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Strava's one of the most popular tools for runners and cyclists to track their progress, and its usefulness can depend on its interoperability with existing platforms, like Fitbit, Apple Fitness, and Google Fit. Unfortunately, that last one had been presenting something of a problem, as Strava users found themselves unable to sync their fitness data with Google Fit.
Samsung is about to kill the SmartThings Link for NVIDIA Shield and original SmartThings Hub
Both will be discontinued at the end of June
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Change is an inevitability in life, and unfortunately for those of us who invest in various product ecosystems, change ultimately means having to upgrade. Right now, Samsung is transitioning to a next-gen platform for its SmartThings smart home system. And while newer devices are coming along for the ride, some older components are going to need to be replaced before they stop working. Samsung's been sharing news of this transition with owners of these devices, including the SmartThings Link USB dongle that lets it integrate with the Nvidia Shield, as well as the original SmartThings Hub.Info was first sent to SmartThings Link owners, including our tipster, via email back in March. Without support for SmartThings Link, Samsung's smart home system won't be able to access the Shield, and vice versa. That's bad news for users who've built their home integration around SmartThings, though that's probably a tiny number of people compared to those who've done the same with Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, or Apple HomeKit. Shield's integration with Assistant for voice commands and smart home functionality is extensive.[EMBED_TWITTER]https://twitter.com/jank0/status/1366429511470903299[/EMBED_TWITTER]Users of the SmartThings Link will also lose direct access to Zigbee and Z-Wave devices. Samsung is offering discounts to some users for a new third-gen SmartThings Hub for their trouble, but there's no indication of when (or if) support for the new API system will come to the Shield.When Samsung first announced word of this transition back in 2020, it mentioned that "select legacy hubs" would also be retired in the pursuit of progress. We've since learned that this means that Samsung's first-generation SmartThings Hub will be shut down alongside the Link dongle at the end of June. Like those users, owners of the Hub are being given the opportunity to upgrade to more modern hardware at a discount.
I gave up on Android tablets after I discovered the iPad as a writing tool
Oh, the wasted years (and wasted money!) trying to do this on Android
There’s a dream I’ve had for years: a platonic ideal of consumer electronics. I dream of the perfect mobile writing machine.I imagine a device that’s compact and light enough to carry anywhere, without the need for supporting hardware, and which differs enough from a conventional laptop or desktop interface to let me focus entirely on writing. With all that included, it needs to be powerful enough to run multiple applications at a time: a word processor, a small browser window for supplementary research, and a media player for music.Since I’m also a fan of mechanical keyboards, as are many self-described writers these days, a tablet + wireless keyboard combo is part of my ideal. (Yes, the keyboard counts as "supporting hardware." No one ever said dreams had to be consistent.) If I could get a tablet, or perhaps a convertible laptop with its fold-back screen, and an “endgame” keyboard, and I’d finally achieve portable writing perfection. Then maybe I’d finally run out of excuses for finishing off that second novel.
HBO Max now lets you save a little money by watching a lot of commercials
The $10-a-month commercial tier is live
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With a backlog of HBO original programming, Time Warner movies and television properties, and a year's worth of Warner Bros. theater releases, HBO Max ain't a bad deal at $15 a month. But if that's outside your budget, the streaming service will get a cheaper option soon. Reports say that starting in June, you'll be able to watch most of its content for $9.99 a month, with frequent interruptions for commercials.
Asus makes its own version of the Lenovo Chromebook Duet and calls it the CM3 Detachable
It's nearly identical, but a docked stylus and a headphone jack might give Asus the edge
The Lenovo Chromebook Duet is pretty close to a perfect low-end Chrome device, in my opinion. Essentially a tiny Chrome-powered Surface tablet, it excels at portability, media consumption, and basic work tasks. After a bit of a fake-out with a very similarly-named Chromebook CM3 convertible, the CM3 Detachable is now official. And yeah, it's pretty much the same device as the Chromebook Duet, with a couple of extra quirks.
Paramount+ streaming plans get simpler and cheaper on June 7th
A new $5 tier will include commercials, but drop the live CBS feed
Paramount+, nee CBS All Access, is your one-stop shop for streaming shows like Star Trek, Nickelodeon, and all those cop shows your parents love to wait for on network TV. Though the service launched back in March, its plan options were a bit confusing. Starting next week, they'll be simpler, and at least one will be cheaper ... though you'll lose access to your local CBS station.
Google Meet gets live captions in North America and Latin America
US Americans had to wait for a Google feature, for once
As an international website with a mostly-US staff, covering a US company, we get a lot of commenters telling us how much it sucks that Google's stuff isn't available everywhere immediately. Well today all of you international readers get to thumb your noses at us! Assuming you live in Europe or Asia. And also that you really care about a very specific feature of the Meet video conferencing tool.
It looks like Google's about to fix the most annoying thing about Google TV
Support for multiple user profiles may be coming soon
User profiles are extremely handy for online streaming services, if only so I can stop seeing random episodes of The Big Bang Theory show up in my HBO Max feed (which should be nothing but 90s WB superhero cartoons). Google apparently thinks that kind of separation will be useful for its revamped Android TV interface, because said profiles are on their way.
