Latest Articles
YouTube channels often use custom thumbnails for their videos, many of which are examples of the "YouTube Face" phenomenon. YouTube may soon have a compelling alternative for creators, though. The site is running a quick experiment with auto-generated thumbnails. If you're suddenly seeing different video previews, that might be why.
You can never have too many chargers around, and the Aukey 46W Type-C brick should meet most if not all of your needs. It can juice up laptops like the Pixelbook and MacBook as well as phones like the Pixel. It's on sale right now for $27.99, but this is an Amazon Lightning Deal—it's going fast.This charger has two ports; one Type-C with USB-PD fast charging and a standard USB Type-A port that tops out at 10.5W. The Type-C port can do a maximum of 45W with support for 5V 3A, 9V 3A, 12V 3A, 15V 3A, and 20V 2.3A. You can use both ports simultaneously if you've got a device that you don't mind charging slowly over USB.The Aukey charger is usually $34.99 on Amazon, down from the original $43.99 price. Today, it's on sale for $27.99. Because this is a Lightning Deal, it has both a time and quantity limits. It has about four hours left as of this posting, but more than half of the units are also gone. Don't wait too long on this.Source: Amazon
Amazon's Fire tablets aren't exactly exciting, but they're probably the most successful Android-powered slates. The Kids Edition tablets have been particularly popular, but they only came in 8 and 7-inch variants. Now, there's a 10-inch version. Amazon is also pushing out an update to regular Fire tablets so they can double as an Echo Show. You can even get a charging dock to complete the transformation.Let's start with that new Kids Edition tablet, which sports a 10-inch 1920x1200 display and 32GB of storage. Like the smaller versions, the new HD 10 has a big rubber bumper around the edge and simplified software. It comes with a 1-year FreeTime subscription for access to apps, games, books, and videos. After that, it's $2.99 per month.The no-questions-asked 2-year warranty means even if your kid smashes the Fire HD 10 Kids Edition, Amazon will replace it at no charge. You can order it right now for $199.99 for shipping on July 11th.Show Mode isn't included on Kids Edition tablets, but it will arrive on all current-gen Fire tablets starting on July 2nd. Show Mode is essentially a hands-free Alexa experience with on-screen information like you'd get with the $160 Echo Show. You can ask Alexa to show camera feeds, weather, trending news, and more. When you exit Show Mode, it's a regular tablet again.
Amazon will offer Show Mode docks for the 8-inch and 7-inch Fire HD tablets. They keep the tablets charged and propped up so you can see the display from across the room. The Show Mode Charging Dock for Fire HD 8 is $34.99 (regularly $39.99), and the 10-inch version is $49.99 (regularly $54.99). They will ship on July 12th.
After a brief period of pre-orders, the HTC U12+ is now shipping immediately from HTC and Amazon. This device seemingly ticks all the boxes with a Snapdragon 845, 18:9 display, and a big 3,500mAh battery. Sadly, even though you can buy the phone today we would probably recommend you don't.The U12+ starts at $799 for the 64GB version. An extra $50 gets you upgraded to the 128GB edition of the phone. It's unlocked with support for AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon networks. The chassis comes in either black or translucent blue, which doesn't look as cool in real life as you'd expect.
One of the most interesting, and some might say unsettling moments at Google I/O 2018 was the demo of Google Duplex. We saw how Assistant could call a business and get you a reservation by talking to a real person. Google even added in weird human ticks like "umm." Now, there's a new demo video of Duplex, and this time Assistant identified itself.
Google announced Linux app support in Chrome OS back at I/O, but the Pixelbook was the only compatible device at first. Chromebooks from Samsung and Acer have gained support since then, but Google's latest code addition to Chrome OS points to a raft of devices following suit very soon.
NVIDIA began updating the SHIELD Android TV to Oreo a few weeks ago, but that update was quickly halted to address several issues. Now, NVIDIA says the Oreo update is all fixed up and ready to go. The v7.0 update includes a new home screen, more apps, bundled games, and more.
We didn't know when Samsung was going to announce the Galaxy Note 9, but it was a foregone conclusion that it would happen soon. Now we know. Samsung's second major phone announcement of 2018 is happening on August 9th. The new Unpacked event will feature the Galaxy Note 9—the invite doesn't come right out and say that, but there's an S Pen button on it.
