Google and Apple have a cross-platform contact tracing solution in the works, and the two companies have now given an early version to certain developers for testing.
Google, Apple contact tracing early version given to select developers
The early version of the contact tracing solution comes with a test code. The test code lets developers see how the solution will work. The fortunate developers are working with public health authorities. Google and Apple say that only health authorities will have access to the information. The technology will stop tracking once the pandemic dies out.
Why is the test code release for Google and Apple's contact tracing technology important?
It hasn't been all that long ago since Google and Apple announced their partnership to create a tool to aid the COVID-19 relief effort. Now, with a test code for developers and health authorities, the new solution is one step closer to public availability.
Google and Apple's upcoming solution will require two phases. First, the two companies will release the new solution as an update to their operating systems, Android (Google) and iOS (Apple).
Next, developers must write apps that embrace the new contact-tracing technology. Once developers publish apps, they will go public in their respective app stores.
iOS users will soon have access to them as they would any game or utility app. The new solution could be available in Google Play (Android) and the App Store (iOS) as early as mid-May.
The new contact tracing solution will utilize Bluetooth. It will provide random, constantly changing keys for users and contacts. A person can report he or she is sick with COVID-19.
After a report, users who have come in contact with the sick person will receive an exposure notification. The solution will maintain privacy, lack location data, and never give away names or contact information.
From the sound of it alone, the new cross-platform solution will also be more privacy-friendly than Beijing's Close Contact Detector app. Close Contact Detector (CCD) allows Chinese citizens to input their governmental ID to discover if they're at risk. CCD doesn't need input from citizens themselves to reveal if a person is at risk for a disease. Just how CCD knows if someone has disease exposure remains a mystery.
What name are Google and Apple giving to this solution?
The new contact tracing solution now has the name "notification exposure." The new name places emphasis upon exposure and the word "notification" is an easy way to remind users that they will receive notification of exposure and risk in the event they cross paths with an infected individual.
"Contact tracing" is a generic name for the technology and seems to be easy to remember, but it could refer to a centralized solution (such as Google and Apple's efforts) or to the efforts of individual persons who are simply curious about the people they encounter on an ordinary basis. In other words, "contact tracing" doesn't highlight the emergency nature the world finds itself in currently.
But there may just be a reason behind the generic name "exposure notification" for Google and Apple's contact tracing. It may stick around as a valuable technology for future diseases and pandemics.
While Google and Apple's solution will have mass appeal, no doubt, the United Kingdom will not use it and will create a contact tracer of its own.
The much-anticipated OnePlus Z has just surfaced in a first real-life image. Before we begin talking about the leak, please do take this info with a grain of salt.
This image comes from the true-tech.net website, and quite frankly, we cannot say if it's legit or not. The source claims that the image comes from a "seemingly accurate source" which has provided images of the OnePlus 7 Pro and 8 Pro in the past.
The alleged OnePlus Z did appear in its first real-life image, but take this leak with a grain of salt
Even the source is claiming that this image should be taken with a grain of salt, though. In any case, this image does seem to be legit. Even if it's not, this is an accurate representation of what the phone will look like.
The OnePlus Z aka OnePlus 8 Lite leaked several times thus far. We do know that it will have a flat display, and a centered display camera hole. Its bezels will also be minimal, as shown in the provided image.
That display camera hole won't be large by any means, and the phone's corners will be rounded, the same goes for its display corners. The power / lock button will be placed on the right, while the volume up and down buttons will sit on the right.
Even the alert slider on the left seems to be shown, though this image is not of the highest quality, so we cannot know for sure. The front side of this phone is black-colored, by the way.
The OnePlus Z will become the OnePlus X's spiritual successor
A recent report by a well-known tipster suggests that the OnePlus Z will become official in July. It will become OnePlus' second mid-range smartphone, following the OnePlus X. This device is expected to become the OnePlus X's spiritual successor.
The OnePlus Z will be the name of the phone, even though the OnePlus 8 Lite would have made more sense. Perhaps the company did not want to water down its flagship smartphone line, though, which makes sense.
After all, the OnePlus X was not called the OnePlus 2 Lite for a reason, so… this kind of makes sense. Some of the phone's specs also leaked a while back, though we're not sure if they're accurate just yet.
The phone is rumored to ship with the MediaTek Dimensity 1000L processor. That is MediaTek's most powerful chip, at the moment. In addition to that, the device is expected to include plenty of LPDDR4X RAM.
OnePlus confirmed a while back that it has no plans to release a phone with 60Hz display in the future. That being said, this handset will probably include a fullHD+ 90Hz display. Based on the reports, it will be a 6.4 or 6.5-inch panel.
The phone will include three cameras on the back, most likely. It will ship with Android 10, and OnePlus' OxygenOS skin. More information regarding this phone is expected to surface in the near future.
The HTC Desire 20 Pro will become the company's very first smartphone with a display camera hole, it seems. The device has been leaked by Evan Blass, a well-known tipster.
Mr. Blass shared the image of the device via its Patreon account. This is not your regular render, or a real-life image, but a sketch, a detailed one. Mr. Blass also confirmed that the codename of this smartphone is 'Bayamo'.
The Desire 20 Pro is looking to become HTC's first smartphone with display camera hole
The phone, as you can see, will include a display camera hole in the top-left corner. If this phone comes to life soon, it will become the very first device with a display camera home from HTC.
Based on this sketch, it will include a flat display, and basically non-existing bezels. The power / lock, volume up, and volume down keys will be placed on the right-hand side of the device.
The back side of the phone will be a bit curved towards the sides. The phone's camera module on the back will be placed in the top-left corner. Four cameras will be a part of that camera module, and they will be vertically-aligned.
As you can see, the bottom camera module will be the smallest. We're guessing this is a depth sensor of some kind. A dual-LED flash will be placed next to the camera module, on its right side.
A capacitive fingerprint scanner will also be a part of the package, and it will be placed on the back. Right below that fingerprint scanner, you'll notice the company's branding.
The Snapdragon 660 will allegedly fuel this smartphone
Now, we don't have a lot of information regarding this phone's specifications. Some rumors did suggest that the phone will be fueled by the Snapdragon 660 SoC, however. That is Qualcomm's mid-range 64-bit octa-core processor.
That chip is definitely not the latest and greatest Qualcomm has to offer, not even in the mid-range sector. We would have expected at least a Snapdragon 700 series chip to be included.
The phone will allegedly include 6GB of RAM. It seems like the company is aiming for a really competitive price tag on this smartphone, which is why it opted to use older components.
We're only guessing at this point, though. None of these specs have been confirmed just yet. We also don't know when exactly will this smartphone become official.
It is unclear whether the current health crisis managed to postpone its launch or not. Considering Evan Blass shared its sketch, however, we're expecting it to launch in the near future.
Tubi, the free, ad-supported video on demand (AVOD) service will now come preloaded on "tens of millions" of LG smartphones in the US and Canada. LG phones with Tubi are already available at T-Mobile stores.
The company plans to expand soon to MetroPCS and US Cellular in the US and Rogers, Bell, and Telus in Canada. It expects to get more carriers on board in the future.
Tubi is the first AVOD service to come preloaded on LG phones in the US. "Our partnership with Tubi is a great opportunity for LG customers to experience streaming content on their smartphones.
While taking advantage of the LG Dual Screen and 5G on the all-new LG V60 ThinQ 5G, this venture reinforces LG's mobile phone commitment to meet the increasing demand for entertainment consumption on handheld devices," said Yongsuk Kim, VP of Strategy, LG Mobile.
Tubi will now be preloaded on LG smartphones
Tubi is a free, ad-supported video streaming service. It shows unskippable commercials during programming. The app offers a massive library of over 20,000 movies and TV shows from over 250 partners. Apart from Canada and the US, Tubi is also available in Australia.
The service is accessible through a wide range of devices, including Android and iOS smartphones, Amazon Echo Show, Amazon Fire TV, Google Nest Hub Max, Chromecast, Comcast Xfinity X1, Roku, Cox Contour, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. It is also available on Smart TVs from Samsung, Sony, Vizio, Apple, and many other manufacturers.
Fresh off its $440 million acquisition by Fox Entertainment in March, Tubi is seeing a steep usage growth during this COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced people to stay home. As of last December, the free streaming service had 25 million monthly active users.
The company also reported a Total View Time of over 163 million hours, a year-over-year increase of 160 percent last year.
Now, during this lockdown period, Tubi has seen another 50-percent spike in new viewers. The partnership with LG provides the company with a great opportunity to tap on more audience.
Meanwhile, for T-Mobile, the deal with Tubi marks another streaming service deal in the recent past. The company has agreements with the newly launched Quibi as well. As part of that deal, certain T-Mobile wireless subscribers will get free access to the new service.
Quibi usually costs $4.99 per month for the ad-supported plan and $7.99 for the ad-free version. The service comes with a lengthy trial period of 90 days.
It has already had over 2.7 million downloads within the first two weeks of release. How many of those will be willing to pay for the service post the trial period remains to be seen.
Google has just started shipping its Pixel Buds today but a new feature called 'attention alerts' already appears to be in the works. The feature was spotted in a recent APK teardown of the Google Pixel Buds app. So it isn't quite ready for release just yet. But its branding effectively says it all. The new feature would apparently alert users to external circumstances, requiring users' attention.
As the branding might imply, the goal is to help users maintain situational awareness. More directly, the alerts appear to center around AI-based listening. When the Ai hears certain sounds, it responds by alerting the user to that sound.
That way, users can enjoy great noise isolation preventing external noises from marring the listening experience provided by the newly launched Google Pixel Buds. Simultaneously, they won't be completely oblivious to what's going on around them.
Pixel Buds attention alerts use cases would be limited, for now
The use cases for the new feature would be fairly limited. The purpose of that is likely to help alleviate instances involving false alarms.
Specifically, strings of code associated with attention alerts for Pixel Buds point to three different sounds that the AI would be actively listening for. The first is aimed more directly at parents and others who frequently care for young children and infants. That's marked in the code as an option to listen for a crying baby.
Google also includes a string suggesting users can be alerted in the event of a fire alarm.
Pet owners using Pixel Buds will also find that an option exists to listen for a barking dog. The reason for that inclusion should be fairly obvious since dogs often only bark at a select number of things. For instance, a dog might bark if somebody is at the door or if something is wrong in the house.
The strings of code behind the feature seem to suggest that users will be able to set the alerts off or on by category. That will undoubtedly if prove useful Google releases the AI feature, for any user whose pet isn't well behaved. Or in cases where the earbuds might be worn in public in the presence of dogs or babies.
