Articles by Joe Maring

Today’s phones and tablets are more powerful than ever, and despite more power-efficient processors, it’s not uncommon to find yourself needing to charge up at times when you aren’t near a wall outlet. Battery packs that are 20,000 mAh and higher are ideal for people that need a lot of juice while on-the-go, and while they may not fit into your pocket, they’re necessary for keeping your devices topped up. Our top pick is the RAVPower 90W Power Delivery Portable Charger. Here’s why it’s the best high-capacity power bank, along with other great alternatives if you need something even bigger.

Best Overall: RAVPower 90W Power Delivery Portable Charger

RAVPower has some of the best prices for power banks on the market, especially considering the high build quality and the 30,000mAh capacity of this model — and that’s before you factor in sales, which happen at least once a month. And that’s while including a 5Amp-capable cable in the box so that you get top speeds instead of whateve…

Your first look at the future of Android.

Android 11 was an update that was greater than the sum of its parts. Smaller features like chat bubbles, conversation notifications, and a built-in screen recorder don’t sound all that impressive on their own. Combined into one seamless package, however, Android 11 was a pretty great update for Google’s mobile OS. Looking ahead at Android 12, we’re expecting another year of greatness.

Android 12 has officially arrived in the form of a developer preview, giving us a very early look at where Google is headed for the next generation of its mobile OS. And, as you’d expect, there’s a lot to talk about.

From the latest features, design changes, availability, and more, here’s every single thing you need to know about Android 12!

Android 12:

Developer preview
Release date
Privacy
Notifications
Miscellaneous
Rumored features
Interface

Android 12 Developer preview

Google released the first developer preview of Android 12 on February 18,…

Samsung makes some of the very best Android phones money can buy, but as great as they are, they’re all plagued by something kind of infuriating — pesky advertisements. If you’ve owned a Samsung Galaxy in recent years, chances are you’ve noticed ads in your notification tray and in certain Samsung apps. Today, we’re showing you how to disable all of these once and for all.

How to turn off ads on your Samsung phone

Samsung has been injecting advertisements into its smartphones for a couple of years now, but especially with the release of the Galaxy S21 family, they seem to be worse than ever before. The above screenshots were taken on my personal S21, featuring banner and full-screen takeover ads in Samsung Weather, Samsung Pay, and the Bixby app.

These kinds of in-app advertisements are present in just about every first-party Samsung application, and, unfortunately, it isn’t possible to 100% stop them from showing up. Thankfully, there are a couple of things you can do to try…

Here’s where Android is headed for 2021.

Android 11 was an update that was greater than the sum of its parts. Smaller features like chat bubbles, conversation notifications, and a built-in screen recorder don’t sound all that impressive on their own. Combined into one seamless package, however, Android 11 was a pretty great update for Google’s mobile OS.

We’re now in 2021, and before you know it, we’ll be playing around with the first developer preview of Android 12. Details on the next big update are still few and far between, but even so, that’s not going to stop us from speculating and making a few educated guesses about where we’re headed next.

From rumored features, interface changes, availability, and more — here’s everything we know so far about Android 12!

Android 12:

Availability
Beta
Features
Interface

Android 12 Availability

While the timing of Android version releases has changed over the years, the past few have been pretty consistent. Here are the date…

The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra has a curved AMOLED display covered with Gorilla Glass 6, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t need a great screen protector. Curved glass is inherently more vulnerable than flat, and the Note 20 Ultra’s massive screen leaves many opportunities for scratches and potential cracks. That’s why you should buy one of the best Galaxy Note 20 Ultra screen protectors for your new, expensive phone.

The glass way

Venoro Tempered Glass Screen Protector

Staff Pick

Venoro is a name we often rely on for quality screen protectors for all major phone releases, and with the Note 20 Ultra, it’s showing up to the plate yet again. This single-screen protector is of the tempered glass variety, offering incredibly scratch resistance, a 99.99% transparency rating, and a super slim design at just 0.2mm thick.

$12 at Amazon

Combo

BAZO Soft Screen Protector (2-Pack)

If you’re looking to stretch your dollars a bit more, you can’t ignore this package from BAZO. It …

Roku and Amazon, step aside.

