Articles by Michael Allison

5G is better on Android, according to OpenSignal.

What you need to know

An Opensignal report shed some light on 5G performance on Android phones vs iPhones in the US.
Android phones outperformed the iPhone, with even cheap phones like the A51 pulling ahead of the iPhone 12 Pro.
Samsung accounted for 60% of the top 25 performers in the list.

If you’re buying an Android phone this year, you’ll likely have 5G onboard. Whether it’s the ostentatious Galaxy S21 Ultra, the sensible Pixel 5, or even the cheap Nord N10, there’s going to be a 5G option for your budget.

Now, it also turns out that the best Android phones are better than the iPhone in terms of 5G download speed. The report comes from Opensignal who claimed that Apple’s iPhones trailed almost every relevant 5G Android phone in terms of download speed.

To contextualize this, the Galaxy A51 5G has download speeds of 38.6 Mbs, faster than the iPhone 12 Pro’s 36.9 Mbs. That’s before we get into true flagship phones like the S…

Signal’s newest update will make switching phones faster

What you need to know

Signal is rolling out a beta update that enables wireless account migration.
It allows a user to easily transfer their account between devices without the need for a local backup.
When it rolls out, it’ll remain secure as the company is using an end-to-end encrypted local WiFi direct connection to transfer the data.

Signal, the messaging app that is set to replace WhatsApp for the most privacy-focused users, is borrowing one of WhatsApp’s most useful features with wireless account migration. Have you ever thought about how to keep conversations and messages up to date as you swap between phones? Probably not. Whether you’re using WhatsApp or Telegram, your chats are often stored in the cloud, and accessible on every device when you log in.

Signal’s privacy-focused nature didn’t allow for that, restricting users to only being able to transfer account data via way of a local backup. That’s changing in …

A swift turnaround.

Update, March 15 (09:15 am ET): The rollout has now resumed.

What you need to know

OnePlus has pulled OxygenOS 11 for the Nord after finding bugs.
Users logged their concerns over at OnePlus’s official forums just hours after the release.
An updated build will be coming shorty.

OnePlus has started rolling out OxygenOS 11, bringing Android 11 alongside its own software overlay to its devices. This week, the rollout finally hit the OnePlus Nord, one of the best cheap Android phones we’ve seen, and the phone nailed for returning OnePlus to its affordable flagship roots in reviews.

Despite the relatively slow rollout pace, OnePlus didn’t quite manage to satisfy all its customers when it came to the quality of the update. In the 24 hours since the release, many found bugs that ranged from trifling to crippling. Some of those bugs found by the testers included heavy battery drain, interface lag, and camera performance issues. As a result, OnePlus has pulled the u…

Spotify’s previous expansion included a rollout to 80 countries.

What you need to know

Spotify is rolling out an update to the mobile app that enables support for 36 additional languages.
It’s part of Spotify’s recent move to expand support internationally.
The company announced the addition of over 80 new countries to its catalog last month.

It’s going to be a lot easier to use Spotify now — no matter which country you are or the language you speak — once the company is done with its early-2021 updates. It announced an expansion to over 80 markets across the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Latin America last month. This month it’s rolling out an update to its mobile app that’ll include support for 36 new languages.

Writing via blog post, the Spotify team shared:

The new languages are already available on the web platform, and today they will begin to roll out on the mobile app. The expansion brings the following to Spotify: Afrikaans, Amharic, Azerbaijani, Bengali, Bhoj…

Another OnePlus phone is getting this major update.

What you need to know

OnePlus is now rolling out OxyenOS 11 to the OnePlus 8T.
It’s an Open Beta that’ll give users a taste of the latest Android 11-based software.
Other OnePlus phones, including the OnePlus 8 and the Nord, have gotten the latest stable OyxgenOS 11 builds, however.

The OnePlus 8T, one of the best Android phones, is getting better after finally getting a taste of the latest Android 11 builds paired with the company’s OxygenOS 11. The company announced via the community forums that the first Open Beta build would be rolling out today, allowing users to test out the new software before a wider release.

