Latest Articles
Clicking featured snippets in Google Search will now take you directly to the result
Google Search is getting a nifty add-on: now, clicking a featured snippet on your search results will take you directly to your result.
Google offers dozens of different Internet services, but its most important one has always been Search. Search has undergone many changes since 1998, and two of those changes were designed to make searching more convenient and accessible to users: Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) and Featured snippets. The former makes loading web content much faster on mobile devices while the latter shows you portions of a webpage that Google thinks has the answer you're looking for. Since December 2018, clicking an AMP link from a featured snippet would highlight the exact part of the page that was featured, and now, that same functionality has extended more broadly.
Google is being sued for tracking users in Incognito Mode
Google is going under fire again for their privacy practices: this time, they are facing a bad lawsuit for tracking users even in Incognito Mode.
Incognito Mode is a feature most of us take for granted by now. All current browsers have at least some iteration of it: a mode where browsing history and cookies are not saved. Many people wrongly assume that Incognito Mode makes you completely anonymous online. That is, in fact, not true, and Chrome even warns you of that when starting a session. However, some argue that Google is still collecting some data, and now the company is facing a $5 billion lawsuit for this.
Facebook launches a tool to let you easily hide old embarrassing posts
Facebook is launching a tool that will let you easily find and hide or delete old posts, letting you take control over embarrassing posts from your past.
Most of us have probably had our Facebook accounts for several years. It's probably the place where some of us, counting myself as well, have spent our teenage years. But most importantly, though, we have all changed radically since we first opened our account. And everything we posted back then might seem highly embarrassing by now. The "memories" feature of Facebook has only made this worse: while it can bring back nice memories of your past, it also reminds you of the existence of these embarrassing posts. You're able to delete them but it's a chore. Facebook wants to make it easier, though.
[Update 2: Metro Games] Google Stadia adds Jotun and Sundered, announces Elder Scrolls Online launch date, and rolls out 1440p streaming
Google Stadia is now adding a couple of games to their library as well as additional content for existing ones. Oh, and 1440p streaming too.
It's increasingly looking like cloud game streaming services are here to stay. These services are useful ways to enjoy the latest games for those who don't have, can't buy, or won't buy gaming hardware, whether we're talking about consoles or high-end PCs. Google Stadia is one of the leading cloud gaming services, and Google seems to be fully invested in growing this service. Now, the company is adding more titles and features to Stadia as they have announced in their latest blog post.
Samsung's Exynos 850 is an 8nm chip for budget Android smartphones
The Exynos 850 processor has been officially unveiled: it's fabricated in an 8nm process, and it's engineered towards budget Android phones. Check it out!
Samsung has been designing its own Exynos chipsets for several years now. The Korean smartphone maker normally uses both Qualcomm Snapdragon and Exynos processors for their flagship and upper mid-range devices, but they usually use their own in-house Exynos chips for their budget smartphones. Samsung has recently (and quietly) published a product page for a new entry in their Exynos lineup of processors: the Exynos 850.
HMD Global launches 3 budget Nokia smartphones for Cricket Wireless
HMD Global has launched the Nokia C5 Endi, C2 Tava, and C2 Tennen, 3 budget Android smartphones headed for Cricket Wireless in the US.
Since HMD Global licensed the rights to the Nokia smartphone brand, the company has been releasing out new Android smartphones like it's nobody's business. They've released a few high-end smartphones but they've mostly focused on mid-range and budget devices. In the U.S., HMD Global sells a lot of budget Nokia smartphones through carriers. Today, the company announced the Nokia C5 Endi, Nokia C2 Tava, and Nokia C2 Tennen for Cricket Wireless.
OPPO Find X2 Neo and Find X2 Lite forums are open as both go on pre-order in Europe
The OPPO Find X2 Neo and OPPO Find X2 Lite, mid-range versions of the Find X2, are up for pre-order in multiple European countries.
OPPO recently brought back its Find flagship smartphone line with the launch of the Find X2 and Find X2 Pro. Unlike the original Find X series, though, the Find X2 series also comes in mid-range variants for those who want to get a taste of the flagship experience but can't pay the high-end devices' steep prices. The OPPO Find X2 Neo and the OPPO Find X2 Lite are both upper mid-range smartphones in the Find X2 series, and after launching in Germany last week, the two phones are now available in the UK, France, Spain, Italy, and other countries in Europe.
Raspberry Pi 4 now comes with up to 8GB of RAM for $75
The Raspberry Pi 4, the latest version of the Raspberry Pi, is now available in a more powerful 8GB RAM model for only $75.
