News

2019 photography showdown: Huawei P30 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S10 vs Google Pixel 3

It’s tough to go wrong with a flagship smartphone camera these days, but if you’re after the crème de la crème, just a handful of names stand out. The Google Pixel 3 and its machine learning-enhanced camera continues to be the tech enthusiasts goto handset for consistently great pictures. Likewise, recent Huawei handsets have built a solid photography reputation for the company, The new P30 Pro takes low light and zoom capabilities another step further.

Aliyun OS is 'not a fork' of Android

Ladies and gentlemen, the mobile OS war is getting into high gear, and apart from iOS, Android and Windows Phone, we have yet another contender intent to take the smartphone world by storm. This time, it’s Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. And with the Chinese smartphone market set to become the biggest in the world, it’s no wonder platform-makers and manufacturers want a big slice of this pie. But there was a big uproar last week when Acer’s planned announcement of an Aliyun-powered smartphone was cancelled at the last minute.

How to create an advanced battery log using Tasker - Android customization

Last week on our Android customization series, we took to IF and Box to create and save a simple text file battery log for your device. The idea is pretty effective, but we found a few kinks in the software. This week, we’ll be taking it to a whole new level, using Tasker to create a highly effective and customizeable battery log, saved right on your device. We do like IF as a service, and it does a few nifty things right on your Android device, but there is just no match when you put it up against Tasker.

How to add more voice commands to your device

Those of us who have the good fortune of having Google Assistant on our phones are right now enjoying the ability to control our devices without having to lift a finger. Need directions?  Want to send a text while driving? Need to set a timer? Hear a joke? Turn off Bluetooth? Search the web? Just ask. There are still things that Google Assistant can’t do. While Google Assistant is great, it’s not perfect.

Reader's Choice: Best apps and games of 2018 according to you

We did some things differently in 2018. We usually just post our picks for the best new apps and best new games of 2018. However, we wanted the opinion of our readers as well. Over the course of December, we did polls for your favorite Android apps and Android games of 2018. Additionally, we used a link shortening service in 2018 that keeps track of the number of clicks any link receives.

Do we really need another one?

TL;DR Oppo has announced the Breeno virtual assistant in China. The assistant will support multiple forms of interaction, as well as “system-wide capabilities.” It’s the latest entrant in an increasingly crowded assistant space. Virtual assistants have quickly become a popular way to add smarter functionality to devices, but it’s hard to argue that we need more rivals in the space. Nevertheless, Oppo has decided to join the fray with its new Breeno assistant.

Qualcomm wants to build everything inside your 5G phone

Along with its new Snapdragon X55 multi-mode 5G modem, Qualcomm has announced a slew of related technologies that will likely end up inside your 5G phone. Smartphone vendors have been buying similar radio components from rival firms, but Qualcomm is moving in on their turf – aiming to provide complete a 5G solution for manufacturers. You see, there’s more to wireless networking than just installing a modem. A smartphone requires lots of other radio frequency (RF) front-end components.

What's new in the Android Q Developer Preview?

The first and second developer previews may not have brought a ton of user-facing changes, but that certainly wasn’t the case for Android Q beta 3. A system-wide dark mode, a new gesture navigation system, and much more were added to the third Android Q preview. The fourth beta build was much more about refining Android Q. Instead of shaking things up, Google decided to introduce new theme colors, slightly tweaked icons, and more.

A glimpse of the Pocophone F2?

Next week we’ll see the launch of the Oneplus 7, which retains the same look and feel of the OnePlus 6T. It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of the Oneplus 7 Pro, but it still delivers on the OnePlus promise of flagship performance at a lower price. Early June will also see the release of the mid-range Moto Z4 for those of you who are heavily invested in the Moto Mod ecosystem.

Fortnite quiz: True or false?

Last week, we tested out just how familiar you are with PUBG Mobile. The results were impressive — 97 percent of all participants got at least seven correct answers out of ten. This week, we’ll test out how much you really know about the mobile version of Fortnite, one of the most popular battle royale games on Android. The quiz below contains 10 statements that revolve around things like weapons and controls, and your job is to figure out whether they are true or false.