For many, phones are starting to replace televisions as the primary device for watching videos. Thanks to their portability and easy to use apps, it's often simpler to watch Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, or Prime Instant Video on the smaller screen. But not every phone is suited to ...more
Even though most phones don't have Oreo yet, Google has released Android 9.0 Pie. It's available on Google's own Pixel devices, and updates should soon be available to partnered devices from Essential, Nokia, Oppo, Sony, Vivo, and Xiaomi. We're already digging into it to highl ...more
It's that time of year again, folks. Each fall, Google debuts a new device alongside the latest iteration of its mobile operating system—but this year marked the release of three new Nexus gadgets. In a stark contrast to the circus-like atmosphere surrounding Apple's iPhone E ...more
UPDATE: The OnePlus 8 Pro has been released! Check it out on the official OnePlus website or read through the rumored specs we've left below for posterity. Even though OnePlus no longer uses the motto, they still embody the spirit of "Flagship Killer." OnePlus is known for of ...more
If you had a phone in 2004, there's a pretty good chance it was a Motorola RAZR. The iconic phone is the tenth highest-selling of all time, and it marked the height of the flip phone era. Now that the technology has caught up, Lenovo (Motorola's parent company) is bringing it ...more
Since the Razer Phone's announcement in 2017, we've seen a new subgroup of phones emerge. Gaming phones are now a thing, leading to companies like ASUS creating phones that are thoroughly optimized for the mobile gaming experience. And with their second iteration, they perfect ...more
The hugely successful S10 series of flagships may be a tough act to follow, but Samsung has proven that it's up to the task with the Galaxy Note 10. The latest phablet bearing the Note name is the first of its line to come with an even larger variant, and boasts an eye-pleasin ...more
Three new iPhones means you have to make a choice: Do you go with the smaller iPhone XS, the larger iPhone XS Max, or the cheaper iPhone XR? There's lots to like about each model, but if you want to make an informed decision, it's time to learn what each has to offer. Here's w ...more
Apple's successor to the iPhone X is a beautifully made smartphone with much of the same characteristics, including a 5.8-inch OLED screen, two storage choices, and Face ID. But many features set the iPhone XS apart from its predecessor, as well as the other 2018 lineup of iPh ...more
While our smartphones are many things, one of their primary functions is to make calls. Many of us try to avoid ever having to make calls, but there are situations when it's a must, such as wishing your grandma happy Birthday or calling 911 — and in those times you want stella ...more
Whether it's a short road trip or an 18-hour flight, our phones are now essential travel companions. No longer do we need a GPS unit, maps, cameras, camcorders, or even boarding passes. However, not all phones are created equal in this regard. Some are more suited for travelin ...more
iPhones with Face ID all retail for at least $999, which many still believe is just too much for a smartphone. But that's okay, because Apple just introduced the iPhone 11 for roughly $700. It's not necessarily the best value, though, because the iPhone 11 already has some sti ...more
Rooting. As an Android user, I'm sure you've heard the word once or twice. According to Kaspersky, 7.6% of all Android users root — but for the 92.4% who don't, we wanted to talk to you. Rooting allows you to remove barriers and open Android to a level of unprecedented contro ...more
Lenovo, the company that now owns Motorola, just announced two new entries in their wildly successful midrange Moto G series. The Moto G5, and its bigger brother, the Moto G5 Plus, were both shown off in detail at Mobile World Congress 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. Highlights for ...more
When you think about consumer VR headsets, you either imagine a computer-tethered powerhouse like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, or something portable yet limited that utilizes your smartphone like Google Cardboard. Somehow, we haven't seen much in-between, but the Idealens aim ...more
Surprising? No. Exciting? Absolutely. After a grand introduction by at the Apple event on September 10, 2019, the iPhone 11 is finally here. We may have known nearly everything about this new iOS device ahead of time, thanks to the usual surge of reliable leaks and rumors. Th ...more
So the new iPhones have arrived. Like last year, Apple released three iPhones in three different sizes that vary in price and specs. There's the base model iPhone 11, and then there are the real deal, premium models, the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max. The iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro ...more
Motorola is a shell of its former self. In 2010, it had just released the Motorola Droid, a phone so popular it led to all Android phones being called "Droids" by non-techies. But there have been some rough years between then and now, and Motorola's latest "flagship" doesn't l ...more
The price of hacking Wi-Fi has fallen dramatically, and low-cost microcontrollers are increasingly being turned into cheap yet powerful hacking tools. One of the most popular is the ESP8266, an Arduino-programmable chip on which the Wi-Fi Deauther project is based. On this ine ...more
After poor sales of the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, Google needs to reinvigorate its Pixel lineup, devices it's been pushing heavily over the last couple years. On May 7, Google had the eyes and ears of the technology industry at its Google I/O keynote, making it the perfect time ...more
