May is going to be a busy month. LG just unveiled its latest G7 ThinQ flagship, and OnePlus is preparing to unleash its latest effort, the OnePlus 6 in a few weeks too.
Well, it seems a third flagship is set to join the May crop. The Taiwanese company just teased a device launch set for May 23 on its US Twitter page.
According to HTC, fans should expect to see “a phone that is more than the sum of its specs” launch during the date.
While the name of the device is not revealed in the Tweet, we have to assume the company is gearing up to launch the HTC U12+ (or HTC U12) towards the end of the month.
The teaser image reveals a smartphone outline surrounded by lots of components, so it does not provide many clues.
Which isn’t a big problem, since a lot of details about the upcoming HTC U12 have already made their way online. So we know what to expect, at least for the most part.
HTC’s next flagship will be revealed towards the end of the month
According to the leaks, the HTC U12+ (or U12) will make a debut with a 6-inch LCD display with WQHD+ resolution. This places it in between the 5.8-inch Galaxy S9 and 6.2-inch S9+.
Internally, the U12+ is powered by Qualcomm’s new top-of-the-line Snapdragon 845, backed up 6GB of RAM and either 64GB or 128GB of internal storage. It also includes a microSD card slot.
On the back reside two cameras: a 16-megapixel one and secondary 12-megapixel one. They sit arranged side by side, with the LED flash and fingerprint scanner located below.
Finally, the U12+ is expected to sport HTC’s squeezable Edge Sense technology, which debuted on last year’s HTC flagship and is now also available on the Pixel 2.
HTC has been going through a really rough patch for the past few years, due to slumping smartphone sales. Will the launch of the U12+ flagship help the company reverse the downward trend? It remains to be seen.
Be sure you mark the May 23 date on your calendar if you’re curious about the HTC U12+.
There are a few steps that you can take to speed up the interface even more. And if you’re worried about having to jump through a bunch of hoops, have no fear.
Speed up Galaxy S9
The first step you’ll need to take is to head into the Settings menu on your S9. From there, scroll all the way down until you see About Phone, and open this sub-menu.
The About Phone section will show you a bunch of different information. You will see the name of your device, phone number, model number, IMEI, and more.
Below the overview, there is a section called Software information. You will need to tap into this in order to proceed.
After you have opened this screen, you’ll want to look for a section named Build number. This will be an array of numbers and letters to let you know what build of the software your Galaxy S9 is currently running.
You can’t open any more screens from here, but you want to tap on Build number 7 times. Once completed, a pop-up will appear which states “You are now a developer”. This is where the fun begins.
Back out of those settings menus until you reach the main Settings panel. Scroll all the way to the bottom until you see Developer Options.
There will be a lot of different settings in this panel, many of which you will want to ignore. Once enabled, you’ll want to scroll until you see a section named Drawing.
From here there are three different animations that we will be working with:
Window animation scale
Transition animation scale
Animator duration scale
Go through and tap on each one to change the scale. The larger the number, the slower the animation will be. Therefore we can deduce that the lower the number, the faster the animations will be.
We do not recommend turning the animations off completely, but you can move them from 1x down to 0.5x. The same steps can be repeated for all three animation scales.
Enjoy the speed
Once completed, the changes will take place automatically. If you want to be on the safe side, you can go ahead and restart your Galaxy S9.
After the device has rebooted, you will notice that navigating around your device is much faster. This is purely aesthetics, as you have decreased the speed of the animations.
Nonetheless, this is an extremely beneficial method to make your device feel snappier. If you run into any issues, be sure to let us know in the comments below.
Bloatware might not have been invented by the Android phone, but Android phone makers and carriers sure like taking advantage of it.
Bloatware is all the extra software applications that come pre-installed on your phone. Most of it is quite unnecessary, and the majority of Android users dislike having these unwanted apps on their handsets. Yet some carriers don’t seem to care about customers’ aversion towards bloatware.
Case in point, Verizon just signed a deal with Samsung to pre-load four apps from its own Oath brand onto the Galaxy S9 flagship.
Verizon created Oath back in 2017 by merging AOL with Yahoo. Verizon’s acquisition of Yahoo was completed last year.
These are the Oath apps headed for the Galaxy S9
The four apps coming to the Galaxy S9 are Oath’s Newsroom, Yahoo Sports, Yahoo Finance, and Go90. Samsung has confirmed the pre-loaded services will only be offered on board the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ at Verizon. The other carrier versions and unlocked models will continue to be sold sans the Oath apps. It’s unclear whether users will be able to uninstall these apps. We certainly hope so.
