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Google will soon stop sending targeted ads to your Gmail account

Alexandra Arici
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Good news Gmail users! Google will stop reading your emails with the purpose of delivering target ads.

The practice has been employed ever since 2014, when Google first launched its popular email client. But after receiving numerous criticism on the matter, Google finally announced it will soon stop scanning users’ correspondence.

The decision – made by Google’s cloud and business software unit – hopes to attract more corporate customers to its G Suite set of services, in a bid to better compete with Microsoft’s Office.

The move will align Google’s free Gmail service with the paid business version which does not deliver any ads. Despite offering a corporate version, Google has had troubles retaining business users who often find themselves apprehensive about trusting the search giant’s business tactics.

Once the practice is retired later this year, Gmail ads will be in line with how Google personalizes ads for its other products. Meaning, it will show ads based on the user’s settings which can be changed at any time, including disabling personalized ads altogether.

Despite being harshly criticized for its ad policy in Gmail, the service has continued to rise in popularity with standard users across the world. With targeted ads being taken out of the picture, the service is bound to become, especially to those who so far had concerns and did not want their emails to be scanned.

Samsung now only trails Apple in wearable market share, but it’s not close

AG Deals Team
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Samsung has slowly but steadily been working towards gaining more market share in the wearable market. A new report suggests that Samsung has taken over the place of “best of the rest” as it has moved into the #2 position in global wearable market share.

In Q1 2017, Samsung’s wearables, including the newly-launched Gear S3 smartwatch, helped the company gain 12.8% of the market share. This move marked the first time that Fitbit has been displaced in quite some time, but Fitbit has been struggling as of late.

As you would expect, if you pay attention to this sector of tech, Apple leads all wearable manufacturers by a ridiculous margin – 53%. It’s highly doubtful that Samsung makes a huge dent in Apple’s market share anytime soon, but this market seems to be one focused on the “long run”.

There have been some that have suggested that the wearable market is becoming a bit stagnant, at least when it comes to non-Apple devices. However, we’re barely halfway through the year, so it will be interesting to see if Samsung, or anyone else, makes a run to take some of the pie from Apple.

Let us know what you think about this latest report and what you would like to see in a new wearable or smartwatch.

HTC shows off some new Edge features for the HTC U11

Dan Bartram
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One of the standout features of the HTC U11 are the ‘squeezable’ edges as part of the company’s Edge Sense skin and it showed off some interesting features in a new video.

The new Edge Sense feature is where the sides of the HTC U11 are pressure sensitive and can therefore be linked to various gestures such as launching apps or triggering various shortcuts.

HTC is showing off some new features in the video, one of which is where users can squeeze their device to zoom inside of Google Maps and Google Photos, change the views in Google Calendar, as well as answer and hang up calls.

While the changes aren’t all available immediately, HTC assures that they are ‘coming soon’.

Are you using Edge Sense? How do these new features resonate with you?

Action Launcher gets a new look and a slew of new features in its latest update

AG Deals Team
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Everyone loves Nova Launcher and tends to forget that there are other, viable, options available on the Play Store. One such option is Action Launcher 3 from the well-known developer, Chris Lacy.

On Friday, Lacy pushed a HUGE update to Action Launcher, which provided a rather long list of changes and feature additions. In addition to these changes Lacy has also removed the “3” from the name while bringing an all-new icon for Action Launcher.

Other than the design changes that have been made to the launcher itself, Lacy has added a new Clock widget. The reason that this new clock widget is so special is that the clock now features an animated second hand. The seconds ticker will move around the clock, regardless of whether you use a Clock widget or have the application on your homescreen.

Official Changes:

  • NEW: Action Launcher 3 has been renamed to Action Launcher, and has a shiny new icon to prove it!
  • NEW: Use an animating, Android O-style clock icon for the Google Clock app (requires Lollipop or later). This animating clock is also available as a standalone widget.
  • NEW: By default, all new installs of Action Launcher will use Pixel Launcher style All Apps, folders and everything in between.
  • NEW: Many Pixel Launcher features that previously required Plus are now free for all users. Furthermore, the app is now far less aggressive in prompting users to upgrade to Plus.
  • NEW: Full integration of Pixel Launcher’s UI styling for displaying App Shortcuts (previously known as Quickcuts). App Shortcuts display when long pressing an icon from either the desktop or All Apps list.
  • NEW: App Shortcuts can be used in combination with Shutters and Covers.
  • NEW: App Shortcuts can be dragged and placed as shortcuts on a home screen.
  • NEW: Revamped appearance of the icon indicators for Covers, Shutters and App Shortcuts..
  • NEW: Smartsize icon resizing is no longer a beta feature, and is enabled by default for all Plus users.
  • NEW: Add animated caret indicator when opening/close Pixel style All Apps.
  • NEW: Custom system fonts are correctly applied to labels on the desktop.
  • NEW: The horizontal screen margin can be adjusted (via Desktop settings, phones only).

In addition to the various new changes being made to Action Launcher, Lacy has also provided a slew of “improvements” to the launcher. These range from optimizations to the launcher itself, to showing new animations after Action Launcher is used for the first time.

If you’re interested in learning more about this latest update, hit the links below and give the new update a chance to take over your homescreen. If you’re already using the new Action Launcher, let us know what you think about the changes in the comments below.

Tip: Improve Iris scanning results on the Galaxy S8

Dan Bartram
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One of the standout features of the Samsung Galaxy S8 was the ability to authenticate your identity and unlock the device using the Iris scanner. The ability to have the phone scan your Iris via infrared to authenticate you added another level of security.

However, the results were mixed. Those with glasses were left with no alternative but to remove them to use the technology and everyone else found the technology to be very slow and often failed entirely. Iris scanning on the Galaxy S8 isn’t a complete failure as some of my friends who have the device swear by the feature but I’ve found it to be too slow when compared to something like the fingerprint sensor.

There is a small tweak that you can make to your Galaxy S8 in the settings that seems to yield faster results for the Iris scanning.

Step 1: On your device, go into Settings » Lock screen and security » Iris Scanner. You will be required to enter your pattern or PIN. Follow the on-screen instructions if you’ve not saved your iris data.

faster-iris-scanning-galaxy-s8-tip-1

Step 2: Tap Iris unlock when screen turns on to toggle this feature on. The feature enables the phone to unlock itself with your iris as soon as the screen turns on, without requiring you to swipe first.

faster-iris-scanning-galaxy-s8-tip-2

I’m not sure why this wasn’t enabled by default but it certainly does make a difference. Drop us a comment and let us know if this improved the Iris scanner speed for you.

The Pixel 2 lineup could see a slight design change

AG Deals Team
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As we hit the full swing of Summer, we are likely to continue hearing more and more information regarding Google’s next flagship lineup. The Pixel 2 ‘walleye’ and ‘taimen’ will replace the current Pixel lineup, but it seems that things may be a bit different this time around.

According to Mario from XDA, a source has confirmed a few key specs for both the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL. Starting with the smaller of the two, it seems that ‘walleye’ will feature a 4.97-inch display with a Full HD display. Powering the device will be the Snapdragon 835 SoC along with 4GB of RAM and at least 64GB of storage.

Pixel 2 ‘walleye’ Specs:

  • 4.97-inch FHD Display
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC
  • 4GB RAM
  • 64GB Storage
  • Identical Build to Pixel

Things don’t stop there, as the source also confirmed that the 3.5mm headphone jack would be removed from the Pixel 2 lineup. This move was to accommodate those asking for stereo speakers, so you’ll have to make the move to Bluetooth with the Pixel 2. Finally, it seems that the Pixel 2 ‘walleye’ will feature a design that is “almost identical” to its predecessor.

Moving onto the larger Pixel 2 XL ‘taimen’, the device will feature a 5.99-inch OLED display. In fact, this OLED display is being provided by LG, which makes sense due to Google’s recent investment in LG’s display division. While there won’t be any fancy “infinity display” gimmick here, it does seem that the larger Pixel 2 will feature slimmer bezels.

Pixel 2 XL ‘taimen’ Specs:

  • 5.99-inch OLED Display
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC
  • 4GB RAM
  • 128GB Storage
  • Slimmer Bezels
  • New Design
  • Single Camera

As you would expect, the Pixel 2 XL will also be powered by the Snapdragon 835 SoC, 4GB of RAM, and 128GB variant. However, there are some key design changes that are coming to the larger of the two devices. 

