I enjoy the Galaxy S9+ despite its software, not because of it — and that’s a problem for Samsung
Samsung needs a true re-thinking of its software strategy.
I’ve been using a Galaxy S9+ since the end of February, going through a full review process and lengthy set of comparisons to really put it through its paces. A month in, I’m still using it every day. I continue to use the phone because I like it overall, not because of some work obligation. The hardware is good (though it benefits from a case), the performance has been solid, battery life is fine, the screen is amazing, the rear cameras are great, it has a headphone jack, and I’m back in the swing of using wireless charging daily.
But every single day I’m reminded that I still don’t like Samsung’s software. The fact that I keep using the Galaxy S9+ despite my distaste for its software is a testament to all of the other great things the phone offers … but it’s still a bad sign for Samsung.
After a couple solid weeks of using my Galaxy S9+, I finally got it all set up the way I wanted it. The reason it took me that long is partially due to how I need to use this phone for work, but removing that extra time wouldn’t have substantially streamlined the process. It really does take several days to finally get through all of the Galaxy S9’s software to turn things off and tweak settings to the point where it isn’t annoying me at every turn. Because out of the box, it sure has a frustratingly large pile of things going on that I don’t care much about using yet insist that I stop what I’m doing and deal with.
The first 5 things to turn off in the Galaxy S9’s software
And I’m not talking about the visual differences that are generally a matter of personal preference or familiarity. Sure Samsung’s launcher looks a little different and the quick settings have a bit more going on — but that’s fine, those are just visual differences. I can get used to those, and Samsung’s design itself really isn’t bad nowadays. I’m talking about the functional portions of the phone experience that get in my way: the cavernous settings panes, duplicate apps and services, dueling app stores, needless “features” and endless configuration options.
I had to dial back Bixby to its base components, turn off a bunch of settings and sounds, get the phone to stop bothering me with “device maintenance” warnings, sign into my Samsung Account across a handful of apps, set up a secondary app store, swap out Samsung’s keyboard, turn off the useless Edge panels, hide a dozen apps from the app drawer that I’ll never touch … the list goes on. Year after year I feel like I have to fight with my Samsung phone to get it just to be simple and easy to use. It still feels like a chore to get all of the superfluous crap out of my way and let me get to the dozen or so core features and apps that I need on a daily basis. Because no matter how much of a power user I may be, benefiting from all this phone can do, a majority of my smartphone use is still pretty simple, like most people’s.
As top-end hardware reaches parity, we shouldn’t have to begrudgingly deal with subpar software.
Props to Samsung for actually letting me turn off or change most of these things that I don’t want to use. Going through this process several times now, I have a good baseline for what I know I don’t need and how to turn everything off. And in the end, yes, I did arrive at a much more usable software slate. But that doesn’t eliminate the whole frustration of the process, nor does it make me feel any better about having to do this all over again with my next Samsung phone.
And that’s a problem, because differentiation in the hardware between all of these flagship phones is getting smaller with each generation — leaving the software and user experience to be the true differentiator between devices. It’s the reason why so many people love the simplicity of the Pixel 2 XL, OnePlus 5T, Moto G5 and others — they’re clean, easy to use and don’t provide a daunting task of features and settings to configure. Samsung isn’t playing at that level right now, and it diminishes the overall positive feelings toward the Galaxy S9. With hardware stagnating in many ways, the best thing it can do is focus on improving its software, so it’s no longer a sore point holding back the rest of what makes its phones amazing.
Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+
- Galaxy S9 review: A great phone for the masses
- Galaxy S9 and S9+: Everything you need to know!
- Complete Galaxy S9 and S9+ specs
- Galaxy S9 vs. Google Pixel 2: Which should you buy?
- Galaxy S9 vs. Galaxy S8: Should you upgrade?
- Join our Galaxy S9 forums
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Android Go-powered ZTE Tempo Go is now up for sale in the U.S. for just $79
ZTE’s first Android Go phone has basic specs, but you’re buying the phone for the software.
The ZTE Tempo Go made its debut last month, and the phone is now up for sale in the U.S. direct from ZTE for $79.99. That’s the price for the unlocked variant, and while the specs on offer are underwhelming, the overall experience should be considerably smooth thanks to Android Go.
