These are the Best Text Messaging apps for Android: Google Message, Chomp SMS, Pulse SMS, and more!

As chat platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram have become popular over the last several years, the good old SMS had to take a back seat. Still, SMS messages aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Text messaging is still quite popular in countries like the US, and while your friends and family may not be pinging you on SMS as much, you’re still likely getting dozens of text messages from companies and service providers every day. To keep track of all these text messages on your Android phone, you need a good app. While the pre-installed apps work fine most of the time, they’re relatively barebones. So we’ve selected the best text messaging apps for Android you can download right now.

Messages

Previously known as Android Messages, the Messages app from Google is the company’s official app for texting and RCS messages. It comes pre-installed on Pixel and select other phones but other Android users can download it from Google Play.

The Messages app packs support for sending text messages via your computer or pretty much any device that has a browser. Additionally, there are basic theming options, search support, spam protection, and a lot more. You can also send group texts, emojis, GIFs, stickers, videos, and audio messages using the app. Moreover, you get the power of Google Assistant right in your texting app.

Messages is free to download and use.

Messages (Free, Google Play) →

Chomp SMS

Chomp SMS is a veteran of the Android world. It has been available for over a decade now and is consistently recommended as one of the best texting apps on the platform. The app comes with a number of very useful features, including passcode lock, scheduled messages, and quick reply popup.

It works perfectly with dual-SIM devices and supports group messaging, MMS, SMS blocking, and lots more. Chomp is also great at customization. You can change notification LED colors, ringtones, and vibrate patterns for different senders. Additionally, the app is compatible with PushBullet, Yappy, and Wear OS for notifications and replying.

Chomp is free to download and use; however, it does include ads that can be removed with an in-app purchase.

Chomp SMS (Free⁺, Google Play) →

Pulse SMS

Pulse SMS is another great texting app for Android. It’s full of features and works great. With Pulse, you get support for sending text messages from any platform, per-contact customization, blacklist support, and backup/ restore function.

Additionally, there’s support for smart replies, web previews, scheduled messages, delayed sending, and search. Moreover, you can password-protect select conversations you don’t want others to see. On the design front, Pulse SMS uses Material Design, so it looks simple and elegant.

The app is free to download and use; however there are some in-app purchases to enable features like sending messages from any platform.

Pulse SMS (Phone/Tablet/Web) (Free⁺, Google Play) →

QKSMS

QKSMS is a simple and open-source app. It sports a clean design and comes with a lot of customization options. It also supports MMS, group texting, scheduled messages, and search. Moreover, you can backup and restore your texts as well as block conversations or create a blacklist.

Additionally, the app uses ‘Should I Answer’ to filter spam messages, and supports Wear OS. That’s not all — you also get a night mode and various accessibility features with QKSMS.

QKSMS is free to download and use. It’s also ad-free.

QKSMS (Free⁺, Google Play) →

SMS Organizer

SMS Organizer is an amazing SMS app from Microsoft. In fact, it’s one of the smartest texting apps out there. But much of its development is focused on India. Having said that, many of its great features will work just as well even outside the country. SMS Organizer is also restricted to very few markets, including Australia, India, the UK, and the US.

The best part of the app is its organizational capabilities. It intelligently sorts your messages into different sections, like personal, offers, reminders, and texts from financial organizations. All of this is aimed at decluttering your inbox, and done right on your device. Moreover, you get a dark theme, auto-backup support, the ability to block senders, and a number of customization options.

SMS Organizer is free to download and use.

SMS Organizer (Free, Google Play) →

Silence

If you’re looking for a secure SMS app, Silence is your best bet. It’s an open-source app that uses the Signal protocol to encrypt text messages. It’s important to note here that the end-to-end encryption only works when both the sender and the recipient are using Silence. All the messages on Silence are encrypted locally, so if somehow you lose your phone, your messages will remain protected.

Apart from its encryption, Silence works like any other texting app. With Silence, you get support for per-content customization, blocking senders, screen security, and a lot more.

Silence is free to download and use. It’s however not available in all markets.

The app was not found in the store.

Go to store Google websearch

Textra SMS

Textra SMS is another veteran of the Android world. It hasn’t been around as long as Chomp SMS but it’s still quite old. It’s highly customizable and comes with a lot of theming options. You also get chat heads like Facebook Messenger, support for both MMS and group messaging, and blacklisting support.

An interesting and quite useful feature in Textra SMS is the support to copy just part of an SMS. Typically, SMS apps copy the entire thing. There are lots more features, like scheduled messages, stop during send, and over 3,000 emojis. Textra is also compatible with PushBullet, Mighty Text, and Wear OS.

Textra is free to download and use, but there are ads that you can remove using an in-app purchase.

