Articles by Daniel Bader

Get rid of the Galaxy’s most disappointing feature.

Ever since Samsung announced the Galaxy S8 with its onboard assistant, Bixby, people have been asking for ways to disable it and forget the button ever existed in the first place. With the Galaxy S9, Note 9, that chorus became even louder. And with the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy Note 10 released in 2019, a whole new generation of customers looked to kill Bixby. And now with the Galaxy S20 and Note 20, we’re at it all over again.

Here’s how to get rid of as much of Bixby as possible.

Why do you want to disable Bixby?

On phones where there’s a dedicated Bixby button, one of the biggest frustrations is its placement; the button is right under the volume keys and nearly directly opposite the power buttons. On larger phones like the Galaxy S10+ or Note 10+, this often leads to accidental presses and unintended Bixby launches, especially when double-pressing the power button to launch the camera.

On the Note 10, Note 10+, the Galaxy S20…

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.
Skagen Falster 3 There’s no better option if you want to wear Google’s Wear OS on your wrist.
Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE — The TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE lets your watch stay independent with a built-in SIM card that connects to se…

What you need to know

Samsung will begin keeping its phones updated with three years of OS updates.
Samsung’s latest phones, the Galaxy S20 and Note 20 series, will get updated to Android 13.
The process will begin with the Galaxy S10, ensuring that the 2019 models get Android 12.

At its virtual Unpacked event today, Samsung announced that it would begin offering “three generations” of updates to its Samsung Galaxy phones. This means that newer devices like the Galaxy S20 and Note 20 series will likely get updated to Android 11, Android 12, and Android 13, along with three years of accompanying monthly or quarterly security patches. The promise goes back one generation to the Galaxy S10 line, which will get updated to Android 12 (since it started its life on Android 9 Pie).

Currently, most Samsung flagship phones get two OS updates and two years of monthly security patches, moving to quarterly patches in the third year. We awarded the company a B- during our latest Update Report…

There be dragons ahead, so use caution.

It’s that time of year again, though earlier than ever before: a developer preview of the latest version of Android is available, called Android 11. And while Google explicitly says that only developers should install it, many of us want to see what the company is planning for the next big update, set to be released sometime this summer.

Top 10 features in Android 11 you need to know about right now

Given that this is a developer preview, there are going to be missing features and bugs, so you shouldn’t expect a fully working experience. But if you’re curious about what’s next, here’s how to download and install it, plus answers to a few questions you may have.

Update, May 6, 2020: Google has released the fourth Android 11 developer preview for Pixel phones. It’s still aimed primarily at developers, but there will be far fewer bugs, and newer features, this time around. Google has delayed the release of the first Android 11 beta beyond June…

I have this vivid memory from the early days of 2020 that won’t subside.

It was January 6, before CES officially began, and I was at the Cosmopolitan hotel looking at Fossil’s new smartwatch offerings. The demo was finished and I was standing on this expansive balcony overlooking the city, a fake Eiffel Tower looming to my right. I was claiming a minute just for me, while inside my coworkers were chatting away contently. It was one of those really nice moments that you have to intercede on your own behalf to remember, to crystallize it so that, whatever happens in the future, you can draw upon it for reinforcement.

I’ve been drawing on it a lot lately, as the world seemingly crumbles around me. I’m safe and healthy and in no immediate danger, and for that I’m incredibly thankful. And I’m also angry. The slow burn of this year, the shelter-in-place of it all, spilled out into the streets in recent days, first as a trickle and then, over the past couple nights, as a deluge.

Now ther…

It’s been a few years since Samsung debuted Bixby, and the dreaded Bixby button, alongside the Galaxy S8, and the company took until 2019 to provide a way to remap it. This remapping feature is now available on all phones that have the Bixby (or side) button, from the Galaxy S8 on up to the S20 models. Here’s how to do it!

Products used in this guide

Current favorite flagship: Galaxy S20+ ($1,000 at Samsung)
A noteable handset: Galaxy Note 10+ ($1,100 at Samsung)

What does remapping do?

Remapping means you can now launch any app you want by single or double-pressing the Bixby button on the left side of your Galaxy phone. If you want to load the Google app, or the camera, or whatever you want, you now can!

How to remap the Bixby button

Open Settings.
Scroll down and tap Advanced Features.
Tap Bixby key.

Select Double press to open Bixby.
Enable Use single press toggle.
Tap inside Use single press area.
Tap Open app.
Tap on the Settings button (cog icon).
Select the app yo…

Best answer: If your phone works with the MVNO’s base network and is unlocked, you should be able to use it. However, some MVNOs, like Boost Mobile or Visible, will only activate specific phones.

Pure Android that works with most MVNOs: Pixel 3a ($400 at Best Buy)
Highly compatible and affordable: Moto G7 Power ($250 at Best Buy)

Four major networks

In the U.S., there are four major carriers with nationwide networks — AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon. All four of them use generally the same technology, but there are some major differences worth noting.

Sprint and Verizon have 3G networks that use aging (and disappearing) CDMA technology. All phones that run on their networks must have special radios that support CDMA. Thankfully, most phones these days have some sort of CDMA support.
T-Mobile and AT&T use a more common HSPA+ technology for 3G service. Practically every phone you can buy today — even those designed for Verizon and Sprint — will likely work on A…

A conversation with Newton’s new owners.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times — well, there isn’t going to be a third time. At least that’s what the new owners of Newton, née CloudMagic, promise.

Email has always been this weird obsession for me. I don’t like email, not even a little bit,but this necessary evil in my life hasn’t abated, even as Slack has become a ubiquitous window on my desktop and easily my most-used app on my phone. Slack was supposed to solve email, but it only did so between colleagues — I get more email from acquaintances, PR firms, and people wanting to sell me N95 masks than ever before.

Newton’s speed and simplicity was its best asset — and still is.

When Newton launched in late 2016, replacing the much-loved (and free-to-use) mobile solution, CloudMagic, its newfound $50 per year price tag was met with an understandable grimace, and not a small amount of resentment towards the team who was, after a two-we…

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.

Best Overall — Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2

You don’t have to use a Samsung phone to enjoy the benefits of owning a Samsung smartwatch, and the Galaxy Watch Active 2 provides the most well-rounded wearables experience for Android users right now. It’s compact and lightweight but features an extremely sharp and vivid touch display that’s easy to navigate and fun to use thanks to the new capacitive bezel. The Tizen OS is smooth and battery-friendly, unlike Google’s own Wear OS, and while the app selection isn’t massive, the core tenets are there, like Spotify, Stra…

There be dragons ahead, so use caution.

It’s that time of year again, though earlier than ever before: a developer preview of the latest version of Android is available, called Android 11. And while Google explicitly says that only developers should install it, many of us want to see what the company is planning for the next big update, set to be released sometime this summer.

Top 10 features in Android 11 you need to know about right now

Given that this is a developer preview, there are going to be missing features and bugs, so you shouldn’t expect a fully working experience. But if you’re curious about what’s next, here’s how to download and install it, plus answers to a few questions you may have.

Update, May 6, 2020: Google has released the fourth Android 11 developer preview for Pixel phones. It’s still aimed primarily at developers, but there will be far fewer bugs, and newer features, this time around. Google has delayed the release of the first Android 11 beta until June …