Articles by Harish Jonnalagadda

Choosing the right solid-state drive (SSD) makes all the difference for day-to-day tasks or gaming, even more so if it’s the drive that contains the operating system. SATA SSDs took storage to the next level when seen against mechanical drives, but NVMe PCIe SSDs like the Samsung 980 user in a new dimension with fantastic read and write speeds at a reasonable price. As a result, it’s the best SSD in terms of performance and value for your PC or Chromebook.

Best Value SSD

Samsung 980

Staff Pick

The 2021 addition to Samsung’s SSD portfolio changes the dynamic around value. The Samsung 980 is an M.2 drive that costs less than the SATA variant, allowing it to stand out immediately. But, of course, you don’t miss out on any of the advantages of an M.2 SSD either: the 980 goes up to 3,500MB/s and 3,000MB/s for reads and writes, has a five-year warranty, and a 600TBW (terabytes written) endurance.

From $55 at Amazon From $65 at Newegg From $65 at B&H

Best SATA SSD

Samsung 870…

The best Synology NAS enclosures are often the best overall NAS servers available today. A NAS lets you easily back up data from Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS devices, and you can build a robust media server for streaming audio and video to all devices on your home network. These are the best Synology NAS enclosures you can buy.

1. Synology DiskStation DS220+: Best overall

If you’re buying a NAS for the first time or looking to upgrade, the DiskStation DS220+ is the ideal choice. The NAS enclosure has two bays, and it can accommodate a total of 32TB worth of storage across the two drive bays. That should be more than enough storage for most users, and you get upgraded internal hardware in the form of an Intel Celeron J4025 chipset and 2GB of DDR4 RAM.

You also get two Gigabit Ethernet ports at the back, and thanks to Link Aggregation, you can combine the two ports to get a boost in data transfer rates across your home network. There are also two USB 3.0 ports and a single fan…

The default Messages app is installed out of the box on all Android phones, and Google constantly adds new features to the service. A new addition is the ability to star messages. This feature allows you store important messages for later, making it easier for you to access the contents of the message without having to dig through dozens of conversations. Here’s how you can take advantage of this useful feature.

How to star important messages in the Google Messages app

Open Google Messages.
Pick a conversation.

Tap and hold the message you’d like to star.
Now hit the Star icon that shows up at the top of the app.

You should see a smaller star icon at the bottom of the message, indicating that it has been saved as a starred message. You can view these messages by going to the action overflow menu (three vertical dots to the right) and selecting Starred. All of your starred messages are saved here by default.

It’s good to see Google adding the ability to star messages wit…

POCO delivers a phone with blistering performance and stellar battery life — while undercutting the Nord 2.

The mid-range segment has seen a flurry of launches over the last six weeks, with the Realme X7 Max, Reno 6 Pro, and the OnePlus Nord 2 all making their debut. POCO has also thrown its hat in the ring with its latest device, the F3 GT.

The F3 GT uses the standard POCO F3 as a foundation, but you won’t find a lot of similarities between the two phones. There’s a good reason for this: the POCO F3 GT is a rebranded version of the Redmi K40 Gaming Edition, and as a result you’ll find a few unique features that make it stand out from the rest of the phones in POCO’s portfolio.

POCO’s playbook over the last 18 months has been to rebrand existing Redmi devices and tweak a few things around design and software, and it has largely worked. With the F3 GT, POCO is aiming to offer one of the best mid-range phones available today. India’s budget segment is obviously the driver for a bu…

If you want to get your hands on the best Android phone in 2021, the Samsung Galaxy S21 is the one for you. It’s a device that delivers all of the high-end specs and features you could ask for in a flagship smartphone, all while coming in at a lower price than its predecessor. That said, if you’re in the market for a more affordable smartphone with different software, or a more unique design, there are plenty of other options to consider.

What are the best Android phones?

There are many contenders for the best Android phones, but we think the Samsung Galaxy S21 is the best option for most people. Admittedly, the S21 isn’t the most premium Android phone you can buy in 2021 (that honor would probably go to the Galaxy S21 Ultra or Galaxy Z Fold 2). Still, when looking at the specs and features it offers for the price, it’s easily the best phone that most people should buy.

