Stephen Schenck
Managing Editor
Contributing since March, 2018
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404articles
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About Stephen Schenck
Stephen is a managing editor at Android Police, where he helps people find words that are good, and put them in orders that are good, too. Most of the time those words tell people about the latest smartphone news, keeping them in the know about the newest devices, most recent software updates, and next-gen features coming down the pike. He's been working in tech media for over a decade, including stints at Phone Arena and Pocketnow. Occasionally spotted across the American Northeast, Stephen can be cautiously approached after signaling goodwill by waving a shiny new phone in his direction. Although easily spooked by garish apps or aggressive notification alerts, in his native environment Stephen seeks engagement with kindred spirits, and is always happy to explain why your phone is too damn big. Stephen still uses Windows XP and thinks you should, too.
Latest Articles
LG unveils the V60 ThinQ 5G with dual screens, 5000mAh battery, and a 64MP camera
Another dual-screen phone in an increasingly folding-screen world
For the past few years, LG has introduced its mainstream G-series flagship in late winter or early spring, followed by a larger, more creator-focused V-series phone a few months later. We saw that routine begin to get shaken up last fall with the launch of the G8X (complete with its Dual Screen accessory hoping to steal a little thunder from the folding-phone craze), and now that shift continues not with the introduction of a presumptive G9, but instead with an early new entry to the V series, the LG V60 ThinQ 5G.
Smartphone makers love pushing limits, and over the years we've seen them fight to one-up each other by delivering the biggest and highest-resolution screens, or cameras with the most megapixels. Over the course of the past year or so the latest incarnation of this trend has emerged, with manufacturers launching phones featuring some of the smoothest, highest-frame-rate displays ever. Now Samsung finds itself at the front of this effort, as it launches the Galaxy S20 series with 120Hz displays. What's so great about this tech and why should you care? Let's take a look.
Motion-activated smart cameras are great, saving our attention for when something's actually going on. But sometimes it's not just the big motion-event you want to see, but also the things that led up to that happening — and if the camera doesn't start recording until the motion trigger, you might miss out on some of that important stuff. For many Arlo cameras there's a solution available, which this week gets some new branding and spreads to additional devices.
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- ZTE just let us know that it also has an additional guide to installing this update available in its support forums, one that clarifies a few key points. For one, users can directly download the update to their phones over WiFi, and while backups are recommended, this release won't intentionally wipe any user data.
ZTE's had a rough go of things in the US, but last year we saw the company step back up to the plate and try to tempt shoppers with the affordable Axon 10 Pro. First launching with Android 9 Pie, Axon 10 Pro owners in Europe started seeing the arrival of Android 10 OTA updates earlier this month, and this week we learn of the availability of a sideload update package for users in the US.
Samsung Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra 5G: The phones, the features, and everything we know to date
Samsung's Galaxy flagships may not be the most exciting phone launches anymore, but that doesn't mean they're any less high-quality, desirable phones — just at some point you run out of gimmicks and instead focus on continuing to hone your premium handset design. And while that long-term trend may not change, this year it's really starting to feel like there's something special in the air — be it reports of a super-smooth display, exceptional camera performance, or a big shift to Galaxy S naming — something that's getting people excited again.
This year's Consumer Electronics Show has finally come to a close, and just like always has managed to introduce us to a nice crop of fresh smartphones, laptops, and wearables from some of our favorite brands. But there is always a lot, lot more to see beyond the obvious stuff, and this year we took the time to poke around a bit and discover some of the unusual, conceptual, or just plain weird products that were exhibited at CES 2020.
Your smartphone's screen is a glutton. Sure, it may be beautiful, high-res, and with action as smooth as silk, but every second you're staring at it your phone's battery is just ravenously being sucked dry. Manufacturers have been working since smartphones existed to mitigate that problem, but progress has been a series of baby steps. Now a new tech promises to turn screen power consumption on its head, adapting the sort of low-power B&W e-ink screen you'll find on devices like Kindles to show a full range of colors.
Whether you think it's just a fad or truly represents the next evolution of smartphones, the arrival of flexible-screen folding handsets has given the industry a much-needed shot in the arm, getting manufacturers thinking about design in some (occasionally exciting) new terms. And while big names like Samsung have led the charge, the novelty of folders presents an opportunity for other players to step up and try to make a name for themselves in this emerging corner of the market. TCL is among the brands anxious to seize that opportunity, and at CES 2020 gave us a chance to check out its still-in-development folder plans.
Some smart home gadgets seem like solutions in search of a problem, shoehorning IoT connectivity into something that was working just fine without it — unless you're that one guy who really needs to talk to Alexa while playing the keyboard. But on the opposite end of the spectrum, you've got the smart lock, an early leader into the world of the connected home that managed to reinvent a "dumb" product with some genuinely useful new functionality.There's no shortage of smart lock options out there, running the gamut from fully integrated replacements to add-ons that quickly attach to existing locks. Today I'm taking a look at the Encode Smart WiFi Deadbolt from Schlage, one of the biggest names in residential security. With hubless Wi-Fi connectivity, the promise of easy installation, and a solid, robust design, is this the smart lock to pick up?
