It wasn’t long ago that we’d be eagerly awaiting for the Black Friday deals to drop at midnight tonight. Nowadays, it’s strange to see a hot piece of tech that hasn’t had its price slashed by the day itself. The Garmin Venu 3 has been on our watchlist all month, but its price hasn’t budged until now. We’ve finally seen all colorways of the premium fitness tracker drop to $399.99.

Garmin Venu 3 for $399.99 ($50 off) 

The holidays are upon us once again. There are trips to be made, family gatherings to be endured, and gifts to get. We can’t help with the first two, but we can signpost you to some of the finest Black Friday 2023 deals available. Whether you’re gifting for a loved one or treating yourself as a reward for being good all year, we’ll spotlight the best offers to be found online.

We’ve got a tech focus at Android Authority, so you’re in the wrong place if you’re looking for a new sweater. But if you’re in the market for the hottest new smartphones, headphones, or fitness trackers of the year, scroll on.

While iOS has its advantages, the ace in Android‘s deck is customization. Because there are fewer walls in place, you can make it do more, sometimes in ways phone makers never intended. There is in fact a collection of “secret codes” for Android — and now that you’re curious, we’ll explain what they are, how to enter them, and the best ones to try.

What are secret codes for Android phones?

In its Soundcore line, Anker hit the sweet spot between functionality and affordability. So, for those looking to upgrade their audio this Black Friday week, this Soundcore sale will be music to their ears. There are dozens of headphones and earbuds deals from the brand to explore today, with as much as 53% in savings to be had.

The deal we were immediately drawn to was the Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 NC for just $69.99. While the 30% markdown might not be the biggest of the sale, these impressive buds were only released in the summer, marking an all-time low price. Scoring an 8.1-star rating from our sister site, SoundGuys, is no mean feat for a pair of wireless earbuds in this price range, but they punch above their weight. Solid ANC, good sound, and strong battery life were just three of the standout features for the experts at SG.

Amazon saves the best Black Friday offers for its own products, and the Amazon Fire tablet deals don’t disappoint. There’s up to 50% off the already affordable Android tablet range, including all of the latest generation of the slates.

While not the biggest price drop on offer, we were particularly drawn to the deal on the all-new Amazon Fire HD 10 device. The recently released tablet is experiencing its first sale since it hit the market, with the $140 retail tag marked down to just $79.99 in the holiday sale. It offers 25% faster performance than its predecessor while weighing in at 30g lighter, and the front-facing camera is upgraded from 2MP to 5MP. You can’t compare such specs to the four-figure tablets from Samsung and Apple, but as a budget-friendly option or gift for a loved one, this offer is very hard to beat.

October 2005. I’m on my early morning walk before my college classes. I had read about a short novel competition at school the day before, and I was yearning to write something again. But I had no time. The days when I could sit worry-free in front of my notebook and craft cool stories and poems for hours were long gone. My life was becoming hectic. But a writer is always a writer — as evidenced by the fact that I’m writing this now. I looked down at the Nokia 3250 Xpress Music in my hand and wondered: Could I type a short novel on a T9 keyboard while walking? Challenge accepted.

One week later, my 13-A4-page novel was submitted to the competition (spoiler: I did not win), and a dramatic shift had occurred in the way I thought about writing. Digital allthethings! No more pens, papers, notebooks, and paraphernalia I couldn’t carry with me everywhere. The smartphone that was already in my pocket was all I needed to get creative anywhere.

We’ve spotted a deal on one of the best Android phones on the market that surpasses Black Friday savings. If you don’t mind a Lavender hue, that colorway of the 512GB Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is discounted by $80 more than its counterparts, giving you the chance to save $380 on the flagship device.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra (512GB) for $999.99 ($380 off)

We’ll probably look back at 2023 as the year that the foldable phone market burst wide open — at least in the US. It’s the year that Google and OnePlus finally challenged the Galaxy Z Fold 5, while Motorola took the Galaxy Z Flip 5 to task. I’ve been fortunate to spend time with all of the US-based launches in the last year, finding features I love and flaws that still need work. Through it all, there’s one foldable that I keep coming back to for its sheer fun factor, and that’s the Motorola Razr Plus.

King of the cover screen

Boost Mobile Three Months 5GB Plan SIM Card Kit for $14.99 ($30 off)

To be clear, that isn’t a plan for $14.99 per month — that’s the regular rate. This is a one-time payment of $14.99 for the whole three-month period. You can call it a $30 discount or an effective rate of $5 per month. Whichever way you look at it, it’s an amazing deal.

Your Android phone has a host of system apps and services, all with their own tasks. One such app is Android System Intelligence. Google has chosen to name the app rather broadly and vaguely, and it’s not immediately clear what it is, what it does, and why it needs so many permissions. Here’s what you need to know about the Android System Intelligence app and whether you can remove it from your Android smartphone.

QUICK ANSWER

The Google Pixel 8a is only expected to launch in May 2024, but we’ve already seen a few leaked renders and specs emerge. This gives us a good idea of what to expect next year.

Now, SmartPrix and leaker Kamila Wojciechowska have gone one step further and uploaded the apparent Pixel 8a wallpapers. These backgrounds were reportedly designed by Andrew Zuckerman, in line with recent Pixels like the Pixel 8 series. Check out low-resolution previews of the backgrounds below.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series is so fresh off the production line that we weren’t expecting big deals in the Black Friday sales. While big price drops may still be a while away, Samsung is coming at you with multiple ways to save on the premium Android tablets, and the best method is through the Samsung Shop App. By stacking offers, it’s possible to save as much as $745 on the higher-spec model of the Tab S9.

Here’s how it works: Samsung is offering a free storage upgrade on the device this holiday season, which reduces the price of the 12GB model from $920 to $799.99. There’s then an enhanced trade-in program to take advantage of, giving you up to $600 more in savings. If you’re on mobile and you buy through the Shop App, your first purchase will save you another $25. The final price you’d pay for the tablet would be $174.99.

Some Pixel 8 Pro users noticed that their phone displays had bumps and ripples on the inside of the screen glass. This phenomenon suggested that internal components could be pressing against the display.

Now, Google has issued a statement to 9to5Google, confirming that the bumps are caused by internal components.

The drama around OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT, seems to have ended with the reappointment of Sam Altman as the CEO. Or has it? A new report now brings to light a “powerful artificial intelligence discovery that could threaten humanity,” which is believed to be one of the triggers that led to Altman’s ouster.

Reuters published a report on a letter several staff researchers wrote to the previous Board of Directors at OpenAI. This letter contained an ominous warning about the AI discovery. The company declined to comment when the publication contacted OpenAI about the letter. Subsequently, it acknowledged in an internal message to staffers that OpenAI has a project called Q* (Q-Star) and a letter that staff researchers had sent to the previous Board of Directors.

Samsung might introduce a new kind of OLED panel on its phones in the second half of 2025. Termed blue phosphorescent OLED, also known as PHOLED, these panels are said to greatly reduce power consumption compared to OLEDs in use today.

Fake imagery is a serious problem today, as edited or completely fabricated pictures frequently get passed around in the name of misinformation and hoaxes. Now, Sony has announced that a new image authentication technology is coming to its cameras in 2024.

The company revealed that it’s completed a second round of testing its in-camera authentication tech with the Associated Press (AP). This solution is used to verify that images were indeed captured on its cameras.

Chromebooks are perfect laptops to serve as a gateway to the internet, as their entire existence is built around an internet connection and browser-based workflow powered by Chrome OS. This reliance on the cloud also allows Chromebooks to be built with more modest specifications, as the local machine isn’t doing a lot of heavy lifting on its own. If you want to give someone a device that brings them online and lets them get basic tasks done, then a Chromebook is perfect. The state of Maryland in the US has done precisely that, distributing a whole lot of Chromebooks to people in need.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore announced that the state has provisioned more than 133,000 Chromebooks to be distributed through 27 local governments to underserved households in the state. The report (spotted by Android Central) highlights the initiative as part of a $27.2 million investment to give Marylanders accessible, reliable technology alongside high-speed internet.

Amazon launched the Kindle Scribe earlier this year, offering a stylus pen and note-taking functionality. Now, the retail colossus has slashed prices on this device as part of a variety of Black Friday deals.

