Latest Articles
Google Chrome's Privacy Sandbox initiative gets pushed back to 2023
Google Chrome's Privacy Sandbox initiative, outlining Google's plans to remove third party cookies from Chrome, gets pushed back to 2023.
The key to a safer Internet is to involve everyone, from users to web developers to advertisers and everyone else, in the development of new privacy measures. But the Internet is a big place, and there are many companies that benefit from tracking you online. This is why Google launched the Privacy Sandbox, an initiative meant to create and launch new technologies to keep your personal browsing habits safe. It was first announced in March and was met with controversy, especially over Google's decision to replace third-party cookies with its in-house FLoC solution. Although Google still plans to remove third-party cookies from Chrome, the company has announced that it is pushing back its timeline.
Windows 11's widgets pane takes inspiration from Google Discover
Windows 11 is introducing a new widget pane, providing similar functionality to Google Now on Android phones. Read on to know more!
Windows 11 is finally here. Microsoft took to the (virtual) stage today to announce the next generation of Windows, the operating system that will replace Windows 10 when it finally launches later this year. While Microsoft's new update introduces an all-new design language with tons of new features, there are also many smaller changes that, while definitely not game-changers, do make the overall Windows 11 experience a lot more cohesive and better. One of the new changes come in the form of new widgets. One of Windows 11's biggest new features, as announced by Microsoft, is a new widgets pane, and it looks amazing.
Microsoft Store could finally be your one-stop shop for apps and media on Windows 11
A complete rethinking of the Microsoft Store is coming with Windows 11, including a new design, new sections, and new types of apps.
Microsoft officially unveiled Windows 11 today after a long bout of rumors including a leaked build that revealed a lot of the new features we saw today. We clearly didn't see everything in the leaked build, however, and Microsoft's announcement today shows it. Windows 11 is not just a re-skin of Windows 10, but it also changes a lot of the inner workings of Windows, introducing features like Android app support, snap layouts and snap groups, and more. While the new design, present in most parts of the operating system, are certainly news-worthy, some things are more than just a redesign. Today, Microsoft also announced a complete rethinking of the Microsoft Store, Microsoft's app store for Windows.
Windows 11's snap layouts and snap groups make multitasking easier
Windows 11 is introducing two new features for those who multitask a lot: Snap Layouts and Snap Groups. Read on to know more!
Windows 11 is here as Microsoft's biggest update to Windows since Windows 10 was released in 2015. While it was believed that Windows 10 would be the "last version of Windows" and that the operating system would function more as a service that's constantly updated, it became clearer and clearer over the past few weeks that we'd be getting a version bump. Our first peek at Windows 11 happened thanks to a leaked build last week, showing a radically different design more akin to the axed Windows 10X, and this is pretty much what we saw today from Microsoft's official event. Multitaskers will find amazing value in Windows 11 thanks to a new feature called Snap Layouts.
Google unveils a more affordable pair of earbuds called Pixel Buds A
Google has just unveiled the Pixel Buds A-Series, bringing most of what makes the Pixel Buds great and bringing that to a lower price point.
The Pixel Buds lineup has a rocky, and oddly Google-worthy, story. The first ones were introduced to the market in 2017, and featured a braided cable between both buds, so they weren't truly wireless. They also suffered from other flaws that detracted from their overall appeal, at least compared to other earbuds in the market. I owned ones and I loved them despite those flaws, but they suffered from criticism from both users and reviewers alike, and I saw where the criticism came from. The second-gen Pixel Buds introduced years later were all-around a better product, but at $179, they could still be considered a hard pass for some, especially compared to their competition. Now, Google has introduced a more affordable pair of wireless earbuds, the Pixel Buds A.
Huawei teases the P50 with its gargantuan camera bump
Huawei is bringing the Huawei P50 series of smartphones to the market, with massive, improved cameras in tow. Read on to know more
Huawei keeps looking for ways to overcome its (currently many) hardships, and today, we had a good look at one of them: HarmonyOS. EMUI is no more: HarmonyOS looks to completely revamp Huawei's software experience on everything from smartphones to smartwatches, and they held an event today to showcase it in all its glory. While HarmonyOS itself seems to be, at least at first glance, another fork of Android, it still represents a big step for the company towards software independence. HarmonyOS was not, however, the only star of the show. We also had a peek at the upcoming Huawei P50, and it looks... curious, for a lack of a better word.
Verizon wants to get old phones off its network by offering a free 5G phone
Verizon really wants you to get rid of your old, 4G-only smartphone. Now, they're offering users a free upgrade to a 5G-capable phone!
The most annoying part about rolling out new mobile technology is actually getting people to adopt it. This is a problem pretty much everywhere in tech. Operating system adoption is a pretty good example of this: after a new version of an operating system gets released, it can be particularly cumbersome sometimes to get everyone on it, especially given how some older devices are not able to get them. Something similar is happening with 5G. Carriers want people to use 5G, but 5G requires new hardware, and a lot of people are using older phones. Verizon is apparently bringing out the big guns to handle this situation: now, it's offering customers a chance to get a free 5G phone in order to get older phones off its network.
