Articles by Derrek Lee

Amazon brings local news to more people.

What you need to know

Amazon is expanding support for local news to 88 more cities across the United States.
The Fire TV news app will detect the closest metro city and add local stations.
The expansion follows the initial local news rollout in December.

Access to local news has been a big deal after the events that unfolded last year, particularly around COVID-19, police brutality, and the election. Today, Amazon announced that it’s expanding its local news offerings to cities across the United States giving owners of the best Amazon Fire TV sticks access to a customizable live news experience straight from the news app. This brings the total supported cities to 88, up from 12 when initial support rolled out this past December.

In addition to the expansion, the news app is also adding support for additional news providers such as CBSN, TEGNA, Cox, The E.W. Scripps Company, and Altice USA, joining the list of already supported providers …

Facebook has big plans for AR and wearables.

What you need to know

Facebook discusses its plans for AR in the next 10 years.
Facebook hopes to use wearables like glasses to create seamless interactions with your environment.
The company plans to unveil advancements in wearable technology later this year.

Lately, Facebook has been rumored to be developing a couple of wearables, including a pair of smart glasses and a smartwatch. What Facebook wanted to do in the wearable space was anyone’s guess, and while some may scoff at the idea of a Facebook smartwatch, it may not be as such a crazy idea, at least if the company actually manages to pull off its grandiose ideas. On Thursday, the company finally outlined its long-term plans for using wearables, and it all has to do with AR.

Facebook explained in a blog post how it plans to utilize wearables to create more natural human-computer interactions. The company envisions interacting wearables like smart AR glasses and smartwatche…

YouTube now checks for violations before you post a new video.

What you need to know

YouTube has rolled out its new Checks feature for uploading videos.
YouTube will now screen uploaded videos for any potential copyright claims.
The new feature will make it easy to address issues before a video gets posted.

YouTube copyright claims can be downright annoying, especially after taking the time to upload a video, only for it to get taken down or blocked. It can be a nuisance for both the uploader and viewers who are met with a blank video. Some issues are fairly small and require a simple edit but won’t become clear until after a video gets posted. YouTube recognizes that the process could be handled better, and so it’s doing just that.

According to a new support page from Google, users uploading videos to YouTube will now be met with an additional step called Checks, which screens your video for any potential copyright issues that might come up. This gives users the ability to f…

AT&T says it’s committed to the principles of an open internet. Yeah, okay.

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AT&T has announced that HBO Max will count towards its customer’s data limit.
The change is being made due to California’s newly enacted net neutrality law.
AT&T blames net neutrality while claiming to be committed to an open internet.

Being able to stream movies and shows without using up your data was always a perk of being an AT&T customer, especially while more people are streaming from home these days. Unfortunately, that will soon come to an end, according to AT&T. The company announced in a blog post on Wednesday that it could no longer offer such serves due to California’s newly enacted net neutrality law, meaning subscribers will no longer be able to stream HBO Max on phones like the new Samsung Galaxy S21 without it counting towards their data limit.

We regret the inconvenience to customers caused by California’s new “net neutrality” law. Given that…

Get ready for speedier installations from the Play Store.

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Google is preparing the Play Store for “app install optimization.”
The new feature will collect certain usage data to help speed up app installations.
No identifying data will be collected, but users could opt-out of the service when it goes live.

Owning an Android smartphone means there’s a good chance you know how to install Android apps. It also means that with the more feature-rich apps being developed, installing and getting started on a new app can take a while, especially when using some of the best cheap Android phones. Google has been working on getting users into their favorite apps quicker, and the latest effort could come soon to the Play Store.

9to5Google spotted references in the latest version of the Play Store to a new feature coming to the Play Store called “App install optimization.” According to an associated support document, the service will crowdsource data on how users first i…

OnePlus might be switching up its approach in China to better match OPPO.

