Richard Gao
Contributing since August, 2016
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1932articles
Page 70
About Richard Gao
Richard loves technology, namely Android flagships, as well as depreciated German cars that can be picked up for next to nothing on Craigslist. In other words, he enjoys throwing money away. Send him some electronic mail at richard@androidpolice.com.
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SwiftKey's one of the oldest Android keyboards around, and in that time, it's added support for quite a few languages - nearly 200, in fact. With this latest addition of seven new languages, the total number of languages supported has been brought to over 200, which is no small feat.
We just saw the Galaxy Note8 pass through JerryRigEverything's durability testing, and it did quite well. But what about when you do break something on your expensive Note8 and need to repair it? iFixit has just torn down the Note8, and ended up giving Samsung's latest flagship a very "meh"-inducing 4/10. That's still better than the Essential Phone's 1, though.
Samsung's new Mobile Security Rewards Program will award researchers up to $200,000 per vulnerability discovered
Many companies give out rewards for vulnerabilities found in their software, and Samsung is now joining those ranks. The Korean tech company's Mobile Security Rewards Program has just gone public, enabling security researchers to receive awards of up to $200,000 per bug found.
After much leaking, the Galaxy Note8 finally made its official debut about two weeks ago. As we expected, it's a fantastic phone, with virtually no downsides aside from its price. But how does it hold up against JerryRigEverything's durability tests? Just like its little brother, the Galaxy S8, the Note8 holds up remarkably well against all this torture.
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- Amazon has gone ahead and matched B&H's price of 9.99. Again, this is only for the white model, but if you prefer purchasing from Amazon, here you go.
The Honor 8 deserves a lot more credit than it gets. Sure, EMUI still isn't as nice as stock Android, but it's very fast, has a great dual camera setup, and gets awesome battery life. Plus, it's getting cheap; you can now get a 64GB model for just $279.99 - a full $170 off MSRP - from B&H.We posted about a deal on the Honor 8 from B&H just a few days ago, but this one allows you to save an additional $20 on top of that discount. As a recap, the Honor 8 has a 5.2" 1080p IPS display, a Kirin 950, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage with microSD expansion, dual 12MP rear cameras, an 8MP selfie shooter, and a 3000mAh battery. Not bad at all for $279.99.The 32GB Honor 8 is actually back up to $269.99 at B&H now, so you'll get an additional 32GB of storage for just $10 extra. Only the white color is eligible for this discount, as was the case before. Expedited shipping is free, and tax is only charged if you live in NY or NJ. Check the source link to grab an Honor 8 of your own.
Facebook has made a lot of choices that people don't like, such as separating Messenger from the main Facebook app, making the Facebook app slow and huge, adding a ton of bloat to Messenger, etc. I could go on and on. But this latest potential addition could be the worst yet, at least to our eyes.
OnePlus 3 closed beta group receives 8.0 Oreo update with 3T and 5 builds coming soon, public beta slated for end of September
OnePlus has always been praised for having clean, near-stock software, and a big advantage of this is that updates are much easier to push out. Case in point: the OnePlus 3 has already received Android 8.0 Oreo via the closed beta group, with the newer 3T and 5 receiving it soon as well. Plus, OnePlus is hoping for an Oreo public beta by the end of September.
[Update: Best Buy too] Deal Alert: Sennheiser HD1 wireless headphones with active noise cancellation down to $399 ($100.95 off) on Amazon
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- The HD1 is just 9.98 at Best Buy for a deal of the day. Unfortunately, there's no store pickup, but if you prefer to purchase from Best Buy for whatever reason, here you go.
