About Ryne Hager
Ryne was ostensibly a senior editor at Android Police, working at the site from 2017-2022. But really, he is just some verbose dude who digs on tech, loves Android, and hates anticompetitive practices. His only regret is that he didn't buy a Nokia N9 in 2012.
Latest Articles
After the Android P DP1 hit, a few people reported running into difficulty unlocking their bootloader if it wasn't already prior to flashing the developer preview. Turns out, there is a fix, and you don't have to wipe your device. Simply disabling whatever lockscreen security setting you might have is enough to fix things.
Sometimes Google takes features away, but sometimes they're just hiding. Turns out, Android P still does have the System UI Tuner that we previously thought was removed. It's just not user-facing anymore. Interested parties can still access that hidden list of UI modifications, you just have to do it the long way, and we've got two methods here.
Intel may have announced the end of its ultra-low-power Atoms almost two years ago, but the death of the platform wasn't instantaneous, it took some time. While it was sad to see another mobile SoC competitor drop out of the race, at the same time it seemed inevitable given Intel's x86-based approach.
OnePlus has seen both hits and misses when it comes to marketing, but the company has its April Fools' day gags down to a science. Based on a recently released video, this year's joke seems poised to offer its own commentary-by-example on one of 2018's biggest fads: cryptocurrencies.
HQ Trivia reaches $250,000 prize Wednesday via new sponsors, surprise $100K game tonight
HQ Trivia's debut on Android wasn't too long ago. Four months on and it has lined up some high-profile sponsorships for future trivia games. HQ Trivia has announced a deal with Warner Bros. to promote three films, starting later this Wednesday with "Ready Player One," which will include the biggest prize pool yet for the live trivia app: $250,000. Can't wait? Allegedly there's a surprise game planned for tonight that will be sponsored by Nike, with a $100,000 jackpot.
Early in 2016, it was revealed that Samsung was being sued in the Netherlands for failing to update its phones. The Consumentenbond—a Dutch non-profit promoting consumer protection—was taking Samsung to court for, among other things, not adequately providing two years of updates from the time of purchase. According to Telecompaper, the case is now being heard.
[Update: Facebook responds, no API abuse] Facebook was gathering call, SMS, and MMS metadata for years via its app
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- Facebook posted a bit of company news today in response to the allegations it stored call and messaging metadata. The company reiterated that it wasn't saving the actual content of calls or SMS/MMS messages—something neither Ars Technica nor we claimed, but presumably other outlets did.
Android's permissions system used to be more permissive than it should have been, and according to Ars Technica, Facebook was taking advantage of that little loophole to harvest call and SMS data. By exploiting the fact that pre-4.1 Android permissions could be requested by apps on the Play Store up until last year, and that those earlier permissions automatically granted call and SMS access together with requests to access contacts, Facebook was able to collect and store metadata associated with each from those that gave the app those permissions.
Facebook's been in the news quite a bit recently, almost entirely with a negative connotation. Just earlier today we reported on the recent revelation that it had been (Update: with user permission) harvesting call and messaging metadata from users for years by exploiting Android's old permissions model. Set within the framework of the broader Cambridge Analytica outrage, quite a lot of people are upset at how their data and privacy has been handled by the house of Zuckerberg. Even Elon Musk is supporting #deletefacebook, having axed Tesla's page. That means the 4th largest (and 1st nerdiest) automaker by value in the world no longer has a Facebook presence.
Google is starting to block GApps on 'uncertified' devices, but you can register an exemption for ROMs
Google has always controlled which devices ship with its proprietary GApps—a package that includes such necessities as the Play Store and Google Play Services. Until now, they've even been pretty lenient about allowing custom ROM users to flash the necessary payload on top of their modified OS. Unfortunately, some OEMs used that loophole to their advantage, ignoring Google's CTS certification process while shipping devices with GApps or shamelessly encouraging users to sideload them.
Review: Satechi's 75W charger has USB-C PD, Quick Charge, and extra ports to keep all your gadgets going
When you travel, you get a good idea of the stuff it takes to keep your lifestyle going. It's one thing to be surrounded by all the things you need at home, but it's another to selectively pack them into a limited space with the expectation of maintaining the same standards. For me, the limiting factor has always been power: charging all my stuff means toting a pile of cables and bricks around. In fact, that's one of the biggest advantages of the growing ubiquity of USB-C and the PD spec.So when I saw Satechi's 75W Travel Charger, with one USB-C PD and three USB-A ports, I knew I was interested, and it didn't disappoint.In fact, this is the only charger I really used for all of MWC. While I still brought backup chargers—just in case they were required—the Satechi 75W Travel Charger suited my needs perfectly, topping up my laptop, both phones, and my mirrorless camera wherever I went.This charger originally launched for $65, but it's down just a bit to $59.99 (at the time of writing) at Amazon.
