Samsung Galaxy Note 9 rumors: Release date, specs, price, and features!

Here’s everything we know about the Galaxy Note 9!

Now more than ever, Samsung’s Galaxy S+ phones are becoming eerily similar to the Note series. The Note used to be Samsung’s way of touting all of the latest and greatest tech it had to offer, and while this is still the case, the same can be said for this year’s Galaxy S9+.

Samsung needs more than just the S Pen to make the Note 9 stand out from its own phones and the rest of the competition, and luckily, all signs are pointing to something exciting for this year’s release. Here’s what we know so far!

August 3, 2018 — Note 9 retail box confirms many of the Note 9’s specs

For Pete’s sake — this is just getting ridiculous.

The same day that Samsung accidentally published a promo video for the Note 9, a Russian retail box for the phone has appeared to confirm a number of specifications. Although the specs are written in Russian, a quick translation makes them accessible in no time at all.

For the display, we’re looking at a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED panel with a resolution of Quad HD+. The camera hardware appears to be the same as the Galaxy S9+, consisting of two 12MP sensors on the back. That means the primary lens will be capable of dual f/1.5 and f/2.4 apertures while the secondary f/2.4 lens allows for optical zoom.

Also present is an 8MP front-facing camera, 4,000 mAh battery, 128GB of storage (other rumored configurations include 256GB and 512GB), and headphones that are tuned by AKG. The box mentions “remote control” for the new S Pen, but doesn’t go any further to explain what that actually means.

August 3, 2018 — Official Galaxy Note 9 promo video leaks days before announcement

Six days before Samsung’s set to announce the Galaxy Note 9, an official promotional video for the phone has leaked online to give us an early glimpse of what’s to come.

The video confirms much of what we’ve been anticipating for months, including the Note 9’s design, an “all new powerful S Pen”, “powerful all day battery”, and expandable storage. The video ends with a bit of text that says “pre-order now”, suggesting that pre-orders for the Note 9 might open the same day it’s announced.

What will the Galaxy Note 9 look like?

Quick answer — a lot like the Note 8.

We’ve seen one collection of renders for the Note 9 so far (pictured above), and save for the fingerprint sensor being moved below the rear camera sensor, the phone’s shaping up to be nearly identical to last year’s model.

As such, we can expect a large Infinity Display with slim bezels, an all-glass back, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Samsung’s event teaser suggests that we’ll get at least one bright yellow color option, but I’m still crossing my fingers the Galaxy S9’s Burgundy Red gets a wide release on the Note 9 🤞.

What specs can we look forward to?

Samsung’s Galaxy Note phones are always home to some of the best specs around, and the Note 9 shouldn’t be any different.

Based on the current rumor mill and what we’ve seen from other 2018 flagships, here’s what we think we’ll see this year.

What’s going on with the S Pen?

The S Pen has always been one of the biggest draws to the Galaxy Note phones, and this year with the Note 9, we’re expecting Samsung to give the accessory one of the biggest updates we’ve seen in years.

One of the biggest changes this time around is that the Note 9 S Pen is rumored to come with Bluetooth. On one hand, this means the S Pen will need to have a battery and be charged somehow. Although we can’t confirm this, it’s likely Samsung will design a system that allows the S Pen to charge up while it’s inside the Note 9.

On a more exciting note, Bluetooth could allow for the S Pen to be useful even when it’s not in direct contact with the Note 9. Its button could act as a camera shutter, slide-show clicker, give you better alerts when it’s away from your phone, and more.

There have also been hints at some sort of gaming-specific features, but it’s unclear how exactly these will pan out.

When will the Galaxy Note 9 be released?

The Galaxy Note 9 will be announced on August 9, 2018, at an Unpacked event in New York City.

We can expect retail availability to come in a 1-2 week time frame after the announcement, if any previous launches are any indication.

How much will the Galaxy Note 9 cost?

Pricing for the Note series has steadily been going up each year, as has the majority of the smartphone industry.

The Galaxy Note 8 costs $950 unlocked, and I’d expect the Note 9 to cost either the same or slightly more. Apple proved with the iPhone X that people aren’t afraid to shell out $1000+ for a new smartphone, and I don’t consider it to be out of the question for Samsung to follow suit with the Note 9 – especially if it adopts newer technologies like an in-display fingerprint sensor.

Samsung Galaxy S9 & S9+: Everything you need to know!

