Hidden smartphone codes for Android and iOS
You may use your smartphone a lot, but do you know every secret it hides? As it turns out, many smartphones have hidden codes that you can enter to access various features that usually fly under the radar. Here are some of the most useful hidden smartphone codes for Android and iOS phones.
Garmin’s latest fitness wearables get a workout boost from Gold’s Gym
Owners of Garmin's fitness wearables will get a workout boost thanks to a new partnership with Gold's Gym. The collaboration brings the best of Garmin's fitness tracking and merges it with the expert coaching and upbeat music of Gold's AMP app. Athletes of all abilities will enjoy pushing their limits.
The Xiaomi Mi Max 3 has a tablet-sized screen and a huge battery
Is the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 still not enough phone for you? Do you need a phone that's around the size as your head? Then check out the Xiaomi Mi Max 3, Xiaomi's latest addition to its huge Mi Max range. With an enormous 6.9-inch display and a 5,500mAh battery, there's enough phone for anyone.
OpenSignal names T-Mobile the best mobile network in almost all categories
According to the latest OpenSignal report, T-Mobile takes first place for fastest 4G download speed. In comparison to its competitors, the carrier also snagged the top spot in almost all other categories. This quarter's report collected more than 8 billion measurements from over 385,679 devices.
The Nokia X5 is a budget phone with a premium glass body and a notch
Nokia's busting back into the budget market with the Nokia X5, a cheap phone with a premium glass body, a notched display, and a dual-lens camera. The Nokia X5 is only coming to China for now, but it may see a global release as the Nokia 5.1 Plus. Could this be the next great budget handset?
Corning’s Gorilla Glass 6 will help your phone survive up to 15 drops before it shatters
Corning has finally taken the wraps off of the long-awaited Gorilla Glass 6 -- a glass that will be used to protect the next generation of smartphones and that Corning says will allow your phone to survive up to 15 drops before it breaks. No phones with the new glass have been announced just yet.
These might be the best photos shot with an iPhone in 2018
The iPhone Photography Awards announced the winners of its 11th annual global competition. Each one was selected from thousands entries spanning over 140 countries around the world. Launched shortly after the first iPhone, the IPPAWARDS is the first and longest-running iPhone competition in the world.
Samsung mocks iPhone X download speed in new ad for Galaxy S9
Pretty much since the launch of the first Galaxy smartphone, Samsung has been taking time out to poke fun at Apple and its devotees. Its latest ad takes place in what is clearly supposed to be an Apple Store, and highlights a recent test that showed the Galaxy S9 to have faster downloads speeds than the iPhone X.
With a public API, Venmo’s default privacy settings expose private user data
Those who use Venmo as their primary app to send and receive money, may want to consider changing their privacy settings. After a security researcher analyzed over 200 million Venmo transactions back in 2017, it was determined the app exposes a large amount of private details about its users.
To celebrate World Emoji Day, Google’s blobmoji are back as sticker packs
Google replaced the humble Blob Emoji, or blobmoji, as the standard in Android last year with Android 8.0 Oreo. Now, however, it's finally bringing it back -- sort of. Users can download blobmoji as sticker packs in Google's Gboard, and reports indicate the blobs will be coming to Android Messages too.
This high-end Android smartphone only costs $250 for Amazon Prime Day (updated)
Amazon Prime Day is here, and one of the best deals we've found is on a phone. The Essential Phone is from the creator of Android, it has Google's stock Android operating system, it's made of ceramic and titanium, has flagship specifications, and it now just costs $250. That's a steal.
European Commission may slap Google with a game-changing fine over Android
Sources close to the European Commission claim Google will likely face a multi-billion-dollar fine come July arising from Android's dominance in the smartphone market, along with a few "suggestions" to keep the company out of hot water. But analysts don't think this will make a drastic change.
Google Assistant’s new Visual Snapshot tab prepares you for the day
Ever wish you could get an instant update of your day at a glance? Google Assistant now can show you upcoming travel plans, deliveries, bills and more as a part of the new Visual Snapshot feature. Expect more to be added as time goes by, such as the ability to see details from various to-do list apps.
To celebrate World Emoji Day, Apple debuts over 70 new emojis coming to iOS 12
In honor of "World Emoji Day," Apple announced that its users will soon have more than 70 new Apple emojis available for use later this year. From different hairstyles to exotic animals, the company shared a first look at what we can expect to see on our keyboards very soon.
Lumen measures metabolism, creates personal nutrition plan with a single breath
Lumen -- an Israeli-based digital health and wellness company -- has launched a new device to help with weight management. By simply breathing into the device, also called the Lumen, users are provided with a personalized nutrition plan to help lose weight and achieve fitness goals.
New MediaTek chip brings premium features to budget phones
MediaTek is taking on the "premium midrange" market, and has announced a new series of chipsets specifically aimed at bringing premium features to budget devices. The first chip in that series is the MediaTek A22, and it will be featured in the upcoming Xiaomi Redmi 6A.
Your 5G Samsung phone will have a massive amount of RAM
Samsung has successfully developed an 8GB LPDDR5 RAM module for use in future smartphones, and it's designed to help make 5G phones with greater artificial intelligence features a reality, while also being faster and more power efficient. The company will put the RAM into mass production soon.
