Articles by Jay Bonggolto

The new feature appears to be Android 12 exclusive for now.

What you need to know

Google’s Files app has gained a new feature that automatically deletes backed-up photos.
The feature is apparently rolling out to Google Pixel phones running Android 12.
Your photos will be auto-deleted 60 days after they’re uploaded to Google Photos.

Google has updated its Files app with a new feature that should make it easier to save storage space on your device. Files by Google now automatically deletes media files from your Pixel phones that have already been backed up to Google Photos.

The new feature, dubbed “Smart Storage,” was discovered by 9to5Google. It provides an automated method for deleting photos and videos saved locally on your device 60 days after they are uploaded to Photos.

For now, the new capability appears to be available on some Pixel phones running Android 12 beta, including the Google Pixel 5a, Pixel 5, Pixel 4 series, and Pixel 3 devices. This means the upcoming G…

All your background effects now sit in a dedicated place for quick access.

What you need to know

Google Meet has added a new capability to access your background effects through a new settings panel.
You can access the new destination for visual effects before or during a call.
It should arrive for everyone over the next two weeks.

Google Meet has rolled out a new option to easily access its background blur and backdrops. The videoconferencing service now lets you access all your visual effects through a new settings panel.

The new destination is accessible by clicking on the three-dot menu and then selecting the “Apply visual effects” button. A sidebar menu will then show up to let you choose a blur effect or image for your background. These steps work only when you’re already in a meeting using some of the best laptops.

To access the settings panel prior to a meeting, you can head over to Google Meet’s green room. There’s a new “Effects” tab where you can set the background …

TCL isn’t giving up on the foldable phone segment yet.

What you need to know

TCL has indefinitely put its foldable phone project on hold.
The company’s decision is due to the high cost of producing a folding device, among other factors.
TCL still plans to launch a foldable in the future when it can produce it at a low cost.
In the meantime, it will focus on 5G initiatives.

TCL has confirmed that it will no longer launch what would have been its first commercially available foldable phone, codenamed “Chicago.” The device would have been the company’s take on some of the best foldable phones like the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3.

In a statement to Android Central, TCL says it has put its foldable phone on indefinite hold due to rising production costs, among other reasons. Stefan Streit, the company’s chief marketing officer, explained:

Although the foldable market is growing each year, it is still a premium product category.

In combination with recent component shortages, th…

Spotify is bringing in more personalized playlists by matching your existing selection with song suggestions.

What you need to know

Spotify has introduced a new feature to make your playlists more personal.
The new feature is meant to expand your new or existing playlist with song recommendations.
Only Spotify Premium subscribers can access the new option.

Spotify announced a new feature on Thursday designed to make your playlists more personal by adding a mix of suggested songs. The streaming service said Enhance aims to put the “perfect song recommendations” in your new or existing list.

Starting today, Sporify Premium users will start to see the Enhance button at the top of each playlist. Once tapped, the feature will intersperse your playlist with up to 30 song recommendations. Each suggestion will show up after every two tracks.

Of course, you can choose to keep a recommended song in your list forever or give it a hard pass. If you like a particular suggestion, you can ta…

Your media tweets will soon span the width of the timeline.

What you need to know

Twitter has unveiled a new test that makes its timeline look more immersive.
The test expands photos, GIFs, and videos across the full width of the timeline.
Edge-to-edge tweets are currently available to a limited number of iOS users.

Twitter is testing a new experience that gives more focus on photos, GIFs, and videos in the timeline. Media tweets now appear edge-to-edge in the new test, just like Instagram’s display format.

The experimental design offers a more immersive way of viewing photos and videos. Twitter says it’s part of an effort to improve how it displays text-based and media tweets on the platform.

We’re continuing our work to improve how you view Tweets and all forms of media on Twitter.

Today we’re starting to test a more immersive timeline in which photos, videos, and Tweets with text spanning the width of your screen leaving no margin.

Twitter’s edge-to-edge design re…

Samsung’s 2018 flagship phone has been dropped to the quarterly security updates.

