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
Amazon comes clean about how the 3G shutdown will affect older Kindles
Some customers get a free Kindle Oasis, some get a $50-70 discount for a new one and just two weeks to take advantage of it
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Last month, we asked Amazon what was going to happen when AT&T's planned 3G shutdown in 2022 lands — an important question, as the company's Whispernet-branded 3G connectivity for many Kindle devices would be affected, since it piggybacks on AT&T's network. In some cases, as with particularly old Kindles missing Wi-Fi, this shutdown would mean they'd stop working entirely. While the company wouldn't answer our questions at the time, now it's emailing affected device owners explaining they'll get a $50-70 discount towards a new Kindle and $15-25 in eBook credit, and Amazon tells us that Kindle 1st gen owners are outright getting a free Kindle Oasis.
Huawei P50 and P50 Pro are official, and officially have the weirdest-looking cameras you've ever seen
No 5G, no Google apps, and probably no chance it will turn Huawei's future around
Huawei's repeatedly leaked P50 series has been formally announced. As you'd probably figure, these still don't come with Google apps or the Play Store, making them a total non-starter for most folks, but die-hard Huawei fans willing to get their apps elsewhere (I presume such people exist) can celebrate the release of the latest flagship lineup, gargantuan pair of camera bumps and all.
Google Assistant can't handle all your online shopping for you, but it's testing taking over the checkout process
A new 'fast checkout' feature that fills in details for you is live for one convoluted method of accessing Hot Topic
Last year, Google said it was "piloting" a program to allow the Assistant's Duplex feature to handle shopping, and now a public test of that feature has been spotted. It isn't live for us in our own testing, but some folks are seeing a new "fast checkout" Assistant prompt for a specific and convoluted workflow when purchasing content from Hot Topic online, which automatically fills payment and address fields during the checkout process.
The Play Store is getting Apple-style privacy labels: here's our first look
The mockups for the new safety section are "directional" and for developers, but Google says they may pan out
Back in May, Google announced that the Play Store was also getting App Store-style privacy labels, one-upping Apple's implementation by requiring extra information about customer security, if user data can be deleted, and whether permissions are optional or required. Like it or hate it, the new "safety section," as Google calls it, will be mandatory for all apps on the Play Store, kicking into gear in Q2 2022. And today, Google is sharing a few more specifics on precisely how it will work, what it might look like, and how developers can prepare.
OnePlus's recent growth is staggering — and shows just how small it still is
It's the fastest growing smartphone company in the US, but it's easy to show big gains if you start with small numbers
If you listened to the enthusiasts and critics (a label that sometimes includes us here at Android Police), you might think that OnePlus is having a rough time right now. But throttlegate and ColorOS skin aside, the company is massively successful and growing fast. Analysts claimed the company's Nord phones basically dominated at T-Mobile earlier this year, and the brand saw downright explosive growth in Europe and India. And now Counterpoint is reporting an incredible 428% year-over-year growth here in the US for the last half of the year, making it the fastest-growing brand by a very, very, very large margin — but that's only because it has a lot of room to grow.
It looks like Google is building an iOS-to-Android migration app
After the Data Restore Tool surfaced on the Play Store, teardowns point to Google's plans
You might not be familiar with the name Data Restore Tool, but odds are most of our readers have actually seen the app in action before — if not when setting up a new phone for the first time, then occasionally as an aside in our coverage when we cover the topic. It's preinstalled on many (I'd hazard to say most) recent Android phones and handles part of the process that migrates data between your old phone and new one. And almost immediately after teasing a whole new simplified backups system, now Google is bringing the app to the Play Store, and teardowns provide a partial explanation: Google's making a "Switch to Android" iOS app it will work with.
OnePlus has been upgrading some 8T hardware on the sly, causing headaches for custom ROM fans
OnePlus appears to have silently and slightly upgraded some OnePlus 8Ts. Reports indicate that some recently purchased versions of the phone are now shipping with LPDDR5 RAM, a bump over the LPDDR4X RAM originally included and which OnePlus advertises. While the newer memory is technically "faster," the bigger effect is on enthusiasts that might be rooting and ROMing.
Android 13's internal tasty treat codename may have hints of espresso and chocolate
Sorry, Twinkie, better luck next time
In the before-times, the long long ago, before pandemics and job titles like "content creator," our forefathers received new Android releases christened with "tasty treat" names (and sometimes with a side of corporate blessing). Together, we enjoyed a delicious bounty of Jelly Beans, Ice Cream Sandwiches, KitKats, Oreos, Cupcakes, and Lollipops, all among a larger cornucopia of sugary snacks. Feasting, as we did, from the bugdroid's robotic bosom, we were ill prepared when Google suddenly snatched the desserts away from us with Android 10. (I'm not saying that caused Covid, but the timing speaks for itself.) However, despite the marketing department's best efforts, hidden internal code names live on, and we've just caught our first mouthwatering glimpse of Android 13's potentially delectable name.
MediaTek wants to juice up tablets with powerful new chips
The Kompanio 1300T is "premium," specifically meant for tablets, and yes, we're as confused as you are
Android tablets have a mixed history, and while Samsung keeps up the fight in the premium space, the most successful tablets are much less expensive things like Amazon's Kindle Fires. In the face of the iPad, the only way Android tablets can really compete is with price. So it's a little curious that MediaTek would be releasing a new chipset in what is usually a Chromebook-targeted line claiming it's specifically for tablets — that is, unless it isn't destined for Android tablets.
