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KosmoTime review

Andrew Allen
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Your time is one of your most valuable assets. It’s a finite resource that you should set a premium on spending. There are many services that look to help you manage your time. KosmoTime is a new entrant to this market and tries to add some unique methodology to create a premier environment of task management.

Easy Signup

To start you really just want to aggregate all your sources from your calendars. Thankfully, KosmoTime allows this to be fairly painless with Google and Microsoft sign up options. You choose the appropriate accounts you want to link at sign up and those calendars are siphoned into your new KosmoTime account.

Chrome extension

The next step to fully take advantage of KosmoTime is the Chrome extension. Yes, you’ll have to be using Chrome, or a derivative to utilize some of the features. While I understand this is the most popular browser platform, I really hope KosmoTime eventually brings Firefox support as well.

Despite this, the setup process walks you through the extension installation with little fuss. Once installed, you’ve got all the building blocks to use the essential options we are about to deep dive into offered by KosmoTime.

You can also bookmark websites into KosmoTime and create tasks based on the page. Maybe you were reading an article that applies to a project you recently started at work, well you can bookmark this in KosmoTime and attach a task to this new idea.

Sprint to the finish

KosmoTime wants you to be as quick and efficient at closing tasks as possible. The Sprint is key to this philosophy. You create a Sprint by choosing a time and then adding multiple, small tasks to this time slot.

This batch concept pushes the idea of adding several related tasks into a single checkbox will make you more efficient in your day. I loved this concept. You usually have tangent goals that may overlap criteria.

Normally, you may tackle these separately and still get to knock them off the schedule. However, with Sprints, you keep those ideas together allowing you to check those boxes quicker.

Focus more, fewer distractions

The Sprints won’t work if you don’t have focus. KosmoTime believes this as well and utilizes Focus blocks to secure your attention away from distractions. Once a Sprint is created you then add those tasks to a time block.

These Focus blocks are then paired with the Chrome extension to ward off other tabs. While you are in a task from a Focus Block, the extension limits the URL websites that Chrome can access. This ensures you stay on point and stay honed into your Sprint tasks.

Once you’ve toggled those tasks closed, you are then presented with the option to reopen those previous tabs. It’s a forceful solution but sometimes we humans need blunt force to make things happen.

Integrations

Having your calendars is great, but sometimes you want additional hooks to tasks you may have that live somewhere else on the internet. KosmoTime has a couple of extra integrations worth a mention.

Asana is another great task manager website and app but doesn’t have some of the time management features of KosmoTime. Once you link the two services together you get simultaneous change from one to the other. Complete an Asana task with a Sprint and it’s closed in both.

There is also Slack integration. This allows for notifications to your team and users via your Slack channels. KosmoTime pings the groups once tasks are assigned and again on completion.

No mobile apps

If we had to point out one downside to KosmoTime is the lack of mobile apps. There’s no iOS or Android dedicated application. While I get that this ties to the need for the web and Chrome extension for a full-featured experience with KosmoTime, it would be nice to at least manage your tasks and create Sprints while on the go.

Get it together

KosmoTime may not be for everyone. Many people like a simple, line for line approach to task management. However, I’d argue that KosmoTime has a compelling product that combines that process with great time management.

The Sprints and tab block of Focus Blocks are a potent combination to make you more efficient. Pair that with the calendar syncs and integrations, and KosmoTime could be the service you’ve been waiting on.

Be sure to head over to KosmoTime’s website for more information or stop procrastinating and sign up today!

Annke 1080P AI Floodlight Camera review

AndroidGuys
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A long, long time ago the de facto security system for homeowners was the motion activated floodlight. Married to the daughter of a retired police officer, I was reminded over the years that a well-lit exterior is a strong deterrent to home burglaries. While I believe that to be true, it doesn’t hurt to have the added bonus of a security camera to capture evidence in the event of a home invasion.

The Annke 1080P AI Floodlight Camera is a hard-wired motion activated floodlight coupled with a high definition security camera. It also features 2-way audio, cloud and local storage, 100db siren, and buzzwords like “AI” or “artificial intelligence.” That’s a lot of features for a camera that currently sells for $89.99 (Retail price of $99.99 with a $10 coupon at time of this review).

