne’s myki transit system, the New York City area’s MTA, and London’s TfL.

// Google

Some Verizon OnePlus 7 Pro Owners Seeing Dropped Calls, No Texts (Updated)

Kellen — Thu, 23 May 2019 08:44:56 +0000

The OnePlus 7 Pro, like the OnePlus 6T, has all of the supported network bands to work properly on Verizon. After years of being limited to just AT&T and T-Mobile, the addition of Verizon as a network choice has meant big things around these parts. Since the 7 Pro is easily one of the best phones you can buy today, those long-time Verizon customers are once again choosing OnePlus.

But as with any launch, now that the OnePlus 7 Pro is starting to to find its way into the hands of the public, many of whom are on Verizon, we've heard about bugs or issues. Like with the OnePlus 6T at first, Verizon users are running into issues with calling and text messages.

We've scanned through XDA and reddit threads to find any common complaints and the majority appear to be as follows:

Verizon OnePlus 7 Pro owners have discovered an issue where incoming calls from Verizon iPhone owners are dropped once they are answered. Should the OnePlus 7 Pro owner call them back, the call goes through fine, but they keep dropping when incoming.
Another issue involves incoming calls from non-contact numbers showing as "RESTRICTED."
A bunch are dealing with incoming text message problems.

A likely fix

A lot of this sounds like the OnePlus 6T launch all over again. When that phone launched, issues arose for those who quick-swapped their active SIM card from another phone over to their 6T. As a non-Verizon device, that simple swap without properly registering the phone left it with issues. To fix, many recommended that you call Verizon, escalate the call to an upper-tier support person, and then ask them to add "CDMA-Less" as a feature to your account to fix these things. While that may have worked, Verizon eventually told us the simplest solution that worked well.

Before calling Verizon, you should try to head over to Verizon's site, login, and then jump to My Verizon>My Device>Activate or Switch Device>Activate On an Existing Line, and then follow the instructions that pop-up. This method will properly register your OnePlus 7 Pro with Verizon and should get features properly working, like text messages.

Is it certified?

I should probably point out that it doesn't look like the OnePlus 7 Pro is fully certified with Verizon yet. Well, it could be, but the device is not listed as being certified on Verizon's Open Development site where they've listed properly certified devices for years now. The OnePlus 6T is the only OnePlus device currently showing up there. If it's not certified, that could be another reason for the issues here.

We've reached out to OnePlus to check on certification and also pointed out some of the bugs we just discussed. If we hear back any info, we'll update this post. Until then, try to walk through the steps above to properly register your 7 Pro with Verizon.

UPDATE: OnePlus tells us that the OnePlus 7 Pro is certified for Open Development and that it should be listed soon.

OnePlus 7 Pro owners on Verizon, how are things?

Cheers Scott and Chris!

Quarter of the Calls From Google Duplex are Actually Made by Humans

Tim — Wed, 22 May 2019 16:04:44 +0000

A report from The New York Times was published this week focusing on Duplex, detailing how in some cases, it's not your Google Assistant robot booking a table for you at your favorite restaurant, but instead, an actual human being. Do you feel a little bit deceived? Don't.

According to the report, Google uses a few factors to determine whether a human is better suited for making a call. For instance, if a spam caller is detected to be using Duplex or if it needs to be seen whether or not a place of business accepts reservations over the phone.

It's not just about ensuring there is no spam, though. To help train the AI that powers the service, Google uses humans to start the call a quarter of the time, while 15% start with the AI and are later intervened by a person from the Duplex call center.

Nick Fox, the Google executive overseeing its assistant, said the company was not aggressively trying to eliminate human involvement from Duplex, because that could make the experience for business owners worse. Instead, he said, Google was trying to improve the automated system over time and slowly decrease the need for humans to intervene.

Google has said that soon, we'll be doing more than just booking restaurants with Duplex, but car rentals and hair appointments, too. Ah, the future!

// The New York Times | The Verge

What a Great Time to be a Smartphone Buyer

Kellen — Wed, 22 May 2019 13:52:24 +0000

No matter what kind of budget you have, we are living through a wonderful time to be a smartphone buyer. And that's mostly because no matter the price point, you have an option that will make for an excellent smartphone. You'll have a phone that can take great pictures or outperforms them all, you could buy a phone with the biggest and best display or go with something that works well, fits in your hand nicely, and won't break the bank.

We get asked all of the time which phones we think people should buy. In the past, there were typically only a couple of phones we'd recommend. The problem with those recommendations, is the fact that they weren't always budget-friendly, but they offered the best overall experiences. Today, there are more than a couple of phones we'd recommend that aren't going to require a loan.

Great phones at all budgets

Let's say your budget is unlimited and you want the best of the best. Today, I'd probably tell you to go buy one of the Galaxy S10 phones because there are ~~three~~ four of them to choose from, all of which have their own audiences and include just about every single spec on the planet. If you have $1,000 to spend on a phone, you'll be happy with a Galaxy S10 (our review).

With that said, at the $700 price point, you now have the OnePlus 7 Pro, which some may argue is a better phone than Samsung's, yet will potentially save you hundreds of dollars. But the bigger deal around a $700 OnePlus 7 Pro is this price point that no one else is really filling right now. The OnePlus 7 Pro (our review) not only has a great price, but it sits at that price with specific specs that not even Samsung's phones offer. It has a better display, faster storage, and software that is clean to use and (will be) updated frequently.

So at the top end, you could go wild, spend $1,000, and be happy, or spend hundreds less and probably be just as satisfied. And if your budget isn't anywhere near $1,000, you have an excellent, no compromise option that you may not have had previously.

What if your budget is somewhere in the $400 to $500 range? Well, you now have Google's Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL, two phones that are absolutely winners. You get a software experience to love, updates to them for years, an easy-to-use size, semi-durable outer material (F*ck glass!), and a camera that competes with the best. The Pixel 3a is the first time I can recall that you can spend $400 and have a camera that is probably better than the $1,000 phones I mentioned above.

Choice in size

Pricing aside, companies are giving us choice in size these days too. Samsung's Galaxy S10 comes in four (!) different sizes. You can buy a Galaxy S10 with a smallish 5.8" display up to a 6.7" display. That means you can buy a phone or a freakin' tablet that acts like a phone. I'm kidding, but you get the idea.

Google is also doing it with the Pixel 3 family. With the high-end Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, you get big or large sizes, but that carries through to the Pixel 3a and 3a XL as well. There are essentially four different Pixel 3 models to choose from.

But maybe more importantly, you aren't giving up anything serious when you choose between these sizes. In the past, we've seen "Lite" or "Mini" phones that never came close to matching their more expensive family members. That's all changed now with what we have seen this year from Samsung and Google.

All the recommendations

Again, in previous years, I typically just told everyone I knew to buy whatever Google's newest phone was. The camera and software were the best, their designs were fun, and they didn't fully break most budgets. But now, I won't hesitate to suggest a Galaxy S10 to someone. I won't blink before saying everyone should check out the OnePlus 7 Pro. And I'm certainly now about to tell people with a limited budget that the Pixel 3a is their best option and they won't necessarily be giving anything up.

It feels good to know that there are so many great smartphones choices today.

OnePlus 7 Pro Cameras to Get Better With Next Update, Offer Improved HDR and Nightscape Mode

Tim — Wed, 22 May 2019 13:44:38 +0000

According to a OnePlus staffer on the company's forum, updates are on the way to improve the rear-facing cameras on the OnePlus 7 Pro.

READ: OnePlus 7 Pro Review.

Before we dive into this, I want to say that I think the cameras on the OnePlus 7 Pro are pretty good. I haven't really noticed anything wrong with them, but apparently, others have. To address these concerns, OnePlus has already cooked up an update that should roll out to devices in a "week or so."

The update is said to contain improvements for the HDR effect and Nightscape mode. Other tweaks were done based on feedback from current owners and reviewers.

Here's an excerpt from the lengthy post.

The camera team have been working all the time on analyzing and fixing issues. Every system update contains code from camera of improving the camera quality. I believe some of you receive an update when you got your OnePlus 7 Pro. That’s a significant update for camera and I think you don’t want to miss it. Moreover, we are working on the next update which is going to be rolled out in a week or so. This update contains improvement on the HDR effect and Nightscape mode, and more tweaks based on some feedbacks from you and reviewers. From our test, photos look substantially better.

This is cool, especially since I thought the cameras were already pretty good. DxOMark seemed to think they were pretty groovy, scoring them among the best smartphone cameras on the market. This already good camera is somehow getting better? No argument from me.

OnePlus 7 Pro owners, have you been experiencing not-so-good photos from your phone?

// OnePlus

DEAL: Get $30 Off TicPods Free, Down to $99

Tim — Wed, 22 May 2019 12:09:21 +0000

For a limited time, you can get $30 off the TicPods Free, Mobvoi's own wireless earbuds answer to Apple and its AirPods. At $30 off, the price goes down to $99, which isn't bad at all.

The TicPods Free feature active in-ear detection, noise isolation, touch controls, up to 18 hours of battery life, IPX5 water resistance (sweat resistance), ambient noise cancellation, as well as support for voice assistants. You can also get them in either White (Ice), Red (Lava), or Blue (Navy).

I know Kellen has a pair and he takes everywhere when he travels, so I assume he enjoys them. Hit him up on Twitter and ask him why he never reviewed them, if you're curious.

Follow the link below to get your pair at the discounted price.

Mobvoi Link

Cheers Brandon!

Google Express is Hosting Up to 50% Off Deals for Memorial Day

Kellen — Wed, 22 May 2019 11:33:07 +0000

Google Express fired up a Memorial Day sale today with discounts up to 50% off toys, 40% off for home goods, 35% off for fitness items, 25% off for TVs, 20% off electronics, plus 15% and 10% off codes for other goods. This is apparently Google Express' biggest sale of the year, so get to browsing.

The discounts are sort of all over the place and I can't point to a blanket code that will get you discounts off of everything. Instead, you kind of have to play with some codes, attempt to figure out Google's organization method for Express, choose a retailer to shop from, etc.

Try code "MEMORIAL20," "MEMORIAL15," or "MEMORIAL10" to get 20%, 15%, or 10% off whatever you are shopping for. Those codes won't work on everything, but certain items, like gaming consoles and Anker products, are eligible. There is an Apple code ("APPLEMEM19") to get 15% off too, plus a bunch of individual retailers have their own codes where you could get 40% off.

Need some examples?

Anker's Liberty Air earbuds are $59 with code "MEMORIAL10"
Anker's SoundBuds Slim are $19.79 with code "MEMORIAL10"
Marshall Acton Bluetooth speaker is $103 with code "MEMORIAL10"

Google Express Memorial Sale

Remember Ouya? It's Shutting Down on June 25

Tim — Wed, 22 May 2019 10:27:21 +0000

Ouya, the Android-powered micro gaming console that hit Kickstarter in 2012, shipped in 2013, then got sold to Razer in 2015, will essentially cease to exist on June 25.

According to a post from Razer, which also details the shutdown of Forge TV and MadCatz MOJO's game stores, accounts will be deactivated and content may be hard to play on any consoles that are still out there.

Razer says games that don't require any purchase validation should work fine, but for the most part, it looks like you should just plan on packing up your Ouya or recycling it if you can.

RIP, micro console.

// Razer

Google Search on Mobile Gets Sneakier Ads, Website Branding

Kellen — Wed, 22 May 2019 09:19:20 +0000

Google says that it created a new look for Google Search on mobile that will begin rolling out over the next few days. The changes are subtle to a couple of areas that you may not notice at first glance.

Can you see them in the image above? The old Google Search is on the left and the new is on the right.

Google has tweaked two things from what I can tell. First, they are adding website branding (name) and icons next to results. Google hopes this will help you "better understand where the information is coming from and what pages have what you're looking for." And surely, that little bit of info will help with those two things.

The 2nd change is to the top advertisement. Notice anything there? It now just looks like the new branded area of real search results. Instead of the great box that read "AD," advertisements now say "Ad" with a website following, basically to blend in and look like normal content. Sneaky!

Again, you should start seeing this experience on mobile over the next few days.

// Google

Pie Update Officially Arrives for OnePlus 3, 3T

Tim — Wed, 22 May 2019 08:57:32 +0000

OxygenOS 9.0.2, based on Android Pie, is now publicly available for the OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T.

This launch comes after what feels like a few months of beta testing, and the fact that it's here so relatively quickly is a great achievement on OnePlus' part. As a reminder, the OnePlus 3 launched in June, 2016, so we're talking about a major version of Android update nearly three years after the device's launch. Some companies are having trouble updating their phones to Pie that were released last year.

The changelog for the update lists all of the typical Pie stuff, such as Do Not Disturb changes, the new UI, and more. On the OxygenOS side, OnePlus highlights its new Gaming Mode 3.0, general bug fixes, as well as Google Duo support inside of the Dialer app.

Here's the full changelog.

What's New

System
- Updated system to Android™ 9 Pie™
- Brand new UI for Android Pie
- Updated Android security patch to 2019.4
Do Not Disturb mode
- You can now customize the time range in the new Do Not Disturb mode
New Gaming mode 3.0
- Supported displaying text content of the heads up notifications
- Added notification for 3rd party calls
Phone
- Dialer now supports Google Duo
Camera
- Supports Google Lens to provide you with powerful image recognition experience
System
- General bug fixes and improvements

I'm curious how many OnePlus 3 and 3T owners are around. I mean, OnePlus has certainly pushed out a few devices worthy of an upgrade by now, right? Regardless, if you down own this device, go get that Pie!

// OnePlus

Lenovo Smart Clock Now Up for Pre-Order, Ships Early June

Kellen — Wed, 22 May 2019 08:05:42 +0000

The Lenovo Smart Clock, a cute little smart display that was built for your night stand, is now up for pre-order after disappearing for months following its January CES unveiling. The device costs $79.99 and will ship June 2, according to Lenovo's shop.

As a smart display, the Lenovo Smart Clock will do all the things any smart display would like complete Google Assistant tasks. You can check the weather on it, listen to music, view your upcoming calendar items, and control most of your smart home. It does more, though.

Since this is a clock, it'll properly wake you up with a sunrise alarm that slowly brightens. If you need to snooze an alarm, you can simply smack the top of it. Need to charge your phone on your night stand? It has a USB 2.0 port in the back for your phone cable to plug-in to. How neat is that?

The Lenovo Smart Clock features a 4" display (800x480), MediaTek processor, 1GB RAM, 8GB storage, Bluetooth 4.2, and a mute switch.

At $80, the Lenovo Smart Clock might be one of the best smart home values in tech right now.

Pre-order Lenovo Smart Clock

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExkekRuJNc0

Tuesday Poll: Do You Rock a Case on Your Phone or No?

Tim — Tue, 21 May 2019 14:59:42 +0000

A little over a year ago, we asked you about cases. Since then, Google launched two phones made of plastic, the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL. I don't know why you'd put your plastic phone in a plastic case, but it's certainly a possibility, so now I'm curious to see if the general feelings toward shielding your smartphones has changed.

For me, I've finally grown up and realized that it's better to be safe than it is to be sorry. On my Galaxy S10+ and now my OnePlus 7 Pro, I've been using a case, simply because I'm afraid of having these expensive and relatively delicate items bust into 1,000 pieces. While I hate the added weight and girth, that's the price you pay to protect what you love.

What about you? Are you rocking a case with your phone or do you prefer nudity?

[poll id="515"]

Cheers Daniel!

We Hope Samsung's New 5x Optical Zoom Lens Ships With the Galaxy Note 10

Tim — Tue, 21 May 2019 12:40:48 +0000

A new lens from Samsung Electro-Mechanics, a 5x optical zoom lens to be exact, is now being mass produced and is ready to be placed inside of smartphones.

Currently on the market we have a variety of optical zoom lenses, like the 3x lens found in the OnePlus 7 Pro and the 2x zoom lens in the Galaxy S10. Of course, these phones are capable of a max zoom of 10x, though, your photo quality will be severely limited due to it being digital zoom and not optical. So, with 5x optical zoom lenses forthcoming, this is exciting for mobile photographers.

An interesting tidbit into the development of this lens, it was detailed that the thickness of the current 2x optical zoom lens is around 6mm thick. However, in changing the shape of the lens, these Samsung engineers were able to decrease thickness, with the 5x optical zoom lens measuring in at 5mm thick. So, performance increased while the thickness was reduced. This is great.

The question is, what phone will use this? The obvious assumption is the Galaxy Note 10. Really, besides the reports that it will come in two sizes and that it will offer 5G, there isn't a lot known about Samsung's next S-Pen wielding phone. As we creep closer to launch, that will surely change.

// ET News | SamMobile

New Google Device Stops at FCC With Only Bluetooth (Updated)

Kellen — Tue, 21 May 2019 12:27:27 +0000

A Google device categorized as a "wireless device" stopped by the FCC today that's a bit of a mystery. We have no idea what this product could be, but there are some hints within the FCC docs. The device carries a model number of G022A, which is incredibly close to the Pixel 3a whose model number is G020G. The regular Pixel 3 was G013A. The thing is, the FCC will call a device a smartphone if it's a smartphone. For this device, they only call it a "wireless device." Additionally, the FCC only tested Bluetooth LE. They didn't test cellular radios or WiFi, so I think it's safe to assume this isn't a smartphone. The FCC label for the product is buried within a companion app, so the device likely doesn't have a display and/or is small enough that it might not have room for a label. So what it is? New Pixel Buds? Maybe. A remote of some sort? I don't know what it would be a remote for, that's the thing. Honestly, this is a mystery. Well done, Google, you've kept an FCC filing vague enough to stump us.

UPDATE JUNE 12: It's apparently just some sort of a Bluetooth tag. Maybe a tag that helps you keep track of items in your house or set your Nest security system or trigger routines? (via Android Police)

// FCC

Call of Duty: Mobile Has a Battle Royale Mode

Tim — Tue, 21 May 2019 10:35:05 +0000

Call of Duty fans were likely already stoked about the impending launch of Call of Duty: Mobile. Well, to get fans even more pumped, Activision has gone ahead and announced an additional game mode for the title: Battle Royale.

CoD's first go at Battle Royale was Blackout, available in Black Ops 4. It was a solid mode, though, it didn't quite match the level of fun (in my opinion) other Battle Royale titles offered. In this mobile game, 100 players will drop into a world featuring locations they should be familiar with. There are places like Firing Range, Nuketown, and plenty other fan favorites.

To get around the map, vehicles will be available, plus a massive amount of different weapons will be laying around for you to pwn enemies with.

Interestingly, Call of Duty Mobile's Battle Royale will also let players choose between a first person and third person viewing mode, and depending on which you choose, lobbies will be created based on that. Due to third person views having an advantage in terms of corner peeking, the developers have no intention of placing first person and third person players in the same lobby.

The game's beta has already launched in India, with Australia in line to get it next. Once it comes to the US, we'll let you know.

// Activision

Mmm: Here's the Galaxy S10 in Cardinal Red

Tim — Tue, 21 May 2019 09:07:46 +0000

Mmm, get a load of this, it's the Galaxy S10 in a new color that's supposedly dropping soon -- Cardinal Red.

Thanks to Roland Quandt on Twitter, we now have an idea of how Samsung intends to keep Galaxy S10 sales chugging along, and honestly, you can never go wrong with red. If you were to turn Michael Jackson's Thriller jacket into a phone, this would be it and that's awesome.

Once we have official word on when it's available, or if it's even coming to the US, we'll let you know. It has to be coming here, though, right? Come on, Samsung!

// @rquandt

Verizon Prepaid Offering Double Data and Up to 16GB for $45

Kellen — Tue, 21 May 2019 08:57:50 +0000

Verizon kicked off a new prepaid promo this morning that gets you double data without price hikes. The promotion is for new lines only, but this is a heck of a deal.

With Verizon Prepaid double data, you now get 1GB for $30, 6GB for $35, and a whopping 16GB for $45, as long as you sign-up for autopay.

What else do you get with Verizon Prepaid? The $35 and $45 plans come with mobile hotspot access, plus the $45 plan includes unlimited calling to Mexico and Canada. All prepaid plans are throttled to 480p video, though. Of course, they all feature unlimited talk and text in the US, as well as unlimited 2G speeds should you use up your data bucket.

This is a limited time promo and is eligible for mix and matching with other Verizon plans.

Sign-up for Verizon Prepaid

Verizon Galaxy S10 Family Gets May Security Patch, Camera Enhancements

Tim — Tue, 21 May 2019 08:48:23 +0000

A new update is rolling out to the Galaxy S10 family on Verizon, which includes the S10, S10+, and S10e.

According to the changelog, each phone is getting the May security patch, as well as "camera enhancements."

Software Versions Following Update

S10: PPR1.180610.011.G973USQU1ASD9
S10+: PPR1.180610.011.G975USQU1ASD9
S10e: PPR1.180610.011.G970USQU1ASD9

Get that update, S10 folks!

// Verizon [2] [3]

Adobe's Premiere Rush Video Editor is Now on Android

Kellen — Tue, 21 May 2019 08:41:16 +0000

The cross-platform video editing app that Adobe first announced and released last year on iOS is now available for Android. Called Adobe Premiere Rush, this app is a powerful video editor for mobile that has tools to help you easily share "pro-quality" clips across the web.

Adobe Premiere Rush lets you arrange video, audio, graphics, and photos within a project. You can edit up to four video and three audio tracks, utilize built-in templates (and customize those), add music or voiceovers, change videos between landscape, portrait, and square, and sync it all to the cloud with an Adobe account.

Premiure Rush is free to use for up to 3 exports. It's a part of the $9.99 Creative Cloud All Apps plan too.

At this time, not all Android devices are supported. You'll have to hit that link below to check your own, but I'm seeing in my list that Samsung's Galaxy S10, S9, and Note 9, as well as the Pixel 3, are compatible.

UPDATE: Samsung tells us that its phones get exclusive features, including "GPU optimization for improved editing performance, HDR10+ support and Samsung DeX support, which allows users to extend their content to the big screen too." Supported Samsung phone owners also get a 20% discount off 1-year Premiure Rush subscription.

Google Play Link

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

// Adobe

Bose is Adding Google Assistant to a Bunch of Speakers Today

Kellen — Tue, 21 May 2019 07:00:05 +0000

Google and Bose announced this morning that the Google Assistant is coming to a number of Bose smart speakers and soundbars through a software update.

The Bose Home Speaker 500, Bose Soundbar 500 and 700, and a new speaker called the Bose Home Speaker 300 (above), will all get Google Assistant. Once updated, you'll be able to fire up the Assistant using the "Hey Google" hotword before asking it to perform tasks. In other words, they should perform like any other smart speaker with Google Assistant.

The automatic update will begin rollout starting today to supported speakers. To begin using Assistant, you'll head into the Bose Music app where you should find a "Voice Settings" area that'll let you select Google Assistant and walk-through a setup. If you aren't seeing that, you may need to wait until that update arrives.

If you are buying a new Bose smart speaker, setting up Assistant will be a part of the setup process.

Amazon Links:

// Google

Android Q Beta Now Available for OnePlus 7 Pro

Kellen — Mon, 20 May 2019 14:28:58 +0000

OnePlus 7 Pro shipments should be arriving any day now after going on sale last week. Should they hit your doorstep, consider updating to Android Q if you like to live life on the spicier, less stable side of things. OnePlus just released Android Q Developer Preview (Beta) for both the OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro.

OnePlus admits in a forum post for the Android Q beta that this is not exactly a build built for most of you. In fact, this Android Q build is "best suited for developers and early adopters," those who don't mind a bug or seven.

READ: OnePlus 7 Pro review!

The current list of known issues/bugs includes ambient display not working, general system stability issues, broken SMS when on VoLTE, navigation gestures not working, and more. It's a "beta," folks.

If you are interested in testing this, OnePlus lays out the full instructions through the forum source link below. Updating to Q is actually pretty easy and only involves downloading a zip file, dropping that on your phone, and then heading into settings to flash it. OnePlus also has instructions to rollback to the stable OxygenOS too, should you flash Q and hate it.

Buy OnePlus 7 Pro, get $10 to spend on accessories

Ready to try it (I wouldn't)? Jump through the link below.

// OnePlus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0j8AxKCF1hM

FCC Chairman is Cool With T-Mobile-Sprint Merger (Updated)

Kellen — Mon, 20 May 2019 11:21:53 +0000

T-Mobile and Sprint haven't given up on an attempted merger, even as antitrust officials have raised concerns and they've had to push their deadline back. Their plans got a boost today, thanks to FCC chairman Ajit Pai, who weighed in with his approval, suggesting that T-Mobile and Sprint have committed to "significant steps" in order to help make America a wireless leader.

Pai released a statement saying that because T-Mobile and Sprint have committed to covering almost the entire country with 5G over the next three years (97% of the population), increasing buildout of their mid-band spectrum holdings, creating another home broadband choice for rural customers who don't have many, and selling off Boost, Sprint's prepaid brand, he is willing to recommend an approval.

He notes that if they fail to meet these commitments, T-Mobile and Sprint would "suffer serious consequences" that amount to billions of dollars in payments to the US Treasury.

Pai will recommend that his colleagues approve the merger in the coming weeks.

https://twitter.com/AjitPaiFCC/status/1130460929781567488

UPDATE: The FCC may think that T-Mobile and Sprint together would be good for this country, but the Justice Department is still in opposition, according to Bloomberg. The remedies proposed over earlier concerns do not go far enough to resolve antitrust concerns, it seems.

Google Calendar and Keep Get Dark Modes

Tim — Mon, 20 May 2019 10:50:58 +0000

Via its G Suite blog, Google announced the official arrival of Dark Mode for Google Calendar and Google Keep.

I don't think I need to explain what Dark Mode is, but in case you don't know, it will darken the UI of these apps when enabled. This makes for easier viewing when in low-light conditions.

To enable on Google Calendar, you'll go Settings > General > Theme. In Google Keep, you'll go Settings > Enable Dark Mode.

Google states that most Calendar users should see Dark Mode within 15 days from May 16, and for Google Keep, users should have it within 15 days from May 20.

// Google

Cheers Charles!

Some Pixel 3a, 3a XL Owners Running Into 'Random Shutdown' Issue

Tim — Mon, 20 May 2019 10:24:18 +0000

Over on reddit, numerous Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL owners are reporting a random shutdown bug that is causing them to seek replacement devices from their original place of purchase.

The shutdown event appears to happen very randomly with no particular cause found. However, when it does happen, a long press of the power button is required to trigger a device reboot. That seems to fix the issue, until it happens again.

There's no telling how many people are affected, but if reddit is any indication, it doesn't appear to be too widespread of an issue. Google has yet to make an official comment on the matter.

If your phone is experiencing anything like this, we suggest returning it for a new one. We'll update you as the story develops.

Has your Pixel 3a or 3a XL behaved oddly at all?

// reddit [2] [3]

Huawei Loses Access to Android Updates Amid US, China Trade Dispute (Updated)

Tim — Mon, 20 May 2019 08:54:21 +0000

Yesterday, a report from Reuters detailed that Google had suspended business with Huawei that requires the transfer of hardware, software, and technical services except those publicly available via open source licensing. In layman's, Huawei would lose access to Android updates for existing phones as well as access to Google services for any upcoming devices.

This move by Google stems from an executive order signed by President Trump last week, which placed Huawei and 68 of its subsidies on a trade blacklist.

Naturally, all of this has Huawei owners worried. The official Android account on Twitter sent out the following tweet, clarifying that services like Google Play and security services from Google Play Protect would continue to function properly on existing Huawei phones.

https://twitter.com/Android/status/1130313848332988421

What followed was Huawei's response, which focused on supporting existing customers.

Huawei's Response

Huawei has made substantial contributions to the development and growth of Android around the world. As one of Android’s key global partners, we have worked closely with their open-source platform to develop an ecosystem that has benefitted both users and the industry.
Huawei will continue to provide security updates and after-sales services to all existing Huawei and Honor smartphone and tablet products, covering those that have been sold and that are still in stock globally.
We will continue to build a safe and sustainable software ecosystem, in order to provide the best experience for all users globally.

It's the last line that rings quite clear. It's been known that Huawei has been working on its own in-house operating system, an OS that Huawei could use to replace Android on its range of devices. It's not clear if that drastic of a step needs to be taken just yet, but Huawei keeps getting hit with blow after blow by the US government.

Should the US and Chinese government not resolve the current trade dispute, Huawei owners and fans will definitely feel the ramifications.

As the story evolves, we'll keep you updated.

Update (5/20): Reuters reports that the US Commerce Department has stepped in, slightly scaling back the restrictions placed on Huawei. The company has been issued a temporary general license, which restores Huawei’s ability to maintain existing networks and provide software updates to existing handsets.

The temporary license lasts until August 19.

// Reuters | The Verge

Samsung Bringing One UI to Wearable Lineup This Week, Highlights Better Battery and Cleaner UI

Tim — Mon, 20 May 2019 08:24:42 +0000

Samsung announced that it is bringing One UI to its lineup of smartwatches starting this week, watches that include the Galaxy Watch, Gear Sport, and Gear S3.

As the company details, "This latest deployment of One UI, Samsung is bringing a bolder, cleaner and more simplistic interface, designed to eliminate unnecessary distractions for more comfortable usability."

For the most part, we agree with that. In our Galaxy S10 reviews, One UI has been a major factor in why we like those devices, so it'll be interesting to see how it translates onto a smartwatch.

What's New

Besides the new UI, there are two major changes. For one, Samsung says battery life should be better -- "The update features improved battery optimization for better performance and longer use."

The other is for health and fitness tracking, which is apparently only coming to the Galaxy Watch. According to the press release, "Samsung Health now displays the Daily Activities screen upon opening the app, as well as streamlined workout tracking, and improved heart rate and sleep monitoring."

If you own a Samsung smartwatch, be on the lookout for this update. Sweet.

// Samsung

We've Got Big Android R Screenshot News!

Kellen — Fri, 17 May 2019 14:15:57 +0000

OK, the news isn't really that big, but it does involve Android R (I know, already) and screenshots.

Because Google's stock Android features only a limited set of screenshot controls, unlike the robust controls you see from Samsung, people have complained to them about it from time to time. I did about a year ago, actually. I wrote an entire piece requesting that Google add screenshot scroll capture, because almost every other phone manufacturer on the planet had built it into their own skins, on top of Android. It's a standard feature at this point, unless you own a Google phone.

According to Dave Burke, VP of Wear OS Mockery (he's actually Android's VP of engineering), that specific feature will finally come to Android when Android R shows up. Well, maybe. Burke said on Twitter today that they "added scrollable screenshots to the hopper for Android R and hopefully can land it in that release." So that's no guarantee, but an acknowledgement that they could add it. Great.

https://twitter.com/davey_burke/status/1129450018669252608

That's all I've got. See, it's not that big of a deal. I misled you.

// Android Police

Friday Poll: What's Your Least Favorite Google Phone?

Tim — Fri, 17 May 2019 13:50:34 +0000

Google has released a lot of phones over the years, but if we're being brutally honest, which we typically always are, not all of them have been great.

To name a few examples, the Nexus 6 was waaaay too large for the time, the Nexus 4 lacked LTE, a few of them had poor camera experiences (Nexus 4, Galaxy Nexus), and I know some of you will probably say the Pixel 3 XL is super ugly with its notch.

So now, it's time to vote! In your opinion, what Google phone is your least favorite? For extra credit, feel free to tell us why you feel this way in the comments below.

[poll id="514"]

Podcast: OnePlus 7 Pro!

Kellen — Fri, 17 May 2019 10:16:23 +0000

On this episode of the Droid Life Show, it's a show mostly dedicated to the OnePlus 7 Pro. OnePlus' new top tier phone is official and it's a good one. The 7 Pro has almost every single spec you could want, a beautiful display, fast storage, great software, and a camera that can finally keep up. We've reviewed it already, so let's dive into it.

After that, we've got thoughts on the Pixel 4, some Pixel 3a news, and an update on Verizon and Sprint 5G happenings.

Trivia is back again! We've got a whole bunch of goodies to giveaway from our friends at NVIDIA.

We'll be live at 12:00PM Pacific (3PM Eastern).

Minecraft Earth Turns Your Entire City Into a Playable Sandbox, Beta Coming Later This Year

Tim — Fri, 17 May 2019 09:22:29 +0000

Microsoft unveiled Minecraft Earth this week, an augmented reality title that is set to turn your entire real world into a playable sandbox.

Much like Pokemon GO, players will use their phone to interact with things that placed around the real world. And according to Microsoft, the game stays very true to the core fundamentals of Minecraft, but there's been a blending of the traditional creative and survival modes.

In a conversation with The Verge, Minecraft Earth director Torfi Olafsson says, "We have covered the entire planet in Minecraft. Every lake is a place you can fish, every park is a place you can chop down trees. We’ve actually taken maps of the entire world and converted them to Minecraft."

I'll be honest, this sounds dope. To get a good idea of what to expect, watch the below trailer.

The beta is scheduled to go live this summer for iOS and Android devices. Follow the link below to get yourself signed up.

Beta Registration Link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYKxBKj29dI

// The Verge

DEAL: Amazon Joins the $100 Gift Card Pixel 3a, 3a XL Club (Updated)

Kellen — Fri, 17 May 2019 09:21:07 +0000

The other day, we pointed out that Amazon had become an official retailer for Google's new Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL. At the time, they had not yet added a bonus for purchasing from them, like Best Buy, Google, and B&H Photo were doing. They are now, though.

If you buy a Pixel 3a or Pixel 3a XL today from Amazon, they'll toss in a $100 Amazon gift card. Again, Best Buy, B&H Photo, and Google were/are doing the same thing for their respective stores, but I think it's safe to say that most would love an Amazon gift card to use on anything over those others.

Amazon appears to have run out of stock, so if you do take advantage, be ready to wait a couple of weeks for your Pixel 3a to arrive. Most models are out of stock with 1-3 week delivery dates.

UPDATE: Amazon's listings are weird and apparently require special links for some models and colors. Individual links below.

Pixel 3a (Purple)
Pixel 3a (Black)
Pixel 3a (White)
Pixel 3a XL (Purple)
Pixel 3a XL (Black)
Pixel 3a XL (White)

OnePlus 7 Pro Now Available for Purchase!

Kellen — Fri, 17 May 2019 07:29:12 +0000

The OnePlus 7 Pro is now available for purchase with a starting price of $669. As of this morning, you can buy the OnePlus 7 Pro in either Mirror Gray or Nebula Blue. Each color has its own RAM and storage setups that can raise the price up to $749.

Should you buy the OnePlus 7 Pro? It's a really good phone. Really good. It's huge, but it's got a lot going for it. That big 90Hz QHD display is gorgeous, you'll have enough RAM and storage to get you through years of use, the software is fantastic, and the cameras are finally solid. We reviewed the 7 Pro, so you should probably read through if you have any questions.

The OnePlus 7 Pro will work just fine on T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon. It has the bands for Sprint, though I'm not sure if it'll actually connect to their network or not.

The configurations are priced as follows:

Mirror Gray (6GB RAM + 128GB storage) - $669
Mirror Gray (8GB RAM + 256GB storage) - $699
Nebula Blue (8GB RAM + 256GB storage) - $699
Nebula Blue (12GB RAM + 256GB storage) - $749

If interested, the link below is our referral link and it'll get you $10 to spend on accessories if you buy the OnePlus 7 Pro.

Buy OnePlus 7 Pro, get $10 to spend on accessories

Shop OnePlus 7 Pro

Google Tries to Clarify "Works With Nest" Death, Teases Future Features

Kellen — Thu, 16 May 2019 14:50:26 +0000

Last week at Google I/O, Google made a fair attempt at pissing the entire world of smart home product owners off to the fullest extent. While announcing that Nest was becoming Google Nest, they simultaneously announced that the "Works with Nest" program would come to an end and be replaced with "Works with Google Assistant." Why is that a big deal? Well, it could potentially break a whole bunch of smart home setups that aren't reliant on Google Assistant.

Today, Google isn't necessarily backtracking on that upcoming change, but did offer to clarify how this is all about to go down.

Here are the two big things you need to know from a Google blog post:

Your existing devices and integrations will continue working with your Nest Account, however you won’t have access to new features that will be available with a Google Account. If we make changes to the existing WWN connections available to you with your Nest Account, we will make sure to keep you informed.
We’ll stop accepting new WWN connections on August 31, 2019. Once your WWN functionality is available on the WWGA platform you can migrate with minimal disruption from a Nest Account to a Google Account.

Make sense so far?

Google also wants you to know that after "Works with Nest" ends, they'll "deliver a single consumer and developer experience through the Google Assistant," which already works with thousands of partners and even more devices.

But what about more advanced routines and such that you have setup through Nest using Home/Away status? Google says they'll enable this later this year with Google Assistant by improving upon it. They provide an example of you leaving your house and all of your smart light bulbs automatically turning off. Cool. Great.

As for Amazon Alexa support, they are working with Amazon to allow for continued use by migrating the Nest integration over, plus they'll still let you pull up camera feeds on an Alexa devices with a screen, like Echo Shows. When it comes to other 3rd party companies, they'll need to run through a security audit before being allowed in.

You good with all of that? Probably nothing you can do if you aren't.

// Google

Question: What Phone From Back in the Day Would You Buy in 2019 if They Updated the Specs?

Tim — Thu, 16 May 2019 13:39:02 +0000

As a bit of a #TBT, I have a fun question for you.

Let's say Motorola, Samsung, or whoever decided to re-release one of its old phones, but updated the internals to go along with what we have in 2019. For example, a Galaxy Nexus with a QHD display and Snapdragon 855 processor. Or maybe an OG DROID with FHD display and dual rear cameras?

I get that most of you will likely choose whichever hardware you're most fond of, but that's fine. Have some fun with it. For me, while it'd be fun to say the Galaxy Nexus or OG DROID, I'm going to have to go with the HTC One X. I loved the body of that phone, and if they re-released it today with updated specs and maybe a redesign of the front side (to get rid of the touch buttons and enlarge the display, I could totally see myself buying it.

I might also consider a redone Moto X. I'd love to get my hands on some real wood or leather backsides again.

What about you? What phone would you like to see get a spec update and re-release?

Cheers Andrew for the idea!

Here is Verizon's 5G Network Downloading at Gigabit Speeds

Kellen — Thu, 16 May 2019 12:12:36 +0000

Verizon is showing off download speeds using the newly-launched Galaxy S10 5G today, probably because they opened up the network a bit following a few weeks of testing. After peaking well under 1Gbps in early April, Verizon's 5G network is now pushing beyond 1Gbps with Samsung's new phone.

I'm guessing they needed to do this to try and keep up with the milestones that AT&T continues to brag about. In a world filled with stupid "firsts," AT&T has already marched past 1Gbps and onto 2Gbps, though they don't currently sell a phone that can do what Verizon's S10 5G just did.

The speedtest below, which is run by Verizon's George Koroneos, shows a top speed close to 1.1Gbps. That's substantially faster than what we saw back during the initial launch in April using a Moto Z3 with attached 5G Moto Mod. Just keep in mind that these are tests on a network with almost no devices competing for bandwidth.

Wondering why the video cuts off just before showing the upload speeds? That's because Verizon hasn't enabled 5G uploads. Their 5G network still utilizes 4G LTE on the upload side of things.

Hey, it's fast, though!

https://twitter.com/GLKCreative/status/1129002038703120385

Details Aplenty for Call of Duty Mobile Revealed: Game Modes, Maps and More

Tim — Thu, 16 May 2019 10:43:48 +0000

Activision released new details for Call of Duty: Mobile this week, including a look at the titles in-game UI, as well as specifics on what game modes will be available, characters you'll see, and playable maps.

For maps, fans of the franchise will be happy to see maps from the entire history of Call of Duty. Some of my personal favorites are included, such as Firing Range, Standoff, and Hijacked. There are plenty others, too, all listed below.

As for game modes, expect to see most of the popular modes, with exception to Search and Destroy. Activision appears to be releasing Free For All, TDM, Hardpoint, and Domination to name a few. The publisher says these are just the first modes, so it's entirely possible more modes will come, such as Kill Confirmed and SND.

It should also be noted that bringing Call of Duty to mobile is no easy task, especially in terms of controls. However, Activision says it's spending a lot of time tuning all of this, including 17 sliders just for tweaking your aim sensitivity. That will be nice to have.

Here's the list of new info we have.

Game Modes

Free-For-All: The classic every-player-for-themselves deathmatch.
Frontline:After spawning at a team base, defeat players on the opposing team.
Team Deathmatch: The classic defeat-players-on-the-opposing-team mode.
Hardpoint: Capture and hold the hardpoint to earn points.
Domination: Capture and hold the designated positions to gain points.

Maps

Nuketown
Crash
Hijacked
Crossfire
Standoff
Killhouse
Firing Range

Characters

Alex Mason, the CIA operative, special agent, and Marine Force Recon Captain (retired), from the Call of Duty: Black Ops franchise.
David “Section” Mason, son of Alex Mason, SEAL Team member and J-SOC Commander from Call of Duty: Black Ops II.
Thomas A. Merrick, a Captain, former Navy SEAL, and Commander of the Ghosts, from Call of Duty: Ghosts.
Simon “Ghost” Riley, the skull-textured, balaclava-wearing British special forces lieutenant from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
John “Soap” MacTavish, the British special forces demolitions and sniping expert from the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare franchise.
John Price, the special forces captain with the Bravo Six alias from the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare franchise.

Pre-Registration

For those who want to get in on the beta action, you can follow this link. Activision expects the beta to go live this summer.

// Activision

Uh Oh: After Robert Downey Jr's Kiss of Death on HTC, He's Moving Onto OnePlus

Tim — Thu, 16 May 2019 09:43:09 +0000

This is the end, OnePlus fans. The company has brought on Robert Downey Jr. to help sell devices, and if history is any indication, we should expect to see OnePlus marketshare take a steep decline sometime in the next couple of years, followed by complete irrelevance.

I kid, I kid! I'm referring of course to those times HTC used the great RDJ to sell its phones, but as we all know, it didn't end up helping HTC. By no means do I think RDJ is to blame for HTC's demise. Or do I? I might.

For a marketing campaign in Asia, you may begin seeing RDJ's lovely face alongside the OnePlus 7 Pro. You may also see him in front of a McLaren sports car, which in this context is used to symbolize speed and sexiness. Those are hot words.

There is absolutely no telling how much money OnePlus is spending on RDJ to be the face of its phone, but given RDJ's place in pop culture right now, it has to be a boatload of cash. It was reported at the time he was used by HTC that the company had a $12 million deal with him. Since then, The Avengers has become the biggest thing ever, so we assume he's getting that cheddar.

The Verge made a funny by saying OnePlus paid RDJ instead of adding an IP rating to the device. It's certainly a funny notion, though, it's safe to say that the company's marketing budget is separate from its product development budget. Marketing is pretty important these days and we also assume the cost of RDJ hasn't been passed along to the consumers, unlike the price of an added IP rating might do. Guess we may never know, though.

// The Verge

Sprint's First 5G Devices, LG V50 and HTC 5G Hub, Up for Pre-Order Tomorrow

Tim — Thu, 16 May 2019 09:06:09 +0000

Sprint announced availability and pricing for its first two 5G compatible devices, the LG V50 ThinQ and HTC 5G Hub.

Both devices will be available for pre-order starting tomorrow (May 17), with general availability beginning May 31. However, when I say general availability, I'm not referring to the whole US. Instead, I'm referring to very select markets, four cities to be exact.

Customers in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, and Kansas City will have first access, followed by Sprint's "other 5G markets" -- Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Phoenix, and Washington DC.

Pricing

For a limited time, Sprint will be offering the devices at promotional pricing. During that time, you can get the LG V50 for $24/month with $0 down on a Sprint Flex lease. According to Sprint, that's half off the lease price, with the suggested retail price of the V50 listed at $1,152. Ouchies.

For the HTC 5G Hub, the price will be $12.50/month, another 50% savings. The Hub's SRP is $600. Sprint notes that you can activate the device with 100GB of "high-speed data" for $60/month.

Sprint 5G

We honestly haven't been hearing all too much about Sprint's 5G network, though, it appears to be going live in the aforementioned areas quite soon, hence the release of these devices.

As the company puts it, "Sprint expects to launch the largest initial 5G coverage footprint in the U.S. across all nine market areas. Using a key 5G technology, dual-connectivity (EN-DC), Sprint will deliver LTE and 5G simultaneously to customers’ devices, enabling faster speeds and a better overall experience."

Interested buyers will be able to pre-order both devices from the below link starting tomorrow.

Pre-Order Here

// Sprint

Verizon's Galaxy S10 5G is Now Available Without Much of a 5G Network

Kellen — Thu, 16 May 2019 07:38:02 +0000

The Samsung Galaxy S10 5G has arrived at Verizon. The pre-order period is done and you can walk into a Verizon store today to grab one if you want to own the biggest, fastest of the Galaxy S10 devices. Just keep in mind that your chances of locking onto a next-gen 5G network are incredibly slim, so rushing out to buy one immediately might not be the smartest decision you have ever made.

UPDATE: Here is the Galaxy S10 5G hitting 1Gbps speeds on Verizon's network

To recap, the Galaxy S10 5G sports a 6.7" display, 4 rear cameras, 4500mAh battery, 8GB RAM, and choices of either 256GB or 512GB storage. It costs $1,300 or $1,400 depending on the storage amount, or you can go with a monthly payment plan and pay at least $54.16/mo.

Verizon currently has the "limited time" exclusive on this version and will use it to try to get people excited about their 5G network. Unfortunately, Verizon 5G is still only in parts of Minneapolis and Chicago. If you live anywhere else in this country, you cannot currently use this phone and attach to Verizon's 5G network.

RELATED: 5G sucks because 5G is confusing

Now, that'll change before the end of the year as Verizon tries to fire up 30 or so markets (here are the next 20). Still, even with a rollout to more markets, you shouldn't expect to connect to Verizon 5G very often. Current wireless 5G is mostly setup as 5G mmW, a type of 5G that's meant for cities, doesn't cover much distance, and works best when you are standing out in the open with a direct line of sight to it. If you aren't constantly meeting those requirements, you'll probably be on 4G LTE or with a not-that-impressive "5G" signal.

Buy if you'd like, but I'd suggest holding off on anything 5G-related for another year.

Buy Verizon Galaxy S10 5G

// Verizon

Amazon Now Sells Google's Pixel 3a and 3a XL

Kellen — Wed, 15 May 2019 16:31:13 +0000

Google and Amazon haven't always been friends, but as the animosity between the two has seemingly calmed over the past year, we've seen positive sharing, like nice playing over YouTube and Amazon Prime Video, as well as the sale of select Google products on Amazon's store. With the launch of the Pixel 3a an Pixel 3a XL, it looks like Amazon and Google have expanded their relationship.

Listings for both of Google's new Pixel 3a phones are now live at Amazon, with some models shipping immediately, while others are slightly delayed.

These appear to be official listings too (like you'll find with the Pixelbook or Slate or Chromecast), not products being sold through Amazon from other 3rd party dealers like you might find the with Pixel 3. These are sold and shipped by Amazon. And that's an important distinction, as it helps with returns, means fast Prime shipping, and could also mean killer deals on the Pixel 3a down the road.

For now, you may not want to buy either from Amazon, though. Remember, Best Buy, B&H Photo, and Google are all offering $100 gift cards or credit with purchase. So far, it doesn't look like Amazon has joined that promo.

Amazon Links:

MicroSD Fans, Your 1TB Card From SanDisk is Now Available for $450

Tim — Wed, 15 May 2019 14:51:47 +0000

Fans of phones with expandable storage, time to put your money where your mouth is. 😛

SanDisk has released its 1TB microSD card, priced at just $449.99. Currently, you can order one on SanDisk's online store, but you can also pre-order it through B&H Photo. Amazon has a listing for it, but it's apparently not available for purchase yet.

I'm not exactly sure who needs this card, but I'm sure people that do, do indeed exist.

Have at it.

Purchase Links

SanDisk Link | B&H Link | Amazon Link (Currently Unavailable)

OnePlus 7 Pro: First 10 Things to Do!

Kellen — Wed, 15 May 2019 13:30:58 +0000

We know that more than a few of you are planning to buy the OnePlus 7 Pro when it goes on sale May 17. I can't say I blame you either, since this phone has so much going for it. Should you buy the newest from OnePlus, we've got you covered on the first 10 things you should do with the phone right out of the box.

READ: OnePlus 7 Pro review!

In this latest "First 10 Things to Do" series entry, we cover the items first worth tackling on your 7 Pro. From setting up both face unlock and the in-display fingerprint reader to utilizing that 90Hz display and various other display options (Night and Reading Mode, Calibration, etc.), this should get you going nicely. You'll also find walk-throughs of the various gesture controls, how to get your home screen setup properly, which utilities to consider, and how to access the three separate cameras in the OnePlus 7 Pro, as well as all of its modes.

Buy OnePlus 7 Pro, get $10 to spend on accessories

Excited for Friday?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0j8AxKCF1hM

Among Stiff Competition, Google Better Bring the Heat With the Pixel 4

Tim — Wed, 15 May 2019 12:02:38 +0000

We received an email from a reader in our inbox last night, asking what the Pixel 4 needs to have in order for it be competitive in the current field of smartphones. They suggested that since Google faces competition not only externally from the likes of Apple, Samsung, and OnePlus, but also internally with the launch of the mid-range Pixel "a" phones, the company would have to deliver something pretty incredible to gain any traction.

I agree with this, though, it still remains to be seen if the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL are or will eat into the larger Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL sales. And because Google is Google, we'll never know those exact figures. However, what we can determine from the company's recent earnings call is that Pixel 3 and 3 XL sales were not where Google had hoped they would be. Even with an enormous marketing campaign behind them, it appears Google must have had really high hopes for its latest flagship phones.

Alas, we're looking forward to its next phone lineup now, presumably the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL. What will these phones need to include and offer in order for people to spend their money on them?

What We'd Like to See

Back in March, a couple of Pixel 4 concept renders hit the web and everyone seemed to get rather giddy about them. To me, they look like Pixel versions of the Galaxy S10 lineup, which isn't a bad thing, but if this is what Google were to produce, it only confirms that Google is a solid year behind other leading OEMs in the hardware design department.

Due to its release schedule, when Google releases a phone with a massive notch (Pixel 3 XL) or in this conceptual case a front camera cutout in the display, consumers have already seen this design for months and it automatically makes the design feel old and dated. This isn't the feeling you want to manifest in customers who are the same people you're trying to sell an expensive device to.

Thankfully, the reader who emailed the initial question also tossed along a few suggestions of things they'd like to see in the Pixel 4 and 4 XL. They said it's time for Google to include a second rear-facing camera, at least 6GB RAM, and also that the next-generation Google Assistant ship with the phones. You know, the one that was highlighted at this year's Google I/O.

In my mind, all of these things are a given. There is no doubt that Google heard plenty of feedback from the power users that 4GB of RAM simply isn't enough in 2019. For cameras, we've praised Google for having one of the best camera experiences of any smartphones while only having a single shooter, but the argument for more versatility from additional lenses is getting stronger. The single lens can already handle standard and wide shooting angles, so my recommendation would be for a telephoto lens. It's a very handy thing to have. As for the new Assistant, Google already announced that it's coming to Pixel phones later this year, so shipping with the new Pixel 4 and 4 XL or at least getting it shortly after launch seems like a sure thing.

As for hardware design, I don't want Google to step away from what makes its phones look Googley. The Pixel line has always looked pretty unique, especially when the company produced the original Pixel in Really Blue and the Pixel 2 XL in Black & White. Really, just give us a few unique colors and I'll be happy, not including Purple-ish. On a more personal note, I think that one looks really bland and awful.

When it comes to cutouts and notches, you have multiple issues that stem from various features you want to include. These issues are countered in various ways from different OEMs, but the main questions are: Where will we place the front camera or stereo speakers even though people want small bezels? People don't mind a notch but ours is too big? Wait, now people don't want display cutouts even though we gave them small bezels and no notch? People don't want pop-up selfie cameras even though it eliminates bezel and the display cutouts?

We know that pleasing everyone is impossible, but for me, I'd be just fine with a display cutout or pop-up selfie camera. I think both of those solutions are better than an attached notch. Here's a few desired specs to get your brain percolating.

Desired Specs

90Hz+ OLED Displays
Snapdragon 855
6GB+ RAM
128GB+ Storage
Dual rear cameras
Bluetooth 5.0
NFC
Stereo Speakers
Large batteries, at least 3,800mAh for the XL
Wireless Charging
IP67+
Headphone Jack
Awesome Color Options
Maybe a 5G Model?

The Competition is Stiff

While Google will always have those fans that will only buy a Pixel phone, we have to consider that in order to gain more marketshare, the company will need to steal customers from other companies. We're talking about the Samsung fans that love everything Samsung does, as well as the OnePlus fans that care a lot about affordability. It would also be cool to steal a few iOS people, simply because having more Android fans is never a bad thing.

Competition has never been more fierce in the Android space. Samsung arguably released its best phones ever in the Galaxy S10 lineup and will likely follow that up with the best Galaxy Note to ever hit the market. The Note 10 will probably be a beast in specs, and of course, look gorgeous. Recently, two noteworthy Note 10 tidbits made headlines. 1: The Note 10 may come in multiple sizes. This is major for anyone who ever thought the Note was the king of phones, but just a little too large for their pocket. 2: The Note 10 will have 5G connectivity. With 5G beginning to pick up and become available in the US, a phone having 5G could be a dealbreaker for buyers in those areas.

And let's not forget the newly announced OnePlus 7 Pro. It couples very nice hardware with top tier specs along with a price that seems almost too good to be true. This phone proves that we might've been overpaying for smartphones, even though it may lack a few things that people consider must-haves for a smartphone in 2019 -- things like an IP rating and headphone jack. The phone is $669, people! Either way, with OnePlus now on a US carrier, we can't deny that people will buy it, as evidenced by OnePlus' US sales boost of 249% within the first 30 days of OnePlus 6T availability.

On the bright side, Google's Pixel exclusivity deal with Verizon could be coming to an end. With the Pixel 3a and 3a XL available for purchase through nearly all major US carriers (basically everywhere except AT&T), this seems like a good sign that more people will have access to carrier pricing plans for the Pixel 4. That equates to more sales, but this all remains unclear and unconfirmed.

Make it Undeniable, Google

Google needs a phone or a pair of phones that are undeniable. With the Pixel 3 and 3 XL, buyers could quickly point to things they didn't care for, such as the XL's obnoxiously large notch or both device's sub-par amount of RAM. It's things such as those that can weigh heavily on a decision to purchase, and instead of that, we need phones that have zero compromises. Honestly, I don't care if we have to spend the money in order to make it happen, let's just give the people what they want and see what happens.

How about you? What do you need to see from the Pixel 4 in order for you to pull that trigger later this year?

You Probably Need to Replace Your Google Bluetooth Titan Security

Kellen — Wed, 15 May 2019 11:51:04 +0000

If you own one of Google's Titan Security Keys, there's a chance that you need to get it replaced. Specifically, the Bluetooth dongle from the original Titan Security Key has a known vulnerability that Google has been made aware of and is offering to replace yours for free if affected.

The "bug," as Google refers to it, has a misconfiguration that leaves open the possibly for an attacker to align a series of events in order to gain control of your Bluetooth key and then access your account. The chances of everything aligning might be slim, but there is still a chance. For more details on how exactly that'll work, hit up the source link at the bottom of this post.

How do you know if you need a replacement? See the image above? If your Bluetooth Titan Security key has a "T1" or a "T2" on the bottom of it, you need a replacement. To get a replacement, you should head to google.com/replacemykey. Just make sure you are signed-in with the Google account used when you purchased the Titan Security Key and that link will recognize that you are eligible for a replacement. Follow the instructions there to get your free one.

What should you do if you have a bad key? Google recommends using your bad key to sign-in one last time from a secure space where no one is within 30 feet, and then immediately unpairing it. If you don't do that and own a phone that'll pick-up the June security patch next month, your phone will automatically unpair it.

What about the USB and NFC keys in the Titan Security Key package? You can keep using those. This "bug" does not affect them.

// Google

T-Mobile to Customers: You Get a Spatula, You Get a Spatula, and You Get a Spatula

Tim — Wed, 15 May 2019 10:15:20 +0000

Summer is just about here and T-Mobile is celebrating in the best way possible -- free spatulas for T-Mobile Tuesday!

The T-Mobile-branded spatulas will be available next week on Tuesday (May 21) via the T-Mobile Tuesday app, featuring a handy dandy bottle opener at the end of the them. Wicked awesome.

T-Mobile hasn't provided details on how to claim, but if it's anything like past swag giveaways, it likely involves you heading to your nearest T-Mobile retail location and picking it up. While driving somewhere can suck, this is a free spatula we're talking about.

T-Mobile customers, let the BBQ prep begin!

// TmoNews

Motorola's One Vision Won't Come to the US, But It Looks Nice

Tim — Wed, 15 May 2019 08:59:36 +0000

Motorola announced a new Android One-powered device this week, the One Vision, except US buyers won't find it on their favorite retailer's shelves. Instead, the phone is headed to Brazil, where Motorola has found stable success in selling phones, followed by Mexico and then other parts of Latin America and Europe.

For specs, One Vision features what Motorola calls a CinemaVision display, measuring in at 6.3" diagonally with a resolution of 1080 x 2520 (21:9). The display also features a cutout for the 25-megapixel front-facing camera. Inside you'll find a Exynos 9609 processor from Samsung, 4GB RAM, and 128GB of storage, which seems generous considering the €299 (about $335) launch price.

On the backside there is a dual camera setup, consisting of a 48-megapixel shooter and an additional lens that captures depth data. As noted, the 48MP camera doesn't actually shoot 48MP images, but instead, uses a QuadPixel technique that provides 12-megapixel images with "four times the light sensitivity."

Again, you won't find this phone in the US anytime soon, but should you be in a market where it's sold, it's a good looking device.

// Motorola

Google Announces More Ads for Your Favorite Mobile Services

Tim — Tue, 14 May 2019 14:52:15 +0000

Ads play a major part in our internet. It's sad, but true. Anyone who pays attention knows that ads are a major part of Google's core business and with that being said... announced today, you will soon be seeing a lot more ads inside of Google's most used services on mobile, such as Google Images, Discover, and YouTube.

What's funny about Google's announcement is that it's written in such a way as to impress both advertisers and consumers, but we know anyone who isn't already a fan of ads isn't going to be very fond of these new ad placements. However, do note that Google intends on delivering a very nice ad experience in these cases.

According to Google, consumers expect useful, swipeable, and visual experiences from their ads.

Today, shoppable ads on Google Images allows you to highlight multiple products within your sponsored ad. We’re also bringing Showcase Shopping ads—a highly visual ad format that incorporates rich lifestyle imagery—to even more surfaces like Google Images, the feed on Discover, and soon YouTube, places where we know people are looking for inspiration and ideas.

As an example, when using Google Images for certain things like living room furniture, you may come across a gallery ad that can be opened and explored. Since Google tracks these searches, you may then find an ad for something related inside Discover. And because Google really wants to ensure you're being served relevant content, you'll also see ads when browsing videos on YouTube.

It appears that ads for Google Images and Discover are already rolling out, but the new ads in YouTube are "coming soon."

Just FYI!

// Google

Artist Behind OnePlus Wallpapers Releases Entire App With Hundreds of 4K Wallpapers

Tim — Tue, 14 May 2019 13:01:03 +0000

The artist behind the wallpapers found on OnePlus devices, Hampus Olsson, has done his usual blog post that shares all of the new wallpapers you'll find on the OnePlus 7 Pro. However, this release is a bit more exciting, as he has also announced the release of Abstruct, an entire wallpaper app featuring 300+ wallpapers in 4K resolution.

Inside the app, you'll find various works from Olsson, as well as all of the work done for OnePlus (including the new OnePlus 7 Pro wallpapers). There are various categories to choose from, too, such as Void, Poly, Topology, and Paranoid. I've gone over most of the wallpapers and I'm in love.

The app is free to download, though, some of the wallpapers are behind a reasonably priced paywall of just $1.99. This in-app purchase gets you all of the wallpapers and all future wallpapers that come to the app. Plus, you're supporting an artist that makes some great work.

Follow the link below to get the app.

Google Play Link

// Hampus Olsson

Poll: You Buying a OnePlus 7 Pro?

Kellen — Tue, 14 May 2019 12:28:55 +0000

Alright, time to see the numbers. Are you planning to buy the OnePlus 7 Pro?

In case you need to catch-up, we've got a OnePlus 7 Pro review for you, Tim already saying that he's ditching his Galaxy S10+ for one, and availability this week with a starting price of $669. You might need to make a decision in a hurry if you want to be one of the first in the US to own this big, beautiful phone.

Buy OnePlus 7 Pro, get $10 to spend on accessories

So, are you?

[poll id="513"]

OnePlus 7 Pro Review: Big Phone Lovers, Your Phone is Here

Kellen — Tue, 14 May 2019 12:00:55 +0000

It's here, guys - the OnePlus 7 Pro is official and we've spent a lot of time with one in recent weeks getting to know its every capability. As you now know from the announcement, this is OnePlus' most ambitious phone yet, where they basically spared no expense. Of course, going all out has meant a big price increase, but I would argue that consumers are willing to pay as long as the product delivers.

With its first QHD display, no notch or hole punch, next-gen storage, super fast charging, a familiar design, and a triple camera setup, is this going to be a phone worth paying for, even if it takes us well out of the OnePlus price range we're used to? I don't want to spoil much, so let's talk about that.

This is our OnePlus 7 Pro review!

Buy OnePlus 7 Pro, get $10 to spend on accessories

The Good

Display

At 6.67-inches and with a quad HD resolution, the OnePlus 7 Pro's display is OnePlus attempting to step up and say to Samsung and LG and Google that they can play this game too. After staring at this massive AMOLED panel for a while, I'm leaning towards giving OnePlus the thumbs up and telling them that they do indeed deserve a spot in this line-up. The display here is really good.

As far as specs go, you know the dimensions and resolution already, but where OnePlus turned things up is in the 90Hz refresh rate, getting it HDR10+ certified, tossing in curved edges like Samsung does, and leaving no notch or hole punch. What you have here is a massive display with every display spec and idea currently available included. OnePlus even tweaked their Night Mode to allow for ultra-low brightness when in dark situations.

The display also gets incredibly bright when compared to my Pixel 3 (and Galaxy S10e), text and icons look incredibly sharp, viewing angles are good, and the number of ways to customize the way the panel presents colors should give everyone an opportunity to find an eye-pleasing setup. There are Vivid, Natural, and Advanced screen calibration choices, with Advanced offering up NTSC, sRGB, and Display-P3 profiles, as well as a temperature slider.

What about the 90Hz refresh rate? Does it offer a viewing experience you'll never be able to go back from? To be honest, I don't know. I think I've noticed once or twice that the phone looks especially smooth while watching a video or scrolling, but otherwise, my eyes are either broken, I'm too used to it today, or the change from 60Hz to 90Hz isn't huge. Sure, scrolling on a webpage or Twitter looks slightly less jumpy, I just haven't been completely blown away.

Oh, I guess I should point out the completely clean display, right? Not having a notch or hole punch for front-facing cameras is a pretty crazy look the first time you turn on the OnePlus 7 Pro, especially since the display is as large as it is. You will 100% be tempted to show friends and family the pop-up camera and point out the lack of bezel and display imperfections. After a while, you do get used to the wild look, so I don't have much else to say on it other than - bravo, OnePlus.

If you need complaints, one would be the auto brightness not adjusting as quickly as I'd like. I often ran into the brightness dimming to black in random times and just felt like I had to constantly adjust before the system would take over and find an optimal brightness.

Another has to do with the fact that OnePlus used a curved display here for the first time. That was a mistake, in my opinion, but you guys know that I don't like curved displays. I've yet to be convinced that they offer any real benefits. Instead, they give awful glares where they curve, make for awkward edge swipes in apps, and can lead to unwanted touches. As much as I would love to tell you that OnePlus has found a way to minimize all of that, they haven't. Glares were there from time to time, the curved display wasn't always fun to use when I needed to access the side of an app, and I ran into far too many screen jumps and other movements that were the result of the curved edges registering my palms when they shouldn't have been.

Now, I don't want those last two complaints to take away from the quality of this display, because it is really good. The curved stuff is a personal taste thing for me that I'm sure many of you will disagree with.

Specs

We already talked about the display, which is about as good as it gets, but the rest of the specs are where you'd want them in a 2019 flagship. You get Qualcomm's newest Snapdragon 855 processor, up to 12GB RAM with a base of 6GB, 128GB or 256GB UFS 3.0 storage that should be insanely fast, 4000mAh battery with super fast charging, a triple camera for any shooting situation, Bluetooth 5.0, stereo speakers, and an in-display fingerprint reader.

What's the OnePlus 7 Pro missing? Not much, but it would have been nice to see an official IP rating to know if this phone can withstand much water. I know others will care that it doesn't have wireless charging, headphone jack, and an SD slot too. If any of those items aren't big on your list of must-haves, then yeah, there isn't much to dislike on paper.

Full OnePlus 7 Pro specs can be found here.

Software

On the software side of things, OnePlus continues to do an excellent job. From the beginning, they have mostly taken Google's clean Android and tried not to mess with it too much, while still adding their own suite of features on top. They still call it OxygenOS, but by no means is this the full skin you see on Samsung or LG phones.

In this newest version of OxygenOS on top of Android 9.0 Pie, you have a very simple launcher with Google-esque app drawer along with the "Shelf" off to the left side for accessing a toolbox of apps, widgets, a memo taker, etc. The styling around settings and notifications is familiar. You have a number of customizable gestures to easily take screenshots, open apps or perform actions from the lock screen, and control music. There are Night and Reading modes, a couple of theme options, a number of sound settings (including control over Dolby Atmos), a Gaming Mode, and access to Google's Digital Wellbeing suite. You can even pick and choose which statusbar icons show up or between 3 types of navigation setups.

I've always been a big fan of OnePlus software because I think the additions they continue to include make a lot of sense. Want full gestures to move around your phone instead of Android's three buttons? You've got that. Want a dark theme? You've got that. Want a handful of ways to quickly launch a camera or open your most used apps? That's there too. You can adjust vibration intensity, decide what happens when you plug headphones in, and setup an encrypted app locker. Again, there is a lot of cool stuff here.

