Android

Security is a big topic in the smartphone industry, especially as phones become extensions of ourselves. The technologies used to secure our phones, however, may not always be the most sophisticated, mostly due to reasons of economy. Behind features like fingerprint scanners, PIN codes, and the like, is the ability of a device to generate random numbers to provide some level of security. That is the specialty of Samsung's "quantum cryptography phones" and the Galaxy Quantum 2 takes another stab at that extremely niche market.

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When Pokemon GO was first released, it seemed like a dream. It was as if the stars had aligned, bringing together the most awesome parts of Pokemon as a real-life game and the potential for mobile gaming in-effect. With the Route system, Pokemon GO could, once again, be reborn in the potential for mobile gaming combined with satellite-based global positioning (GPS, for example,) tracking in our global community.

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With LG officially bowing out of the smartphone market, eyes will be turning to the other ailing Android OEMs and what they will do next. While HTC remains mostly silent, Sony actually has an event this week where it will attempt to prove that it's business as usual for its own mobile business. Its next Xperia product is just around the corner but a fresh dump of unofficial details seems to paint a picture of an Xperia 1 III that is teetering between past and future.

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Clubhouse has become the new darling of the social media world. Naturally, that has made it the target of acquisition rumors, hacking attempts, and scandals. All of that while the audio-centric social network is still limited to an invite-only membership system and only on iPhones. Android users are still waiting for their chance to find out what the fuss is all about and, if recent tweets are any indication, that wait might soon be coming to an end.

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Samsung's premium flagships have always been up there when it comes to camera performance but there are areas that could still use some improvement. Last year's Galaxy S20 Ultra was criticized for its autofocus problems and stabilization in smartphones is still undergoing constant evolution. The latest trend, started by Apple's iPhone 12 no less, seems to be shifting away from the once highly-popular OIS towards a sensor shifting strategy, a technology that Samsung is now rumored to be planning for its Galaxy S22 flagship next year.

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LG recently announced that it is getting out of the smartphone business, and soon after it reassured its existing customers that it will continue to support some of its existing phones via additional Android updates over the next three years. This, naturally, raised questions over which models will get the future updates and now we finally have an answer.

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This morning a variety of Google services had a bit of a kerfuffle. Status for Google Drive, Google Dogs, Google Sheets, Google Slides, and Classroom were marked by Google as having a "Service Outage." Per the Google Workspace Status Dashboard, it was only these services that were having a full "outage." However, a significant number of Gmail users reported issues starting at around 8AM central time.

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Google developed its Digital Wellbeing suite to try and break what many are considering addictive behaviors in the use of mobile devices. Time limits and reminders all work to help Android users develop mindfulness habits, but most of those practices are often associated when you're at home or at work, mostly while sitting down. There is, however, one kind of mindfulness that is even more critical, and the new "Heads Up" feature is designed precisely when you're not sitting around while using your phone.

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In the world of mobile gaming, nothing is so addictive as achievements. The world of "challenges" and "rewards" and "check-ins" is inextricably tied to mobile games. In the case of one of the most successful mobile games and experiences yet produced, Pokemon GO, a new way to get rewards and achieve in challenges is about to arrive.

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Despite global economic and mobile market conditions, the Galaxy S21 series seems to be doing quite well. This might have emboldened Samsung to push through with its plans for the rest of the year, no matter how disruptive they may be to its usual rhythm. The Galaxy Z Fold 3 is up next and, judging by leaks, it might be everything that some may have hoped it would be. Considering it would be taking the place of the Galaxy Note this year, however, there might not be much of a choice anyway.

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Although Android Auto supported a number of Android apps that were designed for safe hands-free use for driving, that was true only for those that didn't have anything to do with navigation. It was only a few months ago when Google finally opened the doors to third-party navigation, parking, and charging apps and some big names in that market have started to set up shop, like TomTom's Waze-like AmiGO app, no available on Android Auto.

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Although Google naturally advocates using only its blessed Google Play Store, there is technically nothing that prevents users from using other sources for their app needs. While those alternative stores sometimes offer legit benefits over Google Play Store for one reason or another, they are sometimes also more targeted by malware authors because of their less restrictive policies and systems. In some cases, however, it may be the store owner's own actions that led to a security compromise as was the case of APKPure's own app.

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