Textra SMS (Free⁺, Google Play) →

Handcent Next SMS

Handcent Next SMS is another good texting app for your Android phone. It comes with all typical texting features, like scheduled messages, SMS blocker, blacklisting, search, and SMS backups. Additionally, you can password-protect select messages, and the app supports MMS and group messaging.

In other features, the app’s Handcent Anywhere function allows users to send text messages from their computer or tablet, without touching their phone. Theming and customization options are present as well.

Handcent Next SMS is free to download and use but there are some in-app purchases.

Handcent Next SMS - Best texting w/ MMS & stickers (Free⁺, Google Play) →

Simple SMS Messenger

Simple SMS Messenger is another open-source texting app available on Android. It offers pretty much all major texting features without any ads or unnecessary permissions. Along with SMS messages, Simple SMS Messenger also supports MMS and group messaging. Further, you get support for blocking senders and backup support.

The app’s footprint is also much less and it follows Material Design. Moreover, Simple SMS Messenger includes a search function, various customization options, and the ability to mute conversations.

Simple SMS Messenger is free to download and use.

Simple SMS Messenger: SMS and MMS messaging app (Free, Google Play) →

Yaata

If you’re looking for a super small SMS app, Yaata is for you. Just 3.9MB in size, Yaata brings all major texting features to your phone. The app includes support for MMS, group chats, delayed sending, and copying parts of texts from a SMS. It also packs backup and restore functions, themes, advanced search, and per-contact customization.

While the above features are free, you can get a premium subscription to get scheduled messages, night mode, blacklisting, auto-forwards, and auto-responder capabilities.

The app is free to download and use but you’ll need to make an in-app purchase to get the premium features.

YAATA - SMS/MMS messaging (Free⁺, Google Play) →

Bonus: SMS Backup and Restore

It’s not a texting app but it is still very useful for anyone who relies on SMS. If your favorite SMS app doesn’t come with built-in backup and restore functions, SMS Backup and Restore can help. It’s probably one of the oldest and best SMS backup apps on Google Play.

The app allows you to backup SMS, MMS, and call logs in XML format. You can create local backups or store them to Google Drive, OneDrive, or Dropbox. The app also supports recurring scheduled backups, backups of select conversations, and backup transfer over Wi-Fi Direct. Moreover, the backed-up messages can also be viewed on the developer’s website using the XML file.

The app is free to download and use. It includes advertisements. If you don’t want the advertisements, you can download the Pro version.

SMS Backup & Restore (Free, Google Play) →

SMS Backup & Restore Pro ($4.49, Google Play) →

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These are the best text messaging apps for Android. Which app do you use and are you happy with it? Let us know in the comments section!

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Amazon Prime Day 2021: Best deals on TP-Link Kasa smart plugs

TP-Link is offering some great deals on its Kasa line of smart plugs during Amazon’s ongoing Prime Day sale. Although the best deal on the Kasa Smart Plug Mini HS103 isn’t available any longer, you can still grab the Kasa Smart Plug Mini HS103 combo, the Kasa Smart Outdoor Plug KP400, and the Kasa Smart Plug Power Strip KP303 at attractive discounts.

At just $12.99, the Kasa Smart Plug Mini combo comes with two voice-enabled smart plugs. The plugs feature a compact design and they can connect to any 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network, so you don’t need a separate hub. The plugs can be controlled via the Kasa smartphone app, and they offer support for Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, IFTTT, and more.

Kasa Smart Plug HS103 combo

The Kasa Smart Plug HS103 Mini combo includes two compact smart plugs for just $12.99. Click the link below to get the combo right away!

Buy at Amazon

The Kasa Smart Outdoor Plug is currently available for just $18.99, with an additional $2 coupon that further brings its price down to $16.99. It features a durable design fit for outdoor use, and it’s IP64 rated for dust and water resistance. The smart outdoor plug features two outlets, a long Wi-Fi range of up to 300ft, and device grouping support. Along with that, the plug offers the same capabilities as the Smart Plug Mini.

Kasa Smart Outdoor Plug KP400

The Kasa Smart Outdoor Plug is a durable 2-socket smart plug for outdoor use, which features IP64 rating for water resistance. Get it on Amazon for just $18.99 by clicking on the button below.

Buy at Amazon

The Kasa Smart Plug Power Strip features three individually controlled smart outlets and two USB ports, making it a versatile choice for your home office. All three of its smart outlets offer the same features as the Smart Plug Mini, including Google Assistant and Alexa support. However, the two USB A ports don’t offer any smart features. They’re always-on ports that you can use to charge your smartphone or tablet.

