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Leaked Android 12 Privacy Dashboard shows Google is getting serious about protecting your data
We're going to hear a lot about privacy at Google I/O today
Android 12 will likely be a key focus today as Google I/O kicks off, probably with a whole new interface and tons of new features — some of which we have already come across in developer builds. But it looks like privacy is going to be the main buzzword this time around as Google is working to overhaul its approach, following in the footsteps of Apple. In the latest leak, we get to see what Android 12’s long-rumored control center for your device's privacy is going to look like.
ZenFone 8 software support is off to a surprisingly great start
Asus has included a 'new' Android security patch with this feature-packed update
The new ZenFone 8 comes closest to the mini Android flagship we've been longing for, even though it’s nothing like its big brother with its radical flipping camera mechanism. Both 2021 ZenFone flagships are barely a week old, but the company has already released a big software update, which comes with a slew of new features and general improvements.
Twitter for Android finally gets a search feature that should've arrived much sooner
It’s been live on the iOS app for two years
While direct messages are great for private conversations on Twitter, it gets increasingly challenging to locate that one thread you're looking for in the long list you’ve built up over the years. To make the process smoother, Twitter is finally adding a search bar in the DM section of its Android app — about two years after the iOS app got one.
Roku adds dozens of new live TV channels amid YouTube TV feud
Will the extra choice drive people away from Google's service
Roku and YouTube TV recently locked their horns over their service contract, leading to a cheeky workaround from Google to ensure millions of Roku users wouldn't lose access. The spat is still ongoing, so it's a convenient time for Roku to add a total of 25 new linear channels to its own live TV platform.
Google Pay adds international transfers, but destinations are limited for now
Maybe Artem will finally pay me on time now
Google Pay, especially after its excellent redesign, has become the go-to app among Android users for sending money to friends and family. But one feature that it has sorely lacked is international transfers — something that is indispensable to ex-pats and remote workers. Saving you quite a bit of effort, Google Pay is introducing foreign transfers to its US users, although you can only send money to India and Singapore at the moment.
Vivo promises three years of Android updates, but only for certain phones
Meanwhile, Oppo flagships will get one extra year of security patches
Android smartphone makers are only now starting to catch up to Apple’s excellent software support. Samsung was among the first major players to commit to three years of OS updates last year (many now get four years of security updates as well), and several more brands have since made similar promises. The latest to join the list is OnePlus sister company Vivo, but its update policy isn’t as expansive as Samsung’s.
In smartphone years, OnePlus has just started coming of age, spreading its wings to enter new verticals and price segments. The latest, top-of-the-line OnePlus 9 Pro is the star of the company's lineup, and rightly so. The newest Pro has taken the biggest leap a OnePlus phone has taken in years to improve camera quality. But outside its newfound photography capabilities, the phone has a lot else going for it.OnePlus usually gets the basics right with its smartphones, and that’s also the case with the 9 Pro. There are a handful of features that make it worth buying even at its practically $1000 price tag. Here are a few of those things that we really like about the phone.
Google Pay India adds new cards for tap and pay — these are all the banks it supports so far
Bringing NFC payments to millions of Indians
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Google Pay in India (formerly Tez) quickly rose in popularity to become almost synonymous with the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) — the very platform it’s based on. Last September, the company announced plans to expand beyond UPI payments to support tokenized cards, but nothing materialized even months after that initial teaser. It looks like Google Pay India is finally adding credit and debit cards as a supported payment option, though it isn't live for everyone yet.
OnePlus' first smartwatch is... bad — here's what we think it needs to improve
Good smartwatches take time
The OnePlus Watch is a very confusing product — it lacks the smarts of a real smartwatch, but it’s also a terrible fitness band with botched tracking. So what is it trying to be, exactly? Frankly, I don't have a clue, and neither does OnePlus, seemingly. In its haste to deliver some kind of smartwatch, the company came out with a half-baked wearable that falls flat in several crucial ways.
Five reasons you shouldn't buy the OnePlus 9 Pro
The latest OnePlus flagship is arguably not Pro enough
While the OnePlus 9 Pro did score decently in our review, it failed to earn our full approval like the 8 Pro did, or even the slightly cheaper OnePlus 9. There aren’t many big downsides to the phone, but it does fail to live up to the general expectation of a OnePlus flagship and lacks some of the company's characteristic razzmatazz.The competition is simply outperforming OnePlus at the moment, with this example from Samsung doing remarkably well both in terms of features and value. There are more than a couple of things that don’t work in the 9 Pro’s favor and should be considered before you cough up over a thousand dollars for this shiny new OnePlus handset.
