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ChromeOS Flex is out of beta, making it even easier to turn that old laptop into a Chromebook
Teach an old computer a new trick — or two
Updates aren't as big an issue for computers as they are for Android phones, but sometimes even an old laptop stops getting the bits it needs to work well, leaving older (but arguably still good) models behind. Enter: ChromeOS Flex. It's a great way to teach an old computer new tricks, and today, it leaves beta.
Google swipes left at dating app conglomerate, fighting anticompetitive claims with its own countersuit
Google is firing back at Match Group with its own counterclaims over a Play Store billing grievance
Back in May, Match Group filed suit against Google for requiring that apps distributed through the Play Store use Play's billing, calling it "anticompetitive." If this sounds familiar, it's the same sort of argument Epic Games made against Google and Apple and an argument we've heard from lots of companies with apps on the Play Store now that Google is actually enforcing its billing policies, which were long ignored. Google has now shot back at Match with its own countersuit, claiming that Match is just trying to take advantage of Google's platform reach without adhering to its rules.
Comparison shopping between phone brands is a lot simpler than comparing two different models from the same company, and that's especially true with the latest Pixel 6 series. We reviewed both the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, and they aren't just bigger and smaller versions of each other; there are a few noteworthy differences between the two. To help you make your own purchasing decision (if you haven't already), we've both a detailed spec-by-spec comparison and our own assessment from having personally used both devices back-to-back.
Bluetooth LE Audio is finally ready to start delivering on the dream of longer-lasting headphones
Plus hearing aid support, multi-device broadcast audio with Auracast, and more
The fight for the headphone jack is long-lost, but Bluetooth continues to add new improvements to its technical standards hoping to make the experience even better with time. One of those improvements is the new Bluetooth LE Audio spec, which was finalized just today. This new technology brings audio streaming to low-energy Bluetooth, improving battery life — one of the banes of Bluetooth existence. On top of that, it adds support for the Auracast broadcast audio standard, so multiple people tune in to the same audio feed, and introduces long-awaited support for Bluetooth hearing aids.
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I love the hell out of my Galaxy Z Fold3, and Prime Day knocks $710 off its price
For the right person, today's deal is worth taking advantage of
One of the best benefits of reviewing all the different smartphones is having the context to choose exactly what I want when I buy one for myself. Last year, my big purchase was the Galaxy Z Fold3, which marked a big change in attitude for a one-time folding phone critic. But after reviewing the Galaxy Z Fold2 and Galaxy Z Flip3, I knew I had to have one. Even at $1,800 for the base model, I don't regret my purchase one bit. But right now, you can get one for over $700 less as part of the Amazon Prime Day festivities. I know that's still a lot of money, and not everyone can afford it. But if you've been tempted by the idea, I urge you to consider it.
The Nothing Phone 1 is official — and officially the coolest new phone you can't get in the US
The lights and the back design are cool, anyway, even if some of the specs aren't
Nothing has been dribbling out details regarding its upcoming Nothing Phone (1) for ages. But as of today, the phone is officially official-er, with full specs and other details now available. Open sales for 8GB RAM versions of the phone start on July 21st in the UK, Europe, Japan, and India. Folks in London can grab it at a kiosk as early as the 16th, while those in the US, for once, get... Nothing.
Get a really big discount on a small phone with this incredible Galaxy S22 Prime Day deal
The Galaxy S22 is $200 off today only
A "small" Android phone doesn't mean in 2022 what it meant in 2016, but you can still get close — and, if you're lucky, get a good deal, too. For those that want nothing more than a good small(ish) phone for a bit less pocket-poking on a long-planned summer adventure, then one of today's Amazon Prime Day deals of the day might just hit the spot. For a limited time, you can get a Galaxy S22 for $600. That's $200 off (or 25%) the list price of $800 and the best price we've seen on it yet.
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is a Prime Day doorbuster — the cheapest we've ever seen it
And it's a deal of the day, so act fast!
