Articles by Daniel Bader

His departure comes after launching the Nord sub-brand earlier this year.

Update October 16 — Carl Pei confirms he’s leaving OnePlus.

OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei has left the company, Android Central can confirm. Two sources familiar with the situation told AC that Pei left OnePlus in recent weeks, and no longer appears in the most recent OnePlus organizational chart.
Pei co-founded OnePlus with CEO Pete Lau in December 2013, the two having previously worked together at Oppo, and grew OnePlus into one of the most recognized smartphone brands for enthusiasts. More recently, Pei has headed up the OnePlus Nord brand, which focused on more affordable handsets.

Our confirmation follows a report from Android Police that Pei had likely departed, citing internal OnePlus memos recently surfaced on Reddit. OnePlus declined to comment to Android Central on this story. After publication of this story, TechCrunch reported that Pei left OnePlus to start his own venture, though did not specify…

Skate to the right deal:

Amazon devices
Headphones
Phones, Tablets & Accessories
Laptops & PC Components
Wearables
Gaming
Televisions
Lifestyle & Kitchen
Other great Prime Day deals

Oh, Canada, Amazon’s massive two-day sale is finally actually here, and day one is drawing to a close! After being pushed back just a few months, the annual Prime Day sale is taking place on Oct. 13 and 14. Prime Day is generally a great opportunity to snag low prices worthy of Black Friday, though you do need an Amazon Prime membership if you hope to take advantage of the discounts being offered during the sale. From Amazon Echo speakers and Fire TV Edition smart TVs to laptops, furniture, fashion, and more, Prime Day is unleashing deals in nearly every category on the site.

We’ve already seen a ton of great deals go flying by, but a lot of deep discounts on our favorite tech are still available on day one of Prime Day. If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed, you’re not alone; that’s wh…

What you need to know

The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL have reached end-of-life status.
They’ll receive one more cumulative update in December.
We’ll miss you, Panda Pixel.

Back in 2017, Google unveiled the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, replete with many upgrades over the first-gen products. Not only did they inherit the iconic dual-tone Pixel look that we still recognize today, but they heralded many of the camera features, like portrait mode and Motion Photos, that are still among the best in the industry.

Well, as of today’s October 2020 security patches, the Pixel 2 series has reached their end-of-life. While they will be getting one remaining cumulative security patch in December, as reported by Android Police, October 2020 is the last official month of security support. They will also stay on Android 11 going forward, though the modding community will likely continue supporting them for years to come.

Google supports its phones for three years with platform and security patches. …

Green phones are having a moment.

Like all fashion, it seems like phone colors ebb and flow according to what’s popular in mainstream culture. A few years ago, everyone needed something red and bold; in other more subdued years, various shades of blue pervade our colorways.

This year has seen the rise (again) of the green phone, from the OnePlus 8’s Glacial Green to the Note 20’s Mystic Green to the iPhone 11’s spearmint green option. It’s been a good year for fans of the verdant outdoors (largely because it’s been a bad year in every other way), and Google appears to be adding to the count with its upcoming green Pixel 5 option, leaked today on Twitter by WinFuture’s Roland Quandt.

The image is a marketing asset for Google’s new upcoming Chromecast with Google TV, the company’s upcoming dongle that heralds yet another rebrand of Android TV. If you’re paying close attention, you’ll notice a Pixel near the bottom right of the screen, a recognizable phone shape in an unfamiliar colo…

Right now, the best smartwatch for Android users is the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2. It’s optimized for Samsung phones but runs well on all Android devices and has all the smartwatch and fitness features you’d expect. It’s compact and lightweight but still offers good battery life. But if you’re not into that one, the good news is that there are so many other amazing options from Fossil to Garmin to Fitbit and more.

The best smartwatches at a glance

Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 — The Galaxy Watch Active 2 is great for all Android users, not just Samsung phone owners, with an incredible balance of features, battery life, and aesthetics.
Samsung Galaxy Watch Active — If you want something a bit cheaper and need the extra sensors, this is your best option.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 — The Galaxy Watch 3 is a solid upgrade pick that offers LTE connectivity, a beautiful design, and improved health/fitness tracking.
Skagen Falster 3 There’s no better option if you want to wear Google…

Have you checked your phone usage stats recently? I won’t blame you if you haven’t because neither have I, and I’m betting most people reading this haven’t, either.

