Articles by Derrek Lee

The second motion comes after the FTC’s lawsuit made in August

Update, Oct 4 (15:33ET): Facebook fights back with a second motion to dismiss the FTC lawsuit claiming it has “monopoly power” over social media.

What you need to know

The FTC has filed an amended complaint against Facebook.
The complaint asserts that Facebook has held a monopoly since 2011 by acquiring platforms that threaten its position.
Facebook maintains that its acquisitions have been reviewed and cleared and that the company does not hold a monopoly.

The FTC has filed an amended lawsuit against Facebook on Thursday. The complaint doubles down on the initial accusation that Facebook partakes in anticompetitive behavior by acquiring platforms that threaten its position.

The lawsuit was originally filed late last year, but the judge found it provided insufficient evidence of Facebook’s monopoly and dismissed the lawsuit, giving the FTC a chance to amend its complaint with more details to make its case.

The new…

Android 11 gets updated while we wait to get Android 12.

What you need to know

Google rolls out the October update for Pixel smartphones.
The update comes with several security fixes for various vulnerabilities.
Phones from the Pixel 3XL to the Pixel 5a will start receiving the update now.

While Google teased the Android 12 rollout for its Pixel devices on Monday, those on Android 11 are still being treated to an update, although it’s not the one most people are hoping for.

The company announced on Monday that the Android Pixel Security Update for October is rolling out for its devices. As with most Android Security Bulletin updates this one is meant to keep users safe with fixes for various security vulnerabilities. However, there don’t appear to be any noteworthy bug fixes in tow.

The update is rolling out for several models from the Pixel 3XL to the new Pixel 5a, although availability will depend on region and carrier. A notification will appear when the update is ready, al…

You’ll have to wait a little longer for Android 12.

What you need to know

Google announced the official stable rollout of Android 12
The update comes with a host of new features for the platform, including dynamic theming, updated widgets, and enhanced privacy settings.
Google Pixel smartphones will be the first to receive Android 12, with other OEMs following.

After months of developer previews and beta builds, Google has finally released the stable Android 12 build to the Android Open Source Project. However, it won’t arrive on Pixel smartphones just yet.

Pixel owners that didn’t participate in the beta program will soon have access to a massive visual overhaul for Android, with the new Material You design language and dynamic theming. With this, your system colors and accents can change based on your wallpaper for a more cohesive look across the OS.

This new Material You theming also applies to apps, with Google updating its suite of applications to take advantage of the ne…

Smart home is the way.

What you need to know

Nearly 80% of our readers use smart home products around the house.
A small percentage say they have no use for smart home devices, but some are looking into it.
Others are less trusting of the companies behind smart devices.

Over the weekend, we asked whether or not our readers used smart home products around the house. With big players like Amazon and Google taking the reigns and improving on their offerings and services every year with some of the best smart displays, setting up smart devices is becoming easier than ever.

It seems those efforts are paying off. Out of 962 responses, nearly 80% of our readers say they use smart home products around the house, even if their homes are not littered with the devices.

While some brush it off as being lazy, one reader, Cheekid33, says that it’s more about security.

A week ago I was notified that there was activity near my vehicle. I found out that they were attempting to break into…

There are two leading players to consider.

The smart home is here, and it’s getting more useful perks than ever. With recent launches from Amazon and Google’s vast support for smart home devices, it’s becoming easier to build your smart home just the way you want it. But it’s not for everyone, as some people prefer a more straightforward way of life where you actually get up to flip the light switch.

We want to know if the smart home is for you.

Do you use smart home devices around the house?

When it comes to smart home products, there are two big players to choose from: Google and Amazon. Sure, Samsung has its own ecosystems, but Google and Amazon have arguably the largest share in the smart home space, with their respective ecosystems continuing to grow and improve every year.

They also have some of the best smart displays on the market like the Nest Hub Max, making it easy to control all your smart home products with one hub. Unfortunately, Google doesn’t update its first-pa…

Chrome’s latest Journeys experiment is reminiscent of Collections in the Microsoft Edge browser.

