Several Samsung phones have a feature that turns the screen black and white when the battery is getting low. This takes advantage of the AMOLED display in these devices, because unlike red, green, and blue pixels, no battery power is used to display black pixels on this type of screen.
Apple unveiled huge improvements for Messages in iOS 10 at WWDC '16, and my favorite new feature is that searching for emojis will be much, much easier. But there's a lot more to this update besides emojis.
Smartphones tend to struggle when it comes to recording video in low light situations. Danish phone manufacturer Lumigon included a good camera capable of shooting 4K video on its latest phone, The T3, but the real interest lies in the second camera, which is a dedicated night vision shooter.
Not content with bringing the first untethered mixed reality headset to market, Microsoft wants to expand their Windows Holographic operating system beyond HoloLens into vastly more robust technologies.
Microsoft released a robust version of the HoloLens when shipping the developer kits, but there's still lots of room left to grow. Today, they've released the first update to Windows Holographic, the operating system of the HoloLens, with a whole bunch of cool new features like voice commands and app multitasking.
Music is definitely more immersive when it's accompanied by a bit of visual stimuli, which is why CyanogenMod and other custom ROMs have started integrating music visualizers into elements of the Android system UI. It's a great effect, but it's not necessarily something that's worth replacing your stock firmware over.
When Android Nougat is released sometime this fall (or sooner), a new feature called "Quick Reply" will allow users to respond to incoming text messages directly from the notification. It will definitely be nice to carry on a conversation without leaving the screen you're currently viewing, but unfortunately, most of us won't get that Android Nougat update for quite some time.
A lot more people are about to be able to use Android Auto. Google announced at I/O 2016 that you'll soon be able to use the app with only your phone, so you won't need a compatible car or third-party display unit. And if (or more likely, when) Google brings the app to iOS, Apple may lose the precious "infotainment" system battle very early in the game. The update isn't coming until later this year, but once it arrives, you'll be able to mount your phone and use Android Auto the same way that...
At their annual I/O event, Google introduced their latest app to the public: Allo. The messaging app is the company's latest and most powerful entry into the expanding world of similar apps, with one twist—the inclusion of artificial intelligence.
Google Camera, the default shooting app on Nexus devices, is finally getting a feature we've been anticipating for years. As evidenced by a recent APK teardown done by Android Police, the beginnings of a new RAW capture mode have already been baked into the latest version of the app, which indicates that Google Camera will soon have the ability to store an unprocessed copy of the exact image your camera sensor captures.
As we get closer to the release of the iPhone 7 this September, more and more details are emerging about the features the new smartphone could have. The well-regarded analyst Ming Chi-Kuo of KGI Securities, who has an uncanny ability to predict new Apple features, has reported another detail involving a dual-lens camera on the upcoming iPhone 7 Plus model.
Google has an intriguing feature called Nearby that lets users share content without being on the same Wi-Fi network, or without even exchanging contact info first. Instead, the function uses an array of standard smartphone features, as well as subsonic sound, to identify other devices that are in the room, then makes a secure connection to transfer any data.
Samsung's next Galaxy Note smartphone is expected to contain some nifty new additions that the company hopes will give it the long desired edge it has been seeking over Apple. One of those features that might make the difference? An iris scanner, which could make it the first major smartphone on the market to have that technology included.
Samsung's latest flagship devices—the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge—both sport an interesting new feature called Always On Display, or simply AOD. When enabled, this feature keeps the clock, date, and other bits of information visible at all times—even when the screen is off.
It looks like Apple is finally going to do something to address all of the complaints about their unremovable stock apps clogging up people's home screens. While bloatware is a bigger problem on Android where you have to deal with apps from Google and carriers, an iPhone can still get pretty cluttered with all those stock Apple apps. I mean, just look at all this crap... AppAdvice noticed two new keys in the iTunes metadata that strongly suggest that you'll be able to get rid of stock apps on...
Samsung has been on a tear with its flagship devices since the release of the Galaxy S6; The S6 edge, the Note 5, and this year's Galaxy S7 models have all been met with universal acclaim, and even the staunchest of critics have almost nothing negative to say. Almost.
When Android N is officially released sometime later this year, it will bring a lot of cool new features along with it. We've already had the chance to play around with some of these, thanks to a preview build available to Android beta testers, and one change that we like in particular is a revamped Settings menu. Among other things, each settings entry now has subtext beneath it that shows relevant info at a glance.
Night Shift is arguably the biggest feature found in iOS 9.3, but if your phone is in Low Power Mode, you can't use it. Some users have also reported that Night Shift causes battery drain, so using Low Power mode when you don't have access to a charger could be necessary when you're nearly out of juice. Turns out, however, that both can be enabled at the same time using a simple process discovered by 9to5Mac.
