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Asus Zenfone 9 review: Power to the petite
Flagship specs and long-lasting battery life come in a small package, but some questions loom
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For a tech company with as diversified a portfolio as Asus, I have to wonder why it isn’t doing more to grow in the mobile space, especially with the Zenfone 9. From its first phone to its latest, the company hasn’t been afraid to play around with what a phone can do and, in the process, make mistakes. Those experiments have included using an Intel Atom chip, obsessing over zoom lenses, and going all out on flip cameras. Its latest strategy is to pack as much power as possible into as small a space as possible. The engineers did a pretty good job with the Asus Zenfone 8, and the feedback the company got has encouraged it to trim down further and power up the Asus Zenfone 9. I’d say it’s a pretty darn good showing.
Chromebooks are getting a new video editor from Google Photos with some pro-level features
Meanwhile, LumaFusion is still on its way to ChromeOS
Ah, Google Photos. Even after dropping free photo and video backups last year, it's still a great place to archive them because features like face and pet detection and geographical sorting make it easy to dig them up whenever they're needed. It's also good for a quick filter or edit — the video editor that debuted last year on mobile was definitely a step up from its barebones predecessor, but it wasn't going to blow anyone's socks off. This fall, though, Google is telling us to get ready for a ChromeOS-native, non-linear video editing experience. If that wasn't enough, we've got another thing coming to us.
This super tiny Tetris machine will be the best $20 distraction you'll ever come across
Where's the long piece? I'm looking for a long piece. Hello?
You might be familiar independent designers and craftspeople who make and trade wooly hats and pleated skirts, plus resin-covered succulents in different dirts. Oh yes, you've been to Etsy before. But there's also a pretty health cottage economy in tiny tech tinkerers, too. Sure, a lot of them base their work around keyboard switches and emulator kits. Sometimes, though, all it takes is a tiny Tetris machine to get everyone's attention and that's just what one British designer has done.
Dystopian thriller 'Papers, Please' is finally coming to Android
After almost 10 years on desktop, phones and tablets are getting in on the rubber stamping
Lucas Pope is one of the more prolific indie game developers out there. Most of the great projects he's produced were originally made for 48-hour game jams like Ludum Dare. However, his most popular game came out of a much longer (9 months) and more strenuous effort. "Papers, Please" was designed to put players to the overwhelming test of accepting and rejecting homebound travelers and immigrants crossing into the Republic of Arstotzka. It was originally released for desktop clients nearly a decade ago. What a perfect time, then, to re-release it for mobile.
Google is making Chrome more stylus-friendly for text input with Android 13
Thanks to a little help from Samsung
You know how school likes to throw a bunch of group projects sat you sometimes? Well, you could say Android and Chromium (from which ChromeOS, the Chrome browser, and other web browsers) essentially are just big ol' group projects. Thanks to Google, their open-source nature has brought together all sorts of features from all kinds of contributors. Samsung is probably the biggest one and it seems like we're about to get another feature courtesy of the company in time for Android 13 — this one should add marvelously to its advertised tablet friendliness.
Blake Lemoine has made a name for himself and that's saying something for a software engineer. His peers would argue, though, that it's been for the wrong reason. As a member of Google's Responsible AI division, he's been pitching and publicizing transcripts generated from his interactions with the company's Language Model for Dialogue Applications, or, LaMDA. Lemoine has described the chatbot generator as a "hivemind" of personas with a self-aware core of intelligence. When Google originally was made aware of his disclosures, it suspended him. Now, Lemoine himself has revealed that he has been dismissed from the company.
At least one lucky customer got their Google Pixel Buds Pro pre-order super early
He's spilled the beans on Reddit
Hopefully you've read up on our review of the Pixel 6a this week, but as someone who wasn't part of that circuit, I ended up pre-ordering my own device from Google Fi and am crossing my fingers that the expedited shipping I paid for will actually make a difference (for the record, that difference is literally one day earlier than July 28). But for at least one customer in France who put in a reservation for the Pixel Buds Pro, it seems their retailer is giving "expedited" a whole new meaning.
The Pixel 6a is up for pre-orders right now with some fantastic deals on offer whether you go with Google Fi, trade in your old device, or do both. But what's it like actually using the thing? Before you check out, check in with this week's episode of the Android Police podcast.
The Android Police podcast takes on OSOM and Nothing with two episodes
Something awesome to listen to this weekend
We took a week off last week — sorry for not announcing it — but we're making it up this week with two episodes. We've got a conversation with Esper's Mishaal Rahman about OSOM Products, its lineage from when its employees were at Essential, and the turn from the OV1 to the blockchain-centered Solana Saga. Plus, we dig more into our Nothing Phone (1) review with Europe Editor Manuel Vonau on what kind of value Carl Pei wants to provide to his users.
