Posts From Kyle Wiggers

Kyle Wiggers
Kyle Wiggers

Kyle Wiggers is a writer, Web designer, and podcaster with an acute interest in all things tech. When not reviewing gadgets or apps, he enjoys reading the New Yorker, tinkering with computers, and playing the occasional game of Rock Me Archimedes.

The History of Printing on Android and how the Mopria Alliance made it better

The History of Printing on Android and how the Mopria Alliance made it better

May 7, 2018
Prior to the debut of Android 8.0 Oreo's Default Print Service, printing documents on Android was easier said than done. Google's mobile operating system didn't gain native printer support until Android 4.4 KitKat, and with the exception of third-party solutions from the likes of Samsung, setting up a printer required vendor-specific plugins and drivers. But...
LG G7 ThinQ Hands-on: Improvements where it matters

LG G7 ThinQ Hands-on: Improvements where it matters

May 2, 2018
By all accounts, the LG G7 ThinQ has had a troubled history. The Korean company's mobile division intended to launch the flagship at Mobile World Congress 2018 in March, reportedly, but put the breaks on plans after LG chief Jo Seong-jin ordered the team to "[start] from scratch" and find a "strong[er] selling point". For a...
The LG G7 ThinQ will have a 6.1-inch QHD 19:5:9 display that reaches 1,000 Nit

The LG G7 ThinQ will have a 6.1-inch QHD 19:5:9 display that reaches 1,000 Nit

April 25, 2018
If the rumors are to be believed, little about the upcoming LG G7 ThinQ remains a mystery. A series of leaked renders recently revealed that LG's flagship will have a dedicated button for the Google Assistant, a display notch (a la the Essential Phone) that can be hidden with a toggle, and high-end audio in...
Motorola Moto G6, Moto G6 Play, Moto E5 Play, and Moto E5 Plus First Impressions

Motorola Moto G6, Moto G6 Play, Moto E5 Play, and Moto E5 Plus First Impressions

April 19, 2018
Motorola, the Chicago-based subsidiary of Lenovo, stumbled upon a winning strategy with the Moto E and Moto G series. The mid-to-low-tier smartphones remain incredibly popular in developing markets such as India, where the company has shipped more than six million units to date. But they're also a top seller in the U.S., where they're subsidized...
Qualcomm Announces The Vision Intelligence Platform, A Pair of Chipsets Designed For IoT Devices

Qualcomm Announces The Vision Intelligence Platform, A Pair of Chipsets Designed For IoT Devices

April 11, 2018
Chipmaker Qualcomm is undoubtedly best known for its Snapdragon series, but there's more to the company's portfolio than smartphone-optimized system-on-chips (SoCs). Take its Internet of Things lineup, for example: in January, it announced the Home Hub Platform, designed with smart home speakers, screens, and all-in-one devices in mind. And on Wednesday, it took the wraps...
ZTE Axon M: Laying the groundwork for a foldable phone future

ZTE Axon M: Laying the groundwork for a foldable phone future

April 3, 2018
When ZTE released the Axon M in late 2017, a smartphone with two identical displays and a hinge that folds shut like an inverse notebook, tech pundits dismissed it as gimmicky and uncompetitive. It isn’t the first dual-screen smartphone with a foldable form factor—the Kyocera Echo, Sony Tablet P, and the NEC Medias, the Axon...
Always-listening Hotword Recognition without power drain may soon come to Android apps with TrulyHandsfree

Always-listening Hotword Recognition without power drain may soon come to Android apps with TrulyHandsfree

April 3, 2018
Ever wonder how smartphones such as the Huawei Mate 9 respond to Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant commands ("Alexa", "OK, Google") even when the screen is switched off and locked? It's thanks to a hardware component called a DSP, or digital signal processor, a dedicated audio chip that handles low-power, always-on phrase detection (and other...
Google will start removing Chrome extensions with cryptocurrency mining scripts

Google will start removing Chrome extensions with cryptocurrency mining scripts

April 2, 2018
Despite new regulatory hurdles and a market downturn, the adoption of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin shows no sign of slowing down. In fact, it has given rise to a cottage industry: cryptocurrency mining, or the process of validating transactions and obtaining cryptocurrency in return. Those transactions become more computationally intensive over time. These days, mining...
Chrome OS prepares to support ARCore for augmented reality apps

Chrome OS prepares to support ARCore for augmented reality apps

March 28, 2018
ARCore, Google's augmented reality development platform for Android, is software-based. Unlike the Mountain View company's ill-fated Project Tango, it doesn't require special hardware or sensors in order to map the depth of surroundings and project digital objects onto real-world surfaces. As a result, it's compatible with a growing range of devices. (ARCore for All, an...
How to see what hidden APIs apps are using in Android P

How to see what hidden APIs apps are using in Android P

March 27, 2018
In late February, we spotted commits in the Android Open Source Code suggesting that Google would restrict applications from accessing undocumented/hidden APIs in the Android software development kit (SDK). The search giant later confirmed those changes; in Android P, API restrictions have expanded to cover Java language interfaces of the SDK, starting with rarely-used interfaces...
Android P may add support for automatically launching an app when connected to certain devices/accessories

Android P may add support for automatically launching an app when connected to certain devices/accessories

March 21, 2018
The Developer Preview for Android P was released in early March. With it came a host of changes, improvements, and even a regression or two. We've cataloged every new feature in an exhaustive two-part roundup, which is worth a read if you're looking to catch up. This is merely the first of at least four...
ARM Introduces the Mali-G52/G31 GPUs and the Mali-D51 Display and Mali-V52 Video Processors

ARM Introduces the Mali-G52/G31 GPUs and the Mali-D51 Display and Mali-V52 Video Processors

March 6, 2018
ARM, which was acquired by Softbank in 2016, is a British holding company that develops and licenses the system-on-chip (SoC) architectures in billions of smartphones, set-top boxes, and Internet of Things (IoT) gizmos. Its technologies form the foundation of SoCs from Samsung, MediaTek, and HiSilicon, and those partners and others have shipped more than 125...