Like it or not, Bluetooth headphones are becoming more and more popular these days. Whether we're talking about over-ear headphones like the Bose QuietComfort 35 or more compact solutions like the Bragi Dash, it's hard to deny that they're becoming increasingly popular. On the upper end of the wireless headphones market sits the Sennheiser HD1, which at its $499.95 MSRP, is one of the most expensive Bluetooth headphones you'll find for sale. Its current Amazon price of $399 makes owning the HD1s a little more realistic.The HD1, as you might expect from its price point, has a lot of features. It uses Bluetooth 4.0 and can pair with devices via NFC. It also has two built-in microphones for improved voice quality during calls, as well as a 22-hour battery life. But the headline feature here is the NoiseGard hybrid active noise cancellation, which blocks ambient noise with four microphones. Looking at reviews, it works pretty well. The HD1 also comes with a carrying case for easier transport.$399 is the lowest price the HD1 has ever been on Amazon, with it sitting at the suggested retail price of $499.95 for the most part. Unfortunately, only the black color is discounted, with the white still sitting at MSRP. Hit the source link below if you'd like an HD1 of your very own.
When I'm looking for information on a local store (and I'm sure many of you guys do the same), I head straight to Google Search. It usually has the correct address, phone number, operating hours, accurate reviews, etc. But Google isn't perfect, and sometimes there'll be some incorrect info listed. To alleviate this, our favorite Mountain View-based company has just introduced a dashboard for business owners right in Google Search.
T-Mobile ONE's new "Netflix On Us" brings free Netflix to customers with two or more lines
T-Mobile's Un-carrier Next event was today, and to our surprise, the announcement is actually pretty sweet. Thanks to "Netflix on Us," customers with two or more T-Mobile ONE lines can now get Netflix for absolutely nothing every month. This is an addition that I think everyone can get on board with.
[Update: Wide rollout] YouTube is testing video previews when you adjust your position on the seek bar
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- The feature appears to be live for (almost) everyone now. We've tested it on several devices running the latest YouTube v12.32.60 and it showed up on all of them. It was also live on one device running an older v12.29.57, but we didn't see it on one tablet running the even older v12.19.56. Our theory is that it's been enabled with a server-side switch for everyone on any relatively recent YouTube version. Let us know if that's the case for you. Thanks, David Slawotsky!
Lately, YouTube has been pushing a ton of server-side changes to users. In just the span of a few weeks, the comments section has been tweaked, the bottom nav bar test returned, and expanded replies were improved upon. The video-sharing service isn't stopping there; today, it seems that YouTube has begun displaying to a few users little snapshots of the video you're watching when you seek through it.
[The Android Police Files #15] AVAST INSTALLATION ERROR , AVAST TECHNICAL HELP , AVAST SUPPORT PHONE NUMBER
Welcome back to the Android Police Files, your #1 source for the brilliant stuff that the AP staff receives in our mailboxes. Since we last convened, a lot has happened. The latest version of Android shares a name with a branded product for the first time since 4.4 KitKat. The Galaxy Note8 was released, and it doesn't catch fire. And most recently, a Canadian 17-year old and his "youth leadership coach" tried to pass a Chinese ODM's phone off as their own and crowdsource it on Indiegogo.
Qualcomm has no plans for a Snapdragon 836, despite Pixel 2 rumors claiming otherwise
We've been hearing for some time now that the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL would have either the Snapdragon 835, Qualcomm's current flagship chipset, or a slightly more powerful Snapdragon 836. However, it turns out that there was never a Snapdragon 836 in the first place.
ZTE and AT&T reportedly have a $650 Snapdragon 820-powered foldable dual-screen tablet called Axon Multy in the works
Tablets haven't been doing so well in recent years, but companies like Apple, Samsung, and ASUS are still churning them out. ZTE, however, seems to be taking a slightly different approach. According to Evan Blass (aka @evleaks) of VentureBeat, the Chinese OEM is working on a foldable 6.8" tablet with some fairly high-end specs. But with all this fancy tech will come a high price tag: $650, to be exact.
Now that Android 8.0 Oreo has made its official debut, many of you are eagerly awaiting news on when your device will receive the latest and greatest from Google. But there are still devices that didn't even have last year's Nougat, like the ASUS ZenPad Z10 tablet on Verizon - that is, until now.