What you need to know

Google is rolling out two new experiments for the Chrome Dev Channel.
Journeys will collect similar websites from your browser history based on similar topics.
The search side panel will let you view results and web pages side-by-side.

Google has announced two new experiments for the Chrome browser aimed at making it easier to navigate both new and old searches.

The first new feature is the side panel, which was recently spotted in development and will allow users to view a page and the related search results simultaneously.

After entering a search and navigating to a page from the results, users can click a “G” icon next to the Search bar to open up a side panel of the results from the same search.

This lets you view a page right in your main browser window without needing to navigate back and forth or losing your search results.

The feature isn’t too…

T-Mobile says more phones will be added in time.

What you need to know

T-Mobile updates its software update list with phones being tested for Android 12.
Listed phones include Google Pixel, OnePlus, and Samsung Galaxy S phones.
Android 12 is expected to be launched on October 4.

While we wait for the stable version of Android 12 to launch, T-Mobile is getting ahead of the game by announcing the phones that customers can expect to receive the update.

T-Mobile’s Desmond Smith (also known as Des), took to Twitter to share the updated list of phones that OEMs are developing Android 12 for, which currently consists of 12 models. These include some of the best Android phones from OnePlus, Samsung, and Google, as well as T-Mobile’s own REVVL V+.

?PSA (Public Software Announcement)?: TODAY @TMobile shares information on a few of the partners working on their #android12 updates! Please note, not a full list, just some of the partners/phones starting the #Android update process! #…

Google will focus on supporting banks.

What you need to know

Google no longer plans to offer bank accounts.
The company announced its Plex service last year with the new Google Pay redesign.
Google plans to continue supporting banks and financial institutions through Google Pay.

After announcing grand plans to offer bank accounts through its new Plex service in Google Pay, the company is now abandoning the undertaking.

The news was first broken on Friday per a tweet from Walter Bloomberg, which is affiliated with Bloomberg news. Sources indicating that the company would no longer offer bank accounts.

Google Abandons Plans to Offer Bank Accounts, Sources Say$GOOG— *Walter Bloomberg (@DeItaone) October 1, 2021

A Google spokesperson confirmed the news with Android Central, saying that it is shifting its focus from providing these services itself and will instead continue supporting banks and financial institutions through its app.

Our work with our partners has made it e…

Other unreleased TicWatch models are mentioned as well.

What you need to know

The TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra gets leaked in the latest Mobvoi app update.
The update reveals upcoming health features for the smartwatch.
Other TicWatch models are also revealed in the update, although not much is known at this point.

Following the release of the Fossil Gen 6 smartwatches, Mobvoi is also planning to follow up with its own next-gen devices, according to the latest leaks.

XDA-Developers has dug into the code for the latest update to the Mobvoi app and spotted references to the TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra, along with a few other unreleased devices including the TicWatch GHT+ and GHT Pro. The code references new health features that we can probably expect on at least one of these upcoming smartwatches.

These features include ArtyAge (Arterial Age), which “helps determine the actual biological age of your heart,” TruHR to give “accurate, medical-grade, beat-to-beat heart rate measurements,” eCap (Ex…

The FCC is putting its foot down.

What you need to know

The FCC is setting up a new rulemaking process to protect users from cell phone scams.
The new policies will help to tackle SIM swapping and port-out frauds.
The FCC cites complaints and recent data breaches as the motivation behind the new process.

The FCC wants to help protect your cell phone account and is proposing new actions to help combat fraud attempts from bad actors trying to take over your numbers.

On Thursday, the FCC outlined ways that it plans to address threats to consumer accounts, particularly as it relates to “SIM Swapping” and “Port-Out Fraud.”

Sim swapping is a process in which a scammer physically steals someone else’s SIM card to use in their own smartphone or poses as someone else to convince a carrier to switch that person’s phone number to their own device. This way, that person will gain possession of the number and service, leading to other types of fraud, most notably identity theft.

Port-out …