Posts From Pranob Mehrotra

Pranob Mehrotra
Pranob Mehrotra

A Literature and Linguistics graduate with a keen interest in everything Android. When not writing about tech, Pranob spends most of his time either playing League of Legends or lurking on Reddit.

The “Freedom Phone” is an overpriced smartphone that doesn’t free you from anything

The “Freedom Phone” is an overpriced smartphone that doesn’t free you from anything

July 16, 2021
It's not every day that a new smartphone company pops up, claiming to offer a device that protects your "freedom of speech" from Big Tech. So, when Erik Finman, a self-proclaimed "Bitcoin millionaire," announced the Freedom Phone yesterday, it piqued our interest. Finman claims that the Freedom Phone is "the first major pushback on Big Tech...
Barely anyone is using mmWave 5G in the U.S.

Barely anyone is using mmWave 5G in the U.S.

July 15, 2021
Although 5G adoption in the US has seen a massive uptick in the last few months, a recent OpenSignal report suggests that barely anyone is using mmWave 5G. According to the report, Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile users connect to a mmWave 5G network less than 1% of the time. The mmWave 5G experience report (via LightReading) reveals...
Transcribe your recordings automatically with the new Mobvoi AI Recorder

Transcribe your recordings automatically with the new Mobvoi AI Recorder

July 15, 2021
Wearables manufacturer Mobvoi has been working on a unique AI Recorder for the last few months. We first saw references to the recorder in an FCC filing late last year, which gave us our first look at the device. Subsequently, we spotted references to the Mobvoi AI Recorder in an APK teardown of the Mobvoi...
Amazon rolls out new Fire TV UI to smart TVs and soundbars

Amazon rolls out new Fire TV UI to smart TVs and soundbars

July 15, 2021
In September last year, Amazon unveiled a revamped Fire TV UI and two new Fire TV sticks. The new UI aimed to offer users a more personalized experience and help them discover new content on the platform. At the time, the new UI was only available on the next-gen Fire TV Stick and the Fire...
OnePlus 9 series: Everything you need to know about OnePlus’ latest flagships

OnePlus 9 series: Everything you need to know about OnePlus’ latest flagships

July 15, 2021
OnePlus' hype train has finally reached its destination, and the company has unveiled its latest flagships -- the OnePlus 9, the OnePlus 9 Pro, and the OnePlus 9R. The phones feature an all-new design, top-of-the-line performance chops, and a new camera system developed in collaboration with Hasselblad. On top of that, the OnePlus 9 series...
Xiaomi’s upcoming Android tablet receives FCC certification

Xiaomi’s upcoming Android tablet receives FCC certification

July 15, 2021
Xiaomi is working on a trio of high-end Android tablets. Over the last few months, we've seen plenty of details about the tablets, including their codenames, hardware specifications, and more. A few weeks ago, we also got our first look at an Apple Magic Keyboard-like accessory for the upcoming tablets. While Xiaomi still hasn't made...
Google is adding a built-in screenshot tool to Chrome for desktop

Google is adding a built-in screenshot tool to Chrome for desktop

July 15, 2021
Google is currently working on adding a consolidated share menu in Chrome for desktop. We first spotted the in-development share menu earlier this year in May and learned that it would give users access to four sharing options -- Copy link, QR code, Save page as, and Cast -- within Chrome's Omnibox. However, a new...
Latest OnePlus Watch update brings UI optimizations and positioning improvements

Latest OnePlus Watch update brings UI optimizations and positioning improvements

July 14, 2021
OnePlus launched its first smartwatch -- the OnePlus Watch -- during the OnePlus 9 series launch event earlier this year. In our review, we found that it offered a premium design, great battery life, and snappy performance. However, it lacked polish, and it was missing a couple of key features that OnePlus announced at launch....
Google Photos might soon let you ask your friends for photos

Google Photos might soon let you ask your friends for photos

July 14, 2021
Google Photos currently supports a couple of different ways to help you share photos with friends. However, the app offers no easy way to let you ask your friends for photos. But that might change soon, as Google is now working on adding this functionality to the app. Prolific app reverse engineer Jane Manchun Wong, who...
Here’s how often your Xiaomi phone will get security updates

Here’s how often your Xiaomi phone will get security updates

July 14, 2021
Xiaomi has shared an updated security updates schedule for its vast portfolio of Mi, Redmi, and POCO devices. The schedule highlights how often your Xiaomi device will receive Android security patches by Google, along with patches for Xiaomi-specific issues. Check out the section below to find out how often your Xiaomi, Redmi, or POCO phone...
Google’s foldable Pixel phone will reportedly have an ultra thin glass layer

Google’s foldable Pixel phone will reportedly have an ultra thin glass layer

July 14, 2021
Google has been working on a foldable smartphone for quite a while. The company first confirmed that it was "prototyping foldable displays and many other new hardware technologies" all the way back in May 2019. But, at the time, it shared no plans to bring a foldable smartphone to the market. We saw references to the...
AT&T upgrades its Unlimited Elite plan to compete with T-Mobile

AT&T upgrades its Unlimited Elite plan to compete with T-Mobile

July 13, 2021
In February this year, T-Mobile announced a new Magenta MAX plan that offered subscribers truly unlimited data on its 4G and 5G networks with no throttling whatsoever. AT&T is now following suit with an upgrade for its existing Unlimited Elite plan. Previously, AT&T used to throttle speeds on the Unlimited Elite plan after customers used 100GB...