Spotify's massive song catalog can be streamed in decent quality on iPhone or Android without any tinkering. But if you're an audiophile, you've probably noticed that the sound quality can fluctuate from time to time. You're not wrong — Spotify has the default music quality s ...more
Verizon launched the $80 unlimited prepaid plan this week and we've found that it actually isn't as limitless as they would have you believe. The gist of the deal is basically that customers get unlimited talk, text, and data for $80 per month, and no contract or credit check ...more
The new Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ are two of most head-turning phones we've ever seen, thanks to gorgeous build quality and a seemingly bezel-less Infinity Display. Combine that with flagship-grade internals for top notch performance, and you can almost guarantee that Samsung ...more
It's fair to say that Google's messaging services are in a bit of a heap at the moment, and to make matters worse, Hangouts is removing its SMS capacities. Hangouts version 18 is now being rolled out, but doesn't appear to incorporate any functional changes. However, the new ...more
Uh oh. With millions of devices already sold, Apple's latest blunder is bound to upset the owners of some of their brand new iPhone 7 Plus phones. [UPDATE: The issue is present in both iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus devices, not limited to the iPhone 7 Plus model as originally re ...more
One of the biggest causes of smartphone battery drain is the mobile data connection—particularly if you live in an area with poor reception. But, chances are, you don't actually need this connection most of the time, because you're probably connected to Wi-Fi for a good chunk ...more
If you purchased something from iTunes, the iOS App Store, iBooks Store, Apple TV App Store, or the Mac App Store and it doesn't work, didn't download, is buggy, or wasn't what you thought it was, you can get a full refund from Apple—you just have to know how to ask. Whatever ...more
If Netflix's $9.99/month has deterred you from signing up for its streaming service, you're probably looking for cheaper alternatives to stream movies and TV shows, like Crackle (free with ads) or Hulu ($7.99/month with some ads). And now there's a new option for you when it c ...more
The Galaxy S6 might just be the best Android phone on the market right now. From a hardware standpoint, Samsung truly knocked this one out of the park with its finely-crafted build quality and amazing screen. But the lone drawback here is that TouchWiz is still as intrusive a ...more
Thanks to leaks and hard working developers, rooting tools for brand new Android devices are usually available right around the time of the smartphone's release, if not earlier. The Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge are no exception. CF Auto Root, by renowned dev Chainfire, has n ...more
Apple Pay has been available to use in stores, as well as in select apps and websites, ever since its first appearance in iOS 8.1. Now, with iOS 12, there are currently 13 different iPhone models that support Apple Pay functionality without the use of an Apple Watch, and the l ...more
Apple just announced the iPhone 6, and no matter whether you've been with Android for a few months or few years, there's a good chance you're enticed by the idea of switching over to the other side. As a diehard Android user, I can't blame you. A bigger screen, better camera, ...more
With a 13 megapixel camera that can record in full 4K, there's a lot to love about the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 from a photographer's perspective. The image quality in my photos and videos are top-notch and nothing to complain about, but as with all things tech, things could alwa ...more
With many internet/Lego nerds anxiously awaiting the completion of the world's first full size Lego House, Barnaby Gunning Architects and British TV personality, James May, finally unveiled the finished product this past Friday. The house (was) 100% Lego, "including a working ...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
Apple released the third public beta for iOS 12.4 on the afternoon of May 28. The update arrives roughly three hours after Apple published 12.4's third developer beta, and eight days after 12.4 public beta 2. At this time, it seems beta 3 is a minor update for 12.4, which itse ...more
With the iOS 13 beta right around the corner, Apple is churning out the betas for iOS 12.4 with developer beta 3 out today, May 28. It's the third beta in just 14 days and just eight days after developer beta 2 and public beta 2. The third beta may only house improvements over ...more
Public beta testers, you're in luck. Apple just released the second iOS 12.4 public beta today, May 20. The update comes five days after the release of the first developer beta for iOS 12.4 and seven days after the release of iOS 12.3. Public beta 2 and dev beta 2 were both re ...more
Apple just released the second iOS 12.4 developer beta today, May 20, five days after the release of the first developer beta for iOS 12.4 and one week after the public release of iOS 12.3. In general, the iOS 12.4 update will support Apple Card, Apple's upcoming credit card d ...more
Unless you want to make your TikTok account totally private, anyone that uses the app — with or without an account — can view your profile and all the videos of you performing new dance moves, singing along to popular songs, and recreating your favorite TV show scenes. Even wo ...more