Read on to find out if this is the right floodlight camera solution for you.

Installation

NOTE: Unless you are comfortable connecting into your home’s 110v AC electrical wiring, it is recommended that you hire an electrician or professional installer to wire and mount your Annke 1080P AI Floodlight Camera.

The floodlight/camera unit comes complete with an assortment of mounting screws, mounting bracket, mounting hook (more on this later), and even screwdrivers. Inside the box, you’ll also find an installation guide, window decal, wire nuts and a thank you card.

If you’ve ever wired an outlet or light fixture to a junction box; you should have no problems wiring the Annke unit. It entails only 3 wires: hot, neutral and ground. Make sure you turn off power at the breaker box before proceeding!

The first step in mounting the floodlight/camera unit is to attach the mounting bracket to the junction box, making sure to route the wiring through the center hole. The mounting bracket includes a ground connection so I made sure to wrap the ground wire around that connection before attaching to the ground wire on the unit itself.

Using the aforementioned mounting hook to secure the floodlight/camera unit to the mounting bracket; I simply twisted the coordinating wires and secured them with the included wire nuts. The floodlight/camera unit then slides over 2 screws and is secured in place with mounting nuts.

Now the hard part!

Connecting to Wi-Fi

NOTE: The Annke 1080P AI Floodlight Camera ONLY supports 2.4GHz Wi-Fi. Most modern wireless routers support both 2.4GHz as well as 5GHz bands. If your Wi-Fi router does not support 2.4GHz, you will not be able to connect your floodlight/camera unit to your network.

If you’re like me, you didn’t RTFM. I work in IT and I’m used to streamlined and standard user interfaces. Installing the Annke 1080P AI Floodlight Camera is anything but streamlined or standard.

First, in order to add the device to your network, you need to download the “CAMB” app. I mistakenly searched for “Annke” in the AppStore and downloaded the “Annke Vision” app. The CAMB app is developed by Li Jianwei. This developer has 3 other apps available in the Apple AppStore and all seem to be related to wireless cameras.

Once you’ve downloaded the app, you scan the QR code on your floodlight unit to begin setup. Don’t quote me on the exact steps here as I was standing on a ladder 20+ feet in the air and I’m afraid of heights to begin with.

The sequence as I remember is once the QR code is scanned, the camera has a series of voice prompts and light blinks to show setup status. It reminds you once again that you need to connect this to the 2.4GHz frequency of your Wi-Fi network.

Depending on your wireless access point, that may have a separate SSID than your 5GHz SSID. After about 2 minutes, the camera was connected to my Wi-Fi network and I could watch video through the CAMB app.

Usage – Camera

First the camera portion of the unit. I am entirely satisfied with the video quality that the camera captures. Within the app, you can select “HD” or “Smooth” options but I honestly can’t tell if there is any actual video quality difference. The only noticeable changes switching between the two is bitrate appears to be between 50-100 kbps for HD while it is about 15kbps for Smooth.

Additionally, the timestamp is only slightly larger in the Smooth view. Because this camera has an integrated floodlight, there is no infrared or night vision capabilities.

Usage – App

As I’ve already alluded to earlier, you wouldn’t know the actual app for this device is called “CAMB” unless you read the instructions step-by-step. Once you launch the app, you will be prompted to create an account or login.

After registering, you’ll receive a verification code from “Account3.Danale.com” which you will be required to enter into the app within 30 minutes. Working in the Cybersecurity field, there are some serious concerns going on in my head at this point. We’ll touch upon this again in my conclusion.

The upper left hand menu of the app options are:

  • Share message – view messages sent to you.
  • Cloud storage – where you can sign up for a cloud storage subscription.
  • Personal center – manage your profile (email, password, etc.)
  • My files – access saved images and videos
  • Help center – brings up YouTube videos offering install and app help

You can add additional units/devices by clicking the “+” in the upper right corner of the app and scanning additional QR codes.

Settings, History and Share buttons are along the bottom right portion of the camera preview.

