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Roborock’s new S8 Pro Ultra robot vacuum sucks even more — no, literally
The company also unveiled a new handheld wet and dry cleaner at CES 2023
Roborock’s range of vacuums is usually on the higher side of the price spectrum, but its products easily make for our favorite robot vacuum cleaners on the market. At the ongoing CES 2023, the company unveiled its latest S8 series of robot vacuums that can clean your house as well as itself without your intervention. But if you like handheld cleaning, there’s a new Roborock product for that, too.
Citizen’s new smartwatch is shooting for the stars to boost your alertness
Citizen has unveiled its NASA-inspired Wear OS smartwatch at CES 2023
Citizen announced its first Wear OS watch a couple of years back, but it failed to match all the excellent smartwatches from Fossil and other brands. It ended up being merely a mediocre watch with a premium price. Citizen is now trying to get back in the game with its follow-up that packs an exclusive alertness tracker that takes inspiration from what NASA uses to assess fatigue levels in its astronauts.
The Google Play Store could soon tell real users apart from bots
This information will come in handy for Android app developers
The Play Store is at the heart of every Android phone, be it Google’s own Pixel 7 Pro or one of the leading budget phones on the market. As much as it is consumer-friendly, app developers on the platform have access to an equally versatile dashboard to micro-manage their apps. Google allowed app developers to list their security and privacy practices not too long ago, and it’s now looking to give them the ability to tell real users apart from bots.
Google Pixel 7a hands-on shows off the display upgrade you've been asking for
Take a closer look at the upcoming baby Pixel
The Google Pixel 6a is by far the best mid-ranger to come out of Google’s stable to date, winning it Android Police's budget phone of the year award recently. But the company is planning to up its game with the 6a's successor due sometime later this year. While we wait for the company to make everything about its upcoming mid-ranger official, the Pixel 7a has already appeared in a hands-on video, showing off that one feature we all missed on the Pixel 6a.
Samsung's December 2022 patch hits the Galaxy A53 internationally
The update is also available for several other A series phones
Read update
Samsung beat Google at its own game with a stellar four-year Android upgrade promise and even longer support for security patches — that’s one big reason Samsung phones are among our favorite Android flagships. Standing true to its software commitment, Samsung is getting the newest December 2022 patch started with the help of the entire Galaxy S20 lineup, trailing its big One UI 5 update.
Why Enpass is my perfect LastPass replacement password manager
There’s nothing better than being in control of your sensitive information
Like for many others, LastPass was my first password manager, but a few years ago, I decided to switch away from it. That’s when Enpass caught my eye mainly because it didn’t force me to store my passwords on its online servers. I wanted something that struck the right balance between convenience and privacy. Enpass checked all the right boxes for me, and I soon ditched LastPass for good. This decision has started to feel even more apropos considering all the breaches LastPass has suffered in recent times.
You have 3 months to replace your older Arlo cameras
Arlo is discontinuing software support for its older offerings
Arlo makes some of the best home security cameras out there and many of its recent products have proven to be way better than the competition in many key areas. However, it now looks like Arlo’s approach toward its legacy security cameras may not go down well with some longtime users. The company has intimated to its customers that two of its security cameras will hit the end of their service lives within a couple of months — and these cameras aren’t even that old.
The Samsung Galaxy A54’s two new vivid colors break with the mundane black and white
A new leak about Samsung’s upcoming mid-ranger shows off all its color options
Samsung is rumored to have a couple of big smartphone launches lined up for early 2023. While its new flagship Galaxy S23 series is just around the corner, the company is also planning to refresh its much sought-after mid-rangers with the Galaxy A54 this year. We already have a fair idea of what the handset will end up like, but a new leak shows off the various color options the Galaxy A54 will come with.
The Google Pixel 7's rear camera glass spontaneously shatters for some
Reports say that no external force has been applied
When the Pixel 7 series came out, it became apparent that Google refined its flagship formula, leaving no major hardware flaws, unlike older Pixels. This is the reason the Google Pixel 7 Pro is universally appreciated and even won our Readers' Choice Phone of the Year award, while also headlining our selection of the top Android phones. However, it appears that some users have discovered a design flaw on the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro that leaves their phones with shattered rear camera glass even without any external force.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 series flaunts its signature colors in these leaked promo images
Samsung’s 2023 flagships look sweet in these new colors
Samsung’s hotly anticipated Galaxy S23 series has not been keeping a particularly low profile for a still-unannounced phone, and between the leaks and rumors, we've already got a pretty solid read on what to expect. We know that the upcoming flagship series is aiming for some subtle design changes and have heard a bit about how Samsung might show those off in its marketing materials. Now, the latest leak cuts right to the chase, actually showing us some of those promo pics and Samsung's signature color choices for the Galaxy S23 family.