Can you trust every user you come across on TikTok? The answer to that may depend on how use the service, but the real question is — can you trust every user that sees your content? Not everyone on TikTok is someone you want viewing or interacting with your content, and there' ...more
Despite being at the helms of the RCS push, Google Fi has yet to support the new messaging protocol. It would've made too much sense if the Google-created MVNO was one of the first to support the feature Google's been pushing on other OEMs and carriers for years, but alas, the ...more
On April 26, 2019, Sinemia posted a note on its website stating it has ceased all operations in the United States. It's not known if it continues to work in other countries or if US users will be getting any refunds, particularly, for annual subscribers. Over the previous mon ...more
Apple first announced Business Chat, a new way for customers to communicate with companies, at WWDC 2017. While Business Chat did not arrive with the initial release of iOS 11, Apple pushed it out in iOS 11.3 so companies can offer customer service in a whole new way, and it w ...more
When I'm with my friends on the weekend, we always end up Snapping shots of one another, adding in whatever stickers and lenses we've accumulated over the last week. But these filters are fleeting, so it's always a challenge to keep up with the best new ones. If you want to ge ...more
The fourth beta for iOS 11.3 was released by Apple to developers and public beta testers on Monday, March 5. The update comes just under two weeks after the company released beta 3 on Feb. 20, which mostly added bug and stability patches. It appears that beta 4 is much of the ...more
Because of quirks with cell radios and how Android was previously set up, custom ROM support for Galaxy S phones has been sparse these past few years. It's been almost nonexistent for US customers, while international users would see some ROMs. Thanks to Android Oreo's Project ...more
With beta testing coming to a close, it's quite likely we will see the stable Android Oreo OTA roll out for the Galaxy S8 in late January. Yesterday, a Reddit user posted a link to an official Oreo OTA build for the Galaxy S8. We've already detailed everything that's new in th ...more
Facebook is hiring video game teams and other eSports organizations to create live and on-demand videos for its newsfeed. The company aims to take on others such as Twitch and YouTube, where most of the eSports' content is typically housed. Facebook signed contracts with five ...more
Apple is in the process of developing its own graphics processors for future iPhones, according to recent reports. While the tech giant has remained silent about the news, its business partner Imagination Technologies, a chip manufacturer, confirmed that within the next 15–24 ...more
Google Assistant has introduced tappable shortcuts on the Google app for Android, iOS, and Google.com this week. The tech giant made the official announcement on their blog on Tuesday after much online speculation that they were integrating their screen search feature into th ...more
When Apple released the iOS 10.2 update to the public on December 12, 2016, iPhone users got a slew of new features, including new emojis, a brand new TV app, the ability to save camera settings, and more. But out of all of these new features, the one that interests me the mos ...more
Amazon is running a pre-sale deal on a few unlocked smartphones by BLU and Motorola, which will be released on July 12, 2016. The 8 GB BLU R1 HD is on sale for just $49.99, and the 16 GB version is available for $59.99, for a savings of $50 off either phone. You can also grab ...more
Ever since iOS 8, you could add widgets on your iPhone using the "Edit" menu on the Today view page, but there's an easier and faster way to get widgets set up for viewing via a right swipe on the lock screen, a swipe right from the first home screen page, and a swipe down fro ...more
Samsung's 2016 flagship devices are some of the most beautiful, powerful smartphones ever made. And amazingly enough, thanks to legendary root developer Chainfire, the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge are about to get even more powerful. Don't Miss: Android Root Explaine ...more
Have you ever had one of your Android games post a notification in a lame attempt to remind you to play? This is becoming a common practice these days, and to me, it's about as annoying as a Best Buy blue shirt when I'm just trying to check out the latest TVs. Or perhaps you' ...more
While some of the additions to the emoji keyboard in iOS 8.3 have been criticized for actually doing the opposite of their intended purpose, they've been well received overall. But the biggest winner of the new emojis was one that actually wasn't even released—the "Vulcan salu ...more
As a Mac and Sasmsung Galaxy S6 user, I quickly realized that the two devices don't play well with one another out of the box, and using ADB commands to record my Android's screen isn't as simple as it is would be with a Windows PC. Though you might feel like attempting to us ...more
With Safestrap bringing custom recovery functionality to the AT&T and Verizon Wireless variants of the Samsung Galaxy S5, it's high time we covered this process for all other versions of the GS5. If you're not familiar with the term "custom recovery", it's a piece of software ...more
After much hype and even more leaks, the HTC One M8 has finally been unveiled at the company's New York release announcement. Video: . While specs for the new device have been known for a while, the announcement did shed light on a few interesting features. But before we get t ...more
