Huawei Announces $2,600 Foldable Phone

The second big name foldable smartphone has been announced from Huawei. The Huawei Mate X has a different design from the Samsung Galaxy Fold. It uses a falcon wing design. It's kind of reminiscent of Palm Pilots with a folio case, mostly because of the asymmetrical design. While I'm not a fan of every aspect of the design, I do like how the hinge on the side has the USB-C port. It also has a 4,000+ mAh battery. It has a 40-megapixel wide angle lens, with three other lens, one of which won't be usable until a software update is released. The price comes in at roughly $2,600, but at least it seems that Huawei put a lot of good specs into this phone. For $1,980, Samsung's Galaxy Fold doesn't come with 5G. The 5G Galaxy Fold costs even more.

The Potential of Foldable Phones

Samsung unveiled their Galaxy Fold phone today. As the name suggests, the phone is foldable. It also starts at $2,000. I think it's funny when people called the original iPhone expensive, but now phones costing $1,000 isn't unusual. But, let's put price aside. Modular phones were hyped up, but quickly died off. Phones aren't about compromise, but about tailoring the experience around a small screen. But I do think Samsung's execution of their Galaxy Fold is a good one. In practice, I think it would be cool to use a phone-sized screen on the go, sit down, and switch to a more tablet-sized screen. It would make tasks like internet browsing, reading, and video watching more enjoyable. Of course, that all relies on making sure the apps are compatible. I feel it would work better in an iOS environment, just because Apple is really good with making their apps work on multiple screen sizes without much extra work from the developer. Will it catch on? I have no idea. I think the phone looks pretty ugly when it's folded. I also think it may be self-deprecating. Aside from being easier to fit in my pocket, why not just buy a 7-inch tablet and have cellular on it? If users find themselves only wanting the unfolded form, they'd probably just go for a phablet. Samsung does seem to be testing the waters with this phone, which is why it was announced alongside the Galaxy S10. If the Fold concept flops and people don't end up buying it, the mainline of Galaxy phones won't be affected. I am looking forward to the reviews of the Galaxy Fold when it comes out April 26.

Microsoft Recommends Alternatives to Windows 10 Smartphones

It's hard to look back on, but Windows 10 phones used to be the third most popular smartphone platform, behind iOS and Android. Granted, they had such a small amount of the marketshare, 3rd place isn't saying much. They have since been discontinued. However, their support window will end on December 10, 2019. In a support document, Microsoft states that they "recommend that customers move to a supported Android or iOS device." While it's easy to call it a failure now, you can't blame Microsoft for wanting to bridge the same continuity that Apple did between macOS and iOS. With such a large marketshare for Windows, a Windows phone wasn't the craziest idea.

3D Printed Head vs. Facial Recognition

Forbes used a 3D printed head in an attempt to fool various smartphones with facial recognition. They used an iPhone X, an LG G7 ThinQ, a Samsung S9, a Samsung Note 8 and a OnePlus 6. Every Android phone of the bunch opened up to the 3D printed head, but the iPhone X remained locked. While facial hacking isn't something most people should worry about, it does speak volumes of Apple's TrueDepth system.

Image Credit: Forbes

Samsung Finally Removes the Headphone Jack

Samsung has used the iPhone's lack of a headphone jack as a medium for the mudslinging in their advertising for a while now. However, they'll awkwardly slide that under the rug with their new Samsung Galaxy A8s. It has an edge to edge display and no headphone jack. With Samsung finally jumping on board, there aren't many phones that still have a headphone jack. However, the Samsung Galaxy S10 may still have a headphone jack. That is to be determined, but I believe they will use the A8s to test the waters of certain features before adding them to a flagship phone.

Smartphone Data Collection

According to Digital Content Next, idle Android devices that are idle tend to send ten times more data to Google than idle iPhones do to Apple. This is just while idle, as actually interacting with the phone will increase these numbers. The findings go way deeper than this. Google Chrome on an idle Android will send location information 340 times a day. Location data is 35 percent of all data sent to Google. It's clear that Google is very interested in its users' locations. We've known the surface of this for some time now. Especially when Google Maps will tell you how busy a restaurant is at any given time. There are a lot more interesting cases in the full paper, so give it a read if you're interested.

