News

Want a Galaxy Note 9 for free? You might have to pre-order one at Verizon

TL;DR A recent Verizon leak suggests the carrier will roll out a buy-one-get-one-free offer on the Galaxy Note 9. A promo image for the deal was spotted in the Verizon app, though it didn’t reveal the price or release date. If it’s legit, the offer will likely apply to new lines only, with savings paid back as bill credit over 24 months. Verizon might be gearing up for one of its famous buy-one-get-one-free (BOGOF) pre-order offers on the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 9.

3 camera lenses? Light might be bringing 9 lenses to a new smartphone

TL;DR Camera company Light is developing a smartphone that could have up to nine camera lenses. Light created the L16, a DSLR-replacement camera with 16 lenses. Light says its new smartphone could launch this year, but it will likely be very expensive. Remember the Light L16 camera? In 2015, a company with the very un-Googleable name Light announced a new type of camera that has 16 lenses working simultaneously to create DSLR-quality photos.

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean features and release date official – what you need to know

Google kicked off its Google I/O developer conference just a few minutes ago and it started the whole thing talking about Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, it’s next major mobile operating system refresh. Google revealed on stage that over 400 million devices have been activated to date, 300 million since last year’s Google I/O event, and that it currently activates 1 million devices per day, up 600,000 units compared to Google I/0 2011 – or about “12 new Android devices every second of ever day.

Google Photos debuts new Memories live wallpaper feature for Android

Jimmy Westenberg / Android Authority TL;DR Google Photos is adding a new live wallpaper option with its latest Android update. The feature cycles through saved images on the phone’s home screen. Google Photos is a great backup tool for all your captured moments, but often those moments lie dormant until you actively revisit them. Now, the app is giving users the option to turn those old shots into wallpapers.

Honor 9i review - Android Authority

Honor Honor 9iThe Honor 9i has a lot going for it, but it isn’t without a few shortcomings. Table of contents Honor has launched some pretty good phones in the last year or so. Slowly but surely it’s been establishing a foothold in markets like India. The company has also not shied away from adopting, or even being early on, trends like dual cameras. With the Honor 9i, the company is now delivering on this year’s new trends.

Smart running insoles to help you improve

Nurvv Nurvv RunThe Nurvv Run insoles helped me improve my running form in only a few weeks. They may be too pricey and too niche for most runners, but the platform has a ton of potential. We can't wait to see what Nurvv has in store for its gen-two insoles. $300 is a lot of money to spend on these insoles, especially with their hardware issues and young software platform. Most people should wait until they're on sale.

Strava's Beacon, a location sharing feature, is now free for all users

Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority TL;DR Strava has released Beacon to non-paying users. Athletes can choose who they want to share their location with and when they want to share it. Devices with particularly complex integration will still need to pay for the feature. Solo rides just got a little bit safer. Strava, the popular fitness app among runners and cyclists, has made one of its top features free to non-paying users.

13 top titles and where to stream them

In his latest film, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Hollywood icon Nicolas Cage plays a fictional version of himself, hired to entertain a potentially dangerous fan and forced to tap into his various, celebrated roles. This begs the question, what are the best Nicolas Cage roles? And where can you stream them? The actor’s career truly runs the gamut, including big, blockbuster action and adventure, bizarre cult outings, romcoms, and dramas.

Check to see if Samsung Pay is draining your battery, temporary fix is here

Samsung Pay is the company’s mobile payments service which competes with fellow Android-based service Google Pay (and Apple’s very popular Apple Pay). However, it appears that the payment service is glitching out at the moment, causing severe battery drain on Samsung phones. Users on several Reddit forums (like this one, this one, and this one) are talking about the problem. According to some, Samsung Pay Framework is sucking power fast, with some users reporting a whopping 60 percent drain.

Turns out Bixby can rap, beatbox, and even diss competitors

Videos uploaded by Galaxy S8 users in Korea show that Samsung’s virtual assistant can perform some hip-hop if you ask it. We can’t comment on Bixby’s flow, but its beatboxing doesn’t sound half bad. To top it off, Samsung hid an Easter egg within the Easter egg. Like any self-respecting rapper, Bixby isn’t afraid to diss rivals. Users in Korea noticed (and we verified with a native Korean speaker) that the first characters in each line of one particular track spell out “I am better than Siri” in Korean.