[Deal Alert] 64GB Samsung USB Type-C 3.1 flash drive just $23.99, 128GB just $42.99 for Amazon's Deal of the Day
With cloud storage solutions becoming increasingly popular these days, we're using things like flash drives less and less. However, local storage does still have its place, and USB flash drives can come in handy when you're not connected to the Internet. As part of Amazon's Deal of the Day, 64GB and 128GB models of Samsung's USB Type-C 3.1 flash drives are just $23.99 and $42.99, respectively.As far as flash drives go, these are some of the best you can get. These have a Type-C connector, making them perfect for use with your smartphone (or even your laptop), and its USB 3.1 tech allows for transfer speeds of up to 150MB/s. The sleek shell is also water, temperature, x-ray, shock, and magnet resistant. A 5-year warranty is bundled in for your peace of mind.The 64GB drive is only $23.99 ($6 off), and the 128GB is $42.99 ($12 off). The former only comes in blue, and the latter only in black. You can get free one-day shipping if you're an Amazon Prime member. You have until the end of the day to pick one up; as of publishing time, that means you have a little over 12 hours remaining. You can view the rest of today's Amazon deals here.Source: Amazon (64GB), (128GB)
iFixit's Essential Phone teardown reveals a very tedious repair process, nets it a score of 1
It's hard to deny that the Essential Phone has some good-looking hardware. Its titanium frame and ceramic back might make the phone a bit more durable, but what happens when you do break the phone? iFixit has just torn down Andy Rubin's new phone, and the results are not good.
[Update: Now $77.78] Deal Alert: Samsung's first-gen Gear 360 is down to $89.10, an all-time low, on Amazon
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- Here's a new all-time low: $77.78. The Gear 360 has been free-falling in price on Amazon and the latest we've spotted is $77.78. That's easily one of the cheapest and best ways to check what all the 360 photography fuss is about. You can use the same link as below to grab it.
The first-generation Gear 360 camera may not be the newest kid on the block anymore (the new model will be called the 360 Round, and it'll be announced at IFA), but it still gets that 360-degree image/video job done. Plus, it's now available for just $89.10, the new lowest price we've seen, on Amazon. That's a full $10.89 lower than the last time we posted about a Gear 360 deal.Getting the job done are two 180-degree wide-angle lenses, which work together to produce 360-degree content. It's capable of 30MP pictures and 3840x1920 video. And since it's IP53 certified against water and dust immersion, it's also pretty rugged. Samsung says that it's only compatible with recent flagships from the Korean company, but there are modified APKs out there that will allow you to use it with other devices.If you're interested, feel free to purchase one from the source link below. Interestingly, it appears that Amazon has begun to run a "free snack when you spend " promotion that gets you a bag of trail mix free of charge. Get your cheap 360 (and free snack) soon if you want one, as we're not sure how long this deal will last.
Many of you have probably seen yesterday's XKCD comic about the laughably terrible state of volume controls on mobile devices. The issue is particularly bad in Android apps, and developers really need to do something about it. Quite honestly, it's embarrassing that this is still a problem in 2017.
[Deal Alert] Brexlink Galaxy S8 5000mAh, S8+ 5500mAh battery cases are just $29.99 ($10 off) on Amazon
The Galaxy S8 and S8+ have pretty good battery life out of the box, but sometimes, you just need some extra juice. For those occasions, you have two options: a portable battery or a battery case. Portable batteries usually offer more power for your money, but they're also rather cumbersome. These battery cases for the S8 and S8+ are just $29.99 apiece, which erases much of the cost issue, and at 5000mAh+, they're pretty beefy as well.Oftentimes, battery cases you see on Amazon are cheap, but fail in every other way. BrexLink's offerings look well-made, are visually clean, and have fantastic reviews. The Galaxy S8 case's capacity comes in at 5000mAh, with the S8 plus's at 5500mAh. Both have a little LED on the back that indicates how much charge there is. The charging port gets relocated right below the phone's, and is still USB-C, which is handy.Want one? Just jump over to Amazon via our source links. Shipping is free, with one-day shipping for the S8 case and two-day for the S8+ case for Prime members. This is the lowest we've seen these cases go, so don't miss out.Source: Amazon (S8), (S8+)