According to the source, while the ‘taimen’ will feature a similar glass and aluminum design, however, the glass window on the back will be smaller. Instead of surrounding the camera sensor and fingerprint scanner, it seems that we’ll be looking at a window similar to what was found on the Nexus 6P.

Neither the Pixel 2 ‘walleye’ or Pixel 2 XL ‘taimen’ will make the move to a dual camera system. Google is opting to stick with what works with the single camera sensor and a dual-LED flash.

Speaking of the Nexus 6P, it seems that the source speaking to XDA found mention of ‘Nexus Imprint’ when using the software of the larger ‘taimen’ device. This is by no means confirmation of the resurgence of the Nexus lineup, but instead, is likely something that will be fixed in the future to properly represent ‘Pixel Imprint’ for the fingerprint software.

Let us know what you think about this latest set of rumors and if you’re getting excited to see what Google has in store for the Fall of 2017.

Android O brings some significant improvements for VR

Dan Bartram
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Getting a device Daydream certified is a documented process that any smartphone can apply for. Simply have a HD resolutin that can run two separate streams at 60 frames per second with a latency under 25 milliseconds.

It also needs to run without overheating and maintain a decent battery drain rate. That sounds quite simple right? Hardware is only part of the story and Google need to do its part in the Daydream experience software side of thins. It sounds that Android O is heavily focused on bringing improvements that could see more devices Daydream certified.

Don’t Miss: Google now allows anyone develop Daydream VR apps

Specificially these changes revolve around the graphic APIs that can be used from Vulkan and OpenGL. Android O will be better at drawing data on the screen compared to previous versions of Android. This will mean that the process of taking this data and turning into a VR experience will be much more efficient.

Android O also improves the way background processes are handled so this will also benefit VR and could see more devices see that Daydream certification as battery life becomes more efficient as a result.

It seems Google are going big on VR and are putting a lot of emphasis to take the technology to the next level. The next year is certainly going to see huge improvements in the platform.

Tip: How to speed up your Moto G4

Dan Bartram
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The Moto G4 is still a great device and perfect for those looking for an Android smartphone that is close to stock on a budget. However, the device is not as new as it once was and with apps getting more resourcing demand you could find the G4 to be slowing down. Luckily there is a hidden feature that you can change that will instantly speed up your device.

The tip will help speed up your Moto G4, helping reduce the impact of the aging processor and resource hungry apps. The best bit is there’s nothing extra to install or tons of settings to change, just a simple case of changing a setting with developer options enabled.

The little hack revolves around the animations applied to transitioning between windows and turning the device on or off. By simply turning this off, it contributes to making the device seem extremely snappy and fast by reducing the delay applied to the animation.

First, you’ll need to enable the Developer Options hidden menu. To do this, go into Settings -> About Device and scroll down to “Build Number”. Now, tap on “Build Number” five times and you’ll see a notification saying that “Developer mode has been enabled”.

With that hidden menu now enabled, we can head on into it to begin fastening up our Moto G4.

  1. Head on in to Developer Options in Settings.
  2. Scroll down to the Drawing section.
  3. Of interest here is the Window Animation Scale, Transition Animation Scale, and Animator Duration Scale.
  4. Click on them individually to change the scale.

You are able to turn the animations off completely, or set them to 0.5x (default is 1x) so the animations will be double speed for those who would like to retain them.

You’ll notice your Moto G4 feels substantially quicker without any hacks that affect your software, warranty, or device battery life. Let us know your comments in the section below.

How to SIM unlock the LG G5

Matt Adams
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The LG G5 was released last year to a ton of hype for its redesigned body and modular system. And while it wasn’t the huge success that LG wished it had been, a ton of people bought into LG’s vision. Even if you don’t get the cool modules you can add into the G5, you’re still getting a phone with a great display, dual-camera setup, and a removable battery for a good price.

Right now, you can get an LG G5 used on Swappa for an excellent price. If you’re looking for a “new-to-you” phone, it’s an excellent option. But, if the phone you pick doesn’t match your network, or you want to take your phone on vacation with you and buy a local SIM card, it needs to be unlocked.

To get your phone unlocked, you have two options.