If Google does opt to allow the features to be individually set, that could also pave the way for more options to be added in the future.
This proves how AI listening can be useful but when is it coming?
Now, Google will almost certainly utilize on-device AI always-on detection, listening, and processing to enable the attention alerts feature. And it will almost certainly use similar methods to its other AI offerings, such as Assistant, to keep those secure and privacy intact. But none of that means this feature will arrive any time soon.
The search giant only just announced its Pixel Buds at the end of 2019 and didn't start shipping them until this week. Attention alerts aren't fully fleshed out yet either. Moreover, the feature is marked out explicitly for developers. That all suggests that the company likely hasn't gotten very far into development at this point. So, although attention alerts would probably be extremely useful, it remains to be seen if the feature will release at all.
Season 2 of Pokémon GO Battle League is starting this Friday, May 1 for trainers that are dying to show off their skills.
Think you've got what it takes to be the very best like no one ever was? Prove it. In season 2 of Pokémon GO Battle League. Everything kicks off at 1PM Pacific Standard Time, starting with the Great League.
There will be a handful of changes to the mode with this season. But there will be a number of things that are also staying the same.
Season 2 of the Pokémon GO Battle League will still remove unlocking requirements
Though Niantic plans to introduce a bunch of new stuff with season 2, there are also a number of things that are staying the same.
The company is still removing the requirements to unlock sets of battles by walking or using PokéCoins. Niantic says this begins for everyone immediately with the start of the season. Save for anyone already in the middle of their current set.
For those individuals it will begin with their next set. Whenever that happens to be. Also staying the same this season are the Pikachu Libre-inspired avatar items. These are currently a rank 7 reward and they will continue to stay a reward for reaching rank 7.
The same goes for other avatar items, like the ones inspired by Steven Stone, which will continue to be rewards for reaching rank 10.
In season 2 it will require more wins to progress to some higher ranks
There are some changes being made to the ranking system for battle league. Some of these are more minor but there is one in particular that could prove to make things more challenging. The rank progression requirements.
With this upcoming new season (and potentially following seasons), players will be required to win more matches to progress to some higher ranks. Specifically it will require more wins to get to ranks 4, 5, 6, and 7.
Ranks 1 through 3 and 8 onward should require the same amount of wins as they currently do in season 1. Niantic doesn't mention any changes to the number of wins needed for these ranks. So there are probably no changes here.
One of the more exciting changes coming to the game is the ability to start a trainer battle via QR codes. This will work from anywhere and it doesn't matter what your friendship level is or what the distance is from the other trainer.
Imagine, for a moment, that you're walking down the street in your local downtown area, and you see a light post with a QR code sticker on it. You scan this code wondering what it might be. Boom. Next thing you know you're engaged in a trainer battle.
You can view the full list of changes coming in battle league season 2 in the patch notes from Niantic.
Google has now announced the roll-out an update to the sharing dialog used across G Suite, including Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Forms. The new dialog is intended to improve precision and control, particularly as it pertains to individualized sharing.
Google says that the underlying goal is to make it easy to share with individuals, in addition to allowing key in-app actions, without over-sharing. That's a change that's critical amid the shift of the current work environment, with more users working from home.
The update accomplishes that by replacing the old dialog with a new card-like interface. Prior features appear to be mostly intact but there are three big advantages that go well beyond the aesthetic.
First, Google says that the new interface highlights essential user tasks such as sharing and changing permissions or viewing who has access. But it also visually separates sharing with people and groups from the previous "link-sharing" interface.
Options associated with link-based sharing have been moved to a click on a "Get link" card below the primary sharing UI. Google says that provides a more task-focused approach to sharing.
The search giant has also included a new "copy link" button that makes it easier to pick up the link. That's without requiring any changes to the link's permissions.
Finally, it's easier than ever to see who has access and what kind of access they have in the top card. A drop-down menu next to each user allows that access to be changed as needed as well.
The new dialog appears only in the web variant of G Suite apps
The new interface is already rolling out but it will, for the time being, only work with desktop platforms. That's because it applies exclusively to the web-based sharing dialog. So it will apply mostly to Windows, Mac, Linux, and Chromebook users. Google hasn't provided any details about whether or not it plans to bring a similar UI over to Android or iOS variants of G Suite apps.
Specifically, the change applies to dialog found under the blue-colored "Share" button at the top-right hand side of the page for those services. A click on that brings up the new UI
How long will this rollout take and who will see the changes?
Now, Google does indicate that the overall rollout will take some time to finalize. As of April 28, Rapid Release domains will see a gradual rollout over the course of 15-days. For Scheduled Release domains, that rollout won't start until May 26. However, it's not going to be quite so limited as might be expected based on previous G Suite changes. Particularly in terms of which end-users can take advantage of the new dialog.
In fact, Google says that users with both G Suite and Drive Enterprise accounts. That's in addition to users with personal Google Accounts. Effectively everybody will be able to use the newly enhanced dialog surrounding the services' sharing features.
The update is arriving on the server-side so users won't need to take any action such as updating apps. It'll also be turned on by default.
New G Suite sharing dialog puts precision control at the forefront
YouTube is now bringing its fact check panel to users in the US to combat the spread of misinformation. That's according to reports stemming from a YouTube blog post detailing the feature's arrival. The feature is rolling out now in largely in response to misinformation about COVID-19 caused in part by the rapid news cycle surrounding the pandemic.
Now, when YouTube users perform a search for specific terms — the company uses an example search for "covid and ibuprofen" — the results will also return an "Independent fact check" card. That's displayed just above the results themselves. The card contains information pertaining to the search. So, in this case, it offers up a common claim about the two topics at hand. More directly, it indicates that there is no proven link between deaths from the disease and ibuprofen use.
Another example provided by YouTube indicates a similar response might be returned if users searched whether a "tornado hit Los Angeles" or not. A search query for just "tornado" wouldn't return a fact check card. But that specific search might return results about the truth of related claims.
YouTube also admits that the fact check articles may not always be completely accurate or follow Community Guidelines. But users will have the opportunity to send feedback to YouTube if those instances crop up. The articles will, however, always be pulled from authoritative sources.
YouTube is taking a proactive approach here
Compared to many of YouTube's recent feature releases, its fact check panel is a bit more proactive. That's true, in particular for the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Prior to this, the company has been showcasing more generalized cards pointing users to the most recent information about the topic. Further down in search results, it's also been showcasing more 'context'-based information.
The solution also takes a less hard-line approach. So it's less likely to be ridiculed — somewhat inappropriately — as censorship. Other measures in response to misinformation have, using recent policy changes as an example, simply removed misleading or factually incorrect content. Other changes have demonetized entire swaths of videos regardless of their accuracy, prompting both providers of correct and incorrect information to simply stop making content on specific topics.
As is always the case, both of those measures are likely to result in an outcry from content creators and users alike. That's been the case in the past as well whenever YouTube starts outright banning content and creators.
Here, the company is actively addressing the content with well-sourced information. That leaves it up to end-users to decide for themselves what is or isn't true. And it does so while still very prominently surfacing information that is factually correct. That should strike a clear middle ground between allowing content amid rapid-flowing report cycles and keeping users well informed.
The new feature should appear automatically for users in the US
The new YouTube fact-check panels should already be appearing for users in the US since this is a rollout on the server-side of the equation. So there won't be any app update required. It also isn't being hindered by possible bug concerns since it's already been rolled out previously in India and Brazil since last year.
To access the feature, users will simply need to search for a relevant topic. That should also be a fairly specific topic, as highlighted above. Then the cards will appear on their own above search results.
The cards also won't likely cover every possible need for fact-checking just yet. Instead, it will improve in terms of subjects covered and accuracy over time, according to YouTube.
YouTube's new Independent fact check card appears above search results
Call of Duty Mobile S6, is live and there's a whole lot of new content to dig into. Not all of it is immediately available, as more changes will come a bit later this week.
Some stuff however is already at the fingertips of players. Also worth noting is that not all the new stuff that comes with Call of Duty Mobile S6 is playable content. Some of it, like the UI improvements, are simply adjustments that make the game better.
Here's everything that's new with the latest season. If you're eager to dive right into the game, make sure to update it as it should be live for all global players.
Call of Duty Mobile S6 adds two new maps – 'Rust' and 'Saloon'
Aptly titled Once Upon a Time In Rust, the new season of the game adds the long-rumored (and requested) Rust map to the game.
This is a classic from past Call of Duty games on other platforms. It also fits this season's wild west theme quite nicely and is already in the game for players.
Speaking of the wild west, the second new map is Saloon, and is featured with the all-new 1v1 Duel mode. Though, players won't be able to play this mode or on this map until the middle of May.
Saloon will also be available for the 2v2 Showdown mode, and will be exclusively for these two modes only.
More new modes to sink your teeth into
Variety is the spice of life. So they say. And the same is true when it comes to a variety of game modes in games like Call of Duty Mobile.
Starting with this new season, players can jump into some additional modes that are being added to the game. The first is the 1v1 Duel mode that we mentioned above. But, that won't be available to the middle of May. Beyond that, there will be two more modes that you can check out starting this Friday.
Of those two, the first is Capture the Flag arriving on April 30, which is tomorrow. It'll be live with the new battle pass season. That likely won't go live until later in the evening though. As the current battle pass says there is still two days left.
Alongside Capture The Flag players can also jump into Kill Confirmed. This is basically Team Deathmatch but with the nice twist that requires you to pick up the dog tags of any enemy you kill.
Doing so will progress your team's score. Don't pick them up and you just wasted an opportunity to advance. This is arriving in early May, and it should arrive alongside Capture The Flag.
Say goodbye to task-related battle pass XP
In Call of Duty Mobile S6 the battle pass is getting an overhaul. More specifically you won't have to complete the very specific tasks that have been in every other pass to gain XP.
Going forward after the new pass arrives, players simply need to play the game. You won't be required to Get 10 Kills with an Operator Skill to gain points. Simply playing in Multiplayer, Battle Royale, or Ranked, will earn you XP on the pass.
If you play enough, you'll do just fine. More importantly, players who don't care for a certain mode won't be required to play those modes to complete tasks.
This should make it a whole lot easier for players to hit tier 50 and beyond. This results in more players earning the best pass rewards. And, it'll likely lead to more players having a good time with the game consistently which is good overall for the game.
Events will be organized into categories
We touched on this in our other post about the UI changes. But there's no harm in elaborating a bit on it here.
With in-game events going on, which are always happening, players will now see all events organized into their own categories. There will be four different categories altogether.
