Cody Toombs
Senior Reviewer
Contributing since February, 2013
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1511articles
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7Guides
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37Reviews
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65Deals
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About Cody Toombs
Cody has been writing with Android Police for ten years. While best known for the hundreds of APK Teardowns and breaking news on many of Google’s new products and services, he also covers deeper technical topics about the inner workings of Android, app development, and security. Cody is a software engineer and consultant with two decades of experience developing mobile and enterprise applications. In addition to writing, Cody is a regular podcaster and has made appearances on CNN, All About Android, and Tech News Today. Cody is also an active photographer and videographer, occasional gamer, and an all-around decent human.
What tech products or categories are you most passionate about?
Cameras and smartphones for photography. New technologies are bringing a lot of interesting things capabilities to the worlds of photography and video.
What was your first phone and what do you remember about it?
My true first phone was some old Motorola candybar phone from before the days of smartphones. I started on smartphones with the Cingular 2125 (a rebrand of the HTC Faraday, I think?)
Latest Articles
Recent Nest Hub Max preview software messes with connected devices, but there's already an easy fix
These are the risks of living on the edge
Despite the potential consequences, many of us tend to join preview programs fairly often. Sometimes the early software releases give us new features and improvements well ahead of other users, but from time to time, they have some unfortunate side effects. If you're using a Google Nest Hub Max to provide connectivity to a Nest Detect or Next x Yale Lock, and you've received a recent firmware update as part of the preview program, there's a good chance those security devices have lost internet connectivity. But the good news: There's a simple fix.
YouTube Kids for Android TV passes 10 million installs
It looks like quite a few Android TV devices are set up for children
Almost exactly two years ago, the YouTube app crossed 5 billion downloads on the Play Store. Earlier this year, we also saw a much smaller 50 million milestone hit by the Android TV version of the YouTube app. Both apps have the advantage of coming pre-installed on most suitable devices, which means these accomplishments are owed partially to the success of the OS. However, the latest streaming app to hit a new threshold is YouTube Kids for Android TV, which now boasts 10 million downloads, and none of them were pre-installed.
Google Maps has changed a lot over the years, beginning as a tool for mapping and navigation, and progressively introducing big and clever features like current traffic monitoring, incident reporting, reviews, messaging, and much more. The latest change comes straight out of the social network playbook by introducing a news feed filled with recent local events, reviews, openings, new businesses, and more.
Jackery cuts prices on its giant battery packs by up to 20% for Black Friday
You call that silly little puck a battery? Look what I've got!
It's one thing to carry around a battery to keep your phone charged for an extra day or two, and you could certainly shop some options for that with Anker's Black Friday sale, but what if you want to keep ALL your gear charged up? Let's talk about the Jackery Power Station Explorer, a series of huge batteries designed to power your phones, laptops, TVs, and sure, you might even charge a car battery if push comes to shove (note: not intended for jumping a car). All three sizes are on sale today for your serious charging needs.[EMBED_YT]https://youtu.be/5J3cdN0MWh8[/EMBED_YT]You may not have heard of these batteries before, but you can check out our review for an in-depth look at how well the batteries perform. Put simply, you can run a good camping setup on one of these for several hours, or even several days if you're not too demanding. Alternatively, they could also be useful options for powering photography gear or roughing it at home if the power goes out.
Get Anker batteries and charging accessories at up to 37% off for Black Friday
Some deals end tonight while others last through Monday
Charging on the go is already a pain, but if 2020 has taught us anything, it's that we could be a little more wary of fumbling with charging locations that lots of other people have touched before us. If you're thinking about carrying some gadget juice with you in the future, Amazon and Anker are running some Black Friday deals that are definitely worth checking out. Some of these are only good for Black Friday, so don't wait around too long.
Amazon has dozens of memory cards and hard drives on sale for up to 40% off today
Just what you want, memory from 2020
In case you hadn't heard, there is a big sale going on right now. Don't worry, we won't hold it against you if this is somehow the first time you're hearing about it... in late November. But you know the deal, if there's even a hint of something going on sale, Amazon will have a few pages of deals on memory cards, SSDs, and hard drives. These are all Deal of the Day offers, so the discounts technically go away at midnight (PDT), but it wouldn't be surprising if many of these reappear over the weekend.Some items are going for almost half-off, so there's a good chance you'll find something worth picking up. There are two separate pages on Amazon with different selections of products featuring something from just about every major brand in the storage game, including SanDisk, LaCie, Seagate, Western Digital, PNY, Synology, and others.
Zhiyun Smooth-X and Smooth-XS review: The new standard for travel gimbals
Portable and affordable
Smartphone gimbals (a.k.a. stabilizers) aren't a new product category, but they've changed and improved quite a bit over the years. While there are always new features being added, that can make them cumbersome and get in the way of usability. Zhiyun is trying out a more simplified and compact design with the Smooth-X and Smooth-XS that's targeted at travelers and casual users. These aren't as flexible as most gimbals, but they're easier to use, cost less, and take less space.
DJI announces the Mini 2 with up to 4K@30fps recording and better transmission range
Still tiny, but pretty powerful
If you've been keeping an eye on drone news lately, it's hard to miss the extensive leaks that revealed the new Mini 2. It's an upgrade to the original Mavic Mini — sans the Mavic name — released almost exactly one year ago. The model immediately gained popularity for coming in just under the weight limit requiring registration with the FAA, TCCA, and some other airspace authorities. DJI has now made it official and is opening up orders.
