Articles by Derrek Lee

Let your embarrassing WhatsApp messages be a thing of the past.

What you need to know

WhatsApp is reportedly going to let users delete messages for everyone in a thread.
The feature will likely be paired with an extension to when users can delete messages.
It’s unclear when the new update will roll out on devices.

WhatsApp is working on adding a new feature that will expand its message deletion capabilities and may prove helpful for users of the app.

A new beta was spotted by WABetaInfo that details the ability to delete messages for everyone in the thread after a specific time. Currently, that time limit is just over an hour, but WhatsApp may be extending that even further.

It’s unclear just how long the “delete for everyone” feature will extend its time limit, but the folks over at WABetaInfo managed to have the prompt show up on a message sent more than two months ago.

It’s very possible that WhatsApp has completely done away with the time limit, or it’s merely longer th…

T-Mobile may have its work cut out for it.

What you need to know

T-Mobile reports its Q3 financial earnings, with $19.6 billion in revenue.
The carrier now has more than 106 million subscribers, up from 104 million in Q2.
T-Mobile expects to exceed its outlook for the year in terms of revenue and postpaid additions.

The third quarter was good for T-Mobile, which reported its financial earnings on Tuesday. The “New Uncarrier” reported total revenue of $19.6 billion, as well as record-high service revenue of $14.7 billion. The company also reports 1.3 million customer addition, more than Verizon and AT&T in Q3 and bringing T-Mobile’s total subscriber base to 106.7 million.

During the earnings call, CEO Mike Sievert also highlighted its new internet service, which recently saw its price drop and relies primarily on 5G. The service saw record growth in Q3 with more than 500,000 subscribers, which is likely fueled by the attractive price point and Sprint’s mid-band spectrum.

Si…

It’s not over just yet for the Pixel 3.

What you need to know

Google is reportedly preparing a final update for the Pixel 3 series.
Guaranteed security updates for the Pixel 3 and 3 XL ended in October.
The update is expected to arrive in Q1 2022, skipping out on the December Feature Drop.

The Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL have pretty much reached end-of-life, with their final major update coming in the form of Android 12 in October. It was also the last month they were guaranteed to receive security updates, however, those still holding onto these devices still have one final update to look forward to.

9to5Google reports that Google will apparently roll out the final update for the devices early next year. This means the devices will skip the December feature drop just as they were left out of the November security patch.

It’s unclear what Google has planned for the update, but it will likely include a final set of bug fixes. Although, it’s possible that Google may extend sup…

Meta here, Meta there, Meta everywhere!

In case you missed it, Facebook has a new name. The company is now going by “Meta” to highlight its focus on building the metaverse and how the company is no longer just about the Facebook app (which gets to keep its name, btw). But before CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the name change, he walked us through several updates to the company’s AR and VR efforts, especially as they relate to the Oculus Quest 2 and future products.

What were your favorite announcements from Connect?

What was your favorite announcement from Connect?

While much of the focus of the Connect keynote on Thursday was on the metaverse, many announcements were geared toward Meta’s VR efforts with Oculus. The company divulged several functional updates to its platform that should please VR enthusiasts, such as including 2D apps like Dropbox, Slack, Instagram, and more.

One nice change is the new cloud save system that automatically backs up your game data without worrying…

The calling screen should no longer be delayed.

What you need to know

OnePlus is rolling out a new update for the 7 and 7 Pro.
The update brings stability improvements and the October security update patch.
The update addresses a bug that delayed the calling screen from appearing.

OnePlus announced a new update on its community forum on Friday, which brings some bug fixes to some of its older smartphones. Most notably, the OxygenOS 11.0.4.1 update addresses a bug that OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro owners have been facing for months.

The update includes the October security update, bringing the devices only slightly behind the OnePlus 8 series’ October update, as well as the Samsung Galaxy S21, which has already received the November patch. Additionally, the update includes some stability improvements, which are always appreciated.