But that’s not all. The deal also includes integration of native ads from Oath into both the Oath apps and Samsung’s own Galaxy and Game Launcher apps.
On top of that, Oath has become Samsung’s “premier content partner” on Bixby Home in the US. This means that Oath’s top apps and native ads will now be distributed across select Samsung devices with Bixby. This also includes the Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+.
A word of warning! These integrated ads and Bixby Home content will be coming to all Galaxy S9 devices, not just Verizon ones! So be prepare to be invaded by Verizon, even if you are not with Big Red.
Although the new partnership is a big win for Oath, whose services have been struggling to gain traction, most customers will probably be less than pleased when hearing the news.
Tell us your thoughts on the Samsung Oath deal in the comments section below.
Samsung released the Android Oreo update for the Galaxy S8 earlier this year. All went well until the Korean OEM pulled the update less than a week later for unknown reasons. Several weeks later, Samsung is now releasing the Galaxy S7 Android Oreo update (for both the S7 and S7 edge). The unlocked Galaxy Note 8 and carrier-locked Galaxy S8 Active received Oreo earlier this month.
The Galaxy S7 Android Oreo update comes with build numbers G930FXXU2ERD5 and G95FXXU2ERD5 and weighs a hefty 1.27 GB. This is a hair bigger than the expected 1 GB for major system updates. While Samsung has released Android 8.0 to the Galaxy S7 series, the rollout is only for UK customers at the moment and unlocked models only. Vodafone has rolled out the S7 Oreo update for its carrier devices, but it’s the only carrier to do so at the moment.
The Galaxy S7 Android Oreo update in the UK has US owners wondering when it will hit their handsets. There is no answer to this at this time, and it could take weeks before owners see Oreo.
Android Oreo (8.0) brings the typical expected features that Google released eight months ago such as improved battery life and notifications. The picture-in-picture mode improves multitasking, and Project Treble brings faster updates than ever before. Autofill is another feature of the Oreo update that helps fill in information on the Web faster. With the Galaxy S7 Android Oreo update, Galaxy S7 users now have Samsung Experience 9.0 with some tweaks thanks to Samsung’s own improvements.
A recent OS system update study from earlier this month showed that Oreo is present on just four percent of all Android devices, so the new Galaxy S7 Android Oreo rollout should help in that regard.
Have you experienced the new UK S7 Oreo update yet? Seen it on a handset? Starting to see it roll out in the US?
Launched during a press event in New York yesterday, the LG G7 ThinQ will land on the US market soon enough. But first, the phone will go on sale in LG’s home country, South Korea.
In the States, LG’s new flagship will be available at all major carriers. And some of them have already announced details regarding the phone’s availability.
Here’s what we know so far
Verizon – Big Red will open up pre-orders for the LG G7 ThinQ starting on May 24. The actual release date is not yet known.
AT&T – no info available yet
T-Mobile – the Magenta carrier will offer LG’s new flagship “later this spring”. So we can assume, customers will be able to place a pre-order towards the end of May.
Sprint – will be taking pre-orders for the LG G7 ThinQ starting May 25. The release date has been set for June 1.
US Cellular – the LG G7 ThinQ will launch on June 1
Unfortunately, pricing information is not available just yet. But they will be soon enough.
After a deluge of leaks and rumors, LG has finally taken the wraps off its latest Android flagship this week. The G7 ThinQ comes packing a wide range of features, including a loudspeaker, a customizable notch and AI integration.
LG has also added a dedicated button to activate the Google Assistant with one tap and Google Lens with two taps.
The phone relies on a 6.1-inch QHD+ display sporting a 19:5:9 aspect ratio and a resolution of 3,120 x 1,440. Although it’s not AMOLED, but LCD the highlight here is that the display is capable of brightness levels up to 1000 nits. It’s also HDR 10 compliant.
Inside, there’s a powerful Snapdragon 845, backed up by either 4GB or 6GB of RAM and 32GB or 64GB of internal storage.
For more details about the LG G7 ThinQ, check our previous post here.
During the F8 developer conference this week, Facebook launched the Oculus Go, a standalone VR headset.
The product is Oculus’ first standalone headset and comes with a wireless controller. Pricing starts at $199.
The unit, which provides access to thousands of games and applications is now listed on the Oculus website. Customers in the US, as well as other countries around the globe including Australia, Canada, UK or France, can place an order for the device.