OnePlus has gotten better at software updates in recent years as well. They were once on the slow end of providing big Android builds, but now they tend to be one of the fastest to get their most recent phones whatever Google has released. They appear to be supporting old phones as good as anyone now too.

OnePlus still has room to improve, though. They continue to leave out an always-on display option, even as almost every other phone on the planet has had it for well over a year. I'm not sure the holdup, other than worries over it impacting battery life, but not having the option is a constant area of frustration for me. I don't love their full navigation gestures either, so I find myself choosing the newish Android 2-button setup, except it has its own set of functional issues. I've also had plenty of issues from multiple OnePlus phones with my home mesh WiFi system as I move from mesh point to mesh point, and those issues are here with the 7 Pro.

For the most part, this is a software experience I think most will enjoy. OnePlus, like the Motorola of old, gets it.

Camera

Every year that OnePlus has released a phone, we tell you that the company has released a good one for the amount of money you'll spend, does a bunch of things as good or better than more expensive flagships, and then fails in others. In the failure department, we almost always mention that the camera isn't quite there yet, that each OnePlus phone has a decent shooter, but that it is not Pixel or Galaxy-level. This year, that changes.

The OnePlus 7 Pro camera is a triple shooter made up of a 48MP sensor at f/1.6 with OIS and EIS (the camera processes 48MP shots down to 12MP), an 8MP telephoto lens at f/2.4 with OIS, and an ultra-wide camera at f/2.2 with a 117-degree field of view. That telephoto lens has a 3x optical zoom, you can shoot in 4K at 60fps, and there are dedicated modes for features like portrait and night shooting. The OnePlus 7 Pro has it all in the camera department.

As for the software, OnePlus' camera app is pretty easy to use. You have a typical layout with shutter button, swiping to get between modes, quick toggles to switch between lenses, and full manual controls if interested. It's quick enough to load, focus, and snap your first shot in most situations.

Alright, what about results? OnePlus continues to avoid going the Google Pixel route, which is to ramp up contrast to unnatural levels and produce super poppy HDR-heavy end results. That means OnePlus is leaving us with what I would argue are more natural photos, they just may not be quite as appealing to the eye out of the box as those taken from a Google phone. While I tend to prefer Google's not-realistic way, I'm also willing to accept OnePlus keeping it real. I like the photos I took with this phone even if the skies aren't as wildly blue.

I most definitely like the 3-camera setup because of the versatility it provides. Going from standard to ultra-wide to telephoto to frame three different shots without having to move will never get old. And all three shooters can hold their own, which I'm not sure I've always believed from older phones.

48MP Standard

16MP Ultra Wide Angle

8MP Telephoto

Where I was ~~pleasantly surprised~~ blown away was in the night performance. I put the OnePlus 7 Pro up against the Pixel 3 to specifically test out each phone's night mode and the OnePlus 7 Pro produced better images. The images were cooler in temperature, but more importantly, they were clearer, easier-to-see photos from a room that my eyes could barely adjust in. The OnePlus 7 Pro processed them faster too.

No Night Mode: OnePlus 7 Pro (left) vs. Pixel 3 (right)

Night Mode: OnePlus 7 Pro (left) vs. Pixel 3 (right)

And finally, here are a bunch of other untouched shots for you to browse through.

Price

In the lead-up to OnePlus announcing the OnePlus 7 Pro, we were nervous about the price. OnePlus came out early and said to expect pricing in the range of the Galaxy S10, which could have meant a price potentially hundreds of dollars higher than last year's OnePlus 6T, a phone that was already their most expensive. At $669, this price doesn't offend me at all. I'm going to hesitate to call it a "steal," but isn't it close to being one?

Run through that spec list again and find me another phone with all this that costs under $700. There isn't one, is there? The Galaxy S10e is the closest, but it starts at $750, has a smaller display with hole punch, the same RAM and storage, one less camera, and an arguably worse software experience. If you max out the OnePlus 7 Pro to 12GB RAM and 256GB storage, the $749 price is basically laughing in everyone's face at that point.

Look, the OnePlus 7 Pro is not cheap - I'm not saying that. What I'm saying is that the package being offered is still hundreds of dollars less than what competitors are charging.

Somewhere-in-the-Middle

Design and Size

This is the part of the review where I'm assuming a number of you will sound off in the comments by telling me to "get over it" and that I'm out of touch with current smartphone trends. Ready for it?

The OnePlus 7 Pro is too big.

In general, I think OnePlus did a fine job in designing the OnePlus 7 Pro to match current trends. It feels and looks very premium with its metal and glass body while showing its fun side through color options like the Nebula Blue you see here. This is a flagship phone designed like 2019 flagship phones are designed. The boxes are checked. The looks are there. The premium aspects customers have apparently been asking for are included.

Unfortunately, for those of us who don't want to carry around a tablet at all times with curved displays that constantly register unwanted palm touches on edges, it might be a bit much. This phone, even with its minimal bezel, is taller than the Pixel 3 XL, a phone that is extra large. While the screen-to-body ratio is as good as it gets, that doesn't mean a 6.67" display is ever going to be easy to use unless you have both hands free.

It's super heavy too because of the amount of glass and metal. Should you decide that you want to protect all of that glass, a case is only going to add to both the size and weight, which again, are a bit much.

I really wish OnePlus would have gone the Pixel 3 or Galaxy S10 route and given us a choice in size. If this phone wasn't so damn big, it would be tough for me to put down.

Battery Life

I'm not going to consider the OnePlus 7 Pro any sort of battery champ right now. During my testing, battery life was great for a couple of days and probably below average on others. Some days I'd get ready for bed with 40% battery left and 3 hours of screen on time, while others I'd have much less, like 25%, with similar usage. One charge I stretched the phone out to 38 hours with light use before looking for a charger and another day I needed a charger at 5:30PM.

We have a 4000mAh battery here, which is quite large, you just have to remember that it's powering a massive 6.7" QHD display. It doesn't surprise me at all that this phone might be a battery hog at times.

I can't say that I'm worried that battery life is bad, because OnePlus phones in the past always seem to get much better over time. I'm talking a month in and the 1-day battery life bursts into 2-day life. That has happened in the past and could very well happen again here. Give OnePlus a couple of software updates to work with this new QHD resolution and I bet we'll see better results.

If we don't, well, you always have the Warp Charge 30 charger in the box to get you fully juiced up again in under an hour. I ran this phone almost down to nothing and got it to 100% in about 1 hour. That's not bad!

Availability

The OnePlus 7 Pro is an exclusive to T-Mobile here in the US. You can still buy the device unlocked through OnePlus' site and use it on other carriers, including Verizon, but the in-store experience US customers typically look for is only happening with T-Mo. Not a T-Mobile customer? You could always drop by a store, play with the phone, and then order it. Plus, if you order direct from OnePlus, you'll likely have more choices over color and RAM/storage configurations.

Fingerprint Reader

The OnePlus 7 Pro has an in-display fingerprint reader made up of a 3-element plastic lens and a larger sensor compared to the sensor used in the OnePlus 6T. OnePlus tells us that they've found some sort of "breakthrough" here using "new algorithms" that up the speed and accuracy. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this fingerprint reader is too slow and I think it's just as average as the one used in their previous phone.

It's optical, as far as I can tell, so it lights up like crazy every time you try and scan your finger. When in dark situations, it typically struggles to unlock, but my issue is that it can be slow even when lighting is optimal. It can be fast at times too, just not on a consistent enough basis for me to be a fan. I have multiple fingerprints registered and none work well.

The slowness only gets worse when you remember that you need to semi-wake the phone in order for it to be ready to scan your finger. That requires a tap on the screen or a lift of the phone, which adds a step to getting in there.

Can this area be improved? I'd like to think so. Software updates could help tweak additional algorithms to try and speed things up and OnePlus will probably do that. My suggestion, until that happens, is for people to train the face unlock as it works incredibly well.

The Not-so-Good

Ummm, nothing?

In this section, I often try to point out the areas of a phone that are bad enough to be dealbreakers or that would make me hesitate from purchasing one for personal use. The thing is, I've already talked about the phone being too large, the curved display being annoying, and the not-super-great fingerprint reader, so I'm not going to dive into those things again. And to be fair, those areas may bug me, but I doubt they'll turn most of you off.

Other Notes

Pop-up selfie: I don't really take selfies, so I don't have much to report back in terms of how amazing this pop-up selfie camera may be. What I can tell you is that it looks super cool as it pops in and out of the device! It works nicely with face unlock to let you avoid using that atrocious fingerprint reader as well.
In the box: OnePlus gives you a OnePlus 7 Pro, Warp Charge 30 charger, USB-C cable, applied screen protector, and a TPU clear case in the box.
Accessories: OnePlus will always sell its own line-up of accessories through its own store that are top quality. They aren't overpriced like Google's own Pixel accessories, so keep that in mind if you are the type to accessorize a phone. Also, 3rd party accessory makers have picked up on OnePlus as a brand and so you are starting to see more and more options at places like Amazon. If you buy a OnePlus 7 Pro, I don't think you'll have any trouble getting goods to add to it.

Video

Unboxing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6HUGf9Qs2U

First 10 Things to Do

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0j8AxKCF1hM

Gallery

The Verdict

I'm just going to be as straight as I can be here - the OnePlus 7 Pro is a fantastic phone. This may be OnePlus' most expensive phone to date as it aims to truly compete with Samsung and Google and Apple, but it's still hundreds less than the phones offered by those companies as it matches them spec-by-spec.

The display is giant and gorgeous, the software and performance are where we like to see them, and the camera is absolutely the best yet from OnePlus. You have choices over RAM and storage, connectivity on the major US carriers, and the look and build of a phone that could fetch upwards of a thousand dollars if someone else made.

Now, this isn't the phone for me. As much as I like OnePlus phones, the size of this phone coupled with the curved display have killed it from being in consideration as my next. But this review isn't really about me. I have weird tastes that so many of you disagree with. If you are cool with giant phones and curved screens, you should go for it.

Buy OnePlus 7 Pro, get $10 to spend on accessories

Bye Bye, Galaxy S10+. Hello, OnePlus 7 Pro.

Tim — Tue, 14 May 2019 11:08:50 +0000

It appears that unlike Kellen, I believe that in some instances, size does matter. I don't mind big phones. I have had the Galaxy S10+ in my pocket since its launch, and until the OnePlus 7 Pro, I hadn't thought of replacing it until the new Galaxy Note 10 or Pixel 4 came around later this year.

The OnePlus 7 Pro is one mighty proposition. Starting at $669, it features OnePlus' first use of a QHD panel, a triple rear camera setup that Kellen says is really good (full review here), 4,000mAh battery, and a software experience that is more catered to fans of a pure Android aesthetic. From a spec standpoint, you can have one seriously overpowered device, with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.0 storage, for just $749.

Compare that to the Galaxy S10+'s starting price of $999 and for some odd reason I feel like I've been getting screwed by Samsung.

Now, on paper, the main difference I'd say between these phones is the IP rating. OnePlus discussed this, and basically, it came down to money. But since we're talking about a $330 difference between the price of a base OnePlus 7 Pro and base Galaxy S10+, the lack of water resistance is fine with me. The OnePlus 7 Pro also lacks a headphone jack, but as Google alluded with the launch of the Pixel 3a, I'm apparently affluent enough to afford Bluetooth headphones, so a headphone jack is of no concern.

And no longer can some people point to DxOMark or DisplayMate and say their phone is best. According to those tests, these phones are essentially neck and neck. DxOMark gives the OnePlus 7 Pro an overall score of 111, while the Galaxy S10+ has a 109. Both phones received A+ ratings from DisplayMate, but on a personal note, I'd go with OnePlus' usage of the 90Hz refresh rate over the Galaxy S10+, simply because after having used the Razer Phone 2, I know that a higher refresh rate can lead to a much smoother user experience.

The Possibility of a OnePlus 7 Pro T aka ProTein

Anyone who knows me or follows what I say should know that I have a hard time getting behind the first iteration of new OnePlus flagships. For the past couple of years, OnePlus has decided to get cheeky and release T models of its phones. This has helped boost phone shipments in any given year's second half. Because of phones like the 5T and 6T, I regretted recommending people buy the standard OnePlus 5 and 6. However, with the OnePlus 7 Pro and in 2019, I don't think there will be a T model.

Speaking to that, OnePlus' CMO Kyle Kiang said this morning to thousands of people during the unveiling that, "This is the best smartphone you're going to see in 2019." To me, this means that we shouldn't expect a OnePlus Pro T or how could this statement be accurate or considered ethical? From what we know about T releases, the T models are always upgrades over the standard phones, but this isn't a standard phone -- it's a Pro.

Instead of a T, I believe that OnePlus will focus on its OnePlus 7 Pro 5G device, scheduled to launch later this year in Europe. However, as sure as I am, I've still reached out the OnePlus to see about the possibility of a T variant for the OnePlus 7 Pro.

In closing, I'd like to bid my beloved Galaxy S10+ in Ceramic White a fond adieu. There is now a phone that is very much like you in terms of specs, for a much more affordable price, and with no display cutout. Furthermore, with the OnePlus 7 Pro, I can even get my hands on the latest build of Android Q without the need of booting up my Pixel device, as confirmed by OnePlus during its launch event. You certainly can't do that on a Samsung phone.

While I'm disappointed I may not hear the sound of the Samsung money truck pulling up in my driveway anymore (that's a joke, obviously), I'm pretty excited for the OnePlus 7 Pro.

Buy OnePlus 7 Pro, get $10 to spend on accessories

There is a OnePlus 7, But It's Not Coming to the US

Tim — Tue, 14 May 2019 09:36:54 +0000

OnePlus announced the OnePlus 7 Pro this morning, but for anyone asking about a standard OnePlus 7, do know that it does exist and it's not coming to the US.

The phone has a few upgrades internally, such as a Snapdragon 855 processor and UFS 3.0, but it's essentially a beefed up OnePlus 6T. The phone will be available in markets outside of the US starting next month for £499+.

If you don't hear us talk about the OnePlus 7 again, that's why.

Read: OnePlus 7 Pro Review.

There is also a OnePlus 7 Pro 5G. We assume OnePlus didn't specifically talk about these devices because they wanted to spare those in the US any confusion. The 5G variant of the OnePlus 7 Pro is also not coming to the US, scheduled to launch in Europe on EE in the UK, and Elisa in Finland.

There's no word on the 5G model's pricing, but again, if we don't talk about it moving forward, it's because the phone is not expected to launch in the US. If that changes, we'll let you know.

OnePlus' New and Improved Bullets Wireless 2 Cost Just $99

Kellen — Tue, 14 May 2019 09:35:17 +0000

Alongside the OnePlus 7 Pro, OnePlus announced new Bullets Wireless headphones that have been both "improved and refined" over the previous generation. These new Bullets Wireless 2 headphones feature an upgraded triple-armature driver structure, support for aptX HD, and a new Quick Pair functionality to get them hooked up to OnePlus phones in a hurry. They support Warp Charge fast charging that can grab you 10 hours of juice in 10 minutes of charging. With a full charge, they could last 14 hours. They aren't truly wireless, but do feature Bluetooth 5.0 for a stable connection. Bullets Wireless 2 cost $99. Shop OnePlus Bullets Wireless 2

READ: OnePlus 7 Pro review!

OnePlus 7 Pro Specs: Display, Triple Camera, RAM, and More

Kellen — Tue, 14 May 2019 09:00:44 +0000

You probably saw the OnePlus 7 Pro announcement this morning, (hopefully) read our review, and dove into our unboxing. If you just want the raw specs, though, we've got those for you here.

The OnePlus 7 Pro features the biggest display yet from OnePlus, with a QHD resolution to boot. You've got a Snapdragon 855, up to 12GB RAM and 256GB storage, triple camera with 3x zoom lens, large 4000mAh battery, stereo speakers, and a lot more.

READ: OnePlus 7 Pro review!

The OnePlus 7 Pro arrives May 17 in the US with a starting price of $669.

OnePlus 7 Pro Specs

[table id=164 /]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6HUGf9Qs2U

Buy OnePlus 7 Pro, get $10 to spend on accessories

OnePlus 7 Pro Announced, Available May 17 Starting at $669

Tim — Tue, 14 May 2019 09:00:05 +0000

OnePlus announced the OnePlus 7 Pro this morning, its latest flagship smartphone. The phone will be available for purchase later this week, priced starting at $669.

For specs (all official specs here), the phone features a Snapdragon 855 processor, 6.67" QHD Fluid AMOLED display (3120x1440) capable of 90Hz refresh rate, 128GB+ storage (UFS 3.0), 6GB+ RAM, triple rear-facing setup (48MP + 8MP telephoto + 16MP wide angle), 16MP front-facing camera, 4,000mah battery with Warp 30 charging, NFC, Bluetooth 5.0, stereo speakers, in-display fingerprint reader, comes in either Mirror Grey or Nebular Blue (Almond color launching later), and runs Oxygen OS built atop Android 9.0 Pie.

READ: OnePlus 7 Pro review!

One of the big changes OnePlus focuses on is the display's capable refresh rate of 90Hz. This is a first for a phone that isn't marketed specifically as a "mobile gaming phone," like those from Razer and ASUS. Additionally, the front-facing camera is on the top of the device, accessible via a mechanized system. When in selfie mode, the camera automatically pops up, the same as it will for the face unlock feature.

OnePlus also added a third camera to the rear of the device for enhanced zoom capabilities. It's a 3x zoom, so if you need to get a close up of something without wanting to actually move your feet, this new lens will help.

OnePlus 7 Pro Pricing

The unlocked OnePlus 7 Pro goes on sale May 17 at 10AM Eastern (7AM Pacific), starting at $669. The top tier model with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage will cost $749. Here's a full breakdown.

Buy OnePlus 7 Pro, get $10 to spend on accessories

Mirror Gray
- 6GB + 128GB - $669
- 8GB + 256GB - $699
Nebula Blue
- 8GB + 256GB - $699
- 12GB + 256GB - $749

For those who are with or want to be with T-Mobile, the OnePlus 7 Pro with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage will be available for $699.

If you can't wait until later this week, it's possible you live near a OnePlus pop-up event. At these events, you can be one of the first to purchase a OnePlus 7 Pro. Details are here.

Trade-In Program

In North America, OnePlus will also be accepting trade-ins toward the purchase of a OnePlus 7 Pro. In partnership with Phobio, buyers with eligible devices can get up to $449 to use towards purchase. According to OnePlus, all past OnePlus devices will be accepted, including the original OnePlus One.

OnePlus 7 Pro Specs

[table id=164 /]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6HUGf9Qs2U

OnePlus 6T Gets Price Drop on May 17, Now Starts at $549

Tim — Tue, 14 May 2019 08:00:56 +0000

With the OnePlus 7 Pro here, OnePlus is dropping the price of the OnePlus 6T by $30.

Read: OnePlus 6T Review.

That minor drop in price brings the OnePlus 6T to $549 for the 8GB RAM + 128GB storage model, while the 8GB RAM + 256GB storage model goes down to $599.

New Pricing

OnePlus 6T 8GB + 128GB: $549
OnePlus 6T 8GB + 256GB: $599

If you don't need the latest and greatest, this seems cool.

OnePlus Link

WATCH: OnePlus Announces the OnePlus 7 Pro at 11AM Eastern!

Kellen — Tue, 14 May 2019 06:28:02 +0000

Are we all ready to finally meet the OnePlus 7 Pro? I feel like we've been talking about this phone, piece by piece, for weeks now and...wait, that's exactly what we have been doing. OnePlus slowly rolled out its talking points in the lead-up to this day.

We know about the OnePlus 7 Pro display and how good it should be, that T-Mobile will sell it, that it has super fast UFS 3.0 storage, and doesn't have true water resistance. It probably looks like this, will have a front camera that pops up, a triple camera on the back, and will almost undoubtedly be the most expensive phone from OnePlus to date.

To watch OnePlus fill in the gaps (like official pricing), an event is taking place today in New York City. It kicks off at 11AM Eastern (8AM Pacific). You can watch it with us below!

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

DEAL: TicWatch S2 in Glacier White Down 50% to Just $90! (Update: Mobvoi Corrects Error, Now 5% Off)

Tim — Mon, 13 May 2019 12:27:15 +0000

Update: Mobvoi has corrected its error, with the code now taking only 5% off of the usual $180 price, instead of 50%. We assumed this would happen. Did you get one at the crazy 50% off?

For what we assume is a limited time, you can get a TicWatch S2 in Glacier (White) for just ~~$89.99~~ $170.99, which is ~~a whopping 50%~~ 5% off its usual $179.99 price.

Read: TicWatch S2 Review.

For features, the S2 sports military-grade durability, proactive Sports modes, built-in GPS, 2-day battery life, the latest version of Wear OS, built-in heart rate monitoring, water resistance, Snapdragon Wear processor, and can be somewhat customized thanks to easily swappable bands. For more S2 info, check out our initial writeup.

Mobvoi Store Link (Code: S2GLACIER)

Cheers Andy!

Google's Reasoning for the Pixel 3a Having a Headphone Jack Won't Make You Happy

Kellen — Mon, 13 May 2019 09:51:47 +0000

Why does the mid-range Pixel 3a have a headphone jack and not the top-tier Pixel 3? It's not because of space or any other technical reason. Instead, according to Google product manager Soniya Jobanputra, Google wanted to include a 3.5mm headphone jack because "a lot of people have headphones." You don't say.

That's not the only reason the Pixel 3a (unboxing) and 3a XL have the 3.5mm port, but Google admitting to that probably won't thrill you. After all, when headphone jacks started disappearing a couple of years ago, this was the big complaint. Everyone already owned headphones, so why take away the port we use them with and force us into buying new Bluetooth headphones or dealing with a dongle?

READ: Google’s Pixel 3a is Boringly Good, Which is Fine

In addition to admitting the obvious, Jobanputra said during an interview at Google I/O last week that consumers "at this price point and this price tier, really needed flexibility." And sure, a $400 budget might mean that you don't have extra cash to go out and buy fancy new Bluetooth headphones too, so being able to use your current headphones is great. With that said, why should that principle only apply to those on a budget? Just because someone has $800 to spend on a phone doesn't mean they also have extra money for new headphones, right?

Frustrations in that decision aside, now you know what to fire back at Google when the Pixel 4 arrives and they try to sell you on why it's OK to not have a headphone jack. Please remind them that we all already own headphones, want to be able to charge and listen to music at the same time, and aren't into creating more e-waste.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMwZaKJouSM&feature=youtu.be&t=133

// reddit

Upcoming Phone Designs From OPPO, Samsung, and Huawei Might Get Weird

Tim — Mon, 13 May 2019 09:48:29 +0000

According to @UniverseIce and @BenGeskin on Twitter, two noteworthy names if you're concerned with leaks and concept phone designs, we should start getting hyped for upcoming smartphones from OPPO, Samsung, Huawei, and Vivo.

There are no images to go on, but according to one tweet from @UniverseIce, "In the second half of this year and next year, the shape design of mobile phones is very avant-garde, even beyond the imagination of mobile phone concept maps and videos made by fans."

While that sounds amazing, I can't help but laugh just a little bit. I mean, concept designs from artists are pretty laughable at times. Are we to expect something along these lines?

Double Notch Concept

What is actually being teased appears to be the idea of having the front-facing camera embedded underneath a phone's display, much like companies have been doing with the fingerprint reader. As @BenGeskin states, "This year OPPO will show a smartphone with under display camera."

This has been the solution that smartphone design seems to have been moving towards. With bezels shrinking and notches becoming an acceptable thing, followed by display cutouts and hole punches, we're about to see a phone from OnePlus that features a mechanized pop-up front-facing camera. Will it be cool? Probably, but there's no reason other OEMs wouldn't want to try something completely different or more advanced, such as the teased under-display front camera.

Just this year, Samsung was reported to be working on this exact thing, with its own R&D department vice president stating, "The technology can move forward to the point where the camera hole will be invisible, while not affecting the camera’s function in any way." It should be noted that he also said it wouldn't be possible in the next one to two years.

What's exciting is that we're really only a few months away from some potentially really exciting hardware. It's already May, so we should be learning quite quickly about what to expect from these companies. Fingers crossed it's some good stuff.

// @UniverseIce | @BenGeskin

Pixel 3 Owners are Turning Off Digital Wellbeing and Finding a Better Life (Updated)

Kellen — Mon, 13 May 2019 07:39:30 +0000

UPDATE 5/29: Google says that Digital Wellbeing is not slowing down phones, but that they've identified areas that are causing performance issues. They'll rollout changes to address them soon.

Prior to Google I/O kicking off a week or ago, Pixel 3 owners over at reddit shared a tip that they believed was helping to improve the performance on their devices after monthly software updates failed to do so. That tip? Turning off Digital Wellbeing, Google's help-you-unplug-from-your-phone software that first debuted with the new Pixels. This can't be real, right? Is Google's Digital Wellbeing really the cause of all of our Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL frustrations? That's still tough to know, but a second reddit thread that started up over this past weekend has folks convinced that turning it off might give you a new phone. You can find the first thread here and the second here. As you'll quickly realize, almost anyone who turned off Digital Wellbeing replied with nothing but joy as if the move has indeed helped fix performance issues. You'll find a few suggesting that turning it off is only tricking folks into believing there is a speed improvement, but the majority are beyond ecstatic. Digital Wellbeing, for those not familiar, is a suite of software features on your phone that helps you unplug a bit more. It tracks usage of apps, lets you set app timers on those apps to remind you to stop using them, is a part of your phone's Do Not Disturb, and can even flip your phone to grey scale as a way to annoy you into putting your device down. In theory, all of the app usage tracking could be throttling or slowing your phone down, since it likely needs to constantly be tracking things. So turning off Digital Wellbeing to stop that from happening might be a solution. Again, we don't know if this is truly fixing things and Google has not yet responded to press inquiries from what I can tell, but if you aren't using Digital Wellbeing, why not turn it off and see?

How to Turn Off Pixel 3 Digital Wellbeing

If you want to turn off Digital Wellbeing, open Settings on your Pixel phone, scroll down to Digital Wellbeing, open it, then tap the 3-dot menu in the top right corner. Choose the option to "Turn off usage access." On the next screen, confirm that you want it off by switching access from "Allowed" to "Not allowed." And that's it. You could always reboot to fully freshen things up, but that should do it. Also, feel free to try this on your Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, Pixel 3a, and Pixel 3a XL. Pixel 3 owners who have done this, how has your experience been?

HTC's Flagship Phone, the U12+, Not Getting Pie Until Next Month

Tim — Fri, 10 May 2019 13:42:45 +0000

HTC has updated its customers with a Pie upgrade timeline, outlining when owners of the U11, U11+, and U12+ should see Pie hit their phones.

For the U11, the update should start rolling out in late May. For the U11+, expect Pie around late June. As for HTC's newest phone, the U12+ (which isn't exactly new anymore), its Pie update is expected to ship out around mid June.

As always, HTC notes that certain regions and carrier deployment may affect these dates.

Hang in there, HTC fans, your Pie is coming.

https://twitter.com/htc/status/1126925854997528576

Podcast: Pixel 3a!

Kellen — Fri, 10 May 2019 10:11:23 +0000

On this episode of the Droid Life Show, it's Google I/O recap time! Google's developer festival is now done, and with it we got two new Pixel phones, new Nest Hub, a new Android Q release, and whole bunch of other Google-related things to look forward to. In addition to Google I/O chatter, we've got plenty of news related to the OnePlus 7 Pro and Samsung's Galaxy Fold. A packed show awaits! Trivia is back again! We'll be live at 12:00PM Pacific (3PM Eastern).

Google Says It's Really Excited About Wear OS in Least Exciting Way

Kellen — Fri, 10 May 2019 09:13:30 +0000

Wear OS isn't a completely dead platform, but as I wrote up a couple of weeks ago, the wearable OS from Google isn't in a great place at the moment. That was made clearer this week during Google I/O, where there wasn't a single session or mention of Wear OS throughout the 3-day developer festival. Because of the lack of Wear OS-related happenings, an I/O attendee asked the Android team during the Android Fireside Chat what was up. Specifically, while wearing what appears to be a Wear OS watch and pointing out the "distinct lack of mention" of the OS from the week's festivities, he asked the Android team if it was a "dead platform" and if we should be "worried?" Dave Burke, who is the VP of engineering for Android, responded in a semi-joking way about how there was no representative from the Wear OS team on stage with them during the Android Fireside Chat, which probably confirmed the point of the question. He further giggled about not knowing if there was any Wear OS anything at the show, until someone pointed out that there may be a part-time, unpaid intern over in the sandbox. OK, I made up the intern part. All funny business aside, Burke said that Wear OS and wearables are something they are "continuing to invest in" and that they are "really excited about wearables," have "hired more people," and are "investing." They are investing, guys. It's hard to take that as a convincing statement that they are serious about wearables. Google hasn't shown any seriousness at all recently, outside of an investment in a secret technology from Fossil earlier this year that they hope will benefit others making watches. Google doesn't seem like it wants to make its own Wear OS watch, its partners not named Fossil aren't exactly pumping them out these days, and companies like Qualcomm, who are supposed to help advance the platform from the inside, haven't done anything meaningful in about 4 years. Is Google still making that sport mode that was promised with the launch of the Wear 3100? Who knows. Of course, Google could always show up in October at the Pixel 4 event with its first watch running some new magical chipset to power it that will help us quickly forget all the bad times. Or maybe they'll still be investing from the sandbox. https://youtu.be/Xp4RSkHqaxc?t=1572

DEAL: Google Home Hub is $99 at Best Buy, Plus You Get a Free Google Home Mini

Kellen — Fri, 10 May 2019 08:33:21 +0000

Here's a crazy-good deal: buy a Google Home Hub from Best Buy at "$50" off and you'll get a free Google Home Mini. What are we looking at in terms of value there? Well, that's $99 for the Home Hub with a free $49 Home Mini included. That's a great deal. On the Best Buy page, you'll see a $50 discount on the Home Hub, but in reality, it's more like a $30 discount. When Google announced this week at I/O that the Home Hub would undergo a name change to Nest Hub, they said that the price was permanently dropping to $129 from $149. Obviously, Best Buy hasn't adjusted that just yet. Either way, you are getting a Google Home/Nest Hub for $99 and a free Google Home Mini with it.

Best Buy Deal Link

Sonos Will Add Google Assistant to Select Speakers Next Week

Kellen — Thu, 09 May 2019 14:38:01 +0000

Sonos says that it is finally ready, after what seems like two years, to add Google Assistant to a couple of its high-end connected speakers. Starting next week, the Sonos One and Sonos Beam will both receive an update that adds Google Assistant support. Through a shareholder letter that was published just before the company has its quarterly earnings call, Sonos announced the news. A software upgrade that includes Google Assistant will hit the One and Beam in the US. Other markets will see a similar update in the "next few months." Once the update hits your Sonos devices, you'll be able to choose between Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, which is a first according to Sonos. The Beam and One should then act just like a Google Home product when you shout "Hey Google!" at it. Don't own the Sonos One or Beam? Back in January, Google made it sound like they had a way to bring Assistant to older Sonos devices, though we're not sure how that is possible. Sonos didn't mention older devices in this letter. Once that update hits, we'll try to let you know! // Sonos [PDF]

iFixit: Plastic Pixel is Pretty Fixable, Receives 6/10 Repairability Score

Tim — Thu, 09 May 2019 14:01:23 +0000

According to the good folks at iFixit, Google's latest entry into the Pixel line, the Pixel 3a XL, is a lot easier to self repair than other devices currently on the market. For all of you #RightToRepair people, this is good. Apparently, opening up the Pixel 3a XL and then fondling its innards is quite easy, thanks to the usage of only T3 Torx screws. In addition, iFixit states that most components are modular and can be easily replaced once the display assembly is removed, plus a repair-friendly stretch-release adhesive is what secures the battery.

As for why it still only receives a 6 out of 10 for repairability, which is still a helluva lot better than most high-end smartphones we see these days, the company says that the display is thin and poorly supported, but the worst offense is the usage of long and thin ribbon cables that connect the internal components which can be obnoxious to work around and are easy to accidentally tear. So, if you find yourself digging into your new Pixel 3a XL, be careful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anoFNPXo2yA // iFixit

You Can Now Play Trivia Crack on Your Google Home

Tim — Thu, 09 May 2019 13:05:50 +0000

Trivia Crack has arrived for your Google Home device, accessible by simply saying, "Hey Google, play Trivia Crack." You can also play it on your phone through Google Assistant, but at that point, you might as well download the app. Trivia Crack is your typical trivia app, done in a similar style to Trivial Pursuit. You answer questions, and if you get them correct, you gain characters. The first player to collect all the characters wins the game.

Available in two modes, Solo (single-player, in Classic or Challenge format) or Party (play in up to 4 teams), the Trivia Crack for Google Assistant is excellent for parties and family gatherings, along with when you want to test your trivia know-how on your own. Just say "Hey Google, play Trivia Crack," and you’re off.

I tested this on both a Google Home and my phone with Assistant and it seems to be up and running just fine. Go check it out.

Send to Device

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBpsHEcu8yQ

Google's Pixel 3a is Boringly Good, Which is Fine

Kellen — Thu, 09 May 2019 11:57:42 +0000

Tim said that I need to bring some fire takes on the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL, since I haven't really mentioned the phone on the site after unboxing it. Ummm, I don't have any. This phone is boring, but that's probably good or fine. There, that's my take. OK, let me try to break that down some. At $400 and all sorts of plastic, the Pixel 3a and 3a XL are not here to pull you away from the Pixel 3 or Galaxy S10 or soon-to-be-released OnePlus 7 Pro. They just aren't. Those phones are better on multiple levels, which is why they cost hundreds of dollars more. In other words, if your budget is $900, you'll get a better overall experience with those phones. You will. With that said, at $400, the Pixel 3a is kind of nice! I don't have final thoughts to share right now because I'm only two days into reviewing the 3a, but there are some specific things to point out that might grab your attention.

First off, this phone is hella-plastic. It feels like a plastic phone from 4 years ago that won't even attempt to trick you into believing it is a premium phone. The phone is so boring. It looks and feels exactly like you would imagine a cheap Pixel 3 looking and feeling. When you hold a Galaxy S10 or newer Huawei phone or iPhone, they are interesting because you can appreciate the design and manufacturing miracles these companies put together into a working piece of technological art. The Pixel 3a offers none of that. It's unapologetically plastic. Now, I'm cool with the plastic because unlike glass, this shit doesn't just break when something harder than a feather brushes past it. I'm actually enjoying it in pocket, at the bar, or with my kid around, since I don't feel the need to case-it-up or wonder which semi-hard surface might shatter it into 8,000 pieces. Plastic isn't always bad, as long you don't need your phone to feel like jewelry. The software experience is also worth mentioning here. Google is giving you the Pixel 3 experience at $400 without any real omissions from what I can tell. You get squeezy sides for Assistant, Now Playing, an always-on display, Digital Wellbeing, all the gestures from the Pixel 3, etc. It really is all there, including the (eventual) software updates. The hardware package is pretty much there too. Outside of the Snapdragon 670 processor downgrade from the regular Pixel 3's Snapdragon 845, you get 4GB RAM and 64GB storage, stereo speakers, a freakin' headphone jack, fingerprint reader, fast charging, and a decent-sized battery. The only thing to worry about is performance with that Snapdragon 670. Will you notice hiccups and stutters and slow processing as you use this phone? I haven't noticed anything significant, only what appears to be slower HDR and portrait processing.

I've had people ask about the display quality, because somewhere deep in the internet they heard that the display is trash. I'll say this - these are 1080p OLED displays in the 3a line and they look fine to me. My 3a doesn't get quite as bright as my Pixel 3, the colors aren't as vibrant, and the viewing angles are slightly worse, but I'm not sure I'd call it awful. It's also a 1080p OLED in a $400 phone - I don't expect it to be as good as the display in a phone that costs $800 or $900 or $1,000. If someone you know expected it to be, they are a moron. Alright, so what else...oh yeah, the camera! It's the same 12.2MP f/1.8 camera that you'll find in the Pixel 3, the same camera that a good bunch of us believe to be the best mobile camera around. It has Night Sight and HDR+ and portrait mode and all that jazz. It's mostly quick to launch and shoot, plus the entire experience will remind you of the one found in the top tier Pixel 3. Does it take great photos? They look good to me. But here, you tell me what you think of some photos taken with the Pixel 3a sitting next to the same shots taken with the Pixel 3.

Pixel 3a vs. Pixel 3

The only big difference that I'm sure you noticed is the crop or zoom on the portrait shot. I don't know why, but the Pixel 3a zooms when portrait mode is activated, while the Pixel 3 does not. Maybe that's because of processing or that Google didn't think the Snapdragon 670 could handle it, but it happens. While not some dealbreaker tweak, it does make framing up a portrait shot tougher, since you need the space to adjust for that zoom. So back to my opening point - the Pixel 3a is totally solid for $400. Nothing about it is blowing my mind and nothing is pissing me off either. It's a $400 phone that should be judged as a $400 phone. What it does for $400 is quite good, particularly in the camera department. If you don't have more than $400 to spend on a phone, yeah brother, go for it. Sorry that I'm not more excited. Also, sometimes boring is good and fine. Not everything needs to be fire.

Users in Select Countries Can Now Use Cash to Pay for Apps in Google Play

Tim — Thu, 09 May 2019 10:35:42 +0000

In some areas of the world, cash is still king. Announced this week at Google I/O, users in select markets, starting first in Japan and Mexico, will be able to pay for apps using good ol' fashioned paper money. Called Pending Transactions, a user will initiate the app purchase, but for payment, they can opt for a transaction code. The user will take this code to a local convenience store, show the clerk, and pay for the app however they want to. Google says they should have access to the app within 10 minutes, though in some cases, it can take up to 48 hours. As for refunds, you'll only be able to receive Google Play credit.

Not everyone across the globe has access to a digital form of payment, so for those people, this is fantastic addition to Google Play. Skip ahead to 7:30 for details on Pending Transactions. https://youtu.be/N4004Set4F8?t=454 // Engadget

DEAL: Samsung Ups Trade-in Offer to $400 Off Galaxy S10

Kellen — Thu, 09 May 2019 10:11:31 +0000

For a limited time, Samsung is offering up to $400 off the Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10+, or Galaxy S10e if you have an eligible phone to trade. While not the launch discount of $550-off, this is the best deal we've seen since then. Samsung has mostly been offering $300 off after that initial deal ended, so we're getting an extra $100 discount today. This might be the highest trade-in offer we'll see for a while too, until the next holiday season rolls around or the Note 10 is launched. To get $400 off a Galaxy S10, S10+, or S10e, you need to trade-in specific phones. The list of $400 phones is quite good, though, and includes Samsung phones down to the Note 8, iPhones down to the iPhone 8, Google's Pixel 3 line, and LG's V40. If you don't own any of those, they'll also give you $350 off for phones like the Galaxy S8, iPhone 7, or Pixel 2.

RELATED: Readers share their Samsung trade-in experiences

Why use Samsung's trade-in program? Because they offer some of the highest trade values in the business, but they also give you the trade discount today before you ever send in your old phone. That means you could get into a Galaxy S10e for $350, Galaxy S10 for $499, or the Galaxy S10+ for $599, today. You then send in your old phone once your new Galaxy S10 arrives to verify with Samsung. Tim and I have probably used Samsung's trade-in program 10 times at this point and always had success.

Shop Samsung Galaxy S10 Family

Google, Qualcomm Team Up to Make It Easier for Headphone Makers to Add Google Assistant

Kellen — Thu, 09 May 2019 09:45:05 +0000

The adoption of true Google Assistant integration into headphones has never really picked up any steam. There are a handful of headphones with Google Assistant onboard, but I'd be lying if I didn't say that I figured there would be so many more at this point. Today, Google and Qualcomm announced a new smart headset platform that will try and convince more headphone makers to get with it. The new Qualcomm Smart Headset Platform uses Qualcomm's low power Bluetooth audio chips and features both Google Assistant and support for Google Fast Pair. They've built a reference design too, one that offers push-button access to Google Assistant. You can see it above. The hope here is that headphone companies will use this kit to add Google Assistant and Fast Pair, but also be able to create products in a "variety of product tiers and categories." If anything, it should mean a more connected audio experience and the opportunity for all headphone players to quickly produce related products. Qualcomm wil lstart selling this new Smart Headset Platform today. // Google | Qualcomm

Nike Fit Feature Measures Your Feet Using Augmented Reality

Tim — Thu, 09 May 2019 08:52:16 +0000

According to Nike, 60% of people are wearing the wrong size shoe. I'm not sure how that's possible, but that's the stat. To help fight this, Nike introduced Nike Fit this week, a feature for its official Nike app that uses augmented reality to measure your feet and find you the right fit. Here's how Nike explains the process.

Using your smartphone’s camera, Nike Fit will scan your feet, collecting 13 data points mapping your foot morphology for both feet within a matter of seconds. This hyper-accurate scan of your unique foot dimension can then be stored in your NikePlus member profile and easily used for future shopping online and in-store.

Nike brings up a fantastic use case for Fit, that being shoe shopping for kids. Since kids and their feet can grow so quickly, Nike Fit can be used to find the right fit at any point during their growth spurts. This seems much more fun that going into the stores and using one of those metal measurement contraptions that are laying on the ground. Nike Fit will be available in the official Nike app later this year. // Nike

Samsung's Galaxy Fold is Ready to Return

Kellen — Thu, 09 May 2019 07:35:53 +0000

Samsung has reportedly identified at least one of the Galaxy Fold's flaws and are now deciding on a new launch date. That's the word out of Korea, where Samsung's mobile boss, DJ Koh, suggested that they identified a "defect" that was allowing substances to enter the Fold and cause damage to its display. Koh shared the news with the Korea Herald, saying that they will "reach a conclusion in a couple of days" over a new launch date. To back up for a second, remember that we got to this point because a handful of Galaxy Fold review units ran into issues that forced Samsung to pause the phone's launch. A couple of issues were self-inflicted, at least one was a failed device, and another couple were because substances found their way through the phone's hinge, which caused damage to the foldable display from the inside. Samsung will likely find a way to deal with the self-inflicted issues, because they involved the removal of a protective layer on the foldable screen. Expect them to make it painfully clear to Fold owners in the future that this layer should not be removed. For the single device that failed because the user simply opened and closed it, we may never know the reason for failure there. As for the devices who found substances within because of gaps in the Fold's hinge, we'll have to wait and see what Samsung did to address this. iFixit's (since-removed) teardown sure made it sound like this indeed a major flaw in the phone's design. How was Samsung able to address design flaws within a matter of weeks that leaves them comfortable in selling a $2,000 phone to consumers? I'm dying to know. // Korea Herald

T-Mobile to Sell the OnePlus 7 Pro, Will Let You Buy It Early at Events

Kellen — Thu, 09 May 2019 06:27:13 +0000

Like with the OnePlus 6T, T-Mobile will once again be the exclusive US carrier partner for the next OnePlus phone, the OnePlus 7 Pro. As a part of that partnership, T-Mobile will let you be the first to buy the phone at special events, before the 7 Pro goes up for wider sale. As you know, OnePlus will announce the OnePlus 7 Pro on May 14 at 11AM Eastern at an event in NYC. Immediately following the unveiling, T-Mobile will host a launch event at its NYC Signature Store from 2PM to 10PM Eastern where you'll be able to buy the OnePlus 7 Pro. Can't make it to NYC on the 14th? That's OK, because on May 15, T-Mobile will host similar OnePlus launch events at stores in Chicago, Las Vegas, Miami, San Francisco, and Santa Monica. Should you attend an event there, you'll be able to buy the OnePlus 7 Pro, pick-up free swag, and receive special gifts with 7 Pro purchases. All of the event details and locations can be found right here. Can't make those events either? That's probably not that big of a deal, because the phone then launches May 17 online. I'd imagine that it'll also be available from OnePlus on the 17th too. Now we just need to know pricing. // T-Mobile

What Happened to the Lenovo Smart Clock? (Updated)

Kellen — Wed, 08 May 2019 18:15:52 +0000

Remember the Lenovo Smart Clock? Lenovo introduced their mini-smart display back at CES in January, saying at the time that we would see it in the Spring for around $79. It's now May and we're starting to wonder what's going on with it. A couple of readers asked us about Lenovo's cute little Smart Clock today, probably because Google I/O is about to wrap-up and there wasn't a lot of news surrounding smart displays, outside of Google's Nest Hub Max announcement. The two readers asked if we knew if the product was cancelled or if they'd have an opportunity to buy one soon. We've reached out to Lenovo for comment to see what's up and will update this post if we hear back. For now this is what we know. The Lenovo Smart Clock was originally announced in January and then hit the FCC in February. Stopping off at the FCC is usually a sign that we are ready for launch, but that was three months ago and you still can't buy one. If you take to Lenovo's website to search for the Smart Clock, you won't find much. If you stop off at their dedicated "Smart Home" page, it's not listed, even with a "coming soon" note. A simple Google search for it returns a bunch of stories written about it along with a single link to the press release from January, except it now 404s. This page does still work, though. Additionally, Lenovo posted the source code for it on April 29. That's worth pointing out, only because they posted the Lenovo Smart Display source code last August. However, that was a month after those devices went on sale. As we've noted here, the Smart Clock still can't be bought. My guess is that it's still coming and they may just be waiting for something software-related from Google. This device is a smart display that also acts as a clock, so it could be that they need Google to release smart display software to support those features. Again, we'll update this post should we hear back. Until then, there hasn't been any indication that the Lenovo Smart Clock is done, it's just taking longer to arrive than we expected.

UPDATE: Lenovo tells us that Smart Clock plans are still on track and that we should hear an update in the next couple of weeks.

Cheers Clinton and Andrew!

Google Play App Ratings Will Soon Favor Recent Ratings

Tim — Wed, 08 May 2019 13:18:08 +0000

Google announced to app and game developers this week at Google I/O that very soon, app ratings and how they are calculated are getting changed up. As of right now, an app's rating is calculated from reviews that can date back to the time the app was initially launched. A rating from that time counts the same as a rating from today does. However, apps change with updates, and with that in mind, Google will soon be weighing recent ratings more heavily than older ones. For users, this is a great thing. For one, we'll be able to see the current state of any app we're previewing. Are users currently happy with it? That should be easy to deduce. However, for developers who have let their apps go a while with no updates and bugs, recent ratings having more weight will highlight any issues associated with the app. But hey, if developers want their apps to be successful, I suppose they should support them with updates. According to Google, users of Google Play won't see these new ratings until August, but developers can preview their new rating starting today in the Play Store Console. // TechCrunch

Apex Legends is Coming to Mobile

Tim — Wed, 08 May 2019 11:59:36 +0000

I love when I can talk about my favorite video games coming to mobile devices. It happened with Fortnite, and according to EA's recent earnings call, the same can now be said for Apex Legends. For those unfamiliar with the current battle royale offerings, Apex Legends is EA's own title, based in the Titanfall universe. It's an FPS, unlike Fortnite, with the object being the same as all other battle royale games -- be the last team standing. No specifics in terms of timing were provided, though I will say, I'd be more interested in this game on mobile over Fortnite, solely because the building mechanics in Fortnite coupled with the gunfights makes for a serious clusterf*ck in terms of mobile controls. Since Apex Legends is purely run, shoot, loot and repeat, I foresee the experience being a bit more manageable for mobile. // Game Informer | EA

Incognito Mode Coming Soon for Google Maps

Tim — Wed, 08 May 2019 11:25:43 +0000

Google announced this week during IO that an Incognito Mode will soon be coming to Google Maps. Incognito Mode has been one of the Chrome browser's greatest features, allowing folks to browse the web without any of their movements being stored in search history. With it coming to Google Maps, we assume it'll act the same, allowing folks to take trips without them being stored to their timeline.

As our phones become the primary way we access the internet, we thought it was important to build Incognito mode for our most popular apps. It’s available in YouTube and coming soon to Maps and Search.

Once this begins rolling out, we'll let you know.

Buying a Pixel 3a or 3a XL Gets You $100 From Most Retailers

Kellen — Wed, 08 May 2019 11:13:45 +0000

If you were thinking about buying a Pixel 3a or Pixel 3a XL, you should know that doing so will get you $100 to spend depending on where you buy it from. The Google Store, Best Buy, and B&H Photo are all giving $100 credits or gift cards. To get each deal, you don't have to do anything but buy a Pixel 3a or Pixel 3a XL. Once you do, Google will give you $100 to spend later on the Google Store, while Best Buy and B&H Photo will give you $100 to spend at their own stores.

Poll: You buying a Pixel 3a or 3a XL?

Should you buy the Pixel 3a? I've got one now, so I'm just getting started with testing, but I do think this could be a good phone for many. You get a Pixel 3-level camera and a bunch of other features from Google's top tier phones for $400. Sure, you don't get the best processor or display or metal and glass build, but there's a lot left to still like.

Pixel 3a, 3a XL Links:

Google Store ($100 Google Store credit)
Best Buy ($100 Best Buy e-gift card)
B&H Photo ($100 B&H e-gift card)

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

Google Showcases Subtle Android TV Changes at I/O

Tim — Wed, 08 May 2019 10:16:26 +0000

Google showcased and spoke of a few changes coming to Android TV later this year, changes that include an updated look for Google Play on the platform, as well as an easier subscription signup and login process for Android TV users. As you may know, logging into services via a controller is never an easy task, simply because you have to go from character to character by way of numerous clicks on a controller. It's just a pain, but as 9to5 Google reports, Google will soon offer a PIN system in place of full account passwords. This will be extremely useful when purchasing things on Android TV, with a simple PIN replacing a full password. I'm ready for this. For Google Play's redesign, there doesn't appear to be anything too major happening, but overall, it looks clean as you can see in the header image above. The other focus was on Google Assistant, of course. Google mentions that soon, Assistant will be able to know what's playing on live TV and users will be able to easily command Assistant to tune the TV app to exactly what you want to watch. Skip to about 2:25:30 to get to the good stuff. https://youtu.be/RLEQ3PAor1g?t=8731 // Variety | 9to5 Google

Android Distribution Updated for May, Finally: Pie Enters at 10.4%

Tim — Wed, 08 May 2019 08:55:56 +0000

It was late-October the last time Google updated its Android Distribution numbers. At that time, we were still waiting for Pie to make its debut on the chart, mostly so we could continue poking a bit of fun at Google and Android for its slow adoption rate. And just FYI, we only poke fun because we care. Anyway, the chart has been updated for May, 2019, so here's where we stand now, six months after the last time we saw these numbers. Pie makes its debut at 10.4% of all devices! This seemingly good number is likely all thanks to Samsung having already updated most of its major releases to Pie, and on top of that, the company has launched three smartphones in 2019 running the latest Android OS publicly available. Not that it skews anything, but should those devices not be updated to Pie already, we're certain that the 10.4% number would be a lot smaller. Cheers, Samsung! Here's the full list of numbers.

May 2019 Android Distribution

Pie: 10.4%
Oreo: 28.3% (+6.8%)
Nougat: 19.2% (-9%)
Marshmallow: 16.9% (-4.4%)
Lollipop: 14.5% (-3.4%)
KitKat: 6.9% (-0.7%)
Jelly Bean: 3.2% (+0.2%)
Ice Cream Sandwich: 0.3%
Gingerbread: 0.3% (+0.1%)

Last October's numbers can be viewed here. // Android Developers

DEAL: US Unlocked Galaxy S10, S10+, and S10e All at Least $100 Off at Amazon

Kellen — Wed, 08 May 2019 08:52:28 +0000

Amazon just opened up a deal on the Samsung Galaxy S10 family that shaves at least $100 off all three models. You can grab a US unlocked Galaxy S10 for as little as $885, Galaxy S10 for $799, or the Galaxy S10e for $649. Those are straight discounts too. Best Buy is offering $200 off, but they want you to activate with a new carrier payment plan or jump through other loops. If you want $100 or more off without dealing with that nonsense, Amazon has you. These are the US unlocked models of the Galaxy S10, so they'll work on any carrier without any extra work. All you have to do is slap your current SIM card in and get busy.

Amazon Deal Link

Verizon Galaxy S10, S10+, S10e Updated With April Security Patch

Tim — Tue, 07 May 2019 15:54:32 +0000

Verizon is shipping out the April security patch to the Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10+, and Galaxy S10e today. Once updated, S10 owners will see versions number PPR1.180610.011.G973USQU1ASD7, S10+ owners will see PPR1.180610.011.G975USQU1ASD7, and S10e owners will see PPR1.180610.011.G970USQU1ASD7. You'll notice that the only thing changing is the phone's model number. On top of the security patch, the changelog for each phone vaguely states, "Improves the performance of your device." I suppose that's never a bad thing. // Verizon [2] [3] Cheers Brian, Kevin, and Tom!

Pixel 3a Unboxing and First Look!

Kellen — Tue, 07 May 2019 15:22:51 +0000

The Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL are official! We have one. Let's unbox it. Anyone buying? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnPbvjYqJTM

Tuesday Poll: Are You Buying the Pixel 3a or Pixel 3a XL?

Tim — Tue, 07 May 2019 14:34:49 +0000

The Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL are now official, priced starting at $399. We know the specs and what they feature. We also know that they are available starting today basically everywhere. You can literally go into a Best Buy or other retailer and pick one up. The question is, will you be buying one? At sub-$500, they are quite tempting. Google says we can expect the same high-end photo-taking experience as we get on the more expensive Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, as well as other premium features like stereo speakers and, oh yeah, a headphone jack! If you're curious what makes these phones cheaper than the other Pixel 3 models, it's the usage of plastic for the hardware in place of metal, plus the addition of the Snapdragon 670 processor instead of anything from the Snapdragon 800 series. From what we've heard and seen so far, performance appears to be pretty solid. So, are you going to pick one up? If so, what's drawing you to it? If not, how come? Don't have a need for one or is there something in particular you don't like? [poll id="512"]

Google Brings AR to Search, New Features for Lens

Tim — Tue, 07 May 2019 14:15:21 +0000

Google introduced a few changes for Google Search on mobile devices today at IO 2019, as well as new features for Google Lens. For Search, it is bringing AR to supported mobile devices, like great white sharks and animated models from Visible Body.

With new AR features in Search, you can view and interact with 3D objects right from Search and place them directly into your own space, giving you a sense of scale and detail. For example, it’s one thing to read that a great white shark can be 18 feet long. It’s another to see it up close in relation to the things around you. So when you search for select animals, you’ll get an option right in the Knowledge Panel to view them in 3D and AR.

Brands will also being getting in on this AR fun. Companies like New Balance, Samsung, and Target will soon be able to surface their own content in Search, viewable in AR. Think shoes. Let's say there's a cool pair you're checking out online, but want to know if it goes well with your outfit. Thanks to AR, you can put the shoes right next to your clothes on the bed and see what looks good.

New Google Lens Features

For Google Lens, things are getting pretty wild. Soon, you'll be able to point your device at a local food menu, with Lens able to highlight the most popular dishes right on the physical menu. This is done by Google recognizing each item on the menu, then cross referencing that information with what people are saying online via Google Maps. On top of that, if there's a dish you aren't familiar with, Google Lens can easily pull photos of the dish up for you to see. Google is also partnering with Bon Appetit to offer super immersive recipes for users of Lens. In upcoming issues, you'll be able to point your phone at the physical page of the magazine, then have recipes come to life for step-by-step instructions.

Google Go + Lens

Lastly, when you point your camera at text, Lens can now read it out loud to you. It highlights the words as they are spoken, so you can follow along and understand the full context of what you see. You can also tap on a specific word to search for it and learn its definition. This feature is launching first in Google Go, our Search app for first-time smartphone users. Lens in Google Go is just over 100KB and works on phones that cost less than $50. All of the features mentioned above are rolling out soon for Search and Lens. // Google

Google Shares What's New in Android Q, and Yes, There's a Dark Theme

Tim — Tue, 07 May 2019 13:06:25 +0000

Google is sharing what's new in Android Q, and beyond the things we already knew, the list is quite hefty. Maybe most importantly, from a very shallow and silly perspective, is the addition of a dedicated Dark Theme. Seriously, it's coming!

Related: Download the Android Q Beta 3.

Here's the full list of what Google is specifically highlighting at I/O 2019.

Dark Theme

Starting today in Android Q Beta 3, users can activate a new system-wide dark theme by going to Settings > Display, using the new Quick Settings tile, or turning on Battery Saver. This changes the system UI to dark, and enables the dark theme of apps that support it. Naturally, Google goes over the benefits of a Dark Theme, which we've known for some time. Why it's taken this long to add one is beyond us, but I suppose it's better late than never.

Can reduce power usage by a significant amount (depending on the device’s screen technology).
Improves visibility for users with low vision and those who are sensitive to bright light.
Makes it easier for anyone to use a device in a low-light environment.

If you're a developer, you'll want to look at the development details here.

Smart Reply, Suggested Actions

Google is improving the on-device machine learning of Android Q, enabling it to suggest actions based on incoming notifications.

On-device machine learning also powers Smart Reply, which is now built into the notification system in Android, allowing any messaging app to suggest replies in notifications. Smart Reply will now also intelligently predict your next action—for example, if someone sends you an address, you can just tap to open that address in Maps.

Starting in Beta 3, Google is enabling system-provided smart replies and actions that are inserted directly into notifications by default.

Live Caption

Coupled with that improved on-device machine learning is Live Caption, a new feature targeted at deaf and hard of hearing users. With a single tap, Live Caption will automatically caption media that’s playing audio on your phone. The feature works with videos, podcasts and audio messages, across any app -- even stuff you record yourself. As soon as speech is detected, captions will appear, without ever needing Wifi or cell phone data, and without any audio or captions leaving your phone. You can see Live Caption in action by watching the video below. Live Caption https://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=YL-8Xfx6S5o

Gestural Navigation

As expected, Android Q will also be featuring an updated gesture-based navigation experience. To use it, users can switch to gestures in Settings > System > Gestures. There are currently two gestures: Swiping up from the bottom of the screen takes the user to the Home screen, holding brings up Recents. Swiping from the screen’s left or right edge triggers the Back action. This is another feature we've been waiting on, so Android Q continues to deliver the goods.

Security and Privacy

Google focused a lot on security and privacy during this year's I/O keynote. Android Q is a big part of that effort.

We’re doing even more in Android Q, with almost 50 new features and changes focused on security and privacy. For example, we created a dedicated Privacy section under Settings, where you’ll find important controls in one place. Under Settings, you’ll also find a new Location section that gives you more transparency and granular control over the location data you share with apps. You can now choose to share location data with apps only while they’re in use. Plus, you’ll receive reminders when an app has your location in the background, so you can decide whether or not to continue sharing. Android Q also provides protections for other sensitive device information, like serial numbers.

Additionally, Google introduced Project Mainline for Android Q, which will help quickly push out important security updates to devices in the background, just like an app update.

Focus Mode

To go along with last year's intro of Digital Wellbeing, Google announced Focus Mode for Android Q and Android Pie. When enabled, it allows you to silence apps that may be distracting to you during times you need to focus. With Focus Mode, you can pick the apps that you think might distract you and silence them - for example, pausing email and the News while leaving maps and text message apps active. You can then use Quick Tiles to turn on Focus Mode any time you want to focus.

5G

Android Q is also ready for the next wireless innovations, such as 5G and folding displays. For 5G, Google mentions Android Q is making it easy for developers to ready their apps for 5G.

As the first operating system to support 5G, Android Q offers app developers tools to build for faster connectivity, enhancing experiences like gaming and augmented reality.

5G isn't the only innovation happening right now, though.

Screen Continuity

Folding screens! With Android Q, screen continuity, the idea of having an app being expanded onto a larger display when a certain device is unfolded is completely native. Same goes for certain multi-tasking effects, all of which should be easily managed by developers who wish to create an app that supports it. Screen Continuity https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgXVd60f02o

If any and all of this is sounding pretty exciting, you can get started with the Android Q Beta 3 right now on select devices. Get it here! // Google | Android Developers

Android Q Beta 3 Now Available for Pixel Devices! (Updated)

Kellen — Tue, 07 May 2019 12:12:35 +0000

Android Q Beta 3 is now available for Pixel devices! The Android Q Beta 3 is available now for Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, Pixel 3, and Pixel 3 XL. If you’d like to test in the easiest way possible, head over to the Android Beta site and sign-up.

UPDATE: The OTA is live!
UPDATE 2: The Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL are now a part of the Android Q Beta.

Android Q Beta 3 Release Notes

Date: May 2019 Build: QPP3.190404.015 Emulator support: x86 (32/64-bit) Security patch level: May 2019 Google Play services: 16.7.90

If you'd like to manually flash the files, you can download the beta 3 images right here. Instructions on how to flash a factory image can be found here.

Nest Hub Max is a $229 10" Smart Display With Built-in Nest Cam, on Sale Later This Year

Tim — Tue, 07 May 2019 12:02:05 +0000

Google introduced the Nest Hub Max this morning, a smart display featuring a 10" HD display and Nest Cam built-in. Think of Hub Max the same as you would the Google Home Hub, which was just rebranded to the Nest Hub. It's your control center for everything in the smart home, but with Hub Max you're getting the added benefits of having a Nest Cam built directly into the device. With the Nest Cam, users can keep an eye on their home while they're away, do video calls via Duo, plus get detailed schedule information depending on which face the camera recognizes. For example, "when you walk into the kitchen, the Assistant knows to greet you with your calendar, commuting details, the weather, and other information you need to start your day." Nest Hub Max launches later this year for $229. // Google

Google's Pixel 3 Leaves Verizon Exclusivity, Now at More Carriers

Kellen — Tue, 07 May 2019 11:33:40 +0000

Google announced the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL today, but in doing so made a big move. The Verizon exclusive on Pixel phones is now over. And not just for the new Pixel 3a line, but for the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL too. Starting soon, T-Mobile, Sprint, US Cellular, and Visible are also selling the Pixel 3 line-up as well as the Pixel 3a. We'll have links shortly in case you want to buy from your favorite carrier.

Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL Specs (Official)

Tim — Tue, 07 May 2019 11:32:42 +0000

Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL are official from Google as of this morning. That means we have finalized specs!

Related: Google announces Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL.

For highlights, both devices feature a Snapdragon 670 processor, offer the camera software stuff all Pixel fans know and love, and they start at only $399. Here are the specs you need to know about. [table id=163 /]

Google Enters Mid-Range Realm With Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL - Available Today

Kellen — Tue, 07 May 2019 11:24:02 +0000

Google announced the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL today at Google I/O, just as we all expected them to. The phones, which have leaked on countless occasions at this point dating back to last year, are the mid-range phones Google hopes to sell in bunches, thanks to decent price points and wide availability. The Google Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL have 5.6" and 6" FHD (1080p) displays, Snapdragon 670 processors, 4GB RAM, 64GB storage, and 12.2MP cameras. Battery capacities are 3000mAh for the 3a and 3700mAh for the 3a XL, while both have USB-C ports, 3.5mm headphone jacks, fingerprint readers, stereo sound, and Active Edge squeezy sides. The big sell here is going to be the camera experience that potentially equals the regular Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, only at a fraction of the price. You'll also get Google's cleaner software experience and the regular software updates, but the camera is most definitely the reason you should consider this. Speaking of pricing, the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL start at $399 and $479, respectively. They are available for purchase today at Google, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, US Cellular, Visible, and Google Fi in Clearly White, Purple-ish, and Just Black.

Google Store Link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc7LlUtQgNw

Some Android Security Patches Will Now be Deployed Like App Updates, Through Google Play

Tim — Tue, 07 May 2019 11:21:55 +0000

Google unveiled Project Mainline today at IO 2019, a way for the company to deliver quick and painless security updates to Android devices. With this, instead of waiting for an update to hit your device, the update will take place in the background on your phone, similar to how app updates take place. Google is doing this by breaking down Android Q into standalone components that aren't reliant on each other. So, if there's a critical fix that needs to go out immediately, Google can ship it out and get it in the hands on users ASAP.

With Android Q, we’ll update important OS components in the background, similar to the way we update apps. This means that you can get the latest security fixes, privacy enhancements and consistency improvements as soon as they’re available, without having to reboot your phone.

We'll be learning more about Mainline and new Android Q features over the next two days at I/O. // Google

Android Q Beta Arrives Today on Devices From 12 Different OEMs (Updated)

Kellen — Tue, 07 May 2019 11:20:34 +0000

Like with Android P, Android Q has arrived on non-Google devices. Starting today, a new Android Q beta will be available to devices from 12 different OEMs. Companies like OnePlus, Oppo, Sony, and Essential are back again this year, but new comers like LG and Huawei are getting in on the fun too (12 OEMs total). Google says that 21 devices are getting access to the Android Q beta today, including Pixel phones. Once we have download links, we'll update this post. UPDATE: The full list of phones in the Android Q program is--

ASUS Zenfone 5Z
Essential Phone
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
LG G8
Nokia 8.1
OnePlus 6
OnePlus 6T
OPPO Reno
realme 3 Pro
Sony Xperia Z3
TECNO SPARK 3 Pro
Vivo X27
Vivo NEX S
Vivo NEX A
Xiaomi Mi 9
Xiaomi Mi MIX 3 5G

To grab the Android Q beta for any of these, everything is available right here.

Duplex 'On the Web' Will Soon Book Car Rentals, Movie Tickets

Tim — Tue, 07 May 2019 10:59:55 +0000

Google has been using Duplex to help you book reservations at local restaurants for a bit now, but today at I/O 2019, the company announced Duplex on the web. With it, Google is looking to do certain tasks that are associated with the web, such as booking car rentals and purchasing movie tickets.

We’re extending Duplex to the web and previewing how the Assistant can also help you complete a task online. Often when you book things online, you have to navigate a number of pages, pinching and zooming to fill out all the forms. With Duplex on the web, you can complete these tasks much faster since it fills out complex forms for you.

