Samsung's Bixby delay is a major setback to a company that is trying to break into a new and established space. It's really unacceptable.
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Security & Privacy: Location Tracking, ergo ‘They Know Where You Are’
One of the biggest "features" of our mobile devices is also one of the largest areas of concern when it comes to privacy: location tracking.
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Unlike Apple Watch OS, Android Wear is trying too hard to be a watch
It’s funny when you think about it, but sometimes the stupidest thing makes you see something in a whole new light. Watching WWDC’s keynote yesterday it dawned on me. Tim Cook was just showing off the latest watch faces that were added to the Apple Watch OS collection. Like, who gives a crap about stupid watch faces, right? And Toy Story? 2010 called – it wants its cartoons back, am I right? But watching Woody and Buzz and Jessie flopping all around the screen made me realize something.
Be better
Smartwatches aren’t watches. Well, ok they are watches, but they’re not just watches. They are so much more than watches. Then why does Android Wear spend so much time trying to pretend that it’s a watch? When you flip through the watch faces that are available by default on most smartwatches, you get a lot of dials and digital readouts and whatnot. But most of the time you don’t really come across a stuffed toy flopping around the screen, and why is that?
We’ve grown up knowing what watches are – they’re time pieces that, you know, tell time. Often there is other functionality from moon phase complications to Casio stopwatches – depending on your price range. But no watches are comprised of the kinds of screens we’re seeing on smartwatches. And maybe, just maybe, the prime difference between the Apple Watch and so many other Android Wear watches is that Apple recognizes the fact that we’re not all wearing watches on our wrists – we’re actually wearing miniature smartphones. And maybe, we should start acting like it.
Bring it on
This is a fundamental shift into how we view smartwatches. When you put into perspective – suddenly, having a square watch face is no big deal. Why shouldn’t small smart devices have small rectangular screens? Why do we spend so much time and effort into trying to display to the outside world that we’re wearing a watch instead of a smartwatch? Because that’s what we’re wearing. And Apple owns that fact.
One point that often comes up is that smartwatches “look funny” if they’re not round, or if they’re off, because all you have is a blank screen of your wrist. Well, why shouldn’t a smart device have a blank screen when it’s not in use? That’s what makes sense. When I go to bed, I turn the TV off, and at no time do I find it weird that I have a large blank rectangle in my family room. Why shouldn’t the same principle apply to my wrist?
And furthermore, why shouldn’t I have simple text blocks that tell me what my next appointment is, rather than a calendar icon in a circle and a time in hours? Why shouldn’t I have Google Now cards on the main screen with my time display? If we’re going to wear a smartwatch, let’s start emphasizing the smart rather than the watch.
Hold up
Now before you go on a tirade, let me explain that I understand there are likely [...]
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Have mobile floating windows worn off?
Mobile floating windows are making something of a comeback. Android O is bringing picture in picture to the forefront once more. But is that for the best?
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Despite some advances, Android Wear 2.0 is not progress
Android Wear has been out for a while now. I’m a bit late to the party – totally get that. But I just got an LG Watch Style and I’ve been sporting it for a couple of weeks now. I like the watch, itself. It has a nice build and it’s, well, stylish, but Android Wear 2.0 keeps driving me up a bit of a wall, and I just wanted to clear the air. There has been some Android Wear progress, but I’ve had a few issues with the operating system and a few tweaks could really help.
First, I’d like to say, that I love the way Android Wear 2.0 handles things like emails. The archive control is front and center, and since I archive a lot, that’s important to me. I don’t have to struggle with notifications like I’ve had to on Android Wear 1.5. The new UI is nice, keeping your app list out of the way, along the left side of the watch. All neat things, but while we’re on the topic, let’s talk about that list of apps.
Lefty Loosey
The world is full of right-handed people. The world is less full of left handed people. I’m weird. I’m a righty who wears my watch on my right wrist. It’s a long story. Anyway, as I was saying the app list running along the left side of the screen is really convenient for keeping your hand out of the way while scrolling through the list – unless you’re wearing the watch on your right hand. Then, your hand is still getting in the way.
Android Wear 2.0 needs a left-handed mode. Granted, it’s not a 50/50 split. Left handers represent only ten percent of the population. With me, it’s ten percent plus one, but our lefties (which include my brother and my dad by the way) need some love from Android Wear developers. Get on it, and make ¾ of my family happy!
Oops, I can’t do that now
Google Assistant on Android 2.0 is also really great – or so I’ve heard. You see, I wouldn’t know about that because Google Assistant hasn’t worked on my watch from day one. It launches, accepts my commands, it even goes to the trouble of writing them out on the screen. Then, it says “Oops! I can’t do that right now.” Every time for everything. It’s really irritating.