The company is cutting Kindle Scribe prices by $100 to $115, with the entry-level 16GB model retailing for just $239.99 (was $339.99). Check out all the discounted models below.

Galaxy Book laptops are pretty polished Windows machines, bringing Samsung integration and slick designs. Now, these devices have received record-low price cuts as part of a slew of Black Friday deals.

If you’re looking for some audio deals this Black Friday, you can get some really special discounts on Bose hardware. All the latest Bose headphones earbuds, and Bluetooth speakers, including the QuietComfort Ultra buds, QuietComfort Earbuds II, SounLink Flex Bluetooth portable speaker, SoundLink Revolve, and more, are available at highly discounted rates. However, the best Black Friday deal you’ll find in Bose’s portfolio is on the highly regarded Bose QuietComfort 45 headphones.

Google recently updated Maps with new colors and the changes haven’t gone down well with users. Former Google Maps designer Elizabeth Laraki has also voiced her dissent about the new Google Maps color palette, but that’s not all. She has pointed out several other things that she feels are wrong with Maps right now.

You’ve got a lot of choices when it comes to smart home security these days — there are brands like Eufy, Wyze, Ecobee, Philips Hue, and of course Google Nest. But if you want a complete system including cameras, sensors, doorbells, and alarm panels, the behemoths in the industry are Arlo and Ring — at least in the United States. Which of those should you build your security around, if either?

Arlo vs Ring: At a glance

Arlo vs Ring: Product lineups

Both companies offer such large hardware lineups that we can’t cover each product in-depth. Instead we’ll try summarize their catalogs, giving you a sense of what you can expect when you go shopping. Whichever brand you choose, there’s a strong emphasis on bundles — you can usually get a significant discount if you buy an entire system at once instead of piece-by-piece.

The ASUS Zenfone 10 stands out as one of the most compact flagship-level phones on the market, and there’s a lot to like about the series. Of course, nothing is perfect. Although its successor is likely still far from release, it’s fun to speculate about what ASUS could do differently. With that in mind, here is my wishlist for the ASUS Zenfone 11.

A new design

Samsung has rolled out the stable version of One UI 6 to a handful of devices so far, with more to get the update soon. While the update introduces a variety of new features, it looks like it could also be missing a crucial one — screen burn-in protection.

When it comes to OLED screens, there’s really only one downside — the danger of screen burn-in. This is where a display suffers permanent discoloration, which can appear in the form of a text or image outline, fading of colors, or other noticeable patches. Samsung has long taken steps to avoid this issue as far back as the Galaxy S3; one of those steps includes shifting pixels every so often.

Looking for a new smart TV and a sound bar to pair it with? Black Friday is one of the best times of the year to cash in on deals that bring these devices down to an affordable price. Right now, Amazon has a plethora of deals for one of the best brands in these two categories — Samsung.

Get up to 40% off on Samsung TVs and sound bars

The experts at our sister site, SoundGuys, know more than most about audio tech. Their list of the best Sennheiser headphones is topped by the Momentum 4 Wireless, which just happens to be getting its biggest price drop ever in the Amazon Black Friday sale. If you catch the deal in time, you can save a massive $150 on the premium cans.

Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless for $249.95 ($150 off)

Welcome to the second edition of What’s New in AI, our weekly update where we bring you all the latest AI news, tools, and tips to help you excel in this new AI-driven future. 

AI in the news: The biggest AI developments and news

This week’s news was largely dominated by Open AI’s huge drama and fallout over the firing of Sam Altman, though a few other small developments did occur amid the chaos. Let’s jump in and look at the biggest headlines from last week:

Pay has been a sticking point between Spotify and artists for years now. A new bill in Uruguay aims to fix the problem, but Spotify is threatening to leave the country if the bill isn’t changed.

According to The Guardian, Uruguay’s government voted on a budget bill in October that included two articles related to streaming media. Article 284 says that social media and the internet are to be added “as formats for which, if a song is reproduced, the performer is entitled to financial remuneration.” While article 285 states that the “right to a fair and equitable remuneration” will be added to copyright law. By remuneration, these articles are referring to authors, composers, performers, directors, and screenwriters.

Samsung is preparing to launch its follow-up to the Galaxy Book 3 series. Although the release is likely still months away, a new leak has given us our first look at Samsung’s next laptops — the Galaxy Book 4 series.

Courtesy of the folks over at Windows Report, images of the Galaxy Book 4 lineup have leaked, as well as specs. Based on the images, it appears Samsung’s next notebooks won’t be much different from the previous generation, in terms of design. There are two Thunderbolt 4 ports, one HDMI, a MicroSD, a USB-A 3.2 port, card reader, and headphone jack. It’s unknown if Samsung is using the same materials as before, but the outlet believes they are the same due to having similar weights.

Since ChatGPT’s release in November 2022, the chatbot has been a uniform experience for each and every user. Although you can pay for ChatGPT Plus to get higher-quality responses via the newer GPT-4 Turbo model, it still isn’t tailored to individual tastes or geared towards specific tasks. Fast forward to today, however, and that’s finally changing with the release of custom GPTs that anyone can create and share with others.

With custom GPTs, OpenAI says you can teach the chatbot how to play a board game or act as a digital coding assistant. And in the short while since the feature’s release, the community at large has already developed GPTs that can customize your resume for different jobs, create custom logos, and even send emails or text messages from within ChatGPT.

Google Bard might not be as good as ChatGPT in many ways, but it’s getting there. As an example, Google announced today that Bard will now offer a deeper analysis of YouTube video content, which could be very useful.

To be clear, Bard could already analyze YouTube videos from a previous update in September. However, this did not involve actual examinations of the video content and the ability to interpret that content for detailed queries.

We’ve been impressed with the Nothing Phone 2 since its release in the summer. It may not yet have the name recognition of its Android rivals, but it offers flagship specs at an affordable price tag. A $140 Black Friday markdown on the Nothing Phone 2 has now temporarily given it a positively mid-range pricing.

Nothing Phone 2 (12/256GB) for $559 ($140 off)

Say what you will about the haphazard state of USB-C, you’ll still be hard-pressed to deny that it has simplified charging massively. That said, USB-C’s growing presence hasn’t stopped brands from shipping devices with underpowered or bulky power bricks. So until quite recently, I carried around multiple adapters even though all of my devices used USB-C. Thankfully, all of that changed when I stumbled upon GaN chargers — palm-sized adapters that deliver blisteringly fast charging speeds. It’s been less than a year since I made the switch, but I’m already convinced that it’s the best $35 anyone can spend.

USB-C charging is a mess but GaN fixes it

We’ve seen many Samsung phones getting the new One UI 6 update based on Android 14. However, tablets have been left out in the cold. That changes today (per SamMobile), as the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series is getting One UI 6!

The Galaxy Tab S9, Galaxy Tab S9 Plus, and Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra have all seen new updates land in Europe. That means it’s only a matter of time before the update makes its way to other countries, including the United States.

Welcome to Wallpaper Wednesday! In this weekly roundup, we’ll give you a handful of Android wallpapers you can download and use on your phone, tablet, or even your laptop/PC. The images will come from folks here at Android Authority as well as our readers. All are free to use and come without watermarks. File formats are JPG and PNG, and we’ll provide images in both landscape and portrait modes, so they’ll be optimized for various screens.

For the newest walls as well as all the ones from previous weeks, check out this Drive link. Want to submit your own? Head to the bottom of this article.

The iPhone 15 series brings a lot of upgrades over its predecessors, from a new titanium frame for the Pros to the dynamic island on the standard models. And, of course, there’s also USB-C across the board. The phones also come with the latest software in iOS 17, along with the expected upgrades to the processor and camera capabilities. Unfortunately, like any new smartphone, the iPhone 15 series has its fair share of glitches. While Apple has done a good job of squashing some of the more prevalent bugs, there remain issues that users come across. Here’s a look at some common iPhone 15 problems and how to fix them.

Problem #1: Charging issues

My job is a lot of fun. I get to travel around the world, meet with various tech companies, and get early looks at their newest products. While this is terrific, a significant challenge is ensuring everything I need to do my job fits into my backpack. This has resulted in much trial and error as I hunt for devices that meet an exhaustive number of criteria.