Kasa Smart Plug Power Strip

The Kasa Smart Plug Power Strip KP303 features three individually controllable smart outlets and two always-on USB Type A ports. It's available for just $22.79 on Amazon right now.

Buy at Amazon

If these deals don’t catch your fancy, make sure you check out the rest of our Prime Day 2021 coverage for great deals on smartphones, laptops, PC monitors, TVs, and more.

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Does Microsoft Office work on a Chromebook?

Microsoft Office is the most popular productivity suite in the world. If you use one of the best Chromebooks as your daily driver for work or school, you probably want to run at least one Microsoft app. From word processing to computational tasks with Excel, Office has everything you need to get the job done. While Microsoft does not offer a native Chrome OS app, there are several viable options to run Office apps on a Chromebook.

Run Microsoft Office 365 web apps

The best option for running Microsoft Office on a Chromebook is via the Microsoft Office 365 web app suite. You can use Office for the web in your browser to create, edit and collaborate on files from your Chromebook. This approach also feels very natural since your Chromebook was built for cloud computing. One key advantage of web apps is that you don’t need to install anything, saving storage space on your device.

Word, Excel, Powerpoint and OneNote are all present as web apps, as is Outlook, OneDrive, Skype, People, Calendar, Sway and Forms. All of these web apps have limited free functionality, but to get the full feature set you’ll need to pay for a Microsoft Office 365 subscription. If you’re a student or teacher, you can likely get Office 365 for free through your school or university. Anyone can also get a free one month trial of Office 365.

Those planning to use the web app approach to Office should consider adding shortcuts for the web apps to your app drawer. You can also pin them to your shelf if you want Office always a click away. There’s also a nifty Chrome extension for Microsoft Office, allowing even easier access right inside your browser.

Run Microsoft Office via Android apps

If you prefer running Office apps locally on your Chromebook, Microsoft also offers Android apps for Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and so on. Overall, the Android version of each Office app runs quite well on Chrome OS. Basic editing features are free in all of the apps, but on devices over 10-inches in size — which accounts for most Chromebooks — you’ll need a Microsoft 365 subscription to enable all features. Unfortunately, the Android version of OneDrive doesn’t work properly on Chromebooks.

The overall integration with Chromebook hardware is very well optimized for all of the Office Android apps. You can still use the touch interface offered by most Chromebooks. These apps also run nicely on Chrome OS powered tablets. If you’re interested in downloading the core Office Android apps for Chome OS, click the links below.

Microsoft Word: Write, Edit & Share Docs on the Go (Free⁺, Google Play) →

Microsoft Excel: View, Edit, & Create Spreadsheets (Free⁺, Google Play) →

Microsoft PowerPoint: Slideshows and Presentations (Free⁺, Google Play) →

Microsoft OneNote: Save Ideas and Organize Notes (Free, Google Play) →

 

Run Microsoft Office via Parallels

Perhaps you want to run the full Windows version of Microsoft Office? This is also possible using Parallels Desktop for Chrome OS. It is important to realize that currently Parallels Desktop for Chrome OS is only available to enterprise customers. For business users, this is certainly a useful option to consider. The Parallels software runs a full versions of Windows 10 inside a container on your Chromebook.

With a full version of Windows installed on your Chrome OS device, you can easily download and run the full desktop version of every Office app. There are some key advantages of this method. Most importantly, you retain all of the power of the Microsoft apps. Some of the pro features, such as the Data Analysis ToolPak in Excel, are missing from the web app and Android app. Running Parallels on your Chromebook allows access to all of the functionality only found in the desktop apps.

Parallels Desktop for Chrome OS

Parallels Desktop is a full-featured Windows container that runs natively on Chrome OS. This software allows you to run the full version of Windows on your Chromebook.

Buy at Parallels.com

Microsoft Office

The most popular productivity suite out there, Office has everything you need for school or work, with Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and OneNote all included. Make sure you have a copy of Office to use with Parallels.

Buy at Amazon

There are several great options for running Microsoft Office apps on your Chromebook. If you’re an individual user, the web app or Android app approach is probably best. Business users may want to explore the option of using Parallels Desktop to run Windows 10 on Chrome OS. Either way, if you work with spreadsheets and documents all day, consider a nice docking station to simplify your workflow. Let us know in the comments how you access Microsoft Office on your Chrome OS device.

