About Karandeep Singh
Karandeep has been with Android Police as a freelance writer since 2019, covering reviews for India, buyer’s guides for the US, and handy tutorials for everyone. He cares more about the impact of technology on people’s everyday lives than the superfluous features companies keep adding each year, which is central to his reviews and product recommendations.
In his previous life, he worked with Android Headlines to cover everything Android. He also wrote and edited for a handful of publications in India during his writing journey, which started in 2014. Ever since his first Symbian phone that had the iconic Ovi store to download apps, he has stuck to Android phones and is currently using a OnePlus Open. In his free time, he’s usually busy clearing his ever-growing backlog of movies and TV shows or tracking down an eatery he hasn’t been to yet. Chats about food go to Twitter DM and everything tech to karandeep (at) androidpolice (dot) com.
Latest Articles
Signal groups are getting a lot better with @ mentions and admin controls
The rollout process is a bit finicky, though
WhatsApp enjoys mass appeal in the messaging space, while Signal continues to be a popular choice only among privacy enthusiasts, at least in my corner of the world. That perception about Signal is rapidly changing, thanks in large part to the constant inflow of new features that bring it closer to its peers. The latest feature update focuses on Signal groups, bringing some admin controls and an option for direct mentions.
OnePlus ditches all its pre-installed Facebook crap with the 8T
The T-Mobile variant gets McAfee bloat instead
Google schedules Search On event for October 15
The livestream will begin at 12 pm PT
Google had hosted its I/O developer conference every year since 2008, but the pandemic got it canceled this year. Instead, the company’s been making smaller announcements all these past few months, like when it introduced the Pixel 4a. In much the same vein, Google is now planning another virtual event, titled Search On. Getting underway tomorrow, October 15, Google intends to focus on the software side of things, specifically its flagship product: Search.
YouTube web’s dark mode can now match your browser’s theme
No need to manually flick the switch anymore
YouTube enabled dark mode on the web right alongside its big Material Design makeover way back in 2017. But the only way to get it working until now was to toggle the dark theme on or off manually. With more and more web browsers adding native support for these color schemes, YouTube is now tapping into the underlying API to give you the ability to match its website with your browser’s theme.
Latest Pixel Stand update adds easily accessible smart home controls (APK Download)
Just like Android 11’s power menu
Google’s Pixel Stand is a fun little wireless charger designed specifically for Pixel phones that conjures up an interactive interface, complete with Google Assistant. Those who own the accessory will be pleased to learn that the charger is learning a few new tricks thanks to a recent update, and in addition to all that Assistant stuff, the Stand will now also give access to smart home controls when your Pixel is docked.
The OnePlus 8 series gets Nightscape and portrait mode in video with OxygenOS 11
Android 11 brought a buttload of visual facelifts and the long-awaited always-on display
Read update
OxygenOS 11 is OnePlus’ Android 11-based, totally revamped software skin, following in the design philosophy of Samsung’s One UI to allow for better one-handed use on big phones. After what was a relatively short beta cycle, OnePlus has decided to go ahead with releasing the stable version of Android 11 to its latest flagships ahead of next week's 8T event. The OxygenOS 11 update is now rolling out first to the 8 Pro and 8, while older models will have to wait a little longer for their turn.
Aggressively-priced Pixel 4a arrives in India alongside Nest Audio speaker
They aren’t going on sale until next week, though
Google hasn’t been able to crack India’s highly competitive smartphone market with its expensive Pixel flagships, but it now seems bullish that its more reasonably priced a-suffixed lineup has a chance to finally hit a home run. In line with its previous announcement to bring the $349 crowd-pleaser to India in October, Google today announced the Pixel 4a at a price that is even lower than what was widely anticipated. The new Nest Audio speaker is also coming next week.
Google faces antitrust case for monopolizing India’s smart TV market
It allegedly bullied manufacturers into staying away from Android TV rivals
Google’s been facing antitrust cases left, right, and center in nearly all its major global markets, and it looks like those legal woes aren’t going away anytime soon. While the search giant’s Indian arm has already been contesting a couple of existing anti-competitive lawsuits (it was even fined $21 million in one of them), a new case alleges similar behavior in the smart TV market and makes some serious accusations about Google abusing its dominance.
Realme unveils 4K Android TV with new SLED tech alongside 100W soundbar
Plus new earbuds, phones, and more announced at the Realme AIoT Conference
Oppo spin-off Realme made its name as a budget smartphone maker in parts of Asia and Europe, but it has since ventured out to a bunch of other categories, ranging from smart TVs to truly wireless earbuds. With today’s announcement, Realme is further expanding its product line by adding the Smart TV SLED 4K, which is based on its proprietary backlighting tech, along with a 100W soundbar. There are also a whole lot of accessories, some IoT devices, and earbuds, following what the company teased last month.