  • Settings – Opens Device Settings which include:
    • Light Setting – Floodlight time setting when motion is detected (total on time 0-19 minutes).
    • Light Sensitivity Setting – Low/Med/High. There is also a setting for motion detection on either the left or right area of the light fixture.
    • Security Setting – Selectable for People only, close and a couple steps towards All Motion. You can also set custom schedules for when motion will be detected (e.g. 6pm-5am Monday-Friday)
    • Device Info – Gives relevant product information (more on this in conclusions)
    • Time Setting – Daylight Saving Time is configurable for on/off. However, the Timezone setting is locked at GMT-5:00
    • Device Initialization – Reboot or factory restore the device.
  • History – Allows you to watch video recorded to the cloud or stored on the SD Card if you inserted one. A link allows you to buy cloud storage if you are not already subscribed.
  • Share – Asks for an account number and regardless of what you enter and submit, you get a “Share Success” message?

Selecting the “play” button on the camera view opens up the real-time video being captured by the camera. Options along the bottom of the video feed allow for (left to right) talking through the unit, capture photo, capture video, activate alarm, and manually operate floodlight.

Notifications

I set my device levels at “People only” with a light sensitivity level of Med on both the right and left side of the unit.

Walking out of my patio door will trigger when I step out which tells me the unit does make a distinction between people versus simply the door opening.

If you can understand, “All your base are belong to us,” you’ll have no problem deciphering, “Device Back Yard Human Induction.” Back Yard is what I named the device. I assume if you have more than one Annke AI Floodlight Camera you could name them based on their location. Human Induction, I’m guessing, means Human Detection.

Usage – Cloud Storage

Cloud subscription levels available:

  • 7-day Playback – $5/mo or $49/yr
  • 15-day Playback – $10/mo or $100/yr
  • 30-day Playback – $19/mo or $190/yr

Upon receiving the “Human Induction” notification, I noticed a red dot upon the “History” button under the camera view. Opening History brings you to a daily scrollable timeline of events.

A red line placed over the timeline would make you believe that scrolling to those lines would allow you to review the detected events. Good luck with that! Unfortunately, the timeline doesn’t “snap” to those events. The best you can do is get close to the event and wait for the video to buffer and then watch in real-time, waiting to discover what your camera may have detected.

Unlike other cameras that show thumbnails of detected events or allow for real-time scrubbing of the timeline, the Annke, errr, Danale cloud storage may only be useful if and when you are seeking evidence of a burglary. Otherwise, it’s a true test of patience.

Usage – Floodlight

If there is a bright spot in the Annke AI Floodlight Camera (pun intended), it’s the floodlight feature. The light is extremely bright and covers a wide area. The motion detection is adequate if not a tad too sensitive.

About a week after installation, I noticed the floodlight turning on and off repeatedly throughout the night. Setting the light setting to 30 seconds per motion detection event, my flood light was a slow motion strobe light for a few days before I decided to turn off the device altogether.

I searched in vain trying to determine what event may have set off the motion detection but had no luck using the cloud storage capability. Facing opposite the Annke floodlight; I have a Google Nest Camera which showed no motion detection during the same period other than the floodlight blinking on and off repeatedly.

I reached out to Annke technical support through email. Typical of offshore support, the response was slow but not terrible (messages are approximately one day apart). The very first support message ended up in my SPAM folder which was suspicious as I’ve had other support emails arrive from ZenDesk without issue.

Over the course of a few days, I went back and forth with support configuring different settings. Some of the suggested settings weren’t available in my installed version of the CAMB app. I decided to abandon additional support when they requested I provide them with my user ID and password so they could troubleshoot directly from my account.

At this point, I lost interest in pursuing additional support. I understand that there is little to no risk in providing my user credentials for access to my floodlight, but I seriously question doing business with a company with such poor cybersecurity practices.

Conclusion

For less than $100, the Annke AI Floodlight Camera offers a lot of functionality and with a reasonable investment. The Ring Floodlight Camera is over twice the cost at $189.99; the Arlo Essential Spotlight Camera offers a wireless experience for $130. All three cameras offer subscription cloud storage but only the Annke offers local SD storage out-of-the-box.

As impressed I was initially with the quality of the device and the thoroughness of included parts for installation; I was ultimately let down by the execution. The hardware itself works if you simply want a floodlight that can be operated with an on/off switch but even that requires the CAMB app.