Catch a preview of Android 12's Material You-themed Easter egg
It's not live in the Betas, but you can get an early glimpse
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Android 12 hasn't reached "stable" yet, but we may have our first glimpse of at least a part of the release's Easter egg. While things could still change before release, Mishaal Rahman and the folks at 9to5Google have dug up what they claim is a preview of the upcoming Easter egg, which takes advantage of the recent Material You changes for a bit of colorful "pop."
Android 12 inches closer to release with today's bug-fixing update
Beta 3.1 fixes a few issues and brings us one small step closer to stable
Google has just released a bug-fixing update for the recent Android 12 Beta 3 release. The new version, Beta 3.1, addresses a number of undefined stability issues while also fixing a few more specific problems that adventurous users and developers may have run into, including bootloops and memory trouble. The update should start rolling out shortly.
Chrome Home's bottom address bar: Ahead of its time and intentionally left behind
Ex-Google original designer recounts the history of his project now that bottom address bars are hot again
Plenty of folks, including us, found a few of Apple's changes to Safari in iOS 15 to be familiar, resembling a redesign Google spent years testing for Google Chrome. While that UI, originally called Chrome Home, was ultimately abandoned after years of testing on users, a former Googler and designer intimately involved with the changes recently published a short but fascinating account of the time that pulls aside the curtain on the rise and fall of Chrome's now-defunct bottom navigation bar.
Google's latest Doodle is an ambitious (but pretty easy) RPG you can easily waste an hour on
And if you're blogging about it, that hour counts as 'research'
We're all familiar with Google's doodles, which appear on the Google.com homepage and up in the corner when using Search and are usually tied to specific events or holidays. Today Google announced a new one that some of us have probably seen winking from the corner with its pixel-art graphics, and it's a little different. Sure, sometimes these doodles have little games baked into them, but the new Doodle Champion Island Games is Google's biggest and most ambitious doodle to date: It's an RPG.
Google's latest Search tool shows you how the sausage is made
About This Result will tell you why you see your search results, and give you the tools to get better ones
Google Search is so ubiquitous and indispensable, the company's very name is used as a verb that describes the act. No actual human being "Bings" something, but we've all done a bit of "Googling" in our time. And though we might all still complain about specific results, it's become incredibly, almost unbelievably good at what it does. My own daily research for this very job would take a whole lot longer without it. Now Google is rolling out some changes to the About This Result feature that better describe precisely why you see what you do in a given search, exposing the machinations behind something we probably all take for granted.
OnePlus plans to add an option in OxygenOS 12 to disable throttling
The OnePlus 9R and OnePlus Nord 2 may also be affected by throttling
Some of you may remember as far back as two weeks ago when OnePlus was caught throttling the performance of the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro based on the app that was currently running, altering performance pretty drastically. One benchmarking application even considered the practice "benchmark manipulation." But OnePlus tells us it's heard the complaints, and it plans to address them with a new option in an upcoming OxygenOS 12 update, letting customers choose whether to enable or disable this "optimized mode."
OnePlus Buds Pro take on the AirPods Pro for $100 less
Available in the US on September 1st
OnePlus's new active noise canceling truly wireless Buds Pro are now formally A Thing — but not a thing you can get right now. They promise to muffle up to 40dB of noise, pipe sound courtesy of two 11mm drivers, support Dolby Atmos and Bluetooth 5.2 (with latency as low as 94ms), last for up to 38 hours with the bundled charging case, and they fast charge up to 10 hours of playtime off just a 10-minute charge. That's a decent list of specs, and the nearly rock-bottom price of $150 could be a good value — if they work well.
Google Search is picking up new tools for deal hunters
'Deals related to your search' in Shopping and a new section in Search planned for specific queries in October
There are whole industries built around hunting for the very best deals (we do what we can to point out ones our readers express interest in), and now Google is rolling out a couple of new tools for Search and the Shopping tab that should make bargain shopping and Black Friday deal-hunting a little easier.
Google Maps's new features help ease you back into navigating public spaces
Expanded crowdedness indicators with live per-car info in some cities, travel "Insights," and some tweaks to reviews, plus general advice
I hesitate to say this year is worse than last year, but there are still a lot of things we're adjusting to when it comes to day-to-day life — especially out and about while traveling. We might have been able to hunker down for the last year, but with things like work obligations and family that haven't seen us in ages, we can't stay at home forever. To make it all a bit easier, Google Maps is rolling out a few new tools to help you navigate the "new normal."
Samsung: 'Get ready to unfold' at Galaxy Unpacked on August 11th
Reserve now for up to $100 in trade-in value, a free year of Samsung Care+, and an undefined bonus
Samsung has unfolded our collective invitation to August 11th's Galaxy Unpacked event. Get it — unfolded? Look, Samsung's almost certainly going to launch the new Z Fold3 and Flip3, its two hotly anticipated foldables, at the now-confirmed August 11th event, and that's the only joke we could think to make. Sorry. But you can reserve the company's "next flagship" (gee, what on earth could that be?) starting today and get up to $100 more on your trade-in, a year of free Samsung Care+, and an undefined "special" pre-order offer.
Google extends Pixel 4 XL warranty past 1 year in some countries for specific issues
If you run into one of a handful of power-related problems a uBreakiFix tech tells us are pretty widespread
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Google is extending the warranty for the Pixel 4 XL by an extra year. Before you get too excited, the extension only covers a handful of specific power-related issues, including charging, faster-than-expected drain, random restarts, and being unable to power on the phone. It's only valid for Pixel 4 XL's purchased in available markets previously limited to a single year of warranty support — specifically, in the US, Singapore, Canada, Japan, and Taiwan. Warranty eligibility for these issues as part of the extension can be verified online or in person at uBreakiFix.