Articles by Derrek Lee

Samsung’s next Galaxy Unpacked is all about its most popular phones.

What you need to know

Samsung has sent out a virtual invite to its next Galaxy Unpacked event.
Samsung is expected to unveil the successors of the Galaxy A51 and A71.
The Galaxy Unpacked event is set for March 17th at 10 am ET.

Not two months after the first Galaxy Unpacked, which saw the Samsung Galaxy S21 launch, it’s already time to prepare for the next major launch. A virtual invite for Samsung’s next Galaxy Unpacked has gone live, and while there’s not too much to go off of, we have a good idea of what’s coming, and it’s all about Samsung’s most popular smartphones. No, not the Galaxy S or Note, but the A-series, particularly the Samsung Galaxy A51, which was the best-selling smartphone of 2020.

The upcoming Galaxy Unpacked will likely focus on the Galaxy A51 successor, a.k.a. the Galaxy A52, as well as the higher-end Galaxy A72. Leaks of the Galaxy A52 5G have given away much of what’s expected from …

T-Mobile is changing things up for former Sprint customers, too.

What you need to know

T-Mobile has updated its privacy policy and will automatically share web and app data from users for third-party ads.
Both T-Mobile and Sprint customers will have to proactively opt-out of sharing this information.
The privacy change won’t take effect until April 26th, and users can change their privacy settings now.

While T-Mobile may have some of the best deals on new phones like the Samsung Galaxy S21, some customers may not appreciate this latest move. The company recently released an update to its privacy policy that outlines some changes that it’s making regarding how it uses subscriber data. The policy was spotted by the Wall Street Journal, notes that T-Mobile will start automatically collecting data from its customers to use for third-party advertising.

T-Mobile notes that personally identifying data is not shared and that users are given unique advertising identifiers to serve relev…

Text forwarding is one of the main reasons to use Google Voice.

What you need to know

Google Voice will soon lose the ability to forward text messages.
Google attributed the loss of this feature to carriers blocking messages from the service.
No timeline has been given on when users will lose the feature.

Google Voice is a useful forwarding service for those who prefer to use a phone number outside of their own personal number to communicate with others. It also allows users to link multiple devices to a Google Voice number, so calls and texts can be made or received on multiple devices from the same number. Unfortunately, it seems one of the most important features is being put on the chopping block.

According to a message spotted by 9to5Google on the Google Voice support page, text message forwarding will no longer be supported:

Important: Message forwarding to linked numbers will stop soon because mobile carriers have started to block these messages.

The message is a b…

Your OnePlus Band data can finally sync with Google Health.

What you need to know

The OnePlus Band can now link with Google Fit.
Users must update the app to receive the option to sync services.
The OnePlus Band is currently exclusive to the Indian market.

The first OnePlus wearable was quite promising when it was first announced, especially from a company whose long-time slogan is “Never Settle.” Unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to the expectation, as noted in our OnePlus Band review, coming up short on several fronts, including battery life and lack of features for the companion Health app. Fortunately, OnePlus is taking steps to address this with the latest update.

With this new update to the OnePlus Health app (via Android Police), owners of the OnePlus Band can now link the app with Google Fit. This allows data collected from the OnePlus Band to sync to Google Fit and vice versa with the Health app. Synched data includes steps taken, calories burned, heart rate, and …

Roku is introducing its easy-to-use TV guide in Canada.

What you need to know

Roku is expanding its live TV guide to users in Canada.
The guide introduces a collection of live TV channels in one place, including from sources like HBO, SHOWTIME®, STARZ, Cinemax, and Epix.
Roku is launching more than 35 new live TV channels to Canadian viewers, with more coming soon.

Last year, Roku launched a live TV channel guide as an easy-to-use way to browse live programs, including premium channels from HBO, Showtime, Starz, Cinemax, and Epix. That also includes local live TV listings for users with antennas, and the guide allows users to view up to 12 hours of upcoming programming with the new guide. While Roku users in the U.S. have had access to the guide since last June, Roku is announcing that the feature is now available for users in Canada starting today.

