作者彙整: Harish Jonnalagadda

Digital Wellbeing offers a great set of tools to curb phone addiction, and Google is rolling out a new feature in Android 10 called Focus mode. You’ll be able to select the apps that usually cause a distraction, and enabling Focus mode effectively pauses them for the entire duration the mode is active. That means you won’t get any notifications, and won’t be able to use those specific apps.

How to enable Focus mode in Android 10

Focus mode isn’t available for everyone, so you have to be on the Digital Wellbeing beta to get the feature. Sign up to become a beta tester, and follow the steps below to enable the feature in Android 10:

Open Settings from the app drawer or home screen.

Scroll down to the Digital Wellbeing section.

Tap Digital Wellbeing & parental controls.

Select Focus mode.

Choose the apps that you want to pause.

Hit Turn on now to enable Focus mode.

Focus mode is a nifty feature, but it is tiresome to go three levels into the phone settings to enable … 閱讀全文 →

This is what Android Messages should have been from the beginning.

Microsoft significantly raised the quality of its apps on Android over the course of the last two years, leading to great Android apps that include the likes of Next Lock Screen and Microsoft Launcher.

The latest is SMS Organizer, a text messaging service from Microsoft Garage, an initiative within the company that lets employees work on projects they’re passionate about. The app leverages machine learning to automatically sort messages based on context, and comes with an array of customization options that makes it a worthy alternative to your current messaging app. SMS Organizer debuted last year, but was exclusive to the Indian market. After amassing a million downloads, the app is now making its way to the U.S., UK, and Australia.

Before we get into the specifics, a quick look at how the app came to be. SMS Organizer was developed by Microsoft Garage working out of Hyderabad, India, and is tailored to address p… 閱讀全文 →

Redmi phone with a 64MP sensor is coming in Q4 2019, and Xiaomi has plans to launch a device with a 108MP sensor next year.

What you need to know

Xiaomi’s first phone with a 64MP sensor will make its debut in Q4 2019.
The Redmi phone features Samsung’s GW1 ISOCELL sensor.
Xiaomi is also working with Samsung to roll out a device with a 108MP sensor next year.
At a global event held in Beijing, Xiaomi revealed that it will launch its first phone with a 64MP sensor later this year. The first phone to feature the module will be a Redmi phone that will launch sometime in Q4 2019. With 48MP cameras now the standard even in the mid-range segment, brands are looking for higher-resolution camera sensors to differentiate their products. Of course, Xiaomi isn’t the only brand working on a higher-res sensor. Realme is launching its first phone with a 64MP camera later this month, dubbed the Realme 5.

The switch to a 64MP sensor is going to be the next big push, with brands leveraging Samsu… 閱讀全文 →

Google is looking to take on Apple Arcade with its Play Pass subscription service.

What you need to know

Google Play Pass is a monthly subscription service that unlocks hundreds of premium apps and games.
Apps and games in the catalog won’t have any ads, with all in-app purchases unlocked.
The service is currently being tested for $4.99 a month, but the final figure could change.
Evidence of a Play Store subscription service called Play Pass showed up last year, but we haven’t heard much after that. The company is now starting to test the monthly subscription service, as spotted by the folks over at Android Police.

Screenshots obtained by the publication show the signup pages for Play Pass, which provides access to hundreds of premium apps and games — with no ads and in-app purchases unlocked — for $4.99 a month, with a 10-day trial:

Explore a curated catalog spanning puzzle games to premium music apps and everything in between. From action hits to puzzles an… 閱讀全文 →

The telephoto lens on the OnePlus 7 Pro only goes up to 2.2x optical zoom.

What you need to know

The OnePlus 7 Pro’s optical zoom is closer to 2.2x and not 3x.
The telephoto lens is cropping 13MP photos down to 8MP to get to 3x zoom.
Unlike the OnePlus 5, this isn’t digital zoom — you’re basically losing out on focal length.
One of the marquee features on the OnePlus 7 Pro is the camera array at the back, where a 48MP primary camera is joined by an 8MP telephoto lens and a 16MP wide-angle lens. OnePlus advertises the telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom, but it turns out that’s not actually the case. As discovered by /u/ImKuya on Reddit, the telephoto lens doesn’t actually deliver 3x optical zoom, but closer to 2.2x.

The OnePlus 7 Pro uses the telephoto lens for portrait shots, but the field of view is different when using portrait mode and 3x zoom. Turns out the sensor itself is a 13MP Samsung S5K3M5, and the telephoto lens is cropping 13MP photos down to 8MP to hit 3x zoom… 閱讀全文 →

The ZenFone 6 gets listed on Flipkart ahead of its launch in India.