Oculus Go is easy to set up and use
Unlike the Oculus Rift and other VR headsets out there, the new Oculus Rift does not need to connect to a PC or phone to work. It has its own 5.5-inch fast-switch LCD screen with 2560 x 1440 resolution and running at 60Hz or 72Hz. The headset relies on the Snapdragon 821 Mobile VR Platform and has spatial audio built-in, as well as an integrated microphone.
Oculus says the embedded battery can support up to 1.5-2 hours of gaming or 2-2.5 hours of video watching.
The headset is launching with more than 1,000 apps, movies and games including Catan VR, Netflix VR, Anshar Online and many more. So you’ll have plenty of content to enjoy.
There’s no denying that the Oculus Go is the most approachable VR headset currently avaialble. At $199, the new product is more of a direct competitor to other portable headsets that use a smartphone such as the Samsung Gear VR or Google Daydream View.
But one of the major drawbacks of these headsets is that you need a compatible Android smartphone to make them work. Oculus Go does away with this requirement. However, you will still need an Android or iOS phone to set things up through the Oculus app.
Apart from Oculus.com, customers can purchase the Oculus Go from retailers like Amazon, Best Buy and Newegg. The product is available in two versions. One is available with 32GB of storage, while the second has 64GB and is a bit more expensive at $249. So far, the Oculus Go is only available in a pale grey hue.
Have you ever purchased an app from the Google Play Store only to find yourself hating it just moments after you’ve open it? Well, the good news is that you can get a refund rather easily. But you need to act fast.
Below you’ll find the steps you need to take in order to get a refund on a purchase from Google Play.
The quick way to get a refund
If you tested the app immediately after you’ve downloaded it and realized it’s not for you, then you can go back to the Play Store and request a refund. Keep in mind that this option is only available for apps, not in-app purchases or subscriptions.
The process is super simple, no question asked. You have a 2-hour window to return to the Play Store and navigate to the app in question. A Refund button should be showing on the left, next to the Open one.
Once the 2 hours expire, the Refund button will be replaced be an Uninstall button. It’s worth mentioning that we’ve seen numerous complaints of users claiming the 2-hour window is actually a 15-minute one. Although in our experience, we didn’t have the same issue.
Once you tap the Refund button a window will pop-up asking you “Are you sure that you want to refund this purchase? The app will be uninstalled.” Click Yes to continue.
But what if 2 hours have already passed since you made your purchase? You still have 48 hours to submit a refund request.
From there you should be able to see your Order History.
Find the app you want to refund and click on the three-dot menu on the right.
Click on Request a refund and select one of the reasons why you’re doing this (ex. I purchased this by accident).
Complete the form and note that you would like a refund.
Next, click submit and wait.
It can take between 15 minutes to two whole business days before you will get the verdict from Google.
What to do if 48-hours have passed?
You will have to try and contact the developer. This isn’t a full-proof method, but you could give it a try. You can find the developer’s email by tapping Read more on the app’s page on the Play Store and then scrolling down all the way to the bottom.
Hopefully, the email is a legitimate one and you will be able to convince the developer to issue you a refund.
But what if you get no reply from the developer or their response is unsatisfactory? Your last resort would be to contact Google’s support team and ask them to take care of the problem.
How to contact Google’s support team about a refund
Select your issue (for example Android apps & games).
Click on Request a refund.
Submit refund request.
You should hear back from Google within 15 minutes, but it can take up to 2 business days.
The Google support team can help you get refunds for paid apps, as well as in-app purchases.
How to get refunds for Google Play movies/TV shows or books
What if you bought a Google Play movie, but you decided you don’t want to keep it after all? Well, in this case, you have a 7-day window to request your refund. But bear in mind that this only applies to movies or books you haven’t started watching/reading.
In case video playback/book if defective, you can request a refund at any time. This is how you do it.
Earlier today, LG held an event in New York City to show off its latest flagship with the LG G7 ThinQ. However, this is not the first new flagship of the year, and we are taking a look at how well this device stands up to the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus.
When you first look at the G7 ThinQ or Galaxy S9, there is something apparent – they look familiar. That’s because LG and Samsung opted to stick with the same design language from devices launched in 2017.
The G7 ThinQ takes directly from the V30 with its smooth curved glass and 2:1 display. The same can be said about the Galaxy S9, which still features the Infinity Display from last year, albeit with some slightly slimmer frames.
In a head-to-head comparison, we have a 6.1-inch IPS LCD display in the G7 ThinQ. This puts LG’s flagship a bit closer to the Galaxy S9 Plus, which sports a 6.2-inch Super AMOLED display.