Its official: On May 8, T-Mobile finally released the Android Oreo update for the LG V30 and V30+. Now, every major US wireless carrier has pushed the update. For me, this update is a big deal. Not only does Android Oreo bring some new tools and features, but LG has also inclu ...more
The original iPhone SE was, for some, the perfect iPhone. It brought back the popular one-handed form factor of the iPhone 5 but packed in the internals of the then-new iPhone 6S. Now, the second-generation iPhone SE is here for 2020, but can it live up to what made the first- ...more
It's always a big deal when the company that makes Android releases a new phone. Google's Pixel series has made a name for itself in three short years behind its camera prowess, but now it's time to start competing with the major players. That said, Google should like how thei ...more
The ongoing war between Apple and Samsung fans will rage on once again. With the release of the iPhone XS Max, Apple has presented a stronger adversary for the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, released earlier. Both stack up well against each other, providing two of the best experiences ...more
The iPhone XR has touched down alongside the XS and XS Max, and it utilizes tried and tested materials found on the iPhone 8, while being molded in the same vein as the iPhone X. The budget-friendlier flagship comes with its own set of design elements to set it apart from its ...more
During Mobile World Congress 2018, OEMs started to introduce the world to Android Oreo (Go edition). Android Go offers smooth performance on entry-level specs, allowing for genuinely good cheap phones. At first, the US only had one Android Go device, but it looks like a second ...more
Android is Google's project, so of course you can see the search giant's fingerprints all over the operating system. Aside from the obvious user-facing apps, there's Google Cloud Messaging, Google Connectivity Services, and the much-maligned Google Play Services running in the ...more
Starting in October, many Nexus 6P users have been experiencing a bug that causes their phone to completely shut down, even though there was 20% or more battery life remaining. At first, it was thought to be a direct result of the recent Android Nougat update, but a combinatio ...more
Starting with the Priv, BlackBerry's become an Android manufacturer. This move gives BlackBerry's phones access to Google's sizable app store, but it also presents several hurdles to keeping the security brand they've built intact. For example, Android encryption still lags b ...more
If you've ever used the automation app Tasker, then you know exactly how powerful the tool can be. If you haven't, suffice it to say that there's virtually nothing on your Android phone that Tasker can't automatically do for you. If you're looking to save some battery life on ...more
Many popular apps automatically share your personal data. While I have accepted a certain amount of data collection from Google, to know companies such as Facebook perform this without my consent bothers me. After some researching, I've found a great solution, and it doesn't r ...more
When rumors first emerged of Sony's Xperia XZ3, many of us wondered why. With the Xperia XZ2 just releasing in April of this year, why is Sony already releasing its successor? But now that it is officially announced, it makes a bit more sense, as what Sony is calling the XZ3 i ...more
And so it begins... CES 2017 is upon us! This is a very exciting time for those who are looking out for the newest innovations and releases from the world of technology. I said this was going to be a fun week, and here we start it with a bang from smartglasses developer Osterh ...more
When Microsoft release an update to the HoloLens Development Edition at the end of May, there were a bunch of cool new features added in. Among them: New voice controls that make working in the HoloLens operating system much easier. There are tons of new ways to interact with ...more
With both iOS 13 and Android 10 around the corner, system-wide dark mode is moments away from hitting your phone. In preparation, many developers have been adding a dark mode to their apps, including the official Reddit app. Reddit has one of the more robust dark modes out th ...more
Featured on MTV's Catfish TV series, in season 7, episode 8, Grabify is a tracking link generator that makes it easy to catch an online catfish in a lie. With the ability to identify the IP address, location, make, and model of any device that opens on a cleverly disguised tra ...more
Facebook has a new dark mode for Messenger, and it's a true OLED black theme. It's was hidden away in earlier versions and you needed to either run a root hack or send a moon emoji to activate it — but now, you can enable dark mode by toggling a simple switch in Facebook Messe ...more
Last week, Magic Leap gave us an additional peek at its Lumin OS and more tutorials that show how its device works with virtual content. But details about the hardware wasn't included in the array of new information. Now, thanks to a developer with a keen eye for source code, ...more
While much of the technical specifications of the Magic Leap One: Creator Edition still remain a mystery, some clues to its internals are hidden among the guides in the now freely-accessible Creator Portal. An article titled "NVIDIA Tegra Graphics Debugger" appears to confirm ...more
When it comes to making smartglasses that look more like regular eyeglasses and less like sci-fi helmets, Corning International might be among the suppliers to make it happen. In a recently-released concept video, Corning demonstrates how its precision glass wafers and panels ...more