Samsung Galaxy Note 9

• Samsung Galaxy Note 9 rumors: Release date, specs, price, and features!
• Is it best to buy the Galaxy S9 or wait for the Note 9?
• Do you plan on upgrading to the Note 9?
• Galaxy Note 8 review
• Join our Galaxy Note 9 forums

Updated August 3, 2018: Updated spec sheet with latest available info.

Revisit the good old days with an NES or SNES Classic Edition console in stock

You should hurry up.

Update: Both consoles are available for purchase right now! The NES Classic is in stock and ready to ship, while the SNES Classic won’t be back in stock until August 9th. You can get the console and controller at Best Buy as well, either separately or in a bundle. There’s no telling how much longer these consoles will be available for, so best get your order in while you can!

Ah, Nintendo, breaker of hearts and crusher of dreams. How can one company be so good at releasing such limited quantities of the coolest items ever?!

The Nintendo NES Classic Edition has been hard to nab from the get-go. When it was first released, people waited in line for hours in the hopes of snatching one up — myself included. This little gadget hit the reseller market fast after stock was depleted, selling for up to $1,000. Seriously. It was once thought to be gone forever, and it left thousands of fans upset, knowing that they may never have the chance to revisit their childhood favorites on an actual Nintendo machine. (Yes, you can emulate retro games. No, it isn’t the same. Don’t @ me.)

Thankfully, you don’t have to wait for six hours in the freezing Wisconsin snow to get yours like I did. You don’t even have to leave your house. Amazon has the Nintendo NES Classic Edition console in stock for the MSRP of $59.99. No markups, no hassle, and no blood, sweat, or tears. Except for maybe tears of joy.

If you haven’t yet gotten your hands on the Super NES Classic console, you can snag one of those at Amazon right now too for its regular price of $79.99.

The NES Classic is awesome. It has the look and feel of the original console, although it is slightly smaller and sleeker. It includes an old-school controller and it’s packed with 30 games, including Super Marios Bros., Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, Mega Man, and more. It’s worth noting that the controller cord is pretty short, but extenders are available for cheap or you could even pre-order a wireless controller. If you were inclined to do some web searching, you may also find that rumor has it you can hack the console to include hundreds of other games, although you run the risk of bricking your machine, among other things, and an editor such as myself couldn’t possibly suggest that you do such a thing.

This is the first major restock of this console since it was released. If you’re interested, trust me: there are thousands of other interested people, too. Hop to it and beat them to the punch before it sells out again.

See at Amazon

Holedown is a mesmerizing new puzzle game that’ll leave you satisfied! [Game of the Week]

For those who are fans of physics-based puzzle games and are looking for a new obsession.

Update August 3, 2018: Our pick this week is Holedown, a new puzzle game that’s a great mix of strategy and mindless fun!

Holedown

This week, we bring you a brand new arcade puzzle strategy game that’s sure to become an instant classic.

It would be easy to write this game off as another ball bouncer game. This genre of puzzle game has been done before and harkens back to arcade classics such as Breakout and Puzzle Bobble. But due in large part to developer Martin Jonasson’s reputation for crafting beautiful indie titles (rymdkapsel, twofold inc.) Holedown stands out with charming design and satisfying gameplay.

Holedown has you mining to the core of celestial bodies — starting with an asteroid and working your way up to the Sun — using bouncing miner balls that ricochet off of colored blocks. Each brick has a number that represents the number of hits needed to destroy it. You can let gravity do most of the work by destroying a block supporting other blocks and some are bolded in place and must be destroyed. With a well-aimed shot, you can clear the whole screen as the smooth animation of the bouncing balls leave you mesmerized.

It’s very quick to pick up and play this game, but you soon learn that there’s a surprising amount of strategy involved. All the bricks are curved, allowing you to set up tricky bank shots to clear out massive sections of blocks in one go. This will become quite important as the screen moves up one row after every shot. If the blocks reach the top of the screen, it’s game over.

Along the way, you will collect crystals which are spent on upgrades that give you more balls per shot, and more shots per round. These upgrades are crucial to completing the later planets but also let the earlier levels become more of a mindless distraction for your subway commute.

If you’re a fan of physics-based puzzle games and are looking for a new obsession, Holedown is well worth your money!

Download: Holedown ($3.99 )

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Fortnite for Android: Everything you need to know

The hottest game of 2018 will be coming to Android soon.