The only solution I have found online is to factory reset the phone to get it to work. I’m not a normal use case. I factory reset phones all the time as part of my job. But the normal everyday Joe who’s reading this probably doesn’t. For them, that advice sucks. I haven’t gotten around to it yet because I had to move on to a different device for review. But when I go back, I’m going to have to factory reset that thing. That shouldn’t ever be the answer. If Google wants its Assistant to succeed, that can’t be the answer.
(Editor’s note: After this writing, [...]
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Security & Privacy: Malware and Beyond – The Many Shapes of Device Security
Device security comes in many shapes and forms, each with its own strategy for mitigating threat vectors. Read to find out how to stay secure!
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Essential Phone: what do we really have here?
Wowee wow that Essential Phone, huh? Andy Rubin, the father of Android has returned to the lime light with a big splash. A high quality, feature packed, new smartphone made with premium materials and engineering. And there’s a lot more to the story. This is a big deal, and it’s a lot to take in, but I had some thoughts I wanted to share.
My thoughts on the Essential Phone can be summed up in one sentence:
“OnePlus is making the Xiaomi Moto Z Mix, the Next Big Thing.”
Let’s break that down
Now, there’s a lot in there, so let’s break it down a little bit. The first item on the agenda is OnePlus, and believe it or not, this is a favorable comparison. I could have said Jolla, or NextBit, of the vaporware that is the Saygus V-divided-by-0, or any number of other companies that are no longer with us. OnePlus started off as a plucky little startup that was fighting to get its name out there in the general public. OnePlus quickly developed a tight-knit fan base, and I’m certain Essential will do the same.
But coming from out of nowhere into being a respectable manufacturer did not come easy for OnePlus. OnePlus’s main “feature” was high end specs at a midrange price – a truly compelling offering. Essential’s main selling point seems to be premium construction and materials – a durable though not waterproof phone. That’s a tougher sell, to be perfectly honest, but not completely crazy. Going up against the likes of Samsung and Apple in that price range will be no small feat. That nearly bezelless screen though could be an x-factor.
Bezels begone
Except we’ve seen that type of screen before – look no further than the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+. Let’s also remember the Xiaomi Mi Mix, which sports an equally bezelless screen, but without the divot in the middle. Sure, arguments are going to be made that the divot won’t matter because of the notification tray, yadda yadda. I’m not convinced, but we’ll give it the benefit of the doubt for the moment. The point is, that the bezelless screen is not a new concept, and some companies have arguably done it better. Let’s continue.
The modular – maybe let’s call them “friends” – concept is also not necessarily new, though when compared to the Moto Z, it may well be better executed. Having two magnetic connectors in the corner of your phone is likely going to result in a more future proof concept going forward. Moto married its form factor when it introduced moto mods – it will be hard pressed to make a bigger or smaller phone without rendering previously bought mods obsolete. So Essential has a leg up here.
Plus, it’s also fun to see the 360 camera concept as its first venture into the accessory market – especially when it’s so flipping small. But how these mod-friend-things will evolve going forward will be interesting to see. But it’s important to stress that the accessories will [...]
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Does Samsung Note 8 need to have dual cameras?
Everyone is talking about Note 8 dual cameras, but would they be really necessary? There may be benefits to dual sensors, but Samsung is already king.
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Is Android boring and if so, is that a good thing?
Is Android getting boring? If so, that's only because it is such a mature operating system, it's now time to focus on the nitty gritty details.
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Security & Privacy: Do You Need Mobile Antivirus Apps?
Various antivirus and antimalware apps are available through app stores; some even come pre-installed from OEMs. Question is: are these mobile antivirus apps really necessary?
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How big a deal are camera launch times?
Camera performance is a critical part of a smartphone. But are camera launch times the key to a great experience, which can ruin a perfectly good phone?
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Are the Galaxy S8 earbuds in the box NOT from AKG? (Video)
The findings of our deep-diving, hard-hitting investigation? Well, the buds are from Samsung, but they have AKG tuning. It matters, though.
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Did we dodge a bullet with that Burger King ad fiasco?
Last week's Burger King ad ended badly, but was a great idea. In the long term though, we avoided a bigger issue that would have ruined our experience.
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Security & Privacy: How to Physically Secure Your Phone
A phone that's physically secure not only offers you an extra layer of protection in terms of privacy and security but also keeps you out of trouble.
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A month with the Nintendo Switch – newb edition
Watch our impressions of the Nintendo Switch after a month of use, as our step into going a little deeper into gaming reviews
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