OnePlus' 5T has been in and out of stock at the company's website for the last couple weeks, and it turns out that's not a fluke. Engadget has confirmed that the company has run out of all its North American stock in just four months. If you didn't manage to grab one new from the OnePlus store, 3rd party resellers and used phones are now your only option.
[Update: Samsung responds] Some Galaxy S9 and S9+ units have large dead zones on the touchscreen
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- Samsung has released a statement concerning these reports. Given how hardware failures of a flagship handset must be a bit of a touchy subject for the manufacturer, it's good to see some acknowledgement of the problem, even if there's not much new insight here just yet:
The touchscreen on your phone is the primary way you interact with it, so it absolutely needs to work. That makes problems like so-called "dead zones" or ignored/unregistered inputs among the most annoying out there. Based on reports, many are running into those types of touchscreen input problems with Samsung's Galaxy S9+.
Machine learning is pretty cool—in fact, the only computer science course I took in college was related to it. So we tend to get excited by novel uses for the technology here at Android Police, and in a recent post to Google's blog, a company called Rainforest Connection came up with an interesting application: Deforestation.
Send and receive money with just your voice - Assistant now has Google Pay integration
There are a lot of options for mobile payments. Friends settling monetary scores can use Google Wallet, Paypal, or Venmo, among a larger list of services. Wells Fargo is even desperately trying to act like Zelle is a thing. But starting today, anyone using Google Assistant can send their buds a verbal $20 bill for last night's bar tab. That's because Google Pay (née Android Pay) is now integrated into the Assistant.
Cloudflare reveals its new networking analytics Mobile SDK to help developers improve app performance
Analytics is a big business. It's not just about building a product, you need to know how to optimize it. Time can be spent more efficiently when you have the data required to point you in the direction of problems. To that end, Cloudflare—of DDoS mitigation fame—is releasing the Cloudflare Mobile SDK to help app developers better optimize networking performance.
[Update: Adding SportsNet New York, too] YouTube TV learns not to spoil the game, expands to Charleston, WV and SC
Spoilers suck. Whether you're enjoying some books and the TV series gets ahead of itself (Game of Thrones, you're dead to me), or your friends just can't resist revealing the twist at the end of a good movie, spoilers seriously ruin your appreciation for something. It's about the journey as much as the destination, right? So sportsball fans that subscribe to YouTube TV can now configure for scores to be hidden in the YouTube TV interface. Google has also expanded its TV service to Charleston, South Carolina and West Virginia.
[Update: Fix in coming weeks] Android 8.1 update for 2016 Pixel XL causes a potentially dangerous overcurrent charging bug
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- On one of the support forum posts related to the issue, Google's head of Safety and Compliance Engineering for Google Consumer Hardware delivered the following comment, which we were provided in lieu of a statement:
Generally speaking, updates remove bugs, but in the case of Google's 2016 Pixel XL, a new problem was introduced with the Android 8.1 update this January. When charging in certain circumstances, the OG Pixel XL will (dangerously) attempt to pull up to 40% more current than it has negotiated from the charger, repeatedly entering and leaving a charging state as the charger shuts off due to overcurrent protection. So if you've noticed your Pixel XL recently flashing "charging rapidly" multiple times after being plugged into the stock charger, that's why.
[Update: Pre-orders open] Dead Zebra announces spring Android Minis and THEY LOOK LIKE PEEPS
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- Pre-orders for this pastel-draped set are now open. The trio can be yours for a scant $24. Like we mentioned before, shipping isn't set to commence until early next week, just ahead of the Easter holiday.
Most of you are probably familiar with the Bugdroid: he's the official mascot for Android and a common depiction in Dead Zebra's Android Mini figurines. The company has just pushed its latest special edition set for spring to its site, revealing pre-order availability for tomorrow (March 20th) at 11AM Eastern time and I can't keep up this facade anymore THEY'RE LIKE TINY ANDROID PEEPS IN A BOX, OH MY GOD.
Rachio announces its Rachio 3 Smart Sprinkler Controller with hyperlocal weather support for $249
There aren't a lot of people that get excited about sprinkler systems, but with how much we dig on smart home hardware, we're some of them. That's why we're excited to announce that Rachio has just announced its third generation automated sprinkler hardware. The new Rachio 3 Smart Sprinkler Controller improves on the 2nd generation model by adding upgraded hyperlocal weather, dual-band Wi-Fi support, easy-press connectors for seamless installation, extra hardware controls, and compatibility with the new Rachio 3 Wireless Flow Meter. It'll run you $249 (Update: now $229) for a limited time, and pre-orders are open today.
[Update: Maybe not] Pixel Buds double tap controls for skipping tracks rolling out now
Cody saw the signs for its impending release a couple weeks back, and now it's live. Double-tap to advance tracks on the Pixel Buds is apparently working in the tediously-long firmware version 1.1767.6040.G1-61495-545, according to 9to5Google.