Michael Crider
Contributing since December, 2013
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3608articles
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About Michael Crider
Michael is a born Texan and a former graphic designer. He's been covering technology in general and Android in particular since 2011. His interests include folk music, football, science fiction, and salsa verde, in no particular order. He wrote a novel called Good Intentions: A Supervillain Story, and it's available on Amazon.
Latest Articles
Lenovo announces four new cheap Chromebooks coming in May
They're designed for the education market
Chromebooks are gaining steam all over, recently surpassing Apple computers in total sales. But their bread and butter has been, and remains, the education market, where fleets of cheap, easy-to-service laptops are a godsend for teachers and IT administrators. Today Lenovo is announcing no less than four new Chromebook laptops, all iterations on existing models, and priced between $299 and $429.
Here's how to fix those mysterious Android WebView crashes
Download it from the Play Store or APK Mirror now
Read update
If you're experiencing a bunch of apps suddenly crashing on your recent Samsung phone, you're not alone. This afternoon US time, reports from dozens, then hundreds of users on the Samsung subreddit started coming in, complaining of apps crashing on their phones, constantly and seemingly at random. It's causing some major headaches. You can quickly fix the problem by disabling the Android System WebView app, or updating it via the Play Store or APK Mirror.
YouTube's line art icons jump from Android to the web
Coming soon to a browser near you
Google really likes icons that are just outlines. After the multicolored makeover for all of Google's service app icons, it redid the YouTube interface, replacing the standard look with line art. Now that shift has made its way to the desktop/web version of YouTube. So yeah, that's a thing.
Spotify outlines plans for a more useful Home page
Some of the features will be locked behind Premium accounts
Heavy Spotify users know that its interface is functional, but a long way from elegant. The streaming service is planning a few targeted updates to the app's home screen, hopefully making it simpler to get to the content you're looking for. The changes are focused on exploring the songs you've already enjoyed, and podcasts. Because of course, podcasts.
Samsung is reportedly working on a dramatic dual-hinge Fold flagship for 2021
A wider tablet-style screen would work better for apps and video
If one fold is good, two folds are better. That appears to be the thinking at Samsung's R&D department, where engineers are reportedly hard at work on a double-hinged phone in the Galaxy Fold series. According to a business report from Nikkei, Samsung is looking into a double-hinged design, with hopes to unveil it before the end of 2021. That's on top of new iterations of Samsung's existing folding designs, the large Galaxy Z Fold and the clamshell Galaxy Z Flip.
Get an early look at the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro's specs
T-Mobile posted the specifications to its website prematurely
OnePlus is all set to completely reveal its 9 and 9 Pro flagship phones tomorrow in a live event. But T-Mobile is getting the party started early: the carrier posted both phones, including a full list of specifications, to its website a day early. At this point there have been so many leaks (and so many promotional posts from OnePlus itself) that there are few surprises left. But if you're looking for spoilers, here they are.
New YouTube TV store tab shows off subscription options on smart TVs
It seems to be rolling out slowly to the app on smart TV platforms and set top boxes
YouTube TV is already fairly pricey, as cable-cutting services go. But if you want even more content on top of its standard live TV channels and on-demand video, you can add on more packages (just like old-fashioned cable TV, for better or worse). An interface tweak is making it easier to find these options on television, without having to search for them on a phone app or the web.
Poco X3 Pro specs leaked in store listing with unknown Snapdragon SoC
It looks like a slightly refreshed version of the 855+
Earlier this week renders of a new Poco X3 Pro were spotted from familiar leakers. It seems like a release for this boosted version of the Poco X3 NFC, which has been out for about half a year, is immanent: now it's showing up in retailer listings, complete with a set of specs. It's mostly similar to the already-released device, but the text teases more RAM and storage, and a Snapdragon SoC we haven't heard of before.
New Google Photos interface tweaks make it easier to access Lens tools
Tap the Lens icon or scroll down to easily spot your options
The Google Lens tool is fantastic for quickly grabbing relevant info from photos. Now it's getting a little easier to use if you're a Google Photos devotee. Our readers have spotted a few new tools when you tap the Lens icon while viewing a single item in the official Google Photos app, or when you scroll down to use the more expanded photo info panel. It's hard to pin down when these features went live, but it appears to be within the last couple of weeks.
This cheap adapter replaced my car's crappy Bluetooth connection
Twenty bucks was all it took to give my old car decent music controls
A few weeks ago I bought a used Kia Soul. (Please, no comments from the peanut gallery.) I'm pretty pleased with it overall, and my dog Marty freakin' loves having the spacious back all to himself. But it's a 2013 model, made in that awkward period when pretty much all cars had Bluetooth, but they sucked at it. The Soul's built-in Bluetooth stereo can't play, pause, or change tracks on my phone, which is a bummer.There are a few ways to fix this. I could replace the stereo with a fancy Android Auto head unit… but if I was the kind of guy who would drop $500 into his car on a whim, I wouldn't be driving a used Soul. There's an AUX input on the dash and I could just directly connect it, but the Pixel 5's lack of a headphone jack complicates this, and my whole goal is not to need to touch a screen to control my music.I searched for a cheap solution for my cheap car. And I found it on Amazon: a little Bluetooth-to-AUX adapter for . It's tiny, it can be powered by the USB port in my car (which is so old that it's labelled "iPod"), and it comes with a little hockey puck of physical control buttons.
