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Nobody wants anything to do with Google's new tracking mechanism FLoC
Almost all browsers and privacy advocates slam the third-party cookie replacement
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Google is about to shake up the status quo on tracking with its newly proposed browser-based Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC) tracking mechanism, which it introduced as a replacement for the outgoing third-party cookies the advertisement industry still heavily relies on. But many privacy advocates like the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) and search engine DuckDuckGo think FLoC could turn out to be even worse and more invasive than third-party cookies, and most browser makers were fast to join in on that stance. Almost all of them have vowed or at least hinted that they won't support FLoC in their products, including those based on Google's open-source Chromium rendering engine also used in Chrome.
Microsoft lets you try out Edge's newest features in the Canary build
Don't complain, write a bug report
If you love to live on the bleeding edge of software releases, and also prefer Microsoft's flavor of Chromium browsers to Google's, then I have good news for you. The Canary build of Edge is now available on the Play Store, the better for the big M to test out its newest features on a wider subset of users. Go grab it now if you're so inclined.
Motorola released its flagship Edge+ phone earlier this year, but it was always a bit weird to have a plus model when a regular model didn't exist. Motorola fixed that with the cheaper Edge a few months later, which has now dropped to $399.99 at Amazon and B&H Photo. The phone was $500 for a short time last month (and again on Prime Day), but it's typically sold for $600.The Motorola Edge has a Snapdragon 765 chipset, 6GB RAM, 256GB of storage, triple rear cameras, a 4,500mAh battery with 18W charging, and a headphone jack. The 'Edge' name comes from the curved 6.7-inch OLED display, which has a resolution of 2340 x 1080 and can operate at up to 90Hz. Like most other Moto phones, the Motorola Edge works on all major U.S. networks.
Motorola returned to the flagship smartphone market earlier this year with the Motorola Edge+. The company still doesn't have the best reputation when it comes to software and updates, but Motorola has just released the kernel source code for the Edge+, making it easier for third-party developers to create their own custom Android builds.
Motorola has expanded the software promise for its latest Edge+ flagship phone. In a statement provided to Droid Life, the company has committed to providing "at least two Android OS upgrades" for the $1,000 phone. (You might have expected that to be a given when you drop a grand, but welcome to Motorola.) Given that it ships with Android 10, that means Motorola has now committed to updating the Edge+ to Android 12 someday.
Motorola Edge+ renders show off waterfall display and triple-camera array (Updated)
The phone is rumored to be Motorola's next flagship
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Ever since Google sold Motorola to Lenovo, the brand's strategy has been subject to change. In the past, there were only three model lines, but now, it's hard to discern the plethora of often all-too-similar phones released under the Moto name. There also hasn't been a proper flagship for a while, but Motorola is apparently looking to change that. OnLeaks and Pricebaba have teamed up to share renders and specifications of an alleged Motorola Edge+, and it could shape up to be the brand's new front runner.
In late 2018, Microsoft finally gave up on its in-house browser engine for desktops, moving its Edge browser over to the now nearly ubiquitous Chromium: The basis of Chrome. The first releases landed a bit under a year ago, and now some of Microsoft's changes to Chromium are percolating upstream — that's a developer way of saying Microsoft is offering some of its tweaks back to Google, and it's integrating them back into Chromium where anyone running Chrome (and any other Chromium-based browsers) will also benefit from them.
You might not have heard about it before, but we have a browser extension that adds a few nice features to the web Play Store: Toolbox for Google Play Store. It offers APKMirror integration, easy beta program joining/leaving, and more. You've already been able to download it on Chrome, Opera, and Firefox, and now we're introducing support for the new Microsoft Edge.
When Microsoft released its Edge web browser in 2015, Edge's logo looked quite a lot like Internet Explorer's. Microsoft is now working on a new Chromium-based Edge, and it wants another new logo to go with it, which has now been revealed publicly.
With its Edge browser, Microsoft wanted to start with a clean slate and make people forget about Internet Explorer. In its race to popularity, the company has understood one of the most requested features is dark mode, which is why it just updated its mobile browser to automatically adapt to your system's theme.
Following 23 years of developing its own browser engine, Microsoft announced late last year that the company's Edge browser would use Google Chrome (or more specifically, Chromium) as a base. Early builds leaked online in March, and now the first official packages are available.
Microsoft is planning big changes to its Edge browser, but the Chromium redesign is still off in the future. For now, the Android and iOS versions of Edge have gotten an update that adds a feature called "NewsGuard." It's off by default, but when enabled it will tell you whether or not a news website is trustworthy. Naturally, some sites are not happy with the results.
Microsoft really, really wants you to use its Edge browser. When you search for the Chrome download page in Edge, you get a giant banner telling you how great Edge is. When you're on a laptop, Windows 10 tells you that Chrome is draining your battery. Now Microsoft is about to get even more invasive, by showing a full alert message whenever you try to change the default browser.
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- We're told some other curved screen Samsung phones like the Note8 and S9 have exhibited identical problems — apparently going as far back as the Galaxy S6 — though we've never heard of the issue ourselves before today.
Every flagship phone seems to carry with it a handful of problems that don't get noticed except statistically long after reviews land and the launch is over. The Note9, it turns out, is no different. We've spotted reports that the curved glass display on the Note9 has a bit of a gap on the side that results in a bright line of "leaked" light along the edge.
With a smartphone in your pocket, you can access the sum of human knowledge in mere moments. However, you can also access some really sketchy stuff out there that you probably don't want your kids absorbing. Microsoft is offering new tools to parents with an expansion of its family group features on Android. You can now access family controls in the Microsoft Launcher and Edge browser for Android.
In October of last year, Microsoft announced it was bringing its Edge web browser to iOS and Android. The browser is primarily targeted at people already using Edge on Windows 10, as it syncs all data across your devices (much like Chrome and Chrome for Android/iOS). The Android version was released later that month, and Microsoft has continued to update it since then.
As Microsoft's abandonment of Windows phone continued apace this year, the company moved to release more of its core apps on Android, and that included its Edge browser. It's been pretty successful, with more than one million installs, probably due to the "continuous browsing experience" it offers Windows 10 users. Now, there's even more good news for fans of the app.
A few years ago, it would have been unthinkable that Microsoft would launch a mobile version of its web browser on Android, but we live in strange times. After dominating the desktop software space for ages, Microsoft has been unable to break into mobile. So, it's launching Android versions of its apps, including the Edge browser. This app popped up as a beta some weeks back, but now it's final.
Seemingly out of nowhere, Microsoft announced last month that it would bring its Edge Browser to Android and iOS. The Android version went live a week later, and despite having limited functionality at first, it has the basics right. Microsoft has started to fill in the feature gaps, with the latest update adding a dark theme and password syncing.
Last week, Microsoft made a pretty surprising announcement. The company revealed that it would bring its Edge browser to iOS and Android, making it easier for existing Edge users (and possible converts) to take their browsing history, bookmarks, and other data with them. Now the beta app is available for download from the Play Store.