Articles by Derrek Lee

Fossil isn’t letting Samsung have all the fun.

What you need to know

Fossil teases its upcoming Gen 6 smartwatch.
The upcoming smartwatch will run Wear OS and likely be powered by a much faster chipset.
Fossil has previously referred to its new smartwatch as a “premium” offering.

Fossil is officially gearing up for the launch of its upcoming Gen 6 smartwatch, as per an email from the watchmaker that has begun circulating. The email boldly teases a product that is “way more” and “way faster” without divulging any details.

The teaser also refers to the Gen 6 as the company’s “most advanced smartwatch,” suggesting some notable upgrades are on the way.

Fossil has teased its upcoming wearable before, speaking to CNET about its plans to launch a “premium” smartwatch. The company has been mum on details regarding the upcoming device but has indicated that it will benefit from the improvements that Samsung and Google have incorporated into the upcoming Wear OS 3 update.

That said, …

The Pixel 6 smartphones are on the way, but not before a few other smartphones launch.

The Google Pixel 6 and 6 Pro are some of the hottest smartphones right now, and they’re not even set to launch until well into fall. But that didn’t stop Google from providing us with an early teaser, divulging some new information about its upcoming flagships and the Google Tensor chip that will power them. However, since we may not see the Pixel 6 series for at least a couple of months, are you willing to wait to upgrade, or are you more interested in more immediate smartphone launches?

Are you holding out for the Google Pixel 6 phones?

Google’s Pixel 6 announcement managed to take some focus away from the upcoming Galaxy Unpacked, which is scheduled for next week. On August 11, Samsung is set to announce quite a few new devices, including the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3. The new phones are set to further streamline the company’s foldable lineup with improved designs, better software,…

Magnets sound cool but might be more of a security risk than a traditional mount.

What you need to know

Google launched the new battery-powered Nest Cam with a magnetic mount.
The company partnered with Wasserstein on an anti-theft mount for safekeeping.
Google has also updated its replacement policy to include its new Nest Cam and Nest Doorbell.

Google launched its new Nest Doorbell and cameras this week, showing off an updated camera mount that attaches magnetically. While it may look cool, there has been concern that this would make the Nest Cam easier to steal. However, the company seems to have thought of that possibility.

Along with the new Nest Cam, Google launched several accessories, including an indoor stand and weatherproof wires for outside use. However, the new Wasserstein Anti-Theft Mount aims to give you some peace of mind for anyone brave enough to place their brand-new Nest Cam outside.

The mount comes with a housing for the camera and a chain that attaches …

The latest Galaxy Z Flip 3 leak lays out all the specs.

What you need to know

The full spec sheet of the Galaxy Z Flip3 leaks ahead of Samsung’s launch event.
The leak appears to confirm many of the rumored specs of the device.
Samsung is expected to launch the Galaxy Z Flip 3 on August 11.

Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked is right around the corner, and as the week comes to an end, we get yet another leak of the upcoming Galaxy Z Flip 3.

The information comes from WinFuture which has already been busy leaking the full spec sheet of the Galaxy Z Fold 3. As for the smaller foldable, the information appears to be the most complete spec listing of Samsung’s upcoming clamshell, putting all previous rumors and leaks into one comprehensive list.

As expected, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 will feature a similar design as its predecessor, complete with a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED display with a FullHD+ resolution and variable 120Hz refresh rate. The outer display will have the biggest change, with a muc…

Remember the hot mess that once was Google+?

What you need to know

Payouts for the Google+ lawsuit are being issued to claimants.
The payout only amounts to $2.15, lower than the initial $12 estimate.
Google was sued over bugs present in the platform between 2015 and 2018.

Former Google+ users are finally getting their due from a lawsuit filed in 2018 against the company: a whopping $2.15.

The suit was filed after it was reported that Google did not disclose a three-year vulnerability that left roughly 50 million customers exposed on the platform. According to the case website, Google denied “any wrongdoing and any liability whatsoever,” claiming that the bugs caused no harm or damage to anyone that used the platform.

However, in 2020, Google agreed to a settlement of $7.5 million that would be distributed among any claimants that used the platform. It was originally estimated at roughly $12 per claim, although that figure was always dependent on the number of people that subm…

The Galaxy Watch 4 is going to be all about choice.

