Richard Gao
Contributing since August, 2016
-
1932articles
Page 7
About Richard Gao
Richard loves technology, namely Android flagships, as well as depreciated German cars that can be picked up for next to nothing on Craigslist. In other words, he enjoys throwing money away. Send him some electronic mail at richard@androidpolice.com.
Latest Articles
Unlocked Galaxy Note20 and Note20 Ultra already $200 off, starting at $800
A solid deal for a brand-new phone
Samsung offered some decent trade-in values and a good amount of store credit with the launch of the Galaxy Note20 series, but if you'd rather have a good old discount, you're in luck. Amazon and B&H currently have the US unlocked models of the Note20 and Note20 Ultra for $799.99 and $1,099.99, respectively, representing a price drop of $200 for both.In our long-term Note20 Ultra review, one of our main complaints was the price. Both phones offer great performance, a handy S Pen, decent cameras, and good battery life, but there's no way around it — both the $1,000 Note20 and the $1,300 Note20 Ultra are very expensive. At least this discount somewhat brings prices back to reality.
LG confirms 'Wing' name for dual-screen phone, leak shows swivel mechanism in action
2008 called, it wants its form factor back
Read update
We've already seen LG's different-for-the-sake-of-being-different Wing leaked in two videos, but LG has just published a video teaser for the highly unusual phone. It's slated to be unveiled September 14th.
Unlocked 256GB Galaxy Note10+ is $750 ($350 off) on eBay
Great value if you don't mind having last year's model
Samsung took the wraps off the Galaxy Note20 series around a month ago, which means that now is a great time to be buying last year's model. Microsoft's eBay storefront is currently offering the US unlocked model of the Galaxy Note10+ for 9.99, which is $350 off MSRP.
Sony's 65" X950G 4K HDR TV drops to a stunningly low $998 on Amazon
The first time we've seen this TV dip below four figures
If you're after a nice 65" smart TV and don't mind having last year's model, Amazon is currently offering the Sony XBR-65X950G for just 8. That's $400 to $600 cheaper than any other store carrying the 65" X950G and represents a $600 savings over the next-gen 65" X950H, which is already at its own all-time low.The X950G is equipped with Sony's flagship X1 Ultimate processor, a 64.5" 3840x2160 HDR-capable LED panel, four HDMI inputs, and built-in Android TV. Looking at reviews, RTINGS praised the brightness level, out-of-box color accuracy, and motion handling, but didn't so much like the viewing angles (the 65" model doesn't get Sony's X-Wide Angle tech). TechRadar liked the X1 Ultimate chip, Netflix Calibrated Mode, motion handling, and 4K upscaling, but had qualms with the sound quality, 4K and HDR black levels, as well as a Netflix audio bug. Of course, you should do your due diligence before purchasing, but $998 for this TV is cheap any way you slice it.
Moto G9 Plus photos and specs leaked by carrier listing
Leaving little to the imagination
Motorola usually releases a "Plus" version of its Moto G-series phone, though a Moto G9 Plus was absent from the Moto G9 announcements late last month. If you were hoping for more details on a larger G9 variant, you'll be glad to know that the Orange carrier in Slovakia has prematurely published its G9 Plus product page.
Movies Anywhere officially adds Screen Pass feature to let friends watch your movies
You'll be able to share three per month
Movies Anywhere's Screen Pass functionality has finally become official following a lengthy beta. Screen Pass is a pretty clever feature, allowing movie owners to "lend" up to three movies per month to friends and family. It's certainly helpful in today's social distancing-centric environment.
One-day Anker sale includes 65W charger with USB-C PD and international plugs for $35
There are a couple of other deals on USB-C chargers as well
Anker is involved in Amazon's Deal of the Day sales pretty frequently, and this time around, there are some decent deals to be had on USB-C chargers. Our favorite is a 65W charger with two USB-A ports, a 45W USB-C PD port, and international plugs for .99, $15 off the regular price.
YouTube TV adds NFL Network, plus $11 Sports Plus add-on with RedZone, Fox College Sports, and more
A potentially worthwhile value for sports fans
Read update
- These new channels are now official. NFL Network is indeed a free addition, and the Sports Plus add-on is $10.99 and includes one more channel than we'd thought: Fox Soccer Plus. That's on top of the other six: NFL RedZone, Fox College Sports, GOLTV, MAVTV, Stadium, and TVG. NFL Network and the Sports Plus package are available today.
YouTube TV is apparently about to release another add-on package — this one called Sports Plus. It's said to include seven new networks that you'll get if you pay an unknown amount of extra bucks per month. It also seems that NFL Network will be available for all YouTube TV subscribers, which is nice.
LG Velvet arrives at T-Mobile with MediaTek 5G chipset and $588 price tag
It also gets a smaller battery
It's always unusual when one variant of a phone gets different specs than all the others, but that's what's happened with T-Mobile's LG Velvet. For some reason, T-Mobile decided they wanted a Velvet with a MediaTek chipset — something no other Velvet variant globally has. Plus, it has a smaller battery. Granted, this model is pretty cheap at $588, but we'd expect a little more discount for the lesser specs.
