About Ryan Whitwam
Ryan is a tech/science writer, skeptic, lover of all things electronic, and Android fan. In his spare time he reads golden-age sci-fi and sleeps, but rarely at the same time. His wife tolerates him as few would. He's the author of a sci-fi novel called The Crooked City, which is available on Amazon and Google Play.
Latest Articles
Google's July 2018 Android platform update shows Oreo usage more than doubling since May
We get it, Google. You're busy with a lot of things, and platform distribution updates can fall by the wayside. Still, the most recent two-month gap was unusual. Someone finally had time to spit out new numbers today, and it's actually rather good news. Oreo usage is up to 12.2% across both versions, which is more than double where it was back in May.
We've watched with moderate interest as the rumors swirl around Samsung's upcoming smartwatch release. Will it run Wear OS? Will it run Tizen? We still don't know, but we can now be fairly sure what the Galaxy Watch looks like. Samsung appears to have added a listing for the device on its website ahead of the announcement.
Arlo already offers wireless cameras and security lights, and now it's branching out to another popular smart home arena: doorbells. The new Arlo Audio Doorbell is coming soon to help you keep an eye on your entryway. Well, not an eye... but an ear. The Audio Doorbell doesn't have a camera like other smart doorbells, but you also don't have to screw around with the wiring inside your house.
The Huawei Mate 10 Pro was supposed to be a huge US release for Huawei, but some perplexing interference from the American government torpedoed its carrier deals. The phone still launched unlocked in the US, and it happens to be a great device. Today, you can get the US Mate 10 Pro for just $499.99. That's the lowest we've seen yet and $300 off the launch price.The Mate 10 Pro has flagship-level hardware with a sleek aluminum and glass chassis. Inside is the Kirin 970 with its fancy AI processing core, a 4,000 mAh battery, and 128GB of storage. A big 6-inch OLED panel dominates the front of the device, and there's no notch. There's no headphone jack, either.
It's getting easier to set up your own internet-connected home surveillance system, but that usually still means running cables to power all your fancy HD cameras. Arlo, which recently spun off from Netgear, offers an alternative. Its Arlo Pro line of cameras can keep tabs on your home without wires, and they last for months on a charge.After wowing us with the original Arlo Pro, the Arlo Pro 2 ups the resolution and adds new features. At the same time, Arlo has finally rolled out its AI-enabled Arlo Smart system to compete with systems like Nest Aware. Can a wireless camera ever compete with wired, though? The Arlo 2 has its shortcomings, but the gap is narrower than ever.
AT&T has been aggressive with its 5G rollout plan to the point you might have 5G service in your area before there are even any 5G phones to buy. The company says about a dozen cities will have 5G by the end of the year, but it's being coy by drawing out the announcement. We had a few before, but now AT&T has announced three more: Oklahoma City, Charlotte, and Raleigh.
Nokia climbed aboard the screen notch bandwagon a few months back with the X6, a China-exclusive phone with a 5.8-inch display and a chin. Now, that same piece of hardware is launching in a few more markets as the Nokia 6.1 Plus. It has the same specs and design, but this is an Android One phone.
Instagram, like any self-respecting social network, has its own integrated chat feature. How do you know who you can chat with, though? The mystery will be solved as soon as the latest feature rolls out: online indicators. It's revolutionary.
[Update: Slight delay, ready now] You're not being phished—Google is rolling out a new sign-in page
Read update
Google has slowly but surely been updating its web features to use material design principles. Some of these updates have been more successful than others. The company is now undertaking a simple but potentially treacherous update: the sign-in page. G Suite users will start seeing the new page soon, and it'll probably reach everyone eventually.
New Ookla and OpenSignal reports agree that T-Mobile has the fastest LTE with Verizon close behind
The big four US carriers (possibly soon to be the big three) are always arguing about who has the best network, but that's usually just marketing spin. Numbers don't lie, though, and both Ookla (owner of Speedtest) and OpenSignal have new reports that point to T-Mobile as the fastest, but Verizon is right on its tail.
Samsung is going to announce a new version of the Galaxy Note in a few weeks, but that phone is probably going to cost around $1,000. You can get last year's Note phone for barely half of that. The dual-SIM Note 8 is on sale for a mere $539.99 today, which is the cheapest we've seen so far.
It's been a few weeks since the fourth Android P developer preview hit Google devices, but this is the first year that other OEMs are joining the dev preview fun. Among them is OnePlus, which has released several preview builds for its latest flagship phone. There's a new one today, which OP is calling "developer preview 3." Is that actually DP3 or DP4 in the Google naming scheme? No one knows, but it's new for OnePlus 6 owners.