What you need to know

A new rumor claims the Galaxy Watch 4 will let users select their assistant.
Previous Galaxy watches only gave users access to Bixby.
Google Assistant isn’t known to be very reliable on the current iteration of Wear OS.

Samsung is gearing up for the launch of its next smartwatch, but until then, there are many questions surrounding the device. With it running the upcoming Wear OS 3 update, one point that remained unclear is whether or not the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 would include Google Assistant or stick with Bixby. The latest rumor might give fans a good reason to celebrate.

According to known leaker SnoopyTech, the upcoming smartwatch will allow users to select between the two AI assistants.

Also: Google Assistant or Bixby— Snoopy (@_snoopytech_) August 2, 2021

It’s not much to go by, but 9to5Google was also able to find a line of code in the Wear OS app that may help support the claim:

com.googl…

We should at least see a bigger launch than the Pixel 5a.

What you need to know

Google officially announced the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro this week.
The company did not provide details around availability, but splash pages give us an idea of where it will launch.
Google will provide full details during the launch later this fall.

The Google Pixel 6 and 6 Pro are official, thanks to the company’s teaser announcement on Monday. And while the company gave us a good idea of what to expect from these devices, many details were still left out, like availability. However, thanks to some internet sleuths, we might have an idea of where the Pixel 6 will launch.

As pointed out by Android Police, the landing page for the Pixel 6 is live in several countries, including the United States, making it likely that the upcoming flagship will launch in these countries:

United States
Canada
Australia
United Kingdom
Germany
France
Japan
Taiwan

The current batch of Pixel phones isn’t widely available, w…

Spotify Plus gives you a bit of both worlds.

What you need to know

Spotify is testing a new ad-supported subscription tier.
Spotify Plus costs only $1 per month and allows users to stream any song they want.
The feature is only being tested for now and is limited to a small group of users.

A new Spotify subscription tier has been spotted, and it could entice many users to sign up and forgo the free version.

Spotify Plus is an ad-supported tier that looks to be something of a mix between free Spotify and the subscription-based version. One of the biggest limitations with the free version on the best Android phones is that users can’t play individual tracks from albums and most playlists, only left with the shuffle option.

Spotify Plus could lift that restriction, giving users free rein to not only play individual songs but skip tracks as often as they like. However, they will still be subject to the occasional ads.

Spotify first spoke to The Verge and later confirmed the trial…

Twitter finally says good-bye to Fleets.

What you need to know

Many users took to Twitter Fleets to post their final photos and videos.
Twitter users were surprised to see the feature still there well into August 3rd.
The feature has since been removed from the app, leaving the top bar for Spaces.

Twitter users flocked to Fleets last night to post their final good-bye photos and videos, but it looks like it may have been a bit premature because the feature was still there well into the morning of August 3rd.

Last month, Twitter announced that its fleeting Fleets experiment failed to find its footing, so the feature was being retired. The company admitted that it wanted Fleets to inspire more users to join the conversation and tweet more, but the feature was mainly used by those already actively tweeting. So Fleets was given an expiration date so the company could try other things.

Twitter said that it would retire its Snapchat clone on August 3rd — today — so last night, u…

Qualcomm wants you to know it’ll still be around, even if the Pixel 6 won’t rely on it.

What you need to know

Qualcomm says that it will continue working with Google on future products.
The company’s Snapdragon chipsets have been featured in previous Pixel devices.
The upcoming Google Pixel 6 will be powered by a custom-built SoC reportedly built by Samsung.

The early announcement of the Google Pixel 6 and 6 Pro came as a surprise as Google provided details about the new phones and the company’s custom-built Tensor chip. The chip sees Google shifting its dependence away from Qualcomm for its smartphones, but the chipmaker says it’s not going anywhere.

As per a tweet by Walter Bloomberg, Qualcomm has declared that it maintains a working relationship with Google and will continue to supply the company with Snapdragon chips for “existing and future products.”

QUALCOMM WILL CONTINUE TO WORK CLOSELY WITH GOOGLE ON EXISTING AND FUTURE PRODUCTS BASED ON SNAPDRAGON PLATFORMS – QUALCOM…