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Apple iPhone 13 Rumor Roundup: Here’s everything we know about the next iOS flagship phone series

Although we’re months away from Apple’s annual iPhone launch event, leaks about the upcoming iPhone 13 lineup have already started popping up. Over the last few months, we’ve learned quite a few details about Apple’s next iPhone lineup from these leaks, and we’ve collated all the information in this post. In case you missed our previous coverage, here’s everything we know about the iPhone 13 series so far:

Apple iPhone 13 series: Release Date

Even though the iPhone 12 series wasn’t launched in September last year due to production delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, rumors suggest that Apple will revert to its September launch timeline for the iPhone 13 lineup as it will not face the same production delays. This information comes from renowned Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has claimed that Apple will begin mass production of the upcoming models as per its regular schedule. However, it’s worth noting that the global semiconductor shortage may cause unforeseen delays this year as well.

Apple iPhone 13 series: Variants & Pricing

Despite poor iPhone 12 mini sales, Apple will reportedly launch 4 iPhone models this year as well. If Apple adopts the iPhone 13 moniker for the 2021 lineup, the devices will be called iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max.

The iPhone 12 series

However, Apple may revive its “s” branding this year since the upcoming models are expected to feature minor upgrades. If that’s the case, the upcoming devices will be called iPhone 12s mini, iPhone 12s, iPhone 12s Pro, and iPhone 12s Pro Max.

Irrespective of the name Apple settles on for the 2021 iPhone lineup, we expect to see four new devices in September this year. These devices will likely be priced the same as the iPhone 12 range, starting at $699 for the iPhone 13 mini and going up to $1,099 for the iPhone 13 Pro Max.

A new regulatory filing in the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) database has revealed the model numbers of several unreleased iPhones. These model numbers don’t correspond to any of the existing iPhones, which suggests that Apple may have registered the upcoming models with the EEC. The model numbers are: A2628, A2630, A2634, A2635, A2640, A2643, and A2645.

Design

The upcoming iPhones will likely be the same size as their predecessors, with the iPhone 13 mini sporting a 5.4-inch display, the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro packing 6.1-inch panels, and the top-of-the-line iPhone 13 Pro Max featuring a 6.7-inch display. The phones may also come with the same boxy design as last year, with the two affordable models featuring an aluminum frame and the two Pro models featuring stainless steel frames.

The iPhone 12 Pro Max and the iPhone 12 Mini

While the iPhone 13 lineup may look pretty much the same as the iPhone 12 lineup, rumors suggest that the upcoming models will pack a smaller notch. Leaks suggest that Apple will move the earpiece closer to the edge and offer a shallower True Depth camera on its 2021 lineup to offer a slimmer notch.

Although the notch may get slimmer, industry sources claim that the iPhone 13 lineup will be 0.26mm thicker than the iPhone 12 lineup. The same sources also reveal that the camera module on the iPhone 13 lineup will be a bit larger as well. 0.9mm larger than the older models, to be exact. Leaked images of the display glass for the upcoming iPhones (attached below) give us a preliminary look at what the notch may look like.

Image: MacRumors

The devices are also expected to include stronger magnets for MagSafe charging and other accessories. Rumors also suggest that Apple may offer a matte black colorway on the next-gen iPhone lineup in place of the standard space gray colorway, a new stainless steel coating to reduce smudges and fingerprints, and improved noise cancellation with beamforming for phone calls.

If you’re wondering what the iPhone 13 series may look like, you can check out renders created by Concept Creator in partnership with LetsGoDigital (attached above). You can also check out Unbox Therapy’s video showcasing a dummy model of the iPhone 13 Pro Max to get a better idea of the design.

Touch ID

So if the notch isn’t going anywhere, will Apple offer an in-display Touch ID sensor on this year’s models? That may be the case if recent reports are to be believed. According to Bloomberg, Apple has been testing an in-display Touch ID sensor that may make an appearance on the 2021 lineup.

A report from The Wall Street Journal suggests that the Touch ID sensor could be of the optical variety, but we have also heard rumors that Apple may source ultrasonic sensors from Qualcomm and others for its next-gen iPhones. At the moment, we can’t confirm if the iPhone 13 lineup will feature a Touch ID sensor or not, but if it does, it will be made available in addition to the Face ID sensor. Apple doesn’t seem to have any plans to drop Face ID from its upcoming iPhones.

It’s worth noting that Ming-Chi Kuo has claimed that while Apple is working on bringing back the Touch ID sensor on iPhones, it will not make an appearance on the iPhone 13 lineup. Instead, Kuo states that Apple will integrate the Touch ID sensor in the power button on a lower-end model, likely the next iPhone SE.

A recent rumor suggests that the iPhone 13 models are likely to feature an in-display fingerprint scanner in addition to Face ID. However, these rumors haven’t been confirmed by trusted sources so far.

120Hz ProMotion Display

Ahead of the iPhone 12 launch last year, we heard multiple rumors suggesting that the top-of-the-line iPhone 12 Pro Max would feature a 120Hz ProMotion display. However, the feature was delayed due to battery life concerns. This time around, rumors suggest that Apple may finally implement 120Hz displays on two of the four upcoming models. These will likely be both the Pro variants, and they may feature low-power LTPO OLED panels to address any battery life concerns.