As per OnePlus, here’s what’s new:

Key updates:

Optimized the UI display of the status bar
Optimized the stability of the frame rate and improve its experience while playing games
Optimized the Community homepage with more noticeable notification
Updated Android security patch to 2021.02
Optimi…

Microsoft and Google are clashing very publicly after years of civility.

What you need to know

Google today accused Microsoft of “naked corporate opportunism” over recent critiques the latter had leveled.
The company claimed Microsoft was trying to distract from its failures in the Solar Winds breach.
Google had previously called Microsoft out over its eagerness to impose what it dubbed an “unworkable levy”.

Google and Microsoft have been exchanging barbs over the past couple of weeks. Microsoft first took the chance to rebuke Google over its threat to leave Australia back in February. The most recent straw that broke the cattle’s back appears to have come this week, with Microsoft President Brad Smith critiquing Google’s alleged monopolistic practices.

Google has in the past criticized Microsoft over its eagerness to “impose an unworkable levy on a rival”, but today Google’s Kent Walker, SVP of Global Affairs, penned a more comprehensive response.

In a scathing blog post shar…

Google is getting more attractive for travel companies as the world reopens.

What you need to know

Google will now make it free for hotel booking listings to be listed in Search and Travel.
Previously, hoteliers had to pay Google for their links to be featured via Hotel ads.
Google says it’s doing this to help the people connect with the travel industry as countries reopen.

Google today announced a new move geared towards the post-pandemic world. It’s now making it free for hotels and travel companies to list their booking links directly from the search results page. Previously, when you searched for hotels in Google, you’d be able to see listings and availability, but direct booking links would only be made available if the company had paid for Hotel Ads. This change will come first on Google Travel.

Richard Holden, Vice President, Product Management, Travel, said in a blog post:

Today’s update is part of our larger effort to ensure people have access to all offers availa…

Google Search is getting a lot more comprehensive with Full Coverage.

What you need to know

Google Search is gaining Google News’s comprehensive Full Coverage feature.
It’s rolling out to people in the U.S. this month.
Full Coverage allows people to see extended coverage of trending topics, including explainers, interviews, and more.

Google is making the Search app more comprehensive with support from the Google News team. The company is including “Full Coverage” into its main Search app.

It’s not a new feature per se, it’s just one that allowed you to tap on a news topic and get a lot more contextual information around that topic either on the Google News site or app, and now it’s coming to Search directly.

Google’s Itamar Snir, Product Manager, Google News explained in a post:

When you’re searching for information on a timely topic, you see a carousel of articles at the top of your Search results highlighting relevant news. Now for big, developing news stories, you can t…

Google’s been making its products more child-friendly over the last year, this is just the latest step.

What you need to know

Google TV is the latest Google service to add a kids profile feature.
Once enabled, parents will be able to control what kind of apps and content can be used or consumed on the Google TV platform.
It’s coming to the U.S. in March and other countries later in the year.

Google is building out an update for the Google TV platform that’ll make it more child-friendly, as expected from a report last month. It’s rolling out “kids profiles”, a feature that’ll allow parents to create a space on the Google platform focused on appropriate content for their children.

As with the main Google TV home screen, the kids profile home screen will be filled with recommendations revolving around apps and programs. They’ll all be child-friendly apps, think YouTube Kids, and parents will be able to control what purchased movies and TV shows are suggested if they’ve signed up …

Samsung hasn’t announced this phone officially, but it’s spilled the beans a little.

What you need to know

Samsung is preparing to launch the Galaxy A52 5G soon.
A new listing on one of Samsung’s websites reveals a brisk monthly security update pace.
Samsung has also promised to deliver updates to A-series Smartphones for four years after launch.

Samsung is preparing to announce the mid-range Galaxy A52 and Galaxy A72 soon, and while we’ve seen the leaks from the usual suspects, a new detail comes straight from Samsung itself. Spotted on a support page by the Galaxy Club, Samsung lists the Galaxy A52 5G as a candidate for its monthly security updates. It’s the first of the A-Series phones to be there and sits alongside Samsung’s other high-end flagships including the Galaxy S21, the Galaxy Z Fold 2, and the Galaxy Z Flip 5G.

When it comes to updates, Samsung has lifted the bar for what can be expected on Android phones to above what even Google offers. The company is offerin…