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Foldable phones are still a rare breed. Samsung and Huawei have gripped most of the market with devices such as the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Mate X2 . Now, Oppo has thrown its hat into the ring. The company recently debuted the Oppo Find N , its first foldable phone. Though the device will only be available in China, it’s still a significant market entrant that will challenge Samsung and Huawei — and hopefully bring the foldable form factor to more people. We’ve already given the device a once over in our hands-on article , but how does the Find N compare to the polished Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3? We’ve had the chance to use the two phones alongside one another to see how the experiences are similar and how they differ. Here’s a look at the Oppo Find N vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3. source: https://ift.tt/32DA9YI https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Credit: Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority Welcome to the OnePlus Nord 2 update hub. Here you’ll find the latest information on updates to the second-generation Nord. We’ll detail the current software versions for the device and alert you if there’s a new update rolling out. OnePlus usually pushes out Oxygen OS updates to its Nord devices regularly, but availability may be affected by variant, carrier, and region. source: https://ift.tt/3ju55Rm https://ift.tt/3iIj3x6

Credit: Eric Zeman / Android Authority Opinion post by Hadlee Simons It’s only taken a couple of years for true wireless earbuds to flood the market, as audio companies and smartphone brands alike all jumped on the wire-free bandwagon and ditched the cable running between earbuds. But as unobtrusive as these gadgets are, I simply find myself unwilling to switch to them. Sure, the lack of wires makes for a truly snag-free experience, but they have major downsides too. And, for me, it all boils down to battery life and charging. source: https://ift.tt/33Uz92Z https://ift.tt/3z0P6QJ

Welcome to the OnePlus 8 series update hub. Here you’ll find the latest information on updates to the OnePlus 8 Pro and OnePlus 8 . We’ll detail the current software versions for each device and alert you if there’s a new update rolling out. OnePlus usually pushes out Oxygen OS updates to the OnePlus 8 Pro and 8 together, but availability may be affected by variant, carrier, and region. Current stable version: Android 11 When will the OnePlus 8 series get Android 12? Early to mid-2022 (Estimated) Latest OnePlus 8 Pro and OnePlus 8 updates December 27, 2021 : OnePlus is rolling out a new update to OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro devices across India, Europe, and other regions. Numbered as Oxygen OS 11.0.10.10 , the patch includes optimizations for the settings menu UI, fixed specific bugs relating to Google Assistant, Google Pay, and WhatsApp, and the December 2021 Android security patch. source: https://ift.tt/2zaNUiX https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Decentralized finance, or DeFi, is rapidly emerging as one of the most promising applications of cryptocurrency technology . And while it may sound complicated, DeFi is just an umbrella term used to describe financial products and services that are completely independent of any authorities. Imagine a world where common services such as loans, cross-border payments, insurance, and retirement savings don’t require a bank account or approval from an authority. That is DeFi’s vision essentially, to establish an open standard. This new standard doesn’t leave room for predatory intermediaries or third parties either — and promises to herald a new era of financial efficiency, inclusion, and transparency. source: https://ift.tt/3EtV6CD https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Credit: Ryan Haines / Android Authority Modern smartphones pack pretty adept camera systems that perform well in most scenarios. Sure, older devices may struggle to keep pace with newer phones in this department, but even modern budget devices snap adequate shots. But do you believe the smartphone you currently own shoots great photos? We posed this question to our readers in a recent poll , and the results are now in. Do you think your smartphone takes great photos? source: https://ift.tt/3HfI4uc https://ift.tt/3z10QCM

Welcome to The Weekly Authority , the Android Authority newsletter that breaks down the top Android and tech news from the week. The 174th and final edition of the year here, with the Huawei P50 Pocket launch, a first official look at the Xiaomi 12 series, the latest Galaxy S22 leaks, and more. I hope everyone who celebrated yesterday had a very merry Christmas! I’m in a bit of a post-Christmas dinner food coma this morning, as it should be, and trying to choose which board game to dig out for family time later! source: https://ift.tt/3EnNvWl https://ift.tt/38RVhdh

Welcome to The Weekly Authority , the Android Authority newsletter that breaks down the top Android and tech news from the week. The 174th and final edition of the year here, with the Huawei P50 Pocket launch, a first official look at the Xiaomi 12 series, the latest Galaxy S22 leaks, and more. I hope everyone who celebrated yesterday had a very merry Christmas! I’m in a bit of a post-Christmas dinner food coma this morning, as it should be, and trying to choose which board game to dig out for family time later! source: https://ift.tt/3pr64EE https://ift.tt/38RVhdh