Fortnite has been blowing up lately. Millions of people have become obsessed with the game, both as players and just watching popular Twitch streamers play the game.

Interested to learn more about what the heck Fortnite is all about? Just keep reading.

What’s new with Fortnite?

August 3, 2018 — Epic confirms that it won’t be offering Fortnite for Android via the Google Play Store

It’s official, folks. A few days after rumors started piling up, Epic has confirmed that Fortnite for Android won’t be offered on the Google Play Store. Instead, users will have to download the game directly from Epic’s website.

Talking to The Verge, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney said:

Epic wants to have a direct relationship with our customers on all platforms where that’s possible. The great thing about the Internet and the digital revolution is that this is possible, now that physical storefronts and middlemen distributors are no longer required.

In addition to having a more direct relationship with players, Epic’s second reason for bypassing the Play Store is that it won’t have to hand over 30% of all sales from in-game purchases to Google. According to Sweeny, “30 percent is disproportionate to the cost of the services these stores perform.”

Sweeny also went on to say that Fortnite for Android will be available globally except for China. However, Epic is currently working on finding a way to bring both the iOS and Android version of the game to the country at some point in the near future.

July 30, 2018 — Fortnite for Android might not be on the Play Store and require a manual APK download

Just a few days after it was reported that Fortnite will be launching as a limited exclusive for the Galaxy Note 9, we now have some interesting details about how the Android app will be distributed.

The folks at XDA recently took a look at the source code on Epic’s official website, and while doing so, came across some instructions telling people how to download the Android port. Specifically, it talks about going to Epic’s site and downloading the game’s APK file there rather than doing so through Google Play.

With a move like this, there are a few important things to point out.

First off, while manually downloading APK files isn’t all that difficult, it does require you to accept downloads from unknown sources (possibly making yourself vulnerable to security threats) and can be a clunky process for users that aren’t familiar with doing so. On the flip side, Epic gets to avoid Google’s 30 percent cut from all in-game purchases.

It’s still unclear if this process will be set in stone for the game’s foreseeable future or just during its exclusivity to the Note 9, but all these details should be explained in just a few short days.

All the big details

What is Fortnite?

Fortnite is what would happen if you combined two of the most addictive games out there — Minecraft and PUBG.

Fortnite offers a free 100-player Player Vs Player (PvP) Battle Royale game mode. Just like PUBG, you’re dropped onto the large island map and must arm yourself and outlive your competition. But in Fortnite, you always start out armed with a pickaxe which can be used as a melee weapon or for harvest raw supplies for building walls, ramps, and shelters.

It certainly adds extra layers of strategy to the format, creating essentially a perfect storm of addictive gaming action that’s as fun to watch as it is to play. Oh, speaking of storms all the action takes place in the eye of a deadly electrical storm meaning you can’t just hunker down and hide out the whole game. You got to keep moving.

How do you play the game?

Just like PUBG, your goal is to be the last man standing — with up to 100 players involved in each match, that’s no small task.

Each game starts with the players jumping out of the flying “Battle Bus” and parachuting down onto a giant island. Once landed, you must loot nearby buildings for items, guns, and ammo to defend yourself and attack other players.

You also need to keep an eye on the map, as every few minutes the storm closes in on the play area. If you’re caught in the storm, you slowly die so you do not want to forget to regularly check where you are on the map. Eventually, the play constricts to a tiny area for the final showdown between the remaining players — there can only be one winner!

Unlike PUBG, you’re able to carry more than two guns. Instead, you’re limited to the number of weapons and items you can carry at one time. Also, guns are color coded to denote their rarity — from grey (common) to orange (legendary) — and the rarer the gun, the deadlier it is.

Then there’s the crafting element. Every player starts out with a pickaxe which can be used as a melee weapon or used to break down trees and buildings to harvest the raw resources. You can then use these raw resources to build your own structures, whether it be a defensive wall to provide cover from an advancing enemy, a set of stairs to reach the second floor of a building or your own watchtower to snipe players from across the map. The resources you mine will determine the strength. Steel is stronger than brick, which is stronger than wood.

The latest update to the game for the Season 5 Battle Pass has introduced a slew of new map areas and gameplay features including the All-Terrain Kart (ATK) which let you and your squad move around the map faster than ever before. You can read more about the latest tweaks in the full release notes.