For example, with National, Duplex can automatically pull in your flight information, get the dates for your car rental set up, then confirm your booking. This is all done with minimal interaction from the user. Duplex on the web will be available later this year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ta7M-KMPY4U // Google

Google Assistant Gets a Driving Mode

Kellen — Tue, 07 May 2019 10:56:35 +0000

Your Google Assistant will get a driving mode starting this summer. It'll provide you with a specific visual experience that's been built for use while driving, sort of like Android Auto. As you can see in the image above, Assistant's driving mode shows you relevant activities, like navigation, media, calling, or messaging. It'll pull up info from you calendar, let you continue listening to a podcast from earlier, and announce the names of callers as calls come in. To fire it up, Assistant's driving mode will automatically load when connect to your car's Bluetooth or you could simply say, "Hey Google, let's drive." Again, driving mode launches this summer for all phones with Google Assistant. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFTEEZyxw0E // Google

Next-Gen Google Assistant is Very Fast, Coming to Pixel Phones Later This Year

Tim — Tue, 07 May 2019 10:44:19 +0000

Google unveiled what it internally calls the Next Generation Assistant at I/O 2019 this morning. To sum it up, Google is bringing the AI system that powers Google Assistant straight to devices, meaning your Google Assistant is about to become wickedly fast.

The AI that powers the Assistant can now run locally on your phone. This breakthrough enabled us to create a next generation Assistant that processes speech on-device at near zero latency, with transcription that happens in real-time, even when you have no network connection.

As you'll see in the demo below, multi-tasking with the new Google Assistant can be very fast, but also very smart. Shown on stage, one example Google showcased was the dictation of an email, where Assistant correctly recognized when the user was dictating the message, then issuing commands such as setting the subject line and sending the message. Additionally, starting today, users of smart displays and Google Home products who use those devices for alarms and timers no longer need to speak the Hey Google command to shut off the timer/alarm. All you need to say is, "Stop." Google announced that this new Assistant will be available first for Pixel phones later this year. Multitasking https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWBhQT2kBrg Dictation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsX7uEEKCDE // Google

You Can Now Just Yell "Stop" at Your Google Home When a Timer or Alarm Ends

Kellen — Tue, 07 May 2019 10:42:10 +0000

Google announced the greatest feature in Google Home history today. Starting now, when a timer ends or alarm on your Google Home or smart display goes off , you can just say "stop," to get it to shut up. No longer do you have to yell, "Hey, Google, stop!" Seriously, just say "stop." It'll know. That's it. G.O.A.T. feature.

WATCH: Google I/O 2019 Opening Keynote!

Kellen — Tue, 07 May 2019 07:42:53 +0000

Google I/O 2019 has arrived! For this first day, the week of developer chatter is kicked off with an opening keynote that'll last a couple of hours, as Google takes the stage to announce everything new across their services that we might see over the coming months. What are we expecting? I think it's a safe bet that we'll hear news on Google Assistant advancements. There will be AI talk. Nonstop AI talk. Google Stadia will become more clear, Android Q will get a new beta build, and the first mid-range Pixel phones should be announced (finally). Don't be surprised if a bigger Google Home Hub shows up too, possibly with a re-branding under the Nest name. The opening keynote kicks off at 10AM Pacific (1PM Eastern). We're here live in case anything wild happens, but you can watch below with us. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyRPyRKHO8M

Google's Nest Hub Max Likely Just Hit the FCC

Kellen — Tue, 07 May 2019 06:43:51 +0000

A new Google-made "interactive video streaming device" just stopped by the FCC this morning, hours before Google I/O kicks off. What is it? It should be the Nest Hub Max or a Google Home Hub Max, a device that Google outed weeks ago. The device falls under model number H2A. That's worth noting, since the original Google Home Hub (Google Nest Hub now?) was H1A. See the connection there? The new Google Hub was tested for WiFi, Bluetooth, and Thread, which is their network protocol for IoT or smart home devices. I'm guessing we'll find out very shortly what this device is officially.

// FCC

Samsung is Still Trying to Fix the Galaxy Fold, Asks if People Want to Keep Pre-Orders

Kellen — Mon, 06 May 2019 20:27:43 +0000

Samsung delayed sale of the Galaxy Fold back on April 22 after a number of review units ran into serious durability issues. Since that date, we've only been left to guess when (or if) the phone will return with fixes and find its way into the hands of deep-pocketed tech fans. Today, Samsung provided an update to those who pre-ordered, basically telling them that they are still working on things. The email, which you can see in full below, says that they are "making progress in enhancing" the Fold, but that they aren't quite ready to give any sort of anticipated shipping date. They won't have another update on the situation for weeks. Because of the lack of information, Samsung is once again letting those who pre-ordered decide if they want to keep their pre-order. With no concrete date available, Samsung will hold pre-orders open until May 31. If you want to stick around with your pre-order and see if a foldable device eventually ships, you can do so by telling Samsung that you would "like to keep my order." Otherwise, if they don't hear from you by the end of May, your order for the $2,000 Galaxy Fold will be cancelled. So that's the latest on the Galaxy Fold. I still have my doubts over whether or not this thing will ever be sold to a consumer in its current form. It was a brilliant concept, but the failure rate of only a handful of review units in the public should send Samsung back to the drawing board with this one. This isn't a risk worth taking just to say you are first to the foldables game.

UPDATE 5/7: A Samsung spokesperson reached out with the following statement to try and add some clarity to the situation.

"Samsung Electronics America is committed to keeping our customers informed on the status of their Galaxy Fold preorder. While we continue to make progress in enhancing the Galaxy Fold, a new release date has not yet been announced. Because of this, we have recently contacted our preorder customers to provide them information on their options as we move forward. As per U.S. regulations, we are required to notify customers that their preorders will be cancelled in the event the product has not been shipped by May 31st. Samsung Electronics America is offering customers an option to keep their orders past this date and customers may also cancel their orders at any time. Samsung values the trust our customers place in us and want to thank them for their patience and understanding.”

Monday Poll: What Has You Most Excited for Google I/O 2019?

Tim — Mon, 06 May 2019 14:07:48 +0000

Google I/O 2019 kicks off tomorrow, but before that happens, we're curious what topic you're most looking forward to this year. There are some great options, too. From what we expect, Google will announce the new Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL, a new beta for Android Q, more Google Stadia details, the Nest Hub Max, and probably more Google Assistant stuff. Who knows, maybe Google even has a few tricks up its sleeve this year? Google I/O is always a blast. [poll id="511"]

Twitter Now Lets You Attach GIFs, Photos, and Videos to Retweets

Tim — Mon, 06 May 2019 12:42:09 +0000

Before today, users of Twitter were unable to retweet something while also attaching a photo, video, or GIF. Today, the social network announced a change, now allowing users to retweet with accompanying media. Today is a good day. Sometimes, the best reaction to a tweet is a GIF. There's something genuinely funny about certain GIFs and how they express feelings towards particular information, so I know we'll be seeing insane usage of this feature starting right away. Twitter says users on mobile browsers, iOS, and Android can use it starting today. https://twitter.com/Twitter/status/1125477601219416065

Essential Phone Update!

Kellen — Mon, 06 May 2019 11:58:07 +0000

The Essential Phone, an old and no-longer-sold Android device with all the promise in the world that never quite lived up to our hopes and dreams because of a god-awful camera and weirdly-put-together components and software, is still getting updates. The May security patch for Android dropped this morning and the Essential Phone is already getting it, just like it does every month. The update arrives as Android Pie build PQ1A.190105.058. It includes the May security patch, a Bluetooth fix for audio routing, and a stability fix to improve shutdown responsiveness. Great! https://twitter.com/essential/status/1125460476287168512

Android Auto Has a New Look Coming Later This Summer

Tim — Mon, 06 May 2019 11:07:10 +0000

Google announced a new look for Android Auto this week, one that will begin rolling out later this year. The primary focus of this refreshed look is to help you get on the road faster, show more useful information at a glance, and simplify common tasks while driving. To do this, the changes include the ability to control apps and the phone app from a new navigation bar. For example, while navigating in Google Maps, you'll continue to have access to music playback controls. Additionally, Android Auto's new dark theme should bring improved visibility for drivers.

Google will be showcasing the new Android Auto at Google I/O this week, but in terms of rollout, the company says it won't be available until later this summer. Dang. https://youtu.be/yLPbWSSeg_s // Google

OnePlus 7 Pro Display is HDR10+ Certified, Which Means Better Viewing Experiences

Tim — Mon, 06 May 2019 10:20:03 +0000

OnePlus can't seem to ever wait for official launch days to share details for its upcoming devices, and of course, the OnePlus 7 Pro is no different. Today, OnePlus announced that the display found in the OnePlus 7 Pro is certified for HDR10+, which means an overall better viewing experience on your phone for videos, games, and other assorted content. As OnePlus puts it, HDR10+ produces a higher peak brightness, up to 4,000 nits, as well as provides frame-by-frame adjustments for exceptional contrast levels.

HDR10+ provides frame-by-frame adjustments for the optimum representation of contrast from the HDR source content. HDR10+ also produces 4000 nits of peak brightness, a massive raise of 3,000 nits compared to HDR10. Being an open format, it's license and royalty free and therefore easily adoptable by manufacturers and content producers with quality maintained through a HDR10+ certification and logo program.

This may be a good time to remind you that we've already learned from DisplayMate that the OnePlus 7 Pro has received an A+ rating for its display. Apparently, the display is insanely good, so we're getting a little impatient for May 14 to come around. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvPF3XFHzX4 // OnePlus

May 2019 Android Security Update Goes Live for Pixel Devices

Kellen — Mon, 06 May 2019 10:11:47 +0000

Another month, another Android security patch is here. Google just released the May 2019 Android security patch for Pixel devices, even though I/O is only a day away from starting. We already have both factory image and OTA files ready to be downloaded for those willing to do some manual labor, or as always, you can sit back and wait for the update to arrive over-the-air (OTA) to your device. So far, we are seeing new 9.0.0 files for Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL(PQ3A.190505.002), Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL (PQ3A.190505.001), and Pixel and Pixel XL (PQ3A.190505.001). The Pixel C picked up a new 8.1.0 build as version OPM8.190505.001. All devices are getting the May 5 security patch level.

UPDATE: Google didn't reveal any specific functional patches this month, only that the update "contains many functional updates and improvements to various parts of the Android platform and supported Pixel devices."

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:

OnePlus 7 Looks Like the OnePlus 6T, But With Upgraded Internals

Tim — Mon, 06 May 2019 09:02:04 +0000

We've been giving a lot of attention to the OnePlus 7 Pro lately, with plenty of information coming straight for OnePlus leading up to its launch on May 14. However, this week we're learning more about the standard OnePlus 7, or as I think it should be called, the OnePlus 6T 2.0 2019 Edition. Courtesy of WinFuture, we're getting our first great look at the device, which is undeniably similar to the OnePlus 6T from last year. It sports a front teardrop notch, has dual rear-facing cameras, and is reported to have the same exact 6.41" display size and resolution of 1080 x 2340. What's different would be the internals. It's reported that inside, the phone features a Snapdragon 855 processor, comes with either 6 or 8GB of RAM, up to 256GB storage, and an updated camera sensor on the back. In fact, it's said to be the same camera sensor as the one found in the OnePlus 7 Pro, which looks to be pretty good. We still aren't exactly sure what OnePlus' intention with this phone is. Will it be sold in the US alongside the Pro version as a less expensive alternative for OnePlus fans? It's also possible that the OnePlus 7 is not meant for the US market, and instead, US buyers will have a choice between the impressive looking Pro and the existing 6T model. Thankfully, we'll know next week what OnePlus intends to offer. // WinFuture

DEAL: Samsung Gear S3 Frontier Drops to $109 With $90 Discount (Updated)

Kellen — Mon, 06 May 2019 06:36:10 +0000

Smartwatch shoppers, we've got a sweet deal for you today. Samsung's Gear S3 Frontier watch is down to just $109.99, thanks to an instant $90 off when you add one to cart. $90 off! With the Gear S3 Frontier, you have one of Samsung's nicest built watches, with a sporty look, rotating bezel, and all the specs. You've got a 1.3" round display, 768MB RAM and 4GB storage, GPS, wireless charging, heartrate monitor, 380mAh battery, dual core processor, and IP68 water and dust resistance. It's a big watch at 46mm, but not uncommonly large. As for software, the S3 Frontier runs Samsung's Tizen OS, just like all its watches have for years. But even though this watch is a couple of years old, it recently received the big update to Tizen 4.0. Originally priced at $349.99, this is a crazy deal. The Gear S3 Frontier will work with any Android phone running 4.4+.

Amazon Deal Link

UPDATE: If Amazon has sold through the deal, Costco (for members) has it $90 off as well. [COSTCO LINK]
UPDATE 2: Costco appears to have soldout and pulled the product page.
UPDATE 3: Guys, this deal is done.

OnePlus 7 Pro has UFS 3.0 Storage, so It'll be Crazy Fast

Kellen — Sun, 05 May 2019 07:36:47 +0000

Samsung's Galaxy Fold was supposed to be the first phone available with new ultra-fast UFS 3.0 storage. After early review units revealed multiple problems, that phone has been delayed to a later date. OnePlus is now going to swoop in and likely be the first to use the new storage type when the OnePlus 7 Pro arrives May 14. In a Tweet this morning, OnePlus CEO Pete Lau confirmed the upgrade to UFS 3.0 for the OnePlus 7 series, which could mean the regular OnePlus 7 might get the faster storage too. Either way, we know for sure the OnePlus 7 Pro and its lesser-equipped sibling will be fast. What is UFS 3.0 storage? It's the embedded internal storage you find in phones, with 3.0 acting as the newest, fanciest version. With UFS 3.0, we're getting twice the speed of the previous top-tier UFS 2.1 storage, at least according to Samsung. That means doing just about anything on your phone at a faster pace. The 2100MB/s read speeds on UFS 3.0 are 20x a typical microSD card and 4x a SATA SSD drive. It's write speeds are up to 410MB/s, which is a 50% boost over the previous UFS solutions. The benefits to you will be faster load-up times for applications and multi-tasking, a quicker and more powerful camera experience, improved gaming and video experiences, etc. Again, everything should just happen faster with UFS 3.0. The OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro will be announced on May 14. https://twitter.com/PeteLau/status/1125021817117110272

DEAL: $100 Off Nokia 9 PureView Starting This Sunday, Down to $599

Tim — Fri, 03 May 2019 13:46:07 +0000

Between May 5 and 11, you'll be able to scoop up a 9 PureView from Nokia at $100 off its usual price, bringing it down to $599 at Best Buy and Amazon. For those unfamiliar, the 9 PureView is the latest clean Android phone from Nokia, but it’s unique in that it has 5 rear Zeiss cameras on the backside. The 5 cameras shoot simultaneously at 12MP each and attempt to capture as much light and detail as is possible for every single shot. The phone also features Android 9.0 Pie, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 prcoessor, 6GB RAM, 5.99″ QHD pOLED display, 128GB storage, front 20MP camera, wireless charging, IP67 water and dust resistance, USB-C (3.1) port, and a 3320mAh battery. Again, the sale takes place starting this Sunday on May 5.

Purchase Links

Best Buy
Amazon

OnePlus: OnePlus 7 Pro Has Water Resistance, But Please Don't Drop It in Water

Tim — Fri, 03 May 2019 10:51:18 +0000

OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei took to the company's forum today to discuss IP ratings and the OnePlus 7 Pro. To keep this brief, he understands that people like having an IP rating associated with their smartphone, but in the long run, it's an expensive endeavor to have a phone certified for one. Not only does money go toward the actual testing aspect of receiving an IP rating, but we assume it also costs plenty of money to manufacture a phone capable of getting one. To give you an idea at how resistant the OnePlus 7 Pro will be to water, OnePlus published the following video today. So, apparently, the OnePlus 7 Pro can withstand a drop in a bucket of water. However, Pei specifically states, "this in not a bucket challenge, and we certainly don’t want all of you to try to drop your OnePlus 7 Pro in a bucket." Here's the full post from OnePlus' forum.

At OnePlus, we always aim to doing the right things based on what you really need not the industry, especially when it comes to creating the best possible device. Over the past few years, we’ve seen so many comments from you on our phone’s water-resistance quality. In fact, we’ve never stopped improving our design and going through tests to make sure you can finally experience our water-resistant quality. We know that an IP rating would be the simplest way to prove our phone’s capability, but the certification doesn’t help us communicate our focus on your real experience, which is why we created this direct and relatable video to show you what our water-resistant quality can actually bring to you in your real life in a more powerful way. However, this is not a bucket challenge, and we certainly don’t want all of you to try to drop your OnePlus 7 Pro in a bucket. And just like other smartphone brands that do IP classify their devices, our warranty does not cover water damage. This also doesn't mean that we'll never consider IP classifying our products in the future.

The takeaway is, no, the OnePlus 7 Pro will not have an IP rating. However, should your phone come into contact with water, it'll likely be fine. As always, like with any phone, don't go looking to get your phone wet because the company's warranty does not cover water damage. // OnePlus

Podcast: I/O Up Next

Kellen — Fri, 03 May 2019 10:13:02 +0000

On this episode of the Droid Life Show, we'll do a bit of a preview on Google I/O, as the conference kicks off next week near Google's campus. We know the Pixel 3a and 3a XL will be announced, but there could be more, like a new Nest Hub Max. Oh, new Android Q builds and other stuff are good bets. We've got other topics too, like OnePlus 7 Pro leaks and official confirmations, a possible foldable Razr phone leak, news on Wear OS, and more. Trivia is back again! We have 5 Meater devices to giveaway to winners! Get your grill on, son. We'll be live at 12:00PM Pacific (3PM Eastern).

DEAL: Buy Verizon Pixel 3 at $300 Off, Get $800 Off Another 3 or Pixel 3 XL

Kellen — Fri, 03 May 2019 08:44:04 +0000

The Pixel 3a and 3a XL are coming early next week, but the flagship Pixel 3 at Verizon has a really nice discount with BOGO option running right now. The deal looks like this. Buy a Pixel 3 (review) from Verizon on device payment plan and they'll give you $300 off. You'll get that $300 spread out over the life of your payment plan, which is the way most deals work these days. No trade-in is required, though. From there, Verizon will give you $800 to put towards either another Pixel 3 or a Pixel 3 XL (review). That fully covers the cost of a Pixel 3 and greatly reduces monthly payments on a Pixel 3 XL. Yes, the $800 is spread out, just like the $300 was. The $300-off promo is only on the Pixel 3.

Shop Verizon Pixel 3

#TBT: The Story of How the OG DROID Helped Save Three Companies

Tim — Thu, 02 May 2019 14:13:35 +0000

In April of 2011, Wired published a brilliant piece on the original Motorola DROID, a phone that many of you may have owned back in the day. Well, as cool as we all know that phone is and was, did you know that the OG DROID helped save three companies? Oh, indeed it did! In 2009, Motorola, Android, and Verizon were struggling. iPhone was dominating, and at that time, it still wasn't for sale through Verizon. So here are three companies, desperate for something major, then all of a sudden, here comes this somewhat quirky looking Android-powered slider phone with a marketing campaign that kicked the sh*t out of everything. Everything iDon't, DROID DOES. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e52TSXwj774 Stepping further back, Wired's original piece even goes over the design meetings and decisions made that led up to what we now know as the OG DROID. The following is an excerpt.

Now Jha had come to Google headquarters to unveil his design—and it was impressive. Jha promised a device that would be far faster than any other smartphone. He said its touchscreen would have a higher resolution than the iPhone. He said it would come with a full keyboard, for customers who didn’t like the iPhone’s virtual keys. He promised a phone that was thin and sleek, one that could compete with the iPhone on pure aesthetics. And, thanks to his longstanding relationship with Verizon, he offered the potential of a partnership with the country’s then second-largest wireless carrier; in fact, Motorola and Verizon had already discussed building a smartphone together. “We were all kind of jazzed,” says Hiroshi Lockheimer, one of Rubin’s chief lieutenants, who was at the meeting. “I think we said OK on the spot.” But that optimism faded a few months later, in the spring of 2009, when the first prototype arrived in the Android offices. To Rubin’s eyes, they looked nothing like the designs Jha had presented. Indeed, they were hideous. Yes, there is always a gap between a manufacturer’s sketches and the eventual prototype, but Rubin and his team had so much faith in Jha that they expected him to deliver a phone much closer to the one he had pitched. Despair set in. “It looked like a weapon. It was so sharp and jagged and full of hard lines. It looked like you could cut yourself on the edges,” says someone who saw the prototype. “We were really concerned. There were a lot of conversations where we asked, ‘Is this really the device we want to do? Should we try to talk Motorola out of it?’”

I highly recommend going back and checking out Wired's piece. It's a great read for OG DROID fans. Lastly, to help anyone here visualize the importance of the OG DROID, watch the below animation. This is a video showing global Android activations between October, 2008 and January, 2011. When November, 2009 and the OG DROID came to town, the struggles for three companies became history. Verizon is now the largest US carrier, Android is doing just fine, and if there is any sad part to the story, it's that Motorola isn't really the same company as it once was. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqFpq9WXbJo

Detective Pikachu and Friends Come to Playground for Select Phones

Tim — Thu, 02 May 2019 11:58:48 +0000

Four Pokemon that are set to appear to the upcoming Detective Pikachu movie are now available in Playground for Pixel phones, plus select LG and Moto phones. Once downloaded, you can have Detective Pikachu, Mr. Mime, Charizard, and Jigglypuff placed in your world using your supported device. Apparently, these little Playmoji feature machine learning, able to react to your own facial expressions.

Thanks to ARCore’s motion tracking, light estimation and ability to understand the real world, they feel like they’re really there with you. You can even take a selfie with Detective Pikachu and share a smile as he reacts to your facial expressions in real time via machine learning.

I'm still creeped out by Mr. Mime, but Pikachu sure is cute. Google Play Link

// Google

Here's the OnePlus 7 Pro in 'Nebula Blue' and 'Mirror Grey'

Tim — Thu, 02 May 2019 11:03:38 +0000

Thanks to Ishan Agarwal on Twitter, we're getting our best look yet at the upcoming OnePlus 7 Pro in two colors, Nebula Blue and Mirror Grey. As we can see, the OP7 Pro appears to feature the expected triple rear camera setup (camera samples here), all display frontside (with in-display fingerprint reader resting beneath), and an overall minimal exterior. For comparison, the phone looks very much like a Galaxy S10+, but without the camera cutout, which is exceptionally sweet. As for the front-facing camera, it's also hidden behind the display, assumably popping out from the top only when in use. The OnePlus 7 Pro is scheduled to be launched on May 14. Are we liking what we see? I am. // @ishanagarwal24

Simple Bank Finally, Finally Adds Support for Samsung Pay

Tim — Thu, 02 May 2019 10:40:46 +0000

Simple, the digital bank headquartered right here in Portland, OR, has finally added support for Samsung Pay. I'll be real with you. I have been crying on Twitter with each new Samsung flagship for Simple to add support for the company's mobile payment service. They always said it was in the works, which really ticked me off. Well, it's finally here. As many of you know, Samsung Pay is different from other mobile payment services, due to its use of MST + NFC. The incorporation of MST allows Samsung Pay to be used at nearly all payment terminals, not just the ones equipped with NFC. That gives it a huge advantage in the space. To get started, read over the details here, then link your accounts using Samsung Pay. https://twitter.com/simple/status/1124003151802191875

Check Your Wear OS Watch, Tiles Already Rolling Out

Kellen — Thu, 02 May 2019 10:32:17 +0000

We're barely 24 hours removed from Google announcing its latest addition to Wear OS and the feature is already popping up on watches. I'm talking about Tiles, which are the quick bits of information you may frequently access in the form of a card or page to the right of your watch's home screen. I grabbed the Montblanc Summit 2 (review) that's sitting on my desk at the moment and to my surprise, noticed that there was something extra going on to the right side of my Google Fit page. With an extra swipe from right to left past that, I found weather and calendar Tiles, along with a hint to long-press to adjust or add more. Tiles are here! The update is likely a part of the latest Wear OS app update that should have hit your phone this week as build 2.24.0.244631785. Once on your phone and then watch, Google just has to flip a switch that adds the new Tiles pages. In case it wasn't clear, this isn't a system update. It looks like I'm not alone. A bunch of Wear OS watch owners at reddit are seeing Tiles on watches as old as the LG Watch Urbane. How do Tiles work? Right now, there aren't many to choose from, but you access them by swiping from right-to-left on your watch. You'll find a set pre-loaded, with a long-press letting you then rearrange, remove, or add new ones. Currently, I have a couple of Google Fit-related Tiles, one for weather, a timer, and Google News. I'm guessing we'll get more around Google I/O. Seeing Tiles yet? Which watch you workin' with?

HTC's Twitter Account Appears Dead, Which Means Something, I Guess (Updated)

Tim — Thu, 02 May 2019 09:10:28 +0000

If we're supposed to take a company's happenings on Twitter as a sign of internal happenings, then I suppose very little is happening over at HTC. Spotted by a user on reddit, the company's main US and global Twitter accounts haven't been active since March 11. It's even more depressing looking at its HTC Help account, which hasn't tweeted assistance to anyone since January 28. For a company as large as HTC, that doesn't seem like a good thing. It's true that we aren't expecting any major smartphone news from the company any time soon, but just this week, there were murmurings of an Exodus 2 (its blockchain phone). We also know the company is working on getting Pie out to supported devices at some point during Q2, and don't forget, they have plans with Sprint to sell a 5G/VR streambox hub. Before MWC in February, the company hadn't published a tweet since November, so on and off Twitter activity is actually common right now for HTC. What I'm saying is, we know HTC isn't totally dead, even if its Twitter would have you believe otherwise. In January of 2018, Kellen decided he'd write a piece, proclaiming that he was excited for HTC's 2018. HTC proceeded to have an awful year. We assumed Kellen jinxed the company, so this year, he wrote the opposite. That hasn't seemed to help either. If this was like the Titanic, we'd all be Rose and it would be about time to consider the necessity of letting Jack (played by HTC) go and having them sink down to the bottom of the Atlantic ocean. While it's sad and we'll go throughout life questioning whether there was enough room on the door for both of us, we will look back on the fun and sexy times we had together. Such as that time when HTC did a charcoal sketch of us in the nude. That was hot. UPDATE: HTC's Twitter account is not dead anymore! https://twitter.com/htc/status/1124095745995395072 // reddit

Moto Z4 is Crazy Thin, Mocks Anti-Headphone Trend

Kellen — Thu, 02 May 2019 08:54:21 +0000

Motorola's Moto Z line refuses to die and will soon grow with the Moto Z4, a phone that has leaked a couple of times already. Last night, we got another look at press renders of the device that show off not only how thin it is, but that it'll ditch the efforts of this terrible industry to try and rid the world of headphone jacks. As wildly thin as this phone appears to be, Motorola somehow managed to do the unthinkable. The fresh set of images were posted by @evleaks and they show the Moto Z4 from all angles. The images up top we've seen before, but below, we get to see both the top and bottom of Motorola's next phone for the first time. That is indeed a headphone jack on the bottom next to the USB-C port.

The move appears to have forced Motorola to throw the phone's speaker up top, which is kind of weird. I'm guessing that means no stereo anything here, which might be fine if you are into Moto Mods that act as speakers. The specs for the Moto Z4 sound like a bit of a mixed bag, according to a previous report. This Moto Z4 doesn't sound like the next flagship from Motorola, but more of a follow-up device to last year's disappointing Moto Z3 with even lesser specs. That's too bad, although you can kind of understand why Motorola might not want to go wild with a family of phones that has never really performed that well.

Here is the Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL and All of Their Colors and Features

Kellen — Wed, 01 May 2019 15:22:11 +0000

The trickle of Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL leaks has been steady, but we're now going to fully open the floodgates. We have every single thing you need to know about the Google Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL before they are announced next week on May 7. Ready? Before we get going, here are some pictures of the three colors that will be available: white, purple, and black . We've got all of the angles covered too in case you wanted to see those fun-colored power buttons.

As for Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL features, expect an "extraordinary" camera with Google's Night Sight on board, the same as the fabulous Night Sight found on the regular Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. In addition, you'll get a portrait mode, Motion Auto Focus, and unlimited Google Photos storage. Fast charging is here too, with 7 hours of use in just 15 minutes. Because these are Pixel devices, 3 years of security and OS updates are included, as are things like Screen Call. What about specs? What you've read so far is correct. The Pixel 3a will have a 5.6" display, while the Pixel 3a XL will have a 6.0". They'll have 12.2MP Dual Pixel cameras, 4GB RAM, 64GB storage, 8MP front shooters, 3000mAh (3a) and 3700mAh (3a XL) batteries, squeezy Active Edge sensors, rear fingerprint readers, and Android 9.0 Pie. We don't have a further confirmation on price, but that was rumored to be $399 (3a) and $479 (3a XL) earlier today. Need proof? Here are some promo images that'll accompany launch.

Pixel 3a Rumored to Cost $399 (Updated)

Kellen — Wed, 01 May 2019 10:57:39 +0000

UPDATE: We've got images of all three colors of the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL, as well as a bunch of feature confirmations. Full story here.

Google is preparing to announce something Pixel-related on May 7, just as Google I/O kicks off. We are expecting an announcement for the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL, the two mid-range phones from Google that have endured months and months of leaks. While we know almost everything about these phones at this point, we still have no idea how much Google will charge for them. Being Google, we've worried that the prices would be unreasonably high for the product being offered. Today, we're getting a rumor that squashes that a bit. According to YouTube channel This is Tech Today, who received images of the Pixel 3a box from a source, the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL with 64GB storage will be priced at $399 and $479, respectively. There could be 128GB models too, but pricing for those has not been revealed. At that price, you are getting specs like a 5.6" (Pixel 3a) or 6" (3a XL) 1080p display, Snapdragon 670 processor, 4GB RAM, 64GB storage, 3000mAh (3a) or 3400mAh (3a XL) battery, fingerprint reader, fast charging, headphone jack, and the Google software experience. The 3a line should also feature a Pixel-worthy 12MP camera. Is that a good price? It's not an offensive price. That's $100 more than the Moto G7, which has similar specs. The Pixel 3a line differs by having a newer processor (670 vs. 632) and NFC chip. The Pixel 3a also benefits from the fact that it'll get software updates regularly for years, unlike Motorola's mid-range line, and should have a really, really good camera. You buying? // This is Tech Today

Coming Soon: Auto Delete Your Google Location History and Activity Data

Tim — Wed, 01 May 2019 10:36:36 +0000

Manually going into your Google account and managing location history and activity data is already doable, though, it's a hassle. Announced this week, Google is soon offering an auto delete function for all of this information, allowing you to remove data automatically after 3 months or 18 months. You probably already know this, but Google tracks everything you do. It records all of your web and mobile phone activity, then places that into a folder inside of your Google account. This information is used to, "give you more personalized experiences, like faster searches and more helpful app and content recommendations." If you're a privacy advocate and don't want this data sticking around forever, but still want a curated experience while using a Google account, this new feature should be good for that. Google says these controls will be available in the coming weeks. // Google

Verizon Intros Version 2.0 of 'Up' Rewards Program That Focuses on More Rewards, More Often

Tim — Wed, 01 May 2019 08:53:52 +0000

Verizon customers who are big on the company's Up rewards program are in for a treat starting now, with Verizon announcing version 2.0 of the program. Version 2.0 focuses on "more rewards, more often," so automatically that sounds pretty good. One of the larger changes is a more simple structure, with customers receiving reward credits every month after paying their bill, instead of every $300 spent. Additionally, Verizon states you'll get more surprise rewards throughout the year, too. As an example, the company offered free coffee from Starbucks on National Coffee Day and a free Mrs. Fields cookie on Tax Day. More free goodies? Excellent. Also being added are more Super Ticket experiences. While these are first come, first served, they provide exclusive experiences like private shows or stage-side access to concerts for artists such as Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello, or even tickets to the Super Bowl.

Verizon Up Link

// Verizon

Wear OS Update Introduces Tiles, Which are Like Little Information Cards (Updated)

Kellen — Wed, 01 May 2019 08:00:02 +0000

We often wonder if Google still cares much about Wear OS, you know, because of the lack of meaningful updates and hardware. But typically, just as we get close to writing off their wearable OS, a new piece of software or feature shows up to bring back an ounce of hope. Today, Google is doing that again with the introduction of Tiles.

UPDATE 5/2: Tiles already rolling out!

What are Wear OS Tiles? They are sort of like cards of information for Wear OS, similar to the pages or cards of information you see on something like Tizen OS, which is Samsung's wearable OS. They are quick-to-access informative pages that one might check on multiple times per day without having to open an individual app. You'll have Tiles for weather, Google Fit info, setting a timer, or getting news from places like the New York Times. You access Tiles with a swipe from right-to-left and can customize the order of them by long-pressing and then re-arranging. Google says they'll add more over time, probably with the help of developers after they discuss Tiles in more detail next week at Google I/O. Ready to have Tiles on you Wear OS watch? Google says to expect Tiles to hit watches "over the next month." To see Tiles in action, jump to the 50-second mark of the video below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=yO5W_nGPv8M // Google

YouTube and YouTube TV Book 13 Exclusive MLB Games Later This Year

Kellen — Tue, 30 Apr 2019 16:10:25 +0000

During the second half of the 2019 MLB season, YouTube and YouTube TV will exclusively broadcast 13 games for free in the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico. The games and schedule haven't been announced yet, but YouTube is going all out here. The deal was announced today, with YouTube sharing plans for pre-game and post-game shows as a part of the live broadcasts. The games will be viewable on the MLB YouTube channel, as well as a dedicated channel on YouTube TV. In other words, YouTube isn't just re-broadcasting games from MLB.TV, they are running baseball games that have been enhanced for YouTube with the help of MLB's broadcast team. This news arrives only months after YouTube TV announced a couple of partnerships with MLS teams in LA and Seattle. YouTube TV also has all of the Turner networks now, including NBA TV. While price hikes are never fun, YouTube and YouTube TV are becoming great options for sports viewing. // TechCrunch

DEAL: Buy Unlocked Galaxy S9 or S9+, Get a Free 512GB SD Card and Wireless Charger

Kellen — Tue, 30 Apr 2019 14:06:37 +0000

Amazon's current deal of the day is a good one if you were considering a Samsung Galaxy S9 or Galaxy S9+. For the next few hours, you can grab the US unlocked Galaxy S9 or S9+ and get a free 512GB microSD card, as well as a free Samsung fast wireless charging stand. The Galaxy S9 and S9+ (review) start at $499.99 and $599.99, respectively, which is already well below what they retailed for last year. With this bundle added on, you are basically getting $180 in freebies too. Not bad, right? The unlocked S9 units work on all major US carriers, for those who don't know. They also get plenty of software updates, just not necessarily as quickly as the carrier models do. They are mostly bloatware-free, though, and come without any of the carrier baggage you might find from a Verizon or AT&T model.

Amazon Deal Link

Here's the New Facebook App With Its Big Focus on Groups

Kellen — Tue, 30 Apr 2019 13:07:49 +0000

Alongside its big Messenger announcements today at F8, Facebook showed off its new Facebook desktop and app experiences. They are calling it a "fresh" design that is "simpler, faster, more immersive and puts your communities at the center." It's super white too, with blue highlights rather than the blue header you've known for years. You'll notice the changes right away when looking at the images here. The top tabs now offer Home, Watch, Groups, and Notifications shortcuts. The new post action is no longer a separate page either and is instead sort-of a pop-up that doesn't take you fully away from the main Facebook home. But the big focus is in Groups. Facebook really wants you to care about Groups. They are making it easier for you to discover groups, participate in groups, and all sorts of specific features depending on the type of group. The new UI for all of that can be seen below.

In addition to those changes, Facebook Dating is expanding to more countries (hit the link below to see them all), plus Facebook is letting you add secret crushes to people. If those people also happen to add you as a secret crush, well, have fun. A new Meet New Friends feature is coming too as a way to help you meet new friends. It's opt-in, so don't worry, you aren't going to get spammed with new friend requests from all of your lonely neighbors. Finally, a new Events tab is coming this summer, with recommendations, events happening around you, help in discovering new businesses, and tools to better coordinate events with friends. The Facebook apps are getting updates "right away," while the desktop will see them in the "next few months." // Facebook

Future Facebook Messenger Update Brings Lighter, Faster App and More

Kellen — Tue, 30 Apr 2019 12:09:23 +0000

Facebook's big F8 conference is going down this week, so that means they've announced a bunch of updates to their line-up of products. First up, we've got news on Facebook Messenger, which is getting some major changes. Later this year, Messenger 5 will rollout with a faster and lighter app, a way for you to watch videos together with friends and family, a dedicated space for you and your closest friends to find each other's content, and more.

RELATED: A first look at the new Facebook app

Facebook says that they were able to trim down the new Facebook Messenger to just 30MB. The old FB Messenger was around 100MB in size, so that's a significant improvement. It has been built "from the ground up on an entirely new code base" too, which should lead to a super fast experience. For the dedicated friend/family space, Facebook is going to help you "easily find content from the friends and family you message most." You can see how that will look below, but Facebook says they are only in early stages of development. You may not see this for a while.

Since millions of people watch video and video chat each month on Facebook, they want you to be able to consume video together. Whether it's a funny clip or home video, you'll be able to laugh or cry together within Messenger, friends. This feature is in testing now and will roll out later this year. Finally, Facebook will introduce a dedicated desktop app on both Windows and MacOS. I kind of can't believe this didn't happen long ago, but we'll take it. It'll be fully featured, just like the app and web experiences. Again, none of this is coming today.

DEAL: Anker's 10W Fast Wireless Charging Pad is $10 With Coupon

Kellen — Tue, 30 Apr 2019 09:50:15 +0000

Anker has another of its fast wireless charging pads down to a ridiculously low price at the moment. When you apply an included coupon on the product page for the Anker PowerWave 10W Fast Wireless Charging Pad, you'll get an extra $4 off, dropping the price to $9.99. At 10W, that's good enough for fast wireless charging on Samsung's phones like the Galaxy S10, S9, S8, and Note line. The charger is also capable of handling 7.5W and 5W wireless charges. Just remember that this is a pad only, so you'll need to use your phone's own charging adapter with it. Again, hit that link and then apply the $4-off coupon before checking out.

Amazon Deal Link

Question: What Was Your First Smartphone?

Tim — Tue, 30 Apr 2019 08:52:29 +0000

It's crazy to think how far we've come in the smartphone industry in such a short period of time. Summing up the timeline in my head, we started with phones that were rather small (OG DROID, OG iPhone, etc.), then they got big and bulky (DROID X), then a happy middle ground was found (HTC One M7), and now we have phones with over 6" QHD displays just chilling in our pockets. Steve Jobs is definitely lol'ing at his previous "Hummer" comments from the beyond. Anyway, today, we want to know about your first smartphone. What was it? For me, I'd have to say it was the OG DROID, but that's only if I don't count the LG Voyager I had before it. Tech reviewers back in the day labeled the Voyager an iPhone killer. What a bunch of asshats. So, yeah, OG DROID was my first true smartphone and I enjoyed every single second of using it. What was your first smartphone? An Android? iPhone? BlackBerry? What made you decide to get it?

DEAL: Samsung Will Still Give You $200 Off the Galaxy S10 for Trading in Any Smartphone

Kellen — Tue, 30 Apr 2019 08:34:13 +0000

Samsung probably won't give you $550-off through trade-ins on the Galaxy S10 again, but they still have good deals available. For example, trading in any working smartphone will get you $200 off today. It could be from 2010, you just need to make sure it turns on, has been factory reset, and doesn't have cracks. You could get up to $300 off with other trades too, but the $200 is the best value right now, since there is a good chance you have a random old smartphone sitting around in a drawer or closet. Seriously, go dig in there and find one. In addition to the $300 or $200 off, depending on the Galaxy S10 you want, you could get freebies. The Galaxy S10e 256GB comes with a free Samsung Duo Charger. If you buy a 512GB regular S10, you'll get both the Duo Charger and a pair of Galaxy Buds. Worried about Samsung's trade-in program? Check this post out.

Shop Samsung Galaxy S10

Doesn't Sound Like Google Sold Very Many Pixel 3 Phones

Kellen — Mon, 29 Apr 2019 15:55:43 +0000

Google is still having trouble selling a lot of Pixel phones. That's the word coming out of their Q1 2019 earnings call today, with the company's CFO Ruth Porat suggesting that they sold fewer Pixel 3 phones than expected. Google doesn't provide exact numbers when it comes to hardware sales, but Porat said that their Q1 hardware numbers show lower Year-on-Year Pixel sales thanks to "pressures in the premium smartphone industry." That's subtle code for, "We didn't sell as many Pixel 3 phones as we would have liked." CEO Sundar Pichai echoed that thought by pointing out that the entire smartphone industry might be having a rough go of it at the moment. Still, I can't help but wonder how different things might be if they didn't only sell their phones at Verizon here in the US. Carrier-exclusive deals basically helped put an end to companies like Motorola. We think Google might be moving out of that deal and onto T-Mobile here in the near future when the Pixel 3a launches, which could help move units. Oh, and when everyone around sites like this complained about Pixel pricing, maybe that wasn't such a small group - maybe people want feature sets on-par with competitors if the price is. Porat and Pichai did say that they are at least optimistic and pleased with Google Home and other Assistant-equipped product sales. Pichai reminded folks on their earnings call that Google is still early in this hardware journey too, and that they are committed. // 9to5Google

YouTube Music Can Now Play Local Files

Tim — Mon, 29 Apr 2019 15:46:40 +0000

For Android users, YouTube Music can now play local files, which is a big addition for an app that's supposed to be Google Play Music's replacement. With this change, any music files you have on your phone's storage should be readable by the YouTube Music app, the same as it is on a native player app and Google Play Music. Music stored on an SD card should also be supported. The update hasn't yet hit my device, but the feature is apparently rolling out, according to those on reddit. And while this isn't the full migration of Play Music libraries to YouTube Music yet, we'll get there sooner or later.

Google Play Link

// MSPoweruser

DEAL: AUKEY's KeySeries Wireless Earbuds Get Their First Sale, Down to $79 ($20 Off)

Tim — Mon, 29 Apr 2019 12:55:34 +0000

Wireless earbuds are all the rage right now, with seemingly every company coming out with their own pair. AUKEY is no different with its KeySeries True Wireless Earbuds, on sale for the first time since their launch for the price of $79 -- down from the usual $99. These wireless buds feature 7 hours of playback time, a charging case, Qi wireless charging (great for Galaxy S10 owners), and IPX5 water resistance. Another perk is AUKEY's support for Google Assistant and Siri right from the buds, though, it's not the same as you'd find on Google's Pixel Buds. To get the $20 off, simply click on the coupon on the Amazon listing. Easy!

Amazon Link

OnePlus Shows Us the Insides of the OnePlus 7 Pro, Confirms No Notch and Pop-Up Camera

Kellen — Mon, 29 Apr 2019 11:19:03 +0000

Apologies for the third OnePlus story this morning, but we've got more to share. OnePlus took out a couple-of-page ad in the New York Times today that reveals key details of their upcoming, most-expensive-phone-to-date OnePlus 7 Pro. The ad is in two parts that shows an x-ray vision of the OnePlus 7 Pro, as well as an exploded-style image. The x-ray shot directly below gives us another look at the triple camera setup, which will include a new 3x zoom lens. You can see the hidden pop-up selfie camera as well, just to the left of the top rear camera. The first piece of the ad says that the OnePlus 7 Pro is "just a better phone" and that it'll show up on May 14.

In the second part of the ad (below), we get even more info. The ad suggests that the OnePlus 7 Pro will have no "bells & whistles," notch, bezel, "app lag," bloatware, "random music," or $2,000 price tag. The big takeaway here are the mentions of no bezel or notch, because that's a confirmation that we do indeed get a pop-up selfie camera with a full-screen display, as previous leaks suggested. The image lets you see the display without a hole punch either, as well as the same pop-up selfie we spotted in the x-ray shot above.

The note about the lack of a $2,000 price tag is a bit silly, though. No phone outside of the Samsung Galaxy Fold is $2,000, and that phone costs that much because it's a first-of-its-kind piece of folding innovation. Sure, it might be a busted piece of innovation, but there is a reason for the exorbitant price. We also know that the OnePlus 7 Pro is going to be the most expensive phone in OnePlus history, up there with the Galaxy S10 and iPhone Xs, so I'm not sure OnePlus should be running around bragging about pricing just yet. Oh and aren't bells and whistles a good thing most of the time, especially when you aren't in the budget phone realm anymore? // @OnePlus_USA | @david_nyc

T-Mobile and Sprint Push Back Merger Deadline

Kellen — Mon, 29 Apr 2019 10:37:32 +0000

With the T-Mobile-Sprint merger in trouble, the deadline for completion has been pushed back to July 29. The US Justice Department still has not decided whether or not to approve it, so T-Mobile filed an extension with the SEC today. Makan Delrahim, the head of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division, said that he had not made up his mind on if he'd approve the deal that would merge the 3rd and 4th largest wireless carriers in the US. He noted that they had requested new data from the companies, so T-Mobile and Sprint obviously need more time to get that together and possibly run through another set of meetings. T-Mobile and Sprint believe that the two combined would help them quickly rollout the best 5G network, compete better with Verizon and AT&T, create jobs, and keep wireless prices low. The US government is still trying to figure out if that'll actually happen. We'll keep you updated. // Reuters

Check Out These OnePlus 7 Pro Camera Samples

Tim — Mon, 29 Apr 2019 09:17:45 +0000

We still have until May 14 for the launch of the OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro, but OnePlus is already taking over the headlines. This morning, Wired UK published a few camera samples from the OnePlus 7 Pro, samples that give us a bit of hope that the OnePlus 7 Pro has a good triple camera setup.

Related: OnePlus 7 Pro display earns A+ rating from DisplayMate.

The samples focus on what's new for the OnePlus 7. Special attention appears to have been paid to the new zoom lens on the back of the phone, with two of the four samples being dedicated to that feature. In the photos, we can see a bit of solid crop action on F1 cars. Then, focus is turned to HDR and the phone's updated night mode. After having looked over these samples, I'd say they're pretty good. The accuracy of color seems spot on, with no real over saturation of anything popping out. Contrast levels also look good. Even the night mode looks exceptional. I think the OnePlus 7 Pro is going to be a beast.

3x Zoom

HDR

Night Mode

// Wired UK

DisplayMate: OnePlus 7 Pro OLED Display Earns Highest A+ Rating

Tim — Mon, 29 Apr 2019 08:47:24 +0000

With April drawing to a close, that means we're getting closer to May 14, which is OnePlus 7 launch day. Thanks to DisplayMate who published a tweet last night, we're getting pretty excited about it. According to DisplayMate, in-depth lab tests for the OnePlus 7 Pro and its OLED display have been completed, with the phone earning their highest A+ display rating. What does that mean? Well, it means the display found on the OnePlus 7 Pro rivals the best of them, including those found on Samsung flagships. And what makes Samsung's mobile displays so good? The big categories are color accuracy, contrast accuracy, peak luminance, plus plenty more. DisplayMate's findings won't be published until May 14, so until then, we'll have to fantasize about just how good this display is. Like I said, this does have us pumped to see it. How important is a great display when it comes to deciding which phone you buy? https://twitter.com/DisplayMate/status/1122692946791419905

DEAL: Verizon Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL are $300 Off at Best Buy

Kellen — Mon, 29 Apr 2019 08:03:04 +0000

To kickstart the week, Best Buy is hosting a new $300-off Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL sale. They have all colors and all storage variants, all of which are discounted. Of course, Best Buy only sells the Verizon units, so keep that in mind. If you want the phone at the $300-off price, you'll basically have to use it with Verizon too. The discount is only available if you sign-up for a device payment plan that spreads the reduced price out over 24 months. It's annoying, I know. Once you are done, you could take the phone anywhere, though, since it is an unlocked phone with support for all major carriers. The breakdown with a $300-off discount gets you a Pixel 3 64GB for $20.83/mo, Pixel 3 128GB for $24.99/mo, Pixel 3 XL 64GB for $24.99/mo, and Pixel 3 XL 128GB for $29.16/mo.

Shop Best Buy Pixel 3

Please be the Foldable Moto Razr

Kellen — Sun, 28 Apr 2019 09:03:56 +0000

Motorola is working on a foldable phone that we expect to look a lot like the old Razr flip phones, only with all of the modern features you get from smartphones of today. That would mean a foldable phone that looks like a small flip or clamshell, but that's actually a big-screened device when unfolded. It might be the dream setup for those of us who have no interest in a phone that unfolds into a tablet. Today, the new foldable Motorola Razr (2019) has purportedly leaked, thanks to a post over at Weibo from user @JJUT_. The post has since been deleted from what I can tell, but the internet never forgets and the images are spreading quickly. The images show an unfolded Moto Razr, packaging, and accessories that could arrive with this supposedly $1,500 phone. In the triangular shaped box for the Razr, we've got a USB-A to USB-C cable, 3.5mm dongle, charger, earbuds, and some sort of phone dock or holder. As for the phone (above), you can see it's iconic Razr shape with chin, a top notch in the unfolded phone's display, and a hinge mechanism. None of the images reveal the phone fully folded, but we're going to assume there is a gap, similar to what we've seen on the Galaxy Fold. These displays just can't fold fully flat at the moment. It looks pretty cool, though, right? It looks just like an old school Razr phone, only with that modern twist. Are these images legit? We have no idea at this point. Users at Weibo who are sharing them sure seem to think that @JJUT_ is a legit source and appears to work within the Lenovo community. As I noted above, these images are spreading quickly as if they are indeed the real deal. But again, we have no way to confirm that. What we do know is that Motorola is working on a foldable phone, likely as a clamshell. We know that a World Intellectual Property Org filing shows a foldable clamshell device that looks like this device here. And we are pretty sure the Moto Razr will more than likely arrive at Verizon under the model number XT-2000. Motorola also said they don't plan to be late to the foldables party. Thoughts?

// @sunniton

AT&T Says It's Live, Real 5G Network Hit 2Gbps Speeds

Kellen — Sat, 27 Apr 2019 14:57:20 +0000

About a month after its 5G+ network hit 1Gbps download speeds, AT&T says that the same network has now reached the 2Gbps mark. During testing in Atlanta, AT&T used their NETGEAR Nighthawk 5G Mobile Hotspot while connected to their commercial 5G network to surpass their previous record. While not a phone, since AT&T still doesn't sell a 5G phone, that's an impressive number for a hotspot device that shows the potential of 5G. As mentioned in their press note on the speed milestone, AT&T says that with those speeds, you could download a 2-hour HD movie in about 10 seconds. Of course, I can't help but point out that it won't be long before AT&T charges you extra to reach those speeds that their fresh, untouched network is producing. Just this week their CEO said that they plan to copy the home internet industry by charging wireless customers for speed tiers. It'll suck, don't worry, and those speeds will only touched by those willing to pay a premium. Good job, though, AT&T! // AT&T

Report: Amazon Readying a HiFi Music Streaming Service

Tim — Fri, 26 Apr 2019 14:21:14 +0000

According to sources of MBW, Amazon is readying a HiFi music streaming service, one to combat TIDAL's offering. Reported to cost somewhere around $15.99/month, the source claims at least one major record label has signed on to license its music to the service. Not a lot of details were shared, though, the quality should be, "better than CD." If we're comparing to TIDAL, it offers CD-quality lossless streams at 44.1 kHz / 16 bit for $20/month. There is also the Masters tier, which are 96 kHz / 24 bit streams. The streaming service is said to be available by the end of 2019, so if you need yet another music service, here you go! // Music Business Worldwide

T-Mobile Continues to Kill It, Which Can't be Said for Verizon and AT&T

Kellen — Fri, 26 Apr 2019 14:15:52 +0000

T-Mobile isn't really close in terms of the total number of customers when you compare them to Verizon and AT&T. Those two are so far ahead that it would take years of massive gains before T-Mobile catches them without the help of Sprint's customer numbers being added on top. Still, that shouldn't take away from the fact that T-Mobile has continued to kill it quarter after quarter, year after year, while Verizon and AT&T are struggling to convince new customers to switch over to their networks. In some ways, they are struggling to convince them to stay. This week, all three carriers put out their first quarter 2019 numbers and only T-Mobile had a good one on the wireless side. John Legere's company added 656,000 phones on postpaid plans, while AT&T only added 80,000. Verizon, if you can believe it, lost (lost) 44,000. What does that say about T-Mobile's approach? Whether or not you like all the extra sh*t talking and antics of T-Mobile doesn't mean you can't tip your hat to the moves they've made. It wasn't long ago that T-Mobile was the cheap carrier with the garbage network that was thought of as being on the level of a bad prepaid network. T-Mobile is now, at least around these parts, thought of pretty highly. They've spent a ton of time talking about improvements to their network, calling out the questionable moves of their competitors, and (obviously) convincing those looking for change, that they are the best choice. Their plans offer good value, probably in large part thanks to the number of freebies included. And they don't really carry with them the baggage of companies like Verizon or AT&T. They often come off as the feisty start-up trying to change everything for the better. Whether or not you should buy into that is up to you. It'll be fun to watch how any of this changes as 5G becomes a bigger part of the equation. T-Mobile has showed that they aren't in a rush with 5G, while AT&T and Verizon already have live networks. T-Mobile has made it clear that they aren't sure they can move as fast without the help of Sprint. The future of that merger is still very much in question. How will customers react? Will they flock to the two carriers with 5G or will T-Mobile find ways to keep convincing them to come on over, even if they haven't fired up the future of wireless (yet)? // Wall Street Journal

Podcast: Cancel the Fold

Kellen — Fri, 26 Apr 2019 09:51:02 +0000

On this episode of the Droid Life Show, we have got to dive into the story of Samsung's Galaxy Fold. The breaks. The teardown. The running list of questions. Should Samsung pull the plug on it and try again? All of that is on the show topic list. We'll also dive into the OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro now that we know when they are coming, the Pixel 3a, and a bunch of 5G happenings. Trivia is back again too! We'll be live at 12:00PM Pacific (3PM Eastern).

Yo, Here is the Pixel 3a in Somewhat, Sort of, Barely, or Almost Purple

Kellen — Fri, 26 Apr 2019 09:05:54 +0000

Yesterday, it was the Pixel 3a in white. Today, it's the Pixel 3a in some version of purple. Since this is a Google phone and they like to be cheeky with color names, let's take some guesses as to what they'll call this. Somewhat Purple? Sort of Purple? Almost Purple? Touch of Purple? Barely Purple? Probably Purple? Announcement coming on May 7 at Google I/O.

// @evleaks

Swidget's Modular Outlets are Ideal for Turning Homes Into Smart Homes

Tim — Fri, 26 Apr 2019 08:47:23 +0000

Swidget announced retail availability of its modular outlets this week, which allows home owners to replace their standard wall outlets with these new adaptable, modular smart outlets. Allow me to break it down. You'll start with the initial Swidget Outlet, which retails for $39.99 a pop. On the top and bottom of the outlet you have your standard 15Amp outlets that uses your home's built-in wiring. As a note, replacing outlets in your home is a very easy process, but make sure to flip off your breaker before doing so. Safety first. Once the Swidget is installed, the middle portion of the outlet is removable, able to be easily replaced by inserts that feature all sorts of things. There's an insert to add Z-Wave, USB ports, emergency lighting, and WiFi connectivity to the outlet itself. The prices for these inserts range, but they start at $5.99 and go up to $41.99 for a WiFi + emergency light combo. What has me most excited about this are the inserts Swidget says are coming soon. According to the company, buyers will soon have access to a Bluetooth speaker insert, Google Assistant insert, Amazon Alexa insert, and even an HD video camera insert. There's also going to be an aromatherapy insert. To see the full list of currently available inserts and their pricing, look here. And as soon as we start seeing new inserts become available, we'll let you know. Additionally, we may have to pick some of these up and install them ourselves, because frankly, it's pretty awesome.

Amazon Links

15Amp Outlet ($39.99)
USB Charger Insert ($6.99)
Z-Wave Insert ($29.99)
WiFi Insert ($29.99)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9NldBUVA6w

Looks Like the OnePlus 7 Pro Does Indeed Have a Triple Camera

Kellen — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 14:38:29 +0000

When the first OnePlus 7 Pro renders dropped back in April, one of the most notable changes over the OnePlus 6 range was the addition of a third rear camera. OnePlus likely just confirmed the additional shooter for the 7 Pro in a Tweet this morning. We've captured an image above, but you can see the reveal below from this morning. The Tweet mentions the OnePlus 7 Pro specifically while showing off a simple rendering of a OnePlus phone with 3 cameras on its backside. I can't imagine there being any other reason for OnePlus to show this than to tell us what to expect from their new top tier phone. OnePlus is never shy when it comes to slowly revealing their new phones piece by piece. We don't know the makeup of the three cameras, but last year, OnePlus put together a weird combo of 16MP and 20MP shooters. The third camera for this year could be anything from a wide-angle to a telephoto to a depth sensor. It's tough to say. The rest of the specs could include a Snapdragon 855 processor, 4000+mAh battery, QHD display with some sort of "breakthrough" technology, and a pop-up selfie camera. It'll be like every OnePlus - lots and lots of specs without the expandable storage or wireless charging. Oh, the price might be an issue this year.

Google Earth Timelapse Now Available for Mobile and It's Awesome

Tim — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 14:25:08 +0000

Ever wonder what your favorite area looked like in the mid-80s? With Google Earth's Timelapse feature, you can see a complete breakdown of how areas have changed, spanning from 1984 to 2018. This week, Google announced that the feature is now available for mobile devices. Just from the few areas I've looked at, such as Portland, OR and San Francisco, CA, not much has changed, though, you can clearly see in the year 2000 when Oracle Park was built in SF. Back then, when I was a wee lad, it was called Pac-Bell Park. As for Portland, yeah, hardly anything has changed. However, just look at human civilization spread across the Nevada desert like a disease. Agent Smith may have been right (Matrix reference).

This Timelapse feature is available for both desktop and mobile users, so go check it out. It's fun!

Google Earth Timelapse

// Google

Mario Kart Tour Launch Set for Summer 2019, Sign-Up to Beta Test Now

Tim — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 12:37:53 +0000

It was a year ago when we learned Nintendo was planning to launch a Mario Kart title for Android. We've been very patient since then. Finally, Nintendo has announced beta details and has provided a rough timeline for when the game is set to launch -- Summer of this year. If you want to get in on the beta action, all you'll need to do is sign-up for the beta via your Android device. Do note, you'll need a Nintendo account registered with a Gmail email address in order to take part in the beta. To emphasize, your email must end in gmail.com to be eligible. Beta application is set to end on May 7, followed by the beta going live on May 22. The beta ends on June 4. Should all go well, we'll have our Mario Kart for Android in no time. Get to it, Android people. // Nintendo

Apps to Check Out: Google Unveils Its 2019 Play Award Nominees

Tim — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 11:33:39 +0000

Each year, around Google I/O, Google highlights the top apps in different categories. Whether it be best productivity apps or best looking games, this is fun for two reasons: The developers get acknowledgment for their hard work and we get to check out some awesome apps that we may have missed. It's a win-win for Android lovers. There are nine highlighted categories this year, so let's get to it. Here are your 2019 Google Play Award nominees.

Standout Well-Being App

Kinedu by Kinedu
My Oasis by Buff Studio Co.,Ltd.
Shine by Shine, Inc.
SleepTown by Seekrtech
Woebot by Woebot Labs

Best Accessibility Experience

Envision AI by Envision Technologies BV
guiaderodas accessibility by guiaderodas
Race Together! By digiXMAS
TintVision by EM-Creations
WheeLog! By PADM

Best Social Impact

Bury me, my Love by Dear Villagers
Plantix by PEAT GmbH
Reblood by PT Gaya Hidup Sehat
Think!Think! By Hanamaru Lab
Wisdo by Wisdo LTD.

Most Beautiful Game

Asphalt 9: Legends by Gameloft SE
Badland Brawl by Frogmind
Chuchel by Amanita Design
Gorogoa by Annapurna Interactive
Shadowgun Legends by MADFINGER Games

Best Living Room Experience

ivi by ivi.ru
Neverthink by Neverthink
Pluto TV by Pluto, Inc.
Tubi by Tubi TV
Viki by Viki, Inc

Most Inventive

Cube Escape: Paradox by Rusty Lake
Firework by Loop Now Technologies, Inc.
Scripts by Language Drops
Tick Tock by Other Tales Interactive
Wysker by wysker GmbH

Standout Build for Billions

Canva by Canva
Cookpad by Cookpad Inc (UK)
Garena Free Fire by GARENA INTERNATIONAL I PRIVATE LIMITED
PicsArt Photo Studio by PicsArt
Viki by Viki, Inc

Best Breakthrough App

Dave by Dave, Inc
Khan Academy Kids by Khan Academy
Notion by Notion Labs, Inc.
Slowly by Slowly Communications Ltd.
Tasty by BuzzFeed

Best Breakthrough Game

Garena Free Fire by GARENA INTERNATIONAL I PRIVATE LIMITED
Old School RuneScape by Jagex Games Studio
Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery by Jam City, Inc.
MARVEL Strike Force by FoxNext Games
Star Trek Fleet Command by Scopely

Personally, I've only tried a few of these apps and games out, so it appears I have my work cut out for me. Lots of things to check out. If you've been looking for new apps and games to play with, here's a good starting point. The winners this year will be announced on May 6, right ahead of Google I/O. // Android Developers

DEAL: Pixel 3 and 3 XL Down $200 on Google Store, Starting at $599

Tim — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 09:45:40 +0000

Google has marked down the price of both the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL by $200, bringing the starting price of the Pixel 3 to $599. For the 3 XL, the starting price is $699.

Related: Android Q Beta 2 First Look!

If you're looking to save a bit more, Google also has its own trade-in program, where eligible devices can get up to $400 in refund credit. If you're trading in a Pixel 2 XL, for example, you can get up to $271. Have at it.

Google Store Link

OnePlus 7 Event Tickets Now Available for Purchase

Kellen — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 08:52:35 +0000

Going to be in NYC on May 14 and want to hang with OnePlus? OnePlus 7 event tickets are now on sale. They'll cost you $20 if you buy before April 27 ($30 after that), but OnePlus has typically handed out a swag bag with merchandise that is worth more than that. I can't tell if that's the case this year, though. The initial write-up about the event from OnePlus says that attendees can "earn goodies that are only available at the event." Is that a scavenger hunt kind of thing? We've asked OnePlus if they can clarify that. UPDATE: There is a FAQ about the event and it says that attendees will get a OnePlus pin-set, Never Settle t-shirt, "custom co-branded OnePlus gift," and snacks and drinks. I'll let you decide if that's worth $20. Of course, you'll also get to see the OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro for the first time at the event. That could be worth $20? Maybe?

OnePlus 7 Event Link

Verizon CEO: Galaxy Note 10 Will Have 5G

Tim — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 08:44:50 +0000

Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg declared this week via the company's Q1 earnings call that the upcoming Galaxy Note 10 will have 5G. Way to spoil the surprise, Hans. We are unsure if only one particular variant of the Galaxy Note 10 will have 5G connectivity, or all of them, and this is important to know because 5G does affect pricing. As we learned this morning with the Galaxy S10 5G, which is basically a Galaxy Note phone without the S Pen, it starts at $1,299. Note fans better prepare their wallets. One report from this year states that we can expect launch of the Galaxy Note 10 in late August. // The Verge

Google Assistant's "Tell Me a Story" Feature Comes to Phones

Kellen — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 07:00:04 +0000

Starting today, Google Assistant's "Tell Me a Story" feature leaves its Google Home exclusivity and arrives on phones for access anywhere. What is "Tell Me a Story?" It's a Google Assistant command where you tell Google to tell you a story, which it will then do. Previously, it was limited to Google Home devices, but today you or your children can get the same stories told to them from a phone as you travel about, commute to school or work, or if you haven't yet given in and bought a Google Home. There are classic stories like "Little Red Riding Hood" or "Cinderella," or newer (and sometimes more interactive) stories about Mickey Mouse, Lightning McQueen, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. If you want a calmer, bed time appropriate story, try the "Hey Google, tell me a bedtime story" command. Google tells us that in order to get "Tell Me a Story" to work on mobile, you'll need to make sure you have the latest version of Google Play Books installed. Google Play Link // Google

Here are the Next 20 Verizon 5G Cities (Updated)

Kellen — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 00:54:39 +0000

Verizon's 5G Ultra Wideband network went live a week early in parts of Chicago and Minneapolis at the beginning of April. Those are the only two official Verizon 5G markets, though Big Red has said that 30+ cities will get access to their spicy new network throughout 2019. We can tell you what the next 20 are likely to be.

RELATED: List of all US 5G cities by carrier

According to a reliable source of ours, the next 20 Verizon 5G cities flagged as "Coming soon!" include San Diego, Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Memphis, Detroit, Atlanta, and Washington D.C., and Boston. The full list can be seen below.

San Diego, CA
Salt Lake City, UT
Phoenix, AZ
Denver, CO
Des Moines, IA
Kansas City, MO
Dallas, TX
Houston, TX
Little Rock, AR
Indianapolis, IN
Detroit, MI
Memphis, TN
Cincinnati, OH
Atlanta, GA
Charlotte, NC
Cleveland, OH
Columbus, OH
Washington, DC
Providence, RI
Boston, MA

We don't have specific timing for the launch of each, but with the Galaxy S10 5G going up for pre-order today, don't be surprised if Verizon makes another announcement that involves this list of markets. UPDATE: Yep, Verizon announced the new markets this morning.

Get Ready for Verizon Galaxy S10 5G Pre-Orders and Bonuses (Updated: Live!)

Kellen — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 00:37:26 +0000

As Verizon continues to push forward with its 5G Ultra Wideband rollout, the only available device that has been able to connect to this next-gen network has been the almost-year-old Moto Z3 with an extra $200 accessory slapped to its backside. That should change today, according to a reliable source of ours, who said to expect Samsung Galaxy S10 5G pre-orders at any moment. UPDATE: The pre-order page went live earlier than we expected! You'll be able to pre-order 5:55AM Eastern (2:55AM Pacific). The Verizon Galaxy S10 5G can be had for $54.16/mo or $1,299.99 if you only need 256GB of storage. If you want 512GB of storage, that'll cost you $1,399.99 or $58.33/mo. It's available in Majestic Black or Crown silver. Delivery is indeed scheduled for May 16. Pre-orders for the Verizon Galaxy S10 5G will include special goodies too. For one, there will be a pre-order "Samsung VIP Kit" involved that includes a pair of Galaxy Buds, Samsung Wireless Charging Battery Pack, and a Verizon 5G water bottle. Additionally, the S10 5G will be a part of the new $450-off with trade-in deal, but Verizon is adding an extra $200 prepaid gift card for Samsung's first 5G phone (device payment plan required) if you switch over from another carrier. Both of these promos have been confirmed through ads Verizon started running tonight. As a third bonus, we're told that Verizon may offer some sort of free 5G for life deal as long as Galaxy S10 5G owners have a Beyond or Above Unlimited plan. Right now, Verizon charges Moto Z3 owners an extra $10/mo for 5G service, so this could save S10 5G owners a good amount of cash in the long-run, assuming Verizon doesn't find a way to force everyone off of this "free for life" deal in a couple of years, am I right, grandfathered unlimited friends? To recap, the Galaxy S10 5G (specs) is the biggest of the Galaxy S10 family. It features a 6.7-inch QHD AMOLED display, 4500mAh battery, 8GB RAM and 256GB storage (no SD slot), and quadruple camera. The 4th camera captures 3D depth information. The rest of the setup is identical to the Galaxy S10 and S10+ for the most part. ~~Unfortunately, we still don't know the full price of the S10 5G at this point, but should in a few hours~~. We're told that the previously rumored May 16 launch date is correct.

