About Prasham Parikh
Prasham Parikh is a freelancer at Android Police, and you can catch him writing how-to guides, features, and reviews on smartphones or pretty much anything that has a battery in it. His love for technology began with the Nokias and the Sony Ericsons of the early 2000s, and he hasn’t looked back since. He’s been the go-to guy in his circle for advice on smartphones, laptops, and gadgets in general—he regrets not sharing affiliate links as often, though. His first stint as a writer was for India’s leading tech magazine — The Digit — but he got his first true experience in tech journalism writing for and managing a small tech blog, EOTO.tech. He then went on to write and produce for Mashable India, where he penned over a thousand articles, reviews, opinions, and in-depth features and hosted and scripted several YouTube videos. Prasham hails from Mumbai but recently moved to Atlanta after graduating from Duke University with a Master’s degree in Quantitative Management. The gadgets he currently uses on a daily basis are the Google Pixel 6, Oppo Watch, Sony WH-1000XM4s, the MacBook Pro, and the Onyx Boox Nova Air. When he’s not spending time writing or ogling new tech, he’s probably playing NBA 2K or watching a true crime documentary. Once in a while, he even digs out his trusty ol’ Gameboy Advanced SP to play the best game ever made: Pokemon Leaf Green.
Latest Articles
Google Phone knows you prefer messaging businesses over calling them (APK Download)
Start chatting right away from within the app
I don't know about you, but I prefer texting over calling businesses — who likes listening to some crappy hold music for minutes on end?! Google probably knows this and is happy to bundle a messaging feature into yet another one of its apps. The Google Phone app now lets you text businesses.
Here's why Google Photos uploads for some aren't counting against account storage
Some Photos users are luckier than others
Google's new storage policy came into effect on June 1 and dropped the free unlimited backup plan for Google Photos. However, some users — including a couple of us at AP — have managed to upload several GBs of media without it occupying even an iota of our account storage. What's happening, you ask? We reached out to Google for an explanation and discovered that some Photos users are just luckier than others.
Google seems to be working on an alternative to Apple's Find My network
Your lost phone could soon receive help from 3 billion Android devices
One of the most salient features of an Apple AirTag is how it utilizes the roughly one billion iPhones out there — via the Find My network — to ping its location even when it's not in Bluetooth range. Wouldn't it be great if Google could somehow capitalize on the more than 3 billion Android devices around the world to help find your lost phone? Well, this might just happen.
OnePlus 8 series update lets you take screenshots of your fancy always-on display
June security patch is here too
If you're rocking a OnePlus flagship from 2020 and have been bold enough to be a part of the Open Beta program, there's news for you. OnePlus is rolling out the Open Beta 11 and the Open Beta 6 for the OnePlus 8 series and the OnePlus 8T, respectively.
Google Meet is making it difficult to ignore raised hands
Google's here to save you from embarrassment
The pandemic has put a lot of us in front of screens, but interacting in online meetings is not always an intuitive experience. Although a minor change, Google is doing its bit to make things better by improving the hand raise feature in Meet.
Google refuses to commit to next-gen Wear OS upgrades for current watches
While Qualcomm says current watches are capable of handling the update
Read update
When Fossil confirmed that it wouldn't update its existing smartwatches to the all-new Wear OS, speculation was rife that this could possibly be due to hardware limitations. It turns out that this might not be true, as Qualcomm has confirmed that its existing chipsets can handle the new software that Google has baked up in collaboration with Samsung.
You could soon learn languages while searching on Google
YouTube and Assistant could soon follow
The last thing any of us expected at Google I/O was an AI demo involving a conversation with a sentient paper plane, but Google, being Google, delivered the unexpected. The demo showcased Google's brand-new LaMDA conversational AI, which could now reportedly power an upcoming Google Search feature: teaching foreign languages to users.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro are getting a coat of white
The Phantom White colorway has already been listed on the Samsung Austria website
We tend to be a bit more conscious about the technology that we carry with us, which is why it's good to see companies offer their products in various colorways — suit your style! So, if none of Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro's existing color options were to your taste, you might be happy to learn that a white colorway is incoming.As spotted by Roland Quandt, Samsung Austria has silently listed the new Phantom White variant on its website. No prizes for guessing, but the buds are accompanied by a matching white case. If you've picked up a white S21 series phone — or the white Z Flip 5G — these will definitely complement it well.