When will it be available for Android?

Fortnite has been available for PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 for a few months now, and is now widely available on iOS devices after a brief invite-only beta.

There have been no firm dates set for an Android release by Fortnite’s developer, Epic Games, but they have said to expect Fortnite Mobile to launch on Android sometime this summer. For now, Android users can head on over to Epic Games, log in or create your Fortnite Account, and then let the developers know which device you plan to play on which will also add you to the mailing list to be informed when the game eventually drops.

Until then, at least we’ve got PUBG to tide us over.

Yeah, but I found this site that offered an APK file for…

Stop. The game is not out for Android yet, so any website you see offering a version of Fortnite for Android is a scam.

Since Epic Games announced the Summer release window for Fortnite on Android, a bunch of fake websites have popped up claiming to offer an early version of the APK. I’m not going to link to them but unless you see an announcement from Epic Games themselves or we report it here, don’t fall for the scam.

If you want to be notified from the developers as soon as the game is available, you can sign up at the Fortnite Mobile website.

Will it be free to play?

Epic Games has so far released the PvP Battle Royale game for free across all platforms including the mobile version for iOS. The console version also has a paid game mode called Save The World that’s Player vs Environment (PvE). Save The World plays more like Minecraft, where you’re harvesting more resources and stocking up on loot to survive waves of AI enemies in a sort of tower defense-style of gameplay.

The PvE mode will not be available in Fortnite Mobile due to CPU limitations and, frankly, it’s the PvP mode that everyone is crazy for so that’s quite alright with us.

However, the mobile version will offers in-app purchases for cosmetic items to customize your player and people sure have been buying stuff. According to this report from Sensor Tower analtyics, Fortnite Mobile players spent more than $1 million during the first 72 hours of its release on iOS. Wow.

So, to answer the question, you have the option to spend money on Fortnite if you want a cool looking character, but the game is free to play and you won’t need to pay to win.

Will there be support for Bluetooth controls?

Epic Games has indicated that Bluetooth controller support will be coming later, but as of right now only touchscreen controls are available.

Is it cross-platform?

Epic Games have indicated that you will be able to play Fortnite across all platforms. Your Fortnite profile can be connected to all the platforms you play on so you can add to your stats however you connect to the game.

Don’t be worried about getting mismatched as the one mobile player in a server of PC and console players. If you’re playing solo on mobile, you will only be matched up against other mobile players. If you join a squad with friends playing on another platform, then that squad will be matched against a multi-platform population, essentially making cross-platform play opt-in.

• Learn more about Fortnite Mobile

How does it compare to the PS4 version?

If the iOS version of Fortnite is anything to go by, the Android version will enjoy feature parity with all other platforms, including PS4, PC, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. There will be minor differences to account for the form factor, such as (hopefully) support for Bluetooth controls, on-screen controls for those not using a controller, and certainly toned down graphics capability. But if you want to jump in for a quick game of Battle Royale, you won’t need to worry about playing a vastly different game. Fortnite on Android is still Fortnite.

Are you hyped for Fortnite?

We’ll be sure to let you know when the game launches for Android. Until then, you can create your Epic Games account and start playing on one of the other platforms to start getting a handle on the game

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The water-resistant Oontz Angle 3 Bluetooth speaker is down to $20 today

Boom. Boom. Pow.

The Oontz Angle 3 portable Bluetooth speaker is down to $19.99 on Amazon. We’ve seen several deals on these speakers in the past dropping them from a regular $35 price to $25, but this price matches the sort of sale you’d see on Black Friday or something similar.

The Angle 3 has room-filling volume with extra bass. It is resistant to splashes, rain, dust, and sand. You can use it indoors or out. The 2200mAh rechargeable battery lasts for up to 12 hours. Not only does it connect via Bluetooth to any device, it can also work with Amazon Alexa. It has a built-in mic and comes with both a micro USB charging cable and a 3.5mm audio cable. Users give it 4.4 stars based on a ridiculous number of reviews.

Looking for something smaller and even more waterproof? Check out this Victsing Shower Speaker for just $12 today!