Pre-order Verizon Galaxy S10 5G

This RGB Theme for Chrooma Keyboard is Hot

Tim — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 12:29:40 +0000

I was recently scrolling through Instagram and saw an ad for Chrooma Keyboard. This is funny because I've known about Chrooma since it was a fledgling beta of an app in January, 2016. Since then, the keyboard has seen a lot of development, and what struck me the most about the advertisement I saw on Instagram was a new theme it showcased. Chrooma calls it the RGB theme, but basically, it's like having Razer's Chroma lights powering your phone's keyboard theme, which is pretty hot. The RGB theme is part of Chrooma's "premium" offering, which is priced as an in-app purchase at $4.99. This unlocks the RGB theme itself, as well as other premium themes and features. What doesn't translate well via a photo is the motion the RGB theme performs when enabled. If you've ever seen the wave of color that is projected from a Chroma PC keyboard, then that's what you can expect from the theme. It's trippy and mildly distracting at first, but now that I've been using it for a few days, I really enjoy looking at it while I swipe my messages out. Looking over what's been added to Chrooma over the years, it's a lot like Gboard still, but with more features. Not only are there greater theme options than what Google's own keyboard offers, but Chrooma also delivers a dedicated GIF search function (required to have in 2019), emoji suggestion, automatically changing navigation bar according to the app you're in, plus the same gesture control and multi-language support keyboard users need. Again, a lot of Gboard, but there's more emphasis placed on personalization.

It was when Gboard came to be that I stopped using Chrooma, but now that I've rediscovered it, along with this RGB theme, I think I'll be sticking with Chrooma for a while. Check it out and let me know what you think. Google Play Link

AT&T Keeps Telling Us That 5G Data Pricing is Going to Suck

Kellen — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 12:07:23 +0000

Sprint was the first to tell us that 5G would provide carriers with another opportunity to increase data plan prices, but AT&T will probably be the first to play around with various pricing ideas. AT&T's 5G network is live in parts of over a dozen cities, so they are starting to talk about what the near 5G future will look like once devices are available. You should expect tiers on tiers on tiers. During the company's earnings call this morning, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said that in 2-3 years, after their 5G network isn't just a couple of hotspots in metro areas, they could offer speed tiers, just like you see now from home internet providers. Stephenson said he would be "surprised" if wireless pricing for 5G doesn't look a lot like the pricing you see in fixed internet. That would mean customers paying a premium to have those super fast 500Mbps or 1Gbps speeds. AT&T already told us back in September that they were looking at ways to nickel and dime customers once 5G is everywhere. They predicted pricing for tiers of service, giving one example that had to do with low-latency gaming. Of course, my mind at the time immediately imagined a world where there would be tiers broken out by speeds, as well as a straight 5G access fee. As it turns out, AT&T is indeed thinking along the tiered lines, while Verizon is charging the flat fee (for now). Funny how predictable these mega-corps are. What's wrong with tiers? Well, tiers could be an OK thing if they were created in a way that actually provided choices for people. The problem, though, is that carriers position them to almost force your hand into upgrading to a higher tier. For example, the lower LTE plans they offer now, often provide super low-res video or music streaming or they leave out hotspot features or don't give you the free TV service, etc. They don't necessarily provide tiers to give you choice, they do it to get you to upgrade. For now, 5G isn't really a thing for most of us to care about. Stephenson's prediction of 2-3 years out means you still have a couple of years left to milk that unlimited LTE data plan. Because once 5G is here, carriers will want you on it and they'll be sure to make you pay handsomely for its benefits. // The Verge

T-Mobile Customers Treated to $20 Tickets to Their Choice of Live Nation Concerts

Tim — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 09:53:11 +0000

T-Mobile is letting its customers know that if they enjoy concerts, they don't want to miss next week's T-Mobile Tuesday. Announced this morning, the carrier is gifting eligible T-Mobile Tuesday customers with $20 concert tickets (taxes and fees included) to their choice of over 1,500 select Live Nation shows. We don't have a complete list of supported concerts, but at over 1,500, we assume it's almost any concert you want to go to that's put on by Live Nation. A few of the examples provided are Brad Paisley, Beck and Cage the Elephant, Hootie & The Blowfish, Nelly, TLC and Flo Rida, Santana, and Wiz Khalifa. You'll only have 24 hours to claim this promotion, starting April 30, but it appears that you have until May 1 to buy your ticket. And it's not just one ticket. You can buy up to the allowed limit, all at just $20 a piece. If you're a T-Mobile customer, make sure you have the T-Mobile Tuesdays app installed on your device to get the offer. Google Play Link // T-Mobile

Galaxy Fold Gets a Teardown, an Accident Waiting to Happen

Tim — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 09:04:52 +0000

Samsung's Galaxy Fold is a testament to mobile hardware design. Somehow, the company's engineers were able to create a phone that folds, incorporates two separate Li-ion batteries, utilizes a spine consisting of well-designed clasps and hinges, and it isn't the worst thing we've ever seen. I was actually looking quite forward to getting one in my hand, that is, until they started breaking left and right. Our friends at iFixit have concluded their teardown, and after going over each component, I think it's shocking not more Fold units busted while in the hands of reviewers. Let's go over what iFixit found. The main takeaway from iFixit is that the phone is incredibly fragile, with multiple points of access for things you do not want getting inside of your phone. This is backed up by the latest broken Galaxy Fold unit, one belonging to Michael Fisher, where he claims a, "little grain of something" got into the device and under the display. That's not groovy. Check out these photos and you can see that if you have lint, dust, or God forbid sand in your pocket, you better not stick the Galaxy Fold in there with it.

As we can see, there's a major gap when the display is unfolded. Same goes for around the spine on back. Then, we discover nothing but a light amount of adhesive is keeping the front bezel attached to the plastic display. The Galaxy Fold is an ingress nightmare, with iFixit predicting that the bezel could become detached quite easily. Interestingly, you can get a sense of hate/love from iFixit for this device. While it's incredibly fragile and undoubtedly expensive to repair should something go wrong, the phone appears to be relatively easy to deconstruct, which is good for teardowns. Overall, though, iFixit hopes that in the future, Samsung finds a way to make the phone more robust with added ingress protection. The phone scored a 2 out of 10 for repairability score. It's pretty, though. // iFixit

Yo, Here is the Pixel 3a (Updated)

Kellen — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 08:41:46 +0000

Google has May 7 penciled into the calendar to announce something Pixel-related. It's pretty obvious after numerous leaks that they'll reveal the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL, two phones we believe to be budget-friendly.

UPDATE: Here it is in purple too.

Pictures of each phone have been semi-scarce since first leaking in November of last year, but @evleaks dropped a high-res image of the smaller Pixel 3a on us overnight. It does indeed look very Pixel 3-esque, only with bezels that'll remind you of 2016 all over again. What else should you know about the Pixel 3a? Umm, well, we still don't know the price and don't have a full confirmation on specs, but we do think we'll get 1080p displays, 4GB RAM, a Snapdragon 600 or 700 series chipset, and the Google software experience, which should include a great camera. They'll probably be decent phones that both T-Mobile and Verizon might sell. You guys interested at all in a mid-range Google Pixel that probably should have been released 3 months ago? It really comes down to pricing, right? https://twitter.com/evleaks/status/1120938099318693888

DEAL: This Aukey 10W Fast Wireless Charger is $10 With Code

Kellen — Tue, 23 Apr 2019 15:45:54 +0000

Most phones are equipped with wireless charging these days, so we can't help but point out when decent wireless chargers are discounted. Today, Aukey's 10W Fast Wireless Charging Pad can be had for $10.02 if you apply a code at checkout (regularly $16.99). With this 10W charging pad, you can fast wirelessly charge most of Samsung's recent phones or get a regular wireless charge on most iPhones, LG phones, and the newest Pixel line. Just keep in mind that you'll need to use a power adapter, as this only comes with a USB cable. Use code "9YRH289H" at checkout to save about $7. Amazon Deal Link

Kohl's Will Soon be Your Go-To for Returning Amazon Packages

Tim — Tue, 23 Apr 2019 13:32:19 +0000

Starting in July, and completely free of charge, Kohl's will be able to handle Amazon package returns. To say this could be life changing for some may be an understatement. Apparently, you don't even have to package the item you wish to return, Kohl's will handle everything. Yas! Much like you would any other return to Amazon, you'll initiate the return via Amazon's website. From here, you'll be able to select a Kohl's location you wish to return your item to. Then it's off to Kohl's to drop off your item. If this sounds easier than printing out a return label and heading over to USPS or some other shipper, then that's great. Kohl’s says it will take all “eligible” Amazon purchases, though, The Verge reports that third-party Amazon marketplace seller purchases may not be eligible. We'll have to wait for official wording from Amazon. Not bad, not bad. // The Verge | CNBC

AT&T Unveils Galaxy View 2 on YouTube, a 17.3" FHD Display Behemoth (Update: Specs and Pricing!)

Tim — Tue, 23 Apr 2019 12:28:36 +0000

It was only earlier this week when we got our first good look at AT&T and Samsung's upcoming Galaxy View 2. Now, a video has been published by AT&T onto YouTube, giving us most of the details that we need to know. The tablet still isn't live on AT&T's website, but once it is, we'll update this post with the full list of specs and pricing. For now, this tablet is a lot like the original, centered mostly on portable entertainment. With 4G LTE connectivity, you can take your DirecTV NOW (subscription required) on the go with its large 17.3" FHD display and Dolby Atmos sound, as well as productivity features like AT&T NumberSync and AT&T Video Call. From the couple of specs we get from the video, Galaxy View 2 features a 12,000mAh battery and 64GB of built-in storage (support up to 400GB). Update: We have specs and pricing! The tablet will be available online and in-store starting this Friday for $37/month for 20 months through AT&T Next. And here are the specs.

Display: 17.3-inches
Resolution: 1920 x 1080 resolution
Processor: Exynos 7884 - 1.6 GHz Dual + 1.6GHz Hexa
RAM: 3GB RAM
Storage: 64GB + microSD slot up to 400GB
Battery: 12,000mAh battery
Camera: 5MP front facing camera for video calls
Software: Android 8.1
Dimensions: 10.37 x 16.42 x 0.68 inches

Moto G7 Play Available at Boost Mobile for as Low as $50

Tim — Tue, 23 Apr 2019 11:55:36 +0000

The Moto G7 Play is now available at Boost Mobile, starting as low as $50 should you be switching to Boost and getting the right plan. If you want to buy the phone outright for usage, the cost is $150. For specifications, the G7 Play features a 5.7" HD+ display (720px x 1520px), Snapdragon 632 processor, 2GB RAM, 32GB internal storage, 3,000mAh battery, 13-megapixel rear camera, 8-megapixel front camera, USB-C, headphone jack, and Android 9 Pie. To get the phone for $50, you'll need to make the switch to any unlimited plan $50 or higher, but this promotion is only for a limited time. Additionally, for those new to Boost Mobile and looking for a family plan, you can also get four lines of unlimited data, talk, and text for only $25 per line per month. Follow the link below for the G7 Play on Boost Mobile.

Boost Mobile Link

// Boost Mobile

Amazon's Key for Garage Available This Week for Prime Members

Tim — Tue, 23 Apr 2019 09:36:56 +0000

In late 2017, Amazon introduced the ability for select Prime members to have packages delivered not just to their front porch, but inside of their home. After that, Amazon announced they could then deliver packages right inside your car. This week, the company announced that if all of those options aren't suitable, they can deliver packages to your garage with Key for Garage. Using the Chamberlain Group’s proprietary myQ-connected technology, your Amazon delivery person will be able to open up your garage door, deliver a package, then make sure everything is secured as they leave. With that same tech, the customer will also be able to check if their garage door is closed or open via their mobile device. If you didn't want a stranger having access to your home or car to deliver packages, the garage was the next logical step. Now, getting this functionality is pretty wordy, so I'll let Amazon handle it.

If you already have a myQ-connected garage door opener, all you need to do is link your Amazon and myQ accounts in the Key by Amazon app and you’re ready to go. Otherwise, you can purchase one of two Key Smart Garage Kits: the myQ Smart Garage Hub—which lets you add connectivity to your existing garage door opener—or a new myQ-connected Chamberlain or LiftMaster Wi-Fi garage door opener. You can also choose to add an Amazon Cloud Cam (Key Edition) to either kit so you can see your garage any time via the livestream or view clips of entries, including deliveries. Additionally, any customer in the U.S. can use Key for Garage to manage access to their garage via the Key by Amazon app.

The whole package (Cloud Cam + Smart Hub) will cost you $125 for a limited time. If you all you need is the Smart Hub, the price is $50. The only reason you'll need the camera is for video receipts. To see if your setup is compatible and if you live in an area supported, look here.

Key for Garage Link

// Amazon

You'll Soon be Able to Sign-Up for YouTube TV at Verizon, Possibly Get a Deal

Kellen — Tue, 23 Apr 2019 08:59:21 +0000

The hot move in wireless in recent years has been to try and mimic the cable industry's bundles by bundling wireless service with some sort of TV service. AT&T has struggled to do that successfully with its DirecTV NOW offering, while T-Mobile is slowly working its way into the situation through Layer3 TV. Sprint has a partnership with Hulu too. Verizon, on the other hand, tried with its own go90 service that was such a colossal failure I'm not sure I can even properly describe to you how big of a disaster it was. Verizon spent years hyping up their video streaming service, only to deliver one of the biggest busts in video streaming history. They invested millions into it, told investors it would be a massive hit, and then absolutely failed on Fyre Festival-like levels. Go90 died after a few years of no one using it. But because Verizon needs a TV offering to sell to customers, they announced today that YouTube TV will be that service. At some point in the near future, you'll be able to sign-up for YouTube TV as a Verizon Wireless, FiOS, or 5G Home customer. We aren't sure exactly how that'll work, but it's an official partnership. The big news here is that Google and Verizon hinted at potential deals or promos down the road, saying in a press release that they'll "offer unique, high-value YouTube TV promotions to customers across platforms." That could mean a deal similar to the free 3-month subscriptions that early 5G Home subscribers got or something similar. We'll let you know as we learn more. // Verizon

Google Maps Now Has Real-Time Charging Port Availability for EV Drivers

Tim — Tue, 23 Apr 2019 08:39:55 +0000

While you can already find location information for EV charging stations via your favorite navigational app, Google Maps announced this week that it is integrating real-time availability information, taking the guessing game out of charging your electric vehicle. As someone who doesn't drive an EV, I suppose I never took this into account. Let's say you take your EV to a charging station, but all of the slots are filled up and there's a few people already waiting to charge their cars. And since charging your car's battery takes longer than pumping a tank of gas, you could be waiting anywhere from minutes to hours to get some juice. With this update to Google Maps, you can know if chargers are available before you head to a station. Smart.

To do this, search for “ev charging stations” to see up to date information from networks such as Chargemaster, EVgo, SemaConnect, and coming soon, Chargepoint. You’ll see how many ports are currently available, along with other helpful details like port types and charging speeds. This feature is available starting this week in the US and UK. // Google

OnePlus Will Show Off the OnePlus 7 on May 14

Kellen — Tue, 23 Apr 2019 07:43:24 +0000

OnePlus followed through this morning with its plans to announce that it would soon host an announcement event for the OnePlus 7. On May 14, we'll get our first look at the OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro at events in New York, London, Bengaluru, and Beijing. The OnePlus 7 event will start at 11AM Eastern (8AM Pacific) and will be livestreamed for the world to watch. If you'd rather see the happenings in person, you can grab a ticket on April 25 at this link. In the past, tickets were not free, but OnePlus always hands out a swag bag that makes up for the cost and then some. To recap, some of the official info we learned about the OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro are that they'll be OnePlus' most expensive phones yet, with the OnePlus 7 Pro inching up towards Galaxy S10 and iPhone Xs territory. The display tech in the 7 Pro should be OnePlus' best yet too, with CEO Pete Lau calling it a "breakthrough." In the teaser trailer below, you can catch a couple of shots of the OnePlus 7, including a look at the alert slider and curvy body. It's all very OnePlus-y. May 14! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDqwsMXyRJA // OnePlus

Sprint Customers, Enjoy This Nasty P'ZONE From Pizza Hut Because Sprint "Loves" You

Tim — Mon, 22 Apr 2019 15:52:34 +0000

Would you ever give someone you love a P'ZONE from Pizza Hut? I wouldn't, unless I wanted them to have some sort of myocardial infarction. Well, Sprint customers, your carrier loves you, and to show it, it's giving you a free P'ZONE. Wow! Via the My Sprint Rewards service (app link below), Sprint customers can get their hands on a free P'ZONE pizza from Pizza Hut starting today. Each customer is allowed one free P'ZONE, with the offer ending April 28 or while supplies last. Apparently, the P'ZONE isn't a new thing. Introduced 17 years ago, then removed because I assume it caused multiple cases of gastroenteritis, Americans are super hyped to have this folded pizza with pepperoni and melted cheese topped with toasted parmesan stuffed right into their mouth hole. Do it, America. Eat this thing and don't ever stop. Google Play Link // Sprint

Samsung Galaxy View 2 Looks Way Better Than the Original

Tim — Mon, 22 Apr 2019 14:11:57 +0000

Remember the Galaxy View? It was a massive tablet with a 18.4" display and built-in stand mechanism. I had one in my home for a little bit, but accidentally dropped it and busted the display. Whoops. Thanks to SamMobile, it appears that we're getting our first good look at an upcoming sequel from Samsung, fittingly called the Galaxy View 2.

Related: Galaxy View Hands-on.

Reportedly headed to AT&T, just like the original, the Galaxy View 2 is said to feature a somewhat smaller display, albeit still large at 17.5". Most notably is the overall design. The View 2 looks much more compact than the original, with a new hinged kickstand that sits at 30° when it’s stowed and upright when opened. It looks kinda dope.

We don't have pricing or a launch date yet, but considering these renders are now making the rounds, it seems like a safe bet that release is coming soon. As a note, the original Galaxy View cost $499 with a 2-year agreement. Considering how much the original tied in with AT&T's offering of DirecTV, I wouldn't be surprised if we see a similar promotion happen. Interested? // SamMobile

Verizon Open Enrollment is Here if You Want Phone Protection Coverage

Kellen — Mon, 22 Apr 2019 13:01:04 +0000

When you buy a new phone from Verizon, they'll ask if you want to add one of their various protection plans. Those plans will help with costs associated with cracked screens, warranty replacements, out-of-warranty replacements, etc. If you don't sign-up right away, you typically won't be able to add coverage later on down the road unless an open enrollment period is active. Right now, one of those open enrollment periods is active. From now until mid-June, you can add a protection plan from Verizon onto your phone. They still offer four of them: Total Mobile Protection (TMP), Total Equipment Protection (TEC), Wireless Phone Protection (WPP), and Extended Warranty. The chart below shows you how much each costs per month.

What's the difference between each? The level of protection and types of items that are covered. You can see a full breakdown through that link below, but the costs above are a good indicator over which offers the most features. I will say that Verizon's Total Mobile Protection, which is the plan they'll push and push and push on everyone, is a borderline scam. I say that because there is no difference between it and Total Equipment Coverage except for access to a "Tech Coach" in TMP. All of the coverage is identical, but you'll pay $5 per month to be able to access a "personalized" Verizon support rep that's based in the US. My assumption here is that Verizon will sucker customers into thinking they need a personal coach, knowing the person will never (or rarely) use it while they pocket the extra $5/mo for years. Anyways, if you need coverage, hit the link below and decide which matches up to your needs.

Compare Verizon Protection Plans

BlackBerry KEY2 Red Edition Now Available for $699 Through Best Buy and Amazon

Tim — Mon, 22 Apr 2019 11:08:46 +0000

The KEY2 from BlackBerry is now available in a Red Edition from Best Buy and Amazon, priced at $699. The Red Edition is the same KEY2 BlackBerry fans know and love, but it does also come with a special edition set of red BlackBerry-branded earbuds. Updated specs for the Red model includes 6GB RAM along with the same 128GB of internal storage. Other specs for the KEY2 are a Snapdragon 660 processor, 4.5" IPS display (1620 x 1080), dual 12-megapixel cameras, Android 8.1 Oreo, and network support for both GSM (AT&T, T-Mobile, etc.) and CDMA (Verizon, etc.) carriers. If you're a relentless BB lover, have at it. Purchase Links

Amazon
Best Buy

Huawei P30 Pro Spotted Pinging Chinese Government Servers

Tim — Mon, 22 Apr 2019 09:41:38 +0000

According to a post by ExploitWareLabs, which was then circulated by Taiwan News, the new P30 Pro from Huawei is pinging Chinese government servers in the background, even though no services had been signed up for on the device during initial setup. To put it very simply, without being told to do so, the phone is reported to be trying to talk to servers operated by the Chinese government and that's not a great look for Huawei. As shown above, which is a list of the DNS addresses outgoing on the device, included are beian.gov.cn, whose registrar is Alibaba Cloud and organized by China's Ministry of Public Security, according to whois.com. Also shown is china.com.cn, which is registered by EJEE Group and operated by the China Internet News Center, a state-run organization. The fact that the phone is attempting to talk to Chinese servers isn't the issue. The problem is that according to the original complainant, the phone is attempting to establish a connection to these Chinese government-run servers even though it was set up not to do so. As a reminder, this exact thing is what our government is worried about. // Taiwan News | GitHub

Smart Devices From Flo by Moen, Rachio Get Integration With Google Assistant

Tim — Mon, 22 Apr 2019 09:00:19 +0000

To help celebrate Earth Day, Google announced new Google Assistant integrations with smart home devices from Flo by Moen and Rachio. The following integrations can be seen as a way to help prevent wasted water, which is never a bad thing. With integration for Flo by Moen, users can turn their home's water on/off, set Flo to Away Mode, as well as help detect leaks in a water system. For Rachio's smart sprinkler system, Assistant users can easily control and monitor sprinkler systems with simple voice commands. On top of that, you can set up a Routine for having the water sprinklers on at night, causing less evaporation to occur. Even a small change in the way we consume water and other resources can go a long way, so be mindful as we all celebrate Earth Day. // Google

Samsung Might Have Delayed the Galaxy Fold (Update: Officially Delayed)

Kellen — Mon, 22 Apr 2019 07:44:44 +0000

Samsung's $2,000 foldable phone might not ship on April 26 after all. The Galaxy Fold made its way into the hands of reviewers a week ago and has had a rough go of it. Multiple devices ran into issues (some self-inflicted), causing questions to surround its upcoming launch. Would Samsung move forward and sell customers a phone that costs $1,960 with legitimate worries around durability? According to the Wall Street Journal, Samsung has postponed launch a few weeks. The report says that Samsung will pinpoint a new launch timeframe that should happen with the coming weeks. A firm date has not been set, though. If true, there has been a change in heart from Samsung over the past couple of days. Immediately following last week's string of device issues, Samsung said that it was still targeting April 26. You have to wonder if any of the broken review units they inspected returned bad news. Over the weekend, Samsung also cancelled media events for the Galaxy Fold in Shanghai and Hong Kong. They didn't say why they were cancelling, only that they would be rescheduled. Samsung hasn't responded yet to this news, so should we hear back, we'll update this post. UPDATE: Samsung has confirmed that is will indeed delay global launch of the Galaxy Fold. The company released the following statement.

We recently unveiled a completely new mobile category: a smartphone using multiple new technologies and materials to create a display that is flexible enough to fold. We are encouraged by the excitement around the Galaxy Fold. While many reviewers shared with us the vast potential they see, some also showed us how the device needs further improvements that could ensure the best possible user experience. To fully evaluate this feedback and run further internal tests, we have decided to delay the release of the Galaxy Fold. We plan to announce the release date in the coming weeks. Initial findings from the inspection of reported issues on the display showed that they could be associated with impact on the top and bottom exposed areas of the hinge. There was also an instance where substances found inside the device affected the display performance. We will take measures to strengthen the display protection. We will also enhance the guidance on care and use of the display including the protective layer so that our customers get the most out of their Galaxy Fold. We value the trust our customers place in us and they are always our top priority. Samsung is committed to working closely with customers and partners to move the industry forward. We want to thank them for their patience and understanding.

// Wall Street Journal

OnePlus Confirms OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro are Going to be Expensive

Kellen — Mon, 22 Apr 2019 07:26:10 +0000

On Tuesday, OnePlus has an announcement to make about the announcement event for its new phones, the OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro. Before we learn about OnePlus' unveiling plans, the company's CEO confirmed some details about their next line-up of phones, including names, where they'll be priced, and some of the specs, like a new "breakthrough" display tech. OnePlus CEO Pete Lau spoke with The Verge to reveal that they will have two phones to start 2019 called OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro. Rumors of two models have floated about this tech space for some time, so I'm glad we can finally end any speculation around that idea. In confirming the names, Lau had other info to share that you should know about. For one, he suggested that the OnePlus 7 Pro will have pricing near Samsung's Galaxy S10 line, Huawei's P30 Pro, and the iPhone XS. This will be an expensive phone - the most expensive in OnePlus history, I'm going to assume. The regular OnePlus 7 will also cost more than the OnePlus 6T, which started at $549 and was already OnePlus' most expensive phone to date. With another set of yearly price increases from OnePlus, the value in their phones is starting to diminish. As a company who started out as a brand that offered more for less, 2019 might be the year that all goes away. We knew it was coming. We knew that OnePlus was ditching their roots as they began to match almost all of the features of their competitors. That doesn't mean their phones aren't still really, really good and to be considered, it just means you'll have to spend to get one, just like every other good phone. [table id=102 /] Why the price hike for this Pro model? Lau said that they spent three times the amount on display tech for the Pro as they normally would. He added that he was "stunned" when he saw the Pro's display for the first time and that it should set a new benchmark for mobile displays. Does that mean an increase in resolution from 1080p to QHD and an improvement in refresh rate to something like the 120Hz seen on the Razer Phone series? Maybe! They should probably go there if they want to call any display from them as a breakthrough. The price increase for the regular OnePlus 7 is likely due to ongoing increases in component pricing. At least that's what OnePlus has told us in recent years. Lau noted that the OnePlus 7 will have 5G capabilities too (or maybe a separate model), in case you care, but didn't elaborate much. I can't say I blame him since 5G is limited and bad and confusing. The first round of 5G phones are not something you should pay much attention to. Are you ready to pay for a OnePlus phone what you'd pay for a Samsung phone? // The Verge

DEAL: It's Google Fi's Birthday, so the Pixel 3 and 3 XL are 50% Off

Kellen — Mon, 22 Apr 2019 06:41:10 +0000

Google is celebrating the birthday of Google Fi today, so that means a super deal on its newest phones, the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. As long as you are interested in activating either phone on Fi service, you can save 50%. The deal appears to be pretty straight-forward, from what I can tell. The Pixel 3 (review) or Pixel 3 XL (review) with 64GB or 128GB storage are 50% off in any color. That means a Pixel 3 in your pocket for as little as $399 or a Pixel 3 XL for as little as $449. New and existing customers are eligible. The biggest catch, if there is one, appears to be an activation requirement. Once you order a Pixel 3 or 3 XL and receive the shipment confirmation email from Google, you have to activate on Google Fi within 30 days or Google will charge you for the full amount of the phone. Google will let you buy the phone with a payment plan or at full retail and there don't appear to be long, drawn out contract terms. See the full terms here. So if I'm reading this right, you could buy a Pixel 3 or 3 XL at half off, activate for a single month on Fi, and then take the phone elsewhere with no extra hoops to jump through. This is a Pixel 3 from Google, so it'll work on any other carrier. Am I missing something? This 50% off Pixel 3 deal is only good for today.

Shop Project Fi Pixel 3

DEAL: Samsung Offering Instant $300 Off Galaxy S10 With Trade

Kellen — Fri, 19 Apr 2019 11:40:06 +0000

The $550-off trade-in launch deal from Samsung that ran for weeks for the Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10+, and Galaxy S10e might be over, but the instant trade-in program hasn't stopped. And Samsung is still offering up to $300-off for a bunch of phones, most of which they were giving $550 for. If you want a Galaxy S10 and missed out, you can still trade-in a Note 9, S9, S9+, or Note 8 and get $300 off. Same goes for the Pixel 3 XL and iPhones all the way down to the iPhone 7 Plus. If you don't have phones in that list, you can basically trade-in any other phone and get $200 off. As a reminder, this is a deal we like because Samsung gives you the trade-in value today. So if you buy a Galaxy S10 with 128GB storage for $899 and trade-in one of those phones above, you'll pay $599 today. Samsung's trade-in program gives you instant discounts, not discounts later on down the road via credit or prepaid card. You have to send your old phone in after you get your new S10 to verify. Worried that Samsung's program has issues? Read the comments on this post and decide for yourself. We've used it a number of times and have never had an issue. In addition to the $300 off, Samsung and Verizon are running a BOGO deal that will get you a Galaxy S10e with purchase of a Galaxy S10. AT&T is doing a buy one, get one 50% off with the S10e.

Shop Samsung Galaxy S10

Moto Z4 Specs Sound Like a Mixed Bag

Kellen — Fri, 19 Apr 2019 10:06:12 +0000

Should Motorola follow-up its Moto Z3 with a Moto Z4, the company out of Chicago has a chance to do two things. On one hand, they'll provide Moto Mods with another year of existence, even if no new Moto Mods arrive to fulfill a vision for modular phones that has never quite materialized. On the other, Motorola gets to make-up for the lackluster release that was the Z3. According to a leak, the massive improvement in specs we wanted to see in the Moto Z4 to bring it back to top tier status might not happen. Today, the folks at 91 Mobiles shared details from internal marketing materials they viewed, materials that paint the picture of a less-than-flagship phone. The Moto Z4 will feature a 6.4-inch Full HD OLED display, in-display fingerprint reader, Snapdragon 675 processor, 48MP rear camera, 25MP front camera, 3600mAh battery, 3.5mm headphone jack, and Android Pie. It'll work with Moto Mods, so 5G connectivity will be a possible should you buy the 5G Moto Mod. There isn't a lot to dislike there, and that 48MP camera could produce the goodness, but when you opt-out of the top Snapdragon processor, we immediately have to drop the phone down a notch. Is that fair if the rest is solid? No, but the Moto Z once stood for Motorola's best, yet if this Z4 arrives without the Snapdragon 855, it's hard to view it as anything other than somewhat of a budget play. We don't know when the Moto Z4 will launch, but previously Moto Z lines showed up towards the end of the summer. // 91 Mobiles

OnePlus Announces That It Will Announce Its OnePlus 7 Launch Event Announcement

Kellen — Fri, 19 Apr 2019 08:04:19 +0000

The OnePlus 7 - possibly in multiple variants - should arrive within the next few weeks. After CAD render leaks showed up again a few days ago, a buzz about the next OnePlus phone is starting to increase. Today, OnePlus CEO Pete Lau added to the narrative by confirming that a launch event for a new OnePlus device is coming soon. In fact, Pete Lau said this morning that you should "stay tuned" next Tuesday for an announcement of their next launch event timing. Yes, Lau dropped an announcement about the announcement for their phone announcement. You going OnePlus 7 Pro or just regular OnePlus 7? https://twitter.com/petelau2007/status/1119250106203738112

BBM Shutting Down for Good on May 31

Tim — Thu, 18 Apr 2019 15:44:28 +0000

BlackBerry Messenger, otherwise known as BBM, is shutting down for consumers on May 31, 2019. According to BBM, the technology industry is, "very fluid, and in spite of our substantial efforts, users have moved on to other platforms, while new users proved difficult to sign on." RIP, BBM. // BBM

WTF: Instead of Simple Refund, Google Sends 10 Pink Pixels to Customer

Tim — Thu, 18 Apr 2019 14:11:10 +0000

Oh, reddit, you always have great stories to tell. Recently over on the site, a Google customer tells a tale of attempting to receive a refund for a defective Pixel 3 in White. While waiting for Google to issue back their money, they ordered a single Pixel 3 in Not Pink. Comically, whoever was in charge of this order made a mistake, and instead of a single Pixel 3, the customer received 10 Pixel 3 units in Not Pink. That's a deal! 😐 Legally, this customer is under no obligation to return the phones and they're up about $8,000 in merchandise, only because they're still awaiting a full refund for the original Pixel 3 purchase. However, this customer wants to help Google and send the phones back, but only after the company issues the original refund. In the meantime, enjoy your free pink Pixels! // reddit | Android Police

DEAL: Get AUKEY's KeySeries Earbuds for $45 With Coupon Code (Up to $18 Off)

Tim — Thu, 18 Apr 2019 12:15:05 +0000

During an episode of the Droid Life Show, we recently gave away a few KeySeries B60 headphones from AUKEY. They're solid little buds with Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity, a magnetic switch, IPX6 water resistance, and great sound. Well, these exact buds, as well as another KeySeries model, can be had for better pricing on Amazon, thanks to a coupon code we have. The other model on sale is the B80, both in Dark Grey and Light Grey. These earbuds feature Bluetooth 5.0, the same IPX6 water resistance, up to 8 hours of playback, and aptX low latency sound. With the below code, the B60 model can be had for just $44.99 (down from $59.99), while the B80 can be had for $52.49 (down from $69.99). If you need some new buds, follow the links below and apply the associated coupon code. Note: While an active Lightning Deal on Amazon, the B60 can be had for $35.99 with this coupon code. That's really good. Amazon Links

B60 Headphones -- Coupon code: 2ODMSC9G
B80 Earbuds (Dark Grey) -- Coupon code: 2ODMSC9G
B80 Earbuds (Light Grey) -- Coupon code: 2ODMSC9G

#TBT: Bask in the Beauty of the R2-D2 DROID2

Tim — Thu, 18 Apr 2019 10:57:51 +0000

Last year, I shared the original R2-D2 DROID 2 wallpapers to celebrate Star Wars Day (May 4). Shortly after, I decided it would be cool to buy an R2-D2 DROID 2 off of eBay, only because I never got to own one back in the day. I'm so happy I did. It's not like I use the phone whatsoever, but it holds a special place in Android history. Plus, I got it for only $28, and considering its original retail price of $599, that seemed like a good deal.

You know, I wouldn't be shocked if we see other phones like this at some point. Disney sure does enjoy slapping the Star Wars logo on anything it can sell. Did you own one of these back in the day?

YouTube Music Arrives on Google Home for Free

Kellen — Thu, 18 Apr 2019 10:28:56 +0000

Google is giving Google Home owners access to the free version of YouTube Music today. With this access, you'll be able to ask your Google Home to play music from Google's newest half-baked music service, though it'll include ads from time to time. To get started with YouTube Music on Google Home, you'll need to open the Google Home app, tap on Services, and then Music. By then choosing YouTube Music as your default, voice commands to fire up some beats will default to YouTube Music. Again, this is the free version of YouTube Music, so you'll hear ads. If you don't want to hear ads, YouTube Premium is available for $9.99/mo. The freeness of YouTube Music is first available in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Great Britain, Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Japan, Netherlands, and Austria. // Google

Samsung Spins Bright Night Camera Feature Into Standalone Mode

Tim — Thu, 18 Apr 2019 09:28:29 +0000

The Galaxy S10 lineup launched with the Bright Night camera feature as part of something called Scene Optimizer. According to SamMobile, with a new update that is live in Switzerland and should be rolling out globally soon, Bright Night is now a standalone mode inside of the camera app. With this happening, it means you can manually make the phone take a Bright Night shot, which is a big improvement over hoping it automatically happens when Scene Optimizer is enabled. This should have been the way it is out of the box when the phone first launched, but here we are. As soon as this update starts hitting the US, we'll let you know. // SamMobile

T-Mobile is Now a Mobile Bank, Offers No Fees and 4.00% APY

Tim — Thu, 18 Apr 2019 09:01:25 +0000

T-Mobile has disrupted the mobile industry enough. Now it's taking on the banking industry. Announced this week is T-Mobile Money, a mobile-focused banking solution for the US, a country that is managing its money more and more via mobile devices.

The Basics

What you need to know about T-Mobile Money is very straightforward. This is a checking account, managed with a smartphone app, where eligible T-Mobile customers can get 4.00% APY on account balances of up to $3,000. For every dollar over that, you'll receive 1.00%. A lot of different banks carry different annual percentage yields, but considering the national average of just 0.06% APY, T-Mobile's offer is very good if you're someone who sits on their money. Fees are the next big thing. According to T-Mobile, there are none, but there is fine print here. For example, there is no overdraft fee, unless you overdraft over $50 or don't have a positive balance within 30 days of the initial overdraft. There is also no monthly fee associated with the checking account, no minimum account balance required, and there is a network of 55,000 no-fee ATMs available for access with a dedicated T-Mobile Money debit card. Much like it does when comparing itself to wireless carriers, T-Mobile took plenty of time to compare its offering to the major US banks. Another attractive aspect of T-Mobile Money is the customer support. As detailed, members have access to 24/7, 365 specialist support through the dedicated T-Mobile Money app. You never know when money issues will arise, so having that support line could always be beneficial. Anyone can sign up for T-Mobile Money, but it appears that being a T-Mobile wireless customer will get you the best perks, such as the 4.00% APY. If you want to check out T-Mobile Money for yourself, download the app by following the link below.

Google Play Link | Apple App Store

// T-Mobile

Reminder: Buying Verizon Phones Online Instead of In-Store Will Now Save You $20

Kellen — Thu, 18 Apr 2019 08:51:55 +0000

When you buy a new phone at Verizon, the $800 price tag of the phone and the two years worth of service payments are not enough for the mega-carrier to get by. On top of your bank account emptying out for the latest Samsung or Apple device, Verizon charges you an extra activation or upgrade fee. This fee covers...something. Over the years, the upgrade fee has fluctuated in price. It's gone from $30 or $35 up to $40 and back to $30 again, but today, the fee changes in a new way that's good for customers who need less hand-holding. If you buy a phone from Verizon online or through the My Verizon app, your upgrade/activation fee will be $20. If you stop by a Verizon store to buy a new phone (or upgrade over the phone), your fee is $40. Before today, the fee was $30 no matter where you bought a device from. This new fee structure was revealed earlier this week and is now live. So again, if you are buying a phone from Verizon and want to save $20, do it online or through the My Verizon app.

Amazon and Google are Friends for Now: YouTube and Prime Video Everywhere

Kellen — Thu, 18 Apr 2019 07:46:22 +0000

When it comes to sharing services, Amazon and Google haven't always wanted to help a brother out. Instead, as they've released their own competing services over the years, they've limited the other's offerings on various platforms. For example, Amazon's Prime Video has always been hard to find on Android devices. Same goes for YouTube on Amazon devices or Chromecast in Amazon's store. Why the resistance? I'm just imagining the pettiest of reasons, but for the time being, both will set aside their differences and play nicely. Google and Amazon announced today that their video streaming services are coming to each other's platforms. That means YouTube and YouTube Kids on Amazon Fire TV devices, along with Prime Video with Chromecast controls and a broader launch on Android TV. YouTube and YouTube Kids will launch with the "full YouTube experience" later this year. The apps will let you sign-in to your account to access libraries and watch clips in 4K at 60fps. For Prime Video on Chromecast and Android TV, we're looking at availability "in the coming months." Cool, cool. // Amazon

Roav Bolt With Google Assistant is Now Available for Your Dumb Car

Kellen — Wed, 17 Apr 2019 15:50:47 +0000

If your car doesn't have the smarts of Android Auto and you want Google Assistant inside, Anker's Roav Bolt is here. Announced back at CES, the Roav Bolt is like a little car charger, only it comes equipped with Google Assistant too. It has charging ports to do fast charging of your phone, but with its far field mics and Bluetooth connectivity (to connect it to your phone), you can funnel it through your stereo as an Assistant-powered Google Home for your car. With a product like this in your car (there have been Amazon Alexa devices like this for a while), you can use your voice to get turn-by-turn audio directions, play music, call or text people, check on your calendar, and control your smart home. The Roav Bolt costs $49.99 and is available for pre-order today. // Google

Google Intros Gentle Sleep and Wake Feature for Google Home Devices

Tim — Wed, 17 Apr 2019 15:06:35 +0000

Google introduced a new feature for Google Home devices and Google Assistant in general this week called Gentle Sleep & Wake. With it, owners with Philips Hue lights in their bedroom can have their morning alarms paired with gradual lighting. As alarms go off, the lights in your room with increase in brightness, just like the rising of the sun. Ah, so peaceful, unlike my mornings where I wake up and just wish the world would go away. Depressing. Maybe I should try this. Moving on, here's a full overview of what you can do with the new feature. What You Can Do

“Hey Google, Turn on Gentle Wake up" to have your daily morning alarms pair with gradual brightening. Make sure to enable Gentle Wake Up on the same Google Home device you’ll set your alarms on.
"Hey Google, Wake up my lights." You can also say, “Hey Google, wake up my lights in the bedroom at 6:30 a.m.” This will start to gradually brighten your Philips Hue lights at the time that you set and can be set up to 24 hours in advance.
"Hey Google, Sleep my lights." You can also say, “Hey Google, sleep the lights in the living room.” This will gradually start to dim your Philips Hue lights and can be programmed up to 24 hours in advance.

The Gentle Sleep & Wake feature is available in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Singapore, and India in English only. // Google

If You Buy a Galaxy Fold, Don't Remove Its Protective Layer

Kellen — Wed, 17 Apr 2019 12:55:07 +0000

A batch of Galaxy Fold review units have broken within a matter of days, as you know from a story we wrote up this morning. Not all have suffered from the same issue, though. Two of the units might have died from self-inflicted wounds, after reviewers removed (or attempted to remove) a special protective layer that Samsung applied to the Fold's screen. The Galaxy Fold, in all of its fancy $2,000 packaging, arrives in the box with a protective wrapper around the device along with another protective layer applied to its foldable display. On the outer wrapper, Samsung has included a warning that suggests owners not remove the protective layer. The warning reads:

"ATTENTION - The main screen includes a special protective layer. Peeling off the protective layer or using any adhesives on the main screen, such as screen protectors or stickers, may cause damage."

T-Mobile's Des showed a picture of this warning in a Tweet today, shortly after all Galaxy Fold hell broke loose. Both Mark Gurman and Marques Brownlee, whose devices had to be replaced, confirmed that their Galaxy Folds ran into issues once they messed with the protective layer that Samsung warned about. https://twitter.com/askdes/status/1118596295185141760 If you pre-ordered a Galaxy Fold and haven't cancelled it yet after today's troublesome news, be aware of this issue. The protective layer on the Galaxy Fold's unit supposedly looks like a screen protector that you might be able to remove. You shouldn't remove it. Samsung's own warning over it doesn't exactly say that imminent death will arrive to your really expensive phone if you scrape it off, but that's clearly the case here. Samsung should probably update the wording on their packaging, remove the word "may," and replace it with "will."

OnePlus 3, 3T Owners Can Now Taste Pie With Community Beta Build

Tim — Wed, 17 Apr 2019 12:22:23 +0000

OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T owners, are you hungry? If you are, OnePlus has a fresh Pie build out of the oven, available right now for manually flashing. This is a community beta build, meaning you'll have to do the flashing yourself and there is no OTA available. However, flashing it is very easy. Instructions here. Once flashed, you'll be running Pie, and as you use it, you can help OnePlus crush any bugs or issues that could still remain. Once that process is complete, the Pie update will be made available via OTA to all OP3 and OP3T owners. Have at it!

What's New

System
- Updated system to Android 9 Pie
- Brand new UI for Android Pie
- Updated Android security patch to 2019.4

Do Not Disturb mode
- New Do Not Disturb mode with adjustable settings

New Gaming mode 3.0
- Added text notification mode
- Added notification for 3rd party calls
Phone
- Deep integration with Google Duo
Camera
- Integrated Google Lens mode

// OnePlus

Mmm, Razer Phone 2 Now Available in Satin Black for $499

Tim — Wed, 17 Apr 2019 11:24:36 +0000

Razer announced today that the Satin Black model of the Razer Phone 2 (pictured above on the right) is now up for order as a razer.com exclusive, available for the limited time price of $499.

Read: Razer Phone 2 Review

There is nothing different about the Satin Black model versus the Mirror Black model, though, you'll likely see less of an icky fingerprint issue as you would on the Mirror Black. It still has the Snapdragon 845 processor, 8GB RAM, 5.7″ IGZO LCD QHD display capable of 120Hz refresh rate, 64GB built-in storage, dual rear-facing cameras, and 4,000mAh battery. It's a monster mobile gaming machine. Satin is nice. Razer Link

Galaxy Fold Review Units are Breaking (Updated)

Kellen — Wed, 17 Apr 2019 11:14:39 +0000

The Samsung Galaxy Fold went up for pre-order on Sunday and sold out immediately. Shortly after, Samsung handed a number of review units to press (not us), who have had them for a couple of days now for testing. At least three of those units have already broken.

PSA: Don't remove the protective layer from the Galaxy Fold

Within a few minutes of each other this morning, three tech reporters took to Twitter to share the stories of their broken Galaxy Fold units. The Verge put together a write-up that described and showed off a weird bulge that eventually broke the foldable display on the inside of the Fold. CNBC and Bloomberg tech folk followed up with devices showing the inside display half-dead, flickering, or getting progressively worse since issues first started last night.

What's going on here? The Verge isn't sure exactly what happened with their unit. As I noted above, they noticed a bulge of some sort within the bottom crease of their review unit that eventually cracked or put enough pressure on the folded display to cause a line to form down the middle and off to the right side. With Steve Kovach from CNBC, his unit began flickering after "one day of use..." where he said he simply "just unfolded it." As for Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, his screen is possibly the worst of them all, but could have died because he removed a protective "polymer" layer on the outside of the foldable display that I'm guessing he thought was a screen protector. Samsung has apparently told people they weren't supposed to remove it, just not in time, obviously. It looks like Marques Brownlee did the same thing, so we'll have to watch and see if his unit survives. https://twitter.com/markgurman/status/1118574467255418880 So the $2,000 Galaxy Fold has been in the hands of press for a day or two and is breaking. That's not good. We'll update this post as we learn more. UPDATE: Samsung issued a statement to The Verge that recaps what we shared and says that they'll investigate the couple of devices that may have run into hardware issues. On the flip side, for those who ripped off the protective layer, well, Samsung will make sure customers know they shouldn't do that.

A limited number of early Galaxy Fold samples were provided to media for review. We have received a few reports regarding the main display on the samples provided. We will thoroughly inspect these units in person to determine the cause of the matter. Separately, a few reviewers reported having removed the top layer of the display causing damage to the screen. The main display on the Galaxy Fold features a top protective layer, which is part of the display structure designed to protect the screen from unintended scratches. Removing the protective layer or adding adhesives to the main display may cause damage. We will ensure this information is clearly delivered to our customers.

Metal Slug Infinity is Now Available to Play, But It's Not the Metal Slug You Remember

Tim — Wed, 17 Apr 2019 10:11:19 +0000

I use to frequent a laundromat as a kid, only because they had a Metal Slug arcade game in the area that you would wait for your laundry to complete. They also had an original Mortal Kombat. Needless to say, it was the best laundromat in town in the eyes of a young kid. Tugging at that nostalgia is Metal Slug Infinity, a new title in the always popular Metal Slug franchise. While it's great to see the characters you remember as a kid, like Marco and Tarma, Metal Slug Infinity isn't quite like the games you used to play in the arcade. Infinity is an Idle RPG for mobile phones. That means instead of controlling your units yourself, all you're really tasked with doing is leveling up your characters as they go on and fight their own battle against waves upon waves of baddies. It's like a tower defense game, but instead of defending, you're constantly on offense. If you're into that gameplay, which can have its moments, you'll be happy to know that the game does stay true to its predecessors in the music and SFX departments. According to the app's description, "The original game's sound and VFX have been faithfully recreated." And I can vouch for that. It does sound and look like a Metal Slug game. The game is free to play, though, that does mean you'll find in-app purchases available. Follow the link below if an idle RPG Metal Slug sounds right for you. Google Play Link https://youtu.be/pQSPyiT_DwY

T-Mobile and Comcast Partner Up to Battle Cross-Network Robocalls

Kellen — Wed, 17 Apr 2019 08:47:07 +0000

In the growing effort to combat robocalls, T-Mobile and Comcast announced this morning that they are the first to allow cross-network protection for their customers. This is a big step in the fight over call verification as robocallers continue to attack our phone lines with spam. T-Mobile and Comcast are utilizing the STIR/SHAKEN standards to verify/authenticate calls that occur between their networks. Starting today, T-Mobile customers will get that verification from calls that originate from a Comcast Xfinity Voice number, while Xfinity Voice customers will get the same from T-Mobile calls "later this year." In addition to the cross-network news, T-Mobile says that the Caller Verified service that's a part of protecting customers from robocalls, now works on 10 smartphones, including LG G8 ThinQ, Samsung Galaxy Note8 and Note9, Samsung Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+, Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9+, Galaxy S10e, Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+. Caller Verified implements the STIR/SHAKEN verification I just mentioned above to show customers that calls coming to their phone are "Verified." Those will now included calls from Comcast home numbers on all of those phones, once they've been updated to the latest available software. This is good news! Now we just need all of these wireless carriers to come together to do similar things. // T-Mobile

LG V50 ThinQ Launch Postponed in South Korea

Tim — Wed, 17 Apr 2019 08:44:47 +0000

LG announced this week that it is postponing the launch of the V50 ThinQ in South Korea. There is no mention of a direct reason as to why, but LG stated in a note to its customers that it intends to, "concentrate on the completeness of [the] 5G smartphone in order to enhance customer satisfaction."

Related: LG V50 Specs

LG goes on to say that it has been working closely with Qualcomm on software, hardware, and the 5G aspect of the device. Right now, LG says it will confirm a release date later. Honestly, I didn't know LG had provided any actual launch date for the V50 in South Korea. It's possible that they never did, but are just letting potential customers know that it won't be coming as soon as they expected. For now, folks will need to fulfill their 5G needs with either an overpriced hotspot or the Galaxy S10 5G. // LG

Samsung Quickly Sold Out of the $2,000 Galaxy Fold

Kellen — Tue, 16 Apr 2019 16:23:02 +0000

Samsung opened up pre-orders for its $2,000 foldable phone on Sunday night and has already sold out of the the first batch.

RELATED: Galaxy Fold review units are already breaking

This afternoon, Samsung sent emails to those who reserved a device but failed to pre-order right away, letting them know that "due to overwhelming demand," they can no longer purchase the Galaxy Fold. Instead, they'll remain on a list to be notified when there is a re-stock. We have no idea how many devices Samsung sold, of course, but they did have multiple color variations of the Galaxy Fold available initially. Within the first couple of hours, most color choices were gone. Thankfully, we got our pre-order in right away and should be in line to get one of the first devices off the production line. That's super important too since Samsung views us as dirt, unworthy of a briefing or hands-on or "Hello!" We'll be two weeks late with our Galaxy Fold coverage as we await that order, but that's typical stuff around these parts when it comes to Samsung products. ❤️ Samsung. Hopefully, if you wanted to get a pre-order in, you did!

T-Mobile and Sprint Merger in Trouble From Antitrust Officials

Tim — Tue, 16 Apr 2019 15:04:50 +0000

In a new report from Wall Street Journal, the merger between T-Mobile and Sprint has hit resistance from the Department of Justice's antitrust division. With the deal valued at $26 billion, the antitrust division is currently deciding on whether the deal would present an, "unacceptable threat to competition."

In a meeting earlier this month, Justice Department staff members laid out their concerns with the all-stock deal and questioned the companies’ arguments that the combination would produce important efficiencies for the merged firm, the people said.

To alleviate concerns, it is reported that T-Mobile and Sprint could could offer concessions, such as assets sales. From a consumer standpoint, we aren't sure what happens next. The ball is in T-Mobile and Sprint's court to convince our government that a merger of the two carriers won't be a bad thing. If they're unable to do that, the deal falls through. We have a solid overview of the merger if you're only now hearing about it. // Wall Street Journal

Verizon is Reducing Activation Fees to $20 as Long as You Avoid Stores (Updated)

Kellen — Tue, 16 Apr 2019 12:43:51 +0000

UPDATED 4/18: The new upgrade fee levels are live.

I promise you that title is correct. Verizon will drop the activation/upgrade fee for devices to $20 starting Thursday, April 18, if you buy them online or within the My Verizon app. That's according to reddit and CNET, who say that if you decide to buy phones in a store, you'll pay more because you are getting the "full-service experience." In fact, in-store device purchases are getting an activation fee increase to $40. Previously, it was a $30 fee whether you bought a phone in-store or online. I'm all for decreases in fees, especially since so many of us do buy our phones online instead of in a physical store. With that said, that's tough right there for Verizon sales associates who might now see a reduction in traffic because people will want to save $20 when buying their new $800 phone. Seriously, wouldn't you avoid going into a Verizon store if it could save you $20? // CNET

Sorry, Chicago, No Google Store for You Yet

Tim — Tue, 16 Apr 2019 12:14:28 +0000

According to the Chicago Tribune, Google's plan to open up a physical retail location in the Chicago area, with the details of the plan first hitting the web last year, has been halted. Naturally, Google is unwilling to provide comment as to why plans for this retail location have been stopped, but the location itself, which was already mapped out (845 to 853 W. Randolph St.) and apparently the leasing process begun, is back on the market for potential tenants. From the outside looking in, while a retail location sounds good, I see it as more of an experience opportunity than a place to sell goods. More and more common, people buy a lot of things online, with only Apple seemingly able to command its customers to come into an actual retail space to buy tech products. If you look at the Microsoft store in downtown Portland, it's usually a ghost town. For tech, retail space seems like a waste of money in a lot of cases. You can buy all of Google's products in-store at Best Buy or select carrier stores, so putting money into flagship store just doesn't make sense, but that's just me. We'll keep you posted if Google's plans change, Chicago folk. // Chicago Tribune

Nanoleaf Canvas Review: Fun Interactive Smart Lights at a Price

Kellen — Tue, 16 Apr 2019 12:03:21 +0000

Back at CES 2018, Tim and I stopped by the Nanoleaf booth to checkout a new remote product they were introducing that would allow you to control your triangular Nanoleaf Light Panels. The Nanoleaf Remote was fun and all with its pentagonal 3D shape and vibrations, but Nanoleaf had an extra surprise up its sleeves at the booth that not only impressed the hell out of us, it stood with us up until launch late last year as a product we needed to own. I'm talking about Nanoleaf Canvas, the touch-equipped smart light panels that I've been testing for the better part of the past five months.

What is Nanoleaf Canvas?

Like Nanoleaf Light Panels, Nanoleaf Canvas is a new set of smart lighting that can be connected and formed into custom designs on your wall. These are square (called "Light Squares"), unlike the original triangular light panels, so they fit together much more cleanly. They have a full range of colors, can react colorfully to music you have playing, and pair with an app to offer you all sorts of additional controls. Nanoleaf Canvas is unique in that the panels are touch-enabled. You can touch them to turn a wall on, swipe your hand across to adjust brightness or switch scenes, or just play with them because a touch-enabled light wall is straight-up cool. Canvas can be voice-controlled using Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa, you can setup controls via IFTTT, or automate their activities using the Nanoleaf app and its scheduling function. Nanoleaf Canvas starts at $249.99 for a set that includes 9 Light Squares. You can buy packages with 17 or 25 squares at quickly rising prices, or expand any set with expansion packs that cost $79.99 and includes 4 squares.

Nanoleaf App and Google Assistant

When you aren't attempting to rub up against your Canvas, the majority of controls (including setup) over your Light Squares happens through the Nanoleaf app. The Nanoleaf app has more controls than you are probably imagining. You can setup basic colors, choose dynamic setups that constantly change colors, have color scenes bounce to your music, and go "interactive" to play games like Whack-A-Mole. You can fully customize every single scene type, create your own from scratch or edit pre-loaded scenes, and download new ones. You can adjust brightness, individual squares, pick the number of colors to show in a dynamic setup, choose the loop pattern and speed, adjust fading and so much more. You can even have your Canvas adjust automatically based on ambient light in a room. Seriously, the amount of customization you can do here is next-level.

The Google Assistant integration here isn't bad. You can setup Canvas to turn on or off by voice, adjust the brightness, and choose colors. Canvas setups also show within the Google Home app, so you can set them to rooms for more general routines and controls. Within the Google Home you can manually turn on or off, adjust brightness, and choose from Home's color picker. I do wish the Nanoleaf app had built-in widgets to control different rooms or panels or scenes, but there are none. If you want to setup shortcuts, you'll need to go into IFTTT and get busy that way. For this review, I have to admit that I'm not a huge fan of IFTTT and did not do any of that. Overall, though, the Nanoleaf app experience is pretty solid because of all of the options within the app that really give you control over your lighting. Don't have the app? You have a limited set of controls on the bottom of a single Light Square. The controls on it allow you to power them off or on, switch scenes or modes, and adjust brightness.

But should you buy Nanoleaf Canvas?

Overview stuff out of the way, is a set of $250 touch-enabled smart light panels something you should consider buying for your house or apartment or office? Ummm, sure! I say that without any conviction because while I do think Nanoleaf Canvas is a really cool product that looks great in my office during DL Shows and is a nice conversation piece the first time people see them in my living room, we're talking about an interactive light wall concept that eventually just turns into a decoration. That's not me saying that Canvas isn't something you should buy. If you have the cash and think your house's ambiance will be improved by a lit-up wall, go for it! These are cool! My hesitation around products like Canvas or the original Nanoleaf Light Panels stem from this worry that because they are decorative pieces, you may not care about them for long. Since they aren't inexpensive, this is where it becomes a difficult decision. As I mentioned in the opening, I've had Canvas in my house for five months, so I have had plenty of time to decide if this is a product that has become an essential piece of my at-home life.

Right now, I have two different Nanoleaf Canvas setups. I have a set that I purchased and added an expansion kit to in my office, above my gaming setup and in the background of DL Show broadcasts. I turn them on regularly when I'm in here working or destroying homies in Blackout. They look nice. However, I get zero benefit out of the touch feature because they are up on a wall, behind a couple of monitors. Am I getting good use out of the investment? Not the touch part, unfortunately, but again, the lights looks great. The other set I have is a review unit Nanoleaf sent over that I slapped on a wall in my living room/kitchen area. I put them low enough so that my kid could play with them if he was interested in doing so. I wanted to put some in a place that would get enough traffic to grab people's attention. Within a day or two, my kid wasn't interested in them, guests didn't care after seeing them for the first time, and now they are just a light panel in a spot in my living room.

I think my takeaway from life with Nanoleaf Canvas is two-fold, because on one hand, this is probably one of the coolest smart light kits you could put in your home. It's interactive, you can change the layout or design as you see fit, the number of color sequences and scenes are never-ending, and they'll certainly add some flavor to any room. On the flip side of that, after five months, Canvas isn't something I constantly feel the need to interact with or adjust or brag about or use all that often. It's there, in a couple of places, yet it's just some light panels that were fun to play with during the first couple of honeymoon days. So yeah, Canvas is very cool and at the same time expensive enough that the value might be somewhat of a tough sell for everyone.

Buy Nanoleaf Canvas

Twitter: Tweeting About Avengers: Endgame? Here's Some Cute Emoji for You

Tim — Tue, 16 Apr 2019 10:07:38 +0000

Should you be sharing your own theories or planning to live-tweet your first viewing of Avengers: Endgame, Twitter now has dedicated Avengers emoji for you. To access them, simply hashtag basically any character you can think of, including Thanos, Iron Man, Hulk, or whoever else you may be discussing. They're adorable little emoji. If you're a nerd like us, with Endgame and Star Wars teaser trailers happening, 2019 is looking solid. Google Play Link

New OnePlus 7 CAD Renders Hint at Two Variants for 2019

Tim — Tue, 16 Apr 2019 08:48:53 +0000

Back in March, we thought we had our first look at the OnePlus 7. As we're learning this week, that may have been the OnePlus 7 Pro, a reported higher-end version for the OnePlus 7 lineup. Thanks to OnLeaks and Pricebaba, we're now seeing CAD renders for the standard OnePlus 7, a model that doesn't feature any pop-up cameras. In these renders, the OnePlus 7 looks a lot like the OnePlus 6T, with its tear drop notch for the front display and dual rear-facing camera setup. The front display is reported to measure in at 6.2", down from 6.4" on the OnePlus 6T. Other specs for the standard OnePlus 7 include a Snapdragon 855, up to 10GB RAM, and a 4,150mAh battery. This is a strange move for OnePlus. We're used to getting one phone in the first half of the calendar year, then another in the second half. Considering how closely this reported OnePlus 7 resembles the OnePlus 6T, with exception to the internal specs, we wonder if OnePlus isn't entirely confident in the OnePlus 7 Pro's appeal to consumers with its mechanically operated pop-up camera. This could also mean that the Pro variant could feature 5G, making it more expensive. To counter the potential of lost sales due to price, the standard OnePlus 7 could be a safety net for the company's 2019 bottom line. Both devices are reported to launch around mid-May. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSB27asfYxQ // Pricebaba

Verizon Galaxy Note 9 Receiving April Security Patch

Tim — Mon, 15 Apr 2019 15:39:27 +0000

Verizon appears to be shipping out the April security patch to Galaxy Note 9 owners, just a couple of weeks after the phone received March's patch on March 28. Lots of updates for a Samsung phone? Solid. Once updated, the phone will run software version PPR1.180610.011.N960USQS1CSD1. The Galaxy S9 and S9+ received March's patch earlier this month, so we're unsure how long it will be for them to receive April's patch, but we'll let you know as soon as they does. Go get that update, Note 9 owners! // Verizon

DEAL: Amazon has a Huge Sale on SanDisk and WD Products, Like $13 64GB MicroSD Cards

Tim — Mon, 15 Apr 2019 14:16:43 +0000

As I stated in the title of this post, Amazon is hosting a big time sale on SanDisk and Western Digital storage devices. We're seeing up to 80% off select products, so if you need more storage for your phone, DSLR, or desktop computer, this is awesome. For your smartphone needs, the highlights include a $13 64GB microSD card, $86 400GB microSD card, 256GB microSD card for $31, and a $22 128GB microSD card. That's a lot of storage for not a lot of money. If you need DSLR storage, there is a 128GB SD card for just $18 and 64GB SD card for $9. For desktop/laptop storage needs, things get crazy. 8TB G-Drives are going for $190 (36% off), 1TB portable drives are $142, and 3.5" 6TB PC hard drives are down to $135. Follow the below microSD links for the savings. Amazon Links

SanDisk/WD Storage Sale Link

Is Verizon's Pixel 3 Exclusivity Coming to an End?

Kellen — Mon, 15 Apr 2019 13:26:59 +0000

Verizon's 3-year run of exclusivity over Google's Pixel phones may come to an end in the near future. With May 7 already penciled for big Pixel news, don't be surprised to see T-Mobile announce that it too will sell the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3a next month. The news first popped up from both 9to5Google, whose sources believe that T-Mobile is preparing to sell the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. Following that report, Android Police's own sources independently confirmed to them that T-Mobile will not only sell the Pixel 3 but the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL as well. We don't have dates or pricing info, but again, we know that something Pixel-related is going down on May 7 and will be the date to watch out for. Buying Google's Pixel phones has always been harder than it needed to be in the US. Carriers are still the place that most people go to buy their next phone, so having the Pixel, Pixel 2, and Pixel 3 only available from Verizon had to frustrate consumers. I know it frustrates us every time we try to share with you the best Pixel deals. Should T-Mobile jump into Pixel 3 sales, you have to wonder if that is a sign of good things to come for the Pixel 4 later this year. // 9to5Google | Android Police

Google Will Announce a New Pixel Something on May 7

Kellen — Mon, 15 Apr 2019 12:33:32 +0000

During the opening keynote to Google I/O on May 7, don't be surprised if Google announces the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL. Google has often used their developer conference to unveil or tease future hardware and they've confirmed that to be the case again this year. In a teaser posted to the Google Store today, Google says that on May 7, "something big is coming to the Pixel universe."

RELATED: Verizon's Pixel 3 exclusivity might soon come to an end

What Pixel devices do we know of that are on the horizon? The mid-range Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL are the first that come to mind. We could see a rebranding of the Google Home Hub too, as well as a first look at the Nest Hub Max, but those aren't Pixel and Google is telling us that something "Pixel" is coming. We figured we were extremely close to a Pixel 3a launch after seeing the devices show up on the Google Store a week ago. Both have been at the FCC, been presented via CAD renders, and were hinted at in the Google Play Console, so the only remaining move is for Google to make them available. Let's hope they aren't overpriced. Please, don't be overpriced.