As a refresher, Android Go is a lightweight version of Android designed for low-powered hardware. The OS comes with just nine pre-installed apps — including the likes of Google Go and Maps Go — and all of them are lightweight versions of Google services that take up less than half the space as the full-fledged clients.
The ZTE Tempo Go offers a 5.0-inch 854 x 480 display, quad-core 1.1GHz Snapdragon 210 chipset, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage, microSD slot, 5MP rear camera, 2MP front shooter, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, and a 2200mAh battery. Android Go is based on Oreo, and the software updates are delivered direct from Google.
The goal with Android Go is to provide a decent software experience on phones with entry-level hardware, and the pure Android interface coupled with the promise of quick updates makes it an enticing option in the sub-$100 segment.
See at ZTE
Build your own team of superheroes in MARVEL Strike Force! [Game of the Week]
Update March 29, 2018: The biggest release this week is MARVEL Strike Force, but also check out Orbital 1!
MARVEL Strike Force
Given how absolutely massive the Marvel Cinematic Universe has become, I would be remiss if I didn’t include Strike Force, which is out of beta and ready for release. Unlock your favorite Marvel heroes and villains and create your ultimate superhero squad as you play through a lengthy campaign mode in this visually stunning game. Seriously, the graphics here are top-notch, making this a must-play for any Marvel fan.
And yet, this recommendation still comes with some trepidation. Having read the reviews from beta testers after the global launch update, many complained that the game has taken a big step back. Others have said that the game’s biggest strength — the ability to team up and execute cool combos complete with sweet animations — eventually becomes repetitive as you grind towards collecting pieces to unlock new heroes.
I haven’t played through long enough to unlock too many heroes, but I can already sense the grinding nature of this game. Then again, if you love superheroes the grind might be more than worth it.
Download: MARVEL Strike Force (Free w/IAPs)
Orbital 1
Looking for a new PvP strategy game that’s quick to learn and tricky to master? Check out Orbital 1, an action-packed game set in space and string a colorful crew of characters to battle with.
Developed by Etermax, who you may know best as the folks behind Trivia Crack, Orbital 1 is a real-time strategy game that’s similar to a game like Clash Royale except your towers have been replaced with fleets of moving gunships that orbit around the center of battle arenas.
It’s an interesting twist on a popular genre that’s executed fairly well. Instead of having two established lanes to send your troops down, you deploy them ahead or behind your convoy to attack or defend against your opponent. Customize your team captain, build out your battle decks, and take on other players in Orbital 1.
Download: Orbital 1 (Free w/IAPs)
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The best and worst April Fools’ Day tech gags of 2018
April Fools’ Day is coming early this year.
April Fools’ Day. It’s a holiday that doesn’t mean much to most people, but in the tech world, it means 24 hours of gags, jokes, and baloney press releases galore.
Last year had some notable highlights, such as the T-Mobile ONEsie and (my personal favorite) Google Gnome, and 2018 is proving to be just as hysterical. Here’s our roundup of the best — and more importantly — worst April Fools’ Day tech gags for the year.
Honor Toilet Insurance
Honor makes some of the best budget/mid-range Android phones around, and it wants to ensure your gadgets are as safe as can be — even when you’re taking the kids to the pool.
With Honor’s all-new Smartphone Toilet Insurance Plan, customers have full protection over their Honor smartphones even when they drop them in the throne while doing their business.
The plan is available free of charge (woohoo!) for all Honor 7X and Honor View 10 owners between April 1 and May 31, and it’s good for the rest of the year. If urine a hurry and want more details on the plan ASAP, you can check out Honor’s website here.
OnePlus Cryptocurrency
OnePlus is no stranger to a challenge, and this year the company is rolling out its own currency. From co-founder Carl Pei:
When we came up with the OnePlus One, we didn’t just set out to make a better smartphone. We wanted to change the way people interact with their phones. Now we set our eyes on a even greater challenge. We want to re-imagine one of most fundamental elements of our everyday life – currency.
