It's often the smallest details that determine your overall experience with a smartphone. Unlocking your device with a PIN is an example — and iPhones have had a leg up over Android thanks to their automatic unlocking. Thankfully, this era has finally come to an end with the arrival of the Galaxy S9.
Two weeks ago, Samsung took the wraps off their much-anticipated Galaxy S9 flagship. Preorders opened on March 2 with official retail availability scheduled for March 16. As usual, several of the US carriers have begun shipping the devices ahead of schedule. Last week, Sprint began shipping out devices to a few lucky customers. Today, T-Mobile appears to be joining the party.
Android 9.0 Pie has officially rolled out, but for the time being, it's only available to Google's own Pixel phones and a select few others. Thankfully, you can get a taste of the Android Pie experience on any phone right now.
Apple released the fifth build of the iOS 11.3 developer and public beta on Monday, March 12. The update comes exactly one week after the March 5 release of beta 4, which mostly introduced bug and stability patches. At this time, this new beta appears to do much of the same.
Despite the wide availability of markerless augmented reality experiences for mobile devices, there is still a market for scanned triggers for content, as evidenced by the new image recognition capabilities on Facebook's Camera AR platform.
Your homepage should be the site you most likely need to check whenever you start a new session with Samsung Internet. However, times change — perhaps the site you're currently browsing is just what you need to see multiple times a day. In that case, you'll want to know a quick and easy way to set it as your default homepage.
You don't need to have a fully modded and rooted Galaxy S9 to appreciate what developer options brings to the table. Besides the obvious USB debugging, which lets you use ADB, this hidden menu lets you tweak your phone's animations or change its DPI to better suit your needs — and that's just the tip of the iceberg.
No smartphone is immune to software issues, even one as advanced as the Galaxy S9 and S9+. Bugs can be caused by a multitude of issues, such as third-party apps that just refuse to play well with your device's OS. Thankfully, there's a simple way for you to check if your S9's bugs are due to uncooperative apps.
The Galaxy S9 is truly a sight to behold. With a class-leading display, the best camera ever put into a smartphone, and Samsung's cutting edge design, it might just be the best piece of hardware on the market. Having said that, some of the most useful additions are actually in the software.
Regardless of the operating system, selecting a piece of text on a touchscreen device is never fun. Thankfully, Google has finally added a new feature to Android 9.0 Pie that will make it at least a little less annoying.
In stock Android Oreo and below, the volume rockers change ringer volume by default unless audio is currently playing. In order to adjust media volume when media isn't playing, you have to tap the down arrow next to the ringer volume slider that appears at the top of the screen to see the option. Now, Android 9.0 Pie has flipped things around, giving media volume the limelight.
Google just dropped the new Android 9.0 Pie update for Pixel devices, and it's packed with cool new features. There's notch support, a new screenshot button, and even a way to edit screenshots after you've taken them, just to name a few. But one feature that's easy to overlook is the new transition animations, which have been completely revamped.
To take a screenshot on most phones, you'd use the power + volume down button combo. For a brief moment, you could even use Google Now on Tap to take screenshots without those hardware buttons, but Google Assistant eventually removed the functionality. Now, easier screenshots are back with Android 9.0 Pie.
Samsung has had a rich screenshot editor in TouchWiz for years, and Apple even added a similar feature to iOS 11. Until now, stock Android has lagged behind in this area, but that's finally fixed in Android 9.0 Pie.
All the cash Magic Leap is amassing is probably going a long way toward hardware development and manufacturing, but it's also becoming increasingly clear that a large portion of that cash will be devoted to content. The latest proof is a new partnership between Magic Leap and the UK's Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC).
Just a week after rumors surfaced of a massive new investment in Magic Leap led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), the investment has been confirmed by the company's CEO Rony Abovitz.
Following in the augmented reality footsteps of Pokémon GO, Universal Studios has decided to give us an AR version of Jurassic World.
It looks like the Huawei P20 has moved from rumor to all but confirmed. Thanks to a series of YouTube videos released by Huawei Mobile Netherlands, we now have a few confirmations about the latest entries in the flagship series.
The research team at Google has found yet another way for machine learning to simplify time-intensive tasks, and this one could eventually facilitate Star Wars-like holographic video.
A Swedish digital artist has developed an app for the iPhone X that creates mind-bending 3D illusions that correlate to the user's point of view.