Update, February 2021: Chromecast with Google TV review, 4 months later

Long before the Pixel smartphones and Google’s big push for self-branded hardware, the Chromecast was a well-known entity in the streaming landscape as one of the best and most affordable ways to get video on your TV. Whether it was the $35 regular Chromecast or the more expensive Chromecast Ultra with 4K, the idea of having a cheap dongle that can play anything from your phone was a concept millions of people got behind.

As streaming media has expanded over the last few years, though, the Chromecast has started to look and feel a bit dated. Compared to the likes of Amazon’s Fire TV Sticks, the best Rokus, and the Apple TV, the lack of a remote and proper user interface have hindered the Chromecast’s functionality.

That’s now changing.

Chromecast with Google TV is the most radical update we’ve ever seen in the Chromecast series, bringing it up to feature parity with the competiti…

With so many great options to choose from, it can be hard to pick the best Android phone from AT&T’s selection. If you’re a little overwhelmed by all of the options and want some help determining which AT&T phone is the right for you — you’ve come to the right place. Here are some of the best AT&T phones available right now!

Best overall

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra

Staff Pick

Need a powerful Android phone that can do it all? Look no further than the Galaxy S21 Ultra. It has a big, brilliant 6.8-inch display, a Snapdragon 888 processor, 5G support, and a 108MP main camera backed by a 100X telephoto and an ultra-wide. Of course, it’s also water-resistant, and it supports not just wireless charging, but reverse wireless charging — and even the S Pen stylus.

$40/month at AT&T

Best for less

Samsung Galaxy S20 FE

The Galaxy S20 FE offers almost everything you’ll find in the S21 Ultra (minus the S Pen) in a smaller, much more affordable package. You get the same…

One of the biggest reasons to buy a high-end phone is for the camera. Whether through computational processing or the use of as many lenses as possible, phones are taking good enough photos these days that most people don’t even consider a dedicated camera. Luckily, there are plenty of options for people that want effortless point-and-shoot style photography, as well as those who want to go more in-depth or have different needs in a phone beyond the camera. The best Android camera is on the Google Pixel 5 because it’s simple to use yet produces amazing photos in all conditions.

Point and shoot

Google Pixel 5

Staff Pick

If you want the very best camera experience you can get on an Android phone, the Pixel 5 is what you need to buy. The 12MP primary and 16MP ultra-wide sensors might not sound all that impressive, but when combined with Google’s unmatched image processing, you end up with a phone that takes incredible pictures every time you press the shutter button. Day or night,…

Looking back at OnePlus’s 2020 flagships.

OnePlus manages to release some of the most exciting and interesting Android phones every year. The concept of getting flagship specs for considerably less money than the competition is what’s helped OnePlus stand out from other brands. Still, as prices rise with each new release and that cost gap closes, OnePlus has had to further refine and improve its phones to help them stand out.

For 2020, OnePlus brought two new handsets to the U.S. with the OnePlus 8 and the OnePlus 8 Pro. The OnePlus 8 is a pretty minor update to 2019’s OnePlus 7T, while the OnePlus 8 Pro is where the company put all of its marbles to create its most premium smartphone to-date.

Whether you’re interested in our review, full device specs, or a closer look at the OnePlus 8/8 Pro’s best features, here’s everything you need to know!

Done settling

OnePlus 8 Pro

$925 at Amazon

OnePlus goes full flagship

The OnePlus 8 Pro marks a big shift in OnePlus as a company….

Chatting with the AC forums.

Taking a look back at some of the best Android phones from the last couple of years, one that stands out as something special is the Google Pixel 3a. The 3a was Google’s first budget handset that launched in May 2019, and shortly after its debut, it became known as one of the best deals of the year.

Google continued the 3a’s legacy with the Pixel 4a and 4a 5G in 2020, and in 2021, we’re expecting a Pixel 5a to keep this train rolling.

Taking a look back at the Pixel 3a, though, there are still quite a few people using — and loving — Google’s first budget device. Sifting through the AC forums, here’s what a few of our members have to say.

tfitzpat03
02-03-2021 04:33 PM

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I have been using mine since July 2019. Still works great. No real complaints outside of the camera app lag for me.
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