ASUS unveiled the ZenFone 6 earlier this month, with the phone featuring a 48MP rotating camera and massive 5000mAh battery. India is a key market for ASUS, with the ZenFone 5z doing remarkably well in the country last year. So it’s no wonder that the Taiwanese manufacturer is getting ready to launch the phone in the country, with Flipkart rolling out a microsite for the ZenFone 6.

There’s plenty to like in the ZenFone 6, but the marquee feature is that 48MP rotating camera. The camera module effectively flips over to the front when you need to take a selfie, which not only eliminates the notch, but also lets you take selfies with the 48MP rear camera. It’s an elegant solution, and one that worked astonishingly well in the brief time I spent with the ZenFone 6.

ZenFone 6 preview: ASUS reinvents itself with stock Android, 48MP flip camera, and 5000mA battery

Elsewhere, the ZenFone 6 has a 6.4-inch FHD+ panel backe… 閱讀全文 →

With new phones releasing every few months, it’s hard to decide when to upgrade to a newer model. Here at Android Central we’ve used all major budget phones launched over the last five years, and are here to guide you in your purchasing decision.

Moto G7 Play

Obvious upgrade

$200 at Amazon

Pros

Powerful hardware
Evocative design
USB-C port
Incredible value
Cons

No NFC
Updates
The most affordable option in the Moto G7 series has plenty to offer, thanks to a robust Snapdragon 632 chipset and USB-C charging. The Moto G7 Play has a more modern design, better camera up front, and is significantly faster than its predecessor. The fact that it costs just $200 makes it one of the best deals around.

Moto G6 Play

Battery beast

$170 at Amazon

Pros

Larger battery
Same cameras as G7 Play
Decent value
Cons

Underwhelming hardware
Bezels
Micro-USB charging
The Moto G6 Play wasn’t the fastest phone around when it launched, and a year on it is starting to show its age. The Snapdragon … 閱讀全文 →

Indian customers don’t have to pay more to access Disney’s extensive movie library and original TV shows.

Hotstar offers one of the best video streaming deals anywhere in the world. For ₹999 a year ($14.50), you get access to HBO’s original programming — including Game of Thrones — as well as Showtime, Star World, and hundreds of movies. But what sets the service truly apart is its live sports content. The annual plan also includes unlimited access to Premier League football, Formula 1, the Indian Premier League, major golfing events, and so much more.

Hotstar also includes a wealth of regional movies and TV shows, and starting next year it will start offering Disney+ content to Indian customers. Disney’s streaming service is set to make its debut in the U.S. in November for $7 a month, which is a pretty decent price for access to its exhaustive movie library and upcoming original programming.

Indian customers, however, will be able to stream Disney+ content dire… 閱讀全文 →

Paying $1,000 for a flagship is the new normal. Samsung dominates this space, but in recent years we’ve seen Huawei step up its efforts with the P series. We’ve used both the Galaxy S10+ and the P30 Pro and are here to help you choose the flagship that suits your needs.

Huawei P30 Pro

Photography champion

$900 at eBay

Pros

10x zoom is exhilarating
Re-engineered 40MP primary camera
4200mAh battery with 40W fast charging
Gorgeous design
Top-notch specs
Cons

Optical in-display sensor is slow
Too tall for one-handed use
Not available in the U.S.
The P30 Pro makes a compelling case for the best camera phone of 2019. With an all-new 40MP camera that takes stunning photos in daylight and low-light conditions and a zoom lens that goes all the way up to 10x without any loss in quality, the P30 Pro is a photography tour de force. The P30 Pro also has a vibrant display backed by top-notch performance and two-day battery life with 40W fast charging.

Samsung Galaxy S10+

Mainstream cho… 閱讀全文 →

April Fools’ Day is here, bringing clever and cringeworthy gags in equal measure.

April Fools’ Day is here, and that means a day full of gags as tech brands try to outdo one another. Google in particular likes to go all-out on this day, and while the search giant has created some truly memorable gags over the years — like the Google Gnome — but there was also the infamous mic drop.

Without further ado, here are the best and worst April Fools’ Day tech gags of 2019.

Play Snake within Google Maps

Once again, Google is kicking things off with a new feature coming to Maps. Starting today, you’ll be able to play Snake from within Google Maps, and you can choose from a variety of cities:

Google Maps shows you how to get around on foot, car, train and bicycle, and now, you can ssslither to your destination too. Starting today, you can play a twist on the snake game in different locations across the world—including Cairo, London, San Francisco, São Paulo, S… 閱讀全文 →