First off, you can go through your carrier. If you bought your phone from a carrier and your account is in good standing, your device is paid off, and you’ve had the device on your account for a set number of days (varies by carrier) then you can request an unlock code.

If you’re like most Americans and you bought your LG G5 on a payment plan or a two-year contract through your carrier, you probably will not qualify for that at this point since it’s unlikely your phone is paid off or the contract term is up. If you don’t meet the requirements or you’re trying to unlock a used or “new to you” phone, you’ll need to go through a third-party unlocking service like Android SIM Unlock.

So, how exactly do you get your phone unlocked? Here are the steps we’ll need to take for both methods.

Get your IMEI Number

Before you do anything else, you need your IMEI number. IMEI stands for International Mobile Equipment Identifier and it’s the unique code for every device to identify it to carriers for access on their networks. Here’s how you get your IMEI number:

  1. Open the phone application
  2. Dial *#06#
  3. Your phone’s IMEI will pop up on the display
  4. Write it down in a document on your computer or a piece of paper nearby

Unlocking

Free unlocking

Earlier in the article, we talked about the requirements to get your free SIM unlock. If you’re unsure if you qualify, give your carrier a call and ask. The worst they can tell you is no and all you’ve lost is time. If you do qualify, wonderful! Here are the steps to unlocking your device with an unlock code provided by your carrier:

  1. Call your carrier customer service (normally you just dial 611 and hit send!)
  2. Request an unlock code
  3. Provide the IMEI number you wrote down earlier
  4. Your unlock code will be sent to you and should arrive within 5 days
  5. Replace the SIM card in your phone with one from another carrier
  6. Enter the unlock code when the prompt comes up

When you get your unlock code, grab a piece of paper and write it down. While these steps are easy, you don’t want to be left trying to pull that information out of a document you have saved in the cloud when you have no service and no WiFi connections. Just do it the old fashion way.

Paid unlocking

If you don’t qualify for a free SIM unlock from your carrier, you still have options! You can buy a cheap unlock code from a third-party unlocker like Android SIM Unlock. This method will work for carriers besides T-Mobile and MetroPCS, so if you have service through them, we’ll have special instructions below for you.

  1. Visit Android SIM Unlock or a similar unlocking site and enter the IMEI you wrote down earlier
  2. Complete the checkout process
  3. Your unlock code will arrive in your email in about an hour, but most of the time sooner than that
  4. Put a SIM card from another carrier in your LG G5
  5. Enter the unlock code in the prompt that appears on screen

T-Mobile and MetroPCS Unlocking Process

T-Mobile and MetroPCS, as we mentioned above, has its own unlocking app. Even if you don’t qualify for a free unlock, you can still unlock your device using the T-Mobile or MetroPCS Device unlock apps. Here’s how you’ll go about it:

  1. Visit Android SIM Unlock or a similar service and select the T-Mobile Device Unlock or MetroPCS Device Unlock option
  2. Enter your IMEI number
  3. Complete the checkout process
  4. You’ll receive your unlock confirmation email in 1 – 3 days
  5. Open the T-Mobile Device Unlock or MetroPCS Device unlock app
  6. Press Continue, then Permanent Unlock
  7. The unlock process will run and reboot your phone when it’s done

The process for T-Mobile isn’t any more complicated than other carriers, it’s just a bit slower.

It’s as easy as that. Enjoy your new (or used) LG G5 on any network you please.

Huawei Honor 6X phone reivew

AndroidGuys
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Google made it clear at I/O that there is a huge focus on lowering the cost of purchasing an Android device. With the announcement of Android Go, coinciding with the launch of Android O, it is clear that Google is pushing for manufacturers to develop and release phones at even lower prices than they are now.

Speaking of budget devices, we have been reviewing a unit from one of the big names in low-cost devices. The Huawei-made Honor 6X aims to take many of the key features that users want and wrap them up in a device that is much more affordable than those carrier offered phones. Let’s take a look under the hood and see what $250 can get us in 2017

Style

The Honor 6X is a very classy device; sporting a single piece milled chassis holding all of the internals in place and a 2.5D piece of glass for the touchscreen. I would have loved to see some Gorilla glass here for scratch resistance but those are some of the sacrifices we make when getting a phone in this price range.