A developer from a firm named Tendigi came up with a way to run Android Marshmallow 6.0.1 on an iPhone 6 Plus, and it's pretty awesome. The hack is the brainchild of Nick Lee, who had previously installed Windows 95 on an Apple Watch, and you can see it in action below. Video: ...more
Your iPhone might have a great camera, but it can be irritating to get things like exposure and focus right when your fingers are all over the 'viewfinder.' The Pictar aims to change that by making your iPhone as much like a DLSR as it can, keeping your fingers from obstructin ...more
3D printers have been surging in popularity for both professional and personal applications, and now OLO is on the verge of making 3D printing practical wherever you go. Their eponymous 3D printer is battery-powered and uses the light from your smartphone's screen to create 3D ...more
In case you didn't know, Android has an awesome hidden settings menu called "Developer options" that contains a lot of advanced and unique features. If you've ever come across this menu before, chances are you just dipped in for a minute so that you could enable USB debugging ...more
One thing Apple users universally complain about is battery life, whether it's on an iPad, iPhone, or Apple Watch. Apple did include a Battery Usage feature in iOS 8 to help us monitor which apps suck up the most energy, but it's too big a pain to deal with. Now, in iOS 9, the ...more
The prevalence of smartphones has had profound effects on how we communicate, view media, and preserve memories, among other things. But all of these new forms of doing things are snatched away from us as soon as our phones lose power. While work is constantly being done to st ...more
It's not the additions Apple brought to iOS 8 that irk me, but what they didn't add that breaks my heart. We did get some cool new features, like battery stats and interactive notifications, but what about a simple customization feature that most—the option to have a transpare ...more
We've already seen the visual changes that Android 5.0 Lollipop has brought to the table, but Google spent just as much time altering things under the hood. Awesome new functionality and hardware capabilities have been added left and right, and with the OS already out now, it' ...more
In certain situations, it can be a little difficult to get a handle on my exact location when others ask where I am or how to get to me. Now, thanks to one of the newly introduced features on iOS 8, I can easily share my exact location with friends, right from within the Messa ...more
If you've seen any videos of aurora borealis, star trails, or a solar eclipse, then you're probably well familiar with time-lapse photography. Whether it's a beautiful moving landscape or a deadly natural disaster, time-lapses show us what would otherwise be hour-long recordin ...more
If rapid battery drain is something that's been an issue for you in the past, Apple is now making it easier to monitor what might be the problem. In the new iOS 8, you can now check battery usage for every app on your device. Video: . To check how much battery your apps use up ...more
The new operating system for your Mac is here, and it looks fantastic—OS X Yosemite. At Apple's WWDC presentation, we were shown the new iOS-like aesthetics, as well as other awesome enhancements to the operating system. Improved Aesthetics As expected, Mac OS X will take a b ...more
Long before Windows Phone hit the scene, Windows Mobile was the operating system for Microsoft's older brand of smartphones through the early 2000s. But due to its clunkiness and inability to keep up with modern features, it was scrapped in 2010. And while the UI was definite ...more
We've all been there. Rushing to find an outlet because your smartphone's battery is about to die and you're in the middle of uploading a picture on Instagram or something else of dire importance. Android's operating system shuts down automatically when ever there is 1% left ...more
A lot of people text nonstop, but there are situations where it's either not allowed or considered rude to use your phone. Let's say you're in class or in a meeting at work, band you're expecting an important message or phone call. Rather than trying to check your phone discre ...more
Dogs make great best friends, but anyone who's had one knows they can be the most high-maintenance friend you've ever had. Bathroom breaks, feeding schedules and walks are only the beginning. Even if you make your dog organic treats and teach it neat tricks, it still needs to ...more
It appears there are endless things you can do with Coke. The Nokia Coke-powered phone is not in production, but certainly an interesting idea. Designed by Daizi Zheng, the Coke phone is an eco-friendly solution to charging your cell. Zheng's proposition: This is a client p ...more
Last year, many were caught off guard when Google released a midrange Pixel device. It was quickly crowned the best value-buy phone on the market, as it brought most of the camera tech people loved in the flagship Pixel for almost half the cost. Google's 2020 entry in this ser ...more
There's never been a better time for streaming videos on your phone. With so many options available (including a potential mobile-only Netflix tier) and so many new smartphones having large screens, there's a good chance you know someone who mainly use their phone for videos. ...more
Ever since the announcement of the Razer Phone, a wave of gaming smartphones started to hit the market. With ASUS being such a big name in gaming, it made sense for them to throw their hat in the ring. The result is the ROG Phone. And with this first try, ASUS has topped the r ...more