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Ryan Whitwam-

Ryan Whitwam

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About Ryan Whitwam

Ryan is a tech/science writer, skeptic, lover of all things electronic, and Android fan. In his spare time he reads golden-age sci-fi and sleeps, but rarely at the same time. His wife tolerates him as few would. He's the author of a sci-fi novel called The Crooked City, which is available on Amazon and Google Play.

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Samsung released the Note 10 and Note 10+ a few months ago with predictably high price tags, but there may be a more budget-friendly stylus-equipped phone soon. After a series of leaks, we now have what appear to be photos of the Note 10 Lite. If you were asked to imagine a cheaper Note 10, this is probably what it would look like.

OnePlus came out of nowhere barely five years ago, offering a compellingly cheap flagship phone with... questionable marketing. OnePlus has grown up a lot over the years, and it's no longer reliant on unlocked phone purchases. Not only has OnePlus partnered with carriers over the past year, it has produced some of the first 5G phones in the US market. The new OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren has a mouthful of a name, but it's probably the first 5G phone that's even worth your consideration.

Arlo rolled out a major update to its mobile app a few months back, and it's still adding new features. In the latest update, Arlo gains support for voice assistant PINs, allowing you to disarm the system by voice. The app can also show videos from your local camera storage rather than only from the cloud.

2019 was the year foldable phones became more than a trade show demo, but only barely. The Galaxy Fold launched after a multi-month delay for $2,000, and it's still troublingly fragile. The Galaxy Fold 2 might be a bit more robust. The latest round of leaks say this could be the first foldable with a glass screen.

A year ago, many of us were enjoying a free test of Google's game streaming technology known as Project Stream. That test has morphed into Stadia with games like Red Dead Redemption 2, Mortal Kombat 11, and Borderlands 3. Google wants to make its own games, too. That's why it has acquired Montreal-based Typhoon Studios.

Huawei still doesn't have access to Google apps, but that isn't stopping it from planning its next major phone launch. The P40 and P40 Pro are expected in spring 2020, and OnLeaks has his customary sneak preview ready to go. You might notice that huge, familiar camera module, but there's not much else to see here.

There are probably multiple free HDTV signals floating through the air, and Dish wants to help you get those into your devices with the new AirTV 2. This device is more compact than the original, and it has improved wireless connectivity. You can buy one today, but Dish is offering deals if you also sign up for its Sling TV streaming service.

Samsung spends a lot of energy promoting the Galaxy S series, but its budget-conscious Galaxy A phones have become increasingly popular. Samsung's latests A-series phone is teh A01. As the name implies, it won't have as many features or fancy specs as more expensive Samsung phones, but it'll probably be cheap.

The Vimeo app has been around since 2012, but it has always been aimed mainly at watching video rather than creating it. That changes with the latest update, which finally adds recording and live streaming inside the app. Just fire up the integrated video camera, and you're all set.

Android Auto has been available for almost five years, and most automakers have gotten on board. BMW was a notable holdout, but that'll change next year. The company has announced Android Auto support for many of its vehicles, and it'll have wireless mode.

Time was, Google would hand out Home Mini speakers like they were candy. Now, there's a new cheap speaker in town. We saw the first Nest Mini freebies late last month, and now Google Fi customers can get a free speaker, too.

Gmail lets you attach all sorts of things to emails; images, documents, and anything else you can package up as a file on your computer. That's not all—Google heard you like emails, so now you can send an email inside another email (yo dawg). Yes, you will soon be able to send email threads as attachments in Gmail.

The corner of a Chromebook with the Google Chrome logo in the corner

Google has long offered freebies with Chromebooks, but it's expanded the offerings beyond its own services in recent months. For example, you can get a few months of Disney+ with Chromebooks right now. Starting today, you can also get some Android games on your Chromebook in the form of Star Wars: KOTOR and Asphalt 9.

Motorola has struggled to find its footing in the smartphone era. After early successes like the Droid, it increasingly fell behind the likes of Samsung and OnePlus. After focusing on cheaper phones for the last few years, Moto says it's coming back to the flagship space in 2020.

Motorola hasn't released a flagship phone in quite some time, but it just keeps cranking out "One-branded" mid-range devices. The next one will most likely be the Motorola One Hyper with a pop-up selfie cam. We can say that because Motorola Brazil accidentally left renders of the rumored device sitting around on its website for anyone to find.

Facebook has a lot of personal data about a few billion people, and that may includes years worth of uploaded photos. Facebook's new-found focus on privacy and data portability has led it to release a new migration tool for photos. It will let you copy your personal images from Facebook directly into Google Photos, no downloading required.

Google's new gesture navigation system for Android 10 has been divisive for numerous reasons, not the least of which it didn't work with third-party launchers. The company committed to fixing this issue in a future Android release, and it appears that fix is already live on the Pixel 4 and 4 XL (Update: And all Pixels excluding the 2016 models, as of the December patches). Launchers like Nova can use the full gesture setup, so that's one shortcoming out of the way.

We live in the future, and it's a future in which you can buy a robot to clean for you. They don't always come cheap, but you can get a few Ecovacs robot laborers this Black Friday for a bit less than usual. There's the relatively simple Deebot N79S, the mid-range Deebot 661, and the deluxe Deebot Ozmo 920.The N79S gets praise not for being the best robot vacuum but for being a good deal. It vacuums your floors with a semi-random pattern, bouncing off of walls until it runs low on battery. It's usually, $179.99, but it's on sale for $149.99 ($30 off) today. If you want to spend a little more to add mopping capabilities, the Deebot 661 is a whopping $210 off today only. It's usually $399.99, but you can grab one for $189.99 if you act fast.Bth the above robots just bounce around the room, hoping they hit everything before the battery runs low. The Ozmo 920 has a laser sensor to map your room, and it's got both vacuum and mopping attachments. It's the most expensive of the current deals by far, though. The Ozmo 920 usually costs $699.99, but it's on sale for $599.99 ($100 off) right now. Whichever version you choose, they're all compatible with Alexa and Google Assistant.

You can get vinyl skins from dbrand that make your phone look like wood, metal, or just very bright vinyl. Now, you can also get skins that make them look transparent thanks to a partnership with YouTuber Zack Nelson. You probably know him best as the disembodied voice behind the JerryRigEverything durability test videos. The skins are only available for a limited time, and there apparently are "dozens" of easter eggs.

The Pixel 3 is now a year old, but it's still a capable phone with two more years of Googley updates. This device can be yours today for a mere $349.99 at Rakuten. You'll have to set up an account there to use the necessary coupon code, but it's worth it for the extra $77 discount.

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