However, the update includes a notable fix for a bug that has plagued OnePlus 7 users for some time. Since at least March, users have complained about a delay…

Keep your photos safe and your internet browsing safer.

What you need to know

Google announced that it’s expanding privacy features for more users.
Google Photos’ Locked Folder is arriving soon on more Android devices and on iOS in 2022.
Google One VPN will be available in 10 additional countries.

Google is celebrating Cybersecurity Awareness Month by highlighting its efforts to protect user privacy. The company already announced that it’s bringing end-to-end encrypted to Google Fi calls for Android phones on the network. With today’s announcement, more users will soon have a chance to take advantage of Google’s best privacy features.

For starters, Google One is expanding its VPN services to more countries. It’s currently available in the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, and the UK.

Google says the feature will expand to Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland, allowing more people to protect th…

Samsung’s foldables will get a taste of One UI soon.

Update, Oct 29 (1:45 p.m. ET): Rollout begins in some regions

What you need to know

Samsung is preparing to launch the One UI 4 beta for its foldable smartphones.
The beta will allow Samsung to try out its new software on a new form factor before the stable release.
Samsung is expected to launch the stable One UI 4 update before the end of the year.

Owners of Samsung foldables like the Galaxy Z Fold 3 can rejoice, as they’ll soon have a chance to try out the One UI 4 beta.

The announcement comes from a Samsung community manager, (via SammyFans), who says the “One UI beta program for Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 will start soon, so please be patient.”

Not much information is provided about the program, including when it’ll kick-off. Given the announcement, it should be any moment now.

Samsung has taken to the virtual stage on Tuesday to discuss its plans for foldable phones, highlighting ways that developers can take advant…

The update should be ready for users that pick up their Pixel 6 on release day.

What you need to know

Google is issuing a day-one update for Pixel 6 devices.
The update will be necessary in order to get all the device features.
It should automatically install after completing setup, although it may take some time to complete.

Google wants to make sure that you’re getting the most out of your brand new Pixel 6, so it’s pushing out a day-one update that will be available out-of-the-box.

9to5Google spotted a community support post detailing the update, which is apparently necessary in order to get all of the features, although the post doesn’t specify exactly what the update brings.

According to the post, the update should automatically download once the setup process is complete, although it can take up to 50 minutes, depending on your connection. That should give you plenty of time to futz around with the device before having to reboot it.

If it doesn’t automatically download …

Google gives app developers access to Material You.

What you need to know

Google is bringing Material You design to third-party app developers.
Dynamic colors will soon be available outside of Google’s first-party apps.
Google is also making it easy to design apps for larger displays.

With Android 12 available on Pixel smartphones, Google is hammering down on app support for its new Material You design language.

During the Android Developer Summit, Google announced Material Design 3 availability in Jetpack Compose, which will enable third-party app developers to implement Material You design into their apps.

This will bring support for dynamic color theming on Android 12 to more apps outside of Google’s own apps. Google has already been updated plenty of its first-party apps with Material You support, but going forward, you may start seeing these changes appearing on your favorite apps as well.

To help developers, Google is introducing a Material You Theme Builder, which will…

If you were waiting to get in on the One UI 4 beta, you might be out of luck.

What you need to know

Samsung has ended One UI 4 beta enrollments for the Galaxy S21.
This comes just as the company prepares to launch the beta for its foldables.
Samsung is expected to launch the stable One UI 4 before the end of the year.

There are more signs that Samsung is gearing up for the full stable One UI 4 (Android 12) launch on its best Android phones as the company puts an end to the beta program.

TizenHelp spotted a Samsung community post where a Beta Operator states that “the recruitment of S21 beta participants has ended.”

While current Galaxy S21 beta users shouldn’t be affected by this, it does mean that anyone who has held off on installing One UI 4 beta has more or less lost their opportunity to enroll.

This may only apply to those in South Korea, although it’s likely that this will affect other regions as well, especially given how closely beta updates appear in other regions …