Articles by Michael Allison

It’s easier to keep your Zoom account secure when two-factor authentication is turned on.

What you need to know

Zoom has enabled two-factor authentication for all users on its mobile and desktop apps.
You can now secure your Zoom account with SMS or an authenticator app.
It’s available to users on all tiers, whether free or paid.

Zoom has enabled two-factor authentication (2FA) on its service, allowing customers to secure their account with an extra layer of protection. It will work on the web app, as well as the mobile and desktop clients.

“With Zoom’s 2FA, users have the option to use authentication apps that support Time-Based One-Time Password (TOTP) protocol (such as Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, and FreeOTP), or have Zoom send a code via SMS or phone call, as the second factor of the account authentication process,” the Zoom team wrote in a blog post. The Verge adds that Zoom will offer this feature to all customers, including those on the free tiers.

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Google puts a socially-distanced spin on a geeky tradition.

What you need to know

Google today released Android 11.
The company did not unveil a physical statue, as it had done in years past.
Instead, Google has now rolled out a 3D statue, viewable wherever you’d like and powered by AR.

Google today released Android 11, the next major release of Android. Breaking with tradition, a physical Android statue celebrating the new release wasn’t unveiled. To be fair, there’s a very good reason for that. In typical Google fashion, the firm now has a version of the Android statue that you can carry around in your pocket and view wherever you’d like. You can check it out in this link to see it with your own two eyes.

Oh, and point your Android phone at https://t.co/oXeWGRAwVn to see the Android 11 AR statue!— Dave Burke (@davey_burke) September 8, 2020

Hopefully, Google unveils another physical Android 11 statue when it’s time to go out and congregate safely, but this a nice way of …

These new TicPods are already available on Amazon.

What you need to know

Mobvoi’s new TicPods 2 Pro+ are upgrades over the early 2020 TicPods 2 Pro.
They’ll set you back $139.99 from Amazon.
Some of the updates Mobvoi’s added to these are single pairing technology so each earbud can pair independently as well as improved touch controls.

Mobvoi has launched the TicPods 2 Pro+, improved versions of the true wireless TicPods 2 Pro buds it released at CES in early 2020. As the name gives away, it’s not a major update. Mobvoi is taking the good things about the old TicPods Pro and making them better with slight improvements in Bluetooth technology that have debuted since then.

First, the TicPods 2 Pro+ are now able to connect independently of each other to whatever device you’re streaming audio from with single pairing technology. In essence, it supercharges the bluetooth experience, enabling ancilliary features like smart role-swap and handover to boost the battery life of both ear…

Google previously enabled an anti-Zoom-bombing feature for Meet.

What you need to know

Google Meet now lets teachers control who can share their screens or send group messages in a meeting.
It’s being made available to G Suite for Education customers.
For Google Chat, the company has now added read receipts support for one on one chats. It’ll be coming on or around October 5.

Google Meet has been taking off in the education sector, and the company is making small adjustments to the service as students head back to (virtual) school. Now, admins can control who can share their screens and who can send chat messages in a group video call. The company will make this feature set available only while using the web and not on the mobile app.

To control who can share screens, the meeting host, likely the teacher, will now have the option known as “Share their screen.” If turned off, only the host will be able to present and participants won’t see the option. Ditto for the new “Send cha…

The LG Velvet on AT&T and Verizon both come with Snapdragon 765 processors.

What you need to know

The LG Velvet has finally launched on T-Mobile.
It’ll go on sale from September 10 for $24.50 a month or $588 at full retail price.
LG is swapping out the Snapdragon 765 for a MediaTek Dimensity 1000 chip.

LG is finally bringing the Velvet to T-Mobile after launching on AT&T and Verizon earlier this year. The smartphone will make a debut in Aurora Gray and Pink White to match the carrier’s colors, but it’ll also have something else to set it aside. T-Mobile’s Velvet will be dropping the Snapdragon 765G processor for MediaTek’s Dimensity 1000C, a new member of the Dimensity 1000 series built for the U.S. market.

The Dimensity 1000 series was announced late in 2019, with President Joe Chen saying:

Our Dimensity series is a culmination of MediaTek’s investment in 5G and positions us as a leader driving 5G development and innovation. Our 5G technology goes head-to-head with…

The OnePlus Buds app is a full-featured app for updating and customizing the company’s true wireless earbuds.