More MCU Characters Available for AR Playground on Pixel Phones

Tim — Mon, 15 Apr 2019 12:03:34 +0000

Endgame is coming, and to celebrate, Google has added more MCU characters to the AR Playground lineup for Pixel devices. Joining the existing characters like Hulk, Iron Man, and Captain America are War Machine, Thor, Black Widow, Rocket, as well as Captain Marvel. Now we're talking. From what I can see, Thanos is still unavailable, which is saddening. Maybe he'll be coming soon. Google Play Link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fMRXLl1OYA // Google

You Can Pre-Order the Huawei P30 Lineup in the US, Should Work Just Fine

Tim — Mon, 15 Apr 2019 10:26:23 +0000

If you consider yourself a bit of a bad boy and want to stick your tongue out to the US government, Huawei's latest smartphones, the P30, P30 Pro, and P30 Lite are available for order through B&H Photo. Starting at $319 for the Lite and going all of the way up to $899 for the Pro, the international outlets have been praising these phones quite a bit (especially the cameras), which seems par for the course for Huawei these days. It's still too bad that Huawei isn't selling the phones themselves over here. Regardless, whichever unlocked P30 model you order should work just fine in terms of 4G LTE connectivity on a GSM network. That includes T-Mobile, AT&T, and other various GSM carriers in the US. For specs, the P30 Pro features a 6.47″ Full HD+ OLED display, Kirin 980 processor, up to 8GB RAM and 512GB storage, quad rear-facing camera setup, IP68 rating, NFC, 4200mAh battery, and Android Pie. The standard P30 features a 6.1″ Full HD+ OLED display, Kirin 980 processor, up to 8GB RAM and 256GB storage, IP53 rating, NFC, 3650mAh battery, and also runs Android Pie. If you're more into the Lite, it has a 6.1" Full HD+ OLED, Kirin 710, 4GB RAM, 128GB storage, triple rear camera setup, and runs Pie. Additional specs and details can be viewed here.

Pre-Order the P30/P30 Pro

P30 ($599)

P30 Pro ($899)

P30 Lite ($319)

Samsung's Galaxy Fold has Support for All Major US Carrier Bands

Kellen — Mon, 15 Apr 2019 10:20:51 +0000

Samsung opened up pre-orders for the Galaxy Fold last night through its own store with carrier options of AT&T and T-Mobile. Both of those carrier partners will sell the phone as well and have it ready in limited quantities for its April 26 launch. For those of you not with T-Mobile or AT&T who still want to own the phone and potentially use it on Verizon or Sprint, you've probably been wondering what the deal is. Why is Samsung limiting the phone to those two carriers? I have no idea what Samsung's motivation is for attempting to lock Galaxy Fold sales to those two, but I can tell you that the phone should have no problem connecting to Verizon or Sprint's networks, unless Samsung blocks it from doing so. I say that because the phone, under model number SM-F900U, ran through the FCC two weeks ago and is equipped to run on all major US carriers. We're talking full support here. Take a look.

See! We've got Verizon's CDMA and LTE line-up, Sprint's too, and all of the best bands for AT&T and T-Mobile. This sure looks like the type of support we find in the unlocked Galaxy S and Note phones that Samsung sells each year. The reason I went looking for this information is because Samsung has been cold when it comes to revealing it. Their US Galaxy Fold site refuses to list out the specific band/network support, only stating that models work on T-Mobile (SM-F900UMBDTMB) or AT&T (SM-F900UZBDATT). But as you can see from the FCC filing, it's all there. Will Samsung, AT&T, and T-Mobile allow these phones to work on Verizon or Sprint? My guess is that they'll be locked to each carrier. Both of those carriers do have unlock policies, though, so there's a chance you'll be able to unlock a Fold and use it elsewhere after following a set of guidelines. But you do have to wonder if there will be an unlocked version of the Galaxy Fold at some point down the road since it has everything it needs to work on all of the carriers. Also, Best Buy is one of the launch partners for the Fold and they don't sell T-Mobile products or plans. That means the only Fold you can buy from them is the AT&T version. We'll keep an eye on it and let you know if anything changes.

Pre-order Samsung Galaxy Fold

Looks Like Motorola and Verizon Really are Cooking Up Another Razr Phone

Kellen — Mon, 15 Apr 2019 09:00:50 +0000

Ever since a design concept revealed a foldable Motorola Razr phone was potentially in the works, we've been waiting to see any sort of sign that our past phone happiness would be reborn with a proper modern twist. We still don't know for a fact that a foldable Moto Razr is coming, but an unreleased phone did stop through Bluetooth Launch Studio today under the name "Motorola Razr." It could be happening, guys. The phone listing was spotted by My Smart Price under the name "motorola razr mobile phone for VZW carrier." It's listed with model number XT-2000 too. What does that tell us? Like an FCC sighting, we often see phones stop through Bluetooth Launch Studio for qualification before being released. Since there haven't been Motorola Razr phones released in years, nor do we know of a Motorola phone under model XT2000, this certainly looks like a new Razr phone is incoming. We also shouldn't forget that Motorola essentially confirmed that it was working on a clamshell-like foldable and didn't plan to be later to the foldable party than the rest of the industry. I know that we all assumed they'd make something that looks like the old Razr and this Bluetooth registration is helping fit that storyline, but come on, aren't things lining up nicely here? The only big issue for me is that mention of Verizon. It would not shock anyone in this industry if Verizon were to cook up an exclusive deal with Motorola to re-launch the Razr. Motorola and Verizon love exclusive deals involving the Razr brand that piss everyone off. With Verizon not getting its hands on the Samsung Galaxy Fold, they are going to want something foldable to sell. I'm excited, though. // Bluetooth Launch Studio | My Smart Price

AT&T's 'Ready to Go' Brings the AT&T Store to You, Now Available in 54 Markets

Tim — Mon, 15 Apr 2019 08:57:11 +0000

Ready to Go is an AT&T store experience wherever you need it be. Whether you're at the office and need a new phone or too lazy to get off the couch at home, an AT&T rep will meet you in a location that works best for you and bring whatever product you're purchasing. Not only do they hand you the phone, but they will take you through the process of setting it up if you need them to. Doesn't that sound great for grandma who isn't too familiar with gadgets these days? AT&T's Ready to Go is available free of charge on select device purchases.

Is it available in my area?

Here is every single market AT&T Ready to Go is available.

Atlanta, GA; Austin, TX; Baltimore, MD; Birmingham, AL; Boston, MA; Charlotte, NC; Chicago, IL; Cincinnati, OH; Cleveland, OH; Columbus, OH; Dallas/Fort Worth, TX; Denver, CO; Detroit, IL; Fresno/Visalia, CA; Greater NYC, NY; Hartford/New Haven, CT; Houston, TX; Indianapolis, IN; Jacksonville, FL; Kansas City, MO; Lafayette, LA; Las Vegas, NV; Little Rock, AK; Los Angeles, CA; Louisville, KY; Memphis, TN; Miami, FL; Milwaukee, WI; Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN; Nashville, TN; New Jersey, NJ; New Orleans, LA; Oklahoma City, OK; Orlando, FL; Philadelphia, PA; Phoenix, AZ; Pittsburgh, PA; Portland, OR; Providence, RI; Raleigh, NC; Sacramento, CA; Salt Lake City, UT; San Antonio, TX; San Diego, CA; San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA; St. Louis, MO; Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL; Tulsa, OK; Washington, DC.

Ready to Go is up and running right now in the above markets, so should you want to skip a trip to the brick and mortar, follow the link below to get started. Ready to Go https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3ZGC7og_-c // AT&T

Galaxy Fold Reservations are Now Open! (Update: Pre-Orders!)

Kellen — Sun, 14 Apr 2019 18:20:11 +0000

UPDATE 4/14: Pre-order invitation emails have been sent! If you put your name in for a reservation, check your inbox, because it's time to shell out almost $2,000 for the first foldable phone.

Samsung tried to make it sound like you would have to sign-up with an email address to be notified about Galaxy Fold reservations and orders. As it turns out, you can simply add your name to the reservation list right now by heading over to their site with the link below. Yep, Galaxy Fold reservations went live! At this time in the US, you can put your name down to reserve either the T-Mobile or AT&T models of the Galaxy Fold. You don't have to pay for a single thing yet, just so we're clear. This is nothing but a list of names of people who Samsung will eventually let purchase the device around April 26, when it's scheduled to go on sale in the US.

RELATED: Is the Galaxy Fold bad?

As a reminder, the Galaxy Fold will cost you $1,980. As one of the first foldable devices, this is a first-gen product with new tech, the sort of thing that always carries a crazy premium. Is this phone actually worth spending $2,000 on? Should you buy a $2,000 Galaxy Fold? We'll know soon enough. We'll do what we can to get our hands on one and put it through the proper testing. In fact, I'm #720 in line to purchase it. Go me. Hurry before the list gets too long!

Reserve Samsung Galaxy Fold

How's Your Experience Been With Samsung's Trade-In Program?

Kellen — Fri, 12 Apr 2019 14:22:07 +0000

Samsung's trade-in program is one of the best in the business because it offers you value today for the smartphone you'll trade-in later. In other words, you get the value for your current phone applied at the time of purchase of a new phone rather than as a credit back weeks down the road. It's fantastic - when all goes well. I bring this topic up today because we're through the first wave of Samsung trade-ins for Galaxy S10 purchases. We are now starting to see feedback over that process and whether or not it went smoothly or poorly for those who traded in their current phone for a new S10. I can tell you that in the 10 or so times we've used Samsung's trade-in program, we've never run into a single issue. We just traded in an S9 and S9+ for an S10e and S10+ and were given acknowledgement from Samsung that our devices were good. We did the same for the Note 9 and S9 when they released too. According to an informal reddit poll (results) that was conducted just after the Galaxy S10 launch, it looks like most (93%) people are like us and have success. But it's obvious from the handful of emails we've received and those poll results on the subject that not all has gone well for everyone. You'll find plenty of Samsung forum threads and reddit posts with issues that people ran into when trading in phones. While the reasons from Samsung vary, the reason we see the most often for Samsung not accepting a trade (trade-in requirements not met) is because they believe you sent them the wrong device ("device model does not match"). There are other issues too, like incorrectly performed factory resets, but the "model does not match" is a regular.

That's awful for a number of reasons, but the biggest is because if Samsung thinks you sent the wrong phone they won't give you the proper credit. A reader of ours was promised $550 for his Galaxy S9+ trade-in only to receive the dreaded "device model does not match" email where Samsung said he'd instead only receive $25. That's a huge difference! So again, it's obvious that most have no issues with the Samsung trade-in program, but not everyone is so fortunate. We thought we'd open up the comments for those who have used it to weigh-in with their experiences. If anything, the process you went through to have a successful trade-in could help someone else.

Poll: Inbox Users, What Email Service Did You Switch to?

Tim — Fri, 12 Apr 2019 14:09:20 +0000

Inbox users, by now you're over the loss of of your beloved email service and have moved on to something else. But what? On Android, there are plenty of options for email needs, though, options get somewhat limited if you factor in a useful desktop experience, too. There is Gmail, of course, but other good apps include Spark and Newton, as well as MailDroid and Edison. Then you have your typical enterprise email solutions like Outlook. Again, there are plenty of services to choose from. Where did you go, Inbox users? [poll id="510"]

Podcast: We Hit 200!

Kellen — Fri, 12 Apr 2019 11:29:19 +0000

On this episode of the Droid Life Show, we have got two weeks worth of news to cover on this 200th edition. We'll talk our LG G8 review, new Android Q beta and its changes, YouTube TV's (unfortunate) price hike, and Pixel 3a and Pixel 4 mentions. We'll also recap the biggest 5G news of the past two weeks, decide if T-Mobile's new TV service is worth considering, and pour one out for Inbox, as it is finally dead. Oh, a new Star Wars teaser just arrived too. Omg. Trivia is back again! We've got a good lineup of prizes to give out, including a couple of Meater+ devices, Razer USB-C earbuds, Razer Raiju mobile controller, and a Chromecast. We'll be live at 12:00PM Pacific (3PM Eastern).

If You Don't Like Your New Sprint Service Within 30 Days, It'll Refund You Everything

Tim — Fri, 12 Apr 2019 10:28:14 +0000

Sprint is now offering a 100% Total Satisfaction Guarantee. With this, the carrier is so confident that you'll enjoy its improved LTE, that should you not within the first 30 days of service, it will refund you the phone costs, service charges, and any fees. This offer is available to those who open a new line on Sprint or existing customers who add a line to an existing plan. "We’re putting our money where our mouth is," said Roger Solé, Sprint chief marketing officer. "We’ve recently invested billions in our network and once people switch to Sprint, we’re confident they’ll love it. With our 100% Total Satisfaction Guarantee customers can test out Sprint’s service in the places they live, work and play and see the savings. If they don’t like it, we’ll refund their money. It’s that simple." Should this offer sound tempting, you'll want to also know about its current promo for those who make the switch. As detailed, those who switch can get an unlimited plan with a new phone for $35/month per line for five lines, up to $650 to cover the cost to switch, as well as a $250 prepaid Mastercard if you buy a select phone. Honestly, if you were thinking about switching to Sprint, you can't go wrong with a money-back guarantee. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gru5-jKwj2s // Sprint

Watch the Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Teaser Trailer!

Tim — Fri, 12 Apr 2019 10:23:54 +0000

ThIs iSn'T AnDroId rELaTed! I don't care. Watch the first teaser trailer for Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker now! That laugh at the end, tho! Oh, buddy.

DEAL: Pixel 3 Now $350 Off at Best Buy, Pixel Stand is $10 Off

Kellen — Fri, 12 Apr 2019 09:21:16 +0000

I know I just told you yesterday that the Verizon Google Pixel 3 was $300 off, but I've got news - it's now $350 off! Best Buy has a bunch of new deals today, actually, thanks to a My Best Buy Member Sale going on for the next couple of days. For the Pixel 3 deal, all of the same applies that we talked through yesterday. To get the $350 off, you have to sign-up for a 24-month payment plan that reduces the price each month. At the low-end, you are looking at $18.74/mo, which isn't bad. In other deal news, for My Best Buy Members, the Pixel Stand is $10 off for the next 48 hours. While still arguably overpriced, we don't see Pixel Stand discounts often, so if interested, you may want to jump on this. Don't care about Pixel deals? No worries! The My Best Buy Member Sale has discounts on TVs, computers, streaming products, speakers, graphics cards, storage, smart home goods, and more.

Best Buy Deal Links:

My Best Buy Member Sale
Pixel 3 ($350 off)
Pixel Stand ($10 off)
Google Home Max ($100 off)
Google Home Hub ($20 off)
Google Home ($30 off)

Nova Launcher Update Brings Darkness to Google Discover, Other Goodies

Kellen — Fri, 12 Apr 2019 08:52:30 +0000

Nova Launcher picked up an update to finish off the week that introduces features first seen in the beta a month ago. We're talking features like a dark theme in the Google Discover feed, numeric dots on app icons for notifications, and some bug fixes. For the dark theme in Discover (Android 8.0+), you'll see options now for light or dark, but can have it follow Nova's auto settings depending on time of day, that sort of thing. With numeric dots, you simply get a badge with the number of notifications you have for that particular app. It's neat. There are bug fixes worked in there too. Google Play Link https://twitter.com/Nova_Launcher/status/1116447222072258578

AT&T Prepaid 'Double Data' Promo Nets You 16GB of Data for $40/Month

Tim — Fri, 12 Apr 2019 08:45:00 +0000

Starting today and ending July 11, new customers to AT&T Prepaid can get double the data on a $50/month plan. When signed up, you'll be receiving 16GB of high-speed data instead of the usual 8GB, and if you use AutoPay, your monthly price will drop to just $40/month. When it comes to prepaid offerings, that's solid.

Related: Which carrier offers the most free stuff?

If you are already a customer on AT&T Prepaid and want to take advantage of this, well, that's the beauty of prepaid. I would simply cancel my current line, then sign back up using this promotion. Additionally, if all you want to do is add a line to your existing Prepaid plan with this promotion, that is also doable, according to AT&T's fine print. Follow the link below to double that data.

AT&T Link

Some Lucky Google Drive Users are Seeing the Darkness

Tim — Thu, 11 Apr 2019 15:32:20 +0000

According to a few lucky users on reddit, Google appears to be slowly rolling out a Dark Mode for Google Drive, essentially turning its super-white UI into a super-dark UI. It's slick. The change looks to be server side, meaning there is nothing you can do to force it. Some users report a dark splash screen when opening the app, but then see the typical white UI. It looks to be a luck of the draw with whether you get Dark Mode or not, with no Dark Mode button currently residing in the app's settings menu. To have the best chance of getting Dark Mode on your own Google Drive app, be sure to have the latest version installed, then cross your fingers. Google Play Link

// reddit

Google, Huawei Agree to Pay Nexus 6P Owners Up to $400 for Faulty Devices (Updated)

Tim — Thu, 11 Apr 2019 13:52:56 +0000

UPDATE 6/8/2019: You can now file claims.

Google and Huawei have preliminarily agreed to settle a class action lawsuit from Nexus 6P owners who claim their devices experienced a bootloop issue, causing sporadic shutdowns of the device. Should this settlement receive court approval, both companies will be on the hook to the tune of $9.75 million, with payments of up to $400 being awarded to plaintiffs. If the court approves the settlement at the next hearing which is scheduled for May 9th, Nexus 6P users in the US who bought the device on or after September 25th, 2015 would be eligible to claim reimbursement. Concerning the money, it appears that only those who still have the faulty device will be eligible for the $400. If Google sent you an original Pixel as a warranty exchange, you'll only be eligible for a $10 settlement. If you're unable to submit the proper documentation, it looks like the most you'll receive is about $75. If this affects you and you want further details, click here. // The Verge

DEAL: Verizon Pixel 3 is $300 Off at Best Buy

Kellen — Thu, 11 Apr 2019 13:24:09 +0000

Best Buy currently has the Verizon Pixel 3 at $300 off for a limited time. That's a decent deal on Google's newest phone, just understand that the deal comes with the usual requirements we don't always love. To get $300 off a Pixel 3 (review), you need to buy the phone with a 24-month Verizon device payment plan. That drops the price on the 64GB model to $20.83/mo and the 128GB model to $24.99/mo. All colors and storage options are eligible for the deal, plus you get 3 months of free Sirius XM service. The Pixel 3 XL is not currently a part of the discount.

Best Buy Deal Link

Question: Thoughts on the YouTube TV Price Hike?

Tim — Thu, 11 Apr 2019 13:05:21 +0000

It's been a day since we learned YouTube TV is jacking up the price for its service, all the way from $40/month to $50/month. And for grandfathered users, who were sitting comfy at a $35/month price, they will also soon be paying the same $50/month as everyone else. In exchange for this price bump, YouTube TV added new channels to its lineup, all from Discovery Inc. Now included are channels like HGTV, Food Network, as well as TLC. The inclusion of these channels brings the total number of channels on the service to 70+. We've already seen a bit of feedback on the initial announcement post, everything ranging from those who are happy about the inclusion of those new channels, to those who aren't happy with the price bump and plan to cancel their service. As a grandfathered user, I'm not happy about a sudden increase of $15/month. However, I recently added Hulu to my list of ongoing subscriptions because I specifically wanted HGTV and I wanted to watch Handmaid's Tale. With YouTube TV's latest move, I can now binge watch Handmaid's Tale before my next billing date, then cancel the service and keep YouTube TV for my House Hunter needs. In addition, there's something about the ease of access to YouTube TV on my Android TV and on my smartphone that I find to be very worth it, plus the unlimited cloud DVR is super clutch. Basically, I'm hooked on YouTube TV. What about you, though? Do you plan to continue paying the increased monthly price or are you cancelling the service? It seems a few are finding that if they simply switch back to a TV plan via their ISP (internet service provider/cable provider), they could be paying about the same amount as they are by having separate bills. At the end of the day, you have to do what's best for your own situation. What are you going to do?

Twitter Testing New 'Swipe to Like' Feature in Prototype App

Tim — Thu, 11 Apr 2019 11:12:58 +0000

Over on iOS, Twitter has a prototype app that it uses to experiment with new features called twttr. This week, a few new features have gone live, which has us hoping they could be seen down the road on public versions of the app. One major change of note is a new "swipe to like" experience. When enabled, the user has the ability to like a tweet by swiping right-to-left in conversation view. In addition, a new threaded look for conversations is being utilized, which Twitter says will, "make conversations easier to understand." On top of that, the "true" Dark Mode UI is being tested, otherwise known as Lights Out, differing from the current dark blue night theme it currently employs. Other features being tested include new labels for the original author and people you follow, as well as profile previews. There's no telling when these changes will come for the public, but if I had the power, I'd be shipping out that Dark Mode immediately. Testing be damned. https://twitter.com/TwitterSupport/status/1116128017820966912 // Engadget

DEAL: $17 for This 128GB SanDisk A1 MicroSD is a Steal

Kellen — Thu, 11 Apr 2019 09:10:42 +0000

128GB of extra storage for your microSD slot-equipped phone can be yours for $17.54. That's all thanks to a lightning deal running currently at Amazon, so it won't be around long. In fact, at the time of this post, 50% of the lightning deal has been claimed. You should hurry. This is a SanDisk A1 128GB card, so it has been built specifically for Android phones. It has the speed needed to handle apps, in case your phone is lacking internal storage and you need to move some over to external storage, like this card. That's all. Go. Amazon Deal Link

Google Play About to be White AF, Could Perform System Updates Soon

Tim — Thu, 11 Apr 2019 09:06:06 +0000

It appears that Google Play will soon be getting the all-white theme treatment from Google, same as many other Google applications in recent history. Not only that, but recently spotted code hints at Google Play-initiated system updates, too. On the surface of this new white theme, with most of the app's color being removed, it doesn't look ideal. To be honest, it looks kinda boring and overly clean to my eye. However, the simplifying of these apps' themes points to one thing: Dark Mode. And because we know white themes aren't great for a phone's battery life, that only reinforces my belief that Dark Mode is coming for all of these apps. And when and if that happens, oh my, it will be glorious. In the above images posted by 9to5 Google, we can see mostly everything has gone from a little color, to no color at all. Instead of the top portion of the app featuring the color associated with the section of the app you're in (red for movies, green for apps, etc.), it's now all white except for the colored text that will indicate which section you're in. In line with its other redesigns, a bottom navigation bar is also in place for quickly navigating sections.

System Updates from Google Play?

According to code strings spotted in a recent Google Play teardown, Google may be experimenting with initiating system updates directly from Google Play. Basically, it's the same thing as it being in the Settings menu on your phone, but instead it would be inside of Google Play. If this code is indeed referring to OS system updates, the process of installing an update looks about the same. There's a Download button, an Installing... interface, followed by an "All good! Update complete." If you have a Mac computer, this isn't the craziest idea ever. Apple ships out system updates right along app updates inside of its App Store, so possibly in Google's eyes, this experience would be more user-friendly. Google I/O is coming right up, but it's unclear if Google intends to announce any of these changes at that time. I suppose we'll have to wait and see. // 9to5 Google [2]

Galaxy Fold Invitations are Going Out Tomorrow, so You May Want to Sign-Up Today

Kellen — Thu, 11 Apr 2019 08:25:51 +0000

Samsung announced this morning that the Galaxy Fold, it's ultra-expensive foldable device is "COMING SOON." We knew that, as they told us April 26 would be the day a couple of months ago, but what they really mean, is that you should sign-up today if you want to buy one. You see, the Galaxy Fold is supposed to be a semi-limited, luxury purchase that not just anyone can have. While the price ($1,980) certainly knocked a bunch of people out of the running, the Fold will be produced in limited quantities at first, which is why they are letting you put your name on the list today. So, if you want to be first, you'll need to hit that link below and sign-up for more information. You aren't doing anything other than putting your name on a list, in case you were worried. No money is being locked up. You aren't committing to actually buying the Fold. You are simply showing interest in wanting to be first. Why is signing-up today important? Because tomorrow (April 12), Samsung is going to send out "exclusive" invitations to those who submitted their email to be first in line to buy a Galaxy Fold on April 26. If you don't get on the list, the phone is going to be sold at AT&T, T-Mobile, Best Buy, and Samsung Experience Stores too. T-Mobile will open up online sales on April 25 (the day before launch) at 9PM Pacific. Only select stores will then have it the next day.

Samsung Galaxy Fold Sign-up Link

// Samsung

Comparing Carrier Freebies: Who Gives You the Most Free Stuff?

Tim — Wed, 10 Apr 2019 13:46:40 +0000

After years of using a prepaid plan through AT&T, I recently made the switch to T-Mobile. I did this because with the MLB season back in swing, I wanted to take advantage of the carrier's offer of a free MLB.TV subscription, which carries a value of $119. This got me thinking, though. With perks like Netflix On Us and gifts from T-Mobile Tuesday, how much value does a plan from T-Mobile actually provide any given customer over the course of a full year? Thanks to T-Mobile's calculations, we know that number and it's a whopping $1,550 annually for a single line and $5,150 per year for four lines. That seems like a lot of free stuff. If you're already on T-Mobile, then you should know about the big perks. There's the aforementioned MLB.TV subscription, Netflix On Us (for plans with 2+ lines), T-Mobile Tuesdays with its free tacos from Taco Bell and 10 cents off per gallon at Shell stations (plus plenty more goodies), free one hour sessions of WiFi aboard flights with Gogo in-flight internet, and one of the more important aspects that I recently experienced, was the customer service. Last year, T-Mobile announced Team of Experts for postpaid customers, which is a team of customer service reps who are located near your area and include no monotonous robot menus to sift through in order to get something done with an actual human on the other end of the line. I actually had a lovely conversation with the customer service rep who I troubleshooted an issue with, so with regard to customer experience, I'd say there is plenty of value in that.

What Other Carriers Offer

T-Mobile isn't the only carrier offering free things to go along with your monthly service plan, but on paper, it's certainly giving the most. Verizon is in an interesting position because I believe we all know how robust its network is. There is no denying that. However, in terms of perks, there isn't much to tout. Verizon lists a free subscription to Apple Music, which carries a $9.99/month value. There are no other instant goodies to speak of, but there is Verizon Up. This is the carrier's rewards program. Put simply, every $300 you spend on Verizon Wireless products and services (including your monthly bill, before fees and taxes) earns you a reward of your choice. These rewards come in the form of Device Dollars that can be used towards the purchase of a new phone, movie and concert tickets, plus other discounts on products and services. You can even earn "rewards" like bonus data for your phone plan. Yay, free mobile data! AT&T provides a bit more instant satisfaction to customers, centering mostly around its purchase of DirecTV. On a select plan, customers can get free access to 35 channels of live TV with the Watch TV app, have on-demand access to 15,000 movies and shows, as well as get free access to one of seven premium subscription services of your choosing. Noteworthy options include HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, Starz, and Amazon Music. AT&T goes an extra step with AT&T Thanks. With it, and depending on your tier (Blue, Gold, or Platinum), you can get premium event access, Ticket Twosdays for movies, win VIP experiences, plus more. The issue with AT&T Thanks is the tier program. You're only eligible for certain things if you're spending enough money with AT&T each month. In order to get the Platinum tier, you'll need at least a wireless plan, TV plan, as well as AT&T High-Speed Internet in conjunction with either a 15GB+ wireless plan or 240+ channel package for your TV. I have no idea how much your monthly bill will be with all of those services, but I imagine it's not cheap. While I understand that if you're spending more you should get more, when comparing it to T-Mobile's offers where every customer is eligible for the same benefits, including prepaid customers, it can get a little confusing and riddled with fine print. Then there is Sprint. With an Unlimited plan through Sprint, customers can get free subscriptions of Amazon Prime, Lookout Premium Plus, Hulu, and TIDAL Music. You will need the top tier of Unlimited to get the Amazon Prime and Lookout subscription, but that's still a solid offer. In addition, Sprint has the My Sprint Rewards program. This program will net you discounted pricing on hotels, vacation packages, car rentals, and tickets to amusement parks. On top of that, you'll get select offers from retailers such as Costco and 1-800 Flowers. Much like T-Mobile Tuesdays, you'll need to stay on top of what's available to you via a dedicated app that Sprint has on Google Play and the App Store.

What's Best for You

At the end of the day, you have to go with the service that's right for you. In some areas, one carrier can be more viable than others, but for people in a metropolitan area where most carriers have fine signal, you'll be able to weigh your options and these added benefits a bit more. For those in rural communities, it's entirely possible that options will be limited. If you are able to choose any carrier you want, and are looking for the most bang for your buck, T-Mobile seems like the better option. By switching to T-Mobile, I already eliminated one $120 expense this year thanks to free MLB.TV, and now with my Netflix account tied to my T-Mobile bill, that's another $10.99/month I'm saving. Thank's, T-Mobile.

Do you use any benefits from your current carrier? Is there something in particular that you get as an added perk from your current carrier that keeps you with them? Let me know down below.

Google Lets Your Phone Now Act as a 2SV Security Key, Here's How to Turn It On

Kellen — Wed, 10 Apr 2019 12:07:12 +0000

Using a 2nd form of verification as you sign-in to services is a must these days, but you should 100% be doing so with your Google account to add a layer of protection. It's probably your most important account, assuming you use a lot of Google services and protecting it is a must. To help, Google is letting you use your phone as a 2SV security key when you attempt to sign-in. This new option to Google's 2-step verification (2SV) is similar to the Titan security key that was introduced in the middle of last year. But with your phone as a 2SV key, there is a good chance it'll always be on you, while a dedicated USB-C or Bluetooth key may not be. If you enroll, you'll see a prompt when you you (or someone else) tries to sign-in to your Google account, asking if you just tried to sign in. If you did and want to allow the sign-in, the prompt on your phone will tell you to press and hold on volume down to approve. How do you enroll? It's super easy. Head to the Google 2SV enrollment page, sign-in, and then click "Add security key" in the Security Key box. A pop-up of all eligible phones (Android 7.0+) will show up - choose the one you want and then click "Add." That's it! You are now all set to use your phone as a 2SV security key. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nhz4YLay0zc // Google

YouTube TV Gets Price Increase to $49.99/Month for New and Existing Customers in Exchange for Discovery Network

Tim — Wed, 10 Apr 2019 10:19:41 +0000

It appears YouTube TV has been listening to our cries for HGTV and Food Network, though, the addition of the Discovery network to the platform has also brought along yet another price increase for the service. Beginning today, April 10, all new YouTube TV customers will have to pay $50/month for the service. That's an increase from the $40/month. Sadly, this affects existing users as well. According to YouTube TV, existing customers will see their bills jump to $50/month in their subsequent billing cycle after May 13. In exchange, YouTube TV now offers the Discovery network. That means channels like Discovery Channel, HGTV, Food Network, TLC, Investigation Discovery, Animal Planet, Travel Channel, and MotorTrend are now available for viewing. YouTube TV also announced that EPIX is available for an additional charge starting this week and the OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network will be coming later this year. Damn. // YouTube TV

Google Posts Android Q Beta 2 Patch to Fix Bugs

Kellen — Wed, 10 Apr 2019 10:00:25 +0000

Google surprised us just now with an update to the Android Q Beta 2 in the form of a Beta 2 Patch. There must have been a couple of serious bugs for them to push a patch, something I'm not sure we've seen with a beta build in the past. The new Beta 2 Patch is available as build QPP2.190228.023 for all Pixel phones, including the Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, Pixel 3, and Pixel 3 XL.

RELATED: Android Q Beta 2 released

Release Notes

Date: April 2019 Build: QPP2.190228.023 Emulator support: x86 & ARM (32/64-bit) Security patch level: April 2019 Google Play services: 16.0.88

If you’d like to manually flash the files, you can download the Beta 2 images right here. Instructions on how to flash a factory image can be found here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2fvkKTcw80

T-Mobile Launches TVision Home TV and It Doesn't Seem Game-Changing at All

Kellen — Wed, 10 Apr 2019 09:05:03 +0000

T-Mobile wants to take on the TV industry by disrupting and shouting "BS-Free!" a lot, like they have done with the wireless industry. I think we're all happy to hear that, since the TV industry is one of the greasiest of any, plus having new options in the field is never going to be a bad thing. Today, as a part of that TV strategy, T-Mobile announced TVision Home, which is a rebranded launch of Layer3 TV, a service they acquired back in 2017. I've got to be honest here in saying that this doesn't look like any sort of disruptor at all. In fact, I'm not sure how TVision Home is going to save you any money over your current cable bill, which T-Mobile estimates to be about $107/mo. Let's talk about TVision Home.

TVision Home Cities and Launch Deal

TVision Home will launch on April 14 in 8 markets: Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Washington D.C., and Longmont, CO. More cities will soon join in on the fun. T-Mobile really wants you to drop you satellite TV and switch over if you live in those markets, so to tempt you into doing that, they'll pay off your Dish or DirecTV termination fees and give you "up to" $500 via prepaid card.

TVision Home Pricing

This is where things get sneaky. TVision Home will be priced at $90/mo to start, thanks to a $9.99/mo discount that will only be available to T-Mobile customers down the road. As a part of this re-launch, T-Mobile says that for a limited time, everyone is eligible to lock into that discount. There are no contracts or limited offers that run out and jack your bill up. Have more than one TV in your home that you'd like TVision Home on? Each connected TV with DVR costs $10/mo. Those connected prices are also only available for a limited time, so for new customers in the future, they could pay more. At that price, you get 150+ channels, local broadcasts, regional sports, and "more." T-Mobile keeps saying in marketing materials that you get 250+ channels with TVision Home, but they don't seem to want to put a price on that channel bundle. The $90/mo price is for 150+ channels (from the press release), so I'm just going to assume that 250+ channels will cost you more. If you want premium networks like HBO or Showtime, those cost extra, just like they do on all platforms. T-Mobile says that the average cable bill is $107.30/mo and that their new(?) service will save you hundreds of dollars per year. But will it? Doing some simple math here, even with that $9.99/mo discount, puts your bill quickly at $110/mo if you toss TVision Home in a couple of bedrooms.

Other Stuff

Not-really-a-deal pricing aside, TVision Home offers 4K, dedicated customer care that supposedly doesn't suck, TV profiles for everyone in the family, a personalized menu system, controls via Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa, controls over some smart home tech, and access to your favorite apps, like Netflix and YouTube. Maybe the real distruptor will come later when T-Mobile launches their pick-and-choose streaming service?

Sign-up for T-Mobile TVision Home

// T-Mobile

Samsung Galaxy A80 Trades Notches and Cutouts for Pop-Up Flippy Camera

Tim — Wed, 10 Apr 2019 08:56:46 +0000

Samsung unveiled the Galaxy A80 this morning, a funky new addition to its Galaxy A lineup. Just so we're clear, I like the look of this phone, and while I could live without the, "Designed for digital natives who want to interact, play and share in the moment," I still it looks intriguing.

Flippy Camera

Galaxy A80 is Samsung's first phone to feature a rotating camera. When users select the selfie mode in the camera app, the three cameras automatically pop-up from the back of the phone and rotate. The three rear cameras consist of a 48-megapixel Main camera, 8-megapixel Wide camera, and 3D Depth camera. Other specs for the Galaxy A80 include a 6.7" Super AMOLED FHD+ display, octa-core processor (may vary by market availability, but likely an Exynos), 8GB RAM, 128GB storage, 3,700mAh battery, on-screen fingerprint reader (Ultrasonic not mentioned, so we assume it's an optical reader), and Android Pie with One UI on top. Samsung has not yet revealed pricing or availability, but the phone does appear to be currently targeted to Asian markets. I would not be upset if it launched in the US, though. Thoughts on the A80? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzM1FwLV3Ds // Samsung

DEAL: Need More Storage? Get a Samsung 128GB MicroSD for $20

Tim — Tue, 09 Apr 2019 14:38:21 +0000

Why pay big money for a bump in storage size on your phone when you can accomplish the same thing, that being more storage for photos or anything else you might need, by simply adding the storage via a microSD card? Should your phone accept microSD, like the Galaxy S10 (review) lineup or the new LG G8 (review), both Amazon and Best Buy have a couple of deals on storage devices happening right now, with a Samsung 128GB microSD going for as little as $20 ($5 off). If you need more than 128GB, you can go all of the way up to a 512GB PNY card for just $116, thanks to a $54 discount. Let's quickly do the math. A 512GB Galaxy S10+ costs $1249. At 1TB, the phone costs $1600. Without factoring in the added RAM, that's quite the premium to spend if all you really need is more storage. Follow the links below if you're in need of a storage bump.

Amazon Links

Best Buy Links

Samsung EP 256GB ($80)
PNY 512GB ($116)

Verizon Will Give You $250 if You Bring Your Own Phone

Kellen — Tue, 09 Apr 2019 14:23:25 +0000

Here's a decent Verizon deal for you - port your number over from another carrier, bring your own device, and Verizon will hand you $250. The deal is running all month, but it's pretty simple stuff. If you decide to make your way to Verizon and bring your own phone that works on their network, you'll port your number in, choose a postpaid plan (Go, Beyond, or Above Unlimited), and then keep the device you brought activated for 45 consecutive days. You will need to submit for redemption on the $250 during the first 30 days, though. Also, Verizon wants you to keep service active for 6 months. If you do all of those things, Verizon will send you a $250 prepaid MasterCard within 8 weeks. Which phones work on Verizon that you'd bring from another carrier? That's tough to say, but phones like the Pixel 3, Galaxy S10 family, and most of the Motorola phones you can pick-up on the cheap at Amazon all work at Verizon. To get the full instructions on how to get your $250, hit up that link below.

Verizon BYOP Offer

Question: Do You Use Digital Wellbeing?

Kellen — Tue, 09 Apr 2019 11:51:29 +0000

Google introduced its Digital Wellbeing software in August of last year as a way to help us monitor phone and app usage, try and give us reason to disconnect more, put our phones down earlier in the evening, and limit technological obsessions. Since then, I can tell you that I've looked at Digital Wellbeing in the rarest of occasions, often only when something new has been added to its suite of features that we can share with you. It's not that I don't appreciate what Digital Wellbeing is trying to do. I like the fact that I can set a limit on Instagram or Twitter. I like that my phone can turn to greyscale as a reminder that it's late and I should go to bed or at least take a break. I like looking at stats to see how terrible I am at actually putting my phone down. But even as Digital Wellbeing has moved onto additional non-Pixel phones, including the Galaxy S10e I have sitting here, I'm finding that I'm forgetting it exists. Is that because I can't admit that I have a problem and probably need to disconnect more? Or maybe I don't have a problem? I don't know! I do not know. Part of my early problem was that some features like Wind down just annoyed me and I'd turn it off after it activated each time rather than listen to its suggestion to call it a night. I haven't set any app timers because I like using the apps that I use the most - that's why they are the apps at the top of the list each day. So maybe I'm looking for help. I can't tell if I'm missing out on Digital Wellbeing as a game-changing Android feature or not. I'm curious if you are using it, finding it useful, or have tips to get me taking more breaks. Are you using Digital Wellbeing?

Which Galaxy S10 Should You Buy?

Kellen — Tue, 09 Apr 2019 11:37:59 +0000

After all of the videos, feature highlights, and separate reviews, we still get asked by readers, "Which Galaxy S10 should I buy?" And I get why! There are three to choose from this year, all of which differ in very specific ways. While the differences aren't necessarily dramatic from one Galaxy S10 model to the next, they are worth factoring in when you decide the Galaxy S10 is the phone for you. So how do we help you make that final decision over which Galaxy S10 to buy? I think the best way is for both Tim and I to share why we chose the Galaxy S10 model that we did, because we went opposite routes. I picked the Galaxy S10e from the start and am fully satisfied with it, while he went Galaxy S10+ and feels similarly about his decision. Here are the reasons we picked the Galaxy S10 that we're still using today.

Galaxy S10e (Kellen)

Moments after the Galaxy S10e (review) was announced and I got my hands on it, I knew it was the version I'd buy. All Samsung needed to show me was that it had made a smallish phone without their curved display - a display design I've grown to loathe - that didn't lack necessary features. Because that's really all the Galaxy S10e is. It's the smallest Galaxy S10 without a curved display, yet has the good stuff you need in a 2019 phone. Now, it does lack the 3rd telephoto camera from the regular S10 and S10+, as well as the in-display fingerprint reader, the display tops out at 1080p, and you can't quite crank up the RAM and storage like you can on those two, but the rest of the experience is almost identical. And if you want lots of storage and RAM, you can go up to 8GB RAM and 256GB storage, which is a hell of a setup. You still get a big beautiful AMOLED display (1080p), the Snapdragon 855 processor, fast wired and wireless charging with reverse wireless PowerShare, 802.11ax WiFi, IP68 water and dust resistance, and Android Pie with One UI. The dual rear camera features the variable aperture wide angle lens from the S10 and S10+, as well as the ultra-wide 16MP shooter, and you have a decent-sized 3100mAh battery for a smaller phone. Why were the missing 3rd rear camera and 1080p display not dealbreakers for me? Probably because I'm coming from the Pixel 3, which has a 1080p display, smaller form factor, and no telephoto lens. I love the Pixel 3 and what it offers, so the S10e is very similar to it, only with upgraded parts in some areas. That's why I chose the Galaxy S10e.

Galaxy S10+ (Tim)

Kellen can claim that he's happy with the Galaxy S10e, but I know that deep down, there are times where he'd much rather have this ceramic beast of a phone known as the Galaxy S10+ (review). For me, I want it all, which is why I've been a fan of Samsung's Galaxy Note series for years. However, since I don't ever use the Note's S Pen, the Plus models of the Galaxy S phones have been ideal for me. And this Galaxy S10+? Yeah, I could easily make the argument that it's Samsung's best phone ever. Featuring every single spec you would need in 2019, and even some that you could say are overkill if you feel like spending the money, such as 12GB RAM and 1TB of storage, the Galaxy S10+ is the ultimate Android phone on the market right now. If you want a fast ultrasonic fingerprint reader, triple rear-facing camera setup that is viable in almost any shooting condition you might find yourself in, plus a very large battery (4,000mAh) that can also share its juice with other Qi-compatible devices (all Galaxy S10 models can do this), I would tell you to look no further than the Galaxy S10+. Or how about its display? The 6.4" D-AMOLED QHD Infinity-O panel is gorgeous when consuming content and playing games, with insane amounts of contrast and color vibrance. This reminds me, I just made an entire video that highlights five reasons to buy this phone. You should watch it if you're on the fence, but the bottom line is that I chose the Galaxy S10+ because it offers it all and then some.

Shop Samsung Galaxy S10

LG G8 ThinQ Review: Gimmicks Don't Help Dated Software, Hardware

Tim — Tue, 09 Apr 2019 08:59:11 +0000

LG announced the G8 ThinQ in late February. It's April now, and in this industry, with companies like Samsung announcing phones and then immediately making them available for order, holding off on launching your product can hurt you big time. Is the G8 ThinQ worth the wait? This year, LG has included a new Crystal Sound OLED display, Air Motion gesture controls, plus a few of the same things people have come to expect from LG phones, such as the Quad DAC. Does all of this equate to a phone that can outshine Samsung and its very impressive Galaxy S10 lineup? Let's dive in and find out. This is our LG G8 ThinQ review!

The Good

Specs A new flagship means updated specs, which is never a bad thing. The G8 ThinQ comes with all of the bells and whistles you'd expect, including a 6.1" 19.5:9 QHD+ OLED FullVision (3120 x 1440 / 564ppi) display, Snapdragon 855 processor, 6GB RAM, 128GB storage, 3,500mAh battery, dual rear-facing cameras, dual front cameras (one is a TOF aka Z Camera), rear-facing fingerprint reader, IP68 resistance, the 32-bit Quad DAC that fans of LG phones can't seem to get enough of, and Android Pie. Unlike Samsung and its multiple SKUs for each device, there is only one G8 you can buy, the 6GB + 128GB model. You can either not appreciate this or you can like it, should that be enough RAM and internal storage for you. If you need a bit more storage, the phone does offer expandable storage, up to 2TB. Camera There are two cameras on the backside of the G8, a 16MP wide angle lens (F1.9 / 1.0μm) and a 12MP standard lens (F1.5 / 1.4μm). As far as smartphone cameras go, they are quite good, though the overall experience seems limited by the phone's performance. I'll get into performance a bit later. LG tossed in plenty of shooting modes and options with the G8, including its awesome Manual camera mode, as well as AI Cam, a dedicated Portrait mode, and Studio (a lighting effect mode). Under the More option, there is also Slo-mo, Cine Shot, Manual Video, Food, Night view, YouTube Live, as well as AR Stickers.

I kept it pretty basic during my time with the G8, sticking mostly to the Auto and Manual modes. When shooting outdoors in decent lighting, the G8 is capable of great shots. Contrast and WB levels look good, and while colors seem very accurate, I wouldn't mind a bit more saturation. Coming from a Galaxy S10, where some colors just pop right off the screen, the G8 doesn't quite deliver that same aesthetic, almost appearing muted in some cases. However, the lack of over saturation leads to good contrast, so I suppose it's a give and take relationship in that department. What I noticed quickly and something I particularly appreciated was the phone's ability when shooting macro. You can really get up on a subject and quickly get focused, leading to some great water droplet shots on a red tulip I captured. Overall, the phone's focusing was fast, and thanks to a dedicated MF (manual focus) button, you can easily dial in the right amount of focus you need. The below camera samples have not been edited in any way besides a resize.

Display Measuring in at 6.1" with an aspect ratio of 19.5:9 and resolution of 3120 x 1440, I know that what I'm looking at is a good display. However, thanks to its notch, I feel as if I'm constantly looking at the past. I reviewed last year's G7 ThinQ, and really, it's hard to tell the difference between the two. LG has fancied this one up a bit by calling it a Crystal Sound OLED, but if you aren't into marketing mumbo jumbo, allow me to break it down. In layman's, the display itself vibrates, producing a larger and more full sound. The introduction of this also allowed LG to axe the top speaker. Instead, the whole top portion of the display acts as a speaker when talking on the phone or listening to music. I'll mention sound as a topic separately, but I'll tell you right now, I think I'd rather have a dedicated speaker, especially since the phone already has a notch. The sound from the Crystal Sound OLED just isn't quite good enough, though, it is better than only having a single bottom-firing speaker. Anyway, that's enough talk about sound in the display section. Inside the Settings menu, LG has a few options for the display. If you want to hide the notch in certain instances, you can set a "custom" color for it. You can choose black, which hides it the best, or use a color gradient, which doesn't look great at all. LG also lets you set the resolution of the display, all the way from 1560 x 720 to the full 3120 x 1440. I opted for the Medium setting of 2340 x 1080, simply because I don't consume a ton of 4K content on my smartphone. Another plus is LG's commitment to screen color options. There are a ton of different presets available, such as Cinema, Sports, Game, Photos, Web, and even an Expert mode. Inside here, you can tweak saturation levels, hue, and sharpness. On top of that, you can tweak color temperature and individual RGB values. Again, as someone who values color saturation, I'm big on this.

Somewhere in the Middle

Hardware Much like the display, when I hold the G8, I realize that what I'm holding is nice, but my brain is telling me that I've had this phone before. Indeed, it must be thinking of the G7 from last year, because these phones are nearly identical, with one huge exception that shan't go unnoticed on my watch. On the backside of the phone, LG has flushed the cameras, a beautiful change that Samsung and Google haven't yet attempted on a flagship phone. It's glorious and I demand that all OEMs do this. In-hand, the phone has great size and weight. It fits incredibly comfortably in one hand, with its glass and metal materials feeling very polished. On the outside, the phone has a USB-C and 3.5mm headphone jack on the bottom, dedicated Google Assistant button on the left, plus the fingerprint reader on the back. Again, it's a very nice phone, but it's such a small change over last year and the G7 that it's hard to get excited about it. With Samsung using its Infinity-O display and talks of OnePlus using no notches or cutouts in the OnePlus 7, the G8's hardware reminds us of our least favorite year for smartphone hardware. Battery At only 3,500mAh, I wasn't expecting to be blown away by battery life on the G8. I actually had results all over the place, and I fear that if I used the phone a bit more, my results would have been a lot worse. For example, terrible weather kept me indoors quite a bit during my review period, which means I wasn't out snapping photos as much as I would have liked. The phone was getting me from the morning to night just fine while on a steady stream of WiFi with an average of 4 hours of screen on time, but if you're someone who may need two days of juice from a phone, I don't think there's any way the G8 is capable of that without usage of the phone's battery saver modes.

Sound LG really hyped this phone to be a music machine, but honestly, I think the external audio is only okay. To really get some tunes going, you have to want to set the phone down on a flat surface, allowing for the vibration and reverberation that the design was intended for. When simply holding the phone in your hands, I don't think it gets all that loud, certainly not much louder than other phones on the market with dual stereo speakers. I think my issue stems from preconceived expectations. When I hear things like Crystal Sound OLED and Boombox Speaker, I picture a wall of sound coming at my face from the phone. The closest you'll get to that is when the phone is flat on a surface, allowing for the vibrations to happen. And it really does get loud, but I suppose I was hoping for better sound from LG's using of this new external audio technology. Now, when it comes to listening to something via headphones, wired or wireless (but especially wired), the phone's audio chops shine. Thanks to its 32-bit HiFi Quad DAC, as well as limitless audio tweaking software goodness in the form of a 10-band EQ and DTS:X 3D Surround Sound, you can really dial in the audio you want to hear. Now seems like a good time for a plug, so if you want to hear an album made specifically for headphones and a phone such as the G8, I highly recommend Devin Townsend's latest masterpiece, Genesis. When diving in and out of the 3D sound balancing via DTS:X, I honestly don't know if you can get more immersed in sound than you can on this phone. To conclude the sound portion of this review, while I think Crystal Sound and the G8's external audio is somewhat gimmicky, LG's commitment to wired and wireless headphone users is appreciated.

The Not-so-Good

Air Motion and Hand ID The following ties into the below Girlfriend Impressions, but what she said was funny enough for me to include it here, too. When I first showed her that you can unlock the phone using the palm of your hand, then also use your hand to open up apps using the phone's dedicated TOF camera on the front, she said I looked like someone trying to control the phone using magic, a la someone whose version of reality is using the Force to control things with their mind instead of simply touching the screen that is directly in front of them. I think she was being nice, but what she really meant was, "You look dumb." Over the past week, I've tried using Air Motion and Hand ID, but I'm not a fan. I just don't get it. To use it, you have to hold your hand in front of the phone for a second or two, let the phone realize you're attempting to use Air Motion, then pinch your fingers and swipe to one side of the screen to open up a predetermined application. You can set any app you want to be opened via this shortcut. And I get it, this may look cool, but it's not helpful at all and it saves absolutely zero time. You may think Air Motion might be nice in the kitchen while your hands are dirty or something, but it's not really. This phone has an IP68 rating, so if you think I'd be afraid of getting a little batter or some other type of debris on it, enough to make me want to use Air Motion, you're mistaken. I had to go out of my way to use Air Motion a few times, and every time, I felt like what I was trying to do was more easily done by simply tapping on the screen. I admit, Air Motion is not for me. Hand ID, on the other hand, is useful. If your phone is sitting on the table, using your palm to unlock the device can easily be better than having to pick up the phone to use the fingerprint reader or turning on the screen to put in a passcode. But that's it. That's where the usefulness stops. If LG would have simply added in a new biometric security option, we could have just appreciated it and moved on, but no, they had to do the Air Motion thing, and really, it feels like a total waste of time and energy to me. Software G8 ThinQ comes running Android Pie out of the box, but unfortunately, it comes with LG's custom skin running on top. And let me tell you, this skin has not aged well. Thankfully, LG allows for the downloading and installing of custom themes via its own store, but even those aren't great, and the best ones seem locked behind paywalls. As a user, who only wants to darken the UI a bit, this is annoying.

I hate to be that guy who constantly compares this phone to that phone, but how else can I best describe the issue to you? For me, coming from a Pixel 3 XL that ran Pie or a Galaxy S10+ that ran Pie, using LG's software is like jumping in a time machine and popping out around the time of Marshmallow and Nougat. It just doesn't look very good and could use a serious rework and redesign, something like Samsung did with One UI. If LG wanted to get real crazy, they could cut the skin almost entirely and focus on adding premium software features on top of a pretty barebones skin, similar to OnePlus. Maybe that could help the company improve the time it takes to ship out updates, too?

There are a few changes inside that help make the software feel a bit fresher, but then the performance of the phone also hinders it. For example, you can set a "Gesture and Buttons" option for the bottom navigational row, which is very much a Pie feature. However, when you go to switch between apps, the phone's software feels a little janky, which is not something I'd expect from a phone with 6GB RAM and a Snapdragon 855. This setting is also hidden under the display settings, same as the touch buttons, which doesn't exactly make sense considering gesture controls have nothing to do with the display. It may seem harsh, but with how boring the hardware of the G8 is, a redesign of its software could have been hugely beneficial in terms of making this phone attractive, but it's more of the same from LG in 2019. It's somewhat recycled hardware with uninspiring software. Performance Something I didn't expect from the G8, with its SD855 and 6GB RAM, were the performance hiccups. This phone stutters and can even lock up on occasion. The times I notice it the most is when switching from app to app in the multitasking window, as well as when switching between modes in the camera. I haven't throw around the word jank much in 2019, but for the G8, I'm willing to use it. The thing is, I don't know what the root cause is. Is it the 6GB RAM? Is LG's software really that bad these days? Is there a memory management issue happening? I don't know. All I do know is that when it happens, you notice it and it's very much unpleasant. This brings me back to the software, though. My fingers are crossed bigly that LG is planning some major changes in the software department for 2020. The company already announced the V50 and we've seen its software (it's the same as the G8's), so I'm not expecting any miracles there. And while I understand that it's probably a massive investment that LG may or may not be able to afford right now, I think if LG still wants to take smartphones seriously and compete with the top players, it needs to reimagine what it's offering.

Other Notes

Girlfriend Impressions - "Hardware feels like a combination of a Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy. The size and fingerprint reader remind me of the Pixel, but the glass feels like a Galaxy. I dig the display size and the notch doesn't bother me. I think the palm control is stupid. You look like someone trying to do magic on your phone. It's kind of a cool thought, but doesn't seem like an efficient way of using your phone."

Price and Availability

There tends to be running jokes concerning LG phone launch prices and how they almost always drop dramatically about a month after the phone is released. Well, the G8 is no different, with the weirdest pricing schemes we may have ever seen in our years doing this. LG announced that G8 will be priced at $820. Interestingly, though, if you pay that much for this phone, I can guarantee you that you're getting shafted. For instance, T-Mobile instantly dropped the price of the phone's retail price to $620, which is basically unheard of. Or how about Best Buy and B&H? At Best Buy, you can get the phone for $649, while B&H has it for $699. When you go through a carrier's monthly payment plans, like Verizon, you'll paying just $490 over the course of 24 months. I recommend you check the links below and see what deals your specific carrier is offering if you want to buy this phone. And yes, there are trade-in deals, prepaid card offers, and everything else you'd expect from a new phone launch. Buy the G8 ThinQ

Video

Initial G8 Hands-on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4am-SkF7SRI G8 Unboxing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ijNkLCoq0Y

Gallery

The Verdict

I foresee a rough 2019 for LG. The pros of this phone feel so overwhelmingly outweighed by its dated software and hardware that I would not recommend this phone to anyone. Couple this with severely differing pricing from all retailers and it appears that LG and its retail partners are very unconfident in this phone's launch. And probably for good reason. Google is coming off a strong offering in the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, while Samsung just released what is arguably its best phone lineup to date. It's really hard to compete with that. What's even more depressing is that we still have to go through the V50 later this year, even though it was announced back in February alongside the G8. That phone is literally a V40 with flush cameras on the backside and 5G connectivity. LG's 2019 lacks all signs of vision and if the company continues making products such as these, its smartphone business could soon be done for good.

AT&T 5G Goes Live in 7 More Cities

Kellen — Tue, 09 Apr 2019 08:11:55 +0000

AT&T's real 5G network expanded today to 7 more cities, bringing the total to 19. That's more than any other carrier can claim at this point, in case you were wondering. The new AT&T 5G cities are Austin, Los Angeles, Nashville, Orlando, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Jose. Keep in mind that AT&T mobile 5G is only available in parts of those cities. When we're talking 5G, it's going to be a while (possibly years) before an entire city is blanketed with the newness. Why is that? Because 5G is confusing and sort of awful at the moment.

RELATED: List of all US 5G cities by carrier

Live in one of those cities and want to jump on AT&T 5G today? You can't. Well, you can if you buy their Netgear Nighthawk 5G product and sign-up for one of their hotspot plans. At this time, AT&T does not offer a 5G smartphone. During the course of the 2019, they'll have at least two 5G phones, but neither are available at this time. OK, good talk. // AT&T

A Smaller Galaxy Note 10? Yes, Please.

Kellen — Mon, 08 Apr 2019 13:40:45 +0000

Samsung is gearing up to launch the Galaxy Note 10 similarly to how they gave us the Galaxy S10 - with multiple models. That's according to a new report out of Korea this week that suggests there could be as many as four different Galaxy Note 10 devices. The report states that we'll get a 6.75-inch Note 10 as well as a 6.28-inch version. Both will have 5G variants, giving us a total of four for this year's Galaxy Note. A smaller Note phone, sort of! Well, not small like we've seen the Galaxy S10e, but at 6.3-inch we're right in between the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+. That's somewhat exciting, right? As far as other differences, we could see just three cameras in the smaller Note 10, while the larger versions could get the quad-camera setup from the Galaxy S10 5G. That matches up to a previous report. The decision to make multiple versions of a Note phone is new to Samsung. In the past, outside of that random year with the Note Edge, there has been a single Note phone. Sure, you could spec it out some with more storage, but there weren't different sizes to the Note. If this report is correct, you might finally have choice over Note phones when they show up in August. // ETnews

Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL, and New Nest Hub Must be Close to Launch

Kellen — Mon, 08 Apr 2019 10:21:22 +0000

Just as the weekend was kicking off, someone updated the Google Store to prematurely reveal new product launches for Google. An updated menu listed out a "new" Pixel 3a phone, as well as the Google Nest Hub Max. These are two products we have seen mentioned before, but the fact that they were added to the store likely means a launch is imminent. The listings for the Pixel 3a suggested that cases will be available to accessorize this thought-to-be mid-range phone line that will include a Pixel 3a XL. The Nest Hub Max, on the other hand, might have hinted at a rebrand for the Google Home Hub to "Google Nest Hub." The Pixel 3a line, for those who haven't kept up, is the version of the Pixel 3 that first leaked back in November of last year as the "Pixel 3 Lite." The specs were outed then, renders of an XL model were shared soon after, the phones stopped by the FCC, and then both finally made an appearance on the Google Play Console. Now, with names showing up at Google's store, I can't imagine we'll be waiting much longer to find out how overpriced each will be. With the Nest Hub Max, it's starting to look like Google may switch things up and give Nest the lead for its smart home, smart display ambitions. We've seen the Nest Hub Max already leak once on the Google Store, with a 10-inch display, built-in Nest Cam, and stereo speakers, so seeing it again isn't a big shock. What is semi-surprising is the way they listed the Google Home Hub as "Google Home Hub/Google Nest Hub," which I'm taking as a suggestion that name change is coming. Why the name change? That's tough to say. Google did bring the Nest team in-house to work with the Google hardware team last year, so this could be the first combined effort between those two teams. And to make sure there isn't any lingering confusion, have both smart display devices under that same Nest branding would make sense. Looking forward to the Pixel 3a release or these new Nest hubs? // 9to5Google

IKEA, Sonos Announce $179 Lamp Speaker Set to Launch in August

Tim — Mon, 08 Apr 2019 09:21:39 +0000

Part of the SYMFONISK lineup, IKEA and Sonos announced a table lamp / WiFi speaker this week, not only capable of lighting up any room its in, but rocking it, too. IKEA mentions that the idea for this product stems from a fireplace, which provides both warm light and sound in a home. Also part of the SYMFONISK lineup is a WiFi bookshelf speaker, priced at $99. You can see it in the header image above, on the left of the lighter lamp and on the right of the darker lamp. Basically, you can set this speaker anywhere (horizontally or vertically), and you can also mount it wherever you'd like in the home. Set for launch in August of this year, the lamp speaker will cost $179 and comes with either a light or dark cloth base. Same launch timeframe goes for the bookshelf speaker. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyyX4E9bOUY // IKEA

US Unlocked Galaxy S8, S8+, and Note 8 Now Receiving Pie and One UI Update

Kellen — Mon, 08 Apr 2019 08:05:37 +0000

Now that all Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+, and Galaxy Note 8 carrier variants have received the big Android Pie and One UI update, Samsung has readied the same update for its US unlocked models. That's how it works for those who haven't been following along. Samsung is cool with the unlocked units being tests dummies for big updates, like the One UI update, but then updates them last to stable builds. It's great stuff that we super duper appreciate, Samsung. Owners of the unlocked Galaxy S8 will see software version G950U1UEU5DSC1, S8+ owners will get G955U1UEU5DSC1, and Note 8 owners will get N950USQU5DSC1. Want to know what's new in this mega-update? Watch the video below. // Samsung [2] [3]

Verizon Galaxy S10, S10+, and S10e All Receive New Update

Kellen — Mon, 08 Apr 2019 07:52:56 +0000

Verizon's Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10+, and Galaxy S10e are all receiving an update this morning that includes the March Android security patch. I know, it's April already. The updates are minor and also include "system enhancements," as well as "performance improvements." The S10 will receive new software version number G973USQU1ASD3, the S10+ (review) will receive G975USQU1ASD3, and the S10e (review) will grab G970USQU1ASD3. To check for the update, head into Settings>Software update. // Verizon [2] [3]

Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL Detailed in Google Play Console, Hints at Verizon Exclusivity

Tim — Fri, 05 Apr 2019 15:38:31 +0000

What looks to be the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL have been recently entered into the Google Play Console database, a library of devices that developers can use to whitelist or blacklist from installing applications. This is cool because the Play Console offers a few spec insights for these phones, but also hints at what's likely a Verizon exclusive. We were already aware and worried about this, so this comes as no surprise.

Bonito / Sargo

While limited, the specs mentioned for Bonito (Pixel 3a XL) include an unspecified SoC, but is rumored to be a Snapdragon 710, 4GB RAM, 1080 x 2160 display (400DPI), and Android 9 Pie. It's a similar situation for the smaller Pixel 3a, featuring 4GB RAM and a 1080 x 2220 display at a 440DPI. The processor rumored to be inside the Pixel 3a is the Snapdragon 670. If you want more info on the upcoming Pixel 3a and 3a XL, don't worry, Google isn't great at keeping secrets. Near the end of the listings, it specifically states "PIXEL 2019 MIDYEAR." So, yeah, we suppose you can expect to see these phones become available near mid-2019. // XDA

5G's Biggest Problem: 5G is Confusing

Kellen — Fri, 05 Apr 2019 12:49:06 +0000

5G will one day be something special that could change the way our lives are connected. I don't think even me, the resident 5G pessimist, will deny that. The instant and ultra-fast connectivity has the opportunity to improve how society functions on a number of levels. All involved in the rollout of 5G will tell you that today, over and over and over again. It's their pitch for why you need to care about 5G at this moment in time. The thing is, we're so far from that reality that it doesn't make a lot of sense to help spread that message and get you to care about 5G yet. Not only that, but the messaging is so all over the place that 5G is a confusing mess. For now, I think the confusion is 5G's biggest problem that may be tough for its backers to overcome as they try and sell you on its future. Look at that image above for a second. Those are only a selection of the names we have currently for 5G, and yet 5G barely exists. Verizon is already using 5G Home, 5G Mobility, and 5G Ultra Wideband (5G UWB) to refer to their various 5G initiatives. AT&T has 5G Evolution (5GE), 5G+, and will likely use the generic 5G symbol down the road. You have Sub-6 5G to consider later on, but today it's all about 5G mmW (millimeter wave). There are terms like 5G NR (the 5G standard) and 5G TF (Verizon's non-standard 5G that they've quick deploying) too. There could be more that I'm forgetting, but you get the point. 5G isn't just 5G. 5G is a combined effort of a number of technologies that will eventually create the future of connectivity. And again, we're years away from that effort reaching any sort of maturity, so as we get there, it would be great if the players involved were to ease us in. They aren't doing that in a good way. Verizon and AT&T have made this all worse than it needed to be in a race to say "First!" Verizon launched their 5G Home service on non-standards-based 5G, while AT&T took the shady route by including a 5GE logo on their phones, even though 5G Evolution has nothing to do with 5G. Both of those companies are now deploying real 5G, but neither is doing it cleanly. Verizon announced and then launched its 5G Mobility service, yet almost never refers to it as "5G Mobility." Instead, they are pushing the 5G Ultra Wideband branding, including this awful "5GUWB" logo on the Moto Z3 as it connects to their 5G mmW towers. They've stopped deploying their Home service until later this year, but when they kick off that expansion again, well, that's more branding to think about. AT&T started day 1 of its 5G mobile journey by calling their 5G mmW service "5G+," even though mmW is a single part of the whole 5G equation. That leaves open a door for another branding when they deploy Sub-6 5G. They are getting sued by Sprint over 5GE and the possible damages that has done to the world of 5G. It's a mess. We don't know what Sprint and T-Mobile will do with 5G messaging because neither is ready to kickoff 5G just yet. You can probably imagine that they'll only add to the confusion, though. Beyond the naming confusion, part of problem is going to be clearly explaining the difference in logos and connectivity types once 5G is available to more than a select few customers in a select few areas of a select few cities. For example, you've got 5G mmW, which is the fast stuff, but it's reach and availability are always going to be limited. Once carriers push their Sub-6 networks with greater reach, we'll have more access to 5G. However, that may not mean the ultra-fast speeds you probably associate with 5G. T-Mobile has already said that their early 600MHz 5G network won't be much faster than 4G LTE. How do you think customers will feel about that, especially if you start charging more for a technology that may not offer much of an improvement over what you previously had. Verizon wants $10 extra per month to access its limited 5G Ultra Wideband network. AT&T has shown that its 5G data plans might not be cheap when it starts selling phones either. They may nickel and dime you for everything you connect to 5G. Speaking of phones, don't forget that 5G phones are going to be more expensive than the LTE phone you own now. Not only that, but the first wave might only connect to Verizon or AT&T's current 5G networks and not those they will launch over the coming years. The first phone or two we expect will only be 5G mmW compatible. We'll need another wave of phones to get us on 5G mmW and Sub-6 5G. Customers are going to wonder why the phone they paid extra for can and can't connect to this particular network that they are paying an addtional monthly fee for. Are you starting to see the worry here? And I haven't even talked about the technology behind 5G, like the spectrum involved, different bands that will be supported out of the gate, and how impossible it'll be to take phones from one carrier to the next. Right now, there is a good chance that your 4G LTE phone from AT&T or T-Mobile or Verizon will work on another carrier. You know from the logo that you have a 4G LTE connection. It may speed up or slow down at times, but the messaging is simple and straight forward. With 5G, carriers are already making this more difficult than it needs to be as they try and stand out.