Apple will most likely source the 120Hz LTPO OLED panels from Samsung, and reports suggest that BOE may also supply some displays for the other two models. Leaks also suggest that Apple will use Y-OCTA display technology on the upcoming models, which allows touchscreen circuitry to be patterned on the OLED panel without needing a separate layer. This makes the displays a bit thinner and more affordable.

Thanks to the LTPO OLED panels on the Pro variants, Apple may also offer an Always-on Display feature on the upcoming phones. In a video by renowned Apple leaker EverythingApplePro, Max Weinbach claims that the iPhone 13 lineup will include an always-on display feature that will look like a simpler version of the iOS lock screen with a clock and battery charge levels. The Always-on display feature will also be used to display notifications, but it won’t light up the entire screen for incoming notifications to conserve battery.

While some rumors also suggest that Apple may offer a portless iPhone this year, Ming-Chi Kuo has dispelled these rumors and claimed that Apple will continue using the Lightning connector on the 2021 lineup. Sadly, that means that we aren’t going to get a USB Type-C port on the iPhones for another year. Apple’s own laptops and tablets mostly use USB-C, but the iPhones still won’t.

Cameras

While the iPhone 13 lineup may not feature many significant upgrades over the iPhone 12 lineup, Apple will likely offer notable improvements on the camera front. Recent leaks suggest that the entire iPhone 13 lineup will feature sensor-shift stabilization, which debuted with the iPhone 12 Pro Max last year. This is expected to enhance low light performance and video stabilization by reducing camera shake. While we can be sure that the feature will be available on the primary camera, Apple may extend it to the ultra-wide camera on some models.

Additionally, leaks suggest that the high-end iPhone 13 Pro models will get an upgraded ultra-wide camera with a six-element lens and f/1.8 aperture. This should help improve low-light performance when compared to the current f/2.4 wide-angle cameras. While some reports suggest that Apple will extend the new ultra-wide camera to all models, Kuo maintains that it will only be available on the Pro variants. Apple may also offer improved autofocus capabilities in the upcoming lineup, but we haven’t seen any reports regarding this feature so far.

Max Weinbach also claims that the iPhone 13 models will feature an astrophotography mode like the Google Pixel 4. This mode will allegedly turn on automatically when you point the cameras at the sky and allow the iPhone to detect the moon and stars and adjust the exposure to help you take a great shot. Weinbach further claims that the iPhone 13 lineup will come with support for Portrait Mode videos, but we haven’t seen any concrete evidence to support these claims.

Apple added a LiDAR scanner to the iPhone 12 Pro and the iPhone 12 Pro Max last year. While some leaks suggested that the scanner would make its way to all four devices in the iPhone 13 lineup, Ming-Chi Kuo believes that it will be limited to the Pro models.

Leaked 3D renders of the standard iPhone 13 model suggests that Apple may change the camera layout in the upcoming lineup. Instead of a vertically stacked dual camera setup, the iPhone 13 may feature a diagonally arranged rear camera layout. The vanilla model and the iPhone 13 Pro will also feature a thicker chassis and a slightly more protruded camera bump.

SoC, RAM & Storage

The iPhone 13 lineup is expected to come with a 5nm+ A15 chip manufactured by TSMC. At the moment, we haven’t heard any specific details about the A15 chip, but you can expect it to offer better performance and efficiency than previous versions. The phones may also feature Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X60 model for 5G, which will also offer better power efficiency than the Snapdragon X55 modem found on last year’s lineup.

According to recent reports, some iPhone 13 models may only feature single 5G band support, with either mmWave or sub-6GHz network capabilities. Additionally, reports suggest that iPhone 13 models may come with Wi-Fi 6E support, which offers increased bandwidth over existing 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. Renowned Apple analyst MingChi Kuo has also suggested that Apple will offer mmWave models of the iPhone 13 in several countries outside the US, including Canada, Japan, Australia, and some regions in Europe.

We’ve seen some rumors suggesting that the iPhone 13 lineup may offer up to 1TB of internal storage, which is a significant jump from the 512GB maximum capacity offered on the iPhone 12 lineup. However, since no reliable source has confirmed this rumor so far, we’d recommend that you take it with a grain of salt. Interestingly, Taiwanese research firm TrendForce has dispelled this rumor and claimed that Apple will limit the iPhone 13 series to 512GB of storage.