When the Pixel 2 XL came out, there was a great deal of consternation about the LG-made OLED panel. I was firmly in the "it's fine" camp, but my opinion has changed over time. No, I didn't suddenly decide the blue shift was a deal breaker. The oleophobic coating on the glass is just so bad that my phone is constantly a smeared, gross mess. It's so annoying that I almost don't want to use this phone, which I otherwise adore.Oleophobic coatings aren't something we talk a lot about, but almost every phone you've touched in the last decade has one. At the dawn of the modern smartphone era, there was resistance to the idea of using capacitive touchscreens instead of resistive ones. A resistive screen works with a stylus, so you didn't get fingerprints all over them. And indeed, touchscreen phones picked up a lot of oily fingerprints for the first few years. The iPhone 3GS was the first to have an oleophobic coating to repel skin oils, and that made a huge difference.The oleophobic coating on your screen doesn't prevent it from collecting fingerprints, but it makes them easy to wipe off—just give the screen a quick wipe with a cloth (or let's face it, your pants), and the screen is clean. Oil sticks to glass without an oleophobic coating, so you just smear your greasy fingerprints around when you try to clean it off.We've known since the iPhone 3GS that oleophobic coatings are not forever. They can and will wear off over time. That brings me to Google and the Pixel phones. I and many others noticed that the first generation Pixels started to lose their oleophobic coating as they got on toward a year old. That was perhaps a little faster than most devices, but it wasn't egregious. However, the Pixel 2 XL's coating has proven to be less robust.There are a number of Pixel 2 XLs in use by AP staff, and the oleophobic coating has worn off of most of them. I haven't even carried my Pixel full time as I often need to switch to another device for reviews. Yet, I began noticing fingerprints smearing instead of wiping away cleanly after just a few months of intermittent use. Now, it's gotten so bad that I can't even touch the phone without being reminded that I'm a greasy animal. The smudges look unpleasant when the phone is asleep, and there are visible rainbow patterns on when the phone is in use from light interference. If I'm outside, it can be genuinely hard to make out what's happening on the screen because of the smudges.I reached out to Google about the issue, and this was the predictably obtuse response.
FM radio might be hideously old-fashioned in this age of constantly connected streaming media, but it's free and sometimes it's just easier than finding streaming content. Samsung's phones have hardware support for FM radio reception, but the feature was missing from the unlocked Galaxy S9 and S9+ at launch. With the most recent update, that mistake has been rectified.
Read update
All modern browsers have a private browsing mode, but Mozilla launched Firefox Focus last year to go a step further. This blocks ads and shreds your browsing history after each use. It's all about privacy, and that's why the developers are in the process of switching browser engines from WebKit to Gecko. You can try the new version now, too.
Read update
Google has been planning a web version of Android Messages for months—we've seen it appear in teardown, after teardown, after teardown. Now, it's finally starting to show up for users. Well, sort of. The web interface has gone live, but the app doesn't appear to understand that yet.
UPS has long embraced its trademark brown color scheme, but the Android app used to take that a little too far. Now, it is downplaying it in the v8.0 update by getting a new coat of paint. Don't worry; there's still some brown in there, but it's not the dominant color.
Chinese technology firm ZTE says it has forked over $1 billion to the US government. This is the first step toward ZTE returning to operation after a ban on purchasing US technology in April forced it to partially shut down. However, it's not out of the woods yet as the entire incident has become a political firestorm for the US administration.
According to Google, measurement tools have long been the number one feature request for Google Earth. Now, it's finally happening. The company is rolling out its measure tool to the Chrome version of Earth today, and it'll come to Android (and iOS) soon.
Odds are you have Google Lens in your phone as part of Assistant. If you're not satisfied with Lens, there's an alternative from Microsoft. The Bing app has been updated with AI-powered visual search. So, it's Lens but from Microsoft.
Google has been slow to add new features to Android Wear Wear OS, but now it's taking features away? Users report that the Google Feed has vanished from their watches. So, if you want to glance at your suggested content, it's time to pull the phone out of your pocket.
G Suite users have long put up with bizarre and annoying account restrictions, but the last several weeks have brought new frustrations. First, it was the sudden inability to redeem promo codes, and now G Suite accounts can't even review or rate apps, movies, and other content in the Play Store.
Motorola has started rolling out its 2018 devices with the G6 and Z3 family. The previously announced Z3 Play (above) is now available for pre-order from Motorola, but there's also a newly announced Amazon variant of the phone. That one is also up for pre-order along with a new Prime Exclusive G6 Play.The Moto Z3 Play has full compatibility with all the existing Moto Mod accessories. In fact, it comes bundled with the standard battery pack mod. The full retail price is $499 (also on Best Buy and B&H), which is a bit steep for a phone running a Snapdragon 636 SoC. The Amazon version of the phone is a bit cheaper at $449.99. In exchange for the $50 discount, you'll get a phone preloaded with Amazon apps and Alexa integration.
Motorola's high-end phones have disappointed in the last few years, but its budget devices have offered the best value of any low-cost phones. We don't know how Moto's 2018 flagship story will shake out, but the new Moto G6 has arrived to (mostly) carry on the tradition of giving you a lot of phone for just a little money.This phone makes several changes that I love, as well as a few that I don't. The Moto G6 has a slower processor than its predecessor, but the performance is still solid, and Moto's software impresses. You also get a Type-C port (finally) and a taller 18:9 screen, both features that were rare on budget phones not long ago. There aren't a lot of surprises here, but that's probably a good thing.