A laptop-ready power bank is one of the must-have devices for my line of work. This has always been one of the trickiest things to buy. Historically, power banks capable of charging a laptop have been enormous, heavy, slow, hot, and expensive. Thankfully, that’s been changing.

If you’re in the US and want to buy a budget or mid-range phone, chances are that a Samsung Galaxy A-series phone is one of your best options. They’re reliable, come with practical features that you will use, and do not cost as much as a flagship. Samsung is on track to refresh its lineup for 2024, and a recurring theme for the coming year would be a squared-off and boxy design with sharp edges reminiscent of the iPhone 14 series. Renders of the upcoming Galaxy A35 have leaked, indicating that Samsung would be going forward with the boxy design, though muting it with polished edges.

Prominent leaker OnLeaks has shared renders and dimensions of the Galaxy A35 with MySmartPrice.

If the Samsung Black Friday deals weren’t already good enough this year, there’s a way you can save even more on some of the brand’s best tech. The Samsung Shop App has the best holiday prices on various devices, including $250 off the Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus. Combined with the $600 trade-in discount, that can score you the best Android phone for as little as $149.99.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus for $749.99 ($250 off)

Even though Google has plenty of messaging apps, Google Messages stands out as a great, no-frills texting app for Android. The app has seen some renewed vigor in the past few weeks, with reports of new features and functionality consistently trickling out. Now, a new report highlights upcoming changes to the profile page and the chat bar within Google Messages.

Google has been working on a Profiles feature for a while now, and it is expected to push forward RCS-based messaging on the platform. Before the feature begins widely rolling out, Google appears to have spruced up the Profiles section, as per a report from TheSpAndroid investigating the latest Google Messages beta app for Android.

Elon Musk recently unveiled Grok, a new AI chatbot that is meant to directly rival ChatGPT and Bard. It’s being developed by xAI, Musk’s own AI startup that first launched in July of this year.

In this brief guide, we’ll be going over all of the major details known about the new AI tool, including how it compares to its competitors, how to access it, and more.

Somewhere between Sam Altman being fired, hired by Microsoft, and finally returning to OpenAI as CEO, ChatGPT got a new feature that was once available to only paying users. The AI’s ability to have voice-based conversations is now available to all users on the ChatGPT app.

OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT, has been plunged into chaos since Friday last week when its Board of Directors fired its CEO and co-founder, Sam Altman. Since then, the company has had two CEOs in the form of Mira Murati (OpenAI’s Chief Technology Officer) and Emmett Shear (ex-Twitch CEO). Now, the company has a new Board of Directors, and they have chosen a new CEO, Sam Altman (yes, the previous one himself).

OpenAI announced through its X (formerly known as Twitter) account that it has agreed in principle for its ex-CEO Sam Altman to return as CEO. As part of the arrangement, the composition of its Board of Directors will be changed.

Hulu is now running a Black Friday deal that gives you a subscription to the streaming service for just 0.99 per month for an entire year.

Samsung has opened the floodgates for the One UI 6 update. After pushing out the stable Android 14 software on the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 just a few hours ago, the company has now released it for the Galaxy S23 FE.

ChatGPT is now back up after an outage that lasted over three hours earlier today. People were unable to use the chatbot, resulting in spikes on DownDetector as well as a flood of reports on X (formerly Twitter).

If we’re honest, many of us know that we’re only around six weeks away from starting out on some 2024 fitness goals. A fitness tracker will come in handy if you’re going to motivate yourself in the winter months, and the Fitbit Black Friday sale leaves you with little reason not to invest. There’s as much as 38% off wearables in the promotion, with prices to suit all budgets.

On one end of that scale, the Fitbit Sense 2 is back at its 2023-best price of $199.95, saving you $100 on retail. It isn’t Fitbit’s finest piece of work in the eyes of our stern critics, but it’s certainly worth your consideration at this reduced rate. For those with simpler needs or in the market for an affordable fitness gift, the Fitbit Inspire 3 is astonishingly good value at just $69.95 in the sale. We named it as the best all-round budget fitness tracker, and that was based on its $100 retail price. At 30% off, it’s a steal.

Last week, Google surprisingly rolled out Android 14 QPR2 beta 1. This was unexpected because we thought we would see more betas for QPR1. Now, less than a week later, Google is already rolling out a point update for QPR2.

Android 14 QPR2 beta 1.1 is rolling out now for those enrolled in the Android 14 beta program on supported Pixel devices.

This morning, we reported on the Galaxy A54 getting the One UI 6 stable update. Now the time has come for the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 to be updated to Android 14.

Verizon has announced that Samsung’s latest folding phones are ready to get the stable One UI 6 update.  Flip 5 owners in the US will get software version F731USQU1BWK9, while Fold 5 owners in the US will get F946USQU1BWK9. This update will also come with November’s security patch.

Currently, Google is in a court fight with Epic Games, being accused of stifling app competition. Since the case kicked off, there have been some interesting revelations, but the latest discovery about Google and the Fortnite creator may be the most surprising yet.

The Verge has obtained internal emails from Google that reference a 2018 strategy called “Project Elektra.” It appears that Project Elektra was a plan to obtain influence over Epic Games by purchasing a controlling stake in the company or buying it outright.

I’ve written once or twice (or a hundred times) about how I’m not really a smartwatch guy. I don’t like having to charge one more device each day, and I can’t be bothered to type out a text message from the confines of my wrist. Give me a reliable GPS watch or tracker, on the other hand, with weeks of battery life and accurate tracking to keep up with my weekly running mileage, and I’ll be happy for a long, long time. Now, I think I’ve found my perfect match — a watch that checks all the boxes and then makes up more boxes so that it can check them too. Simply put, the Garmin Epix Pro 2 has ruined all other GPS watches for me.

Built for adventure

Samsung’s latest lineup is the Galaxy Watch 6 series, which includes the return of the rotating bezel. For anyone who has been desperately waiting for the popular design feature to return to Samsung’s smartwatch lineup, the 6 Classic is a sight for sore eyes. Meanwhile, Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro fans might find the company’s backpedaling concerning. Fortunately, the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro received some welcome updates as well and is still available on Samsung’s website.

Both the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro and the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic are considered premium devices within their generational lineups. To help shoppers determine which smartwatch is the right buy, we compare their designs, features, prices, and specs below.

With Black Friday sales in full swing, everyone is getting excited about high-end smartphones and premium earbuds. But what do you actually need? Most of us could use something a bit less flashy, like a portable SSD to store our stuff offline or maybe even a bit of extra memory for our tablet. Samsung has you covered in its Black Friday event, with massive discounts on some of its top memory and storage devices.

There are some fantastic savings on various forms of internal and external storage, but one particularly stood out to us. While many of the discounts are in the 30% to 40% range — still rather amazing for Samsung — the Samsung Portable T7 Touch 2TB SSD is marked down by a massive 66%, dropping from $290 to just $99.99 in the sale. The CES 2020 Innovation Awards Honoree offers AES 256-bit encryption and gives you the option of unlocking it via fingerprint.

After rolling out for the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S22, the stable One UI 6 update train is still chugging along. It appears the next phone to get the update will be the Galaxy A54, and it is available to users in the US.

According to SamMobile, at least one Reddit user has reported receiving the stable One UI 6 update. The outlet has confirmed that this is no accident and the Android 14 release is indeed starting in the US.

Updated, November 21, 2023 (12:21 PM ET): We’ve updated this OnePlus 12 rumor hub with more information on the global launch of the OnePlus 12.

Original article: OnePlus has thrown us a lot of curveballs over the past few years. Most recently, the company launched the OnePlus 11 and simultaneously announced it would not release a OnePlus 11T. It also will no longer make Pro models (which means no OnePlus 11 Pro is on the way). This was interesting when you remember that, in 2022, the company released a OnePlus 10 Pro and a OnePlus 10T and didn’t release a OnePlus 10! It’s all a bit wacky. Regardless, the OnePlus 12 is what we’re looking toward next, but what can we expect?

The Nothing Chats rollout and subsequent takedown from the Google Play Store was a debacle Android users won’t soon forget. In fact, the launch went so poorly that the app that Nothing Chats was built on is also now being shut down.