Subscribing to YouTube TV can get you a free Chromecast with Google TV
Paying for just a single month should do the trick
Following a storm of leaks, Google finally unveiled its first Android TV Google TV-powered Chromecast dongle earlier this week, which earned a big thumbs-up in our review. While the 4K-capable Chromecast with Google TV itself is a great deal — and a mouthful — at 50 bucks, you can save a bunch through various deals and bundles. One such offer from Google can get you the new Chromecast for free by subscribing to YouTube TV.
The Galaxy A50 is Samsung’s first phone to get the October security update
Not too shabby for a 2019 mid-ranger
There was a time when even Samsung flagships had to wait for months to get the latest Android updates, but not anymore. In the last few months, Samsung has consistently delivered monthly security updates to pretty much its entire line-up, at times even trumping the Pixel phones. With October just upon us, Samsung is already releasing this month’s security patches to its devices, beginning with the mid-tier Galaxy A50.
Latest OnePlus Nord update delivers September patch and option to manage silent notifications
OxygenOS 10.5.8 is releasing as part of a gradual rollout
The Nord marked OnePlus’s reentry into the budget space when it went official two months back. In that short span, the phone has already received quite a few updates, mainly to iron out any remaining initial issues. With the latest OxygenOS build, the Nord is getting the newest (technically) September security update along with a new option for controlling notifications.
Indian startups are looking to break Google’s monopoly with a localized Play Store alternative
The Paytm incident didn’t go down very well with the domestic startup community
About two weeks back, India’s premier financial services app Paytm got kicked out of the Play Store. While the episode didn’t last long as Google reinstated the app within hours, it triggered a widespread call to curb Google’s unabated dominance over the country's app distribution market. That uproar has now reached a point where a local tech startup consortium is exploring the option to launch a Play Store alternative that frees it from Google’s control.
Xiaomi Mi Box 3 is now receiving Android 9 Pie, just in time for Android 11
The second major Android version released to this 4K box
Read update
One of the very first Xiaomi devices to officially land in the US was the Mi Box (known as the Mi Box 3 elsewhere) back in fall 2016. While the original model has already been replaced by the Mi Box S in the States, Xiaomi hasn’t stopped pushing newer updates to its nearly four-year-old box. Now the company's rolling out Android 9 Pie to those enrolled in the beta program.
Chromecast with Google TV supports USB-C hubs so you can unlock its full potential
Additional storage, ethernet, and USB peripherals can all be hooked up
Thanks to a series of comprehensive leaks about the upcoming Chromecast with Google TV, there isn’t much left for Google to actually reveal at today’s launch. The dongle going on sale prematurely also helped us peek at the real thing and what’s inside its retail box. While playing around with the new Chromecast, one buyer just found out that the device supports USB hubs, which could unlock its full potential.
Samsung Good Lock updates aim to help reduce your typos and tweak your share screen
The updated Home Up and Keys Cafe apps are coming next month to do all that and more
Galaxy phone owners have access to a whole bunch of customization options through Samsung’s Good Lock app. This month alone, the app got two major modules in the form of Pentastic and Wonderland, for tweaking the S Pen and device wallpapers, respectively. Now, Good Lock is all set to add a few new capabilities to improve your typing experience, better manage who gets priority on the share screen, and how apps respond to device rotation.
Xiaomi's first Google Assistant speaker looks like a Bose, costs a quarter of the price
Ok Google, Alexa asked for its blue light ring back
While most of us know Xiaomi for its extensive smartphone lineup, it maintains an even bigger ecosystem of IoT products back home. Looking specifically at smart speakers, Xiaomi does have a bunch on offer, but they all use a local voice assistant that only speaks Chinese. One of those speakers is now making an international debut as the Mi Smart Speaker with Google Assistant and Chromecast on board.
YouTube Music tests seven Spotify-like daily playlist mixes
Spotify Daily Mixes, just for YouTube Music
YouTube Music has been picking up the pace lately in adopting some well-liked features of the outgoing Google Play Music. In addition to all the inherited stuff, the streaming app has also been getting a whole bunch of new features to make the experience more personalized and engaging for its users. In line with that, YouTube Music is now adding a new My Mix section that offers several playlists tuned according to your music taste — but they aren't live for everyone yet.
Spotify's new tool compares your music taste to celebs like John Legend or Conan O'Brien
You can even see what they listen to
Spotify already has over a hundred million users globally, and it’s a big task to keep them all engaged. The streaming service added Group Sessions to help out with that not too long ago, and many more interactive features are still in the pipeline. In its latest move, Spotify is introducing a tool called Listen Alike that tells you how close your music taste is to that of some celebrities.
Google's upcoming Nest Audio speaker gets the early unboxing treatment
Audio quality 'blows the original Google Home out of the water,' apparently
It’s no secret that Google is about to reveal a long-overdue refresh to its original Home speaker from 2016 — yeah, the air freshener is that old. Google even released a short video showing off the Nest Audio way back in July, before we knew that would be its name. Just days before it’s set to launch officially, someone was able to get hold of a Nest Audio unit that went on sale prematurely, which they then unboxed for our viewing pleasure, much like what happened with the Chromecast with Google TV dongle.