Credit: Netflix It’s been a year since Bridgerton took the world by storm, quickly becoming one of Netflix’s most popular originals. So, when can we expect Bridgerton season two? And what will it be about? Read on for everything we know about the romantic drama’s sophomore season and more. If you don’t already have Netflix, you can sign up for it below. source: https://ift.tt/3en7slh https://ift.tt/3Er14nF

Windows 11 is here, and it introduces quite a few new things to the venerable operating system. Windows version updates have been hit or miss in the past, and Windows 10 was a relatively successful version. While Windows 11 doesn’t shake things up too much, it’s still a major version upgrade. As such, there are a bunch of questions surrounding it, and the biggest is, should you update to Windows 11? Here’s everything you need to know to make that decision. What you need to know about Windows 11 Credit: Palash Volvoikar / Android Authority Windows 11 is the latest big iteration of Microsoft Windows. Microsoft started releasing Windows 11 for consumers on October 5, 2021, after spending a few months in beta. The release version is missing a few features, like native Android emulation, which Microsoft is now testing in beta. Additionally, the release version is having a staggered rollout, which means it may take a while for your eligible systems to get the update. source: ht

Credit: Robert Triggs / Android Authority Working for  Android Authority  is both a blessing and a (bit of a) curse — please, don’t tell the boss we said that. You get to try a lot of cool new tech and gadgets throughout the year, but you rarely have time to enjoy the latest and greatest before the next thing rolls around. However, every once in a while, there’s a standout product that really hits home. It quickly becomes our favorite item, whether by improving our daily life or by bringing a new cool and fun factor into it. We’ve asked some of our team members to share the gadgets they most enjoyed using in 2021. We didn’t want to limit ourselves to just Android-adjacent items, nor did we want to restrict ourselves to products that launched during the year. Loose rules mean looser answers, so you’ll find a smorgasbord of gadgets below. My favorite is — oh I won’t spoil it, you’ll see it when you get there. It has to do with laundry ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. source: https://ift.tt/3mwhvJ

Credit: Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority Spotify is one of those gifts that keeps on giving. Its ever-expanding library of music continues to grow day by day, and its premium service adds so much to the experience that it’s hard to argue it isn’t worth it. If you have received a Spotify gift card, you might be wondering how to use it. This is how to use your Spotify gift card. Read more:  How to get Spotify Premium source: https://ift.tt/3zbvd9T https://ift.tt/3eqHPA6

Picking the best charger for your smartphone and other gadgets has always been a bit of a chore, and the growing trend in handsets shipping without a boxed adapter has only made the process more arduous. The plethora of charging standards, power varieties, cables, and brand-specific terminology certainly doesn’t help narrow down your needs at a glance. Charging your phone is simple enough — just plug in the USB-C cable to any old plug or port and you’re off. But is the device really fast charging or powering up as optimally as possible? Unfortunately, there’s no guaranteed way to know. Smartphones often give you a generic indicator like “fast charging” or “rapid charging”. If you’re lucky, brands like Samsung display a “Super fast charging” toast when using the best charger for the job, but that’s the exception, not the rule. Google’s Pixel 6 , for instance, just displays “Charging rapidly” whether you’re plugged into a 9W or 30W charger. Hardly helpful. source: https://ift.tt/

Credit: Rita El Khoury / Android Authority I started using Android TV devices with the 2017 Nvidia Shield, but I have never found myself with as many options inside my home as I do today. My TV itself — the Xiaomi TV P1 43-inch — as well as my local French TV provider’s set-top box both run the platform. So does the Chromecast with Google TV stick that I had bought before those two, and the Android TV projector I’ve installed in my kitchen. If you think getting used to one remote is bad enough, try four. In the middle of this madness, one app has kept me sane, and it’s the same one I’ve been installing on all of my Android TV devices since 2017: Button Mapper. Why remap those buttons? source: https://ift.tt/3ekvDkD https://ift.tt/32wCLHY

Credit: Jimmy Westenberg / Android Authority The close of 2021 is only a few days away. Looking back on the year, we saw a lot of substantial stories surrounding Android, smartphones , and the other tech products we cover here at  Android Authority . But what Android 2021 articles and topics mattered the most? Well, let us tell you! We’ve got the top five Android articles of 2021 right here. We’ve also got the hottest topics and smartphones of the year, as gleaned from your reading habits on the site. We’re using page view data to come to these conclusions, so this should be fairly objective. source: https://ift.tt/3JfdyT6 https://ift.tt/3Coyfbp

After a relatively slow year due to the pandemic and supply chain slowdowns, 2021 saw some massive developments across the personal computing sphere. While the supply chain disruptions haven’t gone away, the developments we saw this year paint an exciting future for computers. Let’s take a quick look at the year 2021 in computing. Microsoft releases Windows 11 source: https://ift.tt/3po7XSw https://ift.tt/2W6lfHw