First reported by 9to5Google, the Sunbird app is being shut down by its creators. The app no longer appears in the Google Play Store and Sunbird users have been notified that the company has “decided to pause Sunbird usage for now” as it investigates security concerns.

Snapchat is an instant messaging app that is quite popular with Gen Z, many of whom love the ethereal messaging functionality. This makes the app quite a draw for any phone maker targeting the Gen Z crowd. We’ve recently seen the likes of OnePlus integrating a Snapchat lockscreen shortcut with the Android 14 update on the OnePlus 11. Next, we could likely see Samsung do the same on its smartphones.

Snapchat v12.62.0.36 Beta includes strings that clearly indicate that Samsung could soon let you add a direct shortcut to the Snapchat camera on the lockscreen.

It feels inevitable that many of us will be doing a lot of streaming over the holiday season. We’re going to be home more, and the streaming services will be cranking out content. You might as well ensure you’re all set for the winter, which is where the Roku Black Friday sale comes in. Both the Roku Express 4K Plus and Streaming Stick are hitting their best prices of 2023 this week.

Roku Express 4K Plus for $24.97 ($15 off) | Roku Streaming Stick for $29.98 ($20 off)

When it comes to action cameras, GoPro’s Hero lineup is one of the most popular ones around. In fact, “GoPro” has almost become synonymous with “action camera” as most people can instantly recognize the familiar form factor. Insta360 also makes action cameras as part of its One and Go lineups, and while successful, they haven’t reached the same popularity as GoPro. Insta360 wants a bigger piece of the action camera pie, and it’s launching the new Insta360 Ace and Ace Pro with AI features to snatch the pie from GoPro.

Aside from some good specifications, the highlight of the new Insta360 Ace and Ace Pro action cameras are the neat AI editing effects. You can use AI to help with your video edits, with features like AI Warp to add dynamic effects to your videos. You can use either preset or custom keywords, and with these prompts, you can get some unique effects onto your videos.

Apple might have made some serious headway when it comes to repairability in the iPhone 15 series, but cracked or broken screens are still a major bummer. To protect your new phone’s display, we’ve selected the best iPhone 15 screen protectors you can buy for all sizes and models. No matter which phone you have or what your budget is, you’ll find something that will keep your display as good as new for years to come.

Best iPhone 15 screen protectors

• Spigen GlasTR EZ FIT
• Caseology Snap Fit
• Ailun Glass Screen Protector
• Supershieldz Anti Spy Screen Protector
• amFilm One Touch

Spigen GlasTR EZ FIT

We all know that free Android games aren’t always free these days, but many of them are very close if you have a little patience. Most free-to-play bottlenecks occur when players get impatient. Waiting it out can usually get around those pitfalls. What we have here are the best free Android games that you should be able to play comfortably without spending a dime, and we hope you enjoy them. This is a hall-of-fame style list, so the options here will only change if something better comes along. Let’s get started.

The best free Android games

Alto’s Odyssey

Price: Free to play

Some brands make a statement about the quality of their hardware by almost never having it on sale. Apple does it with the iPhone, and Sonos does it with its speakers and soundbars. But that’s why we wait for Black Friday bargains, and the season has bought a Sonos sale to reward that patience. There’s up to 25% off some of the finest audio on the market in the promotion.

The discounts are offered directly from Sonos and are also reflected on Amazon. For example, The Sonos Roam portable speaker usually sells for $179, but this week, you can pick it up for just $134. Ideal for both home and outdoor use, its compact design is both aesthetically pleasing and practical. It features an IP67 rating and offers both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, ensuring seamless music streaming and smart home integration. The speaker’s sound quality is commendable for its size, and it supports voice assistants for convenient hands-free operation.

If you’re thinking of splashing the cash on Apple’s most premium Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max smartphone, you’ll want to protect your investment. Here are the best Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max cases you can buy at launch, from thin cases to rugged cases with everything in between!

Want to learn more? Check out our in-depth guides to the best phone cases and the best phone accessories you can buy!

The iPhone 15 Pro might be the first to use actual titanium in its housing, but don’t count on that to keep it safe from drops. To protect your investment you’ll want to slap a case on it. To help you find the right one for you, we’ve rounded up the best iPhone 15 Pro cases you can currently buy.

Want to learn more? Check out our in-depth guides to the best phone cases and the best phone accessories you can buy!

The OnePlus 12 is launching on December 4, but it will remain a China-exclusive for some time. Trusted tipster Max Jambor is now reporting that the global launch for the flagship will be scheduled for January.

Just when you thought the drama around OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT, has come to a close, a new twist appears in the tale. Yesterday, OpenAI’s ex-CEO Sam Altman joined Microsoft. But it now seems he still has his heart with OpenAI and has hinted at a return to the company. What’s more, OpenAI employees have petitioned the Board of Directors to resign, and curiously, one of the signatories to the petition is the very Director that seemingly triggered Altman’s departure!

Satya Nadella reaffirms OpenAI partnership and stands behind Altman

In an interview with Bloomberg a few hours ago, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella reaffirmed his commitment to both OpenAI and to Sam Altman, OpenAI ex-President Greg Brockman, and the rest of the team, “irrespective of where they are.” In response to a question about Altman wanting to return to OpenAI and investors also wanting the same, Nadella responded that Microsoft wants to partner with OpenAI and Altman, and “irrespective of where Sam [Altman] is, he’s working with Microsoft.”

Pixel 8 and 8 Pro users have started noticing small bumps and ripples on the inside of the display glass. The tiny formations indicate that some components from the inside of the phones are pressing up against the display.

Qualcomm and MediaTek have both announced flagship smartphone processors with support for generative AI features. But we didn’t have to wait long for this capability to come to the mid-range segment.

We reported yesterday that YouTube has been inducing a delay in loading videos on non-Chrome browsers like Firefox and Edge, though some users said they observe it on Chrome as well. Google has now issued a statement, attributing the delay in loading YouTube videos to ad blockers and confirming that users must wait a bit if they continue using them.

Here is the complete statement sent to us by a YouTube spokesperson:

To support a diverse ecosystem of creators globally and allow billions to access their favorite content on YouTube, we’ve launched an effort to urge viewers with ad blockers enabled to allow ads on YouTube or try YouTube Premium for an ad free experience. Users who have ad blockers installed may experience suboptimal viewing, regardless of the browser they are using.

Google’s statement squarely marks the delay as an intentional change targeted toward users who continue to use ad blockers. This is another step in blocking ad blockers on YouTube and pushing users to either accept ad-supported YouTube or subscribe to YouTube Premium. It makes sense, as YouTube is a business that survives on ads and subscriptions, and not blessing the platform with either of those will make it difficult for the platform (and, by extension, its creators) to thrive.

Google’s statement also discards the notion that the delay in loading videos is related to browsers. However, users have reported the delay going away when switching to Chrome.

There is a possibility that the change is being tested on accounts marked for ad blocking, and the test is being conducted first on non-Chrome browsers, with the final intention being to apply the change across all browsers. That would align most user reports with Google’s statements, though several users have also mentioned that the video delay occurs even with no extensions loaded.

Have you experienced delays on YouTube? Do you experience this delay with ad blockers? Let us know in the comments below!

OnePlus had been teasing a new launch for the past few days. Posts on X hyping up the launch fooled everyone into thinking the company would launch a new speaker, entering the category for the first time ever. However, that’s not what happened today. Instead of new hardware, OnePlus announced a new AI Music Studio — an online tool to help you generate lyrics, music, and music videos using text and other prompts.

OnePlus’ new endeavor isn’t a serious one if you’re a professional musician looking to create something complex. It’s a limited tool made mostly just for fun. You are greeted by an interface where you select from a pre-determined list of genres, moods, and music video themes.

You then add text prompts for what you want your song to be about. We tried to go with a serious theme first, “a song about the ongoing Israel-Gaza war,” but we were promptly told our request was beyond the scope of the company’s policies. We then chose to create a song about “a lonely man in a big city.” Once that request was also rejected for policy reasons, we went with a song about “a wild night out.”

Once we hit the ‘Generate’ button, the AI tool quickly translated the prompts into rap lyrics, which, to be honest, weren’t half bad. You can always regenerate the lyrics if you don’t like what you see. Once you’re happy with what you have, you can hit “Proceed,” and the software will create the track for you with a graphical music video based on your selected theme. You can choose to download your song or share it across social media.