The initial inspection reveals that the phone comes with a preinstalled, lightweight, plastic screen protector. It isn’t much but it is nice to know that since we are not getting top dollar glass, Honor has thought to give us some extra protection out of the box.

The front, from top to bottom sports the ear speaker, an 8MP front-facing camera, and a simple Honor logo at the bottom. It is nice to see that there are no hardware buttons to mess with and we have an Android device the way it was intended.

The left and right side house the usual SIM/SD card slots and the volume rocker and power buttons respectively. The card slot is easy to open and even easier insert your SIM and SD card (or double SIM cards if you prefer) into. The volume and power buttons are placed intuitively for hand placement and are pronounced just enough to be easily usable but not enough to be annoying or catch in a purse or bag.

In typical fashion, we find the microUSB port centered on the bottom of the device between what appear to be dual speakers. Unfortunately, only the one on the right is actually a speaker, the other appears to be simply for decoration/symmetry. We also find a 3.5 mm audio jack on the top-left side of the phone.

Finally, we flip this bad boy over and find some pretty cool stuff for a budget phone. We are greeted with a LED flasher, a dual camera (12MP + 2MP) and a fingerprint sensor reminiscent of the one on the Huawei Mate 9. More on the camera later but the fingerprint sensor has never had issues reading either of the fingers I have set up. I have even placed my finger upside down and it logged me in without issue.

Hardware

Now that we have talked about what comes on the outside, I think it’s time to talk about what we get on the inside of the Honor 6X. According to the Huawei site, the highlighted specs are as follows:

  • Display: 5.5” 1920p x 1080p full HD display with 16 M colors, 403 PPI
  • CPU: Huawei Kirin 655 Octa-Core Processor
  • Operating System: Android 7 and Huawei Emotion UI 5.0
  • Memory: 3GB RAM, 32GB ROM
  • Camera: 12MP + 2MP rear; 8MP front
  • Battery: 3340 mAh

While it is always nice to see what kind of specs are packed inside of a device, the bigger question is what does that all equate to? Well, let’s take them all one piece at a time.

The full HD display is larger than my Galaxy S7 and equally as vibrant to the eye. Watching YouTube is a dream and I have yet to see any games or images that don’t display as expected.

The CPU and RAM have been able to tackle every task I have thrown at them without issue. Even some of the larger games I have played have no issues with frame lag or heating up.

Battery life is AMAZING. Honor designed the 6X with the intention of it lasting 2 days for the average user and I am happy to say that it does that without exception. As I have said in my other reviews, I use my device for work emails and work calls and the Honor 6X has lasted two days on all but 2 occasions, but both of those days were extremely high use days and the battery lasted longer than expected in both cases.

Camera

Honor 6X

As you can see from the camera roll above, the camera is a decent quality for a budget phone. There are almost as many controls in the 6X camera as we found in the Mate 9, which makes sense considering they are running the same OS (thanks to the recent Android 7 update). The images are crisp and clear and the shutter speed seems to be exactly what I expect out of the camera on a phone in this price range.

Software

The last feature that we have not touched on is the software. When I first received the review unit, it had Android 6 and EMUI 4.5 installed. My major issue with this setup is that there was no option for an app drawer. Seriously, if I wanted a phone with no app drawer I would go Apple and not worry about it.

Thankfully, the update from Huawei was released and both Android 7 and EMUI 5.0 were installed. My favorite change is obviously the option to add the app drawer back to the OS. I really like a clean home screen. The update to EMUI also brings some enhancements to maintain your precious battery life. Huawei has put some major effort into app management and keeping the device bloat free, putting conservation of RAM and CPU at the top of the priority list. As mentioned above, I regularly get 2 full days out of a single charge and I largely attribute that to the EMUI software.

Conclusion

My overall experience with the Huawei Honor 6X could be described as surprising. I did not expect to enjoy using it as much as I did, especially after I got my app drawer back. There is a delightful mix of quality, budget-friendly hardware, software that is mindful of resource management and style that makes this $250 phone just delightful to use and comfortable to purchase.

The real question is, where can you pick one up? Honor just announced that the 6X will be available at over 460 Target locations in the US. You can find a target with the 6X near you by checking out this web page. It can also be picked up at Amazon with Prime shipping or from our friends over at B&H. No matter where you choose to purchase your Honor 6X the price remains the same at $249.99.

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