Battery

The iPhone 13 lineup is also rumored to come with larger batteries. Reports claim that Apple will use a new space-saving design on the upcoming models to integrate the SIM slot with the mainboard and reduce the front optical module’s size to make more space for the battery. This, coupled with the increased thickness, should help Apple cram larger batteries on the next-gen iPhones, resulting in longer battery life.

iOS 15

At its annual WWDC event earlier this year, Apple showcased iOS 15 — the next major software release coming to iPhones. The company also released the first iOS 15 Developer Beta, giving us our first look at all the new features. The first developer beta brings a slightly revamped settings app, a host of new FaceTime features and Android support, different mic modes, new sharing features in iMessage, revamped notifications, and focus mode.

You can check out our hands-on preview of iOS 15 to learn more about the new features that will roll out to users later this year.  If you’re interested in trying it out on your phone, you can check this post for supported iPhone models and then follow the instructions given in our dedicated installation guide. For more information about iOS 15, check out the rest of our coverage.

Apple iPhone 13 series: Our feature wishlist

If all the aforementioned leaks and rumors are to be believed, it looks like some of the features that we wanted to see on the upcoming iPhone 13 lineup are going to materialize after all. This includes a 120Hz refresh rate panel, a smaller notch, and Always-on display support. But there are still a few things that we want to see on the next-gen iPhone lineup that haven’t been confirmed so far.

First of all, Apple could (and should) roll out new software features with the upcoming iPhone lineup for better one-handed use. As my colleague Ben has pointed out in the past, the iPhone 12 Pro Max is hard to use with one hand due to the lack of a one-handed mode in iOS. Since Apple already has a version of iOS optimized for large displays (iPadOS), it would make sense for the company to release similar optimizations for the iPhone 13 Pro Max. As of now, Apple doesn’t seem to have added any such features to iOS 15.

Secondly, we expect to see a better telephoto camera on the upcoming iPhone models. While we have seen rumors suggesting that Apple is working on a Periscope zoom lens for an iPhone, we can’t be sure if it will make an appearance with the iPhone 13 lineup.

Faster charging support is the third most important thing we want to see on the upcoming iPhone models. The current iPhone lineup only supports up to 20W fast wired charging, which is quite slow in comparison with what most Android phones have on offer these days. Although we don’t expect Apple to offer a 65W or a 120W fast charging solution on the next-gen iPhones, a 30W solution would definitely be ideal.

And to top it up, we’d like to see Apple experiment with a curved display too. None of the iPhones so far have tried their hand at this trend that Android seems to have wholeheartedly accepted. A subtle curve on the display adds to the premium feeling of the device and even helps a bit with the ergonomics, while a waterfall curve is much more eye-catching and can be accomplished if paired with good palm-rejection features.

Sadly, none of the leaks that we’ve seen so far mention any of the aforementioned features. So we can’t be sure if these features would make their way to the upcoming models or not.

What your opinion of the iPhone 13 lineup based on the leaks and rumors mentioned above? Are you disappointed by the minor upgrades or are you looking forward to upcoming devices? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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ASUS ROG Strix XG43UQ 43-inch 4K gaming monitor gets Xbox certification

ASUS has announced that its 43-inch ROG Strix XG43UQ large-format gaming monitor will now be available in a special Xbox Edition. First showcased back in April, the 43-inch 4K monitor is now getting a special Xbox certification allowing owners of the new Xbox Series X|S consoles to tap into some of the high-end features.

According to ASUS, the Xbox edition of the ROG Strix XG43UQ is co-developed with Microsoft and comes with a built-in Xbox mode for best color, contrast, and hue performance when paired with either of the new consoles. Up until now, the monitor had certain limitations as cited by users on the official Xbox forums. It seems that those issues have been fixed with this new edition, but there is no clarity on whether existing owners of the Strix XG43UQ will be able to get access to the new Xbox mode.

As for the display itself, It comes with HDMI 2.1 that enables 4K 120Hz gameplay on the latest consoles, and DSC technology enables 4K 144 Hz via DisplayPort 1.4. The display also supports AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and ASUS Extreme Low Motion Blur (ELMB) Sync technology. The panel is DisplayHDR 1000 certified with up to 90% DCI‑P3 and 125% sRGB color gamut coverage. The monitor offers two HDMI 2.0 ports, two HDMI 2.1, a DisplayPort 1.4, a headphone jack, two USB Type-A 3.0 ports, and a USB Type-B for hub connectivity. It even comes bundled with remote control for users to tinker with the display settings easily. Other features include 1ms MPRT (moving picture response time), three preset HDR modes, and 10W stereo speakers powered by ASUS SonicMaster technology.

The official Xbox press release suggests that the new Xbox certified ROG Strix XG43U gaming monitor will be available starting October. Prices will be confirmed closer to the date of availability. However, the non-Xbox version was said to begin selling in the month of May with an estimated cost of $1,900.