Featured events for ones that Tencent and Activision want to draw attention to, seasonal events for events specific to the current season, daily events, and a "more" section for any remaining things that don't really fit into any of the other categories.
These changes are already live in the game as of April 29 and make things a whole lot easier to find.
Call of Duty Mobile S6 unleashes the new Annihilator operator skill
One of the more exciting things about Call of Duty Mobile is the weapons. Included in that are the operator skills, which let you unleash a barrage of devastatingly powerful attacks on your enemies.
This new season introduces the Annihilator, a massive hand cannon that does some huge damage. It's also a one-hit kill shot if you do upper body damage. So if you're accurate and don't miss, you can rack up quite a few kills with this thing rather quickly.
This will be available to all players through the free battle pass. So play the game and unlock as much as you can to make sure you snag this for your loadout.
New tactical equipment is coming and Battle Royale gets a new class
Tactical equipment is just as important as the lethal equipment you have in your loadout. Things like your trip mine or your tried and true frag grenade will give you kills.
But stuff like your flashbang for instance may just be the difference between dying and edging out your opponent. That's the beauty of tactical equipment. Starting this season you'll be able to add the Cryo Bomb to your loadout.
With this in-hand, you can catch your enemies off guard and slow them down long enough for you to get the kill, thanks to the bomb's ability to explode into a burst of frost. This will be available through a seasonal challenge and is arriving in mid-May.
As for the new Battle Royale class, in late-May players will be able to load into the map as the Poltergeist. specializing in cloaking and invisibility to get the jump on enemies and ambush them before they know what hit them.
There's also a slew of other changes made to the game that are general improvements. All of which you can check out in the Call of Duty Mobile Community Update post on the official subreddit. A lot of these patch notes will also show up in-game following the update and before you load into the main home screen.
Yesterday Google announced a handful of new games coming to Stadia, and for existing titles there's a slew of new Pro member deals available including discounts on Ghost Recon Breakpoint.
If you're new to the game, then there's a lot of different content to consume. Like the new Sam Fisher/Splinter Cell-related missions that were launched last month. There's also just a lot of content within the base game, and more DLC content likely to be added later on. With all that, now is a great time to snag the game and some of the available add-ons at discounted prices. Stadia Pro member deals aren't just on Ghost Recon Breakpoint either, but there are plenty of discounts for that game specifically.
New Stadia Pro deals include all versions of Ghost Recon Breakpoint at 67-percent off
If you haven't picked up Ghost Recon Breakpoint for Stadia yet, there's no better time than now to do so. Because the game is the cheapest it's ever been.
Right now you can grab all editions of the game at 67-percent off. That puts the Standard Edition at $19.80. Meanwhile the Gold Edition is now available for $33. And lastly the Ultimate Edition is now available for $39.60.
The season pass for the game is on sale too at just $20 instead of $40. Though, the Ultimate and Gold Editions should include that. In addition to the games and season pass, all of the add-ons are on sale as well at varying prices.
Final Fantasy XV is down to $20 & there are a few non-Pro deals
Final Fantasy XV is one of the latest games in the mainline series (the most recent being Final Fantasy VII Remake for PS4) and it has loads and loads of content.
There's a big expansive world to explore with plenty of dungeons, tons of main story quests and side quests, and really exciting combat. Right now it's down to $20 which makes it 50-percent off the normal price.
If you like RPG games this is one you definitely shouldn't miss. There are additional Pro member deals available too, with some of those being existing deals that have already been available for weeks.
As a first, Stadia is also offering deals to non-Pro members. Since Pro is free right now, these deals will presumably be available after the free Pro months end in the near future.
Those deals include Darksiders Genesis for $36, all three editions of Ghost Recon Breakpoint for 50-percent off, and the Standard Edition of The Division 2 at 50-percent off. Monopoly is also on sale for everyone right now for $20.
Disclaimer: Chromebooks are among the best tools around for those who are working from home. Because of that, at any given retailer, they have been selling quickly as more students learn and more employees work from home. So any of the Chromebooks listed here may or may not be in stock and pricing is subject to change.
The popularity of Chromebooks has increased in the wake of COVID-19 outbreaks and with more people than ever learning or working from home. The devices represent a great solution to that growing demand due to their cloud-centric nature and ease of management.
That's also due to Chrome's focus on optimization for performance and speed over-reliance on expensive hardware. Chromebooks simply don't require the same level of RAM or processing to complete the same tasks.
Google has also put a significant amount of effort into improving the OS in an enterprise-specific direction. That has included making Linux apps more stable and delivering more tools for IT admins. Those improvements have slowed with the rise of coronavirus. But that doesn't make the platform any less viable.
Best Chromebooks for working from home
Choosing the best of the wide assortment of Chromebooks for working from home, however, has not gotten any easier. That's not just because the number of devices available has also grown. Top Chromebooks are increasingly scarce precisely because demand has grown. And also because of supply chain disruptions.
When it comes to working from home, not every Chrome OS device is going to be created equal. For some tasks, a powerful processor and high-capacity storage are desirable. Others might require a number pad, flexibility, a stylus, or other key features to maximize productivity. Cost is, of course, another chief concern.
Fortunately, Android Headlines has spent a lot of time conducting reviews and research on Chromebooks. Some of us also utilize Chromebooks to work on the go. That gives us insight that allows us to make an attempt at making the process of choosing a lot easier. Not every top Chromebook will have made the cut and there are plenty of other options to explore. But, here, we've compiled a list of Chromebooks that we think make working from home a more enjoyable experience.
Price
Buy
RAM/Storage
Processor
Google Pixelbook Go
From $649
Google
Up to 16GB/256GB
Up to Intel Core i7
Samsung Galaxy Chromebook
$999
Best Buy
8GB/256GB
Intel Core i5-10210U
Acer Chromebook Spin 13
From $653.98
Amazon
Up to 16GB/128GB
Intel Core i5-8250U
Asus Chromebook Flip C434
From $569.99
Amazon
Up to 8GB/64GB
Up to Intel Core i7-8500Y
Lenovo Yoga Chromebook C630
From $499.99
Amazon
Up to 8GB/128GB
Up to Intel Core i5-8250U
HP Chromebook x360 14
From $599
HP
8GB/64GB
Intel Core i3-8130U
Google Pixel Slate
From $799
Google
Up to 16GB/256GB
Up to Intel Core i7
Acer Chromebook 715
From $499
Amazon
8GB/64GB
Intel Core i5-8350U
Samsung Chromebook 4+
$299
Best Buy
Up to 6GB/64GB
Intel Celeron N4000
Lenovo Chromebook C340-11
$279
Best Buy
4GB/64GB
Intel Celeron N4000
The obvious Chromebook choice for working from home
Google Pixelbook Go
Price: From $649
Where to buy: Google
Chrome OS is built by Google so an obvious choice when it comes to Chromebooks for working from home is Google's Pixelbook Go. That's not the only reason though. Pixelbook Go is arguably the most well-rounded Chromebook on the market, giving buyers multiple options to better suit their needs.
To begin with, the device starts at as low as $649 and ranging as high as $1,399. For that price, users can start with 8GB RAM coupled with either 64GB or 128GB storage. Those also start with either an Intel Core m3 or Intel Core i5 processor. For a bit more money, users can pick up another variant with an Intel Core i5 and 256GB storage coupled with 16GB RAM.
The top model, conversely, ships with an Intel Core i7 processor backed by 16GB RAM and 256GB storage. That variant takes the Full HD 13.3-inch display of its counterparts and bumps that to 4K as well. Corning Concore Glass is used across the board on every Pixelbook Go.
Now, every Pixelbook Go includes a backlit Hush Keys keyboard. They each feature an etched glass trackpad, Titan C security chip for better enterprise security, ambient light sensors, and a 1080p 60fps webcam for conferencing. Two USB-C ports and one headphone jack are included in the magnesium alloy frame. There's no pen support this time around as this is Google's back-to-basics Chromebook.
But Google also designed this device with a ridged bottom for better grip while being carried and a lightweight frame. A claimed 12-hour battery backs everything up for all-day use. So whether its editing documents and other media or performing enterprise tasks requiring a bit more performance, Google's latest Pixelbook is more than ready to go.
Samsung's first Galaxy-branded Chromebook is a monster of a device that's geared toward future-proofing performance and productivity. It's also one of the few devices around that directly challenges Google's dominance at the premium end of the pool. The branding here says it all. As might be expected, Samsung effectively incorporates all of the latest available Chromebook features atop some included perks of its own.
To begin with, the company packed in its world-famous S Pen stylus, built directly into the frame of this 2-in-1 convertible Chromebook. The all-metal frame is just 9.9mm thin for portability but also packs up to 16GB RAM and 1TB SSD storage. The Intel Core i5 chip packs serious power with a turbo clock speed up to 4.2GHz.
A more affordable variant, with 8GB RAM and 256GB PCI-e storage, is also available and an Intel Core i7 variant is set to arrive at some point in the future. On the storage front, that's going to be aided by support for up to 2TB expansion via micro SD card and up to 512GB via UFS card. The other two included ports are USB-C, setting aside the headphone jack.
An 8-hour rated batter backs up that hardware.
Gigabit+ Wi-Fi 6 is drives connectivity here and, of course, the keyboard here is backlit. There is both a front- and world-facing HD camera built into the build. Fingerprint unlocking is included standard. But Samsung has, in true 'Galaxy' fashion, also ensured this 13.3-inch 4K Chromebook arrives with an AMOLED touch panel. That means contrast that's more true-to-life with deeper blacks and more vibrant colors.
Working from home with this device, as with Google's Chromebooks, is going to equate to one of the best available experiences. As of this writing, the Galaxy Chromebook is also on sale for just $549 direct from Samsung, making it a great option for budget buyers too.
Premium Chromebook performance in a premium package
Acer Chromebook Spin 13
Price: From $653.98
Where to buy: Amazon
The Acer Chromebook Spin 13 has been around for a bit longer than other gadgets here but that doesn't rule out its position as one of the best Chromebooks around for working from home. Initially launched as a direct competitor to Google's Pixelbook, this Chromebook offers premium specs in a high-design package at a reasonable starting cost.
Landing squarely in the 14-inch range, the Acer Chromebook Spin 13 is a beautifully designed Chromebook initially made explicitly for business use. So the currently-available models include up to an Intel Core i5 processor with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. A 10-hour rated battery rests behind those specs.
A somewhat more durable build has been engineered around those specs. Gorilla Glass is used on the touchpad and display while the rest of the exterior is made of aluminum. Acer includes an EMR stylus co-designed with Wacom for productivity — irrespective of which mode this 2-in-1 is used in. The keyboard is backlit by default.
