Posts From Kyle Wiggers

Kyle Wiggers
68 posts

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.

Motorola Moto G6, Moto G6 Play, Moto E5 Play, and Moto E5 Plus First Impressions
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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...
How Dirac Enhances the Sound Quality of OnePlus, Xiaomi, OPPO, and Huawei devices
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How Dirac Enhances the Sound Quality of OnePlus, Xiaomi, OPPO, and Huawei devices

March 5, 2018
You might not have ever heard of Dirac, but if you've used a Xiaomi, OPPO, Huawei, or OnePlus phone in recent years, chances are you've heard their software in action. The Swedish audio firm works with an increasing number of device makers to optimize the sound quality of smartphone loudspeakers and headphone outputs. Dirac's smartphone suite, Power...
Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ Hands On: More of the same, but with a bit more polish
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Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ Hands On: More of the same, but with a bit more polish

February 28, 2018
If there were any doubts that Samsung had lost its touch, the South Korean company quelled them at Mobile World Congress 2018… mostly. On Sunday, the smartphone maker formally announced the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+, the newest phones in its storied Galaxy series. Both have lightning-fast processors in Samsung’s Exynos 9810 or Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845...
ASUS Unveils the ZenFone 5 and 5Z with iPhone X-Style Notches, and the 18:9 ZenFone 5Q and Max M1
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ASUS Unveils the ZenFone 5 and 5Z with iPhone X-Style Notches, and the 18:9 ZenFone 5Q and Max M1

February 27, 2018
ASUS announced the ASUS ZenFone 5 series at Mobile World Congress 2018, a lineup of new high-end, mid-range, and low-end devices: The ZenFone 5Z, which features Qualcomm's 845 chip; the ZenFone 5, a cheaper, slightly less powerful variant of the  ZenFone 5Z; and the ZenFone 5Q, which packs four cameras. Here's everything you need to...