US technology giant Google moved to assure developers in China on Friday that its Android mobile operating system (OS) will remain open source after a change to how it publishes its code raised concerns that developers may lose access. Google, owned by Mountain View, California-based Alphabet, sent a notice to its China-based partners to assure…
Screenshot: Opal Opal is like a mix of One Sec App, Freedom.to and BePresent. You can start focus sessions that block select apps and websites for your desired period of time. The sessions have three levels of difficulty. You have your “normal” sessions where you can take breaks or leave the sessions early, and you…
Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi said on Thursday that its Android smartphones sold in India will come preinstalled with Indian fintech company PhonePe’s app store. Xiaomi’s Android smartphones usually come preinstalled with Google’s Play Store and the Chinese company’s own GetApps. Xiaomi said that it has signed a multi-year deal with PhonePe to replace GetApps with…
A group of hackers with links to the North Korean regime uploaded Android spyware onto the Google Play app store and were able to trick some people into downloading it, according to cybersecurity firm Lookout. In a report published on Wednesday, and exclusively shared with TechCrunch ahead of time, Lookout details an espionage campaign involving…
Image: Nothing Like last year, the London-based independent smartphone company Nothing announced a new model during Mobile World Congress. The Phone (3A) line continues Nothing’s trend of distinct visual design with modernized cameras and an artificial intelligence feature: Essential Space. Two models make up the Phone (3A) line: (3A) and (3A) Pro. The basic (3A)…
Google announced Monday a series of changes to its widgets system on Android that will make it easier for app developers to reach their users. Widgets, which offer at-a-glance views of an app’s most important information — like the day’s weather or upcoming meetings on your calendar — are a key aspect of Android home…
Google is making some changes to Google Play on Android devices to better highlight apps that include widgets, according to a blog post. The changes include a new search filter for widgets, widget badges on app detail pages, and a curated editorial page dedicated to widgets. “Historically, one of the challenges with investing in widget…
Key to its success is Xiaomi’s LaserLink technology. This is a proprietary optical communication module, apparent as a small dot on the back of the phone and the lens where data is transferred as light (near-infrared laser) at speeds of up to 10 Gbps. It’s fast enough to work in concert with Xiaomi’s AI and…
I’m a fan of Xiaomi’s new 15 and 15 Ultra flagship phones—even if they only bring incremental improvements over their predecessors. The Xiaomi 15 is a classy, compact competitor to the iPhone 16 or Pixel 9, but the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is a photographer’s dream. Both are extremely well-rounded smartphones with exceptional hardware, and Xiaomi…
There have been many questions this spring about plant applications for your phone, so this week we will revisit the most popular options available to you. Ever looked in a garden, yard, or park and had no idea what the plant is in front of you? Fortunately, there are plenty of great plant identification apps…