T-Mobile Sidekicks
T-Mobile is bringing back the Sidekick, and while it is a real product, it isn’t quite what you’d imagine. Dubbed the world’s first Smartshoephone, it features a patent-pending “Step into Something Amazing” Foot-First design, and T-Mobile says that the Sidekicks are “fully tricked out for speed on the fastest LTE network ever and optimized for unlimited data with T-Mobile ONE.”
The Sidekicks also come with several “vintage” features, including a bonus slide-out screen, toe tap to exchange contact info, and a feature that lights up the shoes when you’re receiving a call.
The shoes are actually up for pre-order for $65, and if you’re wondering, they’re just regular sneakers decked out in T-Mobile magenta.
See at T-Mobile
Duolingo introduces craft beers
Language learning app Duolingo is coming up with its own range of craft beers, dubbed Brewolingo:
We get it. Learning a language is hard. Luckily, research has shown that besides frequent practice and cultural immersion, getting tipsy can help. That’s right, folks: drinking beer can actually help you get fluent.
Enter Brewolingo: four varieties of craft beer brought to you by Duolingo. Featuring a special blend of wheat, hops, water and secret Owlgorithms™, this beer is the only fluid you’ll need for language fluency
While the page has a Buy Now button, Duolingo isn’t actually setting up a brewery.
Stock up on these $25 Philips Hue White Ambiance Smart Lights today
Shades of … white
While it may not seem like a lot, this $5 discount brings these popular bulbs back to within a dollar of their previous all-time low.
This Philips Hue White Ambiance Smart Light does require a Hue Hub so if you don’t already have one, you’ll need to invest in one. It is a 60W equivalent and this bulb does all different shades of white, but no colors.
If you’re looking for the color bulb, Amazon has them for $46.03 each.
These LIFX+ BR30 smart bulbs are also on sale today.
See at Amazon
NYC will launch its own security-conscious app this summer
New Yorkers will have another security app to consider installing on their devices this summer — a city-sponsored one. The office of Mayor de Blasio has announced that it’s releasing its own free smartphone protection app to residents as part of NYC Secure, the city’s first cybersecurity initiative. “New Yorkers manage so much of their lives online, from paying bills to applying for jobs to engaging with government,” the mayor said in a statement. “NYC Secure will ensure that we’re applying the best and most effective protection efforts to help New Yorkers defend themselves online.”
The mayor’s announcement says the app will protect phones by detecting malware and warning users of its presence. It will then recommend steps users can take to protect themselves and their phones, such as disconnecting from a WiFi connection that it has detected as malicious, navigating away from a compromised website or uninstalling an app it says is loaded with malware.
Since de Blasio knows people have become more cautious of government-sponsored anything now that they’re more aware of the extent of government surveillance projects, his announcement clarifies that the app won’t take actions by itself. He says it will operate under a strict privacy policy and has the technology to ensure that it works even without access to personally identifiable information. The mayor’s office also says that the application will not collect data or transmit it to a remote server from people’s devices. Those who still can’t fully trust it, though, can always skip it and continue using security apps of their own choosing.
In addition to releasing an app this summer, NYC is also boosting its public WiFi connections’ security measures. This extra layer of security can apparently prevent people connected to it from downloading malicious software and from accessing phishing websites. According to the mayor’s office, it also has the power to do its job without using or storing personally identifiable info, just like the NYC Secure app. The city has already rolled out that extra layer to 18 NYC agencies’ private networks, and it intends to deploy it across all government agencies and public WiFi providers before the year ends.
Source: NYC
Facebook is hosting an online abuse summit with other tech leaders
Facebook is trying to bring all the wars it’s fighting under one roof. At the “Fighting Abuse @Scale” conference later next month, the social network will host talks on combating fake news, online fraud, spam and abuse in general. There’s a special focus on how the different companies in attendance are using AI and machine learning to achieve their goals.
Data scientists, researchers and engineers from the likes of Airbnb, Google, LinkedIn and Microsoft will be giving talks on the above topics. The subject of data privacy is conspicuously absent, though.