Aside from the ergonomically-designed keyboard, the Acer Chromebook Spin 13's webcam, speakers, and mics are all perfectly tuned for video calls or chats. That's as opposed to being tuned for multimedia. Meanwhile, the 13.5-inch display panel has a resolution of 2,256 x 1,504 pixels.
Now, there are also two updated versions of this Chromebook sold under model number CP713-2W-356L and CP713-2W-53AW in some European regions. Those start out at €789.00 and €999.99, respectively, and will be the obvious choice where those are available. But the device also starts out at just $653.98.
Best Chromebook for ergonomical typing in the mid-range
ASUS Chromebook Flip C434
Price: From $589.99
Where to buy: Amazon
ASUS's Chromebook Flip C434 is already a popular choice among users in the mid-range. But it makes a particularly good work machine for several reasons. Not least of all, this is a 14-inch Chromebook with a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution touchscreen display. That sits on a 2-in-1 folding hinge packed into a slim-bezel all-metal package with a minimal design.
Compounding on that, ASUS includes one of the most ergonomically-designed keyboards around. Not only does the design include a slight lift to the back of the keyboard in clamshell mode. This Chromebook features a key-travel of 1.4mm to help productivity-focused users stay comfortable during long typing sessions. That's also a backlit keyboard. So typing can continue in low-light environments with ease.
A reasonably-good webcam and dual speakers help in conferencing, meanwhile. And a MicroSD card slot is packed into the frame along with all the ports a user could want.
Under the hood, things hold steady too. That's thanks to the base model's Intel Core m3-8100Y processor, 4GB RAM, and 64GB storage for just $589.99. But those who need a bit more power can pay a bit more for up to an Intel Core i7-8500Y chipset. That's accompanied by up to 8GB RAM and 128GB expandable storage.
All of that makes the ASUS Chromebook Flip C434 a good fit for those who type a lot and need performance to back that up.
Lenovo's YOGA-branded Chromebook C630 brings more to the table than meets the eye. This Chromebook has a design that's more akin to a standard laptop but is available with up to a 4K touch panel in a 2-in-one format for those who need it. But brings a 1080p panel for those who don't.
Similarly, the Lenovo Yoga Chromebook C630 delivers either an Intel Core i5-8250U or Core i3-8130U processor. That's backed by 8GB RAM and 128GB storage while the more expensive variants deliver a backlit keyboard. A 10-hour rated battery is packed under the standard backlit keyboard too.
The lack of a built-in stylus and standard 720p HD webcam dont' really hinder matters for this all aluminum 15.6-inch device either.
What sets this device apart is its pricing. The included ports and plugs are fairly standard for this Chromebook. Connectivity options are a bit more conservative, with dual-band connectivity provided via Intel's Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265 card. Bluetooth 4.2 provides for more localized connections. The internal components are better-than-respectible.
In summary, Lenovo Yoga Chromebook C630 offers little by way of standing apart and above its counterparts on this list. But Lenovo offers premium Chromebook with a starting price of $499 and that makes it an easy option for those who are fans of the brand or who just need a Chromebook with plenty of power and performance to get some work done.
The HP Chromebook x360 14 is an anomaly among its Chrome OS counterparts in that it offers top performance with a battery that breaches the 12-hour mark. More directly, HP claims the battery in this Chromebook will last users a whopping 13.5-hours on a single charge. That's going to make it one of the best and an obvious choice among Chromebooks for those who are working from home, particularly where battery life is the primary concern.
Also setting this Chromebook aside is the fact that it features an HP Wide Vision HD Camera with integrated dual array digital microphones. That's coupled with powerful stereo Bang & Olufsen speakers for a better video call and conferencing experience than many other Chromebooks can offer.
All of that's packed into a comparatively lightweight 2-in-1 convertible design with a comfortable 1,920 x 1,080 resolution touchscreen. Its UHD-capable graphics chip allows even higher resolutions when ported out via USB Type-C.
Starting out at just $599 though, another big selling point is going to be that this Chromebook features an Intel Core i3-8130 chipset. That's bootable up to a massive 4GHz clock and backed by 8GB DDR4 RAM and 64GB storage.
That all means that buyers can get consistent performance with some of the top Chromebooks around with better battery life to get through the workday without recharging.
For the best working Chromebook in terms of portability — allowing users to move about their home as they work — buyers need to look no further than the Google Pixel Slate. Ranging in cost from $499 to just short of $900, the Pixel Slate from Google is a tablet that ships with an optional keyboard.
That places its functionality primarily around touch interactions but doesn't detract from it being a great work machine. At any of the price-points in question, this Chromebook is going to be a great option for anybody who needs a higher-resolution display in a 12.3-inch format.
Google packed its Pixel Slate with a "molecular" 3,000 x 2,000 resolution panel in an all-metal frame. It accented that with an 8-megapixel camera on front and back for more productive conferencing. And the company also currently ships its Slate with a free $99 Pixel Pen stylus to boost productivity further. There's a fingerprint scanner packed into the power button for security, alongside Google's dedicated security chipset.
On the performance front, for a relatively low cost of $899, Pixel Slate ships with up to an 8th-Gen Intel Core i7 with up to 16GB RAM and 256GB storage. At the lower end, the company offers an Intel Core m3 processor with 8GB memory and 64GB storage.
This device is, in effect, a Google Pixelbook Go with a decidedly more portable design. That makes it a worthy entry for anybody who needs a new work-from-home device — although the keyboard does cost an additional $199. Well-reviewed accessory company Brydge offers an alternative keyboard for just $79.99 as well.
Best Chromebook with ruggedization and a number pad
Acer Chromebook 715
Price: From $499
Where to buy: Amazon
For a device that's more sleek and minimal, in a lay-flat design without the extra pomp but plenty of power and functionality, Acer's Chromebook 715 will easily be one of the best Chromebooks for working from home. Not only is this 15.6-inch IPS Full HD Chromebook offered with a respectable 1920 x 1080 LCD 'ComfyView' panel. The company also packed everything into a MIL-STD-810G rated metal frame. Acer tacks on optional backlighting and a fingerprint scanner at a slightly higher cost.
Acer also packs that keyboard with a full-size number pad. That already makes this one of the best Chromebooks around for those who need to input numbers quickly as part of their everyday working tasks. But Acer went a step further to ensure that users would have a wide selection in terms of internal processing power too.
At the base end of the spectrum, the Acer Chromebook 715 offers an Intel Pentium 4417U processor with 8GB RAM and 32GB storage. At the upper end, Acer offers options with an Intel Core i5-8350U backed by 8GB memory and 64GB storage. Conversely, an Intel Core i5-8250U variant is also available among the six configurations. That's coupled with 16GB RAM.
Both USB-C and standard USB ports are crammed into the slim frame, providing buyers with a range of options for accessories too. That's accompanied by a 74-degree wide field of view HD webcam
A 12-hour rated battery and optional 10-point touch display round out the offerings as well. And all of that, taken in conjunction with a low starting cost, makes for a near-perfect minimal Chromebook that can get the work done without sacrificing much by way of features.
The Samsung Chromebook 4+ stands apart from other Chromebooks for working from home not because it comes with the best specs available. It doesn't. Instead, it stands apart as a capable machine that offers a long battery life, reasonable internals, and a big screen. More directly, it offers that at an affordable price point.
Starting at just $299, the Chromebook 4+ delivers 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM and up to 32GB of storage. That's in combination with an Intel Celeron Processor N4000 and a 15.6-inch Full HD LED (1920 x 1080), anti-glare display. So this Chromebook is going to be great for those who need a larger screen but who don't need all the extra processing power of other entries here.
For just $50 more, Samsung bumps that to 6GB RAM and 64GB storage, if the entry-level offering isn't quite enough.
On the connectivity front, Samsung includes 802.11 ac MU-MIMO 2×2 and Bluetooth 4.0. Ports aren't a let-down either. Samsung packs one USB 3.0 port, two USB-C ports with 4k display out, and a MicroSD card reader. That's alongside a 3.5mm audio combo jack.
Samsung built all of that into a durable, spill-resistant design. But it also included a 720p webcam for video conferencing and calls as well as a 10.5-hour-rated battery.
That all coalesces into something that allows basic working tasks to be performed without a lot of money invested. The Samsung Chromebook 4+ won't perform every work-related objective due to its budget-friendly chipset. But it's going to be a solid option for those who don't need super-powerful hardware, to begin with.
Best small form-factor Chromebook for working on a budget
Lenovo Chromebook C340-11
Price: $279
Where to buy: Best Buy
Where Samsung's Chromebook 4+ falls short, Lenovo's Chromebook C340-11 picks up the slack with some trade-offs. So it's going to be one of the best Chromebooks around when it comes to working from home on a budget. That's not just because it packs almost identical internals with regard to the processor, combined with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage, at just $279. It's also among the most practical portables on the market.
Lenovo built the Chromebook C340-11 in an 11-inch, 2-in-1 convertible form factor. The resolution is a bit lower at just 1366 x 768 pixels. But this is an IPS touchscreen that can be used as a laptop or tablet, in addition to tent and stand modes for easier conferencing via the 720p HD webcam.
Lenovo delivers connections via an Intel 9560 802.11AC MU-MIMO 2×2 chip just like the above-mentioned competitor but that's coupled with Bluetooth 4.2. A 10-hour-rated battery is part of the package too.
The foldable frame houses no fewer than two USB-C 3.1 Gen 1 ports as well as two standard USB-A 3.1 Gen 1 ports. A MicroSD card reader, headphone jack, and Kensington lock slot are part of the build as well. Lenovo packed all of that into a lightweight body designed to be ergonomically friendly.
Samsung has put out its latest earnings report and in it the company more or less confirms that the Galaxy Note 20 and the Galaxy Fold 2 are coming later this year.
While most of the report is dedicated to discussing the sales of its electronics, there are some juicy mobile-related tidbits. Specifically about these two new phones that have already been suspected of releasing later in 2020.
Samsung does not come out and directly name each phone though. Rather, it simply mentions what it will do help improve its products sales in the second half of the year.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 & Galaxy Fold 2 are the linchpin of second-half sales
Samsung knows that its first half of the year has not been as strong as it would like, and to that end it will look to offer consumers new Galaxy Note and Fold models, such as the Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Fold 2.
As noted above Samsung does not refer to these devices by name. It simply states that new Galaxy Note and new Galaxy Fold models are part of its plan for the second half of 2020.
