Articles by Ben Schoon

When it comes to volume, the ability to set granular controls are pretty useful. On Android, you can adjust the volume for notifications, media, and calls individually, but another may soon be added — the ability to adjust Google Assistant volume.
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Netflix is one of the most popular streaming services on the planet, but it’s always looking to get more subscribers signed up. This week, Netflix has quietly announced that it will offer some of its original shows and movies completely for free…

Password managers make it much easier to have secure passwords for all of your accounts, and Google takes that a step farther by building one right into your Google account. Now, Google’s password manager can use biometric authentication with An…

Android 11 has a lot of changes for good, but as we approach release some minor changes are starting to come to light that some users won’t be very happy with. Starting in Android 11, for instance, users won’t be able to select a default c…

It’s been well over a year since a US ban forced Google to cut off Huawei, but an ongoing and renewed license has allowed the two companies to work together and continue supporting phones already in the hands of consumers with Android updates. N…

Following a brazen move to add its own payments system to Fortnite, the hit game was removed from Google Play and the Apple App Store yesterday. While iPhone users are out of luck when it comes to the game, Android users can still install Fortnite. He…

Epic Games has been very vocal about its distaste for 30% fees charged by Google and Apple, despite giving in and distributing its hit game Fortnite through the Play Store and App Store. Now, to get around those fees, Fortnite is adding “direct …

With the world in the midst of a pandemic that, especially in the US, has resulted in the loss of jobs, income, and other struggles, the smartphone market is obviously not doing too hot. Today, a report from Canalys reveals that US smartphone buyers p…

After expanding to a few models seemingly at random earlier this year, the Google Phone dialer app is expanding to more Android smartphones. With its latest beta, it appears to work on just about any device.
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Google’s Gboard keyboard has been picking up a bunch of new features over the past several days, and now, it’s rolling out another. Real-time translation is coming to Gboard for voice dictation, and it’s rolling out now for Android u…