Let's just say it's been a pretty bad year for spies and government agencies and an even worse one for the privacy of U.S. citizens. Edward Snowden blew the lid off the NSA's spy program, and the FBI was recently discovered to have the ability to access your webcam any time th ...more
Sprint has announced that it will be the first U.S. carrier to release Jelly Bean 4.1 for the Samsung Galaxy S III. The over-the-air updates have already started, with users receiving a notification on how to update on their phone. The reason Jelly Bean has garnered so much at ...more
Considering how often many of us fly on commercial airlines, the idea that a hacker could somehow interfere with the plane is a very scary thought. It doesn't help to learn that at Defcon, a researcher found that the Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B), transmis ...more
While new features in Safari, Camera, Photos, Notes, Weather, Messages, and other Apple apps may steal the show on iOS 17, there are some impressive new features you need to know about when it comes to FaceTime audio and video calls. A step beyond mere upgrades, Apple nudges ...more
Streaming media companies like Netflix and Hulu make deals with Roku to have their apps featured on Roku's remote controls, but there's an inherent flaw with this model: the buttons become useless if the app no longer exists. So, is there anything you can do to change those de ...more
We're nearly there — Apple released the seventh iOS 12 beta to developers Monday, August 13. While not totally unexpected, beta testers understand the struggle of predicting the next update, as Apple has switched haphazardly between two-week, one-week, and irregular release sc ...more
For the second time in a row, Apple pushed out a new iOS 12 developer beta on a Monday, and for the first time this round, they've done it only one week after the last one. While the August 6 release of iOS 12 developer beta 6 doesn't contain a wealth of updates, there are sti ...more
A few long-awaited iOS 11 features that Apple had promised way back in June 2017 have finally made their way to iPhones with the iOS 11.4 update. Aside from finally delivering on those, there's not a whole lot new in iOS 11.4 as a whole, though, there are a few things you'll d ...more
In the Android community, there's a lot of discussion about how display notches should be used. For some, hiding the notch is more appealing, but others feel that hiding it wastes screen real estate. Well, Essential just provided another solution that should satisfy both sides ...more
Samsung hopes to make a splash with the new Galaxy Note 9 to make up for the underwhelming sales of its signature Galaxy S9 series. This flagship is a radical departure from its predecessors — it's now optimized for gaming and paired with the most advanced S Pen stylus to date ...more
Back in June 2017, Apple promised us AirPlay 2, a simple way to connect and control multiple speakers together via an iPhone or other Apple device. While the feature was included in early iOS betas, by iOS 11's official release, AirPlay 2 was nowhere to be found. After all the ...more
Apple officially unveiled the long-awaited iPhone X, its tenth-anniversary edition iPhone, on September 12. With preorder and release dates just around the corner, you'll want to brush up on all things iPhone X to make sure you get your hands on one as soon as possible. After ...more
Your smartphone is the perfect place to watch Hulu on the go. Whether you're looking to catch up on your shows in a hotel, or your phone is the only screen available, mobile streaming can be a lifesaver. But what about when you have access to a TV? Wouldn't you rather watch yo ...more
When Google announced YouTube Red — a paid monthly subscription service that disables advertising, among other perks — many of us thought "just use an ad blocker." But it isn't really that simple. Ad blockers give you an ad-free YouTube experience, but also take revenue away ...more
Watching YouTube on your phone has never been a better experience than it is today — our smartphones have super-sharp displays that make watching the newest HD, QHD, and even 4K content look fantastic. But there are plenty of circumstances where we want to watch our content on ...more
Chromecast comes to mind when "casting" video from a smartphone to a big screen television, but it's not the only way to "cast" streaming content. This is especially true for Netflix, where you can cast movies and TV shows to not only a Chromecast-enabled TV, but to smart TVs, ...more
As a former repair tech, I've heard the same reasons over and over as to why people opt not to purchase phone insurance. Some cite the cost—why pay extra every month for insurance when you're careful with your phone? Deductibles are expensive, so why not just spend that money ...more
Yes, screen savers are fun to look at for a few seconds, but those animations actually used to serve a purpose beyond simple entertainment. In older CRT and plasma monitors, and even newer OLED ones, leaving a static image on the screen for an extended period of time could cr ...more
Apple's special September event just wrapped up with the company unveiling several new products, including the iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus, iPad Pro, and the new Apple TV set-top box. In addition to hardware, Apple also discussed a couple of its latest software platforms, iOS 9 ...more
If you're having a "Netflix and chill" night, the last thing you want to worry about is finding something to watch—after all, you have better things planned for the night. With so much streaming content now available for cord cutters, settling on just one title to watch can b ...more