The Raspberry Pi 4 was announced close to a year ago. It provided amazing specs in the all-familiar credit card-sized presentation and proved to be a well-received successor to the Raspberry Pi 3. Among some of the improvements that were included with this device were a more powerful ARM SoC, a USB-C power supply, and several RAM options including 1GB, 2GB, and 4GB. Let's go back to the RAM for a bit, though: The Raspberry Pi Foundation is now adding a new 8GB RAM tier for the Pi 4, priced at just $75.
Google tests one-click subscription sign-ups on the Android TV Play Store
Android TV, or more specifically Google Play on Android TV, may soon allow you to subscribe to services right from the app listing.
Subscription models are present in the vast majority of video streaming services, and in fact, most of them don't even offer a free version of their services. This has become so commonplace that downloading a new video streaming app basically guarantees you can't use it immediately since you need to sign up first. If you're doing that on a phone, then it's not too difficult to do. On Android TV, though, it's a bit more difficult to sign up for a new account since you have to deal with the clunky remote for keyboard input. A solution to this clunky setup process is being tested on Android TV's Google Play Store at this moment.
Android TV can now play casted audio in the background
Android TV has added support for playing casted audio in the background while using other apps. Simply open Spotify or YouTube Music then cast to your TV.
Android TV is an excellent operating system for smart TVs and set-top boxes. It's based on Android (although Google could be rebranding the name so the average user won't know that) and has access to a special catalog of apps optimized for TVs in Google Play. One of the best features of the platform, though, is integrated support for the Google Cast protocol. All Android TV certified devices can act as a Chromecast receiver thanks to the pre-installed "Chromecast Built-in" app. If you've ever owned a Chromecast device, you'll know how convenient this feature is. Now, Android TV's built-in Cast functionality is getting a new feature: Playing casted audio content in the background.
WhatsApp adds a shortcut to Facebook Messenger Rooms for video calls
WhatsApp is being tied in with Facebook Messenger as the app gets a shortcut for accessing Messenger's new Rooms feature for large-scale videocalling.
Facebook has started rolling out yet another messaging service: Facebook Messenger Rooms. The premise of Messenger Rooms is simple: Many of us are under stay-at-home orders so meetings, be it work or social, need to go virtual. Most people jumped onto platforms like Zoom, so Facebook wants a piece of this pie which is why Messenger Rooms is all about group video calls. One of Room's major advantages is that it's readily available to Facebook's massive userbase, but Facebook is also looking to draw in users by integrating the app into its other services like WhatsApp.
[Update: More Countries] RCS support in Google Messages is rolling out in Italy
RCS in Google Messages is now officially being rolled out in one new European country: Italy. Download the messaging app now to chat!
Rich Communication Services, or RCS, is a communication protocol that's often described as the successor to SMS or an alternative to iMessage for Android. With RCS, users can exchange media files in high quality, see read receipts, see typing indicators, start group chats, and more over mobile data and even Wi-Fi. However, universal, app-independent RCS support requires carriers to implement the protocol in their networks, which some have done while others have dragged their feet on. Google has been pushing RCS adoption under its "Chat" banner, using the company's own servers and "Messages" app to bypass the need for carrier adoption. So far, Google has rolled out RCS in the Google Messages app for users in the U.S., Spain, the U.K., and France, but now they're expanding support to another European country: Italy.
[Update: Rolling Out] Facebook Messenger "Rooms" are video chats for up to 50 people
Facebook Messenger is adding a new feature called "Rooms", which will allow you to connect to video chats of up to 50 people in a fashion similar to Zoom.
I'm sure I don't have to mention again why most of us are forced to stay home: we all know there's a pandemic out there and that we need to stay safe, follow the World Health Organization's advice, and practice social distancing at all times to prevent the spread of COVID-19. But practicing social distancing does not mean that we have to be cut off from our friends and acquaintances. Most in-person meetings and classes have been replaced by video chats of multiple people at the same time. The most common choice for that became Zoom in the past few weeks, but the app has also been plagued by some privacy and security issues these days.
Huawei may launch a P30 Pro "New Edition" with Google apps onboard
A "New Edition" re-release of the Huawei P30 Pro might be coming to the market soon with Google apps on board. Read more about it!
This is probably not a secret to anyone reading this by now, but the United States government has been making Huawei's smartphone business hurt. Because the U.S. Commerce Department placed Huawei and its subsidiaries on the country's Entity List, U.S.-based companies can no longer export products to the Chinese technology giant. As it turns out, those export restrictions include software, so one of the immediate side effects of this trade ban is that many new Huawei and Honor smartphones cannot ship with Google Mobile Services (GMS) pre-installed, which includes the Google Play Store and Google Play Services. Both the Huawei Mate 30 series and the Huawei P40 series, Huawei's late 2019 and early 2020 flagship devices, don't ship with Google apps as a result. However, Huawei has found some clever ways around this trade ban, one of which involves tweaking an existing, already-certified model and then re-releasing it to the market. That's exactly what appears to be happening now as the company seems to be preparing to launch the Huawei P30 Pro New Edition.
