Better sleep, smartphone news, and changes to your favorite forms of entertainment. There's been a lot going on over the last couple of weeks in the world of tech, and we thought we'd show you all of the need-to-know products, updates, and ideas that we think are most important.
Welcome back, my rookie hackers! Now that nearly everyone and everyplace has a computer, you can use those remote computers for some good old "cloak and dagger" spying. No longer is spying something that only the CIA, NSA, KGB, and other intelligence agencies can do—you can learn to spy, too.
It was the star of the show, but now that Android L has been released for preview to Nexus 5 and Nexus 7 owners, there's a lot that Google didn't tell us about their latest mobile operating system, rumored to be called Lollipop.
Multitasking has always been one of Android's strengths relative to other mobile operating systems. As the first cell phone OS with "true" multitasking, Android's been ahead of the game in this department for quite some time.
If you've ever searched for a new job online, chances are you've been completely overwhelmed by the process. Clicking through pages and pages of semi-relevant job postings, sending out hundreds of emailed résumés, and filling out applications is tiresome and dull.
Lenovo brought out the big guns for CES 2014, with the Vibe Z showcased as the Chinese company's' first foray into the LTE smartphone space. Slated for a February release, the ultra-thin and extremely light smartphone will certainly be in the running for top smartphones of this very new year. Photo via CNET
The Nexus 5 is the current Google flagship packed with the latest and greatest of all things Android, but what if you never made the leap from your Nexus 4 smartphone?
It's always a good idea to have a pack of mints on hand, especially right after a cup of coffee or a lunch made with loads of garlic. Whether you're going on a date, to the dentist, or to an interview, bad breath is a major faux pas and totally avoidable. Simply pop a mint! But not just any old mint — homemade ones not only freshen your breath but can give you a sense of pride every time you need one.
The creation of private browsing was brought upon by the backlash against ad tracking and other ways that sites and agencies take away users' privacy online. People were tired of getting spammed with ads for Vitamin C pills simply because they visited WebMD. Private browsing is now built into all of the major browsers and is used frequently. While private browsing is more infamously known as the "Porn Portal," and does prove to be a great way of keeping racy content out of the sight of others...
There's only three weeks left until the spookiest holiday of the year, which means stores and costume shops everywhere are bringing out their Halloween inventory full force. So now's a good time to start prepping your Halloween costume—because you really don't want to do it last-minute again, do you?
There's nothing like buying an awesome new gadget, but it leaves you with one problem (besides an empty wallet)—what do you do with the ones you already have? There are plenty of ways to put your old gadgets to use, but if you'd rather get rid of them, you may as well get something out of it, right? Here are five places where you can recycle your electronics and replenish your cash stash.
Apple's spring event, where the company will announce a new iPad model, is just around the corner. We also expect to see the long-awaited Apple Pencil (3rd generation), also known more simply as Apple Pencil 3, with several significant enhancements that promise to make it an indispensable tool for anyone who uses their iPad for note-taking, sketching, illustrating graphics, and more.
If you bought an iPhone or iPad equipped with USB-C but didn't max out the local storage, there are some great external storage solutions beyond iCloud and other cloud storage services. And now that the iPhone lineup comes with USB-C ports, you have better-performing external drives available to you than anything you could ever get for a Lightning-based model.
When Steve Jobs introduced the first iPhone, he pointed out that the biggest problem with physical keyboards on mobile phones is that they're always there, whether you need them or not. Now, 17 years later, a new company is bringing us full circle, giving us the best of both worlds: a physical keyboard for iPhone that can disappear whenever you want.
Have you ever heard a sound when you shut down, boot up, or restart your iPhone? Probably not, but it doesn't have to stay that way.
With the prestige appeal of its original programming and relatively low subscription price, Apple TV+ is one of the more appealing streaming options out there — and you don't need an Apple device to subscribe and watch movies, TV shows, sports, and other Apple TV+ content.
The new iPhone 14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro, and 14 Pro Max all come with great, never-before-seen-on-iPhone features, including the A16 Bionic chip, Bluetooth 5.3, precision dual-frequency GPS, and dual ambient light sensors. But that's only a few new features exclusive to the 2022 lineup.
Gaming on smartphones has grown considerably since the days of The Impossible Game and original Temple Run. Mobile games can be just as in-depth as console and PC video games, but some of those require external controllers for the best gameplay possible. One controller you can use is the PlayStation 5's DualSense wireless controller, and it pairs nicely with most Android devices.'
