Posts

Showing posts from December, 2018

Android 9 Pie update tracker: When will your phone get it? (Updated January 1)

Image
Google announced  Android 9.0 Pie on August 6, 2018, and began rolling it out to Pixel phones the same day. These include the Google Pixel , Pixel XL , Pixel 2 , and Pixel 2 XL . But what about other devices? Which ones have already received Android Pie and which ones are expected to get it in the near future? Read on to find out everything you need to know about the Android 9.0 Pie update schedule, along with how to install Android Pie updates and much more. Android 9.0 Pie review: Closing the gap How to install Android 9.0 Pie on your phone right now Download: Android 9.0 Pie factory images and OTA files for Pixel devices Digital Wellbeing hands-on: Prepare to be scared of your phone forever Key Android Pie update features We have a complete overview of all the new features in our Android 9 Pie review . We’d suggest checking out that article to see what’s new in Android Pie, what new features it brings, all the design tweaks, and more. Gesture navigation Redesigned ap

Deal: Learn over 40 easy ways to manage stress for under $11

Image
If you’re reading this then you might agree that the festive period can be stressful . Family commitments collide with work or study, and you can find yourself struggling to cope . You probably have a big January ahead, so it’s important to manage stress effectively for your wellbeing. Gregory Caremans can help. He’s a psychologist and current Director of the Institute of Neurocognitivism in Brussels. He understands how stress can permanently damage the brain, and therefore how important it is to combat it. If you want to manage stress , Caremans has put together a short online learning kit to get you started. The Stress Management Course has over 40 easy tips you can follow to help you overcome this mindset. The tips are split into four types of relief strategies : cognitive, physical, sensory, and emotional. Whatever’s getting you frazzled, this course can help you overcome it. Stress Management Course at a glance: Access 19 lectures and one hour of content 24/7. Underst

Phones we caught cheating benchmarks in 2018

Image
Smartphone companies cheating benchmarks is a story as old as smartphones themselves. Ever since phones started crunching through Geekbench, AnTuTu, or any other test, manufacturers have been trying to win by any method possible. We had Gary Sims from Gary Explains walk through why and how OEMs cheat back in February last year, and it appears the process described then is the same today, generously called “benchmark optimization.” So what’s happening? Certain companies appear to hardcode their devices to offer maximum possible performance when a benchmark app test is detected. How is a benchmark identified? Android Authority understands that both app names and detection of performance demands are important — so an app called “Geekbench” that is demanding maximum performance is enough for the smartphone to put aside normal battery life conservation and heat dissipation techniques. It’s a complicated area, but what’s clear is that there’s a difference that can be tested. This is

Deal: Save big on Anker wireless chargers, battery packs, and more on New Year’s Eve

Image
Were you gifted a fancy new smartphone over the holidays? If so, you might want to consider getting some useful accessories to go along with it. Thankfully, Anker, one of the best mobile accessory companies, has some great smartphone accessories that currently have some deep discounts on Amazon. These sales end late today. Our favorite Anker product on sale today is its wireless charging pad, which is very useful if you bought a Qi-based wireless charging phone like the Galaxy Note 9  or Google Pixel 3 . It has an LED ring that lets you know when your phone is fully charged up, too. It’s available today on Amazon for just $12.99, nearly half off its normal $24.99 price tag. Get it at Amazon Another great Anker product on sale today is the  Astro E7 26,800mAh portable battery charger. Not only does it have a huge external battery that should charge your smartphone multiple times, it also has three ports so you can charge your phone, your tablet, and your friend’s phone at the same

Best upcoming Android phones of 2019

Image
After a sluggish few years in the Android world, 2019 is set to be a smash-hit for smartphone fans. Folding phones are on the horizon, display hole (punch hole) cameras are coming to make displays even bigger, and goodness knows how many cameras we’re going to see. If you want to know more about the kinds of phones you can look forward to, check out our list of the top upcoming handsets arriving in the first half of the year below. Samsung Galaxy S10 and folding phone Samsung’s folding phone is probably the most exciting phone we’re going to see in early 2019 — if not the whole year. We know it’s well into development , we’ve already seen how it works , but we’re yet to learn what the final product will look like and how exactly it will operate. But it’s an exciting prospect. It’s set to include an outward-facing display as well as an inner display that can fold out into something like a small tablet. It will be unlike anything we’ve ever encountered on Android, though all that co