Instead of the 18.5:9 aspect ratio found in the Galaxy S9 lineup, LG opted to turn things up a notch. The G7 ThinQ features an aspect ratio of 19.5:9, which equates to a resolution of 3120 x 1440 pixels.
As we just alluded to, the reason for the increase in aspect ratio is due to the notch at the top of the display. This houses the front-facing camera and other sensors.
Meanwhile, Samsung decided to not go down the rabbit hole of notches and kept the top and bottom bezels. The top bezel houses the front-facing speaker, along with camera sensors and more.
On the bright side, those who don’t want to deal with notches will be able to hide it. LG decided to give the user some freedom with the G7 ThinQ.
One more aspect to consider when looking at the G7 ThinQ and Galaxy S9 is the display itself. LG has stated that its latest device features a 1,000 nit brightness, the best of any smartphone.
This, coupled with the six included viewing modes, will help ensure your device is viewable regardless of the situation. Samsung is known for creating the best display on the market, so we’ll have to see how the G7 ThinQ stands up in real-world usage.
Power
Under the hood, the specs between the G7 ThinQ and Galaxy S9 are largely the same. At the helm, we have the Snapdragon 845 chipset, which has been coupled with 4GB of RAM.
The bigger difference comes when looking at the G7 ThinQ and Galaxy S9 Plus. Instead of just 4GB of RAM, Samsung opted to up the ante and push the limits up to 6GB for its larger device.
All three options have 64GB of base storage, although Samsung just announced 128GB and 256GB options. Nonetheless, you can still add your own microSD card, regardless of which device you end up owning.
With the battery, we’re not looking at anything too crazy. The G7 ThinQ and smaller Galaxy S9 both sport a 3,000mAh battery. The S9 Plus takes the cake here with a larger 3,500mAh battery.
Camera
As is the case with just about every flagship device, folks want to know about the cameras. Just looking at the numbers, the G7 ThinQ, Galaxy S9, and S9 Plus all have an 8MP front-sensor.
Taking a deeper dive reveals that the G7 ThinQ’s sensor has an aperture of f/1.9. The S9 and S9 Plus both sport an aperture of f/1.7 and are capable of shooting video at 1440p@30fps with autofocus.
Main camera at f/1.5.
Moving to the rear, this is where things get stepped up a notch. The G7 ThinQ features a dual-camera system, with a primary 16MP (f/1.6) sensor, and a 16MP 107-degree wide-angle lens.
While the S9 only has a single 12MP Super Speed Dual Pixel sensor, the S9 Plus sports two of these lenses. The apeture for the primary sensor is actually mechanical, switching between f/1.5 and f/2.4. On the S9 Plus, the secondary sensor comes with a fixed aperture of f/2.4.
Software & Extra Features
On the software side of things, the G7 ThinQ and Galaxy S9 devices are all running Android 8.0 Oreo. LG confirmed plans to update to Android P once it’s made available, but Samsung has yet to make any type of similar announcement.
The big addition to LG’s and Samsung’s devices is the inclusion of AI software enhancements. This is immediately apparent from the dedicated hardware button to activate either Google Assistant (G7 ThinQ) or Bixby (Galaxy S9).
LG also confirmed that this hardware button will also activate Google Lens with a double-click. When released, the G7 ThinQ will likely be the first smartphone to sport this functionality out of the box.
It’s apparent that both companies are looking to the future with the inclusion of AI capabilities. But only LG decided it would be a good move to include its new branding in the name of its device.
Value
Ultimately, when it comes to deciding which device to purchase, the price is definitely put into consideration. Unfortunately, we aren’t sure exactly what the G7 ThinQ will be priced at thanks to LG not being ready to share that yet.
For reference in the future, the Galaxy S9 is priced at $720, while the S9 Plus is priced at $840. We are expecting, however, for LG to come in just below the price of the S9, likely to be somewhere around $700.
What’s the best?
It’s tough to determine which device is truly better without having the G7 ThinQ in hand. Nonetheless, we have already seen everything that Samsung has to offer and it’s difficult to recommend against it.
If comparing the S9 to the G7 ThinQ, then we would likely recommend the G7 ThinQ thanks to its dual-camera system. However, the S9 Plus would likely come out the winner if comparing it to the G7 ThinQ.
Let us know which device is leading the way for you and which you are considering to pick up for yourself.
The T-Mobile Tuesdays service gives customers of T-Mobile a chance to get free or discounted items every Tuesday. Typically we’ve seen movie tickets, Dunkin Donuts gift cards, and swag from the company. Next week, everyone’s favorite coffee shop, Starbucks, will be joining the program.