See at Amazon

Acer Chromebook Tab 10 review: Not quite Android, not quite Chrome OS

Not like this, Google. Not like this…

Ever since the first time we saw a virtual keyboard in Chrome OS code a couple of years ago, I’ve been waiting patiently for a Chromebook tablet. Not a Chromebook convertible where I can fold the keyboard back, but a tablet running Chrome OS with no keyboard at all unless I wanted one attached. As Android apps started coming to Chrome this seemed inevitable, and now thanks to Acer we have a reasonably priced Chrome OS tablet with no keyboard in the box.

I got exactly what I wanted, so why am I so damn unhappy with this thing? Let’s take a deeper look.

Acer Chromebook Tab 10

Price: $345

Bottom line: Google turned off a lot of the things I like about the Chrome OS UI to make this work, and that sucks.

The Good

• Textured back is perfect for grip
• Decent display with solid viewing angles
• Fully functional USB-C port
• Battery life is great

The Bad

• Speakers make me want to cry
• Windowed Chrome OS UI straight up gone
• Rockchip processor struggles under load

See at Amazon

Acer Chromebook Tab 10 What I like

Out of the box, Acer has delivered a super simple Chrome OS tablet that checks all of the important boxes. This 10-inch tablet is a little thicker than an iPad, but not quite as thick as a Surface, which means the textured backing and healthy bezel on this tablet is greatly appreciated for one-handed use.

The power and volume rocker are up in the top left so they’re out of the way, and the USB-C port is on the bottom so it can be used while attached to a keyboard. In fact, the headphone jack on the top makes using both at the same time exactly as convenient as you’d expect.

The 10-inch IPS 2048×1536 display is great for using just about anywhere. I can have it resting on the counter and see the screen from weird angles with no problem, and it gets both bright and dark enough to use in most places. Bright reflections aren’t huge problems, and the touch interface is perfectly responsive. As inexpensive tablets go, Acer has assembled something well worth using.

It feels good to have something that largely feels like an Android tablet in your hand, but with all of the functionality of a full desktop browser.

Digging into the software is exactly what you’d expect, more or less. This is Chrome OS, Android apps and all. It feels good to have something that largely feels like an Android tablet in your hand, but with all of the functionality of a full desktop browser. It’s nice to be able to grab a keyboard and write for long periods of time without worrying about the browser not being able to handle an image uploader the right way or having to wonder if you’ll be able to do things like change a file name at will.

When you dive into the browser, it feels like you’re using a full PC. When you’re playing games, it feels like you’re using an Android tablet. It’s simple, straightforward, and it works.

Thanks to the Rockchip CPU and the typical battery-sipping nature of Chrome OS, this thing gets incredible battery life for a tablet. My 10-inch iPad Pro will get me through a little over an 8-hour day of browsing and writing and the occasional game, which is nice. This Chromebook tablet got me through two full days of the same kind of work, and the only reason it didn’t get me a little further than that was because I left the Bluetooth keyboard connected to it overnight so it died by morning.

Acer Chromebook Tab 10 What I don’t like

I’m used to the Chrome OS experience feeling a little spartan. This OS was built to make the browser front and center, which works well for a lot of workflows these days. But the Chromebook Tab 10 takes that minimalist approach to an extreme I’m not overly fond of.

To help deal with the smaller display and typically handheld orientation, this version of Chrome OS has no home screen. There’s no home button, no need to worry about what your desktop wallpaper is, nothing. You have the last browser tab you were using, and you have the app drawer. That’s literally it since Chrome OS puts things like settings in a browser tab as well.

There’s no home screen because there are no windows. Everything opens in full screen all the time. The option to put a browser or app in a windowed mode simply doesn’t exist, and the Chrome flags which ordinarily give you some control over this have been disabled. This works fine in some situations but really frustrates me in others.

The option to put a browser or app in a windowed mode simply doesn’t exist, and the Chrome flags which ordinarily give you some control over this have been disabled.

Android as a tablet platform has grown to accept side-by-side and windowed apps, and as an Android tablet user, this Chrome OS tablet experience feels like a step backward. The tablet experience for Chrome OS simply isn’t ready to compete on the same level Android is when it comes to multitasking, which is frustrating because this limitation feels so artificial.

Unfortunately, my issues with this tablet don’t end with what could possibly be a simple software update. The speakers, microphone, and cameras on this tablet are sub-par. Trying to use what should be a fully functional tablet computer to join a video meeting proved to be miserable for everyone involved.