Samsung also points out that each of these devices will be products offered in the "premium segment." Which means these are going to be the latest iterations of the currently available devices consumers know – the Galaxy Note 10 and the Galaxy Fold.
Nothing specific about either of these devices is mentioned in the report. So there's nothing that's been confirmed other than that the devices are coming later this year.
The company will expand 5G adoption
Part of Samsung's plan for the later part of this year revolves around bringing 5G devices to more people.
The company says it will expand 5G adoption to mass-market smartphones as part of its initiative to increase competitiveness. This is noted directly after stating that the company is releasing new Galaxy Note and new Galaxy Fold models for the second half of 2020.
This could mean that both devices will be 5G-capable. But it's also likely a statement that Samsung will be releasing more 5G-capable phones this year that aren't as expensive. The Galaxy Note and Galaxy Fold lines are certainly available globally.
But they aren't really mass-market devices. Not like you would consider something from the Galaxy S line a mass-market device. Samsung also plans to ramp up operational efficiency across its numerous segments. This includes its Research and Development, supply chain, production, channel, and marketing segments.
Amazon has the iRobot Roomba E5 on sale right now for just $279. This is actually the Black Friday price, which we last saw in November. Making this a really great deal for those that are looking for a new robot vacuum.
So the iRobot Roomba E5 is not the most high-end robot vacuum on the market right now, but it is a good robot vacuum still.
It does still navigate your home and map out your floorplan, so that it knows where it needs to go and clean, with ease. That also means that you can do better spot cleaning and cleaning just a single room. Without cleaning the entire home.
The iRobot Roomba E5 also uses its patented three-stage cleaning system. Which is going to make sure that it does get up all of the dirt and dust out of the carpet on your floors in your smartphone. The iRobot Roomba E5 is also able to identify what type of floor it is on. Whether that is a carpeted floor, hardwood, or laminate. This is important, as it needs to bump up the suction on a carpeted floor than a laminate floor.
Now, the iRobot Roomba E5 also works with the iRobot HOME app. Allowing you to have the Roomba E5 start cleaning. And you can set up a schedule, and much more. Now, the iRobot Roomba E5 is able to also work with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant (as well as Siri and Homekit for Apple users). Allowing you to use your voice to control the iRobot Roomba E5 and tell it when you need it to clean your home.
You can pick up the iRobot Roomba E5 from Amazon today for just $279 right now by clicking here. This is a really good price for a really impressive robot vacuum.
YouTube is now reportedly pushing out a redesign of its Music app's Library tab to a wider audience. Specifically, that's the previously-limited UI rework that brings functionality and aesthetics of the tab more in line with Google Play Music. The rework also delivers a few new features that were missing from previous versions and fixes.
Among those, songs added to the user's library will now automatically result in the artist being added to the Artists list in the Library tab. Beyond that, songs added as part of an album won't solely be stored as an album any longer. Rather, they'll also appear as individual songs in the aptly-named Songs segment of the Library tab.
With the changes in place, users will have much more control over what they're listening to and when. That's without discrepancies in the songs, albums, or artists that they've added. And that's without the available options varying wildly depending on the section of the Library tab they happen to be navigating.
Google's media offerings under the YouTube brand are finally coming together
The new YouTube Music Library tab redesign falls well in line with other changes YouTube has been making. For the most part, those have been centered around improving user experience and eliminating widespread complaints. In each case, those have cropped up as Google continues moving its media-specific offerings from its Google Play platform to YouTube.
For instance, in March, YouTube reworked its YouTube Music app's Player design. That change-up ensured that all of the appropriate controls appear on-screen logically. But YouTube also ensured that none of those controls are hidden in sub-menus or behind secondary clicks in the UI.
Aside from that alteration, YouTube also tacked on the toggle switch for swapping between videos and songs. The change made it possible to switch between the playback styles from any of the app's pages.
Another recent change, also wholly separate from the new Library UI but in the same vein, is the still-rolling Explore tab update. Meant to keep consistency with the main YouTube app, that replaces the "Hotlist" tab with an "Explore" tab and icon.
Explore will still contain recommendations for what's hot in the music industry. But that tab will also do a lot more to bring YouTube Music in line with competing apps. It accomplishes that by adding two new ways for users to discover and explore new music. The first is dubbed "Moods & Genres." As is implied, that lets users find new recommendations based on either their mood or their favorite genres.
The second new option is placed just above that UI in the Explore tab. Under the heading "New Albums & Singles," that also does exactly what its name implies. Namely, it lets users see the newest music to land on the service. YouTube presents those in a horizontally-scrolling list, complete with a "See all" link.
This is still rolling out so you might not have it just yet
Now, the redesign of the YouTube Music Library interface may not land for everybody just yet. As noted in previous reports and with prior new features, this is a server-side update. But it also isn't rolling out to everybody all at once. Instead, Google's media arm is pushing the update in waves. The key difference here is that it appears to be rolling out to a far wider audience than the previous wave.
The fact that it's a server-side update also means that end-users don't need to do anything to get the new update. Rather than updating the YouTube Music app, it should swap out the old for the new UI automatically. That will happen while the handset in question has an active connection.
Dark Mode isn't new to the OnePlus 8 series, but in case you've forgotten how to enable it on OnePlus' newest devices, here's how you can do just that.
With dark mode, you're going to be able to save some battery life, as well as reduce eye strain, particularly if you are using it at night. Since the OnePlus 8 series uses OLED displays, it is also able to save battery life with a darker theme. As OLED displays light up pixels individually. So the more black pixels on the screen, the less pixels are lit up and thus conserving battery life.
So even if you prefer the light or colorful mode, this might be a good idea to enable.
How to enable dark mode on OnePlus 8 Series
To get started, you're going to want to jump into the Settings app.
Now scroll down to 'Customization'.
Then tap on 'Tone'.
This is going to be the first tile on the right side, in the "System Configuration" section.
Here, you can choose from three different tones. These are Colorful, Light and Dark. Colorful isn't as customizable and is, well colorful. Light is your typical theme with lots of white space. Then there is Dark, which does put the OnePlus 8 into dark mode. Using black and different grays.
Once you've selected 'Dark', hit the check mark in the upper-right hand corner to save it.
Now you'll have Dark Mode on your OnePlus 8 smartphone.
What about Dark Mode 2.0?
OnePlus announced dark mode 2.0 with the 8 series this month. Which essentially allows OnePlus to push more apps into a dark mode. Or rather force them. These would be apps that don't use dark mode already.
You can find this setting by going into the Settings app.
Then tapping on 'Utilities'.
Now tap on 'OnePlus Laboratory'.
At the bottom, tap on 'Enable dark tone in more apps'.
Now just flip the toggle and it'll work in the other apps on your phone that don't use dark mode.
Dark Mode 2.0 works really well actually, for forcing some apps into dark mode. Like with Hangouts for example, it does make the background black with the messages in gray. So they are actually readable. This isn't the first time that there have been options in the software to force dark mode in apps, but it is perhaps the best one out there right now.
But that's how you can enable dark mode on your OnePlus 8 series smartphone.
Call of Duty Mobile just received its season 6 update and it includes some huge UI improvements. The overall look of the UI is the same. But, there are more subtle UI tweaks that are big quality of life changes.
Ones that all players should appreciate because, it really just makes things easier to interact with.
As soon as you boot up the game for the first time after installing the game update, you may notice some things are missing from the home screen. Everything should look a little less cluttered.
Call of Duty Mobile has a cleaner home screen UI now
While not everything was removed, the main home screen UI in Call of Duty Mobile shifted a couple of things around and removed a couple of others.
The battle pass tier menu has been moved to the right side of the screen along with the ranked season, multiplayer, and battle royale menus. The event button also appears to be a little bit bigger than before.
The carousel pop out menu that used to sit just above the store button is also gone. Likely because it was just redundant information. The inside of the mode menu where you access your loadouts has also slightly changed.
You will now see persistent buttons for the battle pass and event menus. Even if you don't have anything in either. Before, the battle pass button here would only show up when you had a completed challenge to claim for tier points.
It's now there all the time. So instead of backing out the home screen you can just check it from here. Which should save you some time. The event button is completely new and is always visible as well.
Whenever you do have something to claim in either, you'll see numbers attached to them.
The events screen now has improved organization
If you've spent any amount of time in the events screen you know how disorganized it used to be.
Things are now split up into specific categories. There's one for featured events, one for daily events, and a "more" event menu that includes the friend invite rewards tab, a version update rewards tab, and a tab for the current season info which is is a tappable banner image.
Since everything is split into their own respective categories, things are much easier to find. If you know you're working on a specific event and it's a "featured" event, you can go straight to the featured page. The same thing goes for daily events.
Season 6 is now live and should be there to update for all global players when you boot up the game following today. There are still two days left on the season 5 battle pass though, so some things aren't available yet. Such as the new Annihilator operator skill.
The Rust map is live however, so if you want to get a head start on learning it before tomorrow's World Championship qualifiers begin, now's the time.
Woot has the Amazon Echo Spot on sale today and today only. Where you can pick it up for $69.99. That is good for around 46% off of the regular price. Which is a really good price for this.
Considering Amazon stopped selling the Echo Spot last year when the Echo Dot with Clock went on sale, now is the time to grab one. As these won't be around for long.
The Echo Spot is essentially a smart display that is disguised as a bedside clock. It's actually really cool. As you can watch Amazon Prime Video and other videos on this display. Though it's not great, as it does put a rectangle in the middle of the circular display to watch the video.
But it does also have Alexa built-in. That means that you're going to be able to ask Alexa to set an alarm, or a timer. It can also answer your questions, as well as control your smart home products. Making it really great for those that have smart thermostats, smart lights, smart locks and other smart things in their home. As you can get into bed and tell Alexa to adjust the temperature of the house. Which is really neat.
The Echo Spot is a really great smart display to pick up and have on a bedside table. The display does get dark at night, so it's not going to be super bright and keeping you awake, which is a good thing. There are sensors on the display that will dim the display so it's not crazy bright, which is a good thing.
You can pick up the Amazon Echo Spot from Woot today for just $69.99. Which is a really good price, and it likely won't drop to this price again anytime soon. Keep in mind that shipping might take longer than expected because of the pandemic.
Google decided to launch their very own operating system in the year 2007. They made a critical decision as well, in the fact that they decided to make it an open-source project. They wanted to try and provide developers with way more freedom to create their own apps and they also wanted to take advantage of all of the features that Android had to offer as well. These features meant that developers and users would be able to look for hidden features on their devices and they would also be able to cater their software to meet battery life or performance. If you want to make your Android the best that it can be then there are various ways that you can do that, so take a look below.
