Modular phones seemed to make so much sense: snap in and out different components, customize your device, quickly add unique features, and never be stuck with a boring black square. So why haven’t the likes of Moto Mods and unique accessories boosted modular phones to popularity?
The modular phone market is pretty thin these days. Moto Mods are the biggest player in this space, and Lenovo has just quietly been found to be shedding employees from Moto’s Chicago HQ – up to 200 layoffs, and the Motorola president was replaced.
TL;DR
Users with older versions of the Google Pixel can now download the latest Pixel 3 Google Camera APK. The app comes with some new features and changes to the UI. Some of the Google Pixel 3 camera’s main features, such as Top Shot and Night Mode, are not included. An APK of the latest version of the Google Camera app is now available to download (spotted by Android Police).
Unlocking your phone’s bootloader is an essential step if you want to install alternative ROMs, beta versions of Android, different operating systems, or get root access for greater control. So it was rather disappointing to hear that LG would be closing its bootloader unlock service at the end of the month.
This news made us wonder just how many readers have a phone with an unlocked bootloader. We included this very poll in our LG bootloader story on Monday and here’s how you voted.
TL;DR
OnePlus CEO Pete Lau has posted a photo taken with the OnePlus 6T. The photo shows a city at dusk, but it’s unclear if this was taken in auto or night mode. Little else is known about the camera experience, but we’ll find out more on October 29. The Oneplus 6T launch event is around the corner, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from the phone.
Robert Triggs / Android Authority
TL;DR
Samsung will reportedly remove ads from pre-installed Samsung apps. Mobile chief TM Roh apparently announced the news at an employee meeting. Update: August 18, 2021 (8:35 AM ET): News first emerged out of Korea yesterday that Samsung reportedly planned to remove ads from its own apps. Now, the company has confirmed this news to Android Authority.
“Samsung has made a decision to cease the advertisement on proprietary apps including Samsung Weather, Samsung Pay, and Samsung Theme,” the company told us in a response to an emailed query.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 is about to officially launch in the US, and while reviews for the smartphone, and its larger brother the Galaxy S8 Plus, have been mostly positive so far, some people might still have questions about how much abuse the phone can take. Thankfully, the popular JerryRigEverything YouTube channel is willing to spend the money to try to scratch, burn and bend their copy of the Galaxy S8.
Laptops grabbed a lot of attention at CES 2019. Loads of great models debuted, including the Lenovo Legion Y740, Razer Blade 15, and Dell XPS 13. However, we also saw a number of awesome desktops in Las Vegas aimed at gamers, artists, and business owners. Here are the five best desktop computers to be announced at the show.
MSI Infinite SMSI’s Infinite S is aimed at gamers. It’s a very compact tower at just 348 x 244 x 128mm, but it still packs impressive specs.
Acer Chromebook Spin 514The Acer Chromebook Spin 514 is a tough, attractive machine thanks to a military-grade durability rating and aluminum chassis, but it is held back a bit by processor performance and battery life. Nevertheless, it's a well-built rugged Chromebook that gets the job done at its own pace.
Table of contents
Sometimes (slightly) bigger is better. Computing on small screens can leave you feeling cramped and unproductive. That’s why the Acer Chromebook Spin 514 packs a 14-inch screen in a convertible form factor, giving you a wide range of ways to use it.
TL;DR
In Android P, the volume slider that appears when you hit the hardware volume rocker has been moved from the top of the screen to the right-hand side. It is now vertical instead of horizontal. There are also new controls to manage where your phone is casting media. There’s no word on if the volume slider can be moved to the left-hand side of the screen for lefties, which might initiate some complaints if not possible.
To say that the quality of games on Android has improved since the early days is an understatement, but great graphics alone don’t make a title worth the time investment. It’s the gameplay that keeps folks coming back for more.
This explains why some keep going back to playing classic arcade games on their Android device – using emulators like Mame4droid – despite the less than impressive graphics. We’re sure nostalgia also plays a role, though.