What’s OnePlus’ reason for making this AI Music Studio? Probably just publicity and jumping on the “AI” buzz. But anyway, it was fun to take a break from regular news to try this out.

Samsung did a great job with the Galaxy A14 5G. We crowned the budget device as one of the best starter phones you can buy with a solid primary camera, a flagship-like design, good battery life, and most importantly, a very reasonable price tag. Now, Samsung is hoping to one-up this winner of a phone with the Galaxy A15 5G.

Renders of the upcoming budget A-series option have now leaked over at Newzonly in partnership with tipster Paras Guglani. The images show that the Galaxy A15 5G isn’t changing much in terms of look. It’s got the same rounded corners, a vertical triple rear camera setup, and a U-shaped camera notch up front. The display bezels seem slightly thinner, but we can’t be sure since these aren’t real-life photos.

The leakers report that the Galaxy A15 5G could be available in three colors — yellow, blue, and black. We see the blue variant in the leaked renders.

In terms of specs, the Galaxy A15 5G could bring one big surprise. A previous rumor suggested that the phone would feature an OLED display, which would be a huge upgrade over the LCD panel of the Galaxy A14 5G. Unfortunately, the new leak does not confirm this. It simply claims that the A15 5G will sport a 90Hz display Full HD+ display.

Meanwhile, it looks like Samsung will once again opt for a MediaTek SoC, the Dimensity 6100 Plus to be exact. The octa-core mid-range chipset was announced earlier this year and supports sub-6GHz 5G (no mmWave here).

Other specs of the Galaxy A15 5G might include 128GB built-in storage with an option to expand by up to 1TB, a 50MP + 5MP + 2MP rear camera setup, a 13MP selfie shooter, a 5,000mAh battery, and 25W fast wired charging. The phone is expected to be priced well under $200.

It might be surprising to some that the e-ink tablet is a growing product category, but it makes sense when you consider it. Some people absolutely need — or at least insist on — handwritten notes, and an e-ink device can not only save paper but sync with other devices, and let you read for work or pleasure in your downtime. Perhaps more importantly, an e-ink tablet is usually both cheaper and lighter than something like an iPad.

The current leaders in this category are Amazon’s Kindle Scribe and the reMarkable 2. But which should you put your money into, especially if your focus is on notetaking over reading, or vice versa?

Kindle Scribe vs reMarkable 2: Performance and features

Let’s get this one out of the way: neither product is going to be impressive in terms of speed. E-ink tablets are purpose-built for reading and writing, and have low-end processors and RAM to keep prices down. On top of that, e-ink sports inherently slower refresh rates than something like an LCD or OLED panel, so you have to get used to lag when scrolling or dragging and dropping.

That said, we’d give an edge to the reMarkable 2 (above) as far as stylus input goes. It’s extremely responsive, and pressure and tilt sensitive. Input for the Kindle Scribe (below) should be fine for most users, but if you’re trying to get as close to paper as possible, reMarkable holds the cards. Note that while Amazon charges $40 or less to upgrade to a “premium” stylus with an eraser tip and shortcut button, there’s a much higher cost to upgrade reMarkable’s stylus, and the only addition is an eraser tip. On both platforms you can still erase without stylus-integrated tech, it’s just less convenient.

Amazon is playing catch-up with reMarkable when it comes to notetaking software. The Scribe does of course have built-in templates and annotation capabilities, including the unique ability to annotate Kindle books — but if notetaking is your focus, the reMarkable 2 is simply better organized and easier to use for that purpose. It offers OCR (optical character recognition) for searching notes, and you can even use it for live presentations, whether on a room display or during a video call. Its sketching tools are more powerful too, which could tip the scales for artistic buyers.

The Scribe pulls ahead when it comes to reading. On top of some display advantages (more on that below), the Scribe supports many more formats — past Kindle files, it can handle TXT, PDF,  EPUB, MOBI, DOC/DOCX, HTML, RTF, JPEG, GIF, BMP, and PNG. reMarkable’s software is limited to PDF, EPUB, JPG, and PNG, with no attached storefront, so don’t expect to read the latest New York Times bestsellers. reMarkable does at least offer integration with Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, and Dropbox, so if you can find and download material, you’re golden. Just make sure to keep books and articles separate from the notes you’re syncing. The closest Amazon comes to this is support for Word documents created in Microsoft 365.

As you might expect the Scribe offers more storage, with a choice of 16, 32, or 64GB capacities. The reMarkable 2 is capped at 8GB, which is probably fine if you’re concentrating on notetaking and/or have Wi-Fi access. In fact reMarkable offers its own subscription service, Connect, which not only provides unlimited cloud storage and sync, but extended warranty coverage up to three years. The former may not matter if you already have something like Google Drive connected, naturally.

One last thing to mention here is that reMarkable sells a product called the Type Folio (above). It’s expensive and adds weight, but if you regularly add a lot of text to your notes, there’s no equivalent keyboard case for the Scribe.

Kindle Scribe vs reMarkable 2: Display

The Scribe is the overall leader in this category. Although it has slightly less screen area than the reMarkable 2, coming in at 10.2 inches versus 10.3, you’re not only getting a sharper 300dpi resolution but built-in front lighting. That means being able to use it regardless of ambient lighting conditions, and better visibility overall. You have to treat the reMarkable 2 like you do real paper — that is, if it’s too dim to read, it’s time to find a lamp or a window.

Speaking of paper, some people may nevertheless prefer the reMarkable 2’s display for stylus use. It gives you paper-like friction, and that’s paired with a low-latency pen that’s both tilt- and pressure-sensitive. If the tactile experience is paramount to you, whether for handwriting or otherwise, the choice is obvious.

Kindle Scribe vs reMarkable 2: Battery life

Amazon promises up to 3 weeks of battery life if you include writing, which on the surface tops the reMarkable 2’s 2 weeks. Amazon’s claim does comes with a number of caveats however, including turning off Wi-Fi, using a specific front light level, and writing for just 30 minutes per day.

We’re not sure what standards reMarkable is going by, but based on anecdotal evidence, we’re chalking up another win for the Scribe. Users suggest the reMarkable 2 will last less than a week if you’re doing hours of writing (or sketching) every day, possibly below 3 days. That’s actually pretty respectable next to an iPad, but in our Scribe review we found that we did indeed get 3 weeks in a mix of reading, writing, and sketching. Amazon boasts that you can stretch the battery as far 12 weeks if your usage is limited to 30 minutes of daily reading, and that’s not hard to believe.

Kindle Scribe vs reMarkable 2: Price and availability

The prices above are official MSRP, but also very deceptive. In reality the Scribe is almost always selling below its list cost, and the 32 and 64GB versions include the Premium Pen by default. Amazon can afford to cut profits to the bone, since the ultimate goal is to lure you into buying Kindle books or subscribing to Kindle Unlimited.

On the flip side, the reMarkable 2 has dropped in cost since its May 2020 launch, but its real pricetag is higher. You have to buy a stylus separately, whether from reMarkable or otherwise.

Remember that neither product ships with a case or a USB-C charger. If you do you a copious amount of writing or drawing, you may also need to order replacement stylus tips.

Kindle Scribe vs reMarkable 2: Which should you buy?

If your interesting is reading with an occasional dip into writing or sketching, go with the Kindle Scribe. Built-in lighting and superior battery life are going to make a tangible difference, not to mention access to the Kindle library and broader format support. You’ll even pay less for the privilege, unless perhaps you opt for the 64GB storage tier, which you probably don’t need.

The reMarkable 2 is still the reigning champion when it comes to notetaking, thanks to a combination of software and stylus tech. Some people may further prefer its integration with cloud services like Google Drive, and its support for screen sharing, which is obviously a huge plus for business users.

The balance could shift dramatically if and when a reMarkable 3 is released. For now, though, there’s a pretty sharp dividing line in which tablet to recommend.

Kindle Scribe vs reMarkable 2: FAQ

In September, Google announced a new YouTube feature called Playables. This new perk will allow people to instantly fire up certain games right in the YouTube app without needing to download anything. In its announcement of this feature, Google said it would be rolling out early access to a limited number of users, but we haven’t heard much since then.