Casino games tend to be pretty quick to load, so if you go onto sites such as NYSpins casino and find that it loads up slowly then you probably have an issue on your hands. If you want to stop this from becoming too much of a problem, then the first thing that you need to do is try and turn off background services. Social media apps will drain your RAM by a huge amount, not to mention that they will drain your mobile battery far more than you realize too. If you want to stop this from happening, then you need to try and disable your background services.
Boost Apps
Another thing that you can do is use Boost Apps. If you go to the Play store, then you will see various boost apps that are designed to boost your device performance. If you do this then you will be able to boost your gaming experience more than ever before. These apps will improve your device's performance and it will also help you to make any changes you need, pretty quickly.
Samsung
If you happen to have a Samsung device then it's helpful to use the Game Launcher. This comes with the program by default and it is a great way for you to hone in on your device's capabilities. This is great if you want to use your device for entertainment and it is also a fantastic way for you to really rocket your speeds.
Delete Apps
If you have a ton of apps on your home screen, then this could be slowing down your device far more than you realize. If you want to stop this from happening, then you need to try and delete whatever you don't use. If you do, then you will soon find that your device is faster and that you are also able to speed up your phone as a result. If you aren't quite sure how to delete apps then just go into your device's settings. It's super easy to do and it means that you will be able to free up even more room on your device.
With the world waging war still against "the invisible enemy," the UK says it won't use Google and Apple's solution for contact tracing.
The UK says it will go its own route with regarding to data-gathering and analysis for its national citizens. The NHSX has created its own solution involving Bluetooth with the help of GCHQ's National Cyber Security Centre. The new solution is centralized, with information going to a computer server. The computer server in question is unknown, though it's likely the information will stay native to the UK.
Why the UK contact tracing solution is independent of Google and Apple
Some wonder, with Google and Apple creating a cross-platform solution with security and privacy, why the UK will go on its own. The answers are simple, really. First, all other countries have created their own national solutions. China has at least two apps that trace contacts: TraceTogether (Singapore) and Close Contact Detector. These two apps are specifically for Chinese phone users, not the entire world.
And, more recently, Australia has created its own contact tracing technology, an app called COVIDSafe that racked up 1 million downloads within a 5-hour period. It's a sign that people want to remain safe in this pandemic. And yet, for Australia, it's an app designed for the country's citizens, not the rest of the world.
A number of countries are making apps for their citizens, not the world. And what seems reasonable for a number of countries is reasonable for the United Kingdom.
Google and Apple: American entities, American access
Here's the part of the UK's thinking that some would find honest: Google and Apple represent American entities. Whether Google and Apple can face it or not, other countries don't want the US meddling in their national databases or information for their citizens. Though the US doesn't like Huawei's loyalty to Beijing, it demands honesty from Google and Apple in the same manner. Should the Federal Government request access to user data, even regarding foreign citizens, Google and Apple would have little choice but to comply.
Take the new Australian COVIDSafe, for example. It is for Australian citizens only but the information ends up on Amazon servers. Amazon, the American online retailer, will have some measure of access to Australian user data. Can Amazon guarantee Australia that the data its servers store won't make its way to the White House? No, it can't. And perhaps it is this potentially "leaky" access to America that the United Kingdom intends to avoid.
Google and Apple say their contact tracing solution will honor privacy and destruct once the pandemic ends (as all new solutions are claiming). And yet, the UK may not be able to provide anonymity for its citizens with a solution that America can access. Anonymous user data may not be all that anonymous if America's hand is in it. Whether the UK has justification for its claim remains to be seen, but at least a national solution for its users would give it control to data that Google and Apple may not.
Knowing Google and Apple, the UK will not have access to their data. This makes the case for a UK governmental solution for UK citizens.
The iRobot Braava Jet M6 is on sale today for just $399. That is a savings of around $100 from its regular price. This mopping robot has not been this cheap since Black Friday, so this is a great time to pick one up.
iRobot Braava Jet M6 is the best mopping robot around right now. It does a really good job of cleaning your floors, without needing to go back and do it yourself. Which is the case with a lot of the robot vacuum/mops out there right now.
This is an iRobot mop, which means that yes, it does also map out your home, so that it knows where it needs to go. And since it is a mop, it will also map out where there is no carpet. As you don't want the iRobot Braava Jet M6 to start mopping your carpeted rooms. That could become a big issue.
The iRobot Braava Jet M6 is able to break up grease, and other grime too. Thanks to the jet sprayer on the front of the robot vacuum, it is going to get up all of the dirt and dust from off of the floor in your home. Which is a really great thing.
iRobot Braava Jet M6 is also compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. This means that you can use your voice to tell the Jet M6 to start cleaning your home. Now that is a really cool feature, to be honest. It also works with the iRobot HOME app, and if you have a Roomba, you can control them both from the same app.
You can pick up the iRobot Braava Jet M6 from Amazon today in this sale for just $399 by clicking here. This price on the iRobot Braava Jet M6 is not going to last long though, so you'll want to grab it before it is gone.
The pandemic will affect phone sales, analysts say, and Samsung's reduction in phone part orders is just the beginning of what's to come.
Korean outlet ET News says that Samsung is reducing its orders for components by up to 50% across the board. Not only is Samsung cutting orders for low and mid-end phones; the high-end Galaxy S20 series is seeing order decline as well.
Companies are often looking to save money where they can. Samsung is no different. By cutting orders for components, Samsung can save money and apply it to other areas where the company is making investments. The last thing the Korean giant wants is to spend money on parts that sit around and fail to sell.
Reduction in orders, reduction in demand
There's a good reason why Samsung is cutting orders for components, apart from saving money. The reason pertains to a reduction in customer demand. The truth of the matter is that buyers aren't buying phones right now. The current pandemic has so many typically hard-core tech enthusiasts out of work.
Some are waiting for unemployment checks to pay for their mortgages, car notes, internet and phone bills, and so on. With unemployment at an all-time high, global citizens are focusing on the survival bills. Buying a smartphone isn't a matter of survival if citizens already have reliable smartphones.
And then, the price of Samsung smartphones is high. Samsung's Galaxy A series gives users more for their money. In the past, however, customers have purchased the company's high-end Galaxy S and Galaxy Note series. While these series once offered an affordable price for flagship phones, the once $700 and $800 price tags now stand at a whopping $1,000+. When customers are already out of work and struggling, the last thing they want is to spend so much on a smartphone.
There's also the usual phone cycle, where customers are keeping their phones longer. Customers who have the Galaxy S10, for example, may choose to keep their flagship for another year because of the current financial crisis.
Why a reduction in Samsung orders matters
When reports about the smartphone industry come out of Korea, it's not a surprise to see Samsung's name on them. The Korean Android giant is the face of Android in the mobile industry. As the #1 vendor globally for some years in a row, Samsung sets the tone for the rest of the industry. And so, when Samsung starts finding ways to save, it's a reminder that all is not well in the consumer market.
Of course, Samsung is not alone. The world market as a whole will see a reduction in component orders, demand, and sales. The IDC says that global smartphone market sales will decline by at least 2.3% this year due to the current pandemic. Smartphone makers are betting on the rise of 5G to buck that trend, though wishful thinking won't translate into sales.
A new report shows that Google is planning on shipping the Pixel 4a smartphone in late May – May 22 to be exact.
Which would line up with the time that the Pixel 3a went on sale last year. The Pixel 3a was announced on May 7 and went on sale the same day. According to some internal documents, it looks like May 22 is going to be the date. Which puts it about two weeks past when the Pixel 3a was announced.
However, the later announcement date could be due to the pandemic. After all, Google had likely planned to announce the Pixel 4a at Google I/O. But that was inevitably canceled completely. And it's also likely that the pandemic impacted manufacturing of the phone, which also pushed back the launch date.
This date is according to a German carrier, so the US launch could be sooner
Google does typically favor its home market over international markets. So this date that Vodafone Germany has in its system may not be the same date as the Pixel 4a launch in the US.
As with any leak like this, it's important to take it all with a grain of salt. As this could just be a placeholder for the device in its systems. And not the actual launch date. But, where it is almost May, we should be hearing more about the Pixel 4a rather soon.
The Pixel 4a is going to quickly become contender for Smartphone of the Year
Last year, all we could talk about was how good the Pixel 3a was. And this year, we are likely to do the same thing with the Pixel 4a.
Google is expected to keep the same $399 price point for the Pixel 4a – and there won't be a larger model this year, but perhaps a second variant with more storage. Which also puts it head-to-head with Apple's new iPhone SE that went on sale last Friday.
If Google kept the same recipe it used for the Pixel 3a last year, then the Pixel 4a is going to be amazing. With the same camera as the Pixel 4 – minus the telephoto lens. As well as keeping the same stock Android with fast updates, and a larger battery than the Pixel 4. It's going to do well.
Now that the economy is in free fall, due to obvious reasons, and most people aren't going to be able to afford $1,000 phones, the Pixel 4a might be even more successful than the Pixel 3a.
The HP Chromebook x2 is available from Woot today for just $319. Which is a really great price for this Chromebook. That's a savings of over $280 from its regular price. Sure it's a factory reconditioned or refurbished model, but it's still a really good price.
We reviewed the HP Chromebook x2 when it first came out and you can check out the review here. In that review, we said that the HP Chromebook x2 was "near-perfection", in terms of Chromebooks. That's very high praise.
The HP Chromebook x2 is popular because it's like the Microsoft Surface but much cheaper and runs on Chrome OS. Giving you a really good user experience. Additionally, the HP Chromebook x2 has a detachable keyboard that does come with it. Thus not being made an extra purchase for those that need the keyboard.
It's also one of the few Chromebooks to sport a 2K display. It is a somewhat powerful Chromebook though. With the Intel Core M3-7Y30 chipset inside, 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage available. It's not going to win awards for the most powerful Chromebook, but it is going to get things done.
It surprisingly has really good audio, thanks to the B&O Play speakers that are on-board, making it a really great media machine. And with the detachable keyboard, it makes it really great for traveling. As you are able to use it as a tablet when needed.
The HP Chromebook x2 is going to be perfect for the kids that are now forced to be homeschooled, for obvious reasons. And at $319, it's not going to break the bank either, and that's a really good thing.
You can pick up the HP Chromebook x2 from Woot today by clicking here, this sale is not going to last long though. In fact, it likely will be sold out before the end of today.
A couple of days ago, we reported that a new update is rolling out to the OnePlus 8 Pro, OxygenOS 10.5.5. The changelog for that update did not mention anything about the OnePlus 8 Pro 'green tint' display issue, so we had no idea if it was fixed or not. Well, it seems like it has.