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Microsoft Edge now lets you send tabs between devices

Back in April, Microsoft started testing a new feature in Edge Canary to make it easier for users to send webpages across different devices. Nearly two months later, Microsoft is now finally expanding this feature to the stable channel.

Tab sharing (via Windows Latest) has gone live for a small set of users on the Edge version 91.0.864.54, the latest stable build. Right now, the feature appears to be a work in progress, though. For example, it doesn’t currently support sharing tabs with Android or iOS devices running the stable Edge version. You will have to download the Canary or Dev version of Edge to make it work. This might explain why it has only rolled out to only a select few users.

GIF credit: Windows Latest

As the name implies, the tab sharing feature allows you to send a webpage to your Android or Windows devices running the Edge browser and signed with the same Microsoft account. The implementation is very similar to Chrome. When you open a webpage, you’ll see a laptop/phone icon in the left corner of the address bar. When you click on it, it will display a list of currently available devices. If you’re sending to a smartphone, you’ll see a notification with the URL link and page name pop up in the notification tray as soon as you hit the send button. Meanwhile, links shared to Windows devices will appear in Notification Center.

Image credit: Windows Latest

The ability to share tabs across devices is something that Google Chrome and Firefox have had for some years now. So it’s good to see Microsoft Edge finally catching up to them.

To try out tab sharing, make sure you’re running the latest stable version of Edge. As mentioned above, the feature has currently only rolled out to a small set of users. At the time of publishing this piece, it wasn’t available on my end.

The post Microsoft Edge now lets you send tabs between devices appeared first on xda-developers.

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These are the Best Photo Editor Apps for Android: Snapseed, PicsArt, Lightroom, and more!

Clicking photos is something we all do on a regular basis using our smartphones. Every smartphone processes images differently and produces photos that may not appeal to everyone. For example, some phones may capture photos with higher saturation levels, while some may capture warmer tones compared to what the scene actually looked like. This is where editing the photos you make comes in handy. Regardless of whether you have the best flagship smartphone or an affordable phone, editing photos to the way you like them is important. Especially if you plan on posting your photos on social media platforms, as it’s vital to give them a good look in order to make them attractive. To do so, you’ll need a good photo editor and we’re here to help you with just that. Here are some of the best photo editor apps for Android to help you make your photos look the way you want them to.

The Best Photo Editor Apps for Android:

• Snapseed
• PicsArt
• Adobe Lightroom
• Adobe Photoshop Express
• VSCO
• Polish Photo Editor Pro
• Canva
• Fotor
• Pixlr

The Play Store is flooded with multiple photo editor apps, but not all of them are good or offer sufficient features and options to achieve a good edit. So we have zeroed in on the best apps that you can find to edit your photos, and ones that offer a good set of features and multiple editing options in the same app, like creating a collage, making graphic templates for YouTube thumbnails or Instagram stories, etc. Each app has its own set of use-cases and advantages so you can pick the one best suited to your needs or you can even download multiple apps based on your requirements.

Snapseed

While Snapseed is not the most feature-rich photo editor app, it’s simple to use and is quite straightforward. It’s developed by Google and offers a user-friendly UI. You just have to choose the image you want to edit and you can see a host of different options to tinker around with.

If you want a simple edit with filters, you can do that, or you can even use some tools that are really handy like the Healing tool to remove unwanted elements from an image or even Head Pose to change the look of someone’s head in a portrait shot. It’s free to use, doesn’t have any ads, and is a great photo editor app for beginners.

Snapseed (Free, Google Play) →

PicsArt

PicsArt is one of the most popular photo editor apps on Android and for good reason. It has probably every single tool you would need for basic and advanced photo editing, from different crop tools to background removal and even the ability to add text and multiple image layers just like more advanced programs like Photoshop. You can even create collages and banners for your social media using PicsArt.

The basic version is free but contains a good number of ads which may be annoying. You can get rid of them and unlock some advanced features by purchasing a PicsArt Gold membership plan.

PicsArt Photo Editor: Pic, Video & Collage Maker (Free⁺, Google Play) →

Adobe Lightroom

Adobe is known for its suite of photo and video editing apps for Windows and Mac and Lightroom is essentially one of those apps that’s very well-renowned among professional photo editors and so has been made available on Android as well.

Like the name would suggest, Lightroom is a photo editor for Android that lets you play around with light and colors in a photo. You can meddle around with the exposure levels, highlight, shadows, and mainly color tones in an image. If you want to color grade your photos, Lightroom is a great place to start with. You can also get Lightroom presets from all over the internet that can change the color scheme of your photos if you don’t want to edit them manually.