Otherwise, it relies on the overly sensitive or defective motion detection capabilities. The camera works well and provides quality video which unfortunately isn’t easily reviewable in the cloud subscription. The application is very weak and borderline unusable when compared to competitors from Ring, Arlo and Nest.

Based on my experience, I cannot recommend this product even with its attractive price. I never intended to replace my Nest Outdoor Camera with this unit, but I regret throwing away my previous motion-activated floodlight. I’m certain that I will be replacing this unit when the Ohio weather warms up in the Spring and I gather the nerve to climb that 20 ft. ladder again.

Verizon has deals on Samsung phones, the Galaxy Watch, and Tab S5e this Black Friday

Jason England
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Recently, we covered the holiday deals going on over at T-Mobile, but what if you’re a Verizon customer or want to switch over? No worries, because Verizon isn’t sitting out the holidays, and it’s offering up to $1,350 off the hottest phones.

The deals begin on Thanksgiving, starting at 3:00 AM ET November 26, 2020. Customers looking to switch to Verizon will get the best deal with up to $1,350 in savings with select trade-in and Unlimited plans. Part of the promotion includes a $950 bill credit applied over 24 months when you trade-in your phone. The rest of the $400 comes as a Verizon e-gift card that will be sent out eight weeks after you port-in from another carrier.

Even better, you’ll also get access to Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ when you sign up for the Play More and Get More Unlimited plan.

If you’re shopping for a smartwatch this holiday season, then Verizon’s next deal is for you. When purchasing a Samsung Galaxy Watch, you can save $50, which is applied as a promo credit over 24 months. Additionally, you can get a Samsung Galaxy Watch for free when you purchase any Android phone with a new line. As with the other deals, the discount comes in the form of a bill credit applied over a 24 month period.

However, maybe what you really want for the holidays is a tablet. In that case, Verizon has the Samsung Tab S5e for only $199.99 when you purchase a device for $479.99. You can even get the Tab S5e for $99.99 if you step up to a more expensive smartphone, or save $100 off the tablet depending on which device you buy. Again, remember all of these discounts come as a bill credit applied over a 24 month period.

Finally, if you’re looking to beef up security on your home, Verizon has the Ring Alarm Security Kit for $90 off with a promo credit applied to your bill over 24 months.

Zoom lifts 40-minute time limit for free users during Thanksgiving

Jason England
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Here in the US, we are getting ready to celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow amidst skyrocketing cases of COVID-19. Due to the dramatic rise in cases, many of us are looking for ways to spend the holiday together, without actually getting together.

Enter Zoom, the video conferencing software that has taken the world by storm since the pandemic began. In fact, it’s so popular that it recently joined the 500 million install club on the Google Play Store. That puts it in the company of other popular apps such as Spotify, Swiftkey Keyboard, and Pinterest.

Unfortunately, there is a 40-minute time limit on video conferences for free users. However, Zoom is feeling generous this holiday season and announced in a tweet that it would lift the restriction globally for Thanksgiving. Beginning on November 26 at midnight ET through November 27 at 6 AM ET, Zoom users with free accounts will be able to connect via the app without any time limit.

Now, we can all gather round our phones, tablets, and computers to spend time virtually with our family no matter where they may be. It won’t be as good as gathering around a table full of food with our loved ones, but it’s certainly better than nothing, or only 40 consecutive minutes.

Finally, all of us here at Android Guys would like to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. We hope you will all be healthy and safe this holiday season.

Save 30% on the TCL 10 Pro and 10L with these Black Friday Deals

Jason England
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Black Friday is days away and the deals are already dropping. TCL is more widely known for its TVs, but this year it has a host of deals on its lineup of phones.

Kicking things off with a 30% discount on the TCL 10 Pro and 10L, that’s the largest discount TCL has ever offered on this pair of premium mid-range phones. That knocks $135 off of the TCL 10 Pro for a grand total of $314.99 and drops the TCL 10L down to $174.99 for a savings of $75. Both can be ordered from several websites, but if you’re going through Amazon be sure to clip the coupon to get the savings.

Additionally, when you purchase a TCL 10 Pro before December 10, 2020, TCL is offering a gift of a 32-inch TV. Do note that the free TV is a Canada-only offer.

