smartphones – The News Desk

12Apr

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Entertainment

The Dumbphone Boom Is Real

Will Stults spent too much time on his iPhone, doom-scrolling the site formerly known as Twitter and tweeting angrily at Elon Musk as if the billionaire would actually notice. Stults’s partner, Daisy Krigbaum, was addicted to Pinterest and YouTube, bingeing videos on her iPhone before going to sleep. Two years ago, they both tried Apple’s Screen Time restriction tool and found it too easy to disable, so the pair decided to trade out their iPhones for more low-tech devices. They’d heard about so-called dumbphones, which lacked the kinds of bells and whistles—a high-resolution screen, an app store, a video camera—that made smartphones so addictive. But they found the process of acquiring one hard to navigate. “The information on it was kind of disparate and hard to get to. A lot of people w...

4Dec

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Technology

How to Not Get Hacked by a QR Code

And you don’t need anything special to create a QR code. The tools are widely available and straightforward to use, and putting together a QR code of your own isn’t much more difficult than scanning one. If you wanted to create a QR code that points to a website that’s been put together for malicious purposes, it would only take a couple of minutes. The QR code could then be stuck on a wall, attached to an email, or printed on a document, ready to be scanned.The aims of these websites are the same as they’ve always been: to get you to download something that will compromise the security of your accounts or your devices, or to get you to enter some login credentials that will then be relayed straight to the hackers (most probably using a spoof site set up to look like something genuine and...

Here’s the Truth Behind the Biggest (and Dumbest) Battery Myths

27Oct

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Technology

Here’s the Truth Behind the Biggest (and Dumbest) Battery Myths

In lithium-ion batteries, that’s no longer the case. Modern batteries are capable of reading their state no matter their level of charge, and when your device isn’t in use the strain on the battery is almost the same as if it was off altogether, so you wouldn’t be giving the battery much of a break if you turned it off anyway.Batteries perform worse when they’re coldFalse (mostly)Actually, the opposite is true. “Using your battery in cool temperatures and keeping your battery cool is much better for battery life,” says Griffith. Exposing your battery to high temperatures is a much more likely way to end up reducing its overall life. “You don’t want your battery to be hot. You don’t want it to overheat when it’s charging, you don’t want to leave it in the sun or in your car.”But why do bat...

18 Best Samsung Galaxy S23 Cases and Accessories (2023): Chargers, Cables, and Screen Protectors

25Oct

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Technology

18 Best Samsung Galaxy S23 Cases and Accessories (2023): Chargers, Cables, and Screen Protectors

There are an insane amount of cases on the market. These are the others we like, just not as much as the ones above.Casetify Impact Case for $72: Casetify cases are fun because the designs are innumerable. (Look at this one with a cat!) I'm not a huge fan of the Casetify branding that's on the camera module, but maybe I'm just not trendy enough. I found the S Pen a little tough to access (I have a bad habit of biting my nails, so this might not be an issue for you). Otherwise, these are some great cases; it's just hard to justify the absurdly high price.Vena Outcross Case for $14: This is a fine case with clicky buttons. It's not very exciting, but it's cheap, and the edges around the screen and camera module are raised. Unfortunately, the bumper around the case is a little slippery.Zagg ...

16 Best Camera Accessories for Phones (2023): Apps, Tripods, Mics, and Lights

21Oct

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Technology

16 Best Camera Accessories for Phones (2023): Apps, Tripods, Mics, and Lights

We're living in a golden age of mobile photography. The gear in this guide will up your game for making content at home or out and about, using just your smartphone. Our favorite Android phones and iPhones have outstanding cameras, but tripods, mics, and video lights can elevate the quality of your work. Here's everything you need to turn your phone into a pro-grade powerhouse.Check out our other buying guides, like Gear and Tips to Make Studio-Grade Videos at Home, Best Compact Cameras, Best iPhone 15 Cases, Best Pixel Phones, and Best Instant Cameras.Updated October 2023: We've added the Lume Cube Creator Kit 2.0, Lume Cube Ring Light Mini, Moment T-Series Lenses, Moment Filmmaker Cage, Insta360 Flow, Boling P1, DJI Mic, Rode Wireless Go II, Nimble Champ, Canvas Lamp, Joby Wavo Plus, an...