The feature should appear as a new “Live TV” tile on their home screen when launching the Roku TV Channel. Users already viewin…

Apparently, some Fossil Gen 5 users still have not received the update.

What you need to know

Fossil is pausing its rollout of Google’s H MR2 update for Wear OS.
The company addresses some issues with the update and has not specified when it will resume rolling out to devices.
Google’s H MR2 update was released last year to provide speed and battery improvements to the platform.

Google surprised many when it rolled out an update for Wear OS, aiming to improve the performance of its smartwatch platform. The update, dubbed H MR2, brought some under-the-hood improvements to make Wear OS faster and more battery efficient. The Suunto 7 received the update first, followed by the Fossil Gen 5 smartwatch, but apparently, Fossil is having some issues and has paused the rollout.

According to a Fossil representative on Reddit, the company is working out some issues with the update, which is why some users have yet to receive the update:

We are indeed holding the system updates for Gen…

Qualcomm is working on a third flagship chipset for 2021.

What you need to know

A variant of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 is reportedly in the works.
This new chip will have an optional 5G modem instead of an integrated one like the Snapdragon 888.
An optional 5G modem could make room for cheaper flagship smartphones with 4G LTE.

Qualcomm seems set on having a chipset for every possible price point it can think of. Two flagship chips have already been launched under the high-end Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 and the repurposed Qualcomm Snapdragon 870, but rumors indicate that there may be a third flagship SoC in the works, thanks to a tweet from known leaker Roland Quandt.

According to Quandt, this new model is a “lower-end derivative of the Snapdragon 888” that lacks an integrated 5G modem, meaning that OEMs have the option to launch 4G LTE versions of flagship smartphones.

Qualcomm has a lower end derivate of the Snapdragon 888 (SM8350) in the works. SM8325 is the model number and …

2021 is going to be full of powerful smartphones thanks to the Snapdragon 775.

What you need to know

A leaked document allegedly contains specs for the rumored Snapdragon 775 chipset.
The new chip will reportedly be built using a 5nm process for improved efficiency over the Snapdragon 765.
The Snapdragon 775 will likely be aimed at premium mid-range smartphones as well as some flagship models.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 765 was one of the most popular chipsets in 2020, powering many of the best cheap Android phones and even some of the best Android phones to hit the market last year. Its popularity was fueled by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing OEMs to offer lower-cost smartphones with flagship-level features. It’s been widely expected that Qualcomm would launch a follow-up this year, and we may have just gotten a first look at what to expect from this rumored Snapdragon 775.

A document was spotted on a Telegram channel (via XDA-Developers) with what appears to be a li…

A global release could be imminent.

What you need to know

The new Google Pay app is no longer listed as “early access” in the Play Store.
Google is set to strip the old version of most of its features next month.
This could mean Google is preparing to roll out the new app to more countries outside the U.S.

The old version of the Google Pay app was recently and unsurprisingly given an expiration date as Google focuses on the new app experience. On April 5th, exactly a month from the time of writing, Google will strip the old app of most features that make it useful. As the new app had been available in the U.S. for months, the move was expected, bringing a new interface and focus on P2P transactions. Oddly, the new app was still listed as “early access,” despite being widely available, and even appeared in the beta tab of the Play Store… until now.

The new Google Pay app has apparently shed its early access status and is a full-fledged app. It also no longer shows up in the …

You can try out Reading List before it’s ready.

What you need to know

Google is adding a new Experiments menu to Google Chrome.
The new icon gives Chrome users the ability to test out new features and give feedback.
Google is also increasing its update cadence for stable Chrome builds from six to four weeks.

Early adopters of Google’s apps and services are likely very familiar with the chrome://flags way of accessing experimental features to try out. Some of those features will now be easier to access, thanks to a new Experiments menu that’s being added to the toolbar, giving early adopters an easy way to try out some of the latest Chrome features before they’re finished.

Clicking the beaker next to the extension’s icon will open up the Experiments menu. Reading List, Tab Scrolling, and Tab Search are just a few that users can try out just by toggling the option on the left. There’s also an easily accessible feedback button to provide developers with suggestions on improvements…