DEAL: Get an Unlocked Galaxy S9 for $499, Galaxy S9+ for $599 ($100 Off)

Tim — Fri, 05 Apr 2019 12:16:50 +0000

So you've determined you don't need the latest and greatest. That's fine! Today at Best Buy and Amazon, you can snag an unlocked Galaxy S9 for just $499 or an unlocked Galaxy S9+ for just $599. Both prices reflect an instant $100 savings from the usual price. Buying unlocked is a good way to go and one we typically recommend. Being unlocked, either of these phones should have no problems connecting to any major US carrier's network, such as T-Mobile or Verizon. You simply buy the phone, insert your sim card, and you're good to go. Follow the links below to score that $100 savings.

Buy Galaxy S9/S9+

Amazon: Galaxy S9 | S9+
Best Buy: Galaxy S9 | S9+

Google Assistant Query Results Now Come in the Form of Cards

Tim — Fri, 05 Apr 2019 10:49:45 +0000

Google is looking to beautify Google Assistant query results this week, with returned results now coming in the form of cards. As you can see in the header image above, results used to look sort of boring. Now, results can include images and look more polished in general. Another example includes Events. Before this, results would be only a list of events taking place near you. Now, results are much cleaner with images and the ability to bookmark events. Same goes for tools accessible by Assistant, too. This change happens today on all Android devices capable of accessing Google Assistant. // Google

Artist Hub for Google Play Music Shuts Down on April 30

Tim — Fri, 05 Apr 2019 09:09:44 +0000

One day, YouTube Music will replace Google Play Music. We've known this for a long time, but still aren't quite sure when the finale is scheduled for. It was in May of 2018 when Google announced YouTube Music, and at that time, the company didn't seem to have a concrete plan in motion with regard to having two music streaming services. It's now April, 2019 and things seem as confusing as ever on Google's music front. This week, we're learning that Google is shutting down its Artist Hub for Google Play Music on April 30, the destination for smaller artists to manage their work on the platform. According to a post from Google, on April 30, "Your content (e.g., tracks, albums, images, bios) will no longer appear in the Google Play Store or Google Play Music service (including the paid streaming and free radio service)." Google goes on to recommend that these artists become YouTube Artists, simply to ensure their work is still discoverable via its new platform. Worth noting, Google then thanks all artists for making Google Play Music a "success," which is funny because there doesn't appear to be a better way for Google to celebrate a successful product than to shut it down. As of right now, nothing appears to be happening on the consumer side of this migration. Libraries of Google Play Music have still not switched over to YouTube Music, and Google still hasn't offered a timeframe for any major change to happen. All Play Music users are currently in limbo, which to be honest, is total bullsh*t. // 9to5 Google

T-Mobile Galaxy Note 8 Pie, One UI Update is Here

Kellen — Fri, 05 Apr 2019 09:01:31 +0000

You've been waiting (and complaining a lot), T-Mobile Galaxy Note 8 owners, and your time has come. The Android 9 "Pie" and One UI update is here, officially making you last to the party following updates to Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon models over the past couple of weeks. The update will arrive as build N950USQU5DSC1 and will weigh in at 1.7GB. You'll need at least 50% battery to update, but I'd make sure you find WiFi too. T-Mobile lists April 5 as the start date for arrival. What's new in Android Pie and One UI on Samsung phones? I've written this up 1,701 times now, but you should expect a whole new UI skin from Samsung, new navigation options and app switcher, adaptive battery and brightness, and more. Just watch this video. In addition to the Note 8 getting its big update, T-Mobile's Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge are grabbing the March security patch as builds G930TUVS9CSC1 and G935TUVS9CSC1, respectively. To check for updates, head into Settings>System update. // T-Mobile [2] [3]

DEAL: Verizon Pixel 2 XL at Best Buy is Now $500 Off

Kellen — Fri, 05 Apr 2019 07:55:58 +0000

After being discounted by $450 at Best Buy for a couple of weeks, the Pixel 2 XL has now dropped to $500-off and can be purchased for as little as $349.99. Why the massive price reduction all of a sudden? It's time to clear out inventory. Google stopped selling the Pixel 2 XL from its own store this week, so we can only assume that Best Buy is doing what it can to get rid of every last device. At $500 off, you can buy the 64GB Pixel 2 XL for as little as $14.57/mo or you can pay $349.99 and walk away. Best Buy still has the "Activate Later" option available, which lets you buy the phone without a contract. Now, since this is a Verizon version, you'll more than likely need to perform a one-time activation with a Verizon SIM in order to unlock it for use on another carrier. That sucks, but Verizon has been temporarily SIM locking their phones for some time. With that said, this is a Pixel phone, so it does indeed work on all major carriers, you just need to get past that first activation. Stock should be pretty limited in stores at this point, but online sales are in full swing. Best Buy Deal Link

Report: Verizon Galaxy S10 5G Goes on Sale April 18

Tim — Thu, 04 Apr 2019 14:46:31 +0000

Samsung announced earlier this month that South Korea's launch for the Galaxy S10 5G would take place on April 5. While that's awesome, it doesn't do us in the US any good. Today, a new report from Bloomberg states Verizon's variant of the 5G-capable phone will be available online starting April 18 here in the US, expected to be followed by in-store availability on May 16. We must say, this is all coming together rather quickly. It was previously thought that Verizon's 5G coverage wouldn't go live until April 11. However, the network went live this week in limited parts of Chicago and Minneapolis. We're already seeing speed results from 5G and things are looking groovy, though, access is extremely limited to begin with. If you don't live in either of those areas, don't worry, 5G is coming to additional markets this year. Now, if you're sitting there, thinking if you should purchase this phone, our very own Kellen laid out the following opinion. In his view, "It’ll be insanely expensive at Verizon, I’m assuming. Not only does it have additional features built-in over the S10+, it has a larger display and 5G that will surely raise the price significantly. Aside from specs, accessing Verizon’s 5G network isn’t going to happen often." That's all something to keep in mind, but if you're big on being an early adopter, it might be hard to pass up Samsung's first 5G smartphone. // Bloomberg

Video: 5 Reasons to Buy the Galaxy S10/S10+

Tim — Thu, 04 Apr 2019 13:14:11 +0000

We have done this type of post in the past as a wordy explanation as to why you should be spend your hard-earned money on a particular phone. Considering how pretty the Galaxy S10+ in Ceramic White is, we felt like making a video this time around.

Read: Galaxy S10+ Full Review

While you can watch the video and hear my exact reasoning behind why you should buy Samsung's latest, the general gist is that the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ are the company's best phones yet. Both have exceptional cameras, superior displays, gorgeous hardware, and the software sure has come a long way since the days of TouchWiz. Check out the five reasons we think you should buy the Galaxy S10+ for yourself.

Buy Galaxy S10/S10+

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmmU_Cup578

Gmail's Smart Compose Can Now Suggest Subject Lines

Tim — Thu, 04 Apr 2019 12:53:49 +0000

Gmail's Smart Compose has been live for a bit now, allowing users to let the machine overlords type out our emails. Starting today for select users, with most Gmail users expected to have it by the end of this month, Smart Compose can now accurately determine a fitting subject line for your emails, too. If you're one of those particular psychopaths who write out an email before writing a subject line, Smart Compose can read through the contents of your email, gain a bit of context, then suggest a fitting headline for you.

Again, you can expect to see this hit your Gmail inbox this month. // G Suite

Video: Android Q Beta 2 First Look!

Kellen — Thu, 04 Apr 2019 11:34:37 +0000

After putting together a growing list of changes to Android Q that arrived with the new beta 2 build, we figured a video tour of the fun was needed. So, we've got that here - a full 11-minute clip of the big changes to Android Q Beta 2! Like our list, this Android Q video dives into a big change to the gesture navigation, new chat Bubbles, the notification swipe direction, volume controls and their new overlay, additions to media notifications, and more. You'll see subtle tweaks to settings too, including upfront access to your Google accounts and related information. Find anything in beta 2 that we've missed? For those running it, how have things been over the past 24 hours? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2fvkKTcw80

Verizon's 5G Network is Indeed Fast as Hell Right Now

Kellen — Thu, 04 Apr 2019 11:11:40 +0000

Verizon's shiny new 5G mobile network went live yesterday, promising big things in the speed department that most home internet connections can't match. Big Red has stated that customers will see typical download speeds of around 450Mbps with peaks close to 1Gbps. Naturally, we want to know if those numbers are real, so we've been on the hunt for speedtests. Thankfully, Verizon's PR crew has not been shy about posting some early numbers. In two separate tests that were posted within the past 24 hours, we saw one speedtest (above) hit 760Mbps down, while a second test topped out at around 560Mbps. The second test was showing off Verizon 5G speeds versus AT&T's 5GE, which is not a real 5G network and shouldn't stand at a chance. As the test proves, Verizon's 5G network is the real deal for now and that 5GE, since it's really just a 4G LTE Advanced connection, can't hang.

The two tests were run outside of US Bank Stadium, where the NCAA Final Four will take place this weekend. That's in Minneapolis, for those who don't know, one of the two Verizon 5G launch cities (the other is Chicago). The Verizon reps used a Moto Z3 with an attached 5G Moto Mod that can both be purchased today for access to this new 5G network. Of course, these tests are somewhat meaningless at this stage because there are so few connections to Verizon 5G. The Moto Z3 with a 5G Mod is the only device currently capable of connecting to it and I can't imagine many own both. The real test will be when thousands of people in that stadium all want to jump on 5G at the same time and try to stream the wonders of the Final Four. That may not happen for years, so for now, we'll just enjoy the massive speeds of a fresh, unused and unoccupied network. On a related note, what in the hell is that "5G UWB" logo? We get it, Verizon, you want to call your 5G network "5G Ultra Wideband," but that logo has got to go. https://twitter.com/svandinter/status/1113834072953053189 https://twitter.com/djweissmann/status/1113484741561290756

Google Voice Messages Finally Work Properly With Android Auto

Kellen — Thu, 04 Apr 2019 10:40:41 +0000

Hey, so with an update this week, Google Voice now works with Android Auto's notification system. What I mean by that is Google Voice notifications can now be played over Android Auto as they roll in. It's shocking to think this hasn't been there all along, but then again we're talking about a Google product. An update hit Google Voice (2019.14.240805279) within the past two days that likely enabled this functionality. Be sure to update if you haven't, because you'll now be able to listen to Google Voice notifications and reply back, just as you can with Hangouts and other messaging apps. You should be able to initiate a Google Voice message too, though I haven't tested that yet. Google Play Link

Cheers Kalen!

Call Screen, One of the Best Pixel Features, is Coming to Motorola Phones

Kellen — Thu, 04 Apr 2019 08:48:13 +0000

The Call Screen feature that Google introduced alongside the Pixel 3 is one of the best pieces of technology they've introduced in a while. It gives you the power to troll-back to the numerous robo and spam calls that hit you each day, but it is also a handy way of getting info from unknown callers you would have otherwise ignored. Starting this week, select Motorola phones are getting Call Screen too. Motorola quietly announced the news in a blog post where they said to expect Call Screen on the Moto G7 and Motorola One families of phones. At this time, they haven't announced Call Screen for any other devices, which means nothing yet on the Moto Z line. Not familiar with Call Screen? It works like this. When a call hits your phone you'll see an option to "Screen call." If you tap that, Google Assistant takes over, tells the person that they have intercepted the call for you, and asks what the person wants. That person can explain to Google who they are and why they are calling, which gives you the option to mark it as spam, jump into the call to talk to the person, ask for more info, and so on. You can save the transcripts of these call screens too. To get Call Screen, I'm going to assume you'll need an update to your phone app, so be on the lookout for that. If you are up-to-date, you should start seeing the option as calls come in. How exciting. // Motorola

Spotted Pixel Themes App in Android Q Brings the Customization

Tim — Wed, 03 Apr 2019 15:02:04 +0000

An app buried in the second beta for Android Q has yielded great results for those who are overly concerned with theme options native to Android. Thanks to XDA, we now know that Google is working on a dedicated app called Pixel Themes, capable of switching accent colors, fonts, and icon shapes. The following information aligns perfectly with what was previously discovered in the first beta from March. Inside the Developer Options menu, you could already change your UI's accent color to Black, Green, or Purple. It appears now that the effort to theme your phone will be done entirely with an app and not a dedicated Settings menu, but how Google intends on making it available when Android Q goes public remains to be seen. Anyway, here are the details from XDA concerning the themes. Theme Descriptions

Anthony: Black accent color, Rubik font, Rounded/Squircle icons

Johanna: Green accent color, Arvo and Lato font, Filled icons

Reiko: Purple accent color, Arbutus font, Circular/Teardrop icons

Theme Previews (Default, Reiko, Johanna, Anthony) This is all fine and dandy, but how hard could it be for Google to enable an entire color wheel for folks to choose a color from. If not that, then how about some red, orange, or other various colors? Point being, while this is a fantastic step in the right direction, it still doesn't seem very comprehensive. And yeah, we're still waiting on a system wide Dark Mode for Android Q. Get excited, customization lovers. // XDA

Google Duplex Support Looks Live for Select Phones Other Than Pixels

Tim — Wed, 03 Apr 2019 14:02:21 +0000

Duplex, Google's solution for a problem we didn't realize may have existed until last year when the company announced it during Google I/O, is apparently supported on select phones that aren't Pixels now. If you'll recall, Duplex was finally made available across 43 states in the US for all Pixel phones recently. At that time, the company said support for Duplex would be coming to phones other than Pixels, but didn't specify exactly when. Confirmed by XDA this week, the service is now working via Google Assistant on the Galaxy S10+. It could be a safe bet to assume that it's also working on the Galaxy S10, but we can't confirm that because we don't have one in our possession. To see if Duplex is working on your own device, ensure you have Google Assistant set up on your phone. Once done, think of a restaurant and then ask Google Assistant to book a reservation for you. Google Assistant will either return search results for you or begin the Duplex process, which includes getting the size of your party and the time you'd like to make the reservation for. Is it working on your non-Pixel? Let us know! // XDA

What's New in Android Q Beta 2? (Updating List)

Kellen — Wed, 03 Apr 2019 11:03:10 +0000

Android Q Beta 2 has dropped and we're already diving in to see what has changed from the last beta. In this post, we'll run through both big and small items, which hopefully gives us enough goods to walk you through a video. Ready? Here's what's new in Android Q Beta 2.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2fvkKTcw80

Navigation gestures now include a swipe left or right on the pill to switch back and forth between apps.

Here is a short video of it in action. The navigation is now more of a sliding app switcher than a quick back-and-forth between the two most recent apps. You also no longer have the swipe and hold action to see the zoomed-out preview of all open apps. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCX5QdpcHkc

You can change the notification swipe direction!

To change it (and you should to "Swipe left to dismiss..."), head into Settings>Apps & notifications>Notifications>Advanced>Swipe actions.

A new share menu is here.

Q Beta 2 vs. Q Beta 1

The settings page for notifications has changed layouts some, with less recently opened apps showing. You'll also find the setting for Bubbles here. We're still trying to figure out what in the hell a "Notification Assistant" is too.

UPDATE: This is how Google describes the Notification Assistant. What?

We got a new battery icon, hah!

New

Old

Seriously, Google is really into this new battery icon.

Q Beta 2 vs. Q Beta 1

Volume controls now show an overlay on top of your current screen to let you adjust additional volumes rather than take you into the settings page.

Media notifications show a progress bar now.

Apps Permissions is now called Permissions Manager, plus the autofill settings aren't so buried.

If you have media playing, the always-on display highlights those notifications and shrinks the clock, which isn't ideal.

Android Q now has chatheads-like Bubbles for notifications, which we talked about here, but they don't seem to be live at all yet or we're waiting for developers to update their apps.

I think that's it.

Android Q Feature Spotlight: Android Q Gets Bubbly

Tim — Wed, 03 Apr 2019 10:28:06 +0000

After Android Q's initial beta launch, Bubbles were discovered, hidden inside the Android 10 code. This morning, with Beta 2 arriving, Bubbles have been completely confirmed and detailed by Android's developers. With Bubbles, think Facebook's Chat Heads, but for any app. As part of the notification system, Bubbles float on top of other apps and can follow the user wherever they go throughout the phone's UI. You can expand Bubbles to reveal app functionality and information, but can also collapse them when not in use.

RELATED: What's new in Android Q Beta 2?

When the device is locked, Bubbles will appear like a standard notification.

As Google explains, the user will be able to opt-out of Bubbles should they choose. When the first notification rolls in, the app will ask for Bubbles permissions. You can then block all Bubbles or allow all Bubbles. However, Google goes on to tell developers that only specific types of notifications are worthy of Bubbles, such as messaging apps and things like that. Android Q is all sorts of bubbly and I like it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2fvkKTcw80 // Android Developers

Android Q Beta 2 Now Available for Pixel Devices!

Kellen — Wed, 03 Apr 2019 10:04:29 +0000

Android Q Beta 2 is now available for Pixel devices! As this is only the 2nd Android Q beta build (first build), we aren't quite to stable fun yet. That said, things should be more stable than the previous build, plus we could get new features (like Bubbles!). The Android Q Beta 2 is available now for Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, Pixel 3, and Pixel 3 XL. If you'd like to test, head over to the Android Beta site and sign-up.

RELATED: What's new in Android Q Beta 2?

Android Q Beta 2 Release Notes

Date: April 2019 Build: Build: QPP2.190228.021 Emulator support: x86 & ARM (32/64-bit) Security patch level: April 2019 Google Play services: 16.0.88

If you'd like to manually flash the files, you can download the beta 2 images right here. Instructions on how to flash a factory image can be found here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2fvkKTcw80

DEAL: Refurbished Pixel 3 XL for Just $520 on Woot!

Tim — Wed, 03 Apr 2019 09:43:11 +0000

For the next 14 hours on Woot!, you can grab a refurbished Pixel 3 XL for only $520, which is substantially lower than the $899 cost of a new one. Although the Woot! listing clearly states these are Verizon units, the phone will work on any major US carrier, including AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile. When you think refurbished, you may think used, though, Woot's description of refurbished means anything from buyer's remorse returns to damaged packaging. There's no telling your exact unit's history, but at $520, you're still getting one of Google's best phones with one of the industry's best cameras. If the Pixel 3 XL is calling your name, follow the link below.

Woot! Link

Verizon 5G Goes Live a Week Early

Kellen — Wed, 03 Apr 2019 08:54:53 +0000

Verizon was planning to fire up their fresh 5G mobile network on April 11, but with the Moto Z3 now having 5G support through its 5G Moto Mod, the switch has been flipped a week early. Verizon 5G is now live in select parts of Chicago and Minneapolis. What does that mean for you, dear Verizon customer? Not much unless you own a Moto Z3, updated to Android Pie this morning, forked out for a 5G Moto Mod, and live in Chicago or Minneapolis. Otherwise, you have no way to access this new network. Your Galaxy S10 can't access it. Your Pixel 3 can't either. Your iPhone has no 5G, homie.

RELATED: List of all US 5G cities by carrier

Also, you'll have to pay for Verizon 5G service. At this early stage of 5G rollout, Verizon is charging customers $10/mo for 5G as an add-on to their current plan rather than let them use it for free. All you need is a Go, Beyond, or Above Unlimited plan to be able to pay the $10 up-charge. Verizon expects customers that meet all of those requirements above to see "typical" download speeds of around 450Mbps when on 5G, which is solid. Peak speeds could hit "nearly" 1Gbps and latency should be less than 30ms. Don't live in Chicago or Minneapolis? Verizon is still planning to push 5G out to 30 cities this year and will soon launch the Galaxy S10 5G. So don't worry if you can't get in on the 5G fun today - your time is coming. Live in those first two cities and want 5G now? You can buy a Moto Z3 and 5G Moto Mod today if you don't own one. Hit up this link to do so. Anyone around these parts live in Chicago or Minneapolis with a Moto Z3 and 5G Moto Mod? We'd love to hear from you! // Verizon

Verizon's Galaxy S8 and Note 8 Join the Pie, One UI Update Party

Kellen — Wed, 03 Apr 2019 07:00:29 +0000

It appears to be Verizon's turn to play the "Last to the Party" card, as they have scheduled April 4 as the day to begin pushing Pie and One UI updates to their models of the Samsung Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+, and Galaxy Note 8. T-Mobile, AT&T, and Sprint versions have all received the update already, outside of T-Mo's Note 8. The update will rollout as builds G950USQU5DSC1 for Galaxy S8, G955USQU5DSC1 for the S8+, and N950USQU5DSC1 for the Note 8. It'll be a big one too (over 1GB), so make sure you have open storage and plenty of battery life before starting it up. What's new in One UI and Android Pie? A lot. You get a whole new UI skin from Samsung, new navigation options and app switcher, adaptive battery and brightness, and more. I've typed it out far too many times and will simply tell you to watch the video below to get an overview (or hit up the source links to Verizon). It's a great update, though! To check for updates, head into Settings>System update. // Verizon [2] [3]

You Can Now Make John Legend Your Google Assistant Voice

Kellen — Wed, 03 Apr 2019 05:45:56 +0000

Almost a year ago, Google stood on stage at its Google I/O conference and told us that later in 2018 we would be able to switch the Google Assistant voice on our phones and Google Home units over to John Legend's. We'd be able to have John tell us jokes, ask him questions about music, and probably sing us a song or two. We're in 2019 now and John Legend is finally here. Starting today, John Legend's voice will an available cameo voice for select Google Assistant queries. To turn him on, you can simply say, "Hey Google, talk like a Legend," or head into Google Assistant Settings>Assistant>Assistant voice. Once setup, John will be able to tell you the weather or answer some basic questions (like how long to cook bacon in the oven). Google baked in Easter eggs too, which as you probably guessed, involve his wife, serenading you, singing Happy Birthday, telling jokes, that's sort of thing. If you run into a request that's not related to weather or John's sense of humor, a regular Google Assistant voice will be there to answer you. John Legend will be an available voice on all devices with Google Assistant, including Google Home, Smart Displays, and your Android or iOS phone. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgHghcYqeto

Verizon Moto Z3 Android Pie Update With 5G Support is Here! (Updated)

Kellen — Tue, 02 Apr 2019 18:18:42 +0000

Verizon's 5G network is scheduled to launch on April 11 in select parts of select cities. Before that happens, they kind of need a device that can access it, right? The Moto Z3 is supposed to be that phone, except we are pretty sure it needs to be updated to Android Pie before it'll be 5G ready. Thankfully, that update is rolling out right now. The Moto Z3 on Verizon is getting its big Android Pie update as build PDX29.84-30 and it does indeed include 5G Moto Mod support. This is the update that we first learned about back in January, though we aren't sure what took it so long to show up. As long as it beat Verizon to network launch, I guess it doesn't matter. The update should include our favorite Android Pie features, like a refreshed notification panel, Adaptive Battery and Brightness, performance improvements, updated app switcher UI, improved volume controls, improved notifications, text zooming, etc. Z3 owners could get Android Pie's pill-button navigation too, but owners will have to confirm that for me, since Moto already had their own gesture support that was better than Google's. With 5G Moto Mod support, the changelog simply states that support is here for when Verizon's new 5G Ultra Wideband network goes live. Again, we know that to be April 11 in Chicago and Minneapolis to start. Verizon plans to spread out to 30 cities before 2019 ends. If you own a Moto Z3, go get your Pie update!

UPDATE: Verizon posted the changelog this evening, spilling the rest of the Android Pie details for the Moto Z3. Verizon doesn't mention 5G at all, but the screenshot above clearly does. Cheers Brandon!

Wear OS is in a Sad State

Kellen — Tue, 02 Apr 2019 14:59:34 +0000

Wear OS is one of those initiatives from Google that has never failed to disappoint, yet it continues to stay alive through minor updates and name changes. I keep thinking that Wear OS is worth Google paying attention to, though, particularly because it's a part of a tech category that is growing, but I'd argue that Wear OS is probably in a worse place than it has ever been right now. And that's saying something, because only a few months ago we thought we might be primed for a re-birth of Google's wearable plans. I'm referring to the launch of the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100 back in September. Prior to Qualcomm unveiling its 3100 chip, a chipset and platform that can only be described as a disappointment today, we were hoping to see a vision for the future of Android smartwatches. The Wear OS ecosystem needed a major boost at that time and Google had basically setup the entire thing to live or die with whatever Qualcomm had cooked up. Qualcomm didn't deliver. Instead, they gave us a 2+ year old Wear 2100 chip with an additional co-processor to incrementally help with battery life. As they showed off the 3100, they told us that companies like Louis Vuitton and Montblanc were preparing to launch new watches with their new chip. They said that a sports brand would soon release a watch too, one that could take advantage of the 3100's new Sports Mode. Those high-end brands released 3100 watches at prices almost no one will pay, while Fossil jumped in with a decent option in the Fossil Sport. That's really all we've seen for the 3100. It's now April 2 and the 3100's Sports Mode still doesn't exist. We don't know who the sports partner is that Qualcomm was referring to last year and can only guess that the project failed or that Qualcomm is waiting for Google to help in some way to get Sports Mode going. If that's the case, I'm not sure we'll get that any time soon. Google's developer conference, Google I/O, kicks off in about a month and Wear OS isn't even on the schedule. One might take I/O as the perfect place to showcase new happenings in the Wear OS world, but Google has yet to add anything Wear-related and instead found time to carve out entire sessions for something as trivial as how to use text on Android. Here's where we stand with Wear OS today. There are fewer partners to buy watches from. Updates are rare, they provide little (I still don't know what the H update is or if I have it.), and you never know if or when your watch might get them. The investment in technology to better the watches that run Wear OS, outside of Google buying a mystery tech from Fossil, is only backed by Qualcomm, who clearly does not want to invest in the space. As far as who sells Wear OS watches these days, you've got Fossil, a fashion house not known for being a technology leader as the biggest promoter of Wear OS. You still have brands like Montblanc, Louis Vuitton, or TAG Heuer, but almost none of us will ever buy one of their products. They are overpriced fashion items with technology that you can find for $250 elsewhere. No one should buy LG's newish W7 watch because it is a terrible idea. Mobvoi makes decent watches, but they continue to release them without the newest available technology and would make me hesitate to recommend. Motorola, Huawei, and Sony all exited the space. Even Google, the company behind the software who sure seems interested in competing in every other tech hardware arena from homes to phones and computers, can't bring itself to make a watch. Last year was rumored to be the year of the first Pixel Watch, yet days before Qualcomm announced the 3100, Google confirmed it had no plans to release its own watch. If that's not a sign of the 3100 being a failure...geez. Their reasoning was also a suggestion that wearables aren't something they even understand yet. Think about that - Android Wear has been around since 2014 and Google has no idea what a successful smartwatch looks like. On the flip side of this, we have Apple, whose watches can now replicate a f*cking ECG and make up for half of all smartwatch sales at the moment. Whenever a new Wear OS watch comes out, we're still worrying about whether or not it runs the newest processor or if the watchmaker skipped out on NFC, GPS, and a heartrate monitor. This is all very frustrating to talk through, as I've had a Wear OS watch on my wrist every single day for the better part of the past year. I actually like the platform. I like watches. I'd love nothing more than to see Wear OS improve and give us a watch that could be the Android version of the Apple Watch. But look, there are zero signs that Wear OS has or will turn a corner in the near future. That's really too bad.

DEAL: Samsung Will Give You $200 Trade-In Value Towards Galaxy S10 for Any Android Device, Even If It's Cracked

Tim — Tue, 02 Apr 2019 14:30:39 +0000

For what's likely a limited time, Samsung is offering up $200 in trade-in value towards the purchase of a new Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10+ (review), or Galaxy S10e (review) for any Android or iOS smartphone. Yes, I said any Android or iOS smartphone. Not only that, but it appears Samsung doesn't care if the screen is cracked either. So long as the device turns on, you can factory wipe it, and it's not blacklisted, they'll take it and give you $200 for it. That's a really good deal. Check the requirements FAQ if you have concerns. This is important to know because due to this deal, what were once sub-$100 trade-in value smartphones, like older phones from Motorola or LG, any Android phone from any maker is now eligible for $200 of value. With that trade-in credit, let's say you want the Galaxy S10e. With the discount, you're looking at only $550 total or $22/month. Follow the link below to take advantage.

Buy Galaxy S10

Verizon Galaxy S7, S7 Edge, S9, and S9+ Receive March Security Patch

Tim — Tue, 02 Apr 2019 11:10:54 +0000

Verizon is shipping out March's security patch to the Samsung Galaxy S7, S7 Edge, S9, and S9+ this week. Once updated, S7 owners will see software version R16NW.G930VVRS9CSC1, S7 Edge will see R16NW.G935VVRS9CSC1, S9 will have PPR1.180610.011.G960USQU4CSC7, and S9+ will have PPR1.180610.011.G965USQU4CSC7. In the future, all I hope for is a bit of abbreviation for these software versions. What is this, a software version or a password Chrome recommends to you when signing up for a new website? Ridiculous. If you own one of these phones, be on the lookout for the update. // Verizon [2] [3] [4]

A "Pixel 4" Mention!

Kellen — Tue, 02 Apr 2019 10:59:45 +0000

Almost a year ago to the day, a Googler slipped up and mentioned the "Pixel 3" for the first time at the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). This was the first slip-up or acknowledgement about upcoming phones outside of the codenames we leaked months earlier, but certainly set off a wave of additional outings of 2018's Pixel phones. Today, the first "Pixel 4" chatter at AOSP is here. In a comment through a commit about a "false positive KASAN warning," we see someone mention that they were deploying a patch for this false positive warning on a Pixel 3, with plans to do something similar on a Pixel 4 should they get their hands on one. The details there don't actually provide much, in case that wasn't obvious, we just care that someone at Google mentioned "Pixel 4."

What else can we take from this? Not much, really. If anything, it's at least more substantial evidence of a Pixel 4 than those conceptual renders everyone passed around as being something legit a couple of weeks ago. This could mean that the first big wave of Pixel 4 leaks is close if devices are in the hands of engineers or developers. Last year, after the Pixel 3 AOSP sighting, we got a picture of screen protectors in May that turned out to be legit, followed by a first hands-on leak in June. // Google Source | 9to5Google

Verizon Introduces New "Just Kids" Plan Starting at $55

Kellen — Tue, 02 Apr 2019 08:35:21 +0000

Because kids are born with a smartphone in hands today, and this world is filled with conspiratorial and dangerous filth, Verizon has a special plan to help parents control the experience. This morning, Big Red shared their new Just Kids plan, an option you may want to consider if you have small children that you've deemed worthy of a smartphone. With Just Kids, you have a starting price of $55/mo, but that monthly price goes down depending on how many other lines you have. In order to qualify for Just Kids, you'll need to have at least one line on Verizon's Above, Beyond, or Go Unlimited plans. Just Kids includes 5GB of 4G LTE data, unlimited talk and text to 20 contacts, Safety Mode to avoid data overages, and 480p video streaming. The plan also features access to Verizon's Smart Family set of controls, which would normally cost $9.99/mo, but is included with Just Kids at no charge. Verizon Smart Family provides content filters, location tracking (and alerts), internet pausing, and usage limits. Verizon Just Kids launches this Thursday, April 4.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLcQ_8e_jMo // Verizon

RIP, INBOX. RIP, G+. (Updated: Super Dead)

Kellen — Tue, 02 Apr 2019 07:35:12 +0000

I'm just going to make this a quick one, because I've got nothing inspirational or interesting or thought-provoking or frustratingly humorous to add to the situation - Google is killing Google+ and Inbox today. It's April 2, the date they told us that each app's life would come to an end. The Google+ situation doesn't bother me for a second. The minute that Google announced it would shutdown their failed, always-was-a-ghostown social network, we immediately stopped sharing our stories to it. Google+ was bad and probably should have gone away a long time ago. The fact that multiple security issues popped up, including another after Google had already announced the service's death because of another security issue, tells you all you need to know about G+. RIP, G+. I think a couple of people who tagged me on Twitter yesterday will miss you. As for Inbox, you guys know how I feel about Inbox. I think it's the best email app you'll find and is organized in a way that changed how I attacked the daily flood of email into my life. It is truly an incredible product that Gmail is not even close to matching, but it's still going to die after today. There are replacements for us Inbox users to checkout. Some are fine and others are meh. I'll probably go with Newton or Spark, but leaning towards Newton at the moment, even with its $50/yr fee. So that's that. Two semi-big Google services are going away today, both of which we knew were going away on April 2. Be sad. Be mad. Find it funny or a chance to try something new. Either way, just remember to never submit your life to a new Google service. UPDATE: Both services are basically now dead. Google+ personal pages now all redirect to a page telling users that G+ "is no longer available." For Inbox users, some web access is available, but the app is dead, with a message that says "This app is no longer available" and that users should open Gmail.

Spark Mail for Android is Now Available!

Kellen — Tue, 02 Apr 2019 05:00:59 +0000

Google's Inbox dies today, so you really do need to find a replacement if you haven't already. If you have been waiting for Spark Mail before making a switch, the time has now come. The popular iOS and Mac email app has been released on Android for all to use. What is Spark Mail? It's a smart email app with some of the features you'll find in Inbox, but yet Spark has its own unique take on how you should manage your day. You can separate email into a Smart inbox that breaks out received emails by Personal, Pins, Newsletter, and then everything else, or go with a traditional list. Spark also lets you limit notifications, so you can set it to only notify you of important emails. It has snoozing, follow-up reminders, email scheduling, a "smart search," customizable swipe actions, a customizable sidebar, and collaboration tools for those who want to use Spark for work email.

Not enough features there? Spark is working on the next wave of goodies to match it up with its iOS counterpart. Over the coming months, you'll see 3rd party integrations (with apps like Trello), a built-in calendar, quick replies, email templates, and email delegation for teams. As of today, Spark is available on iOS and Mac as well. However, there isn't a Windows or web version for you to use. If you decide that Spark is the mobile email client for you and you don't use a Mac, you'll need to find something for desktop. Should you use Spark? Depends on what you need in an email experience. I've used the Mac version off and on for at least a year now and do enjoy it. I've been using the Android beta for a few days and have found it to be a solid start too. Since beginning my testing, Spark has received at least two updates to speed things up in a number of areas and address bugs. I think it's clear that these developers are fully behind the Android version. I'm either going to use this or Newton going forward, but haven't made up my own mind yet. I like that Newton is even more minimal and has options on all platforms (it has a Windows app too). The $50/yr price for Newton is something I'm struggling with, especially knowing that Spark is free to use for individuals. Google Play Link | Mac Download Link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZSo3CSp4Oc // Spark

Video: Need a Case for Your Galaxy S10? There Are Lots of Options to Choose From

Tim — Mon, 01 Apr 2019 16:47:21 +0000

When specific companies announce new phones, like Samsung and Google, we get hit up by loads of case-making accessory companies to check out the latest protection for the newest devices. The Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ are no different, with plenty of companies assuming that the Galaxy S10 will sell well and be worthy of case protection. In the following video, I take a lot of cases for a spin, plus I check to see if they're compatible with a wireless charger. Don't ask me why I do it, I just do. We have cases from Otterbox, Totallee, Krusell, LifeProof, and plenty more. If you see a case you may want to purchase for your own device, follow the links below the video. I should also note, we'll be hosting another massive case giveaway in the near future. Wink wink. Galaxy S10 Case Options https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHjyS4eK5aM Purchase Links

We Know When You Can Start Buying the Galaxy S10 5G

Kellen — Mon, 01 Apr 2019 14:25:08 +0000

The Galaxy S10 5G arrives on April 5 in Korea, kicking off the global rollout of one of the world's first 5G phones. Since we're almost all in the US around these parts, this news means little, because we still need Verizon to tell us when we can buy it. That's right, Verizon has the early exclusive on Samsung's Galaxy S10 5G in the US, in case you forgot. We don't know how long that exclusive will last, but it's theirs out of the gate. What's cool about the Galaxy S10 5G? It's different than the other Galaxy S10 phones! It has the largest display of the family (6.7" QHD), a quadruple camera (S10's triple camera + extra 3D depth sensor), 8GB RAM and either 256GB or 512GB of storage, and a 4500mAh battery. The rest of the experience is the same, but you do have some upgrades or additions there. Of course, it has 5G on board with support for Sub6 and mmWave bands, according to Samsung's press spec sheet. The focus should be on 28GHz and 39GHz mmW spectrum, which most US carriers are using. That's exactly where Verizon's mmW 5G network lives and also where this phone will be used to access 5G. Should anyone buy the Galaxy S10 5G? I wouldn't. It'll be insanely expensive at Verizon, I'm assuming. Not only does it have additional features built-in over the S10+, it has a larger display and 5G that will surely raise the price significantly. Aside from specs, accessing Verizon's 5G network isn't going to happen often. Verizon is launching 5G in only 30 cities this year, with the first batch going live on April 11. Coverage will be minimal in those cities, as mmW is terrible at blanketing large areas and is really more of a hotspot networking technology. So should you buy the Galaxy S10 5G, you'll likely pay an outrageous price for 5G coverage you might rarely access. We'll let you know once we have US launch info. // Samsung

Essential Phone Keeps Getting Monthly Android Updates

Kellen — Mon, 01 Apr 2019 12:31:17 +0000

The Essential Phone picked up another monthly security update today, moments after Google released it. That's nothing new, of course, as Essential has been as good as Google at issuing updates to its phone. That trend continued today with the release of the April 2019 security patch. Along with April's security fixes, Essential says to expect "adjustments to minimum brightness and volume settings." The update should be live now. https://twitter.com/essential/status/1112792964412080128

Google Finally Fixed Ambient Display Screen Flashes on Pixel 3!

Kellen — Mon, 01 Apr 2019 10:26:43 +0000

One of the longest running bugs on the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL has been an issue with the phones' ambient display that caused an obnoxiously bright screen flash when a user woke their phone. Google fixed it in this month's security update! I can't say that I've ever experienced the bug, but if you do a Google search for it, you'll know it has been pissing people off since the phone first launched. A number of our readers have complained about it too, one as far back as November 2. So going forward, after you update to the April patch, your Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL should no longer flash at you every time it wakes from ambient display. The April update also improves voice unlock performance and WiFi connectivity during eSIM activation on the 3 and 3 XL, as well as Bluetooth connectivity on the Pixel and Pixel XL. [table responsive=scroll id=162 /]

April 2019 Android Security Update Goes Live for Pixel Devices (Updated)

Kellen — Mon, 01 Apr 2019 10:08:04 +0000

Even though it's April 1 and Google likes to have too much fun on this day by doing things like putting Snakes in Google Maps, there is serious business going down. Google just released the April 2019 Android security patch for Pixel devices. We already have both factory image and OTA files ready to be downloaded for those willing to do some manual labor, or as always, you can sit back and wait for the update to arrive over-the-air (OTA) to your device. So far, we are seeing new 9.0.0 files for Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL(PQ2A.190405.003), Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL (PQ2A.190405.003), and Pixel and Pixel XL (PQ2A.190405.003). They are all getting a April 5 patch. The Pixel C appears to be done receiving updates. UPDATE: Pixel C still getting updates! Google has posted new 8.1.0 file for April as build OPM8.190405.001.

RELATED: Google finally fixed screen flashes on the Pixel 3

Functional Patches for Pixel Devices

[table responsive=scroll id=162 /] 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:

Odd Alarm: Wake Up to the Sound of Dogs Puking

Tim — Mon, 01 Apr 2019 10:00:14 +0000

Funny story. I can sleep through anything. My girlfriend, on the other hand, cannot. Every so often due to a very sensitive stomach, one of my dogs throws up early in the morning. And every time it happens, he wakes up my girlfriend. She always seems mad at me because I sleep right through it, but I'm always thankful because who the heck wants to wake up to that sound? Anyway, an app that can give you that experience without the need for a morning cleanup is now available on Android and iOS. Called Odd Alarm, this alarm app gives you a variety of odd sounds to wake up to, such as glass breaking, cats fighting, and yes, a dog vomiting. While the app is completely free to download and use, the major downside is that each sound beyond the initial three are behind a paywall. In total, there are 20 sounds to choose from, with 17 locked behind individual $0.99 in-app purchases. So, in order to set a sound that isn't cats fighting, a dog barging, or glass breaking, you'll be paying $0.99 to start. Instead of this, I'd much rather have a bundle deal, like 10 sounds for $5, or an initial app purchase for $1.99 which would come with 10 sounds already unlocked. If you want to give Odd Alarm a try, follow the link below. Google Play Link

Gmail Turns 15, Announces Scheduled Deliveries and New Language Support for Smart Compose

Tim — Mon, 01 Apr 2019 08:46:11 +0000

No, this isn't a joke. Gmail turns 15 today, having launched on April 1, 2004! These days, the service boasts 1.5 billion users, plus another 20 or so who are finally being forced back due to the shutdown of Inbox. Sorry. Google took the time to take a stroll through Gmail memory lane this morning, but in addition, announced new features and a look at what's ahead in the next 15 years for the email service. The latest features to come to Gmail include scheduled send times for emails. For example, you compose a work email on Saturday night, but having it delivered on Saturday night may not be appropriate. Starting this week, you can schedule that email to be sent out on Monday morning. And remember Smart Compose? It now supports Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese, as well as other Android devices besides Google Pixel phones. Be sure to grab the latest update for the Gmail app and send a few birthday thoughts to the Gmail team over at Google. Cheers! Google Play Link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcTAVNV_6VY

Spark Mail Arrives on Android Tomorrow

Kellen — Mon, 01 Apr 2019 08:29:47 +0000

A possible Inbox replacement is arriving on the day that Google's Inbox dies.

We told you that Spark Mail was coming to Android and the company confirmed in a Tweet yesterday that April 2 is the day, unless plans change between now and then. That's tomorrow, friends, and no, we don't think this is an April Fools' joke. Inbox really is scheduled to shutdown tomorrow, in case you are still using it and haven't noticed the never-ending notification reminders of its impending death. When tomorrow comes, you'll need to have another email app lined up. We've offered up a handful of worthy replacements and Spark made the list. Why is Spark going to be a good option? The app has been on Mac and iOS for some time, establishing itself as one of the better email clients around. Your inbox can be separated into smart categories (sort of like Inbox's bundles) or look like the never-ending email list from hell that Gmail provides. It offers email scheduling, snoozing, follow-up reminders, a built-in calendar, quick replies, and integrations with your favorite services. It's fast, the apps look slick, and in the time I've spent with it on Mac, I've actually found it to be one of the best. Will its enjoyability transfer to Android? That's tough to say, but it's free and we'll have a chance to take it for a spin tomorrow. https://twitter.com/SparkMailApp/status/1112392297461616642

Galaxy S7 is Old, so It'll Now Only Get Quarterly Security Updates

Kellen — Mon, 01 Apr 2019 07:53:01 +0000

The Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge are a full three years old at this point, if you can believe that. Today, Samsung has deemed that the age where neither phone is entitled to monthly security patches any longer. On Samsung's "Android Security Updates" support page, they slid the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge into the quarterly security updates section this morning. The Galaxy S7 Active is still getting monthly patches for now, but it shouldn't be long before it moves down to the quarterly old folks home too. Disappointed in that? I'm not sure you should be. I'm actually surprised that Samsung continues to update these phones for as long as they do. We may complain that they are slow with rollout of the major Android versions (like Pie), but Samsung has been one of the better Android OEMs when it comes to security updates. In fact, the Verizon Galaxy S7 was just updated in December. The S7 received a full 3 years worth of monthly patches, assuming its carrier partners were onboard to help them be delivered, and Samsung is saying they'll still get them going forward, just not as frequently. The list of monthly update phones from Samsung is down to the S7 Active, S8 line, S9 line, S10 line, Note 8 and Note 9, and the Galaxy A5 and A8. // Samsung

RIP, Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL

Kellen — Mon, 01 Apr 2019 07:40:12 +0000

On Friday, we mentioned that the end was likely near for the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, but that we weren't quite ready for a "RIP" send-off. We are now. The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL are no longer sold by Google. All signs pointed to this happening, with the Pixel 2 being wiped from Verizon and Best Buy sites long ago and the Pixel 2 XL hitting "sold out" status on the Google Store. Best Buy has been trying to clean out inventory for the past two weeks too. Today, Google removed the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL from its "Phones" section on the Google Store, marking the end of a solid run. Sure, you'll still find a comparison tool for the Pixel 3, Pixel 2, and Pixel, but you can only buy the Pixel 3. Now, this doesn't mean that the end of support has arrived. The Pixel 2 and 2 XL are scheduled to receive version and monthly security updates through October 2020. It'll get Android Q and is a part of the Android Q beta. These phones still have plenty of life in them. RIP, Pixel 2. Here's our review, for those who missed it.

AT&T Says Its Live, Real 5G Network Hit 1Gbps Speeds

Kellen — Sat, 30 Mar 2019 17:22:14 +0000

AT&T was one of the first to mobile 5G when they launched their 5G+ network prior to 2019. They still don't sell a single phone that can access it, but they will let you jump on the next-gen network with a hotspot product. Today, AT&T has announced that their Netgear Nighthawk 5G hotspot was able to eclipse the 1Gbps mark, a first for a live 5G network. Most of the wireless carriers and their partners have simulated similar speeds over the past year or so, it's just that none (according to AT&T) have done so on a live network. And that makes sense, since no one else has a live mobile 5G network, though Verizon's launches April 11. AT&T said that they hit the 1Gbps mark in "multiple cities," so this wasn't in a single location. AT&T has 5G live in a handful of cities at this point with limited coverage. This is important to note too, because AT&T's first 5G speedtests were nothing to run home and brag about. As someone who covered the initial 4G LTE rollout and speedtests were all the rage, this is the stuff I love. It might mean nothing in the long run, especially if pricing sucks and carriers fall back into their greedy ways from those early LTE days, but there is something cool about seeing a device in your pocket hit speeds your home internet can't. // AT&T

Report: Sony to Cut 50% of Its Mobile Division by 2020

Tim — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 14:11:54 +0000

According to a new report from Nikkei Asian Review, tech giant Sony is getting ready to cut 50% of its smartphone division's workforce by 2020, which could leave around 2,000 people without a job. It's noted that Sony may try to move some of those affected to other positions within a different division. These reported struggles should come as no surprise. Shown in the data, 1.6 billion smartphones shipped in 2018. Out of that 1.6 billion, just 10 million of them were Sony phones. If you're hoping to see Sony stick around, now seems like a good time to order the Xperia 10 or 10 Plus. They recently got Verizon certification. // Nikkei Asian Review | Engadget

Google Revealed Nest Hub Max Today, a Product You Weren't Supposed to Know About Yet

Kellen — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 14:05:45 +0000

Google brought the Nest hardware team into its own hardware division last year, leading most of us to believe that the future of Nest was finally bright and that the combined hardware skills of the two would mean good things. The first effort of the combination of hardware teams could be a Nest Hub Max. You've never heard of the Nest Hub Max because Google hasn't announced it yet and mistakenly posted details about it to the Google Store today. The crew at Android Police noticed that the Connected Home page on the Google Store kept referencing the Nest Hub Max as they browsed around its diagram. While the page itself showed off images of the Google Home Hub and Nest doorbell, the points of interest talked about this new unannounced product. The images say that the Nest Hub Max will have a built-in Nest Cam for Duo calls, a 10-inch HD screen, and stereo speakers. For those thinking this is simple references to the Home Hub, well, you know nothing. The Google Home Hub has a 7-inch screen, no camera, and no stereo speakers. We don't pricing or a release date, but hey, if it's being referenced, it could be launching soon. // Android Police

Podcast: Google Stadia the Future?

Kellen — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 11:06:45 +0000

On this episode of the Droid Life Show, we're recapping Google's big Stadia announcement and if they really do have the future of gaming in their sights. We'll also talk the latest on Samsung's Galaxy Fold, thanks to some early leaks, the LG G8 launch, recap Apple's streaming event, and decide how we'll survive without Google's Inbox next week. RIP. Trivia is back again! We're giving all winners Google Play credit! We'll be live at 12:00PM Pacific (3PM Eastern).

The End of the Pixel 2 XL May be Near, but Best Buy Still has It for $450 Off

Kellen — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 10:16:56 +0000

The Pixel 2 XL is a year and a half old, if you can believe that. Because of its age, it is no surprise that the phone is completely out of stock at the Google Store, heavily discounted at Verizon (50% off), and on flash sale at Best Buy for a full week now. I'm going to assume that once it sells out at the few remaining Google partners, it won't be back. And that's fine! With that in mind, if you still want to own one of the 2017 Google phones, the larger version before Google thought giant notches were the thing, you should run over to Best Buy. Best Buy still has the $450-off deal on the Verizon, Just Black Pixel 2 XL with 64GB of storage. They also still have it with the "activate later" option, which means you can buy it for $399.99 without any sort of payment plan or contract. The only issue to consider here is that since this is the Verizon model, you'll probably have to initially activate it on Verizon before taking it to another carrier, assuming you aren't on Verizon. Because yes, this phone will work flawlessly on all carriers, you just need to get past Verizon's dumb SIM lock. We're not quite at "RIP, Pixel 2 XL," but it seems like we are close.

Best Buy Link

LG G8 ThinQ Pre-Orders a Go Through Select Retailers, Deals Aplenty to be Had

Tim — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 08:44:50 +0000

Pre-orders for the G8 ThinQ from LG have begun at select carriers and retailers. LG announced this week that the phone would retail for $820, but in what can only be seen as an act of desperation to move units quickly, there shouldn't be any need to pay that much for the device given the instant savings taking place. Through carriers like AT&T, you can score the phone for as little as free, and on top of that, get a $200 Visa Rewards card. Yes, you'll have to sign up for an AT&T Next plan and have a wireless plan that costs more than $50/month, and order the phone online, but a free phone is a free phone, folks. If you hate payment plans, which I completely empathize with, T-Mobile will be your best bet. Once its pre-orders begin on April 5, you will be able to purchase the phone for $200 off at $619. There are no hidden requirements or anything. That's straight savings. Verizon pre-orders begin April 1 and it has a solid deal, too. In fact, a deal that's worth a total of $1,000 if done in just a certain way. Here are the details.

Get up to $450 off a new LG G8 when trading in your smartphone and adding a new line (existing customers get $200 when you trade in your old phone and upgrade to a LG G8).
Receive a $200 prepaid Mastercard when you switch to Verizon and purchase a new LG G8 on a Verizon device payment plan and activate the phone on an eligible Verizon unlimited plan.
Get $350 off a new LG G8 when you purchase it on a Verizon device payment plan and activate a new line.
- All three offers can be combined for savings up to $1,000.

Lastly, if you don't want to mess with carriers, you simply buy the unlocked G8 ThinQ from Best Buy for $650 or from B&H for $699. I wish I could tell you why there seems to be such fluctuation in the price, but really, the important thing is that no one should have to spend $800+ on this phone. If you're interested in pre-ordering, follow the links below.

Pre-Order the G8 ThinQ

Verizon (Pre-orders begin April 1)
AT&T (For as little as $0)
T-Mobile (Pre-orders begin April 5)
Sprint ($15/month, $840 full price)
B&H ($699)
Best Buy ($649.99)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4am-SkF7SRI

Fresh Pie Updates for T-Mobile, AT&T Galaxy Note 8 and S8 Phones are Here

Kellen — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 08:23:29 +0000

Android Pie updates are rolling out to older AT&T and T-Mobile Samsung phones today. So far, we're seeing One UI updates arriving on the AT&T Galaxy Note 8, as well as the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ on both carriers. As you probably guessed, the updates are large, weighing at 1.6GB or 1.7GB, depending on the phone. Make sure you've got internal storage room available and that your battery is well juiced before starting the process.

What's new in One UI and Android Pie on Samsung phones? A lot. It's a brand new skin that looks cleaner than ever, with a true night mode, new app switcher UI, and more. I'd try to write it all out for you, but the video below is going to give you the best overview you'll find. To check for the updates on your phone, head into Settings>System update. Cheers Michael, Brian, Saxon, and everyone else!

VIDEO: This Android-Powered Projector is Cool, But Costs a Lot of Money

Tim — Thu, 28 Mar 2019 13:24:48 +0000

We spotted puppy cube at this year's CES. While the name puzzled me, what the device did seemed pretty special and fun. You see, puppy cube is a projector that projects an Android UI you can actually touch. It's pretty nifty. Not too long ago, the makers of puppy cube sent one over to me to test out, and considering its high price, I felt it worthy to do a video on it, just in case any of you might be thinking about picking one up. To explain what puppy cube does, it has two modes: Tablet Mode, plus the ability to use it as a short throw projector. When in Tablet Mode, puppy cube projects a 23" Android UI onto a flat surface, complete with 10 point multi-touch support. When using it purely as a projector, you can project up to an 100" image from a very short distance away. That's great for Netflix or anything else you need blown up on the wall. Check out the whole video above, but the main takeaway is that puppy cube only runs Android Marshmallow and is unable to access Google Play. For $1,100, this is an issue. The makers of puppy cube mention that a newer version is inbound in 2019, complete with a better processor and newer version of Android. We'll be patiently waiting for that. puppy cube Link

Twitter is Getting a Darker Dark Mode Called "Lights Out"

Kellen — Thu, 28 Mar 2019 12:04:27 +0000

Twitter's current dark mode has never really been a true dark mode because Twitter used a weird dark blue color instead of black. It's easier on the eyes, sure, but if you want that true night time black experience, a dark mode should be black. That has finally arrived. Twitter announced today that a "Lights out" option is coming to iOS starting today. In Lights out, you get to turn Twitter's dark mode into a blackout experience. As you'll see in the Tweet below, you first enable the normal dark mode that you have now, but there will soon be an added "Lights out" option that flips everything from dark blue to black. Since few of you are iOS users and only care about Android, I can only tell you that Android support is coming "soon." That's according to Engadget, who got a statement on Android support from Twitter. https://twitter.com/Twitter/status/1111312068911611904

LG G8 ThinQ Launch Details Announced, Pre-Orders Begin March 29 for $619+

Tim — Thu, 28 Mar 2019 08:48:07 +0000

After being announced in February, and with it now almost being April, we finally have availability and pricing details for the G8 ThinQ from LG. The big news is that pre-orders for the device begin tomorrow, March 29. The second piece of big news is that the phone starts at $819, but specific retailers will have it for much lower. When the device is officially released on April 11, you'll find it at AT&T, Best Buy, B&H, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, Verizon, and Xfinity Mobile.

Read: G8 ThinQ official specs.

Somewhat humorously, the phone will already be on "sale" as soon as its launched, with LG offering $150 off the price through select carriers and retailers for a limited time. If that's not enough, T-Mobile will be selling the phone straight up for $619, a total of $200 off the retail price. And that's not a deal, that's the starting retail price for the T-Mobile model. Maybe even more crazy, Verizon is offering a $1,000 savings deal through a variety of bill credits and a prepaid Mastercard. Here's the process from Verizon.

Get up to $450 off a new LG G8 when trading in your smartphone and adding a new line (existing customers get $200 when you trade in your old phone and upgrade to a LG G8).
Receive a $200 prepaid Mastercard when you switch to Verizon and purchase a new LG G8 on a Verizon device payment plan and activate the phone on an eligible Verizon unlimited plan.
Get $350 off a new LG G8 when you purchase it on a Verizon device payment plan and activate a new line.
- All three offers can be combined for savings up to $1,000.

We'll post up links and all official pricing from each retailer once it's live tomorrow. Do you plan on picking a G8 up? Check out our hands-on with the G8 ThinQ below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4am-SkF7SRI // LG | AT&T | Sprint

Verizon Launches Free Version of Call Filter to Help Block Robocalls (Updated)

Kellen — Thu, 28 Mar 2019 08:41:08 +0000

Verizon's free spam and robocall filtering service is here. Starting today, Verizon customers will begin to receive access to Call Filter without having to pay for the full suite of its features.

Verizon Call Filter

Verizon Call Filter used to be a paid-only service that could be added to your account. You can still pay $2.99/mo for it to get extra features, but to battle robocalls and spam for everyone, Verizon is offering up three of Call Filter's features for free. Call Filter will now detect spam, filter spam, and allow you to report numbers for free. If you think you need more protection or control, the paid version adds in caller ID, personal spam and block lists, a risk meter (ooooh!), and the ability to lookup spam.

How do you get Verizon Call Filter? That's a tricky question to answer. If you own an iPhone, you just download this app and get going. If you own an Android phone, there isn't an app you can go download from Google Play. Instead, Verizon says that "most" Android phones from them are preloaded with Call Filter and so you can access it in your app drawer. What if you brought your own phone to Verizon, then what do you do? I don't know! I guess we wait for the app to show up on Google Play? For more info on Verizon Call Filter, hit up this link.

UPDATE: The app is on Google Play and you can find it right here. It should work on most phones, just not Google Pixel phones.

STIR/SHAKEN

In addition to free robocall filtering, Verizon says that it also began implementing the industry's STIR/SHAKEN technology to try and verify calls as they come in. You see, robocall bros are smart and they've been spoofing phone numbers to try and trick you into answering, so STIR/SHAKEN tries to verify that the number showing is where it's actually originating from. Verizon is pushing out STIR/SHAKEN to customers from calls within Verizon's network. Over the "coming months," they'll deploy it for interconnections from all of the other major carriers. // Verizon

YouTube TV Really is Available Nationwide Now

Kellen — Thu, 28 Mar 2019 08:05:14 +0000

After announcing at the beginning of the year that YouTube TV was going nationwide, Google followed through with that promise last night. YouTube TV announced that it is now available in every television market in the US. That's a big deal for those who want to cut the cable cord, only pay $40/mo for TV, have DVR for free, and be able to access their channel line-up from just about any device they own. With YouTube TV, you have 74 or so channels, access to premium networks like Starz, Showtime, and NBA League pass for an additional cost, and a really slick app. You can Cast YouTube, but you also have dedicated apps on platforms like Android TV and Apple TV. Do know that YouTube TV is still missing a batch of networks you might care deeply about. Like Food, HGTV, or Travel Channel? Not included. Like MTV, Comedy Central, and the other Viacom channels? Not included either. Somehow, I've managed to live without those since the launch of YouTube TV, but I totally get it if you can't. To sign-up, hit that link below and plugin your zip code to see which networks are available in your area. YouTube TV Sign-up // YouTube TV Support | @YouTubeTV

Report: Galaxy Note 10 Coming in August, May Have No Physical Buttons

Tim — Wed, 27 Mar 2019 15:24:04 +0000

According to industry sources of ET News, Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Note 10 may have no physical buttons. If that sounds familiar, that's because HTC tried doing the same thing on the U12+. Spoiler alert: It wasn't ideal. In having no physical buttons, keyless if you will, the phone will lack any button for volume control, as well as power. It's unknown if the Bixby button is also getting the axe, but we have to assume so, right? ET News' report details, "Samsung has developed a technology that can turn on and off the power and increase or decrease the volume without touching the button." We already have squeezy side phones like the Pixel's from Google, which can react to a squeeze to open up Google Assistant. Same thing goes for HTC's U12+. However, on the Pixel, the squeeze doesn't control any other aspect of the device. On the U12+, the controls were sporadically sensitive, which is not something you want when dealing with volume and power. If Samsung opts to go the keyless route, let's hope it is as smooth as silk. At the same time, it's possible that Samsung is only experimenting with a keyless Note 10 and the phone that is released later this year to the public will have buttons. It's just too early to tell right now. And speaking of release, The Investor reports that the Galaxy Note 10 will be announced in August, followed by a release later in the month or in early September. Keyless Note 10. Does it interest you? // ET News | The Investor

Google Messages on Web is Changing Addresses

Kellen — Wed, 27 Mar 2019 13:11:40 +0000

When Google's Messages app gained web support in June of last year, you accessed it by visiting messages.android.com and then scanning a QR code from your phone to pair up your computer's browser. That original address you visited is likely going to change to a google.com domain. For some, you can already access Messages for Web by going to messages.google.com/web. It's the same experience there that you've had previously, just a new domain. If it's not working for you yet, don't worry, Google hasn't technically made the switch official and still links to the older android.com URL everywhere. I'm sure Google won't make this a big deal and will redirect users once they move it permanently. But if you want to get ahead of the game, feel free to start using it now. Again, it's the same service, just a different URL. // reddit

Here is the Galaxy Fold...Folding

Kellen — Wed, 27 Mar 2019 10:03:32 +0000

Samsung says it can do this 200,000 times. That's 5 years worth of use if you fold and unfold 100 times per day. It costs $2,000. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McdgS3Popjk

Listen to March Madness on Any Smart Speaker or Display With Google Assistant

Tim — Wed, 27 Mar 2019 08:53:27 +0000

Whether your team made it through to the Sweet 16 or not, there's still plenty of March Madness action to be had. Announced by Google this week, anyone with a smart speaker or smart display with Google Assistant, such as a Google Home, can access a live audio stream of the games for free from Westwood One. To begin the audio stream, all you need to say is, "Hey Google, play NCAA March Madness on Westwood One." Once done, you'll be basking in the audio glow of March Madness. That's not all, though. The following commands are also in full swing.

“When's the next March Madness game?”
“When's the next University of Kentucky game?” [substitute other teams]
“What's the latest March Madness news?”

Tell you're boss it's completely fine to listen to the games all day. We have your back. // Google

DEAL: Fossil is Running a $50-Off Promo on Smartwatches Like Fossil Sport

Kellen — Wed, 27 Mar 2019 08:11:01 +0000

Fossil has become the king of Android-powered watches, mostly because they are one of the few still releasing them, but also because they make pretty decent smartwatches. If you'd like one, they are running a $50-off promo on many of them, including the Fossil Sport (the one you should buy), with coupon code. To get $50 off, all you have to do is add a watch to cart through that link below and enter code "BIGDEAL" at checkout. Now, I do need to point out that while a $50-off coupon is nice and you'll be able to buy any of Fossil's Wear OS watches for cheaper than your typical day, it does look like they raised some prices before launching this sale. For example, the Fossil Sport has been priced at $255 from day 1, yet it's now listed at $275. That's kind of messed up. This deal runs through April 1. Shop Fossil Smartwatches

Sprint Galaxy S8, S8+, and Note 8 Updated to Pie!

Tim — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 15:11:57 +0000

Mmm, Pie! Sprint users with a Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+, and Galaxy Note 8 are receiving the update to Android 9.0 as of this morning, along with the fancy new One UI from Samsung that comes with it. In addition to being Pie with One UI, which we've detailed plenty, owners are also being treated to the March security patch. If you own one of these devices, expect the update to weigh in at around 1500-1600MB. It's a big one. // Sprint Community

Gmail is Going to be More Dynamic Now, Which Means Emails That can Update

Kellen — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 12:40:04 +0000

Google announced today that emails in Gmail will be "more useful and interactive" going forward because they will soon be dynamic. What does that mean? Emails can update within your inbox or let you take actions without having to leave that same inbox. The first example Google provides is a document commenting thread in Google Docs. Instead of seeing an email about a new comment that you might want to respond to, the dynamic email in Gmail could let you respond to that comment from within the email. That's pretty cool. It could let you respond to event emails too, without having to enter the third party event website your friend invited you from.

RELATED: Did you pick an Inbox replacement yet?

This also means that businesses can update emails they send you, so that you have current info from them. That could mean fresh hotel prices, updates to Pinterest boards, etc. I don't love that idea, because I'm just assuming the worst in spam or security issues, but Google assures us all is safeguarded. To see examples of dynamic emails, hit up that source link below. These new dynamic emails will start rolling out on the web today. At some point ("soon"), we'll get mobile support. // Google

Huawei Announces P30, P30 Pro With Insane Cameras and Zero US Availability

Tim — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 12:35:36 +0000

Huawei announced a couple of new phones this week, the P30 and P30 Pro, which is totally awesome for everyone except those in the US. Womp womp. The main highlight for the new P30 and P30 Pro are the rear-facing cameras. For the P30 Pro, there is a Leica Quad Camera setup, consisting of 40MP wide-angle lens, 20MP ultra-wide angle lens, 8MP telephoto lens, as well as a TOF camera. On the standard P30, there is no TOF camera. Both phones feature a 32MP front-facing camera for ridiculous selfie photography. Large camera sensors aren't the only thing to get excited about. It's the software that Huawei has developed for them is what has everyone raving. According to Huawei's press release, the "SuperZoom Lens" supports high fidelity magnification of up to 5x optical zoom, 10x hybrid zoom, and 50x digital zoom. Additionally, the company's "SuperSpectrum Sensor" deviates from the traditional RGGB Bayer filter by, "replacing green pixels with yellow pixels, yielding a high maximum ISO rating of 409,600 on the P30 Pro and 204,800 on the P30. Lastly, combining depth information and proprietary algorithms, Huawei's TOF camera is about to take your selfies to a whole new level. Huawei highlights enhanced bokeh effects and enough detail in photos to capture individual strands of human hair. Besides the crazy cameras, let's go over the typical spec list. The P30 Pro features a 6.47" Full HD+ OLED display, Kirin 980 processor, up to 8GB RAM and 512GB storage, IP68 rating, NFC, 4200mAh battery, and Android Pie. The standard P30 features a 6.1" Full HD+ OLED display, Kirin 980 processor, up to 8GB RAM and 256GB storage, IP53 rating, NFC, 3650mAh battery, and also runs Android Pie. For more info on the P30 and P30 Pro, look here, but if you're in the US, don't bother. // Huawei

You Can Now Find and Book Vacation Rentals With Google on Mobile

Tim — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 11:00:58 +0000

Google is partnering with vacation rental services to bring listings directly to mobile phones through its Hotels search engine. Currently, Google has Expedia, HomeAway, Hotels.com, RedAwning, Rentals United, TripAdvisor, VRBO, plus more signed up for listings. To explain, when searching through hotels on your phone through google.com/hotels, users can opt to include vacation rentals, such as cabins near Lake Tahoe or beach houses in Sydney. You can search by price, amenities, plus a whole lot more.

Should you find a place you like, you'll book the property through the partner, not Google. According to Google, this same experience will come to desktop in the next month. // Google

Energy Ring for Galaxy S10, S10e Brings a Battery Indicator to Your Display's Cutout (Update: S10+ Support Added!)