Just to be clear, we did not notice any such issues on our review model, so we couldn't check straight away. It seems like the issue has been fixed though, as users are reporting that it is now gone.
There is a chance that OnePlus issued a partial fix, or something of the sort, and that's why it didn't mention it. It's quite odd that such an important fix wasn't included in the changelog, but there you go.
The OnePlus 8 Pro 'green tint' issue was just one of reported display issues, and it's now fixed
The 'green tint' issue was just one of the display issues that OnePlus 8 users reported recently, and it's nice to see that the update arrived so fast. That very same update fixed yet another display issue, actually.
Both OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro users were complaining about misstouches when using the phone. Well, OnePlus issued a fix for that, as it optimized touch sensitivity on the screen edges.
Quite a few additional stuff got improved in that update. The company issued some additional display tweaks, while it also improved video smoothness. The camera has also been updated, as the accuracy of white balance and focus in dark environments has been tweaked.
If you'd like to check out the whole changelog, and remind yourself what arrived, click here. That update is rolling out as we speak, and the vast majority of users probably have it by now.
The OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro are, as most of you know, OnePlus' newest smartphones. The company announced the two phones earlier this month, and they are available for purchase as we speak.
The OnePlus Z is likely the next phone from the company
The two phones are actually considerably more expensive than their predecessors. 5G is to blame here, for the most part, and because of those price tags, many users are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the OnePlus Z aka OnePlus 8 Lite.
The OnePlus Z will become official in July, according to the latest report. That handset will become the company's budget offering, a more affordable alternative to the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro.
The device will include a flat display, and a centered display camera hole. It will also look a bit different from the back. The phone is expected to be made out of metal and glass as well.
The OnePlus Z is rumored to include MediaTek's Dimensity 1000L processor, but nothing has been confirmed just yet. The phone will sport a 90Hz display, and chances are it won't offer 5G connectivity.
Woot has the Samsung 65-inch Q6 4K QLED TV on sale today in its clearance section, where you can pick up this TV for just $869. Considering these are going for around $1200 brand new and about $999 used, this is a really good deal. Since this is a factory reconditioned model.
This sale on the Samsung 65-inch Q6 4K QLED TV is a really good one, but since it is in the clearance section at Woot, it won't be there for long.
The Samsung 65-inch Q6 4K QLED TV is a really great TV. It uses QLED technology, which is going to give you an amazing picture quality. With deep blacks and really crisp colors. It has over a billion color shades, which allows the TV to reproduce a more life-like image. Put this side-by-side an LED or LCD TV, and you'll really see the difference.
It does have HDR, which Samsung calls "Q HDR", that really brings out the colors and makes them pop.
Now, because this is a Samsung TV, there's no Android TV built-in. Instead, Samsung is using its own proprietary software, Tizen on this TV. It does have all of the usual apps that you'd expect from a TV in 2020. That includes YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, ESPN+, and much more. Samsung even has the iTunes store available on its TVs as well as AirPlay, for those Apple users out there.
That makes this a really great TV for the cord cutters out there, as you're going to be able to watch all of your favorite content on this TV without any real issues.
You can pick up the Samsung 65-inch Q6 4K QLED TV from Woot today in this sale by clicking here. As mentioned, this is in the clearance section, so this price will not last long.
While OnePlus is releasing a Verizon-compatible 8 Pro, users have been assured that the unlocked model would also work on Big Red. Unfortunately, users are discovering a different situation.
OnePlus 8 Pro unlocked model having Verizon compatibility issues
A long discussion over at OnePlus Forums says that the unlocked 8 Pro model isn't working on the CDMA carrier. The reason pertains to a feature called "CDMA-less" which makes unlocked models work.
Apparently, Verizon representatives are unable to activate it on unlocked phones at the moment. And the inability to activate the CDMA-less option pertains to the fact that Verizon hasn't certified the IMEI numbers for unlocked OnePlus phones. Responsibility for this lies at the feet of the Chinese Android OEM. OnePlus has yet to send the IMEI list to Verizon for activation.
Users are reporting that they cannot access Wi-Fi Calling, SMS, and other carrier-dependent services. Without Verizon compatibility, users cannot access Verizon services. Customers who contact Verizon are being told they can either return the phone or wait until their IMEI number is certified by Verizon before using the phone as a daily driver.
OnePlus 8 Pro Verizon model works with Big Red, however
Though the unlocked 8 Pro doesn't work with Verizon at the moment, but it should in the very near future.
Verizon is waiting for OnePlus to send its IMEI list. Which means in the meantime, those on Verizon that purchased a OnePlus 8 Pro won't be able to use it.
Verizon compatibility: OnePlus feels the pressure
In order to properly succeed in the US, OnePlus must certify its devices on the two top carriers, Verizon and AT&T. In recent years, OnePlus phones have made their way to T-Mobile, but Verizon has remained something of the pinnacle of American wireless provider territory.
To this end, OnePlus is bringing its 8 series to America's top carrier. The OnePlus 8 series will be available on Verizon and T-Mobile. Magenta carrier T-Mobile was the exclusive carrier of the 7T series.
Verizon will sell the OnePlus 8 ($799) starting on Wednesday, April 29th. Both phones feature high-refresh rate displays and Qualcomm's Snapdragon 865 SoC with the X55 modem. The OnePlus 8 Pro will feature a Quad HD+ resolution and a quad rear-camera setup. Both the 8 and 8 Pro offer 128GB and 256GB storage configurations and 8GB/12GB RAM options.
Only the 8 Pro is compatible with OnePlus' Warp Charge 30 Wireless charger, a separate accessory that doesn't come in-box.
The OnePlus8 offers LPDDR4X RAM while the 8 Pro will provide the latest, LPDDR5 RAM. Additionally, the Pro's 4,510mAh battery is slightly larger than the 4,300mAh battery of the regular 8 model.
Today, Woot has the Samsung QN65Q6FNAFXZA 65-inch QLED TV on clearance, selling it for just $869. That is a really great price for a 65-inch Q6 QLED TV from Samsung. These are currently going for nearly $1200 brand new. So you're saving a little over $300 on this particular model today. But this price won't last long, as this is a clearance item.
If you are in the market for a new smartphone, then the Motorola One Action is a really great one to buy, for just $239. This is an action camera that was put onto a smartphone. So you're going to get some really great camera shots out of this one. Making it great for using during this quarantine. And it also runs on stock Android. And it is fully unlocked to work on all four US carriers. This includes AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon in the US.
Amazon has the roborock S5 Robot Vacuum and Mop on sale for just $479 right now. This is one of the best robot vacuums on the market, so to see it for just $479 is pretty incredible. That's good for $120 off of its regular price.
Right now, you can grab an unlocked Google Pixel 4 for just $499. That is not a bad price at all, especially with this camera. The Pixel 4 XL is also on sale for $599 – making both of these $300 off. And it's definitely worth it to buy the Pixel 4 XL over the Pixel 4. Since Google decided to put an extra small battery in the regular Pixel 4.
These are only some of the best deals that you can find right now. There are plenty of other deals on Amazon that you can check out right here. Additionally, any deals that expire today are going to expire at midnight PST. So make sure you pick them up before they expire.
Huawei's chief designer, Quentin Tang, talked to the Forbes quite recently. He actually shared some of its thoughts on the Huawei P40, and Apple's new iPhone SE handset as well. He confirmed that Huawei has no plans to launch an iPhone SE-like smartphone.
Apple launched the iPhone SE quite recently, in the iPhone 8 body. The company included its most powerful processor on the inside, along with some additional improvements.
Huawei won't launch an iPhone SE-like smartphone
It doesn't seem like Huawei plans on doing something similar. Mr. Tang said that he doesn't think people want such a device, a device with a small display, and outdated design.
He believes that consumers want a large display, in a rather compact body. So, minimal bezels are crucial for such a phone. At least that is the case for the vast majority of people in Asia, but he believes the same applies elsewhere as well.
He also added that there are more and more apps that require large displays, as the experience is so much better on such panels. It seems like Huawei is done with truly small devices, at least for now.
The iPhone SE managed to get a lot of attention for several reasons. First of all, it's quite affordable, which is a rarity for Apple. It starts at $399 in the US, and it has the most powerful processor from Apple.
That alone was enough to attract some consumers. It also offers a better camera experience than the iPhone 8, thanks to its new chip. It does include the same camera setup as the iPhone 8, though.
The phone also comes with more RAM than the iPhone 8, and is overall a more modern phone, in every way except its design. The iPhone SE has really thick bezels above and below the display.
The battery life on the iPhone SE sure is not great
Another sore point for the phone is its battery life. It has a really small battery, and even with the power efficiency of the Apple A13 Bionic, it's not capable of offering really good battery life. At least based on the reviews thus far.
Huawei doesn't really have such a small phone in its lineup to rebrand either way, and it seems like the company is completely uninterested in doing so either way.
We can't really say that it is a mistake. The iPhone SE will be quite popular, but not many companies can pull something like that off and get away with it, nor should they.
Huawei had introduced its P40 series flagships quite recently, and the company is probably already getting ready for the Mate 40 series later this year. Some budget phones will almost certainly arrive in the meantime, though. There you have it, Huawei has no plans to release an iPhone SE-like smartphone, so don't hold your breath.
Samsung las launched the Galaxy M31, its newest M series phone, in the UK. The handset is now available to pre-order exclusively from Amazon UK for a price of £245. The retail giant will start shipping the device on June 1, 2020. It comes in Black, Blue, and Red color options in the UK.
The successor to last year's hugely popular Galaxy M30s, the Galaxy M31 was initially launched in India early last month. Samsung's M series has been all about big specs at a not-so-big price and the Galaxy M31 serves up to the purpose quite efficiently.
At £245, this device has a lot to offer, including a 64-megapixel quad-camera setup, a massive 6,000mAh battery, and an excellent super AMOLED display.
Samsung Galaxy M31 specifications
The Galaxy M31 features a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED Infinity-U display with Full HD+ (2340 x 1080) resolution. It looks identical to its predecessor and features a similar plastic-made frame.
Under the hood of this phone is an Exynos 9611 octa-core processor, the same as the Galaxy M30s. It gets 6GB of LPDDR4x RAM and 64GB UFS 2.1 storage, expandable up to 512GB via a microSD card. Samsung isn't launching the 128GB variant of the Galaxy M31 in the UK.