Amazon launches Prime Exclusive Moto G6 in 'Deep Indigo' with more storage and RAM for $260
The Moto G6 is one of the best cheap phones you can buy, especially if you're on a CDMA carrier in the US. Amazon offers a Prime Exclusive version of that phone and has since launch. Starting today, there's a new Prime SKU of the phone available only at Amazon. The special edition Moto G6 has additional storage and RAM, but the price is a bit higher.Amazon's new version of this phone packs 64GB of storage, which is twice what you get in the regular one. The new Prime device also gets an upgrade from 3GB to 4GB of RAM. Externally, this device looks like all the other Moto G6 SKUs, except that it comes in a handsome Deep Indigo color. That's the same color offered for the Moto Z3 Play, and I quite like it.As a Prime Exclusive phone, the new G6 will come with a selection of Amazon apps pre-loaded. It's priced at $259.99 on Amazon, which is allegedly a $40 discount. However, we can't verify that because no one else sells this version of the Moto G6. The 32GB/3GB Moto G6 is $235 on Amazon, which is $15 less than the retail Motorola edition.Source: Amazon
We've been waiting for this one; Amazon's latest Prime Day deal features the NVIDIA SHIELD Android TV for a mere $139. That's $40 off the normal price, making this a real steal if you want a powerful streaming box for your TV.The SHIELD is the only Android TV box worth owning. It has all the usual streaming features you'd expect, plus it can act as a Plex server, SmartThings hub, and a gaming machine with GeForce Now. Although, the version on sale for Prime Day only includes a remote. You'll have to grab the controller as well if you want to play games.The bundle with a remote and controller is on sale, but not specifically for Prime Day. It's on sale for $179, $20 off the regular price. This promotion is available at Amazon, Best Buy, Fry’s, and the SHIELD Store. That's good through Sunday, but the smoking hot Prime Day deal is only good for the next few hours or until supplies run out. Don't think too long on this one. The deal is already 16% claimed as of this posting. As usual, you need a Prime subscription for this deal.Source: Amazon
T-Mobile expands free roaming to 210 countries, adds $5 international LTE day passes
T-Mobile was the first US carrier to really push the idea of free international roaming, although the data speeds have always been terrible. Still, your T-Mobile phone works in other countries, which is more than you could say a few years ago. Now, Tmo has expanded free roaming to even more countries, and there's a cheaper option if you want LTE data while traveling the world.
When Google rolled out the new Google News earlier this year, several features went the way of the dodo. Among them were standout tags, highlighting mobile apps, and Editor's Picks. That last one is coming back in the latest update, though.
Amazon Prime day isn't over yet—there's a solid deal on some Wear OS devices from Mobvoi. You definitely should not spend a lot of money on Wear OS watches right now, but the Ticwatch E and S are pretty cheap to start with, and now they're up to $77 cheaper.The Ticwatch E is the budget version of the watch and generally looks a bit cheaper. The S has a sporty vibe and an integrated band. Here are the current discounts on each model (it varies by color).
The Prime Day deals continue to roll in. Next up, the Ring Video Doorbell Pro, which usually sells for $249. Today, there's a healthy discount of $75. It's never been cheaper to see who's at the door without getting up.The Ring Pro is a 1080p camera that replaces your existing doorbell. You need to have a standard low-voltage wired doorbell system for the Ring Doorbell to work. It has all the usual bells and whistles like infrared night vision, activity zones, and two-way talk. It also supports Amazon's Alexa platform. There's rudimentary Assistant support, but Amazon owns Ring. The Alexa integration is just better.Ring works as a live feed with no monthly fee, but archiving video will cost you at least $3 per month. The $10 tier includes support for more cameras and professional monitoring if you've got Ring's security system. The sale price might help you cope with the continuing fees. The deal ends tomorrow evening, and as with most Prime Day sales, you need to have an Amazon Prime subscription.Source: Amazon
In yet another non-Prime Day deal, Google has dropped the price of the Pixelbook on the Google Store. The king of all Chromebooks currently has a $250 discount on all three models. That means you can get the base version for as little as $749.
Do you play a lot of games on your phone despite the prevalence of in-app purchase minefields? Well, then you're braver than I. Heavy mobile gamers will be happy to know that Google has finally increased the level cap, which was stuck at an anemic 50. Now, you can get to levels as high as 99. Why bother? Because the number is larger, duh.