Thanks to a tipster, though, we now have our first in-depth look at YouTube Playables. You can check the screenshots below for a good idea of what to expect.

YouTube Playables: Screenshots

As expected, the games on offer here are mobile-first titles. This is interesting, considering Google says this feature will work on both mobile and desktop. Regardless, you shouldn’t expect Playables to be a Stadia resurrection, as these selections don’t indicate that AAA console titles are on the way.

From the screenshots we have, here are the games we can expect:

From the screenshots, we see that this demo of Playables is open until March 28. Theoretically, that means we shouldn’t expect a full rollout of the service until after that date. Google gave no information on when to expect Playables to actually launch, so it’s likely we won’t see it in a stable form until the first half of 2024. Until then, you’ll need to be a YouTube Premium subscriber and be lucky enough to be invited into the testing phase.

If you are a Premium subscriber and want to see if you’re eligible, go to youtube.com/new and check if you have the option to opt-in.

Notably, Netflix offers mobile games as part of its Netflix Games series. From what we’ve seen so far, Playables looks like a direct competitor to that. Time will tell which platform becomes the winner.

Thank you to Alex V. for the tip!

When Apple announced the Vision Pro, it provided plenty of information about the new hardware. One thing the Cupertino firm omitted, however, was an exact release date, only offering a launch window of early 2024. But a new report may have helped narrow down that window to a specific month.

Apple is reportedly aiming for March 2024 to release its new mixed-reality headset, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. The Apple insider claims that the company was initially planning to launch the Vision Pro in January next year, but is still in the process of preparing distribution plans and conducting final device testing.

Apple’s headset is expected to arrive in the US first with other regions to follow. There’s no information on how far out the global launch will be, but it’s said countries like Canada, the UK, and more are expected to get the device by the end of the year. It’s expected that Apple will use one of its early-year events to further promote the device.

With the headset costing $3499, the Vision Pro will be out of reach for most of Apple’s typical audience. The target audience seems more suited for developers and other workplace professionals, but we’re sure some enthusiasts will find a way to justify the purchase.

Last week, it was revealed that Apple is working on a sequel to the Vision Pro called Project Alaska. It’s expected that Project Alaska will be cheaper than the Vision Pro and could launch sometime in 2025 or early 2026.

Apple recently announced that RCS was coming to iMessage in 2024, opening the door to much-improved texting between Android phones and iPhones.

Would you pay for full-fledged iMessage on Android, though? We posed this question to you in a poll a few days ago, and here’s what you told us.

Would you pay for iMessage on Android?

Results

This was a very popular poll, with almost 4,000 votes tallied as of writing. The winner? Well, a massive ~77% of respondents said they wouldn’t pay for iMessage on Android. By comparison, just ~23% of polled readers said they’d pay for the service on Google-powered devices.

Drilling down even further, ~72% of North American respondents said they wouldn’t pay for iMessage on Android phones compared to ~28% of North Americans who said they would.

Meanwhile, a massive ~93% of surveyed readers outside North America said they wouldn’t pay for Apple’s messaging service on Android. Yep, just ~7% of polled readers in the rest of the world said they’d pay for Apple’s IM app. It’s no surprise to see respondents outside North America being opposed to this proposition given the popularity of Android and other messaging apps in the rest of the world.

Nevertheless, we hope  Apple’s embrace of RCS makes for a more modern texting experience between Android and iOS and results in a drop in green bubble bullying.

Comments

• Patrick Berg: If I wanted iMessage I’d get an iPhone. I use Android and want neither of the aforementioned.
• realhonesty: Being classified as a “Green bubble” only convinced me to stick with Samsung. I’m not going to change what I like just to fit in. If you don’t like me how I am, then do us both a favor and leave me on read.
• bridgeotto: Ew. Why would I want to pay for a messaging service?
• cbn4forums: Why would I pay for this? I live in North America and use WhatsApp as my main messaging App and if I need to message people who don’t use it it’s fine with me, I will use SMS and won’t care about the color of the bubbles.
• jonzey231: A couple years ago, yes. All my friends and family have since switched to Signal though. Too little too late for RCS, Tim Apple.
• eszklar: I’ve used BlueBubbles, Sunbird and Beeper for iMessges on Android. Haven’t paid a thing so far as Sunbird/Beeper are still testing. It really would depend on the pricing model, say $3.99 USD/month or so.

Pre-paid carriers are becoming increasingly popular as more and more consumers are getting savvy to the fact that they don’t have to rely on the Big 3 (T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon), pay exorbitant monthly bills, or be locked into two-year contracts to enjoy excellent mobile service.

Tello Mobile is not only a fantastic alternative to the major network carriers but manages to undercut the competition in the pre-paid space as well with its customizable plans that start at as low as $5 per month. Here’s a look at everything Tello Mobile has to offer!

What is Tello Mobile?

Tello Mobile is an MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) that piggybacks on T-Mobile’s 5G network to provide reliable service at less than half the price of the major players.

Tello’s most significant selling point is its highly customizable plans that ensure you pay for exactly what you need instead of using catch-all “value” plans you might find from many of its competitors. If you’re someone who perennially underuses their mobile data limits, you can enjoy significant savings on your mobile bill if you know exactly what your usage is like.

And since it’s a pre-paid service, you don’t have to worry about long-term contracts, hidden fees, or overpaying for mobile services. At Tello, you don’t need to pay for months in bulk to get a good deal, and you’re free to change your plan whenever you need more or less data. Tello also makes it very easy to jump on board, with the option to bring your own smartphone — as long as it’s an unlocked GSM device — or buy one from Tello directly.

Finding the best Tello Mobile plan for you

Tello lets you customize the perfect plan for your usage, with plans starting for as low as $5. For that price, you have the choice between either 100 minutes of talk time (with no data) or a 500MB data plan (with no minutes).

Talk time minutes range from 100 minutes to unlimited, with 300 and 500-minute increments, while data options include 500MB, 1GB, 2GB, 5GB, 10GB, and unlimited. A middle-of-the-ground plan with, say, 5GB of data and 300 minutes will set you back just $17 per month. And any talk time plan includes unlimited texting.

Of course, if you don’t want to spend time figuring out a custom plan or are still unsure of what your usage might be, Tello has a set of popular plan options you can choose from with just a click.

The differentiator between these plans is the data limit, with all of them including unlimited talk and text. The Economy plan with 1GB of data is priced at $10 per month, while doubling the data with the 2GB Value plan is just $14/month.

People on the go who need more data will be more at home with the 5GB Smart plan, which is still incredibly affordable at $19 a month. Of course, you can always use Tello’s customization tool to double that data to 10GB for only an additional $5 monthly.

For a completely worry-free experience, Tello’s Unlimited Data plan is your best bet. Unlike some competing “unlimited” plans that can set you back hundreds of dollars, Tello’s unlimited data, talk, and text plan is priced at just $29 per month.

Until December 15, new customers (or if you add a new line) can take advantage of a significant discount for the first month, with Tello dropping the price of the 1GB Economy plan to just $6 and the 2GB Value plan to just $8.

Other Tello Mobile features

While Tello’s selling point is its “no strings attached” nature, that doesn’t mean it’s not without valuable features. These include setting up a Wi-Fi Hotspot for free and without the additional charges you often find with other carriers. You also get Wi-Fi calling with compatible devices, unlimited texts, and international calling to more than 60 countries.

There’s also eSIM support, taking away the hassle of handling and installing physical SIM cards. With a quick and convenient eSIM setup process, you’ll enjoy instant activation and will be ready to start using your Tello Mobile service as soon as you sign up for a plan without having to wait for a physical SIM card to arrive in the mail.

Finally, Tello also offers a Family plan. There are no extra fees to add a line, and you don’t have to worry about shared data and talk time limits. The account holder can set up each line with its own plan, device, and phone number, with up to 10 lines per account.

Getting started with Tello

Tello’s simplicity in choosing a plan and its services carries over to the setup process as well. All you need to do is select your plan online, place your order, and wait for the physical SIM card to arrive. And with the port-in feature, you can keep your existing phone number without issue. It’s even faster with an eSIM, with instant activation, as long as you have a supported phone.