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OnePlus is reportedly ceasing the development of its China-exclusive HydrogenOS.
A notice to users states that OnePlus devices in China will switch over to OPPO’s ColorOS.
OnePlus devices outside of China will continue to use OxygenOS.

There’s a lot going on with OnePlus this month. The company is preparing the launch of its highly-anticipated OnePlus 9 smartphones along with its first smartwatch, the OnePlus Watch. Meanwhile, its parent company has just released its stylish OPPO Find X3 as it takes the reins as the top smartphone OEM in China. While the two companies have always shipped with their own distinct software offerings, things may be changing soon for OnePlus users in China.

According to reports from XDA-Developers, OnePlus is preparing to halt the development of HydrogenOS, which is its China-exclusive alternative to OxygenOS. This came from a notice on an official OnePlu…

Google Lens no longer makes you scour through your files to access images.

What you need to know

Google Lens adopts a new gallery view to access photos.
The new update offers easier access to screenshots and other images without making users soft through their files.
Google Lens’ gallery view should be available on the beta version of the Google app.

Google Lens is a handy application that’s baked into the Google app and into the camera app for some smartphones like the Google Pixel 5 and LG Wing, providing quick access to information with just a tap of your camera. Even more useful is that the app lets you search for information on photos in your own photo gallery, in case you need clarification on something later on. The latest update to Google Lens now makes it easier to access those photos.

As pointed out by 9to5Google, when you tap on the gallery button on the bottom left, the app will open to a new gallery view instead of having users navigate the device files. The new vi…

Wear OS just didn’t cut it for the OnePlus Watch.

What you need to know

OnePlus CEO has confirmed that the upcoming smartwatch will not run Wear OS.
The OnePlus Watch will run RTOS with a focus on connectivity with other OnePlus devices.
More information about the OnePlus Watch will be revealed on March 23rd.

Who needs leaks when the company is spilling the beans on its products before launch? In a similar fashion to how LG launches its smartphones, OnePlus has been teasing its upcoming OnePlus 9 smartphones, posting images and divulging new information via blog posts. OnePlus CEO Pete Lau has been pretty active on the community forum, answering questions about products like the upcoming OnePlus Watch. On Wednesday, he confirmed a major piece of news regarding the watch; it won’t run Wear OS.

In a community blog post, OnePlus went over some of its inspiration for creating its first smartwatch, which was to build an affordable device that seamlessly connects with all its devices…

Google’s 2nd-gen Nest Hub looks the same but has some new tricks.

What you need to know

The new 2nd-generation Nest Hub features new sleep tracking technology using Google’s Soli radar tech.
Google Nest Hub supports Motion Gestures and offers 50% more bass when listening to music.
The new Nest Hub is available for preorder today for $99.

Today Google announced the second generation of its popular Google Nest Hub smart display. As one of the best smart displays on the market, the first-generation Nest Hub had a lot going for it, but Google is introducing a few welcome changes for this new version, from better audio to better sleeping and new ways to navigate your display.

Visually, the Nest Hub is more or less the same as the first version. The second-gen is more of a refresh than a complete overhaul, offered in four colors, including Chalk, Charcoal, Sand, and the new Mist. But while the outside remains largely unchanged, the inside includes several welcome upgrades, including …

The Pixel bug seems only to affect third-party wireless chargers.

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Users are reporting that their Pixel phones are unable to charge wirelessly after receiving the March update.
Pixel Stand chargers seem to work after being recently updated, but the problem still affects third-party chargers.
There appears to be no fix from Google, and troubleshooting has not seemed to work.

Smartphone security updates usually come with several improvements, and Google’s Pixel smartphones receive them very regularly. The most recent update started rolling out at the beginning of the month and brought several bug fixes, such as one that addressed the battery indicator getting stuck. But while the March update came with several fixes, it seems to have introduced a new bug that affects charging.

Owners of Pixel smartphones that support wireless charging, like the Google Pixel 5, have reported that the feature has been spotty or no longer seems to work. Users on both Reddit and …