Honor’s upcoming Magic 6 wants to be your cloud-free AI champion
It will feature on-device generative AI thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
The US sanctions on Huawei also affected its subsidiary Honor. In a bid to keep the company alive, Huawei and Honor split in 2020, with the latter being sold to a Chinese government-backed consortium. Since then, Honor has launched a slate of impressive devices, like the Honor 90, the Magic 5 Pro, and the impressively thin open-book foldable Magic V2. With Qualcomm's next-gen Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip officially out, Chinese manufacturers are in a race to announce their next flagship phone. Not to be left behind, Honor teased the Magic 6 and its AI-powered features at the ongoing Snapdragon Summit.
The OnePlus 12 will have a crazy bright display
OnePlus is confirmed to use BOE's best OLED panel on its next flagship
The best Android phones feature crazy-bright displays with ultra-high resolution and up to 120Hz refresh rate. Samsung's display arm is the leader in OLED technology and supplies screens to almost most smartphone manufacturers. China's BOE has emerged as an alternative OLED supplier for many companies in recent years, though its panels have always been a generation or two behind Samsung. With the upcoming OnePlus 12, though, this might no longer be the case.
Xiaomi 14's design and specs officially teased ahead of release
Leica-branded lenses, flat iPhone-like edges, and a 6.36-inch flat display
Xiaomi's last few flagship smartphones have packed impressive camera specs. The Xiaomi 13 Ultra raised the camera hardware bar to another level with its variable aperture lens. But that was over six months ago, which in the smartphone world is a long time. The Chinese smartphone maker is gearing up to announce its new flagship lineup — the Xiaomi 14 and 14 Pro — on October 26. Ahead of the official unveiling, the company has revealed the design and confirmed the camera specs of the non-Pro model.
Google's new Pixel 8 catches up with Android 14 QPR1 Beta 2.1
Just about a week after the rest of the Pixel lineup already got the build
Google started testing Android 14's first Quarterly Platform Release (QPR) weeks before the stable build arrived. So far, the company has dropped two beta builds, with a minor point release rolling out last week to fix some bugs related to the fingerprint scanner and SIM cards. But the Android 14 QPR 2.1 release for the Pixel 8 series was nowhere to be found, with Google noting that it is "coming soon." Thankfully, the company is not making its latest Pixel owners wait any longer and has made the build available for the Pixel 8 series.
The OnePlus 12 could fix everything wrong with the OnePlus 11
Wireless charging, faster wired data transfer speeds, and a good periscope camera
When buying a flagship smartphone, most users will first consider options from Samsung, Google, or Apple. There's also OnePlus, which delivers a top-tier experience with its premium smartphones at a slightly lower price, albeit with some compromises. The OnePlus 11 is the perfect example of this — it packs great internals, a big display, and superfast charging but misses out on wireless charging. And that has been the case with OnePlus' last few offerings, as they have all skipped wireless charging in favor of fast wired charging. It appears that the OnePlus 12 could finally address this shortcoming.
Samsung's new Galaxy Tab A9 series is your best shot at cheap big tablets
The Galaxy Tab A9 comes in 8.7-inch and 11-inch sizes
If you are in the market for an Android tablet, it is hard to ignore the offerings from Samsung. The Korean giant makes some great high-end tablets, with the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra representing the best of what an Android tablet can deliver. But not everyone can spend $1,200 on a device. For simple use cases, you need a cheap tablet to get the job done, possibly with a big screen. Samsung has announced the Galaxy Tab A9 and A9+ to cater to such customers.
10 simple Google Chat tips and tricks to try today
Don't dismiss Google's Hangout successor without giving it a try
Google Chat is the successor of Hangouts and is now a part of Google's extensive suite of Workspace products. Besides regular users, Google is also targeting businesses and enterprises with Chat. Google Chat smart replies now work with group messages and spaces. The feature is currently limited to the web app but may soon be available on Android smartphones. The Spaces feature is for having productive conversations from which you can assign tasks, share files, and create new calendar events.
How to forward your number on every major US carrier
Forwarding calls to another number is easier than you think
Call forwarding allows you to redirect calls to a different number. When you're unavailable or left your phone at home, you can forward calls to a partner, assistant, or office number. Though you've likely heard of call forwarding, you may not know that it's an easy-to-activate option available on most modern phones, including the latest Android devices. AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Google Fi all support call forwarding. However, the method to turn it on is different for each. Read on and learn how to turn on call forwarding on your device, whoever your provider is.
The best smart speakers deliver excellent audio quality and work with almost all popular streaming services. But if you want the absolute best-sounding smart speaker, it is hard to beat Apple's HomePod. The lack of native YouTube Music support on Apple's smart speaker is a bummer though, as you can't use "Hey Siri" to stream your favorite music on the speaker directly. Instead, you must use the YouTube Music app on your iPhone or iPad to AirPlay content to the HomePod. Thankfully, this is changing now, with YouTube finally rolling out native YouTube Music support on the HomePod.
The OnePlus Open packs everything needed to take on the Pixel Fold and Galaxy Z Fold 5
The OnePlus Open is filled with top-notch hardware and amazing features
Samsung has dominated the foldable market since its inception, thanks to its Galaxy Z Fold and Flip lineup of devices. But over the last couple of years, the competition in the segment has increased exponentially, with all major Android smartphone makers foraying into the market. The latest entrant to the segment is the BBK-owned OnePlus with the OnePlus Open, which the company has been teasing through planted leaks and teasers over the last few weeks.