The quad-camera setup on the back features a 64-megapixel primary sensor with F1.8 aperture, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera with a 123-degree field of view, a 5-megapixel macro camera, and a 5-megapixel depth sensor. The rectangular camera bump on the top left corner also houses an LED flash. There's also a capacitive fingerprint reader on the back.
The tiny U-shaped notch on the front hides a 32-megapixel camera. The Galaxy M31 is capable of recording 4K 30fps videos through both front and rear cameras. It also supports hyperlapse, slow-mo, and super-steady camera modes.
There's also a dedicated Night Mode for low-light photography. The Galaxy M31 is the first M series phone to get the Night More. AR Emoji, Bixby Vision, Live Focus, and Slow Motion are part of the package too.
Unfortunately, the Galaxy M31 appears to be shipping with Android 9 Pie in the UK, at least the Amazon UK listing suggests so. Elsewhere, the device runs Android 10 with One UI Core 2.0 out of the box. It should eventually get the Android 10 update in the UK too.
With Android 10, the phone gets features like Google's UI navigation gestures and enhanced dark mode but misses out on some others, such as the screen recorder and Bixby. There's no Samsung Pay either on this phone.
A mentioned earlier, a massive 6,000mAh battery fuels the Galaxy M31. It charges via a USB Type-C port and supports 15W fast charging. There's also a 3.5mm headphone jack on this phone but headphones don't come as a part of the package. You'll have to buy it separately if you don't already own one.
This phone has Widevine L1 certification and Dolby Atmos audio. It is 8.9mm thick and weighs 191 grams. Other miscellaneous features include LTE, GPS, dual-band 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, and FM Radio.
The Ulefone Armor 7E has been torture-tested by the company. Ulefone decided to film a new promo video for its rugged smartphone, and it published it on YouTube.
This video has a duration of about two minutes, and it shows the durability of the Armor 7E. In the video, the phone gets ran over by a car, repeatedly. That didn't hurt it, the phone functioned just fine afterwards.
The Ulefone Armor 7E gets torture-tested in a number of ways
That is not the only test that the company performed, though. It actually dropped the phone off a bicycle on purpose as well, onto concrete. The third test included throwing the phone in the air.
The phone got tossed about 2m in the air, and landed onto grass, without consequences. The fourth test included dropping the device from 2m height, onto concrete, though, not grass.
In the test after that, Ulefone threw the phone 2m in the air and it let it drop onto concrete as well. The following tests see the phone thrown all over the place, mostly onto concrete.
All in all, these tests prove the durability of the Armor 7E. Ulefone decided to get Armor 7E torture-tested, and it did a good job at that. The company does note that you shouldn't try this at home, though.
All of these tests were performed by the company itself to prove that the Armor 7E is a durable device. Ulefone will not guarantee fixes you decide to replicate them and something happens, though, so you shouldn't try them just for the sake of it.
The Armor 7E is one of Ulefone's newest smartphones. It comes with a waterdrop display notch, and three cameras on the back. This phone looks like a rugged device, but that's not a bad thing, it looks really nice actually.
The phone includes a 6.3-inch fullHD+ display, Helio P90 SoC, and more
The device features a 6.3-inch fullHD+ LCD display, along with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of expandable storage. It is fueled by the Helio P90 64-bit octa-core processor from MediaTek.
A 48-megapixel main camera is included on the back, and accompanied by two 2-megapixel units. A single 16-megapixel camera can be found on the front side of this phone.
A 5,500mAh battery is also included here, and it supports 15W fast wired charging. It also supports 10W wireless charging. The phone sports a Type-C USB port on the bottom, and a capacitive fingerprint scanner on the side.
The Ulefone Armor 7E is currently on sale at Banggood, if you're interested. You can get it for $219.99 at the moment, which is a considerable discount. A purchase link is included below.
Samsung's flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S20 Ultra, may have a serious hardware issue. Users have been reporting, on Samsung's official website (and other platforms), issues with the rear-facing camera system on the device.
Users seem to be having issues with the rear camera glass on the Galaxy S20 Ultra
Now, these Galaxy S20 Ultra issues don't seem to be with the camera itself, but rather the glass that covers it. Dozens of users reported various issues with it. Those issues range from visible cracks over the glass, to the occasional gaping hole which impacts the performance of the camera.
Now, it is possible, and even probable, that some of those users aren't truthful. It is easily possible that some of them are to blame for such damage. However, quite a few of them submitted such claims, and they claim they're not to blame for the damage.
What's the gist? Well, quite a few of them claim this damage occurred while the device was well protected by a case. One of them even claims the damage occurred while the phone was sitting safely in a pocket.
The very first such issue was reported about a month ago. We didn't want to report anything back then, as it's easily possible some people are trying to blame the phone for being clumsy.
Such cases have been rising, quite a bit, over the last month, and at this point, it's possible that there is some sort of a hardware issue with the Galaxy S20 Ultra. We're still waiting for Samsung to report back, hopefully the company is investigating the issue.
The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra is the company's crown jewel. This is the most powerful smartphone the company has to offer, and not counting its foldable ones, the most expensive one.
It's possible these are just isolated cases, and nothing to worry about
It is possible that these Galaxy S20 Ultra rear camera glass issues are nothing to worry about. It's possible they're just isolated cases, and that the vast majority of people who reported issues are to blame for the damage. Samsung will hopefully share more information soon.
The Galaxy S20 Ultra was announced back in February along with the Galaxy S20, S20+, and Z Flip. The device has a rather large camera module on the back, which hosts five cameras.
That is one of the most massive camera modules on smartphones these days, if not the largest one. That is not surprising as the main camera on that phone includes a 108-megapixel sensor, while the secondary one is a 48-megapixel unit.
The Galaxy S20 Ultra has a lot to offer, no doubt about it, but its price tag is quite high. This is one of the most expensive mainstream devices these days, for sure.
If you'd like to know more about the Galaxy S20 Ultra, feel free to check out our full review.
Samsung Display arguably makes the best OLED panels for smartphones. But the Galaxy S21 may not feature one of those. According to a report from DSCC, the South Korean company is looking to source OLED panels from Chinese firm BOE for at least one of its next-generation Galaxy S flagships.
Samsung is reportedly in talks with the company for 6.67-inch OLED panels for the Galaxy S21 Plus. It might also source a 6.67-inch Full HD+ OLED display from BOE for the Galaxy A91. The South Korean conglomerate is looking to reach an agreement with the Chinese company by as early as June this year.
Samsung Display is the biggest mobile OLED panel supplier in the world. Not only the company uses its in-house displays in its Galaxy smartphones but it also supplies them to some of its competitors, such as OnePlus and Apple. The OnePlus 8 Pro's Samsung-made display recently achieved DisplayMate's highest A+ rating.
BOE, on the other hand, is the world's biggest LCD panel supplier. But as the popularity of LCDs continues to drop to new lows and OLED display technology keeps improving, the Chinese firm is investing heavily in the latter. BOE currently sits third in the list of the biggest mobile OLED panel supplier in the world, behind Samsung Display and LG Display.
Samsung could use BOE OLED panels in Galaxy S21 Plus
Samsung traditionally uses its in-house OLED displays in its Galaxy smartphones, but that might change in the future. DSCC says the Korean company may start multi-sourcing OLED panels for its smartphones.
The report talks about several reasons why Samsung might go this way. Firstly, multi-sourcing will create a price war between suppliers, effectively lowering the prices.
BOE is known for making cheaper OLED panels as compared to Samsung Display. Multi-sourcing will also mitigate potential supply disruptions caused by some unforeseen circumstances.
Samsung sourcing OLED panels from other manufacturers will free up some production space for Samsung Display. The company is already losing ground on the market. Its OLED market share is expected to drop to under 70 percent by the end of this year, down from more than 90 percent in Q1 2020.
Apple, one of Samsung Display's biggest customer, is reportedly switching to BOE for its iPhone 12 series. Many OEMs, such as Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi, still use Samsung OLED panels in their flagship phones. Samsung Display can sell OLED panels to them at better prices than it could to Samsung.
BOE also recently reached an agreement with Qualcomm to use the latter's ultrasonic sensors. Since Samsung employs the same sensor in its flagships, using a BOE-made display would not change things much for the company.
Last, but not least the fact that Samsung already uses BOE's OLED panels in its Galaxy Watch Active makes it easier for the company to source more OLED panels from it.
DSCC, however, says Samsung might also consider sourcing OLED panels from TCL-owned CSOT. The latter already has ties with the Korean company for LCD TV panels. It'll be interesting to see how things shape up from here.
Samsung has confirmed that the Galaxy A51 5G will become official on May 7. The company confirmed the information via its Korean website, though this phone is expected to become available outside of Europe as well.
The A51 5G will follow the Galaxy A71 5G which was announced earlier this month. The Galaxy A71 5G actually launched in the US, so it will be interesting to see if the same will happen with its sibling.
The Galaxy A51 5G will become official on May 7, following its 4G model
Do note that this will not be the initial launch of the Galaxy A51 in general. That device was announced back in December last year, this is only its 5G variant.
Having that in mind, we know pretty much everything about that device at the moment. Do note that there are some spec differences here, though not many. The phone will be made out of metal and glass, and it will include a display camera hole. That hole will be centered at the top of the display.
The device will include a flat display, and almost non-existent bezels. Four cameras will be placed on the back of the phone, in the top-left corner of its back side. Samsung's logo will also be included back there.
The device will feature a 6.5-inch fullHD+ Super AMOLED display, and we're guessing a 6GB RAM variant will become available. The device will include 128GB of storage, and you will be able to expand that via a microSD card.
The Exynos 980 will be included inside of this phone
The Exynos 9611 64-bit octa-core processor fuels the 4G variant of this phone. Well, Samsung will upgrade that to the Exynos 980 in the 5G variant of the Galaxy A51 5G.
The battery capacity will be a bit different than on the 4G variant. The 4G variant includes a 4,000mAh battery, while Samsung is planning to utilize a 4,500mAh unit in the Galaxy A51 5G.
There is a good reason for that, 5G. If you're able to take advantage of 5G connectivity, that extra battery capacity will sure come in handy. 15W fast charging will also be included, and the same goes for an in-display fingerprint scanner (optical).
Android 10 will come pre-installed on the 5G variant of this phone, along with Samsung's One UI 2.0 Android skin. A 48-megapixel main camera will be included on the back, backed by a 12-megapixel ultrawide unit. Two 5-megapixel cameras will also be included, macro and depth cameras.
The phone will become available in Prism Crush Black, Prism Crush Pink, and Prism Crush White color options. There you have it, the Galaxy A51 5G will become official on May 7. Samsung did not share anything regarding this phone's availability outside of Korea.
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