Articles by Hayato Huseman

The best Android phones can do just about anything these days — did you know they can even make phone calls, but you probably want to learn how to block incoming calls, right? You’ve probably gotten your fair share of spam calls in the last few years, and many carriers are actively working to prevent spam and “robocalls” from happening, but some people don’t want to receive calls at all. Whether you use VoIP services, carry a work phone that only needs access to data, or prefer texting over calling, here’s how you can quickly disable all incoming calls from ringing your phone.

Get familiar with Do Not Disturb mode

Do Not Disturb has been available since the release of Android Marshmallow way back in 2015. This feature makes it so you can either temporarily (or permanently) disable notifications from coming through. With Do Not Disturb enabled, you can set various rules and schedules for your phone to follow, muting notifications for certain contacts, time periods, and more.

The …

Nest makes great Wi-Fi-connected security cameras, but their high prices push many customers to seek the best cheap Nest Cam alternatives. Until the new 2021 Nest Cams arrive, you’re stuck with the current Nest Cam Indoor (IQ) and Nest Cam Outdoor, all of which are several years old and pretty expensive compared to more recent rival cameras. Whether you’re after the absolute cheapest camera you can buy or something with just as many features as Nest for a little less, we’ve got you covered. Here are some of our favorite Nest alternatives.

Best overall

Ring – Indoor 1080p Wi-Fi Security Camera – White

Ring’s Indoor Cam captures 1080p video with customizable motion zones, night vision, and two-way audio. You can stream your video feed directly on an Alexa-powered smart display like the Echo Show, and the Ring Protect service lets you keep a timeline of previous motion-triggered recordings. As a cheap Nest Cam Indoor alternative, it comes close in specs at about half the price of t…

Finding the best Bluetooth speaker is a surefire way to ensure that you can play your favorite music when you’re swimming in the pool or out on a camping trip with friends. Bluetooth speakers are compatible with practically every mobile device around and will make sure that as long as your phone, tablet, or laptop is around, your music will be loud. There are so many options available that it can be difficult to choose the best option for your needs. Thankfully, we’ve done the research and identified what we feel are the best Bluetooth speakers for various cases. Hopefully, your Bluetooth speaker is on this list, and if not, it’s time to buy one.

What are the best Bluetooth speakers?

Our overall favorite Bluetooth speaker is the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2 due to its sound quality, extreme portability, great battery, and excellent water resistance. Plus, it comes in at a reasonable price. It has just about everything you would want in a speaker.

If you’re looking for a more premium…

A staggering improvement in just a year’s time.

It isn’t often that I get to review a product that genuinely feels like part of the future in quite the way the Galaxy Z Fold 2 does. The first-gen Galaxy Fold came close, but the initial display woes combined with other compromises like the dinky cover screen served as reminders that we were still very much in the present.

With the Fold 2, Samsung has corrected these issues and doubled down on its reputation for outstanding build quality and display tech to create something that truly feels out of place in our current timeline; a marvel of modern engineering that somehow feels equal parts refined, experimental, niche, and practical.

Of course, it’s also prohibitively expensive for most people. The Galaxy Z Fold 2 launched at $2,000 and is now on sale for $1,700, and even that demands a certain level of commitment to its ever-evolving (and ever-volatile) form factor.

Put simply, it’s a luxury device aimed at consumers that, like…

Big Red may charge an arm and a leg for its service, but the best Android phones on its network don’t all have to be unattainably expensive. Whether you’re after the top-of-the-line Galaxy S21 Ultra or you’d rather save some money and pick up something like the Galaxy A42 5G, there are plenty of great options for one of the nation’s top-rated carriers. Here are our top picks when it comes to the best Verizon phones on the market right now.

Best overall

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G

Staff Pick

The Galaxy S21 Ultra is Samsung’s ultimate mobile experience, cramming powerful specs and a 6.8-inch 120Hz display into a modern design. It also has an enormously capable camera system that features a 108MP main sensor and up to 100X zoom, plus 8K video capture. You get a massive 5000mAh battery and 5G support, and the S21 Ultra even supports the S Pen stylus.

From $39.99/mo. at Verizon

Best compact phone

Google Pixel 5

If you value clean software and timely updates above all els…

Everything you need, without the luxuries you don’t.

