About Jules Wang
Jules joined the Android Police team in 2019. He currently contributes art for our stories and edits our podcast. Before that, he managed weekend news and wrote AP's newsletter.
Jules also contributes to our sister sites XDA-Developers and Pocket-lint. He also was editor at our now-sister site, Pocketnow.
Latest Articles
Dead Zebra's new reindeer bugdroid figurine is ready to get you into the holiday spirit
Ever heard of a dead zebra guiding a sleigh?
Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Dunder, and... Bugdroid? Andrew Bell of Dead Zebra is out with a new figurine design for the holiday season and it's a pretty fitting one that will go right above your yulelog in the fireplace — perhaps even into a hanging stocking for someone you know.
This $100 Chromebook deal could save the day this holiday season
A first computer or a secondary device — either case, it's a great price
The $100 Chromebook is an amazing thing. ChromeOS has always done great on low-end hardware — in their own way, they deserve to be the best Chromebooks in the rankings — and retailers usually have enough stock of a particular model at the end of the season to take the price way down on clearance. If you're looking to gift wrap a kid's first computer, this one may suit their needs while keeping you on the nice list this year.
Android owners on 24-hour time have a new, easier way to set times for appointments
Military time has its pros, but Android has always had a con to the experience
Read update
As someone who was born and raised in the good ol' United States of America, I love using 24-hour time. It's a long story, but to the point of the one at hand, I find it slightly upsetting that many an Android phone won't display the AM or PM signifier unless you dig in a bit — that kind of fussiness defeats the whole point of glanceable information you can get from, say, a good smart clock. In any case, for the longest time, 24-hour clock users on Android have had to deal with a somewhat inconvenient interface in setting times for calendar events, appointments, and such. But thanks to some work from Google's Material Design researchers, that interface is due a makeover.
Google Assistant is about to get less useful this month. Google is sunsetting its Duplex on the Web service which allowed customers to book tickets or make reservations through a streamlined Assistant-led interface that automatically integrated personal information from the user's Google account.
The Android Police podcast gives OnePlus's new update policy some golf claps
And we destroy the notion of a Twitter (or Tesla) Phone
December has come and we're on a merry-go-round here in Androidland with plenty to keep us busy. Whether we're bringing out our spectrometers for color critiques, needlessly bashing OnePlus (more than we have to) for its software updates, and rightfully bashing Elon Musk for using his favorite hammer to bash all his Twitter problems into shape, we invite you to come along with the Android Police podcast as we head into the last month of 2022 together!
There's actually some good news for Huawei coming out of the US
Not that it'll get rid of its import ban
A major figurehead the US government has been targeting in its legal salvo against Chinese telecoms giant Huawei is officially coming off the hook. This latest move by prosecutors ends a years-long saga that saw the firm's CFO detained in Canada under threat of extradition to its southern neighbor to face charges of fraud over the breaching of financial sanctions.
Corning sets a new high bar for durability with Gorilla Glass Victus 2
Have any 80-grit sandpaper lying around?
Gorilla Glass producer Corning is going public with a successor to its Victus product from 2020. As smartphone displays have grown bigger and smartphones themselves have gotten heavier, the company says it's worked to address consumers' added need for durability with the all-new Gorilla Glass Victus 2.
Elon Musk should not make the Twitter Phone — for his own sake
Don't chase bad money with bad money
The new week is barely a day old and Twitter owner Elon Musk is attempting to whisk up his acolytes into another rebellion, this one against Apple. He claims the company is tightening the screws on his platform, presumably urging him to increase content moderation or else risk its removal from the iOS ecosystem. Google has also been in his sights for pretty much the same reason. Furthering his leverage is the fact that both have been embroiled in various controversies regarding their takes of app publishers' revenues — and with billions in debt to pay back to creditors, the self-ascribed free speech warrior will need every penny he can get from selling verification badges to users and placing eyeballs on the ad slots he's currently struggling to sell. But what if the App Store and Play Store were to shunt Twitter from their walled gardens? One way he could respond besides lawsuits is to go direct-to-consumer for mobile hardware. After all, original hardware presents many opportunities for padded margins. Well, last week, Musk indicated a willingness to do just that.
The Wyze Cam v3 is now available in a limited edition color for Black Friday
It's black
Security camera maker Wyze came out last month with the Wyze Cam v3. It features a handful of improvements from v2 — enough of them to rank among our best home security camera picks — but, as with every other camera product the company puts out, it comes in only one color: white. Not the case for Black Friday weekend, though, as the company is putting out a limited run of its Wyze Cam v3 in black.
Google officially deploys app archiving through the Play Store
Switching between your massive games should be less of a pain
Google System Updates come at seemingly random cadence and are comprised of various bumps to the Play Store app, Play services, and a proper, monthly system update. As it is, we get to see new features added on every few days. One of the latest brings us the ability to slip apps on and off our phones without having to set them up each time.