The DJI drone I've been dying to fly again is $120 off for Prime Day
DJI deals are rare, but this one was worth waiting for
I've talked about this as my mental cure for the pandemic, but I really do love flying my drone wherever I can. Whether you feel like escaping the confines of gravity or are capturing terrific video from up in the air, it's all a fun time. And on this Prime Day, you can grab DJI's Mini 2, one of the best drones on the market, and its Fly More kit for $120 off.
There's been a certain business to guessing games in recent months. No, we're not talking about the metaphorical ones that hang ominously over our daily lives. We're talking about actual games you can play, like Wordle which was bought up by The New York Times earlier this year. Now, it seems Spotify wants to join in on this business as well.
Verizon is giving you $240 to join and sign up for its newest unlimited plan
Hope you'll want to stay on this plan for a year
With inflation still being as steep as it is, you may be looking to lighten up on your cellphone bill. We have, too. But the good news out of Verizon today is that it's out with a new plan to help you do just that. It's even better if you and 11 of your closest friends and family are switching from another carrier, because the company is willing to pay you big bucks to make the jump.
The OnePlus 10T could be the company's first phone to offer this big spec
As if OnePlus phones were lacking in performance
The OnePlus 10 Pro wasn't exactly what we had hoped for here at Android Police — in our view, the cameras weren't great and the software just hasn't lived up to our expectations. That said, pure performance has never been lacking on OnePlus devices and it looks like the company wants to expand that muscular capacity with the OnePlus 10T, at least according to sources in China.
Spend $50 or less on these Anker wireless earbuds with Qi charging
These Soundcore Liberty earbuds are at their lowest prices to date
A good pair of wireless earbuds can cost hundreds of dollars, especially if you're getting them from those prestige brands. When Anker's Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro and Air 2 earbuds came out a couple years ago, they were priced at $150 and $100, respectively. But that's the thing with time: we've got some especially good deals going on right now that bring both products under $50. After all, who needs to wait until Prime Day?
The most annoying part of watching HDR content on Android could be getting a fix
It's what happens when the movie is HDR and everything else isn't
Watching HDR content on your phone can be a great time. Not so fun, though, is when a toast notification pops up or even when the playback UI fades into view. All those bright graphics seem to punch at your eyes as if they have no business looking at them. What gives? Well, it comes down to how your Android device handles mixing standard dynamic range or SDR content with HDR content. And yes, there is a fix for this in the works.
The numbers forcing Elon Musk to quit his Twitter deal
With billions of dollars at stake, half a percent matters
Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk officially wants out of his attempt to acquire Twitter for $44 billion. In a letter to the social media company, lawyers cited the lack of detailed information on the number of bots on the platform — something he did not require to know when he agreed to the deal. But Twitter chairman Bret Taylor seems convinced that his company will be able to enforce the merger. So, what to make of all this business?
5 tips for dating apps that are (almost) all about the apps, not about the dating
Dealing with the portals to your love life is its own beast
Selena Gomez, one of the great philosophers of our time, once said that the heart wants what it wants. Of course, the head is a different beast altogether, and it's got a lot of priorities to juggle, but finding love is certainly in there somepalce. In the era of the internet, that means dating apps. They're topsy-turvy places because what or, rather, who you get out of these apps may not match up with the effort you put in. Sometimes, that effort also includes a good sum of money. Now, I'm no Dear Abby, but I think it's worth taking the time to figure out some principles to using these services before you try and find your next friend, bedmate, or life partner.
Google may be breaking the law when it convinces you to sign up for an account
It's hard to say 'no' to Google
In many sectors, Google has grown its way into becoming one of the biggest targets for European scrutiny. From antitrust allegations galore to concerns over privacy, the company has had to navigate through billions of euros in fines and plenty of new regulations in the wake of its own transgressions. And you can expect more legal challenges to come as consumer protection agencies across Europe are taking such steps against the tech giant for steering consumers into accepting corporate surveillance.
At $170 off, the HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook is one firecracker of a deal
How fitting for this bottle rocket of a Chromebook
When HP announced at CES this year that it would be bringing ChromeOS to its Elite Dragonfly lineup, we were slightly amused that the company thought it would get its break in the quiet space that is the ultra-premium Chromebook market. But as it has finally gone on sale in some capacity, something has caught our eye this Independence Day weekend: HP is already putting the laptop on discount.
Google Chrome may be picking up a translation feature that other Chromium browsers already have
This is for when you don't need an entire page translated
Google Chrome may have been on the bleeding edge when it introduced full-page translations, but one of the (small) ways it's been falling behind is letting users translate select passages on a page. Even other Chromium-based web browsers afford this ability with Microsoft Edge doing so for years. Now, it looks like Chrome is finally catching up.