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Google Search, Maps give users wait times for restaurants

AndroidGuys
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Google today confirmed that it will give users of its Google Search and Google Maps apps the ability to pull up wait times for restaurants.

Details are available in the Search app now, pulling up times for nearly a million sit-down restaurants. Moreover, summaries of each day’s wait times can be pulled up by scrolling through the results. The information will be added to the Google Maps app in the near future.

While it’s a small update to Google’s mobile apps, it’s definitely a valuable one. We already liked being able to check for the most popular times of day for restaurants and retailers; it’s also rather helpful to know how long you might expect to spend at a place, too.

In a semi-related note, Google has also recently began offering comparison tools for select users in its search results. Shopping for a smartphone is even better now as one can look at the similarities and differences between different models.

What other features would you like to see Google integrate into its apps?

The $99 Nextbit Robin will make a great backup phone

AG Deals Team
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Yes, we know that the Razer Phone has been announced which is practically the successor to the Nextbit Robin. But that doesn’t mean that the Robin isn’t still a great option for those looking to save some money and give their kids a phone to play with.

While Nextbit has ceased support for the Robin, it is still available from some retailers, and the device is seeing a huge sale over at eBay. You can now grab the Nextbit Robin for just $99, which is an absurd price for any serviceable smartphone nowadays.

As a refresher, the Robin features the following specs:

  • 5.2-inch FHD Display
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 SoC
  • 3GB RAM
  • 32GB Storage
  • 5MP Front Camera
  • 13MP Rear Camera
  • 2,680mAh Battery
  • Fingerprint Sensor

This is a great deal for just about anyone who wants to mess around one with one of the most popular phones of 2016. Hit the button below to snag the Nextbit Robin for yourself, but you’ll want to hurry as there are limited quantities available.

Buy the Nextbit Robin!

Amazon and Best Buy drop the Essential Phone to just $450

AG Deals Team
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The Essential Phone has had a rocky road ever since the device was officially launched, as some deadpanned it for a subpar camera experience given its $700 price tag. However, times are a-changin’ and you can now get the Essential Phone for as low as $450.

Last month, Essential permanently discounted the device to just $499, but Best Buy and Amazon have taken things a step further. The PH-1 can now be had for just $450 from either retailer, although only the Pure White edition has been discounted on Amazon.

As a reminder, the PH-1 comes equipped with a bezel-less 5.7-inch display, while being powered by the Snapdragon 835 SoC, 4GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage. The device also comes equipped with a dual camera setup and a 3,040mAh battery.

While the Essential Phone was rather difficult to recommend at its starting price of $699, things are a bit different now as software updates have seemingly smoothed things out. So if you’re interested in snagging the PH-1 for yourself, hit the button below and be sure to let us know what you think about the device.

Buy the Essential Phone!

Samsung Galaxy S8 Active and LG V30+ arrive at T-Mobile this month

Alexandra Arici
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Today, T-Mobile announced that two new phones will soon be joining its growing 600MHz-capable smartphone family.

Starting on November 17, customers will be able to pick up the former AT&T exclusive, Samsung Galaxy S8 Active, online. From September 22, the phone will also be available at participating T-Mobile stores for:

  • $100 down and $30/month on T-Mobile’s Equipment Installment Plan for 24 months (full retail price: $820)
  • $100 down and $29/month on JUMP! On Demand 18-month lease.

 

The LG V30+ will also be available come November 17 in limited quantities, so you best be prepared to spend your money on the same day, or risk missing your chance to buy one. Customers will be able to pick one up for:

  • $130 down and $30/month over 24 months on T-Mobile’s Equipment Installment Plan (full retail price: $850)

We’re taking the opportunity to remind you that the LG V30+ is the version with more storage, 128GB instead of 64GB. Other than that, you’ll get the same 6-inch OLED bezel-less display, Snapdragon 835, 16MP/13MP dual-cameras of the LG V30.

In related news, Samsung today announced the Galaxy S8 Active is also going to be available at Sprint later this month. Both carriers will offer the device in Meteor Gray.

Google Search is getting a new phone comparison tool

Alexandra Arici
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Like the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, but you’re not sure of whether if its worth all that money? Should you listen to your friends and purchase the OnePlus 5 instead? Deciding which phone to buy is not always the easiest of tasks, but Google wants to help you decide faster.

Based on a report coming out of the Android Police, it appears that Google is gearing up to launch a new tool for Search that allows folks to compare phones with a simple search. The feature is currently rolling out to select users on mobile and desktop and will probably become more widely available in the upcoming weeks.

To start comparing phones, type in something like: “Pixel 2 XL vs LG V30” or “HTC U11 vs OnePlus 5”. For the time being, Google only allows you two compare two phone models, not three or more.

Which should I get?

Your search will immediately show the two devices side by side with additional information including Price, Color and Storage Capacity displayed underneath in two separate columns. For more information, tap the blue arrow below.

Sure the specifications and information aren’t as in-depth you’d find in reviews, but the new feature provides a quick and easy way to see how two phone models stack up against one another. On mobile, there’s also the option to highlight the differences, which is also very handy.

Are you seeing the new feature on your mobile or desktop? If that’s the case, let us know what you think about the new tool in the comment section below.

You can now disable the Bixby button on your Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8 – completely

AndroidGuys
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The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus arrived without Samsung AI Bixby despite the company’s promise this past Spring, but Bixby arrived three months late – and after the wait, was met with some hate. Not everyone appreciated Samsung’s efforts to launch a Google Assistant rival in the Android space. One user in particular launched a Bixby-killing case on Kickstarter for the Galaxy S8.