The speakers just don’t get loud enough, the microphone does a terrible job picking my voice up over ambient noise, and the cameras are exactly what you’d expect from a $300 PC tablet. This last point is especially frustrating, since one of the things this tablet was being sold to schools for was offering teachers a way to conduct Augmented Reality lessons in the classroom.

There’s a stylus in the box, but it’s not particularly useful. At least not yet.

Finally, the stylus. At the bottom of this tablet, there’s a little stylus you can pull out and use, but it’s really not clear what for. Chrome OS has no special pen input functionality, like Microsoft’s handwriting recognition in the keyboard or the ability to take notes on a screenshot with ease.

The closest thing you get to useful out of the box is pen-based notes in Google Keep, which allow you to record drawings and sync them to your phone. There’s potential for a pen to be really useful in this form factor, but Acer did nothing extra to make that obvious and none of the really cool Pixelbook pen features are available on this tablet.

Acer Chromebook Tab 10: Should you buy it? Probably not.

There are things Acer and Google has done with the Chromebook Tab 10 that I really like. It’s a nice sturdy tablet that I can hold comfortably with one hand and actually enjoy using in both portrait and landscape modes. But when I try to use it for more than just a casual media consumption device, the artificial limitations Google put in place for the interface make it less functional than any other Chromebook or Android tablet I would otherwise reach for.

On the other hand, at $350 with a $30 keyboard from Logitech, you get an incredibly portable browser with a nice screen.

3
out of 5

Considering the bloated price tags on the iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tab S4, and Surface Go with their keyboards, this thing is a bargain. Here’s hoping Google can sort its software out and really make this worth using for me.

See at Amazon

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Keep your internet browsing encrypted with ProtonVPN for $80!

So much of what we do these days is done online. From paying bills to opening credit cards to your browsing and downloading history, there’s a constant threat of having that information stolen in different ways. From browsing on an unsecured connection to malware, you are vulnerable each time you sit down and connect to the internet — but that doesn’t have to be the case.

Save 66% on a two-year subscription! Learn More

Securing your browsing sessions doesn’t have to be crazy expensive, nor hard to do, especially with great subscriptions like this one for ProtonVPN Plus. Connecting to a VPN will prevent data mining, allow you to browse anonymously and even block ads, trackers, and malware. Sounds like something you need, right?

Some of the other things that this VPN can do include:

• Protect your data w/ AES-256 encryption, Perfect Forward Secrecy & Secure Core Servers
• Ensure you’re surfing on a secure connection w/ OpenVPN protocols
• Benefit from the strong legal protection of a Swiss-based VPN
• Get added security from DNS leak protection, kill switch & built-in Tor support
• Critical infrastructure is secured in former military bases & underground structures

Save an additional 10% when you use coupon code PROTONVPN10 at checkout! Learn More

Normally you’d pay around $240 for a two-year subscription, but not right now. This limited time deal scores you huge savings and lets you pick it up for just $79.99 — and you can save an additional 10% by using coupon code PROTONVPN10 at checkout. Keep your browsing sessions safe and secure for much less and be sure to pick up your own copy today!

Epic Games’ strategy for Fortnite on Android is stupid, greedy, and dangerous

This is the worst possible idea, for the worst possible reasons.

News of the massively popular and mostly free game Fortnite coming to Android has been causing buzz for months now. Gamers of every age group have flocked to Fortnite and continue to enjoy playing and streaming all day every day. But news that Epic Games is choosing to distribute Fortnite for Android on its own instead of using the Google Play Store is just about the worst thing the company can do for its users.

Plain and simple, distributing this game outside of the Google Play Store is dangerous. And knowing Epic Games is only doing this so it can make a few extra pennies from each user is even worse.

Google Play keeps everyone safe

Remember when Pokemon Go first came out, and because it wasn’t available to everyone all at once people started uploading modified versions of the app to third-party stores with malicious code onboard to steal your data or turn your phone into a bitcoin mining machine for someone else? That kind of thing only happens when an app is distributed outside of the Google Play Store, because Google puts tremendous resources behind making sure the apps in the store are safe for you to use. Fortnite is going to be available through the Epic Games website, but there’s very little to stop someone from putting out ads for downloading Fortnite for Android on the day this game is available and redirecting those users to a version of the game with similarly malicious code.

Epic Games has decided it’s cool to roll the dice on your behalf and hope you follow their instructions.

