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Latest OxygenOS Open Betas for OnePlus 7 and 7T lineups bring some new gaming-related features
This will be good for those of you Candy Crush enthusiasts out there
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- The same update has now made its way to the OnePlus 7T and 7T Pro in the form of OxygenOS Open Beta 8. The changelog remains the same. The OTA should be rolling out now, but it's available on the downloads page as well.
OnePlus is on its 18th OxygenOS Open Beta for the OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro, and this update primarily focuses on improving the gaming experience. It does come with a few other fixes and minor additions, as well as the latest September security patch.
2021 will bring 217 new emoji to your devices
It's a relatively minor update, thanks to the pandemic
We have good news for the emoji enthusiasts among you all: 217 new emoji have made it to the final Emoji 13.1 list, meaning that you'll soon have some more faces to send to your friends in text messages. Many of these are just skin tone variations, but there are some completely new emoji.
OnePlus explains why OnePlus 5 and 5T updates have been delayed
Owners will have to wait a little longer for less shaky video
When the OnePlus 5 had 4K electronic image stabilization (EIS) added shortly after launch back in 2017, we were pretty amazed with the results. Unfortunately, OnePlus disabled EIS for the OP5 and OP5T back in May due to a bug. Four months later, OnePlus is clarifying why exactly owners are stuck with shaky video and a dated security patch.
Samsung is getting better with updates in general, but that doesn't seem to apply to carrier variants of its mid-range tablets. AT&T has just pushed the Android 10 update to the Galaxy Tab S5e (SM-T727A), months after it started rolling out to models in other regions.
AT&T thinks you'll put up with ads in exchange for a cheaper phone bill
These ad-supported plans could arrive in as little as a year
You may not have heard of ad-supported phone plans before, but companies have experimented with them since the early 2000s. According to an interview with CEO John Stankey, AT&T is looking into such plans and could announce them in as soon as a year.
Specs for the US version of the OnePlus Nord have leaked, and they look pretty good
It'll come with 5G, an impressive camera setup, and a 90Hz display for less than $400
The OnePlus Nord didn't make it stateside at launch, but OnePlus said that a separate model in the Nord line would come to the US down the line. Speaking with an insider source, Android Central has obtained details on this US-model Nord, dubbed the Nord N10 5G.
Google Drive will finally start taking out the trash in October
Yes, all those blank Google Docs you deleted have just been sitting there
Contrary to popular belief (or at least the beliefs of AP staff), Google doesn't actually automatically empty its Drive trash items. Soon, it will; Google has just announced that Drive will delete all trash items after 30 days, starting in mid-October.
The $600 Galaxy Watch3 Titanium will be available October 2 in the US
Because stainless steel was just too heavy and affordable
Is the regular Galaxy Watch3 just too heavy on your wrist? Do you refuse to wear peasantly materials such as stainless steel? Well, we have good news; Samsung has announced a titanium version of its Galaxy Watch 3, appropriately called Galaxy Watch3 Titanium.
OnePlus 7T is $400 ($200 off) on Woot today
This is an unlocked T-Mobile model that will work on all GSM carriers
The OnePlus 7T has been discounted to $399.99 several times in the past couple of months, and the same deal is back again if you missed out on it previously. The 7T may no longer be the newest OnePlus phone, but it offers a ton of bang for the buck at this price point.
For today's Deal of the Day, Amazon is offering refurbished units of the Ring Video Doorbell Pro for just apiece. That's $65 off of Amazon's regular refurb price and a whopping $155 off original MSRP. If you've been on the lookout for a smart doorbell, this deal is hard to beat.The Ring Video Doorbell Pro combines a 1080p camera, a speaker, and a microphone to allow you to interact with visitors through your phone, tablet, or smart display. It has a built-in IR sensor with night vision to allow you to see in the dark, and you can set up activity notifications and detection zones. It is worth noting, however, that there is a $3/month fee if you want to store videos in the cloud. Ring says that installation only takes five minutes.
The Galaxy S20 Fan Edition is coming to Verizon, leaked renders reveal
It'll be available in three colors
We've already seen some renderings of the Galaxy S20 Fan Edition, but thanks to some not very well-disguised 360-degree views hosted on Verizon's website, we now know that this S20 Lite of sorts will be coming stateside. The phone will come in three pretty eye-catching colors.
Hulu's Android TV app adds voice support for playback controls
Making binge-watching just a little easier
Those of you who've been marathon-watching a ton of Hulu on your Android TV devices are in luck. Hulu has just added voice support for some playback controls for its Android TV app, making it easier to be even lazier while binging some Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
This is what the cancelled blue Pixel 4a would have looked like
It even had the cool orange power button
The Pixel 4a follows the Henry Ford mantra of "you can have it in any color, so long as it is black." But a 3D render that 9to5Google was able to dig up in the Google Store site shows that Google was heavily considering a light blue color at some point, but axed it before production.
Sony schedules Xperia phone announcement for September 17
It's almost certainly the recently leaked Xperia 5 II
Sony has just announced an event for a new Xperia device launch. The company is being coy on what exactly is being announced here, but our guess is the Xperia 5 II that we saw leaked last month. The event is set for September 17th, a week from today.
Increasing reports of Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL battery swelling damaging phones
This is seeming a little more frequent than normal for a 2-year-old phone
We're seeing many reports of Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL phones with swollen batteries — enough to cause the backs of the phones to lift off. There are quite a few reports in Google's support forum and reddit. The issue also affected big boss Artem's 3 XL (#artemsluck, anyone)?
The first signs of Google Play Music's impending shutdown have arrived
If Play Music was your default Assistant music source, it's switching to YouTube Music now
The phasing out of Play Music has been in progress for a while, and the whole service is set to be discontinued this month. It doesn't come as much of a surprise, then, that Google has begun to transition the default music player on Assistant devices from Play Music to YouTube Music. This also means that most users are now getting ads in between their own songs.
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Google announced a pretty substantial Wear OS update last month, stating that it would be coming in the fall. We're still a couple weeks out from fall, but Finnish brand Suunto is already pushing this performance-improving update to its Suunto 7 watch.
Google Docs is making your fonts look nicer with smarter line spacing
Making things more consistent between Docs and other word processors
Google is implementing a pretty simple and seemingly obvious change: font-dependent line spacing. This is something that Microsoft Word and other word processors already do, so Docs documents will now be closer in length to documents from non-Google programs.
Samsung adds Galaxy Note20, Fold2, and Tab S7 to its security update schedule
Combined with the three-year promise, things are looking good for Samsung update-wise
Updates used to be a sore talking point for Samsung, but that's no longer the case. The company recently committed to OS updates for three device generations, and it's been shooting out updates for its latest phones left and right. In the same vein, Samsung has just added some of its latest devices, including the Note20, Fold2, and Tab S7, to its security update schedule.
Waze routes can now be planned on your computer and sent to your phone
Similar to a feature Google Maps already offers
Despite Waze having fewer overall features and a less refined UI than Google Maps, I still find myself using Waze as often as possible for its police reporting system. Today, however, Waze is getting a feature that's been on Maps for a while: the ability to plan a route on your computer and send it to your phone.