OnePlus Gallery 3.11.2 adds a Google Lens shortcut to analyze images
The OnePlus Gallery app is now getting a shortcut for quickly accessing Google Lens right inside the app. Check it out now!
OnePlus' OxygenOS software offers a pretty decent set of first-party applications out of the box. While we're huge fans of Google Photos for its cloud backup and album organization features, the OnePlus Gallery in OxygenOS is more than suitable as an offline gallery app. It provides you with easy access to your locally downloaded media files and allows you to quickly edit photos and videos. Furthermore, OnePlus keeps updating the app with new features. The latest feature in version 3.11.2 is integration with Google Lens, Google's image recognition tool that analyzes images and looks up relevant context online.
TVUsage brings Digital Wellbeing and app lock to Android TV
TVUsage is an app that provides Digital Wellbeing-like functionality to Android TV devices such as TVs and set top boxes. Check it out!
Digital Wellbeing was one of the best new features to come to Android in Android 9 Pie. Not everyone may be using it, but those who do acknowledge the importance of cutting down screen time on your smartphone to spend time doing more productive things. Google's Digital Wellbeing app helps you limit excessive smartphone usage with features like tracking app usage, setting app timers, enabling a "focus mode", setting up bedtime schedules, and much more. Google has brought Digital Wellbeing to most Android phones, but there's no comparable feature on other Android platforms like Android TV. Now, however, there's a third-party application that helps you manage the screen time on Android TV devices. Called TVUsage, this app by XDA Senior Member balachandarlinks brings screen time management features to Android TV.
Google Home app may soon let you set a separate volume level for the Google Assistant
The Google Home app may soon allow you to set a separate volume level for the Google Assistant instead of having to tweak the volume device-wide.
Google Home and Google Nest devices are more than just smart speakers and displays. They also serve as hubs where you can communicate with the Google Assistant and control your home to have them help you throughout the day. But one longstanding issue with these devices is the fact that the volume for spoken Assistant queries is the same level as other media. This means that if you're blasting music at full volume, the Google Assistant will also yell at you at the same volume. Equally as annoying is the case when you lower the volume for Assistant only to find yourself unable to hear your music, podcast, or news. Google might be addressing this issue soon with a future update to the Google Home app.
YouTube for Android TV adopts AV1 video codec in certain devices
YouTube for Android TV is now adding support for the AV1 video codec in certain hardware-supported devices. Check it out!
News about video codecs may not seem particularly exciting to most users, but they can make a huge impact on our media consumption without us even realizing it. That's especially true since we're all stuck at home using the Internet to do online classes, watch TV shows and movies from Netflix, or go down the YouTube rabbit hole. Each of the companies behind your favorite online video service carefully considered which video codec to use to encode their videos to optimize the size without sacrificing heavily on quality or power consumption for the end-user. One video codec that has seen a lot of support from enthusiasts lately is the royalty-free AV1 codec which Google has implemented for some YouTube videos and Google Duo video calls. Now, Google is adding support for watching videos encoded in AV1 in the latest version of the YouTube app for Android TV devices.
Samsung is dropping support for MirrorLink, Car Mode, and Find My Car services
Samsung is dropping support for a few car-related services, such as MirrorLink, Car Mode, and Find My Car come June 1st, 2020.
Pour one out for yet more services being axed by Samsung. As Samsung keeps modernizing their software experience, they've also started to get rid of those services they don't consider useful or popular anymore. The newest victims of this are 3 car-related services: MirrorLink, Car Mode, and Find My Car. All 3 of these features could, in theory, come in handy for Samsung-owning drivers, but it's likely they have not received enough usage for Samsung to keep up the support.
[Update: Not Nougat] Amazon updates its 2017 Fire tablets to FireOS 6 based on Android 7.1 Nougat
Amazon Fire devices have been known to launch with old software, but now their 2017 lineup of tablets are now receiving an update to less old software.
Amazon Fire tablets are most popular for their dirt-cheap pricing and accessibility. The software inside them, while based on Android, is a long shot from the Android experience you'll find on other devices. For one, Amazon doesn't bother with Google Play certification, which means that they have greater control over open-source Android without having to follow Google's guidelines. They can ship whatever Android version they want, and their software is heavily customized. Now, Amazon is updating its 2017 lineup of Fire tablets (7th-Gen Fire HD 10, Fire HD 8, and Fire 7) to FireOS 6, which is based on (brace yourselves) Android 7.1 Nougat. Yes, that one.