WhatsApp’s long overdue multi-account support finally goes live
The feature was first spotted in development in June this year
WhatsApp's popularity and dual SIM connectivity going mainstream on the best Android phones means most users prefer to have separate accounts on the messaging service for personal and business use. However, the Meta-owned platform only supports one account per app installation — a major limitation that has led to workarounds like app cloning gaining popularity. Some users even carry two phones for using two separate WhatsApp accounts. Thankfully, WhatsApp is finally fixing this major annoyance and adding multi-account support.
Wear OS 4 makes taking screenshots less annoying
A feature that Samsung Galaxy watches have had for a few years now
Taking a screenshot on an Android phone or tablet is as easy as pressing a couple of buttons together. But the same is not valid for Wear OS watches. The experience is wildly inconsistent and cumbersome across devices. On the original Pixel Watch, you needed to use the companion Watch app on your phone to take a screenshot of the watch's screen, which made little sense. Thankfully, with Wear OS 4, Google is simplifying taking screenshots on smartwatches.
The original Google Pixel Watch’s big Wear OS 4 update is here
The watch is gaining new safety features and other improvements as a part of the update
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 series launched running Wear OS 4. A month later, in September 2023, the Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 5 lineup were updated to the latest Wear OS release. Then, in early October, the Pixel Watch 2 debuted with Wear OS 4. Surprisingly, the company did not mention anything about the original Pixel Watch's update at the event, with support documents revealing it would arrive later this year. Thankfully, Google is not making Pixel Watch owners wait too long and has commenced its Wear OS 4 rollout.
All the safety features on the Google Pixel Watch 2
Emergency SOS, Safety Check, Safety Signal, and much more!
The best Android smartwatches can do more than just track your steps and the calories you burn. They also pack several safety features that can be extremely helpful in an emergency or life-threatening situation. The Google Pixel Watch 2 is no exception to this, with features like Emergency SOS, fall detection, and more. If you plan on buying Google's latest smartwatch and are wondering about all the safety features it packs, read on.
Android 14 is locking some Pixel 6 users out of their phone’s storage
The issue is likely linked to having multiple user profiles
Every new major Android release is bound to have some bugs and issues. Android 14 appeared to be an exception, with initial reports from Pixel 6 and 7 owners praising the OS for improving their phone's thermals and battery life. But some Pixel 6 owners are not as lucky. While they are not facing overheating or battery drain issues, they have run into a bigger problem and are experiencing storage problems after installing the latest Android release. In some cases, users reportedly lost access to their phone's internal storage and files stored on it.
Video reveals OnePlus Open's intense durability tests ahead of release
While impressive, the folding screen is unlikely to be more durable than the competition
OnePlus is scheduled to announce its first foldable, the OnePlus Open, on October 19. Ahead of that, the company has been trying to create hype around the device with planted leaks and in partnership with popular YouTubers. This time around, OnePlus has teamed up with YouTuber Michael Fisher, a.k.a MrMobile, to showcase the internals of the Open, its folding display, and how reliable the foldable is going to be by putting it through a bevy of torture tests.
Xiaomi makes some great Android phones, packing impressive hardware and insane camera specs. However, outside of China, the company's phones have not met with as much success as they should have. One key reason behind this is Xiaomi's Android skin MIUI. It started as an iOS copycat, and while the skin has evolved since then, many users still find it too intrusive and heavy. Xiaomi is now ready to ditch MIUI as it has announced its new operating system based on Android, Xiaomi HyperOS.
Google Photos’ share menu just got a lot more useful on Android 14
The app is rolling out support for Android 14's new share sheet on Pixel phones
Android 14 packs several small but important usability improvements. One such change is the new default share sheet, which developers can customize with their app actions. This is better than the custom share menu they currently have to build, which is slow to load. With Android 14 now publicly available, it is a matter of time before third-party apps ditch their custom share menu implementation in favor of the new design. Google Photos was spotted working on adding support for Android 14's share sheet in mid-September, and a month later, the change is rolling out for all Pixel phones.
6 Google Pixel 8 features you won't find on any other phone
These exclusive features play a key part in delivering that famed Google experience
Pixel phones have never been about raw specs; they stand out due to their tight hardware and software integration that add helpful new features. But hardware plays an equally important role, as newer features require a lot more processing power. So, while your previous-gen Pixel phone might already be running Android 14, it misses several features found on the Google Pixel 8 and 8 Pro that rely on their more powerful hardware. And then, there are some features that Google has likely artificially restricted to its new phones to boost sales. Below is a look at all the exclusive Pixel 8 and 8 Pro features you won't get on older Pixels or other Android phones — for now.
Leaked renders show Xiaomi 14 Pro’s ridiculously big camera hump
The phone might also ditch the curved screen in favor of a flat panel
Camera bumps in smartphones have become ridiculously large in recent years. The Hasselblad-branded circular camera island on the OnePlus 11 is massive, while the Xiaomi 13 Ultra looks more like a DSLR and less like a phone with its Leica-branded rear lenses. Xiaomi now appears set to take this ridiculousness to the next level with its upcoming Xiaomi 14 Pro.