作者彙整: Daniel Bader

It takes just 1.5 hours to become a better mobile photographer.

Our smartphones are increasingly cameras first, communicators second. For many people, a phone is the only camera they own, used for everything from casual snapshots to professional portraits and award-winning landscapes.

But as the number of sensors and lenses on our phones skyrocket, so does the complexity of actually taking and editing photos. What lens should I use for this shot? What edits does it need to eke out as much style, color and emotion as possible? And what are the best places to share those photos?

We’ve developed an eCourse to guide you through all of those problems, and more. It’s available on Udemy starting today, and through 11 episodes spanning over an hour and 20 minutes, you’ll learn everything you need to know about taking and editing incredible photos using an Android phone.

Yes, while this course does provide the basics for anyone taking photos on a phone, it’s specifically designed for … 閱讀全文 →

This year takes 5G to 11.

What you need to know

Qualcomm is announcing two new high-end chips at its Tech Summit in Maui, Hawaii.
The Snapdragon 865 is the flagship chip that will debut in the Galaxy S11.
There’s also a Snapdragon 765 and 765G on deck, with integrated 5G.
We’ll know more about these chips tomorrow, December 4.

Qualcomm is roaring into 2020 with a bunch of new announcements, including two major SoCs that it hopes will put it in good stead against Apple, Huawei, and, surprisingly, MediaTek going into the new year.

The main piece on the agenda is the Snapdragon 865, which comes standard with the X55 5G chip announced earlier this year. The upside is that while the Snapdragon 865 will support 5G, it’s not on-die the way the Snapdragon 855 and previous Qualcomm chips have LTE built into the chip itself. Instead, manufacturers will need to add 5G separately using the X55 modem if they want to, adding heat and making their phones less battery efficient.

ere’s what t… 閱讀全文 →

We need to talk about soundbars. In years past, soundbars were marketed as all-in-one replacements for 5.1, but they often had mediocre sound quality and didn’t work nicely with the TVs they were connected to.

But thanks to the HDMI-ARC standard, soundbars are now smart in their own right, offering seamless connectivity with TVs as well as smart assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant. Bose isn’t new to the soundbar category, but it’s stepped up its game in recent years with its new connected lineup, featuring the Bose Soundbar 500 and 700.

The best of the best

Bose Soundbar 700

The Bose Soundbar 700 is one of the best-sounding products in the entire category, with superb mids, deep bass, and a wide soundstage that mirrors a proper 2.1 setup. With support for Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple AirPlay 2, and Bluetooth, plus Spotify Connect, there’s almost nothing the Soundbar 700 can’t do. At $699 for Cyber Monday, this deal shouldn’t be overlooked.

$699 $799 $100 off

See at… 閱讀全文 →

I’d be lying if I said most of the tech that I buy, or get for review, changes my life. A new phone is great, but it’s still a phone. Smart lights are nice, but they just turn on and off, or different colors.

But one thing I bought in the past year truly changed my life for the better, and it’s a product I cannot stop recommending. In fact, it’s such a good product that I bought two of them this year for family members whose houses I visit a lot — mainly to make things more convenient for me.

Press it

Nest x Yale Lock with Nest Connect

The Nest x Yale Lock is one of those truly unassuming products that, once installed, will utterly change your life. Removing the dependency on house keys is one thing, but being able to remotely unlock your door for friends, family, dog walkers, delivery people, etc., is incredibly useful. Plus it integrates into the wider Nest ecosystem.

$207 $267 $60 off

See at Amazon

I’m talking, of course, about the Nest x Yale Smart Lock, an una… 閱讀全文 →

Sometimes it’s hard to believe how much prices for memory cards have fallen in the past few years. I remember paying $25 for a 64GB microSD card in 2017, and that seemed cheap at the time. Now you can get a Sandisk 64GB Class 10 microSD card for just $8.99 on sale for Black Friday.

Cheap storage

SanDisk 64GB Ultra MicroSDXC UHS-I Memory Card with Adapter

Yeah, there isn’t much to it, but spending less than $10 for a 64GB microSD card — especially once this fast and from such a reliable brand — is a steal.

$8.99 $11.99 $3 off

See at Amazon

A lot of phones are getting rid of their microSD cards, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still find uses for them. All Samsung and LG phones still ship with microSD slots, and many budget devices from Motorola, Nokia, and others do, too. That means you can get a phone with 64GB of base storage and not have to worry you’ll run out of space.