For most people, Android means Samsung, making the Galaxy S phones the envoy of our favorite OS and often the finest that the ecosystem has to offer. Within that already privileged framework, the best of Samsung's best is the Galaxy S22 Ultra. It's big and powerful, equipped with an S-Pen stylus, some of the latest and fastest internals, and a fantastic set of cameras. And right now, as part of the Amazon Prime Day festivities, you can pick one up for the lowest outright price we've seen so far, at just $840 — that's $360 (or 30%) off the standard price.
Google straight-up ruined its brand new YouTube experience for older Chromecasts
Basic features broken in just seven months, that has to be a record
Last year, Google rolled out an updated app-like experience for YouTube on Chromecast. Unfortunately for everyone that owns one, Google has broken the ability for this app to sign in to your Google account. This means you can’t see your personalized recommendations in it or browse things like your playlists or categories, and if you use the fancy new app experience to select videos, you’ll be forced to watch ads even if you pay Google a subscription to remove them. In short, the new YouTube app on an older Chromecast is now a substandard experience, and Google’s even telling customers who complain that the change was “intentional.”
How Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, now 10 years old, changed your phone for the better
One name across two years and three versions, with countless benefits and an impactful legacy
I’m clearly a big fan of Android, but even I can admit that the platform took a while to hit its stride. It wasn’t until Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich that Android arguably started to feel feature-complete in the face of its (dwindling) competitors. But it was the various Android 4.X Jelly Bean versions that truly made Android start to feel like home for me. It was the era of Holo’s UI refinement and declining jank, the rise of Play Services, and the golden age of Android ROMs. And ten years ago today, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean descended on the world.
Pixel 6 and Galaxy S22 affected by major new Linux kernel vulnerability
Fully "pwned" in a demonstration with privilege escalation, root, and SELinux disabled
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A seemingly major vulnerability has been discovered by security researcher and Northwestern PhD student Zhenpeng Lin, affecting the kernel on the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro and other Android devices running Linux kernel versions based on 5.10 like the Galaxy S22 series. Precise details for how the vulnerability works have not yet been published, but the researcher claims that it can enable arbitrary read and write, privilege escalation, and disable SELinux security protections — in short, this is a biggie. The researcher has verified to Android Police that Google was not informed of the vulnerability before its demonstration on Twitter.
Google's gearing up for cross-platform timers, meanwhile iPhones can barely handle one
Teardown indicates Pixels may see timers started on Assistant smart displays and speakers
According to a recent teardown, Google is working on a feature that would allow Pixels (or potentially other devices cajoled into using the Pixel version of the At a Glance widget) to view timers started on other Assistant smart displays or speakers. This Cross Device Timer, as strings for the feature call it, sounds like you can start a timer on, say, your Nest Hub in the kitchen and follow its progress from your Pixel phone if an errand takes you away.
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OnePlus Nord N20 5G review: Surprisingly good — and not just for the money
The best way you can spend $300 on a smartphone in 2022
The OnePlus Nord N20 5G surprised me when it first became available through T-Mobile. Long battery life, great performance, a big OLED display, and a long update commitment all deliver a value I'm surprised OnePlus could squeeze into a sub-$300 phone. Now that it's available unlocked, It's an even better phone for more people. This is the $300 smartphone to buy, period.
The OnePlus 7T, 7T Pro, 7, and 7 Pro just got their first public taste of Android 12
And the Nord CE is in on the action, too
OnePlus's 2019-era flagships have just picked up their first Android 12-based OxygenOS 12 Open Betas. That means intrepid customers holding a OnePlus 7, OnePlus 7 Pro, OnePlus 7T, or OnePlus 7T Pro can try out OnePlus's (much-criticized) Android 12 update and all the new features that it brings. And the more recent mid-range OnePlus Nord CE is also getting its first Android 12 open beta.