TCL 10 Pro
Amazon | Best Buy | B&H Photo | Walmart

The TCL 10 Pro sports a 6.47-inch FHD+ curved AMOLED display, Snapdragon 675 processor, 6GB of RAM, a massive 4500 mAh battery, and features a quad rear camera setup on the back. It comes unlocked and can be used on AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon networks.

If you’d like to learn more about the TCL 10 Pro check our review, where our own Scott Webster had this to say, “For a first-generation release there is a lot to admire in the TCL 10 Pro.”

The TCL 10L is another midrange phone featuring a 6.53-inch FHD+ display, Snapdragon 665 processor, 6GB of RAM, 4000mAh battery, and a quad rear camera setup on the back. Just like its sibling, the TCL 10L is available on AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon networks.

TCL 10L
Amazon | Best Buy | B&H Photo | Walmart

If you want to grab these phones while they are on sale, then don’t wait around. The deals expire on November 29, 2020.

Passwarden app review

Andrew Allen
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The digital age has brought new problems to the forefront while being online. One of the most important is password management. It can be overwhelming to keep up with what seems like countless numbers of account information. Passwarden, from KeepSolid, could be just the service you need.

Manage your passwords with ease

Passwarden is a great way to manage all your online login secrets. The service offers a web service that gives you a singular login location to access the passwords for all of your online life. It also encourages you to not use that same lame password for everything.

Once you’ve created a management account with Passwarden you can either manually enter your passwords for individual online portals, or better yet, use one of the many app experiences to import or auto-save them. The parent company of KeepSolid offers a web extension (Chrome and Firefox), Windows/Mac for desktop, and mobile apps for both Android and iOS.

This allows you to have a synced archive of all your online passwords across all you devices. Passwarden allows you to just use your management account login to access them no matter what platform you are needing to access.

Head to the Vault

Vaults are the core of the Passwarden experience. Here you save your passwords, credit cards, or secure notes. These Vaults are then categorized accordingly. The dynamic is very similar to the structure your files have on a computer.

These Vaults are even shareable with other users. You can use this to invite users to access to the passwords you have saved in a specific Vault. Sharing makes it super easy for families to all have the Netflix password or for small enterprise teams to share corporate logins.

Security even under Duress

With any password, security is key. Passwarden is backed by full AES-256 encryption and you can enable two-factor authentification. Two-factor can be set to a one-time email code or you can elect to use many of the popular authenticator apps from the likes of Google and Microsoft.

One unique feature that Passwarden offers past the norm is Duress mode. This gives users the ability to set up a secondary management password that will only give you access to a curated list and hide the main Vaults. Passwarden markets this as an additional method of securing your data even if you are physically forced to enter your password.

Keeps you from getting lazy

As we mentioned earlier, it’s an easy trap to fall into using the same password across multiple sites. Any security expert will tell you this is a huge security risk and Passwarden is here to lighten that load as well with an outstanding password generator.

This feature makes creating a long, secure passcode a breeze. Passwarden gives you random strings of letter, numbers, and even symbols to create a combination that is much more secure than anything you’d select from memory. And even though it’s a bizarre alphanumerical value, it’s automatically saved to your synced Passwarden account so you don’t have to bother memorizing.

Android app checks all the boxes

When I first downloaded Passwarden I was hesitant to recommend. It had all the great features listed and the Android app synced all my logins as expected, but it didn’t support Autofill. For those that don’t know, this is a service level access on Android phones that just prompts your passwords to be filled by the default app you have set up in Settings.

It’s also hand-downs the most crucial feature to have in place for this type of app to succeed. Without it, you are forced to drop out of the app you needing the passcode for and manually grab it from Passwarden each and every time. However, the latest update on November 7 has brought this and it works flawlessly.

Other mobile notables are biometrics lock is onboard. It also makes using the camera to store ID cards like your driver’s license much easier. Just snap the photo and immediately add it to the appropriate Vault.

Free to try but you may need to subscribe

All this goodness from Passwarden is free to try for the first 40 passwords. Afterward, you’ll need to choose either a monthly or yearly pricing plan. This starts at $3.99 per month or $36.99 per year. There’s even a lifetime option for a $199.99 single payment. All of these offer unlimited synced devices.