As one of the most popular home screen apps on Android, the Google Now Launcher is used by millions of people across the world. The two main reasons behind this success are its integrated Google Now home page and an elegant, easy-to-use design.
Apple will release tvOS 9.2 for the latest Apple TV today, bringing some major features to the streaming device. The software update, announced at today's Apple event, comes with Siri voice dictation, full iCloud photo viewing, and support for Bluetooth keyboards. Since Apple has already been beta-testing tvOS 9.2 for months, it's ready for a public rollout.
If you're using an up-to-date version of Google Maps on your Android device, there's a little-known feature you can use to apply stickers to saved places, making them visually easier to find while you're looking at the map.
Google launched voice typing for Google Docs last Fall, and followed that up about six months later with voice commands that let you format and edit text as well. You can do things like select text, apply format settings like alignment and headings, and add and edit tables—all with your voice.
Google has a lesser-known Android app called Device Assist that might just be one of the most useful programs the company has ever published. It offers interactive guides and general tech support for Android, plus it can diagnose your device and help you fix any issues it finds.
The first time a friend or family member asks if they can borrow your phone or tablet, you probably just hand it over without a second thought. But the second, third, and fourth times? Now it's starting to become a habit, and something probably needs to be done about it.
Turns out, you no longer need third-party flight tracking apps to get information on yours or others' flights—your iPhone and Mac can now give you flight details right from your Mail, Notes, and Messages apps.
If you left your iPhone sitting unlocked, or have friends and family that like to play pranks, you may be stuck with an overly orange screen out of the blue. Or worse, your screen is normal most of the time, but seems to randomly change its tint in certain parts of the day.
You've probably heard the old joke about how Ford is an acronym for "Found on Road Dead." Well, the Detroit automaker on Monday announced a new and much better way to help you find your parked vehicle, as well as a whole host of other features—just use your smartphone.
The competition between iOS and Android is fierce. Each operating system offers unique and powerful features, so it can be hard to choose which one you want. However, for iPhone users, a little tweaking and some themes can give your iPhone some of the key features and aesthetics of an Android.
Smartphone cameras are so good nowadays that there's almost no reason to own a point and shoot. Once the megapixel spec race was finally settled (hint: more isn't always better), manufacturers started focusing on the quality of their camera sensors, which has led to a huge jump in color accuracy, dynamic range, and image clarity.
Google Play Music has been my go-to music service ever since its release. The free cloud storage for 50,000 songs and full access to Songza-powered radio stations make it a great music app, even without the $10/month streaming service.
For some time now, iPhone owners have been able to use Siri to listen to and reply to text messages, but that functionality has been lacking on Android. That is, until Google silently rolled out a similar feature for Google Now (thanks to Android Police for the tip).
Microsoft's "Fall Update" to Windows 10, code named Threshold 2, has a lot of new tricks up its sleeve. It's the biggest update we've seen since Windows 10 was released this summer, and it's rolling out to all users right now.
Of all the new features in Android 6.0 Marshmallow, an automatic battery-saving function called "Doze" might just be the most interesting. What it all boils down to is that if you set your phone down on a flat surface, the device uses internal sensors to detect that it's motionless and not in use, then responds by drastically scaling back battery-sucking services until the next time you pick your phone up.
Android Beam is one of those features that makes you look at technology in awe, wondering how exactly something like that works.
Samsung's Galaxy series of devices have one common design theme that ties them all together—the physical home button at the bottom of the phone. This button can wake the phone, take you to your home screen, and even scan your fingerprint to securely unlock your device.
Manufacturers like Samsung and LG have added their own implementation of multi-window features to Android for years now, but with the release of version 6.0 Marshmallow, Google has finally gotten around to working the same feature into stock Android.
The Snap feature in Windows has been tweaked many times since it debuted alongside Windows 7, with productive additions like Snap Assist brought in along the way. It only makes sense that Microsoft would put so much effort into developing this feature when you consider how useful it is for multitasking with two or more windows side by side.
For reasons unknown, Microsoft decided to change the way the Guest account feature in the new Windows 10 operating system works. In previous versions, the Guest account feature allowed you to set up a limited account for other users so they don't have access to your important documents and settings. Now, the process requires assigning an email to a new account and configuring share settings.
You'll have to forgive me if I sound a little overexcited about this, but in my opinion, Google's "Now on Tap" is one of the most innovative™ smartphone features that I've seen in years. Sure, Microsoft heard about the feature being in the works and rushed out a similar Android app so they could say they were first, but that solution pales in comparison to this one.
Spotify has a feature called Taste Rewind that claims to know what you would've listened to back in the '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s, and oughts ('00s), all based on your listening history and favorite artists. You can essentially time travel into the past and already have "favorites" songs to listen to! While I was skeptical at first, I tried the feature out for myself and was pleasantly surprised with the results. So if you want to create uniquely tailored playlists from the past five decades, st...
