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We were a bit perplexed earlier in the year when we saw that Walmart had mysteriously disappeared from Google Express, but it seems the two companies are still collaborating on other ventures. Online grocery shopping with pickup or delivery is a popular service from Walmart, and it's now getting even easier with a new Google Assistant voice ordering capabilities.
WhatsApp is collaborating with a startup in India as it hopes to change the perception that the messaging app is used to spread misinformation. A new feature will help users determine the credibility of information sent to them during the country's national elections.
I don't envy parents whose kids are bugging them for their first smartphone, but I guess it's one of the inevitable challenges. Verizon hopes to make the whole process a little less stressful for you with a new plan designed for young children.
If you've got a Samsung phone and want some extra customization options, the Good Lock suite of tools is exactly what you need. The last releases added improved support for the Samsung phones now running Android 9 Pie, and a new round of updates fixes more bugs while adding the odd new feature.
A hole punch front camera with an almost bezel-free display is the dominant smartphone design trend for 2019, whether you like it or not. HMD Global's new Nokia-branded device is the latest to go with this setup, and it certainly looks handsome for it. The mid-ranger has been announced for the Asian market, launching first in Taiwan.
The 5G variant of the Samsung Galaxy S10 is a beast of a phone. It kind of has to be to fit in those hefty new 5G radios, but it's also got a humungous 6.7" display and a 4,500mAh battery. The 5G network has been live in South Korea since late last year, and now Samsung is ready to launch its first 5G device.
Those of you who usually swipe your notifications away to the right (like me) may have taken some time to notice that expelling them to the left is no longer an option in Android Q. As is this case on some Chinese phones, swiping left gives you only snooze and alert settings. Thankfully, it looks like this is going to be customizable by the time the final Q release comes around.
If you've recently noticed some issues while trying to use the filters when searching for a video on YouTube, don't worry — you're not alone. Multiple users have been complaining that filter functionality has been completely borked for them (since March 19), and Google has admitted that this was an intentional move.
Google I/O is one of the most exciting times of the year for us tech nerds, and as we near the 2019 event, the schedule is now up for all to see. This isn't the full complement of sessions — many smaller talks and workshops will be added in due course — but it does give us a good idea of which areas Google is likely to focus on most this year.
The original Chromebook 14 from Acer came out in 2016 and was a decent device for the price (around $300) — as such, it was popular with critics and consumers alike. So we were naturally excited when we heard Acer was going to bring out a successor. I first got my hands on the Chromebook 514 in Berlin at IFA in the summer of 2018, but it was rather a disappointment. The build quality of the pre-production unit Acer had on display at the show left much to be desired, leading me to an initial opinion that it was too flimsy to even command a $350 price tag. Acer, understandably, was not pleased with this assessment but admitted the product needed improvement and vowed to deliver me a review unit at a later date with all of the kinks ironed out.Some changes to the production line later, I now have a Chromebook 514 that more closely aligns with Acer's previous efforts. The model I’m reviewing (CB514-1HT-C3EG) is specific to The Netherlands but equivalent in specifications to this $429.99 US version (CB514-1HT-C07F). Unlike the cheapest variants that start at $349.99, mine has a multi-touch screen — useful for Android apps. There is also a more expensive SKU with double the RAM/storage and a more powerful Pentium processor for $499.99.
Huawei announces Watch GT Active and Elegant editions, plus new earbuds, neckbuds, and smart glasses
Alongside the announcement of its new flagship smartphones — the P30 and P30 Pro, for those who missed it — Huawei also unveiled some new wearable gadgets. These include variants of the Watch GT aimed at slightly different audiences and some new audio products.
After months of rumors and leaks, Huawei CEO Richard Yu took to the stage in Paris today to announce the company's latest flagship smartphone series. The P30 and P30 Pro promise to "Rewrite the Rules of Photography," which is no surprise given a power zoom feature was already teased by Huawei. The cheaper device has three cameras on the rear while the more expensive model has four.
Substratum is one of the best theme engines around and was even a good option for non-rooted phones until the Android 9 Pie update stopped it from working. Even so, it's still popular in the custom ROM community, so news of a lighter, more stable version will no doubt be welcome.
For photographers with a WiFi-equipped Sony camera, the Play Memories Mobile app was a useful tool that would enable remote shooting and easy image transfers to your smartphone. With the version 7.0/7.1 update, Sony is rebranding it Imaging Edge Mobile and launching an add-on app that allows for FTP background transfers and high-speed voice tagging.
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Smartphone leaks are seemingly unavoidable for the major brands these days, that's assuming they aren't doing the leaking themselves. This latest Huawei P30 Pro leak certainly seems accidental, though, since it was an Amazon.it listing that went up prematurely before being quickly taken down. The anticipated 10x zoom is noted, among practically all of the other pertinent specs.
We all knew it was coming, even if we didn't want to admit it. In September 2018, Google announced that Inbox by Gmail would be going the way of the dodo, with only a vague March 2019 date given for the shutdown. A quick check of the calendar tells me that it's March 2019 right now — doesn't time fly — which means the end is nigh.
Since the app is increasingly used by influencers and fashion brands to showcase clothing, footwear, and other hot products, it's no surprise that Instagram has worked to build out its shopping features. Purchase links appear in Stories, you can save collections of potential buys for later, and there's even been talk of a standalone shopping app. Wouldn't it be even more convenient if you could just shop from within the Instagram app itself?
Xiaomi announced in January that it would be turning Redmi into an independent brand, if only for the sake of appearances. The first Redmi phone to launch thereafter was the unfortunately-named Note 7, with a 48MP camera and beefy 4,000mAh battery. The ultra-budget Redmi Go came next, and the company has just unveiled yet another affordable device.
Big news for haptic feedback fans the world over, as well as fans of cursoring text. The text selection cursor in the Android Q Beta, which operates independently of the space bar cursor control in Gboard, now produces haptic feedback when you move the cursor around.
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Screen recording is pretty handy for people like us, but there's never been a native solution in Android. Some OEMs include it as part of their software enhancements, and there are third-party apps like AZ Screen Recorder, which is the one I've been using in recent years. As rumored previously, Google is baking one into the OS with Android Q, although it's pretty borked right now.