Tim — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 10:12:52 +0000

An app called Energy Ring is bringing a bit of usefulness to the space around the display cutout on your Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10e. When enabled, the app lights up a ring of LEDs surrounding the cutout, turning it into a battery indicator. After enabling, users can set up the different colors they want shown as the battery winds down, but you can also customize the ring's thickness, origin, direction, as well as set a charging animation. It's a pretty solid app and considering how new it is, we assume it will only get cooler over time. The app is completely free to use, and right now, the only downside is that it doesn't support the Galaxy S10+. The developer states that support for that device is coming soon. Check it out! Update: Galaxy S10+ support is now live via an update. I tried it and it works well. Sweet! Google Play Link

Firefox Lockbox Wants to be Your New Password Locker on Android

Kellen — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 09:25:47 +0000

Firefox users, your world of Firefoxness has been expanded today on Android. Firefox Lockbox, the password locker from the popular browser-maker that has been on iOS for some time, is now on Android. Firefox Lockbox is a lot like Google's password locker that you likely first established within Chrome. Firefox takes the logins that you have saved while using Firefox and makes them available within other apps and services on your Android phone. It's similar to LastPass or Dashlane too, although slightly less intense. With Lockbox, you get password syncing across devices, access on desktop and mobile, encryption (of course), and the ability to set Firefox Lockbox as your system password autofill app. If you use Firefox and have stored most of your login info there, Lockbox is probably an app you should install. Google Play Link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVbrmWFRt_k // Firefox

T-Mobile's Free MLB TV Offer is Now Live in T-Mobile Tuesdays App

Tim — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 08:42:09 +0000

Baseball: America's most cherished sport and arguably its most boring (not a knock, I love baseball). For all of you T-Mobile customers eligible for T-Mobile Tuesdays, you can now redeem the carrier's offer of free MLB.TV for the 2019 season. To redeem, simply open up your T-Mobile Tuesdays app, hit the Redeem button, then log in or register a new account at MLB.TV. And that's it. You now have access to all of the baseball you could ever ask for, including the Postseason. Do note, this deal is not transferrable, though, you can access your MLB.TV streams via all sorts of different devices on multiple platforms. Honestly, I just switched off of my AT&T Prepaid plan for this. It's ideal when you don't live in your team's market, like me who lives in Portland but roots for the Giants. 3 rings in 5 years, no big deal. Download T-Mobile Tuesdays by following the link below. Google Play Link

AT&T Unlimited Prepaid Plans Drop to $45 and $65/mo ($20 Off)

Kellen — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 07:24:57 +0000

AT&T might look foolish at the moment with their promotion of 5GE, a branding of a network type that has nothing to do with 5G and can't produce speeds faster than most 4G LTE networks, but their prepaid is still one of the best deals in the business. Right now too, AT&T Prepaid unlimited plans are at some of their lowest prices ever. For a limited time for new customers, AT&T Prepaid unlimited plans are $20 off, dropping the two they offer to $45/mo and $65/mo. In order to get that price, you'll have to sign-up for autopay, but that's a substantial discount. The $45 unlimited AT&T Prepaid plan offers unlimited data that can be throttled during times of congestion. It features throttled music (1.5Mbps) and video (480p) streams too. No hotspot is included in this plan. The $65 unlimited AT&T Prepaid plan offers unlimited data as well, but the throttling won't happen until you use 22GB of data in a month. Additionally, you get 1080p (Full HD) video streams and 10GB of LTE hotspot to use. Both plans offers unlimited talk and text to Canada and Mexico, plus unlimited talk, text, and data usage while in either of those countries. You have until April 1 to get this $20/mo discount.

Shop AT&T Prepaid

DEAL: Anker's Liberty Neo True Wireless Buds Still $50 ($15 Off)

Kellen — Mon, 25 Mar 2019 15:04:13 +0000

Samsung's new Galaxy Buds are stealing all the true wireless, AirPods-for-Android headlines these days, but Anker's SoundCore Liberty Neo buds might be the best value around. And right now, you can grab them for $49.99, which is $15 off their usual price. That's almost a third of the price of Samsung's Buds. What's good about them? They are true wireless and connect via Bluetooth 5.0, just like the Galaxy Buds. They last for up to 3.5 hours on a single charge, but come with a charging case that packs another 9 hours of use. The Liberty Neo feature IPX5 water resistance, stereo handsfree calls, and a bunch of tips and wings for the perfect fit, as well. To get the $49.99 price, no code is needed. This is a limited time offer from Anker on Amazon. Amazon Link

RELATED DEAL: Anker's 10W Fast Wireless Charging Pad is $12.59

How's Your Pixel 3 Running After the March Update?

Kellen — Mon, 25 Mar 2019 14:00:49 +0000

In the March update for Google's Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, patches were included that were supposed to address performance issues that owners of each phone had been complaining about for some time. The speed improvements were pointed at camera startup and responsiveness, as well as storage. There were other bug fixes too, like for Bluetooth reliability, but the performance notes were the ones we cared so much about. Pixel 3 owners, you've now had this patch on your phone for almost a month. How have things been? The early response suggested that the camera had indeed been sped up, but has that held? Is the camera still back to being quick? How has general sluggishness of the phone been? Improved too?

Inbox: The Final Week is Here! Did You Choose a Replacement?

Kellen — Mon, 25 Mar 2019 12:51:32 +0000

The last time we made you cry to start a week we were giving you the 14-day countdown to the death of the best email app ever made. Today, we're hoping to pull tears again, this time with a final week countdown. Inbox by Gmail dies April 2, giving you 7 or so days to figure out which lesser email experience you will force yourself to adopt.

What are some good Inbox alternatives worth checking out?

To be honest, that's a question without an answer. That's like asking, "What is a good meatless alternative to a burger?" The only option there is to starve. But look, we can live momentarily without food - I'm not sure we can do the same without email. Let's talk about a few email alternatives for Inbox.

Gmail

This is the option that will make the most sense for most people. Google claims that they brought over a bunch of Inbox's best features (snoozing, nudges, hover actions, and smart replies) to try and make it more Inbox-like. They did bring some, but as I noted in this post, they are missing some of the best parts of Inbox, like its general sorting and quick archiving of multiple emails, for one. Gmail is Google's only email app going forward, though. It'll continue to see updates and new features, and it's the most Google-esque option you are going to find to replace Inbox. You were probably using it before Inbox too, so changing back to it won't be the most difficult move, there just might be a transition period where you'll need to learn again where everything is and what some of its shortcuts are. If you are going with Gmail, here is a guide that Google put together to try and help with the transition. Google Play Link

Outlook

If you are so mad at Google that you don't want anything to do with Gmail, Microsoft's Outlook is a solid option. In fact, you'll find a bunch of DL readers who swear by it and have been using it since it dropped back in 2015 as a preview. Outlook lets you connect all of your email accounts (including those from Google), has an embedded calendar within it, and separates your inbox into "Focused" and "Other" to help you better manage what's important. It has swipe gestures, files management, info on upcoming flights and other dates, quick replies, draft syncing, scheduling, and more. The app UI is well done, the app is fast and smooth, and did I mention it has a calendar built-in? Yeah, we like that. Outlook is free to use and has apps as well as browser support. Google Play Link

Newton Mail

After Gmail and Outlook, you start getting into 3rd party email clients, some of which cost money to use. Newton Mail is one of those. Newton, for those who didn't know, is owned by Essential, the same company who built that single phone we loved a couple of years ago, but hasn't done much since. After having been shutdown for a brief period of time, Essential actually just re-launched it. They kept it as a subscription service that costs $49.99 per year to use. With Newton, you get support on Android, Mac, Windows, and iOS. It offers features like read receipts, nudges of old conversations to get back to, a focus-like inbox, email snoozing, scheduling, and connectivity to apps like Trello, Todoist, and Asana. People seem to like Newton, but I think it's a tough option for many with the price. Google Play Link | Newton Website

Edison Mail

Edison Mail is another 3rd party option that is quite popular. It has some unique features built-in like an assistant of some sort, easy unsubscribing, package tracking, travel notifications, categories for mail types, custom swipe gestures, snoozing, the ability to block read receipts, and an undo send button. Edison is free, unlike Newton, so if you want to ditch Google or Microsoft and are interested in the 3rd party route, it could be worth an early look. It's got all of the features you see from most other powerful email apps these days. Edison only has Android and iOS apps as far as I can tell, so you'll need to use something else from a computer. Google Play Link | Edison Website

Spark Mail

Spark isn't yet available on Android, but it's a popular iOS and Mac email service that has said it'll arrive on Android before Inbox dies. It's the app I'm looking forward to because it's the email app on Mac I've come to enjoy since the death of Mailbox. I like Spark because it does a good job of smartly sorting email (it has pins too!), there are follow-up reminders, scheduling, quick replies, a built-in calendar, smarter notifications, and integrations with services. Spark is free to use, unless you have a team that needs to use it, then they charge per user. We'll let you know once it becomes available. Spark currently has iOS and Mac apps, but appears to be moving towards becoming a cross-platform email app with web and Windows apps too. Spark Website

Got another email app you'd recommend people try in place of Inbox? Hit up those comments with it.

Live Blog: Apple Does a TV Streaming Thing 2019!

Kellen — Mon, 25 Mar 2019 09:12:16 +0000

Guys! Apple has a big announcement today, so we should probably do some sort of live blog, like we always do. It's not looking like hardware is involved, since they already announced new AirPods and iPads and stuff. That kind of sucks, but if they have big plans for a streaming service, which all signs point to, then this could be bigger than an Apple or iOS vs. Google and Android. Remember when Apple gave everyone free 4K upgrades that likely forced Google to do the same a year later? Who knows, maybe something similar will come out of this. The event kicks off at 10AM Pacific (1PM Eastern). Apple will live stream it as usual. It doesn't appear that you'll need to dust off Safari this time either. The event will go down right here. Our live blog is below.

Who Knows What the Pixel 4 Looks Like, But Yeah, These Concept Renders are Hot

Kellen — Mon, 25 Mar 2019 08:08:24 +0000

The Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL, assuming Google releases such phones this year, have not leaked. They have not in any shape or form. A semi-laughable sketch of a design outline popped up 11 days ago, which prompted phone concept designers to make some pretty images and thus a spread of "LEAK????" stories followed. Here's the thing - no one knows what the Pixel 4 looks like outside of a select group at Google. It's March, folks. If a Pixel 4 family of phones arrives this year, they should show up in October, like Pixel phones have done for the past 3 years. Sure, leaks happen all of the time. Google is the worst in the business right now at keeping its phones a secret. I wouldn't be surprised if Russians review the Pixel 4 the minute you finish reading this post. I just don't think this is the leak to get the ball rolling. If it is, cool.

With that said, these are some hot renders (@PhoneDesigner)! I would be down for the Pixel 4 family to look like the devices you are seeing here. Will they? Again, no one knows that right now. But what we've got is a similar design to the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, only with a Samsung Galaxy S10-esque camera setup going on. You've got single and double hole punch displays, single or double rear cameras, and all-display fronts that manage to sneak in dual front-facing speakers. They are hot. What's the point of all this? Sh*t man, I don't know, it's Monday. Let me get some coffee in me.

Samsung's $550 Off Trade-In Galaxy S10 Deal is Still Live, Plus BOGO AT&T and Verizon

Kellen — Fri, 22 Mar 2019 13:42:48 +0000

I keep expecting Samsung to stop offering the bloated trade-in prices they made available a few weeks back as part of the Galaxy S10 launch, but here we are with them still live. Not only that, but the newest wave of discounts is a buy one, get one free (BOGO) deal from Verizon or AT&T.

$550 Off Trade-in

To quickly recap - Samsung will give you an instant $550 off on your Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10+, or Galaxy S10e purchase today if you trade in select phones. Phones that are worth $550 include the Galaxy S9 line, Note 9, Note 8, a bunch of iPhones, and the Pixel 3. If you don't own one of those semi-current phones and have something else to trade, don't worry, because they'll give you $300 off for a Pixel 2 XL, Galaxy S8, etc. Understand that as Samsung gives you the discount for your trade-in today, you do need to send in your phone as proof after you get your new Galaxy S10. They'll include all of the instructions for doing so. It's a super easy process that we've done many times here at DL.

AT&T and Verizon BOGO

As for the BOGO stuff, AT&T and Verizon are offering some form of a free phone deal. Verizon will ask you to buy an S10, S10+, or S10e and then give you a $750 credit to apply towards another. That will cover the cost of an S10e, but will leave you with some money owed on an S10 or S10+. For the Verizon deal, you can upgrade for one of the phones. The free phone will need to be on a new line, though. From AT&T, it's a similar deal to Verizon's, with a new line requirement. However, they appear to be letting you BOGO any combo of Galaxy S10 phones. They'll give you up to $1,000 off the second phone through Samsung's store. AT&T's site, for what it's worth, is only doing a BOGO $750 credit like Verizon's. The $550 off and BOGO deals cannot be combined, just so you know.

Samsung Store Link

DEAL: Buy Google Home Mini at $10 Off, Get Free $30 Wemo Smart Plug

Kellen — Fri, 22 Mar 2019 10:22:53 +0000

Google is hosting a sale at the moment on most of the products it sells (like Google Home Max), so its retail partners are doing the same. However, some of those partners are sweetening the pot by tossing in additional freebies. Best Buy, for example, has matched the Google Home Mini at $39 ($10 off), but is including a free Wemo Mini smart plug too ($29.99 value). So not only do you get the Google Assistant in a room of choice at a discount, you'll get to turn one of the outlets in your house into a smart outlet. The Wemo Mini smart plug will let you hookup an appliance and then have it turn off or on via app or by voice. I use these types of smart plugs for corner lamps in my living room, so that they can be on a timer and my lazy ass doesn't have to get up to turn them on or off. I also use them for Christmas tree lights each year. They are super handy to have.

DEAL: Pixel 2 XL at Best Buy is $450 off

The deal is likely for this weekend only as a part of Best Buy's 3-day sale. To get the free Wemo plug, all you have to do is add a Google Home Mini to cart.

Best Buy Link

DEAL: Samsung Wireless Charging Pad is $15, 10,000mAh Fast Battery Pack is $16

Kellen — Fri, 22 Mar 2019 10:00:03 +0000

Since so many of you around here are Samsung fans, there are a couple of deals on Samsung accessories going on right now that you might want to check out. The Samsung Wireless Charger Pad Slim (with Fast Charge) has dropped to $14.99 and the 10,000mAh Fast Charge battery pack of theirs is down to $15.99. The Samsung Wireless Charger Pad Slim is slim at just 11.9mm thick, does fast charging when used with your Samsung Fast Charge adapter, and will work perfectly with your Galaxy S or Galaxy Note phone. At $14.99, it's currently $15 off. The 10,000mAh Fast Charge battery pack comes in two models at $15.99. You have a choice over it having a USB-C port or a microUSB port for charging it up. Along with the port choice, each charger has two USB-A ports for dual charging of devices. At $15.99, this battery packs at $19 off.

Samsung Deal Links:

Samsung Wireless Charger Pad Slim - $14.99 ($15 off)
Samsung 10,000mAh Portable Battery (USB-C) - $15.99 ($19 off)
Samsung 10,000mAh Portable Battery (Micro USB) - $15.99 ($19 off)

Chrome Beta for Android Gets a Dark Mode Flag

Kellen — Fri, 22 Mar 2019 09:14:15 +0000

Google pushed an update to Chrome Beta last night as version 74.0.3729.25 and a couple of dark mode-related flags were included. If you want all of your apps to be darker, the time has come for you to give Chrome the love. If you head into chrome://flags and do a search for "dark," you'll find two options to play with. The most important is "Android Chrome UI dark mode," as it flips the theme of the app to dark when enabled, not the web content you view. If you want all of your web content to flip too, you'll want to enable "Android web contents dark mode." When flipping on "Android Chrome UI dark mode," the menus and home page will all flip to dark to help drop some of that brightness down. You can see how that looks below, with bugs for fonts not flipping included.

If you want to go really wild, that "Android web contents dark mode" option is for you. It basically takes anything light and flips it to dark. On the flip side of that, it's not great at figuring out what to do with already-dark items. In the shots directly below, you can see what I mean by that in the top bar of the Droid Life site. You may not want to use this option just yet until Google can iron out some of the UI mess.

Again, this is all in the latest Chrome Beta that began rolling out last night. Google Play Link // reddit

The 5GE Logo on Your AT&T Phone Does Not Mean Faster Speeds Than Verizon or T-Mobile

Kellen — Fri, 22 Mar 2019 08:40:37 +0000

AT&T's 5G Evolution is not a 5G network - that was established when they first introduced it in 2017. That hasn't stopped them from continuing to spread the word about their phones having access to "5G," even if they are attempting to act like they aren't doing something sneaky by putting an "E" logo on the end of related branding. Their 5GE plans have garnered criticism from competitors, including at least one lawsuit. 5GE is a non-stop joke to those of us who watch the wireless industry on a daily basis. But even as AT&T does this 5GE thing, while misleading customers with logos on devices, they are promoting it as a way to let customers know about recent network upgrades. 5G Evolution is LTE Advanced, so it technically is a decent upgrade over the original 4G LTE tech that your phones first connected to years ago. While I'd recommend they tell people that rather than use a logo for a network they aren't accessing, I'm not sure AT&T cares much. That said, if AT&T feels so wonderful about the upgrades it has pushed to towers that it's comfortable bending the truth, you'd hope that their network can at least deliver something spectacular when compared to competitors. Does it? Well, the folks at OpenSignal ran a series of tests of AT&T's 5G Evolution next to phones from T-Mobile, Verizon, and Sprint, and the results aren't great for AT&T. In the chart below, the same phones from T-Mobile and Verizon top an AT&T 5GE phone. The speeds are close from all three carriers, but that's not saying much for the carrier who put a "5G" logo in their customers' face.

Now, to be fair, AT&T isn't claiming that 5G Evolution is 5G. At least that's not what they are directly going to say. But they are putting a 5G logo on phones and in marketing materials, which is imprinting that idea, thought, and technology in the minds of its customers. They may not directly call 5GE a next-gen network, but they are certainly trying to suggest that whatever they are doing, it's an improvement over competitors in the race to 5G. As you can see in the data above, that's not even true. // OpenSignal

DEAL: Verizon Pixel 2 XL is a Straight $399 at Best Buy ($450 Off, No Contract)

Kellen — Thu, 21 Mar 2019 14:34:08 +0000

The Pixel 2 XL may be a year and a half old, but that doesn't mean it isn't still one of the best Android phones around (our review), thanks to steady updates, a rock solid camera, and no Pixel 3 XL notch. Buying might not be easy for long, though. I say that because it's starting to age and deals will soon pop-up to clear out inventory. Take Best Buy's current deal on it, for example, where you can buy one for $399, without a contract. That's $450 off! Now, this is technically the Verizon model. However, the Verizon model works on all carriers, so using it elsewhere shouldn't be a problem. You still may need to activate it first on Verizon before doing that, assuming Verizon is utilizing its activation-unlock on the Pixel 2 XL. You'll want to confirm that with Best Buy if you do plan to take it to another carrier right away. As for a longer SIM lock period, Verizon isn't supposed to have implemented their new garbage 60-day lock policy yet. Typically, when Best Buy hosts a deal like this, they will only give you the big discount if you sign-up for a 24-month contract or activate the phone today, but that's not the case here. As you can see in the screenshot below, the "Activate Later" price is also $399.99. Good deal here, folks, on a rock solid Google phone.

Best Buy Link

DEAL: Google Home Max is $100 Off Everywhere

Kellen — Thu, 21 Mar 2019 11:40:48 +0000

Google doesn't discount the Google Home Max very often, so when they do, we make sure you know about it. Today, the price on Google Home Max has dropped by $100 to $299. This is one of the best prices ever on Google's biggest, loudest Home speaker. Should you buy a Google Home Max, even at $299? I have one in my living room and I love it. It gets incredibly loud, fills a room with beautiful sound, looks sexy, and comes with the Google Assistant features you need. It's dual woofers and combo of tweeters really do make for Google's best sounding Home option. And again, at $299, I'm not sure we've ever seen the price this low.

Google Home Max Links:

Comcast Launches Xfinity Flex Streaming TV for $5/mo

Kellen — Thu, 21 Mar 2019 10:31:51 +0000

Internet-only customers at Comcast have a new option for TV starting next week. Comcast today announced Xfinity Flex, a streaming platform that's only for internet customers as an add-on. Details for Infinity Flex are still becoming available, but the basics so far are that it costs $5/mo. When you sign-up, you get a 4K HDR-ready streaming box and Xfinity voice-remote, access to "more than 10,000" free movies and shows, and an integrated guide. The channel or service line-up includes ESPN3, Xumo, Pluto, Tubi TV, Cheddar, and YouTube. You'll also be able to access your Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO, and Showtime subscriptions too. Music services like Pandora, iHearRadio, and XITE will be there for those with a need for tunes. In addition to the streaming stuff, Xfinity Flex lets you see which devices are connected to your network, set parental controls, pause WiFi access, and access camera feeds, sort of like you can do with devices that run Android TV. Speaking of Android TV, while Comcast didn't say in its announcement that this is an Android TV box, the screenshots sort of look like it might be a customized version, just like AT&T is shipping to some DIRECTV Now customers. The main page is the custom part, but things like the voice control button are in the same place as they would be on Android TV, as are the app pages.

Again, Infinity Flex launches next week to customers across the country.

// Comcast

Chrome Gets a Navigation Gesture You Should Enable Right Away

Kellen — Thu, 21 Mar 2019 09:45:09 +0000

Diving into chrome://flags can be both exciting and a dance with the devil. You may tweak or enable an in-the-works setting with Chrome that quickly improves your experience or you may break a bunch of sh*t. Today, though, we've got a setting to share that we think you should enable right away if you like efficiency. Discovered within chrome://flags is a gesture that lets you quickly go back or forward while using Chrome, Beta, Dev, or Canary. The gesture, called various things depending on your build, allows you to swipe from left-to-right to go back a page or right-to-left to go forward. That's all it does, but I'm sure you can already understand how big of a deal this is. Rather than hunt for the tiny little itty bitty can't-ever-find-quickly-enough back or forward buttons buried within Chrome's menu, you can do a big ol' swipety-do on the screen.

To enable, head into chrome://flags in the address bar and then search for "History navigation with gesture" if in Chrome or Chrome Beta. For Dev or Canary channels, search for "Overscroll history navigation." // Android Police

T-Mobile Starts Its Home Internet Trial, 50Mbps Speeds at $50

Kellen — Thu, 21 Mar 2019 08:40:09 +0000

We are only a couple of weeks removed from T-Mobile revealing plans to take on home internet providers should it become the New T-Mobile with Sprint, and now they are ready to kick off the first trial run. Things will start slow and only over 4G LTE, but this could be the beginning of something big. T-Mobile announced today that it will open a pilot program for in-home internet service using its 4G LTE network. The pilot program will be limited to homes in rural or underserved areas and to only a "limited few" customers. The goal is to ramp up availability to 50,000 houses by the end of 2019. T-Mobile says that customers should expect speeds "around" 50Mbps and no data caps. They'll pay $50 per month with autopay activated. There are no contracts, no hidden fees, and no equipment charges, so $50 should be what you pay each month. The home internet box will look like the box pictured above, assuming the design hasn't changed since T-Mobile revealed it to the FCC earlier this month. To set it up, T-Mobile says that setup is simple and should require you, an app, and a few minutes of your time. Dedicated pilot program support staff will be on hand for assistance too. How do you sign-up for T-Mobile's limited LTE home internet service? You'll have to be a current T-Mobile customer in select areas. If you are, you may receive an invitation this week by email or regular mail with information on how to sign up. Anyone interested? // T-Mobile

Poll: Do You Own a Google, Samsung, or OnePlus Phone?

Kellen — Wed, 20 Mar 2019 14:19:16 +0000

This is more of a reader feel-out poll that anything, but I'm curious to see how much Google, Samsung, and OnePlus phones dominate the DL community. If it wasn't obvious to those of you who hangout in the comments, these are the phones you seem to talk about the most and thus the phones we tend to write about the most. I know that a ton of you own Google's new phones and get hyped whenever they roll around. Samsung's phones always generate plenty of buzz and chatter. OnePlus has become an underdog darling, thanks to their combination of software, hardware, and price points. So yeah, let us know in the poll below, which phonemaker's phones you own. In the comments, feel free to specify the phone if you want. And for those not on a Google, Samsung, or OnePlus phone, we're all dying to know the reasons for that decision. [poll id="509"]

Hey, This Could be the Moto Z4

Kellen — Wed, 20 Mar 2019 12:43:48 +0000

Will Motorola continue the Moto Z line into 2019 and keep Moto Mods alive? It looks that way, assuming these here press renders of the Moto Z4 are the real deal. The images were posted by 91 Mobiles and they do look convincing enough. Well, they look like previous Moto Z phones, which would make sense if Motorola wants to continue using Moto Mods from previous years. I'm not sure there is a ton to point out here other than the half-circle notch you see at the top of the phone. Last year's Moto Z3 (our review) did not adopt the notch trend, even as others from Motorola did, so this is new to the Z line. Other than that, we've got pins on the back for Moto Mod connections, what appears to be a camera puck like other Z phones have had, possible headphone jack on the bottom, potential for an in-display fingerprint reader (there isn't one showing, so we're assuming), and a full-screen experience up front. The camera is looking like a solo shooter, though, which would be odd for a Motorola phone these days. Apparently, there is a rumor that Moto may include a single 48MP camera. Other supposed rumors suggest a Snapdragon 855 in this phone, as well as 5G support via Moto Mod. The 855 would be welcomed since last year's Moto Z3 skipped the newest Qualcomm silicon for a year-old chip. As for the 5G Moto Mod, I'm going to go ahead and guess that the 5G Moto Mod Motorola is about to sell will just work with this phone. Any interest in the Moto Z line still? // 91 Mobiles

All These Anker Products Have Big Discounts Right Now

Kellen — Wed, 20 Mar 2019 10:57:39 +0000

Each week, Anker puts a new batch of its products on sale, mostly in limited quantities. Since they make quality versions of almost everything popular in tech accessories that a tech fan could want, there is typically something in the list that tempts me to pull out the credit card. For example, this week, Anker's Liberty Neo true wireless buds are a cool $15 off, which means they are now almost a 1/3 of the price of Samsung's new Galaxy Buds. Their sporty Bluetooth SoundBuds are $8 off (just $17 now), various wireless charger stands and pads are deeply discounted (and bundled), and their Eufy smart home products have significant price drops. We've got links below, including codes for each if required. Time to shop, assuming you need goodies.

Anker Deals:

Anker Soundcore Liberty Neo True Wireless Buds - $49.99 ($15 off)
Anker SoundBuds Surge - $17.09 ($7.90 off)
Anker Wireless Charging Bundle (2-Pack) - $32.99 (Code: ANKERCW3)
Anker 10W Wireless Charging Pad - $15.99 (Clip $1 off coupon)
Anker USB-C 2-Port PD Car Charger - $17.99 (Code: ANKERPC2)
Anker USB-C 15W Wall Charger - $10.49 (Code: ANKERPW1)
Anker 6-Port Quick Charge 3.0 Hub - $23.09 (Code: ANKERPB6)
Eufy 2-Pack Lumos Smart Bulbs - $29.99 ($10 off)
Eufy EufyCam E Security System - $$199.99 (Code: EUFYULMS)

Google Bringing Fresh Flowers to the Pixel Launcher Today

Kellen — Wed, 20 Mar 2019 09:44:00 +0000

You weren't seeing things - the Google Search bar on your Pixel phone did indeed perform a little flowery animation for you. To celebrate Spring Equinox, Google added a cute little animation to the bottom Google bar on Pixel phones, like the Pixel, Pixel 2, and Pixel 3. As you unlock your phone, you'll see the flower animation with green "G" logo for a few seconds before it switches back to the normal Google "G." Pretty. F*ck my allergies.

TAG Heuer's Connected Watch Now Comes as a Golf Edition, With Companion App

Kellen — Wed, 20 Mar 2019 08:45:56 +0000

TAG Heuer announced a new version of its Connected Modular 45 watch today, one designed specifically for the golfers of the world. The Connected Modular 45 "Golf Edition" is here to help you track rounds as you play them. According to TAG Heuer, they were the "first brand to develop and commercialize a trend-setting, fully functional smartwatch" with the original TAG Heuer Connected. That's an absurd statement, but our review does give that original high marks. In 2017, they followed up with the Modular 45 model that could be pieced together as some sort of customizable watch. Today, we're getting the golf version of that. The Connected Modular 45 "Golf Edition" is exactly like the 45mm version of the 2017 model. You've got a 45mm case, 1.39" (400x400) display, Intel processor, 512MB RAM, 4GB storage, GPS, NFC, sapphire glass, 5ATM water resistance, and 410mAh battery. This one differs in that it says "GOLF EDITION" on its bezel, is a mixture of black PVD titanium and black ceramic, has green accents here and there, and comes with a special white and black rubber strap. Where TAG hopes you'll find this 2017 watch interesting is in the companion app that they've released. The TAG Heuer Golf app pairs with your watch to show you distances on a golf course, provide 2D and 3D course mapping, record scores for up to 4 players, and show "informative" stats after a round. The golf app has maps for more than 39,000 courses. When purchased, the Connected Modular 45 "Golf Edition" comes with a set of commemorative balls and a fancy box. Interested? You can buy one today for $1,850. Google Play Link

Pre-Registration for Call of Duty: Mobile on Android is Open in US

Kellen — Tue, 19 Mar 2019 13:54:36 +0000

Who wants a little bit of serious Call of Duty action on mobile? I'm going to assume you all said "yes," so let's talk big news in CoD land. Call of Duty: Mobile has been announced for previously unannounced regions, including North America, South America, and Europe. We don't know when you'll be able to play it, but it's not officially coming and you can pre-register for it. Tencent, the developers behind this mobile CoD game, are bringing the "definitive, first person action" you expect from a Call of Duty game. That means you will see game modes like team deathmatch, search and destroy, and free-for-all. Classic characters, guns, and maps will be in the game too, so Nuketown, Firing Range, and Hijacked are playable, of course. Beyond the standard multiplayer experience, the trailer below hints at a possible battle royale-style game with a map and drop-in that looks a lot like Call of Duty: Blackout from Black Ops 4. Yeah, that could be fun. Hit up that link below if interested. Google Play Pre-Registration https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoWJGdqmBVQ

Spark Mail Should Arrive on Android Just as Google's Inbox Dies

Kellen — Tue, 19 Mar 2019 12:21:13 +0000

As we noted this morning, your days with Google's Inbox are numbered, leaving you with an email decision to make very soon. Since this is such an important one, you are probably still on the hunt for the best alternative to Inbox, assuming you haven't decided to give in and switch back to Gmail. One new alternative is scheduled to arrive around the time Inbox is laid to rest - Spark Mail. Spark Mail has been on iOS and macOS for some time as a powerful, yet convenient mail option with features like snoozing, reminders (and follow-ups), smarter notifications, scheduled sends, integrations with services, and batch deleting/archiving. But like most Apple-friendly apps, there has never been a Spark Mail for Android. That should change soon. With Inbox death news dominating the past 24 hours, Spark has used the opportunity to spread word about its Android plans. They aren't being ultra-specific, but have replied to users on Twitter to suggest that their Android version will launch "around the date of the Inbox shutdown." I'd love for them to give us a day, because I don't want it to be after Inbox is gone. https://twitter.com/SparkMailApp/status/1108064384008577026 That said, if you are interested in learning more about Spark, head over to their site to check out its features.

Google Announces Stadia, It's Gaming Platform for Everyone (Updated)

Kellen — Tue, 19 Mar 2019 10:14:08 +0000

Google's GDC announcement is for a new gaming platform called Stadia! The goal of Stadia is to be a platform for all, which means those who play, watch, and develop games.

Stadia Service

Like with Project Stream, Stadia will allow you to stream a AAA game to almost any computer or device with a Chrome browser. That means the devices you already own. At launch, Stadia will provide gaming experiences on desktop, laptop, TV, Chromecasts, tablets, and phones. It'll support keyboard and mouse input, as well as controllers. When we're talking about a game streamed in a browser, there is no downloading or installing (or updating) - the games are just ready to play, because they are hosted through the cloud. Google gives an example of a person watching a trailer for a new game that ends with a "Play" button at the end. Clicking that button will get you into that game on Stadia within seconds, rather than however long it might take to download or install a game on your system. Stadia will deliver up to 4K resolution streams at 60fps, in HDR, and with surround sound. Eventually, they'll be able to scale to 8K too. As far as gaming performance goes, Stadia is boasting 10.7 GPU teraflops, compared to 4.2 and 6.0 from a PS4 Pro or Xbox One X, respectively. Google says that Stadia will support cross-platform multiplayer and that hacking and cheating will be difficult or non-existent (we'll see). Stadia is launching at some point in 2019 in the US, Canada, UK, and Europe. We don't know anything about games, outside of a new Doom game, or pricing.

Stadia Controller

As you might have guessed, Google is going to introduce its own controller for use with Stadia that will provide the full experience. The Stadia Controller has a Google Assistant button for Assistant fun, a quick sharing button for gameplay shares, connection over WiFi, and looks very Googley. We don't know how much Google's controller will cost or when it'll arrive, but a good guess for that would be when the service arrives later this year.

For Creators

Stadia will have tools to directly connect to YouTube Gaming, since that's Google's creator platform for gamers. One of the examples of features they showed was a way for creators to allow followers and subscribers to get in line to game with them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HikAuH40fHc You can sign-up for more info on Stadia here.

WATCH: Google Announces "Future of Gaming" at GDC! (Updated)

Kellen — Tue, 19 Mar 2019 09:34:26 +0000

UPDATE: Google's big announcement is called Stadia, their game streaming platform!

Google's big day on the gaming stage is here, folks. At GDC 2019, Google says they want to "unveil [their] vision for the future of gaming" and will do so at 10AM Pacific (1PM Eastern). You can watch it live at the video stream above. That's a bold statement to push out to the gaming community, obviously. This is an industry that is as mature as any in terms of the players that make it up. To transform it significantly would be a hard thing to do. Is Google the type of company that could do just that? Sure, why not? Google tries to change lots of industries from time to time and doesn't always win, though. It failed in social. It failed in tablets. It failed in wearables. But it has dominated in the mobile operating space, in email, and so many others too. For today's announcements, we think we'll get some version of a game streaming service that relates to Google's short-lived Project Stream. Project Stream allowed gamers to play a AAA game title in a Chrome browser, without the need for an expensive gaming rig. In addition to the ability to stream a game, we could see Google add to that by releasing its own game controller, some sort of UI or game store, and possible connectivity through something like a Chromecast. Whatever they do, we'll have the news for you as it drops. Again, the stream is live at 10AM Pacific.

Here's the $2,000 AT&T Samsung Galaxy Fold Being Fondled

Kellen — Tue, 19 Mar 2019 08:16:03 +0000

The Samsung Galaxy Fold will arrive in about a month with a price tag close to $2,000. AT&T and T-Mobile are scheduled to sell it in a couple of colors, but up to this point, we've seen little of it outside of a demo or two from a Samsung executive. Samsung has held the Fold closely, likely because it wants to control every single narrative surrounding its first foldable phone before you'll have a chance to buy one. Below, we have a 2-minute video from a phone unlocking service of some kind that happens to have an AT&T Galaxy Fold in hand. This might be the first time we have seen a non-Samsung person fondle the Galaxy Fold and for sure the first time we have seen a carrier variant. In this short clip, the person in possession of the Fold opens and closes it, plays with its UI a bit, dives into its settings, and then magically carrier unlocks it. It's not the most interesting video, but it does give us a raw view of this ultra-expensive foldable. Oh, and remember when Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Fold on stage at its Galaxy S10 event and we pointed out some of its flaws, including a crease in its brand new flexible display? And then remember when people got mad and suggested that Samsung's mobile boss was simply holding it wrong, causing uncontrollable laughter from those of us behind a keyboard? Yeah, well, the video here shows the AT&T Galaxy Fold model looking fresh out of the box and with a noticeable crease in the middle of its unfolded display. Not good. Who wants one? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otwW5e61nHQ

With 14 Days to Go, Google has Basically Buried Inbox

Kellen — Tue, 19 Mar 2019 07:45:12 +0000

We're days from Google's Inbox email app being shutdown for good. That's sad for various reasons, but if you go looking for the app today, it won't be easy to find. At this point, Google has all but hidden the Inbox app should you go looking for it and certainly doesn't want anyone new giving it a spin before shutting it down at the end of the month. Last night, Google starting showing Inbox users a countdown for the number of days left before they'll force everyone to switch over to Gmail or something else. The day counter started at 15 days and now shows 14 days, which points to April 2 being the final day of Inbox.

That notice got me wondering if the app was even around any longer. I had uninstalled it from my Galaxy S10e to give Gmail a spin for a bit and decided to try and re-install for a couple of last days of true email bliss and couldn't find it. If you search for Inbox on Google Play, it won't show up. Google has killed it from showing up in search listings.

If you search from the Google Search bar on your phone, Google is telling you to use Gmail and won't even return results for Inbox. I even found a Play link to Inbox at some point and it directed me to an "Item not found" page. This is all very sad.

Now, if you have the direct link to it, it's still there and could be for some time. But if you were hoping at this late stage that Google might change their mind and let Inbox live on, that's looking as doubtful as ever. Inbox is dead and your choice becomes Gmail or something else in 14 days. Still not sure why Inbox users are so sad about this? Read this post on Inbox features we still need in Gmail for it to be anything like the best email app ever made.

Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL are Likely Google's New Mid-Range Phones

Kellen — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 16:17:19 +0000

Forget Pixel 3 Lite and Pixel 3 Lite XL. Those are the old, less-cool rumored names for Google's oft-leaked mid-range Pixel 3 phones. As of the past week, we're on to Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL as possibilities. That's the story according to both XDA and 9to5Google. The folks at XDA first discovered the names in an Android Q file, while 9to5Google heard from a source that those will indeed be the names of Google's yet-to-be-announced phones. That's really all there is to share at the moment in terms of new information on the two phones that first popped up all of the way back in November of last year. We've seen rarely-wrong CAD renders of them, video tours, FCC filings, and rumors suggesting that they'll be exclusive to Verizon, because of course they will be. We know a lot about them, including most specs, like their 5.6" and 6" displays, 4GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, 12MP rear cameras, headphone jacks, etc. What we don't know is how much they'll cost or when you'll be able to buy one. With FCC filings showing up, though, we shouldn't too far off. Pixel 3 "Lite" - lol.

How's Android Q Beta Running on Your Pixel?

Kellen — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 12:43:52 +0000

Android Q beta dropped last Wednesday, so you've had a few solid days with it. How's it running on your Pixel phone? I ask because we get asked whether or not it's stable enough for daily use. As a single person using it, I'm not sure I'm always the best judge of that, particularly because I tend to jump between a couple of phones at a time. So I figured I'd ask you to relay your early experiences in the comments. How's battery life been? Any regular crashing or app compatibility issues people should be aware of? Any bugs that are driving you nuts? Has it been stable enough to use daily? On the flip side of that, what are you liking so far? Have you found any of the new features to be worth upgrading to Q for? Let the folks know.

Android Qork in Progress: Biggest Features are Still Being Worked On

Kellen — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 10:26:15 +0000

Android Q has been in our lives for close to a week now and most of the digging for features into this first beta has been done. On the surface, it's pretty obvious that in this first build there aren't a bunch of forward-facing changes to get excited about. That appears to be because the Android team has a bundle of features that are in very early stages and not quite ready for prime time. Will they be once we get to a stable build some time in Q3? Tough to say. We've listed out a number of the changes from the official features list as well as a compiled list of discovered tweaks. We talked about the focus on security, permissions, and privacy. We showed you the minor UI tweaks to notifications and settings. And then there are the changes Google is working on that are hidden and not ready for general use.

Gesture Navigation

For one, we expect Google to bring a full gesture upgrade to Android Q that will get rid of the back button, unless they take it ever further. In this release, a new gesture setup can sort of be enabled through a bunch of extra work that's probably not worth your time at the moment. Once here, it could mean iPhone-esque gestures with more movement and less of a half-baked feel. The crew at XDA found a set of developer options in the Pixel Launcher that changes the way gestures work pretty dramatically. Things like a swipe left to switch to the last app you left, a swipe and hold to get into the app switcher, swiping up on the home pill to just go home, and swiping up on it when on your home screen to see the app drawer, not the app switcher. But again, this is all behind-the-scenes and not something Google is ready to let everyone play with. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCW4XW7Ge8Y

Dark mode

Then we have system dark mode, which some discovered is in Android Q because they had a dark wallpaper set or previous toggle to dark/night mode before updating to the beta. Those folks were left stuck on night mode all of the time until an adb command gave them the ability to switch back and forth. Battery Saver will get you into this new darkness too, but running your phone in Battery Saver at all times probably isn't a great idea. Will we see a full dark mode by the time Android Q hits stable? It seems like Google has been working on it for long enough that I wouldn't be surprised if it did show up. But this is Google, so we've got no guarantees there. Flipping on a system dark mode probably means a bunch of work from 3rd party developers to get ready too. So who knows.

Theming

Related to that dark theme, there are theming options in this first Android Q beta as well. The options aren't super advanced by any means, but you can choose from default, black, green, or purple accent colors. This is an old Android idea that Google is now showing interest in. It adds another customizable thing, which we don't typically complain about. For now, this accent color tweaking is only a developer option that needs to be enabled and not in general settings.

Screen recording

Another discovered feature is a hidden screen recorder, though it's very much an early item that I'd be surprised to see in stable Q. The UI for it looks like an intern created it in 5 minutes of spare time just for testing purposes. It sort of works, but definitely feels unstable while using.

Chat bubbles

The folks at 9to5Google discovered a chat bubble notification interface too. With this enabled via adb command, your notifications all get sent to a chat bubble UI with floating bubbles that can be accessed at any time no matter what you are doing. I don't know why anyone would want this, but it could be that Google is preparing the system to allow other apps to bring back chat bubble experiences? I have no idea. Samsung is doing something similar to this with One UI on its Galaxy phones. You can enable Smart Pop-up View and have all apps show up as a bubble that when tapped, opens a pop-up window over your current task. It's kind of cool and also a bit obnoxious to use for long periods of time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chgVj1IFQoY

Desktop mode

A full desktop mode is baked into the background of Android Q, but it is 100% the basics for a desktop experience. This is no Samsung DeX. If Google is serious about an Android desktop mode, this early version makes it look like they have years of work left to do to get it ready for consumer use.

Always-on Display Customizations

Google may give us more options to change in our always-on display settings too. XDA discovered different clock faces, like a text clock, that can be enabled with adb. They aren't all fully functional just yet (no weather, for example), but could easily become a new option in the always-on display section of settings for quick changes.

And these probably aren't all of the features that Google is working on. The point is that while Google is currently only hyping new permissions pop-ups and a faster share menu for Android Q, they do have some bigger plans that are getting worked on in the background. Many of those changes are the stuff we get typically excited to share with you. Just keep in mind that Google worked on native multi-window support in Android for years before finally releasing it with Android Nougat. That was years after companies like Samsung had already implemented it. Don't be surprised if we only a couple of the features we listed above by the time Q is ready for everyone. Anything in particular you want to see from the list above arrive in stable Q?

Contest: Enter the DL Bracket Challenge 2019, Win a OnePlus 6T!

Kellen — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 08:36:21 +0000

It's tourney time!

The best time of year in sports has returned and so has our DL Bracket Challenge for the 10th year. Seriously, we've been doing this for a freakin' decade. That's kind of awesome! To celebrate, we're giving away a OnePlus 6T to whoever can win this year's contest. Non-sports people, are you confused? I'm talking about the 2019 NCAA men's basketball tournament that kicks off this week. Each year, we do a contest called the DL Bracket Challenge for the tournament, similar to the office pools and other challenges you may enter with friends, co-workers, and family. But when we do it, we give away fabulous tech prizes. You don't have to be a sports fan to enter a bracket challenge, all you need to know how to do is click a few buttons in a bracket. It takes zero skill to enter and win one of these. Most people who do win know nothing about NCAA basketball, as this is complete luck for the most part, even if John Miller in finance is completely sold on some analytic that there will be a Sweet 16 round upset of Virginia by UC Irvine. So yeah, if you want to win a OnePlus 6T, you should enter this. UPDATE: On the contest page, it sure looks like a bot created a couple of thousand spam accounts under a name scheme like "ESPNFAN9160202620 1." If any of these "ESPFANXXXXX" accounts win, I'll simply go to an actual entry to reward the winner. I'm also trying to mass delete them, but it could take a while. Apologies. UPDATE 4/20: We've got a winner and that winner is azcardoso2! Thanks to everyone for participating and dealing with the bot flood. We'll be sure next year to put in measures to deal with them.

Contest

ESPN Group: Droid Life 2019 Password: newDL2019 Prize: Winner takes home a OnePlus 6T ($549). How to enter:

Entry is free. (Need to be in the US, where we can ship the prize.)
Join the Droid Life group from above (create an ESPN account if you need to).
Fill out your bracket and submit before the “Round of 64” games start Thursday morning (March 21).
There are games tomorrow and Wednesday, but you still have until Thursday before you need to be entered.
Winner with the highest total points following the NCAA Championship is our winner.
We use ESPN and their scoring system, along with their tiebreaker system.
This is a “winner takes all” competition.

Two rules:

We use the “Locked” setting, which means you can’t swap out brackets once the competition starts.
We only allow 1 entry per person.

Winner: On the morning following the NCAA Championship game, which takes place on April 8, we’re asking that the winner email us. Once that happens, we have ways to verify the winner. We have to do this because ESPN took away all messaging means from their platform. Unfortunately, all of the other NCAA Tourney options won’t work any better. Feel free to invite your friends and family members – the more competition, the more fun we have. Good luck, all! Apps:

ESPN Tournament Challenge (manage your brackets)
NCAA March Madness Live (watch all games live)

You Still Have Time to Take Advantage of Samsung's $550 Trade-in Offer for the Galaxy S10

Tim — Fri, 15 Mar 2019 14:25:01 +0000

The reviews are up and the verdict seems unanimous: The Galaxy S10 family of phones are quite good. We said as much in our Galaxy S10+ review, as well as Galaxy S10e review. If you were waiting to hear that from us, there's still time to take advantage of Samsung's incredible trade-in offer, which can save you up $550 on a new Galaxy S10. Phones that will get $550 in credit towards purchase include any Galaxy phones from last year (Galaxy S9, Note 9, etc.), Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, LG V40, Galaxy Note 8, and a ton of different iPhone models. At $550 off, you can get a sweet deal on a Galaxy S10e. Kellen did this exact thing and ended up only paying $199 for an unlocked Galaxy S10e. Considering its specs, that's a solid deal. At $550 off, the price of a Galaxy S10 base model is $350 and $450 for the Galaxy S10+. Follow the link below to start the process. Samsung Store Link

DEAL: Anker's 10W Fast Wireless Charging Pad Drops Even Lower to $11.19

Kellen — Fri, 15 Mar 2019 14:06:49 +0000

This Anker 10W fast wireless charging pad we've featured in recent weeks just keeps going lower in price. Today, with a combination of coupon savings and coupon code, you can get one for just $11.19. This might be its lowest price ever. As we've noted in the past, at 10W wireless charging, it'll fire up fast wireless charging on most Samsung phones, including the new Galaxy S10 line. This is one of those no-brainer deals to add to your desk or night stand for easy charging when you set your phone down. To get the full deal, hit that link below, clip the available coupon to it first for 5% before adding to cart. Then when in cart use coupon code "WIREFREE15" to drop the price to $11.19. Prime shipping is included. Just make sure you use your fast charging adapter with it to get the faster speeds, Samsung fans.

Amazon Deal Link

Podcast: S10 Reviews and Android Q!

Kellen — Fri, 15 Mar 2019 09:45:25 +0000

On this episode of the Droid Life Show, we're sharing our deep, deep thoughts on the Galaxy S10+ and Galaxy S10e. Our reviews are up! That's not all that happened this week, though. Google dropped the first Android Q beta on us and we've had a chance to dance with it. We'll recap new Android Q features, how you can get it, that sort of thing. We'll also talk about Google's big gaming tease, pour some out for Allo, look at Verizon's 5G Mobility launch, and laugh at RED Hydrogen phones. Trivia is back again! We're giving all winners a pair of OnePlus Bullets Wireless headphones! We'll be live at 12:00PM Pacific (3PM Eastern).

You Need These Wallpapers That Embrace Your Galaxy S10 Display Cutout

Tim — Fri, 15 Mar 2019 09:32:40 +0000

I mentioned this in my full Galaxy S10+ review this week, and folks like MKBHD have been good to showcase many of them, but did you know there is an entire community of people dedicated to making wallpapers that embrace the display cutouts found the Galaxy S10 lineup? It's a beautiful thing. Let me take you on a stroll through the possibilities using my S10+. With each example, I'll link you to where you can find the wallpaper for your own device. There's this Bender. There's this submarine's periscope and alien spaceship.

There's this gorgeous use of dark space. There's this Spider-Man. There's this WALL-E and EVE. There's this look inside your phone and paint drips.

There's this adorable sloth. There's even this Darth Vader. Scary. Only one of the wallpapers shown above is truly compatible with the Galaxy S10 and S10e, but don't fret, there are specific designs made for them, too. I highly recommend you check out the Galaxy S10 Wallpapers community on reddit. A lot of creative people in there! Here's a few links for the Galaxy S10 to get you started, and don't forget, Samsung's dedicated Themes app has a whole section of wallpapers dedicated to embracing the cutout.

Have a cool wallpaper that embraces the cutout you'd like to share with us? Post it below!

Samsung Galaxy S10e Review: Yo! This is the Phone.

Kellen — Fri, 15 Mar 2019 08:45:06 +0000

Friends, gather round! The blog bro you have deemed the unfair Samsung hater of all haters is here with something to share - the Galaxy S10e is f*cking great, man. I like this phone! I like it a lot! As the smaller and less expensive of the three Galaxy S10 phones, I know this won't be the phone for everyone, but there are some choices that Samsung made here that drew me in. And boy, did they deliver those choices, as well as the rest of the typical Galaxy S package in a way that has won me over. Shall we talk about it? This is our Galaxy S10e review!

ALSO READ: Galaxy S10+ review!

The Good

Size and Design Prior to Samsung announcing the Galaxy S10 family, I wrote a piece about how I needed Samsung to ditch their awful-to-use curved screens and I'd probably be ready to give their phones a serious shot in 2019. That was an unpopular opinion, but since Samsung loves me (they actually don't - they won't even talk to me or return my emails) they gave me just what I asked for in the S10e. It has a flat display! Not only that, but it's also not obnoxiously large like all other Android phones not named the Pixel 3. I'd argue that the Galaxy S10e may be the perfect size for a smartphone. So what you've got with the Galaxy S10e is a phone that's slightly shorter than the Pixel 3, yet a tad wider and with a larger display (5.8" in the S10e vs. 5.5" in the Pixel 3). They were able to create a footprint like that thanks to the full-screen experience, with minimal bezel and a hole-punch for the front camera. I thought the Pixel 3 was a great size, but with the Galaxy S10e, you have a phone that tricks reality some. That display taking up almost every inch of the front comes off as large to your eyes, yet my average-sized hands have no issues getting to all corners at all times.

And of course Samsung tossed in the materials that the industry would call premium (not me) that feel nice in the hand. There is glass (which I broke on day 4) and metal everywhere, subtle curves at the edges, and the best colors Samsung has ever used in a set of phones (The S10e gets an extra color blend in the camera housing too, something the other S10s don't have.). The S10e looks like a phone you'd want in your hand and pocket, yet with a slightly understated vibe compared to the other S10 family members. Maybe that's why I like it, because it's different and probably won't be the phone your friends have unless they too are different. I do have one complaint (outside of the back glass), though, and that's with the power button. Samsung is using its power button on the S10e to double as a fingerprint reader. I have no problem with that move. What I do have a problem with is the placement of the button. It's way too high up the right side, so high that it's frustrating to try and reach it, even with a smaller phone like this. I actually feel bad for Galaxy S10 and S10+ users, because Samsung did the same thing with those phones' power buttons and those phones are even larger. Come on, Samsung, this was a bad idea. Specs What's up with the specs on the Galaxy S10e, they are super sh*tty or something, right? No, not really. They aren't as good as the S10 and S10+, though! Are they good enough? Probably, for most, especially if you thought the Pixel 3 was fine in the specs department. The S10e has a pretty similar setup, it's just that Samsung left out a couple things, likely to keep the price lower. It has the Snapdragon 855 processor, IP68 rating, NFC and MST, 802.11ax WiFi, wide and ultra-wide cameras (12MP Dual Pixel + 16MP), fast wired and wireless charging, and Android Pie under Samsung's One UI. The differences are in battery size, display resolution and size, lack of a third rear and secondary front camera, and in-display ultrasonic fingerprint reader. The S10e has the smallest battery of the three phones at 3100mAh, no telephoto lens on the back, a single 10MP selfie camera, and a 1080p display instead of QHD. It's RAM configurations only start at 6GB too (S10 and S10+ start at 8GB). But look, it's specs destroy the Pixel 3 and it costs $50 less. So again, not too much to complain about here.

Galaxy S10 family specs

Display The 5.8" 1080P D-AMOLED HDR+ Infinity-O display used in the Galaxy S10e is a good one, but that should surprise no one who knows Samsung phones. While not a QHD resolution, I don't think I've been one to stress over that in recent years as I believe 1080p is enough pixels for a small-screen smartphone experience. The S10e's display has an amazing range in its brightness that allows it to get incredibly dark in darker situations, while having the ability to get super bright when out in the daylight or sun. It might be the most versatile display I've used to date. You have available Vivid or Natural color profiles for those who either like to live life juicily or for those who eat vegan. Viewing angles are excellent and touch sensitivity is where you'll want it as you browse around. Samsung included a blue light filter and night mode as well, so you can truly relieve your eyes at night. Adaptive brightness is here to learn your usage patterns too. It's all here, is what I'm getting at. I do think the display shines a bit warm for my taste, particularly at night is when I notice it. I'm not sure if the adaptive brightness is to blame or if Samsung has a background process that is purposely warming the display in later hours. I don't like it, though. If I want a warmer display tone, I'll turn on the blue light filter. When that's off, I prefer a cooler display and that seems to be lacking here at times. The Vivid mode lets you choose a cooler display temperature, but it doesn't seem to do much at night. Something is up.

Camera Alright, let's talk camera. The Galaxy S10e features a dual rear camera setup comprised of a 12MP Dual Pixel wide angle (77°) camera with dual aperture at f/1.5 and f/2.4 next to an ultra-wide (123°) 16MP camera at f/2.2. The S10e is missing the third telephoto 12MP f/2.4 camera that you'll find on the S10 and S10+. On the frontside, you have a single 10MP Dual Pixel f/1.9 camera, the same as is on the S10. It doesn't include the second 8MP RGB selfie depth sensor from the S10+. For software, Samsung's camera experience is a bit bloated, but that just means they included every single modern camera feature you can find in a smartphone. You have auto and Pro modes, Live Focus (portrait) mode, video, super slow-mo, slow motion, panorama, and hyperlapse modes too. There's even Food and Instagram modes.

The video camera can shoot in 4K at 60fps if you want it to. It has auto-HDR, does Motion photos, stabilizes your video, and will attempt to optimize the scene you are shooting in to get you the best shot. As far as the layout of the camera app goes, it's pretty straight forward. Your shutter button is easily accessible, there are toggles to flip between the wide and ultra-wide camera, and gestures to get you between modes or to the selfie camera. It's a semi-complex app, unless you just shoot in auto - then you'll be fine. How are the results? I think the Galaxy S10e takes solid photos.

From indoors to outdoors, looking at the shots now, I think the S10e delivers. It's flexible because of its ability to switch between wide angle and ultra-wide angle, it's super fast to load and focus, and it gives you any control you could need depending on the situation. I typically shoot in auto for reviews and I like the majority of the photos you are seeing above. At times, the S10e's camera can be inconsistent in deciding if it should ramp up colors and contrast or stay natural. And if you crop in on a photo, you'll probably notice whacky processing around edges. Those are areas Samsung can address down the road via software update. That said, it's awesome at capturing depth even without the telephoto lens. In the various drinking establishments I visited during this review period, the S10e dominated when rooms were well and poorly lit. It's a great food and beer camera, a good kid camera, and certainly one I always felt I could rely on. Software and Performance For years, I've made it clear that I don't like the way Samsung does software. That's now changed with the implementation of their One UI on top of Android Pie. One UI is a great Android skin because it is in many ways a punchier version of what Google releases, but with a bunch of features built into it that Google probably won't implement for another five years. Sure, I still hate their horizontal app drawer and Bixby, but those are things I can change or disable. What I do like is the clean UI with conveniently placed touch points, countless controls over the display setup, a dedicated night mode, more lock screen customizations than anyone could ask for, the addition of Google's Digital Wellbeing software, more controls over sounds and vibrations, a set of "advanced" features that I find useful, and super speedy performance. I'd tell you more about all of those individual features, but you should just hit up that video section below for tips and tricks, First 10 Things to Do, etc. to find out what this little guy is capable of. There is a good hour worth of software tours down there that elaborate on everything I just mentioned above.

All you need to know is that Samsung finally created a really enjoyable software experience that I'm not even feeling the need to complain about. That's saying something! On the flip side of that, Samsung is never going to update their phones as quickly as Google does. The S10 family does run Android Pie and picks up most monthly security patches, but Google has begun testing Android Q already. Once Q is released (probably in August), you shouldn't expect Samsung phones to get it for months. As for performance, the Snapdragon 855 and 6GB RAM on the model I've been testing have been a fun combo. This phone doesn't slow down. It holds enough apps in memory, unlike the Pixel 3, the UI is quick to move around, whether that's from the app switcher or launching directly, and the stutters we see on other phones aren't there. Again, I'm using the base model S10e for this review (128GB storage + 6GB RAM) and there hasn't been a hiccup to tell you about.

Price and Availability The Galaxy S10e is a reasonably priced phone for what Samsung is delivering. I noted above that its specs blow the Pixel 3 away even with a starting price that's $50 lower. You get so much more in the S10e than Google's smaller phone, including a bigger and better display, more RAM and storage (+ SD slot), more cameras, newer processor, a bigger battery, faster WiFi, headphone jack, and non-proprietary fast charging. With a starting price of $749 that maxes at $849, you could argue that the price is a deal on most days. Since this is Samsung, you can get the Galaxy S10e everywhere. All of the major US carriers sell it, plus it comes in an unlocked model too. There are four colors to choose from and two RAM and storage options. Unlike Google's phones, Samsung doesn't do many exclusives these days, especially not with its flagship line. They want customers from all walks of life to buy them, not just those stuck on Verizon.

Buy Galaxy S10e, get up to $550 off with trade

Somewhere-in-the-Middle

Battery Life The only real complaint I have with the Galaxy S10e is in the battery life department. It's just average at best. I initially tested the international model on T-Mobile and battery life was pretty disappointing. I then switched for the past week to the US unlocked unit (still on T-Mobile) and have seem a good amount of improvement. Most days, I'd say I averaged 4 hours of screen on time and had 20% or so left on a charge around 10PM. With those numbers, we're looking at 15 hours or so off the charger from when I first got up in the morning.

That's not great, but not terrible. The 3100mAh battery here, that supports both fast wired and wireless charging, is good for a day with medium use and a mix of WiFi and LTE. If you are absolutely hammering on the phone, you might want to top it off with a charger before leaving work if you think you'll need juice left before you go to bed. The Galaxy S10e is not a battery champ. Bixby I don't want to spend much time here, but yes, Bixby and a dedicated Bixby button are included in the Galaxy S10e just like they are on all Galaxy S and Note phones of recent years. I don't use Bixby and do everything in my power to turn it off because I've never found it to be good or useful. If you came to this review hoping I'd have discovered the brilliance of Samsung's latest edition of its assistant technology, you will leave disappointed. In all the videos below that dive into the best parts of the S10e, you'll see me tell you over and over again how to turn Bixby off. Is that fair and should I try Bixby one more time? I don't care - I'm not interested. Sorry. I use Google Assistant.

Other Notes

In the box: Samsung gives you a decent package alongside the phone. You get a USB-C cable, Samsung adaptive fast charger, and a pair of AKG-tuned ear buds in white. The international model I ordered came with a free case in the box as well, but that doesn't appear to be a thing here in the US.
Accessories: One thing to always keep in mind when it comes to Samsung phones is the accessory situation. Because Samsung is the king of smartphones, there are dozens and dozens and dozens of accessories available for their new phones the minute they drop. Not only does Samsung produce its own cases, wireless chargers, and earbuds, you'll get so many third party choices that your choices will be endless.
Reverse wireless charging: This a thing in all of the Galaxy S10 phones, including the S10e. For those not familiar, it's a feature that allows you to use the battery in your Galaxy S10 to wireless charge another device. It's probably not a good idea to charge someone else's phone, but it could be good to charge something like the Galaxy Buds.
Fingerprint reader: As mentioned above, the fingerprint reader on the S10e is not embedded in the display like it is on the S10 and S10+. Instead, you'll find it coupled into the power button. It can be an excellent fingerprint reader at times. If your finger is placed properly on it, it'll read faster than most. However, if you are slightly off as you try and find its awkward placement, you may have to tap a few times to get it to work. That's not a deal-breaker situation, it's just one to be aware of.

Video

Unboxing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLXpAzkUUwc First 10 Things to Do https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDhKsG6ouPQ Tips and Tricks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2J3FEZ13y8 Cool Stuff! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DPr5eLVH4U

Gallery

The Verdict

As you can tell, I'm a big fan of the Galaxy S10e. It's a phone I can easily recommend people buy, unless they are looking for the battery life champ. This phone is average in that department, but it's just so good in so many others. The camera is quite impressive, the display and performance and software and design are incredible, and the price is not insulting. The color choices are fun, RAM and storage configuration options are there for those with deeper pockets, and availability makes the S10e so accessible. Samsung is offering ridiculous deals out of the gate too, like $550 off for trade-ins. If you were for some reason waiting for my verdict before buying, go ahead and pull the trigger. Pretty sure I'll be on the S10e for the time being when I'm not reviewing something else.

Shop Galaxy S10 at Samsung's store

Samsung Galaxy S10+ Review: Mostly Excellence, Slight Disappointment

Tim — Thu, 14 Mar 2019 14:48:55 +0000

Samsung is back in a big way with new phones this year, three in total, the Galaxy S10e, Galaxy S10, and Galaxy S10+. There's also the Galaxy S10 5G, but since it's not available yet, we won't include any talk about it. Kellen will have a separate Galaxy S10e review, so this one will be all about the Galaxy S10+. There seemed to be a lot of hype surrounding the Galaxy S10 lineup as we built up to the unveiling. This was a mix of people liking what they saw in leaks, as well as good marketing from Samsung. The question is, does the Galaxy S10 live up to that hype? Well, that's why we're here. This is our Galaxy S10+ review!

ALSO READ: Galaxy S10e review!

The Good

Specs Samsung spared no expense when putting together the Galaxy S10+, offering the best of the best in terms of display, RAM, processor, and cameras. The S10+ features a 6.4" D-AMOLED HDR+ (Infinity O, QHD, 522ppi, Gorilla Glass 6) display, Qualcomm-made Snapdragon 855 processor, up to 12GB RAM, up to 1TB of storage, 4100mAh battery, three rear-facing cameras (12MP Telephoto, 12MP Wide-angle, 16MP Ultra Wide-angle), dual front-facing cameras (10MP + 8MP depth sensor), IP68 water resistance, ultrasonic fingerprint reader, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC and MST for mobile payments, and the company's latest One UI software on top of Android 9 Pie.

Official: Galaxy S10 Lineup Specs

In the US, this package can't really be improved upon much. Samsung even has a ceramic model for anyone who wants the ultra luxury hardware experience, which of course, is the one we've been using for the past week. Display I'm not a huge display geek, so I can't breakdown in technical terms what makes it this way, but the Galaxy S10+ easily has one of the best displays I've ever used. Not only does it get exceptionally bright and easily used when outside, but the colors look stunning and the way Samsung has the panel appear as if it's sitting right on the front glass is exceptional. The overall display experience is grade A. While you can argue that contrast and color vibrance such as this isn't exactly "natural" in terms of a display, this is what I prefer. In the software settings, you can select which type of screen mode you want to use. For me, I go with Vivid, but you can choose a more natural appearance with the Natural setting. With Vivid, Samsung lets you tune white balance to cooler or warmer tones, as well as RGB values. This really lets you tune the display to whatever profile you want. Obviously, I can't discuss the display without mentioning the Infinity O dual front-facing camera cutout. You know, it's really not that bad! Does it annoy me that it pushes system icons to the left and gives me an overall smaller notification space? Absolutely, but it still looks better than the Pixel 3 XL's notch. Furthermore, with the help of the reddit community, you can find a few awesome wallpapers that utilize the cutouts in humorous ways. Hardware As I mentioned, I've been using the Ceramic White model, which is a bit heavier than the non-ceramic Galaxy S10+. I've been in love with it since I first took it out of the box, though, I can't help but think that this is one of the more dangerous things I could've done. If you're not using a case with this phone, every time you take it out of your pocket you're risking a $1,250+ accident, which can be scary. Personally, I threw on a case and I'm feeling pretty good about it, plus the added grip for the phone is nice. All of this glass is slippery, after all. Like prior years, unless you get a ceramic model, these phones are pure glass and metal, with Samsung reaching peak hardware excellence with the Galaxy S10 family of devices. Honestly, I don't know where they go from here in the coming years because improving upon this in a major way won't be easy. The biggest improvement they can make is to flush the backside cameras with the body, such as LG is doing with this year's G8 and V50. Having that slight camera bump on the back isn't great, but again, using a case with the phone solves that flat-on-a-table issue. And unlike what seems like every other company, Samsung is still including a headphone jack. You gotta love it! Software When Samsung first unveiled One UI at its annual developer conference last year, I declared that this is the software redesign we've been needing for years. I'm happy to report that after using it now, I still feel that way. There's something about older versions of Samsung's software that would have me begging to be back on a Pixel after a few weeks, but with One UI on top of Android Pie, I don't really feel that need. One UI looks good, is extremely responsive and snappy (8GB+ RAM always helps a phone feel fast), and Samsung has just the right amount of customization options for you to make it your own.

In past years, I would feel lost going through all of Samsung's settings menus, but One UI has greatly reduced the number of pages to look through. While there's still an overwhelming amount of options and settings, Samsung has organized them in a way to not give you a panic attack, which is appreciated. No more Zoloft for me when using a Samsung phone.