Of course, microSD cards are just as common in laptops these days as manufacturers move… 閱讀全文 →

We’ve been using ‘OK Google’ since its inception, and have been putting the Google Home and Home Mini through their paces for nearly that long. Here’s how to decide which one you need.

Google Home

The OG

$100 at Best Buy

Pros

Fantastic sound with deep bass
Excellent microphone sensitivity
Nice, minimalist design
Replaceable base
Touch controls for playback and volume

Cons

Proprietary charging port

The Google Home is the original Assistant, and it’s still a great smart speaker. With excellent sound quality and generous amounts of bass, plus intuitive touch controls, sensitive microphones and a minimalist look, this OG is still the one to get if music is your thing.

Home Mini

Tiny. Fun.

$30 at Best Buy

Pros

Tiny and can fit anywhere
Charges via Micro-USB
Fun colors that can fit with any decor

Cons

Anemic sound and no bass to speak of
Considerable softer at full volume than Google Home
Lacks comprehensive touch controls on top

The Home Mini is the entry point… 閱讀全文 →

What do you buy if you don’t want AirPods? That’s the subject of an increasingly fierce debate among headphone and earbud enthusiasts around the internet, exacerbated in recent months by a slate of new entrants that force you, as the consumer, to pick between many strengths and a few weaknesses.

That’s because no company has got it entirely right. Some true wireless earbuds sound great but sacrifice portability or battery life. Some are tiny but tinny while others are feature-filled and expensive. Some charge via Micro-USB and others can’t stand a drop of rain.

But if you’re like me, after the reviews are over you just have to settle on a pair of earbuds to use as you walk around the city, as you sit on trains and buses and planes, or as you just do life. For the past year or so, that pair for me has been the Jabra Elite 65t. Despite charging via Micro-USB, they ended up coming closest to the right balance of comfort, sound quality, battery life, and durability, and now their seque… 閱讀全文 →

It’s 2019, and flagship smartphones are all nearly a thousand dollars or more. But as high-end phones get more expensive, cheaper phones are getting better. Phones under $300 are beautifully designed, with great screens, super-long battery life, excellent cameras, and awesome speakers. We’ve researched and ranked all of the best cheap Android phones you can buy, and with our buyer’s guide, you’ll find the perfect phone for you.

If you’re hoping to get one of these affordable phones for even cheaper than usual, there’s no better time than Black Friday (and the weeks leading up to it). Our expert deal hunters are looking for new sales and discounts around the clock, and we’ll be updating the pricing in this article as it changes.

Best Android Phone Deals for Black Friday

Best Overall: Moto G7

The Moto G7 and its other budget counterparts on this list have impressive, high-resolution touchscreens, reliable software, and great cameras. Some features, like NFC, drive up manufactur… 閱讀全文 →

This is the second breach the company has faced in two years.

What you need to know

OnePlus is emailing customers about a database breach.
Company says passwords and payment info are safe, but emails, contact numbers and shipping addresses were leaked.
It’s not clear when the breach happened or how many people were affected.

OnePlus is emailing customers with a boilerplate message about “order information [that] was accessed by an unauthorized party.” The company says that while passwords, payment information and account information is safe, “name, contact number, email and shipping addresses may have been exposed.”

In the email, which does not include the number of people affected nor how far back into OnePlus’s customer history the breach goes, the company says that “We took immediate steps to stop the intruder and reinforce security. Right now, we are working with the relevant authorities to further investigate this incident and protect your data.” Two people at Android Ce… 閱讀全文 →

What you need to know

Sonos is holding private briefings on August 26 and 27 in New York.
FCC documents and other leaks point to a refreshed Connect and a new Bluetooth/Wi-Fi speaker.
The new speaker will support Wi-Fi for whole-home sound when connected to a dock.
While in Bluetooth mode, it will act like any other Bluetooth speaker.
Sonos is also working on an automatic version of its Trueplay audio calibration.
We already know that Sonos is set to unveil something on August 26 and 27 in New York — the company sent invitations to private press briefings this past week — but new FCC documents uncovered by Dave Zatz of Zatz Not Funny! and corroborated by The Verge point to two major product announcements.

The unannounced Sonos Wi-Fi/Bluetooth speaker. Photo: Zatz Not Funny

The first is a new version of Sonos’s aging Connect product, which connects powered speakers to an existing Sonos system. The current $349 Connect is nearly a decade old and doesn’t support many mod… 閱讀全文 →