Why People Switch Phones

PCMag conducted an interesting survey on why people switch phones. Particularly from iOS to Android and vise versa. Most people who switch from Android to iOS do so because they believe iOS has a better user experience. iOS users seem to switch to Android because of better prices. Interestingly, people don't seem to switch as much in the sample for reasons like headphone jacks or lack of software updates. It seems to boil down if you believe you get what you pay for or not.

Note7 Banned From All U.S. Flights

The United States Department of Transportation has officially banned the Samsung Galaxy Note7 from all U.S. flights. It is labeled as a "forbidden hazardous material." Not only are they banned from carry-on luggage, but also cargo. All of this, even if it's powered off. If you try to get past this, you could potentially face criminal prosecution. Safe travels everyone!

Samsung Discontinues Galaxy Note7

In an somewhat expected, yet surprising move by Samsung, the Galaxy Note7 has been permanently discontinued for safety reasons [Source: The Wall Street Journal]. The exploding battery issue has become too dangerous for Samsung to take any risks. In addition, Samsung stock dropped almost 10%. If you own a Note7, please power it off and return it. Note that you cannot bring a Galaxy Note7 on a commercial airline, as they are a flight risk. Your options are likely limited by owning a Note7. I highly recommend exchanging it for another smartphone of your choice. 

Samsung Halts All Sales of Note 7

Today, Samsung announced that they would be halting all sales of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 worldwide until further safety investigation has been conducted. This is understandable, as several of the replacement models meant to alleviate the exploding battery issue have already exploded. You can't help but feel bad for Samsung though, because many have been waiting for the next generation Note, and having to wait longer to be able to have piece of mind can be frustrating, especially so close to the holiday season. Another scary thought is that since the replacement models were designed specifically not to have this issue, how can anyone be sure that the problem is truly gone? Samsung is asking all Note 7 users to stop using their phones and power them off.

Replacement Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Catches Fire on Plane

According to The Verge, a replacement Samsung Galaxy Note 7 has caught fire on a Southwest flight as it pulled out of the gate. Luckily, no one was injured. The phone started smoking at around 80 percent in the owner's pocket. It may be noteworthy that Brian Green, the owner of the phone, only used a wireless charger to charge the device, however, that should not have any correlation. These replacement phones were meant to alleviate the exploding battery issue that initially caused the phone to be recalled. Samsung has not commented on this development.

Image Credit: The Verge

Why Google Abandoned Nexus

Yesterday, Google announced their Pixel smartphone, the successor to their Nexus phones. But why did they stop using the Nexus brand? Here's my speculation. First, the final phones for Nexus were called the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P. The numbers represented screen size and version number (interchangeably at times). Their tablets were the Nexus 7 and Nexus 10. Keeping the 6 on the Nexus would be confusing to consumers, forcing them to know the difference between a 6P and a 6Q. Another Nexus 7 wouldn't do much good either. So, rebranding it must've been the best choice. One of the selling points of Pixel is that there's no version number. Also, Pixel's name origin comes from the Chromebook Pixel. So, hopefully that clears up any confusion about Google's new phone.

Apple Music for Android Out of Beta

Today, Apple Music for Android has been taken out of beta and into its full release. Now you can listen to Beats 1 and the entire Apple Music library on Android. The Android app is designed with native elements, meaning it's not a direct copy of the iOS version in terms of design. We all know that Google never does this with their iOS apps, which can be frustrating at times. Apple Music is available for free from the Google Play Store [Direct Link].

Pokémon Go: First Impressions

After using Pokémon Go for a bit, I've formed an opinion on the overall game. When it works, it's a lot of fun. However, the servers were so overwhelmed in its first few days, that I was unable to log on for 24 hours. In addition, I found the gym battles weren't that fun, considering the controls were barely explained. The main improvement to be had would be to add more multiplayer and social functionality. While I feel there's room for improvement, this is a great first version. Pokémon Go is available on the Apple App Store for free [Direct Link].