Of course, one of the biggest concerns when switching to a new mobile carrier is coverage. Tello’s handy network coverage check page lets you see the availability and strength of 4G LTE and 5G coverage in your area, so you can rest easy that there won’t be any network connectivity problems.

You can use a phone you already have with Tello as long as it’s unlocked and uses GSM. If you aren’t sure about compatibility, Tello has a helpful compatibility tool to check whether your phone will work on its network. You can also purchase a phone directly from Tello, with plenty of options to choose from, with new and refurbished options ranging from the ultra-affordable Samsung Galaxy A12 to the high-end Google Pixel 7 Pro.

And remember, for a limited time, if you’re a new Tello customer or are adding a new line, you can enjoy a steep discount on the 1GB and 2GB plans, with the price dropping to just $6 and $8, respectively, for the first month. The promo is available till December 15, so now’s a great time to sign up for Tello!

Smartphones have become so common now that imagining a world without them is hard. But not everyone needs or wants one. Whether you’re looking for a digital detox from a constant barrage of notifications, want to buy a simple and easy-to-use phone for your elderly parents or grandparents, or just want an affordable smartphone alternative that gets the basics right, there is a resurgent market for regular phones. And Consumer Cellular offers an excellent option in the IRIS Flip, which brings a modern twist to a classic. Here’s everything you need to know!

The classic form factor makes a return

Younger smartphones used to the current slab designs may not be familiar with the IRIS Flip’s form factor, but the classic flip phone look remains a fan favorite for many older generations.

The IRIS Flip has all the conveniences of a flip phone, starting with a compact and lightweight build that will comfortably fit in any pocket, purse, or palm. You’re greeted with large, easy-to-press buttons when you open the phone. The keypad is tactile and slip-resistant, with the raised rubber keys and textured back allowing you to keep your thumbs and fingers in the right place for an easy typing experience.

There’s also a modern twist

Consumer Cellular also breathes life into the flip form factor with updates that users in 2023 expect in a phone. The IRIS Flip comes with a 3.2-inch internal display, the largest on the market in this category, and a handy 2-inch external display. Both screens offer ample room to see notifications, read and send text messages, browse the web, and so much more.

It’s not all old-school features, either. The IRIS Flip is the first phone in this category to feature eSIM support, taking the inconvenience of handling physical SIM cards out of the equation. The easy SIM setup brings access to 4G LTE data connectivity and crystal-clear voice calls.

The phone runs KaiOS, which helps you skip the screen fatigue of constant notifications but still provides access to online essentials like email, YouTube, an Internet Browser, and maps, with more apps available for download from the built-in app store. 8GB of storage is enough room for your apps and photos, and you can further expand the storage if required with a 32GB microSD card.

Speaking of photos, the phone comes with a 5MP primary camera, with a flash to help take better photos, and double as a flashlight when required. And keeping everything running is a 2,000mAh battery that offers up to two full days of battery life with average usage.

A perfect phone for older adults or less tech-savvy consumers

Consumer Cellular has designed the IRIS Flip with a specific demographic in mind — older adults or less tech-savvy consumers — and you can see the thought put into this design across various aspects of the phone.

To help with ease of use, the IRIS Flip skips complicated and hard-to-decipher symbols in favor of simple keywords and icons. The large Call, End, and Spkr buttons are easy to find and press. A prominent OK button and arrow keys make navigating the user interface a breeze. And a conveniently located favorite contact button at the bottom brings up a list of 10 stored contacts. The phone is also compatible with T3/M3 hearing aids.

If simplicity is what you’re after, the IRIS Flip has you covered.

The holiday season is a great time to buy the IRIS Flip

If you are stuck on what gift to get your elderly parents or grandparents, or even get one yourself for a digital detox, this holiday season is a great time to buy the IRIS Flip.

Not everyone wants or needs the flashiness and massive screens that have taken over our phones, and the IRIS Flip is perfect for those folks. It’s got the perfect balance of modern features, though. From being the first of its kind to offer eSIM support to providing access to essential online applications and tools, the IRIS is so much more than a regular flip phone; but avoids the sometimes steep learning curve and information overload of a smartphone.

The best part is it also avoids the expensive price tags of smartphones, with even the cheapest of them setting you back a few hundred dollars. Instead, Consumer Cellular combines the essentials of a modern smartphone with the convenience of the classic flip phone form factor while including a variety of thoughtful features that are perfect for its intended target. And you get all of that and more for just $69.

Opinion post by

C. Scott Brown

Last week was a whirlwind for Nothing. In the span of five days, the company announced, launched, and subsequently removed access to a chat app called Nothing Chats. This app — built in collaboration with a company called Sunbird — promised to bring iMessage support to the Nothing Phone 2.

As soon as Nothing announced the app’s launch, many press outlets (including Android Authority) called out the obvious and scary security risks present with the app. We also pointed out that the tech behind Sunbird isn’t long for this world. Undeterred, Nothing pushed out multiple statements defending Sunbird’s pedigree before finally launching it. Less than 36 hours later, the app was partially disabled because — surprise, surprise — it’s a security and privacy nightmare.

Whether or not you’re a Nothing fan, own a Nothing product, or even respect the company, one thing is abundantly clear: We can forgive the company for this epic blunder, but we should not forget it.

Nothing Chats: The complete timeline

A lot was happening simultaneously with the launch of Nothing Chats. We also saw several Sunbird activities the year before the app’s announcement. If you weren’t following along or need to catch up, here’s how it all went down.

Early beginnings of Sunbird

• December 1, 2022: Sunbird holds a virtual press event announcing its eponymous app. The company claims the Sunbird app brings certain iMessage features to Android phones. I attended and thought it was intriguing. However, the press event felt incredibly sketchy because there were no explanations of how the app worked and no questions taken from press attendees. In other words, the event could be summarized as Sunbird saying, “We made this app; it works great, and you should just trust us that it’s on the level, so please give us press.” After the event, I emailed Sunbird a few questions to inquire about how the app works and its security protocols. Danny Mizrahi, Sunbird’s CEO, enthusiastically gave me access to the early version of Sunbird in response to my questions.
• December 2, 2022: I had numerous emails back and forth with Sunbird trying to get the app running on my Android phone. There were a lot of problems: my Apple ID didn’t work at first, messages wouldn’t send, and the app overall didn’t do most of what Sunbird said it should. I was told at one point that the app works great for most people using it, but my issues were an anomaly. Eventually, after getting Sunbird to partially work, I published an article about my Sunbird experience. In the article, I showed that Sunbird works as a proof-of-concept, but there was no way it was ready for a proper rollout. I also expressed skepticism over the company’s claims but gave it the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise.
• Rest of December 2022: Over the next few weeks, I worked with Sunbird to try and get more of the promised features working. It was clear Sunbird wanted me to update my article or write a new one to talk about the success. However, not much changed with all the troubleshooting we did, so I said I would create new content if/when Sunbird rolled out a public beta of Sunbird or had a new version that worked better than this one.
• First half of 2023: From January 2023 until June, I received over a dozen emails from Sunbird. Most would tout how many signups there were for Sunbird’s waitlist. Each message would encourage me to refer Sunbird to friends. Doing so would move me up the waitlist by 1,000 slots. Of course, I already had access to Sunbird, so these emails were canned and sent to everyone on the company’s mailing list. A few touted a Summer 2023 launch, which never happened. Elsewhere, users and news outlets were discovering incredibly concerning security problems with Sunbird, including data suggesting all chats are unencrypted and that Sunbird is scraping data from conversations for ad delivery. I kept these revelations in the back of my mind, knowing I would write about them if and when Sunbird ever became publicly available.
• June 14, 2023: Danny Mizrahi and a Sunbird PR team member contacted me directly. They wanted to know if I could publish an article updating Android Authority readers on what’s happened with Sunbird since December. They provided a Google Doc and a video recorded by Mizrahi as support. However, I examined the material and saw that not much had changed. One thing that did change, though, was its promise of a stable rollout by Summer 2023. This promise had been altered to a beta rollout in late Summer 2023. I told the team I wouldn’t write any new coverage because there was nothing new to report, but I would gladly publish an article when the beta rollout started. Interestingly, I didn’t get any response from Sunbird after this email, and all communication from Sunbird stopped: no more email blasts, no more troubleshooting, and no more direct PR pitches.