The best part is that the Galaxy S21 costs less than its predecessor, making it an even more enticing option…

The best network-attached storage (NAS) for home is one that lets you stream your media collection and back up all the devices on your network seamlessly. A NAS essentially lets you create your private Netflix or Spotify, and most models on this list let you access your media over the internet. If you’re looking to build your own media server or need a solution for backing up data, these are the best NAS enclosures for your home, although if you were to start somewhere, we’d recommend the Synology DiskStation DS220+.

Synology DiskStation DS220+

Best overall

Bottom line: The DiskStation DS220+ ticks all the right boxes: it has robust internals, making it ideal for Plex 4K streaming, two Gigabit ports, and versatile software that offers a ton of features.

Pros:

Ideal for 4K Plex streaming
Up to 32TB of storage across two bays
Two Gigabit Ethernet ports
Versatile software with plenty of features
Powerful internal hardware

Cons:

No M.2 caching
No eSATA port

The DiskStati…

The OnePlus Nord 2 is almost here, and it has exciting hardware upgrades.

The OnePlus Nord debuted to much fanfare last year, and it turned into a bestseller for the company. OnePlus is all set to launch the OnePlus Nord 2 on July 22, and the device will have a lot of upgrades that differentiate it from the first-gen Nord.

OnePlus also released the Nord CE 5G in India and European countries earlier this year, with that device offering similar hardware as the Nord at a slightly more affordable price point. The Nord 2, however, is packed with new hardware — including a MediaTek Dimensity 1200 and new camera modules — so if you’re in the market for a mid-range phone, there is a lot to like. Here’s what you need to know about the Nord 2 and when you’ll be able to get your hands on the mid-range phone.

Jump to:

Release date
Price and availability
Design
Specs
Software

Budget warrior

OnePlus Nord N10 5G

$300 at Amazon

You don’t have to pay more for 5G

The Nord N10 5G…

WhatsApp is one of the best messaging apps around, and it is finally getting multi-device login. The feature is now live for beta users on Android and iOS, and it lets you log in to four devices at the same time — and you don’t have to stay connected to your phone to send messages. This is a big deal for the platform, and the feature is now being rolled out to beta users worldwide.

What’s particularly great is that the feature is end-to-end encrypted, ensuring you have the same level of security as the default app. Here’s how to get started with WhatsApp multi-device, and what you can do with the feature.

How to sign up for WhatsApp multi-device

Open WhatsApp.
Hit the Overview menu (three vertical dots).
Tap Linked Devices.

Tap Multi-device beta.
Tap Join beta.
Joining the beta will unlink connected devices. Tap Continue to join the multi-device beta.

Once you’ve joined the beta, you can connect a new device to your account by hitting the Link a device button. Before you …

Xiaomi records an insane 83% year-on-year growth and is now within striking distance of Samsung.

It looks like Xiaomi is having a great 2021. In addition to making the best Android phones in the form of the Mi 11 Ultra and Mi 11, Xiaomi sold tens of millions of budget phones in the Redmi series, allowing it to nudge past Apple to become the second-largest smartphone manufacturer in the world.

The latest data from Canalys reveals Xiaomi now has a 17% global market share, bested only by Samsung at 19%. The firm notes that Xiaomi saw a massive 83% year-on-year growth, with Samsung touting a 15% increase and Apple at just 1%. OPPO and Vivo, meanwhile, are at a joint fourth with a 10% market share.

Xiaomi’s momentum comes from a strong focus on the budget segment — the Redmi Note 10 Pro is the budget phone to beat in 2021 — combined with a foray into new markets. According to Canalys Research Manager Ben Stanton, most of Xiaomi’s growth over the last year was from international mar…

PUBG Mobile is a graphics-intensive game that demands a powerful phone. If you want the best results and more Chicken Dinners, you’re going to need a phone for that truly stands out from the pack, and in 2021 that’s the OnePlus 9 Pro. Not only is it a great phone packed with the latest internals and a 120Hz QHD+ AMOLED display, but you also get the best software on Android right now.

Best overall: OnePlus 9 Pro

PUBG Mobile has been developed to run pretty well on old and new phones alike, but you’ll need a phone with admirable specs to run it at the highest graphics settings. The OnePlus 9 Pro fits the bill, with 8GB of RAM and a Snapdragon 888 chipset, which both deliver enough memory and processing power for great gaming performance.

OxygenOS continues to deliver a simple and speedy software experience that allows for customization, including the gaming mode, which offers fine controls for avoiding distractions while gaming. You can limit notifications to alarms and calls or …