A Lenovo executive has confirmed that a third-generation Motorola Razr is in the works. The Motorola Razr 3 is set to have improved power and more. The Motorola Razr was part of the first wave of foldable phones back in 2019, being the first to offer a clamshell form factor akin to the classic Razr feature phones. Motorola would follow up with the Razr 5G in late 2020, but Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip line had stolen its thunder by then. Now, Lenovo executive Chen Jin has revealed on Weibo that a third-generation Motorola Razr foldable is in the works. According to machine translation, the new foldable phone will have improved power, a tweaked interface, and a better appearance. It also seems like the phone could launch in China first. Check out the machine-translated screenshot below. source: https://ift.tt/3plskjf https://ift.tt/2KvXCz3

Credit: Robert Triggs / Android Authority Our own Rob Triggs held a camera shootout between some of the best flagship phones of 2021, featuring the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max, Google Pixel 6 Pro, OnePlus 9 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, Sony Xperia 1 III, and Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra. Rob didn’t crown an outright winner but felt that the Galaxy S21 Ultra had the most consistent and well-rounded smartphone camera experience. We asked readers to choose the phone that took the best pictures in this shootout, and here’s how that vote went. source: https://ift.tt/32sg73w https://ift.tt/3su9b0D

For those who want the best in a gaming laptop , ones with RTX 3080 GPUs are a no-brainer. While many are fairly large machines that generate plenty of heat, they’re still perfectly valid mobile gaming machines. Some can even be gaming desktop replacements. Mobile GPUs come with a catch Before we dive in, you should know that Nvidia has made laptop GPUs way harder than they used to be. Instead of correlating the make of the GPU (RTX 3080, 3070, 3060, etc.) to performance, they’ve allowed laptop manufacturers to set power limits ranging from 60W to 130W while still marketing it to punch in the same performance class. This means a laptop with a 60W GPU will perform fairly differently than the same GPU at 130W. More wattage will equate to more performance, and naturally more heat, especially in these beastly machines.  source: https://ift.tt/3Jf9Vwl https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Credit: Nintendo The Nintendo Switch has been in high demand for months , but with the Nintendo Switch OLED Model announced recently , we’re now starting to see the consoles return to the shelves at their retail price. Although there aren’t many doorbuster deals on the original consoles, there are offers on many Switch-related products. We’ve rounded up the best Nintendo Switch deals available right now. Read more: Nintendo Switch buying guide: Everything you need to know source: https://ift.tt/3id6szP https://ift.tt/3hJZPqF

Credit: Robert Triggs / Android Authority Have you ever felt that your phone sometimes lingers on a nice full battery while other times it’ll quickly fall to 99% and below almost as soon as you take it off the adapter? If so, you’ve stumbled upon one of battery charging ‘s little secrets — phones report 100% charge before their battery capacity is actually completely full. It’s this little white lie that makes the question “how long does it take for a phone to charge to full?” so much more difficult to answer. Fast charging is already a bit of a contentious issue in terms of heat, battery longevity, and real power draw. Time to “real” full charge throws an added spanner in the works for those who like to conduct smartphone charging races. But just what is the difference between reported and actual full charge times? Does it differ between phones? And does it really even matter? Those are questions we’re going to answer today. source: https://ift.tt/3ehubz9 https://ift.tt/3

Good morning! And farewell for a little bit: this newsletter will be taking a short pause to rest, recover, relax, and come back and do it all again. We’ll be back, at the latest, on Jan. 3rd! Until then... Huawei’s foldable reveal source: https://ift.tt/3Fo2ot5 https://ift.tt/38aG8mS

Credit: Robert Triggs / Android Authority Glass has become a prevalent facade material on premium smartphones, but plastic remains a more durable option. While glass undoubtedly looks and feels better in hand, plastic is the better bet for cost-cutters and clumsy folk. But which material do you prefer manufacturers use on the back of flagship phones? We asked our readers in a recent poll , and the results are now in. Do you prefer glass or plastic backs on flagship phones? source: https://ift.tt/3FnIcap https://ift.tt/3piTqYh

Credit: Netflix With the highly anticipated second season of The Witcher now available on Netflix , you may be looking for more shows like The Witcher to binge throughout the holidays. We’re here to help. The Witcher follows Geralt of Rivia, the titular Witcher, a wandering monster hunter whose fate is tied to the magical princess Cirilla (“Ciri”), who he has sworn to protect. With timeline jumps and the rise of the mysterious sorceress Yennefer, the three characters’ paths eventually all meet in a conflict-filled fantasy adventure. source: https://ift.tt/3ej2Z3b https://ift.tt/3ssP5DS