If you’d like to bundle with KeepSolid’s VPN as well, you can do that for $10.99 per month or $69.99 yearly. This isn’t a bad combo with most VPNs costing at least $10 a month alone.

Passwarden can be the contender

KeepSolid has a well-rounded option for password management with Passwarden. It’s a highty secure and feature rich application to simplify your online account logins into one single password. Throw in reasonable pricing and you might have the app you’ve been searching the web to find.

For more information on Passwarden head to the service’s website. For the Android app, be sure to check out the Google Play Store.

Repairable Samsung phone problems

AndroidGuys
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Samsung phones are quality, reliable, and trusted by many users all over the world. That is why Samsung remains a vast and leading phone brand, years after many manufacturers entered the market. However, like any other device, any Samsung phone is prone to small issues that can reduce its effectiveness. For instance, it can fall and crack the screen, which means you won’t be able to enjoy a good and clear display like before, which can be frustrating. Fortunately, instead of buying another expensive phone, there are affordable Samsung repair options you could try. So, when you encounter any of the following issues with your Samsung phone, it is repairable.

A cracked screen

Accidents happen. No one would want to break their phone’s screen, but it can fall accidentally, or a child could drop it, which could lead to the cracking of the screen. As a fact, 80% of smartphone users have experienced this once in their lifetime. A cracked or broken screen may not cause any serious problem with the phone’s functioning, but it certainly could hinder you from enjoying a clear display of your phone. However, it is always advisable to repair it by replacing it with a new one. That is, by engaging a Samsung phone repair expert to take care of it.

Water damage

Even though modern Samsung phones are water-resistant, not everyone uses water-resistant ones. Suppose your Samsung phone drops in the water, but somehow you manage to retrieve it. You may realize that it is not working like it used to before after drying it off. This is one of the common problems smartphone users face. You drop your phone in a pool, water bucket, or toilet. If anything of the sort happens to your Samsung phone, find an affordable Samsung phone repair.

Damaged battery

A damaged battery or a short battery life mostly occurs with the age of the phone. While Samsung manufacturers keep upgrading the battery life with every new release, your Samsung phone could have the issue. Instead of buying a new one, a short life battery is replaceable by purchasing a new one. It could be one of your apps draining the battery life.  The first thing you can do is uninstall the app and see if your battery life goes back to normal. If not, an expert can do it. Note that the battery’s age lasts two years, so you will probably be experiencing battery problems if your phone is more than that. Ensure you replace your damaged battery before it damages the motherboard as well.

Slow charging

A slow charging Samsung phone is as a result of a damaged charging pin. It could be due to rough handling or sideward forces. If your phone cant charge, then it won’t be of much help. But you can repair a charging pin through a professional Samsung repair person who can diagonalize the phone and know where the problem is. If the charging ribbon is damaged as well, it can also be repaired.

Buttons not working

This is one of the problems you can have with your Samsung phone. It can be due to long term usage and requires a Samsung phone repair to examine it. Do not panic if your Samsung phone has faulty problems. They are repairable.

Final words

Repairing a Samsung phone is cheaper than buying a new one.

EDITOR NOTE: This is a promoted post and should not be viewed as an editorial endorsement.

New renders give us our first look at the OnePlus 9 Pro

Jason England
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Over the years, OnePlus has become one of the most exciting brands in the smartphone space. With each new release, we all clamor to see what the latest model will look like and find out what specs it’ll be sporting.

Thanks to Steve Hemmerstoffer, better known as @OnLeaks on Twitter, we’re now getting a first look at the OnePlus 9 Pro. After inspecting the renders, you can see, not much has changed from the previous models. According to Steve, the OnePus 9 Pro will feature a 6.7-inch curved display with a hole-punch camera in the upper left corner.

On the back of the device, there is a large rectangular camera bump to house the multiple cameras, a flash, microphone, and various sensors. If it keeps in line with the latest prototype of the OnePlus 9 Pro, there will be a total of four cameras.

The current prototype of the OnePlus 9 Pro also sheds some more light on the design of the camera bump, revealing that two of the lenses have protruding metal rings around them. If this sounds familiar, that’s because the iPhone 12 uses a similar design.