Every smartphone manufacturer wants to get in on the ground floor of the latest trends, and in 2019 the name of the game is “folding.” After teasing flexible technology at trade shows for years, we're finally seeing the arrival of big-screen phones that bend down the middle for easy storage. But other companies are turning to more old-school tech to accomplish a similar feat, like LG and its dual-screen hardware. After getting started with the V50, LG's back with its follow-up: the G8X with Dual Screen case.
Modern-day networking has taken a lot of the sting out of getting your devices up and connected, but there can still be a lot of hoops to jump though, and the idea of running cables, placing antennas, and drowning in a sea of DHCP leases and DNS lookups is enough to give even seasoned techies a mild panic attack. Google's hoping to further reduce many of those headaches while still giving users a powerful home network with the introduction of its new Nest Wifi mesh system.
It's been several weeks since we last checked in to see the progress Google was making towards its apparent goal of signing every single financial institution in America up for Google Pay support. Unsurprisingly, Google's been very busy throughout this period, and today we're looking at all the new banks ready to work with the service.
Wireless cameras have had a huge impact on how we're able to keep a watchful eye over our homes, possessions, and loved ones. Modern systems are as feature packed as they are easy to install, and the field is still new enough that we're seeing real improvements generation-to-generation. Earlier this year, Arlo launched a 4K option in the form of its Ultra cam, and now we're getting a fresh entry in its Pro series with the release of the Arlo Pro 3.The Pro 2 was already a fantastic wireless camera, with a solid 1080p resolution, battery life extending into weeks, and free 7-day cloud storage for recorded clips. Now the Pro 3's out to try and one-up its predecessor, offering a new 2K resolution, integrated spotlight, wide-angle recording, and more. But for all those changes, does the Pro 3 ultimately offer a better user experience? Let's check it out.
No one wants to go broke while upgrading their house to become a smart home, and that's a big part of what's made Wyze hardware so appealing: straightforward functionality at a just-can't-be-beat price. Following the launch of Wyze Sense security sensors and the Wyze Bulb earlier this year, the company's smart home offerings are now joined by a solution for controlling existing appliances: the Wyze Plug.
This year's new Pixels continue to raise the bar of what we can expect from Google phones, refining core elements of the Pixel experience like the incredible cameras. But more than that, Google's also introducing some all-new hardware, and easily one of the most anticipated arrivals has involved integrating Project Soli radar tech to give us the new Motion Sense gesture controls. What can you expect from them? Let's take a look.
Today's Made by Google event has been packed with new mobile and smart-home hardware, but for all the cutting-edge functionality and smart features these devices aim to offer, they're not much use for anyone without data connectivity. Three years ago, Google set out to help users shower their homes with high-speed, ubiquitous Wi-Fi with the launch of the mesh-capable Google Wifi. Now that hardware's finally getting an overdue refresh with new features, a new look, and a new name: Nest Wifi.
A couple years back, Ultimate Ears released the Wonderboom, a squat little speaker that delivered great sound at a good price. With some attractive color pairings, and big, easy-to-use controls, there was a lot to like about the speaker, though there was also clearly still room to grow. Now UE’s ready with its follow-up, launching the Wonderboom 2 earlier this summer.Does the Wonderboom 2 meaningfully improve on its predecessor? Or is this more a Wonderboom 1.5, updating the look without taking the time to really revisit functionality? Let's check it out.
Adding a soundbar is one of the quickest, easiest, and potentially most impressive upgrades you can make to your television, supercharging your entertainment experience with rich, room-filling sound. And while there's no shortage of options out there, supporting tons of extra audio channels or external subwoofers, we’re only now starting to see really smart, connected solutions emerge.The JBL Link Bar is just such a marriage, wedding Android TV smarts with a 100W soundbar. So instead of just upgrading your TV to sound a whole lot better, it offers a shot in the arm for aging legacy sets that lack built-in streaming or smart-home features of their own. The concept makes a lot of sense — does JBL's execution hold up? Well, yes and no.
Today at Barclay Center in Brooklyn, Samsung unveiled its biggest Galaxy Note family ever — in terms of sheer phone size and variety of models. There were new features to be demonstrated, new designs to show off, and all the pomp and circumstance befitting the announcement of devices of this caliber. Yet for all Samsung's efforts, this still feels like a half-hearted retread of last year's launch. What is it so hard to make these new Notes exciting?When the very first Galaxy Note debuted, we met a handset born of a simple vision: smartphone meets stylus. And in an era where smartphone text entry was more luck than skill, an easy-to-use, precise stylus like Samsung's made a lot of sense. While that S Pen stylus has never gone away, the Note itself evolved to fill its role as a power-user handset, giving us our first taste of features that would eventually make their way to other devices.The Note was the bleeding edge — it was the phone that looked over all the latest tech, said "yes, please," and just shoved it all in: a big phone full of big features for demanding users. But while it's still very much a flagship, the decision to pick up the latest Note isn't nearly as obvious as it once was.
Smart home shoppers have dozens of options when it comes to internet-connected cameras, with solutions available from Nest, Arlo, Eufy, and more. Those run the gamut in terms of hardware features, cloud connectivity, and ultimate cost — initial and ongoing. Can the cheaper systems hold their own against the big boys? Today we're looking at one of the more affordable indoor/outdoor wireless cams, the new XT2 from Amazon-owned Blink.