In a lot of ways, Fitbit's wearables are the best option for Android-compatible smartwatches. That's probably why Google straight-up bought the company, and is folding its fitness tracking smarts into Wear OS later this year. But Fitbit continues to support its existing home-grown products with software updates. It just happens that the latest one also ties it in even closer with Google's ecosystem.
Sony's WF-1000XM4 earbud pricing leaks: start saving your pennies
And also some other coins, because pennies ain't gonna cut it
Fans of true wireless earbuds have been in a tizzy lately, watching the leaks of the upcoming flagship noise-canceling buds from Sony. From what we've seen so far, they seem to be the design to beat, improving on the previous well-received model in pretty much every way. The latest leak shows the price of the buds in Euro, and assuming that it's accurate, it's ... a lot.
The Realme X7 Max 5G punches above its price range with the help of a new chip
Do you think this phone has enough names?
When you see that a phone has a MediaTek processor, you tend to assume that it's going to be a budget model. You might want to check that assumption, starting now: the Realme X7 Max 5G is a flagship design from top to bottom, and it's packing MediaTek silicon. In fact, it's the first phone to use the company's flagship Dimensity 1200 chip outside of the Chinese domestic market.
Google FLoC toggle is now appearing in early versions of Chrome — here's how to find it
The FLoC system is now being tested on users in the US and other countries
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Google's Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC) is a part of its Privacy Sandbox, a new suite of tools aiming to replace and improve upon the conventional third-party cookie tracking that enables modern advertising on the web. The company has been working on it for more than a year, and this week it's set to start using the system on a small portion of Chrome users in the United States and other countries.
OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro update 11.2.6.6 features several camera improvements
Rolling out to India now, Europe and North America soon
Owners of the most recent OnePlus flagships, check your notification bars: OP is sending you a software goodie. The OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro are now receiving the 11.2.6.6 version of Oxygen OS, and it's ... well, it's a bunch of bug fixes and camera improvements. Which is pretty similar to most OnePlus updates, but at least they're consistent, right?
Court documents show Google intentionally hid privacy controls
And told phone makers to hide them, and collected location data from alternate sources, and just all kinds of bad stuff
Last year, Arizona's attorney general sued Google for illegally collecting location data from Android users, even after they had opted out of said data collection. According to recently released evidence and testimony from Google employees, the company intentionally made it difficult (and in some cases impossible) for users to find or understand the options to turn off location tracking. Beyond that, the evidence indicates that Google continued to collect location data via other means, associating it with users to achieve the same level of accuracy.
Hulu's latest app update adds a long-overdue tool for efficient binge watching
The 'skip intro' button for TV shows is finally here
There are plenty of TV shows with wonderful intros. But even the best ones will grate on you if you're watching your seventh episode on a lazy Saturday afternoon. Hulu realizes this, and has added a "skip intro" button to its interface on Android, as it's had on the web and at least some smart TV platforms for over a year.
That Lenovo tablet with HDMI input is official, and it's a monster media machine
The 13-inch tablet doubles as a portable monitor, but who knows when we'll see it outside of China
I've always had a soft spot for Lenovo's weird-ass tablet designs, ever since one of them asked me to buy Android apps with Burger King gift cards. The latest one turned heads when we found out you could use it as a portable HDMI monitor, a surprisingly practical use for a little flat screen that can fit in your backpack. Based on the official announcement, it might just be worth a second look, and possibly even money that doesn't come in the form of prepaid fast food credit.
That big Google Meet UI overhaul is starting to roll out
A small portion of users are seeing the update now
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Google Meet has become an essential work tool for quite a lot of people in the last year, so it's no surprise that the company is pouring resources into making it better. Today Google showed off an upcoming web redesign, which includes a more flexible user interface that lets you focus on the important parts of the meeting.
Philo is raising its price, because that's just what streaming TV services do now
It's jumping from $20 to $25 next month with some extra DVR time
To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven. A time to be born, and a time to die. A time to plant, and a time to reap. A time to increase the price of a streaming TV subscription, and that time is all the freakin' time. The time has come for Philo, a service that's practically built on being cheaper than pretty much every alternative. You didn't need the wisdom of Solomon to see this one coming.
Fitbit adding 2FA, because your health is no one's business but yours
Unfortunately it's not showing up in the app yet, at least for me
It's been more than a year since many of us got more acquainted with our webcams than we ever wanted to be. You've used the excess of personal time to invest in your personal health, right? Right? Well whether you have or haven't, keeping your health info to yourself is probably a good call. To that end, Fitbit now supports two-factor authentication (2FA) for its user accounts.
USB-C just made even your most powerful chargers look obsolete
240-watt charging could hit devices as soon as this year
USB-C ports and their associated standards are continuing to prove incredibly flexible. Charging my phone, headphones, tablet, and laptop, all on the same charger, is pretty damn close to magic. But the USB-C port isn't all-powerful... at least not yet. The most powerful laptops, and other high-energy devices like desktop PCs, still need dedicated power supplies with old-fashioned connectors. That could change as soon as this year.