Google criticized Apple last week for taking advantage of peer pressure around the iMessage app and the green bubble phenomenon. The company called on Apple to switch to the more modern RCS protocol for Android users in iMessage, as opposed to the archaic SMS standard. Our own Rita El Khoury felt that RCS won’t solve Google’s messaging problems. But what do readers think of RCS and its prospects in the messaging landscape?

The AUKEY Omnia Series is a new line of gallium nitride (GaN) chargers that deliver some of the world’s fastest charging speeds and will feature five power delivery (PD) chargers. Popular accessory maker Aukey debuted a new line of fast chargers at CES 2020. Gallium-nitride integrated circuits can sustain higher voltages than silicon chips, meaning manufacturers can pack more performance in smaller form factors. The technology is still pretty new, and relatively expensive, but as more manufacturers are jumping on the bandwagon prices are bound to go down.

Often overshadowed by its bigger sibling, the Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime is a respectable phone in its own right. The 5.5-inch 1080p screen is just right for today’s media consumption. Under the hood, the octa-core Exynos 7870 is no slouch. Bundled with 3GB of RAM and 16 or 32 GB of onboard storage, and this is a phone that can handle just about any task you throw at it. As such, it deserves to be protected.

We have enough app stores ready to deliver all the digital content we’d be interested in enjoying on our mobile devices, so we don’t really need another one, do we? That’s rather a rhetorical question, especially since Facebook has finally launched its own app store, conveniently called App Center. However, the store, available at www.facebook.com/appcenter, is not a store in the true sense of the word. Instead, it’s more like a list of “high-quality” apps available on Android and iOS, which Facebook wants you to discover.

Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority Female health tracking isn’t new to the Fitbit ecosystem. Through the Fitbit app, users can track cycles, record periods, and review their trends. Read on to find out everything you need to know about Fitbit’s period tracking tools. See also: Fitbit buyer’s guide: Everything you need to know What is Fitbit female health tracking?Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority Although its name is a bit nebulous, Fitbit’s menstrual health feature is simply Fitbit’s period tracking tool.

Adblock has been a life-saver to many web advertising critics out there. This software makes publicity disappear in most websites, but the problem with a cleaner internet is that those running these pages have found themselves affected by lower revenues. Pagefair’s studies corroborate that about 144 million users take advantage of Adblock as of the end of 2014, which accounts for about 5% of the whole internet community. This would seem like a small number, but since these numbers are mostly concentrated in western markets, profits have seen a significant impact.

TL;DR Google is testing a new crowdsourced rewards app called Task Mate. Task Mate allows users to complete tasks to receive monetary rewards. Per support pages, the invite-only app is currently only available in India and Kenya. There’s a new Google app that lets users earn money for completing tasks on their smartphones. Dubbed Task Mate (h/t 9to5Google), the app is currently available in India and Kenya only.

David Imel / Android Authority Smartphone chipsets have come a long way since the early days of Android. While the vast majority of budget phones were woefully underpowered only a few years ago, today’s mid-range smartphones perform just as well as one or two-year-old flagships. Now that the average smartphone is more than capable of handling general everyday tasks, both chipmakers and developers have set their sights on loftier goals. With this perspective then, it’s clear why ancillary technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning (ML) are now taking center stage instead.

If you’ve ever chatted with a Google Assistant speaker, you might know how frustrating it is to be told “I’m sorry, I don’t know how to help with that yet.” Luckily you don’t have to wait for someone to implement a missing feature — you can do it yourself! Google has an entire platform dedicated to helping you extend the functionality of Google Assistant by defining custom Actions. Related: Google Assistant routines

TL;DR Mobvoi announced the TicWatch C2 Plus, a small upgrade over the original TicWatch C2 from 2018. The watch has more RAM and comes in three new colors. Judging by the specs and price, we’d recommend looking elsewhere for your smartwatch needs. It looks like Mobvoi is trying to get rid of some of its stock. Today, the AI-focused company announced the Mobvoi TicWatch C2 Plus, a slightly upgraded take on the same TicWatch C2 that launched nearly two years ago.