Lenovo gives away 3 months of Stadia Pro with gaming PCs, because Lenovo doesn't know what Stadia is
Why would you need it when you just bought a gaming PC?
Lenovo doesn't seem to get the point of Stadia. It's offering three months of access to the service's $10 Pro tier if you buy a new Legion or IdeaPad Gaming-branded laptop or desktop PC. Which is nice. But the entire point of Stadia is that you don't need local gaming hardware to play it. So what's the point of tying a promotional freebie to gaming machines? Wouldn't it make more sense to offer free Stadia Pro on a low-cost machine that can't play high-end PC games?
Grammarly Keyboard's new Tone Detector knows when you're being a sarcastic jackass
It should be helpful for non-jerks, too
For a lot of writers Grammarly is an invaluable tool to help nail grammar, punctuation, and the many other pitfalls that English throws your way. There's no full-featured version for mobile, but the Grammarly Keyboard comes pretty close. It now has another feature from the desktop version: Tone Detector, which helps you send the right message at the right time. Or alternately, helps curb your less savory texting habits.
OnePlus CEO confirms affordably priced OnePlus 9R coming to India
The OnePlus 9R will focus on gaming at a more accessible price
OnePlus has already confirmed that the 9 and 9 Pro are coming on March 23rd, as well as the company's first wearable, the OnePlus Watch. But today CEO Pete Lau spoke directly to an Indian news network about a hitherto unknown variant: the OnePlus 9R. This less expensive option is so far confirmed only for the Indian market, with a focus on a lower price and gaming performance.
Android 12 has a double tap on the back gesture for the Pixel 5, but it isn't active yet
It can open the camera, take a screenshot, or pause media
Google likes to throw in some interesting physical gestures for its phones—see the "squeeze" function the older Pixels inherited from HTC, or the short-lived Soli gestures in the Pixel 4. There's another one the company has been brewing for a while, at least on the Pixel 5: double-tapping the back of the phone for some frequently-used actions.
TeamWin updates TWRP to 3.5.1, Android 11 support coming soon
They're calling it a 'mini release' with a few notable feature improvements
The evergreen TeamWin Recovery Project received a sizable update to 3.5 back in December. Late last night they posted 3.5.1, which they're calling a "mini release," waiting for full support for Android 11. Most of the changes are housekeeping and small support additions, now split into two branches for Android 9 and 10.
The OnePlus 9 Pro can charge faster wirelessly than most phones on a cable
OnePlus video shows it beating "another phone" on a Lightning cable
Read update
Last year's OnePlus 8 Pro was the company's first model to support wireless charging, and they did it with a splash, adding support for a proprietary 30-watt "Warp" charger. According to leaks on the upcoming refresh, the 9 Pro will boost that to 50 watts, presumably speeding up the wireless charge rate even more.
Nvidia GeForce Now's premium tier gets a price bump
Existing Founders subscribers can keep the old $5 plan, free option still available
GeForce Now is an intriguing option in the streaming game marketplace, appealing to those who've already built up a huge library of PC games. A year after the service exited beta, Nvidia says it's increasing the price for the Priority membership (previously called "Founders") from $5 to $10 a month. A $100 a year option is also available—both choices are exactly twice as expensive as before.
Nest devices suffer a brief outage, Google says system should now be fully operational
It has been [0] days since our last major smart home system failure
If you tried to take a peek through your Nest Wi-Fi cameras earlier today, and couldn't, you weren't alone. The Nest system appeared to have a widespread outage on Wednesday, as reported by users on Reddit, Twitter, and other social networks. According to a statement from the official Google Nest Support account, the outage is over.
Mi 11 Lite leaked renders reveal a smaller, cheaper Xiaomi flagship
It's expected to launch in India next month, but is so far unconfirmed
If you're a fan of Xiaomi's flagship sensibilities, but not the high prices that come along with them, you might be in luck. A new alleged leak shows a Lite variant of the Mi 11, which caused a stir when it launched internationally last month. It appears to be a midrange alternative to the high-end original, but with rumored specs including a Snapdragon 765G processor, it might just hit the spot.
OnePlus hypes power efficiency of the 9 Pro's 120Hz screen
And its improved touch latency might save your butt in a multiplayer game, too
At this point we're running out of details to spoil for the new OnePlus 9 series, but OnePlus itself has a long history of hyping up its tech before the full phone reveal. So it is today with a new forum post: this one's explaining some of the new features going into the screen on the OnePlus 9 Pro. In particular, it's boasting of improved refresh rate power management and touch systems.