Apple TV is now available on Android TV
Apple TV is now available on Android TV devices, including Chromecasts, set top boxes, streaming sticks, and TVs. Read on to know more!
The fact that Apple even has a video streaming service, Apple TV, is often forgotten by users outside of Apple's own ecosystem. There, it's displayed prominently, and it's available on most Apple devices. But the Cupertino-based giant has also started slowly rolling out the service on competing platforms as well. If you actually like the content that's available there, Apple TV is one of the best-priced alternatives in the video streaming space: a flat $4.99/mo fee gives you full unrestricted access to all content in the platform, even undercutting alternatives that were considered cheap on their own like Disney+. Now, you can now enjoy the service in your Android TV-powered streaming stick/box or TV.
OnePlus Nord CE leaked specs suggests it'll compete with Samsung's Galaxy A52
The OnePlus Nord CE is coming as a new OnePlus-branded mid-ranger, with specifications eerily similar to those of the Galaxy A52 5G.
OnePlus gave birth to the OnePlus Nord lineup last year with the OnePlus Nord, a device that launched with the very first non-800-series Snapdragon CPU used by OnePlus, the Snapdragon 765G. It also came with a similar design footprint, up to 12 GB of RAM, and up to 256 GB of storage. Then, the company followed it up with the OnePlus Nord N10 5G and the OnePlus Nord N100, two devices that pack way more sensible specifications, LCD displays, and cut a lot of other corners especially compared to the regular OnePlus Nord. The rumor mill is going wild on new devices in this series. Now, another new device is coming on the OnePlus Nord lineup: the OnePlus Nord CE. And it looks like OnePlus might want to position this device as competition to Samsung's Galaxy A52 5G.
Apple's next AirPods Pro reportedly won't launch this year
The next-gen AirPods Pro with a renewed design and new features are not coming this year, as per a new scoop by Bloomberg.
If you're an iOS user, there's a lot of options to consider if you're looking for truly wireless earbuds, but if you want full compatibility, Apple's product lineup is as good as it gets. And the AirPods Pro is the option Apple positions as their flagship, top-of-the-line product as far as this product category goes, only surpassed in price by the AirPods Max. But they're getting older. They launched in 2019 right as Apple launched their iPhone 11 lineup, but 2019 being 2 years ago, they're getting old quickly. New ones are in development, but we might not see new ones launch until at least next year.
Samsung unveils two new cheaper tablets: the Galaxy Tab S7 FE and Tab A7 Lite
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE and the Tab A7 Lite are here as new propositions from Samsung in the budget tablet segment. Check them out!
Samsung has a solid lineup of tablets under their Galaxy Tab lineup, from flagship products with the Galaxy Tab S lineups to other products with more sensible pricing in the Galaxy Tab A lineup. And even with all the faults that currently plague Android tablets themselves, they are currently as good as they get for Android tablets. Samsung actually attempts to make it usable for productivity with DeX, the flagship products are properly specced. Samsung has now introduced two all new products to their Galaxy Tab lineup: the Galaxy Tab S7 FE and the Galaxy Tab A7 Lite.
Xiaomi brings its 2019 Redmi Note 8 back from the dead
Xiaomi is bringing back the Redmi Note 8 with the Redmi Note 8 2021, with updated internals and a familiar footprint. Check it out!
Few devices have managed to attain the success that the Xiaomi Redmi Note 8, released in 2019, has managed to attain. It followed in the footsteps of the also highly successful Redmi Note 7, which, back then, featured one of the first 48MP rear camera setups in the Android smartphone market, a teardrop notch, and a Snapdragon 660 SoC, which provided decent performance for the price. It was also very well priced, which allowed many people from all classes around the world to get on the Xiaomi bandwagon. The Redmi Note 8 one-upped it with a quad rear camera setup, a slightly better Snapdragon 665 processor, and more while keeping the price as low as ever.
Google Docs is finally getting a feature found in basic word processors
Google Docs is finally getting a basic feature that Microsoft Word has since the 90s: placing images in front/behind text. Learn more!
Google Docs is pretty neat for getting stuff written up and edited on the go. It has even replaced dedicated word processing software like Microsoft's Word. It has big advantages over software that needs to be installed: it's accessible from pretty much everywhere you can get into a browser. You also have Android apps for easy editing while you're on the move. But there are also disadvantages. Notably, there's a handful of features that these web word processors usually lack. Today, Google has corrected one of the biggest shortcomings of Google Docs.
Google Chrome is trying really hard to get users to click on news articles
Google Chrome's newest experiment in Chrome 90 shows that Google is trying really hard to get people to use their Discover feature.