Those of you lucky enough to snag a PlayStation 5 can pair your DualSense controller to Sony's PS Remote Play mobile app to stream and play your PS5 games from anywhere you want. DualSense support for Remote Play has been available on iOS since May 2021, and it's just now arrived on Android.
As if answering Apple's major iPhone event on Tuesday, Chinese mobile giant Xiaomi held its own product launch event the following day.
Just hours after an early leak via Twitter, Facebook and Ray-Ban have officially released their new wearable collaboration.
The beauty industry has increasingly relied on the powers of augmented reality to drive sales in recent years, and now that virtual "everything" is on trend due to the pandemic, yet another big player is entering the fray.
The march to the mainstreaming of augmented reality can sometimes seem slow, but this week things picked up in earnest.
The legal battle between Epic Games and augmented reality startup Nreal isn't cooling off anytime soon.
It's nearly impossible to comfortably lay down on your bed or couch with headphones on. Sure, you can position yourself so that your headphones don't touch anything, but that usually means facing up at the ceiling, which is a huge no if you're watching something on Netflix or listening to music on your side.
The march of Snap to become the world's augmented reality engine isn't slowing down. In a new deal announced on Thursday, Snap has revealed that it has signed an agreement to become the software driving Universal Music Group's (UMG) mobile AR music offerings.
If you were to summarize the path Snap has taken towards augmented reality smartglasses with a meme template, how it started would be the first-generation Spectacles camera glasses and how it's going would be the next-generation Spectacles with AR capabilities.
One fight for augmented reality branding that we thought had been settled has suddenly turned into a full-fledged legal battle—again.
Ah, the dreaded "green bubble" group chat. All it takes is one non-iPhone contact to turn an entire thread from iMessage paradise to SMS slog. Normally, it isn't that bad since the group chat still functions. However, sometimes, you end up getting messages individually instead of in a single group thread. Before you go blaming your Android friends, know that the issue is probably on your end.
As businesses flocked to Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, and other video conferencing platforms to bridge the gap, we wondered aloud -- why aren't more companies leaning even more heavily on augmented reality?
ADB and Fastboot are powerful tools that have always required a computer. But with the right setup, you can now send commands to a phone using another phone.
In recent weeks, Google managed to capitalize on the hype surrounding the Star Wars streaming series The Mandalorian with an AR app that was not only exclusive to Android but also available only for 5G-equipped devices.
Apple no longer has an exclusive province to LiDAR for the purposes of augmented reality. This week, headset maker Varjo unveiled its new VR-3 and XR-3 headsets, the latter of which includes LiDAR sensors and stereo RGB cameras to enable depth sensing and inside-out tracking of real-world environments for "pass-through" mixed reality experiences.
Last year this guy made his own smartwatch from scratch, so in 2020, naturally, he decided to give making smartglasses a try. And it worked!
Since launching Google Lens as a a Pixel-exclusive feature in 2017, Google has not only expanded the availability of the tool to Android and iOS, but also built upon its functionality. Now, in addition to translator, tip calculator, personal shopper, and tour guide, Google has added math tutor to the job description for Google Lens.
If you've ever been into custom ROMs, you likely know the Dirty Unicorns name pretty well. It's been synonymous with unique features and awesome tweaks when compared to stock. Recently, Dirty Unicorns has returned again in a big way with some neat features for Android 10.
Lossless quality isn't for everyone. If you can't distinguish between lossless audio and other formats, you probably but don't need it. But if you're a musician who's sharing ideas with bandmates or a journalist interviewing people for a video, you might want the best possible quality, which is what lossless offers. And you might not know it, but the Voice Memos app on your iPhone supports it.
AirPods are not only a great way to listen to music on your iPhone, but you can also use them as a headset for phone calls, videoconference, Siri, voice memos, audio messages, and more. While each 'Pod has a built-in microphone, they aren't used simultaneously, and your AirPods will automatically choose which to use. If you want to only use the mic from one 'Pod or the other, there's a way to do that.
For all the benefits 5G brings to cellular data, it isn't without weaknesses, the biggest being privacy. Yes, the latest standard comes with breakneck downloads speeds up to 4.3 Gbps, but at what cost? Like with all things on the internet, 5G devices open opportunities for both good and bad actors.
If you've jumped on board HBO Max to watch more than just HBO's content, such as DC films, Looney Tunes, Turner Classic Movies, Cartoon Network, and movies from Warner Bros., there is a downside to HBO's improved service. Namely, you cannot use it on all of your devices yet. The most notable omission is Roku players and TVs. But there are workarounds you can use until an official app comes out.