Google Play app approvals are suffering severe delays, jeopardizing security and customer retention
Some devs are waiting a month or more
Around this time last year, Google began imposing a more strenuous review process on new apps and updates submitted to the Play Store. For many developers, this was only a minor inconvenience that slowed down publishing by a few hours or days. However, in the months since the COVID-19 pandemic began, a growing number of people have detailed delays of several weeks for new apps and even simple bug fixes.
Firebase Summit announcement highlights local emulator UI enhancements and redesigned performance monitor
Also adding new APIs and improving BigQuery integration
Like all conferences this year, Firebase Summit 2020 is kicking off today with an entirely virtual experience. There are technical sessions and demos, codelabs, live Q&A events, and of course, a keynote. If you rely on Firebase, you'll probably be happy to hear about some of the new tools and improvements that will make your development time a bit more efficient.
DJI announces new Pocket 2 stabilized camera with tons of improvements and accessories
It's even smaller than this headline
Mobile video doesn't always have to mean it's shot on a smartphone, and DJI proved that with the launch of the Osmo Pocket back in 2018. It took a while, but DJI is back with an updated version of the wand-with-a-camera called the Pocket 2, and it's improved in basically every way. The Pocket 2 follows the same basic form factor from the original, but with a new camera, improved audio system, and support for an accessory ecosystem.
Premiere Rush updated with new video effects, content browser, plus lots of graphics and audio clips
Recent changes to pricing make Rush a bit more accessible
If you're psyched for the Adobe MAX virtual conference, beginning today, you're probably looking forward to some of the new features and improvements coming to the likes of Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere, and others. While the big names are obviously leading the show, there are also some pretty notable updates rolling out to Adobe's mobile video editor, Premiere Rush. This update brings new motion effects, a bunch of free graphics and audio, and a new interface for browsing that content.
Google Play Console introduces new publishing controls and a more intuitive overview
This might help developers work around the unpredictable approval process
The Google Play Console hasn't always been the most robust tool for publishing apps, but it's getting better and solving some of the problems developers have experienced over the years. The latest update brings two long-awaited enhancements that should make the publishing experience easier and a bit more intuitive.
Photoshop Camera update adds countdown timer and support for switching cameras (APK Download)
Not all camera apps are the same, and Adobe set out to prove that with the Photoshop Camera. Making heavy use of AI, Adobe aims to stylize photos based on what it can detect in the scene. The latest update to v1.1 builds on this goal, but also introduces some of the features found in more traditional apps, like switching between cameras and setting a timer for shots.
Amazon has dozens of microSD cards and other storage on sale for up to 50% off this Prime Day
All shapes, all sizes, only two days
If Prime Day shopping has led you to picking up some fun new gear, there's a decent chance you're also looking for some accessories to make the best of it. One of the most common add-ons you'll need for that new drone or camera is some extra storage. It will come as no surprise that Amazon has you covered there, too — microSD cards, SD cards, thumb drives, SSDs, hard drives, and even NAS systems in any capacity for any particular situation.
Bose QuietComfort 35 Series II noise-cancelling wireless headphones drop to $199 for Prime Day ($150 off)
Alexa model, available in three colors
A lot of wireless headphones have been released over the last half-decade, but few have earned reputations as good as the QuietComfort models from Bose. If you've been eying a pair for yourself, but not quite ready to pull the trigger, Prime Day might finally push you over the edge. The Bose QuietComfort 35 Series II wireless noise-cancelling headphones are available for just $199, the lowest this model has ever been.
YouTube comments suck, but a new warning might help them get better
It's a speed bump for angry commenters
Have you ever been outraged at some ignorant moron for posting something too stupid to be real, but after typing up a word salad of purified hate that's meant to leave them a pathetic husk of a person, you realize nothing will be accomplished and end up deleting the whole thing? I hate to break it to you, but that's probably the right move (most of the time). The fine minds behind YouTube think so too, and they're testing a new prompts that will casually remind users to reconsider hostile comments before it's too late.
Stadia Pro adds Dead By Daylight, Human: Fall Flat, and four more titles you can grab right now
Dead By Daylight launches with Crowd Choice for streamers to engage with fans
Read update
Stadia Pro continues to load up on the great game selection, and with October's lineup, has 29 games to claim and play as long as they remain subscribers. And the list of six new additions for the month are pretty good, including crowd favorites like Dead By Daylight and SUPERHOT. Not only are there new games, but some new features are also going live, including live streaming to YouTube with support for Crowd Choice.
Sonos doubles down on battle with Google, files second lawsuit with new claims
It looks like a friendly settlement is off the table
Legal battles between companies are destined to either play out in a settlement very quickly as each side comes to terms with the expense and ultimate lose-lose nature of a drawn out fight; or they go barreling down a path that costs everybody in the long run. The rumble between Sonos and Google looked like it may simmer down, but a new lawsuit filed by Sonos this week may push the situation to the boiling point.
Android 11 got rid of the 4GB limit on videos, but the Google Camera app is still capped
Videos will now split at 10GB
Android 11 may not have had a lot of flashy new features, but at least we should credit it for fixing or improving some of the outstanding issues. Back in June, we examined a fix that had just rolled out in the first Android 11 beta that would lift the 4GB cap on videos captured by the camera. While the API that had previously been responsible for setting the 4GB limit was no longer a constraint, it didn't actually make a difference with the Google Camera app or most of the other popular video recorders tested. Now that Android 11 has rolled out and many of us with Pixel phones are running it, here's what has changed and how it works today.