Apple continues its sweep to roll out USB-C to more devices

19Oct

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Technology

Apple continues its sweep to roll out USB-C to more devices

CNN — Apple (AAPL) quietly announced its next-generation Pencil that works with iPads and now includes USB-C charging. The change comes nearly a month after Apple retired its Lightning charger, a milestone moment toward universal charging amid pressure from EU regulators. Like previous models, the third-generation Apple Pencil is intended for taking notes, sketching and marking up documents. It also supports the hover feature, which allows users to preview and switch between different tools and app controls, when used with a 12.9-inch iPad Pro 12.9-inch (6th generation) and 11-inch iPad Pro (4th generation). The price is $79, down $20 from the second-generation Apple Pe...

iPhone 15 demand dips in China, analysts say

16Oct

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Technology

iPhone 15 demand dips in China, analysts say

CNN — Demand for Apple’s new iPhone 15 lineup is weaker in China than for last year’s models, according to analysts. Sales for the iPhone 15 are down 4.5% in China compared to iPhone 14 sales in the first two weeks after its launch, according to Counterpoint Research. Separately, Bloomberg reported on Monday financial firm Jefferies said iPhone 15 sales dropped by a double-digit percentage following strong customer demand for Huawei’s new Mate 60 smartphone line. Apple (AAPL) shares fell 0.08% following the reports. The reports come amid a floundering Chinese economy, a struggling housing market, and more competition among higher-end vendors in China, part...

12Oct

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Technology

India arrests executive of Chinese smartphone giant Vivo in fraud probe

New Delhi/Hong Kong CNN — An executive at Vivo, one of China’s top smartphone makers, has been arrested in India in connection with a money laundering probe, raising fears of a renewed crackdown on Chinese businesses in the country. Guangwen Kuang, the head of administration at Vivo India, was taken into custody on Tuesday by India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED), his lawyer, Mudit Jain, told CNN. The ED is the country’s main financial crimes investigation agency, responsible for probing money laundering and violations of foreign exchange laws. Kuang, a Chinese national, was arrested alongside three other people and would be held in custody for three days, according to a court document shared with CN...

Pixel 8: Google unveils new phones built for ‘the generative AI era’

6Oct

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Technology

Pixel 8: Google unveils new phones built for ‘the generative AI era’

CNN — There’s nothing particularly new about Google’s latest-generation Pixel 8 smartphone hardware. That’s why the company is pushing hard to tout its AI-powered new software, which Google says was built specifically for the “first phone of the generative AI era.” At a press event in New York City, Google (GOOG) showed off the new Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro devices, which largely look the same as the year prior, albeit with more rounded edges. But inside, its new G3 Tensor chip unlocks an AI-powered world aimed at simplifying your life, from asking the device to summarize news articles and websites to using Google (GOOG) Assistant to field phone calls and ...

Samsung Galaxy S23 FE, Tab S9 FE, Buds FE (2023): Features, Specs, Price

4Oct

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Technology

Samsung Galaxy S23 FE, Tab S9 FE, Buds FE (2023): Features, Specs, Price

If you heard the words Fan Edition, chances are you'd expect something extraordinary. Perhaps a limited edition design or a feature that takes a product to a level that only true fans can appreciate. This is not the case with the deluge of hardware Samsung just announced: the Galaxy S23 FE, Galaxy Tab S9 FE, and Galaxy Buds FE.These are all slightly cheaper versions of their top-tier counterparts that Samsung announced throughout the year. They're not attention-grabbing, and they have lesser specs, but they cover the middle ground for buyers who don't want to spend the big bucks on the company's flagship hardware and don't want to settle for the budget devices. Truly, they're for Samsung loyalists—there might be better devices for the money, but there's no way you'd shell out on the compe...