The Google Play Store also offers financial protection for parents who let their kid play a game with the credit card loaded. Stories of App Stores charging parents thousands of dollars because the kid wasn’t paying attention rarely end in the parent needing to pay those huge fines because the mistake is reversed and Google handles this process. Epic Games is now the only company involved in this process, because purchases made in Fortnite on Android won’t go through the Google Play Store. If Epic decides you have to pay for the things your kids did by mistake, there’s no appeal process in place anymore.

Perhaps most important is the way you install apps outside the Google Play Store. In order to side-load an app on any Android phone not running the newest version you need to turn off a safety lock that allows these installations to happen. If you don’t re-enable this feature back off after Fortnite is installed, anything can be installed in the background without your permission. But every time an update for Fortnite needs to be installed, you will need to toggle this feature again. This isn’t the case if your phone is running Android 8.0 or newer, but at last count 88% of all Android phones were running a version older than 8.0.

In the past, this exact same loophole has lead to data leaks and huge problems with data privacy. Instead of keeping their users safe, many of whom are children, Epic Games has decided it’s cool to roll the dice on your behalf and hope you follow their instructions.

There is no good reason to behave this way

The only reasons provided for this terrible decision by Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney are financial. Sweeney says Epic wants to use its own installer like it does on the PC, and wants to bypass the 30% cut Google takes on all Play Store transactions. It’s worth pointing out this 30% tax is identical to the one Apple places in its Play Store, but Apple doesn’t let users sideload apps — an option Epic has here with Android.

Even if you do all of the right things every time you are still at a greater risk when playing Fortnite on Android than on any other platform.

It’s also likely Epic Games knows the largest audience for Fortnite users are in places with a less-friendly Google Play Services relationship. China doesn’t allow Google Mobile Services through its Great Firewall, and the EU is currently battling with Google on whether the Play Store should be a part of Android phones sold there. This combined audience is considerably larger than the people who would play in the U.S. and elsewhere, plus distributing a single version of Fortnite is easier than maintaining multiple versions to distribute in different stores.

So, basically, screw the users. This way is easier and makes us more money.

Unfortunately, there’s very little anyone can do about this. You can choose to not give Epic a credit card number when you do play. You can (and should anyway) enable Two-Factor Authentication on your Epic Games account, and try to remember to keep your phone unable to install apps from unknown sources every time an update comes in. But ultimately, even if you do all of the right things every time you are still at a greater risk when playing Fortnite on Android than on any other platform. Epic knows this, and they’re doing it anyway. And that sucks.

Sbode Portable Bluetooth Speaker review: Open up a can of music anywhere

This not-quite-pocket-sized speaker packs quite a lot into its rotund, rubberized housing.

Bluetooth speakers are just about everywhere these days — and good thing, too, seeing as headphone jacks and aux cables seem to be fading away with each new generation of flagships — but outside of the traditional almost always-overpriced name brands, it can be hard for good speakers to stand out from the pack. This is especially true for Bluetooth speakers that are portable and affordable, two of the many boxes the Sbode Portable Bluetooth Speaker checks off.

Sbode Portable Bluetooth Speaker

Price: $35.49

Bottom line: This pudgy speaker packs quite a few tricks up its sleeve, and its button configuration makes it the affordable friend of chronic track-skippers.

The Good

• Durable speaker gets impressively loud for its size
• Change tracks quickly and pairs effortlessly
• Sports built-in FM radio tuner, microSD slot for MP3s

The Bad

• Volume adjustments require long-press
• Speaker shuts off after 10 minutes of silence
• Still uses microUSB to charge

See at Amazon

Sbode Portable Bluetooth Speaker What I like

Sbode’s speaker is a 360-degree speaker that’s about the size of can of Coke or a reasonably-portioned coffee mug, and its packs a lot into its rugged, rubberized frame. The 12W speaker is the heart of the operation, powered by a microUSB-charged 2200mAh battery that will power a 6-8 hour music party. As to music sources, there are quite a few options for piping music to the Sbode:

• Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity with microphone for speakerphone function
• “True Wireless Stereo” for seamless-pairing stereo playback between two Sbode portable speakers
• 3.5mm AUX port for plugging in the old-fashioned way
• FM radio antenna and auto-scan tuner
• microSD slot for playback of MP3/WAV/FLAC songs

Ports and plugs are hidden behind a silicone flap, which is supposed to keep water out of this IPX6 water-resistant speaker as you take it to the beach or hang it up in the shower. It’s splash-resistant, so it can survive splashes or raindrops, but don’t go dunking it in the pool. The braided carry strap is short but durable, and easy to clip to the back of my backpack with a carabiner.

