About Ryne Hager
Ryne was ostensibly a senior editor at Android Police, working at the site from 2017-2022. But really, he is just some verbose dude who digs on tech, loves Android, and hates anticompetitive practices. His only regret is that he didn't buy a Nokia N9 in 2012.
Latest Articles
How game emulators learned to teach old smartphone GPUs new tricks
The developers behind Skyline, a Nintendo Switch emulator, came up with a clever idea to get the tools they needed
Android's dirty F-word, "fragmentation," may not get as many irate headlines or clicks as it once did, but it remains an issue in a thousand tiny ways. As pointed out by Esper.io's Mishaal Rahman in a recent (and exquisite) newsletter, one of those issues is GPU drivers, simply because of how Android works.
Oppo just opened the door for a OnePlus tablet, and that's exactly what Android needs
To help bring about the coming Android tablet renaissance
Oppo has just announced its very first tablet today. Before you get too excited, the new Oppo Pad is China-only for now, but it has bigger implications given the relationship between Oppo and OnePlus. There's no real proof it will happen in this way, but with OnePlus's phone designs often sharing Oppo hardware, the Oppo Pad opens the door for a long-awaited and recently rumored OnePlus tablet. And, not to get too dramatic, but it could shake up the Android tablet market if it's done right.
Google's Phone app might pick up some cues from Android 12's lock screen
Shape-changing buttons coming to a Pixel's dial pad near you
Recently spotted changes to Google's Phone app (the default dialer app on Pixels) show some UI tweaks that could be upcoming. We aren't sure if this tweaked layout was spotted in the wild or manually enabled somehow, but details indicate the dial pad itself will be tweaked to look and operate more like the Android 12 lock screen and Google's calculator app, with shape-changing borders added around the pad's buttons and new button-pressing animations.
It's official: You all pre-ordered a ton of Samsung Galaxy S22s
According to Samsung, this was its best-selling smartphone and tablet launch to date
The Galaxy S22 and Tab S8 launch was the company's most successful smartphone and tablet launch to date, according to Samsung. Pre-orders for the new phones have "more than doubled" compared to the Galaxy S21 series. This corroborates reports from South Korea yesterday, which offered more granular but market-specific numbers.
Android 13 won't support DNS over HTTPS as previously planned
It still does DoT, though
Although Google's NNAPI plans for Android 13 still seem to be on, the company is taking a step back when it comes to anticipated DNS changes. Last year, it looked like Google was going to give Android support for DNS over HTTPS, but it looks like those plans have changed, and Tiramisu probably won't ship with the feature.
Play Store updateable Neural Networks API still coming to Android
It's currently "in testing"
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These days, some of the most important new smartphone features and performance gains to be found have to do with AI-powered workloads. So it wasn't any surprise when Google and Qualcomm announced last year that they were planning to make the Neural Networks APIs that power those features on Android updateable via Google Play Services — one small part of Android's growing update modularity. At first, we thought those plans might have been abandoned when Google pushed through a series of commits to AOSP reverting changes tied to the feature, but the company now confirms the plans for a Play Store updatable API are still on.
Black Shark 4 Pro gaming phone sales open in the US and Europe
Last year's parts at a low price
Gaming-first smartphones may not have been taken seriously at first, but somewhere mixed between the hardware-first approach, additional gaming controls, high refresh rate displays, and a killer price tag, they've become very popular. Last year's Black Shark 4 sticks to the same sort of formula, and now it's available for purchase "globally" in the US and Canada, as well as the UK and much of Europe.
Google could have updated the Pixel 3 until Android 13, it just didn't want to
There aren't a lot of technical reasons for it being left behind, and revisiting the phone, it shouldn't be
Google has confirmed to us that the Pixel 3 series has received its last update, marking the end of a three-year promise. But revisiting the 2018-era flagship, I still can’t help but be disappointed that Google didn’t try harder to keep it supported longer. Google may have met its marketing requirements, but as I’ve said before, it’s hypocritical for a company committed to sustainability and customer security to leave old smartphones behind so quickly. Revisiting it for the last few days, the Pixel 3 is still a perfectly good phone that could have years of life left in it. And, according to everyone I've spoken to, there aren't any good technical reasons for it being left behind. Google just doesn't care.
The OSOM OV1 might come in fun colors like these, with a 'Summer 2022' launch now teased
Borealis Green evokes strong Ocean Depths vibes
OSOM, the smartphone company rising from the ashes of Essential, has taken to LinkedIn of all places recently to promote its upcoming phone. At this stage, nothing seems set in stone, but the company has shown off four bright colors the OV1 might come in. Co-founder and OSOM CMO Wolfgang W. Muller also indicates a "Summer 2022" launch could be possible.
Google pounces on second-gen Tensor chip development with Pixel 7 code names
A big cat theme this year, paired with another Samsung modem
It might still seem like Pixel 6 season, but those colors are soon to be old-hat. Hardware details for Google's upcoming Pixel 7 series have started to leak, including a probable modem model number, hardware names for the anticipated Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro-equivalents, and a couple other fun tidbits.