Best 22 Black Friday phone accessory deals under $50: Cases, power banks, PopSockets, and more
Don't let a big phone purchase stop you from accessorizing it
So, you've gone and spent Black Friday looking for that perfect phone deal to bring home. Did you leave enough in your budget to get the accessories you'll need? Have no fear! We've rounded up some great discounts on cases and chargers of all sorts, and we'll tell you what to look out for. After all, you've already done enough sweating this week, and the accessorizing shouldn't have to weigh on your mind.
Twitter's petulant new CEO thinks building its own phone might just be a good idea
2013 called, they want their HTC First back
We're about a month into Elon Musk's ownership of Twitter and while we try not to cover every little spill and thrill happening at the company, our ears did perk up when we heard that the billionaire would consider making a phone just for the app. But, as with everything about the acquisition process for this troubled entity, the devil lies in the details.
Yes, you can get a Pixel 7 for FREE on Black Friday (with trade-in)
All it took was a little discount to turn a great phone into an unbeatably free flagship
We're big fans of Google ware around here, and while our team debates whether the Pixel 7 or Pixel 7 Pro is the superior phone, we generally agree that they're the best Android phones money can buy in 2022. That said, the Google Store's kicking off early Black Friday sales right now, and I have to say, for most people, the Pixel 7 will definitely be the way to go because it'll be your best chance of walking away with a new phone for free.
A Snapdragon Thanksgiving with the Android Police podcast
Mixing in a little of Amazon's misery, too
Yes, we're dropping this episode early this week — happy Turkey Day from the Android Police podcast. In this episode, Will gets back from Hawaii safely and has more Snapdragon stuff to share. Also, we catch a ride on the struggle bus through Silicon Valley as the world tells Elon Musk to "soak their deck" (that was for fans of "The Good Place") and Amazon tries to whisper about Alexa being a failure without any of its Echo speakers hearing. Also, we run away from a bunch of geese.
Wirelessly charge your Pixel and Pixel Buds at once with this Black Friday deal
It's a dynamic (wireless) duo for $38
Think back to all the times this year you've wanted to plug in your phone or earbuds, but decided against it since the cable was in an inconvenient place and you thought, "Eh, I'll be fine." It matters not if you were actually fine or not in the end, because if the number of times that's happened is greater than the number of fingers on your hands, you probably are craving the convenience that a wireless charging pad provides. This Black Friday, we suggest you pick up iOttie's iON Wireless Charging Duo. It's perfect for your Pixel phone and Pixel Buds and you can get it right now at its lowest price for a long time.
Android 13 and One UI 5 march onto the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 series
Updates flying in like they're flapjacks
Samsung's cascading One UI 5 updates this month like there won't be a December. There will be, though, and there will be more devices getting Android 13 with time. That said, it's only been a few hours since our last piece on the matter and, already, we've talking about another wave of updates headed for the Galaxy Tab S7.
Google's Pixel 7 and 7 Pro are now joining the Paranoid Android Topaz beta club
The dev team keeping custom ROMs alive and kicking
Paranoid Android has pretty much become the mainstream custom ROM experience for the finicky gadgeteer these days — and that's saying something when there's nothing but quiet from the camps of LineageOS and others — and it's been making a big splash about it with progress on Android 13 images for a number of Nothing, OnePlus, and Poco. We can now scratch another couple of tally marks to the list of devices with a usable Topaz build under development — and they're Pixels, too.
This Black Friday deal makes Google's Pixel Buds A-Series extremely giftable
Help your family and friends cut the (other) cord
The one cliché I keep coming back to when it comes to true wireless earbuds is that they've become a dime a dozen and you never quite know what you'll get if you pick any random pair up. To be sure, Google's Pixel Buds A-Series aren't just any random pair of sub-$100 beans. They provide a straightforward, comfortable, and pleasurable listening experience and make for a terrific alternative to most wired earbuds. This Black Friday, you can bring home a pretty nifty gift for $35 off.
Android 13 QPR1 Beta 3 testers report cell reception problems exiting dead zones
Taking too long to search for a signal
When it comes to massive user platforms, development pipelines are crucial to making sure you've got features going out the way you want them to without the cruft and pain of mistakes and bugs that just appear out of nowhere. To this point, Android 13 QPR1 has been in beta for more than two months and through three iterations and it looks like testers have surfaced a problem that will need addressing before the update goes out to all Pixel users next month.
The Android Police Podcast is all about the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
We're taking this chip and eating it
You may find your new phone in 2023 to be a bit snappier, but will it also be dragon-ier? We sent our own Will Sattelberg to find out at Qualcomm's Tech Summit in Hawaii this week. We're taking a quick run-through of what you'll want to know about the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset with SVP of Engineering Chris Patrick on this episode of the Android Police podcast.