What you need to know

Samsung has refreshed its update schedule for various lineups of smartphones.
The Galaxy Note 9 has been downgraded to a quarterly update schedule as part of the change.
Samsung’s latest foldable smartphones are now receiving monthly updates.

Samsung has officially removed the Galaxy Note 9 from its monthly security update schedule three years after the phone’s launch. This is in line with what Samsung typically does to three-year-old Galaxy smartphones.

This means the Galaxy Note 9 will start receiving security updates every three months moving forward. Samsung announced at its Galaxy Unpacked event last year that it would start releasing three generations of updates to its smartphones along with three years’ worth of monthly or quarterly security patches.

Samsung’s latest move was noted by Android Police and brings the device a step closer to obsolescence. The quarterly up…

Nine official wallpapers for ColorOS 12 are now available to download as well.

What you need to know

OPPO has confirmed that ColorOS 12 based on Android 12 will roll out late in September.
The announcement also means Android 12 will launch sometime this month.
The official wallpapers for the next ColorOS version have also been released.

The next version of ColorOS is arriving soon. OPPO has confirmed that ColorOS 12 based on Android 12 will launch sometime later this month.

OPPO shared the general timeline for the rollout of the ColorOS 11 successor via its Weibo account. The announcement fell short of revealing the exact date for the launch, but its release coincides with the expected rollout of Android 12 to some of the best Android phones.

That only makes sense seeing as the Chinese phone maker was one of the first third-party OEMs to offer the Android 12 beta build earlier this year. Specifically, OPPO released the Android 12 beta on the Find X3 Pro, which looks set to pic…

It’s expected to take on Apple’s iPad Pro with Samsung’s upcoming flagship chipset.

What you need to know

A new rumor suggests that Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra won’t be powered by a Snapdragon chipset after all.
The next-generation tablet will reportedly come with Samsung’s own Exynos 2200 onboard.
Samsung could launch the tablet early next year shortly after the debut of its next-gen flagship smartphones.

It’s no secret that Samsung is already working on the Galaxy Tab S8 series as the successor to the Galaxy Tab S7 and Tab S7+, which are among the best Android tablets. The next-generation lineup was recently rumored to ship with Qualcomm’s upcoming flagship SoC dubbed the Snapdragon 895, but that might not be entirely the case.

A post on a Korean forum claims that the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra will be powered by Samsung’s own Exynos 2200 processor, as per SamMobile. The new rumor also suggests only the Galaxy Tab S8 and Tab S8 Plus will feature Qualcomm’s next-gen Snapdr…

More than half of the original list has vanished.

What you need to know

The Fossil Gen 5 series recently got an update via the Play Store that took away dozens of watch faces.
On the other hand, the update introduced two new watch faces in exchange.
You will see the default face on your smartwatch if you used any of the removed watch faces.

Fossil recently rolled out an update to the Fossil Gen 5 series that added two new watch faces. However, owners of the smartwatch were greeted with a frustrating surprise: dozens of watch faces are gone.

Some Fossil Gen 5 users took to Reddit to share how their favorite watch face has been removed after installing the latest update from the Google Play Store. According to 9to5Google, at least 33 watch faces have vanished, including the following:

Big Tic
Blue
Candice Huffine
Colorist
Compass
Cory Richards
Darryl Westly
Defender
Ettore
Flip Digital
Fred
Grant
KJ Apa
Magic 8-Ball
Mandy Moore
McKinney
Mechanical Digital
Men’s Fashion Digital
…

No need to manually curate your movie or recipe collections

What you need to know

Google has rolled out a new design for the Collections tab in the Google app.
The tab now displays automated recommendations categorized in AI-curated segments.
Google is gradually rolling out the new experience.

Google pushed a major update to the Collections tab last year, putting it front and center in the Google app along with AI-powered capabilities to automatically create curated lists. Now, it looks like Google has redesigned that experience in the app to reflect those changes.

The Collections tab now displays several carousels of automated suggestions that are fundamental to some of Google’s services, as spotted by 9to5Google. There’s a new “Quick access” section at the top where your most recent searches are shown, including the places you’ve saved in Google Maps or movies you’d like to watch. You can also modify that list with a quick-edit button at the top right corner.

Below th…