A few key software tidbits I'd like to point to include the gesture navigation, which axes the navigation buttons in favor of swipes from the bottom portion of the screen. I know some don't care for it, but if you enjoy a clean and minimal look on your phone, it's not a bad option to enable. The other is "Smart pop-up view." When enabled, new notifications can appear as pop-ups, sort of like a Chat Bubble, which can then be opened on top of any app that is currently running in the foreground. For chat and texting apps like Hangouts, this is a pretty clutch function. Lastly, let me rip on Bixby a little. I don't like it and I don't like that there's a dedicated hardware button to access it. To combat it, I have been using an app called BixAssist, which allows me to set a Google Assistant shortcut from the dedicated Bixby hardware key. Samsung doesn't allow for this out of the box without the usage of an app, which is total bullshit on Samsung's part, but what are you going to do? Performance This phone is snappy, yo! Thanks to the Snapdragon 855 processor and 8GB RAM (you can go all the way up to 12GB), it's likely one of the snappier phones you can find right now. For me, performance is a big deal for all of the mobile gaming I partake in. Whether it's the classics like Whale Trail or a slower paced space adventure like Out There, my phone has always felt incredibly fast when doing things. And let's say I quickly hop out of those games and into Chrome or open up my camera. I never came across jank or stutters that left me waiting for the phone to react to my inputs. It's been a real joy to use and that's always the case when a phone has excellent responsiveness. Battery With a 4,100mAh battery, this phone basically outputs exactly what I suspected. Each day, I'm easily getting over 4 hours of screen on time, nearly 5 hours, which is great for me. I'm mostly on WiFi throughout the day, but that's because my house is a black hole for both AT&T and T-Mobile service. However, I made up for all of that WiFi usage by using the camera and gaming a lot, so the fact that I was easily getting through entire days with hours of screen on time is just fine in my book.

Somewhere in the Middle

Camera The three rear-facing and two front-facing cameras are the only things that concern me on this phone. To be honest, I was expecting to be blown away by almost every shot I took, but unfortunately, that wasn't always the case. Don't get me wrong, this phone takes amazing pictures, but if you find yourself in what you'd call non-ideal shooting situations, which can often be the case, you'll be left disappointed. Now, usually I wouldn't give a phone too hard of a time if it can't take great low-light shots, but with Google completely upping the bar with Night Sight, not having a dedicated low light shooting mode on the Galaxy S10 and S10+, which start at $999, is a serious letdown. What Samsung gives us instead is Scene Optimizer, which automatically recognizes if you're in a dark environment. When it notices this, it snaps a burst of shots then compiles them into a single image, with what should be decent lighting. Sadly, it typically turns out looking like a muddy mess. Scene Optimizer will also recognize if the phone has been placed on a tripod. When this is done and in low light, the camera will snap even more photos to compile them into a single shot. These results are better, but that means you'll need to carry your tripod around if you plan on doing any night shooting. Compare this to Night Sight on the Pixel and you're left just laughing at how far ahead Google is in the mobile low light photography category. I have a few low-light examples below. This same low-light performance is seen on the front-facing cameras, too. Embarrassingly, I recently had a birthday get together and after bragging about how my Galaxy S10+ could probably take a better front-facing group shot than my brother's Pixel 2, I got the results you'll see below. The photos are completely unusable. We ended up retaking the groufie with the Pixel 2 and the shots were a night/day difference. Come on, Samsung!

When you have proper lighting, the Galaxy S10 and its array of cameras shine. I notice that purples look incredible, as well as greens. In good light, contrast and details are exceptionally fine, too. Also great is the addition of the ultra wide lens. I love this thing. It's great for shooting landscapes or just capturing more context for any given photo. Honestly, I'd tell Samsung to ditch the telephoto lens that I hardly used and just give me a standard lens and an ultra wide angle, plus invest more into low-light mode development. Then we'll be in business. The following photos have been resized, but no other edits have been made.

Look at this poor excuse of a selfie.

Lens Comparison

Other Notes

Sound - The Galaxy S10+ comes equipped with stereo speakers which sound pretty damn good. They get quite loud, too, which is impressive considering the size of the speaker is quite small on top of the device. Samsung did a good job on audio with this phone, especially with the inclusion of Dolby Atmos optimizations.
Girlfriend Impressions - "Oh, this is really heavy, but feels premium. The fingerprint reader is cool. Three cameras? Doesn't the Pixel only have one? That's cool. The display is really nice and I like the cutout."
Ultrasonic Fingerprint Reader - I didn't feel it necessary to dedicate an entire section to a fingerprint reader, so I'll just say, I love it. It's extremely fast, works even if your fingers are wet, and doesn't require a massive light to be shining in order to work. OnePlus, use this tech instead of your optical reader, please.

Price and Availability

This is not a cheap phone. My model, the 8GB RAM + 512GB storage model in ceramic white, costs $1249. For the 12GB + 1TB option, you're looking at a whopping $1599. Ouch! However, if you want just an entry level Galaxy S10+, the price is $999, which still has 128GB of storage. That doesn't seem like a bad deal, but that may only be because people are now spending way more on phones than we used to just a few years ago. Of course, a standard Galaxy S10 starts at $899, which is also tempting. The only thing you'll miss out on if you don't get the S10+ is a larger display with less PPI, larger battery, and the front-facing depth sensor camera. Everything else is basically the same. Buy Galaxy S10

Videos

Unboxing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDfmGXdxfH8 First 10 Things to Do https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKJs84P4L2Q Tips & Tricks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2J3FEZ13y8

Gallery

The Verdict

If someone asked me what phone they should buy right now, I'd have to go with the Galaxy S10 or S10+. My only real concern, not including the slight camera hiccups I ran into, would be updates. Samsung has done a somewhat decent job updating the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy Note 9 to Pie, but it could still be better. If you value the latest and greatest version of Android, I'd recommend a Pixel. However, this phone is just too damn nice not to recommend. The hardware is gorgeous, the cameras are very good in the right conditions, and Samsung's software is now cool to use. I can't think of a better tenth anniversary device Samsung could have created because this phone sets the bar for all of 2019 and beyond.

Fearing the Worst, Huawei Ready With "Plan B" Should It be Banned From Using Android

Tim — Thu, 14 Mar 2019 14:35:54 +0000

If you haven't been following the news, tensions between Huawei and the US are high. Should things get real ugly, and Huawei is banned from using Google's Android OS on its smartphones or Windows on its computers, the company already has backup operating systems in place. Speaking to Die Welt, Huawei executive Richard Yu says, "We have prepared our own operating system, if it turns out we can no longer use these systems, we will be ready and have our plan B." According to reports all the way from 2012, Huawei began working on backup systems when the US opened an investigation into both Huawei and ZTE. In the US, Huawei would have zero chance without the Android OS. However, in other markets, it may not be the end of the world for its smartphone business. After all, they do make their own smartphone processors. For PCs, though, Huawei uses Intel silicon, and if a ban were to take place, similar to how it did for ZTE, Huawei would need to look elsewhere for its laptop-grade processors. Either way, any type of ban is bad for business. Our hope is that this won't ever happen. While it sucks not really having Huawei as an option in the US, it'd be even worse if the company was forced off of Android altogether. // The Verge | Die Welt

Need a Free Wear OS Watch Face? Mobvoi's TicWatch Faces Now Available

Kellen — Thu, 14 Mar 2019 13:54:29 +0000

A number of Mobvoi's TicWatch watch faces are now on Google Play for you to install on your non-Mobvoi Wear OS watch. All are free too, in case you were hesitating at even looking. Their line-up of watch faces has been included throughout a handful of their watches, from the original TicWatch S to the newest members, like the TicWatch Pro and C2. There are some faces with a colorful attitude, while others try to take on a more traditional watch aesthetic. To install, hit up the link below and browse through them all. If your watch is compatible, it'll tell you right away.

Google Play Link

DEAL: US Unlocked Galaxy Note 9 Down to $719 at Amazon ($280 Off)

Kellen — Thu, 14 Mar 2019 11:59:11 +0000

Since the Galaxy S10 family is readily available, we're expecting good deals on the Galaxy Note 9 to show up often. Today, we've got just that with a deal on the US unlocked Galaxy Note 9 that drops the price to $719.46 at Amazon. This is the 128GB model in black that's $719, which is a $280 price reduction. The purple and blue models are discounted too, just not to the black's level. The 512GB models are $100 off as well. Should you buy a Note 9 knowing that the Galaxy S10 is available and that the Galaxy Note 10 is likely coming later this year? Sure, why not? It's a great phone. In fact, we called it "a hell of a phone" in our review. Our opinion on it hasn't changed seven months later. Prime shipping is available. Have at it!

Amazon Deal Link

DEAL: Pixel 3 and 3 XL Listed at $200 Off on Google Store, Easiest Way to Get Android Q

Tim — Thu, 14 Mar 2019 10:00:52 +0000

Should you not currently own a Pixel, there's no way for you to personally experience Android Q at the moment. If being on the front lines of Android development excites you, let's face it, you'll need a Pixel. Thankfully, Google is hosting a solid $200 off sale on both the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL right now, bringing a base Pixel 3 down to just $599. At $200 off, the Pixel 3 XL is $699. Once you have the Pixel 3 in-hand, getting Android Q up and running is crazy easy. Simply visit the Android Beta Program website, enroll your device, then await the OTA. Easy! Even if you don't want to run the Android Q beta, with a Pixel 3 in your pocket, you'll still be one of the first to get Android Q once it's released to the public later this year. You can't argue with that. Follow the link below to get that Pixel/Android Q goodness. Google Store Link

Android Q: A List of Some of the Other Little New Changes

Kellen — Thu, 14 Mar 2019 08:46:52 +0000

Android Q was released yesterday, and while it very much feels like Android 9.1 instead of what should be Android 10.0, there are a bunch of little tweaks that Google has made to their operating system that are slowly being discovered. We covered most of the big stuff in our first look video yesterday, but below you'll find the little things that long-time Google phones owners might notice as they take on Q on the daily.

Always-on display now shows the song that's playing on your phone and the battery percentage has moved to the top right. Cool.

You can share and join WiFi networks with QR codes now. Neat.

Battery Saver toggles full dark mode, but you probably shouldn't run Battery Saver all the time. Awesome.

You can turn on full dark mode with an adb command, though. To do, thanks to the folks at XDA, do the following:

Enable Dark Mode: adb shell settings put secure ui_night_mode 2 Disable Dark Mode: adb shell settings put secure ui_night_mode 1

Radical.

The new file manager UI is cleaner. Clean.

Long-pressing notifications gives you bigger, better options. Fun.

This notification bell that shows your most recent ding is great. How great. (9to5Google)

The desktop mode I mentioned yesterday is buried and looks like this for now, according to XDA. Superb.

Native screen recording is built-in, but it's kinda hidden and looks half-baked. Dope. (Android Police)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4n_BFuaDkE To find it, enable Developer options and then look for it within "Feature flags" as "settings_screenrecord_long_press." To screen record, you'll then long-press the power button, then long-press on the Screenshot option to fire open the screen record feature.

Long-pressing the power button shows an Emergency button. Nice.

If we find more, we'll update this here post.

Microsoft Bringing Xbox Live to Android for Parties, Messaging, and Achievements

Tim — Thu, 14 Mar 2019 08:37:07 +0000

Unveiled for GDC, Microsoft is bringing Xbox Live to Android by way of a new SDK. In doing so, Xbox Live has the potential of reaching billions of people across the globe, though, app developers will need a good reason to include it. According to The Verge who was on hand for the announcement, Xbox Live for Android will offer developers the ability to build party systems, messaging, Xbox achievements, Microsoft sign-in, as well as cloud saves into mobile games. We aren't really getting a sense for why this is cool or necessary at the moment, but I can see it being helpful in a few cases. For example, if you're playing a mobile game with a friend and the two of you aren't in the same room together, a developer could utilize this SDK to include a party chat feature, allowing you two to talk about the game in real-time. That might be fun. We'll have to wait and see if this gets adopted by any developers. // The Verge

Stardew Valley Available for Android, Priced at $7.99

Tim — Wed, 13 Mar 2019 20:09:31 +0000

Stardew Valley is now available for Android! Priced at $7.99, this is the same Stardew Valley you know and love for PC, an open-ended farming RPG. To be honest, I've never played the game, only because I don't do much PC gaming myself. However, with it now on Android and the app's mobile-specific features like auto-save and different control options, I'll give it a whirl. The game does have a perfect 10/10 rating on Steam, so I assume it's awesome. Follow the link below to download. Google Play Link ($7.99) https://youtu.be/pHUqhYslji4 Cheers Michael!

Google Provides Android Q Update Timeline, Next Beta Set for Early April

Tim — Wed, 13 Mar 2019 15:52:22 +0000

Google has provided its official update timeline for Android Q, similar to what it's done with previous versions of Android. For Android Q, not much is different. We can expect Beta 2 in the early parts of April, followed by Beta 3 in May and Beta 4 in June. For Beta 5 and Beta 6, Google simply says Q3, followed by the Final Release. If I was a betting man, we can expect May's Beta 3 to release around Google I/O, which is scheduled for May 7-9.

Timeline Milestones

Beta 1 (initial release, beta)
Beta 2 (incremental update, beta)
Beta 3 (incremental update, beta)
Beta 4 (final APIs and official SDK, Play publishing, beta)
Beta 5 (release candidate for testing)
Beta 6 (release candidate for final testing)
Final release to AOSP and ecosystem

There you have it. Mark the calendars. // Android Developers

Video: Android Q Beta First Look!

Tim — Wed, 13 Mar 2019 15:04:48 +0000

We have Android Q up and running in the office! In the video below, let's go over what's new, shall we? As we already covered in our writeup, Android Q seems very focused on privacy. On Q, you'll see a new pop-up for location access for applications. Beyond that, there are many other things, but it's mostly for developers right now. We probably won't see a lot more significant features until we get a few builds into Android Q. If you're curious about what Android Q is looking like before you flash or have a phone that isn't compatible, be sure to watch the video!

Get Android Q on Your Pixel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOCCNI6rZ_k

Report: Google Pulling Engineers, Managers From Tablet and Laptop Hardware Teams

Tim — Wed, 13 Mar 2019 14:48:56 +0000

According to a report from Business Insider, Google is pulling employees from their laptop and tablet hardware teams, placing them on other projects as the company addresses "roadmap cutbacks." The move is expected to affect dozens of employees, ranging from hardware engineers to program managers. Google's move may be related to feedback it's received for its Pixel Slate and Pixelbook releases. No tablet or laptop Google released recently has received overly positive reviews, so it's entirely possible Google is simply focusing its assets elsewhere. As for its software teams and Chrome OS in particular, none of those employees seem to have been affected by this move. // Business Insider

What's New in Android Q: Foldable Phone Support, Better Privacy Controls, and More

Tim — Wed, 13 Mar 2019 12:40:16 +0000

Android Q is officially available for Pixel devices starting today, and while we're busy flashing it and preparing to deliver all of the stuff you need to know about, we'd like to take this time to outline specifically what Google mentions in its own release notes. For starters, there is an Android Q beta program that any Pixel through Pixel 3 owner can partake in. As we've discovered in the past, initial builds of new Android versions can have various issues, so we recommend not flashing this software onto your daily driver.

While Google has yet to announce many of the details that make Android Q the next best thing for consumers, which will likely come as we get deeper into its development, there are a few key things that are new for developers. After all, this is a developer preview. As described, Android Q supports foldable displays, offers improved biometric authentication dialogs, support for peer-to-peer connections, WiFi Easy Connect, native monochrome camera support, has a new Dynamic Depth Format for storing depth data for an image, as well as Autofill improvements.

Android Q also introduces Settings Panels, a new API that allows apps to show system settings to users inside of an application. This will prevent users from needing to go into Settings to change things like NFC or mobile data in order to use an app. For privacy, Android Q will offer a new location access setting for individual apps. Right now, when you grant an app location access, there is no quick on/off toggle for when the app isn't being used. In Android Q, users can limit apps to only pull location data while the app is in use.

If you're an end user, some of this stuff won't be very exciting. However, if you are a developer, it's time to get to work. Be sure to check out the full list of changes by following the below links.

Android Beta Program

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOCCNI6rZ_k // Android Developers [2]

First Android Q Beta Now Available for Pixel, Pixel 2, and Pixel 3 Phones!

Kellen — Wed, 13 Mar 2019 12:17:34 +0000

The first Android Q beta is now available! If you own a Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, Pixel 3, or Pixel 3 XL, you can jump on this new goodness right now. Of course, being the first preview, it's probably not stable and you should consider holding off until a more stable beta version shows up in a couple of months, likely at Google I/O. Unlike previous years, Google has gone beta out of the gate rather than developer preview. That means you can sign-up pretty easily at the Android Beta site (live soon, we think), allowing you to grab an over-the-air (OTA) update to Q rather than deal with factory images. You can download the beta 1 images right here. Instructions on how to flash a factory image can be found here.

Android Q Beta 1 Release Notes

Date: March 2019 Build: QPP1.190205.018.b4 (Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL) Emulator support: x86 (32/64-bit) Security patch level: March 2019 Google Play services: 12.4.46 API diff: API 28 → Beta1

More info on Android Q here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOCCNI6rZ_k

Did the Android Q Preview Release Today? (Updated)

Kellen — Wed, 13 Mar 2019 11:19:03 +0000

UPDATE 2: It's here!

UPDATE: It's coming any minute!

No.

There were rumors. There were bug trackers. There were fake screenshots on reddit. There was last year, when the Android P Developer Preview 1 dropped on an early Wednesday in March. None of that led to today having the Android Q Developer Preview 1 drop on us today. Well, it hasn't dropped yet! Sorry. I wanted it too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOCCNI6rZ_k

Google's Lookout Helps Visually Impaired Users Identify Things Using 'Lens' Tech

Tim — Wed, 13 Mar 2019 10:40:32 +0000

This week, Google launched Lookout, a standalone app for owners of the Pixel, Pixel 2, and Pixel 3 smartphones. With it, blind or visually impaired users can have their smartphone identify objects or read text to them, using computer vision and Google Lens technologies. To give you an example, Lookout can be most helpful when someone with impaired vision enters a new space. The phone can recognize objects around it, then report that information to the phone owner. Lookout tells you about people, text, objects, and much more as you move through a space using spoken feedback, earcons, and other signals. Google does mention that, "As with any new technology, Lookout will not always be 100 percent perfect." Because of this, they are looking for feedback from users, so if you have some after using the app, send it here. You can download Lookout to your own Pixel phone by following the link below. Google Play Link // Google

Carmen Sandiego is Hiding in Google Earth, Your Mission is to Find Her

Tim — Wed, 13 Mar 2019 08:38:37 +0000

I grew up on Carmen Sandiego and it's possible that I have her to thank for my generally decent geography skills. Announced this week, Carmen Sandiego is now hiding inside of Google Earth, a playable game for anyone with access to the app via Chrome, Android, and iOS. As Google mentions, this is no knockoff Sandiego title. This is the real deal, with The Crown Jewels Caper being only the first in a whole Carmen Sandiego series that is planned.

Created in collaboration with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, the home of Carmen Sandiego, our game is an homage to the original. It’s for all those gumshoes who grew up with the chase, and for the next generation feeling that geography itch for the first time.

If you never played Carmen Sandiego, you play as a detective on a global manhunt. During your investigation, you will interview witnesses who provide geography-related clues. Using those clues, you'll track down Sandiego and typically recover stolen property.

Follow the links below to play the game on either Chrome, Android, or iOS. Play Here: Chrome | Android | iOS // Google

We Know Verizon's First 5G Cities, First Plan Pricing, and Launch Date

Kellen — Wed, 13 Mar 2019 07:36:35 +0000

Verizon finally revealed its first 5G cities this morning, as well as the initial pricing that will get your compatible phone on that new network. As you may have guessed, they are starting the rollout off slowly with a ramp-up to more markets coming later this year. So what are Verizon's first 5G markets? Chicago and Minneapolis. Both will see Verizon 5G Mobility (that's the fancy name for Big Red's mobile 5G servcice) go live on April 11 in select areas. The plan is still to launch Verizon 5G in 30 cities by the end of 2019. In Chicago, that will mean 5G service in The Loop, Magnificent Mile, The Gold Coast, River North, and Old Town. As someone not from Chicago, you'll have to tell me if that's a big area or not. For Minneapolis, you are looking at 5G in Downtown West, Downtown East, and Elliot Park. Again, no idea if that's a big area or not. Verizon did say that they plan to "rapidly expand," though.

RELATED: List of all US 5G cities by carrier

How much will Verizon 5G service cost? For now, 5G Mobility is a $10 add-on feature. As long as you have one of Verizon's unlimited plans (Go, Beyond, or Above Unlimited), you can pay $10/mo and get access to 5G. Of course, you'll need a compatible phone and there are none at this point. That will change soon with the Moto Z3 and its 5G Moto Mod. Verizon says that users who add the $10 5G service will get unlimited data when on 5G with no limits or de-prioritization. Verizon is waiving the $10 fee for the first 3 months too. What happens if you aren't in a 5G area? No big deal - you'll just fallback to Verizon's 4G LTE network. What are Verizon's 5G devices? For now, the Moto Z3 and its 5G Moto Mod. If you want one, the 5G Moto Mod will go up for pre-order on March 14 for $50. If you don't pre-order, the retail price is $349 when it arrives April 11. Should you care enough about Verizon 5G, live in Minneapolis or Chicago, or already own a Moto Z3, that's not a bad pre-order deal. I'm not sure anyone should ever pay $349 for a 5G Moto Mod brick. To start the Moto Z3 with a 5G Moto Mod attached is the only device that can connect to Verizon's 5G network. Later in the year, Verizon will launch the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G too, but we don't have timing for release on that. Live in a Verizon 5G Home area and want to get busy with the 5G Moto Mod? Sorry. Verizon's 5G Mobility and 5G Home network are two different technologies that don't play nicely together. For now, 5G Mobility is only in Chicago and Minneapolis. If you are in a 5G Home area (LA, Houston, Sacramento, or Indianapolis), you are out of luck. You ready for some 5G action? More info on Verizon 5G Mobility [FAQ] // Verizon

20+ Galaxy S10, S10+, & S10e Tips and Tricks!

Kellen — Tue, 12 Mar 2019 15:48:45 +0000

I hope you have a drink and snack ready, because our Samsung Galaxy S10 tips and tricks video is here and it's insanely long. This might be our longest, most in-depth Samsung software tour to date. In this video, we cover all of the Galaxy S10 models, with a focus on the Galaxy S10+ (unboxing) and Galaxy S10e (unboxing). Since the software experience of One UI is so similar between the three S10 family members, this should cover you no matter which model you own. You'll see everything in this video from getting lock screen and biometrics setup going to which camera features are worth acknowledging. You'll also find home screen customization tips, how to use the new One UI app switcher, which of the device are options you should utilize, and whether or not Bixby Routines are useful (hint: they are). Again, this is a big video, so take your time with it. It covers a lot - almost everything your Galaxy S10 can do. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2J3FEZ13y8

Google Drive's Redesign Has Arrived for Android and iOS

Tim — Tue, 12 Mar 2019 14:44:44 +0000

A big redesign for Google Drive has arrived, putting its look in line with other Google apps like Gmail. As you'll quickly discover, there is heavy usage of white, with the only color coming from documents and document format types. Google highlights a new Home tab, bottom navigation buttons, expanded search bar, as well as separated views for My Drive and Team Drives. Users will also see a Computers tab if they have backed up content from a local machine to their account. Google mentions the update will be available for iOS users first on March 12, followed by an Android release on March 18. Google Play Link // Google

Windows 10 Preview Build Supports Wireless Android Mirroring

Tim — Tue, 12 Mar 2019 13:07:17 +0000

Announced today, a new Windows 10 preview build (Build 18356 - 19H1) supports wireless Android screen mirroring for select devices, allowing you to control your smartphone from your computer. This feature allows you to run all of your phone's apps from the comfort of your Windows 10 machine, though, there are a few known issues listed. According to the list, touch input doesn't work yet, there is no audio link between the Android phone and Windows device, and some apps/games do not support mouse interactions (e.g. Pokémon Go, Merge Dragons, Feedly). As for which Android devices are currently supported, we only see Galaxy S8/S8+ and Galaxy S9/S9+ listed. That list can still grow. And if you're curious about which Windows machines will support this, here's your answer.

The new phone screen feature is initially only compatible with a limited set of devices. Surface Go will be the first device in the Surface lineup to preview this feature. We will continue to expand the list of devices over time for both the PC and phone.

Pretty cool, right? // Windows

Google Hypes Its "Vision for the Future of Gaming" With GDC Teaser

Tim — Tue, 12 Mar 2019 11:36:25 +0000

GDC. 2019. Future. Gaming. Googley. Hype. This morning, Google is teasing its upcoming announcement at GDC 2019 on March 19 with a short video that hypes its "vision for the future of gaming." Is it VR? Is it Chrome-based gaming via the cloud? We still don't actually know. All we have are clues from what Google has already provided in the form of Project Stream and a report that said Google may be looking to launch its own gaming console. Regardless, we're pretty excited to see what Google has in store. Google's event is scheduled to take place on March 19 at 10AM Pacific. // Google

DEAL: Get $100 Off Any Second-Gen Eero WiFi System, Starting at $199 (Today Only!)

Tim — Tue, 12 Mar 2019 11:19:06 +0000

It appears that to celebrate the company's recent acquisition by Amazon, eero is offering $100 off its entire second-generation lineup of WiFi systems for today only. At $100 off, the entry into this lineup will cost you just $199, down from its usual $299 price, which includes 1 eero and 1 eero Beacon. The price goes up from there, all the way up to $399 for 3 eero units. You can find Amazon links below to score the savings.

Amazon Links

Spotify Premium Subscriptions Now Include Free Hulu

Tim — Tue, 12 Mar 2019 10:33:02 +0000

An offer that is running for a limited time or while supplies last will net you free access to Hulu (ad-supported) should you have or create a Spotify Premium account. If you already have Hulu (ad-supported) with no add-ons, but no Spotify, you can essentially port your Hulu account to Spotify and get both services for the price of just $9.99/month, instead of a separated total of $15.98/month. This is solid. Most people hoping to score this offer will be eligible, but some people, such as those on specific Trial plans, may not be. If you're on a Student plan or Family plan, you are not eligible. I highly recommend you look at the complete Eligibility terms listed here to see if you're eligible. Most importantly, though, if you already have Spotify Premium or sign-up for a new account, you get Hulu. Get that free Hulu by following the link below.

Spotify Link

SHIELD TV Upgrade 7.2.3 Offers Support for Wired Xbox Elite Controller, More

Tim — Tue, 12 Mar 2019 09:02:28 +0000

NVIDIA is pushing a new upgrade to the SHIELD TV this week, labeled as 7.2.3. Inside, owners will find "new or upgraded apps" including NCAA March Madness (good timing!), Philo TV, Bleacher Report Live, and NHL. You will also find a few new games via GeForce NOW, such as Sunset Overdrive, FrostRunner, and Metro Exodus. The changelog lists a new option to restart the device's WiFi service, plus support for a wired Xbox Elite controller. Nice. Go grab that update, SHIELD owners. What's New

Adds the option to restart Wi-Fi service if wireless APs aren’t visible (Settings > Network > Restart Wi-Fi)
Improves customizability for HDMI-CEC Power controls
Adds support for the wired XBOX Elite controller

// NVIDIA

Google Allo Says "Goodbye" Today

Kellen — Tue, 12 Mar 2019 08:08:13 +0000

Google Allo is done, friends. This is it. Today is the last day for you to use Google Allo. Since none of you ever used it, this shouldn't be a painful few hours of final moments. However, if you did use it that one time when it first launched and want to back up that test conversation and sticker share, you can export your chats. Google has instructions for doing so here. Sorry if you want more on the background of Allo and why it failed or died, but I have no energy for such things. Allo was a bad and flawed product from day 1 that never saw the improvements it would need to succeed. Google sucks at messaging 6 out of the 7 days in a week, so this shouldn't surprise you. Hangouts is still alive and grindin', though! For now. // Google

Verizon Galaxy Note 9 Android Pie Update is Ready! (Updated)

Kellen — Mon, 11 Mar 2019 23:37:11 +0000

After getting off to a hot start to 2019 by updating the Galaxy S9 line to Android Pie and receiving praise from us, Samsung has slipped a bit in its rollout of Galaxy Note 9 Pie updates. AT&T's model grabbed Pie first at the end of January, followed by Sprint's Note 9 a few days later, which seemed pretty quick. But it then took almost a month for T-Mobile's to hit and Verizon has been silent on its plans.

UPDATE: Unlocked and US Cellular units getting the Pie/One UI update too!

Tonight, Verizon posted its Galaxy Note 9 Pie update details, with rollout scheduled to start March 12. The update will arrive as build PPR1.180610.011.N960USQU1CSB3 with the February Android patch on board. Verizon didn't say how big the update is, but previous Android Pie updates have been around 2GB in size. You should expect that here. What's new in Android Pie on the Note 9? As Verizon notes, you get Pie's adaptive battery, adaptive display, and optional gesture navigation. The biggest change, though, is Samsung's new One UI, which is their best software skin to date. I'd try to tell you about it, but you should just watch the video below that walks you through a number of the changes. To grab the Note 9 Pie update from Verizon, head into Settings>System update. // Verizon

All Mentions of Upcoming Modules for Hydrogen One Stripped From RED's Website (Updated)

Tim — Mon, 11 Mar 2019 14:55:21 +0000

It appears that all mentions of modules for the Hydrogen One that were expected to launch this year have been removed from RED's website. What does that mean? Well, it could mean a couple of things, most notably and better for headlines being that RED has cancelled them. But it could also mean RED is simply updating its website and everything is going according to plan. Without confirmation from RED, there's no way of knowing for sure. First noticed by a reddit user, then confirmed by using Wayback Machine, RED's website previously listed modules for expandable storage, the camera, and a battery pack. We've also written about one of RED's supposed modules for the device, some type of 3D camera thing. We have reached out to RED directly concerning the module mentions being removed and will update this post when/if we hear back. Update: Jim Jannard has taken to his forums to announce the following.

Some have noticed that we have taken down the images of the 2D module from our website. The reason for that is because we are currently in the middle of radically changing the HYDROGEN program. As I have said before, everything can and will change. A series of obstacles and then new discoveries have given us the opportunity to significantly improve the entire program, not only for HYDROGEN but also for RED. The changes create new opportunities to better satisfy the professional image capture customers as well as the casual consumer for the HYDROGEN program. The RED team, led by Jarred Land, as of now will now be fully in charge of the professional image capture program for HYDROGEN and the HYDROGEN team is fully engaged on the new in-device image capture system. Both are major advancements to what was previously posted. We are excited to share details as soon as we file the patents and lock down the changes and are all pretty excited about what is coming… As a side note… all HYDROGEN customers will be “obsolescence obsolete” when buying into the new professional image capture program.

// 9to5Google | reddit

HTC Delivers Android Pie Update Status, Expects Rollout in Q2

Tim — Mon, 11 Mar 2019 13:48:56 +0000

Owners of the HTC U11, U11+, and U12+, listen up because this affects you. HTC has posted an update concerning rollout timing of its Android Pie update, stating that it expects the update to begin shipping in Q2 of this year. Naturally, HTC goes on to say that, "Exact timing defers to operators' availabilities in different countries." As soon as these updates begin, we'll let you know. Back in August of 2018, HTC announced that all three of the aforementioned devices would receive Pie at some point, as well as the U11 Life (Android One device). They actually said, "We can't wait to know what you think of Google's freshest slice of Android!" That was August, people. Owners are still waiting in March, 2019 for even a hint of when Pie is coming. If you feel like getting a little depressed, check out the replies to the below tweet. It's a lot of disappointed HTC owners who are either sick of waiting or people who have already switched because HTC hasn't shown grown commitment to timely updates. https://twitter.com/htc/status/1105203212477292547

Galaxy S10e: Some of Its Cool Sh*t You May Not Know About

Kellen — Mon, 11 Mar 2019 13:06:39 +0000

I'm really liking the Samsung Galaxy S10e. Outside of an issue this weekend, it's a phone I could see myself using for quite some time. It's a phone I like, not just because of the greatly improved Samsung One UI, it's snappy performance, and the overall size and design, but it has a bunch of little things I've stumbled upon that are helping it standout. I was initially going to write a lengthy post to describe all those things only to realize that some of this stuff is probably better off being shown on video. So here we are - another Galaxy S10e video for you to consume. What are some of the cool features that the Galaxy S10e has? For one, it's fingerprint reader is stupid fast and you get to see that in this video. Unlike the S10 and S10+, it lacks the in-display fingerprint reader and instead has one embedded in its side power button. It works so, so well. I also talk about its impressive brightness range from ultra dark to bright, the little swipe gesture on the home button to quickly switch apps, and how to enable floaty notification bubbles. I show off lock screen notification customizations too, as well as scheduling dark mode and the fun animation around the camera punchout as it tries to scan your face.

RELATED: First 10 things to do with your Galaxy S10e

The Galaxy S10e is pretty cool. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DPr5eLVH4U

Pushbullet Revamps Notification Experience With Direct Replies and Bundles

Tim — Mon, 11 Mar 2019 12:12:56 +0000

Something weird, but exciting is happening. Pushbullet development, which seemed pretty dead the last year or so, is making big moves in 2019. Earlier this year, Pushbullet introduced a massive redesign, and now this week, the app is announcing bundled notifications and direct reply to notifications. It's like an entirely new Pushbullet experience from the ground up and we're loving it. This notification revamp makes a lot of sense. According to Pushbullet, the app in total sends out a huge amount of notifications to many users, and because of this, they wanted to make the notification experience better. With this change, there is added support for bundled notifications, as well as notifications for pushes from Pushbullet Channels, which was a highly requested feature. Directly Reply, available in many other apps, allows you to respond to notifications without ever having to leave the notification bar. And lastly, Pushbullet has added system toggle options for Notification Mirroring and SMS sync. Now you can enable and disable these features quickly. These changes are all available inside of the Pushbullet beta, downloadable here. // Pushbullet

Harry Potter: Wizards Unite Up for Pre-Registration on Google Play

Tim — Mon, 11 Mar 2019 10:23:14 +0000

The moment I know many of you have been waiting for... isn't here just yet. I'm referring to the launch of Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, the highly anticipated AR game that will basically be Pokemon GO, but Harry Potter. Instead of an actual launch or a solid launch date, the developers behind the game have put the title up for pre-registration on Google Play, which isn't even a great indication as to when it will launch. For now, all we know is some time this year. However, we do have a bit of good news in the form of actual gameplay footage. The footage is in GIF format and sadly not embeddable on this site, but it's better than nothing. To view it, look here. And yes, it pretty much confirms that this game will be very much like Pokemon GO, with folks running around in the real world doing magic battles and capturing magical creatures and items. Pre-registering on Google Play means you'll be alerted as soon as the game is available for download. If you don't register, don't worry, we'll alert you regardless.

Google Play Link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kID-nSsKAWM // Wizards Unite

Galaxy S10+: First 10 Things to Do!

Tim — Mon, 11 Mar 2019 08:37:50 +0000

We already unboxed the Galaxy S10+, so now it's time to dive in and provide you with the First 10 Things to Do. If you've been around Droid Life for a while, you may already know that after this video comes the Tips & Tricks, then the complete review. How exciting. In this video we go over mastering device security (fingerprints and facial recognition), customizing the look of Samsung's One UI software, scheduling things like Do Not Disturb and the Blue Light Filter, plus plenty more. The video is somewhat lengthy, so grab popcorn and your phone, and let's get to it. What's one of the first things you do when setting up a new phone?

Buy Samsung Galaxy S10e, Galaxy S10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKJs84P4L2Q

T-Mobile OnePlus 6T Grabs Update, Now Supports RCS

Kellen — Mon, 11 Mar 2019 08:05:44 +0000

The OnePlus 6T has been added to the list of RCS-supported devices on T-Mobile as of this past weekend. The support arrives thanks to an update that includes the January security patch too. With RCS support, the OnePlus 6T joins a number of T-Mobile phones that can send more advanced messages, most of which are Samsung phones. Of course, the beauty of RCS is the cross-network support that gives you better group chats, read receipts, and the ability to send bigger media files on not just T-Mobile. For example, your OnePlus 6T can have RCS conversations with the Verizon Pixel 3. That's neat, right?

UPDATE: Apparently, as has been pointed out in the comments, T-Mobile is updating its phones to support Universal Profile 1.0, but that doesn't necessarily mean they can message properly with UP 1.0 across carriers as they are supposed to. That's dumb and only the latest illustration of why Universal Profile 1.0 and RCS are a fun theory on messaging that will take years and years and years to ever properly work. Messaging on Android sucks.

Not much else is included in the update, but the software does bring your OnePlus 6T to OyxgenOS 9.0.4. It includes IR94 calling too. To check for it, head into Settings on your phone. // T-Mobile

Anker's 10W Fast Wireless Charger at $12.99 is Here for Your New Galaxy S10

Kellen — Fri, 08 Mar 2019 14:16:51 +0000

The Anker 10W Fast Wireless Charging Pad that seems to hit new discounts every other week, is available at $12.99 once again, thanks to an extra $1 off coupon. This particular wireless charger will fast wireless charge most Samsung phones, like the new Galaxy S10, as well as the older Galaxy Note 9, S9, S8, and Note 8. If it's a Samsung phone with fast wireless charging, this pad will work well with it. All you'll need to do is use your Samsung charging adapter for power, since this charging pad only comes with a USB cable. To get the price down to $12.99, make sure you apply the $1.00 off coupon from the product page at the link below. Prime shipping is included!

Buy Anker 10W Fast Wireless Charger ($12.99)

Galaxy S10 Owners Treated to 6 Months of Spotify Premium, 4 Months of YouTube Premium

Tim — Fri, 08 Mar 2019 14:06:51 +0000

Should you have picked up a Galaxy S10 this week, you'll be happy to hear that eligible owners are entitled to six free months of Spotify Premium and four free months of YouTube Premium. You'll need to be a new user to claim either of these offers, but for those folks, this is a nice treat. With Spotify Premium, you'll enjoy an ad-free experience, as well as access to higher quality tunes. With YouTube Premium, you get ad-free videos, ability to download videos, background playback, YouTube Music access, plus YouTube Originals content. To claim the six months of Spotify, you'll need to open the pre-installed Spotify app on your new Galaxy phone. From there, setup your account and head to the Premium section where you should see the promotion. For YouTube Premium, follow this link to get your Galaxy phone enrolled for the four free months. // Spotify | YouTube

Podcast: It's Galaxy S10 Day!

Kellen — Fri, 08 Mar 2019 09:55:20 +0000

On this episode of the Droid Life Show, we're celebrating Samsung Galaxy S10 launch day! We've got units on units in house, are working up to those S10 reviews, and have all sorts of reactions now that we've spent some time with them all. It should be a good show for those considering a Galaxy S10. After we get done with the S10, we'll dive into the March Android security patch, the first OnePlus 7 renders, T-Mobile's home internet, and if Google Duplex is available to you (it probably is). Trivia is back, this week with prizes once again brought to you by AUKEY! We've got five (5) of these AUKEY dual-port USB wall chargers. Be sure to keep up with them on social channels:

We’ll be live at 12:00PM Pacific (3PM Eastern).

Verizon Pixel 3 is so Cheap Right Now, Up to $450 Off

Kellen — Fri, 08 Mar 2019 09:28:32 +0000

The Google Pixel 3 on Verizon is currently sitting at some of the lowest prices we've seen depending on where you might try and buy it from. Target will give you $450 off, while Verizon has $400 and $300 discounts. Best Buy has a deal too, though it's not as good as others unless they do their price matching thing.

Target Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL Deal

This is the best deal, because it's $450 off and both the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL are eligible. Target lists the deal for both new lines and upgrades, but their wording is slightly weird on the upgrades. Their deal details say the upgrade discount "requires new line of service," but that doesn't make much sense. You'll have to inquire with Target on that. All deals do require a device payment plan, though.

UPDATE: A reader in the comments confirmed that you don't need a new line to upgrade and get the $450 off at Target. He was also able to stack Verizon's $300 off credits and walk away with a Pixel 3 for $50. Hit those comments up for more on that deal.

At $450 off, you can grab a Pixel 3 64GB for $349.99 ($14.59/mo for 24 months) or a Pixel 3 XL 64GB for $449.99 ($18.75/mo for 24 months). Target Links: Pixel 3 | Pixel 3 XL

Verizon Pixel 3, Pixel 2 XL Deal

Verizon's deal is pretty straight forward, but is only on the Pixel 3. There is a Pixel 2 XL 50% off deal too, so no, that isn't a typo above. The Pixel 3 deal is $400 off for new lines or $300 off for upgrades. Both have to be on a device payment plan and the discount is applied over 24 months as a bill credit. For the Pixel 2 XL, you can get a $475 discount if you buy the phone with a device payment plan on a new line. Verizon Links: Pixel 3 | Pixel 2 XL

Best Buy Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL Deal

Best Buy's deal is the smallest discount, but is $100 off both Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL phones. With this one, if you want to try for a bigger discount, you'll have to see if they'll price match. Best Buy Links: Pixel 3 | Pixel 3 XL I know the Galaxy S10 family just launched, but it's not a bad day to buy a Pixel 3. Cheers Nico!

Google Assistant Smart Displays Now With Less "Hey, Google!" Screaming

Kellen — Fri, 08 Mar 2019 08:36:31 +0000

Back in June of last year, Google Assistant-powered smart speakers like the Google Home Mini picked up a feature called Continued Conversation. As the name suggests, this new addition allowed you to continue conversations with Google Home for multiple command action without having to repeat the "Hey, Google!" command. That same feature is now available to Assistant-powered Smart Displays. I actually hadn't realized it wasn't available on Smart Displays, but that's great news! Now, when you want to turn up the temperature, fire up a super hot playlist, and ask how badly the Blazers choked to the Thunder last night, you can do so with only a single "Hey, Google." Continued Conversation works by finishing a command and then continuing to listen for more for a few seconds. It's during that later listening period that you get to continue the chat. Make sense? To turn on Continued Conversation, head into Google Assistant Settings→Preferences→Continued Conversation and tap on the toggle. The feature is available on the Google Home Hub (unboxing and tour), Lenovo Smart Display (review), JBL Link View, and LG XBOOM. // Google

DEAL: Samsung's Excellent Galaxy Buds 25% Off at AT&T

Kellen — Fri, 08 Mar 2019 08:05:39 +0000

At Samsung's Galaxy S10 unveiling, they made the Galaxy Buds official, the company's newest take on true wireless earbuds. After a couple of bad releases under the Gear IconX branding, the Galaxy Buds might be the winner we've been waiting for. They also happen to be 25% off at AT&T right now, assuming you can buy them in time. Originally priced a couple of weeks ago at $130, AT&T is hosting a 25% off Samsung accessory sale that will get you into the Galaxy Buds for $97.49. That's a price you may not want to hesitate on. The Galaxy Buds offer up to 13 hours of battery life, thanks to charging using the included case. When out of the case, you should get about 6 hour of use. They are tuned by AKG, give you ambient controls to help you hear the environment around you, feature touch controls, and offer multiple fits. They sound pretty damn good too for true wireless earbuds. I've used a number of true wireless earbuds in recent months (Anker and Mobvoi's AirPods knockoffs) and the Galaxy Buds both fit and sound miles better. They sound and fit so good, I won't be going back to any of my other true wireless buds any time soon. At $100, I'm telling you to buy them - that's how much I've enjoyed them since Samsung handed me a pair at the S10 launch event. Hurry, it appears they are selling out.

Shop Galaxy Buds at AT&T

T-Mobile Shares Tons of Details on Its Home Internet Service, Including Free Router

Kellen — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 14:04:40 +0000

T-Mobile is still trying to convince the US government that it should be allowed to merge with Sprint, leaving our country with three major wireless carriers. Their progress on approval seems to have stalled or slowed some at the moment, so to help pitch the idea, they released a bunch of new details on their upcoming home internet service. Through a company blog post and a filing with the FCC, we know a lot more today than we did when T-Mobile first talked about their home internet service back in September. The biggest part of this pitch still revolves around the idea that the New T-Mobile (T-Mo + Sprint) would be able to offer high-speed internet (100Mbps+) to folks across this nation who do not have many internet choices, if they have any at all. By 2024, if T-Mobile and Sprint can merge and launch "New T-Mobile Home Internet," they think they'll cover half of all US households and be able to sign-up some 9.5 million subscribers. When initially ready ("soon"), T-Mobile's internet service will be available over their 4G LTE network in a pilot program that provides a home router (pictured above) for customers to self install. Rather than setting up an appointment within a 4-hour window and paying for the costs associated with it, like other home internet providers, T-Mobile won't charge you a thing for the router or to get it up and running. All you'll need to do is plug it in and run through a setup process from a dedicated app. Once their 5G network is ready, T-Mobile will upgrade 4G LTE home internet hardware with hardware that can take advantage of their 2.5GHz spectrum and 5G network. The 5G router will be free to customers as well. Not only that, but these routers will have mesh capabilities, to better blanket bigger households. Think Eero or Google WiFi. Another part of today's pitch focused on pricing. As you can imagine, T-Mobile said that they'll offer lower-priced home internet through New T-Mobile. They wouldn't put exact numbers on pricing, only that they'll be "below what in-home broadband providers typically charge today." They tossed out an $80/mo example for those overpaying for other internet service, so we could be looking at prices around there. Look, it all sounds fun. It sounds great like Verizon's 5G Home internet sounds should we get further down the road to a real, mature 5G network. We need more internet choices in this country and I hope that T-Mobile can do what it says it wants to do. But T-Mobile is trying to play this off as if it'll only happen if they are allowed to merge with Sprint. I'm not sure that's 100% true, though we'll just have to see as this merger approval floats along. // T-Mobile

Rest in Pieces Released to Google Play, a Free Nightmare-Filled Swinger Game

Tim — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 12:42:33 +0000

Recently released to Google Play, Rest in Pieces, or just RIP for short, is a swinger game, where you control a porcelain figurine swinging from left to right to avoid obstacles, with the overall objective being to, "save all the poor souls that have been trapped in the dream demons porcelain nightmares." Sounds intense. With each figurine you unlock, there are new characteristics to master. And with new characters comes new nightmares to wake up from. In total, there 15 "souls" to save, as well as 5 nightmares. While you're swinging during a level, make sure to collect the gems to unlock new figurines. The game is free to download and is a solid time waster, with in-app purchases available should you feel the need to spend a buck or two on aesthetic items. Google Play Link https://youtu.be/maHG6JBFhVc

Your Galaxy S10 Pre-Orders are Here: First Reactions?

Kellen — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 12:20:11 +0000

If you went ahead and pre-ordered one of the many Samsung Galaxy S10 models, you more than likely have your phone right now (or will tomorrow). The regular S10, S10+, and S10e from Samsung's store shipped a few days early, with most arriving yesterday. Even the couple of pre-orders we placed showed up as expected. Sooooo, that means you may have had your Galaxy S10 for a solid 24 hours. We'd love to hear those first impressions after your first day with Samsung's latest in pocket. I can tell you that over the past week, I've been incredibly impressed by this S10e. It's exactly the Samsung phone I've been wanting them to make (Go away, curved displays.). I get the feeling that Tim is going to enjoy his ceramic S10+ too. We'll have much more to share on that in our upcoming reviews. How's it going, Galaxy S10 owners?

VIDEO: Galaxy S10+ Unboxing!

Tim — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 10:34:44 +0000

Much like many of you, we received our Galaxy S10+ in the mail this week, so of course, we've got to unbox this puppy. We have a complete unboxing video for you below, and once you have that out of the way, we'll have plenty more coverage for you to consume in the coming days. We went for the White Ceramic color, and oh boy, we are not disappointed in that decision. The phone is gorgeous. As a friendly reminder, if you're still on the fence, you probably only have a little more time to take advantage of Samsung's trade-in program for pre-orders. It's a solid deal, folks.

Order Galaxy S10+

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDfmGXdxfH8

Probably Running Out of Time to Get $550 Off for Trades on Galaxy S10

Kellen — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 09:26:59 +0000

The Samsung Galaxy S10 family arrives in stores tomorrow. At that time, we officially leave the pre-order period and likely many of the best deals and incentives that came with it. Should that happen (and it often does when products are generally available), today may be your last chance to get max dollars for your trade-in. As you know, Samsung is giving up to $550 off your Galaxy S10, S10+, or S10e purchase if you trade-in select phones. They've fully expanded the list to include phones dating back to the Galaxy Note 8 and iPhone 8, so there is a good chance you could get a big discount on a Galaxy S10 today. Even the Pixel 2, Galaxy S8, and iPhone 7 are worth $300-off discounts. After today, Samsung could lower those max trade-in prices to $300 from $550, which would mean those $300-off Pixel 2 prices are likely coming way down too. Their own trade-in pop-up suggests as much. How does Samsung's trade-in program work? You decide which Galaxy S10 to buy and then tell them during the checkout process that you have a phone to trade-in. They'll give you a discount today off the S10 for the value of your trade that you send to them later to confirm. It's pretty great. And don't forget that if you pre-order a regular Galaxy S10 or S10+, you'll still get $130 eCertificate too.

Buy Samsung Galaxy S10, S10+, S10e

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

Samsung's Good Lock App Updated to Work With Android Pie

Kellen — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 08:19:09 +0000

Samsung's Good Lock is an app I'm not sure I've ever used or fully understand, but every time it gets a big update, a whole bunch of Samsung phone owners get really excited. And that's happened today with an update that brings Good Lock to Samsung phones running Android Pie, including the Galaxy Note 9 and Galaxy S9. What is Good Lock? It's a Samsung UI customizer of sorts. With Good Lock installed, you can further install plug-in-like apps to further customize your Samsung phone's lock screen, the quick settings notification panel, and the home screen clock. It allows for one handed use, special Edge lighting effects, routine management in a Tasker-esque way, and more control over sounds that come out of your device. Again, people seem to really love Good Lock and those folks are super excited today because it has been updated to work with Android Pie. Galaxy S10 support might be questionable at the moment. I say that because I've installed it on my S10e and am only getting Good Lock 2018. If you own last year's Samsung phones on Android Pie, you should be good, though. If you are a Good Lock user, feel free to let the kids in the comments know why. Download Samsung Good Lock https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLXpAzkUUwc

Google Can Finally Repair Your Busted Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL

Tim — Wed, 06 Mar 2019 15:23:41 +0000

If you happened to break your Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL and didn't have Preferred Care, you probably found yourself resorting to a 3rd-party repair service. Well, as of this week, months after the phones launched, Google is accepting repair orders via its own repair website. According to Google's repair website, the entire process for fixing and sending your phone back is 7-10 days after they receive it, which is no quick process. However, at least you'll know Google is overseeing the process, should something catastrophic arise. Do note that the language on Google's website still needs to be updated in order to receive Pixel 3 and 3 XL orders, but as soon as that's done (which should be soon), you're good to go.

Start a Repair Order

// Android Police

Google Duplex! Now in 43 States on All Pixel Phones

Kellen — Wed, 06 Mar 2019 12:39:41 +0000

Google Duplex, the Assistant technology that can make phone call reservations for you, is now available on all Pixel phones in 43 states. This is a big expansion, in case that didn't mean much to you. When first launched around November of last year, Pixel owners in select cities (San Francisco, Phoenix, New York, and Atlanta) were able to test out the AI-powered reservation system. As of today, there are only a few US states that aren't in on the fun. You can see the full list of states here. I haven't actually looked to see which are missing outside of Montana, and that's only because I'm from there. I'll leave the rest of that work to you. How does Google Duplex work? You ask the Google Assistant to book a table at a restaurant for however many people are in your party on a certain date and time. It'll respond back to confirm some details before making the call for you. It's both cool and kind of creepy that a bot can perform such tasks for you. Ahhh, the future. In related news, Google did say that they plan to "slowly" bring Duplex to more Android and iOS devices over the "next few weeks." In other words, this won't be a Pixel exclusive for long. Anyone tried out Duplex yet? How'd it go? // Google

iFixit Tears Down the Galaxy S10 Lineup, Finds Self Repairability to be a Nightmare

Tim — Wed, 06 Mar 2019 10:54:27 +0000

We have another teardown from the great folks at iFixit, this time of the Galaxy S10 lineup. While the overall process and end result is mostly the same, Samsung did bake in a couple of new things that we're curious about in the S10 and S10+, most notably the ultrasonic fingerprint reader inside of the display. In the header image above, we can get a clear look at the fingerprint reader that sits right below your phone's front glass. While it looks cool and works really well, that's where the praise stops. According to iFixit, removing the sensor is essentially impossible without damaging it, meaning if you're looking to replace the screen or a malfunctioning sensor, the whole array will need to be replaced. iFixit even asked Samsung for some repair tips, which doesn't happen often.

If Samsung has any repair tips they'd like to share, we're all ears. For now, assume you're going to pay an arm and a leg for a new screen should the sensor malfunction.

iFixit also took exception to how Samsung uses adhesive on its batteries instead of a pull tab. Because of this, removal and replacement of the batteries is much more time consuming and the risk of breaking something is higher. Given the company's movement of Right to Repair, these phones simply don't make things easier should an owner want to try their hand at self repair.

In conclusion, iFixit gives the Galaxy S10 a measly 3 out of 10 for repairability. iFixit produced a snazzy little teardown video that you can watch below, but you can also check out the complete teardown writeup by following the link below that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWrlLu5Q4Dk // iFixit

Report: Your Samsung Galaxy Depreciates at Alarming Rate, -42% in Month One

Tim — Wed, 06 Mar 2019 09:33:23 +0000

You know why we trumpet loudly whenever Samsung or Google is hosting a trade-in program for its new devices? Because without those, and the exceptionally good money those companies offer to buyback its phones, you lose an insane amount of money when attempting to resell your device through 3rd-party options like eBay, Swappa, and God forbid, Craigslist. Much like a car that loses value as soon as you leave the dealership's lot, as soon as you open the box of your new phone, it loses value. In a new report from bankmycell, all phones, but especially Samsung Galaxy phones, lose an insane amount of value during the first month after release. According to its own resale data, the Galaxy S9 base model launched with a price of $720. Within the first month, it lost 41.66% of its initial value. Within nine months, the value was down to $290 (-59.72%). Keep in mind, this number will indeed be different should you have a Plus model or larger storage variant, but from looking over the data, it's always going to be a steep drop as the months go on.

This is not breaking news or shocking by any means, but it is important to note when it comes to dropping $1,000+ on a new phone. The way I see it, without the trade-in programs like the one Samsung offers (this year it offered a max of $550 on select devices), we'd all be deeply underwater on all of our smartphone purchases. bankmycell also provided a Top 10 Phones That Have Lost Value (2018) list. You'll notice some of these phones are older, so it makes sense that they're losing almost all of their value in 2018, but one phone, the LG G6, is not all that old (March, 2017) and lost half of its already low resale value in one year. At the start of 2018, it sat at $220. By the end of the year, it was at $110. There is a lot of interesting data in the report, especially with concern to how iPhone resale value differs from Android phones, so check out the full report below. In the meantime, take care of your phone and ensure you'll have a device worthy of top trade-in dollar by the next time you're looking to buy a new phone. // bankmycell

Nova Launcher 6.1 Beta Includes Numeric Dots and Dark Mode for Google Discover

Tim — Wed, 06 Mar 2019 08:42:48 +0000

Nova Launcher, still one of the best 3rd-party launchers available on Android, is back again with an updated beta. Labeled as version 6.1, this beta includes numeric dots for notifications, as well as a Dark Mode for the Google Discover page on your home screen For the numeric dots, think regular notification badges, but with a number assigned to it. This is perfect for messaging apps and email apps, providing an exact number in the badge concerning how many notifications you have. For anyone who loves to Dark Mode all teh things, Nova Launcher now has support for it inside of the Google Discover page to the left of your home screen. You'll need one of Nova's companion apps to make it work, but once enabled, you'll have a few different theme options to choose from: Light, Dark, and Follow (Nova's) Night mode. You can download the beta by following the link below or wait for these features to roll out to the public version on Google Play.

Download Beta

// Tesla Coil Apps

Samsung is Folding Sh*t in All the Directions

Kellen — Wed, 06 Mar 2019 08:17:35 +0000

The Samsung Galaxy Fold may cost almost $2,000 with an expected arrival of late April, but don't expect that to be the last from Samsung's foldables department in the near future. A report today suggests they are well into two more foldable phones to satisfy those of you not impressed by the Fold's book-style folding. Samsung is folding sh*t, my guys. Sources of Bloomberg believe that Samsung is working on a clamshell-like device, as well as another that folds away from the user, just like the Huawei Mate X. The clamshell phone is currently scheduled to arrive later this year or early 2020, while the Mate-X-style foldable may not come until after that. Samsung reportedly considered that out-folding design instead of the Fold and already has it in prototype form. As for other bits of info on these new foldables, Samsung may put a screen on the front of the clamshell device, just like they did on the Galaxy Fold, but could change that depending on how the response is to the Fold's cover display. They may start including in-display fingerprint readers too, which they did on the Galaxy S10 line for the first time. As for the Galaxy Fold and the thought that Samsung could be working on new and improved foldables that better it, Samsung is already trying to improve the Fold too. Apparently, after about 10,000 folds, you get creases on the Fold's display that Samsung would rather not have. Yeah, that's not good. I'm down for companies to fold things in all directions until we find one that makes the most sense. At this time, we just don't know which that is until we all get to spent more time with them. What we do know is that the Galaxy Fold is likely bad, as is the Mate X. // Bloomberg

DEAL: Anker Hosting Massive Charging Accessory Sale, Up to 45% on Items

Tim — Tue, 05 Mar 2019 13:15:06 +0000

Anker is hosting a crazy large sale on charging accessories, with up to 45% off on select items through Amazon. Much like earlier in the week, the deals spread across many of Anker's sub-brands, including PowerCore, PowerWave, and Roav. For us, the big highlights include a 10,000mAh power bank for $20 (40% off), an Alexa-enabled car charger at 25% off, as well as a PowerWave fast wireless charging stand for $35. All of the links you'll need to find the deals are posted below. No coupon codes needed.

Have at it!

Galaxy S10e: First 10 Things to Do!

Kellen — Tue, 05 Mar 2019 11:51:41 +0000

With your Samsung Galaxy S10e arriving shortly, we have the video you need. Our "First 10 Things to Do" video for Samsung's smaller, flatter S10 family member is here. In this lengthy video, we suggest 10 areas to focus on once you take your Galaxy S10e out of the box (our unboxing) for the first time. These are the tips and tricks to help you get going, so that your time with a shiny S10e will not be wasted. We'll have a full tips and tricks video later, but this should get you off to a proper start. We dive into all of the biometrics you should setup for security and convenience purposes, look at a number of lock screen settings (like always-on display), which display settings should be tweaked and the Advanced Features we like, and help you turn off that Bixby button. We also look at sounds and vibration settings, a couple of handy notification options, and which battery features to use. Enjoy that Galaxy S10e!

Buy Samsung Galaxy S10e, Galaxy S10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDhKsG6ouPQ

Huawei P30 Pro to Feature Super-Zoom Camera and Strong Low-Light Capabilities

Tim — Tue, 05 Mar 2019 09:01:02 +0000

You know what sucks about not having access to Huawei's phones in the US? We miss out on stuff like this. According to Android Central, who spoke with a Huawei VP during MWC, the upcoming P30 Pro will feature super-zoom capabilities, as well as strong low-light performance. A rumored figure for the super-zoom camera is 10x, which wasn't confirmed in this discussion, but if Huawei is building off of what it already had in the P20 Pro (a 5x hybrid zoom), then 10x could be realistic. Based on the teaser image Huawei posted for its event that's to take place on March 26 in Paris, as well as a shot of the Moon that Huawei CEO Richard Yu posted to Weibo, this phone's camera might be pretty legit in the zoom department.

What that moon shot also shows us is that low-light performance may also be quite good on the P30 Pro. Huawei did not provide specifics, so only time will tell if it can rival what the Pixel 3 is capable of with Night Sight. But again, if you're someone who purchases your phones through a US carrier, this doesn't concern you because you'll likely never see this phone available for purchase. Bummer, man. // Android Central

Verizon Galaxy S8, S8+, and Note 8 Receive February Security Patch

Tim — Tue, 05 Mar 2019 08:08:29 +0000

Womp womp. Sorry it's not the most exciting news (like Pie or something), but owners of the Galaxy S8, S8+, and Galaxy Note 8 on Verizon should begin to see the February security patch today, which as a reminder, is March 5. Once updated, S8 owners will see software version R16NW.G950USQS5CSB1, S8+ owners will see R16NW.G955USQS5CSB1, and Note 8 owners will see R16NW.N950USQS5CSA1. Go grab that update! // Verizon [2] [3]

Essential Phone Owners, Your March Security Patch With Digital Wellbeing Support is Ready

Tim — Mon, 04 Mar 2019 14:55:40 +0000

Like every other month, Essential was quick to roll out its March security patch to Essential Phone owners, basically minutes after Google did the same for the Pixel lineup. On top of the March patch, Essential states that this update includes support for Google's Digital Wellbeing software. For a detailed look at what Digital Wellbeing will offer your Essential phone, have a look at the video below. Good job, Essential. // @Essential

DEAL: Big Discounts on eufy Smart Bulbs and Plugs ($13+), Anker Wireless Chargers ($16), and More

Tim — Mon, 04 Mar 2019 13:13:33 +0000

Anker is hosting a big time sale on a ton of different products this week, stretching across its brand portfolio. For example, you'll find deals on its eufy lineup, PowerCore products, as well as Soundcore items. Discounts on items range anywhere from $3 off all of the way up to $50 off, and since deals concern most of Anker's brands, we're sure there is something here for everyone. For us, though, the highlights include $13 smart bulbs, $14 smart plugs, $25 wireless earbuds, as well as $18 USB-C 30W fast chargers. Check out the full list of deals below.

DisplayMate Praises Galaxy S10: "Most Color Accurate Display We Have Ever Tested"

Tim — Mon, 04 Mar 2019 11:41:03 +0000

DisplayMate really seems to be enjoying the Galaxy S10. To give you an idea of just how much, here are a few noteworthy quotes from the most recent and lengthy shootout post they provided for the device.

"The Galaxy S10 is the most Color Accurate Display that we have ever tested."
"The level of Display Performance and Excellence has been increasing each year, and the Galaxy S10 has again Raised the Bar significantly higher."
"Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect."
"The Galaxy S10 receives 100% All Green Very Good to Excellent Ratings in All Categories, earning DisplayMate’s highest ever A+ grade."

Damn, this must be a killer display. The question we're left asking, but DisplayMate answers in ridiculously detailed fashion, is what makes the Galaxy S10's display so good? According to DisplayMate, the color accuracy is incredibly high (record setting in fact), contrast accuracy and intensity scale accuracy are as equally high (another new record), plus the display's peak luminance, HDR10+ performance, viewing angle performance, display power enhancements, and a ton more are all exceptional. It would take a day and a half to list out everything DisplayMate praises on this phone, so instead of doing that, I recommend you go read the full report yourself. With pre-orders set to hit doorsteps this week, many folks will soon be experiencing this highly praised display. // DisplayMate

Google's March Patch Includes the Pixel 3 Performance Fixes We've Been Needing

Tim — Mon, 04 Mar 2019 10:50:26 +0000

The March security patch is now live for Pixel owners, and while we're always happy about improved security, we've been a bit more focused on the performance issues experienced on the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. Listed inside of this month's patch, Google directly addresses the issues we've been talking about, such as camera boot-up times and Bluetooth connectivity. According to the patch notes, these issues should be fixed. Here's exactly what Google lists. [table responsive=scroll id=161 /]

Pixel owners, please let us know if you're seeing improved performance following the March update. Fingers crossed.

March 2019 Android Security Update Goes Live for Pixel Devices

Kellen — Mon, 04 Mar 2019 10:04:22 +0000

Google just released the March 2019 Android security patch for Pixel devices. We already have both factory image and OTA files ready to be downloaded for those willing to do some manual labor, or as always, you can sit back and wait for the update to arrive over-the-air (OTA) to your device. So far, we are seeing new 9.0.0 files for Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL (PQ2A.190305.002), Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL (PQ2A.190305.002), and Pixel and Pixel XL (PQ2A.190305.002). They are all getting a March 5 patch. The only other Google device that is still receiving security patches on Oreo is the Pixel C and it’s getting build OPM8.190305.001.

READ: March Android patch aims to our Pixel 3 issues

Functional Patches

[table responsive=scroll id=161 /] 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:

Google Maps Can Now Find a Lime Scooter or eBike in 80+ Cities Across the Globe

Tim — Mon, 04 Mar 2019 10:00:11 +0000

Originally available in only 13 cities, you can now find a Lime scooter or e-bike in more than 80 cities across the globe using Google Maps. When you need to only travel a short distance, Google will recommend Lime as a quick transit option, how far away the Lime is, plus an estimate in how much the trip will cost you. Here's the full list of US cities where you'll find support for this.

Arizona (Mesa, Scottsdale), Arkansas (Little Rock), California (Monterey, Mountain View, San Marcos, Santa Barbara), Colorado (Denver), Florida (Miami, Orlando), Georgia (Atlanta, Statesboro), Idaho (Boise), Indiana (Bloomington, South Bend), Kentucky (Louisville), Massachusetts (Arlington, Bedford, Belmont, Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Medford, Melrose, Milton, Needham, Newton, Revere, Waltham, Watertown, Winthrop), Michigan (Lansing), Nevada (Reno), Missouri (St. Louis), New Jersey (Keyport, Metuchen, Plainsfield), New York (Ithaca, Queens, Rockaways), North Carolina (Charlotte, Charlottesville, Greensboro, Greenville, Jacksonville, Raleigh/Durham), Ohio (Columbus, Oxford), Oklahoma (Oklahoma City, Tulsa), Rhode Island (Providence), Tennessee (Memphis, Nashville), Texas (Corpus Christi, Lubbock), Utah (Salt Lake City), Virginia (Harrisonburg), Washington (Tacoma), Washington DC.

For the list of international cities, follow the link below. // Google

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