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
If you want to buy a Google phone from the Google carrier, now's the time to do so: for a limited (but indeterminate amount of) time, Google Fi is offering new and existing customers 25% off the price of a Pixel 3a or 3a XL if they activate the device with the network.
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Motorola's new RAZR foldable phone is due to go public as a Verizon-exclusive (and you know how Verizon covets exclusives) device in two weeks, but there's been plenty of anticipation as well as a little monetary dread from anxious fans since this thing was quasi-announced to the media in February. We're just now getting our first substantial leak on how it will look — substantively, what size this clamshell will actually be — and how it will be branded.
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It's been a long time coming — 4 months, actually, for those of you remembering back to Google I/O — but we're finally getting our first real look at Incognito Mode for Google Maps. Ironically, the pictures we have are courtesy of some members of the Google Maps Preview test group who wish to remain anonymous.
Until recently, you could only officially talk to Google Assistant on your Smart Display in nine languages. With the addition of Italian, we're now at ten.
Let's say you're looking for a Chromebook: you want something that's versatile, premium-feeling, and... uh... well, not a Pixelbook Go. May we suggest Acer's Chromebook Spin 13? It's got full-blown Intel laptop power, 8GB of RAM, a convertible form factor plus a stylus, and its price has just fallen off a cliff edge on Amazon.Our Ryne Hager reviewed the Spin 13 a year ago and found it to be "the most powerful Chromebook you can buy, but maybe you shouldn't." The 'pro' part of the equation? A 2256 x 1504 display, a Wacom digitized stylus, a strong 54Wh battery, two USB-C ports, and dual-band Wi-Fi.The 'con' part of things was mostly found to be in the value proposition at time of launch. The particular model we're looking at has an 8th-gen U-series Core i5, 8GB of DDR3 RAM (somewhat unfortunate, but it's a Chromebook, so it's still a net positive), and 128GB of storage. This combination originally sold at close to the $1,000 mark, but has been checked down and down again for the past year.
When it comes to how we perceive the quality or capability of products — especially when they come from the same company — we, the consumers, usually boil it down to price. But when we know what we know about the OnePlus 7 Pro, which starts at $699, and the newer, slightly sleeker OnePlus 7T, which is priced at $599... well, let's just say you should pay close attention to our reviews for each phone. Fortunately for us, OnePlus has seen this divide and has decided to cut the price of the 7 Pro by $50.
Samsung was able to claim dibs on the foldable smartphone market with the Galaxy Fold. But with things like R&D, marketing, and the competition always putting pressure on forward motion, the company has revealed that it does have intent to work on another foldable form factor — perhaps something more like a clamshell.
Of all the things we expected to come out of Lenovo's Motorola this year — mediocre modular phones, a flank of mid-rangers, and a foldable to behold — we did not think a new Wear OS smartwatch would be one. That said, we do have a 3rd-gen Moto360 (no space, as styled) to wait for, but it doesn't look to have been manufactured by Motorola.
It's been 7 months since the Moto G7 series went public and Verizon, being Motorola's closest carrier partner in the United States, began selling them shortly after launch. However, it did not sell — and oddly enough, did not support BYO unlocked units of — the lightweight Moto G7 Play.Well, the 32GB phone has finally been listed with the network for a full retail price of $168. It's free if you start an account or add a new line and take it on a 24-month payment plan (the "free" part comes with monthly credits). It's $180 at Amazon.We just thought you should know.Source: Verizon
When it comes to securing your property with the best quality infrastructure you can get, we think an Arlo Ultra setup is a good choice. We've never been a fan, though, of the somewhat exorbitant pricing. But today, if you're willing to splurge for four cameras, you can get them for $100 off.Our Ryan Whitwam wrote up a comprehensive review on the Arlo Ultra system and while he was slightly disappointed at what's offered at purchase price from the camera attachments to the video resolution limit, at full potential, you can record 4K video with nighttime, motion-activated illumination and vastly improved power performance from even the Arlo Pro. Check out his article for more details.
For as much shade Wear OS gets — either through its half-baked implementations or Google's perceived attrition — you can't deny it has some value points. Namely, it's got a decent interface you'd want to use on a smartwatch with a price floor way down from those Apple Watches. Today, that floor's been lowered further with the help of Fossil, where you can grab a 4th-gen Fossil Sport for nearly 60% off MSRP.
[Update: Sold out again] 64GB Pixel 4 and 4 XL are already $99 off at Amazon — no store credit or gift card
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The Pixel 4 launched on a bevy of retailers with a bunch of offers — including $100 in-store gift cards for those who were willing to commit to a pre-order on the spot. Amazon, however, has apparently decided to forego the discount and just offer $99 off list price on a few Pixel 4 models.You've probably seen our hands-on coverage and have listened to our comprehensive discussions on the Android Police Podcast about this phone. In short, it has a rocket of a camera, but is generally mediocre in many other parts including battery life and Bluetooth connectivity, but that explanation doesn't do the phone justice. If you haven't done your research, the above links are a good place to start.
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The developer of a fairly popular file managing app that scours out latent APKs on a device is appealing the Play Store's decision to delist his app. Why did Google take action? From his inference of a rejection email, it was because the app allowed users to install APKs.
If LG seems particularly out of sorts this year, you could probably tack a lot of that to its contorted phone release schedule: it announced the V50 alongside the G8, released the G8 in April and then the V50 (with its 5G-ness) in June, then decided to fill its IFA booth in September with a dual-screen remix of the G8, the G8X. Today, we're learning when that phone will go on sale in the United States.
Google Fi rolling out DSDS support for faster network switching beginning with Pixel 4
The Pixel 4 officially supports dual-SIM dual-standby for those who prefer to stay connected with the help of two networks — it's a feature that feels wasted in the U.S. given how much it costs to make that commitment in this country. Luckily for people who've decided to buy one, they can now take it to Google Fi as it now officially supports DSDS for that particular phone.
When it comes to privacy, smart speakers tread on a fine line between serving commands or playing content and listening in on everything you're doing. However, engineers at Security Research Labs have been able to cross that line using a series of building blocks that comprise Amazon Alexa's Skills as well as Google Assistant's Actions, making us aware of the ways some malevolent developers can capture our data.
Some Facebook and Instagram users are being locked out of their accounts for reporting impostors posing as relatives (in some cases, dead relatives). The social media platforms have been requiring locked-out users to submit a picture of photo identification through an API, but many have said the API is not functioning. A source at Facebook has told Android Police the company is investigating how the code got published. The company has also pulled the API.
For the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, today is World Sight Day — a time to think about how we can prevent avoidable vision diseases and reducing external impacts for people living with visual impairment or blindness. Navigation in unfamiliar places remains one of the biggest challenges for those people, so the Google Maps team has decided to take the opportunity to roll out detailed voice guidance for walking directions.
If you thought Nvidia's dormant Shield lineup was shaken up today with news of a Shield TV Pro being listed on Amazon for a hot second, prepare for an earthquake: as of time of writing, Newegg Canada is hosting a product page for another Shield TV item — this one's a dongle.
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The FCC has voted to approve the merger of Sprint and T-Mobile, an agency official told The Verge, with commissioners voting down party lines by a margin of 3 to 2. The two Democratic members have expressed their dissent to the $26 billion transaction announced April of last year in FCC filings and, in one particular member's case, an op-ed.