Google Contacts now ‘highlights’ your favorites and recent searches
Contacts on Android gets a new tab for your frequently visited contacts
For most Android users, Google Contacts is a vital app that safely keeps all the important details about hundreds of colleagues and friends, both from Gmail and their phone. While the Android app gets the basics right, with options to merge or group contacts and favorites, it has so far lacked a more personalized view. Google is changing that by adding a new tab to the Contacts app for Android, making it easier to get in touch with the people you frequently contact.
TikTok found spying on journalists days before it could be banned from US government phones
This could add fuel to the demands to ban TikTok entirely in the US
It’s easy to get hooked on TikTok's endlessly scrolling videos, but there's been a bit of a dark cloud hanging over the super-popular app, coming under constant fire for its alleged links to the Chinese government. Now a new investigation reveals that the overlords at TikTok’s parent company ByteDance spied on Forbes journalists. This news comes the same week Congress will decide on banning TikTok from US government devices.
Samsung may kill one of its most popular Galaxy A-series phones next year
Apparently, there won’t be a Galaxy A74 in 2023
Samsung's Galaxy A series bridges the gap in its portfolio between its extensive budget lineup and premium phones, offering some good mid-tier options. The Galaxy A53 remains an excellent choice that strikes a great balance, and can hold its own against the Pixel 6a. But if recent reports are to be believed, Samsung has decided to shake up its Galaxy A series, and will likely go without an upper mid-range Galaxy A7x model entirely in 2023.
Netflix wants to be your fitness coach because movies and games are too ordinary
Nike and Netflix are coming out with a series for your at-home training
Netflix not only pioneered the VOD space but is also why we’re spoiled by so many streaming options. But streaming movies and TV series just aren’t enough for the company, which is why it branched out to gaming to draw the attention of mobile gamers which makes for a burgeoning market segment. But Netflix isn’t stopping there either — it has now partnered with Nike to lure fitness enthusiasts to its platform with a series of training sessions available for all its subscribers.
Waze will soon pick up one of Android Auto’s coolest new features
Waze will soon fully embrace Android Auto’s split-screen mode
Android Auto received a significant and long overdue redesign earlier this year at Google I/O. Amongst the new additions, it introduced a nifty split-screen interface that makes better use of your car's display. With the new version of Android Auto out now in beta, Google Maps has added support for this multi-app dashboard. However, Google's other mapping app Waze has so far stayed behind the curve, though that could change pretty soon.
This is how your Stadia Ubisoft games will be transferred to PC
In some cases, you may be able to even save your game progress
Stadia is less than a month away from fading into oblivion, with its demise set for January 18, 2023. Even though you can still play your existing games through the immediate holidays, you'll probably want to move as many of your game purchases to another platform before Stadia shuts shop. While some developers are offering free Steam codes for those that made Stadia purchases, Ubisoft is making the process much easier by transitioning its Stadia titles to Ubisoft Connect accounts, and it's all pretty seamless. You will be able to keep your Ubisoft games from Stadia on PC and, in many cases, even the game progress — all without paying a dime extra.
OnePlus and Oppo announce partnership, like they weren't the same company already
OnePlus will now truly be a sub-brand of Oppo — at least in China
OnePlus and Oppo have long worked hand-in-hand on hardware and software alike, but OnePlus was able to maintain its independent identity — until recently. While OnePlus still makes some of our favorite Android phones, the line separating the two brands has been less and less bright by the day. Their close ties became more obvious when the two brands decided to merge software resources. Now, OnePlus and Oppo are getting into an even deeper, more formal partnership, making OnePlus a sub-brand of Oppo in every meaningful way.
Google Search is going multilingual for the polyglot in you
Even voice-based searches get new bilingual tools
Google Search has been making strides towards being more inclusive of different languages and dialects. While it can already mix and match results from English and your native/second language, so far that hasn't extended to the handier knowledge graph cards. For the polyglots among us, Google Search is now looking to diversify its results page to include information in two languages, starting with Hindi as the second language. Additionally, Google’s voice search is also getting the ability to understand mixed-language queries.
Take a sneak peek at the Samsung Galaxy S23 series with these leaked dummy units
The upcoming Galaxy S23, S23+, and the S23 Ultra mock-ups pose for the camera
Samsung’s early-year big Galaxy launch season is just around the corner, and a good way to tell that is by the barrage of Galaxy S23 leaks coming our way these days. It hasn’t even been a week since we got some solid info about the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s internal hardware, putting it right up against the best phones Android has to offer. Now we’re already checking out what's next, as we get a nice, clear look at the Galaxy S23, S23+, and S23 Ultra, upon the distribution of photos of their dummy units.
Spotify is catching up to Android 13’s redesigned media player
Support is rolling out with the latest Spotify stable update
Android's media player got yet another facelift with Android 13, and it continues to gain new capabilities. The changes will only appear when developers explicitly add support for it in their apps, though. While Google’s own YouTube and YouTube Music were among the first to embrace the new layout, popular music streaming services like Spotify have remained behind the curve until now. But things are changing for Spotify as its Android app is now rolling out support for Android 13’s media player to everyone.