Redmi Note 10 review, one month later: Good luck finding better at this price
Xiaomi’s got a winning formula for a budget phone
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Xiaomi may have diversified its product range to offer flagship phones, but the sub-$200 segment is still where all the action happens. The fact that it has maintained its lead in the budget segment, despite the increased pressure from Realme and Samsung, speaks volumes about how well Xiaomi knows what it's doing. That shows in the 2021 Redmi Note series. With the Redmi Note 10, Xiaomi has once again managed to find the balance between performance and price, which matters more than anything else in a market like India. But that doesn’t mean the Note 10 has no weak spots — it's got its fair share of them, and they could easily be a dealbreaker for some.
A little over a year back, Spotify was found testing its own voice bot with the "Hey Spotify" wake phrase, akin to Google Assistant. Since then, we haven’t heard much about the new voice feature, though it now looks to be rolling out as a wider public release.
The Snapdragon Galaxy S20 FE 5G gets an aggressive introductory price in India
Owners of the Exynos model now have another reason to cry into their pillow
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Like most markets outside North America, India got the Exynos variant of Samsung’s fantastic upper-mid-range Galaxy S20 FE. This model simply isn’t on par with its Snapdragon-powered sibling on several fronts, including 5G connectivity. Now, Samsung is bringing the S20 FE 5G to the Indian market right around the time OnePlus is set to drop its 9-series flagships in a similar price bracket.
Google's Suez Canal Easter egg will surely float your boat
The infamous vessel is now sailing free 🚢 🚢 🚢
For the past week, people have been flooded with news — and more importantly, memes— about the Ever Given container ship that got stranded in the Suez Canal. It’s been the butt of all jokes lately, and there’s no stopping them even after the vessel was freed yesterday. Google, too, wants to join the fun in the way it knows the best — with a search-related Easter egg.
The Honor Band 6 looks more like a smartwatch but for a fraction of the cost
Get ready for fitness bands with bigger OLED displays
Honor’s range of fitness trackers probably receives the most attention in the budget segment, topped only by Xiaomi's Mi Bands. Until the Band 5, Honor stuck to a pretty traditional design, but that changes this year. The all-new Band 6 comes with a bigger casing that looks more like a smartwatch than a discreet fitness tracker. That radical facelift also means you’ll have to shell out more money this year, but it's still a steal given the bigger display.
The lone big promoter of Google’s Android One program, Nokia, made big promises about timely device updates, but it’s been falling behind on those commitments for its flagship. However, that doesn’t mean it’s leaving its entry-level and budget phones in the lurch. The two-year-old Nokia 3.2 is receiving its Android 11 update as planned.
Watch OnePlus unveil its latest flagships right here
There’s a lot more on the cards than just the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro
As is customary with OnePlus phones, an abundance of leaks hasn’t left much for the company to reveal today. However, we still look forward to OnePlus announcing its 2021 flagships with its own stylistic flair at its online event, and we can always hope for a little something extra that we don’t already know. At the very least, we'll get confirmation of pricing for the new products.
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OxygenOS won plaudits for remaining mostly true to stock Android but has since developed more of its own personality. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, even if it bears a strong resemblance to Samsung’s One UI. Despite the visual transformation, OnePlus' skin has not only retained many of its neat little features, but some of its recent iterations have also introduced new tricks to make your life a tiny bit easier.
Open Beta 8 for the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro improves call quality, app load times, and more
The latest security patch is included, too
While we wait for OnePlus to launch its next phone lineup, the company certainly hasn’t forgotten about its former flagships. The OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro from last year have consistently received updates. Keeping up with that streak, the latest Open Beta for the 8 and 8 Pro comes with a lengthy changelog and a whole bunch of bug fixes, in addition to the March security patch.
SwiftKey fixes Pixel 4’s swipe to erase issue on stable, too (APK Download)
The gesture has been broken for over a year
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Despite its long-standing acclaim as the keyboard app to beat on Android, SwiftKey hasn’t played nice with Google’s own Pixel 4 and 4 XL since back when they launched in 2019. The handy swipe-to-delete gesture has been broken on the two phones for over a year, and it's only now that the app is gearing up to patch it. If the latest update to SwiftKey beta is any indication, a proper fix for the issue is just around the corner.