It’s easy to get drawn in by the allure of über-premium devices like the Galaxy S21 Ultra, but if there’s anything Samsung learned from last fall’s shockingly performant Galaxy S20 FE, it’s that for many users, the best Android phone isn’t necessarily the one with the highest price tag. That’s especially true now, as thousands across the U.S. are struggling to make ends meet amidst a global pandemic; for those people, dropping four figures on a smartphone is hardly a top priority.

The Galaxy S21 feels like the right phone arriving at the right time. It’s $200 cheaper than last year’s S20 at launch, and with aggressive trade-in offers, it can be had for much less. While it makes a few concessions in order to reach that lower price, the S21 still offers a fully-fledged flagship experience that I think most people will be perfectly happy with — but make no mistake, this isn’t just a smaller S21 Ultra by any means. And that’s …

Amazon Fire HD 8 (2020)

Best value tablet

From $90 at Amazon

Pros

Much cheaper than the HD 10
The smaller size is better for e-books
Most portable HD Fire tablet
USB-C, fast charging, and 12-hour battery life

Cons

The display isn’t as dense as the HD 10
Speakers distort at high volumes

The Fire HD 8 might be the best value tablet on the market, boasting smooth performance with Amazon’s Fire OS and a surprisingly good display for just $90. While it isn’t quite as powerful as the HD 10, it offers all the same basic functionality at substantial savings. The HD 8.

Amazon Fire HD 10 (2021)

Best Amazon tablet

From $150 at Amazon

Pros

The large screen is better for watching videos
Better specs than the HD 8
Louder speakers with more clarity
USB-C, fast charging, and 12-hour battery life

Cons

The larger size may be too much for some
Highest priced Fire tablet, non-Kids Edition

The Fire HD 10 takes everything great about the HD 8 and takes it up a notch with better …

Mint Mobile is a prepaid carrier operating on T-Mobile’s network that sells its plans in multi-month bundles so you can save money. You can buy three, six, or 12 months at a time. Plans come in 4GB, 10GB, 15GB, or even unlimited and include 5G. Should you decide to try out Mint Mobile, porting your number from another carrier is a fairly simple and painless process.

Products used in this guide

Unlimited calls, texts, and 4GB: Mint Mobile ($45 for three months at Mint Mobile)
Unlocked with LTE and 5G: Samsung Galaxy S20 5G ($790 at Amazon)

Bring your number to Mint

Before starting the porting process, it’s important to note that your phone number must remain active on your previous carrier throughout the process. If you cancel your old service before moving to Mint, you likely won’t be able to recover your phone number — at least, not without going through a much more tedious process.

Once you’ve decided on a plan and received your Mint Mobile SIM card, starting the porting p…

A great option for today’s work-from-home needs.

Shure is one of the most pedigreed names in the audio business, with a range of incredibly popular and instantly recognizable microphones, from the SM7B to the SM57 to the gorgeous Super 55 Deluxe. These models have been around for decades and have established Shure as an undeniable force in recording, but in more recent years, there’s been an increasing demand for portable USB microphones — not so much for musicians looking to record their next album, but for podcasters, streamers, and voiceover artists who want to record audio without the need for expensive and bulky equipment like XLR interfaces and pre-amps.

Last winter, I reviewed the Shure MV7, calling it “the perfect podcasting microphone” thanks to its great sound, versatility, powerful app, and options for either USB or XLR output. It’s essentially a more compact and modern SM7B, and I still use it for every recording of the Android Central Podcast — but even that microp…

We’re nearly on stable ground.

The final Android 12 Developer Preview has arrived, and that means we’re just a few short weeks away from the first public beta, the next major milestone towards stable Android 12. In this version, we’re starting to see more of the visual changes and animations that we know are coming in the next version, giving us a closer look at what the final build might look like.

I disregarded my own advice and installed the latest Developer Preview 3 build on my personal Pixel 5, as I’ve done with the previous builds, in order to break down some of the biggest user-facing changes in this new software release.

As a reminder, you probably shouldn’t install this or any other preview build on your personal phone — that especially goes for anyone on an older device like the Pixel 4, not because it’s not one of the best Android phones around anymore, but because stability seems to be significantly worse on older models. For what it’s worth, things have been mo…