Credit: Vivo Vivo has announced its second premium smartwatch. The Vivo Watch 2 brings a dense OLED display, eSIM support, and an SpO2 sensor. Pricing starts at 1,299 yuan in China (~$204). It’s been over a year since Vivo launched its first smartwatch , which brought a respectable specs sheet. Today, the company has officially unveiled the Vivo Watch 2 in China. The second-generation wearable keeps the attractive circular face with a 1.43-inch 466 x 466 OLED display but simplifies the chunkier lines of its predecessor. The 46mm dial is wrapped within a 47-gram stainless steel body. 5ATM water resistance also features. source: https://ift.tt/32g3EjE https://ift.tt/3mvI8hx

Credit: Hadlee Simons / Android Authority Huawei joined Samsung in being part of the first wave of foldable phones back in 2019, and the company’s foldables have all been big-screen affairs to date. Now, the firm has decided to go after the Galaxy Z Flip series by launching the Huawei P50 Pocket clamshell foldable. The device is available in a Diamond White variant with a diamond pattern on the back, a black model, and a premium gold edition. The P50 Pocket also boasts a rather interesting design, featuring two circular housings. One housing hosts a triple rear camera system, while the other hosts a 1.04-inch external display (340 x 340). This screen can be used for the date/time, notifications, selfies via the rear cameras, and more. source: https://ift.tt/31WqkFl https://ift.tt/3FzVm4c

It’s easy to find a good Chromebook on a budget. After all, the whole idea behind Chrome OS devices is that they serve as a cheaper alternative to Windows laptops. We’ve rounded up some of the best Chromebook deals on the internet so you won’t have to search too hard for a good price. See also: The best Chromebooks you can get source: https://ift.tt/2SGHzmh https://ift.tt/3sIiudB

When reading our coverage of SoC launches you have probably come across the term “custom CPU core,” especially when reading about Apple’s silicon. But what exactly is a custom core? Why do people make such a fuss about them? And, who designs them? Well, let’s find out! Why Arm is so important for smartphones All Android smartphones and all Apple iPhones use CPUs based on the Arm Instruction Set Architecture (ISA). An ISA defines the instruction set and outlines the design philosophy behind that instruction set. Most PCs use the x86-64 ISA, which is the 64-bit version of Intel’s original 32-bit ISA found in processors from the 1980s, such as the 80386 and 80486. AMD created the 64-bit version and released its first x86-64 processor in 2003. Smartphones, on the other hand, use the Arm ISA. Most smartphones in use today are built on Armv8, with newer chipsets moving to the latest Armv9 version . source: https://ift.tt/3egvQFj https://ift.tt/2Jj6QOA

Credit: LG The LG DualUp Monitor has been announced with a unique nearly square 16:18 display ratio. It allows PC users to have two programs running on top of each other, which could result in reduced neck strain. Pricing and specific release dates have not been announced. LG has announced some new PC work monitors ahead of CES 2022 . One of them, the LG DualUp Monitor, has what might be one of the more unique designs we have seen, and it could be practical for workers who multitask on their monitors. The LGDualUp monitor has a 2,560 x 2,880 resolution. More importantly, the display’s aspect ratio is nearly square, at 16:18. LG says this allows the monitor to run two programs stacked on top of each other as if they were running on two 21.5-inch monitors in typical landscape mode. source: https://ift.tt/3FoKAxG https://ift.tt/3mrfw93

Messaging apps like WhatsApp are perfect for sharing photos and videos made on your phone. But not every photo and video needs to be automatically downloaded to your camera roll. If everything was automatically downloaded, your camera roll would soon become cluttered, and you’d be spending lots of time deleting images and video. So how do you stop WhatsApp from saving photos and videos? As usual, the answer lies in the settings. Read more: How to use WhatsApp — a step-by-step beginner’s guide source: https://ift.tt/3FoISMM https://ift.tt/38i0iJB

Credit: C. Scott Brown / Android Authority Welcome to Wallpaper Wednesday!  In this weekly roundup, we’ll give you a handful of Android wallpapers you can download and use on your phone, tablet, or even your laptop/PC. The images will come from folks here at Android Authority as well as our readers. All are free to use and come without watermarks. File formats are JPG and PNG, and we’ll provide images in both landscape and portrait modes, so they’ll be optimized for various screens. For the newest walls as well as all the ones from previous weeks, check out this Drive link . Want to submit your own? Head to the bottom of this article. source: https://ift.tt/3qk8ELP https://ift.tt/33RV2jB