If you want in, that might prove difficult. TechCrunch notes that the invite-only event on April 25th has already been filled the Bespoke Event Center in San Francisco’s Westfield Mall to capacity. Previously, Facebook held @Scale events for fighting spam in 2015 and just after the 2016 election.
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Fighting Abuse @Scale
Spotify and Taylor Swift appear to be BFFs now
If you thought Taylor Swift and Spotify were never, ever, ever getting back together after their ongoing dispute, apparently, you were wrong. The superstar singer filmed an exclusive video of her new single, “Delicate,” for Spotify users. It’s available now in the Spotify app for users in the US, UK, Sweden and Latin America.
The Spotify exclusive is just a different version of the video that’s already been released for “Delicate.” It’s vertical and was filmed in one take. Still, it’s making fans of the singer angry because it’s only available in certain areas.
The feud between Spotify and Taylor Swift was pretty long-standing. She pulled her catalog from Spotify back in late 2014 in response to the service’s offering of unpaid, ad-supported tiers. Spotify has since limited the offerings of its free tier. While Swift did restore her catalog to Spotify, she kept her latest album, Reputation, off streaming services for its first week.
With all this in mind, it’s surprising that Taylor Swift would now be cozy enough with Spotify to give them exclusive content, and as the streaming service implies, this is just the beginning. You have to wonder what’s changed to make Taylor Swift so willing to work closely with the music streaming service.
China Catches Smugglers Using Drones to Transport $80M Worth of iPhones From Hong Kong to Mainland
A group of criminals in China were caught smuggling 500 million yuan ($79.8 million) worth of refurbished iPhones from Hong Kong to Shenzhen, using drones connected via cables to transport the smartphones. Reported by the Legal Daily (via Reuters), customs officers in Shenzhen caught the group and ceased its illegal actions, arresting 26 total suspects in the process.
Photo by Liu Youzhi/Southern Metropolis Daily via Reuters
The group was using drones to fly two 660-foot cables between Hong Kong and the mainland as a method of transporting the iPhones. They typically operated after midnight and into the morning hours, and “only needed seconds” to transport small bags that held 10 iPhones or more using the cable-connected drones. In one night, they could reach a quota of as many as 15,000 iPhones transported.
According to a news conference held by the customs officers, this marks “the first case found in China that drones were being used in cross-border smuggling crimes.”
Shenzhen customs was quoted by the Legal Daily as saying it would closely monitor new types of smuggling with high-tech devices and enhance their capability with technical equipment, including drones and high-resolution monitors, to detect smuggling activity.
Drone regulations are said to be “an important task” for Chinese officials, with the government publishing a series of strict rules in 2017 after drones were found to be interfering with aircraft flight paths. Civilian drone owners are now required to register any drone “up to a certain weight” using their real names.
While using drones might be new, the act of individuals attempting to smuggle iPhones out of Hong Kong has certainly been around for years. In early 2015, a man tried to smuggle 94 iPhones into mainland China by strapping them onto his body and under his clothes. Smuggling operations pop up frequently because of higher import taxes, which cause the iPhones to be more expensive in the mainland than they are in Hong Kong.
Tag: China
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Magic Leap developer units must be kept in locked safes
Magic Leap is known for its secrecy. The company kept its One headset under wraps for years, teasing out details with ambiguous conference speeches and restrictive press opportunities. It should come as no surprise, then, to hear that developer units are being shipped out with an unusual caveat: while not in use, they have to be kept in locked safes. The detail comes from Bloomberg alongside confirmation of a “limited” developer roll out (a larger batch of units will be sent out later this year.) It’s safe to assume that the company wants to avoid the fabled iPhone 4 incident.
We still know remarkably little about the Magic Leap One. It resembles a pair of cyberpunk goggles — available in two sizes, reportedly — with a single strap that loops round the back of the wearer’s skull. The headset is wired to a disc-shaped computer that clips onto the user’s belt or trouser pocket, and control is handled by a small wireless remote. It promises a mixed reality experience that eclipses Microsoft HoloLens, though for now our only evidence is a cautiously positive Rolling Stone feature. Investors seem to be on board, at least — earlier this month the company raised an enviable $461 million from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign investment arm.
Source: Bloomberg