Pokémon Go

Pokémon Go has started rolling out across both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Pokémon Go is an augmented reality smartphone game focused on Pokémon and catching them. It was very highly anticipated until E3 where a demo caused skepticism on how great the game could be. In addition, there's a $35 peripheral called Pokémon Go Plus that allows you to attempt to catch Pokémon without opening the app, which really defeats the purpose of the game if you ask me. Anyways, Pokémon Go is available from the Apple App Store for free [Direct Link].

Why iMessage Isn't On Android

After a rumor, many people were expecting iMessage to come to Android. This has been requested by many Android users because many of their friends have iOS and the Google equivalent of iMessage, Google Hangouts, is unpopular. Walt Mossberg asked Apple about this matter. In short, it's because the iOS user base would only benefit if Apple didn't expand iMessage to Android. Here's his full quote below.

"When I asked a senior Apple executive why iMessage wasn’t being expanded to other platforms, he gave two answers. First, he said, Apple considers its own user base of 1 billion active devices to provide a large enough data set for any possible AI learning the company is working on. And, second, having a superior messaging platform that only worked on Apple devices would help sales of those devices — the company’s classic (and successful) rationale for years."

Gboard

Google has created a new iPhone app called Gboard. It's a new keyboard that lets you do Google Searches without leaving the app you're in. Tapping the "G" in the keyboard opens up an embedded Google Search window. Searching will bring up results in card form. You can easily take these cards and paste them into a message by tapping one of them. One nice thing about it is that you can even search for emojis through the app. Interestingly, Android users will have to wait for an Android equivalent of this app. There's no official release date for an Android version, but Google says they have plans to release one. Gboard is available from the Apple App Store for free [Direct Link].

HTC 10 Supports AirPlay

HTC doesn't always go with the flow when it comes to their smartphones. I remember they announced a phone that looked exactly like an iPhone. Now, they're actually implementing Apple's AirPlay into their new smartphone, the HTC 10. This makes the HTC 10 the first Android phone to officially support AirPlay out of box. It should be noted that AirPlay can be manipulated so that other devices can connect to an AirPlay device. It is also possible to be able to emulate an AirPlay device. That being said, it's likely that Apple had no say in the decision of this. 

Apple Music for Android Supports SD Cards

Apple has made it clear in the past that they will be sure to utilize elements from the Android OS into their Android apps, such as Apple Music and Move to iOS. For example, they will use the Android share icon instead of the iOS share icon in Android apps. Google actually doesn't do this in their iOS apps. If you look at YouTube for iOS for example, you'll find there are Action Bars, Android icons, and Card Views. Apple Music for Android now supports saving songs to SD cards, a feature iOS is unable to do. Although not all Androids can do this, it's interesting to see Apple use something iOS can't do in one of their apps. Now what this means is that Androids could potentially hold more songs offline than iOS. iOS devices don't have SD card readers built-in, so they can only hold about 128 GB of songs. Android devices could potentially have 128 GB of storage plus a 128 GB SD card for Apple Music. Of course, that's a far stretch to have that much music. Let's just hope that Google returns the favor by adding multitasking to YouTube for iOS. Apple Music is available for free from the Google Play Store [Direct Link].

AmpMe

AmpMe is the app that I've been looking for forever. Have you ever played a song on your phone for a group of friends but your phone wasn't loud enough and you didn't have a speaker? Well, now you can use AmpMe to synchronize your music across multiple devices to make your music louder. In other words, you can have your music playing on multiple phones at the same time so you can hear it better. It's the perfect solution for when you need that extra boost of sound. It also works across iOS and Android. AmpMe is available from the Apple App Store [Direct Link] and the Google Play Store [Direct Link] for free.

AmpMe - Be The Speakers from AmpMe on Vimeo.