Google Chrome is quite likely the most used browser in the world, but Google being Google, it often likes pushing new features down your throat. One of them is the Discover feed. You can currently find it in a lot of places within the Google ecosystem, mainly on the Google app, but it also shows up in Chrome, particularly when you open up a new tab. It's been there for a long time, actually---since Chrome 54, to be precise. So you could say that it's pretty much commonplace already. But Google wants users to really use the feature, and the newest experiment in Chrome 90 shows Google making even more room where Google's Discover feed will show up.
Grab the Verizon Unlocked OnePlus 8 for half-off right now!
The OnePlus 8, specifically the Verizon Unlocked model, is currently at its lowest price ever: half-off its original MSRP. Check it out!
The OnePlus 8 launched last year was, if you ask me, an underrated smartphone. It didn't pack the same punch as the much more publicized OnePlus 8 Pro in terms of features or performance, but it was still a decent follow-up to the OnePlus 7 and the OnePlus 7T, with an updated flagship SoC, a high refresh rate display, as well as respectable amounts of both RAM and storage. While it may have been superseded by the OnePlus 8T and the OnePlus 9 for some time, it's still a pretty respectable smartphone, especially for what it's worth. It already came at a lower price point than the OnePlus 8 Pro did, but now, you can grab one for half-off its original price point!
Gboard is rolling out a new design with some pill-shaped keys
A slightly tweaked Gboard design, with pill-shaped keys that follow Google's newly announced design guidelines more closely, is rolling out.
Google's new Material You guidelines are huge and deeply changed, and they not only extend to Android 12 itself, but they're also going to extend to many other parts of the Google ecosystem as well. They give Material Design a much-needed facelift while also allowing for more customizability and design flexibility. One of the many Google apps that are getting facelifts based on some of these new features is Gboard. Gboard recently got released on Wear OS smartwatches, and we managed to spot a new UI revamp for Gboard that included automatic syncing with your wallpaper's colors. Now, Gboard is officially rolling out at least some of those design changes.
Google Photos adds a storage management tool ahead of unlimited backup changes
Ahead of the upcoming removal of unlimited free backups from Google Photos, the app is getting a new storage management tool. Learn more!
That dreaded day is about to arrive. Unlimited backup storage for Google Photos will be gone soon. Google has offered users free, high-quality backups for all photos and videos for probably as long as we can remember. And that was precisely one of the biggest selling points of the platform. Google even went so far as to offer free backups for full quality pictures rather than just high-quality ones as a perk for Pixel owners back when the first Google Pixel smartphones came out. Now, though, while you can still use Google Photos for free, you'll be limited to however many pictures can fit in the 15 GB that is offered to all Google accounts for free, and if you need more than that, you'll have to pay.
Here are all the emoji changes in Android 12 Beta 1
Android 12 brings several emoji revamps with new design changes and improvements to around 389 existing emojis. Read on to know more!
Another round of Android betas is here. During Google I/O 2021, Google introduced to the world a closer look at how Android 12, the upcoming version of Android, will look like and function once it's out. While Android 12 has been out as a developer preview for a while, we hadn't get seen the full extent of the UI changes that were coming with it. And Android 12 is one of the most outstanding updates in several years. It brings more radical improvements than even Android Pie, released in 2018, did, in terms of both functionality and looks. Material You is the most radical redesign to the original Material Design guidelines since they were first introduced back in 2014 with Android 5.0 Lollipop. There are other changes, however, that have gone unnoticed. One of them is a new emoji revamp.
Verizon subscribers can now get free games on iOS and Android
Verizon subscribers will now be able to grab free, ad-free games from both the App Store and the Google Play Store. Read on to know more!
Carriers often offer some pretty cool perks to get you to stick with them. Of course, with the smartphone market in the U.S. depending heavily on carriers and carrier support (something that has both pros and many cons), these carriers need these perks to stand out from the tight competition. Often, these perks come in the form of discounts on either smartphones or cell plans, but Verizon has an interesting one now, at least if you're a smartphone gamer. Now, Verizon users can enjoy a free Google Play Pass subscription for getting free games (and perks on games) on the Google Play Store.
Xbox consoles will be getting support for Dolby Vision on Apple TV and Spotify Video Podcasts
Xbox consoles are getting two new features today to improve your streaming experience: Dolby Vision on Apple TV and Spotify Video Podcasts.
Xbox consoles aren't just amazing for gaming. With an AMD Zen 2-based CPU and Radeon-based RDNA 2 graphics, the Xbox Series X and the Xbox Series S are ought to be great. But game consoles also often serve as all-purpose media consumption boxes as well, which is why you can use streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, and Spotify on it. And the experience for those will be stellar as well, with the Xbox Series X being capable of 8K video output and Dolby Atmos sound, as well as passthrough audio, which got added recently. Now, the Xbox lineup is getting a few improvements to its streaming capabilities.