Researchers have developed a new method that harnesses the power of augmented reality to detect a patient's heart rate using a Microsoft HoloLens and computer vision.
As the Notorious B.I.G. once said, via his hit single, "Mo Money, Mo Problems." However, it would appear that Magic Leap feels a bit differently about piling on the cash.
If the end of every year is focused on new iPhones, then February, which coincides with Mobile World Congress, is often when we get new Android news, and this month is no different.
Location services provider Mapbox is giving developers a means for building location-based AR apps and multi-user experiences with its new Mapbox AR toolkit.
Multitasking on a smartphone has never been better, but it still has some ways to go to compete with a desktop experience. Samsung hopes to change that with a new multitasking view on the Galaxy S9, which allows the user to open notifications in a new, smaller window on top of the app they are currently using.
The idea of translating in real-time has become quite popular recently, with Google's Pixel Buds integrating the feature. However, their implementation is audio-only. Until recently, you needed to download a frequently-unreliable third party app to translate text using your camera — but that all changes with the Galaxy S9 and Bixby Vision.
A very low-key update to the ARCore developer's site has expanded the universe of officially-supported devices for Google's augmented reality toolkit to include the Samsung Galaxy S7, S8+, and Note 8 handsets.
The oldest Zen temple in Kyoto, Japan, is now firmly rooted in the future with the launch of the MR Museum on Thursday.
Attention LG V30 and G6 owners — Android 8.1 is coming to a device near you. While fans of LG's latest smartphones are still stuck on Nougat here in the US, we now have confirmation that Oreo's first major update will find its way here, even if we aren't sure when.
One of the best-received features of the OnePlus 5T was the relatively secure face unlock, which made it quick and easy to get into the phone. Unfortunately, this feature wasn't included with the slightly older OnePlus 5 at first, but now, face unlocking is finally out of beta and available to everyone with a 2017 OnePlus.
The story of the Essential Phone isn't one for the faint of heart. The company was founded by Andy Rubin, and their first phone was supposed to have only the "essential" qualities. Unfortunately, it lacked a decent camera, and still cost as much as most flagships. Since that rough start, however, things have taken a turn for the better. Now, Eseential's doubling down with a new set of colorways for the PH-1.
Dating websites allow you to see a person in a very intimate context, framing their successes and accomplishments in life to an important audience. The information contained in these profiles often can't be found elsewhere, offering a unique look into the personal life of the user.
Sharing Stories via WhatsApp Status grants your friends access to your daily adventures in the form of GIFs, photos, videos, or simple texts. Like Snapchat, stories you share with your contacts disappear after 24 hours, giving you an extra layer of privacy since anything you post will not be permanent. And if you want to limit who can see your private stories, WhatsApp also has you covered.
This year will be an interesting one for iPhones. With speculation that the expensive iPhone X is underperforming, rumors have circulated that Apple will release three "bezel-less" devices, one of which will cost less by omitting the OLED panel for a traditional, yet large, 6.1" LCD. Now, thanks to the source of this rumor, we have an idea how much that lower-tier iPhone will cost.
The Tesla-riding Starman that was launched into space via Elon Musk's SpaceX last week will miss its Mars target and is instead headed toward a lonely asteroid belt in the void of space. But if you missed the initial launch and would like to get a taste of what Starman is seeing, you can now take a short ride along thanks to a new Snapchat Lens.
Soon, kids young and old aspiring to imitate Iron Man will only need to learn how to duplicate Tony Stark's snarky wit, because Hasbro will now supply the augmented reality helmet.
Snapchat just rolled out a feature that lets you create custom Filters and Lenses. While the average Geofilter won't run you more than a few bucks, it's not that hard to exponentially jack up the price. Amazingly enough, Snapchat's latest attempt to monetize their platform can ultimately cost you as much as $999.99. Ignore the penny, let's call that a cool grand.
Enterprise augmented reality developer Atheer is bringing its AR solution for enterprise businesses to the HoloLens by way of a joint venture with fellow AR developer Design Interactive.
Earlier this week, Snapchat announced a partnership with NBCUniversal regarding the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in South Korea. Starting on February 10, Snapchat will be streaming a feed of NBC's live broadcast of the Olympics in Pyeongchang.
If you're looking for an alternative iOS keyboard for your iPhone, look no further than Gboard. The Google-made keyboard is bursting with features like web search, Google Maps, GIFs, and more. Now, Gboard is adding a new feature that'll make it easier to find the perfect emoji.