Two years ago, Google and Apple responded to a wave of criticism around phone addiction, releasing a suite of tools and accompanying support documents to battle the uptick screen time, especially among younger phone users. Google called it Digital Wellbeing; Apple dubbed it ‘Screen Time’.

On the Android side, Digital Wellbeing was previewed on Pixel phones in the first Android 9 Pie beta before rolling out widely to most phones in early 2019 and becoming mandatory for all new Android phones by the end of last year. On the Apple side, Screen Time rolled out with iOS 12 and has been pre-installed on every iPhone since.

Digital hygiene tools are now built into every Android and iPhone, but you’ve be forgiven for forgetting they exist.

Basically, if you buy any phone today, almost anywhere in the world, it’s likely go…

Have you checked your phone usage stats recently? I won’t blame you if you haven’t because neither have I, and I’m betting most people reading this haven’t, either.

Two years ago, Google and Apple responded to a wave of criticism around phone addiction, releasing a suite of tools and accompanying support documents to battle the uptick screen time, especially among younger phone users. Google called it Digital Wellbeing; Apple dubbed it ‘Screen Time’.

On the Android side, Digital Wellbeing was previewed on Pixel phones in the first Android 9 Pie beta before rolling out widely to most phones in early 2019 and becoming mandatory for all new Android phones by the end of last year. On the Apple side, Screen Time rolled out with iOS 12 and has been pre-installed on every iPhone since.

Digital hygiene tools are now built into every Android and iPhone, but you’ve be forgiven for forgetting they exist.

Basically, if you buy any phone today, almost anywhere in the world, it’s likely go…

As high-end phones get more expensive, cheap Android phones are getting better. It’s 2020, and flagship smartphones are all nearly a thousand dollars or more, so why not spend a little less? 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 — like the Moto G Power, our best overall pick.

1. Moto G Power

Best Cheap Android Phone

Year after year, Motorola stands out as one of the best companies to watch for delivering good, cheap Android phones. 2020 saw the release of the Moto G Power, and if you’re in the market for an affordable smartphone, it’s hard to do much better than this.

The Power name is a reference to the phone’s best feature — battery life. With a 5,000 mAh battery crammed inside, you can easily get two or three days of use on a single charge. In a world where it’s the norm to throw your phone on the charger every single night, being able to go a few days without worryi…

Right now, the best smartwatch for Android users is the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2. It’s optimized for Samsung phones but runs well on all Android devices and has all the smartwatch and fitness features you’d expect. It’s compact and lightweight but still offers good battery life. But if you’re not into that one, the good news is that there are so many other amazing options from Fossil to Garmin to Fitbit and more.

The best smartwatches at a glance

Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 — The Galaxy Watch Active 2 is great for all Android users, not just Samsung phone owners, with an incredible balance of features, battery life, and aesthetics.
. Samsung Galaxy Watch Active — If you want something a bit cheaper and need the extra sensors, this is your best option.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 — The Galaxy Watch 3 is a solid upgrade pick that offers LTE connectivity, a beautiful design, and improved health/fitness tracking.
Skagen Falster 3 There’s no better option if you want to wear Goog…

The right tool for the wrong time.

At one point, I was going to start this review with a sentence like, “Samsung’s never really screwed up the Galaxy Note; every version has been better than the last.” I got about halfway through writing that sentence and then it all came flooding back — the summer of 2016, when reports of Note 7s catching fire started trickling in. Then came the recall, then the reissue, then the second recall, then the bans. How could I have forgotten, even briefly, something that fundamentally changed Samsung, and the wider smartphone industry, so dramatically?

I forgot it for a moment because Samsung’s done such a profoundly good job helping us forget it. In the wake of the Note 7 debacle, the company returned the following April with the Galaxy S8, which turned out to be its best-selling flagship ever (and retains that title today), followed by the Note 8 a few months later. A year later, the Note 9 was the first premium Android phone to justify its thou…