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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.

Latest Articles

OnePlus hasn't even started selling the OnePlus 7T, but we already have a good idea what the OnePlus 8 will look like thanks to a new leak. The renders from CashKaro and OnLeaks show a phone very much like existing OP devices, save for one notable change: there's a hole-punch camera instead of a notch or pop-up.

Android TV has been around for a few years at this point, and there are ample video streaming options. However, we've somehow limped along without a Yahoo app until now. Outrageous! The nightmare is finally over with the launch of Yahoo's Android TV client. Joking aside, Yahoo produces a lot of video, and you might want to watch some of it on your TV.

No product is more emblematic of the fusion of Google and Nest into a single brand than the new Google Nest Hub Max. This is the bigger brother to the Google Home Hub, later renamed the Google Nest Hub. The two devices share many of the same features like Ambient EQ and smart home controls, but the Hub Max steps up with a camera, better audio, and a much larger screen for $229. If you're looking to pick up a big smart display with Assistant, the Nest Hub Max is absolutely your best bet. However, don't count on the "Nest" part of the Nest Hub Max to impress—it's not a very good security camera.

It has been more than a year since Google revamped its music and video offerings with the YouTube brand front and center. The company signaled that YouTube Music would eventually replace Play Music, and it's moving one step closer to making that a reality. Devices that ship with Android 10 will no longer have the Play Music app pre-installed. Instead, they'll have YouTube Music.

Google has finally seen fit to give us a dark theme in Android 10, but there's very little to the functionality aside from the quick settings toggle. There's not even so much as a schedule for turning on and off dark mode, but Tasker is here to help with v5.8.5. This bastion of automation now plugs into Android's dark theme settings, opening up all manner of customization.

Google launched a new hyperlocal news service in early 2018 called Bulletin. It's understandable if you don't remember—Bulletin still hasn't moved out of the pilot phase, and it never will. Google has just alerted Bulletin users that it's shutting down the platform in November.

You might associate Anker primarily with charging accessories, but it's been making a go of Bluetooth audio with its Soundcore devices. Today, the company has announced six new products under the Soundcore brand, including the premium Liberty 2 Pro true wireless earbuds and the budget-conscious Spirit 2 earbuds.

Cloudflare has long focused on internet security and content delivery, but it has been leaning into the consumer space lately. It started with the 1.1.1.1 DNS app and then announced the WARP VPN service earlier this year. However, the waitlist has just been growing ever since. Cloudflare says WARP is finally available to everyone starting today.

Android 10 is finally here to save us from blindingly bright apps, but only a few apps have support for the new dark theme. Instagram might be one of them soon, though. Several tipsters say they've seen Instagram flip over to a dark mode in Android 10, but you probably won't have this feature on your device yet.

Google brought Assistant to Chrome OS by way of the Pixelbook in 2017, and it also came on the Pixel Slate at launch. Now, more Chromebooks can access Assistant with both voice and typing input on Chrome 77. Although, Chromebooks tied to G Suite accounts won't have Assistant just yet.

Despite its issues, Arlo still makes the best wireless security cameras. Arlo took a big step early this year when it launched its first 4K security camera, the Arlo Ultra. Arlo's newest camera builds on the Ultra, but it has a lower resolution, and hopefully fewer bugs at launch.

Google's Wear OS platform isn't in the best shape these days, but there are still ample choices if you want to have Google on your wrist. You can even spend an obscene amount of money on a Google-powered smartwatch like the new Movado Connect 2.0. It starts at $495 (slightly cheaper than the first-gen), but Movado is notable for being one of the few non-Fossil companies still working with Wear OS.

Plex made its name by helping people organize and stream their media libraries, which may or may not have included pirated material. Plex also has a handful of streaming channels, but the new agreement is the biggest one yet. Plex has teamed up with Warner Bros. to stream free content to US-based users.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10 + are very expensive phones, and they lack some features of past Samsung devices like a headphone jack and a microSD card slot (on the smaller phone). So surely, these phones are selling slower than previous Samsung phones. Nope! Samsung says the Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+ have moved 1 million units in South Korea faster than any previous launch.

At this point, Google might be regretting its decision to manufacture the Pixel 4 in Vietnam; a decision apparently made to avoid Chinese tariffs. It looks like a significant number of devices have found their way out of the factory and into the hands of YouTubers. Another Pixel 4 XL video review has appeared online, this one focusing on gaming performance.

Google took the unusual step of confirming the existence of its upcoming Pixel phone this year, but we don't expect the full Pixel 4 unveiling for another month. That hasn't stopped some people in Southeast Asia from getting their hands on the phone. We have no idea what they're saying, but you get a good look at the phone in these videos.

Apple just announced its fifth-generation Apple Watch, and no surprise, it puts Google's Wear OS ecosystem to shame. Even with a headstart on wearables, Google has made such slow progress that Apple easily dominates the market. With the Series 5, Apple has adopted one of the last features that set Wear OS apart. We've waited years for Wear OS to click, and it's simply not happening. It's time for Google to rethink its approach to Wear OS before it slides completely into irrelevance.

Google is a massive company that touches the lives of almost everyone in the US, and that has led to increasing regulatory pressure. Amid rumors of a federal probe, 50 attorneys general have joined forces to launch an antitrust probe of the company. According to Texas AG Ken Paxton, the leader of the investigation, the inquiry will focus on Google's advertising business, but it could expand depending on what they find.

What's that new gap on your home screen? No, your phone didn't get bigger—Spotify has decided to remove the playback widget from its Android app. The company has posted a message on its community forums about the change, and the response has been predictably negative.

We saw the Moto E6 Plus leak just last week, and as expected, the device has become official at IFA. Motorola's newest budget smartphone might share most of its name with the recently launched Moto E6, but it's a very different phone. The display is bigger, it has more cameras, and it trades the Snapdragon chip for MediaTek.

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