YouTube's trying a few new tweaks to fight back against rampant comment scammers
This might make a dent in MKBHD's problems
Yesterday, Google announced a handful of changes to YouTube meant to reduce issues with comment spam and impersonation. Among no longer being able to hide subscriber counts and a formal rollout of new content moderation tools, Google's also trying to make it harder for channels to pick names that could be used to masquerade as others by limiting the "type and frequency" of certain special characters. This should make it easier to tell the difference between someone claiming to be the Android Police on YouTube and someone else saying they're the 𝒶𝕟ⒹŘσ𝓘𝐃 𝓟Ｏ𝔩ᎥČε✅. All three changes might make a dent against the apparently rampant YouTube comment spam and scams.
Google Pixel's Game Dashboard is coming to Play Services — and maybe other phones, too
There aren't any other reasons to port it over that we can think of
Android 12 debuted a new Game Dashboard feature that offered a snazzy FPS counter overlay, game optimization settings, a do-not-disturb toggle, and even the ability to stream live via YouTube. Unfortunately, it was a Pixel-exclusive feature, but that might change soon. Esper.io's Mishaal Rahman has been following a trail of clues that indicate Google is making the Game Dashboard feature part of Google Play Services. That change of venue from Google's first-party system UI components to a service licensed by countless manufacturers could mean that Google's Game Dashboard is coming to other phones.
Samsung just beat TSMC to the 3nm punch
The company's foundry has started manufacturing 3nm GAAFET chips
The advertised size seems to mean less as time goes by, and it's very difficult to compare them between companies, but Samsung is now celebrating the production of its first GAAFET 3 nanometer chips, arguably beating TSMC to the 3nm punch. That doesn't necessarily mean that Samsung is poised to deliver better product performance and thermals with chips made on its new node, but it does open the door.
OnePlus's broken promises are leaving developers angry and enthusiasts upset
It's violating the GPL, silently killed its developer device seeding program, and broke arguably every promise made at its 2019 Open Ears Forum
Once upon a time, there was a scrappy little smartphone company called OnePlus. Its phones weren't the best you could get, but following the end of the Nexus program, OnePlus picked up Google's mantle, delivering a low-cost, developer-friendly device that you could root and ROM with ease. In fact, OnePlus did everything it could to help developers, advertising the ROMs they produced for phones that lost official software support while providing test devices, detailed documentation, and source code. Times were good — and they're over. Now OnePlus appears to have silently killed its developer device seeding program, releases kernel sources late and incomplete (potentially violating the GPL), and has ignored most (and arguably all) of the commitments made to the developer community at the Open Ears Forum conference in 2019.
ARM's new mobile GPU will bring hardware ray tracing to smartphone gaming
The company also revealed CPU designs like the big new Cortex X3 and other lower-end GPU improvements
Not everyone is aware of the complex technical lineage involved in the parts nestled inside their smartphone, even if they know of names like Qualcomm or MediaTek and the chips these companies make. Basically all consumer Android devices use a CPU design and architecture created by a company called ARM, tweaking and customizing bits as they see fit. Today ARM announced its new CPUs and GPUs, which, over the next year or two, will trickle down into actual hardware released by chipset manufacturers and eventually end up in a phone you see online, on a store shelf, or maybe in your pocket. And by far the biggest announcement is ARM's new GPU, which supports hardware ray tracing — a feature mostly limited to recent game consoles and high-end desktop GPUs, though Samsung beat ARM to it.
The Google Pixel 3 and 3 XL just got a surprise update to help with VoLTE roaming
Enjoy one extra update on the house
Those of you hanging onto a Pixel 3 or 3 XL have some reason to celebrate today. Google, in its magnanimity, has bequeathed the pair of 2018-era phones with an extra update, as previously promised to address VoLTE roaming in the wake of the 2G and 3G network shutdowns. The pair of phones got their last expected update back in February, just after the three-year guarantee expired. The build number for this new version is also substantially similar to prior releases, with two different images available once again — one for Telstra, Optus, and Vodafone AU, and one for everyone else.