Google Pixel 6 fingerprint sensors may not work after a screen repair
An issue with the calibration tool affects professionals and amateurs alike
The Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro fingerprint sensor woes continue. This time it's not a problem with the sensor itself, but issues that can arise if you need a screen repair. While your screen might work after a successful repair, there's a chance that your fingerprint sensor won't, and fixing it is a roll of the dice.
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE review: Stuck in the middle
The newest FE fails to stand out in a very competitive market
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In 2020, Samsung’s Galaxy S20 FE wowed us when it came to value, cutting down its $1,000 flagship into an affordably exciting $700 package ($600 on launch-day sale). But 2022 is a very different year. Up against the Pixel 6 and even Samsung’s own reduced pricing, the Galaxy S21 FE isn’t a value king or flagship-killer like the last model; it’s just another (admittedly good) phone in Samsung’s increasingly crowded lineup.
Material You dynamic theming is Android 12's biggest feature, and here's exactly how it works
The 'infinite possibilities and playfulness' that Google invented its own color space for
We’ve all been oohing and aahing over Material You and its fabulous vibes since Android 12 rolled it out last year. But it’s not just beautiful; it was a technical achievement as well, with surprising complexity behind those dapper accent colors. Google actually invented its own color space to take perceptually accurate contrasting “tones” into account when picking the colors that adapt from your wallpaper to personalize your device’s color palette.
Google doesn't want to pull an Apple with new ad tracking changes for Android
But change is coming
Google is taking a page out of Apple’s book today, with a more developer-friendly and open twist: Privacy Sandbox is coming to Android from Chrome to help reign in mobile advertisers. Rather than being a blanket “ask app not to track” user-facing opt-in, though, Google wants to work with developers to figure out a more sustainable approach, dangling a carrot for their involvement now before it starts swinging a bigger enforcement stick later.
Google's iOS-like app installation progress indicators are rolling out widely
It only took 9 months
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Google has just been spotted testing iOS-like update progress indicators. It's almost certainly a limited test (we don't have it, ourselves), but if you aren't familiar with the concept, that means Google is showing icons in the launcher for apps currently being updated or installed as grayed out, with a progress bar that indicates update progress and text that replaces the app name explaining what is currently happening.
What's the difference between Android 12L and Android 13, and when will my phone get it?
Clearing up a little "feature drop" confusion
Google switched up its Android release cycle in the last few months with Android 12L, and that’s caused a little confusion, especially with 12L still being in beta testing as Android 13 developer previews have started to land. We’ve seen some pretty outlandish speculation about how Android 12L will affect phones going forward, but the short version is that it probably won’t have much of an impact; Android 13 is still the next release most people should be anticipating upgrading to.
Google tweaks its launcher in Android 13 DP1 to accommodate a folding Pixel
It now supports two independent layouts at different screen sizes
Most of Android 13's biggest changes remain hidden — including many that Google itself highlighted in today's announcement. But some notable changes are still hiding just beneath the surface, not quite hidden or disabled, but not there unless you know what to look for. With Google's newfound focus on big-screen devices, some changes only appear if you crank the display density, and that includes a tweak to Google's Pixel Launcher that adds support for a second simultaneous homescreen layout. It's a core feature for folding phones, and with it built into the Pixel Launcher, a Pixel-exclusive feature, it can only mean further proof that a folding Pixel is coming.
Android 13's new opt-in notification permission system won't be mandatory for a while
Its API requirement means Google shouldn't enforce the change until mid-to-late 2023 at the soonest
One of the most hyped changes for Android 13 was the change to its notification system, which would require apps to explicitly prompt users into opting-in to receive notifications, as on iPhones. In essence, apps would need your permission before they are allowed to bother you. It's a big change, and it turns out developers have plenty of time to plan for it. According to Esper.io's Mishaal Rahman, the adjustment will only affect apps that target the Android 13 API (level 33). In more practical terms, that means developers have years to ignore it, and customers probably won't see the benefits until then.
Silent ringer mode disables haptics almost entirely on Android 13 DP1
This may not be a popular change
One change in Android 13 DP1 will likely prove unpopular in the long run, and that's a tweak to how the phone handles haptic vibrations when the ringer is set to its silent mode. If you flip that switch in this new version, haptics are disabled almost entirely for a fully silent experience, devoid of any and all tactile feedback.
Mysterious Camera Obfuscator app appears in Android 13 DP1
Likely dogfooded app claims to "obfuscate images," strips metadata
Android 13 DP1 is here, but taking into account prior leaks and Android 12L, the changes so far are pretty small. Deeper diving may yet reveal more information, but one curiosity has already reared its head: a new "Camera Obfuscator" app pre-installed in Android 13 DP1 for some devices, including the Pixel 6.