Next Tuesday, May 8th, T-Mobile customers will find a $3 eGift Card reward for Starbucks. From there you’ll need to claim and redeem the prize to gain access to the actual gift card. After entering your email on the next page, provided by Starbucks, you’ll be emailed the card with a unique barcode. You can also transfer the gift card into the Starbucks app, for those that frequent the shop that much. Remember to get your email before 4:59 EST May 9th so you don’t lose out.
The fun doesn’t end there though. T-Mobile president, Chief Operating Officer, and coffee lover Mike Sievert will be sharing his favorite drinks on Twitter. If you tweet him, @SievertMike, with a picture of your purchase from T-Mobile Tuesdays with the hashtag #TMobileTuesday, he may retweet your photo. Through those retweets, Sievert will be giving away a few T-Mobile REVVL Plus devices!
Remember, have the app downloaded on your T-Mobile phone and then claim your Starbucks reward. From there tweet a picture out to Mike Sievert, for your chance at a brand new phone. The T-Mobile Tuesday rewards keep getting better and better.
A lot of racing games offer great graphics and animation, they can oftentimes leave you bored after a while, with stale game play. Mad Skills BMX 2, from the developer Turborilla, challenges that notion with a free, family-friendly title that I keep going back to again and again. Check it out and see if it’s a racer you would be interested in.
Setup
Setup couldn’t be simpler: just download from the Play Store, click on the icon, and you’re in. From there you jump into some short tutorials, and then you’re into the meat of the game.
Mad Skills BMX 2 is a sequential racer, meaning it’s kind of like a campaign; your racer progresses through the game by beating each level (and your AI opponent) in sequential order, not moving to the next level until you “win” the current one.
You are given several “worlds”, or track series, with multiple specific tracks within each. Like a campaign-style game, the first levels withing each series start out easier, but progress in difficulty as you go along.
Gameplay
One of the reasons Mad Skills BMX 2 is so fun to play is its nuanced use use of game controls and course challenges. To race your bike, you only have two main controls: up & down arrows on the right side of your display. The down arrow lets you pump or wheelie down hills and over whoops faster, and the up arrow let you bunny-hop, which helps get more air off ramps and other jumps.
That’s it for controls. There are a couple of other buttons available (rocket button for a limited turbo boost, flip button to do backflips), but they don’t affect the core gameplay.
The key is your timing in your approach to each dip, whoop, bump, and ramp on each track. Each of these obstacles provide their own challenges, but the almost endless combination of them provide the equally almost endless challenge in mastering your touch & timing. Getting to a point to beat my opponent, and the intense satisfaction that comes with doing so on each level, was more than enough to keep me coming back for more. This is a true case where simplicity and nuance brings much more to a game than a clustered collection of controls and options.
One of my favorite part of the game is that it allows you to play previously-beaten levels/tracks, racing yourself as you best raced it last, trying to create new personal records.
Add-Ons
As you progress through the game, you collect cash and gold bars, and with these you are offered several ways to upgrade your gear for the next race:
Clothing/helmet upgrade: This is aesthetic only; can’t say it appealed to me that much.
Bike upgrades: You can upgrade your general speed, your pump ability, or your jumping ability.
New bikes: The holy grail! With enough money collected you can switch out to a completely new ride (complete with speed, pump, and jump attributes to fill out as you go).
If I had one disappointment, it is with the amount of ‘boost’ each upgrade gives you. I really couldn’t see or feel the difference after dropping hard-earned money for one or more attribute upgrades. I would appreciate it more if more impact was given to these.
You do collect rockets from time-to-time….these allow you to hit the icon for a short-term turbo boost in a race. These are pretty rare (provided you’re not paying real in-game cash for them), so you need to take care in using them up. Believe me, they go fast!
Overall
It sounds odd, given the lack of crazy controls, gameplay, and other game mechanics, but Mad Skills BMX 2 is a rare game I enjoy playing more than a few days before moving on. It’s still on my device, and I say it should be on yours, too.
Hopefully, the 
order, not moving to the next level until you “win” the current one.
controls and course challenges. To race your bike, you only have two main controls: up & down arrows on the right side of your display. The down arrow lets you pump or wheelie down hills and over whoops faster, and the up arrow let you bunny-hop, which helps get more air off ramps and other jumps.
If I had one disappointment, it is with the amount of ‘boost’ each upgrade gives you. I really couldn’t see or feel the difference after dropping hard-earned money for one or more attribute upgrades. I would appreciate it more if more impact was given to these.