Google WiFi is getting cheaper, and going places
Now available in 17 more countries
A lot of homes have bred makeshift offices within the last year and the need for good internet coverage has never been felt more strongly. If you were looking for a good mesh Wi-Fi network to invest in, the Google Wi-Fi router might just be the one for you now — it's not only getting cheaper but also being made available in Canada and Europe.The availability expansion brings the product to 17 new countries:
Realme GT comes to global markets as the cheapest Snapdragon 888 phone
Available in Europe, Russia, and Thailand and coming to more markets soon
Read update
The smartphone market's funny in that we're both seeing the release of some of the most expensive models ever made, while also flagship performance comes to much more affordable handsets. Now the Realme GT is showing just how much you can get for not much cash, with a Snapdragon 888 under the hood and a price tag of just $430.
Google Chrome tab groups could get two nifty new features
You can already try one on Canary
If you're a heavy user of Google Chrome, tab groups are likely a godsend for you, but the current implementation is far from comprehensive. As it turns out, Google is already working on improving the desktop experience and we can already get a glimpse of what's to come thanks to a new Canary flag.
How to hide sensitive images in a Google Photos Locked Folder
Limited to Pixels for now but support for more phones is coming later this year
If I were held at gunpoint and asked to surrender either my fat wallet (it's a hypothetical situation; I can take the liberty 🥲 ) or my unlocked phone, I'd choose the former. After all, who wants to risk their sensitive media being shared around the web for all the world to see? If you've been loyal to Pixels and Google Photos, you might be happy to learn that you can finally hide your media in a Locked Folder.
Curious about Amazon Luna? 7-day trial offers a peek behind the Early Access curtain
There's a 30% discount on the Luna controller too
If you haven't been able to try out Amazon's cloud gaming service yet, you're in luck. Nearly every big gaming company has some kind of cloud service right now, but Amazon's has involved jumping through a few more hoops than most, with invites and then an early access program. But during the upcoming Prime Day sale (which is taking place from June 21 to 22), you'll be able to have a go at Luna without the need for an invitation.Amazon will offer Prime members a 7-day free trial, after which it'll cost $6/month to continue the membership. You can also decide to pay more for the $14.99/month Ubisoft Plus subscription that will give you access to a selection of the company's games, including Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Far Cry 6.
Google+, now dead for years, is somehow still lingering around Google's Phone app
It's been over 2 years since Google+ shut down for personal accounts
If you've been on the internet for a while, you probably know about Google+ — Google's failed attempt at creating a social network. While the network closed shop for personal accounts in 2019, its remnants still live and break functionality in the Google Phone app for Android.
The Android 12 Beta is Google's most popular ever — so what are you waiting for to try it out?
The Material You redesign could be responsible for this
Android 12 is decidedly the most significant update that the operating system has received in the last few years. While there are a lot of changes to parse through, the most notable one has been the new Material You design that has given a complete facelift to the interface. It could also be a major reason why a record number of Pixel users have rushed to be a part of the Android 12 beta program.
OnePlus 8 and 8T update brings June security patch and a camera shutter fix
Rolling out now over the air, or manually via the update tool
If you've got a OnePlus flagship from 2020, prepare to download a new software update. The OnePlus 8, 8 Pro, and 8T are receiving new builds which introduce the June security patch — considerably quick given how late the May security patch was delivered to these devices.
Biden revokes Trump's order to ban TikTok and WeChat
They’ll still face scrutiny from the US Department of Commerce
While the executive order by Donald Trump to ban TikTok and WeChat never came into force, the Biden administration has revoked it in favor of evidence-based investigations of foreign-controlled applications that could pose a security risk to Americans and their data.
Chromecast with Google TV is getting the Stadia update
... But Stadia is still not available
It took an insanely long time for this to happen but Google's cloud gaming service is finally being made available for the Android TV platform. In preparation for this, the Chromecast with Google TV is getting a new update that introduces support for Stadia among other improvements.
Google Camera update brings astro timelapse to Pixels (APK Download)
Get more of the starry night sky
Google just dropped the latest Pixel Feature Drop and there's more stuff to check out than we expected. But if you're gung-ho about the camera — a good chance if you picked a Pixel over any other phone — then you'll be glad to learn that one of the announced features, animated astrophotography, is already making it to Pixels.
How to fix your OnePlus phone that's started bootlooping after installing its latest update
OnePlus and botched updates go hand in hand these days
OnePlus has become notorious for shipping either half-baked updates or ones that cause devices to bootloop or worse. The Android 12 developer preview for the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro was pulled back after it bricked devices. While the unstable nature of developer software dilutes the culpability to an extent, it's surely not acceptable when a stable OTA causes the same problem. Unfortunately, the stable OxygenOS 11.2.6.6 update for the OnePlus 9 Pro has lead to similar issues for some people.