Nothing Chats, built on Sunbird

• November 14, 2023: Nothing announces Nothing Chats to the public for the first time. In its announcement, it acknowledged the app is built on Sunbird with tweaks made by the Nothing team to make it aesthetically match Nothing OS. Essentially, Nothing Chats is a skinned version of Sunbird. It’s interesting to note that, in most cases with Nothing announcements, we receive advance notice with a promise to keep the information private before a specific date. However, that didn’t happen with Chats — we learned about it at the same time as everyone else. Nothing said Chats would be available on November 17. Since this was big news, we wrote an article about the announcement, with the headline referencing the security problems we had found with Sunbird over the past year. We also noted that the list of features Nothing said Chats provided was nearly identical to the features Sunbird supplied in December 2022, suggesting little progress had been made. Articles from other tech sites had similar concerns. A Nothing PR rep contacted me on the phone shortly after the article went live to express frustration with our focus on the app’s expected privacy risks, saying the claims were not factual. We did not change the article’s content but altered the headline to be less definitive about the privacy risks because we hadn’t used the app and couldn’t say anything for sure. Later that day, at our request during that phone conversation, Nothing and Sunbird formally stated that Chats is fully encrypted and safe to use. It explained how the system works (a virtual Mac Mini acts as a relay between the Android phone and iPhones) but did not explain the methodology used to keep the chats encrypted at each step. The Nothing PR rep I spoke to said this information was proprietary and would not be disclosed.
• November 16, 2023: In what could be the most surprising announcement of 2023, Apple says it will bring RCS support to iPhones in 2024. While this won’t be the same as full iMessage support on Android, it will solve several pain points, such as sharing full-resolution media between the two operating systems. Notably, Apple’s RCS support will render Nothing Chats (and Sunbird, Beeper, and other similar services) irrelevant as it will provide in an official capacity all the features these apps provide through workarounds, other than faking out iPhones to show blue bubbles in a chat when an Android phone joins. Nothing CEO Carl Pei said this news does not change the green bubble problem, and therefore, Chats is still a worthwhile product.
• November 17, 2023: Nothing rolls out Nothing Chats to the Phone 2. People who own the Phone 2 could visit the app’s listing on the Google Play Store and install it. The app was (and still is) listed as a beta product, signifying the first time an iteration of Sunbird has entered this phase. We installed the app on a Nothing Phone 2 and tried it out, finding that numerous features didn’t work as advertised. We also saw many undisclosed problems, such as read receipts coming through with dates from 1992 and simple things like sharing a YouTube URL not working. We were also unable to link Nothing Chats with Google Messages, another advertised capability. Elsewhere, with the app finally available to the public, security researchers were tearing it apart and finding incredibly concerning privacy and security risks. One pointed out that Chats was using HTTP instead of HTTPS, which Sunbird tried to explain by saying this was a “handshake” style connection and no private data was actually being transmitted.
• November 18, 2023: A new report on X (formerly Twitter) pointed out even more security problems with Nothing Chats. The report showed proof that Sunbird has unencrypted access to every message sent using Nothing Chats; all media sent through the app is easily accessible by the public in an unencrypted database; and Nothing Chats is not even close to being end-to-end encrypted, despite claims to the contrary. Two hours later, Nothing announced on X that it disabled the ability to install Nothing Chats from the Play Store and it would be “delaying the launch until further notice to work with Sunbird to fix several bugs.” By early evening, Sunbird had pushed a notification to all active users of Nothing Chats to say that media transfer using the app would be temporarily disabled. All in all, Nothing Chats was active for less than 36 hours.

Why didn’t Nothing pull the plug earlier?

Since Nothing pulled access to Chats, the company has been notably silent. The only activity we’ve seen on the company’s official X account — its most active announcement outlet — is a repost about Carl Pei attending the Las Vegas GP.

Before the November 17 launch of Chats, Nothing had multiple opportunities to abandon the app and its partnership with Sunbird. Sunbird had undeniable problems from the moment it arrived, including throwing shady events, making false claims about its product, missing deadlines, and more. Even after Nothing announced Chats and saw backlash from news outlets like Android Authority and independent researchers, it didn’t stop or even slow down. Not even Apple’s announcement of RCS support dissuaded Carl Pei from pulling the plug.

Either Nothing didn't see all the red flags here or it saw them and ignored them. Either way, it is very concerning.

It’s confusing and concerning that Nothing actually thought Chats was a good idea. Our hands-on showed the app didn’t work as advertised. The security risks were blatant and dangerous. Sunbird’s history is suspect. Pei is not stupid, and the team at Nothing is undoubtedly competent enough to have seen Sunbird’s myriad issues. What did the company have to gain by pushing forward anyway?

The only possible explanation for this is to assume Carl Pei thought the positive PR of Nothing making it into major news publications as a disruptor would outweigh the backlash if the app failed. If that’s true, then the company is likely readying damage control to sweep this under the rug and move forward. However, we as a press outlet, and you as consumers can’t let the company do that. We must hold Nothing accountable for this.

We can forgive Nothing, but we can’t forget

One can’t help but wonder: if Nothing couldn’t see (or chose to ignore) all the problems present with Nothing Chats, what else could the company irresponsibly push to launch? Will Nothing OS get a feature in the future that promises significant gains but is unsafe to use? What will happen to Nothing Phone owners in that situation? Nothing Chats is just an app, and its issues are causing people to need to change Apple ID credentials and hope that their private info didn’t get into the wrong hands during the time it was publicly accessible. An OS update is not so easy to fix. If Nothing pushed something directly to Nothing OS of a similar scale in danger to Nothing Chats, users would need to stop using their phones until a new update arrived, which is incredibly problematic.

The only adequate response to this fiasco is for Carl Pei to apologize for the blunder formally. He needs to completely end the Nothing Chats program and sever its ties to Sunbird. Furthermore, he needs to promise future developments and partnerships will be much more scrutinized to ensure they do not put users at risk.

Any response that’s not that — including moving on as if nothing happened (sorry for the pun) — would put the company in a terrible position. Nothing’s user base is not made up of “normal” consumers: they are young, tech-savvy, and tapped into what’s happening within the company thanks to Pei’s unique openness with that information. Users of this type will understand what happened here and not forget about it, or at least they shouldn’t.

If Nothing works hard for forgiveness on this matter, it can rebuild the trust of its fans. But even if it does earn forgiveness — which is a big “if” — we certainly won’t forget it, and we hope you don’t, either.

Although the Galaxy A24 went on general sale back in May 2023, Samsung may already be prepared to launch its next iteration. A new leak may have revealed the design, specs, and release date of what could be a new addition to the best cheap Android phones available.

Obtained by WinFuture, renders of the Galaxy A25 5G have leaked online. Judging by the images, the device is very similar to A24, but differs in a few areas. One of those differences is a bump where the physical buttons appear on the right side of the device. While the colors are mostly the same as last time, A25 5G appears to feature a dot matrix-like pattern on the back.

In addition to renders, the outlet also shared some of the specs. According to the leak, the phone may feature a 6.5-inch 120Hz AMOLED display with a resolution of 2340 x 1080. The A25 5G could also come with USB-C, a 3.5mm audio jack, NFC, dual-SIM support, a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, expandable storage (up to 1TB), and Bluetooth 5.1. It’s also said to run on One UI 6 out of the box.

Inside, it’s said we’ll find an Exynos 1280 chip instead of a MediaTek chip — which appeared in the A24. Along with Samsung’s chip could be 6GB or 8GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB of storage. And it could also be powered by a 5,000mAh battery with 25W charging.

As for the cameras, we can expect a 50MP main camera with optical image stabilization (OIS) and an f/1.8 aperture. Joining the main shooter is said to be an 8MP wide-angle sensor that has an f/2.2 aperture and a 120-degree field of view. The third and final rear camera is reportedly a 2MP macro camera, while the selfie camera offers 13MP.

There’s no information on US pricing, but the outlet claims the Galaxy A25 5G will cost 279 CHF ($315.54). We also don’t have a US release date, but the report claims the A25 5G will launch in Europe between December 7 and 19.