Rubberized plastic bumpers protect the top and bottom of the speaker, with recessed metal-topped grills at the top and bottom of the speaker. The middle is encased in a snug black mesh, where the four control buttons sit atop the mesh across the speaker from the carry strap and port flap.

Press once to skip songs is great, until the next song starts screaming at you.

The button configuration here seems fairly standard on first glance, but don’t be deceived. The Power and Play/Pause buttons are as straightforward as you’d expect, but those plus and minus buttons have the opposite configuration from what most speakers and headphones with combined controls use. To skip the current song, you push the plus button once. To turn the volume up, you press and hold the plus button until the volume rises to the level you wanted.

To some, this non-standard configuration will be a turn-off, but outside of a few overshoots when adjusting the volume, I’ve found that I much prefer this setup. Being able to quickly skip a track or five in YouTube Music when your mixtape hits a bad stretch of recommendations is wonderful, and if I need to make a major volume shift, I can reach for my phone to adjust the volume at the source.

Sbode Portable Bluetooth Speaker What I don’t like

Minor volume adjustments give me flashbacks to playing Storm Stopper in the Gatti’s Pizza arcade. Time it right and you feel like you won big. Hold it too long and the speaker will roar at you like thunder. Don’t hit it long enough and the music will skip to the next song.

I was never that good at Storm Stopper, but since I can adjust the volume on my phone, it’s workable. Habit has led me to restart a song when I just wanted to ease the volume down a tick more than once, but habits can be changed.

Black may go with everything, but black is still boring. Could I get this speaker in a nice blue or a bold red, at least?

Sbode has made the speaker as unassuming and neutral as possible with the black rubberized housing, but I really wish it came in some of the fun colors other Bluetooth speakers like the UE WONDERBOOM or the Sony XB20, but the Sbode is also half the price and does more, thanks to its FM tuner and microSD slot for standalone music listening.

As an affordable Bluetooth speaker, I understand that costs had to be cut somewhere, but I do wish Sbode has sprung for a USB-C charging port so it could use the same cable as my phone. I have enough microUSB cables hanging around my apartment after years and years of microUSB phones, headphones, and speakers, but it’d be nice to get back to one cable for everything.

Sbode Portable Bluetooth Speaker

For $35, Sbode is a multi-function speaker that can go all afternoon and can stand up to a jam-packed gear bag or hanging off the side of your backpack as you wait for all the annoying people to go away and let you jam out in peace. It’s not the boldest speaker, but then again, flashy speakers tend to get more unwanted attention, especially at the office or in the classroom.

4
out of 5

Whether you want a Bluetooth speaker that can handle how hard you are on your tech or you want a speaker that can keep music flowing even if your phone is dead, Sbode’s Portable Bluetooth Speaker gets the job done and they’re cheap enough that you can buy two and use them in stereo with your laptop for backyard movie night or at opposite ends of your backyard barbecue.

See at Amazon

How to disable Adaptive Brightness in Android P

Here’s how you can have full control over your phone’s display.

The brightness of your screen is perhaps one of the most important settings on your phone. If it’s too bright, you have to frantically look for the slider to crank things down. If it’s too dim, outdoor visibility can be impossible.

Android P tries to make all of these adjustments for you with Adaptive Brightness, and unlike similar features we’ve seen in previous phones/Android versions, this new iteration learns your usage habits to make more accurate predictions of how bright or dim you like your display.

That’s all fine and dandy, but if you’re someone that prefers to manually control your brightness level, Adaptive Brightness can be a pain in the butt. Thankfully, toggling it off takes no time at all.

Open Settings.
Tap Display.
Tap Adaptive Brightness.
Tap the adaptive brightness toggle to turn the feature off.

That’s it!

With those few taps out of the way, you’ve successfully disabled Adaptive Brightness. You can now rest easy knowing that you, and only you, have full control over your screen.

Android P: Everything you need to know about Android 9

Android P

• Android P: Everything you need to know
• Android P Beta hands-on: The best and worst features
• All the big Android announcements from Google I/O 2018
• Will my phone get Android P?
• How to manually update your Pixel to Android P
• Join the Discussion