An iPhone survived 48 hours in the ocean and retained most of its battery
An iPhone 7 went for a dive, and lived a full 2 days to tell the tale. In what may be the most impressive story about a waterproof case, a scuba diver found a very rare form of marine memorabilia when she saw an odd light come from the seabed. The iPhone began to glow when it received a text message
Motorola announces Android Go edition of the E5 Play
Just weeks after Motorola released its newest line of Moto E-series handsets, the tech giant is back with an international version of its Moto E5 Play. The new Moto E5 Play will ship with Android Go, a lightweight OS for budget phones. The Android Go edition of the E5 Play will be available in Europe and Latin America.
Split your Uber charges with friends more easily than ever with Venmo
After noting that more than six million Venmo transaction descriptions included the word, "Uber," the PayPal-owned app, Venmo, decided to help users cut down on the number of steps needed to repay friends. Soon, you'll be able to use a Venmo account to pay for your Uber ride or Uber Eats purchase.
Pop-up cams could be the next must-have feature for phone privacy nuts
Phones with pop-up cameras, such as the Vivo Nex and the Oppo Find X, may be exposing nefarious plans to record our activities using the selfie camera. Certain apps are opening the camera at unusual times, prompting security fears by some users. Developers disagree, and are fixing the problem.
iPhone users can now access Morse code on Gboard for iOS
In a huge accessibility win, Google has announced that Gboard for iOS will be getting the option to type in Morse code. While this may seem odd to some, the inclusion of this mode will open smartphone technology up to many disabled people who may find it hard to type on a regular keyboard.
Samsung brings 400 new jobs to South Carolina with a new customer care center
Samsung customer service is getting a major upgrade. On Thursday, the South Korean technology company announced the opening of a new "consumer care center" located in Greenville, South Carolina. The enormous facility spans nearly 35,000 square feet and is slated to create 400 jobs.
A few seconds cost an Apple store $27,000 worth of stolen merchandise
It took just seconds for a team of four thieves to make off with $27,000 worth of Apple products over the weekend. In the crime, the team of bandits ripped out electronics that were tethered to display chargers from tables across an Apple store in Fresno, California.
AR/VR headset creator Magic Leap partners with AT&T on upcoming release
AR and VR are the most cutting-edge and impressive technologies around at the moment, so why has no one really melded the two together yet? Magic Leap aims to do just that, and now, a partnership with AT&T may hold the key to bringing this headset to market and finding it a willing audience.
Ready to party? Pinterest expands group boards with new activity feed, threads
Pinning with a group? Pinterest group boards are now more conversation-friendly. A new activity board collects all the changes in one place, while new threads encourage group conversations among the Pins and comments. The update is rolling out today to all users.
Hinge wants to make first dates easier, launches ‘Most Compatible’ feature
Sometimes, swiping left and right a dating app can become mundane -- especially if those matches wind up unsuccessful in real life. Hinge's new "Most Compatible" feature, provides you with people it thinks you'd be most interested in dating but will also be interested in dating you.
iBeat Heart Watch detects when you go into cardiac arrest, is now available
While many wearables and health trackers on the market are capable of tracking heart rate, devices that can detect when there's an emergency are extremely rare. With the iBeat Heart Watch, users can wear it to not only monitor for cardiac emergencies but to alert first responders when there's something wrong.
Tired of the same Snapchat lenses? Lens Explorer simplifies finding new lenses
Lens Studio resulted in hundreds of thousands of new Snapchat lenses -- but how do you access them? With the new Snapchat Lens Explorer, finding a new lens is as simple as a few taps or a swipe up from inside a Story. The feature is accessible right from the Snapchat camera.
Apple USB Restricted mode can be bypassed with a simple $39 accessory
USB Restricted mode, one of iOS 11.4.1's most anticipated features, has apparently already been beaten - to a degree. The mode seeks to stop third parties from being able to extract data from a seized iPhone by locking down the Lightning port - but a $39 accessory can effectively halt Apple's security.
Google Phone app will feature direct-to-voicemail spam filtering
Google wants to end unwanted calls once and for all with its latest update. The latest beta of Google Phone, the dialer app for Google Pixel and Google Nexus handsets, allows you to automatically send unwanted spam and scam calls to voice mail. The update comes just weeks before the Android P release.
Guy dunks a ‘naked’ iPhone X to make a whimsical underwater movie
London-based filmmaker Frederic van Strydonck recently decided to see how his iPhone X handled the occasional dunk while shooting video underwater. He started to build a collection of whimsical, dream-like clips that he thought he could edit together to make a short film. The result is Spltch.
Sony’s Xperia XZ2 Premium has a crazy-high ISO for photos and video
We're hardly six months into 2018, and Sony has added yet another smartphone to its roster. To accompany the Xperia XA2 Ultra, XA2, L2, as well as Xperia XZ2 and XZ2 Compact, Sony just announced the Xperia XZ2 Premium, and it's the first Sony phone with two cameras on the rear.
Apple’s latest updates for iOS, tvOS, and WatchOS are now available
Apple has launched the latest and greatest consumer versions of its operating systems, including iOS 11.4.1, WatchOS 4.3.2, and tvOS 11.4.1. The new operating systems are largely incremental upgrades, and bring with them a series of bug fixes, along with improvements to Find My AirPods.