Sony Xperia 1 bundled with WH-1000XM3 headphones for $798 on Amazon
The tall boi, joined by some great noise-cancelling cans in this deal
If you're trying to go all-in on the Sony ecosystem on a relative budget, the Xperia 1 and popular 1000XM3 headphones have dropped to 8 on Amazon. It's kind of hard to put an exact monetary discount on this bundle, but it's a pretty good deal any way you look at it.The Xperia 1 is equipped with a super-tall 6.4" 4K OLED screen, a Snapdragon 855, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage with microSD expansion, a triple rear camera setup (12MP regular, 12MP ultrawide, and 12MP telephoto), an 8MP selfie shooter, and a 3,330mAh battery. We reviewed the phone when it came out in summer 2019, praising the display, form factor, performance, and software, but we had some small objections with the $1,000 MSRP, the meh image processing, and the fingerprint sensor. The 1000XM3, on the other hand, is nearly flawless; it looks, feels, and sounds good. Plus, the noise cancelling is excellent, and battery life is more than adequate.
Android 10 (Go edition) is rolling out to the Nokia 2.1
Available for Asian markets first
The Nokia 2.1 is nearly three generations old now, with the 2.4 rumored to debut in just a couple of days, but this budget phone from 2018 is still getting updates. The 2.1 is starting to receive the Android 10 (Go edition) update, with ten Asian markets getting it first.
Reddit gets its app to 50 million Play Store downloads, mostly by making the mobile web experience miserable
The third-party Reddit clients are better, by the way
Anyone who's tried to browse Reddit on their phone's web browser will be familiar with the constant popups prompting users to download the mobile app instead. Well, it looks like making their mobile site virtually unusable has paid off for the site, as its official Android app has just passed 50 million downloads on the Play Store.
Google Podcasts gets Assistant's personalized Your News Update feature
It's US-only for now
One might think that podcast listening time has gone down since people aren't commuting nearly as much, but that's not true. Podcasts have only gained in popularity, and Google is now bringing Assistant's Your News Update feature to its Podcasts app if you were looking for some more personalized news content.
Samsung's Care+ protection plan can't be added to the Galaxy Note20 post-purchase
It seems like a permanent change this time
Samsung's flagships have never been cheap, but even base prices are now eclipsing the four-figure mark. It's no surprise, then, that customers often opt for the company's Care+ protection plan for a few dollars a month. Unfortunately, Note20 buyers are finding that they're unable to add Care+ after they've purchased the phone.
Sony 4K HDR TVs on sale at Amazon and Best Buy, including the 65" X900H for $1170 ($230 off)
Ranging in size from 65" to a whopping 85"
Several Sony X900-series 4K HDR TVs are currently discounted at Amazon and Best Buy, ranging in price from $1,169.99 for the cheapest 65" TV to a whopping $3,798 for the flagship 85" X950H unit. If you're in the market for a gigantic, high-end Android TV, there are some all-time low prices here.The X900s offer 4K HDR with Sony's X1 processor, Android TV built-in, full array LED functionality, and HDMI 2.1 compatibility coming soon. For those wondering why one might spend the extra money on an X900-class TV versus, for instance, the cheaper Sony X800 models, comparisons show that the X900 displays offer a crispier image with less motion blur, higher brightness, improved performance in dark rooms, and faster response times. A commenter below mentions that some units of the 65" X900 are prone to the "prison bar" effect, so keep that in mind.As for the difference between the X900 and the X950, the X950 is a newer model with the X1 Ultimate processor, better audio built-in, better viewing angles at the expense of some contrast, and a nicer-looking remote. Whether or not that's worth the extra dough is up to you. Keep in mind, however, that the X950s are missing HDMI 2.1.Here are the deals:
It sure looks like the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G just passed through the FCC
Google's first 5G certifications with the FCC
Read update
- Another FCC ID, A4RG6QU3, has just popped up with mmWave support.
Those familiar with FCC filings for phones will know that it usually points to an imminent debut. We saw the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL pop up at the FCC at almost exactly this time last year, and now we're seeing four model numbers that are almost certainly the upcoming Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G.
Android 11 DP4 out now for OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro, downloads available
OxygenOS 11's strange new look is alive and well
Read update
- The official OnePlus Forums post for the update is now up, and it includes all the download links you'll need for various versions of the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro.
We got our first taste of OxygenOS 11's new interface via Android 11 Developer Preview 3 for the OnePlus 8 lineup earlier this month. Despite OnePlus's claim that DP3 would be the final developer preview, Android 11 DP4 has just been pushed for the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro, adding a number of minor tweaks.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite hits all-time low of $280 ($70 off)
The deal is available from Best Buy and B&H
We at AP think that the best tablet on the market is *gasp* the iPad, but if you really want to stick with the Android ecosystem, it's hard to go wrong with Samsung's Galaxy Tab S6 Lite. Already fairly priced at its MSRP of $349.99, this $279.99 deal represents an all-time low price for this tablet.
OxygenOS 10.5.6 for the OnePlus Nord brings image stabilization and battery improvements
The Nord's camera gets better and better
For a phone that's only been out since the beginning of the month, the OnePlus Nord sure has received a lot of updates. This latest OxygenOS update, which comes only a few days after the last one, makes some more improvements to the camera, plus some improvements in the system, power, and Bluetooth categories.
Woot one-day Chromebook refurb deals include the Acer Chromebook 715 for as little as $340
With Chromebooks in such short supply, these are certainly worth looking into
The fall semester's starting up, and with many schools opting for remote learning, Chromebooks are hotter than ever. Unfortunately, that means that most are out of stock. If you're fine with a refurbished unit, Woot is offering some higher-end Chromebooks right now for decent prices.