What you need to know

OnePlus just rolled out a new OnePlus Buds app for its eponymous earbuds.
It’s installable on OnePlus devices only.
The app is being hit by 1-star reviews over its “forced” installation.

Just like with the Galaxy Wearable app and the Pixel Buds app, OnePlus is rolling out its own dedicated app for the OnePlus true wireless buds. You’ll be able to update the firmware and adjust the app from this new OnePlus Buds app, though the company notes that it’s only installable on OnePlus phones.

Not everyone is happy with that addition, OnePlus is getting a lot of flack from users in the reviews, blasting them from taking away control and forcing an app they didn’t consent to on their phone. For what it’s worth, Google did the same thing earlier in the year with the Pixel Buds app, and users responded the same way.

To quote myself from back then:

Ultima…

The first Pixel phone cost almost the same price.

What you need to know

Google’s Pixel 5 has had its price leaked just weeks before release.
It’s rumored to cost €629 in Europe.
In USD, it may cost $599 or $699, just above the $$499 Pixel 4a 5G.

Google’s Pixel 5 is said to be coming out by the end of this month, and a new leak could tell us just how much it costs. According to Technik News, Google will ask €629 for the Pixel 5 when it drops. While the site doesn’t have a long leak history, it has proven reliable in predicting recent Samsung pricing, but all rumors are subject to a grain of salt. It’s not clear how much that could be in the UK, but its likely Google will price it between $599 and $699 to match other phones with the same SoC.

These prices are a far cry from Google’s previously expensive flagship smartphones and a lot more reflective of the lowered-specs predicted to be on offer — a Snapdragon 765G, a 90Hz FHD OLED display, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage….

The Nest Mini is a pretty good smart speaker to have around the house.

Update, September 1 (7:00 pm ET): This offer has now gone live in the UK.

What you need to know

Google and Spotify have teamed up to offer a free Nest Mini with Premium subscriptions.
It’s available for users in the UK and Canada who haven’t redeemed a Google Nest Mini with a Spotify promo in the past.
The promo lasts through September 30th.

Google and Spotify are teaming up again to offer a free Nest Mini with a Premium subscription. Like with other offers, you’ll be emailed a code from Spotify if eligible which you can then redeem on the Google Store for your free Mini.

This offer is restricted to buyers in the Canada only, and you’ll have to be a paying Spotify customer and one who hasn’t redeemed one of these offers in the past. It can also be redeemed against Duo, Family, or Student Premium subscriptions. You’ll have until September 30th to grab a code, and then until October 31st to redeem said code, …

You could always find images on Google, but now you can see which ones can be used or licensed.

What you need to know

Google’s new Images update make it easier to properly license photos for commercial use.
You’ll also be able to filter between license types when searching on Google.
Google has worked with stock photo companies and image licensors to properly implement this feature.

Google Images is the best way to find pictures on the internet, but depending on what you’re using those images for, it may not be the best place to find usable images. If you’re using a photo for a school project or a quick meme between friends, you don’t need to worry half the time. However, when it comes to using photos on things like blog posts or anything commercial, you need to make sure you have the proper usage rights, or else you risk exposing yourself to legal consequences (and the artist doesn’t get paid or credited for their work.)

Google has worked with content creators and stock photo …

“Stock Android is a good starting point for mobile devices, but we also believe there’s a lot we can do to make the experience even better.”

What you need to know

OnePlus is moving OxygenOS away from a stock Android design to one that hews more closely towards Samsung’s OneUI.
The company says the move is part of a desire to improve stock Android.
OxygenOS’s redesign is intended to improve one-hand usability on large devices, a space the company says Google’s own software isn’t good at.

OxygenOS is getting a redesign with version 11, and it has proved to be controversial with fans. The software is moving away from what one could see as a system inspired by Google’s stock Android to one that more closely resembles other Android OEMs.

OnePlus today shared the reasoning behind that, writing on their official forums:

As screens increase in size, so does the unused white space. We wanted to make the most of that space while keeping the interface easy to use. We conducted A/B t…