Samsung released an update to disable Bixby on the Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8 Plus, and the Galaxy Note 8 back in September, but the update still allowed the Bixby button to wake up your handset or activate Bixby Home. This didn’t sit well with the anti-Bixby crowd, so Samsung has now released a new extension update.

The extension update builds upon the Bixby-disabling update in September to now disable Bixby Home and Service activation so that anti-Bixby advocates can finally breathe a sigh of relief that the “dreaded” AI is gone. This seems to be counter-intuitive, especially considering that Samsung is betting big on the future of AI, but the reason behind the disable updates is clear: to keep all users satisfied with the experience.

The new update is a small concession to anti-Bixby advocates, but Samsung has yet to concede on functionality for the new button. Sure, Bixby won’t appear anymore, but disabling the Bixby button only leaves an empty piece of hardware that doesn’t do anything. Sure, Bixby may have its quirks, but between 1) function-less and 2) quirkiness, perhaps software quirks and kinks are better than no function at all.

To go ahead and disable Bixby in its entirety, take a look at the video and then hit up the “via” link below for more info.

It’s official: OnePlus 5T is launching on November 16, sales to begin on November 21

Alexandra Arici
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A few weeks ago we weren’t even 100% sure that the OnePlus 5T was a real product, but in the last few days, the company has confirmed the phone is indeed coming soon.

Now OnePlus has revealed when and where we can expect to see the OnePlus 5T make a debut into the wild. According to the company’s official website, the phone will be launched on November 16 in New York City (as it was previously revealed). On top of that, we’re told the phone will go on sale on November 21 at 9:00 am ET (Eastern Time), so shortly after the launch event.

The OnePlus 5T announcement will be hosted under the title “A New View” which probably refers to the fact that the new phone will come with a large 6-inch display with very slim bezels. The OnePlus 5T will be the first phone in the OnePlus portfolio to come boasting a modern bezel-less design with 18:9 aspect ratio.

While visually, the OnePlus 5T will look very different from the OnePlus 5, internally the two phones will be pretty similar, as the newcomer is expected to take advantage of a Snapdragon 835 processor with either 6GB or 8GB of RAM and 64GB or 128GB of storage on board.

In the photography department we might get to see some slight improvements. Given that OnePlus top executives recently teased photos captured using the upcoming phone which were made in low light conditions, we can expect to see OnePlus 5T bring optical image stabilization on the main dual camera, which is an important ingredient to shooting sharper images in low-light scenarios.

To find out all the details about the new phone, make sure you tune in on November 16 to watch the OnePlus 5T make a debut into the world.

How hard is it to keep Android up to date?

Dan Bartram
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One of the biggest frustrations that plague Android users is the lack of updates when it comes to getting the latest version of the operating system. Minus the Pixel users, most of us find ourselves in a situation whereby it can be anywhere from 6 months to a year to almost never before we see a new version of Android hit our devices.

In what seemingly is a simple case of issuing an update to all Android devices, manufacturers are constantly struggling to emulate what Apple can do with its iPhone and issue the latest version of OS immediately to devices.

But just how easy is it to keep an Android device up to date?

Sony takes a stab at providing just how complex it is to issue an update to its devices with a handy infographic.

Alright, so the process is extensive. But, Apple seems to do it just fine with the iPhone and I don’t see any steps it would cut out to streamline the process. Ok, perhaps they don’t have to go round the carrier loop to have extra software bundled but even if that added a 3-month delay, it doesn’t explain why my Samsung device isn’t running the latest version of Android.

Sony, if this is the process, and I’m not just looking at Sony here, please speed this up, for the sake of Android.

Huawei’s Honor V10 reportedly to debut December 5

Dan Bartram
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Huawei could be set to unveil its next Honor-branded device with the V10 featuring a 5.99-inch all-display design that could debut as soon as December 5 this year.

According to leaked documents spotted by GizChina, the near bezel-less device features a Kirin 970 chipset, the same one found in the Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro, as well as 6GB of RAM and 64GB or 128GB of internal storage. You’ll get a dual-camera setup as seems common in most smartphones these days that packs a 16-Megapixel and 20-Megapixel setup.

Huawei keeps its personalization with the EMUI 6.0 Android skin on top of Android 8.0 Oreo. The Honor V10 will reportedly be announced at an event in London on December 5 for around $452 so is an extremely competitive price for the specs. It seems Huawei is continuing to embrace the industry trend of pushing the boundaries of screen displays by reducing the bezels and the V10 seems to bring that high-end spec sheet to an affordable price.

While obviously this is all rumor and should, therefore, be taken with the accompanying pinch of salt, Huawei is making it clear it is a force to be taken seriously with its plethora of devices that cater for all budgets and seem to not compromise on specs.

Samsung throws shade at Apple’s notch with its latest ad

AG Deals Team
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Over the last few years, things between Apple and Samsung have been relatively quiet. There hasn’t been much bickering between the two and that’s mainly because Apple decided to stick with the same iPhone design while Samsung continued to innovate.

However, that all has changed now that the iPhone X has been released, which is a complete overhaul of Apple’s design. Gone are the huge bezels and metal build, and now we have an all-glass design along with the Notch.

As expected, Samsung has released a new advertisement which encourages iPhone owners to “grow up” and get a Galaxy device. However, the shade is being thrown around pretty well in this ad, including the image above of a man with a haircut in the shape of the iPhone X’s notch.

This was a pretty hilarious response to the release of the iPhone X as Samsung and Apple will go head to head in sales this Holiday season. Let us know what you think about the ad in the comments below and let us know what you think about how the iPhone X stacks up to the Galaxy Note 8.

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