Something else we can glean from the renders is that the power button and Alert Slider are located on the right side, with the volume rocker placed on the left. Then, to no one’s surprise, the USB-C charging port and speaker are housed on the bottom.

Most of the specs of the future OnePlus flagship killer remain a mystery at this time. However, it is rumored the OnePlus 9 Pro will launch in March, which has been confirmed by Steve.

Remember, as with most rumors, nothing is set in stone until the device has officially launched. Even Steve was careful to point out that most of his information comes from OnePlus 9 Pro prototype units, and it’s possible we could see some changes, even slight ones, from the renders shown off here by the time the OnePlus 9 Pro is released.

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and Z Fold 3 getting S Pen and Note series being discontinued says new report

Jason England
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A new report from Korean news outlet Aju News claims that Samsung will add S Pen support to the Galaxy Ultra S21 and Z Fold 3. This is not the first report to make these claims, and the evidence appears to be piling up, making the rumors even more credible.

While adding S Pen support to these two Samsung flagships may not seem too shocking, the news that Samsung will discontinue the Note series certainly is. Perhaps Samsung has come to the conclusion that its flagship lineup has become too crowded. Between the Galaxy S20 FE, Galaxy S series, Note lineup, and Galaxy Fold–along with all of the variants of these devices, I’d have to agree.

Besides, the gap between the S-series and Note has grown so small, they are practically the same phone minus the stylus. Aju News also reports the Z Fold 3 is set to launch in June 2021, and that Samsung has created a second-generation of ultra-thin glass to enable S Pen support.

The new ultra-thin glass could prove to be essential for stylus support because current plastic-coated folding screens are easily scratched. The last thing you want on your new massively expensive folding smartphone is everything you’ve ever written or drawn permanently etched into it.

In addition to the S Pen support, the report mentions that Samsung will include an in-display selfie camera on the Z Fold 3. It’s not the first news outlet to make this claim, and as the reports are beginning to add up, it’s now looking more and more like a possibility.

However, it also mentions the in-display selfie camera could be scrapped if performance isn’t up to par, and that a pop-up selfie camera was considered, but ultimately rejected due to concerns about reliability.

I never would have thought the Note lineup would survive the exploding Note 7 debacle, only to be killed off later by other Samsung phones. Regardless, the death of the Note series is a sad affair, but the Galaxy S21 Ultra and Z Fold 3 are certain to be worthy successors. One is practically a Note phone already, while the other will give users an even larger canvas to work with.

Google Assistant can now schedule turning lights on or off, and more

Jason England
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Scheduling your lights to turn on or off at specific times is one of the most essential functions in a smart home. This dates far back to when people would buy simple plugs with timers on them to accomplish this task.

These days, tech has become more advanced, most smart hubs can handle this for you. However, what if you don’t own a smart hub and use a simple Wi-Fi-enabled smart plug or light bulb for all of your lighting needs? Sure, asking your Google Assistant smart speaker to turn lights on or off works great, but there was no way to schedule this action, until now.

Over the weekend, a post on Reddit revealed the feature has gone live, and it is now possible to schedule turning your lights on or off. Plus, it’s much more powerful than the old school timers we used in the past.

Not only can you tell the lights to turn on or off at specific times, but you can also ask them to turn on in 10 minutes, or turn on for only 10 minutes. Below is a sampling of commands that are verified to work with the new feature after saying the “Ok Google” or “Hey Google” trigger phrase.

  • Turn on the lights at 6 PM.
  • Turn off the lights at 11 PM.
  • Turn on the lights in 5 minutes.
  • Turn off the lights in 5 minutes.
  • Turn on the lights for 10 minutes.
  • Turn on the lights at sunset.
  • Turn off the lights at sunrise.

It’s also important to note that the examples above only mention lights, but these commands can be used for any smart home product. For instance, you could schedule your coffee maker for the next morning, or tell your sprinklers to water the grass at a specific time.

As great as this all is, there are some limitations. At this time, not all the features appear to be working. For example, you can only schedule an action for the current day or a day within the next seven day period. Also, the ability to cancel an action doesn’t seem to be working yet. Hopefully, Google gets this all worked out soon because this is one feature we’ve all been waiting far too long for.

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