The basic version is free but if you want more features, you’ll have to subscribe to Adobe’s Creative Cloud platform.

Adobe Lightroom - Photo Editor & Pro Camera (Free⁺, Google Play) →

Adobe Photoshop Express

Just like Lightroom, Photoshop is also a part of Adobe’s suite of apps and is one of the most popular, if not the most popular, photo editor apps on Windows and Mac. If you’re wondering what’s different between Lightroom and Photoshop Express, Lightroom as stated earlier is more for color grading and tweaking the elements in a photo, like contrast and saturation. Whereas Photoshop deals with adding or removing extra elements in the photo, like additional image layers, stickers, or changing perspectives and adding text. You can first use Lightroom to tweak the colors in a photo and then import it into Photoshop to add extra elements if you want to.

Just like Lightroom, the basic version is free but you’ll have to subscribe to Adobe Creative Cloud to unlock advanced features.

Adobe Photoshop Express：Photo Editor Collage Maker (Free⁺, Google Play) →

VSCO

VSCO is essentially like a social media app but just for photos. It’s a little like Pinterest in the sense that users can post their photographs for other VSCO users to take a look at and appreciate. Apart from being a platform to share your images, VSCO has an in-built photo editor that works great for basic edits in terms of lighting and colors, just like Lightroom. You can modify the brightness, contrast, saturation, and hue levels of an image along with sharpening it or adding some grain.

Most tools are accessible free of charge on VSCO while some features like HSL tuning require you to become a member. VSCO is a good photo editor to have especially for its in-built filters.

VSCO: Photo & Video Editor with Slo-mo Effect (Free⁺, Google Play) →

Photo Editor Pro

Photo Editor Pro is a photo editor app for Android developed by InShot which is popular for its video editing app. If you’re looking for a photo editor that’s a Swiss Army knife of sorts, in the sense that it has almost every feature you would need to edit a photo, then this app is for you, even though it has a fairly generic branding and name.

From basic edits like filters and crops to adding neon effects and multiple overlays, this app can do it all. It even has a beautification feature that removes blemishes from photos. It can also be used to create collages.

While the app is full of features, it does have some annoying ads that you’ll see from time to time and you’ll have to purchase the Pro version to get rid of them.

Photo Editor Pro (Free⁺, Google Play) →

Canva

If you’re a graphic designer or you use templates to make cover photos for social media or anything of that sort, chances are you’ve heard of Canva. It’s a popular website that can be used to edit photos and is also available as an app on Android.

Canva offers a lot of templates for multiples use-cases like Instagram posts, stories, YouTube thumbnails, posters, flyers, invitation cards, etc., and is very handy to create an attractive image using the existing templates. You can also choose to create your own image completely from scratch if you want to be more creative. If you want to design or edit photos for specific templates and purposes, look no further.

Canva: Graphic Design, Video Collage, Logo Maker (Free⁺, Google Play) →

Fotor

Fotor is very similar to PicsArt in terms of the features you get. Along with basic editing, you can add effects and blur out certain parts of an image or even shift focus to a smaller region. You can also add text, stickers, and frames to your images.

There’s one interesting feature in Fotor called Recipe which is like a preset you can create. You can create multiple recipes so that whenever you want to apply the same kind of edit to different images, you can just select from one of the recipes and it’ll apply all of those edits to that image. This can be really handy if you have multiple images to edit. Fotor can also help you make collages and design posters.

Fotor Photo Editor - Design Maker & Photo Collage (Free⁺, Google Play) →

Pixlr

Pixlr offers a very no-frills experience in the sense you don’t have to log in or register before you can start editing your photos. The UI is simplistic and looks beautiful with a new scenic background every time you open the app.

The options are straightforward – you can edit an image, create a collage, or choose to edit based on a pre-existing template. In terms of features, you get everything you would expect from a photo editing app and nothing is hidden behind a paywall. There’s a premium version but that’s only to get rid of ads. This is a nice photo editor app for Android that would get the job done for most people looking to edit their photos.

Pixlr – Free Photo Editor (Free⁺, Google Play) →

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These are some of the best photo editor apps for Android that can help you improve the look of your photos before you share them with your friends or upload them onto social media platforms. You can even use these apps to create thumbnails for YouTube videos or create posters for your projects or exhibitions. In fact, we often use apps like Canva and PicsArt to create featured images for articles on XDA, so there’s another use-case right there.

We personally recommend having a few of these apps installed on your phone to help you with editing photos in different scenarios. Snapseed, Lightroom, and Pixlr are some good options that have you covered across all requirements.

The post These are the Best Photo Editor Apps for Android: Snapseed, PicsArt, Lightroom, and more! appeared first on xda-developers.

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